Mass Effect 2: A Minor Preview

I suppose I could be called a Bioware fanboy. I wouldn't have thought so before the release of Dragon Age: Origins. Another game being released by Bioware is Mass Effect 2, which is surprisingly the sequel to Mass Effect. ZOMG RLY?

Everyone here at Neon Turtles has played Mass Effect. I don't think Dennis has finished it but has still been enjoying it. Mark and I enjoyed it but agree there were flaws. Flaws we hope to see fixed in Mass Effect 2. Bioware has slowly been releasing snippets of what is to come in Mass Effect 2. They have revealed new characters such as Subject Zero and Thane- to name a few -and teased the possibility of returning characters such as Garrus and Tali. These videos (except Subject Zero's) probably have made most Mass Effect fans squeal like a little girl.

Additionally to the clips of characters, Bioware has done a few developer walk-through videos with big game sites showing off new game-play mechanics such as the new reloading system that replaces the overheating weapons system. Most recently they have done interviews and videos around the revamped classes such as Biotics and Engineers. Which brings me to a criticism of Bioware. While I understand by boosting abilities and powers they are too increasing the fun of the game. But as seen with the Subject Zero trailer I am starting to see a trend by Bioware of selling their games through boobs and violence to appeal to a wider audience than RPG fans (they did this with Dragon Age too). While I don't mind them doing this, or changing the game-play to further become like an action game, I just pray this doesn't have a negative effect on the RPG side of things.

Besides all the mumbo-jumbo in relation to the game itself, Mass Effect 2 on Xbox 360 will feature two discs.
“Even though there is a disc swap, it occurs at a carefully planned place in the game (that does not interfere with gameplay) and is done once,” Priestly wrote on the Mass Effect 2 forums. “You do not swap back and forth. 1 swap and then done.” - Bioware
So it doens't sound like a problem, and having two discs gives me the impression that it is going to be a long game which in my opinion is a good thing, and won't have an effect on the PC version which I plan to get. To rap this up Bioware have also changed the Boxart for the standard edition to this. I feel that this new cover is trying to appeal to action gamers opposed to the Mass Effect boxart which had a similar feel to a blockbuster movie cover.

Having just talked about everything Bioware has revealed, I feel there is so much more to be found out too. Such as are Liara and Ashely going to make returns? Will the explorable planets/systems have more depth? Will there be elevators? Australians will know the answer when Mass Effect 2 is released here January 28th next year.

DLC for Major Titles Inbound! (Also, we're not dead!)

The good news for gamers this holiday season is that their favourite games do not have to end. Both Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed 2 and BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins will see DLC this summer, with 2 new DLC downloads becoming available for Assassin's Creed early next year and several DLC pieces planned for Dragon Age. Assassins Creed 2 will see "the Battle of Forli" and "the Bonfire of Vanities" which still lack more details, while Dragon Age will see "Return to Ostagar" in which the player returns to an early area of the game to learn more about the ruins of Ostagar and get some new epic loot!


Additionally, as a blog we are not dead, just playing a lot of MW2 and a few other games. We will start updating the blog regularly as of now....I hope. And fear not! A new podcast is coming up before the end of the week.

So stay tuned for more ranting and occasional gaming news!

Let the epic journey begin!

I woke up at 5am this morning for a little game called Dragon Age: Origins. I probably wouldn't wake up at 5am for my own wedding day, so it shows you just how excited I am about this game. I'm currently installing the 1st day DLC that BioWare has released (you get most of it for free if you purchase a new copy of the game) and so far the interface and online account idea is working really well. Essentially to get your DLC you need to register on the BioWare Social Site and redeem your codes. But you can also log into this site from the game, and keep track of your friends and their characters through this new hybrid of facebook and a games website.

Dragon Age: Origins is a massive game, so it'll probably be a while until we review it properly, needless to say though, we'll be updating you frequently with the awesome adventures we experience in Ferelden.

Dragon Age: Origins Goes Gold!

Big news for fans of Dragon Age: Origins today, the game has finally gone gold after 5 years of development time. Dragon Age: Origins is an in-depth high fantasy RPG from BioWare, that has been continously hailed by BioWare developers as "A spiritual successor to Baulder's Gate". BioWare's strong writing and excellent plot development are sure to stand out again, with developers telling us that we won't see the typical "Good, neutral and bad choices" but rather choices in the world that are shades of grey. This new, dark and realistic world, combined with intense tactical party based combat similar to the RPGs of old promise to bring an excellent game which is rumoured to be 80 to 90 hours for an average player. Dragon Age: Origins will be released on November 3rd for the U.S and November 5th for the rest of the world on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

For those interested, the reuters article on the release can be found here.