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Mass Effect 3's free "Extended Cut" DLC is available now on Xbox 360 worldwide. The PlayStation 3 version should be available in North America when the PSN updates later today, European Shepards on PS3 will need to wait until July 4. We don't have a current time on the PC version. According to BioWare, all three platforms should have it available today, June 26.

The "Extended Cut" DLC addresses the controversy about the game's ending, adding cinematics and epilogues to fill in the space opera's conclusion. Whether it resolves the controversy is another matter entirely.

#spoilers Spoilers, folks... So much for the extended cut of Mass Effect 3 just adding a slideshow to the end of the game's many possible endings. It appears that development studio BioWare has given players a new option at the game's final junction. More »

#breaking If you have Mass Effect 3 for the Xbxo 360, you can start downloading the game/s 1.85 GB "extended cut" ending right now. Boot up the game, click the downloadable content option from the main menu, and you'll find the screen shown above. More »

#masseffect In all the hullabaloo that was raised over Mass Effect 3's now famously controversial ending, I sometimes felt like I had lost track of what everyone actually wanted. More »

#masseffect Early tomorrow morning BioWare releases the free ending-enhancing downloadable content for Mass Effect 3, hopefully laying to rest the concerns of countless players that were disappointed with the game's ending. More »

#masseffect When do you get to download and try out the new! improved! endings to Mass Effect 3? It depends what platform you're on. More »

#masseffect I've never been one for goodbyes. Sometimes goodbyes feel like a formality—I've known a person long enough that bidding them adieu is just mechanical, automatic, like saying "hello" or asking someone how they are, even if I don't actually care. The sentimental ones, those screw with me. It's like I have just one final moment to encapsulate how much I care about someone, like I have to find a gesture that serves as a parting gift...only there's no words, no embraces that can embody the sentiment. There's only crisis. And it's not like I can always run after someone and go, no, don't go...! So I play it cool, I measure myself, I don't let on as to how difficult it is to say goodbye. More »

#masseffect Step 1. Get some clay. More »

BioWare has announced that the Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut will be available as a free download for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on June 26th in North America and July 4th for PlayStation 3 in Europe.

#masseffect3 The Mass Effect 3 ending—one of the year's biggest video game controversies—will be getting more content when the Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut DLC hits next week. But, with all the fan outrage and protests that have come and gone, that series' executive producer apparently knows that it's not going to make everyone happy. The interview where Hudson makes these remarks and explains how BioWare reacted to fan feedback is here. More »

Something something Indoctrination Theory something something.

When was the last time you actually heard anyone complain about Mass Effect 3's ending? A month ago? Two months ago? While the rage from various segments of the Internet over what was perceived to be everything from a mere cop-out to an out-and-out slaughtering of a fiction some people were apparently extremely invested in was hot and heavy at the outset, it's not a subject people have talked too much about in recent weeks. It almost makes you wonder if BioWare might have been better suited just, I don't know, maybe riding the heat wave out before eventually, quietly just moving onto something else?

Instead, BioWare decided to go with this "extended cut" DLC, which will launch for free on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC this Tuesday. This is the new-ish ending that will "expand upon the events at the end of Mass Effect 3" through "additional cinematic sequences and epilogue scenes." It will also "rekindle the burning fires of hatred throughout the Internet anew, as message board posters scramble to debate whether or not the new ending solves any of the perceived problems with the original, or just cocks up the works even worse than before." Okay, so BioWare didn't say that last part, but the subtext was there.

Not being too terribly invested in the adventures of Commander Shepard myself beyond a basic, casual enjoyment of the series, I've never quite understood the uproar over the ending. I mean, was it a great one? No, not really. Was it a bit careless, all things considered? Yeah, probably. Did it ruin any and all enjoyment I had of the series to date? Not really. But I'm not the sort to generally get too up-in-arms over these sorts of things, so I realize that my viewpoint may be skewed.

Still, I can't help but wonder exactly how much good this new ending will do. It's not a new ending, as many wanted, which basically just assures that the conversation which all but died a month or two ago is just going to get heated all over again. I guess we'll all see come this Tuesday.

Mass Effect 3's Extended Cut DLC, which adds exposition to the game's highly controversial ending through a series of epilogues and cinematic sequences, will arrive on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC this Tuesday, June 26. For European Shepards, the free update will be available on the PS3 on July 4.

The Extended Cut isn't a new ending for the game so much as it is a Director's Cut of sorts, which doesn't "fundamentally change the endings, but rather it expands on the meaning of the original endings, and reveals greater detail on the impact of player decisions," according to the BioWare Blog. Peep the video above for BioWare's discussion of the add-on with executive producer Casey Hudson and lead writer Mac Walters.

#masseffect BioWare is releasing the Extended Cut downloadable content for sci-fi role-playing game Mass Effect 3 on June 26, it said today. More »

This weekend's Mass Effect 3 multiplayer event is Operation Savage, running June 22-24. The Allied goal is to eliminate 7 million trooper-level enemies, including Cerberus Assault Troopers, Husks, Cannibals and Geth Troopers. The squad goal is "extraction on any difficulty with the squad using a mix of krogan, vorcha, or batarian classes."

For an Allied success, all players will receive a Victory Pack, and squad success will see each group win a Commendation Pack, each to be handed out the evening of Tuesday, June 25. Operation Savage begins at 6 p.m. PST on Friday, June 22, and ends at 4 a.m. PST on Monday, June 24.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) of the UK will not act on claims that Electronic Arts misled consumers about Mass Effect 3 when it advertised "decisions you make completely shape your experience and outcome."

"The ASA acknowledged the belief that players' choices in the game did not influence the outcome to the extent claimed by EA," the group wrote in a statement obtained by CVG. "However, we considered that the three choices at the end of the game were thematically quite different, and that the availability and effectiveness of those choices would be directly determined by a player's score, which was calculated with reference to previous performance in the game(s).

"Whilst we acknowledged that the advertiser had placed particular emphasis on the role that player choices would play in determining the outcome of the game, we considered that most consumers would realize there would be a finite number of possible outcomes within the game and, because we considered that the advertiser had shown that players' previous choices and performance would impact on the ending of the game, we concluded that the ad was not misleading."

The charges against EA were brought by consumers unhappy with Mass Effect 3's conclusion. Developer BioWare is currently in the process of creating an "extended cut" ending that will hopefully be more satisfactory.

#masseffect While he offers no citation, the same Reddit tipster who absolutely nailed every detail of the Mass Effect: Rebellion Pack nearly three weeks before Sony's Hong Kong website outed it, is back at it again with information on Mass Effect 3: Earth the upcoming multiplayer extension. More »

#masseffect A little while ago, we caught wind of some excellent Mass Effect hoodie designs by Deviant artist ludodirosso, a.k.a. Christine Schott. More »

#masseffect This is Digiko, dressd up as Garrus from the Mass Effect series. I had to drop his name in there because if I hadn't told you, you may have thought this was simply Garrus from the Mass Effect series. More »

Xbox 360 owners will find the Rebellion DLC pack available for download in Mass Effect 3 right now. The Rebellion pack is free to those who have activated their Online Pass and adds a new objective type, two new maps, and three new playable characters to the multiplayer side of BioWare's latest RPG.

PC and PS3 owners will have to wait for Rebellion. Chris Priestly, BioWare's community guy, says that it'll be available on those platforms "soon." We'll be sure to update as soon as BioWare reveals new details.

DeviantArt user Christine Schott is pretty good at designing Mass Effect hoodies. So good, it seems, that BioWare has decided to manufacture her designs and sell them to the public. Schott recently posted her designs, which reflect many of Mass Effect's most popular characters, and her work inspired BioWare to reach out with the offer.

Schott does note that her designs are likely "nowhere near the final product" and that BioWare will be redesigning them before selling a selection of them as a trial run. BioWare is compensating Schott for her work, though the details are still being "worked out." Frankly, we just want to know when we can get our Mordin on.

Sadly, this is not the intergalactic sequel to Brendan’s now-deceased column series. Much as we wanted to mix things up with a sassy Elcor sidekick, contractual issues left the whole thing stalled out on the launch pad. So instead, you’ll just have to settle for some particularly rebellious Mass Effect 3 multiplayer DLC. Specifically, the Vorcha are making their no-good, law-breaking debut by, er, joining your baddie-smashing squad and cooperating. In addition, Quarians and Ex-Cerberus add two new characters a piece to the fray, with two new maps, three weapons, and a stat-altering persistent gear slot rounding out the package. Best of all, unless you’re playing a used (read: impossible on PC) or scandalously acquired copy, it’s all free from the get-go.

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Alliance operatives, word has come down from command - we've got a new directive for this weekend's Mass Effect 3 combat initiatives. Operation Shieldwall commences this Friday at 9 p.m. Eastern Earth Time, but due to our failure with last week's Operation Silencer, expect to encounter more enemy Banshees out there.

The goal for Operation Shieldwall is to promote a total of 50,000 operatives across the Alliance for a Victory pack; promote three characters yourself and you'll be awarded a Commendation pack. Operation Shieldwall concludes on Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Earth Time.

#masseffect Outed earlier this month via Sony Hong Kong, Mass Effect 3's free Rebellion Pack adds two new maps and a slew of new characters to the game's multiplayer experience on May 29 for PC, Xbox 360 and North American PlayStation 3s, with the Euro PS3 version following a day after. More »

It's official. The "Rebellion Pack" multiplayer DLC for Mass Effect 3, including new "Firebase Jade" and "Firebase Goddess" environments, new Quarian, Vorcha, and Phoenix classes, and three new weapons, will be released next week. It was first pseudo-announced by Sony Hong Kong, but the listing was then pulled; today, EA finally confirmed the DLC.

If you'd like to join the Rebellion, you'll be able to do so May 29 on PC and Xbox Live worldwide and on PSN in North America; European PSN owners will be strategically deployed one day later. It's free for Online Pass owners (so if you don't have the Online Pass, it's $10 for that, and then the pack is free.)

#masseffect There comes a point in Mass Effect 3 where, your actions permitting, you get to see what Tali looks like under her mask. To say it's a crushing disappointment is to take the piss. More »

Mass Effect: Infiltrator - developed by the same team responsible for the mobile version of Dead Space - is now available for download in the Google Play store for $6.99.

In Mass Effect: Infiltrator, players take on the role of Cerberus defector Randall Ezno as he attempts to flee from a Cerberus base with intel for the Alliance. Progress in Mass Effect: Infiltrator affects your Galactic Readiness level in Mass Effect 3. And if you've been meaning to go back to the portable game, the latest update (version 1.0.3) added a new character and mission.

This may well be an example of the dread medium known as UnNews, but I post it purely because it at least allays fears that the forthcoming extended cut of Mass Effect 3, which fleshes out the game’s notoriously damp-squibby ending, will simply be a montage of still images with captions like ‘Garrus Vakarion retired to found the first inter-planetary branch of Gregg’s Pasties’ and ‘Tali discovered her mask had a hole in it all along and she had only 2.8 seconds left to live. She spent them playing Minesweeper.’

Instead, it transpires that many of Mass Effect’s voice cast have returned to the studio to record new lines of dialogue. One of these is Lance ‘Bishop’ Hendriksen, who offered perhaps the most succint yet accurate encapsulation of just why the internet lost its rag a couple of months ago.(more…)

#masseffect BioWare's extended ending sequences for Mass Effect 3, which are looking to give players a little more closure on the series, will feature lines from at least three of the franchise's main voice actors. More »

On top of providing "further clarity" to Mass Effect 3's ending, some more details regarding the upcoming "Extended Cut" DLC have come out. "Extended Cut" will include cameos from both Admiral Hackett, who is played by Lance Henricksen, and EDI, voiced by Tricia Helfer.

"I just did another session with them. They were saying there's a little bit of a problem with the abruptness of the ending," Hendriksen told G4 during a press junket for a new animated series called Tron: Uprising that he's involved in. "So we did a whole series of things to add to the end of the game, to live up to the quality they've been doing." Helfer, also part of the show, confirmed EDI would make an appearance.

The next DLC for Mass Effect 3 won't be the "Extended Cut" DLC planned for this summer, if a pulled listing on Sony's Hong Kong site is to be believed. The next piece of content will apparently be focused on multiplayer.

The Rebellion Multiplayer Expansion is a series of multiplayer maps and other goodies. "The Rebellion Multiplayer Expansion opens two new fronts against the Reapers: Firebase Jade's jungle reservoir and Firebase Goddess on Thessia," Kotaku reports. "In-game reinforcement packs now include three new weapons as well as equipment, consumables, and six new classes: Quarian Engineer and Infiltrator, Vorcha Soldier and Sentinel, Phoenix Adept and Vanguard." The listing has since been pulled from Sony's site, so we're unable to confirm the contents of the listing.

We've contacted EA and BioWare for comment and will update as they respond.