A look at the next Mass Effect and a new game from BioWare

EA's E3 presentation this year was a bit different. While most games were known quantities, some were given stage time even though they're barely into production and were still at the conceptual level. BioWare gave a look at what it's working on for the next Mass Effect game, in development at the BioWare Montreal studio, while the BioWare Edmonton studio gave a look at their new game not set in any previous BioWare franchise. It's a nice to see the early stages of development rarely seen, but at the same time, it's a bit disappointing for a studio like BioWare to come to press conference with nothing substantial to show. There currently is no date for the next Mass Effect game but presumably, it will come to the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, while BioWare's other untitled game is still sparse for platforms or timeframe.

The dual sides of combat in Dragon Age: Inquisition

BioWare showed off more of Dragon Age: Inquisition at the Microsoft E3 presentation with a focus on the action gameplay, as seen in the new trailer above. During the EA E3 presentation, however, they went deeper into the mechanics of combat, highlighting the tactical mode, where combat can be paused and the player can issue commands as in previous Dragon Age games. GameSpot has a video showing more action-orientated combat where the camera takes an over-the-shoulder third-person view of the battle. Dragon Age: Inquisition releases for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on October 7.

Dragon Age 3 and the case of the missing platform

More than a month after their initial announcement, BioWare revealed some more details about Dragon Age 3: Inquisition over the weekend at Edmonton Comic and Entertainment Expo. David Gaider will return as lead writer for the game as players take control of a human character once again. Whether that human character will be Hawke, the grey warden, or someone new is unknown.

BioWare wants this to be the biggest Dragon Age yet, with a deeper focus on customization than Origins had for both your character and your followers. Players will be able to take control of a castle as seen in the concept art above. When BioWare talked about scope, they pointed out one dungeon in Dragon Age 3 is bigger than all of the dugneons in Dragon Age 2. They are also exploring technology to allow players to import their saves from previous games without actually transferring the save data.

Despite all this, BioWare was quiet on which platforms the game will appear. Dragon Age 3: Inquisition will be the first BioWare game to run on Frostbite 2, the same engine that’s powered Battlefield 3, Need for Speed The Run, and the recently released Medal of Honor: Warfighter. With a tentative release date of fall 2013, it’s almost a forgone conclusion we’ll see Inquisition on the PC and next-generation consoles, especially to take advantage of the Frostbite 2 engine that stumbles on current gen systems. However, with more than 130 million consoles in total, I’d be surprised if there wasn’t an Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version as well.

Mass Effect 3 Featuring Jessica Chobot

BioWare released a new trailer for Mass Effect 3 this morning highlighting the new and returning voice actors of the game. Jennifer Hale returns as female Commander Shepard, Martin Sheen as the Illusive Man, Keith David as Admiral Anderson, Seth Green as Joker, Tricia Helfer as EDI, and newcomer Freddie Prinze Jr. as James Vega.

BioWare Sequel Celebration

Since its release less than two weeks ago, BioWare’s Dragon Age II sold over 2 million copies, and now BioWare wants to reward their fans. Being called the BioWare Sequel Celebration, everyone who purchases a copy of Dragon Age II and activates its online pass by 11:59 PDT on April 30, 2011 will be given code to enter at the BioWare Social Network. The code will enable a free copy of the PC version of Mass Effect 2 through the EA Download Manager.

"Thanks to gamers like you, Dragon Age 2 is off to a great start - breaking the one million mark in less than two weeks and faster than Dragon Age: Origins," BioWare said. "We appreciate your support. As a special thank you for helping with the game's early success, BioWare would like to present you with a download code for 2010's Game of the Year, Mass Effect 2 on PC."

In addition to Mass Effect 2, the code will also grant access to the Cerberus Network, the system Mass Effect 2 uses to distribute its DLC, which includes Zaeed - The Price of Revenge, Cerberus Weapon and Armor, Normandy Crash Site, Cerberus Arc Projector, and Firewalker Pack. Be sure to check the site’s FAQ for full details.

PAX East 2011: The Future of Online Gaming

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games are that one genre where innovation and creativity take center stage. While platformers, shooters, and other genres can continually be released with a different coat of paint and still be successful, MMORPGs that take the same route can easily fall by the way-side. In a market dominated by Blizzard’s World of Warcraft, what changes or additions can be made to the genre that feel natural and progressive, rather than merely change for the sake of change?

DLC Dating

Call of Duty: Black Ops: First Strike for the PC

The first DLC map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops, First Strike, was released for Xbox 360 over a month ago. On March 3rd, it was released for the PlayStation 3. On March 25th, it will finally be released for the PC. The announcement was tweeted by Treyarch’s Community Manager Josh Olin this morning. You can pre-order the map pack on Steam now. First Strike will sell for Activision’s standard price of $15, but if you pre-order, you can save 10% and grab the four new multiplayer maps and new zombie mission for $13.49.

The Silver Screen is a Little Less Silvery

This post was supposed to come a few days after Christmas, after I had saw Tron: Legacy and re-watched the original Tron. Between family and the holidays, things got pushed back. But I’m finally able to get some time to tell you my thoughts. This isn’t so much of a review as it is just an observation and what I’ve come to know.

2010 VGA Picks

The list of nominations for this year’s Spike Video Game Awards was released today. After going through the list, it really reminds me of how much of a great year in gaming its been. While there are some obscure nominations (Danica Patrick as Herself in Blur for "Best Performance by Human Female”), generally all the nominations I agree with. So while these might not become actually winners, they are who I would choose.

Heaven, Hell, and Everything in Between

Ah what a week it has been. This post will be a little less journalistic than my others and more of covering what I’ve been playing lately. This post was supposed to be up last week but one of the topics here will explain why it’s up today instead.

RPGs and Los Links

I haven't updated in a while. In part that's because I've been busy with other projects (including one that I will be able to talk about hopefully in a week here). The other part was because I've been trying to find topics to write about. I don't really feel like I should write about just anything on here, and that if I bring something up, I should have something significant to say about it, so it’s not as easy to find topics as you would think.