As for Dragon Age, EA is talking about bringing multiplayer to the mix. It is unclear whether or not this will be part of Dragon Age 3 or if it will be a downloadable game. What we do know is that it will run on DICE’s Frostbite 2 engine and will feature arena-type battles with PvE and PvP combat. Oh, you can fight dragons also, which is probably the biggest headache in the series. Maybe they should focus on creating a better single-player experience before they try to tackle multiplayer. What are your thought on this?

Source: Kotaku 1, 2

In addition to these leaked files, a private beta of the game accidentally made itself available to people participating in the Dashboard preview program. There was also a 13 minute video to go along with it that contain some things that could be consider spoilers, even though it’s information that you would pretty much already know if you’ve been following the game closely. That video did make its way to the internet (as most things do), but it has since been taken down by the original uploader. It may still exist out there in some form, so if you do run across it, consider this to be a warning. Also, keep in mind that it’s not the final build, so the end product should be much better.

Source: Joystiq

Keeping with the latest trend in the industry, EA has given the latest entry in the Mass Effect series the online pass treatment. Each new copy of the game will come with a redeemable code which unlocks the previously mentioned co-op multiplayer experience. Used game purchasers will have to spend $9.99 to join in on the multiplayer mayhem.

Based on the description it will be an optional mission based experience that is not required for single-player, but has a direct impact on the campaign events. Shepard and friends remain exclusive to single-player with co-op offering a variety of classes and races to play as. More details as well as an FAQ can be found here.

What do you think? Will this be another tacked on effort to try and thwart used game sales or a legitimate reason to purchase brand new?

Source: Bioware

Similar tweets from both Casey Hudson and the official BioWare account have revealed that Mass Effect 3 will support co-op multiplayer. I’m sure we’ll get more details soon, but these tweets are likely just rumor control due to Australian gaming magazine PC Powerplay (pictured above) spilling the galactic beans on ME3‘s multiplayer earlier than BioWare wanted.

We don’t really know much more than that this game mode exists at this point, so you’ll have to use the old imagination machine to think about all of the possibilities.I know a lot of people are excited about co-op as it will help speed up the flow of combat as there is one less character to direct. I know I would have loved to have another human involved in combat instead of relying on AI and wheel menus. I do wonder, though, about how this will work with Kinect integration, if at all. Would talking to your partner over XBL confuse the Kinect, or has squad member name integration limited the chances of that happening?

Gaming news savants are tying this development to the game’s delayed release date of March 6th, 2012. Is multiplayer worth the wait or do you feel this is completely unnecessary?

picture courtesy of gnews

Well well, it looks like the future second most popular MMO has been cleared to launch, with LucasArts and Bioware announcing today that Star Wars: The Old Republic will release on December 20, 2011 here in North America and December 22, 2011 in Europe. Bioware founder Ray Muzyka had this to say:

“This is an incredible moment for everyone at BioWare and our partners at LucasArts who have dedicated their lives to build this extraordinary game. We appreciate the patience from the millions of fans who have been waiting for the game’s release.”

It was also announced that each copy of the game will come with 30 days of subscription time, after which users will have the option to pay $14.99 for one month, $41.97 for three months, or $77.94 for six months.

A $15 a month price tag certainly seems a little steep to me, and with many games jumping on the free-to-play ship, it’s certainly an interesting move.

If there’s one thing Roger Clemens and Roy Halladay have taught me, it’s that my heroes will always leave me. Mass Effect 3 will be no different. During PC Gamer’s recent chat with Bioware CEO Ray Muzyka, now looking forward to Mass Effect’s future, said regarding Mass Effect 3, “After this, Commander Shepard’s story is complete.” He also added Shepard would not be in any future games, as they would be “an entry point for fans and a brand new beginning.”

No word is given as to exactly how Shepard will go, leaving us no time to prepare. Just remember, there’s no crying in space.

Mass Effect 3 will be available on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on March 6, 2012

Source: PC Gamer

For starters, you get a Gentle Giant Darth Malgus statue, a metal case for your disks to go in, the journal of Master Gnost-Dural as annotated by Satele Shan, a map of the Old Republic galaxy, a CD of the game’s music, and a fancy box to store all of the goodies in. There’s also the the 7 digital items: a training droid that hovers next to you  to assist in battle, a holographic dancer for your “alone time”, a HoloCam that records what you do in the game, the unique in-game STAP vehicle, the “spunky” mouse droid that joins you in your adventures, an exclusive in-game store for for purchasing items, and a flare gun for shooting flares into the air. Awesome! Flares!

To top everything off, preordering the game will get you a color stone to change your weapon’s effects and early access to the game… which we still don’t have a release date on. You can also get a Deluxe Digital Edition off of EA’s Origin store for $80 which features just the digital items. What self-respecting Star Wars enthusiast would pass this up?

BioWare’s Casey Hudson tweeted a full-sized picture of Mr. Vega as a thank you for getting 10,000 followers on Twitter. Not much is known about him other than the fact that he has a horrendous neck tattoo, a fauxhawk, and looks like he spends his life at the gym. We don’t know why James is teaming up with Shepard to save the universe. I’m assuming  it’s because the Reapers destroyed his favorite club, and he wants revenge.

Mass Effect 3 will be out for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on March 6, 2012.

Via: Game Informer

When you think of epic RPG worlds and cards, the first that comes to mind is probably a Trading Card Game. So, when I tell you that Mass Effect and Dragon Age cards are coming out this November, you would probably get excited, right? Well, not so fast. Cards are coming, but they’re just regular playing cards with Mass Effect and Dragon Age designs. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still pretty cool for fans of these games, of which we have a couple here on this very site. But it just isn’t fair for them to plant the idea of a Mass Effect TCG in your head. Anyway, the cards will be available on November 16 for $4.99.

Source CBR

In an interview with CVG, designers Christina Norman and Corey Gaspur sit down to discuss their latest game, Mass Effect 3. Quite a few people loved Mass Effect 2, but one of the complaints was that the combat seemed like a chore to get to the story. So, how have they decided to make it more dynamic?

Christina Norman: Well, we want to make it so that when the player’s fighting in the moment they feel like they have more options than just aiming, shooting and using powers. We really want to make mobility a factor – like, “am I in the right position on the battlefield? Where are my enemies? How am I going to get from point A to point B? How are they going to get from point A to point B?” So the player is never thinking, “I’m walking into this safe place with great cover, I’ll stay there and fight” but more “how am I going to move through the battlefield as the enemies move through the battlefield against me?”

It sounds like they really understand the week parts of the previous games and are looking to deliver the best possible experience when Mass Effect 3 is released next March. If you want to learn more about the combat system, check out the entire interview over at CVG, which centers completely around combat and AI.

Source CVG