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EA discounts Mass Effect, Dead Space and more for PC Halloween sale
EA's mobile offerings aren't the only games the publisher is marking down in honor of this most spooky holiday -- the EA Store currently has half-off deals on PC blockbusters like Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and Dead Space. Peep all the temporarily low prices below.
Waging WAR: RvR packs, the "wait and see" edition
This week Waging WAR rides the double rainbow of gameplay customization via downloadable content and takes a cursory glance at the RvR packs being teased by the folks behind the development of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Let's follow along and see what Greg can unleash this time. It is difficult to talk about the future of WAR right now. Not because it doesn't have a future, but because the availability of information regarding it is not exactly easy to find. Actually, information on the future of WAR is all but non-existent, surrounded by controversy on all sides, and steeped in rumor, speculation, assumption and misinformation. The best I can put together is that we, as players, can look forward to some sort of set of three different "RvR Packs" allowing us to "customize" our gameplay experience moving forward. The packs have been called "Power," "Progression," and "Personality." What exactly each contains is a mystery, although the few talking points I was able to find regarding these RvR packs are speculatively disappointing at best. Although Carrie, Andy, and anyone else involved with the Mythic development team have said time and time again that they are not discussing moving toward the free-to-play business model, what they're proposing with these customization packs looks suspiciously like the item shop established by Turbine, implemented in Dungeons & Dragons Online and soon in Lord of the Rings Online as well. V.I.P. membership, anyone? Although concrete information is scarce and difficult to find, let's take a look at the most commonly referenced points of interest after the break.
Mass Effect's M8 Avenger rifle brought to exquisitely detailed life
Harrison Krix understands if you don't remember his name. After all, your mind can't be expected to retain information when you've just seen the spectacular Portal gun and Daft Punk helmet the man has already authored. Latest on his hitlist is an homage to the awesomeness that is Mass Effect. Employing mostly leftover bits from previous projects and $28's worth of new materials, Harrison set about the task of recreating Commander Shepard's trusty assault rifle. The source will delight your eyeballs with a litany of pictures and build details, though our major question remains unanswered -- does it use armor-piercing, incendiary, or shredder rounds?
Mass Effect 2 out on PS3 January 2011
"I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite announcement from Gamescom." The official reveal of Mass Effect 2 on PlayStation 3 comes after this morning's appearance of an Amazon listing for just that. The retailer's January 31 date matches with the official "January 2011" timeline given at the presentation. According to an EA press release, the PS3 version will include "hours of bonus content" (the existing DLC, perhaps?). BioWare's Dr. Ray Muzyka classified the announcement as "friggin' awesome," and we're inclined to agree. Check out the official reveal trailer and press release after the break.
Hyperspace Beacon: Forced species
The Hyperspace Beacon is a weekly guide and discussion by Larry Everett about the yet-to-be-released game Star Wars: The Old Republic. This week I was excited about the new species introduced to Star Wars: The Old Republic, and the lore-lover in me is still extremely elated despite what some of the commenters said on the announcement article. However, I've had time to think about a few things, and the seed of internal conflict sowed itself in my fanboy psyche. It did not break me, but I do question some of the decisions BioWare has made regarding species-to-class choices. I do not like to draw attention to negative posts because I believe arguments can be made without berating other people and defiling the English language. But one of the posts in the recent space-combat-on-rails article reflected some of the fans' sentiment towards the game when the poster said this about BioWare's developers: "They have their formula and every new game is just fresh paint." Although I don't think it is exactly that simple, there is a bit of truth in that statement. But that does not, by any means, destine this game for failure (right, Final Fantasy?). BioWare does have a formula, but when it sticks to this formula, it usually produces something very successful. BioWare's mantra is "story." The company has chanted this from the first day SWTOR was announced, yet for me something still seems a bit amiss. Upon examining past BioWare games, I am not quite sure the reasons for tying species to a specific class actually make sense -- at least not for the reasons the company offers. Perhaps when you follow me through the rest of this article you can help me resolve this inner conflict.
GenCon 2010: Fantasy fencing with 38 Studios
One thing is for certain: When you are sitting in the crosshairs of Curt Schilling and R.A. Salvatore during an interview, it's easy to become bowled over by their collective intensity and passion, especially when it comes to their interest in games and fantasy worlds. While GenCon Indy lacked its usual MMORPG presence this year, Massively was able to grab a few minutes of face time with 38 Studios' founder and lead writer as they passed through the convention. It was a bit of an odd interview, however, as two of the biggest topics -- 38 Studios' move to Rhode Island and any solid details about their top-secret MMO -- were off the table for discussion. Do not fret, as that certainly didn't stop us from trying to pry for a few hints along the way. Schilling and Salvatore were obviously eager to spill the beans about Copernicus, but they are still biding their time until the right moment. Happily, the duo didn't mind us fencing with them for facts, and were quite open about their single-player RPG lead-up to Copernicus, their general philosophy of designing the MMO, and why they've waited so long to unveil it to the public. Read on, gentle gamers, for a few ripostes, parries and lunges with two of the biggest figures in the industry right now.
Mass Effect PC is this weekend's EA Summer deal, on sale for $5
If your cash flow has been irreparably dammed by some unknown stoppage, yet you're looking for a meaty action-RPG to chew on this weekend, EA's offering a deal which seems right up your alley. For this weekend only, you can grab the original Mass Effect on PC for five American dollars.
New Mass Effect novel penned by sci-fi writer William C. Dietz
In a recent interview with our PC-centric sister site Big Download, science fiction novelist and experienced game-to-book adapter William C. Dietz revealed he was recently "hired to write a Mass Effect tie-in." When pressed for details about the project, Dietz, who has also written books for the Resistance, Hitman, Halo and StarCraft franchises, could only reveal that it was due to his publisher in early 2011. So, we've got Mass Effect: Ascension, Mass Effect: Revelation and, out next week, Mass Effect: Retribution -- and now Dietz is going to throw another piece of literature on the pile? Had we known that falling in love with the Mass Effect franchise would require us to do this much reading, we probably would have skipped the whole darn thing.
Mass Effect Evolution comic to take the illusive out of the Illusive Man
Mass Effect 2's shadowy, nicotine-addicted adviser, the Illusive Man, will have his history explored in an upcoming comic book mini-series from Dark Horse. IGN reports that Mass Effect Evolution will be penned by the same creative team behind the last comic series, subtitled Redemption. It will focus on the origins of the interstellar conflicts present in the original game, as well as the backstory of the Martin Sheen-voiced humanitarian. Upon hearing the announcement, we also wondered if Sheen would reprise his role in the comics, which was one of the dumbest things we've said to ourselves all year.
Ex-Raven dev Manveer Heir joins Bioware Montreal to work on Mass Effect franchise
Manveer Heir isn't just our winner of the coolest name for a game designer ever award, he's also just been hired by BioWare Montreal as a senior level designer for the Mass Effect franchise. Heir stepped down from his lead designer role at Activision-owned Raven Software in mid-June and has been on a mini-hiatus since then, only to announce yesterday -- alongside another big BioWare reveal -- that he would be heading up to Montreal. Heir ... aired his feelings about the change, tweeting, "I'm a big fan of the Mass Effect series, so to get a chance to join the team and help build an amazing game is such a tremendous privilege." When Twitter followers pestered him for specifics, he declined to offer more details, responding, "I cannot elaborate beyond Mass Effect franchise." Next up for the franchise is supposedly that "far reaching" Mass Effect ... thing, which has been teased to arrive early next year.
Lots of older Xbox Live Marketplace content discounted
Looking to add a spark of new life to your old, rusty Xbox 360 games? First of all, how did your games manage to get rusty? Did you have them bronzed? More importantly, a slew of discounts on older DLC items on the Xbox Live Marketplace might just what your floundering classics need.
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR hype in hyperspace
The Hyperspace Beacon is a weekly guide and discussion by Larry Everett about the yet-to-be-released game Star Wars: The Old Republic. In a world where MMOs are now commonplace, it seems as though he who has the hippest hype wins. E3 was all about convincing the media that your game or toy was the latest and greatest thing to hit the electronics industry since Pac-man. The media, being the attention-fiends they are, ate it all up. Even Massively wasn't exempt from basking in the spoils of temporary celebrity. I mean, really, did we do a featured news story on Gaia? Yes -- one. But we did no less than ten articles featuring SWTOR coming out of E3. According to some, we're now "Massively: Your daily news about SWTOR and some of these other games over here." So with all this hippity-hype everywhere, pouring from all the latest sites popping up and just longing to be the your best source of SWTOR news, how do you determine which is the best? What do you read? What do you ignore? Which is rumor? Which is truth? Who is that masked man? And did you find the Sith Inquisitor in the midriff top as cute as I did? I know, right?! The answers to these questions aren't easy. Sometimes you need a guide to help you through the hype, a hype(rspace) beacon, if you will. This Beacon is here help you calculate the jump. So strap yourself in, kid. It's going to be a bumpy ride.
TOR's conversation system rebuilt to be like Mass Effect's
BioWare lead designer and storywriter Daniel Erickson drops a few interesting nuggets about Star Wars: The Old Republic's well-publicized voice system. In an interview with CVG, he gives credit to Mass Effect, BioWare's celebrated single-player RPG, for inspiring a complete change in The Old Republic's voiceover content. "Originally the game was built far more like Dragon Age as far as [the] Conversation System went," he said. "Our player characters were not going to be voiced because it's a massively insane expenditure and hugely complicated to do. You have to cast 16 of the best actors ever and then hold them for eternity," Erickson says. He goes on to illustrate how the original Mass Effect caused the TOR team to adjust their thinking, as it debuted very early in the latter's development cycle. You can read the full article at CVG.
E3 2010: Hands on with The Old Republic's smuggler class
What's the oldest profession? If you answered smuggling, then you're wrong, but you're totally on track for what we're going to cover in today's hands-on! At this year's E3, I had the pleasure of smuggling for fun and profit as I found my ship stolen out from underneath me in Star Wars: The Old Republic. I spent a decent amount of time learning about the game's world, the game's combat and quest system, and how cover works for the smuggler. I also got to witness a bit of multiplayer combat, to get a feel for how the game works in a party. Was it revolutionary? Was it solid? Was it a piece of junk that could do the Kessel Run in an odd measure of distance instead of time? Follow after the break for all of this and more!
Gaikai signs multi-year licensing deal with EA
Gaikai may not be ready for action just yet (the service doesn't have a release date), but the company was more than happy to drop news of a multi-year licensing agreement with Electronic Arts today. The news appears to be delivering on promises that the company's fearless leader, Dave Perry, made back in April of a big E3 announcement. Among the games Gaikai will be bringing to the web-streaming service are The Sims, the Battlefield: Bad Company series, the Dragon Age series, the Mass Effect series, Medal of Honor and Need for Speed. "Gaikai's innovations open whole new experiences for both current players and new customers looking for the best of interactive entertainment," EA's Richard Hilleman said of the licensing deal. We're open to both "whole new experiences" and "interactive entertainment," so that sounds just fantastic to us.
BioWare Montreal seeking multiplayer programmers with Unreal Engine experience
A job listing for "multiplayer programmers" has appeared on EA's official website, specifically for BioWare Montreal -- a studio that describes itself in the same listing as "working on Mass Effect, one of the industry's most beloved and acclaimed franchises, as we build our way toward becoming a fully self-sufficient BioWare studio." EA's Montreal-based recruiter, Jeff Goldstein, apparently had a similar listing on his LinkedIn page (no longer available but captured by CinemaBlend), which pegged the multiplayer programmers as working on the "Mass Effect Franchise." The position additionally requires "experience with the Unreal Engine" -- out of BioWare's current and known franchises, Mass Effect is the only one to use Unreal. Alarmingly, the listing fails to point out that, if applicants are to work on a Mass Effect 3 multiplayer component, they'll be working on the hardest game development task of all time. We can't even begin to wonder how multiplayer dialogue trees work. When contacted for comment, an EA rep told Joystiq, "Mass Effect is a rich, dynamic fiction designed as a trilogy. The team at BioWare is working on new downloadable content for Mass Effect 2 and are in the early stages of Mass Effect 3 development." [Thanks, Khai; via NeverKnowTech]
Report: Mass Effect movie rights obtained by Legendary Pictures
We're wary of video game-derived movies, which is a pretty fair stance for a genre that has Mortal Kombat sitting unchallenged atop its pinnacle, but the effort to bring Mass Effect to the big screen sounds legitimate enough to pique our interest. THR reports that the film rights have been picked up by Legendary Pictures (the studio behind 300, The Watchmen, The Dark Knight and the still-in-development Gears of War). BioWare's Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Casey Hudson will reportedly be brought on as executive producers. Mark Protosevich, the writer behind I Am Legend and the upcoming Thor, is in talks to pen the adaptation. The question, of course, is who will play the game's lead, Justin Shepard, the brave space adventurer that bears a striking resemblance to a slightly handsomer, moderately more chiseled version of Joystiq's Justin McElroy. The author of this post thinks the choice is clear. [Via Slashfilm]
Gap between Mass Effect 2 and 3 filled with future DLC
Mass Effect 2 is already outstripping the original in terms of DLC, and it looks like the downloadable bounty will be getting even more interesting in the future. In a recent interview with VideoGamer, BioWare's Casey Hudson made it known that upcoming DLC will link the stories of Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. "We'll start to have packs that'll tell the story between Mass Effect 2 and 3," said Hudson, adding that it will be "quite a few months" before BioWare is ready to start talking about Mass Effect 3. We're all for more Mass Effect 2, especially DLC that extends the story. Honestly, though, how can BioWare top the fact that Saren is actually Commander Shepard's father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate?
Rumor: Mass Effect 2 files could point to Liara T'Soni DLC
Swallow this information with the same caution one would a drink served by a Batarian bartender, but it appears that Liara T'soni may return to fighting form in future Mass Effect 2 DLC. Tehpwnage explains that extracted sound files from the PC version of the game allegedly allude to a quest where Shepard's former companion (and possible lover) confronts the Shadow Broker. If the sound clips are authentic, it's unclear whether Liara's Shadow Broker sub-plot will be handled using the same structure as other Mass Effect 2 characters, or if it'll be part of something more like BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins -- Awakening, thus taking place after the events of the core game. It'd be nice to have Liara back on the team, but given the weight bestowed upon the Shadow Broker in the Mass Effect universe, it'd be awkward if he/she/it were dispatched through a simple "loyalty mission" -- although it may feel less abrupt for transmedia consumers of the comic. Those interested in the spoilerish sound clips can give them a listen after the break.
TERA adds veteran industry talent
En Masse Entertainment isn't messing around, judging by today's announcement regarding several game industry heavyweights joining forces with the publisher of the forthcoming TERA MMORPG. "We want En Masse Entertainment to serve as a magnet for creative talent. As we build toward the launch of TERA, we are adding veteran strength to all facets of the company to ensure a topnotch action MMO experience for our customers," said CEO Dr. Jae-Heon Yang. New TERA team members include Aaron LeMay, a veteran of major action franchises including Halo and Saint's Row. Also signing on are Matt Atwood, former Global Public Relations Lead at BioWare and responsible for overseeing both Dragon Age and Mass Effect. David Noonan, a former Dungeons and Dragons game designer and Aion writer also joins the TERA crew, as does Microsoft Xbox Live Operations Center veteran Markus Schweig. Head on over to the official TERA forums for the full press release.
