knights of the old republic
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Saber Interactive may escape Embracer’s death hug and become a private company
Saber Interactive has reportedly found an exit strategy from the death grip of its parent company, Embracer Group AB. Bloomberg reported Thursday that “a group of private investors” will buy the studio in a deal worth roughly $500 million.
Troubled 'Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic' remake reportedly switches studios
'Bloomberg' says the project moved from Aspyr Media to Saber Interactive, which are both owned by Embracer.
'Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II' heads to Nintendo Switch on June 8th
One of the best Star Wars games ever made is making its way to Switch.
Sony's PlayStation Showcase was a banger
The show starred Wolverine, Venom, Kratos, Alan Wake, Tiny Tina and pettable crabs.
'Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic' is getting a PS5 remake
The rumors were true, BioWare's classic Star Wars RPG Knights of the Old Republic is getting a remake.
Classic Star Wars RPG 'KOTOR II' comes to mobile on December 18th
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, better known as KOTOR, is one of the best Star Wars games ever made. Its sequel, KOTOR II, isn't held in quite the same regard, but still boasts an impressive 85-rating on Metacritic. Now, that second instalment -- first released for the Xbox in 2004, but later ported to Windows, MacOS and Linux -- is getting a mobile version.
'Knights of the Old Republic' could become a Star Wars movie
While the Star Wars franchise will take a new direction after the Skywalker arc ends with Episode 9, the next movie might still tell a familiar story. According to BuzzFeed News, a Star Wars film based on the classic LucasArts RPG Knights of the Old Republic is in the works. Further, Laeta Kalogridis, whose credits include Altered Carbon, Avatar and Shutter Island, is reportedly almost done writing the first script of what could become the KOTOR trilogy.
Credit-stealing space cows and other Mass Effect series facts
A new video from the folks over at Did You Know Gaming will take you on a space odyssey, as guest host Really Freakin Clever narrates little-known bits of trivia related to the Mass Effect series. There's a lot of behind-the-scenes information here that explores the series' origins, as well as why the iconic races look the way they do. The Krogan, for example, were created by combining attributes of bugs and bats, while Salarian scientist Mordin's grizzled look was inspired by Clint Eastwood. Oh, and then there's that shifty space cow out to steal your money. Yes, that is a real thing in the original Mass Effect. Want to see it in action and learn some more interesting facts? Check out the video after the break.
Perfect Ten: Game franchises that became MMOs
Popular franchises have been known to jump between various entertainment media, from games to television to movies to comic books and even to pogs. We should not gasp in utter amazement that this is also the case with many of our beloved MMOs; we should nod sagely and accept the terrible truth. There are several video game franchises that have culminated in -- or at least have taken a detour through -- the land of MMOs. For gamers who wanted more and especially did not want to see their journey end, an MMO continuation is a welcome answer that's usually hiding its own problems. But nevermind that; let's march down the halls of history and see the yearbook photos of these franchises when they were young!
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic arrives on the iPad, and the Force is with it
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic is the kind of game that's almost too big to be playing on the iPad. It's easily 30 hours long, with extensive attribute, skill, and combat systems, and it has some of the best storytelling BioWare's ever done, all set in the epic pre-film Star Wars universe. This is a monster of a classic game, and like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Baldur's Gate before it, it seems like cheating to play this game on Apple's touchscreen tablet, like you're somehow breaking the laws of mobile gaming physics, if such a school even exists. And yet, it works. Aspyr Media is the company responsible here. It's been porting games to the Mac for a long time, and with Knights of the Old Republic has decided to start bringing what it calls "catalog Mac experiences" to iOS. Presumably, the rights were snagged from BioWare and LucasArts, and now there's a very well-made $9.99 port of one of the best Star Wars games ever assembled, running on the iPad.
Aspyr brings the Bioware classic Knights of the Old Republic to iPad
When I spoke with them at Macworld | iWorld earlier this year, Aspyr Media (a company that has brought a lot of games to the Mac platform) promised some interesting "catalog Mac experiences" would be released on iOS, and they've outdone themselves with the first title. Bioware's classic Knights of the Old Republic RPG, based in the Star Wars universe, is available for the iPad right now, at a premium price of $9.99. Aspyr has done an incredible job with this one, and it probably didn't hurt that Bioware's original was designed so well. The game works very well on a touchscreen, as most of the menus made very good use of buttons and easily accessible screen areas. Combat is essentially turn-based (it's real-time, but you can pause it to change your actions at any time) and works great on the iPad. You can fix any small mistakes you make in giving orders easily and quickly. Aspyr also wasn't afraid to step in when necessary. The game's dialog options are just too small to be navigated with fingers, so Aspyr added option buttons on the side of the screen that are easy to choose as you chat with the game's many, many characters. The game's graphics are showing their age, and optimizing them for the iPad probably didn't help the fidelity at all. But that's not a major concern, considering the game was first released in 2003. The real strength of this game is how it puts you smack dab in the middle of a great Star Wars story, and the graphics are good enough that they don't get in the way. The voice acting enhances the experience, too. Knights of the Old Republic's original voice acting was stellar, and it's back here in all of the great stories and dialog lines that Bioware originally put together. HK-47 is a fan-favorite character from Knights of the Old Republic, and while I haven't reached his part in the story on my iPad yet, I am sure that he's just as hilariously evil as always. In short, Aspyr has delivered a classic game in an expertly ported form. If you've never played Knights of the Old Republic, you're in for a treat, but realize that you're getting into a major RPG campaign. This title will likely have way more depth and story than your average Jetpack Joyride or Angry Birds games. And if you have played Knights of the Old Republic once or even twice in the past, you'll probably appreciate another playthrough even more on Apple's excellent touchscreen platform. I had no inkling at all that this was what Aspyr was thinking of when they mentioned earlier this year that they were planning on porting some classic titles to iOS, but I'm glad this is what they started with. I can't wait to see more classic and revered games make their way from the Mac platform over to the iOS App Store with Aspyr in the captain's seat.
SWTOR uploads new companion HK-51's backstory
Coming to Star Wars: The Old Republic in Update 1.5 is the game's first additional post-launch companion: HK-51. BioWare's crafted an encyclopedia entry designed to get us familiar with the substance and style of this new character. Based off of Knights of the Old Republic's HK-47 (who is also in SWTOR), HK-51 is a more advanced droid assassin model that prizes "efficiency over brutality." While remarkably effective at killing, the HK-51s were all but destroyed. Only a single crashed ship carrying the remainder of their kind is reported missing on Belsavis. BioWare also mentions another starship that may have design blueprints for the droid, but it too is lost. The droid assassin will be obtainable in a new area on Belsavis that also comes with the update, although free players will need to purchase this content to gain access to the companion.
Jukebox Heroes: Guild Wars Prophecies
What's that, you say? A cheap tie-in, you say? Oh, pish posh. It just so happens that I appreciate the rich oeuvre of Jeremy Soule, and the alignment of the planets is... OK, it's a cheap tie-in. I can't help it; Guild Wars has been on my mind this past week, and since the full Guild Wars 2 soundtrack has yet to ship for DirectSong, this will do. Besides, as we well know, music doesn't age at the same pace as games. So why not hit up a soundtrack for the first Guild Wars while we dive into the sequel? At the risk of understatement, I think it's safe to say Jeremy Soule is somewhat well-known in the field of gaming. As a composer, he's tackled projects like Knights of the Old Republic, Icewind Dale, and the last three Elder Scrolls titles. In the Guild Wars community, he is the voice of the musical soul of the game. His compositions are the stuff of heaven: full, ethereal, dreamy. It's almost impossible to separate Soule's work on Guild Wars: Prophecies from the game, especially for those who played Prophecies extensively since its 2005 release. I'll be eager to digest and report on his newest work when it arrives, but until then, let's sample the highlights of his first foray into Tyria.
Hyperspace Beacon: Top five SWTOR launch day secrets
It's official: The year's most highly anticipated MMO is no longer anticipated. As of today, Star Wars: The Old Republic has officially launched in both North America and Europe (and our Australian friends have had it shipped from the US). Despite some earlier issues about the time of delivery, everyone who pre-ordered can play on launch day thanks to the 48-hour grace period and the adjusted shipping date for most retailers. I guess that'll teach BioWare not to release so close to Christmas. Now that you have the game in your hands, what do you do? Of course, you enter in the code to your SWTOR account, but I mean, what do you do once you get into the game? First, if you have absolutely no clue which direction to go, you should read a couple of the class introductions in Massively's giant SWTOR pre-launch guide. Once you've decided on a class, hop past the break as I give you my top five things you must watch out for very early on in the game -- things that will make your launch day experience just a bit more interesting.
SWTOR: Ten things you need to know about companions
For those of you who have never played a BioWare RPG before (or any single-player RPG, really), the concept of "companions" may initially strike you as strange. After all, in MMOs we're so used to jaunting off into the wilderness solo without some semi-intelligent NPC tagging along for the ride, so for a game to inform us that we not only will have them but will have to use them all the time may feel odd. If so, we're guessing you've never been into pet classes, either. Companions are one of the long-standing features of BioWare RPGs; they're both useful fighters who help keep you alive and persistent beings whom you get to know, develop relationships with, and affect in significant ways. In the past, BioWare companions have often been cited as the most memorable parts of the studio's games, from Baldur's Gate II's Minsc to Mass Effect 2's Mordin (to name two of my all-time favorites). Yet in MMOs, companion NPCs aren't that common, and if you're feeling a little bewildered at the thought of having one at your side at all times in Star Wars: The Old Republic, then we're here to lay out for you 10 reasons why companions are as useful as all get out -- and why you're going to love them like crazy before too long.
The Perfect Ten: Ways to prepare for the coming of SWTOR
Welcome to a very special edition of The Perfect Ten, the column that my two toddlers contribute to with their awe-inspiring counting abilities! With last week's dropping of Star Wars: The Old Republic's NDA, the internet has exploded with information, testimonials, and poorly spelled flamewars between the camps of believers and non-believers alike. It's a good time to be alive, eh? In the spirit of the NDA drop and the upcoming December 20th launch -- less than a month! -- I've put together a list of 10 excellent ways that a SWTOR fan can prepare him or herself for the coming MMOcalypse. I totally understand that it can be frustrating to be waiting for an anticipated game launch, feeling impotent with your inability to speed up time. However, taking action in other ways can help with the wait and make us feel like we're being productive. That's what I'm here for today. It's OK, there's no need to thank me. I get Light Side points for this.
Hyperspace Beacon: Illusion of choice
Before I begin this little rant about Star Wars: The Old Republic, there are a couple things I want to make clear: This edition of the Hyperspace Beacon will have a lot of spoilers, and I really like SWTOR as a whole. First off, the spoilers mentioned here will be about the DragonAge and Mass Effect series of games. If you have not played through either one of those games and do not want to know how some of that story turns out, then you may not want to read this article. Secondly, SWTOR is a wonderful game. I have played it on a couple of occasions, and I believe it exhibits some of the qualities that have been missing from many of the current MMOs -- specifically, story. By no means do I want to discourage anyone from playing or pre-ordering this game, so if you're on the fence about this game, you may not want to read on because this article is not for you. Surely, fans of BioWare have played games like Mass Effect and DragonAge, and I hope you have played Knights of the Old Republic. These games really define what BioWare is and the types of games it can make. However, given some of the most recent announcements, I have to wonder if some of the staples that made these BioWare games great are going to be missing in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Have BioWare games gone from having choice to just the illusion of choice?
BioWare links SWTOR and KOTOR in a new novel
Just about everyone who has played Knights of the Old Republic wants to know what happened to Revan after the game was done. After all, he was the main character for 60-plus hours of gameplay. Who wouldn't be attached? BioWare announced today that those fans will get their wishes fulfilled. Drew Karpyshyn, a principal writer for Star Wars: The Old Republic and author of the Bane novels, has set his pen to another Star Wars book. This one simply titled after its primary protagonist: Revan. In an interview on the official SWTOR website, Karpyshyn gives us a tease as to how this novel will relate to the new MMORPG. I think the novel will give them a much better understanding of the Sith Emperor and the Empire, for one thing. The Old Republic Sith Empire is very different from what people know from the movies, or even from the Great Hyperspace War comics that focus on characters like Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh. The novel will also give them some very direct background and detailed information that ties in directly with key Flashpoints in the game. I can't say too much, of course, but like any great prequel the books will give you the details of what came before to add an extra layer of depth to the experiences in the game. Although he does not mention an exact date for the book's release, we do know that it will come later this year. This reporter hopes that it is before the release of SWTOR.
Hyperspace Beacon: The BioWare schtick
I'm going to dote a little on BioWare for a bit. Specifically, I would like to dote on Knights of the Old Republic, the precursor to Star Wars: The Old Republic. I want to accentuate the positive up front here, because in a moment I will say things that may be construed as negative. However, they're not. I have complete respect for what BioWare has done and is doing. KOTOR was built on an original gaming engine (the Odyssey Engine). This gaming engine was designed as a 3-D version of the Infinity Engine, which is video game engine specifically designed to emulate mechanics found in the Dungeons and Dragons pen and paper game. In 1998, Baldur's Gate (Infinity Engine) -- which was said, at the time, to be like Diablo but more story-driven -- won the Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Computer Game. KOTOR, using a 3-D version of the same engine, is not lacking in its awards. It won game of the year from the Game Developers Choice Awards, Computer Gaming World, IGN, GMR Magazine, PC Gamer, Xbox Magazine, and G4, among other awards too long to list here. The point of this is to show BioWare's track record and to show that BioWare went so far as to build a story-making game from the ground up. Now, based on reports from Gamasutra, BioWare is using the HeroEngine for SWTOR, but that, obviously, does not mean there will be less focus on storytelling in the game. But has BioWare's storytelling energy finally run out? Have the original ideas presented in KOTOR and Baldur's Gate diminished to monotony? Has BioWare become -- dare I say it -- predictable? If it has, is that a bad thing? Continue reading to explore these ideas.
SWTOR finds a companion for the Jedi knight
In SWTOR's Deceived trailer, there was an odd shot of the Jedi leader giving a signal to an astromech droid. Per usual, the writers at BioWare do not put anything into their trailers without a specific reason. This past Friday, that little droid was revealed to be a companion for the Jedi knight class, named T7-O1 (tee seven - oh one). This little bot calls back to both T3-M4 of Knights of the Old Republic and, of course, R2-D2 of the Star Wars movies. In fact, his attitude is very similar to R2-D2's. According to the companion page on SWTOR's official site, he considers his owners to be more like partners and less like masters. T7-O1 was activated over two centuries before the Treaty of Coruscant and has yet to be memory-wiped in that whole time. He remembers every organic he has ever worked with, from the petty smugglers, to Senator Oodora of Manaan, to Captain Nico Okarr, and to Jedi Master Ven Zallow, whom we witnessed being killed by Darth Malgus in the previously mentioned trailer. For your Jedi knight character, you can expect this droid to be an invaluable source of information. His surveillance, cartography, and data-slicing skills are unmatched. BioWare has not revealed where your Jedi knight will meet T7-O1, just like every other companion mentioned for this game, but rest assured, he's waiting for you somewhere in that galaxy far, far away.
