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Teaser takes Mass Effect on XBLM
A four minute "Demo Walkthrough" for BioWare's 360 exclusive RPG, Mass Effect ,is now available for download on Xbox Live Marketplace. The video features Project Manager Casey Hudson talking over gameplay footage from E3. It's impressive stuff, especially if you haven't seen it before. The squad-based gameplay looks a bit like Gears of War and you have to love that incinerator gun (Not too crazy about the voice acting though). BioWare's baby isn't due until Q2 2007. No telling why the marketing guys are calling the vid a "walkthrough" when it's more aptly described as a teaser trailer -- unless it's to torture us with the hint of an early playable Mass experience.Note: Bungie's Halo 3 "making of" featurette, long available on the web, is up as well.[Thanks Matt T]
Video of E3 Mass Effect demo hits XBLM
Microsoft and Bioware have seen fit to treat the unwashed masses who didn't get their hands on Mass Effect at E3 this year to a video, now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace or (convenient for those of you with an allergy to Microsoft's newest console) embedded in this very post.Remember when we said "Bioware really went to town with the facial animations, something which immediately becomes obvious when you start whipping out your gun and shoving it in people's faces in your efforts to get information"? Yup, so do we, and it's apparent in this demo footage. With Bioware's impressive resumé, including Xbox hits Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire, Mass Effect is looking like a sure thing this holiday.
Dragon Age to get kissy with it
Sorcerer's Place recently posted a summary of the latest activity on BioWare's Dragon Age forum, and a considerable amount of the discussion was focused on potential romantic encounters in the game. Lead Writer David Gaider explains:"In terms of the animations themselves, I actually wanted a kiss in KotOR, but we just couldn't fit in the animation...We got the kissing animation in Jade Empire, and we'll have it for DA, but I doubt we'll get much more in the way of animations for that."But it's not all physical, folks. Gaider continues: "I'm hoping that the romances will feel much more organic this time around...a series of dialogues and choices that builds the relationship between you and your NPC. But instead of building towards getting married and having babies, you're building towards a close friendship. We're also talking about being able to switch between that kind of friendship path and a romantic path for those characters which you can romance."So if that special lady in your life gives you crap about spending hours in front of the computer after Dragon Age arrives, just tell her you're learning all about building meaningful and lasting relationships. She just might leave you alone. One other note from the forums -- Dragon Age won't necessarily ship in 2007, despite what you may have read in GameSpot or PC Gamer. However, Mass Effect should be in stores this holiday season.[via RPGDot]
NWN mod creator on Atari, Infinite Dungeons
Neverwinter Nights Vault recently interviewed Jason Lowry, co-creator of the latest NWN premium module (Infinite Dungeons) and architect of the random dungeon generator used in the game. Lowry talks about his experience working with BioWare and Atari's decision to cancel the premium module program. An excerpt:"The 1.67 patch was a direct result of the premium module system. It's too bad we could not keep that system working into NWN2 and beyond, it was good for both the company and the consumer, a win-win, those are hard to come by."Download Lowry's original masterpiece, Elidrin's Random Dungeon Generator, from the Vault. Infinite Dungeons is available at the BioWare store.
Infogrames prepares for Atari disposal
Last week, a developer from the Neverwinter Nights community discussed some of the financial difficulties Atari is currently experiencing. MSNBC is now confirming that French publisher Infogrames, who has a controlling interest in Atari, is attempting to restructure its failing business, which could have a substantial impact on some of the year's most anticipated games.Atari had recently cut prices on all current gen games, but more drastic actions are in store. Infogrames may sell the publishing rights to upcoming titles Neverwinter Nights 2 and Timeshift (both due in September), and is also considering potential buy-outs of its other subsidiary studios, including Shiny Entertainment (Matrix: Path of Neo, Earthworm Jim). A potential merger with rival French games maker Ubisoft has even been speculated, although Infogrames founder and executive chairman Bruno Bonnell has dismissed this rumor as premature.Bonnell's recent discussions with Elevation Partners have lead some industry analysts to believe that Atari's Dungeons & Dragons license might find its way back to BioWare, but this could just be wishful thinking. Let us know if you think the Atari brand should be put out to pasture at this point, or if it just needs more capable management.
Atari halts NWN1 support, in financial ruin
Just a few days after the announcement of the latest Neverwinter Nights premium module, Infinite Dungeons, Neverwinter Nights Vault is reporting that Atari has ceased support of the popular Dungeons & Dragons RPG. This means no more patches or premium modules for the original game, leaving the planned sequel to Witches Wake in limbo.According to NWN module producer DLA, Atari contacted developer BioWare right before E3 with news that patches and premium content would no longer be authorized. A DLA blogger also has some details on Atari's related financial woes:"Atari is in a financial crisis and appears to be unable to meet all of its liabilities as they become due. Their principal line of credit has been cancelled and their secured lenders are turning hostile (When the secured creditors are girding for battle - you know it's bad). At the same time, many of their unsecured creditors are going unpaid. This means they have not paid most of their developers the royalties owing to them on published SKUs Atari has sold in previous quarters."This doesn't sound good for the publisher formerly known as Infogrames, and while they may deserve credit for supporting NWN for nearly four years, that's not nearly as long as the decade of support Blizzard has given Diablo. A previous Atari D&D title, Temple of Elemental Evil, was also plagued with poor support, which ruined an otherwise solid RPG experience. Atari no doubt wishes to focus its efforts on Obsidian's upcoming NWN2, which DLA hints might be rushed out the door this September in an attempt to hasten cash flow. As a fan of the series, I hope this isn't the case, and Atari at least allows BioWare to continue releasing patches for the original NWN as needed.
New Neverwinter premium module available
And speaking of episodic content, BioWare has released the fifth premium module for their venerable Neverwinter Nights series. Infinite Dungeons finds you exploring the caverns of Undermountain in Waterdeep, and includes roughly 20 hours of gameplay for $8. Dungeons supports competitive and cooperative play for character levels 1-40, and also comes with six pre-generated epic character builds.Obsidian's Neverwinter Nights 2 will be available in September.
Mass Effect preview rubs it in
When you think epic, cinematic adventures you'll probably conjure up Final Fantasy and Square Enix. There have been countless other blockbuster titles over the years, but Mass Effect is shaping up to put it all on the line as one of the greatest we've seen.Sci-fi RPG elements that only BioWare could pull off? Check. Crazy creatures and bizarre characters? Check. Engaging story? Double check. It seems like it could have it all. But the author warns that there's always the chance that BioWare could have bitten off more than they can chew with this. With the breadth of Mass Effect being so huge, it may crumble under its own weight.However, we know BioWare and what they're capable of, so the chances of that happening are slim to null. Right now we just want to take in everything we can get from this game to tide us over until release day.
Mass Effect updated screens
GameBanshee has scored 28 new screen shots of BioWare's Mass Effect, the sci-fi RPG that hits the 360 next year. Looks like the Canadian developer is giving us their usual attention to detail in atmosphere, story, and character development. Read our first impressions from last week's E3 demo, and see what GameSpot had to say.
Jade Empire on PC, Alienware giveaway
This week at E3, BioWare announced they will be porting their Xbox hit Jade Empire to the PC. To commemorate the event, registered members of the Canadian developer's community site can enter to win an Alienware Area-51 5500 PC with Intel's Dual Core technology.The updated version of Jade Empire will include shinier graphics and new fighting styles, as well as additional enemy types and increased difficulty levels. LTI Gray Matter has been tapped to handle conversion duties, but with Microsoft Game Studios out of the picture, BioWare is looking for a publishing partner to get the new and improved Jade out by year's end. It will be interesting to see how the new keyboard control scheme works out for Jade's real-time combat. Hopefully, the transition will feel as natural as the turn-based fighting in KOTOR. For more information, check out GameSpot's first look from E3.
Girl gamers applaud choice
One of the features in the upcoming Mass Effect is the ability to choose your gender. For a game which revolves around one central character (Commander Shepard) and the related storyline, it's an interesting addition, though not entirely novel.However, it may have more appeal than a first glance would imply. We spoke to several female gamers at E3 who insisted that being able to play a female character is a crucial differentiator between games they like and games they love. It doesn't strike a game from the favourites list -- many of these women loved Halo 2 -- but it's a selling point that turns out to be surprisingly important to the female audience.
Xbox 360 impressions: Mass Effect
It really is a testament to the quality of Bioware's Knights of the Old Republic when, years after its release, we still want to compare it to some of the best parts of Mass Effect. The game clearly represents Bioware's desire to create involving and highly cinematic story-driven games, as it features some of the most lifelike characters we've yet seen in a video game. Upon entering a futuristic seedy bar with two of your squad mates, you strike up some conversations with patrons in the nearby vicinity. Much like KOTOR and some of Bioware's past games, the conversations are written in such a way so as to prompt the player for frequent input. Your potential responses are now mapped to different directions on the analogue stick and, because they appear on-screen before the NPC has even finished his or her (or its) line of dialogue, the exchanges between the game characters come off as extremely fluid and cinematic. Bioware really went to town with the facial animations, something which immediately becomes obvious when you start whipping out your gun and shoving it in people's faces in your efforts to get information. NPCs become visibly frightened when threatened, their eyes widening in terror and their brows crumpling up. There's a certain sadistic quality to it, though your squad mates will quickly share their opinions on your behavior, sometimes even squabbling amongst themselves about how well or poorly you handled a given situation. Unlike many RPGs which require you to navigate large chunks of cutscenes in-between dungeons, the character interaction and plot advancement in Mass Effect appears to be really natural, cinematic and above all, fun.
Ferret Baudoin lands at BioWare
The Neverwinter Nights Vault is reporting that Ferret Baudoin, late of Obsidian, has taken a senior design position at BioWare's Edmonton office. The former Neverwinter Nights 2 lead designer had left Obsidian last month for undisclosed reasons, and will now be applying his considerable RPG experience to a new BioWare project. Whatever that project is, hopefully Baudoin will be able to see it through. He was working on Fallout 3 and Baldur's Gate 3 at Black Isle when Interplay bit the dust, and although he completed KOTOR 2 at Obsidian, he left before NWN2 was finished.See also: BioWare opens Austin studio for new MMO[via GameBanshee]
Bioware to show off Jade Empire 2 at E3?
X360Central reads two puts two separate BioWare interviews together and comes up with one Jade Empire sequel:April 10 FiringSqad:FiringSquad: What other hints can you give us about upcoming projects at BioWare? Ray Muzyka: We're looking forward to announcing details about our new MMO being developed in BioWare Austin in the near future. We also have an unannounced surprise or two in the works which we will also be sharing at E3 2006, in addition to showing Mass Effect there. The Dragon Age team is hard at work and we%uFFFDre very excited about how the game is looking so far!November 11 GameSpot:"BioWare definitely plans to continue the Jade Empire franchise," reads one of Muzyka's responses. "The Jade team did a great job with the first game in that series; we have great teams working on all of our games here. We've also said in the past that we're working on not just one, but two Xbox 360 titles. Enough said"So is a new Jade set in stone or does the much-admired KOTR crew have a real surprise up their Bio-sleeve?
Inside the Bioware-Pandemic super-developer
We reported last year on the merging of developers Pandemic and Bioware into one "super-developer", and Gamasutra has followed up the move by interviewing the heads of both companies, including Pandemic CEO Josh Resnick (right). The studios aren't merging directly, but share revenue and a common executive team, an interesting move for future companies which might plan to follow in their footsteps.It appears that the companies are working together closely, with only a little technology sharing as of yet--the simple move of giving feedback on each other's products is apparently working wonders. However, Bioware and Pandemic intend to stay fairly separate, each focusing on their genres of expertise. Unfortunately the interview reveals no tidbits of information on Bioware Austin's MMO plans, but the CEOs are confident that there is room to innovate and customers to be had in the MMO space still.
Play BioWare's Mass Effect at E3
If you're planning to attend E3 in May, Eurogamer has confirmed there will be a playable demo of Mass Effect, BioWare's new sci-fi action-RPG for the Xbox 360. There is no hard release date for the game yet, but holiday availability is rumored.GameSpot also spoke with BioWare's co-founders, Drs. Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, at the GDC this week. The post-merger relationship with sister company Pandemic has led to greater communication between the two organizations, although no joint projects were discussed. In addition to Mass Effect, BioWare is continuing their work on the Dragon Age RPG, and an unnamed MMO project at their new Austin studio.
A preview of Bioware's Mass Effect
UGO has a preview of Canadian developer Bioware's upcoming Mass Effect, a 360-exclusive and part one of a planned trilogy of games. Mass Effect is an RPG combining the light/dark choice-driven gameplay of Knights of the Old Republic and the real-time battles of Jade Empire, all wrapped up in an inhouse sci-fi story. Most interesting is their plans for Xbox Live: Bioware is planning episodic updates to the titles. As the only oxygen-breathing earthling that wasn't thoroughly impressed with the unforgivably buggy KOTOR, I can't say this title is at the top of my "second wave" wishlist. Maybe the real-time battles--and the elimination of loading screen after loading screen after loading screen--will pique my interest closer to launch. Just whispering episodic gets me excited![Via Joystiq]
