mass effect 2
Features: What makes a good side quest?
Some side quests introduce us to party members' family members in the hardest fight of the game. Fun!
So with the recent releases of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Batman: Arkham City, I thought it’d be appropriate to have a discussion on side quests–specifically, what separates the good from the bad? I think we can all agree that when side quests are done well, they unquestionably contribute to a vastly better game experience. In fact, side quests often turn out to be more memorable than main quests for me personally. But why is that?
Author: Cody
Feature: Video games’ 15 all-time best opening levels
Pretty memorable first level, right?
So, as I was researching this list, I was filled with a desperate urge to replay (or play) every one of these games. That’s what a great opening level will do for you. No sitting through boring tutorials, no unnecessary exposition; just cut right to the heart of the game and never look back. Now due to the nature of this list, open-world games are severely lacking here (but not completely absent!). And whether it’s because game design has gotten better over the years or because “you just had to be there” to fully appreciate a game’s innovations, this list is largely populated by modern titles (sorry, Super Mario 64). Now I’ll acknowledge the irony of this mundane intro and let you get to that list!
Author: CodyTrailers: Arrival arrives tomorrow
Harbinger’s voice is so deep. Do you guys think BioWare hired Brad Shoemaker to voice him? If you need some time to think about it, you could buy Mass Effect 2‘s final DLC offering, “Arrival,” tomorrow for a cool $7 and think it over as Shepard kicks some Reaper ass (without his loyal party members accompanying him, unfortunately).
Author: CodyReactions: Final Mass Effect 2 DLC titled “Arrival”
Thanks to a recent patch for the PS3 version of Mass Effect 2, we now know enough about the critically praised game’s final installment of post-release content to speculate wildly. What I mean by that, of course, is that we only know the name, “Arrival,” and that it’ll offer three trophies. Joystiq notes that “One of the Trophies, ‘Covert Action,’ refers to a Dr. Amanda Kenson, who was previously mentioned in a recent Cerberus Network update:
Author: CodyReactions: ME2 getting one more DLC pack
According to Kotaku, there are people with enough time on their hands to boot up Mass Effect 2 and not play it, but read brief reports on out-of-game happenings within the Mass Effect universe through the Cerberus Network’s daily updates. Considering I didn’t even know this thing existed, I am clearly not one of those people.
Author: CodyFeature: InsaneBear’s 2010 Game of the Year
Not really sure what's going on with that trophy...
It’s that time of year again; that wonderful time when we place an arbitrary crown on a single video game for rising above all the rest and demonstrating what video games should be. But before we recap the year that was 2010, I’d first like to continue an InsaneBear tradition and re-evaluate 2009′s Game of the Year…Alright, and with that re-evaluation process completed, I’ve decided to amend the scores of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Borderlands from Good to Great and Great to Good, respectively. That said, Dragon Age: Origins retains the honors of GotY. It certainly has some interface problems and the combat is a little clunky, but the world and cast of characters are sublimely rich and the Origin stories are a thing of beauty. Few games have allowed me to embrace real role-playing so readily, and for that, Dragon Age: Origins lives on in my mind. Let’s just hope the sequel is as good.
Author: CodyTrailers: Lair of the Shadow Broker trailer
I have to say that I haven’t had a passing interest in any of the Mass Effect 2 DLC so far, but this one looks pretty entertaining. Expect to see “Lair of the Shadow Broker” on September 7th for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).
Author: CodyReaction: Alan Wake and Mass Effect 2 DLC news
If you take a long enough break from melting darkness incarnate with your flashlight in Alan Wake and look at its DLC menu, you might notice that the game’s second, and more importantly, unannounced post-release pack, titled “The Writer,” is being advertised. The content looks to put the hard-boiled writer through some grueling trials of some sort, although the 800 Microsoft Points your wallet has to cough up is quite the trial in itself. It’s unclear when “The Writer” will be releasing, but Alan Wake‘s first post-release adventure, “The Signal,” should be coming out in a little over two months.
Author: CodyReactions: More ME2 DLC coming by next month
Can’t get enough space-faring and alien-sexing in Mass Effect 2? Well, BioWare’s next piece of DLC, titled “Overlord,” won’t help you out in either department. But if you’ve been hoping to stay on one planet that’s overrun with crazed robots so you can shut down a lethal enemy AI, then you’re in luck. And you’ll even get to hover your butt around in the Hammerhead in between indoor sections. No pricing’s been announced yet, but the pack will be hitting the Xbox Live Marketplace sometime next month. Personally, I think BioWare should stop screwing around with these throw-away missions and just release an episodic, character-driven expansion.
Author: CodyFeature: Genre blending and the future of games
Let's hope that video game blending is less catastrophic.
So I’ve purchased three full-fledged video games this year and despite the fact that they all hail from very different genres, Mass Effect 2, BioShock 2, and Splinter Cell: Conviction have more in common than one would think. How is it that the RPG, FPS, and Stealth-Action genres, as mutually exclusive as could be just a few years ago, are producing such similar content in 2010? Well, it’s an interesting trend that I intend to examine in this here article. The implications of genre blending are seriously important in regards to what we’ll be playing next year or even ten years from now, so it’s a topic worth talking about.
Author: Cody
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