BioWare Mondays
In keeping with a pattern I kicked off last week, and because in addition to most things Ultima I do try and put some focus on other RPG series, I’ve decided that each Monday from here on will feature a post which aggregates any news about BioWare, their various sub-studios, and their various RPG titles and series. That will include interesting details about their most recently launched title, Star Wars: The Old Republic, as well as any other titles they have either published or have in the works. Like, you know, Mass Effect 3.
Where’s the interest for Ultima fans? Mostly in the kinds of stories that BioWare crafts. BioWare titles aren’t open world epics, and don’t typically feature heavily interactive worlds. In fact, BioWare worlds tend to be fairly static things. What BioWare does well, however, is tell stories, especially ones which place moral choices of varying weights on the shoulders of players. This is something, as has been noted both recently and in the distant past, for which Origin Systems can take no small amount of credit, thanks to various entries in the Ultima series (Ultima 4 most notably).
Oh, and it’s BioWare, ultimately, that currently controls the Ultima franchise. That too.
IGN has a Mass Effect 3 preview.
They call it “bigger, better and more evocative”.
How much “bigger” and “better”?
Someone on the BioWare Social forums posted some details from German gaming magazine GameStar and a preview of Mass Effect 3 that they did. Take note, Ultima fans, because from the sound of it, Mass Effect 3 is going to add a very welcome-sounding tactical element:
(1) On Mars, Shepard will be looking for a Prothean secret weapon which may be useful against the Reapers. Casey Hudson is quoted with saying that this doesn’t mean the story is about THE McGuffin what will win the war, but more about “searching the whole galaxy for pieces of useful knowledge and war assets”.
…
(3) War assets can be all kinds of things from fleets to single people. Their contribution will of course be of drastically different sizes.
(4) If you enter Reaper-controlled territory, there’s a chance the Reapers will try to hunt you down and you must do something to avoid them. That’s referred to as a minigame.
Also, I like the sound of this:
(11) There will be no “Reapers win” scenario, based on the reasoning that such an ending is unsatisfying for players and would lead to re-loading a saved game anyway. There will, however, be endings where whole species become extinct and many worlds are destroyed, including Earth.
Mars is evidently a playable location in Mass Effect 3.
Although you only get a few seconds worth of a glimpse of it in this trailer excerpt:
Also, an interview with the lead writer.
Vega is evidently one of the new squadmates introduced in the game. Freddie Prinze Jr., whom some of you may only recognize as the husband of Sarah Michelle Gellar, was also the actor who portrayed Christopher Blair in the Wing Commander movie.
I hereby predict that the comments will now become a debate about the merits (or lack thereof) of said movie, rather than a discussion about anything to do with BioWare.
What doesn’t come with DLC these days?
If you happen to purchase one of the limited edition Mass Effect 3 figures that will be launching soon (April or May), you’ll evidently receive a code that will unlock something extra in the game’s multiplayer mode.
The randomised codes “could include powerful new weapons and new characters,” according to a post on the Bioware store, or they could contain “character boosters, weapon modifications, and weapon upgrades to make your multi-player squad stronger.”
The four figures can be pre-ordered ahead of shipment in April/May for $75 on the Bioware site. The Big Bad Toy Store has eight figures listed available for $17.99 each including Shepard, Tali, Thane, Garrus, Legion, Miranda, Mordin and Grunt. If you have $650 knocking about, there’s also a full size replica of a Mass Effect assault rifle…
Speaking of Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer component…
It has explosions and other goodness:
Not sure how much of this I will be playing, preferring single player as I do. Still...neat feature.
Dragon Age: Origins Mac players get a game update!
BioWare has pushed out the v1.05 patch for those who are playing Dragon Age: Origins on OS X. Notable fixes include corrected DLC authentication, graphics performance on DirectX 10 video cards, and…a fix for the installer that corrects where the game key is stored in the Windows registry?
Well, I guess if one was playing the game in Boot Camp…
No, it’s not a Dr. Evil ransom demand, and it’s not the proposed budget for a James Cameron-directed car commercial. It’s what Star Wars: The Old Republic reportedly cost BioWare to make.
Apparently, the hot-ticket item in The Old Republic is a white lightsaber crystal.
Meh, I like my current green-bladed lightsaber.
Blue crystals are better.
I know who the extra character is that they’re withholding as DLC. All I’ll say is that it’s a very greedy move by EA/Bioware to not make such a character part of the standard game.
It’s Liara, isn’t it?
Garrus? Say it’s not Garrus!
@Infinitron, it’s little stuff like that that just exhausts me from AAA titles these days. Does anyone remember the good old days when you just bought an Ultima game and it came with a box chock full of goodies? *sigh*
No, no. It’s not one of the regulars. They wouldn’t go that far.
It’s an…exotic character that any player of the Mass Effect franchise would want in his party.
Oh, well, that’s probably okay then. Maybe it’ll be an “I REALLY WANT THAT CHARACTER!!!” situation…obviously, I don’t know as yet. But really, Garrus is my go-to squaddie 95% of the time anyway. As long as I have him, it’s all good.
Everybody likes Garrus.
If it’s a Hanar, then people might buy the DLC.
Okay. Yeah. I’d consider buying the “Blasto the Hanar Spectre” DLC, if they release that.
“Enkindle THIS!”
Not saying a word… 😉 (although to be honest, this information is already public – you just have to look for it)
I’m in no rush, Infini.
Oh, who am i kidding? I’m a spoiler whore. TO GOOGLE!!!
@RusticDragon:
“@Infinitron, it’s little stuff like that that just exhausts me from AAA titles these days. Does anyone remember the good old days when you just bought an Ultima game and it came with a box chock full of goodies? *sigh*”
Reminds me of how creeped out I feel when watching G4. The enthusiasm for even the dumbest shit is disturbing. When suits run development studios they milk it for all it’s worth and have no shame. They cloak their greed and lust for power in new features and insightful commentaries, all tightly woven together to achieve the highest sales figures and brand dominance possible.
I don’t blame them, but sometimes it’s embarrassing to witness.
Heh, did you find out who the DLC character is? Cause on second thought, it’s actually not that easy to find if you don’t already know who it is.
No, I played what ended up being a frustrating session in SWTOR.
If you feel like feeding the addiction of a spoiler junkie, drop me the name via FB Messenger.