Two Worlds Content Now Available

The already large game Two Worlds just got a lot bigger SouthPeak Games today announced that the first of their two downloadable content packages for Two Worlds is now available through Xbox Live.

The first content packaged is titled Tainted Blood and significantly expands the game for only 600 Microsoft Points. It features four new multiplayer maps, over 35 new quests, and over 10 hours of additional gameplay.

“This pack of downloadable content is an excellent expansion for players who love playing Two Worlds with friends, and are ready for some new and exhilarating features,” said Melanie Mroz, CEO of SouthPeak Games. “Tainted Blood not only adds to the game, but enhances it, making the overall experience even better.”

While Two Worlds was highly flawed, it was also fairly fun. Maybe it's time for me to give the game another chance...

More Mass Effect

Microsoft has announced the first bit of downloadable content for their hit Xbox 360 RPG Mass Effect.

This additional content, titled Bring Down the Sky, features an all-new world to explore complete with a new alien race known as the Batarians. Overall, Bring Down the Sky will include 90 minutes of additional gameplay and 50 more achievement points, along with an expanded storyline.

Expect Bring Down the Sky to be released on March 10 for 400 Microsoft Points (or $5).

Circle of Doom Ships

Microsoft has announced today that the wait is finally over... Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom is shipping to retailers across North America.

Circle of Doom reunites players with the memorable cast of characters and unique world from Heroes and The Crusaders, but replaces the strategy gameplay with a more action RPG experience. The game will feature familiar heroes such as Leinhart and Cleine along with three all new heroes, complete with unique abilities to use against a variety of horrifying enemies.

Gamers can embark on the journey alone or join up with friends in co-op or through Xbox Live. To further enhance the experience, downloadable content is planned for January 22nd, which inclucludes wearable add-ons.

I'm a big Kingdom Under Fire fan myself. While I haven't had the chance to experiment with this title just yet, I very much look forward to it, so watch out for coverage on Just-RPG soon.

Download Full Xbox Games on Live!!!

Microsoft has just announced a new Xbox Live feature that will allow gamers to download full Xbox games on thier Xbox 360 through the Xbox Live Marketplace.

This new feature is in celebration of the fifth year of Xbox Live on December 4th, 2007. When the service first launches, gamers will be able to download popula classics from the original Xbox including Halo, Psychonauts, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge and Fable.

This new service will launch with an array of blockbuster titles spanning the most popular genres from action-adventure to classic role-playing games, and Microsoft promises that the catalog of games will continue to grow. No disc will be necessary and games can be purchased through the Marketplace for only 1,200 Microsoft Points.

The original Xbox wasn't particularly impressive as far as RPGs go, so I'm not sure what to expect out of this. So far Fable is the only RPG announced for the service and that game is totally mediocre in my opinion. Hopefully the Kingdom Under Fire series goes up for download. Still, it sounds like a pretty cool feature and one that I'm sure I'll take advantage of.

Two Worlds Demo and Updates

SouthPeak has just announced that they have released a demo of Two Worlds for free on Xbox Live. Curious gamers who are yet to experience this massive, free roaming adventure are advised to check it out! The demo gives players a large chunk of the world to explore and plenty of quests to embark on.

It's a solid title, but to be fair it has plenty of flaws. In other good news, SouthPeak has announced a free title update that address many of the complaints of the players. Below are some of those issues.

Both platforms (PC and Xbox 360)
- Horse steering has been improved
- Character development curve not as steep over level 25
- HP regeneration slower for max values above 2000
- Death strike skill - executable by strike button while in sneak mode
- Critical hit skill fixed
- Damage is now allowed over 32000
- There is a cap on damage and armor at 99999
- Necromancer spells have been balanced
- Magical boosters - effect restricted to 5 boosters
- Stacking potions with different statistics - fixed
- Objects stacking - objects can't be stacked up if result has higher level requirements than current player level
- Equipment Class cap on 50
- When killing in towns - after you leave the town and go back guards will ask you to pay instead of immediately attacking you
- NPC's in towns don't resurrect
- Tweaked hi- level monster balance
- Wing Membrane ingredient added to Helllord
- Dragons strike not breakable by player hit
- Bomb traps attached to some chests and wardrobes
- Balanced number of lock picks in chests and wardrobes
- Walking under water and not dying has been fixed
- Inaccessible Cave north of Ashos has been fixed

- Multiplayer Lag issues have been improved
- Multiplayer too many skill points generated due to combat stats has been fixed
- Friendly fire disabled in RPG mode (players cannot damage each other)
- Resurrect spell on players has been disabled
- Experience points for killing players has been removed
- Disarming skill disabled against other players
- Freezing/stopping spells disabled against other players
- Multiplayer RPG quests given to all, reward splitter between players
- Team assault - main monuments 50 times stronger
- Barbarian - berserk skill in PvP reduced to 5
- Chest and wardrobe lock levels improved in multiplayer

PC specific:
- Issue of moving money between servers has been fixed
- Maps D2,E4,F4, Multiplayer Tharbakin - missing triangles or flying objects have been fixed
- Enter opens console in single player
- Horse steering - stopping horse by back key changed
- Cloning character when logging on new WarNet server is fixed
- Boosters disappearing in Arena modes
- Atmosoheric fog for multiplayer towns added
- Chat over open dialogs possible (by F11 chat dialog)
- All PVP arenas unlocked from beginning

Xbox 360 specific:
- Improved single player framerate
- Interface - repeat changes selection left stick hold added
- Game HDD cache cleaning possibility - RB + A + B during game launch
- Achievements for 5 elements is fixed
- Map interface improvements - only one open quest at the time, quests selection box better visibility, hero location on map better visibility, quest name on tooltip
- Hit info fonts larger
- “BACK – Show Instruction” text disappears
- Double saving multiplayer characters to protect character lost from power-off or hard-locks
- Interface - no controls after "server refused connection" is fixed
- Doubling gold in multiplayer is fixed
- Doubling objects in multiplayer is fixed

New Blue Dragon Content

Microsoft has announced new content for Mistwalker's RPG, Blue Dragon.

This new package of content is available for download through Xbox Live for 200 Points. It is called 6 Treasures and features six exciting new items. These items include:

1) “Whimsical Mind” – growth item that enhances a few randomly-picked categories by 0-4 levels
2) “Way of Thieves” – in-battle item that can steal rare items possessed by enemy creatures
3) “Devee Phonograph” – allows you to listen to the “Devee-tribe dance”
4) “Nothing Glasses” – visualizes all “nothing” points by means of a star-looking symbol (oftentimes you’ll find a lot of items that contain “nothing”, followed by an English-speaking narrator saying “nothing”).
5) “Shuffled Helmet” – item that adjusts magical and speed parameters (Magic +40 / Speed -40). Detrimental when used by itself because the speed parameter goes down by 50 points, but when equipped along with “Shuffled Breastplate” and “Shuffled Splint”, this item can quadruplicate the Magic parameters and reverse the Speed parameters. So it becomes the strongest equipment in the game. (Magic +160 / Speed +40)
6) Spring-wind Scarf”” – adjusts characters’ HP and Speed parameters by 20%

A previous package of content was released in late September, titled Hard Mod, features new game modes. As gamers are wrapping up the Blue Dragon storyline, they may be interested in expanding their adventure through these downloads!

Puzzle Quest Now on Live!

Puzzle Quest, the innovative puzzle/RPG from D3, is now available for download on the Xbox Live Arcade!

Puzzle Quest was highly praised by reviewers when it originally appeared on the PSP and DS. Now D3 and Microsoft will be opening up the game to a brand new audience of players! Developed by Infinite Interactive and based in the popular Warlords universe, Puzzle Quest combines addictive gem swapping, puzzle gameplay with deep RPG elements of storytelling, character building and exploration.

While I really enjoyed Puzzle Quest, I originally played the DS version, and many of the problems with the game stemmed from the platform itself. For example, using the stylus as a gem selector seems natural enough, but it's also far too easy to accidentally miss and select the wrong piece. Splitting the content among the two screens also caused some problems because it made it difficult to keep track of exactly what was going on. This makes me even more excited about the 360 version!

Xbox Live Happenings

As an Xbox fan, I just wanted to notify gamers of some noteworthy happenings on Xbox Live.

First off, two new demos of interest have been added: Bladestorm and Conan. I haven't played Bladestorm yet, but it's in the same vein as the Dynasty Warriors series... only based in Europe. As for Conan, I've played through the demo and really enjoyed it. Conan is a hack n' slash adventure similar to God of War in many respects.

Both games will be available on the Xbox 360 and PS3, with Conan heading for release later this month and Bladestorm coming next month.

The second noteworthy piece of news is that Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords is almost ready for launch on the Xbox Live Arcade! This highly addictive and deep game was originally released on the DS and PSP and will be available for download on Live this Wednesday for 1200 points.

I've already played (and loved) the DS version of Puzzle Quest, but I still plan on getting the Xbox Live version. It's a really fun game, and I prefer console gaming as opposed to handheld gaming anyway, so I look forward to the Xbox release!

BioShock Owns.

Yes, BioShock Owns!

If you haven't downloaded the demo off of Xbox Live Marketplace yet, then I highly recommend that you do! It's a lot of fun and has made me even more excited to play the final version upon release.

I don't want to say too much, because I don't want to spoil the demo for you... just go play it and you won't be sorry. It's free, after all. Expect to see a PC demo and some coverage here on Just-RPG shortly.

Xbox BioShock Demo!

2K has announced that a demo for their "genetically enhanced" first-person shooter, BioShock, is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace.

Gamers who experience the Xbox demo will find themselves in the world of Rapture, an underwater utopia torn apart by civil war. Players will be able to experiment with weapons and plasmids, and get a sneak peek as the game's story begins to unfold.

A PC demo will also be available later this month. BioShock will be available exclusively on Xbox 36 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Games For Windows in North America on August 21, 2007 and in Europe beginning August 24, 2007.

So... go download the demo now.

Eternal Sonota Demo on Live!

A demo of the upcoming RPG, Eternal Sonata, is now availible for download on Xbox Live!

The Eternal Sonata demo is free through the Xbox Live Marketplace and will give RPG fans a taste of one of the 360's most highly anticipated RPGs. In the demo you can lead Polka, Allegretto and Beat as they explore the Path to Tenuto, Tenuto Village and Heaven’s Mirror Forest.

Eternal Sonota is developed exclusively for the Xbox 360 by acclaimed developer, Tri-Crescendo.

The demo is 584.12 MB in size and is availible only in the U.S. and Canada.

Puzzel Quest to Xbox Live Arcade

D3 Publisher of America has announced that they will be bringing their innovative Puzzle/RPG, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlord's, to Xbox Live Arcade.

Developed by Infinite Interactive, and originally available on the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP, Puzzle Quest, blends match-three puzzle gameplay with strategy, character-building elements and a persistent storyline set in the beloved Warlords universe.

The game will be released later this year, but no specific release date or price has been announced. D3 is also bringing RocketBowl and Mad Tracks to Xbox Live Arcade.

New Ultimate Alliance Characters Available

Activision has announced that the Heroes and Villians expansions for Ultimate Alliance are now available for pucrhase on Xbox Love.

Expanding on the game’s current roster, eight new playable characters are now available for download including, The Incredible Hulk, Magneto, Hawkeye, Sabretooth, Doctor Doom, Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Venom.

The two expansions can be purchased seperately for $6.25, or together for only $10.

Shivering Isles is Here!!!

Elder Scrolls fans rejoice, the first full expansion to Oblivion has just been released!

The PC version of Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles is due in stores today with a retail price of $29.99. The Xbox 360 version of the game reportedly launched a day early and can be downloaded on Xbox Live for 2400 Microsoft points ($30).

Shivering Isles promises 30 hours of additional gameplay and the opportunity to explore the all new realm of Sheogorath, meaning Oblivion addicts like myself will be out of touch for the next few days.

Microsoft has scheduled some Xbox Live downtime today, so Xbox 360 owning Oblivion fans may find themselves unable to download the expansion right away.

Playing Castlevania

So, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is now available on Xbox Live for 800 Microsoft points. Being the Symphony of the Night fan that I am, I downloaded it right away.

So far it's a lot of fun, and true to the classic Playstation experience. Ever since the series went to the handhelds, I've lost a little bit of interest. While the games are solid, I don't really like playing for long hours on a tiny little GBA screen. I for one am glad to have a chance to play a 2D Castlevania on a console again.

Anyway, if you haven't downloaded it yet, Symphony of the Night on Xbox Live Arcade definitely has my recommendation! It's a very cheap purchase and an exceptional gaming experience.

Castlevania to Arrive on Xbox Live March 21st

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, often regarded as the best game in the series, will be available for download on Xbox Live starting March 21, 2007 at 2 AM Pacific time. The game will cost 800 Microsoft points to download.

The Xbox 360 version of the game allows you to play the original game just as we remember it on the Playstation, or an updated version, with modern audio and improved graphics. There is also high-definition support and new native widescreen. Hardcore 360 fans will be glad to hear about the addition of 12 Achievements in the game that total 200 Gamerscore points.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is the 12th game in the series and provides non-linear action RPG gameplay. It chronicles the story of Alucard, the half-vampire son of Dracula, who is fighting to put and end to his father's tyranny.