Unfortunately for E3, there wasn't a hands on demo for Mass Effect 2 of any kind, but we did get to see a demo played by one of the Mass Effect 2 team. The first bit of information we were told was the fact that Commander Shepherd is in fact not dead. This is further confirmed by the fact they stated Shepherd will be around for the entire trilogy, which will surely please many fans who didn't want to see all of their efforts from the first game go to waste. When the demo started, it was easy to see that this was a much darker world this time around in Mass Effect. You begin by witnessing Shepherd searching for the assassin, Thane. Read More...

Entering Bioware's Dragon Age: Origins demo room, I figured it would be another sit down and watch the developer's play the game type demo. And it began in just that fashion, in which they went over the basic premise of how the Arch Demon has risen and brought along a horde of demons to help wipe out everything in the world. The developers started us off at one of the party camps, and these are mobile locations the player can set up and interact with the various characters within the party. You can give gifts or items to other characters to build your relationship. Read More...

Lunar: Silver Star Story (Lunar: Harmony of Silver Star in Japan) has been slated for a new remake, this time being released on the Sony PSP. Originally released in 1992 on the Mega CD in Japan, and then brought to the U.S. by Working Designs to the Sega CD, it eventually saw a re-release on the Sony Playstation. The new version of the game will be fully remastered with updated graphics, music and video at an unprecedented quality. There will also be new storyline content included, adding on four new scenarios for our hero. Read More...

Atlus Online announced earlier today its plans for the intial run of its beta testing for their upcoming MMORPG, Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent. They will be limiting it to 2,000 random participants, including previous Neo Steam contest winners, to receive a Golden Ticket. The few lucky enough to be granted to enter the beta will find a Golden Ticket in their e-mail inbox from May 5th to May 12th 2009.  Atlus has stated that this will not only give you access to the Golden Ticket Beta period, but all those chosen will receive special items in their inventory upon Launch Day.Sign up today for your chance to participate in this closed beta. Read More...

Online Free To Play MMORPG, Rohan: Blood Feud, get its new Katar Chronicles update. Included in this new update is a brand new dungeon, entitled the Fire Temple Garden. Designed for Level 80+ characters, you will journey through sixteen newly added quests, which span across four new regions.  Also included in this update is Molly, a cute, new sidekick that will heal and protect your character when summoned. The higher the level you are, the more she will be able to heal you. Also available is a free Rohan: Blood Feud wallpaper calendar for the month of January, which you can download here. Read More...

In an e-mail to Atlus Faithful today, Atlus Co. has announced that Legacy of Ys: Books I & II, for Nintendo DS, pre-orders at participating retailers will now come with a bonus Soundtrack CD. This soundtrack CD will cover music from both Books I & II, but Atlus has not specified the length of the tracklist yet. Atlus had this to say about the soundtrack: Epic in melody and arrangement, the Ys Books I & II soundtrack has long been considered one of the greatest video same scores ever created.  As relevant today as ever, the freshly arranged music CD still manages the same level of excitement and energy, and stand as a testament to true excellence in game music. Read More...

Christmas in Japan turned out to be an unfortunate one for J-RPG fans around the world. AQ Interactive announces the cancellation of the upcoming Action RPG, Cry On. It was being developed by Mistwalker Studios, who previously did Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey, and headed up by Hironobu Sakaguchi. This was supposed to be the third in Hironobu's planned XBox 360 titles. It was also due to feature a soundtrack by the legendary Nobuo Uemetsu and character designs by Kimihiko Fujisaka. According to 1UP, when approached with the questions as to why the game had been cancelled, AQI responded with the following statement: "AQI decided to cancel the project after analyzing the current market environment and forecasts for the future. Read More...

Finally Sony puts out a good Classic PS1 game onto the Playstation Store. As of Monday, December 12th, you can now download the classic J-RPG, Suikoden. Suikoden is a standout title that all J-RPG fans must play. Now it's readily available for PS3 owners, and if you have a PSP as well, you can freely transfer the game to your PSP for play on the go.  Suikoden 1 is rare title that you would have to pay from $40 to $75 depending on the condition and if it is complete or not. Brand new, the game can run you over $200. Read More...

Dungeon Crawler Hack & Slash RPG games are starting to become a regular genre on the Nintendo DS, so does Aksys Games' set itself apart with From The Abyss? Unfortunately the game doesn't do much to stand out amongst its peers, but it is still a fun time for J-RPG fans. From The Abyss takes place in Rubenhaut where the kingdom has been overrun by monsters flowing through the Abyss Gate. You choose your hero from four possible choices, two male and two female, and then answer a short series of questions to give your character a sense of background. You arrive in Rubenhaut and meet with the queen, whom enlists your help to rid the land of monsters, and thus your journey to free the kingdom begins. Read More...

Playstation 3 Strategy Action RPG, Valkyria Chronicles, is currently being adapted for an anime series due out in April of 2009. It is being produced by A-1 Pictures, who recently worked on Persona - Trinity Soul and Kannagi.  We do not know if it will follow the same animation style as the game, mixing 2D/3D, but it is highly unlikely it will completely imitate it. The last game from Sega development team, Overworks, to be adapted into an anime was Sakura Wars, which was met with much acclaim from fans. Valkyria Chronicles is set in a fictional Europe of the 1930s, located in the war ravaged country of Gallia, and the game recently saw a stateside release this past Novemeber 4th. Read More...

Sent out via Atlus Newsletter, they are announcing a brand new reprint of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment for the Playstation 1 in commemoration of the upcoming Persona 4.  "To commemorate the upcoming release of Persona 4 and to thank you for your interest, dedication and support of the SMT series over the years, Atlus is digging back into its treasured vault to reprint one of its greatest classics: Persona 2: Eternal Punishment." The game is compatible with PS1, PS2 and PS3, and is available exclusively through Amazon for $39.99. Read More...

A Japanese man with an intent to use his friend's three and a half year old MMORPG character, is now being prosecuted for cyber-crimes in Japan for deleting said character. Both men are friends in real life and on the server, though I'd say now that they were friends at this point.  The guy who actually created the character was about to finally max out his character after the long three years plus journey, so when he found out all his hard work was deleted, he contacted the local police departments cyber crimes unit. When the friend was caught, the motive turned out to be simple jealousy than anything else, as he told police he just "Wanted his character." The perp is being charged with unauthorized access, but most likely should've been charged with criminal damage or theft. Read More...

The latest installment of the popular Japanese RPG Tales series, Tales of Vesperia, has arrived on the Xbox 360.  The world of Terca Lumireis is one of which that depends on ancient technology known as Blastia.  Blastia is utilized to perform various tasks from helping to boost combat skills, using magic, dealing with daily activities and work, or even protecting towns from monsters.  The protagonist in Vesperia is a young man named Yuri, whom deviates from the J-RPG stereotype. He isn't whiny or immature, but instead has his own sense of justice and takes matters into his hands, but is very caring even though he tends to not let it show. Read More...

The beta for Warhammer Online is beginning to look a little grim; with major content cutbacks that will affect the release I'm sure. This month Warhammer online took out FOUR major cities and FOUR classes... that is BIG. Warhammer Online is the upcoming major competitor for the reigning champion of MMO's, World of Warcraft and with a cut back this big it is either a really really good thing or a really really bad thing. With Age of Conan slowly (but trust me it's not at all yet) falling off a bit, Warhammer Online really needs to step it up and take advantage. The content cuts may be a good thing; maybe the developers realized they need to focus their manpower on a smaller amount of content, but at the same time that could be a bad sign... Read More...

Yesterday, July 3rd, Atlus announced that Persona 2 will be coming to American PS2s this December 12th 2008.  It was inevitable the game would be coming here considering the acclaim Persona 3 received from critics and gamers alike.  The only question was when, and Atlus answered.  Persona 4 takes place in a Japanese countryside at Gekkkoukan High, where a mysterious string of murders have taken place, and of course it's up to you and your team to find the answers.  Persona 3 introduced an interesting relationship system in which you had to build friendships to help boost abilities and teamwork.  In Persona 4 that system returns along with crafting weapons and even having part-time jobs. Read More...