The move to sack a hefty number of employees may be coming back to haunt publisher LucasArts. There's been word that a disgruntled employee who lost his job is out for a little payback. Information about future releases have allegedly been leaked. Know more in the full article up next.

Last week's game releases introduced a lot of fun games, such as Dr. Mario DX and Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness. This week, however, is the week for game ports, with Mac getting its own conversion of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC, PS3, Xbox 360), the Nintendo DS getting the arcade classic Super Dodgeball Brawlers, and many others.

* Article originally posted May 26, 2008 at 12:37AM

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick recently submitted himself to an interview where he said some not very nice things about Electronic Arts. While we can admit that the games giant has had trouble in the past as far as treating their employees are concerned, it's certainly no reason to liken EA to Soul Reaper's Raziel, right? All the details in the full article, as well as the quote itself that Bobby Kotick himself released.

Game Developers Magazine is starting a new trend, and it's to list out the Top 50 videogame developers of the year - just to give back to the groups that made our lives a bit more exciting through their realized (and digitized) works of art. Want to know if your favorite game developer made the list? Hit the full article to find out!

If you've dreamed of working for a gaming company, or if you want to see your game being played  - and loved - by other people, then you may consider this bit of news from BioWare your big chance. BioWare, the brains behind Jade Empire and Neverwinter Nights, is currently looking for new people to expand its growing team of talented game meisters. Do check out the full article for more details.

Various game companies are out to spread the holiday cheer by delivering several personalized digital Christmas cards dedicated to all gamers. You can take a look at the Christmas cards presented by PopCap Games, Marvelous Entertainment, Naughty Dog, Bioware and Square Enix in the full article.

After the news of the soon-to-be Activision-Blizzard merger, it seems there's a growing anticipation for consolidation within the game industry. The latest in the merger rumor mill is the one analyst's prediction that Take-Two Interactive would be taken up by another game entity. Find out who's top on Hickey's list at the full story.

 

LucasArts and Bioware Corp. have sent word that they have entered an agreement to create what appears to be a new game. No further details were announced, although the two promised that more information for this new product will be released in the near future. LucasArts president Jim Ward had this to say regarding the partnership:

LucasArts has a deep commitment to developing compelling stories and characters for the unique medium of interactive entertainment, and we have been searching for a developer that shares this value. We found this in BioWare. Through our previous collaborations, we know that BioWare has an impressive ability to blend gripping stories with technological advancements, and we believe that our upcoming product will deliver an experience that will span the traditional boundaries of video game entertainment.

We know what you're thinking (nope, we ain't Jedi) - could this new project possibly be the Star Wars MMORPG that BioWare's been rumored to be working on as far back as last year? It's a little too early to tell at this point, but given that the original Star Wars Galaxies MMORPG (developer by Sony Online Entertainment) has been struggling lately due to its past updates, we imagine this news leaves the longtime fans with a sense of new hope (pardon the pun).

On the other hand, we could also be looking at a new non-online RPG, hopefully within the lines of a KOTOR sequel. It might be a little redundant, though, given that LucaArts is already working on Star Wars: The Force unleashed for the Sony PSP, Sony PS3, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360. We'll let you know when the pair releases more info.

Back when computer role-playing games in the west were considered to be for pimple-faced geeks that used to confine themselves in Dungeons & Dragons, Japan was crazy over Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, and others that joined the bandwagon of the successful genre. America and Europe drooled over seductive elves and fought evil wizards for ages, while the land of the rising sun encountered bizarre creatures and embraced kids that eventually save the world.

Proving which of the two types is superior has been a hot topic for dedicated fans, making it interesting how what's enjoyable to some is simply odd to others. Only a few wouldn't favor one over the other, while the rest point at flaws apparent on both sides. Let's take a look at the elements that make western RPGs (WRPG) so different from Japanese RPGs (JRPG), and what strong points they have that leave gamers craving for more.

WRPG and JRPG girls face-off

Characters
Almost all WRPGs place players in the shoes of the main character. It's not an easy task (if not impossible) to name titles from renown developers like Black Isle Studios, Bethesda Softworks, and Bioware that don't offer aspiring adventurers the option to create their own characters. We've always seen humans, elves, dwarves, and other races take up various classes like fighters, clerics, wizards, and thieves.

Some argue that JRPGs aren't immersive because players are forced to play soon-to-be-heroes or warriors of light, but Japanese gamers seem to enjoy playing as someone else and are even able to relate with over-the-top personalities. Mute characters made to involve players in the story aren't enough to silence nitpickers, yet they seem to be effective as proven by Chrono Trigger and Pokemon. Instead of having cookie-cutter races and classes persistent in RPGs from the other side of the world, Japan had young boys fighting aliens and troubled esper girls escaping slavery.

We've only touched on the element of character here, so if you want to read the rest of this quick peek at the differences of WRPGs and JRPGs, then head on to the full article.