Star Wars MMORPGs

Star Wars MMORPGs are among the kinds of games that bring out the little kid in me. Imagine taking all the awesomeness of George Lucas' brainchild and turning it into something thousands of players can enjoy all at once.

Star Wars MMORPGs allow us the exquisite pleasure of roleplaying as Jedi Knights, bounty hunters, entertainers and what not. Even if you're not into roleplaying, the whole Star Wars universe is as immersive as they come. Few things can compare to the experience of literally blasting your opponent into oblivion.

To date, only two Star Wars MMORPGs come to mind: Star Wars Galaxies (SWG) by Sony Online Entertainment and Star Wars: The Old Republic (TOR) by BioWare. Let's take a brief look at each of these in turn.

Star Wars Galaxies was the players' first real taste of a Star Wars MMORPG experience. It featured several expansions over a period of five years. One of these expansions, "New Game Enhancements," served as a double-edged sword. For example, the Jedi profession that players had to work so hard to unlock in previous editions immediately became playable, and certain aspects of the game's mechanics were dumbed down.

On the other hand, BioWare is keeping a watchful developmental eye on the next Star Wars MMORPG, The Old Republic. Does the company's name sound familiar? It should -- it's the very same company that brought us the PC RPG Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. And if my experience with KoTOR is any indication of how they do RPGs, they can probably do MMORPGs well, too.

Now imagine if BioWare put someone like this in it.

TOR might be worth checking out, if only to compare it with its precessor. Regardless of how things out, I'm just thankful for the fact that we will soon be able to enjoy two Star Wars MMORPGs.

Acknowledgments: This blogger would like to thank fellow blogger Codamon for the Dark Obi-Wan picture above.

War PC Games

War PC games have come to my attention in recent times. If you recall, I mentioned in a previous blog post that. These are some of the serendipitous things that have somehow found their way onto my gaming lap.

War PC games include many different genres. Some of the more obvious ones I've encountered and played are First Person Shooters (FPSs), but there are simulators and strategy games out there that fall under the category as well. The genre is so broad that the distinctions can get a little bit blurry at times.

One particular war PC game that I've had the privilege to play was Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. as part of my job in the company I'd previously worked for. I was asked to review a particular game accessory and my colleagues recommended that I try it out with the said game.

Unfortunately, I never finished the single player campaign of this game due to time constraints. It did open my eyes, however, to the fact that war PC games need not be the mindless fragfests that I once thought they were. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Call of Duty 4 required some intriguing think-on-your-feet strategy from me as a player.

One thing I'd like to bring to your attention today is the Tom Clancy series of war PC games. Someone came up with the brilliant idea of attaching this distinguished author's name to a whole lineup of games, and so far, the strategy has worked wonders.

Tom Clancy's EndWar, for example, is a real time strategy (RTS) game that makes exciting use of voice commands to direct one's troops in battle. The Splinter Cell lineup could pretty much give Konami's Metal Gear series a run for its money, at least as far as stealth games go. I'm also looking forward to H.A.W.X, as it reminds me a lot of the venerable Ace Combat games.

If you're looking for, I highly recommend that you give the Tom Clancy war PC game series a try. There are a variety of games to choose from in the series, so pick anything that looks seems to resonate with you and start playing. I can practically guarantee that you'll have a blast in more ways than one.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading, and welcome to the wonderful, weapon-filled world of war PC games.

PC Racing Games

PC racing games tend to catch my attention every now and then. Sometimes, I find the need to break away from the staple intellectual or strategy stuff and relax with something simpler -- something that gets my adrenaline pumping.

PC racing games may act as an interesting alternative to real life racing for armchair racers. If you don't happen to own a in real life, then picking up that controller or joystick may be the next best thing.

Admittedly, I haven't played too many PC racing games myself. Most of the ones I'm familiar with aren't even for the PC: the Initial D and Daytona series for the arcades, the F-Zero series, plus Mario Kart for the Nintendo Wii.

Nevertheless, the few PC racing games that I have played, and the ones that I've seen others play, are worthy of note. Which of them would I recommed? It really depends on what you're looking for.

You see, most PC racing games may be divided into two general types: simulators and arcade-style games. The former offer a more "realistic" experience than the latter because they attempt to mimic real life vehicle handling and physics. The Gran Turismo series would be a good start, as is anything with the word NASCAR, F1 or Grand Prix in it.

Arcade-style racers, on the other hand, tend to emphasize breakneck speed and fast-paced fun more than realism. Most of the games I've played fall under this category. I recommend the Initial D if you're a fan of the anime/manga. Initial D has a PC racing game with the subheading "Mountain Vengeance." You'll also find Initial D games at your local arcade.

My friend, Aodhan (yes, the same one who's making his own MMORPG) sings praises to the Need for Speed series (especially Need for Speed: Carbon) so you may want to check that out, too. If you're in the mood for some silly party console fun, Mario Kart is the way to go.

Come to think of it, maybe I should find out what Aodhan is so crazy about. Please excuse me while I check out some of his PC racing games.

RPG Maker

RPG Maker may be just the series that certain RPG fans need to get their creative juices flowing. Granted, it's one thing to enjoy playing an RPG; it's quite another thing to actually make an RPG of your own.

RPG Maker, aka RPG Tkool aka RPG Tsukuru, is Enterbrain's and software series for budding RPG programmers. Enterbrain inherited the series from its progenitor, ASCII Corporation. While the series first enjoyed success in the Japanese Market, it eventually found its way to such countries as South Korea, Taiwan, China and the United States (the latter courtesy of Agetec).

Various installments of the RPG Maker series have appeared on multiple platforms over the years. These include the 8801 and 9801 models of NEC's PCs, the MSX2, the Super Famicom, the Gameboy Advance, and the PlayStation 1 and 2. The very first PC version of the program that ran on a Windows-based platform was RPG Maker 95. Later versions for 2000, 2003, XP and VX followed later on.

If you're new at this RPG creation, not to worry: the program comes with its own pre-made chipsets, events and characters. For those of you who wish to dig a little deeper, RPG Maker has many interesting options that allow players to create their own custom content.

In fact, there are communities out there dedicated to helping users to harness and explore their artistic skills. And even if you're simply out to learn mathematics and programming, the program can still be a big help to you, too.

If this article has gotten you interested in the program, here are some links to get you started: this link will take you to Enterbrain's official RPG Maker XP website, this link will lead you to Agetec's official website (PS2), and this link will take you to a tutorial website.

I hope that today's blog post has been of some help to you. Thank you for reading, and have fun letting your imagination run wild in RPG Maker!

Action RPGs

Action RPGs, or action role-playing games, refer to yet another notable sub-genre of electronic role-playing games. If the strategy RPGs I discussed last time dealt more with tactics, then this genre focuses more on "twitch" game elements.

Action RPGs have their battles in real time, which is fine by me. Being a twitch game fan originally, I welcomed this new sub-genre with open arms. It helped that I simply thought of action RPGs as action games with RPG elements thrown in.

It's hard to say what my very first action RPG was. I distinctly remember enjoying the first Legend of Zelda game on the NES many years ago, but whether it's really belongs to the genre is subject to debate.

The next action RPG I played was an old arcade game called Dungeons and Dragons: Tower of Doom. I ended up investing a small fortune in that and its sequel, Shadow over Mystara. These games got me so hooked that they got me desperately wanting to play other games like them.

Perhaps one of the most notable (if not the most notable) examples of action RPGs is Blizzard Entertainment's very own Diablo series. Strangely enough, I never really got into that action RPG series, but I did get into designed by former Blizzard North employees many years later. It was a game that was supposed to have been the spiritual successor of Diablo: Hellgate: London.

If you're looking to get your feet wet in the action RPG world, you're in good company. For retro stuff, I highly recommend that you pick up the first two games in the Diablo series. (Come to think of it, maybe I should follow my own advice.) They should still be available as part of a package deal in stores these days.

The Legend of Zelda series is also a good buy, and is still going strong on the Nintendo Wii. The more daring among you may wish too Google around for Dungeons and Dragons: Tower of Doom and Shadow of Mystara, plus an accompanying emulator. These should keep you busy until Blizzard releases Diablo III to a waiting world.

Thanks for reading my blog post for the day, and welcome to the fun, frenetic world of action RPGs.