We're [Not] Dead.

Exactly what the title is implying. NeonTurtles hasn't been giving you guys a good dose of gaming news recently for a number of good reasons:

- Mike and Dennis (Possibly Mark as well) are all having a vacation in Japan, last time I talked to them they told me they were going snowboarding.

- I've just come back from visiting Hong Kong and Macau.

- I'm staying in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia where traffic stands still and internet is scarce.

On behalf of the team, I humbly ask you (The reader!) to pardon us for the lack of activity.

Now with that aside let's look what's coming up in what is possibly one of the greatest years of gaming we have ever known.

With ground breaking sequels such as MASS EFFECT 2 and BIOSHOCK 2 being released very, very soon; you guys can expect Michael, Dennis and Mark to do whole hearted reviews of them once they get back.

Titles such as Halo: Reach, Dead Space 2, Alan Wake and Dead Rising 2 and many more are going to make us all dive our hands into the depths of our pockets in order to keep up with the flurry of excitement that will eventually hit the shelves sometime this year.

On a side note; Valve has launched its Team Fortress 2 Contribution site. This is where all the ideas submitted by the community regarding new weapons and hats will be checked by Valve to see if they'll make the grade to be used in the game. So if you have a niche for modelling, concept art and game design; make yourself heard now!

TF2 Contribution Site: http://www.teamfortress.com/contribute/

2010 is going to be a significant year for gamers, so it'll best for you not to miss out.

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.