God Bless BioWare; not only do they produce KILLER games, but they are becoming adept at keeping their IPs relavant with timely downloadable content, and good content at that.  So after the early game of the year discussion, I felt the itch to get my Mass Effect 2 groove on and try their DLC.  There are three packs available to you right now.  One is FREE (To Cerberus Network users), one is OK but provides something you will definitely want, and the third is quite simply one of the best DLC adventures I have ever had.  Let’s take a look. 

The first pack that you will want to get is the Firewalker pack.  This pack is FREE to Cerberus Network users and gives you the new Hamerhead fighting vehicle to explore planets with.  One of the omitions from Mass Effect 2 that I truly enjoyed was elimination of the Mako.  I found the Mako missions to be rather clunky and they changed the pace of the game in a way that I didn’t like.  People complained about the controls and how some parts of the map were difficult to reach, even with six wheels.  BioWare told us that they were working on a replacement for the Mako, and here it is. 

The Hammerhead is a hovercraft with one rather large cannon on the front.  It provides fast horizontal and limited vertical movement.  Learning how to navigate with the Hammerhead was pretty intuitive and the first few missions with it flew by rather quickly.  The pack itself gives you five additional vehicle missions and trophy that is viewable in your cabin.  It’s not a ton of content, but it is free and provides those who missed vehicle travel and combat something to play with.  Sadly, I’m not one of those people.  In fact, I LOVED not having to tool around in a vehicle getting from one place to another, it kept my Mass Effect 2 pacing right where I wanted it.  Regardless it seems the Hammerhead is here to stay so you better get used to piloting one.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fine vehicle and better than the Mako.  I just wish it had a better indicator when shields were failing.  I found myself in may close firefights with Geth Destroyers only to blow up realizing “hey I musta taken too much damage.”  Here’s a hint…THINK RANGED and you will do fine with the Hammerhead. 
(more…)

 How do you make an epic game even better?  Just ask BioWare as their latest installment in the Mass Effect trilogy takes everything you liked about the first game, and turns it up to eleven!  Like many folks I know, Mass Effect was one of the first games I ever finished that I immediately started a new play-through; I simply couldn’t get enough of the world of the Commander Shepard and the Normandy, and I was curious what a Renegade play through would feel like.  I was pleasantly surprised that simple changes in choices could have significant impacts on story and game play.  So when BioWare announced before E3 that they would be releasing Mass Effect 2, I was very excited.  I just didn’t anticipate just how good it was going to be.  

The first Mass Effect wasn’t without its faults.  The combat system was pretty clunky and I often wondered what my AI companions were up to.  There were also long sequences of traveling around in the Mako land vehicle looking for story arcs and getting chased by large worms (I hated those guys).  Happily, all of these things have either been upgraded or eliminated in this latest installment.  From a character modeling standpoint alone, we can see vast improvements in an already polished game. For example, in the original Mass Effect, Commander Shepard had twenty animations for cover.  In Mass Effect 2 there are over two hundred animations for cover; quite the difference.  

Gone are your long treks in the Mako, but they are replaced with a dynamic planet surveying option.  In the former, game collecting resources consisted of simply pressing the X button while in orbit of the planet, and there really wasn’t any compelling reason to do so.  In Mass Effect 2, the resources you collect help you research and upgrade your weapons and armor, so you’ll want to do it.  Instead of pressing the X button over a planet, you have to scan the planet manually and when your scanner bars rise, you launch a probe.  The better you are at scanning for resources, the more resources you will receive.  It’s one of many puzzle experiences that BioWare has intricately weaved into your game experience, and dare I say I found it quite fun!  

Also gone is the intricate and somewhat annoying inventory system.  In Mass Effect I would have to carefully kit out my team, deciding everything from heat syncs to ammunition type.  The kitting system is far simpler now and characters can swap out ammunition based on skill sets and not gun type.  Instead of only four weapon types, there are now nineteen weapon types that are divided into sub-types.  Guns no longer overheat, but ammunition is limited.  This inevitably means that I find myself switching guns for the situation as I watch my ammunition levels.  They removed the grenades from the first game and replaced them with new “heavy weapons” like rocket and grenade launchers.  Trust me, nothing feels better than blowing away a pack of Collectors with a grenade launcher.  
(more…)

In the most recent DGR podcast, John uttered something as close to blasphemy as I have ever heard: “Screw Bioware.”  Bioware, the maker of such great games as Mass Effect and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic? Say it ain’t so, John!  Little did I know that John’s utterance might be closer to the actual truth than I dared to imagine…

I need to take you back about seven years ago, when my roommate and soon-to-be best man bought a little game for my PS2 called Baldurs Gate.  It was Christmas vacation, and we had no work commitments, plenty of beer, and wireless controllers.  My roommate and I spent five days straight – and I mean 24/7 – playing through that game cooperatively, and it was a blast.  We never slept, just plodded along through the dungeon crawler beauty that was this game.  When I finally introduced my wife to gaming, it was Baldurs Gate that she and I gleefully played together on the couch.  It was one of the first games I ever played through twice.  We eventually graduated to Baldurs Gate II, Gauntlet, and a lesser known title Dungeons and Dragons Heroes (a game my whole family played together)!  

So when Bioware announced they were working on a sequel to Baldurs Gate I was immediately excited.  Dragon Age Origins was its name and it promised amazing graphics and stellar storytelling.  I watched for clips from E3 to see what appeared to be 4 characters in mortal combat with a fire breathing dragon.  It looked awesome and so I pre-ordered it right away.  I should have done more homework, for despite how good this game looks, it is hardly the cooperative experience that I was looking for.  In fact, there is NO COOPERATIVE PLAY at all in this game, not even online.  And for a game that touted itself as the next Baldurs Gate, that’s blasphemous!  That’s like releasing a single person Left 4 Dead; no matter how good it is, they have ruined it by sheer comparison of design.   

Dragon Age does have some groundbreaking features that the single player will find compelling, I am sure.  First, no character’s story is the same. In fact, there are several different opening tutorials and story lines are chosen for you based on character creation.  You may be a rich aristocrat whose family was betrayed or a hapless slave fleeing from your captors.  From that point forward the quests you get and how people react to you are completely different based on your own unique origin.  This will encourage multiple play-throughs from those wishing to experience the game in a whole new way. 

Bioware revolutionized the story arc with KOTOR and again in Mass Effect with expansive dialogue trees.  What you choose to say has extensive effect on how characters react and the direction of your story.  I especially loved Mass Effect as I would pick a line and watch how Sheppard would say it and the reaction from the NPCs.  There are dialog trees in Dragon Age, but they are more like KOTOR as you never hear your character say anything.  The line is chosen and your NPC reacts.  I am sorry, but after Mass Effect, I kinda expected more from BioWare here and I found the interactions to be a burdensome and not as immersive.   

The graphics are good, but not great.  One thing I did find interesting is after each battle your character model is pictured covered with the blood spatter of your defeated enemies.  The more enemies you kill, the bloodier you become.  While this is kinda cool, I do ask myself…why?  Seriously, why is this necessary?  Don’t get me wrong, I dig blood, but this seemed glorifying it to me which made no sense.  Maybe the devs should have spent a little less time on the blood and spent, oh maybe an hour or so working on some co-op.  But I digress…

The controls and the camera are very solid, and overall I found the gameplay to be quite fun.  However, there are skill trees and at first there was a lot of trial and error in picking which skills I should increase.  Again, Bioware seems to be counting on multiple play throughs, the first being my guinea pig play through.  I’m about 6 hours into the game and I know there is a ton of gameplay and story to be told here.  Story that, despite it’s flawed approach, is done quite well in Dragon Age.  There is a moment early on in the game where you are part of this massive army that is being besieged by hoards of evil creatures.  It’s very Two Towers like and it felt…epic!  That and what happened to characters I just got introduced to left my mouth agape for more than a few moments.  So there is goodness in this game, that is certain.  I’m just having a hard time accepting that they removed part of Baldurs Gate from its sequel.  I’m sure I will play it through, but I have to wait for my wife to get over her disappointment. 

Ahh what could have been …Screw You Bioware!