extended-cut
Latest
Hands-on with Mass Effect 3 for Wii U
Every time the Mass Effect franchise leaps to a new console, it loses a chunk of Commander Shepard's history. Mass Effect 3 on Wii U, which has no previous games on which to build its galaxy-shaking conclusion, will include a new version of the "Genesis" interactive graphic novel by Dark Horse Comics. The stylized recap has been extended to include the events of both Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2.After completing the truncated story and cementing some of Shepard's major decisions, you'll dive into Mass Effect 3 proper. It's only BioWare's second game for Nintendo consoles (following Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood for DS), and appears to have suffered no obvious reductions compared to previous versions. Based on what I played at EA's Summer Showcase Event today – a snippet from Shepard's battle in a training ground for biotics – the game's Unreal-powered looks and framerate are comparable to the Xbox 360 and PS3 games. (The PC, of course, has the upper hand over all of them.)The Wii U version adds an exclusive weapon, the M-597 Ladon, to Shepard's arsenal. It can target up to six enemies simultaneously (all marked in red on the HUD), and unleashes a barrage of devastating homing rockets once you pull the right trigger. The Wii U's pad takes a few moments to get used to if you're usually grafted to the Xbox 360 controller (the X button is where?), but once you're up to speed you can glance down and use some of the new control options.%Gallery-161688%
Wii U Mass Effect 3 will include 'Extended Cut' ending by default
Those who start with Mass Effect 3 on the Wii U won't have to go through the (apparent) heartbreak of seeing an unsatisfying ending, then waiting to download a better one. The new "Extended Cut" will be built in."The extended ending is basically going to be part of the game instead," series producer Michael Gamble told Siliconera during Comic-Con. "You won't have to download it." That makes sense given the DLC's status as a "fix" for the controversial ending. We can only hope the ending is extended even further, to show you even more ending on the WiiPad screen while the Extended Cut ending is happening on your TV.The Wii U release of Mass Effect 3 is scheduled to coincide with the launch of the system.
Download the Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut DLC soundtrack for free
If you're going to give away nearly two gigs of extra content for your wildly successful game, you may as well give away the soundtrack that underscores it, right? The seven-song soundtrack to Mass Effect 3's Extended Cut DLC is now available for free directly from BioWare, provided you have an Origin or BioWare Social network login.Composed by Sam Hulick, the album also comes packed with this note from The Mass Effect Team:"It has been a long journey - for Shepard and for the team here at BioWare - and like Shepard, we couldn't have done it alone. The Mass Effect trilogy began as a vision of a small team, but over the years it has grown. That growth has been fueled and shaped by the feedback and support of our player community. Thank you for joining us on this journey, and we look forward to sharing further adventures with you in the Mass Effect universe."
Documenting the changes in Mass Effect 3's Extended Cut DLC
Following the launch of the long-anticipated Extended Cut DLC for Mass Effect 3, we ran through the original and updated endings a few times to note some of the differences between the two. For those of you unable to access a convenient autosave or play through the game again, we've written up a summary of the differences between the new versions of the endings and the originals, which you can find after the break.We won't ruin all the fun for players, but the following definitely contains major spoilers for the ending of Mass Effect 3.
It's all too much: Why Mass Effect 3's Extended Cut ending can't possibly fix everything
This is a weekly column from freelancer Rowan Kaiser, which focuses on "Western" role-playing games: their stories, their histories, their mechanics, their insanity, and their inanity. BioWare's free response to the Mass Effect 3 ending hoopla, the "Extended Cut" add-on, was released this week. In many ways, it acts as a direct response to the most common criticisms of the ending. If your primary problems were that the ending choices weren't properly explained beforehand, or that it was unclear what happened to the universe and the specific characters after the climax, the "Extended Cut" will be a notable improvement. But it doesn't actually change the quality of the ending, it just adds more content.(Obviously, spoilers for the Mass Effect series follow.)
Rumor: 'Leviathan' is coming in future Mass Effect 3 DLC
It feels like it was only yesterday that Mass Effect 3 producer Mike Gamble teased a new installment of DLC for the final game in BioWare's epic trilogy (oh wait, it was). Rather than wait for official word, some crafty folks from the BioWare Social Network cracked open the Mass Effect 3's Extended Cut DLC and found a file that may shed light on upcoming content for the game. Reportedly, what they found makes reference to a character by the name of "Leviathan."While the file in question didn't describe Commander Shepard summoning an enormous water serpent to his crew's aid (we wish!), it noted that Leviathan is a traitorous Reaper that indoctrinated a Batarian colony for an entire decade.Whether details on this DLC pack are legitimate remains to be seen. As always, we advise taking leaks like this with a grain of red sand. Joystiq has contacted BioWare to get their side of the quest line.
How to cut to Mass Effect 3's 'Extended Cut' even sooner
While BioWare said that loading a save file that places Commander Shepard roughly two missions before the actual ending of Mass Effect 3 is necessary to experience the Extended Cut downloadable content, players can view the new ending of the game even more quickly.To cut out the middleman (and potentially any fresh content included in the missions prior to the end of the game), players who have completed the game can load up an auto-save that zips Shepard to the end of the game, labeled (spoilers!) "Citadel: The Return." Again, while you might miss added scenes during the final missions in the game, you'll go straight to all the explanatory stuff at the end.It's worth noting that we performed this act of trickery on Xbox 360, so we can't confirm that this works on PS3 or PC just yet.
Mass Effect 3 'Extended Cut' out now
Mass Effect 3's free "Extended Cut" DLC is available now on Xbox 360 worldwide. The PlayStation 3 version should be available in North America when the PSN updates later today, European Shepards on PS3 will need to wait until July 4. We don't have a current time on the PC version's launch. According to BioWare, all three platforms should have it available today, June 26.The "Extended Cut" DLC addresses the controversy about the game's ending, adding cinematics and epilogues to fill in the space opera's conclusion. Whether it resolves the controversy is another matter entirely.Update: PC now live.
Hackett, EDI confirmed for Mass Effect 3 'Extended Cut' DLC
On top of providing "further clarity" to Mass Effect 3's ending, some more details regarding the upcoming "Extended Cut" DLC have come out. "Extended Cut" will include cameos from both Admiral Hackett, who is played by Lance Henricksen, and EDI, voiced by Tricia Helfer."I just did another session with them. They were saying there's a little bit of a problem with the abruptness of the ending," Hendriksen told G4 during a press junket for a new animated series called Tron: Uprising that he's involved in. "So we did a whole series of things to add to the end of the game, to live up to the quality they've been doing." Helfer, also part of the show, confirmed EDI would make an appearance.
'No plans' to pull or charge for Mass Effect 3 'Extended Cut' DLC after expiration date
Regardless of the seemingly arbitrary April 12, 2014 expiration date attached to this morning's announcement of Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut, EA told Joystiq it has "no plans to ever pull that content down or charge for it." That goes for "the foreseeable future after the April 12 date." According to a company rep, the expiration addendum was only attached due to EA's internal policy of putting expiration dates "on all 'no additional cost' content."Announced this morning, Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut aims to assuage fan concerns over the trilogy's finale by adding "additional cinematic sequences and epilogue scenes" beyond the content already on the game's disc(s). Following Mass Effect 3's early March launch, fans responded with mixed feelings toward its conclusion, some going as far as to raise a chunk of money in a donation protest (the money was later returned).Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut will arrive on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC this summer for free (and will remain as such, regardless of required legal notes).Update: We're currently clarifying with Child's Play regarding the status of the donated funds.
Mass Effect 3 'Extended Cut' DLC free this summer, offers 'further clarity to the ending'
EA this morning announced Mass Effect 3's "Extended Cut" DLC, which adds to the game's ending and will arrive for free at some point this summer. According to the publisher, the content will add "additional cinematic sequences and epilogue scenes," which will apparently offer fans "further clarity to the ending of Mass Effect 3" and "deeper insights into how their personal journey concludes."The additional content comes as a response to a group of fans who felt the third game ended in an unsatisfactory manner. That outcry apparently had a serious effect at BioWare internally, as project lead Casey Hudson says the team has, "reprioritized [its] post-launch development efforts to provide the fans who want more closure with even more context and clarity to the ending of the game, in a way that will feel more personalized for each player."No specific information is given about what said content will be, but we sure hope it means we won't see other DLC packs delayed or scrapped as a result. Studio co-founder Ray Muzyka notes,"With the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut we think we have struck a good balance in delivering the answers players are looking for while maintaining the team's artistic vision for the end of this story arc."Extended Cut will arrive on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC "this summer." It will remain free for download until April 12, 2014, at which point who knows what'll happen.
