Blitzkrieg Gaming

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Mass Effect 3 delayed until 2012

Yes you heard it right EA announced not so long ago that Mass Effect 3 will be delayed from it's original release date which was set in holiday season in the US to the first three months of 2012. Now I am a hardcore Mass Effect fan as most of you should know by now but as I am alittle disappointed it is not the end of the world for me, infact I think this is a good thing! Look at Dragon Age 2, it seemed rushed. The dungeons were mostly recycled and the story seemed to be rather bland and for that I was disappointed with Bioware for putting the pressure on getting it out of the development studio. Atleast With Mass Effect 3 we can look forward to 4 months more they put into the production of this game to allow for a better game when it is released.

So I am still looking forward too it and hey worst case scenario we wait until March 2012 to play it.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

New details on Mass Effect 3 revealed

Some new details on the upcoming conclusion to this console generations most beloved franchises Mass Effect 3. Game Informer recently sat down and watched a demo with executive producer Casey Hudson in the Bioware studios in Edmonton, Alberta and this is what was revealed.

The Story: Mass Effect 3 will start off just after Mass effect 2's final expansion "Arrival" and will open with Shepard explaining the events that transpired during his mission that left an entire system destroyed. During which time the invasion we have all been waiting for will begin where as in the first Mass Effect it took an entire fleet to bring down Sovreign now hundreds of the massive starships are coming to destroy all sentient life in the galaxy and the start with Earth. From what is revealed Shepard will witness from his ship the first attack on Earth hitting every major city across the globe in a single well coordinated attack, the massive fleet is far beyond anything the military can handle and Earth is ultimately lost so the true story begins when Shepard must figure out a way to not bring a team together like in the first two games but bring an entire galaxy together to fight this threat.

The plan: As the Reapers destroy planet after planet in their campaign to wipe out life in the galaxy Shepard must venture to the homeworlds of several cultures and attempt to get them to support him in this war, however this in itself brings out problems that are not simply menial tasks such as get us this object and we will help you; no Mass Effect 3 offers conflicts that have been well drawn out and have stretched through the games and novels such as for example going to the Salarian homeworld to try and gain support but at the same time they are having issues with the Krogan who are in a warring conflict with them on an account of the genophage. It is promised that the decisions you make will not always be easy ones as there is always 2 sides to every story and whichever decision you make some may be able to expertly be talked or fought through however some may end in the inevitable loss of an ally or the destruction of a civilization before the Reapers even get the chance to start anything.

The battlefield: Mass Effect 3 will also be changing up the fighting system alittle but it will be most known to those familiar with Mass Effect 2's fighting style as it very much remains the same, the only differences will be more fluent actions such as having the ability to roll, jump gaps, climb ladders and small obstacles without first having to hide behind cover to vault over it. The cover peeking system has also been changed slightly to give it a more "realistic" feel. These seem like good changes however Bioware has looked at the criticism of ME fans and has heard the pleas of those loyal to the first game and are stepping it up once more, even with all these changes to the combat making it feel like a more third person shooter they are also concentrating heavily on more story, more quests and more customization. If you remember Mass Effect 1 the games was all about numbers before the actual skill of the player but now instead of the clunky inventory system and tons of upgrades to go with the gun or armor you now have a more in depth customization of both armor and guns. You will be able to customize your weapons how you see fit such as for example mounting a bayonet on the end of your assault rifle or put a scope on or a larger clip and it will all show cosmetically not just in the numbers. The same goes for your armor such as shop and research upgrades that will show cosmetically aswell. On another note all weapons will be available to all classes which is good but how a class such as Soldier will be set apart from a class like Adept the Soldier will be able to carry every weapon at once and have unique abilities whereas the Adept would be able to choose only 2 or 3 to take at a time but rely on there biotic powers more than anything else.

This is the end: The sad news is that will excite people aswell as disappoint them is that as this is the third and final chapter to Shepards story this will ultimately be the end of one of gamings favorite hero's perhaps in death or perhaps he might live you will just have to play to find out weather he lives or dies however it will cement him in Mass Effect lore forever. This does not mean Mass Effect will end though! Casey Hudson in past interviews has announced that there will be alternate stories in future games and bringing Mass Effect out of video games and into other medias such as movies for example which is rumored to have the Mass Effect movie already underway. During the interview with Game Informer however Casey Hudson however not green lighting the Mass Effect MMO he did hint towards it "Making sense as Shepard is saving the galaxy so you can live in it peacefully - why not actually do just that?"... Who knows, perhaps we will see an MMO in the future after the release of Star War: KOTOR.

In conclusion I personally am looking forward to this game as I am a beloved fan of the series and cannot wait to see how this all ends with my favorite hero. On a side note I want to thank Game Informer and Casey Hudson for everything in regards to information about the final game of the trilogy.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Battlefield 3 aims to take on Call of Duty.

It seems Dice's new game Battlefield 3 is looking to go head to head against the gaming industries top selling franchise Call of Duty, today at the Ad Age Digital Conference in New York City EA's CEO John Riccitiello announced that Battlefield is looking to take on Call of Duty in a skirmish and we can expect a large advertising campaign for both games. There is estimated to be several hundred million dollars to be put towards the advertising that is to come.

Battlefield 3 is looking to raise the bar this time around with the new Dice Engine 2 which has some of the most jaw dropping graphics I have ever seen. At the same time somehow bringing in more realistic and frequent collateral damage than that seen in Bad Company 1 and 2! I have some high hopes for these games and look forward to seeing which one comes out on top but as awesome as their new engine is Dice has much to aspire too.

Check out the Gameplay footage released by Dice showing off the new engine - note this is played on PC so the graphics are something to be in awe about however I don't speculate them looking this beautiful if you are a console gamer.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Check out this Skyrim Parody!

If you are a fan of Skyrim or any fantasy game really or can even relate to getting way too overly excited for a game then you will laugh your ass off when you see this.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Final Mass Effect 2 DLC to be released March 29th 2011

Bioware and EA announced not long ago that the final piece of Mass Effect 2 DLC is to be released on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on March 29th. The expansion is to be called Arrival and from what I have heard it is a bridging DLC for it's upcoming sequel. It will have Shepard traveling to the edges of the Galaxy as an undercover operative seems to have information regarding an upcoming Reaper invasion. As a fan favorite Bioware has added in more from our favorite voice on the Normandy; Admiral Hackett. This looks to be a fantastic bow out for the second game and I greatly look forward too it and if you know me you know I am a huge Mass Effect fanboy so with my nerd anticipation rising I look forward to the day I get to play it!

Microsoft's future of PC gaming is looking dark

An internal presentation video was released earlier this week that was made by their WGX team (Windows Gaming Experience) team that will be handling the gaming divisions across all Microsoft platforms. they released a presentation on Youtube which showed us what Microsoft has in the works for the future of PC gaming not in PC games like Crysis or Dragon Age that we would know but from the looks of it they are looking at the more "casual" games that people play like for example Facebook games. It appears micro-transactions are going to be one of their main focuses as Microsoft is trying to get a piece of the pie when it comes to the casual gaming experience what with over 250 million people on Facebook and 1/3 of them are playing these casual games it is understandable that they want to get in on this... But where will this lead too in terms of the true gamers out there? My guess is they will continue with what they are doing and this will simply be an investment into something instead of a complete turn around, only time will tell though.