Mass Effect

It looks like BioWare has given us a change to chase a wild goose. Earlier this week the BioWare Mass Effect 2 Twitter site announced that news on the long awaited second downloadable content pack for first installment of their sci-fi RPG series would be revealed this week. Well, as you can imagine no such news was actually revealed.

We don't know what happened but a updated "tweet" on the page from "Evil Chris" does say, "Due to circumstances beyond my control (me being stupid on timing), any news of more ME1 DLC will have to wait. Sorry folks." Earlier this year hints were given that the second DLC for Mass Effect 1 would involve some kind of battle arena but as Evil Chris said we will just have to wait longer to find out for sure.

Star Wars: The Old Republic just got a ton of pressure put on it. The upcoming MMO from BioWare, EA and LucasArts was just named as the Best PC Game by the Game Critics Awards as they announced the winners of their annual E3 awards.

The awards, as we have mentioned before, are not a fullproof way of predicting a game's final form. Witness the fact that Spore won the same award three times and ended up as something of a dissapointment when it was finally released. We hope that BioWare's title is an exception.

In other catagories, Modern Warfare 2 won for Best Action Game, Mass Effect 2 (another BioWare title) won for Best Role Playing Game, Split/Second won for Best Racing Game, Supreme Commander 2 won for Best Strategy Game and Left 4 Dead 2 won for Best Online Multiplayer.

It's been a while since BioWare has promised that we might be getting some new downloadable content for their sci-fi RPG Mass Effect but a new clue on the DLC's reveal has been put forth on the company's official Twitter web page.

The note says, "Getting the feeling some news about the next ME1 DLC may be coming this week. Keep your eyes peeled." Oh we will, we will. Last February a video showed BioWare team members talking about a future downloadable update for the game, which they hinted would consist of some kind of combat arena for characters to fight in with the setting described as a "casino gaming fight club space station."There hasn't been a content update for Mass Effect since May of 2008 when the Bring Down The Sky mission was released.

Even though we have mentioned that the idea of a standard awards set-up for E3 is like giving a movie after showing a two minute trailer, a group of both mainstream and gaming enthusiast media have once again gathered to give their picks for the 2009 edition of the show.

The biggest award for "Best In Show" has three games slated for the PC in the list (Mass Effect 2, Modern Warfare 2 and Splinter Cell: Conviction). In the specific Best PC Game category the nods went to DC Universe Online, Dragon Age: Origins, Left 4 Dead 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic and Supreme Commander 2. Check out the web site for all of the categories and nominated games; the winners will be announced a week from today.

Fans went into a frenzy when Mass Effect 2 was announced, and E3 2009 provided the perfect opportunity for BioWare to let them know about the fate of Commander Shepard in the upcoming sequel. Players can look forward to a more action-oriented game in comparison to its predecessor, so the game will play very much like a third-person shooter, complete with location based damage. That means headshots will matter and aiming for the legs can maim or cripple foes. Physics will also see some modification so that some of the biotic powers like telekinesis will be showier when lifting enemies off the ground. Players of the previous game can import their saved characters and continue the story using high level skills and gear, but the story is written so that those just entering the series will have no problem getting a sense of what's going on.

It's a big E3 for BioWare as they show off Mass Effect 2 to the public for the first time. Today BioWare and the game's publisher Electronic Arts released the first in-game screenshots from the sci-fi RPG sequel (previous visuals were from concept artwork) and we have launched our Mass Effect 2 gallery with those shots

As we have reported on before, Mass Effect 2 is due out in the first quarter of 2010 for the PC and other platforms. It once again features one of our favorite game characters Commander Shepard who, at least by checking out the screenshots, is not dead as the first teaser trailer for the game tried to imply.

Big Download is still counting down to the start of E3 2009 (less than a week to go now) with a series of features spotlighting the titles we want (or at least wish) we could see at the LA Convention Center. We have already given our wish lists for the FPS and action categories and today we look at the RPGs and MMO games that we would hope to catch a glimpse at during the show.

E3 2009 will not have appearances by NCsoft, Atari or Blizzard which means no demos of Aion , Guild Wars 2, Champions Online, Star Trek Online or (sniff) Diablo III. However we should have plenty in the RPG and MMO space to check out at the show. Come back later this week as we offer our final list of the rest of the game we want to see at the show.

Click on the image above to continue reading Countdown to E3 2009: The RPGs and MMO Games We Want To See

E3 2009 is just a few weeks away, and BioWare wants people to know that Mass Effect 2 will be making a big appearance at the show. This developer video provides a quick look at some of the new features that attendees will be able to see first-hand. Among the changes will be an improved combat system, which will add to the game's overall intensity.

Download HD Mass Effect 2 'Prelude to E3' Video (168 MB)
Check out all Mass Effect 2 downloads

This tool scans your computer for EA games released after May 2008 that use the SecuROM limited installation DRM system. After scanning, the tool will list the games so that the user can download the corresponding game-specific de-authorization tool. Or you can continue reading after the jump for direct links to a full list of de-authorization tools. Instructions for the the de-authorization manager are also shown after the jump.

We're not here to judge, but if we were, we'd thank EA for making game un/installation a pain in the butt. We'd also point out that The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff and Littlest Pet Shop are on the list and shake our heads in utter disbelief.

Download the EA SecuROM De-Authorization Management Tool (5 MB)

This past week a panel on making levels in Mass Effect 2 was held at the Game Developers Conference. That's not news, of course. What is news is that the panel revealed some very (and we mean very) early gameplay footage from BioWare's upcoming sci-fi RPG game sequel.

One of the most acclaimed game developers in the business is BioWare and the EA-owned company already has three announced projects in various stages of completion. One is Dragon Age: Origins, the fantasy RPG that's due out later this year. Another is Mass Effect 2, the sci-fi action-RPG sequel that's due out in the first quarter of 2010. Finally there's Star Wars: The Old Republic, their first MMO game that doesn't have a release date yet.

But as with all game development teams BiowWare also has projects in the works that have not yet been announced. In a GDC chat with BioWare co-founders Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka, IGN got Muzyka to say, "I think one of them might be pretty soon, then maybe a little later, then possibly some other stuff a little later." He added that, "Maybe one of them" might be revealed sometime this year.

In fact they gave some hints that one or more of their next projects might take place in a different setting. Zeschuk stating, "A horror RPG you could do a whole kind of different ways, it's been done before by some folks but we'd probably put our own fingerprints on it. There's lots of places you could tell a story."

Amazon.com is not normally a place where folks get leaked info on upcoming games but the pre-order page on the retailer's web site for the upcoming Mass Effect 2 may (and we emphasize the word "may") have put out some storyline details on the BioWare sci-fi RPG sequel.

The listing says the sequel will have you trying to find out why humans are disappearing from a number of worlds. It describes your storyline as a "suicide mission to save mankind." Ouch. You have to assemble a team to "launch an all-out assault on the heart of enemy territory". The Amazon.com listing also says there will be better third person combat and deeper character customization for your lead character Commander Shepard. Again since this comes from a source that isn't official you can consider this info to be a big rumor for now.

[Via Kotaku]

While the game has technically been in the public eye for several weeks, today BioWare and Electronic Arts sent out a press release making Mass Effect 2 "official". The press release also confirmed that the title will be heading to the PC platform in early 2010.

While a previously released teaser trailer gave some hints as to Mass Effect 2's storyline this new press release gives even more info on the plot for the sci-fi RPG sequel. "In this dark second chapter, Saren's evil army of Geth soldiers has just been defeated, and humans, who are still struggling to make their mark on the galactic stage, are now faced with an even greater peril..." Hmmmm...bigger, faster, stronger...just the right formula for a sequel.

On Wednesday we introduced you to the concept of the BigAss 25, a list of the 25 most exciting PC games that we will be covering a lot of on our site. These are also the games that you as fans will be playing and talking about more than most. We started with the first 13 titles and today we conclude with the final 12 in alphabetical order

We have games that were released in 2004 and games that won't be released in, well, we just don't know yet. We have shooters, RPGs, RTS games, MMO titles and much more. Remember this list is not set in stone; we plan to revise the BigAss 25 list every few months.

Click on the image above to continue reading Big Download's BigAss 25 for Spring 2009 - Part 2

BioWare teased us late last week with a brief trailer for Mass Effect 2, the sequel to their hit sci-fi RPG that's due out in the first quarter of 2010. However folks who already own the first Mass Effect game might want to hold onto the installation of the original, or at least the save game files.

In a post on BioWare's message board.QA team member Jack Lamden states simply, "Hang on to your Mass Effect 1 saves." That advice is repeated by two more BioWare teame members in the message board thread. So that should be a pretty big clue that having those save files could help you in the sequel versus someone who is playing the game without having played the original.'

[Via Joystiq]