Mass Effect 3 PS3 details coming April

It looks like Mass Effect 3 gameplay details should be with us within a month, as games mags start to tease the Bioware sequel for their next issues.

One such mag is respected UK unofficial title, PSM3. Its current edition promises a "world-first look at Mass Effect 3 on PS3" in its next issue, which goes on sale on April 28.

The French Official PlayStation Magazine's also promising a "long overdue" gaming return for its next issue, whilst US retailer mag Game Informer's promising a reveal of a "highly anticipated" sequel to one of 2010's best games. That's Mass Effect 3, then.

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*Image used by Patryk Olejniczak

Mass Effect 2: Arrival IGN Review

If you want something a little more official than my own findings, here's IGN's review of Arrival:

It's bittersweet to review the final piece of downloadable content for Mass Effect 2. On one hand, there's nothing left for our favorite game of 2010, but that also means Mass Effect 3 is ever-closer. While Arrival isn't the highest note that BioWare could have ended Mass Effect 2 on, I understand why they chose this piece as the cork in the bottle. Arrival is all about Shepard and the Reapers and it does give some (but not a lot of) context to what we've seen of Mass Effect 3 so far.

Picking up after the Horizon mission, Arrival begins as a rescue initiative that you perform as a favor for your old friend Admiral Hackett. The woman you need to find, Dr. Amanda Kenson, has located a Reaper artifact with proof of their imminent invasion. The story is linear with no branching Paragon/Renegade pathways, though you can garner a handful of those points through scattered conversations along the way. I didn't mind the linearity here -- after all, most of the extra content has been presented the same way.

Arrival's twist comes in its combat -- you'll fight solo almost the entire time. Though you're down two squad mates, I didn't feel like it changed the game that much. Fighting through waves of enemies was slightly more difficult without others, but it never bordered on frustrating. There are some nice set pieces that you'll blast your way through (I won't spoil the locations) and it's still fun toying with your enemies by overloading a pyro and watching him explode or freezing someone then shattering him with bullets.

As fun as killing people is, the majority of Arrival consists of combat sequences and that's what I found disappointing. I love conducting conversations in Mass Effect, so the fact that most of this is running and gunning isn't bad, it's just not what I was hoping for. Arrival is on the shorter side and took me a couple of hours to complete, so I didn't have time to tire of shooting enemies with ammo and my biotic/tech powers.

While the new content doesn't technically have a lot of problems I can pinpoint, I didn't walk away "wowed" like I had with other content like Lair of the Shadow Broker. Arrival is still a worthy add-on with cool moments, but you shouldn't expect to feel butterflies of excitement in your tummy.

I had fun with Arrival, but I am concerned that people who don't buy it will be at a disadvantage in Mass Effect 3. Casey Hudson, executive producer of the franchise, assured me that that although Arrival will create differences in the player's Mass Effect 3 playthroughs, they would never "punish" players for not purchasing DLC. I guess we'll have to wait and see when Mass Effect 3 comes out this holiday.

CLOSING COMMENTS

Purchasing Arrival means there’s more to do in Mass Effect 2, and that’s always a good thing. It sets up the tone of urgency that’s prevalent in the Mass Effect 3 trailer, but don’t expect it to explain a lot. If you don’t mind combat-focused, linear missions, it’s worth the $7 or 560 Microsoft points.

Rating (out of 10): 7 - Good.

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Mass Effect 2: Arrival DLC My Review

So, the final piece of story-based DLC arrived yesterday, after a 6-month hiatus from the awesome Lair of the Shadowbroker DLC - a hard act to follow. Arrival though promised to be a true bridge to ME3 with a plot that tied directly into the main storyline of the trilogy and the arrival of the arch-enemies: the Reapers.

So - how is it? initial impressions aren't good, after a brief chat with Admiral Hackett - where he informs you that he wants you to solo-rescue one of his best agents who was working on something to do with the reapers in batarian space before being captured, as a huge favour to him - on the Normandy you land on a rain-sodden planet in Batarian space. Not having been in the rain since Pragia in the main game (though LoSB had some outside a window) it was nice to appreciate the water effects running down Shepard's armour before proceeding inside the prison... which is where the disappointment comes in - prisons are never going to be the nicest environs, but this one is particularly drab and for all it's labrynthine maze-feel, this is an illusion as it's still pretty linear (however to get the achievement for not engaging the enemy before the rescue you have to make good use of the "multiple routes" (read: side-passages) to avoid guards, being an infiltrator made this very easy).

Once you rescue your target, you basically have to shoot your way back out to the hanger you went through earlier, though the layout changes due to different doors being openend and guards appearing everywhere make this a nice challenge. Once on-board the escape shuttle you proceed to the second area of the DLC - the human base on the asteroid that forms the "plan" to stop the reaper invasion, which - according to the agent - is scheduled for a scant 2 days time...

Upon verifying her findings (cool-looking reaper artifact!), there's a plot-twist shocker you really should see coming a mile-off and a massive firefight ensues against literally, everyone in the base plus mechs. Survive 5 waves of this you get an achievement but the artifact still ensures your capture...

You wake up 2 days later and have to break out and try and fight your way to stop the agent from stopping "the plan" and letting the reapers in, which leads you into firefights against the hordes of soldiers (on a clandestine base in Batarian space?) until a final confrontation and, eventual, dramatic escape. Success means you end up with a nice cut-scene and an astronomical body-count, even as a paragon you can't save anyone - nice, huh? Hackett arrives on the Normandy to debrief you, setting up some troubling notions of possible events in ME3, which i'll get to in a minute.

Whilst the DLC is good, it's nowhere near LoSB quality: it lacks the plot, coherence impact and even urgency of that mission. going in solo (for contrived reasons) doesn't especially ramp the difficulty or gameplay. the promised consequences for ME3 must be trivial: the only real choice you get to make in the DLC is whether to warn the Batarian system-colonists about the plan, or not. unfortunately you can't anyway and this makes the whole choice a non-starter - what's the point if you fail regardless? oh, you get 2 paragon/renegade points, just showing how important the choice is. the renegade interrupt on catching the agent at the end was epic though, i will say that.

My biggest problem with the DLC comes at the end: the Hackett debrief - it's strongly hinted that Earth wants a scapegoat for what happened to the Batarians (despite no-one knowing you were even there) and that although evidence is circumstantial you may well be called to face the music at some point soon. but, wait a minute: since when does shepard answer to anyone in the alliance? oh yes - not since becoming a spectre at the beginning of ME1, let alone any subsequent choices - which don't matter because no shepard can canonically re-join the alliance at any point later. They have zero authority to do diddly regardless of what they want, especially if you are still a SPECTRE (which i always am - worked hard for that, dammit). this is total BS and smacks of "you are forced into dealing with this only because of the writers thought it was a cool story/plot to explore" - i hate manadatory scenarios like this, that also ignore your previous game choices. besides we already did the "trial" thing with tali's loyalty mission, i really don't see the need for two in a trilogy, especially when there are better things to be doing, like killing reapers and makin' sweet love with Miranda...

So, overall i'd say the DLC is well worth it for a few hours Mass effect entertainment (certainly better value than any movie i have seen all year) and it just felt so good to play something new mass effect after such a long wait.

Bring on ME3!

BioWare considering environmental HUD, new enemy designs for Mass Effect 3

This story was picked up by Gamesradar from this thead on the official BW forums, regarding HUD iteration for ME3:

Commander Shepard may be taking a page from Isaac Clarke's book. BioWare Senior Designer Brenon Holmes told Mass Effect fans this weekend the studio is tinkering with the addition of an environmental HUD system for Mass Effect 3, much like the one last seen worn by the delusional engineer of note in Dead Space 2.

“That's one of the things that I love about Dead Space; the interface... it feels really immersive. I just want to touch the hell out of those buttons. So we are still investigating ways of putting some of our HUD elements into the environment... we'll see what we end up with,” wrote Holmes in a back and forth chat with BioWare's Mass Effect community.

Holmes said BioWare had played around with different prototypes for a health and shield indicator on Commander Shepard's armor during the early phases of ME2, but weren't able to find a way to do so without having it obscured when players took cover in the middle of the action.

In a later response to criticism over ME2's use of a fuzzy red screen-'o -death to indicate low health, Holmes confirmed this was something the studio was “actively iterating on.” He also noted the sequel would feature more variety on the battlefield, explaining, “One of the things we're trying for ME3 is to make it a lot easier to identify the various types of enemies. Silhouette of the character is a huge component of that, and our character art/animator guys have done a pretty awesome job. I'm pretty excited for when we get to start showing off some of the really cool creatures we've been working on.”

Holmes avoided discussing specific examples, but emphasized any character design changes would be done to suit an actual purpose - gameplay, plot or otherwise - and not just for the sake of mixing things up.

Over and above demonstrating BioWare's open relationship with fans, Holmes' chat over the last few days on BioWare's forum hints at promising improvements in the way of gameplay and design. Small improvements, sure, but ones that could make a difference when the intergalactic crap hits the fan.

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Mass Effect 2: 'Arrival' DLC Has Arrived!

Should be out on PC sometime around 5pm BST, too...

Mass Effect 2: Arrival Launch Trailer

A day early but totally awesomely epic!

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Exclusive "3 Ways To Play" Gameplay Footage Trailer

This game is beginning to look pretty awesome in the same vein as Deus Ex 1 was back in the day, on PC, (& thankfully not like the awful sequel).

Mass Effect 2: Arrival DLC Gamespot Gameplay Demo

Mass Effect 2 'Arrival' DLC Joystiq Preview

Next Tuesday, a sad and wonderful thing will happen. Mass Effect 2 will receive its last DLC, "Arrival," which sees Commander Shepard on a rescue mission to save a doctor kidnapped by batarians. As the nature of the mission is quite sensitive -- the doctor is part of a team that has found a Reaper artifact -- Admiral Hackett calls for Shepard to go it alone.

"Arrival is a side-quest, ultimately," explains Jesse Houston, producer at BioWare, "but it's also kind of an epilogue," he adds, reiterating that it's the final Mass Effect 2 update. Within the context of the game's plot, players can access Arrival at any point after the mid-game Horizon mission. Depending on when players choose to undertake the mission, Houston notes, they could experience some "small differences," though he describes these as "aesthetic" changes only.

Though a side-quest, Arrival is different from other such missions in Mass Effect 2 in that it's strictly a solo operation. Shepard is on his (or her) own throughout the entirety of Arrival.

"Shepard's alone, through the whole thing, and that adds a layer of complexity," observes Houston. The challenge of Arrival is the absence of squad members. Players must handle the combat on their own, without employing team-based tactics, the core gameplay that Mass Effect fans have become quite comfortable and enamored with. The challenge for BioWare was to design this solo combat to scale to the player's level.

I previewed Arrival as a level-8 Soldier, and this particular Shepard was better equipped than some of the other classes to handle squads of grumpy batarians on his own. My one death occurred while charging into a particularly tense gunfight like I was John McClane, reminding me that even a Soldier-class Shepard is no action-movie hero. I can only speculate that other character classes will be even more challenged to use brain over brawn to survive. If you're an Adept or Engineer, for example, the hindrance of only being able to wear light armor could be a particularly difficult weakness to overcome -- I fought a lot during my brief playtime.

Tactful use of cover and a careful approach to each encounter is paramount. BioWare has actually added more instances of stealth into Arrival than found in the main game -- a plus for you Infiltrator Shepards -- though Metal Gear Solid this is not. I was able to side-step two potential fights by surveying the environment and finding a quiet way around. There isn't any tangible reward for being sneaky, but it provides an alternative to approaching the mission as simply a rote third-person, cover-based shooter.

"But what about all the conversations and hard choices?" you may be wondering. I didn't actually encounter many conversations during the first two (out of five) gameplay areas that I played of the mission, and there were no major choices to be made. Without spoiling too much, Shepard finds Dr. Kenson in an electrified torture device and -- with no option to crank it up -- takes her back to the artifact. And then, of course, the plot twists. Just as things started to heat up again, my preview ended.

While Arrival isn't the bridge that many expected and might have hoped would extend the endgame of Mass Effect 2, connecting it to this holiday's Mass Effect 3, it still shows signs of being a good piece of DLC. The mission seems to be on par with "Lair of the Shadow Broker" and "Project Overlord" in its scope and delivery -- an action-packed add-on that extends the universe in a meaningful way.

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Mass Effect 2 Arrival: The Reapers Are Coming *SPOILERS*

Editor's Note: The first page is spoiler-free. You will be warned before major spoilers occur.

The first time I encountered Admiral Hackett in Mass Effect I thought he was sort of a douche. He demanded that I assist the Alliance with matters that nobody else in the Navy could deal with (which I find hard to believe) and then when my Shepard performed above and beyond, all I received was a "Good work, Shepard." I always got the impression that he never meant it either.

Anyway, he's back to ask your for help one more time despite the fact that Shepard's working with Cerberus now. If you're a PlayStation 3 owner you won't be as familiar with Hackett and his charms as, until now, he was only a major presence in the first title.

So what does he want? Let's find out.

Give me the (spoiler-free) general gist of the story.

You got it. Admiral Hackett rings you up once again, but this time for a personal favor. A friend of his, Dr. Amanda Kenson, has been captured by Batarians and accused of terrorism. Hackett urges discretion, so he requests that you go in solo (really, no squad mates).

You might want to tell him to shove it, but then he says that Dr. Kenson reportedly found a Reaper artifact that proves their existence and plans to invade.

So yeah, you should probably go save her.

How does it play?

I only got to try out the first mission, but if you've played Mass Effect, this should feel incredibly familiar to you. There's lots of action in the first half of Arrival, and the major decisions that will impact Mass Effect 3 occur later.

I'm new/restarting the campaign, can I access Arrival from the start?

Arrival content unlocks after the mission on Horizon. Of course, you can always play it once you've completed the main campaign.

How long is it?

It's hard to say. I'm told that there are five new missions to play through and I only made it through the first one. It seems like you should be able to get a couple hours out of it, depending on how quickly you move through combat segments.

Lair of the Shadow Broker allowed you to rekindle your romance with Liara. Will Arrival offer the same for the Virmire Survivor (Ashley or Kaidan)?

Unfortunately, no. I'm sad about this, but I hope it means that Kaidan/Ashley's role in Mass Effect 3 is super awesome.

If you don't want to know any plot spoilers, don't read any further. If you don't mind learning about the events of the first mission, continue on.

What I said before remains true: you travel to Batarian space to rescue Dr. Kenson from a secret prison outpost. She's been charged with terrorism, and once you talk to her, she admits it. Turns out that she's been planning to destroy the Batarian relay to thwart the impending Reaper invasion, which is a good reason if you ask me. Her proof, a Reaper artifact, indicates that the sentient machines are on the move and are almost to the relay that connects with one in Batarian space. Destroying the Batarian relay means the Reapers would be forced to find another route and would prevent the attack.

Mass relays are huge, so how do you perform such a feat? Simple, just ram a giant asteroid into it. If you played the Bring Down the Sky DLC for Mass Effect 1 (a Batarian terrorist group tries to destroy the human colony of Terra Nova by hijacking an asteroid and ramming the planet) you'll see the irony here.

After busting her out of the Batarian prison, she'll escort Shepard to the asteroid she plans on using as a bomb.

See that countdown clock (above)? Well, when that hits zero (in two days!!) the Reapers will have accessed the closest mass relay to them and come to destroy, well, everything. I know, it freaked me out too.

Dr. Kenson escorts Shepard through the base and shows her true colors (and how stupid doctors can be). Smack dab in the middle of everything is the Reaper artifact. So despite her knowledge of the Reapers and their invasion, looks like they forgot about that pesky indoctrination thing. Whoops.

Now that Amanda and her team have Shepard cornered, they turn on the Commander and initiate a giant firefight. Their eyes also glow (almost like husks) and it's really creepy. You can survive for a while if you're a skilled Mass Effect player, but eventually you're going to get knocked out. Don't worry, that's by design (though staying alive for a certain amount of time will net you a Trophy/Achievement).

Shepard wakes up on a table (hmm, that seems familiar) surrounded by guards. They seem to be appalled that the sedative doesn't work on the Commander and Shepard punches out two of them while the third runs behind the safety of Plexiglas.

Have they done anything weird to Shepard while he/she was unconscious? Was Dr. Kenson telling the truth about the Reaper invasion? How much did Admiral Hackett know before he sent you into the situation? How are we going to stop the Reapers from killing everything with only 48 hours?!

Unfortunately, that's all I saw, so I don't have the answers. What do you think will happen next?

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Giant Bomb's Ask My Anything: Mass Effect 2: Arrival *SPOILERS*

The first 22 minutes of the arrival DLC, so obviously massive spoilers...

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Mass Effect 3: Tricia Helfer returning as EDI

According to her twitter feed here, Tricia Helfer will be returning as the Normandy II's AI, EDI, in Mass Effect 3. Hopefully we'll hear of some more returning cast members (hint: Yvonne Strahovski) soon, too.

New Mass Effect comic series from Dark Horse coming 'later this year'

Fans anxious for another Mass Effect comic run will get their wish soon, according to coverage of a Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) panel over on Newsarama. There, Dark Horse representative Jeremy Atkins revealed that the company will "publish another Mass Effect series later this year."

With Mass Effect 3 set to launch at the tail-end of 2011, we anticipated more tie-ins -- EA loves its transmedia promotions, after all. Sadly, no other details were offered on the proposed third Mass Effect mini-series.

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Deus Ex: Human Revolution - MULTI PATH GAMEPLAY TRAILER

Deus Ex: Human Revolution's Adam Jensen doesn't have to be a cold-blooded killer. Using a combination of stealth, technology, and social skills, Jensen can go through the entire game only killing bosses. Narrative game designer Mary DeMarle shows us how.

There aren't many games that give you the freedom to play as you want to play like Deus Ex: Human Revolution will. Many action role-playing hybrids will allow you to put points into a stealth or persuasion skill, but at the end of the day you're still going to end up shooting the place all to shit in order to get the job done.

As Eidos Montreal's Mary DeMarle demonstrates, with a bit of planning and quick thinking, Deus Ex doesn't have to be a blood bath.

At least not on every play through.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution hits the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on August 23.

Words by Kotaku.

EA confirms March 29 release for Mass Effect 2 Arrival DLC

EG.de first reported on the news, but EA UK has now confirmed it.

The DLC, which will launch on PC, 360 and PS3, sees Shepard being sent to the “border of the galaxy” to rescue a female undercover agent that might have evidence for an upcoming Reaper invasion.

Sound familiar?

Admiral Hackett, who is voiced by Lance Henriksen, will also return to play a “major” role.

“All year, we have been extremely honored and humbled by the reception we have received for Mass Effect 2 from players around the world, including our post release DLC,” said series producer, Casey Hudson.

“Mass Effect: Arrival is an exciting extension to Mass Effect 2 and will show players just how close the Reapers are to returning and completing their deadly harvest.”

The DLC is the final pack for Mass Effect 2 before this holiday’s release of Mass Effect 3. It’ll launch for 560 BioWare/MS points on PC and 360. It’ll be £5.49 on PSN.

There’s three new screens too. BioWare’s been teasing the screens all week on its Facebook page, the most recent coming last night.

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Mass Effect 2: Arrival Screenshot #4

Well anything's better than the last one...

Mass Effect 2 Takes Top Honours - Winning "Best Game" at the British Academy Video Game Awards

Best Game

WINNER: Mass Effect 2
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
FIFA 11
Heavy Rain
LIMBO
Super Mario Galaxy 2

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Mas Effect 2: Arrival Screenshot #3

Disappointing.

Mass Effect 2: 'Arrival' DLC Screenshot #2

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Mass Effect 2: 'Arrival' DLC Screenshot on Facebook/Twitter

Now Dragon Age 2 is out, maybe we'll finally get some more Mass Effect info! oh and, by the way, they're saying that if 1000 people re-tweet the post they'll post another screen tomorrow...

Twitter and Facebook.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution PAX East gameplay

Mass Effect 2: Fan Trailer

A bit late and a bit long perhaps but pretty good:

Mass Effect: Evolution #3 IGN Exclusive Preview

Dark Horse Comics' next installment of Mass Effect: Evolution is still a couple of weeks away, but IGN is proud to present an exclusive first look at the issue. Mass Effect 2 writer Mac Walters and co-writer John Jackson Miller continue to reveal the origin story of everyone's favorite galactic power broker, The Illusive Man.

Mass Effect: Evolution #3 goes on sale March 23.

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Shocking artwork this issue - Omar francia's work has been better than before up till now, but some of these pages are terrible. Unfortunately the story is continuity-breaking and awful, also in-line with the previous Mass effect comic series'. One way to ruin a franchise is with poorly thought out tie-in media, unless BW are careful this is heading in that direction...

Deus Ex: Human Revolution: Augmented Edition With Fancy Extras and Official Release Date

UK gamers will get their hands on Deus Ex: Human Revolution on August 26 — later (as usual) than our US counterparts, but we also get a reasonably priced "Augmented Edition" for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC when the third Deus Ex game arrives.

What's in that £59.89 (Current amazon preorder price - subject to change) "Augmented Edition"? The following digital goods: a new mission, "10,000 extra credits to buy or upgrade weapons, plus a Huntsman Silverback Double-Barrel Shotgun, the SERSR Longsword Whisperhead silenced sniper rifle, the Linebacker G-87 multiple shot grenade launcher, and an Automatic Unlocking Device and the M-28 Utility Remote-Detonated Explosive Device (UR-DED)."

Human Revolution's "Augmented Edition" also contains "an exclusive bonus DVD featuring a 44-minute "making of" special, game soundtrack, motion-comic (adapted from DC's official series), the E3 trailer and animated storyboard, and a 40-page art book." Not too bad for an extra twenty quid, although i doubt it'll be more than £10 more by launch.

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Epic Games' GDC 2011 demo of new graphics technology

Apparently running (in realtime) on 3 NVIDIA GTX580 cards (their latest and greatest) - so easily doable on a single-card by the time the next gen of consoles launches in 2012 or so...

For comparison's sake, this is the competition: Cryengine 3 exhibiting at the same show:

Mass Effect 2 Passed the Digital Test: EA sees positive results with day and day release.

Publishers are starting to see the benefit to releasing full game downloads on console the same day the retail version hits store shelves.

Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference in San Francisco last week, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello seemed pleased with the digital version of Mass Effect 2 for PlayStation 3, a 12GB download released the same day as the Blu-ray version.

"Sony had never done a day and day release," he said. "They were very cautious about their infrastructure so it was mostly a technology test."

Riccitiello admitted that while EA did "absolutely nothing" to market the PS3 version, the digital copy captured a double-digit percent of total sales for Mass Effect 2 on PS3. EA has not revealed a specific sales number since launch, but Riccitiello said it was "meaningful."

"This was really more about proving it can be done than it was proving what the opportunity would be," he added. "So an unmarketed game one year after the original was done on the Xbox and the PC, we released the PS3 and managed to do very, very well with it."

Riccitiello later explained that one of the main hiccups causing publishers from doing more day and day, full game downloads on consoles are the retail policies between Sony and Microsoft.

"They have got to manage both selling boxes at retail, and it's generally a pretty thin margin business," he said. "And so they basically negotiate and leverage shelf space on the promise of making retail margin on software."

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A worrying trend as i do not trust big companies to play fair with purchased digital goods - there's just too many ways to screw the end-consumer and no protection from those who are supposed to. Besides with a nice disc (which you actually own as a physical purchase) you usually get an art book/statue/etc. with limited or collector's editions.

GDC 2011: Interview With Mass Effect 3 Gameplay Designer Christina Norman

If you’re not familiar with the name Christina Norman, you should be. She was the lead gameplay designer for the popular space opera BioWare game, Mass Effect 2 and will also be working on the highly anticipated Mass Effect 3.

We were able to catch her while she was waiting in line for one of the (many) talks going on during GDC 2011 and interviewed her regarding designing Mass Effect 2 and its influence on Mass Effect 3.

Game Rant: When you addressed design concerns going from Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 2, how did you start? What influenced the changes?

Christina Norman: A couple of major factors. First of all, we always had a vision for the game. The vision evolves, it never stays exactly the same but from the very start, there was the vision of the game. We knew at the point when Mass Effect 1 came out that there were certain aspects of the original vision of Mass Effect that we had not addressed. In addition, we looked at feedback from both reviewers and fans and we were lucky. If people had been all over of the map and everyone said something different then it wouldn’t have been useful.

There were a lot of themes that emerged that seemed really consistent and resulted in kind of like a critical, hardcore gamer feedback and there were also people who would just say things like, “I find this game confusing,” “I try to play it and my gun isn’t hitting anybody and I don’t know what’s going on,” and other sort of things. So there were certain aspects of the gameplay that were making the game inaccessable to players.

The way I like to put that is, Mass Effect has always looked like a shooter, but Mass Effect 1 didn’t really play like one. It could play like a shooter, if you were a smart gamer and you understood what we were doing and you did all the RPG stuff in just the right way, you could have a pretty good shooter experience.

We wanted to make sure every gamer who have already played a shooter could have a good experience in Mass Effect 2 and look at the RPG stuff as not being the barrier to entry, like you don’t get to play a shooter if you don’t do this RPG stuff and make it more like “You can play it like a shooter, but if you want to be really awesome, if you want to just destroy everything, you really have to engage that RPG stuff.” And that becomes sort of a competitive edge to a gamer when you engage those RPG mechanics.

GR: Will players who opted to stay romantically involved with Liara or Ashley Williams from ME1 be rewarded for staying loyal?

CN: I can’t talk about any of the specific decisions or what they actually do. But what I can say is that decisions through all of the Mass Effect games, including the DLC, will matter for Mass Effect 3. And it’s not just like decisions that carried over from ME1 to ME2 will matter in ME3, they’ll be decisions in ME1 that did not visibly impact ME2 that will have an impact in ME3. What we looked at is the total story, everything that happened in Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 is real and matters, we let the writers draw on that as much as they want to customize the experience and to be pretty much without limits.

GR: Since the design differences between 1 and 2 were so prevalent, are you taking an approach to the third game of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?”

CN: Sure. This is the metaphor you can think of it in. I can tell you the overall arcing design for 1, 2, and 3. With ME1, we wanted to build Mass Effect and we did our best to do that and we succeeded in a lot of areas, but we didn’t reach where we wanted to do in some areas. Mass Effect 2 was like, “OK, now we have time to take what we did and fully sort of realize the vision we had for Mass Effect.” And we’ve done that, but now what we can do is add another layer on top of that in terms of “now that we have something that we think really represents the Mass Effect experience, let’s build on that.”

There really is infinite possibilities now that we have that really, really solid Mass Effect 2 core. What you’ll probably not see in Mass Effect 3 is a lot of major, complete reinventions, because we don’t have those things where we’ll shift it and all that. That is not actually what we wanted to do. There will still be things that are in ME2 that won’t be in ME3 and that’s just because we’re looking at the overall play experience of “does this make sense to have in both games?” Sometimes there’s something and we’ll say “this is great for one game, but we don’t want to do it again in another game, because once was enough.” And instead we want to put in something new to replace it.

GR: Like planet scanning?

CN: I can’t comment on anything specifically, but there will be elements that are in ME2 that are not in ME3.

Players of Mass Effect 1 may have noticed that very important decisions had a direct impact on the experience of Mass Effect 2, like choosing to save the Council or kill the Rachni queen. They were part of 700 different plot points that also carried over, not every single one was immediately noticeable during the play experience, but as Norman points out, those decisions may be seen in Mass Effect 3. She and her team are hard at work creating a ME game that will not simply be an upgraded version of the second title.

Gameplay changes aren’t going to be the only thing that make the third game a high-profile title. Fans are eagerly anticipating the story completion and continued journey of Commander Shepard (that is, if he/she made it during the suicide mission). Mass Effect 2 did win the GDC “Best Writing” award this year and while some have their objections to the plot of the game, the mythology and characters did a wonderful job of bringing the story to life. Here’s hoping the third game will deliver an experience that will blow ME2 out of the water.

Mass Effect 3 releases Q4 2011 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

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Mass Effect 3: Concept Art? Update: BW confirm not official

Robert Simons has posted some concept art on his official site and Deviantart page, stamped with Bioware's marks for Mass effect 3. the '3' logo is a little shaky and he may not be long out of art college from his post updates, but this could be the real thing:

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Update: BW have come out and said that these are definitely not official images, nor concept art from Mass Effect 3, and Robert Simons doesn't/hasn't worked there, though these images won't exactly hurt his chances, i'd say, either.

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Update #2: Update: Simons updated his blog to say:

First off this is NOT real concept work for Bioware. I go to school at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and this work was for a class called Architecture 2. In this class we pick a game and design a sequel to it in order to get jobs. In that class we have to present as if we are really apart of that company, that way there are real logos of ME3 and Bioware on these paintings. Secondly, I am sorry if this caused any distress to anyone that feels offended over this work.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Consequences

The Deus Ex series is renowned for its focus on multiple narrative outcomes and paths, and the latest instalment is no different. The choices players make will have consequences, and the team wants these to have weight and feel real. How do these consequences play out? How does the story branch? How do choices affect how characters treat you? How are deaths handled? I sat down with Deus Ex: Human Revolution determined to find out.

For those of you who haven't been following the game, here's a quick overview. The year is 2027. Sarif Industries, one of the mega-corporations leading the way in the field of human augmentation, is attacked by armed soldiers. Sarif's security officer, Adam Jensen, steps in to neutralise the situation. Unfortunately for him, an enormous, heavily-upgraded soldier with a well-maintained Jarhead haircut throws him straight through a large computer screen and then - in what seems to be a nod to Robocop - shoots him in the head.

Jensen's life is saved, but only through extensive augmentation, which actually flies in the face of his feelings about cybernetic upgrades. In another nod to Robocop, we see Jensen being frantically worked on by surgeons over the opening credits. Cut to six months later and still in the middle of rehabilitation, Adam is once again called in to investigate a break-in and possible hostage situation at one of Sarif's production warehouses courtesy of the terrorist group known as Purity First. Yes, you guessed it, they aren't too fond of this cybernetic upgrade business. Before you go in though you must go to Sarif HQ to get your 'Retina Display' fixed as it's buggin' out. Here's where your choices start to affect what happens in Human Revolution.

Sarif HQ

The receptionist at Sarif HQ gives you several options. You can head over to see Francis Pritchard, a scientist who will fix that nasty flickering HUD in your retinal display, you can go to the boss' office and have a conversation, you can head directly to the chopper so that pilot Malik can take you to the manufacturing plant, or you can loiter around the headquarters and explore every corner. How you choose to spend your time in this section will have direct consequences in the next level, and likely the rest of the game.

I chose to quickly go and get my display fixed, then proceeded straight to the chopper. Malik gave me a bit of lip about taking my sweet-ass time but luckily I wasn't too slow. Taking too long at Sarif HQ would've had dire consequences - by the time Adam arrives at the manufacturing plant all the hostages would be dead, and you'd be greeted at the site by a hostile SWAT team that was forced to wait for you to clear the area before going in. The knock-on? You'll have a bad reputation amongst the cops and a number of other people, which means they're less likely to help you out in future.

Chopper Ride Load-out Selection

Once in the chopper you'll be briefed by Sarif about the scenario and asked if you'd like to take the lethal or non-lethal route. The non-lethal option equips your weapons with tranquiliser darts. Needless to say I chose the lethal route. It must be said that if you really want to, you can progress through the entire game without killing anyone (other than in a couple of necessary boss battles). You'll also be asked whether you want to take the long range or close range approach. Choosing long range will give you a rifle with automatic and semi-automatic firing options and a pistol. The close-range option will give you a taser and a pistol.

These choices really allow you to tailor the game to your liking. If you're after a stealth game, you can choose the appropriate load-out options and try to stay out of sight. If you're like me and enjoy machine gunning your way into a room, then the game can be played in a Rainbow 6 Vegas-like fashion with a similar cover system that goes from third person crouching to first person aiming. Make no mistake though, these options don't just allow you to play how you want - they also affect your reputation. Go in guns blazing and you'll be considered a bit of a cowboy in future conversations with people.

The Hostage Situation

Upon arrival at the plant, I took the opportunity to upgrade Adam's abilities by spending some 'Praxis Points' on new augmentations. I chose to apply the Aim Stabilizer, Dermal Armor and possibly the most useful upgrade I encountered, Smart Vision. This upgrade allowed me to see through walls and get the drop on enemies in closed rooms. It's reminiscent of Batman: Arkham Asylum's Detective Vision only with a bit more balance. You can't just leave it on for the rest of the game - there's an energy bar on your HUD that eventually empties, meaning that you have to wait for it to recharge before using it again.

Without realising it, the choice of Smart Vision as one of my upgrades was more useful than I had anticipated. Turning it on allowed me to see where the hostages were being held in a tucked away room in the plant. In my eagerness to rescue the hostages I ran straight in, triggering a bomb with a timer in the middle of the room. The bomb has a terminal on it, giving you some choices on how to defuse it. Unfortunately I didn't find the pass code that was somewhere on one of the enemies I'd taken down, so I chose to hack into it. Hacking is a fun yet extremely tense, time-sensitive mini game that involves connecting nodes. Alternatively, there's also a vent that players can crawl through to get into the room without triggering the bomb. After successfully defusing it, I stopped to talk to one of the hostages (though I didn't actually have to), who then pleaded with me to save his wife, an engineer that had been captured by Zeke Sanders, one of the terrorists in charge of the siege. If I hadn't stopped to find this information out, I wouldn't have had as much stock in the upcoming hostage negotiation.

Zeke Sanders Stand-off

After a few more shootouts, I eventually reached the final section of my demo - a face-to-face confrontation with Zeke Sanders as he holds that previous hostage's wife at gunpoint. In an interesting mechanic, you are granted several dialogue options in order to calm him down, or if you so choose, to antagonise him into a violent outcome. With each successful reassuring comment that you give him, Sanders starts to doubt himself and Adam moves closer. If you say something he doesn't like, he will move further away from you.

Eventually I managed to talk him down by convincing him that his leader had betrayed him - cooked up a story and dropped him and his group into a meat-grinder, so to speak. This was the best possible outcome as he let the hostage go, and more importantly, he survived. This can actually benefit players later in the game, as he can meet up with Jensen and repay him by giving up some crucial information, sort of like an informant. Alternatively, had I chosen the non-lethal option in the load-out section, I could've gotten close enough to incapacitate him with the taser. He would still appear again later in the game, but from within a prison cell, though I doubt he would have been quite as helpful.

Then there's the possibility that Zeke actually kills the hostage, leaving you with a bad reputation, and an awkward conversation with the husband you rescued earlier. Luckily, in my play through it was only good news and the husband offered to help Jensen out at any time. He declined, but I have the feeling we'll be seeing this character again somewhere down the track.

Even in the opening section of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, the consequences of your actions stood out as important decisions that will affect the way the rest of the game will unfold. Eidos Montreal has achieved a great sense of player choice, and with several possible endings, it's going to be fascinating to see how each player approaches the game and what that will mean for their experience.

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Mass Effect 2 composer Jack Wall explains his departure from the franchise

Though the Mass Effect series has made good on its promise to preserve and carry over important elements between games, prolific composer Jack Wall has elected to depart and pursue several other projects before BioWare launches Mass Effect 3 later this year.

"Well, I've had a great relationship with BioWare for five years, and I think, you know, as with any important relationship it's complicated," Wall said. "Now I'm working with other clients and it feels fresh to me and I think they feel the same way, so I think it's just time to move on. I have nothing but love for those people. I'm sure I'll see them again. It's just time for a break, maybe."

During a Thursday morning GDC session, Wall discussed the interactive scoring methods he and a team of composers (including Sam Hulick, David Kates and Jimmy Hinson) used to craft and integrate three hours of music into the game. The reactive score, blended with numerous transitions between battle scenes, moments of exploration and dialogue, was built on a considerable basis of technical procedure and experience -- which Wall and his team take with them before Black Swan composer Clint Mansell begins work on Mass Effect 3. According to Wall, film composers can transition smoothly into games, provided they're effectively directed by the game development team.

"As long as you have someone doing what we did on the game development side, you can get away with that, and have just somebody write great music and direct them how to do it," Wall said. "I think it's totally fine. It depends what you're looking for as a game developer, really. Do you need somebody with that knowledge, or no? Sometimes, you know, I'm just interested in all that stuff, so I bring that with me, and that's an asset I have, right? But it doesn't necessarily make me more suited to a particular project, unless the developer feels it is. So, I'm having a really good time with that knowledge now, because it really makes me think differently about how I compose for games."

Thinking "differently" and being agile is essential in successful interactive scoring, especially when game development doesn't proceed perfectly according to plan (and when does it ever?). "I do things relevant, so I do think there's a learning curve," Wall said, who began working on music for Mass Effect 2's final sequence before BioWare could even share a working level. "I hope Clint Mansell can get up to speed on that quick and doesn't feel too overwhelmed. He's a very talented guy, so I'm sure it'll be great."

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Dragon Age II unboxing reveals Mass Effect 2 'Arrival' DLC

Gamers who buy Dragon Age II will find a nice card in their box telling them "The ARRIVAL has begun", refering to the leaked Mass Effect 2 DLC that will bridge Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 together.

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This can only mean that 'Arrival' will have the Reapers finally 'arriving' in numbers, as shown in the announcement trailer, where they decided to lay waste to london...