And you thought that the character roster for Dissidia was over? Ha! Not by a long shot, if you consider the non-main characters! The hero and villain rosters may be complete for those coming from FF to FFX. Today, the question of whether we'll be seeing other icons from other FF games is answered. First up: Final Fantasy XI, represent! Handheld brawlers-in-waiting, I introduce to you: Shantotto! "Eh, who the hell is that?!"

If you can't wait for the release of Lionhead Studios' Fable 2 to come out later this year, here's a little something to tide you over. Peter Molyneux recently announced the upcoming release of three "Fable-compatible" games for the XBLA, which will allow players to earn some much needed gold and use them for Fable 2 once the game goes live. You can check out the details about this interesting added-value feature for the game in our full article.

  

Deep Silver is back with the second installment of its Sacred action-RPG series aptly titled Sacred 2: The Fallen Angel. The developers are letting us in on some of the details, this time with the introduction of the Seraphim, one of the game's six playable classes.

The first Sacred charmed RPG fans on the PC platform with inventive and unique character classes which deviated a bit from the warrior-mage-archer template which have been practically played to death in the past forever or so. In the sequel, it's looking to do a bit more of the same with some new jobs.

The Seraphim is an angel-like creature which traces its ancestry from the land of Ancaria. Tasked by the gods to battle chaos and preserve peace in the world, the Seraphim have stood guard for generations, doing noble deeds, and vanquishing threats to humanity.

Like everything else, however, doing good for thousands of years gets old sometimes so the Seraphim decided that it's time they had a little fun. Most of the immortal beings abandoned their duties and served only themselves. Only a few remained loyal to their vows and you have the chance to control one of them.

The Seraphim plays a bit like a cross between a Valkyrie and a Priest in other games. She has divine magic which can be used to aid allies and she can hold her own in battle, too. She loves to use light to medium weapons for fast whacks and she can use heavy armor without sacrificing a lot of speed. This combination makes her one tough nut to crack and certainly a valuable member of any party.

The devs promised to reveal more details on Sacred 2 in the next few weeks. We'll give you updates on other classes as soon as they come. Sacred 2: The Fallen Angel goes out for the Microsoft Xbox 360 and the PC.

 

The RPG genre is one of the most immersive (read: addictive) game types around - with long gameplay hours and extensive plots. Being such, RPGs can amass their own fanbases, making it a bit tricky to take a piece of the pie especially when you've got a new title.

One title has piqued our interest (or at least, this writer's) and we were lucky we scored an interview with the creators. We had a chance to sit down with James Seaman, Managing Director at TopWare Interactive to talk about their upcoming video game, Two Worlds. We're sure you've been expecting some news about what's going on with the innovative RPG. Why innovative? Well, let's see... Two Worlds packs a persistent world, immense in-game environments to explore, no loading times, and other features that are surely considered new to the RPG genre. We got into a lot of things about the game like character progression, multiplayer modes for both the PC and Xbox 360 versions, and release dates.

We'll quit the prattle so you can read the entire interview. It's pretty beefy, so you better keep your eyes peeled. You might find some interesting stuff in there. (Plus, Mr. Seaman's sense of humor didn't go unnoticed here at QJ Central.)

   
Exclusive 360 Screens

Read the rest after the jump!

Now, we've got some talent right here. As an assignment for school, the artist Jeff C. had to do something that he's never done before, and then create a piece of art based on that experience. So what he did was line up for a Wii and then sit down with Illustrator afterwards.

Though the experience was a Wii launch, the piece pretty much summarizes the launch for the PS3 as well, and perhaps even the Xbox 360 launch back in 2005.

Looking at this piece of art, it seems that Crash Bandicoot and Wario have made it to the front of the line and got their consoles early, while our favorite Street Fighters, along with Cloud, got pelted with eggs while they slept in their sleeping bags and tent (at least it wasn't pellets from a BB gun).

Meanwhile, Otacon's sleeping bag is making my head spin, while Black Mage and Kirby are probably nuking it out on ad-hoc mode on their DS Lites. You might also notice that Mario and Luigi may have taken too long saving Princess Toadstool and the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom, that's why they ended up at the back of the line. Awww.

In any case, with a piece of work like this, we'd love to have the artist paint this on our office wall as a mural, or at least turn it into a frame which would pretty much summarize and commemorate the year 2006 in the world of video games. Oh, and this guy had better get an "A+" for this...

Here's an addition to the list of tricks and tips that you can try out when playing Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. This may be very useful to new players or those who are simply, err, not that good with the game.

Item duplication: This trick works with or without the auto-update/patch. You need to be equipped with any arrows equal to the number of "duplicates" you want to be made. For example, you need 20 arrows to be able to duplicate 20 healing potions. If you are new to duping, try testing this out with 5 arrows and 1 potion, just to see how it works.

The first step to duping is equipping arrows of any type then punching and entering your inventory screen before you get done swinging. Any attack would do, or even a spell. Then click "unequip" on the arrows you have acquired earlier. The game would tell you that "you cannot do that right now" -- but DONT EXIT INVENTORY JUST YET!! Drop the item/s you wish to duplicate and exit the inventory. The game will dupe in multiples but don't dupe too many items at once or the game freezes.


Check out the rest of the tips and tricks after the jump!