Thanks to IGN Pocket for their hands-on impressions of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, in which they discuss the tactical RPG GameBoy Advance title due out September 8th, and mention "The release of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is pretty historical, as it's the first [U.S.] Square game released on a Nintendo system since the company decided to pull the plug on Nintendo development back in the N64 days." Also discussed is the shrewd opening act, where there are "...a group of kids on a school's playground during wintertime, as a snowball fight breaks out... it's a very clever implementation of a training mission." Nintendo are pushing FFTA with an enticing bundle deal, although final English-language reviews, excepting this 'well-researched' one, are still pending.

Thanks to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (via Recordonline.com) for their article trying to characterize gamers into visual stereotypes. It starts: "It used to be that if you played video games more than casually you were labeled a nerd... Nerds, as an easily identified social group, don't exist anymore.", and goes on to describe "clans of specialist gamers" such as 'Survival horror junkie' ("Think goth kid from the '80s meets skate punk... the color for this season is black, black, and more black") or 'RPG obsessive' ("Little has changed with the outward appearance of role-playing game fans since the golden age of 'Dungeons and Dragons'") Is this simply lazy/offensive pigeonholing, or can you spot certain gamers on sight alone?

Thanks to The Magic Box for their new information on Sega's AGES 2500 Series remakes for PlayStation 2. We've covered the initial set of remakes, currently announced for Japanese release only, and including Phantasy Star, Fantasy Zone, Monaco GP, Space Harrier, and Golden Axe, but there's now a streaming trailer of the first titles (in 56k and broadband flavors), and details on the next games in the series: "Vol.6:Virtua Racing - remake of Model 1 3D racing game, Vol.7:Last Bronx - remake of the Model 2 arcade fighting game, Vol.8:Phantasy Star 2 - remake of Mega Drive RPG, Vol.9:Phantasy Star 4: The End of Millennium - remake of Mega Drive RPG."

Thanks to RPGnet for posting an article interviewing a cross-section of the women at the GenCon gaming convention, and discussing how they fit into a "cohesive, well-established, largely male-oriented culture." The author of the piece interviews individuals that she classifies as the 'young gamer', the 'entrepreneur', the 'organizer', and the 'booth babe', among others, and tries to illuminate "how women fit themselves into the loose conglomeration that is gamer culture, and how they formed their own unique subset of gaming."

Thanks to RPGDot for their Lionheart information page, which points to GamersWithJobs' first impressions of the PC RPG, which is developed by Reflexive, published by Interplay's well-known Black Isle RPG division, and has just shipped to stores. GamersWithJobs have positive impressions of this alternate-history title, which is set in 1588, when "...Europe is still reeling from the disjunction, a cataclysm that unleashed magic and demons on the world five centuries earlier during the Third Crusade, whereupon vengeful foes Richard the Lionheart and Saladin were forced to join forces to turn back the deluge of evil." The piece also points out that "...while the demo proved to be substantially more difficult than the final product, the mechanics of the game are faithfully represented in that demo and serve as fair warning for those attached to turn-based game styles."

Thanks to Eurogamer.net for their preview of Vampire:The Masquerade - Bloodlines, with new info and screenshots on the FPS/RPG hybrid from Troika, the creators of Fallout and Arcanum, and the first announced title apart from Half-Life 2 to use Valve's Source Engine. According to a Troika representative, "Bloodlines is the first game to combine the classic RPG feel with a first person shooter engine", and Eurogamer also single out the return of the classic RPG 'conversation tree' as providing fresh gameplay ideas: "For example, your character may have excellent seduction skills, or be part of a specific clan that allows you to ask questions or offer responses otherwise unavailable to you, and these 'special' branches of the conversation will be shown in a different font to indicate this."

Thanks to Planet GameCube for their report on how the newly released Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is faring in the Japanese press. This GameCube action RPG, which came out on August 7th in Japan, but is now delayed until February 2004 State-side, scored 32/40 and a Gold Award in the often strict Famitsu Weekly, and a Famitsu reviewer commented: "The one player mode feels a bit lonely as the gameplay tends to become routine. However, the game becomes more interesting in the multiplayer mode, where players can execute combination magic and work together to beat the boss. The fun factor is doubled." There's more info via hands-on impressions at IGN Cube, who seem to like the single-player campaign somewhat better.

Thanks to RPGVault for their interview with World Of Warcraft producer Mark Kern, discussing Blizzard's forthcoming massively multiplayer RPG. He particularly stresses depth of content, especially relevant since recent allegations against Star Wars Galaxies: "I think one thing that sets us apart, aside from all the little things that go into our interface, quest-driven gameplay, and instanced dungeons, is the fact that there is so much to do in the game. This is also the key to retention. We have a huge amount and variety of places to explore that are packed with special locations, encounters, story and quests." He also discusses different play styles, saying the game will offer "..outdoor content for soloing, dungeons that offer cool loot and encourage grouping to succeed, and heavy boss encounters that require large guilds to take out."

Thanks to UGO.com for their hands-on preview of Ion Storm's Deus Ex:Invisible War, the forthcoming sequel to the much-acclaimed FPS/RPG hybrid. The feature starts: "Few RPGs have offered the level of open-ended gameplay, the Hollywood-quality back story, or the innovative character development that Deus Ex did", and goes on to describe the changes to the sequel, which include a "simplifying [of] its character-development system" and a new interface that's "similar to Metroid Prime's visor view" - in fact, "when a menu pops up, it'll be emblazoned directly on [the new lead character] Alex's eye." The game is currently due out this December for both PC and Xbox.

Thanks to several readers for pointing out that Paul Slocum's new, in-development Atari 2600 RPG, which we've mentioned previously on Slashdot, is now revealed to be using the official Homestar Runner license. According to the newly-released info, "Mike and Matt Chapman (creators of Homestar Runner) will be contributing story, graphics, and creative ideas to the game", and you will be able to "...play as Homestar, Poopsmith, or Strongsad" and, as before, "...fight enemies from other Atari 2600 games" when the game is released as an actual cartridge, early in 2004.

Thanks to GameSpy for their Spy/Counterspy column discussing the relative advantages and disadvantages of Western and Japanese RPGs. According to GameSpy editor Benjamin Turner's less-enthusiastic view of Japanese RPGs: "I want to create my own characters instead of playing someone else's; I want to explore a world at my own pace rather than being shuffled through a pre-planned, linear progression. Most of all, I want to be able to replay a favorite game and have a very different experience." However, editor Christian Nutt's rebuttal suggests: "While there are entertaining elements to Western RPGs... the way that all of the design elements of a great Japanese RPG work in concert to offer a truly engaging experience as a whole is what really excites me the most."

KrinnDNZ writes "So White Wolf has been providing us geeks with angsty roleplaying pleasure as vampires, werewolves, and various other beasties, ever since the early 90s. Guess what - it's over. I'll have to admit that it takes guts to have your RPGs' 'big story' include the end of their world, but they're doing it, and they've got a date, 171 days from now." This seems to mean that well-known pen-and-paper RPG titles like Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Mage: The Ascension, and Hunter: The Reckoning are genuinely being retired.

Thanks to GameZone for their interview with Brian 'Psychochild' Green of Near Death Studios, talking about their resurrection of the 3D graphical MMORPG for PC, Meridian 59, which first launched in 1996, a year before even Ultima Online. Some of the original developers bought the property back from 3DO in 2001, and are "unveiling a new graphics engine" at this year's GenCon. According to Brian, "We think that Meridian 59 still has a lot to offer online RPG fans with it's innovative gameplay, interesting character advancement, well-balanced PvP, and great communication tools. Unfortunately, the graphical presentation gets in the way of people appreciating the game."

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to the GameSpy preview of LucasArts' Gladius, a PS2/GameCube/Xbox "epic tactical RPG that'll have you building an army of gladiators, one axe swing at a time." There's also a new Gladius preview at RPGamer giving a combat overview: ".. [it] takes place on a standard, tactical-RPG square grid, but the graphics do a good job of hiding it... combat is turn-based, but.. using certain attacks on a foe necessitates the use of several action/arcade elements, such as combo attacks strung together by timed button-presses." They also comment on the unexpected genre choice: "American-developed as it may be, Gladius is a tactical RPG that takes its cue from the old favorites, while at the same time trying to expand the genre." Might this title improve on LucasArts' recent efforts?

Thanks to EvilAvatar for pointing to a recent update at the sadly semi-retired ToastyFrog site, in which Nintendo and Square are added to the list of The 20 Most Embarrassing Game Companies. A gentle roasting is applied to Nintendo for being "..called the gaming equivalent of Walt Disney. Partly because their work is innovative, polished and marketable, but also because a pervasive stench of evil hovers over the company", and a similar treatment is applied to Square, of which ToastyFrog posits: "Which is worse, the company, its fanboys or its ex-fanboys? The world may never know." However, this tongue-in-cheek cynicism produces plenty of good points, most notably Square's Tom Sawyer RPG as a "terrible cultural hiccup."

Thanks to IGN PC for their hands-on preview of Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates, the unique-looking massively multiplayer puzzle RPG from Three Rings Design for Windows and Linux. According to the article, "For anyone who ever wasted hours playing Tetris or Bejeweled, this is the game that takes that style of entertainment to the next level", and the concept of playing puzzle games to win money and buy property in this "quirky persistent state world", currently in open Beta, is discussed enthusiastically - the screenshots on the official site seem about right for those puzzle game freaks looking for a little social contact and eye patches with their puzzlin'.

Thanks to RPGDot for pointing out there's a trailer for Microsoft/Gas Powered Games' Dungeon Siege II available from the official DSII site, as well as via Gamers Hell, showcasing a lush cinematic-style teaser (using the in-game engine) for this PC RPG sequel, which is simply listed as "coming 2004". The original Dungeon Siege was largely well-received, but sparked some complaints about repetitiveness/linearity, so it'll be interesting to see how the sequel develops the gameplay.

Thanks to GameSpot for their article revealing the first details on Xenosaga Episode II, subtitled 'Jenseits von Gut und Bose' ('Beyond Good And Evil'), and a follow-up to the popular, if long-winded PS2 sci-fi RPG from MonolithSoft/Namco. Screenshots reveal the major characters have returned, "..and some of them have been given a more-mature look for the new game." In related news, GamePro reported on new details and screenshots from MonolithSoft's GameCube-exclusive RPG, Baten Kaitos (named after a star in the Cetus constellation), which is "set in a collection of five floating continents in the sky", and surprisingly, has a "..fighting system [which] will involve the use of cards." Both are likely, but as yet unconfirmed for release outside Japan.

DrStrange66 writes "Escape Velocity: Nova, one of the greatest games to ever come out for the Mac OS, is now available for Windows over at the Ambrosia Software site - try it out!" You'll get 30 days free play before registration is needed for this 2D shareware title, the third in a series, which has a myriad of Mac fans, and has been described in enthusiastic reviews as "equal parts trading sim, action-adventure, strategy game, and even contains elements of an RPG". There's more info in the official FAQ.

Thanks to IGN Xbox for their full review of Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic, the ravenously-awaited Xbox RPG from BioWare, which has gone gold and ships on the 16th July (Wednesday) in the U.S. The review gives the game 9.5 out of 10, and concludes that KOTOR is "..an outstanding game because it covers every single angle in terms of audience expectations. It's got enough Star Wars to satisfy the fans and enough pure fun to draw in people who normally wouldn't get into role-playing games. You'll see this on several Game of the Year nomination lists." There's also a mini-review at Unlimitedlives.com which is similarly effusive, if a little brief.