Ten Best of 2012: Mass Effect 3

Can a computer make you cry? That was the question posed by an Electronic Arts magazine ad in 1982. It might seem like a misguided metric today, but if a game is capable of making the player cry, it shows how much the game resonated with them on an emotional level, as well as how much of themself they invested in it. Mass Effect 3 was not only the first game to make me cry, it did so twice.

The Playlist – 9/1/2012

The last time I sat down and talked about what I was playing was about a month ago. Instead of listing the reasons why I haven’t been able to write a Playlist since, I’d rather just dive into what I played over the last month. There is a lot to talk about.

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.

Welcome to the Future (Present?)

You may have wondered where I’ve been lately. Maybe you haven’t. In either case, I can tell you it’s been enjoying the hell out of Star Wars: The Old Republic (as evidenced by my Ratpr page). But before that, during beta, it was a different story.

After receiving my beta key in late October and downloading the client, I fired up the game to see how well it would work on my system. The game promptly greeted me with a critical error. It confirmed my fears; the computer I built in 2005 would not run this game I planned on playing for the next several years.

Threequel is the new sequel

As we dive headfirst into the upcoming release schedule of games, it becomes abundantly clear: there are a lot of games ending with three. Several big franchises of the current generation are hitting the end of the fabled trilogy. Generally after three the story ends, but as evident with the announcement of Halo 4 earlier this year, some franchises are too big to stop there. Is it possible we’ll see the continuation of some of this year’s big releases or will they take on new forms and explore different avenues? Perhaps the end of a franchise marks the beginning of a new one. With fewer heavy-hitters on the calendar, it could leave the door open for the introduction of new IPs next year.

The on-again off-again saga of multiplayer in Mass Effect 3

First it was rumored, then speculated to be ruled out, then hinted at, and finally today it’s been confirmed. Casey Hudson, executive producer of the Mass Effect series, confirmed via Twitter that Mass Effect 3 would include a co-op multiplayer mode.

Reaction to this announcement has been shaky at best. Some call it another strike against BioWare’s record since the release of Dragon Age II, while others are taking the logical wait-and-see approach.

The worries of most are that by adding a multiplayer mode, the resources that went into multiplayer could have made a better and more polished singleplayer. To that, I point to both Dead Space 2 and Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. Both games included a multiplayer mode that was the first for the series, and though neither were engaging gameplay modes that players kept coming back to, I’m not sure that they detracted from the main singleplayer story.

Then again, this is the internet where people will voice their opinion about a game they have not played. More information about co-op multiplayer should be coming in the next few weeks. Mass Effect 3 will hit shelves on March 6, 2012 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Gamescom 2011 Trailers

While not technically the first day of Gamescom 2011 in Cologne, Germany, those attending took the opportunity to release new trailers for upcoming games releasing this year and into next. More information is sure to come as the show floor officially opens up tomorrow, but these visuals will hopefully tide you over until then.