SOE Strips, Hustles, and… EverQuests?
By
Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor
Sony Online Entertainment announces High Stakes on the Vegas Strip PS3 poker game, Kung Fu Hustle online fighting game, EverQuest II: Rise of Kunark expansion.
Sony Online Entertainment, once known almost solely for its massively multiplayer online role-playing games, has recently branched out with online trading card games, downloadable retro arcade games for the PlayStation 3, and several PlayStation Portable projects. Today, the company further expanded its development slate with the announcement of three more projects: an original downloadable game for the PS3, an online fighting game based on a popular Hong Kong film, and another expansion to its EverQuest II MMORPG.
Set for release this summer, High Stakes on the Vegas Strip: Poker Edition will bring together five different variations of poker for up to six players online. It also supports PC Web cameras (as well as the PlayStation 2 EyeToy) so that players can judge their bluffing opponents' poker faces and hear their voices tremble. High Stakes includes versions of Texas hold'em, super hold'em, billabong, Tahoe, and Shanghai, as well as detailed stat tracking. High Stakes on the Vegas Strip: Poker Edition will sell for $9.99.
The next game comes from out of left field--or the Far East, anyway. SOE has charged its Taipai-based development studio SOGA to create a Kung Fu Hustle game for the Chinese market. Released in the US in 2005, Kung Fu Hustle was the most successful in a string of actor-director Stephen Chow's kung fu comedies (which also included Shaolin Soccer, God of Cookery, Forbidden City Cop, and Royal Tramp). According to SOE, the game will blend elements of traditional fighting games with the film's cast of characters and online action for up to eight players. The game will be free to play, but players will be able to buy items and extra lives for a fee.
In more familiar fare, SOE also announced the fourth EverQuest II expansion, Rise of Kunark. Those who purchase the game at retail will also receive the base EverQuest II game, the three previous expansions, and an in-game pet. As for the expansion's features, it includes a new playable race in the dragonlike Sarnak, as well as new quests, weapons, armor, zones (many based on original EverQuest locations), and even new deities to worship. Rise of Kunark will launch "on or around" November 13 in stores and online for $39.99.
By
Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor
Brendan Sinclair has been a games journalist since 1999. His tastes are eclectic, though he has a definite affinity for games with arcade roots. He's Canadian, but has also been at home in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, and San Francisco.
53 comments
People seem to think just because WoW only has one expansion a year that games previous to it didn't have multiple expansions. It's funny how WoW players think they're oldschool. EQ 2 expansions have WAY more content than a WoW patch. Not quite as much content as BC itself did, but I'd estimate about 2/3 the content. I really hate the EQ 2 haters in WoW and the WoW haters in EQ 2, because generally you can tell neither has played the other game. Since I've played both it's obvious to me that they're just talking out of their ass. Same with EQ 1 expansions- People were playing that content 3-4 expansions later. Raid content in WoW is obsoleted as soon as an expansion comes out. MC, BWL, AQ, etc. all that stuff can hardly be counted as mainstream WoW content anymore, just as Kara, Gruul's, SSC, Mag, BT, etc. will be added to that list when the next expansion launches.
EQ 2 was the worse peice of trash i ever played... i made it to 20 and then it seemed like it to weeks to lvl after
"EQ2's 4th expansion? That's funny. Most other MMO's just call them "patches" or "updates" and are FREE." Every MMO gets expasions, and they cost money. EQ2 has probably the largest free updates from all MMOs. Stupid people." Theyre not free, cos the majority of the time you pay monthly to play an MMORPG. The money you pay them goes towards patches.
"EQ2's 4th expansion? That's funny. Most other MMO's just call them "patches" or "updates" and are FREE." Every MMO gets expasions, and they cost money. EQ2 has probably the largest free updates from all MMOs. Stupid people.
Quote: ---- EQ2's 4th expansion? That's funny. Most other MMO's just call them "patches" or "updates" and are FREE. ---- Yes, just like Burning Crusade was free. Or Factions, Nightfall, or the upcoming Eye of the North will be free. Or DDO: Forsaken Lands. Or Zilart, Promathia, or Urhgan. The $40 for this EQ2 expansion also provides the original game and the previous three expansions (Desert of Flames, Kingdom of Sky, Echoes of Faydwer). As some one who skipped a couple expansions, I think this is a great value.
Kung Fu Hustle! Heck yeah, sweet movie. Heck, they could just make a deal with the folks that made Rag Doll Kung-Fu and have it on the market real quick.
Actually one of the rare cool things SOE is doing, if it wasn't for having to zone, I would probably play eq2. Anyway playable sarnaks very cool.
EQ2's 4th expansion? That's funny. Most other MMO's just call them "patches" or "updates" and are FREE.
Seriously, please run your articles through a spellchecker, I'm pretty sure Taipei is included in whatever spellchecking software you're using. Other than that, I'd love to play that Kung Fu Hustle game, and I'm definitely sure that the Eye Toy poker could be used for strip poker purposes, but... would you really want to see most of the people you would be playing against in the nude? I wouldn't.
Oh, I thought it was strip poker, lol... I thought SOE had completely lost their minds. Of course, with Eye Toy support, it might go that way regardless, lol.
interesting use of wording there "High Stakes on the Vegas Strip: Poker Edition" so that anyone who reads it quickly will see it as strip poker. I got all excited there but i notice it has use of the eye toy so it could well be used for that anyway which i have no doubt was part of the idea.
I'm with everyone begging for the Kung Fu Hustle game... that would be so amazing. I got excited when I saw the title of this article.
Everquest 2 is still around? I thought everyone and their mothers converted to World of Warcraft...
Ooo, another expansion I won't buy. No more SOE for me thanks, they ruined the original EQ enough to keep me away for good.
4/4/4/4 Pre-CU Pre-NGE Gaurdian here. 1.2 years of my life to get the most powerful character possible (I still got owned by the other gaurdians...I don't have THAT much time and effort to put in to harvestors :P) F U SOE.
They need to get that Kung Fu Hustle game in the US NOW!!!!!! I will own all of you scrubs with the Buddha Palm!!!!!!!
Im agreeing with Satanmar and barne1dr as a SWG veteran: FU SOE But as a PS3 owner, im looking forward to this poker game, and a Kungfu hustle game sounds pretty cool.
Sony, please don't be satisfied with bringing the game based on KUNG FU HUSTLE only to China, the USA is definitely a good market for this one!
I thought the title inferred some kind of stripping.. Turns out it's just a Kung Fu Hustle game. That will be an interesting license to take advantage of.
This will be nice, my brother who has Texas hold em for 360 hates everyone going on it when he wants to play FFXI Thats a good thing SOE are doing, PS3 owners are demanding downloadable content so its getting there
I'd take the Poker game. Need a time killer. They should get cracking on finding some online board games aswell. Eels and Escalator! ;D
A Kung Fu Hustle videogame? They've got my attention-though I'm not one for MMORPGs. Shaolin Soccer would also make a badass videogame...
"Can you buy the expansion by itself? Who want's to buy the rest when you have the rest already?" Gamers new to the series. The latest expansion also contains all the previous content, but you aren't charged for it. It is expansion priced, not full game priced. So all that stuff was thrown in for free anyway. $39.95 is what Burning Crusade retailed for. You are very much likely to see the game cheaper in stores than its street price.
Can you buy the expansion by itself? Who want's to buy the rest when you have the rest already?
I loved the original EQ, unfortunately, when eq2 came out, WoW was just too powerful for it...shame.
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High Stakes on the Vegas Strip: Poker Edition
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- Publisher(s): Sony Online Entertainment
- Developer(s): Coresoft
- Genre: Puzzle
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- ESRB: T
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