Yesterday, Bethesda released their long-awaited Creation Kit, which gives every owner of Skyrim on the PC access to modding tools. Not just any modding tools, but the same ones used by Bethesda to create the game. If you’ve already messed around with the tools for earlier Bethesda titles, then you should feel right at home here. Otherwise, you might check out their official YouTube channel, where they have already uploaded three tutorials on how to use the kit.

Also released was the Skyrim Workshop. Despite only having been up for less than 24 hours, there are already over 300 mods available. Most notable is one that was designed by Valve. This particular mod involves everyone’s favorite personality core, the Space Core. You will be able to watch him crash land, and listen to him babble on and on about the place he loves the most.

Last but not least, we have Bethesda’s super secret surprise. This one is a real treat. They’ve given us a High-Res Texture Pack. This takes their already beautiful game, and makes it look even better. Just be aware that with higher resolution textures comes greater hardware demands. The company recommends “a minimum of 4GB of system RAM, and a DirectX 9.0c compatible NVIDIA or AMD ATI video card with at least 1 GB of RAM.”

We’ve been keeping our eyes on Gotham City Impostors for a while now. The idea of a game set in Gotham City that doesn’t star The Dark Knight himself seems like a bold move. After all, what’s a Batman-themed game without Batman? Well, the game has finally gone live, along with some DLC.

When I say “some” DLC, I actually mean a shit-ton. If you try and browse the “new” section on your 360,  it will be full of Gotham City Impostors stuff. According to the official Xbox Live Marketplace listing, there are currently 105 pieces of downloadable content. Thankfully, it’s all cosmetic, and has no bearing on the game.

What’s really interesting is that while the content costs money, you don’t actually have to pay to unlock it. This can be accomplished simply by playing the game and completing certain tasks. The content on the Marketplace is simply there for those that are too impatient to wait.

There are thousands of keyboards on the market, and hundreds specifically targeting gamers. Even though there are so many to choose from, it can still be hard to find one that’s specifically tailored to you. Wouldn’t it be great if you could design your own custom keyboard? Then you don’t have to worry about showing up to a LAN and seeing the same one being used by the guy next to you.

WASD Keyboards specializes in custom mechanical keyboards. Each and every keycap can be modified to have the exact color, text, font, or symbol of your choosing. You can even upload custom artwork for the caps. You get your choice of laser etched, engraved, or both. If you hate having letters on your keys, you’re free to simply change the colors and leave them blank. Finally, you’re able to choose between Cherry MX Blue, Brown, Black or Red switches.

These custom keyboards start at $130 for blank caps, $140 for either etched or engraved, and $150 to have a combination of etching and engraving. Custom artwork is a bit more. You’re even able to order new sets of keycaps for $50-$70 per set. Coming in around the same price as other non-customizable mechanical keyboards, I’m interested to find out how these stack up to the competition. However, it sounds like a pretty good deal.

BioWare has already announced an upcoming iOS game for Mass Effect 3 called Mass Effect: Infiltrator, but this isn’t all that’s coming for fans. Yet another app has been announced by the developer, and this one is a bit different than an actual game.

The new app is called Datapad, and it is more of a social and interactive app. The Datapad app is coming to help fans “stay in touch with all of the info in Mass Effect 3.” Using the app, players can check the status of the ongoing war in the galaxy map, and they will even get test messages from in-game characters.

This is perhaps one of the coolest ideas I’ve seen come for a game, though it’s one many have imagined for a while now. To think that I could get a text from Joker, complaining about the crew on the Normandy? That would be awesome. I’m hoping that they can make some responses to send out if you were to actually reply to their messages too. Now that would be total win.

In a community where RPGs like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and World of Warcraft are the reigning kings, it can be hard to break the surface with a new RPG title of your own. The teams at Big Huge Games and 38 Studios didn’t let this slow them down, however, and from their combined efforts we’ve received a new title that’s more than up to the challenge. They have come together to release Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning – an RPG that’s got plenty of the elements that a game of its type needs at heart, all the while adding a new flair of gameplay that definitively sets the game apart from others in its genre. After getting a taste of the game, I’m most definitely convinced it can stand on its own against some of the bigger titles out in the community right now. Let’s take a closer look at just what Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning brings to the table.

Story and Graphics

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning takes players into a fantastic world that’s wrought with war. R.A. Salvatore once again crafts a story that brings yet another fantasy world to life. The beginning of the game sees the player’s character as they are revived through a wild experiment. A gnome has been furiously at work creating a contraption teeming with arcane energy. This project has been dubbed the Well of Souls, and it’s purpose is to return the soul of a lost life back to its body. Through this Well, your character has been snared back from the realm of the dead, to live once more. You learn that your character died while fighting the ongoing war that’s been plaguing the kingdom for far too long. Since this revival has taken place, it’s left you without a predetermined destiny. This brings with it some incredible power, as well as those who seek to take from you which you barely understand. As the game continues, the plot thickens and things take a wicked turn. Reckoning’s non-linear quest line help players to learn more about the game’s story, and Amalur itself.

When you look at Reckoning, easily the first thing you’ll notice are the high-quality colorful graphics. When it comes to the game’s art style, it’s best described as loud. With contrasting, vibrant colors, the game really jumps out at the player and makes discovering new areas a real event. Amalur’s bright landscapes and vast caverns really help to make trekking through to discover more of the world a real treat rather than a menial task. I found that no matter where I had to go, I constantly was looking around at the scenery, taking a moment to actually stop and smell the roses.

When it comes to the characters and enemies, however, they don’t necessarily share the same type of heights set by the game’s scenic locales. They still look good in their own right, but the attention to detail was obviously placed on the backdrops and world that Amalur presents. Don’t let this halt you, though. With the amount of detail that was paid to how the game presents itself as a whole, you’ll see that everything comes together quite nicely.

Even the character you choose has their own detail. At first you’ll choose from a list of presets, and then customize them from there on. You can choose your character’s hair style, facial hair, accessories, and even the depth of facial features. Reckoning really finds a way to take simplicity and make it perform at the top of its tier. By no means is the game terrible to look at. It may be a bit more cartooney than games like Skyrim, but it stays adult with gory cutscenes and high-octane gameplay.

Game Mechanics and Combat

When it comes to game mechanics, Reckoning has all the right pieces in all the right places. As an RPG, it needs to have plenty of dialogue, questing, plot advancement, and new discoveries to keep it playable. The game delivers on all of these aspects, all while adding in some new features that put it a step above the rest.

Character creation, while a bit simplified, is still unique. Players will be able to choose from one of the game’s four races to run: Almain (human), Varani (a winter-like human race), Ljosalfar (elves), and the Dokkalfar (dark elves). Each race has their own lore and racial abilities. There isn’t really much difference between the races, and the lack of diversity between them was a bit upsetting, but it wasn’t something that was game-breaking. I’d like to see more races to choose from, but it certainly didn’t put a damper on the fun of playing any of the ones available.

You’ll meet NPCs throughout your journey, just like with any other RPG. Each of these characters help lend some culture to the game in their own way. You’ll see gnomes, fae, humans, and tons of monsters along your pilgrimage across the lands of Amalur. These NPCs have received their own level of detail, but when it comes to them speaking, the detail ends there. I found myself feeling like I was talking to the same character over and over, and if I closed my eyes while speaking to different NPCs, this really set in. In short, the voice-acting isn’t a strong point in Reckoning.

As you progress through the game you’ll still continue to develop your character, even out to the later parts of the game’s story. As you kill enemies and complete quests you’ll earn EXP and level up. Character development is, again, simple yet it has depth. Level advancement has the player putting points into three different skill trees – Might, Finesse, and Sorcery. Might governs the skills of a warrior, while Finesse follows a more rogue-like approach. Of course Sorcery lends to the player’s magical abilities and the use of such abilities. At each level you’ll gain points which you can add to either tree – this means that there isn’t one set path for players to take. It really opens up the door for a type of experience that is tailored to the player’s specific style.

Characters also have skills that can be upgraded as you level. Some of these include Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Lockpicking, Persuasion, and more. At each level, you can increase one skill. As these skills increase you’ll unlock Milestones that will add new abilities and bonuses for each skill. For example, when leveling Alchemy, Milestones reached can help create more potent potions and discover more recipes while experimenting. Putting these skills to use is a great way to earn new equipment and items, as well as gaining buffs and staying ahead of the game. With Blacksmithing, you can salvage old pieces of equipment to gain regeants for use with the skill, as well as create brand new items using these regeants. Players can create new weapons for their class choice, as well as armor to suit. As you continue use with the skill, it will become stronger and of more importance.

A new feature that hasn’t been seen in other RPGs is the new Destiny system. Unlike normal mortals in the game, your Destiny is not fixed. Throughout the game you have the ability to choose from different Destiny cards which will grant new stat bonuses depending on the amount of points you have invested in a specific skill tree. You can choose from Destinies like the Acolyte, Initiate, Sage, and Sorceror. The game plays a lot off of these destinies, and being able to change them on-the-fly makes for a very interchangeable play style.

When it comes to combat, Reckoning certainly does it right. For an action-based RPG, the game certainly doesn’t pan out like others of its time. Combat is fluid, fast, and very efficient. With the pressing of one button you’ll be thrown into combos that will leave enemies laying lifeless on the ground. A simple system of one-button attack and defense never leaves the player feeling ambushed or underpowered.

You can equip primary and secondary weapons, allowing you to change combat tactics on-the-go. You can wield daggers and creep from the shadows, or take aim and knock enemies down with arrows from afar. Either way, there’s no stopping the might that your character brings in the heat of battle.

Switching equipment in the game’s inventory is as simple as right-clicking on it and selecting “Equip.” Each new piece of armor and new weapon have a distinct look and feel. Swinging longswords is effortless, though a little slow. Wielding daggers is quick and deadly. Using staves makes you feel like Gandalf in his most unstoppable of moments.

Perhaps the best thing about the gameplay elements in Reckoning is something that we mainly only see in MMOs – the ability to start all over with your skills and abilities at any point in the game. You’ll meet Fateweavers – people who can wipe your slate clean for a little bit of coin anytime you ask. Then you can re-spec all of your points back into your trees as you see fit. This means you can start the game as a hammer-wielding tank, and halfway through the game you can end up running a spell-slinging rogue who deals death in many different ways. This is where the game really shines.

The Conclusion

I’ll admit that when I first started playing Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning I wasn’t expecting anything amazing. Once I sat down and jumped into the game, however, I was more than pleasantly surprised. Reckoning’s perfect blend of action and RPG elements really make for a game that most certainly will be discussed already as a contender for 2012′s Game of the Year. Even devout players of Skyrim will be humbled to engage in Reckoning’s talent system and simplistic combat.

Reckoning isn’t at all a perfect game. I could stand to see more depth in character races, better voice-acting, and more attention to NPC detail, but it is still a game that will no doubt provide an experience that will bring the player back for many runs through the vast lands of Amalur. If I were to say that you should skip over this game, I’d be doing you a disservice as a gamer. Seriously, Reckoning has everything you want in a game and more. I’m nowhere near finished, and I can’t wait to get back in and lend my sword for the greater good of the world. As soon as you try your hand at this game, I have no doubt that you’ll feel the same.

A small indie team has been working on a new game called Hawken, and it looks pretty amazing. It’s going to be a FPS multiplayer mech title, and will place you in the cockpit of your very own mech suit. They have been working on this game for quite some time, and have been building up quite a lot of hype.

Adhesive Games, the studio creating this beauty, has finally announced a release date. You can expect the finished version on December 12, 2012. If you weren’t already salivating over the beauty and destruction, then you’ll be happy to know that it’s also a free-to-play game.

It seems that more and more games are starting to go that route. Having a price tag would not stop me from helping them continue to do what they’re doing, but I am definitely happy with a free-to-play too. You can sign up for the beta on the Hawken website here.

Mass Effect fans have been outraged as of late due to a mass amount of errors apparent in a new novel that has released for the game. The novel is Mass Effect: Deception, and it covers a Cerberus assassin as she journeys into the city of Thondu to pick up a rare artifact from an auction. Some of the errors in the novel include “a character ‘growing up’ from being autistic, turning Mass Effect’s only gay male character straight and then killing him, and being literally impossible to reconcile with the timeline made by the games, comics and other books.”

BioWare has released this official statement on the progress of the error corrections: “The teams at Del Rey and BioWare would like to extend our sincerest apologies to the Mass Effect fans for any errors and oversights made in the recent novel Mass Effect: Deception. We are currently working on a number of changes that will appear in future editions of the novel. We would like to thank all Mass Effect fans for their passion and dedication to this ever-growing world, and assure them that we are listening and taking this matter very seriously.”

There is no announcement on when the new editions of the book will release. If you want to keep up with the certain corrections to the novel’s errors, you can find them on the Mass Effect: Deception Wiki page. The fans have spoken, and BioWare is working on making amends.

“I am sworn to carry your burdens.” This has to be one of the most annoying lines I’ve ever heard in a video game. Out of context, it doesn’t seem that bad. However, when you’ve heard it a few hundred times, it really starts to get on your nerves. It’s not that I hate hearing repeated phrases mind you. Nor is it simply the sarcastic tone in which she says it. It’s the fact that even if I’m trying to hand her a sweet  new weapon that I’ve traveled the world to find, just for her, she still bitches about carrying my burdens.

There are a few ways to solve this problem. The easiest would be to utter those sweet, three little words that you know she deserves to hear. However, if you’d rather she stay among the living, rather than flying off the mountainside, you could always install the Less Bitchy Lydia mod.

This is one of the most beautifully simple mods that I’ve seen. The only thing it does is change the line “I am sworn to carry your burdens” to “What do you want me to carry?”. The line was already recorded, so it’s in the same voice that you would expect.

Sometimes you wonder why a game was created. Although I do enjoy the stupid hilarity of Family Guy, I can’t exactly see why Family Guy Online came into existence. However, it does actually look like fun, and is going to be Free-To-Play.

This browser-based RPG is going to feature all of your favorite characters and locations from the show, while also giving you a character creator. The Griffins will be NPCs that will give you quests and challenges that will probably send you into some interesting situations. You will be rewarded with clips from the show, and points that will go towards upgrades and items. The map you’ll be playing on will be somewhat realistic, as there is no actual map of Quahog in existence at the present.

It seems that even though it carries core mechanics from other successful RPGs, this game is going to be more for comedy than heroic deeds. As the actual show progresses, new DLC will crop up to keep things current for both show stories and real life events. Family Guy Online is doing a closed beta at the moment, but will hopefully have an open beta in the coming months.

If you’ve been patiently waiting for your chance to try the Diablo III beta, now is the time to check your inbox. Blizzard has just rolled out 100,000 more beta invites to players who showed their interest in the game. These invites were, as always, sent out through email, so that’s where you need to be checking.

The email also warns players to be weary of any phishing scams that are taking place right now. These types of things happen a lot, and Blizzard wants to ensure players that whenever they are contacted from the company, there will always be some sort of call sign attached. These emails, however, seem legitimate so there’s nothing to worry about.

If you managed to slip through the company’s fingers somehow, don’t worry. There will be more beta invite rounds to come. You just need to be patient, and just try not to cry. Even if they are manly tears.