The Action RPG Revolution

RPGDot’s latest article takes a look at the gaming industry’s recent turn toward action RPGs and what effect they have on the future of CRPGs. A snippet:

Meanwhile, some big names are hard at work and they won’t be satisfied with anything less than genuine hits. Blizzard has spawned several new studios, founded by developers accustomed to big successes and undoubtedly expert at understanding the market. Time will tell but Flagship Studios and Castaway Entertainment will be aiming to produce polished and carefully tuned games designed to part wads of cash from average punters. ArenaNet’s Guild Wars is billed as a MMORPG but make no mistake – it’s a direct competitor to Battle.net. Don’t forget Iron Lore, co-founded by Age of Empires co-creator, Brian Sullivan and on the console side, BioWare’s Jade Empire.

Whether or not any of these games will crack the big time remains to be seen but the action RPG genre looks pretty competitive and studios will have to work hard to impress players with flawless execution or some real innovation.