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"We’ve all heard the legends of an NES cartridge that was only made for a Nintendo promotional event, or the old Atari 2600 game that was never mass produced, and now they’re worth thousands of dollars. If you got your hands on one of those limited run games decades ago you’d be able to sell it for a fortune today. Unfortunately, most games steadily drop in resale value from the minute they hit the market. Still, there are a few that actually increase in resale price after release, and many..."
The Bioware Store has revealed several new preview images for their upcoming art book, Art of Mass Effect Universe, which features artworks from all three games in the series.
Even though its 2012 there are plenty of games to fill the early year void. The best part of this that so many of these games are less then $20. Games like GTA IV, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Saints Row 2, Mass Effect 2, Fallout 3, and lots of others. There are plenty of other games that offer a lot of bang for your buck.
PSBeyond's top 5 sci-fi games of all time. The top 5 games ever made to feature a prominent sci-fi element. In a setting shared by so many games, which ones pull it off best?
The second installment in a weekly series examining different methods of storytelling used in video games. This week we are looking at the increasingly popular trend of player choice.
There's been a fair amount of furor over EA's supposedly draconian approach to banning people from EA's Origin service. Ever since March of this year, more and more people are coming forward, complaining about how EA banned them from their games. I spend this rant picking apart their arguments.
A picture showing the new prototype has been revealed by Bioware and Kotobukiya for their controversial Mass Effect Liara T'Soni bishoujo figurine statue.
"A brilliant and successful new IP can affect an entire generation of games and game players; I consider these to be the best new franchises of this current generation (2005-present)."
Relationships in video games is something that looks good on paper but never really hits home. In so many games a "relationship" with another character is more or less irrelevant to the outcome of the game and serves to do little more than offer a way to have a fade away simulate copulation. What we should be seeing is relationships that actually require real decisions with meaningful consequences.
Have modern games gotten easier? It seems the games of today are a lot more easier, excluding Demon Souls. So why were games so much harder back in the late 80s and through the 90s? Was it because gamers didn't have gamefaqs? Do gamers just have too many distractions these days so modern games have to be easier?
"Mass Effect is one of my favorite video game franchises and it has spawned a ton of awesome characters. Squad member spend the most time with Shephard and get a ton of development so here are my top 5 squad members from Mass Effects 1 and 2."
"I just recently began reading some of the Mass Effect novels having heard that they were very good and that they would help fill in quite a bit of back story for the games. I began reading the first book in the series, Revelation, and was pleasantly surprised that my usual lack of interest in reading had disappeared and I was getting engrossed in the novel. But after I put the novel down for the night I began to think about how video games have spilled over into other media and how this is bo..."
"For this top 10 list I have decided to countdown my 10 favorite video game heroes. These characters earn a spot on this list by being courageous, daring, strong, skilled, smart, or any combination of those that make them shine above the crowd. These characters are vital to the survival of numerous people and they are the best at what they do. I’ve only included characters from games that I have personally played. Here’s my 10 favorite video game heroes:"
"Mass Effect is one of my favorite gaming franchises on the market right now and there have been some awesome characters throughout the course of the two games. These 5 characters are people I want to see more of in the next game. They aren’t squad members but they have their purpose to the cause and are interesting enough to be given more in-depth characterization."
"Am I missing something? When Mass Effect 2 launched last year, it was welcomed by critics with unending praise, many hailing it as this generation's best game. After playing the first game and being only moderately impressed, I was hesitant in picking up the sequel. Naturally, all the high review scores and unending compliments to BioWare for making such a fantastic title, compelled me to try it for myself. You see, I'm a sucker for a game that has a good story and cast of well developed char..."
"If you are going to Comic-Con this year, you may be very excited to hear that Casey Hudson, and Mark Protosevich will be attending for a panel regarding the hugely-anticipated movie adaptation of Bioware’s Mass Effect. Last year, EA announced that Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures attained the rights to the movie, based off one of the most popular games in the last few years."
Goozernation takes a look at some of the top female video game characters in the last 20 years or so. Characters like Samus, Princess Zelda, Jill Valentine as well as a few others made the list. The big question is why did these ladies make the "best of" list, and why?
"So let us introduce you to Sam Hulick. He’s relatively new to the composing sphere, having jumped into game composition with Capcom’s Maximo vs Army of Zin, but he’s come a long way since then. He’s one of the biggest minds behind the music of Mass Effect 1 & 2, and he shared a little wisdom of composition with us."
Steam is famous for having some ridiculous sales on occasion.
Today hosts one of those sales.
You're gonna want to check out how cheaply you can get Mass Effect 1 and 2 today for PC through Steam.
"Then came Dragon Age: Origins, a game that had not only hot tenting scenes, but also two characters who would swing either way. If you played as a male, and wanted to romance the sultry male elf, Zevran, you could. If you played as a female, and wanted to get it on with the red headed female bard, Leliana, you could."
Due to the influence of the arcades, games were designed to be short and sweet. But with games costing as much as they do now, you'd expect games to provide more than just a few hours of fun. Sadly, no matter how big or hyped up the release is, games are getting shorter and no one is being held accountable.
"The most ironic portion of the entire Mass Effect situation is that there are so many games given the same rating which are, or were, significantly more objectionable, yet the station decided to use this particular game as its flagship. The 2002 release of BMX XXX featured the ability to create topless female bikers and unlock stripper videos. This game’s ultimate goal was to stir controversy and generate sales, but the game ultimately was declined shelf space at various retailers, required c..."
Joystick Division runs down the ten best ensemble casts in the history of video games, from Psychonauts to Knights of the Old Republic. Did your favorite make the list?
"Video games often give their protagonists significant others. Rarely does this turn out very well. For every interesting love interest, there are 40 bland, generic, and/or annoying ones. Even when it’s an RPG that gives you multiple choices, almost all of them are terrible, if not all of them. So here’s a list of what I consider the worst five significant others in video games."
Even if you're a bitter young fart, these Mass Effect Valentines are a little too amusing to not love.
For more, check out inkasylum's Flickr page via the source (rights reserved).
"While it’s always best to try and get your hands on the latest and greatest stuff that developers, publishers and retailers are more than happy to shove down our throats with all the restraint of a mental patient, it doesn’t hurt to check out a few titles that have since comes, gone and had the hell played out of them already. After all, there are more than a few ways to get your hands on a new game, but as I’m always prone to remind anyone who will listen, it isn’t so dreadful to look back a..."
"Many video games have inventories. Lets face it, any game that requires you to pick stuff up, carry stuff around, or use something typically has some form of inventory management. Whether its keeping tabs on how much ammo you have or making sure you still have room in your expansive (albeit invisible) rucksack that holds 150 fire arms, 12 outfits, 3 items of food or potions, and a fork, lute, cup, or cat (yeah Anders I’m looking at you) you have to remain aware of something you are lugging a..."
"As with many modern RPGs, Mass Effect requires a sizeable time commitment and the full attention of its players. But don't think that all those hours spent accruing renegade points are worth nothing -- Mass Effect has much to teach us about staying sane in a galaxy gone mad."
For all those women (and men) that wish Joker was a romance option, one important personal question arises. With his condition, would Joker even be able to have sex?
Also, BioWare had a slip up with Joker's disease.
While everyone was busy gushing over Eitanya's plushified rendition of Garrus from Mass Effect, TK-Nation's Cassandra Khaw took it a step further and investigated the full extent of Eitanya's abilities.
Conclusion? She wants the Okami hat. Bad.
"It fills your living room with plastic tat, fills the games market to saturation point and features gameplay in which the controller feels more like an obstacle to immersion than a conduit between you and the game on the screen. Of course all these charges could be levelled at any game in the Guitar Hero or Rock Band series, but for sheer disappointment Guitar Hero II steps forward on behalf of its fellows to take the award.
Contrast the endless series of heavy metal peaks on the soundtrac..."
"The Taliban in Medal of Honor, Cooking Mama vs. PETA, Mass Effect vs. Fox, video games have made headlines and offended many people throughout the years, be it with violent or sexual content or the game touching on a touchy subject people have been offended by video games for years but I have a question to ask: Can you be offended by an idea?"
Gaming is becoming more immersive by the minute it seems, and with the way it's upwardly trending, one can only imagine how much more interactive and customizable gaming will become to cater to everyone's needs individually. While this is a great thing in many ways, it's become evident that the expectation for gameplay and character interaction has risen dramatically in games that offer little to no customization in the first place.
"As video games become more and more robust in terms of content and story development, we are greeted with characters that can feel very human. Though they live mainly off of scripted cues, they play a vital role in how games impact us."
"Video games have multiplayer, anymore that’s almost a given. Multiplayer gives people the chance to go out and pit themselves against other people from around the world or it allows for a collaborative effort to achieve victory. But there are some games that either miss the mark, or totaly skip the online process altogether."
"Mass Effect always had promise. BioWare, as a studio, always has promise. Unfortunately, the bizarre gameplay choices never seem to work out well, and the fact they’ve been deliberately engineered that way makes it worse. If it was some sort of screw up, it would almost be forgivable, but BioWare made Mass Effect this way on purpose and thinks it’s good. In fact, loads of people think it’s good, and that’s an awful, awful thing to comprehend."
"I am speaking of video games of course, but I realize some of you may feel the need to indulge that barbaric tradition of lighting things on fire and watching stuff blow up. Fortunately, the world of gaming offers several easy (and safer) methods of satisfying your craving for ‘splosions."
"Everyone has that video game they absolutely love. Everyone has that video game that they can play for hours on end. Everyone has that video game character that has won their heart and everyone has that video game character that they absolutely hate..."
GameZone's Dave Snell explains why he has become bored with BioWare's recent role-playing games. Among the reasons: use of similar characters, good/bad choices, etc.
"The first two Mass Effect games have been commercial and critical successes as single-player RPGs. But, could you and some friends shoot it out with the enemies of Commander Shepard in Mass Effect 3? That may be the case according to a job listing put up by EA senior recruiter Jeff Goldstein on LinkedIn."
Legendary Pictures have announced they have a Mass Effect movie coming soon, penned by Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend). It's uncertain as to whether it will be based on either of the games, or a new story entirely. I'm in two minds, personally - whilst I love the games, I'm not sure a movie would work given the amount of choices available and that I've become accustomed to the current actors. What do you think? Could it break the movie license 'stereotype', or could it be a sci-fi epic? Post y...
"Every once in a while, however, an achievement comes along that makes you think, "They want me to do what?!" Here is a list of 10 of the most ridiculously lengthy and/or challenging Xbox 360 achievements dreamed up by game developers. Try tackling any of them and you might wind up forsaking friends, family and even your sanity in the quest for higher Gamerscore."
"Shortly after Mass Effect 2 was released, a sizeable number of players complained about the paired-down inventory and power systems versus the more complicated mechanics in the first game. Many people pointed at this change and claimed Mass Effect 2 was therefore not an RPG, but an action-adventure game. Not only do I disagree with this sentiment wholeheartedly, but I would argue that Mass Effect 2 is precisely what a video game RPG was always meant to be - and the only reason why some gamers..."
"When it comes to games, this generation of home consoles hasn't seen nearly as many exclusive as systems in the past did. But both Sony and Microsoft have done quite well at securing a few great exclusives each. And of course we're running down the sexiest female characters to appear in those titles. We did a list of the top five sexiest female characters to appear in Playstation 3 exclusives last week and we have to show the same respect to the women of the Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 made it pre..."
"Lately we have seen a renaissance of gaming tie-ins. Tie-ins can include movies, comic books, novels, and even television series. Big publishers like wringing every cent they can from a popular IP, and thankfully this will often bring fans some extra material about the universes that we've fallen in love with. They aren't always done well, but I would argue that there is an increasing movement towards hiring quality writers and artists for these projects, and it has made for some fantastic ti..."
"Wedbush Security Analyst Michael Pachter looks into his crystal ball in this week's episode of "Pach-Attack" on GameTrailers.com to look at the future of exclusives on consoles. With the cost of game development increasing does it make sense for developers and publishers to limit their potential audience to only one game console? He also gives his thoughts on whether Microsoft will come out with their answer to the DS or PSP."
"As we make our way through 2010, what better thing is there to do than to take a look back at the last ten years, browse over the RPGs released during that time and talk about them? Of those RPGs, which were the most notable? Which were the ones that set the scene for the decade and which of those should be forgotten?
No really, does anyone have any better ideas because we're all out of them.
For our purposes, we'll officially declare 1st January 2000 as the opening of this decade. Tech..."
We know there have already been a couple of Mass Effect 2 discounts worth posting about, but this latest one is for those who need the whole Mass Effect saga. Amazon is currently bundling Mass Effect 1 and 2 for $50.
Fortunately for gamers, some glitches are actually hilariously entertaining to experience. They can range from mildly funny to completely insane. Have a look at some of the funniest and most entertaining videogames glitches of late.
This week only, Amazon.com is again offering "Buy 2 Xbox 360 Games, Get 1 Free" promotion. There's more than 35 Xbox 360 games eligible for this promotion including Fallout 3, Soul Caliber IV, Fable II Platinum Hits, Halo 3, Street Fighter IV, Ninja Gaiden II, Grand Theft Auto IV, Oblivion IV and many others.
"I think even BioWare would have to admit, though, that the sex scenes depicted in one of their most recent titles, Dragon Age: Origins - in which your character and paramour of choice roll around by the fire with their underwear on - felt a bit awkward and cheesy."
"Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and the three of us each has a hot date all lined up. But we also have a secret. On the most romantic day of the year, a part of each of our minds will probably be thinking about the virtual relationships we've been cultivating with our new favorite game characters. Creepy? Maybe. But we're pretty sure we're not alone.
There was a time when such an idea would have been unthinkable. We love games dearly, but there's traditionally been an emotional ..."
"For a limited time, you'll get three Xbox 360 Platinum Hits for the price of two. Offer valid February 7, 2010 through February 13, 2010, or while supplies last, when shipped and sold by Amazon.com. Limit one free Platinum Hit per household. To qualify, check out with three of the Xbox 360 Platinum Hits listed below in your cart. The price of the third qualifying Platinum Hit of equal or lesser value will be discounted during check out."
GameDaily gives its own take at which RPG style is superior in the categories of the classic RPG, the MMORPG, the tactical RPG, the action RPG, most emotionally engaging (contains FFVII and Mass Effect spoilers), and the overall winner.
Though you might not agree with everything stated, it is an interesting read on a topic that continues to spur the interest of RPG fans.
"With the second part of BioWare’s phenomenally popular Science-Fiction trilogy arriving in North America, Europe and Australia at various points throughout this week, I thought it was high time I took a look back at the original title, refreshing the game in my mind and beefing-up my character ready for transfer into Mass Effect 2. With Electronic Theatre’s review copy of Mass Effect 2 arriving imminently, this left me precious little time to successfully finish the story, but having already ..."
The sequel to Mass Effect is finally here. Does it boldly go places where its predecessor dared not tread?
GameTrailers have reviewed BioWare's new epic RPG sequel, giving it a final review score of 9.7/10.
Head over to GameTrailers to watch the review in HD!
"Nothing is certain in today’s game industry. But the closest you’ll come to a sure thing is that movies based on video games suck. There are exceptions, sure. But most of the time, gamers end up regretting their ticket purchase after watching their favorite game get some off the wall adaption on the silver screen that fails to encompass any of the elements that made the game so good. So to save the movie industry some time, we’ve compiled a list of the top 5 games that need to get big screen ..."
"This week the trio discuss Uncharted 2 & Assassins Creed 2 DLC, PlayStation Motion Controller to be named Arc, Crysis 2 to be in NYC, Duke Nukem Forever might still be alive, and much more in the news section. For what they have been playing its Mass Effect, Kane and Lynch, Section 8 and ExciteBots."
John Elliott from All Age Gaming has plowed through all the Xbox 360 games that have been released to date and has come up with the Top 10 Games on the Xbox 360. Although there are many great games scheduled to release over the coming months, any of the titles on this list are worthy additions to your collection.
"Video games have taken on a life of their own. They can show us things that we could never dream of, giving us compelling and visceral narratives that books and films couldn’t necessarily offer the gaming community. But while these experiences are endowed with a unique quality in regards to gameplay and graphics, there is an aspect that is at times overlooked, which many games hinge their entire livelihood upon. For many titles, music defines the game. After all, an entire genre has been buil..."
Let's face it. Most videogame movies suck. It's extremely hard to make the transition from videogame to the silver screen and even harder to portray the game's plot effectively within a two-hour motion picture. Here's eight games that are so good that turning them into movies would be suicide.
"Not wanting to be left out after the recent success stories concerning Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed II, Electronic Arts (EA) has today announced that it has set a new record for site traffic at DragonAge.com and new user registrations at its social networking site, Social.Bioware.com. With the release of Dragon Age: Origins, the BioWare community has grown to a record five million registered users, propelled by outstanding word-of-mouth buzz among..."
Celebrating the 360's fourth anniversary IGN takes a look at the top 25 games on the console including some new and old releases over the years. The list is comprised of a wide variety of genres and features XBLA games for those looking for something on a budget. 360 owners can see what they've missed out on and put on their list for the holiday season.
"Last time I collected NeoGAF’s great MS Paint renditions of video games, it was for a years worth. Someone decided to start the thread early, which is fine with me as a lot of great work from Junior Members of the board are now able to participate, along with some classic pieces from older members. Below are just my favorite picks, enjoy guessing which games they are from, and make sure to check the original thread which is still active on NeoGAF."
"With the news of the official restructuring of the Xbox 360 pricing strategy yesterday, it appears that retailers are beginning to take action with their existing stock. Electronic Theatre contacted a number of UK high street retailers today, both national chains and independent retailers, and discovered some quite shocking results."
"BioWare and Electronic Arts have today released new images for the recently released Downloadable Content for Mass Effect, Pinnacle Station. Mass Effect 2 is due for release in early 2010 on Xbox 360 and PC, and is the sequel to 2007’s Mass Effect, and the second part of an intended trilogy, and Pinnacle Station has no doubt been devised with the intention of brining gamers back into the fray, primed and ready for the release of the sequel."
"The awaited Mass Effect DLC is here which includes a new space station and 13 combat scenarios. This DLC is said to give you 2-3 hours of game but requires Spectre status to even start the mission. It will also access three new achievements for it, bringing the total points to 1200. Here is the official link"
Remember in June, when BioWare was like, "Hey guys, we have some Mass Effect DLC news coming up very soon!"
Then there was nothing, because that news got delayed. Well, here are the first details to arise since that week. We already know a little bit from winter, but the latest development reveals three new Achievements that will be added thanks to the DLC. Now the game's cap has been pushed to 1200 points.
* Undisputed (50 G)
Complete Ahern's survival mission
* N...
"I would suggest that, in fact there appears to be a total lack of strategy behind Microsoft’s pricing arrangement for the Games on Demand service, though it would be foolish to do so. You and I are both fully aware that this is just the first piece of a new digital distribution puzzle for the console manufacturer, and one that’s very likely to receive a lot of attention from both the media and consumers. It’s the fact that Microsoft have decided to do as Electronic Theatre initially suggested..."
"It's safe to say August 12th 2009 will go down in the Avatar history books (albeit teeny tiny history books), but it will also be a landmark day for gamers with the introduction of a brand new way to access and play your Xbox 360 games: Games on Demand. Launching worldwide with a library of great titles"
""When you're playing the first game, everything that you do is setting a variable so that as the story progresses we know that you did a certain thing on a certain planet, and then internal to the game, we can reference those things," Hudson explained. "Your Mass Effect save game contains all of that information. When you import it into Mass Effect 2, now we can continue mining all that information."
The information pertains not just to what your ending was, but to "literally hundreds of t..."
"I like Mass Effect. I have played it through completely twice and intend to again before the sequel is released. It is one of the better 360 games I have played. If you comment saying what an idiot I am for not liking this game, you hereby declare yourself a mindless sheeple fanboy that didn’t even take the time to glance at this article.
Hopefully, in time, I won’t have to put modifiers like that. Unfortunately, it seems that some of the readers are thinking that I hate every game in ..."
EA announced today that BioWare and Dark Horse Comics will be putting out a Mass Effect comic series. The first issue, titled "Redemption," will be out on January 6, 2010, and covers some events prior to Mass Effect 2.
The story seems to focus on Commander Shepard, who is stranded in the treacherous Terminus Systems with Dr. Liara T'soni. You remember her -- the blue chick you had (possibly lesbian) sex with before saving the galaxy.
"Homosexuality is still a major issue in the video game community, to the point where companies really scratch their heads and run around blind, formulating policies they think might work on paper until another Teresa or Gaywood comes along. What can they really do? If this group isn't angry with them, another one is. In all honesty, social change is probably the only way to guarantee acceptance on the gaming front, but we all know that takes a whole lot of time and tireless efforts by the ..."
IGN's 360 team has created a "Cheers & Tears" list comprising of 5 RPGs you should check out and 5 of them that your wallet should stay clear of. The Cheers section probably won't be much of a surprise to anyone, featuring Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Fable II, Fallout 3, Mass Effect, and Lost Odyssey. The Tears list is made up of Dark Messiah, Phantasy Star Universe, Two Worlds of Might and Magic, Spectral Force 3, and The Last Remnant.
Do we all remember last year's Mass Effect controversy? While BioWare believe that entire debacle was completely over-blown, they do think that sex scenes in games can help reflect real human relationships in a "sophisticated mature experience".
Go to the source for the full article.
Naturally, developers want their games to appeal to a wide audience. In some cases this means creating a game that incorperates elements from many different genres so that you end up with a product that will (in theory) attract the fans of each genre. But it doesn't always work that way and sometimes developers are left with a game that may bluir the genre lines, while not excelling in any.
Destructoid takes a look at Mass Effect, Resident Evil 5, and Resident Evil 4, three great games that ...
"With fear of sounding like an old grouch, I recall days when the Internet was not so popular, or even not popular at all. For the video game world, this carried with it one wonderful positive: mystery. It's not that print media was completely free of giving us some juicy details months (even years) before we played a game, but it retrospect, it seems it was more tastefully done, and well-orchestrated, as opposed to what the rabidly curious nature of the Internet produces."
GameSpot has a pretty great expose online now regarding the "DRM dilemmna" -- that is, publisher action said to minimize piracy by limiting what gamers can do with a given title for the PC.
In it they speak to DRM advocates, opponents, developers, publishers, and DRM vendors themselves -- a must-read if you're looking to gain a broader perspective on the matter at hand, or don't know what DRM is about.
"Go Gamer is offering BioWare's sci-fi RPG Mass Effect for a paltry $9.90, over $40 off the regular price.
The 80% off sale goes through Sunday but rest assured supplies will run out much sooner than the end of the weekend."
"To celebrate the official release of a selection of new titles added to the Xbox360 Classics Range, Microsoft have released a whole new batch of updated cover artwork. Halo 3, Mass Effect and Project Gotham Racing 4 are all available as part of the UK’s Xbox360 Classics Range now, with a Recommended Retail Price of £19.99, and Electronic Theatre can’t recommend all three highly enough."
"RM: From our perspective, now we get to play the games and just really enjoy them as consumers, and offer feedback from that perspective, at the early start of the ideation phase. We say, "What's our audience excited by? What's our aspirational fantasy? What are solving for here? What goals are we setting up for this project?" Then the team goes and they work on that. We play it throughout the process and give feedback whether the team's meeting the goals that they set out at the start of the..."
"Microsoft today announced the expansion of its Classics collection in EMEA to include three blockbuster titles, as it continues its strategy of offering high quality experiences at outstanding value. On 20th March, Halo 3, Mass Effect and Project Gotham Racing 4 will join the elite selection of Xbox360 Classics, with each game available at an Estimated Retail Price (ERP) of just £19.99."
""We had something in Mass Effect 1 which we didn't have the time and we didn't think we would do well enough, which is a fight club arena," says lead designer Preston Watamaniuk in the video. Project director Casey Hudson added: "We wanted to be able to give people a much more combat-oriented, lighter-story kind of experience. You're going to go to kind of a casino, gaming, fight club space station.""
By now I'm sure we're all aware of Resident Evil 5's racism issue, but racial stereotyping is an issue that seems to go beyond beyond just one game.
Darion White, from Edge Online, takes a look at the way black characters are portrayed in video games, both the positive portrayals and the negative ones.
The article mostly focuses on newer titles, such as Resident Evil 5, Final Fantasy XIII and Metal Gear Solid 4, while also taking a look at the games of a decade ago, including Final Fantasy...
More info to stir the simmering pot which is gaming politics. Recently EA CEO John Riccitiello announced that Mass Effect 2 would be multiplatform, but did not specify whether this meant merely the PC version or a PS3 port. When questioned a UK rep stated they do not have any more details at this time on what exactly this comment meant, meaning either one of two things. Either EA is unsure themselves, or they're trying to garner some attention using the rumor.
"EA CEO John Riccitiello has revealed that Mass Effect 2 will appear on "multiple platforms" early next year.
"[In Q4] BioWare will release Mass Effect 2 on multiple platforms," he said during an EA earnings call, referring to the fourth quarter of the company's next fiscal year. In non-business speak, that means a January-March 2010 launch."
"BioWare's sci-fi RPG Mass Effect wasn't quite the epic space RPG everyone was hoping for when it dropped last year, but it looks like retailer Game Stop is looking to sweeten the pot. They've listed on their site a re-release of the game which will have an additional bonus disc."
"One is a pure, bubbly and pretty-as-pink princess who rarely reveals even the skin of her ankle. The other is a sassy, sexy and no-nonsense computer program who has spent her entire existence in the nude. Within the tightly linked and extraordinarily small world of videogame voice acting, however, these two women are the exact same person."
"The Bosslady of the Game Developers Conference has written a post updating us on what we can be expecting from the upcoming convention (March 23rd through the 27th).
Sure, we'll get great speeches from some of the Killzone 2 devs, some Lionhead people talking on Fable II, and something or other about Far Cry 2. The bigger news to come of this...
A designer and project manager working on Mass Effect 2!"
"An object's visual design and intended purpose should work together. And while this may seem like common sense, many developers fail to recognize the need to follow such concept. This is most evident in open world games like Mass Effect and Grand Theft Auto 4. Most if not all open world games can fall into two categories, beautiful and aimless or ugly and purposeful."
Well now this is good news. EA recently announced that they will be releasing their games on Steam. Well, now it has been revealed that the DRM protection of SecuROM that EA uses on some of their popular titles will be dropped for users that purchase the games on Steam.
"Just in time for the holidays, Valve announced that, Spore, Spore Creepy & Cute Parts Pack, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, Mass Effect, Need for Speed Undercover and EA SPORTS FIFA Manager 2009 are available now to gamers in North America via Steam, a leading platform for PC games and digital content with over 15 million accounts around the world.
In the coming weeks, Mirror's Edge, Command & Conquer Red Alert 3, and Dead Space will also be added to the catalog of EA's titles availabl..."
"When we sit down for a round of gaming with our console or PC of choice, we're usually on the look-out for extreme action, non-stop thrills and a sophisticated story. One thing we never expected to see was sex. But as the average age of the gaming audience grows ever higher, interactive entertainments are tackling more grown-up topics like the beast with two backs in a variety of different ways. Some games play it for humor, some use it as a plot motivator, and others let you fornicate just f..."
"I don't think the chart needs to be explained, you have the games, you have how much space they would take on your hard drive, and then how much time you'd be saving (not listed on the chart is how much relief you will be giving your poor disc drive). No longer do 360 fanboys have the fodder of "oh you PS3 people have to install games blah blah" .. in the end, if you have a big enough hard drive, you know you'll be installing these games soon enough."
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HipHopGamer has released a new episode of his popular gaming show and is possibly the most news filled yet. GTA V PS3 exclusive? Mass Effect 2 multiplatform? Level 5 to be bought by Sony? Crysis to appear on PS3? Halo 4 to come to the Xbox 720? And to to have forward compatibility? Rockband 2 Wii looking awesome? Those are just some of the content present in the show. He's a a bit biased about the PS3, but he same interesting content if nothing else.
"If you thought that EA might have been humbled by the massive Internet backlash against its use of SecuROM in its recent games, then youd be wrong. Speaking at the Dow Jones/Nielsen Media and Money Conference, EAs CEO John Riccitiello claimed that the whole issue had been blown out of all proportion.
We implemented a form of DRM and it's something that 99.8 per cent of users wouldn't notice, claimed Riccitiello, but for the other 0.2 percent, it became an issue and a number of them la..."
"Real world definition of "mature": Showing the mental, emotional, or physical characteristics associated with a fully developed person; involving serious thought.
Videogame definition of "mature":
Shits, tits and gibs.
What is adult? According to ratings boards and hand-wringing politicians, the only qualifications necessary are a bucket of blood, a stream of foul profanity and a parade of naughty lady parts. Ironically, the very things that are included to win over immature teenage bo..."
Some info regarding Mass Effect 2 has surfaced on the Internet, or so the now deleted post claimed. It is a rather extensive list and if true certainly looks to be a big improvement over its precursor. Some of the leaked info includes 5 player co-op. The story of the sequel beginning two months after the end of the last one. The promise of competitive multiplayer. And finally the increasing of the level cap to 120 and much, much more. A sample of the list is below but the full thing is at the...
"10. The "PSP Brite's" non-existent battery problem
When Sony announced the PSP-3000, it seemed like a nice little incremental update to the platform. Sure, the brighter screen and tweaked cosmetics wouldnt lure many existing owners into a repeat purchase, but it would help keep the aging platform relevant.
But within just a few days of its announcement, it came out that in one key way the PSP Brite would actually be a downgrade over existing models: battery life. In an interview with..."
Speaking to Eurogamer Germany, Miles Holmes, lead designer of the upcoming DS RPG Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhead from Bioware, has stated that the developer has expressed interest in the DS, seeing it as one of the ways that it could reinforce their franchises.
The franchises under consideration? Mass Effect, Jade Empire, and Dragon Age.
This is similar to sentiments also expressed by fellow team member Mark Darrah, who has said that BioWare is looking into PSP and Wii developm...
""According to the eloquently named Australian blog, XboxOZ360-gamer, BioWare bigwig Ray Muzyka told Australian 360 magazine that the RPG developer was committed to bringing the Mass Effect trilogy exclusively to the Xbox 360. Yeah, not so much.""
The MTV Multiplayer Blog had a chance to talk to CEOs of BioWare, Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk. Zeschuk said that BioWare is definitely looking at the iPhone for gaming and Muzyka said that they will still make PC-exclusive games, pointing out the success of Age of Conan and WoW.
DRM makes some people angry...and it makes some people REALLY, REALLY, REALLY angry.
Here is a video posted on youtube a guy made of himself, ranting about DRM. There are two good reasons to listen: first off, this guy is a huge gamer, so he has a right to speak (he has mountains of PC games in the background); and second, he is sort of funny, and really angry, but he makes some good points as well.
Warning: The guy uses plenty of bad words. If you get offended or annoyed by bad words,...
"Nothing's perfect. Stare closely enough at anything - even a masterpiece - and you're bound to find flaws sooner or later. They might be small. They might be insignificant. They might not detract from the overall quality of the piece at all...
Except when they really, really do. With these seven games, in fact, you don't need to stare. Their flaws are so huge, so obvious, so frustrating and so effing obnoxious that you can't help but notice them, despise them and wonder how the damn things..."
"Shack: I'm sure this is a sticky issue, but I want to touch on the copy-protection thing. First of all, how involved are you typically with copy-protection?
Albert Reed: Very little. It's a publisher thing.
Shack: What is your take on the PC piracy issue?
Albert Reed: I think it's a big problem at the sort of financial investment side, how much companies are willing to invest in the PC versions of their game when they're worried that it's just gonna be downloaded for free. It's a pr..."
Game Focus reports that the Mass Effect PC DLC BioWare announced back in April has been delayed. This means that North American PC gamers whove now got their hands on the game will have to wait a bit more.
"PC
Bus Driver, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Colonies Edition, Mass Effect, Stronghold Crusader Extreme
PS3
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
Xbox 360
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Colonies Edition
Wii
Death Jr. Root of Evil, Emergency Heroes, Kawasaki Snowmobiles, The Monkey King: The Legend Begins
DS
Metallic Rose Nintendo DS Lite, Super Dodgeball Brawlers, USA Today Crosswords Challenge (GameStop Exclusive)
PSP
World Championship Cards"
"In a presentation to industry analysts today, EA Games president Frank Gibeau revealed that the two series would "see extension" in the publisher's fiscal year 2009, which runs from this April through March of 2009. Gibeau didn't specify whether the extensions would come in the form of proper sequels, side products (such as Burnout Legends and Burnout Dominator), or some other form.
In contrast to Burnout, Skate is a relatively new property. The series debuted last September as part of EA..."
BioWare CEO Ray Muzyka was recently interview regarding the PC version of Mass Effect. He didn't speak about the authentication issue in the interview but he did explain why Mass Effect was first released on the Xbox 360. Mass Effect was supposed to be a Xbox 360 exclusive right from the start but late in the game's development it was decided to develop a PC version as well. As some of you know, the PC version will be getting Bring Down the Sky for free, which is downloadable content and Ray...
Remember my story about Mass Effect for the PC needing to be authenticated every 10 days? Well Bioware and EA have apparently had a change of heart and changed the system. Now you will only need to enter a code when first installing the game and when you purchase additional content. No word on what's happening to Spore.
A lot of PC gamers are pretty excited about these two titles hitting the computer arena, but would you like them enough to check it every 10 days for the rest of your life?
What am I implying you may ask? Well for those of you who have played certain PC games will know that sometimes as a anti piracy scheme a developer will occasionally make you log onto a certain site and activate it via the Internet or you get banned. Well Bioware seem to have taken this method a little too far, making y...
"BioWare has revealed the North American pre-order details for Mass Effect on the PC (also available on the Xbox 360)
According to the press release, those who order from various video game retailers will be getting a discount. Meanwhile those who order from the Electronic Arts Online store will be getting some swag.
According to the press release, gamers who pre-order the game from specialty and online retailers such as GameStop, Amazon.com, and GoGamer.com will be getting US$ 10 off th..."
""Whenever we bring a game to a new platform, we always look at it with reverence and respect. The conversion to PC was something we only thought of doing late in the 360 development," he revealed, although the decision came before Bioware's acquisition by EA last year. "Right now that's it, that's all we've got in development for Mass Effect, just the PC version and the 360," he added, quashing the persistent speculation about a PS3 version."
There has been plenty of controversy in gaming lately, from Mass Effect's sex issue to Resident Evil 5's racism. But they all have something in common: Gamers lashed out with a "they don't know what they're talking about" attitude as soon as these 'controversies' arised and rarely bother looking at it from the critic's point of view.
A recent example of this is NGai Croal's blog on the racist imagery in RE5 ... Croal explained that anyone who wasn't familiar with the Resident Evil series ...
"Bring Down the Sky adds about 90 minutes of new content, but fans have been less than enamoured with it thus far. Still, a least its free on the PC.
The new PC version of Mass Effect promises improved controls and a slightly slicker experience all-in-all. More soon."
"Minimum System Requirements for Mass Effect on the PC
Operating System:
Windows XP or Vista
Processor:
2.4+GHZ Intel or 2.0+GHZ AMD
Memory:
1 Gigabyte Ram (XP)
2 Gigabyte Ram (Vista)
Video Card:
NVIDIA GeForce 6 series(6800GT or better)
ATI 1300XT or better (X1550, X1600 Pro and HD2400 are below minimum system requirements)
Hard Drive Space:
12 Gigabytes
Sound Card:
DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card and drivers
----------
Recommended System Requirements for Mass..."
"- The BBC reckons sony has an amazing secret game in the works for 2009
- Capcom is developing Dead Rising 2 for mulitple platforms including PS3
- Team ICO's new game has links to Norse myths
- Mass Effect and its Sequels will come to PS3
- Sony already has a in-game version of PS3's XMB up and running
- Netflix will soon offer movie downloads straight to your PS3"
"The winners of the 2nd annual ELANS Awards have been announced and with five awards, this years big winner is BioWare. Their sci-fi RPG Mass Effect walked away with the Game of the Year, Best Art Direction, Best Game Design, Best Writing for a Game Production, and Best Character (Commander Shepard) awards."
"Electronic Arts' open-world racing game Burnout Paradise still has that new-car smell, and the broken bones of Skate have barely had time to knit, but the publisher is already looking ahead to the next installments in those franchises.
In a presentation to industry analysts today, EA Games president Frank Gibeau revealed that the two series would "see extension" in the publisher's fiscal year 2009, which runs from this April through March of 2009. Gibeau didn't specify whether the extensio..."
"BioWare recently announced the coming of Mass Effect to the PC, but they have also released eight new screenshots from the new version as well. They appear crisper and of higher resolution than their Xbox 360 brethren.
(Two additional screens at source due to upload limitations)"
"Not satisfied with making an utter fool of itself over the Mass Effect "controversy," Fox's pathetic attempts to discredit the games industry have reached new levels of ridiculous as it jumps on a recent hypocritical news piece for its site. The "news" source's Web site has published a story (with a stupid headline) that claims research is now blaming videogames for the eventual decline of Mother Nature herself. It only briefly acknowledged the fact that televisions and computers are actually..."
"Today, Microsoft has announced that the first piece of DLC for Mass Effect will be released on March 10th, for 400 Points ($5). Titled Bring Down the Sky, Commander Shepard and crew visit a new uncharted planet, where a Batarian extremist group has hijacked an asteroid station and plans on crashing it into the nearby colony world of Terra Nova. Bring Down the Sky presents a new achievement worth 50 points, and supposedly will give us 90 minutes of heart-pounding action (well see how mu..."
"
What happened to good, wholesome games where you just tried to kill everyone?
It sure has been a hectic week, with the Fox vs Mass Effect news practically taking over the internet. So what's new this time? Well, it's a shocker. Jack Thompson has emailed Kotaku, stating his opinion over the botched Mass Effect interview and he actually defends the game! Claiming that Cooper Lawrence (the psychologist who slandered the game without having ever played it) is both uninformed ... and a man!
I never thought I'd say this but ... Go Jack!
"With the announcement last week by the NPD that the video game industry has vastly surpassed the movie industry in overall revenue growth, rising by 28.4% compared to the movies meager 1.8% in the U.S., the dawn of a new era is upon us. Video games can no longer be considered childrens toys or a passing fad, like the slinky. It seems that the games with which we grew up and still enjoy today are entering the mainstream of American culture. And kicking a little ass in the process.
The fina..."
"
G4 host Adama Sessler gives his opinion on the whole Fox News/Mass Effect imbroglio in this clip from a recent episode of X-Play. He presents the facts with much more aplomb and fairness than Fox did, but in the end turns the tables to give the network and author Cooper Lawrence a taste of their own medicine. Although Lawrence has since apologized for her missteps, it's still fun to watch Sessler take her and the dubious Fox News to task."
"While you frequently hear about people (experts) bashing videogames, it isnt common when one of them actually admits they were wrong. Yesterday, I made a post about the Cooper Lawrence/Fox News/Geoff Keighley incident, where Mass Effect was described as depicting full digital nudity and sex amongst other inaccuracies. Well, it seems that Cooper Lawrence has admitted she was wrong in the New York Times, saying
I recognize that I misspoke. I really regret saying that, and now that Ive..."
If you are behind in the gaming news, you might have missed the recent Mass Effect report on Fox News that basically slandered the game for it's "graphic sex scenes" and "objectifying of women", despite neither the interviewer or psychology 'expert' Cooper Lawrence (who appeared in the report) ever having actually played the game. Gaming journalist Geoff Keighley tried his best to set the record straight and defend the game, but was ultimately ignored by Fox's interviewer.
Well this is wh...
"Keighley, who appeared on the Live Desk segment to defend Mass Effect, was wholly outnumbered and cut short by host Martha MacCallum and a panel of expert critics, whose venomous attacks against the Xbox 360 game were only matched by their obvious ignorance regarding the complexities of Mass Effect, the videogame industry, and the ESRBs software ratings system."
The 'full frontal nudity and graphic sex acts' report run by FOX News is still causing a stir, with angry gamers now turning their venom towards psychologist Cooper Lawrence who gave a damning (and innacurate) overview of the game's supposedly rude content.
Since her comments, Lawrence has seen a severe backlash directed towards her via an Amazon product back for her self-help book.
Click the source for great comments via M&C Gaming.
A few days ago FOX News did a report on Mass Effect.
Needless to say, they were not positive about the game, claiming it had numerous scenes involving "nudity", "sex scenes" and "objectifying of women", and as a result should not be marketed towards children.
Well EA was not happy about FOX's misrepresentation of their game, and have demanded FOX News set the record straight and correct their "serious errors" in regards to their report.
Good for you, EA. Let's hope they get a result.
...
It's always sad when FOX News interviews people in the gaming industry, because you know it will end up a mess. Recently FOX interviewed gaming journalist Geoff Keighley and a psychology 'expert' about the "nudity", "sex scenes" and "objectifying of women" in Mass Effect, and although Geoff sets the record straight and brings up some good points, both psychologist and interviewer don't seem to take him seriously.
But let's face it, this is FOX News ... what were we expecting?
"Electronic Arts Inc. today announced that it has completed its acquisition of VG Holding Corp. and has officially welcomed BioWare Corp. and Pandemic Studios to the EA Games Label. The addition of these studios vaults EA into a competitive position in the RPG, action and adventure genres. The two studios have been recognized for creating some of the highest-quality games in the industry and will bring ten new franchises to EA, based on six wholly-owned IP...
(Full Press Release at Source)"
Microsoft is beating its corporate chest this week, shouting from the gaming rooftops that Halo 3 is on its way to 10 million sales, the Xbox 360 has surpassed 17.7 million sales, and Mass Effect has tallied 1.6 million sales in six weeks. Well done, Bill & co. But what of the 360's reliability? Strangely quiet on that topic, eh?
"While some readers may deride the respectability of certain review sources listed on Metacritics pages, theres little arguing with contributing numbers provided by IGN, GameSpot, GameSpy, Game Informer, Edge, 1UP, Play, and Games Radar.
Bearing that in mind, Metacritic has unveiled various "Best" and "Dud" games spread across a host of categories, which are as follows..."
"A little lesbianism goes a long way as the New York Times names Mass Effect its game of the year for 2007. The NYT bestowed Mass Effect with the honor for its "focus on character development, personal growth and moral tension, all fueled by a graphics system created to evoke emotional empathy." Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction was honored for being the shining star on the PS3 and BioShock was named the "best newcomer." There's also digs at Halo 3 and Super Mario Galaxy for being "..."
"Michael Pachter, Wedbush Morgan Securities Analyst, has taken his stance on the entire situation by stating he believes that Mass Effect will not remain an Xbox 360 exclusive.
Speaking with a panel of others on Gametrailers, Pachter commented, "Trust me, Electronic Arts, when they threw out the 300 million that is multiplatform that is not 360 only. And when asked if it will come to the PS3, he finished with, "It has to, I wouldn't be shocked if Mass Effect 1 came to PlayStation 3."
..."
The November NPD numbers are out, and these are a doozy. Many thanks to the NPD Group and sonycowboy at NeoGAF for reporting and the actual numbers.
From what I know, it is a four-week tracking week, from November 6 to December 4.
Without further ado:
Hardware Sales:
PlayStation 2 496K
PlayStation 3 466K
PSP 567K
Xbox 360 770K
Wii 981K
Nintendo DS 1.53 million
Software Sales (Top 10 SKUs):
01. 360 CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE ACTIVISION (CORP) 1.57 million - Release:...
"In a special Ad Watch column on the Xbox 360 marketing strategy this holiday season, Jeff Bell, Corporate Vice President of Global Marketing for the Xbox 360, has revealed to GameDaily BIZ that sales for BioWare's blockbuster role-playing game Mass Effect are better than perhaps many industry watchers were expecting.
Prediction market the simExchange pegged Mass Effect at around 328,000 units for November (the title released on Nov. 20). That said, in less than three weeks on the market, t..."
GamingShogun responds to the Top Ten Video Games of 2007, recently compiled by TIME. They end up disagreeing with several parts of the list and offer up alternatives.
The Top 10 According to TIME:
* Halo 3
* The Orange Box (although that is technically MANY games)
* Rock Band
* Super Mario Galaxy
* BioShock
* Call of Duty 4
* Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
* Mass Effect
* Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation
* God of War 2
Singapore's MDA (Media Development Authority) recently banned Mass Effect for the 'inappropriate' alien lesbian sex scene, but soon after they recanted an unbanned it again. So what's up with Singapore's MDA? A guess is that they are trying to seem "cool" to the younger generations ... Why else would they make rap videos about how "creative" they are?
... Now why can't all country's authorities be more like this?
Last week, I got off easy; I got away with only putting four of that pretty large list of notables in the title. With the games releasing this week, it looks like that's not possible. This is how you know it's the holidays.
That said, there are plenty of good games that came out last week, coming out this week, and will come out in the upcoming weeks. Console allegiances be damned; we're all gamers, and let's enjoy all these games. Defense Forces need not apply. Support good games!
...
In the next edition of "Let's release some AAA titles early", Mass Effect gets the treatment, being spotted (and purchased) at various KMarts. Mass Effect is also listed as in-stock according to both Toys R Us and Walmart online stores. Mass Effect's release date is November 20th.
Wrong AAA title this week, KMart.
[Thanks to CAG]
A article that highlights the seven best games that will be released next month in November. I must say there is a high number of games being released excluding the seven named in this article. The seven best games are shown below:
7. Uncharted: Drakes Fortune
6. Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Swords
5. Mass Effect
4. Rock Band
3. Assassins Creed
2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
1. Super Mario Galaxy
"BIZ: So you wouldn't rule out the possibility of it appearing on PS3?
Muzyka: We have no plans currently to pursue that. Our focus is pure and simple; it's to deliver the best game possible for our fans with Mass Effect, and that's an Xbox 360 exclusive. Microsoft's a great partner... and they've really helped build the value of the product and we're proud to work with them."
"Alright, unfortunately, I don't have a link, or even a scan to share with you guys. So you're welcome to call BS on this if you want. I admit it's second hand information, but it comes from someone I consider very reliable.
They got the latest copy of Game Informer early, with a Mass Effect review.
Some gems from the review (paraphrased):
"Best science fiction story since Star Wars, and best story in a video game, ever"
"They said they actually felt a strong sense of guilt when th..."
"Theres something about Mass Effect that has grabbed my attention from the start. Maybe its the alien lesbians, the fact the game looks absolutely magnificent, or just that Im a sci-fi nut and been wanting a massive sci-fi masterpiece of a game for a long time."
"The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has given a "12" rating to Mass Effect on the ground that it "contains moderate violence and one moderate sex scene." Wait, what? What exactly does "one moderate sex scene" mean?"
BioWare Corp has started releasing character spotlight videos for Mass Effect, the first of which has hit the web. In this first video we'll see a little of the Normandy's pilot, a Krogan battle master, an Alliance Captain and some other characters.
Mass Effect is a much anticipated title for the 360 and is just weeks away from going 'GOLD' where the game is ready for shipment and distribution. But has something gone wrong at Bioware? Apparently around 20 members of the 100 member team working on Mass Effect have quit although it is unsure which ones. This certainly looks bad for the already suggested sequels.
"The time has come, Mass Effect has finally been given a release date. From the team that brought us Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire, one of the Xbox 360s most anticipated games of the year, Mass Effect has finally been given a release date after all its delays."
"The fact that this year's E3 video game conference was supposed to be a lower-budget affair than years past was a point seemingly lost on Microsoft, which rented out an entire (big, nice, fancy, expensive) hotel in Santa Monica to show off its wares. While the entire lineup consisted of more than a dozen titles spanning both Xbox 360 and PC, three in particular caught our eye: 'Fable 2,' 'Mass Effect' and 'Halo 3.'
'Fable 2'
The earliest along of the lot was 'Fable 2,' from gaming legend ..."
"The tone from Microsoft tonight was one of celebration and anticipation, as they ran down their successes since the 360 launched and hyped their lineup between now and the end of the year. Peter Moore framed the discussing by recalling the blockbuster holiday season of 2004, which was driven by the Grand Theft Auto, Madden, and Halo franchises.
Moore stated that 'the only place to play all three games' this year is the 360. In addition to showing off other heavyweight titles like Mass Eff..."
Mass Effect has been given the release date of November 2007 during Microsoft's E3 conference Tuesday night. This is disappointing for those anticipating a summer release. Many believed that it would have been released before Halo 3 so the games wouldn't be competing with each other come this holiday season.
Mass Effect is coming sometime later this year according to some reports, and in the mean-time, Bioware have released some new screenshots to keep us amazed by the game, graphics-wise. They are fit for wallpapers, as well.
"This morning, CVG posted a news story claiming that at a European Microsoft event, Mass Effect was given a release date of September. Fans, of course, immediately began to panic. Before you get in a tizzy, know two things: Firstly, this date may only refer to the European release (so if you live in Europe, perhaps you should set yourself on fire and run around screaming); secondly, a release date has not been confirmed for any region.
On the official Mass Effect message boards, BioWare its..."
"Infiltrator
BioWare says: Infiltrators combine combat and tech abilities, and specialize in killing or disabling enemies at long range. Infiltrators are trained to use OmniTools, but the focus is on decryption and offensive abilities rather than healing. They can train with pistols or sniper rifles, and can learn to wear medium armor.
Vanguard
BioWare says: Vanguards are biotic warriors. They combine offensive biotic abilities and weapons training to quickly take down opponents, and ..."
Some behind the scenes stuff from mass effect, it's shaping up to be a great game!
Some footage from the upcoming XBOX360 title, Mass effect.
![Box shot of Mass Effect [Europe]](http://i.neoseeker.com/boxshots/R2FtZXMvWGJveF8zNjAvUm9sZS1QbGF5aW5nL1NjaS1GaQ==/mass_effect_frontcover_small_WqCBqVI3q7uTqTx.jpg)