Gaming Addict

In the growing tradition of other stellar titles, BioWare has announced a special Collector’s Edition release for Mass Effect 2.  The Mass Effect CE will cost you an extra $10 on Xbox 360 and PC, with the Xbox version priced at $69.99 and PC $59.99.  The whole set comes in a premium steel case that will include the following special items:

-48 Page Hardcover art of Mass Effect book.

-Unique DLC content, including weapons and armor only available through the purchase of the Collector’s Edition.  

No word yet as to what weapons and armor will be included.  But knowing BioWare it will be something awesome.  I know in addition to those CE armor items, I’ll also have access to the Blood Dragon Armor for buying Dragon Age: Origins.  I just hope the DLC is worth an extra $10, because I’ll probably end up buying this, but I never care much for art book collections or behind the scenes features.

Here’s to hoping for more badass guns, bigger explosions, and much more effective armor.  

The collector’s edition package for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has finally been released, and dubbed the Ultimate Sith Edition.  This set includes the original game, as well as all of the DLC that has been released for Force Unleashed up to now.  That means here you get the Tatooine and Jedi Academy levels, as well as an exclusive to this edition Hoth level. 

 I remember being disappointed in both the Tatooine and Jedi Academy levels, especially considering how much they cost via Xbox Live, and how little gameplay they had to offer.  All in all I’m just not sold on The Force Unleashed.  I know the game sold horrendously well, but it still wasn’t a spectacular Star Wars game.  Rather, Force Unleashed was a glimpse into how great of a game we could have had if Lucasarts had put in a little bit more time and effort. 

Everything just felt overly simplified.  From the lightsaber combat, to the way your force powers function.  Everything could have used some polish.  Here you get that same unpolished experience, with three new levels.  This collection isn’t worth buying if you already have purchased the DLC levels.  But if you’re new to Force Unleashed, or haven’t sprung for the DLC, maybe the Ultimate Sith Edition is for you.

Just don’t expect a spectacularly different experience.  

The next downloadable episode for Grand Theft Auto IV hits the market next week, and what’s a new Grand Theft Auto release without some controversy?  Apparently Rockstar feels that they must keep pushing the limits of what could offend anyone, concerning the content in their games.  The newest spark arises from the inclusion of sex scenes aplenty in the upcoming The Ballad of Gay Tony. 

Reportedly the sex scenes do not contain any nudity, and only featured fully clothed characters.  But considering a large portion of the storyline takes place at a night club, those sex scenes will most likely be peppered generously throughout.  Also, after having pushed the boundary in The Lost and Damned, there’s going to plenty of digital cutscene penis once more.  

I’m sure we all remember the shock of meeting Congressman Stubbs for the first time, during his massage, in which he chose to allow his flaccid penis to breathe throughout the cutscene. 

Expect more of the same I guess.  So if videogame sex and flaccid penises offend you, The Ballad of Gay Tony might be something you want to avoid. 

Lionhead CEO and Creative Director for Microsoft Game Studios Peter Molyneux announced that Fable 3 will fully support Project Natal.  No details as yet for how Molyneux is planning on including the technology, so I can really only speculate.  As long as the motion control doesn’t get too crazy, I think it presents an interesting addition to Fable’s gameplay.

I think where Molyneux would be smart to make use of Natal as an option is with jobs.  Make them less tedious and more entertaining.  Instead of hitting buttons to hammer out swords, how about doing a hammer motion or something.  The same principle could be applied to everything.  As for the combat, I think you have to keep it to a controller for now.  Maybe a few motion controlled special attacks, but for the most part combat shouldn’t be messed with, as it’s a strong point in the Fable series.

Beyond Natal Molyneux also had another announcement to make…well more of a speculation actually…that is Fable 3 will make use of micro transactions.  Ala many MMORPG’s out there on the market now, Fable 3 looks to take advantage of the concept.  Meaning while you’re playing the game, you could go into a store menu and purchase items on the go with your real life money.

Case in point, the Mass Effect “expansions”.  Both are simple side quests that have no justification as DLC episodes.  I don’t see why those couldn’t have been included with my original $60 investment.  

 But this is where I’m guessing Molyneux is only speculating.  He has a habit of doing that, as we’ve all noticed over the years.  Remember all of the promises made about the first Fable?  And how none of them came to life and you were left feeling slightly disappointed at first?  Well I do.  Then I played Fable II’s ending and I found out what disappointment in a game really means.

Hopefully Molyneux can stop focusing on micro transactions, and even Natal, and just give the game a great story again. 

BioWare has announced the official release date for Mass Effect 2, which is January 29th 2010.  Why a month after the holiday season I have no idea, as I would think that would have a negative effect on sales.  Aren’t most people going to be hurting from their holiday spending at that point, and essentially unable to afford another pricey game?  But maybe BioWare is figuring a lot of people will have received game gift cards that they’ll be itching to spend.

There are two different preorder bonuses available for Mass Effect 2, depending upon where you choose to preorder your copy of the game.  Some retails will offer a Terminus Gear in game DLC code.  The Terminus Gear will feature Terminus armor which can be used in the most harsh planetary conditions at maximum effectiveness.  Also featured in the pack is the M-90 Blackstorm Heavy Weapon, adding to the roster of ME 2 weapons that pack a bigger kick than anything found in the first Mass Effect.

The other DLC pack contains Inferno armor, which will give Commander Shepard an increase in running speed, as well as combat damage power augmentation.  All together effectively making you into a better killing machine. 

Rockstar Games has unveiled the multiplayer modes for upcoming GTA expansion The Ballad Of Gay Tony.  If the promise of an experience more true to Grand Theft Auto’s past isn’t enough to sway you, maybe these awesome modes will.

First up is Deathmatch, which is exactly what you’d expect from a game mode called Deathmatch.  Simply it’s you and 15 other players online in an all out brawl.  Your goal is to kill as much as possible, but the winner isn’t necessarily determined by who has the most kills.  Rather you win the round by collecting the most money.  You are awarded money for each kill, as well as for each dead body you loot.  Each player will receive health and armor bonuses for kill streaks of 3, 5, and 10, and you’ll get a money bonus of $125 for ending an opposing player’s streak. 

Along with Deathmatch is Team Deathmatch, following the same principles, only with teams instead of free for all.  Both modes will also feature the new weapons: Pistol .44, Explosive Shotgun, Assault SMG, Gold SMG, Advanced MG, Advanced Sniper, Sticky Bombs and Parachute.

Ballad of Gay Tony will also include Grand Theft Auto’s shining achievement in multiplayer gameplay, Free Mode.  If you haven’t played GTA online yet, you don’t know what you’re missing in Free Mode.  This game style allows you to take to the streets either with friends or strangers, and wreak absolute havoc.  Steal anything, blow anything up, kill people, don’t kill people, basically do whatever.  True sandbox multiplayer, and I can’t wait to participate in a little more mayhem Gay Tony style. 

South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play! is ridiculously entertaining, but probably only if you’re a South Park fan.  Which I have been for the show’s entire run, and the unflinching brilliance that is Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s writing throughout the series.  South Park LGTDP captures this humor perfectly, which is just what this paint by the numbers tower defense game needed.  Featuring a story by the South Park scribes, and their custom awful and hilarious voice over work, LGTDP is a full South Park experience.

While many will be painfully reminded of the horrendous South Park gaming forays in the past, LGTDP is not among those.  I still remember the South Park FPS game that I had on Playstation, and how everything seemed like a good idea at the time.  But the gameplay got repetitive and severely boring almost immediately.  LGTDP suffers no such fate.  Rather LGTDP stays fairly fresh and always hilarious as you control Stan, Cartman, Kenny and Kyle throughout the games campaign.  Creatively sprinkling show references throughout dialogue, and enemy types like ginger kids, and hippies.  

LGTDP really shines when played with a friend, as the game can be fairly annoying when played alone.  But as long as you can find a buddy that’s also interested in South Park, you’ve got yourself a decent experience.  South Park combines traditional tower defense tactics, such as building your own defenses and then upgrading as levels progress, with the ability to take the reins of any character and unleash your own snowball based attacks.  Each character also comes with their own special powers that can be triggered during a level.  All of which offering their own level of uniqueness, usefulness, and hilarity.  

All in all worth the 800 MS points in my book.  While semi short, South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play provides endless replay ability.  As long as you’re a South Park fan, you can’t go wrong.  

 The way that the games industry is advancing towards increased motion sensing support for every console and game, I’ve been a little skeptical.  I’m not absolutely sure that the motion sensing Wii style of play is really the way to go just yet.  Sure there are some excellent Wii games that execute the concept perfectly.  But for the most part I’m fairly disappointed with the way that the Wii has come to life, with most games just feeling like a gimmick, targeted at those that aren’t familiar with videogames.  So of course I’ve been worried that so many companies are implying motion control to be the future of gaming.

Epic has announced that once Project Natal launches for Xbox 360, every future Epic game will feature Natal support.  But it’s the way that the support has been announced that just sounds awesome.  Speaking to Official Xbox magazine Epic Games VP Mark Rein described some of the ideas on supporting Natal motion control. 

“Yeah, I can totally see myself sitting in front of my TV using Natal to play games like Gears of War, Call of Duty, or whatever first-person shooter with my buddies,” said Rein. “I want to do a hand signal that tells my friend, “Go over there.” Instead of even saying it on Live, I just want to motion, “Go over there.” Or if I want to throw a grenade, I just lift my right hand off the controller, throw the grenade, then put my hand back on the controller.”

That’s what I’m talking about!  Motion sensing to enhance a game’s experience, not become a gimmick upon which to hinge the gameplay.  I’m all for making grenade lobbing easier, or signaling to friends easier.  That would make formulating strategies a hell of a lot more fun.  This is what I want to see more from game developers.  Don’t abandon the controllers, but rather enhance the experience around the controller. 

The DLC support for the Dragon Age: Origins launch continues, as BioWare has announced another package.  Titled Warden’s Keep, BioWare will be releasing this DLC the same day as DAO, November 6th.  Warden’s Keep will feature a brand new dungeon based quest, six new abilities, new items, and a base where you can trade with merchants.  The story will see the player venturing to an ancient fortress once used by the Grey Wardens.  The pack is announced to have a price point of 560 MS points, or roundabout $7.

This is in addition to the already announced free DLC that BioWare is offering to anyone who purchases a new copy of Dragon Age: Origins.  With any new purchase you’re receive an exclusive character, and the coveted Blood Armor which will be usable in Dragon Age as well as Mass Effect II, also developed by BioWare.  The Stone Prisoner pack features a stone golem character that will be available for use in your party from the beginning of the story.  Apparently the stone golem is a pretty formidable foe, and even if you don’t use him, it’s worth getting the free DLC for the option.

I like what BioWare is doing here.  Providing plenty of support for the game right out of the box.  More developers could learn from this example, and I hope they will.  I just hope BioWare gives better support to Dragon Age than Mass Effect has gotten.  I’m not exactly impressed with the two DLC packs available to Mass Effect.  I’m hoping for something more spectacular from Dragon Age down the line, after I finish the 70+ hour campaign. 

Valve has announced the fourth game mode to be included in Left 4 Dead 2, called Scavenge.  In the Scavenge mode two teams of four players each, pitted against each other in round based game modes.  In each round one team will take the role of zombies and survivors respectively.  The survivors are tasked with locating enough gas cans to power a generator located on the map.  The zombie team is tasked with using any means necessary to stop the survivors from starting that generator, whether by attacking the survivors, destroying the gas cans, or running out the clock.

As a survivor each gas can you collect and successfully deposit into the generator will add time to the clock.  Enough gas cans starts the generator and you win the round.  The infected players will have the option of playing as the new infected bosses, including the new additions Jockey, Spitter and Charger.  Each team will have a chance at being both survivors and infected once per round.  

To me sounds like a very twisted version of single flag CTF to me, and that’s not a bad thing.  I like to see companies like Valve trying new things like this, while keeping a firm foothold on what makes multiplayer shooter combat so fun.  Innovation is great, just don’t forget what makes for good multiplayer.  Some games get much too bogged down in trying new things.  I’m glad Valve has a comfortable combo of new and old, making L4D 2 every bit as good as the first Left 4 Dead.  Maybe even better actually.

Too bad releasing an entirely new game, instead of DLC updates as promised, Valve will be splitting the audience of available players.  Now you’ll only have a smaller portion of people available, as some will be playing the L4D new DLC packs, while others move on to Left 4 Dead 2.