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EA clarifies Origin's ability to 'auto-add' games from other libraries
EA has not been crawling your computer, looking for that one file that you think is hidden really well, but is really just labeled "My Little Pony Season 1," right on your desktop. Hiding in plain sight and all that.Yesterday some Origin users noticed that a few EA games they'd previously bought through other distributors -- Steam, mostly -- were automatically added to their Origin games list. EA has confirmed that it is testing out a feature to add older games to users' Origin libraries, but that it doesn't snag the games by accessing anyone's computer."At no time was any information on your computer accessed, all of this information was obtained directly from our game registration records," a statement from EA reads. Most likely the transfer is made via the email address users register their EA games under, though EA's statement, which you can read in full below, doesn't clarify directly.
BioWare doctors discuss Mass Effect MMO
The fast-approaching Mass Effect 3 hype bomb doesn't have much to do with MMOs, except maybe it does. Gamespot cornered BioWare doctors Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka and asked the duo point-blank about a Mass Effect MMO, and the answer might surprise you. "It's daunting, but the neat thing is it would lend itself to a different type of gameplay. It's fun to think about," Zeschuk told the website. Does that mean that the so-called fourth pillar of MMO story won't factor as heavily into the theoretical title as it does in Star Wars: The Old Republic? It's anyone guess at this point, but Muzyka offers a further fanboy nugget that hints at the possibility of a new direction for BioWare MMOs. "When you deliver a game, and you deliver it for a player, you have to capture what they think is the possibility space," he explains. "You need to let them do everything they think they should do, and you can't block them from doing anything they think they should be able to do. You have to nail all the features and content that should be in that possibility space."
Mass Effect 1 and 2, Modern Warfare 2 for PC cheap today on Amazon
Do you want to play Mass Effect 1 or 2, or Modern Warfare 2, but don't have them yet? Or -- a more likely scenario -- do you want to play them, but don't feel like getting them off the shelf and putting the discs into a console? Such effort. Such drudgery.Amazon has the PC download versions of these games on sale today for $5 each. The Deal of the Day also includes the Digital Deluxe Edition of Mass Effect 2 for $7.49, or Dungeon Defenders for $2.99. And you don't have to get up at all, unless you don't have your credit card handy.
Razer ready to dump massive mounds of Mass Effect 3 gear on an unsuspecting public
Prodigious piles of peripherals -- that's what Razer has in store for you -- all of them bearing the mark of Mass Effect 3. Most of the goods are simply rebrands of existing products: the Chimera wireless headset, the Vespula mouse pad, Onza 360 Tournament Edition controller, BlackWidow Ultimate keyboard and Imperator gaming mouse all get slathered in red and black and slapped with an N7 logo. The Bioware-branded electronics are accompanied by a messenger bag ($80) and iPhone case ($25). All will be hitting shelves next month for a roughly $10 premium over their unlicensed versions. Check out the gallery below and the PR after the break for more details.
We'd give nearly anything for this tiny Mass Effect to be real
The latest thing on our "List of Things That Don't Exist That Totally Should Exist" comes from Deviant Art user Pyroxene, whose 3D modeling skills have produced the adorable miniature Mass Effect scene seen above. It's like Jim Henson's Mass Effect Babies, or Poy Poy: Cerberus Edition, and we love it unconditionally. Pyroxene originally set out to create three characters, but apparently the fun of chibi-fying some of gaming's most beloved characters is a little hard to let go of. Hit the source link for a high-resolution shot of the scene, as well as close ups of the individual models, their wire frames and the impressively compact textures used.
Dark Side 'Cause It Looks Cool: The Failings of Moral Choice in Games
This is a weekly column focusing on "Western" role-playing games: their stories, their histories, their mechanics, their insanity, and their inanity. Morality systems have become role-playing. Or at least, a significant amount of people have come to believe this. To take one example, this review of The Old Republic is premised on the concept that BioWare's style of moral choices are effective character-building mechanics. It's a fine review, but it's one that I can't agree with because I find the model of game morality used in The Old Republic and many other role-playing games ineffective at creating a moral system.In order for a moral choice to have weight, it needs to have two components. First, meaningful choices have to cause the player to lose something in order to gain power. Something has to change, or be expected to change, within the game in order for the decision to matter. In Mass Effect, at one point in the game, you have to choose which of two party members to rescue – the other dies. Or, in Fallout: New Vegas, working with Caesar's Legion turns the New California Republic into an enemy, and vice versa.Second, a moral choice has to be a difficult choice. The old adage "If doing the right thing were easy, everyone would do it" applies here. This is where games usually fail. They can do it with little choices, like with stealing even when you won't get caught in New Vegas. Take the owned items and you'll lose karma, which might be a small hit compared to the benefits of a new weapon. Alternately, in some games, honorable characters will simply refuse payment for quests, forcing money to be acquired by other means.
Custom Mass Effect turian figurines say hi with sass
Sculptor Kerry Dyer seems to be a purveyor of adorable sculptures and 3D art, and her latest conquest is the turian race from Mass Effect. Kerry created a few super-cute, sassy turian figurines like a pro, with a full rundown of the process on her blog.
Testing Kinect in Mass Effect 3 (plus, demo coming February 14) [update: more demo details]
"James, move. Liara, move. Liara, Singularity. James, Carnage. Sniper rifle! Liara, Stasis! Concussive shot. Follow me. Activate. Open." Yeah, that's pretty much how it works.
Watch Shepard get punchy in Mass Effect 3 combat footage
The latest edition of BioWare Pulse -- the world's leading BioWare news source which is also created by BioWare -- has some interesting footage of some of the new combat mechanics in Mass Effect 3. Featured are maneuvers like "Punch," and also "Punch with Fire."
This Week In MMO: Night at the movies edition
This Week In MMO is all about movies: how some games compare to movies and which movies will be made into games. The BioWare doctors hinted at a Mass Effect MMO once again, but what does our panel of hosts think? Mike B, aka Fony of ZAM, believes that the Mass Effect intellectual property is very similar to the movie industry, such that Mass Effect can take a few years of downtime, then just like some movie remakes, bounce back even stronger as an MMO. What about movies becoming MMOs? Jasmine Hruschak, of Gamebreaker's The Sanctum, is scared of any movie becoming a game. Traditionally, these platform conversions are disastrous, according to IRLJasmine. However, Gary Gannon agrees with Avatar director James Cameron's sentiments and believes that the world of the Nav'i could one day be comparable to the world of World of Warcraft. Catch all this and more movie-to-MMO comparisons after the break on Gamebreaker.TV's This Week In MMO!
BioWare open to the possibility of a Mass Effect MMO
If you've been among the vocal crowds demanding that BioWare stop fiddling around with that "Star Wars thing" and get on a Mass Effect MMO as soon as possible, today might be your day of vindication. It turns out that BioWare's co-founders are very much open to the possibility of an online edition of its popular Mass Effect franchise. Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk recently fielded the ever-popular question in a much more upbeat tone than ever before. Zeschuk says the studio will evaluate a potential Mass Effect MMO in the near future: "You never know. I think once The Old Republic is done, we'll take a fresh look at the market." "We're focused very much on The Old Republic, Mass Effect 3 and Wrath of Heroes, and all the other things we've announced, and haven't announced, but we also have the opportunity to look at our franchises in a way we haven't ever before. There are lots of new platforms and lots of new business models," Muzyka added. Mass Effect: The MMO is one of those speculative rumors that seems to never die. Analysts have predicted that such an MMO could top Star Wars: The Old Republic's numbers.
Commander Shepard is leaving us after Mass Effect 3
Unlike that other big space trilogy whose hero doggedly refuses to call it quits, Mass Effect's magnanimous (and/or tyrannical) Commander Shepard will be cashing in her Systems Alliance penchant and taking an early retirement after Mass Effect 3, according to BioWare's Dr. Ray Muzyka. "After this, Commander Shepard's story is complete," Mazuka told PC Gamer, adding that they were "correct" in suggesting that Shepard absolutely will not be present in any future games set in the Mass Effect universe. No clue as to how Shepard will be exiting the series, naturally, but we figure our Mass Effect 3 play-through will end the same way our Mass Effect 2 one did: completely forgotten and overwritten by hours and hours of endless ore prospecting.
Mass Effect art compiled in hardcover book from Dark Horse
Comic publisher Dark Horse has commissioned a new Mass Effect book that even James Vega can peruse without worrying over Drew Karpyshyn's reams of dense space prose. "The Art of the Mass Effect Universe" is a hardcover encapsulation of the entire franchise's visual work thus far, presented with (text) commentary from the folks at BioWare. The $40 book's due in February 2012 and will contain art from Mass Effect 3, placing it in vague spoiler territory in front of the game's March debut. We can't say whether it will give you that long-awaited glimpse at Tali's face, but it'll definitely serve as a coffee-table tour of the opulent cities you've explored and the aliens you've engaged and/or punched. No word on iPad or Omni-tool versions yet.
BioWare developer wants to augment your virtual diversity (still)
BioWare Montreal developer Manveer Heir works on the Mass Effect franchise by day and champions race equality in games by night, having discussed the importance of diversity at the DICE 2010 panel, "Games of Color," and more recently speaking with Gamasutra about the delicacies of developing with race in mind. After little change over this one-year span, Heir is still an advocate for bringing diversity to game development, seeing games as a portal to a broader social commentary: "You can think of fantasy games where if you were the dark elves, you know, the Drow, were always looked upon... They were the black people of the fantasy world, right? And if you played the dark elves, you were treated like garbage by many of the townspeople," Heir said to Gamastura. "So, my only question is, why can't we do that when we're actually talking about real people?"
Mass Effect 3 will/won't have multiplayer, part 4: Xbox World cover edition
First it did, and then it didn't, and then it might, and now it seems the plot has thickened once again. Mass Effect 3's on-again-off-again love affair with multiplayer is decidedly on again, as the cover of Xbox World Issue 108 (above) teases new multiplayer details, indicating that hey, this game has multiplayer. We're hoping this means BioWare has finally listened to our mailing campaign and implemented an Xbox Live/PSN-enabled head-to-head argument mode.
Hyperspace Beacon: Illusion of choice
Before I begin this little rant about Star Wars: The Old Republic, there are a couple things I want to make clear: This edition of the Hyperspace Beacon will have a lot of spoilers, and I really like SWTOR as a whole. First off, the spoilers mentioned here will be about the DragonAge and Mass Effect series of games. If you have not played through either one of those games and do not want to know how some of that story turns out, then you may not want to read this article. Secondly, SWTOR is a wonderful game. I have played it on a couple of occasions, and I believe it exhibits some of the qualities that have been missing from many of the current MMOs -- specifically, story. By no means do I want to discourage anyone from playing or pre-ordering this game, so if you're on the fence about this game, you may not want to read on because this article is not for you. Surely, fans of BioWare have played games like Mass Effect and DragonAge, and I hope you have played Knights of the Old Republic. These games really define what BioWare is and the types of games it can make. However, given some of the most recent announcements, I have to wonder if some of the staples that made these BioWare games great are going to be missing in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Have BioWare games gone from having choice to just the illusion of choice?
Mass Effect 3 N7 replica gets real world debut for your Spacer pleasure
If you're the type to stock your walls with Lord of the Rings-style elvish daggers (or, you know, build full-scale Portal gun replicas), then you'll love this official Mass Effect 3 mockup commissioned by the folks at Bioware. Arduously crafted by self-proclaimed graphic design dork Harrison Krix, the N7 assault rifle replica made its facsimile debut at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. With only a fortnight to work with, the DIY, prop-making hobbyist took the made-for-cosplay gun from a glued wood, styrene and PVC-detailed master concept to paint weathered, final collector's edition mold. It's an impressive feat you can view in heavily photographed detail at the source, but there's still one thing we're waiting on Krix to bring to life -- that space-skipping SSV Normandy.
Help pick female Commander Shepard's default look for Mass Effect 3
Though we're certain everyone reading this takes the time and effort required to truly breathe life into the facial characteristics of their Commander Shepard, BioWare is looking to change up the pre-made female model for Mass Effect 3. On the game's Facebook page, the developer has posted six images of potential prefabricated protagonists, asking fans of the franchise to vote for their favorite by "Liking" one of the candidates. The current vote leader is Shepard No. 5, featured in the center of the line-up above. We suppose she fits the part, though really, how many galaxies can Samus Aran save in one lifetime? She's being awfully greedy, now that we think about it.
Meet James Vega, Mass Effect 3's newest human
To celebrate hitting 10,000 followers, Mass Effect 3's Executive Producer Casey Hudson tweeted the above picture of James Vega, a human Systems Alliance soldier and Commander Shepard's newest compatriot. According to the May 2011 issue of Game Informer, Vega is meant to embody the mindset of a new player entering the franchise: capable as a soldier, but unacclimated to the delicate and often deadly inner-workings of galactic politics. Beyond that, not much else is known about Vega, how he'll fit into the series' spiderweb of emotional character interaction, or what's happened to his porcelain mask and claws.
Mass Effect Normandy SR2 Cerberus Variant model up for pre-order
The problem with that Normandy SR2 model you pre-ordered for your cube back in May is that it doesn't have anything to pick a fight with. Enter the newly announced Cerberus variant, available for 35 clams, and expected to arrive in this galaxy sometime in November. Pew-pew sounds not included.
