Tag Archive

You Got My Mass Effect 2 In Your Black Ops II!

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Seung Lee

Retail PC copies of the highly anticipated Call of Duty: Black Ops II come with second installation discs. That may seem perfectly normal, but these discs seem to contain data for BioWare’s Mass Effect 2. People everywhere, from Steam to Reddit, have been talking about this issue. There’s even a video on YouTube showcasing the huge blunder. PC players aren’t completely out of luck, however, because the game can still be installed (albeit, very slowly) with a Steam key that comes with each copy.

One has to wonder though–how, exactly, do you go about making such a careless mistake like this? Check out the YouTube video here (warning: there’s excessive profanity).

 

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Mass Effect 4 Powered By Frostbite Engine – Headed New Direction

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Joshua Rust

Mass Effect 3 may have been the end of a trilogy, but that doesn’t mean that EA/Bioware are done with the franchise just yet. In the early stages of development is a new Mass Effect game being labeled as Mass Effect 4 (not the “official” title yet, mind you).

Over on the Bioware blog, Yanick Roy – studio director, has let loose some new information regarding the next installment in the franchise.

“This is the goal we have been working toward for years now, and every member of our team is proud, excited, and humbled to take on the responsibility for the next game,” Roy wrote.

“To ensure a proper and effective transition, we’ll continue to be supported by the Edmonton studio through the game’s development, working with and learning from them on some critical initiatives,” he added.

“On top of that, Casey [Hudson] remains the Executive Producer, but he will have a Project Director under him, working in Montreal, leading our development team and making day-to-day decisions for the game. We all care very much about Mass Effect and make our decisions based on what’s best for the game.”

The studio boss said the new Mass Effect will be respectful of the heritage built over the course of the first three games, however it’s “exploring new directions”, both on the gameplay and story fronts.

“You can still expect the pillars the franchise is known for to be fully intact though, including diverse alien races, a huge galaxy to explore, and of course rich, cinematic storytelling.”

“There is really not much I can tell you about the game right now, except that it will be built with the amazing technology of Frostbite as its foundation, enhanced by many of the systems that the Dragon Age III team has already spent a lot of time building.”

I’m a fantasy lover by nature, but Mass Effect is one of my favorite franchises to come out of this generation of consoles. I’m hoping that the next iteration of Mass Effect lets us pick what race we want to start out as. Possibly giving us different starting locations depending on who we choose and have the storyline alter a bit depending on that choice as well.

Hey…we can all dream right?

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9 Minutes Of Mass Effect: Paragon Lost Anime Prequel

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Joshua Rust

For fans who love continuum (I’m one of them) Bioware,  FUNimation, T.O Entertainment and Production I.G have partnered together to make an anime based off the ever popular Mass Effect franchise titled Mass Effect: Paragon Lost.

So where does this story take place in the Mass Effect world? Here is the official description with all the details:

“Mass Effect: Paragon Lost is the prequel to the highly-anticipated Mass Effect 3 and follows the early career of Alliance Marine, James Vega. Vega leads an elite Special Forces squad into battle against a mysterious alien threat known as The Collectors. Stationed at a colony in a remote star system, Vega and his soldiers must protect the civilians from a ruthless invasion determined to capture the population for unknown purposes. Learn more about the Mass Effect universe with an unprecedented glimpse into the haunted past of Mass Effect’s newest hero! “

Here is the 9 minute preview video of Mass Effect: Paragon Lost:

[youtube id=”o7v616__Ays” width=”600″ height=”350″]

Mass Effect: Paragon Lost will be available December 28th, 2012 on Blu-ray & DVD. You can find other details on the official website here.

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Dragon Age III: Inquisition Details & Concept Art

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Joshua Rust

There have been rumors of what’s to come in Dragon Age III: Inquisition. Here are some new details that we know for sure.

– It has been in pre-production longer than Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, or Mass Effect 2.

– Cinematic designer Jon Perry states that “one level in DA3 is big as all levels in DA2.

– There is a possibility that you will be able to own/control your own tower

– It will feature character customisation “in a big way” including “follower customisation”

– “The storytelling legacy BioWare is known for, with deep RPG gameplay, all on a brand new RPG game engine underpinned by EA’s critically-acclaimed Frostbite 2 technology”

– You will play as a human as you did in the second game (which I find disappointing..but oh well)

While it did manage to bring new players to the franchise, a lot of people felt that Dragon Age 2 was a major letdown. I’m truly hoping this one will be a bit better.

Here is some of the concept art from the game, including the potential castle that you may be able to control.

Dragon Age III: Inquisition was announced last month, it is expected to launch late Fall 2013.

 

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Mass Effect 4 Will Be ‘Shepard’-less

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Joshua Rust

That’s right everyone – Shepard will not make it to Mass Effect 4 (or the equivalent name to the next game). In a recent interview, art and design producer Fabrice Condominas from BioWare Montreal, told VG247:

“There is one thing we are absolutely sure of – there will be no more Shepard, and the trilogy is over.

“This is really our starting point. Now the Mass Effect universe is vast, and very, very rich. So at this point in time, we don’t even know what kind of time frame we’re going to be in. All we’re doing is more gathering ideas from the teams.

“So first, we don’t want to make ‘Shepard 2′, or Mass Effect 4 with like, ‘oh there’s no more Shepard but you’re a soldier in the universe’. So this will be a very, very different context for sure, and nothing has been decided on the rest.”

Personally, I’d like to see you be able to choose the race you want to start with. Then have the story cater around the race you have chosen through dialogue and the storyline. For instance if you were a Krogan and you had to go to the Salarian’s for help, you might have to do extra things to convince them to help you – or vice versa. Or you could just kill them all and take what you wanted…after all, when will a Krogan ever ask a Salarian for help?

But that was just an example of how Bioware could open up the missions to a whole new complexity. What are your thoughts?

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Mass Effect 3: Omega – Biggest Expansion In Franchise History

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Joshua Rust

Boasting to be the franchises’ biggest DLC yet, did Bioware. Stating that this DLC is “twice the size of any previous released DLC.” Instead of playing Shepard in Omega, you get to take control of Aria as she hunts down operatives of Cerberus.

From the Bioware Blog:

Soldiers of the Milky Way,

Disturbing reports from the Citadel suggest that something big is about to go down. If our Intel is accurate, Aria is on the move. This was anticipated, as we did not expect her to sit idly by while Cerberus ran roughshod over Omega. With her biotic capabilities and well-documented mean streak, what happens next won’t be pretty.

Our informants believe that Aria intends to seek out Commander Shepard for assistance. We are aware of the Commander’s ties to Aria, but are unclear about how deep they run. What we do know is that Aria will be relentless in her fight to take back Omega, and with the Commander at her side, she may very well be unstoppable.

We will be observing this situation closely as it develops. Continue to monitor this channel for further communication.

A timed exclusive for the Xbox 360, you can get Mass Effect 3: Omega on November 27th, for 1200 MSP. Hopefully it won’t become this kind of “timed exclusive.”

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EA/Bioware Launches Mass Effect 3 Portal N7 HQ

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Joshua Rust

So, what exactly is this Mass Effect 3 Portal N7 HQ? Think of Battlefield’s Battlelog, only less Battlefield and more Mass Effect!

 

You can find the newly launched N7 HQ website by clicking here.  This portal will track all of your hours played, matches played, challenges completed, etc, etc. Also you can check where you are ranked on the leaderboards. As well as checking up on your friends (or enemies) and see where they stack up too! Not to mention to see how they are leveling up their characters!

It seems that EA/Bioware has gone all out for Mass Effect 3, which is a good thing. It’s good to see them contining to support the title in different ways. Whether by launching a stat tracking site or adding new multiplayer maps every so often.

What do you all think about this new site?

 

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Prepare For Operation: Overdrive In Mass Effect 3 This Weekend!

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Joshua Rust

Another weekend, another Mass Effect 3 operation weekend. Announced on the Bioware blog, here are the details of Operation: Overdrive:

Based on intel recovered during Operation PATRIOT, we are anticipating a massive strike from the Reapers on multiple fronts. Our information officers and special-ops teams stationed behind enemy lines require immediate extraction.

Squad Goal: Full extraction on any map at any difficulty in 20 minutes or less. Squads can be any size.

Allied Goal: Complete 200,000 extraction waves on any difficulty. Squads can be any size. Full extraction not required.

Special Circumstance: None

Squad Goal Success: All squad members awarded a Commendation Pack

Allied Goal Success: All players awarded a Victory Pack

So will anyone be participating in this weekends operation?

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Mass Effect 3 Gets A Massive Multiplayer Expansion

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Joshua Rust

Just when you thought the universe couldn’t get any bigger in Mass Effect 3, Bioware/EA comes out of nowhere and announces a new multiplayer expansion (called Mass Effect 3: Retaliation) that lands on October 9th.

But what is included in this, the biggest multiplayer expansion yet, you may ask? Well, there are 6 new maps, 16 new characters, new enemy type: The Collectors, new weapons to collect, new “challenge” feature, and each map will receive “environmental hazards” to make things a little tougher.

[youtube id=”dZqwuHFIgIA” width=”600″ height=”350″]

For more details, continue reading on after the break!

Read More

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Details On The Upcoming Mass Effect 3 Patch

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Joshua Rust

I haven’t seen a list this long of patches since Obsidian Ent. patched up Fallout: New Vegas. While there is no official release date on this, Bioware has stated that its tentative date is this Thursday. So I guess we will know when we pop in Mass Effect 3 and see the update huh?

The list, as I stated before, is very long. So check after the jump for the list.

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Mass Effect Trilogy Bundle Announced

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Broken Joysticks

Shepard’s trilogy is being bundled in the Mass Effect Trilogy Bundle. This news marks the first time Mass Effect 1 will be released on the PlayStation 3.  The release of the bundle will coincide with N7 Day, November 7th where Bioware will be planning events in-game, online and in live events, as a worldwide celebration of the Mass Effect Franchise.Read More

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Mass Effect Franchise Continues On, Bioware Working On New Next-Gen IP

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Joshua Rust

With the conclusion of the trilogy of Mass Effect, many fans (including myself) have wondered…”What’s next for Mass Effect if anything?”. Today, via the Bioware blog, Aaryn Flynn Bioware General Manager announced some new details.

“Executive Producer Casey Hudson and his team are coming off an amazing eight-year run with the Mass Effect trilogy. But they’re not done yet. We are releasing more multiplayer content and we have more single-player stories coming throughout the next six months, including Omega which is coming in the Fall. But the Mass Effect universe is vast, and Casey and our teams have plans for another full game. “Where to go next?” with such a project has been a question a lot of us have been asking, and we’d all love to hear your ideas.”

While work on the next Mass Effect game is under way, Casey Hudson and crew are “putting together their vision for an all new game set in a fictional universe, built from the bottom-up with all new gaming technology.”

Where can Bioware go next? We already have space, fantasy, and Star Wars…what else is there really?

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The Co-Founders Of BioWare Are Leaving

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Seung Lee

Some bad news to follow after the announcement of Dragon Age III yesterday: BioWare’s co-founders, Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka, are officially leaving both the studio and the gaming industry. These sudden departures aren’t without good reason, however. The two men have made blog posts which help clarify why exactly they’re leaving.

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Dragon Age III: Inquisition Made Official

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Rae Michelle Richards

Rumors have swirled around a third Dragon Age game for months and now we finally have official details. Over on the Bioware Blog Mark Darrah announced that the game has been in some form of production since work on Dragon Age Origins concluded in 2009 and will involve veteran Bioware staff as well as some newcomers.

The game, titled Dragon Age III: Inquisition, will be powered by DICE’s insanely powerful Frostbite 2.0 engine and this will allow players to customize their character armor. Bioware is not ready to talk about the story of the game just yet, and in the past they have said that they didn’t want to announce Dragon Age III until they had “something to show”.

No specific platform was listed for DAIII but presumably it will be coming to Xbox 360, PC and PS3, just like the previous games. Given the rumored late 2013 release of DAIII AND the next Xbox, could Bioware give Microsoft’s latest hardware a boost out of the gate?

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WiiU Version of Mass Effect 3 Bundles DLC On Disc

Posted on September 14, 2012 by Rae Michelle Richards

It’s taken for granted that Wiiu ports of games like Mass Effect 3 and Batman Arkham Asylum include custom tablet interfaces that enhance the game’s inventory management. Well, those who choose to partake in commander Sheppard’s latest adventure on Nintendo’s next-gen machine will get two pieces of DLC for free:  Mass Effect 3 Extended Edition and From Ashes.

Extended Edition adds additional content to the game’s ending, it was originally available for free for owners of the Xbox 360 & PS3 version before becoming a paid add-on. From Ashes originally came bundled with the collector’s edition and was later added to the PS3/Xbox marketplaces for $10. Ashes adds Javik to your squad, a new particle rifle and new outfits.

Source

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