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New Mass Effect DLC Arrives Not with a Bang, But with a Whimper

Nathan Grayson — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 03:56:59 -0500

BioWare recently released some spankin’ new Mass Effect DLC, but, uh, it seems like they forgot to tell everyone. Titled “Pinnacle Station,” the Mass Effect DLC made a minimal impact upon landing, mostly because there was little-to-no pre-release hype associated with its launch. Oh sure, there were some hints – a wink, a nudge, and even a leak – but not a(n official) word from Microsoft or BioWare.

You’d think it’d be in your best interest to promote a new addition to your two year-old game, seeing as how most people have probably shelved it at this point. But then, we’re not marketing experts, so what do we know?

Anyway, the DLC costs five Washingtons – or one Lincoln – and gets Shepard and co. back in shape for Mass Effect 2 with 13 brand new combat missions.

Go grab it here, if you’re interested.

First Mass Effect 2 Trailer Says R.I.P. Commander Shepard

Nathan Grayson — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 03:23:29 -0600

The original Mass Effect may still be priming the DLC buffet for one or two more bites, but that isn’t stopping BioWare from slipping gamers a small dose of its sequel.

The trailer in question can be seen here, and – for those who are deathly afraid of even the remote possibility of a Rickroll and would rather not click that link – not-so-vaguely suggests that Commander Shepard (your main guy or gal in Mass Effect) suffered a quick and clean off-screen death. And a permanent one at that – not simply due to bad camera angles.

But, to be honest, we’re thinking the rumors of Shepard’s death have been greatly exaggerated, mostly because the only other tidbit BioWare’s dropped concerning 2Mass2Furious involves reusing save files from Mass Effect – probably for stat boosts, character profiles, and other such pieces of space bling. Otherwise, BioWare could’ve tossed in a few “So, how about that one guy who saved the universe that one time?” questions, ala Knights of the Old Republic 2, and called it a day.

So, what do you think?

Big-Name Electronic Arts Games Now on Steam, SecuROM Not

Nathan Grayson — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 21:25:35 -0600

“Let’s see… I’ll take one copy of Spore – hold the SecuROM DRM, please.”

“Oh, er, sorry. Your order’s already slathered in DRM and, well, we can’t remove it. If you come back in a couple weeks, though, we might be able to scrape off a bit of it. Sound good?”

“…”

Has something like this ever happened to you? A pleasant Sunday afternoon installation spoiled by SecuROM’s goon squad? Well, no more. At least, if you ride under Steam’s banner.

“EA is one of the industry’s largest publishers,” said Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve. “The EA titles coming to Steam this holiday include some this year’s top PC titles.”

He’s not kidding, either. Titles like Spore, Warhammer: Age of Reckoning, Mass Effect, Need for Speed Undercover, and FIFA Manager 2009 are already available, with Mirror’s Edge, Red Alert 3, and Dead Space moving in with the Freeman family in the “coming weeks.” And, of course, these games will conform to Steam’s standards; in other words, no SecuROM whatsoever.

So, does this mean we can all finally kiss and make up with EA, and notice that it’s released some damn good games over the past year? C’mon now; it’s Christmas.

Mass Effect

Norman Chan — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:23:06 -0500

Fans of Star Wars and Star Trek finally have a role-playing game that’s worthy of their love. Mass Effect takes the most compelling themes and ideas of both franchises and mind-melds them into one of the best science fiction games we’ve ever played.

Character feats like Lift and Warp let you throw enemies off-guard. Just don't call them Force powers

After fleshing out our digital avatar with the robust character customization engine (we created a bad-ass female war hero), we dived into an engaging story that put the fate of the galaxy in our hands.

The primary quest charged us with investigating the reemergence of a long-lost race of machines that wiped out an entire species of advanced aliens 50,000 years ago. Through the 20-hour campaign, we explored numerous planets, resolved alien conspiracies, and forged relationships with a believable cast of NPC allies.

Mass Effect’s rich selection of side quests helps flesh out the main story, and we loved the innovative conversation system. Dialogue trees are presented in an intuitive radial selection circle that lets us steer conversations in a plethora of directions depending on the tone of our language—all the characters are amazingly voice-acted as well.

When talking couldn’t get the job done, we turned to the fast-paced combat system, which actually requires some skill. Aiming with a mouse helped us survive firefights, and the newly designed PC combat interface is much better than the Xbox 360 version’s. It’s too bad the inventory system hasn’t been improved—rifling through hundreds of weapon upgrades in the equipment menu is a drag.

But we forgot about the game’s little annoyances after being immersed in the gorgeous high-resolution graphics—Mass Effect runs smoothly at 2560x1600 resolution (though turning off the “film grain” option is recommended).
Mass Effect’s epic story is both moving and fulfilling; the game’s universe is rich with details and feels infused with life. We can’t wait for the inevitable sequel. –norman chan

No BS Podcast #68 The Games We Love (and Hate) Edition

Tom Edwards — Fri, 16 May 2008 09:40:25 -0500

Earlier this week, Tom, Will, and Dave had hands-on time with a load of upcoming PC titles. Unfortunately, Andy did not, so we clue him--and you--in on what games should be making a splash this year. As part of our gaming coverage, we also interview BioWare cofounder Ray Muzyka and get his thoughts on both PC gaming and how to handle software piracy.

We also answer a load of tech questions and hear back from a few listeners who have actually followed our advice. And this week, Gordon returns from an extended break to bring you a brand-new Rant of the Week!

Do you have a tech question? A comment? A tale of technological triumph? Just need to get something off your chest? Email us at maximumpcpodcast@gmail.com or call our 24-hour No BS Podcast hotline at 877.404.1337 x1337--operators are standing by.

Ready to feel the wrath of Clan [FU] in Team Fortress 2? Join our Steam group. Feel like stalking us? Check out our Facebook Page.

Modders and modding aficionados, head on over to Mod Shop! Check out all the entries in this month's crazy comic-themed modding contest! Submit and vote on the coolest mods around—and win prizes!

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Orcs, Elves, and Commander Shepard!

<a href="/david_murphy">David Murphy<br /></a> — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:36:56 -0500

Mass Waauuuggghhhh.

I got a chance to check out two big games last night: EA Mythic's much-anticipated MMO offering, Warhammer: Age of Reckoning, and BioWare's "port" of the award-winning Xbox 360 RPG, Mass Effect. Both titles look interesting -- in the sense a reviewer uses that word to note when something looks both cool and flawed. I'm nevertheless excited to get some extended playtime (read: final versions) of both, and I think gamers will be excited by what's to come in the next few months.

Warhammer: Age of Reckoning

While I wasn't very impressed by the gameplay per se, given that level 1 "newbie" quests do not an impressive demo make, I think that the Mythic folk have certainly made some progress towards creating a game that isn't just a carbon copy of that Warcraft thing.

How so?

It's been known for awhile now that Warhamer is going to be a bit more PvP focused than your average MMO. I was a bit suspicious that this would turn away a good chunk of players who don't like being smacked with a purple Warhammer of Asskickery every time they venture out of their starting zones. But my chat with EA Mythic Content Director Destin Bales helped alleviate my newbie fears: the game's mission-themed PvP content is stratified by leveling groups, so you'll be competing with other players near your abilities. And high-level players attempting to gank in newbie zones get turned into chickens. No, really. Chickens. It's a clever, albeit zany way to deal with griefers.

Player-versus-environment gameplay coexists alongside the PvP and realm-versus-realm offerings, with the latter giving options that are similar to Warcraft's battlegrounds. Just click a button in the corner of your HUD to signify that you're ready to go, then go about your normal business. The game will pull you into the fight once both sides have enough evenly matched players. You can still contribute to the realm-versus-realm gameplay through normal PvP and world-battlefields, but these scenarios will give you a chance to go about your PvE ways before jumping into a bigger fight.

What isn't so familiar is Warhammer's focus on the "grand struggle" between its factions. No matter what species of character you roll--Orc, Elf, Chaos... thing, et cetera--you'll be able to join the fight between the individual factions. You aren't just limited to, say, fighting Chaos if you're a Human. These epic conflicts are set up in a push-pull kind of environment. You win a battleground area by amassing more victory points than the other side through your PvE, PvP, or RvR actions. You'll then push one step closer to the enemy's capital. Sack that, and you'll get a set time period of complete and utter insanity to burn the place to the ground, destroy objects, and generally make a mess of things.

After 24 hours have elapsed, the previous defenders are given the chance to retake the city with the help of a little boost, or buff, to ward off the conquerors. According to Bales, the game will progressively make these buffs higher and higher until the city is recaptured--at some point, he joked, a level one would be able to take our a level 40 (the game's top experience level).

Speaking of, I also asked Bales how Warhammer is planning to stave off player boredom: the endgame apathy that sets in once you've hit the proverbial content wall. The game will include a separate Renown system that will track your exploits through 80 levels of experience -- in essence, it's the PvP version of an MMO's typical experience bar. And Warhammer will include a large amount of stats-tracking that's also tied into experience and rewards. Yes, that means achievements: you'll get bonuses for killing x amount of a race or joining x battlegrounds, for example, and the game will track seemingly everything you do (or kill). Chickens included.

When I actually got to sit down and run through Warhammer for a bit, it made me feel like I was playing a better version of Lord of the Rings: Online with less-entrancing graphics. The designers are still working on adding more effects to the game -- lighting in particular. But nothing I saw, strongholds included, made me weep tears of joy and immediately cancel my WoW subscription (had I one).

Of course, Warhammer is still in Beta, so these are the earliest of comments based on a grand total of five minutes of playtime. I think the Warhammer designers have touched on a new style of gameplay that could conceivably coexist alongside the mighty World of Warcraft--everyone loves battlegrounds, after all. And I'd much rather feel like I'm contributing to an effort all Ahn'Qiraj-style than farming random trash mobs to appease a random questgiver. Time will invariably tell: look for Warhammer to hit in Fall.

Editor's note: Altered some of the wording from the original article's posting to better reflect the contributions one can make to the game's RvR content -- this ain't Warcraft, folks!

Mass Effect

As a loyal member of the Mass Effect 75-hour club, I'd like to think that I have a certain expertise with this game that few others have been able (or crazy enough) to achieve. That said, I was quite impressed with the PC "port" of Mass Effect. Although it's not really a port in the sense that I'd normally use the word--the game is a carbon-copy of the Xbox 360 version at its core, but the upgrades to the user interface and graphics are enough to set this title apart in its own spotlight.

You access the improved UI by slapping the space bar on your computer -- up pops your quick-launch options, AI commands for your teammates, and your weapon selector, amongst more options. It's as useful as the game's new inventory system, a much-needed improvement over the critical unwieldiness of the Xbox 360's inventory screen. Selecting (and selling) your equipment and upgrades takes far less time now, although I still wish there was some kind of sorting option to rank your items by name, power, or selling cost.

The improved graphical upgrades to the game upgrade an already mesmerizing experience. Everything just looks crisper and more defined--I enjoyed my (fourth) romp through Noveria as much as my first. While the game itself can be tedious and long for those who have already sunk days' worth of playing into it, I think the upgrades and tactile joy of using a keyboard and mouse to shoot baddies might be enough to pull gamers in for one more romp through the galaxy.

BioWare has also separated the camera from the rear of the Mako driving sessions. Driving the mini-tank is a little tougher using WASD controls instead of an analog stick, but being able to spin around your viewpoint without the butt of your tank wibbling back and forth is a welcome improvement.

Mass Effect contains the same in-game achievements as its Xbox counterpart, only the title itself isn't Games for Windows. Thus, you'll have to show off your efforts at ridding the galaxy of the Geth on the Insanity difficulty to friends that come over -- there won't be a way to display this on the Internet for all to see. Bummer.

We'll have a review of Mass Effect in Maximum PC's August issue, so be sure to check out the final verdict then!

Mass Effect's new UI packs every option imaginable in an easy-to-navigate display.

The inventory system has been redesigned to better fit the PC experience. Now that's how you make a game cross-platform.

No BS Podcast #66: The Grand Theft Gordon Edition

Tom Edwards — Tue, 06 May 2008 20:56:46 -0500

Dave, Will, and Andy accomplish an amazing feat on the 66th Maximum PC Podcast: we actually keep our rambling under 40 minutes in length! Even with the clock running, we still manage to get in some chit-chat about:

The absurdity of Mass Effect's recently announced copy-protection mechanism.
Why Handbrake is an amazing video encoder (French, too!)
The greatness that is free music!

And as always, we wax about our crazy goings-on in the Maximum PC lab and answer each-and-every one of your reader questions... that's under 60 seconds in length.

Do you have a tech question? A comment? A tale of technological triumph? Email us at maximumpcpodcast@gmail.com or call our 24-hour No BS Podcast hotline at 877.404.1337 x1337.

Ready to feel the wrath of Clan [FU] in Team Fortress 2? Join our Steam group. Feel like stalking us? Check out our Facebook Page.

Modders and modding aficionados, head on over to Mod Shop! Check out all the entries in this month's crazy comic-themed modding contest! Submit and vote on the coolest mods around—and win prizes!

Subscribe: http://feeds.feedburner.com/maximumpc/1337