A few hardcore Mass Effect 2 devotees noticed something off in the media released to promote the game's upcoming DLC pack, "The Lair of the Shadow Broker" -- Commander Shepard and Co. were wielding some heretofore unavailable weaponry. While some assumed the new content would include these future-guns, BioWare community manager Jarrett Lee quickly took to the forums to explain that "they are in fact part of a different pack that will be released prior to Lair of the Shadowbroker."
Lee assured fans that while the guns would be sold apart from the newly announced content, "Lair of the Shadow Broker does, however, contain some *really* cool stuff we haven't revealed yet." We're assuming he's talking about a hideous race of space monsters that can only be killed using ... these new, purchasable guns! Then again, our hearts are cold and calloused.
#dlc
Astute Mass Effect fans noticed that, in the screens accompanying news of the upcoming extension "The Lair of the Shadow Broker," Shepard's packing two weapons currently unavailable. BioWare's confirmed a new weapons pack is coming, earlier than this next DLC. More »
In a recent interview with our PC-centric sister site Big Download, science fiction novelist and experienced game-to-book adapter William C. Dietz revealed he was recently "hired to write a Mass Effect tie-in." When pressed for details about the project, Dietz, who has also written books for the Resistance, Hitman, Halo and StarCraft franchises, could only reveal that it was due to his publisher in early 2011.
So, we've got Mass Effect: Ascension, Mass Effect: Revelation and, out next week, Mass Effect: Retribution -- and now Dietz is going to throw another piece of literature on the pile? Had we known that falling in love with the Mass Effect franchise would require us to do this much reading, we probably would have skipped the whole darn thing.
#dlc
After Shepard died in the beginning of Mass Effect 2, his blue-skinned friend Liara T'Soni fought a desperate battle to recover his body from the mysterious Shadow Broker. Now it's time to settle the score. More »
BioWare has just announced the latest Mass Effect 2 DLC: "Lair of the Shadow Broker." If you haven't played ME2 , you may want to skip any details about this mission ... suffice it to say, in the intergalactic world of Mass Effect 2 there are shadows and sometimes, those shadows need to be brokered. Oh, and they have lairs.
Those of you who have played ME2 can probably guess how this is going to shake out. Shepard teams up with Liara T'Soni to "confront the mysterious and sinister Shadow Broker," the very same info-dishing individual (or group of individuals?) that aided Liara in recovering Commander Shepard's body. As BioWare so delicately puts it, "it's time to even the score."
After last month's exceptional "Overlord" DLC, all eyes are on BioWare to keep it up. All the info we've got is a "coming soon" release window and the three screenshots below.
Bioware buckaroos, mount up! New DLC add-ons were deployed this week for the developer's sci-fi, space-faring RPG, Mass Effect 2, and its traditional fantasy RPG, Dragon Age: Origins. Head past the break for complete details and stuff to look at.
#review
Mass Effect 2's downloadable content to date has been a little hit-and-miss, a mix of free and paid content never really settling into the same confident stride the actual game managed. Overlord, though, is different. More »
At their standard retail prices, BioWare titles typically offer players an unparalleled amount of HEPD, or "hours of enjoyment per dollar." That highly scientific ratio has been significantly altered by Amazon today.
#clips
BioWare is kicking off a playable demo for Mass Effect 2 tomorrow, which comes complete with a "story so far" video for players who never played the first game. This is that video. More »
Kmart is having some nice instore deals during E3 week, June 13-19. Although there are heavy discounts on Battlefield Bad Company 2, God of War 3 and Heavy Rain -- the real standout deal is Mass Effect 2 for $20. With those credits saved on the ME2 purchase, it's totally worth grabbing Kasumi's Stolen Memory and next week's Overlord DLC from the Cerberus Network. Check out all the discounts after the break.
#cosplay
Holly Conrad wants to be part of a Comic Con documentary. To do so, she and her friends are creating the ultimate Mass Effect 2 cosplay, complete with female Shepard, Tali, the Illusive Man, and an animatronic Grunt. More »
Major Nelson's latest "Coming Soon" post lists Mass Effect 2's Overlord DLC with a June 15 upload date. Apparently the VI overlord is ready to go online and observe all the E3 festivities next week.
The Overlord DLC was revealed last month and will feature Cmdr. Shepard battling through "five levels set across one story on one planet" -- with a jaunty drive around in the Hammerhead tank. Entering into battle against the virtual intelligence will cost 560 ($7).
The latest "Coming Soon" post from Xbox Live's Major Nelson lists a June 15 release date for Mass Effect 2's Overlord downloadable content, along with a playable demo of the game for the five people who haven't bought it yet. More »
#science
In Mass Effect 2, the mysterious Illusive Man was able to stay in touch with the Normandy at any point in the universe using quantum entanglement. Chinese scientists have used similar technology to "teleport" data nearly 10 miles. More »
#lego
The Citadel, home of the Council and the single largest structure in the Mass Effect universe, is impressive enough when you see it in-game. Seeing it recreated in LEGO form just brings a smile to your face. More »
Impulse's Memorial Day sale this weekend has Sins of a Solar Empire at the heavenly price of $4. Go buy it now -- full stop. Whatever nit-picky issues the 4X strategy title may have can be thrown out an airlock at that price point. It may lack a single-player campaign to teach the ropes of glorious galactic armada warfare, but setting up a medium-sized map using normal AI is a good place to start. Which reminds us: Gratuitous Space Battles is also on sale.
Impulse also has a more mainstream space opera experience on sale with the first two chapters in the Mass Effect saga bundled for $42. Want something not involving spaceships? There's a Dragon Age: Origins bundle, which includes the original game and Awakening, for $48 -- that'll definitely keep you busy all weekend. Check out the rest of the Impulse weekend sales after the break.
#masseffect
To date, Mass Effect 2's downloadable content has been a little underwhelming, giving players who have completed the game little to do but spin their wheels. That's set to change in the coming months. More »
#bioware
The intergalactic hunt for minerals may not be Mass Effect 2's most marketable feature, but BioWare's latest update to the Xbox 360 version of the sci-fi role-playing game has "optimized" its mundane planet scanning, resulting in many happy players. More »
A BioWare representative announced on the developer's forums (login required) that one of the most ambiguous, open-to-interpretation game updates we've ever encountered launched this morning for the Xbox 360 version of Mass Effect 2. Sure, a few of the changes included in the patch are straightforward, such as a fix for a game-crashing error that would occur due to DLC incompatibility and the removal of another glitch that would allow the game's more sinister players to get infinite skill points using a simple menu exploit.
However, some changes are far more enigmatic -- particularly the suggestion that "scanning for minerals has been optimized." What does that even mean? Is the mining minigame now faster? Do you get more minerals with each probe? Can we now listen to phat beats while performing this otherwise mind-numbing task? We'll just have to download the patch to find out.
Check out the full list of (frequently perplexing) changes after the jump.
A BioWare representative announced on the developer's forums (login required) that one of the most ambiguous, open-to-interpretation game updates we've ever encountered launched this morning for the Xbox 360 version of Mass Effect 2. Sure, a few of the changes included in the patch are straightforward, such as a fix for a game-crashing error that would occur due to DLC incompatibility and the removal of another glitch that would allow the game's more sinister players to get infinite skill points using a simple menu exploit.
However, some changes are far more enigmatic -- particularly the suggestion that "scanning for minerals has been optimized." What does that even mean? Is the mining minigame now faster? Do you get more minerals with each probe? Can we now listen to phat beats while performing this otherwise mind-numbing task? We'll just have to download the patch to find out.
Check out the full list of (frequently perplexing) changes after the jump.
#fashion
In Mass Effect 2, your space-faring hero can wear a helmet. It's not mandatory. I choose to have my character not wear a helmet. What's that signify? More »
