The Elder Scrolls is a series as much renowned for its ambition as for the games that execute said ambition, and Bethesda Softworks is in no position to change that anytime soon. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, due out next month for both the PC and the Xbox 360, looks to be one of the most ambitious games ever made, so we here at eToychest took the chance to sit down with Bethesda’s Pete Hines to see what’s waiting for us in Tamriel.

First off, now that you’re in the home stretch, how’s it feel to look back on all the days and weeks and see what Oblivion has finally turned into?

That’ll probably be something we can do once the game has gone off to the manufacturer, or maybe not until it’s out and on store shelves. At this stage you really can’t afford to lose focus and think you’re A

In the summer of 2005, Electronic Arts released Battlefield 2 for the PC to critical acclaim. It was and in many ways remains as the premiere multiplayer military combat game to this day. A few months later in October, the company released Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, a conversion of the game for the console market, and while the fan community was predictably split going into the game, the general consensus was that this was yet another feather in the hat for EA. The game featured a terrific single player campaign wherein an innovative hotswapping feature was used so that a player could literally experience the battle through anyone on on their team in the conflict. While the multiplayer offering was not quite as enthralling as the solo campaign, both worked well together to create a cohesive, and altogether enjoyable experience. Now EA is at it again, as they prepare to release Battlefield 2: Modern Combat for the newly released Xbox 360 platform. But how will this five month old game differ when ported to the first next-generation console? We recently sat down with Jeff Gamon, Executive Producer on the project to get his insights into what we can all expect when the game ships in March.

Thanks again for taking the time to speak with us regarding the upcoming Xbox 360 version for Battlefield 2: Modern Combat. I know a lot of us here really enjoyed the game for the current-gen consoles. Were you involved on that project as well?

Thank you, and yes, I was the Producer for the title, and it was a lot of fun to work on. Most of the team from the original game remains intact, since we wanted to keep the people who were already familiar with the game at an intimate level.

How has the experience of developing the game for the Xbox 360 differed from that of developing for the original Xbox or PS2?

There’s a lot that was different, but we tried to leverage the knowledge that we gained while working on the previous version. This was also more about trying to take something that was already complete, and figure out how to make it better, all the while delivering it on a new platform. So it meant working just to get up to speed on the Xbox 360, but also trying to deliver an even deeper, more immersive experience in a very tight timeframe.

In the previous versions, the single player was great, which was great, but it also outshined the somewhat anemic multiplayer component. What has been done to make multiplayer more robust this time around? More modes? Hot swapping in multiplayer games?

It’s interesting, because depending on who you ask, you may get a different response about the single player vs multiplayer. We think we have a very robust experience, one that’s very true to the franchise’s heritage on PC. We also had about a 75% attach rate on Xbox with respect to owners playing online, which was the highest of any console game EA has ever released. That being said, we did continue to tune and balance the experience based on things we found, and issues that fans brought to our attention. I guess it’s just a question of taste, where some people will prefer SP, and others MP.

I guess the biggest question on everyone’s mind is other than prettier graphics and what you have mentioned so far, what has been changed for this latest version?

The single player campaign was re-tooled mission by mission to make it an even better experience. We overhauled the enemy and team AI, and also changed many enemy spawn points to make them more realistic. We also worked to streamline a few areas, such as the menus, and include the content from the A

It wasn’t until fall of 2004 that I became truly familiar with Nintendo’s localization team, otherwise known as the Treehouse. At an Enthusiast Summit I met and became familiar with many of the individuals who were busy bringing the likes of Samus, Mario and Link to North American audiences, and I found a newfound respect for them, and the whole localization process in general. That’s why when Nintendo approached eToychest and asked if we would like to talk to Erik Peterson, Localization Writer/Editor at the Nintendo of America Treehouse regarding their latest effort, Drill Dozer, I jumped at the opportunity.

First of all, wow, all I can say is Drill Dozer is like a breath of fresh air. It really has a sense of old school platforming that you don’t see a lot of today. What were your feelings regarding this new GBA title?

A lot of people have told me that it reminds them of the classic platformers they played back in the day. For me, it’s really great to see such a quality 2D platformerA

NIS is known for giving players what might be considered fan service, delivering a selection of niche titles that play to the tastes of their ever-growing army of devoted followers. And we love them for it. This fall the company will bring Idea Factory’s Spectral Souls for the PSP to North America. Set in same universe as Generation of Chaos (which ships in 2006 as well for the PSP, and is itself part of a long running series in Japan), this is a new SRPG made by Idea Factory. The game is unique in that is shows the story from the vantage three different armies who all are fighting each other to unite the land of Neverland. Recently we spoke with NIS America’s Jack Niida and Idea Factory’s Kenji Kitami regarding this upcoming portable RPG.

Given the somewhat anemic RPG lineup for the PSP thus far, Nippon Ichi is in a position to become perhaps the premier RPG publisher on the PSP. How aggressively are you going to pursue the PSP?

Jack Niida: You will perhaps see us grow aggressively. We are not going to announce exactly how many titles we will launch every year for the PSP; however, you can expect a solid number of games. If we want to gain a bigger market share, we have to take a different approach than others and the PSP is one of them. It is an untapped territory for RPGs, but we see a great potential in it.

Nippon Ichi games have a penchant for allowing gamers the opportunity to advance their characters to dizzying heights of power and experience. Will Spectral Souls follow this tradition?

Jack Niida: Characters on Spectral Souls can be powered up quite extensively, but not to the same caliber as say Disgaea with Level 9999. It might be a let down for some people, but Spectral Souls makes up for it with a unique item synthesizing system and a battle system to keep gamers happy for hundreds of hours.

What differentiates the three armies in Spectral Souls? Will each army have access to certain exclusive classes or spells?

Kenji Kitami: In Spectral Souls, there are three major military powers. There is the demon royal empire, an imperialistic human nation, and a liberation army formed of human soldiers. There are exclusive classes and jobs per army, but many of them can be obtained later on in the game.

Would it be possible for a player to go through the entire game using just one of the three armies?

Kenji Kitami: You can play the game as a single nation; however, at certain scenes the game will automatically switch over in order to progress the story. Depending how much you play with the three nations the ending will change.

With three separate armies driving the plot, how many different endings will the game feature?

Kenji Kitami: I cannot give you the exact numbers, but more than 2.

Will there be any “Special” zones in Spectral Souls, like the “Dark World” and “Item World” from La Pucelle and Disgaea, respectively?

Kenji Kitami: Yes, Spectral Souls has a free battle system that allows you to battle enemies to power your characters up and search for rare items. What is interesting is that if you stay inside the free battle long enough, you may encounter a ridiculously powerful enemy. I personally have yet to defeat this monstrosity, but I hope everybody else can.

Finally, do you see the PSP as a more fertile breeding ground for 2D games than the home consoles that seem to emphasize bigger and bigger poly counts as a measure of a game’s quality?

Jack Niida: I truly hope so. If more companies make 2D games it will create a better awareness among the consumer, and creating awareness will expand the market as a whole. Fortunately, developing adventurous games like 2D titles are far suited for the PSP than the home console. First, the development cost is lower and second many consumers can easily be convinced to try the product, as they are priced lower. Therefore, yes you can argue that the PSP is a more fertile breeding ground for 2D games than the home consoles.