To celebrate the holidays, we're kicking off twelve straight days of giveaways from now through Christmas day. And while we say it's to celebrate, really ... we're simply getting rid of some of the larger packages around the ol' office.
Which gets us to our second prize: A fancy Cerberus-branded tin full of Mass Effect 2 goodies. Want Collector's Edition copies on both Xbox 360 and PC? You got it. How about three Mass Effect novels, to further immerse you in the world of BioWare's space opera? Also in there. Lastly, if none of that manages to tingle your fan-ny bone, we're pretty sure the print of the Normany SR2 will do the trick. Ogle it all in the gallery below, and enter to win in the comments below that.
#art
For the wee Mass Effect fan in your life who prefers coloring inside the lines and navigating mazes, as opposed to making hundreds of dialogue tree choices, give them the Mass Effect Coloring and Activity Book. More »
In collating the top ten of everything in 2010 (excluding the top ten recursive jokes about top ten lists), Time has picked some of its favorite video games from the last twelve months. Among the top ten are science fiction stalwarts Halo: Reach and Mass Effect 2, the elegant and creepy Limbo, and iPhone finch fling-em-up, Angry Birds (which just makes it in, having launched at the very end of 2009).
Time's top choice is Remedy Entertainment's Alan Wake, which is praised by writer Evan Narcisse for its mature craft and metaphoric gameplay. "Its mix of meta-awareness and Hitchcockian suspense make Alan Wake a unique and fun experiment and one of the best games of the year."
Alan Wake's devoted fans are likely to agree: Time couldn't have picked a better game, and the game couldn't have picked a worse time.
#ps3
Next week, the PlayStation Store will be graced with something PS3 owners have been waiting quite a while for: a demo for sci-fi role-playing game Mass Effect 2. More »
#ps3
The Mass Effect series will be making its first, long-awaited appearance on the PlayStation 3 in 2011. Question is, just when will it be out? More »
#pc
While controlling shooters on the PC is made easier by the precision of the mouse, that's not enough for some people. Some people want it even easier than that. For them, there is the Dragon Gaming Speech Pack. More »
#nsfw
Ukrainian artist Protsenko Pavel has a thing for Mass Effect 2, leaving us with this..interesting gallery, where men look like fire-proof war machines while women look like sexy little pin-up models. More »
#bioware
I'm a guy, and I seldom play games as anything but a guy. I play Mass Effect as a female character, though, for some reason. Very few of my fellow Mass Effect gamers do. Fewer than one of five. More »
As rumored over the weekend, Mass Effect 2's PlayStation 3 iteration will come packed with "6+ hours of bonus missions" -- rather than being PS3-exclusive bonus content, however, it'll comprise the game's three big expansions: Kasumi: Stolen Memories, Overlord, and Lair of the Shadow Broker. EA corroborated the news this morning by releasing the game's PS3 box art (found in full below the break), which clearly details its contents just inches above Miranda's flowing locks.
BioWare producer Jesse Houston also took to the company's forums to clear up what exactly will be on the Blu-ray disc (and what will be downloaded). "Of course Mass Effect 2 will be included. On top of that, Lair of the Shadow Broker, Project Overlord, Kasumi: Stolen Memory and the Blood Dragon Armour. Also included is, as on Xbox 360 and PC, an access code to the Cerberus Network. This will give you instant access to the same great lineup of Downloadable Content such as Zaeed and Firewalker."
Furthermore, he confirmed an "interactive comic" will ship with ME2 on PS3, cursorily detailing it by saying, "BioWare Edmonton (the group that made Mass Effect 2) teamed up with the fine folks at Dark Horse Comics to create an interactive backstory. While I can't release all the details about this yet, what I can tell you is that we want to create a stunning visual experience that not only tells the core story elements of Mass Effect 1, but also is fully interactive allowing you to be faced with some of the major choices which will have consequences your Mass Effect universe. This interactive comic's initial release will be exclusive to PS3 owners who would be otherwise unable to realize the full effect of choice in the Mass Effect universe and will be included on the Cerberus Network."
He also -- somewhat ambiguously -- described additional, exclusive DLC for PS3 owners, explaining that, "There will also be some DLC Bundles, such as the Aegis Pack as well as exclusive both Free and Paid DLC for all PlayStation 3 owners such as the Recon Operations Pack." Perhaps in an attempt to calm the seething forum member responses, the post was later edited with the explanation, "While I can't go into details, all of this content is or was available to Xbox/PC owners, but otherwise wouldn't be available to PS3 owners. More details about this will be released later." Though EA/BioWare have yet to give it a price, retailers are currently putting the DLC-packed release at a regular $60.
The "seamless introduction" which will ease PS3 owners into the rich backstory of Mass Effect 2, first hinted at when the game was announced this past August, may have been recently uncovered in the BioWare Social Network forums. A moderator recently posted a quote from BioWare's Casey Hudson from the latest issue of German gaming mag Play3, in which he reveals the PS3 version of the game will have an interactive comic from Dark Horse which lets players make the big decisions from the first game while quickly seeing how those decisions play out.
The forum post also claims that Hudson confirmed the PS3 version of the game will come with the game's three main expansions, "Kasumi's Stolen Memory," "Overlord" and "Lair of the Shadow Broker," and will include a voucher to download all the content currently available on the Cerberus network. Finally, the post quotes Hudson as saying the game will include an exclusive mission which clocks in at around six hours in length.
Sounds like a pretty tall order for the game's PS3 port. We've contacted BioWare to see if they'll comment on the post's legitimacy.
#rumor
Mass Effect 2 is coming to the PS3; Mass Effect 1 is not. As the sequel can account for consequences of choices you made in the original, some were wondering how this will be addressed on the PS3. More »
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.
On a quest to spend at least 2400 Microsoft Points before the month is out? BioWare, it seems, wants to help out -- both Kasumi's Stolen Memory and Overlord DLC packs for Mass Effect 2 are dropping to $5 a pop (down form $7), as part of next week's XBLM deal. It may be called the "Deal of the Week," but in this case, we prefer calling it "The Obvious Purchase."
#review
Finally. Having gotten closer and closer with each subsequent piece of downloadable content, with Lair of the Shadow Broker BioWare has delivered Mass Effect 2 players some DLC that, if you've finished the game, has some real point to it. More »
#tokyogameshow2010
Noa Torigoe, star of adult films like Max Orgasm and Ultimate Gold, really loves video games. I guess you could call her "hardcore"? But she doesn't just love Japanese video games, she loves Western video games. More »
GameFly is currently running a decidedly insane sale on used copies of a handful of 2010 blockbusters until this Friday, September 17. If you've got $20 to spare, you can grab Darksiders, God of War 3, Alpha Protocol, Mass Effect 2 or Dante's Inferno -- all with free shipping to boot.
The Lair of the Shadow Broker is the perfect epilogue for Mass Effect 2, adding closure to an important story arc, and offering a brief glimpse at the potential of Mass Effect 3. It's unarguably essential content for the Mass Effect fan: not only does the DLC push the canon forward, it provides some of the most thrilling action in the franchise thus far. There's a new alien race, a new Spectre, the best boss battle in the series, heck, there's even a car chase. It's a thrill ride, albeit a brief one.
Liara's return in Mass Effect 2 has had a rather divisive effect amongst fans, many who found disliked her unexpectedly dark turn. The prequel comic Mass Effect Redemption offers some insight into her drastic personality change -- her search for Shepard's body led to a messy exchange with the Shadow Broker, a mysterious entity that's been teased throughout both Mass Effect games. The DLC gives you new information on the Shadow Broker's whereabouts, courtesy of Cerberus, which gives you reason to return to Liara on Illium. Exactly who is the Shadow Broker and what does he do with the information at his disposal? How does Liara want to exact her revenge? These questions are all finally answered.
New locales open up on Illium, including Liara's apartment, an office complex and an "adult" hotel. Illium's clean, sleek, futuristic look is tainted here, and fans of classic sci-fi like Blade Runner will appreciate the sinister tone BioWare is attempting. Without spoiling anything, this story arc is far more graphic than usual -- you will see a lot of dead bodies, gore and blood. There's even a noir-esque detective scene, and a trip through a hotel with dead prostitutes.
PC players eager to penetrate the "Lair of the Shadow Broker" in today's Mass Effect 2 DLC release have hit a snag. The new content is apparently incompatible with Windows 7 64-bit systems (update: all systems), as reported by Big Download.
"I haven't said anything as we are working on the issue," noted BioWare community coordinator Chris Priestly in response to countless complaints (no really, countless complaints) on the official forums. "I understand you are all irritated by this, but we want you all to play, so we are working hard to determine and fix whatever is causing this."
Update: Priestly has created a new thread tracking the issue. Apparently, the original download was corrupt and prevented "all" PC users from playing the new content. That file has since been removed from BioWare's download section (though it's harmless if you did download it). "We are working on a fix for the issue and will get a working file up for PC users ASAP," Priestly assures, without knowledge of a more specific ETA.
Update 2: Priestly delivers the good news: "Lair of the Shadowbroker should now be fixed for the PC and should be able to be downloaded now for both the PC and Xbox 360."
Many PC players eager to penetrate the "Lair of the Shadow Broker" -- and Liara -- in today's Mass Effect 2 DLC release have hit a snag. The new content is apparently incompatible with Windows 7 64-bit systems, as reported by Big Download.
"I haven't said anything as we are working on the issue," noted BioWare community coordinator Chris Priestly in response to countless complaints (no really, countless complaints) on the official forums. "I understand you are all irritated by this, but we want you all to play, so we are working hard to determine and fix whatever is causing this."
Look on the bright side -- at least our image gallery of the DLC is compatible with Windows 7 ...
Mass Effect 2 Executive Producer Casey Hudson has shared some juicy statistics about the game with IGN. Basic takeaways are that people really did treat the game as a "shooter," with the soldier class chosen more than every other combined. Also, the women's lib movement for intergalactic saviors still has some work to do, with 80 percent of players choosing the male Shepard.
The "anonymous player data" collected by BioWare is obviously meant to inform the studio in designing future titles. For example, only 15 percent of people skipped conversations in the game, most of the time in "non-critical moments like in the hub worlds." Hudson says that if the company found people skipping 80-90 percent of the lines that they'd have to "reevaluate the work" the team put into digital acting -- and we'd have to reevaluate why people are playing Mass Effect in the first place. Check out IGN's piece for more on how the stats support current decisions and influence future projects.
What's up now, Comic-Con? PAX really brought it this year in terms of cosplay. There were street fighters, Spartans, zombies playing Rock Band and quite possibly the best Tali and Garrus we've ever seen (above). Hit up the gallery below and check 'em all out!
"You haven't been the same since I came back, Liara."
Millions of Shepards were frustrated when they got the cold shoulder from Mass Effect 2's Liara. Next week's "Lair of the Shadowbroker" DLC will finally give you "the chance to continue a relationship with Liara." But, as evidenced by this new trailer, you're going to need to chase down a lot of bad guys along the way. Thankfully, you'll be equipped with a new hovercraft.
#screengrab
I might be a bit credulous, but this armor looks like it actually provides some IRL protection. Pretty sure those Avengers don't carry live ammo though. Female Shepard armor for Mass Effect by Evil FX. More at the link. More »
#cosplay
Was that Miranda Lawson cosplay a little too clean-cut for you? You might prefer Jack, then, the resident whackjob of the SSV Normandy, here portrayed wonderfully by Jia Crens. More »
