2 Bioware RPGs on 360, PSP development?

[bapenguin]

Gamespot (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/26/news_6126603.html?part=rss&tag=gs_news&subj=6126603) got to talk to the boys from Bioware about their upcoming games. They let it be known there are 2 titles in development for the XBox 360 platform as well as hinted at the possibility to develop for the PSP.As for other platforms, Muzyka and Zeschuk said that they were big fans of the Sony PSP and are considering developing for it and other handhelds. "We spent the entire time on the plane on the way down [to Los Angeles] playing Lumines....Can you imagine some of our RPGs on a handheld? All of a sudden, we've got these new handhelds that can actually handle it."

I wish Bioware would make another Baldur's gate-ish game. I haven't heard too much about Dragon Age yet..hopefully it gets back to their roots.

[Furious Wang]

Just as long as one of those titles is KoToR 3 no one will have to be hurt.

[Atorak]

Anyone else pissed that there was no Neverwinter Nights 2 at E3? Sure, it's not being developed by Bioware, but this thread triggered a little rant I had.

[KamaItachi]

Yes, more KotoR please.

[Hieremias]

I'd rather them make something better than NWN or KotoR. I'm with bapenguin, I hope they go back to their roots. From what I've read Dragon Age is supposed to be along those lines, lots of similarities with Baldur's Gate.

[Orphiuchus]

Fuck bioware, I want black isle back.

[Rommel]

Can you believe we're threatening over a licensed title? What happened?

[MosBen]

What about Baulder's Gate do you want brought back for the new game? Is it the setting, the isometric view? I only ask because many people seem to want the 100+ gameplay from Bauldur's Gate to come back, and I don't think it's going to happen anymore.

[Atorak]

Damn, BGI and BGII were awesome... *sigh*

[carneconcarne]

Fuck bioware, I want black isle back.

I'm with this guy.

By the way, I've been playing jad empire, and I can't stand the load times. It seems this way for all bioware games, and I'm getting a little sick of it. Hell, I don't even remember the load times in God of War, and that pushes the PS2 farther than people thought it could go. Jade empire looks pretty good, but not great, and I'm waiting for 3-4 minutes every time i play the game. Totally ruins short 15 minute sessions.

[Morrolan]

Indeed. Obsidian made some bucks off of KotOR2, no matter how much they were rushed at the end. Hopefully this will allow them to do what they want with their next game.

Black Isle has always produced some of the best stories in the industry.

Still, I'm not discounting Bioware in any way. I'm pumped for whatever they announce.

[Kamalot]

Sounds to me like they are talking about the PSP and the Nintendo DS when they mention handhelds.

[Rafer]

Let's see, two Bioware RPGs, Elder Scrolls IV, Fable 2, and two new games from Hironobu Sakaguchi. Looks like the 360 is the system to get for RPGs.

[Hieremias]

MosBen: I want party-based combat, rich and detailed environments, lots of character interaction, and immense scope--all of which NWN and KotoR either completely lacked or did relatively poorly.

And Rafer, you're absolutely right. I've definitely got my eye on the Xbox 360's RPG lineup (although I'd buy any PC version of a multi-plat release, of course).

[Crispy951]

Call me a traitor but I know I'll end up flocking to w/e console has the best/most RPGs, I never owned a Xbox but if 360 has all of these coming then I'm gonna just have to buy it, shucks...

[Atorak]

Amen to that. November can't come soon enough.

[Royal Fool]

...Dragon Age IS gonna be a PC game, right? Right?

Fuck, Bioware... stop making lite RPGs.

[eatme]

Dragon Age is definitely back to their roots. It was looking pretty sweet a year ago, but I haven't heard anything since-- they're probably just keeping a lid on it, though, since that's the engine they'll be using for their 360 titles. Anyway, looked like a sweet, classic RPG.


BTW: Black Isle == Obsidian.


Jade Empre load times: There isn't a technical excuse for it. They keep getting away with that shit, so they don't bother to fix it.

[Racknahm]

Baldur's Gate for handheld with wireless play is my wet dream.

[TrackZero]

Fuck bioware, I want black isle back.

Here here!

Though I can't wait to see what Bethesda does with Fallout 3.

[Kelegacy]

Does Bioware have some sort of deal with Microsoft? Like Kotor series being on Xbox first, now bioware is siding with MS again? Curious.

I just hope these games dont resemble Jade Empire at all. Fun idea, fun story, but AWFUL flaws like load times and battle system. It was their first original IP and they screwed the pooch in my opinion. Not something I expected an established company like Bioware to put out.

[Kelegacy]

...Dragon Age IS gonna be a PC game, right? Right?

Fuck, Bioware... stop making lite RPGs.

I agree about the lite RPG's. Will we look back at the in depth gaming experiences of yesteryear for the rest of our lives? I think I will, unless someone really changes the formula. While i dont need 100 hour gaming sessions, at least offer me something with incredible scope, depth, and character as Baldur's Gate, Ultima or Fallout. Jesus, i'm sick of confined worlds like Jade Empire and Fable. Pretty graphics, no sweet caramel filling.

Give...me...more.

(i still have hope for Bioware...on the PC. If they do something great with Dragon Age or BG3, i will shut my mouth)

[riposte101]

Fuck bioware, I want black isle back.

They are called Obsidian Entertainment now. You know...they made Kotor 2?

[Draft]

Does Bioware have some sort of deal with Microsoft? Like Kotor series being on Xbox first, now bioware is siding with MS again? Curious.

I just hope these games dont resemble Jade Empire at all. Fun idea, fun story, but AWFUL flaws like load times and battle system. It was their first original IP and they screwed the pooch in my opinion. Not something I expected an established company like Bioware to put out.
The fighting system was SO FUCKING BAD.

GODDAMN YOU BIOWARE! You made a Kung Fu RPG. A KUNG MOTHERFUCKING FU RPG! I was all over it! Could not have been more excited! Slavering at the mouth, pavloving all up on my Xbox! And then I get a shot at the battle system, and it's a button mashing abortion.

Gah.

[DigiWiz]

The fighting system was SO FUCKING BAD.

GODDAMN YOU BIOWARE! You made a Kung Fu RPG. A KUNG MOTHERFUCKING FU RPG! I was all over it! Could not have been more excited! Slavering at the mouth, pavloving all up on my Xbox! And then I get a shot at the battle system, and it's a button mashing abortion.

Gah.


I actually enjoyed a lot, much better than KotOR's boring wait.for.something.to.happen combat. On Grand Master difficulty, button mashing didn't work too well and without frequently switching styles and evading, I would die within a few seconds.

As for loadtimes, if you say you have 3 minute loadtimes, you might want to return your Xbox, because while the loadtimes were annoying in places like the arena, I have not seen a single load longer than 30 seconds and I didn't think it was THAT bad. But that's probably because my expectations were lowered by playing KotOR 2 before....

Microsoft having a "deal" with Bioware ... sounds likely, you need a deal if you want a publisher. Developing for 360 makes sense for them, after all consoles are where the money and ignoring consoles isn't a luxury a lot of developers can make.
According to their forums DA is a PC only title with roots in BG, so as a PC and console gamer and Bioware fanboy, I'm thrilled to get good stuff for both of my systems from them as opposed to just getting sequels to KotOR or BG.

[DigiWiz]

They are called Obsidian Entertainment now. You know...they made Kotor 2?

Did the same people make LionHeart as well?

[mister_slim]

Does Bioware have some sort of deal with Microsoft? Like Kotor series being on Xbox first, now bioware is siding with MS again? Curious.

I just hope these games dont resemble Jade Empire at all. Fun idea, fun story, but AWFUL flaws like load times and battle system. It was their first original IP and they screwed the pooch in my opinion. Not something I expected an established company like Bioware to put out.
Bioware mentioned in an interview they were looking at the PS3 and Revolution. And they also said Dragon Age will be the biggest (longest?) game they've ever made.

[Kelegacy]

Bioware mentioned in an interview they were looking at the PS3 and Revolution. And they also said Dragon Age will be the biggest (longest?) game they've ever made.

Wow, that would be a relief. I was just feeling a little antsy that MS had virtually gobbled them up. Never like to see a great developer be bought, bad for business.

And if you are right about Dragon Age being biggest/longest...God, that would probably ruin my life--but in a good way!


I actually enjoyed a lot, much better than KotOR's boring wait.for.something.to.happen combat. On Grand Master difficulty, button mashing didn't work too well and without frequently switching styles and evading, I would die within a few seconds.

As for loadtimes, if you say you have 3 minute loadtimes, you might want to return your Xbox, because while the loadtimes were annoying in places like the arena, I have not seen a single load longer than 30 seconds and I didn't think it was THAT bad. But that's probably because my expectations were lowered by playing KotOR 2 before....

I liked the game too. The battle system still felt a little fishy though. While it didnt ruin the experience, it didnt feel as deep as it should have. Felt very...hack and slash...with the same strategies used repeatedly to destroy enemies. Had fun with this game, but besides the conversation interface a la KOTOR, it didnt feel wholly like a Bioware game.

The load times were always noticable, but never more so than in the Arena. Holy crap were they bad. Load to get into the arena, fight for maybe a minute tops, then load to get back out. You had to repeat this for 3 tiers of championships and multiple fights in each tear to reach the champion of that level. Was horrendous. The load times in the other parts of the world just made the game feel all that much more small. When you are in a city and you have to load 3-4 times just to see it all (and the Imperial City wasnt even that big!) and then have to load each time you entered a building...well that just put a big fat zit on the nose of the game for me.

[Heretic Machine]

The last game Bioware made that I really enjoyed was Neverwinter Nights. I'm now looking forward to NWN2. Nu*RPG's suck, possibly worse than J-RPG's.

[Speerical]

The past is easily forgotten in the wake of the present. A few RPGs (Only enough to count on one hand) that are good have come out for xbox. ps2 since its conception has had a vast library of good to great RPGs. Everyone is so star struck with xbox and its impressive library of a few games that they completely forget the past. (I suppose that isn't completely fair since xbox hasn't been around for as long) From what I've read at best 360 is going to have about 50% of the market within the first few years, which means both systems will get several companies to sign on. But due to sony's long standing past and their ability to build a vast library the next gen for RPGs and others for me will be the ps3. Oh yeah and the cell processor which statistically literally makes a pentium look like a pda from the early 90's. The new processor for the PS3 was very close to being defined as a next gen supercomputer by the patent office. As far as RPGs on PSP I can't wait! I love bioware, what I really want is another Blood omen game, those were feaking awesome.