Dragon Age: Origins

Prepare The Canons

Nabeel Burney 2 Comments

Fear the Reaper

Not much longer now before the Reapers arrive to wipe out galactic civilization.

Mass Effect 3 is almost upon us, and I’m hardly ready. For anticipation is not just a case of checking the calendar and willing the days to advance quicker, there is work to be done before March 6th comes around. Few games in history have featured what is the Mass Effect series’ main selling point: the ability to carry your save forward into the sequels in order to retain your character and the decisions you have made over the course of the games. So fans aren’t just looking forward to playing the last instalment of a trilogy, they’re looking forward to playing the last instalment of their trilogy. Every decision you make defines your Commander Shepard, decides your relationship with other characters – possibly even their fate, and shapes a universe that is unique to your save. Loading up a game with that save will bring a story that recognises you and remembers what you have done. The series has already provided an unprecedented level of player authorship over narrative, and it only remains to be seen whether the final chapter can deliver a satisfying conclusion.

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Gear Up For The Coming Storm In Mass Effect 2

Nabeel Burney 2 Comments

Mass Effect 2‘s release is imminent. The past couple of months has seen a barrage of media in the form of screenshots and videos in the lead up to the game’s January 26 launch. It’s still early, but reviews are starting to come in and so far the game has been maintaining a 90%+ rating in magazines like Official XBox Magazine and PC Gamer 1)http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbox360/masseffect2?q=mass%20effect%202. So the hype machine is in full force for the much-anticipated sequel, it only remains for fans to decide which edition of the game to buy.

We’ve spoken before a little bit about the pre-order DLC, but BioWare has now detailed the various pre-order options available on their site. It’s not quite as ridiculous as it was with Dragon Age: Origins, but it does mean that fans will have to yet again decide between mutually exclusive sets of in-game items. There are two basic editions, Standard and Collector’s, and there is a Digital version of each which can be bought at various digital distribution outlets. Pre-ordering the Standard from Gamestop gets you the Terminus Assault Armour and Blackstorm Weapon, and everywhere else gets you the Inferno Armour.

The Collector’s edition consists of (along with superior box cover art): extra bonus discs containing a Making Of documentary and the soundtrack, the first issue of the Dark Horse spinoff comic Mass Effect: Redemption, a 48-page artbook, and an additional set of DLC armour, the Collector’s Armour. You may just want to pick the Terminus design based solely on how formidable it makes your Shepard look, but each of the armour sets has different benefits, like increased shielding or sprint speed, so it’s probably worth looking at the stats before choosing.

One item that will come with every version of the game is a single-use unlock code for something dubbed The Cerberus Network, which will be “a conduit for players to receive bonus content as well as daily messages and [Mass Effect 2] news.” 2)http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/21907/Mass-Effect-2s-Cerberus-Network-Revealed/. It sounds like it will be a platform for managing DLC in the game, much like what is being used in DA:O. There will be content available from day one, such as new missions and items, as well as the previously-rumoured extra companion, Zaeed. It’s most likely an incentive for customers to buy new copies of the game as opposed to used; a similar situation occurred with DA:O, which offered for download an extra character called Shale – who was by no means tacked-on, rather an integral part of the game. There will be more DLC down the line, like a new vehicle called the Hammerhead which will allow players to navigate planet surfaces.

While I’ve been trying to avoid most of the videos for fear of story spoilers, there are a few that neatly outline the game’s premise without giving too much away, one of which I’ve embedded below.
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Mass Effect 2 Launching in January 2010

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Mass Effect 2It seems Mass Effect 2 isn’t as far off as we thought. With the upcoming release of Dragon Age: Origins early next month, it was almost assumed that the titles would be spaced out a little further apart. But BioWare announced yesterday that ME2 will be following close on the heels of DA:O, dropping on January 26 2010 in the US, and 29 in Europe. The announcement came with details of the preorder options available and their in-game bonuses.

It’s been a relatively quiet month for ME2 as BioWare has been focusing its efforts on spreading the word on DA:O. With the almost ridiculous extent to which gamers have been given choices on preorder bonus DLC, it’s no surprise that the developer will be using some of the same ideas with ME2. There’s already a bit of cross-pollination with the Blood Dragon Armour (usable in both games) awarded in one of the DA:O preorder options, and now there are two more opportunities. Currently it looks like these options are available to US preorderers only, the choices being between getting the game at Gamestop, and everywhere else. The Gamestop bonus is the Terminus Armour and M-90 Blackstorm Heavy Weapon, and the everywhere-else bonus is the Inferno Armour. Both outfits look quite dapper as you can in the screens below.

Terminus Armour Subject Zero Inferno Armour

As I mentioned earlier there has been less attention on ME2 as of late, though there is still media being trickled out from time to time. The latest trailer (embedded after the jump) introduces a new character, Subject Zero (pictured above), whom you can ask to join your ranks. This new video most certainly didn’t drop with any lack of ripples; the general “edgy” direction of the sequel’s promotion seems to have finally strayed a bit too close to the current debacle that is the DA:O marketing campaign. The knee-jerk reactions to this worrying shift were so drastic it prompted a cautionary counter-reaction from Martyn.

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