bioware

EA was strong this year - the show reflected their business strategy by leaning heavily upon their new high-profile partners like Bioware and Insomniac. Many of their upcoming games are shaping up to become powerful contenders in the market. Check back later for more links to relevant video footage and such.

Leading the presentation, as with Microsoft, was Mass Effect 3. There was a new teaser, followed by a gameplay demo, followed by a real trailer. We’ll be getting the game March 6, 2012, more than 2 years after Mass Effect 2. That’s a respectable development cycle, so problems like those with Dragon Age 2 are certainly less likely to appear. The showing for ME3 was varied - they showed the third person combat we expect, plus a new melee knife attack, mixed in with massive set pieces and new forms of gameplay. The story has taken us to earth to battle the reaper threat, with plenty of familiar faces (including Legion!) to assist your efforts.

I am concerned for PC owners of Mass Effect 1 and 2 who could find themselves without a way to transfer their saves to ME3 if this new EA distribution service Origin severs the tie among save data. They pushed the service often, referring viewers to the website at the end of each presentation. Since Bioware remains separate from EA, this is a slim possibility, but it can be hard to tell when a big publisher like this gets excited about a new service.

Bioware’s showing included Star Wars: The Old Republic in a mini-presentation. Every time this game is shown the strongest emphasis is placed upon story, and this time was no different. There was a new trailer, with some bits of footage mixed in from the movie we had last year. It teased story and character variety - there was a guy with a cowboy hat! I wonder though, if story is enough to carry an MMO; so few today actually bother that it’s hard to tell.

Insomniac Games, traditionally exclusive Sony partners, took the stage to announce a new cross-platform IP: Overstrike (pictured). The words to describe the appeal of this game are elusive without having seen the trailer. Insomniac introduced it as a shooter with a “touch of humor.” That humorous edge is certainly an appealing one, relying upon a balance of archetypal traits and wit to bring what appears to be a familiar yet fresh experience. Voice acting regular Steve Blum can be heard in the trailer, though not as any of the main characters, his presence brings to mind an atmosphere almost like the lighter moments of Cowboy Bebop. I’ll be looking into this game more as the show continues. It's a 4 person co-op action game, by the way, with each character specializing in different types of combat.

Of course, more in the full page.

I expect there to be more announcements coming soon, but already, we have some rather big news for Bioware fans, especially good for my friend CJ.

A while back, Bioware mentioned that something "far-reaching" was coming for the Mass Effect franchise in January 2011, and it turns out that it's a PS3 port of Mass Effect 2! This is news you should be excited about if you don't have an Xbox 360. It's a tad bittersweet, though, as the game doesn't carry he same weight without carrying over a Mass Effect 1 save. It's possible, though, that they give players more choice at the beginning of the game as to how their Shepard acted in the previous game... I'll keep an eye out for that news. (Via Joystiq).

Then we've got release dates for Dragon Age 2 in the US and Europe - March 8 and 11 respectively.

Looks like there's a lot to anticipate from Bioware in the coming months!

A while back, Bioware stated that the story between ME2 and ME3 would be told through ME2 DLC. The apparent first installment of that DLC has just been announced as "Lair of the Shadow Broker." Featuring a reunion with Liara, things might get awkward for anyone who dumped her for one of the new romance options!

This looks pretty exciting! I'd be ineterested to see if Liara's affection has any impact on dialog, though. These DLC packs tend to minimize the amount of voice work that needs to be done.

Some older news, as well - remember those Mass Effect: Redemption comics from Dark Horse? There's a new line of comics coming that will be telling the story of the Illusive Man. More information on that can be found here.

Update: Februrary 1, 2011 was from an earlier statement made about this game. The press release actually says March 2011. Today, Bioware put up a website for Dragon Age 2! The site goes into some detail about the premise of the game, as well as offering two pieces of concept art, included in this article. The press release, as reported on Kotaku, reveals some further information about the character in the game.

The site adds that they're updating the graphics with a new visual style, while they're beefing up the cinematic aspect of the game. They'll also be updating the combat mechanics, making them more "dynamic," putting you in the "heart of battle." There's a trailer coming August 17.

A specific character name would enable a Mass Effect-like system, wherein characters in the game can refer to you by name, while you could potentially have a voice. You'll still be able to choose gender and class, but not race. There's still no word on whether or not your character will be voiced in the same manner, which might imply a dialog system like that of Mass Effect.

More, concept art and spoilers for Dragon Age: Origins after the jump.

Back during E3, Bioware sneakily announced a new DLC pack for Dragon Age - Leliana's Song. And, it's out today! For all platforms! Surprise! $6.99, or 560 points, wherever those apply. You play as Leliana (with her same voice actress), exploring her past with Marjolaine, her mentor.

edit: Bioware also released the "Aegis Pack" of DLC for Mass Effect 2. It's 160 MS points, and includes a few new armor pieces for your N7 armor.

Well, the next bit of DLC for Dragon Age will be here on July 6 of this year. There's still no word on the next Dragon Age game, but this pack where you play through Leliana's past is oddly character-specific. I would not be surprised if this is the first of many character-based add-ons, but frankly, Leliana's my girl, so I'm content with just this!

The content is fully voiced, and shows why Leliana joined the Chantry before the events of Dragon Age: Origins. There's also a reward at the end that can be transferred into your Awakening or Origins save file.

Earlier this week (March 23), a Cerberus Network DLC pack was released for Mass Effect 2, free to anyone who bought the game new or purchased Cerberus Network access. These Firewalker missions (five in all), have never really promised to be much. They're free. They represent content that was pushed out of the game proper. And, they bring back a remarkably hated driving mechanic from ME1. So is it worth your time?

Yeah, probably. Though really, anything that's free is technically worth your time, especially if its a new gameplay mechanic. I would say this is even worth some of your money, just based on the fact you get roughly an hour and a half out of it. These 5 missions are sort of pigeonholed into the game, immediately available via your terminal when you get free access to your ship. The first mission describes a scenario that has you recover the Hammerhead vehicle. This recovery consists of landing on a planet, walking 5 feet, then triggering a voice-less cutscene showing you approach the vehicle. Then, you're driving it. The rest of the mission is a loose tutorial/playground for you to figure out how it works. The next 3 missions are supposed to have been found through data you recovered in the last mission. One involves some pretty intense fighting, where you discover just how easy it is to blow up. There's no checkpointing, but that's not a huge problem since you can get through everything rather quickly. You take damage fast, but if you get out of the line of fire, you can recover quickly. Another mission has you essentially racing from checkpoint to checkpoint, refilling your timer slightly at each stop. That was thrilling for the few minutes it lasted. Then there's a sort of environmental hazard mission combined with some exploration on foot. No fighting in either of these. The last mission was fairly docile, with things to blow up, but not much you could really call "fighting."

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This is going to be quick, because I want to save my comments for after I play it, but new DLC for Mass Effect 2 is on its way in the very near future. Tuesday, March 23, the free Cerberus Network DLC for the Hammerhead (vehicle) missions will be released. Then, on April 6, the first paid DLC mission content will be released - Kasumi's Stolen Memory. This is a new character, so it's a recruitment mission, loyalty mission, and a barrel of fun dialog. It's not clear yet if she'll be terrible like Zaeed, though.

There's also a clothing pack with new clothes for Jack, Garrus, and Thane coming out on March 23. I can't imagine having to pay for this outside of Cerberus Network, but it's unclear right now. Garrus's thing fixes his armor finally.

So, my favorite game of this generation has been Mass Effect 2, as the culmination of an experience from the first game. AND, happy day! There's more -free- DLC coming soon (assuming you bought the game new).

First off, there's the "Firewalker" pack, which introduces vehicular portions of the game in 5 different missions. Unlike the Mako parts from ME1, this vehicle is a hover tank. It jumps (high), moves from side-to-side and has homing missiles. With these changes, the more annoying aspects of ME1's vehicle have been smoothed over. The changes come as bittersweet in some ways, since there doesn't appear to be as much in the way of general exploration of a planet. Check it out in action here. All I've been seeing for release dates is "late March," which might imply that Bioware is going to take their time with it and release it when its ready.

Then, there's the recently announced new fancy gun, another heavy weapon to add to your arsenal. It's already been added to the game, available for download from the title screen. It seems to be an AoE electricity gun, shooting bolts of electricity out at your foes. I'm excite to use it against packs of those husks, which have been proving impossible to kill without Shockwave.

A side note: GDC is this week, but I won't really be keeping up with the news all that much on Koholint because I'm in Costa Rica until the 14th! If anything extremely big goes up, I'll post it, otherwise the little stuff will get its way on here after I get back.

3 weeks ago or so, my attempts at completing all achievements for Dragon Age: Origins were halted when the Return to Ostagar DLC was first made available, as the accompanying patch rendered my game temporarily unplayable. At first, I was obviously annoyed, but then I decided to reward Bioware for this only recently fixed bug by buying Mass Effect off XBLM. In the weeks that followed, I have discovered a new favorite franchise, having now completed the original game in full twice, only putting off my third play-through in order to pick up Mass Effect 2.

The first Mass Effect was pretty awesome. I don’t often whore myself out to achievements, especially when it comes to difficulty-based things. Yet, somehow the game demands it from me. It remains rewarding on multiple iterations through the story, while posing an increasing challenge with each unlockable difficulty. The story is communicated through strong characters, really strong emotional choices, and a general drive for the hero’s success, as I find is the case with many Bioware games. Yet, unlike games such as Dragon Age and Baldur’s Gate, Mass Effect allows you to step into the shoes of a pre-existing character, our noble Commander Shepard. You guide his actions and speech without defining them, which allows him to surprise you fairly often with his intelligence and wit. Without writing a full review, suffice it to say I’m quite fond of the game. It is definitely one of the best I’ve played. (More after the break)