Newsy, news!

Lately I've been trying to write as many reviews as possible to try to keep the Steam store page for I Game, I Saw, I Conquered (it's here if you want to, you know, make it 9 followers) poppin' for my 8 (yes, an entire 8!) followers.  As a result, I haven't really written much about any current items of interest.  A few items have popped up that are of great interest to me personally and that might interest one of the other eight people out there.

Interesting news tidbit #1

There's a Theme Hospital re-boot in the works!  I've mentioned my love of this childhood favorite many, many times on this here blog (not as much as Mass Effect, but still...a lot).  The original creators have founded a new software company, Two-Point Studios, and have been developing the modern version of the 1997 classic.  From the videos that have been released it looks like the same goofy sense of humor has been infused into TwoPoint Hospital--there are patients wandering around with lightbulb shaped heads who have a case of "lightheadedness," and require treatment via having their lightbulb heads taken off with a special machine and replaced with an actual head.  Here is the trailer:

I've been floored since initially hearing this news and have now taken to trying to track down any little pieces of information about the new game.  It's slated to be released this year and, if you're as excited as me, you can sign up for updates at https://www.twopointhospital.com/.  You can also wishlist it on Steam and bounce in your chair like a toddler.  That's probably just me.

Interesting news tidbit #2

The crew from Inquisition.

Supposedly there's a new Dragon Age in the works.  There have been Tweets and many gaming news sources have been reporting it this week.  This is a little surprising because much of everything that we've been hearing from BioWare has been targeted toward the upcoming multiplayer Anthem.  The news about Anthem has been slightly mixed with statements that it won't actually be released until 2019.  It also seems like some of the last news we heard was that the A-team was completely dedicated to the creation of Anthem.  So, if this Dragon Age thing is actually happening, my guess is that it's in the very early, early stages.

One of the most concerning parts of this Dragon Age related news is that there was much talk about including more "live elements."  What exactly does "live elements" mean?  Dragon Age:  Inquisition included multiplayer, so probably at least some sort of multiplayer.  There has been some speculation about co-op (which would be kind of cool).  At this point everyone also knows that EA's stance on any new games seems to be that they need to include an ongoing source of revenue...this means some sort of soul-sucking loot crates/boxes and an in-game system that encourages the purchases of said crate/boxes.

As a fan of the Dragon Age series, I really hope that they don't ruin the game by focusing solely on ways to suck people into microtransactions.  I've always loved BioWare for their single-player focus, strong storytelling, and great characters.  Lately it seems like they're being pushed away from this model and fans haven't been too happy (Mass Effect:  Andromeda...).  I've read several speculative articles that the future of BioWare could hinge on the success or failure of Anthem.  All this Dragon Age talk could be for naught, and realistically a new game is probably several years in the future.

Here's a link to a PC Gamer article about the new Dragon Age:  http://www.pcgamer.com/mark-darrah-confirms-that-bioware-is-working-on-a-new-dragon-age-game/