BioWare officially announced Dragon Age III: Inquisition today in a post on the BioWare website by Executive Producer Mark Darrah. Darrah said that BioWare has been “working on it in some way for about two years now with the bulk of [their] efforts ramping up about 18 months ago.”

The announcement doesn’t come as much of a shock as many gamers assumed BioWare was already working on the next game the series, especially after rumors about the third title surfaced last month. Surprise announcement or not, actual details about the project are scarce.

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This week Obsidian Entertainment’s countdown ran out and revealed a brand new Kickstarter project called Project Eternity. So what is Project Eternity? It’s a “an isometric, party-based RPG set in a new fantasy world” from the people responsible for Fallout 1 & 2, Planescape Torment, and more.

According to the summary on the Kickstarter page, the game looks to combine the best aspects of Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale and ”tie it all together with the emotional writing and mature thematic exploration of Planescape: Torment.” Those are lofty promises, but if Obsidian is able to live up to them, then this game could be something special. Currently they have $604,405 pledged of the $1,100,000 goal.

[Kickstarter]

With the NHL in lockout one can’t help but wonder what this will mean for the EA Sports NHL franchise. During the last lockout, NHL 05 saw a drastic drop in sales numbers year over year. However, NHL 05 wasn’t really that great of a step above NHL 04.

Thankfully, NHL 13 is not only a solid title, but will surely keep you transfixed throughout the season – or lack thereof. It isn’t without its issues though so you may want to stick around before running out and hitting the ice. Read more… »

It’s a great week to be a PS+ member, as there are some pretty nifty deals this week. For starters, Double Dragon Neon, a brand new game, is free. If you’re a non-+ member you can also try the demo in lieu of the deal.

If you can’t fit enough beat ‘em ups in your life, you can also pick up the fairly awesome Scott Pilgrim game as well. If you’re really impatient, Jet Set Radio HD is yours a week early (in comparison to 360 and regular PSN folk) at a discounted price of $8.99.

Last, but not least, you can nab Max Payne 3 digitally for $40.49 until the 18th of this month. Make sure and do some comparison shopping before you buy it, but $40 isn’t bad. Out of all these, I heavily recommend Jet Set Radio HD, so long as you have an open mind towards quirky, cartoony games — it won’t let you down.

[Playstation Blog]

That headline has to be a little strange to read out loud, right? Not according to Square Enix! The recently announced Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, the sequel to Final Fantasy XIII and XIII-2, will be the last game to star Lightning.

The game’s director, Motomu Toriyama, told IGN that “the ‘Lightning Saga’ that began with Final Fantasy XIII — in other words, the characters and universe that revolve around Lightning — will come to an end with this installment.” So, in this game you’ll have 13 days to save the world, and then you’ll say goodbye to Lightning forever. Though, Toriyama adds that he’s sure “Lightning and the people around her will all have a happy ending.”

[IGN]

Games based on movies, comic books, television series, etc. are hit and miss. It doesn’t help their ratings much that they suffer more scrutiny from fans quick to denounce anything that may stray from the spirit of the original. Yet despite this uphill battle, the Ghostbusters franchise found itself in the hit category in 2009, with a 3rd person shooter from Atari (Wii version not withstanding). We gave it a 9.

Three years later, XMG Studio has tried to recapture some of that success with a new title for the iOS – Ghostbusters Paranormal Blast. However, it struggles more than Ray trying to wrangle Slimer into a ghost trap.

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Harmonix once again is attempting to win your heart over through a rhythm based game, fully set on magical roads of music, power-ups, and high scores.

No, this is not a rip-off of Audiosurf — this is from the developers of Amplitude and Frequency: games that pre-date Audiosurf by about five years.

This is Rock Band Blitz: a brand new game that cleverly trumps just about every controlled based rhythm game in the best decade.  Read more… »

The Penny Arcade Expo is heading to the outback! Well, not really. But it is going to Australia as the expo’s third location. The announcement came today at PAX Prime 2012 from Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins during their panel. They did not say what city will host the event.

The duo also announced during the panel that the Seattle-based show will be extended to a four-day extravaganza starting next year. This move is to spread out the tournaments and panels and bring in more visitors. Though, for gamers trying to attend the event on a budget, an extra day might hurt their already strained wallets.

[The Verge]

On Bloomberg today, President of EA labels Frank Gibeau says that the company is planning on “three to five new IPs” for the next generation of consoles “within the first twenty-four months” after their release. He also says that EA expects the new consoles “in about a year’s time.” This revelation comes after Microsoft and Sony have stayed notoriously tight-lipped about the consoles that everybody and their brother expects are in the works.

Gibeau also commented on EA’s “missteps” at the start of this console generation. However, by coming out and saying they’re working on new games and IPs, it looks like EA hopes to avoid the same mistakes. Gibeau says that this is “a big investment” for the company because they’re going to go after this “transition in a big way.”

[Bloomberg]

That lawyer guy Phoenix Wright sure is popular. He’s starred in multiple DS games, and he’s even got a musical all about him and his…lawyering. Anyway, now Mr. Ace Attorney can add iOS devices to his lawyer resume as Capcom revealed that Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy HD will arrive this fall.

The three original DS games have been upscaled and remastered in HD for this new release. Also the game has been fine-tuned to accommodate touch controls. Each full game in the trilogy will be available for download separately or part of a bundle. Capcom did not give any pricing info though. For those who have no experience with the Phoenix Wright games (myself included), the first two chapters of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney will be available for free as a demo.

It looks like PSone Classics have finally come to the PlayStation Vita, but watch out! Very few games will actually work if you download them through the PlayStation Store directly from your Vita at this time. Instead, you’re basically going to need to transfer them from your PS3 to your Vita, which sadly means you need a PS3.

In order to do the transfer, download the game through your PS3 and leave it in “bubble” form (uninstalled). Plug in your Vita and go to the Content Manager. Select the game (and hope it is compatible) and transfer it to your Vita. You can also transfer saves this way.

Note that not every game is compatible, so don’t rush off to just buy any PSone Classic assuming it’ll work on your Vita. Full user reported lists can be found here and here, since Sony isn’t content with giving their fans an actual list outside of nine “officially” supported US games (The EU has 100 and Japan has more than that).

A great deal has changed for the rhythm genre over the past decade. After experiencing a period of outrageous boom, things have been moving rather decidedly in the opposite direction for the past few years. A precipitous drop-off occurred in 2009, when the market reached the point of saturation, things have plodded along since but few releases have managed to capture community’s imagination, much less steal Guitar Hero‘s crown.

From that seemingly exhausted soil, however, emerges a PlayStation Network exclusive that is certain to provide a breath of fresh air for a genre that has become a tad stagnant. So, dust off those plastic guitars and read on to find out more Retro/Grade, a game that blurs the lines between music games and shmups to provide one of the standout PSN releases of the summer.

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