MSBNC (I know, right?) have named Mass Effect 3 their Game of the Year for 2012, and also singled out its in-game cinematics for praise. Polygon, meanwhile, ranked the game in the #8 slot on their list of Games of the Year (why pick just one?).

Also, check out this portfolio from a former BioWare 3D artist, who is now working on the new Halo Trilogy.

Star Wars: The Old Republic was recently patched to version 1.6.2, and the changes in that fix included the strict enforcement of slot restrictions, limiting free players to two characters per server. Additional character slots can be purchased on the game’s Cartel Market, up to a maximim of 350 slots. In case all you ever want to do is spend time playing SWTOR, all fifty-nine hours of your day.

Oh, and it would appear that the addition of same-sex romance options to The Old Republic isn’t exactly being handled well. Same-sex relationships, it seems, are being restricted to a single planet, and to non-recruitable characters (I think). The game’s producer, Jeff Hickman, has repeatedly stressed the high difficulty associated with adding in new romantic options for players at this stage in the game’s development, and he’s probably not just bluffing by saying so…but this is still an entry on the ever-lengthening list of ways in which SWTOR’s developers have made a hash of things when attempting to solve a problem.

Dragon Age lead writer David Gaider, meanwhile, recently revealed that he tends to avoid the BioWare Social Network forums because of the “increasingly toxic” tone that discussions there have developed. Frankly, I don’t blame him. Also, BioWare and Dark Horse Comics recently announced Dragon Age: World of Thedas, an art book/encyclopedia for the world in which the Dragon Age games are set.