Mass Effect 2 Sells Over 2m Units

Press release:
Forty perfect scores. Two million units. One pop culture phenomenon. BioWare™, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), announced today that Mass Effect™ 2 has sold-in over two million units worldwide in its first week of release*. Lauded for its intense shooter gameplay and deep, hand-crafted story, Mass Effect 2 has earned an average review score of 96** — making it the second highest rated game of all time on the Xbox 360 platform***. Mass Effect 2 has earned 40 perfect scores, amassed over 30 editor’s choice awards and is donning the front cover of 20 magazines worldwide. On launch day, the term “Mass Effect” was in the top 10 trending topics on Twitter and most searched on Google News. MSNBC.com said, “Mass Effect will go down as one of the most influential video game series of all-time.”

Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder, BioWare and Group General Manager of the RPG/MMO Group of EA said, “Mass Effect 2 is poised to be one of the biggest games of 2010. We could not be more proud of the game’s universal acclaim and early commercial success.”

Mass Effect 2 launched this week hot on the heels of BioWare’s Dragon Age: Origins, the studio’s dark fantasy RPG which shipped in fall 2009. Dragon Age: Origins has earned an average review score of 91****, making it the highest rated original intellectual property from EA in the last year. Mass Effect 2 follows in BioWare’s tradition of delivering excellence on every front: gameplay, story, character development and visuals. Mass Effect 2 is an epic shooter/RPG set in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life and mysterious, uncharted planets. In Mass Effect 2, players step into the role of the heroic Commander Shepard, leading a crew of some of the most dangerous operatives from across the galaxy on a mission so challenging that it’s potentially suicidal. Featuring intense action, a rich storyline, space exploration and engaging character interaction, Mass Effect 2 delivers an unparalleled gaming experience.

Mass Effect 2 Review

Being a passionate gamer and all that, I hardly ever play a game twice. I don’t see any particular reason to play a game again when I have just completed it. I am not an achievement whore nor do I possess the urge to revisit levels to unlock every item and possession one can. But it was Mass Effect that made me do it. I played it twice on the Xbox 360 and once again on the PC. The only game I have played more than once back to back. It was the master story telling, the deep characters, the dynamic combat, and the epic presentation that pulled me in repeatedly. Bioware had created one of the finest games of the decade and it was evident from the acclaim and fan appreciation it received. With Mass Effect 2, Bioware had promised a darker, more sinister experience, and has easily created a better game than its predecessor, even if some of the decisions it took to implement radical changes may not go down well with certain sects of gamers.

One of the most talked about aspects of Mass Effect 2 is its character import feature, which enables players to transit their Mass Effect character seamlessly into the sequel. A successful transfer will net you some nice credit and bonuses, but your level and skills from the previous playthrough are reset and you begin as a Level 1 Shepard. What does stay with you is your past, the decisions you have made and the relationships you bonded in. Without revealing much, the consequences of your decisions in the first game add some profound effect in to the sequel’s story, creating a seamless integration that leaves one marveling at the cleverness and intelligence with which Bioware has penned the story and is exemplary of the quality of writing. However not required, I thoroughly recommend that players complete the first game before starting Mass Effect 2, as it offers the best experience, rather than relying on preset decisions that you may or may not agree with.

Regardless of how you start, the basic plot remains: Human colonies across the galaxy are disappearing. Shepard, revived, after a disastrous attack on the Normandy, by a controversial pro-human organization called the Cerberus and under the watchful eye of the sinister Illusive Man, is pawned into investigating the forces behind the mystery. Whether of what you think of the organization, there is a greater threat that abounds, and the need for each other is consequential. Shepard must now find and recruit the best across the galaxy and convince them to fight with him on a mission that is immediately termed as suicidal.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the myriad of characters is what adds depth to the story, which otherwise, isn’t really remarkable. Your squad will be made up of scientists, soldiers, rebellions and even criminals, with each one as diverse as the other, with their own backgrounds, with a past as troublesome and some even disturbing and despicable. It is them and their story that drives the plot, each compelling with their own arcs, their own perturbs and their own way of dealing with them. This again bears witness to the quality of writing aided by the dynamic approach to conversations that draws you in and engages you in an emotional response, making you feel for the characters and the universe the developers have created.

Mass Effect 2 has received a major core mechanics overhaul that in itself is quite radical, surprising and controversial. BioWare has attempted to streamline the whole structure of the RPG elements, giving away many of the conventional elements that may not go down well with purists. In fact, there have already been cries of blaming BioWare of ‘watering down’ the game for consoles, which is quite absurd when the first game was released for the same platform as well. Working on criticism received of the first game’s rather clunky inventory management system, Bioware decided to just strip it off as there would be only so much it can do and change in the context of the game and keep it from deviating it from what it actually is – an action-oriented RPG.

And it makes sense. Most of the changes actually do make some real sense and I dare say, are quite realistic. It seemed as though BioWare just raised its hands up and said ‘enough of the conventional crap, we want to introduce a system that is logical, practical and more real’ and they made it. While most of the changes gets my nod, and I am relieved that I will no longer have to put up with some of the restrictions of the genre (like needing an engineer to hack safes and doors, thank god!), there is one in particular that is of the ‘out of the fire and in the frying pan’ variety, which I will explain in due course.

The first major update you will receive is your spanking new Normandy, fitted with more high-tech engineering and luxurious conveniences than ever before. It is here that all the major updates are fitted, giving the ship a more consequential role to play than just giving you access to the map and a place to talk to the characters. Allow us to give you a tour: On Deck 1 is the captain’s cabin, your cabin, complete with a king size bed and embedded music system (we wonder why? :p), and a personalization terminal. At the personalization terminal, you can customize your look – during missions and on the ship. You can select the type of armor you want to wear, its material pattern, tint and color. While it is cool to choose your own colors, and not having your look restricted by the armor’s default appearance, there is dearth of armor choices, and you will rarely come across one in your galaxy escapades. Armor in this game plays a very small role and provides little benefit to health or shields.

On Deck 3 is your cabin crew area, which holds the medical bay, your squad mate Miranda’s office, a cook and kitchen, crew quarters and to everyone’s relief I am sure, toilets. Deck 4 is the engineering deck, a place for two of our old friends and a couple of clearly-in-awe maintenance folks. Deck 2, however, is where the meat is. The focal point of the level is, of course, the galaxy map system from which you can set the course of your travels between planets and star systems. It also holds Kelly Chambers, our expectantly flirtatious secretary cum psychotherapist that keeps the crew’s mind in balance, and the private terminal. The private terminal gives you access to your messages and the list of upgrades you have researched (more on that in a short while), among other unimportant things. And finally, on the right of the level is the research lab headed by our Redbull-induced, hyperactive Dr. Mordin.

Left 4 Dead 2 Review

There’s always been something very attractive and appealing about towns being overrun by hordes of mindless, bloodthirsty zombies hungering for human flesh. Especially if you’re the kind of person who revels in the sweet glory of punching holes through the undead with shotguns, slicing their heads off with an axe, or torching the rancid, rotting flesh right off their bones…

Yeah, playing the role of a sole survivor in a massive zombie apocalypse is great fun in a sick, twisted way, but hey, toss in three more survivors and triple the number of undead scum, and what have you? Valve’s follow up to their original, hugely successful zombie-bashing franchise, Left 4 Dead 2. Bigger, badder, and bloodier than the original, this one’s sure to keep you (and your friends) entertained for a good amount of time.

Fans of the original game will pretty much know what to expect in terms of gameplay in Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2), and for those new to the franchise, it’s basically a team of four humans fighting to survive an insanely huge onslaught of zombies (what the game dubs as the ‘Infected’) in a variety of locations, spread out over five campaigns, each featuring multiple chapters. The locations and environments are quite varied, ranging from gloomy, murky swamps to dark carnivals to a burning hotel and more. This time around, certain chapters also take place in broad daylight, as opposed to the first game, and this lends an extra layer of eye-candy to the game, while also providing better visibility.

One would think that blasting and shredding the living daylights out of zombies would get pretty stale real quick, but in reality, it never gets old with L4D2. The game packs in several different modes featuring local and online co-op gameplay, which can be enjoyed across any and all of the aforementioned campaigns and chapters. Add to that a killer assortment of firearms, melee weapons, and explosives, some wickedly cool zombie types, and a couple of mates who share your thirst for zombie blood, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a party every single time you play. Of course, if you feel like going at it alone, you can do so by all means with the help of computer-controlled bots, and while they do a very decent job of running, gunning, and reviving, they’re no replacement for another human player or two.

Speaking of running and gunning, there’s not a single moment when you won’t be doing either one of them, as the game is chock-full of zombies waiting to lay the smack on you and send you six feet under. The ‘common’ Infected race towards you and your team at a startlingly fast pace in packs, and the ‘uncommon’ Infected (more repulsive and dangerous variety of zombies) rely on their special abilities to bring the survivors down to their knees. These ‘uncommon’ lot consist of the Boomer, Charger, Spitter, Smoker, Jockey, and the Tank, and each one of them have a unique special attack to complement their regular claw slashing, which can send you into a real world of hurt if you and your buddies aren’t quick enough. Thankfully, the game provides you with a good selection of weapons to hold your own against the ugly buggers. While the firearms are the regular fare of pistols, shotguns, automatic rifles and such, the melee weapons are in a class of their own, and come in the form of cricket bats, electric guitars, frying pans, katanas, and every zombie-killer’s dream – chainsaws. Why shove zombies back when you can bash their heads open or break their necks with the same amount of effort, I say.

God of War III Dated

Sony Computer Entertainment America today finally set a firm release date for its forthcoming hotly anticipated action title, God of War III. The game is set to hit stores on March 16, 2010 in North America and March 19, 2010 in Europe and Middle East (if it’s not banned, which is unlikely).

Set in the realm of brutal Greek mythology, God of War III is a single-player game that allows players to take on the climatic role of the ex-Spartan warrior, Kratos, as he scales through the intimidating heights of Mt. Olympus and the dark depths of Hell to seek revenge on those who have betrayed him. Armed with double-chained blades, and an array of new weapons and magic for this iteration of the trilogy, Kratos must take on mythology’s darkest creatures while solving intricate puzzles throughout his merciless quest to destroy Olympus.

Utilizing a new game engine built from the ground up and state-of-the-art visual technologies, the development team behind God of War III has made standard-setting strides in giving players the realistic feel of actually being on the battlegrounds. With texture resolutions quadrupling since God of War II on PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, God of War III, in its debut on the PS3 system, will feature fluid, life-like characters, as well as dynamic lighting effects, a robust weapon system, and world-changing scenarios that will truly bring unmistakable realism to Kratos’ fateful quest. Players will have a chance to join battles on a grand scale that is four times larger than its predecessor.

God of War III will be available in two forms: the $59.99 standard edition and the $99 Ultimate Edition, which will include the following:

Exclusive Collectibles:

• High-End Sculpted Replica of Pandora’s Box
• Limited-Edition God of War Art Book featuring exclusive art, content and interviews

Exclusive Digital Content (Available via PlayStation Network voucher codes on day of launch):

• God of War Combat Arena containing an exclusive environment and seven challenges
• Premium Kratos Skin – Dominus
• God of War: Unearthing the Legend Franchise Documentary – a full-length movie documentary depicting the history of the God of War franchise
• God of War Trilogy Soundtrack – God of War, II, and III scores from the game (mp3 digital download).
• God of War: Blood and Metal EP – a heavy metal homage featuring original music inspired by God of War (mp3 digital download).

Lost Planet 2 – Gears of War Tie-in Trailer

Capcom has announced a Lost Planet 2 – Gears of War tie in with this new trailer that shows Marcus Fenix and Dom coming to the rescue of the protagonist in the upcoming action-shooter. And it makes absolutely no sense. It would be interesting to know just what the hell are Marcus and Dom doing there. How will Capcom justify and weave them into the Lost Planet story? For the sake our gaming senses, we hope they are just bonus characters you can play as and not matter to the actual story.

Avatar: The Game Gets Patched

Ubisoft has released a new patch for Avatar: The Game, if anyone is still bothering with it. Here are the details:

• Fixed crash issues when using an audio output frequency greater than 48kHz.
• Fixed a bug where the player could remain stuck in a cinematic screen after the Banshee cut-scene in the “Cloud Walk” quest.
• Fixed some D3D10 errors.
• Fixed shutdown issues, happening on some video cards, that were causing problems when restarting the game.

You can download the patch from here or here.

Assassin’s Creed 2 PC Sys. Requirements, Date

Ubisoft has announced the release date of the long awaited PC version of its action adventure Assassin’s Creed 2, in addition to revealing the game system requirements and pricing.

Minimum Configuration:

NVIDIA GeForce® 7/8/9/100/200 series

• Supported OS: Windows® XP (32-64 bits) /Windows Vista®(32-64 bits)/Windows 7® (32-64 bits)
• Processor: Intel Core® 2 Duo 1.8 GHZ or AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4GHZ
• RAM: 1.5 GB Windows® XP / 2 GB Windows Vista® – Windows 7®
• Video Card: 256 MB DirectX® 9.0–compliant card with Shader Model 3.0 or higher (see supported list)
• Sound Card: DirectX 9.0 –compliant sound card
• DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0
• DVD-ROM: DVD-ROM dual-layer drive
• Hard Drive Space: 8 GB
• Peripherals Supported: Keyboard, mouse, optional controller

* This product does not support Windows® 98/ME/2000/NT

Recommended Configuration:

• Processor: Intel Core® 2 Duo E6700 2.6 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ or better
• Video Card: GeForce 8800 GT or ATI Radeon HD 4700 or better
• Sound: 5.1 sound card
• Peripherals: Keyboard, mouse, joystick optional (Xbox 360® Controller for Windows recommended)

Supported Video Cards at Time of Release:

ATI® RADEON® X1950, HD 2000/3000/4000/5000 series

Price:

Standard: Main game + Extra sequences Battle of Forli & Bonfire of the Vanities: $59.99 [Retail and Digital]

Black Edition: Main game + Extra sequences Battle of Forli & Bonfire of the Vanities + additional content: $64.99 [Digital Only]

Assassin’s Creed 2 for the PC hits stores on 5th March, 2010 for Europe and Middle East and 16th March, 2010 for North America.

THQ’s METRO 2033 Dated for March

THQ today announced the release date for its anticipated, post-apocalyptic first person shooter Metro 2033. The will release on March 16, 2010 in North America and on March 19, 2010 in Europe. The publisher also detailed the limited edition of the game:

A Limited Edition will be available for both formats, including an exclusive in-game weapon – the formidable automatic shotgun – and four art cards by the Russian painter Anton Grechko, who was commissioned to create a range of artwork inspired by the universe of Metro 2033.

Standard and Limited Edition versions of Metro 2033 are available to pre-order now, with selected retailers offering free Metro 2033 themed Xbox LIVE® Avatar items with every pre-order.

Guitar Hero 5 February DLC Detailed

Press release:
Guitar Hero® cranks up the heat in February with a strong lineup of weekly downloadable songs that are sure to satisfy fans’ musical appetites. For the first time in a music video game, master tracks from popular heavy metal band Black Sabbath are hitting center stage. In addition, top bands 30 Seconds To Mars, Breaking Benjamin and Third Eye Blind lend both hit songs and new music, to the vast Guitar Hero music library with downloadable content for Activision Publishing, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Guitar Hero® 5 and Band Hero™.

Epic alt-rockers 30 Seconds To Mars return to Guitar Hero with searing vocals, imaginative percussion sequences and blazing guitar riffs in a three-song track pack on 4th February. The 30 Seconds To Mars Track Pack features hit singles “Attack” and “From Yesterday” from the band’s sophomore album A Beautiful Lie as well as “Kings and Queens,” the first single off of their latest album, This Is War.

On 11th February, breakout alternative metal band Breaking Benjamin makes their Guitar Hero debut with a three song track pack including “Sooner or Later” from their 2004 album We Are Not Alone and “Until The End,” off of the band’s third album Phobia. The Breaking Benjamin Track Pack will also have metal fanatics thrashing to the band’s newest single from their Dear Agony album, “Give Me A Sign.”

Heavy metal pioneer and Rock And Roll Hall of Fame inductee Black Sabbath brings their original music to a music game for the first time on 18th February. With master tracks of the hard-hitting, crunching classics “After Forever,” “Into The Void” and “Sweetleaf,” all off of their certified-platinum album Master of Reality, the Black Sabbath Track Pack delivers an unforgettable and intense music experience where fans can enjoy music they love in a whole new way.

As a follow up to their recent appearance on Guitar Hero® Van Halen with their 1997 hit “Semi-Charmed Life,” Third Eye Blind returns to the Guitar Hero stage for an encore performance with a three-song track pack releasing on 25th February. The Third Eye Blind Track Pack features “Can You Take Me” off of their latest album Ursa Major, as well as new versions of “Losing A Whole Year,” originally released on their 6x certified-platinum, self-titled debut album and “Never Let You Go,” the hit single released on the band’s 1999 album Blue.

The 30 Seconds To Mars, Breaking Benjamin, Black Sabbath and Third Eye Blind track packs will be available on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 440 Microsoft Points, on the PlayStation®Store for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system for £3.99 and for Wii™ for 550 Wii Points™. In addition, all songs in each track pack will be released as downloadable singles for Xbox 360 for 160 Microsoft Points, PlayStation 3 system for £1.59 and Wii for 200 Wii Points each. In addition to the in-game music store and the Xbox LIVE Marketplace, Xbox 360 owners can expand their Guitar Hero music library using the all-new Guitar Hero VIP Pass Music Store, available exclusively on Xbox LIVE.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Multiplayer Demo Now Available

Press release:
DICE, an Electronic Arts Inc. studio (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced that first-person shooter fans will get early access to the best-in-class online war experience in Battlefield: Bad Company™ 2. Players can now download a free* console demo worldwide on Xbox LIVE™ Marketplace. A PC beta is also now available to players that pre-order** the game at participating retailers in North America, Europe and Asia, and through select community channels. On February 4th, the demo will be accessible on the PlayStation®Network in Europe and on February 11th in North America. Defined by its increasingly intense vehicular warfare, destruction, variety of weapons and huge sandbox environments, Battlefield Bad Company 2 promises to be one of the finest online FPS games of 2010.

“After the success of the PS3 beta, we’re excited to provide gamers — especially our long-supporting, rabidly passionate PC fans — with another opportunity to get into the game before release,” says Patrick Bach, Senior Producer on Battlefield: Bad Company 2. “Our fans have been a huge part of the franchise’s success and we can’t wait for everyone to experience the amazing gameplay and unforgettable Battlefield moments in Battlefield: Bad Company 2.”

The Battlefield: Bad Company 2 console demo and PC beta will feature Port Valdez, a new vehicle focused map where up to 24 players (32 on PC) will compete against each other as either the US or Russian armies in the game’s Rush multiplayer mode. Players will have access to five land and three air vehicles where the Russian side can use everything in their arsenal including Main Battle Tanks as well as the fast-moving Quad Bikes and Mobile Armored AA. The fight will also be packed with plenty of infantry combat fought alongside the waterline towards a great oil industrial landscape in the Alaskan mountains.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will be in stores on March 2, 2010 in North America and March 4, 2010 in Europe for the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and the PC. The Limited Edition can be pre-ordered now on all platforms at no extra cost, with participating retailers worldwide (while supplies last).

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