The first time I experienced the magic of an RPG was about 10 years ago, when I came across Vandal Hearts II, a mediocre strategy RPG with a good story, average graphics, interesting customization system, addictive gameplay and now that I think about it…INCREDIBLY STUPID LOOKING MONSTERS.

And this is the only major problem I have with RPGs, I’m not a very picky guy, give me an engaging storyline with a few twists in the plot, interesting characters, make the game playable and I don’t even care that much about the graphics and all the rest.

But don’t ruin everything by making me battle a plant…that’s just wack. I can’t remember how many games told me I have to save the world or rescue a princess…but in order to do that I had to defeat “powerful” enemies like bunnies, bats, plants, goofy birds, jelly lookin’ blobs and many many more. And every time, I sighed and moved on hoping the next time I play an RPG things will improve…but here we are…and the goofball enemies are still there (sigh).

I understand there are a lot of young kids playing these games and I’m not asking for “intense violence and gore” or gruesome monsters…but since the characters do carry weapons, which they use to kill and the story isn’t always about how great and pink the world is, I feel it’s unnatural to use fluffy things as enemies.

I have no problem with funny looking critters when it comes to games like Mario, Sonic, Crash Bandicoot, they fit perfectly there, but excuse me for loving beautiful games like last year’s Final Fantasy XII, which the developers chose to ruin by making us fight against bouncing bunnies, overweight birds and the ever popular slime balls. And what’s really sad is that things really did some damage, some even more than heavily armed soldiers…the horror…stop the horror!

I’m an RPG enthusiast and always will be and I’m not trying to criticize the genre, I just think things could be so much better if the guys in the artwork department would make an effort and come up with some reasonable looking enemies.

Just to be clear, I’m especially referring to Japanese RPGs like Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Suikoden and not to games like The Elder Scrolls or Neverwinter Nights which tend to be more serious.

The sequel of the highly acclaimed Operation Flashpoint promises to redefine the FPS genre when it comes out in 2008.

Operation Flashpoint 2 has been in production at Codemasters Studios for two years now and the largest development team ever assembled is working on it, so…we might be in for something really amazing, let's hope so.

<-234x60 Half Banner - right->Set in modern-day theatres of war the game will offer realistic conflict scenarios that will give players the impression they really are taking part in a war. The game is said to offer different military classes to make the warfare experience even more believable and a multiplayer component which will create battles at an impressive scale.

The game will use a new FPS variant of Neon engine technology, the company’s proprietary middleware.

More details about Operation Flashpoint 2 will be available this summer.

Codemasters announced that a key role in its attempt to bring a new thrilling gaming experience to the market in 2008 will be played by Rise of the Argonauts, an action- RPG game of epic proportions.

In this upcoming game players will take part in a gladiatorial adventure set in a mythological ancient Greece. The players will lead a team of well known heroes of Greek mythology- including Hercules, Jason or Atalanta- through numerous exciting quest and brutal battles in a world ruled by the gods.

The game is being developed by Liquid Entertainment for all leading console platforms and for the PC.