Sure, some of you lucky bastards readers already plopped a whole heap of time into Mass Effect thanks to K-Mart's inability to, you know, read. Others of us, however, don't get to play "Jack Bauer in Space" until tomorrow. Yeah, that's right, we're jealous individuals (sans those on staff who took advantage of the "blue light special") who know that Bioware determines its release schedule with a formula more complex than how the NFL calculates a QB's passer rating.
We here at Joystiq are all primed and ready to save the universe, use our Force special powers on enemy combatants, knock boots with some genderless aliens, and finally move past Jade Empire. However, maybe you're not convinced as we are -- that's okay because the Metareview is here to help.
GameSpy (100/100): "Mass Effect's greatest strength is the quality of the narrative. BioWare has a track record of producing amazingly engrossing storylines, but never before have you been presented with this level of meaningful interaction. You'll experience difficult and thought-provoking situations, including moral and ethical questions without a clear right or wrong answer. The Commander Shepard character is thus defined by player involvement, sublimely capturing the essence of role-playing."
IGN (94/100): "Mass Effect is game that is greater than the sum of its parts. Technical issues abound, but the majority of Mass Effect is so expertly delivered that it can transcend its weaknesses. Applying number ratings to a game like this doesn't do it justice because there is no way you can ignore its technical flaws. Simply put, Mass Effect is a game that must be played. Then it must be played again. Don't pass this one up."
Eurogamer (80/100): "Forced to stumble towards a conclusion, I'd say that despite the niggles, Mass Effect is most definitely a great game with an awful lot going for it - but one that doesn't quite deserve unquestioning praise. For what it achieves in delivering a compelling narrative and wonderful atmosphere, BioWare deserves a huge amount of credit, as there are few games that come anywhere near it in this regard. The dialogue system, and the impact it has on individual missions and the game as a whole is exceptional, adding greatly to the potential replay value. Where it doesn't quite hit the mark for me is in the action stakes. Although it underpins the game with all sorts of excellent ideas that ought to make it a deeper, more intelligent and immersive experience, the simple truth is that the minute-to-minute combat simply isn't as intense and involving as you'd expect from a game in 2007. Throw in some grumbles about the somewhat unoptimised state of the frame-rate, texture pop-in and v-syncing terrors, and it's a game that just falls short of our expectations. An eight, then, but a good one..."
For those who didn't catch the Halo 3 edition of Sci vs. Fi (on, you guessed it, the Sci Fi network), you missed an interesting look at the game from a number of different perspectives. Scientists picked apart the game from a logistical standpoint, Bungie discussed the creation of the game, gamers talked about how the game differed from it's previous iterations, and Brian Posehn brought the funny. A good time was had by all.
Tuesday night, Sci Fi is airing a special look at Mass Effect on the program. From the looks of it, we can expect the commentary of Keith David (Requiem for a Dream creepster who voices Captain Anderson in the game) and the ever insightful observations of the Cho-Bot. Of course, by that time, you'll probably have the game in your hot little hands, your mind aflutter with all the galactic exploration you'll soon be doing. We won't blame you if you forget to set your TiVos.
Update: Microsoft has asked GameVideos to yank the video. Peepshow's over, folks! WARNING: Unlike the sex scene we linked last week, this one can be described as "not safe for work," "not work safe," "NSFW," "NWS," and "not safe to play around female spouse." Any potential job loss, spouse loss, or sleeping on the couch that you incur from watching this video lies solely on your shoulders. That said, there isn't any Asari nipple to be seen in the video, so this is an FX level skin drama at best.
Said video, containing some (female) Commander Shepherd on Asari action beneath the break. Yeah, we tease like that.
For those not lucky enough to snag an early, blue light special copy of Mass Effect, we humbly offer you this incredible launch trailer to slake your thirst. The short video does a great job of showcasing the game's ambitious cinematic qualities - we just hope it doesn't collapse under the weight of its own hype. Remember, you're just nine short days away from getting some strange tail in space.
It's official - 2007 will henceforth be known as the "Year of Broken Street Dates." First, BioShock was sold a week in advance by Toys R' Us, then there were the reports of number of early sales of Halo 3 throughout Europe, then the recent Rock Bandmix-up at Best Buy, and to top it all off, a number of lucky gamers have apparently gotten their hot little hands on copies of Mass Effect from Kmart - a full ten days before the game's official release date.
As with every instance of broken street dates, there's no guarantee that your local Kmart will be selling the game early, or that they will have any in stock. But if you're as anxious as we are to board the SSV Normandy to explore the Milky Way (while making some sweet, sweet, FCC-approved love), then you'll make the trip to your local Kmart, braving the Saturday shopping crowd, and sightings of terrifying anthropomorphic light bulbs.
Before our sleep-deprived and sensory addled brains shut down last night, we were ushered by Microsoft secret agents into a hotel room to spend some time with Mass Effect. Finally, hands-on instead of just eyes-on. Although it had been a long day, we managed to find a burst of adrenaline deep down within to keep us going.
We were shown the basic in-game talk interface: get near another character and hit the A button to start talking. You can direct the flow of the conversation, by selecting your responses with the left thumbstick, choosing from a radial menu. For instance, if someone is telling you about an attack, you can pick things like "Too bad they didn't kill you" to "I'm sorry" to "Really? What happened?"
They aren't exactly what your character will say, they're more like the gist of it. We tried to piss the people we encountered off, but no one took great offense. One woman we encountered really wanted to tag along with us, and although we tried as hard as we could to dissuade her, the last talk menu we were offered with her was something like, "Sure", "Go ahead", and "Okay". No, "Get lost!" option, so she must be important to the mission.
A CVG report asserts that the Xbox 360's role-playing space opera, Mass Effect, has been "delayed" until the horrifyingly distant month of September. Of course, having never had an official release date to begin with, it seems exceedingly impatient to consider the game delayed just as its first potential release window is revealed. Though there have been hints pointing towards a May or June release, September would be the first month Microsoft and BioWare have openly committed to -- if indeed the report is wholly accurate.
We'd prefer a month that was sooner (like April), but it seems the utterly blinding level of light bouncing off all the shiny spaceships, futuristic weapons and revoltingly moist aliens in the game just isn't enough for BioWare to stop polishing. The only worrying aspect of such a September release is that it would be awfully close to the August arrival of Hironobu Sakaguchi's Blue Dragon. Having access to both time-consuming RPGs within 30 days could prove socially, economically and hygienically disastrous for fans of the genre.
Curiously, when asked for comment on the September date (which could specifically be for Europe), the Mass Effect publisher only offered, "Microsoft has not announced a release date for Mass Effect."
Update: "We have not made any official announcements regarding release timing for Mass Effect," adds Microsoft. "At this time, any information about the game's release date is purely rumor and speculation."
Joystiq contacted CVG for clarification. We were politely informed that the information originated from a Microsoft employee and that it has yet to be "officially" announced. In other words, we're waiting on that official announcement letting us know we have to wait until September for the game -- point being, we're waiting.
The "Special Edition" part referring to the PC (and potentially politically correct) version of BioWare's KOTOR-but-with-Kung-Fu epic, Jade Empire. The 2K-published RPG, which now boasts higher resolutions, improved AI, an extra difficulty level, an art book and a poster, has officially gone gold and should be in North American stores by February 27th. Europe will receive the game a few days later on March 2nd.
Of course, no Jade Empirepress release is complete without referencing IGN's frothing demand for the 2005 Xbox release. It scored a 9.9, you know.
Update: Microsoft sent us another statement, this time ruling out the date entirely. "An incorrect release date for Mass Effect was inadvertently posted on Xbox.com Australia and has since been removed. We will keep you posted on the ongoing development of Mass Effect, however, we have no announcements regarding the game's release date at this time."
According to the Australian section of the official Xbox website, we may be finding ourselves incinerating aliens and threatening suspicious bartenders before the year reaches its midpoint. A product blurb dedicated to BioWare's galaxy-spanning sci-fi RPG, Mass Effect, currently lists a release date of 18 May 2007, a bit more specific than the "2007" placeholder appended to the likes of Forza Motorsport 2 (which is set to arrive sometime in May).
It's worth noting that Microsoft has yet to announce an official release date. At the time of writing, they had not yet responded to our request for comment.
BioWare looks to start swinging episodes like it was 1993 again (LL Cool J? "Back Seat"? Too obscure?). The Mass Effect developer recently pledged to support all of its confirmed upcoming titles with post-release episodic content, including Dragon Age and Jade Empire: Special Edition. BioWare even claimed that its "other" (read: announced) titles would be treated to digitally distributed content, suggesting the studio's total adoption of a longevity model built on episodic releases. The strategy will span both "console and PC" platforms, confirmed CEO Ray Muzyka.
"Consoles," eh? Could BioWare be expanding its console development beyond Xbox 360? After all, a DS title is in the works.
After months of waiting, the uber-pretty Bioware title Mass Effect trailer from X06 (we thought so, anyways) will now be available to download from Xbox Live. While the delay between the floor showing and XBL Marketplace download might seem ridiculous, bear in mind that it took almost the exact same amount of time (two months and some change) to get their E3 trailer to the XBLM masses.
We can only hope that means they're just so busy perfecting the title that they don't have enough spare time to show off the goods. We hope. Embedded after the break is a low-quality version of the trailer that's taking 7 weeks for delivery. The video that will be available on Friday will be 5 minutes long and will feature a voice over from Project Director Casey Hudson -- we've included a video after the break which features low-quality footage similar to what we'll see on Friday.
Time constraints apparently forced MTV to cut some delicious Mass Effect footage from the latest episode of G-Hole, part of Gamer's Week 2.0. It's all good though, GameTrailers has us covered (video's also embedded below). Since when did BioWare's latest turn into a 3rd-person Halo with squad dynamics and telekinesis? Show us more!
An article scan from the latest PC Gamer UK reveals that BioWare's Mass Effect could be heading to the PC. This is most welcome news for Windows gamers, but hardly surprising when you consider the Canadian developer's previous two Xbox titles followed the same path. Knights of the Old Republic started out as an Xbox exclusive, and its PC conversion followed four months later. Also, a special edition PC port of Jade Empire was announced at E3 and will ship in January.
Mass Effect doesn't arrive on the Xbox 360 until Q2, so we probably wouldn't see the rumored PC release until late next year. We'll let you know if we hear any confirmation details.
IGN's new Mass Effect screenshots show that BioWare's sci-fi RPG is progressing nicely in the visuals department. Our X06 recon team was also impressed with the game's conversation branching and squad command features. The only bad thing about this game so far is that it won't be out until next year. How do you and your Xbox 360 plan to pass the time?
Some of the most anticipated upcoming games for the Xbox 360 and PC weren't playable on the X06 show floor but were shown off by the developers in behind-closed-doors demos. Here's some quickie descriptions of the demos and some thoughts on what was shown:
Alan Wake: Developer Remedy shared lots of new information about this "psychological action thriller" (a term used by the developers to describe the game multiple times). The story, told rather clunkily through some Max Payne-style exposition, revolves around Wake, a writer who finds his life begins to mimic his best-selling novel. Grappling with insomnia in a rest clinic in the Pacific Northwest, he finds the line between his waking life and his nightmares begins to blur. The most striking feature graphically is the dynamic lighting, which casts soft shadows and glistens beautifully off everything from the trees to the water. The demo also showed off environmental effects with a quickly gathering storm that cast everything in eerie, somber tones. The demo ended with a thrilling chase by a glowing entity that took out all the electrical lights as it approached. Definitely one to watch for.
BioShock - Following up on the demo shown at E3, Irrational showed off a new area which again showed off the game's beautifully dark underwater environments. The developers emphasized the importance of using improvised attacks and abilities like teleportation against the lumbering, suited "Big Daddy" and the "Little Sister" he jealously protects. They also stressed the importance of moral choices in shaping the game experience -- as the demo fades out, our protagonist is busy deciding whether or not to beat a little girl with a wrench. Best moment: using telekenesis to throw a teddy bear into a fire and then using the flaming bear to set an enemy on fire. The demonstrator said they hope to "redefine the first-person shooter" and it looks like they just might.
Mass Effect - The game looks as pretty as ever, with convincing character animation and facial expressions, especially during the branching conversations. The developers showed off how the game map spans from a galaxy-sized Milky Way view down to individual planets, and mentioned that two separate players will likely take completely different paths through the game. A quick boss battle showed how squad placement commands can be used to set up a cross fire that emphasizes each character's particular abilities. Shows promise but the full scope was hard to gauge from the demo.
