Dragon Age 3 won’t reuse levels, will feature follower customisation
Bioware used a PAX East panel a few days ago to talk about their plans for the next Dragon Age, which still isn’t technically announced, even though Bioware have been dropping hints about it on and off since May last year. During the panel, hosted on Gamespot, Dragon Age lead designer, Mike Laidlaw managed to navigate this strange realm of marketing doublethink to talk about the team’s plans for the sequel without ever actually saying the words “Dragon Age 3.”
The talk centred around three bits of fan feedback, all of which Bioware are planning to address. The main requests from players were as follows: “Stop reusing levels. Decisions that matter. Equipment for followers.”
“Boy, those three came up,” said Laidlaw. “Those three came up quite a bit.”
BioWare gives TOR players free game time and cuddly pets, alongside 17,000-word patch
The Old Republic’s long-awaited patch 1.2 is here, bringing with it all sorts of new in-game goodies for players to tinker with. But BioWare’s taking out all the stops to make sure that gamers stick around, including giving every active account with a level 50 player 30 days of free game time and a cute tauntaun pet and offering players that’ve left 7 days of free game time to try out the new features in patch 1.2
Mass Effect 3 multiplayer event to give players a new Resurgence class
The ongoing battle against the Reapers, Cerberus and rogue Geth forces is ticking along quite nicely in Mass Effect 3′s multiplayer mode. New maps and races have been added this week with the release of the free Resurgence pack. Now, Bioware announce a new weekend operation to gently offer those of us who haven’t tried the new maps some incentive to check them out.
Star Wars: The Old Republic patch 1.2 out tomorrow, raid monsters prepare for beating
It feels like we’ve been waiting forever for the Legacy system improvements contained in patch 1.2 for Star Wars: The Old Republic, but The wait is almost up. TOR will finally get the tangled, dysfunctional family trees that a Star Wars game deserves when the update goes live tomorrow.
The patch will let us weave TOR alts into grand space soap operas. Your Sith warrior can secretly be your Jedi Knight’s brother, who can be a secret family friend of your Imperial Agent, who once had a cup of tea with your Republic smuggler, and so on. As fascinating as it’ll be to slot everyone into a tangled family tree, the new legacy rewards are the real draw here. We’ll finally be able to use all that legacy experience amassed since launch day on new race options, convenience items, new powers and more.
Free Mass Effect 3: Resurgence Pack DLC – Out today
For those of you still sore from the ending of Mass Effect 3, please find some solace in today’s ridiculously-free Resurgence Pack DLC, chock full of new characters, maps, and unlockable items to enhance your experience with the surprisingly amazing multiplayer. See exactly what you’re getting in the Resurgence DLC below.
Mass Effect 3 multiplayer getting new characters, weapons, maps next Wednesday
The so-far steady trickle of attention BioWare is giving Mass Effect 3′s multiplayer mode is continuing next week with its first genuine content update. The ME3 “Resurgence Pack” is free, thank goodness. Here’s what’s in it.
Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut free DLC to expand ending this summer
Bioware announce that they’ll be releasing an extended cut of Mass Effect 3 that will expand upon its controversial ending with extra cinematics and epilogue scenes that aim to provide “more closure with even more context and clarity,” and deliver an ending that “will feel more personalized for each player”.
“Since launch, we have had time to listen to the feedback from our most passionate fans and we are responding. With the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut we think we have struck a good balance in delivering the answers players are looking for while maintaining the team’s artistic vision for the end of this story arc in the Mass Effect universe,” says Bioware co-founder, Ray Muzyka.
Star Wars: The Old Republic friend free trial invites expanded
It’s a common problem. I’ve invited three fellow sith into the friend invite free trial to help me devastate Republic forces, but there’s 22 more out there in the cold, gradually murdering each other for a chance to become one of the chosen three. In a move designed to quell this sort of murderous Sith infighting (entertaining though it is), Bioware have given everyone 25 friend invites, where previously, everyone only had three. As wise Chewbacca would say “WWWOOAAAARGH!”
Mass Effect 3 Operation Raptor multiplayer event kicks off this weekend
The last multiplayer event for Mass Effect 3 asked players to survive all Reaper waves on silver difficulty, kill as many Brutes as possible, and extract to safety. The prize was a victory box full of random goodies and a powerful N7 weapon. The second event, codenamed “RAPTOR,” kicks off this weekend. Sadly, it does not involve dinosaurs.
I hate Kaidan Alenko, but that’s okay
Saren tried to wipe out the galaxy. The geth shot more lasers and rockets at me than I could count. They weren’t that bad, really. But Kaidan? That guy’s the worst.
Let me explain. It’s not like Kaidan was a bad squadmate. He could be the most nuanced character in the entire Mass Effect universe, for all I know. The guy seemed fine, really. Until he opened his mouth.
What do game writers and designers think about BioWare changing the Mass Effect 3 ending?
To address some fans’ feedback about the game’s ending, BioWare has said it’s working on “a number of game content initiatives” for Mass Effect 3 in addition to existing DLC plans. The possibility of BioWare modifying the game’s ending has stirred a conversation on Twitter, message boards, development blogs, and elsewhere: would changing a game’s final moments based on feedback set a bad precedent for video games’ creative integrity? Or is it actually a way of taking advantage of the unique ease with which games can be edited?
One voice I wanted to include in this dialogue was that of BioWare’s fellow writers and designers throughout the industry. To find out what they thought, I talked to Chris Avellone, Gary Whitta, Greg Kasavin, Jesse Schell, Chuck Jordan, Paul Taylor, Steve Gaynor, Susan O’Connor, and Bobby Stein. They’ve worked on Fallout: New Vegas, Bastion, Far Cry 2, Frozen Synapse, BioShock, BioShock 2, and other games. I’ve presented their opinions here, which are only edited for clarity.
Looking to improve your ending? Check out our in-depth guide to Mass Effect 3′s War Assets and Readiness before reloading your save.
PC Gamer US Podcast #310 – Mass Effect 3 Spoilers
WARNING: That is not a cute or clever title! We delve deep into Mass Effect 3’s ending controversy as an act of charitable therapy. Better still, joining us to stick up for the storyteller is none other than Gary Whitta, former PCG Editor-in-Chief and current big shot screenwriter! Seriously, if you have not finished Mass Effect 3, put this episode on the backburner until you do. We won’t tell you again… okay, one more time. CAUTION: SPOILERS!
Star Wars: The Old Republic free trial kicks off today for new players
A free trial for Star Wars: The Old Republic ran last week, but not everyone got a chance to play. On the Bioware blog, the devs announce that they’re kicking off another free trial weekend today for those who weren’t involved in the last one. It’s set to run until Monday at 2:00 am CDT / 7:00 am GMT and you can sign up now on the Star Wars: The Old Republic site.
Mass Effect 3 devs working on “game content initiatives” to clarify ending
Bioware co-founder Dr. Ray Muzyka has released an open letter to fans expressing Bioware’s feelings towards the recent controversy over Mass Effect 3′s ending. “it’s incredibly painful to receive feedback from our core fans that the game’s endings were not up to their expectations,” he says. “The team and I have been thinking hard about how to best address the comments on ME3’s endings from players, while still maintaining the artistic integrity of the game.”
He says that Casey Hudson and the Mass Effect 3 team are working on “a number of game content initiatives” designed to provide “more clarity for those seeking further closure to their journey.” More will be revealed next month, he says. Before you read on, note that while this post contains no spoilers, there might be a few in the comments.
