Wanna make your very own game? Well, here’s your chance!

Epic Games has released the Unreal Development Kit. Wondering just what the UDK is? Says Epic:

The Unreal Development Kit is the free version of the award-winning Unreal Engine 3, the software development framework used to create computer and video games, 3D simulations, TV shows, films and more

Anyone can download UDK and work with the same game development tools used to create blockbuster games, architectural walkthroughs and digital movies. UDK ships with the latest version of the Unreal Editor, with its unrivaled content creation toolset and rapid prototyping functionality.

UDK is free for noncommercial and educational use. Licensing terms are available to those who wish to sell UDK-powered games or to create commercial products or services for business use at www.udk.com/licensing.

You can grab your very own copy of the Unreal Development Kit, as well as trailers for the kit and sample games built using the kit, over on FileFront. So, go get your game making on!

Grab it here: http://www.filefront.com/listing/pub2/Unreal-Development-Kit

Maybe I’m dating myself a little, but I can remember classic turn-based RPGs well enough that I get a little offended when I hear myself call them classics. (Does that mean I’m officially old now?) It’s a genre that I’ve gotten away from in years past, as I moved into shooters, MMORPGs, and other types of games. So I am sure you’ll forgive my skepticism of a little game I got my hands on last week, Nostalgia for the Nintendo DS. After all, how well will a classic, turn-based JRPG appeal to me now?

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Before I start on this review, I want to make something clear: I don’t normally use my Wii. After all, once the novelty of the machine wore off, the only reason it ever gets turned on is so my wife can use Wii Fit. The main reason is that I haven’t found any games that can hold my interest.

So you can imagine that I was a bit incredulous when I got a copy of Muramasa: The Demon Blade to review. Sure, I knew the game had won all sorts of ‘Best of E3′ awards, but I was still not sure about it. I sat down and started playing, and I found myself really enjoying the game.

Muramasa is a classic, side-scrolling action RPG. This first thing that hits you when you start the game is the look and feel. If you played Odin Sphere on the PS2, you’ll recognize the style, and you’ll be impressed. The graphics aren’t 1080p, or high-def, but they are endearing and attractive. The graphics are more like living art than what you’d expect from a video game.

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I have to admit to having a healthy dose of skepticism about Batman: Arkham Asylum. After all, the history of superhero-based video games isn’t exactly all rosy and happy. Just in recent times, there’s been a good Hulk game, a bad Hulk game, an Iron Man game with horrid controls, and a Wolverine game that was actually quite good.

My trepidation was somewhat relieved when I got my hands on the demo and found it to have great atmosphere, great pacing, and great voice acting. Now I’ve had my chance to play the full game, and in short, it far exceeds any expectations I had.

Arkham Asylum opens as Batman transports his arch-nemesis, The Joker, to Arkham Asylum. Soon after arriving there, the Joker breaks free of his restraints and takes over the asylum, leaving Batman to pursue him through a myriad of obstacles the Joker puts in his path.

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One of my all-time favorite blogs to read is Tobold’s. It’s a great place to get a fresh take on everything that’s happening in the MMORPG world. As I was perusing his site over the weekend, I ran across this article.

In short, he refers to the recent rumors that Blizzard’s Chinese World of Warcraft servers aren’t going to be coming back up anytime soon. For those of you who aren’t aware, Blizzard recently transferred their license to operate WoW in China to NetEase, away from The9.

The9 filed several lawsuits in an attempt to stop this transfer, and the Chinese government accordingly refused to give NetEase a license to operate WoW, saying that “in order to protect the interests of domestic gaming enterprises,” they would “suspend review of all games belonging to foreign companies in the event of lawsuits or arbitration between foreign companies and Chinese companies.”

The Chinese servers have already been down for a month or so, and there’s still no word on when they might return. This really doesn’t hurt Blizzard as much financially as you might think, as they received little revenue from the Chinese players, who pay as little as 6 cents an hour to play.

But how does this get Blizzard down to 5 million subscribers?

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OK, let’s be honest here. Who isn’t tired of the near-constant stream of music games? I realize that it’s a super-hot genre right now, but do we really need another music game? Yes, this also goes for Rock Band Beatles, or Guitar Hero: Twisted Sister, or whatever the next shameless cash grab may be.

Regardless of what we may think, Activision isn’t content to sit back and count all the money they’ve made from Guitar Hero so far. No, they’re going to release yet another iteration of the title.

Guitar Hero 5 will add some new functionality to the title, and strangely enough, it’s actually functionality that makes it a better party game than before. Chief among these new additions is the ‘Pick up and Play’ mode. This will allow anyone to grab an instrument, jump in, play for a few minutes, and drop out without failing or causing the rest of the band to fail. It’s perfect for those unscheduled bathroom breaks in the middle of a song.

They’re also including a RockFest mode to let you face off against four players locally, or up to eight online. Heck, you can even throw down with four guitars at once if you so desire. But the question remains: Do we really need another full game for this? Wouldn’t these features be awesome DLC for the folks who spent nearly $200 on Guitar Hero: World Tour? You could probably even convince those folks to pay for them!

Ah well, maybe I’m just a spoilsport. After all, at least they’re including 83 songs in this version, and all the World Tour DLC will carry over as well. Maybe I’m just sick of having all these plastic instruments clogging up my living room.

At any rate, there’s a brand new trailer showing off these new features. You can grab it over at FileFront, or catch the embedded stream after the break.

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Gaming is a great hobby, one I’ve spent most of my life enjoying as a whole while moving from system to system, player group to player group but in reflection I find that I can illustrate my past with RPGs in one basic role – Storyteller.

I’m one of the lucky few out there who seems always consigned to the role of preacher, and never groom or groomsman. What do I mean by this? Well its simple. In over 20 years of playing pen-and-paper RPGs I have almost always been the DM. Sure I’ve gotten to play in more than a few campaigns over the years, but by and large if someone gets excited about a new setting or rule system and wants to have adventures in it (including myself I might add) for whatever reason I end up the one tasked with learning the rules, building the world and running the adventure.

I guess it’s rewarding to be in this position of trust and pseudo-respect. (pseudo because players tend to only respect you insomuch as it benefits them over the long term – which is painful to admit but true). I’ve been at it long enough that regardless of the actual system I find it easy to weave together a story. I also  learned long ago that too much preparation is not only unnecessary to the fun, but can be detrimental to your mental health as a storyteller.

This month, Wizard’s of the Coast is really pushing the concept of Dungeon Master Appreciation month. A concept introduced within the monthly column by staffer/blogger/sorcerer Shelly Mazzanoble, the self-appointed D&D Player-in-Chief. Shelly’s column in last month’s Dragon Magazine discussed her realization that the DM in her colorfully discussed tales often goes unappreciated by his players, and from time to time it’s a good idea to thank the person facilitating the game you enjoy playing.
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The Tower of the Twelve is opening it doors to heroes as the twelve face their greatest hour of need. Within its walls, the Planecallers will gate you to Shavarath, Plane of Battle. Here the devils, demons and archons issue forth from their fortresses to clash endlessly on the wasted battlefield.

I recently had the pleasure of going on an expedition to Shavarath lead by Kate Paiz, Senior Producer of Dungeons & Dragons Online. As we fought our way across the blasted battlegrounds, she revealed a wealth of information about the future of DDO: Ebberon Unleashed. Prepare for a divination on the Ebberon setting, the DDO store, the free-to-play model and why keeping your subscription and becoming a VIP member is an awesome deal.
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I don’t know about the rest of you, but the announcement that LucasArts was reviving some of their back catalog got me excited. After all, who didn’t love games like Star Wars Republic Commando and Battlefront II? In addition, there’s Tales of Monkey Island as a brand new title from Telltale Games.

If reading Eva’s impressions of Monkey Island got your interest up, I’ve got some good news for you.

FileFront now has the playable demo of Guybrush Threepwood’s triumphant return for you to download and try out. Simply click this link to head over and download the demo from FileFront’s fast, free servers.

I fully expect you all to come back here and tell us what you think of the demo. After all, that’s why we have the comments section.

Telltale is bringing a new generation of gamers fresh Tales of Monkey Island. The new episodic adventure games plays like Sam & Max or Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People. That is to say it plays like the original classic point-and-click adventure game, the Secret of Monkey Island. For the maiden voyage of Tales of Monkey Island, Telltale presents the first of five monthly episodes, Launch of the Screaming Narwhal available today for the PC or as WiiWare..

I’m a veteran of the Monkey Island series. Although I’m really looking forward to the re-imagined Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition coming out later this summer, I was very excited about new stories featuring Guybrush Threepwood, and those mysterious monkeys. I can honestly tell you that Telltale has done an excellent job retaining the bumbling, yet witty and sarcastic Guybrush Threepwood and the ensemble of characters that keep this setting fresh almost 20 years after the first game launched.

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