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Spore-Inspired Action RPG Darkspore Announced
Today Electronic Arts announced Darkspore, an action RPG in development from Maxis that is inspired by Spore's creature creator technology. The game is due to launch in February 2011, and a teaser is available on the official website. A more descriptive video is available from EA's live demo (start at 8:25). Quoting Joystiq:
"...Darkspore will let up to three players traverse 'several' planets cooperatively, and while there will be PvP in the finished product, Maxis isn't providing details just yet. The basics will be the same whether going in solo or as a team: You'll be able to choose from a number (again, no specifics yet) of pre-created melee, ranged and support creatures that can have their stats and abilities augmented by equipment. ... When choosing to beam down from your starship to a planet, you will see a lineup of enemy types that you'll encounter. This gives you and your friends enough information to decide which three characters from your collection you'll want to deploy. The trio can then be switched between on the fly, albeit with a brief cool-down period afterward. The idea is to use the characters' various abilities strategically against what the Left 4 Dead-inspired 'AI director' decides to toss your way."
While the PC-xbox-what have you market may have hijacked the term "role playing game" for its own profit, it doesn't represent any actual role playing, which is where you sit around a table with your friends and pretend to be a someone or something else to whatever depth you feel comfortable. And until you have near reality physics engines and near human AI, as well as full facial/vocal/auditory interaction, you won't get that (really really fun) experience either.
What he can't kill, he has sex on. Trent.
... Had me saying "I'm not buying it," that is. Sorry, but I'm not gonna put up with restrictive DRM and I'm not paying out extra for DLC. Even if this game doesn't have any of that, I'll still not buy it until EA starts making that the standard for their games. I generally avoid their games, since nothing has come out from them even remotely recently that interests me in the least bit, and while this does look cool (as did Spore) I'm playing two really good and well made online CCG's that are truly free, as in beer, and tons of fun. Give me a small company, making a small game that's just fun and nothing else and I'm satisfied.
The eternal struggle of good vs. evil begins within one's self.
Not sure what you don't like about SC4, but its reception was quite positive. It certainly improved on SC3k in many ways. Of course it's difficult to repeat the jump from the original SimCity to SimCity 2000. SimCity 2000 was just stunning at the time (for a 12 year old, at least).
Anyway, I really want to see a SimCity 5 with an improved transportation model (the heart of a city sim), a better representation of regions; ideally with modding capabilties up there with Civ4. As far as I understand it, SC4 wasn't very easy to mod apart from cosmetic changes, but the community has still come up with an incredible amount of results for the transportation engine among other things.
Switch back to Slashdot's D1 system.
I remember a game called "Evolva" sort of like this... 3 guys you controlled with different skills.