Couch Lounger

Earth is under attack in Mass Effect 3.   Check it out.  I am very excited for this one.

For those of you like me who are eagerly anticipating the release of Fallout: New Vegas, tomorrow is the big day!  For those of you are unfamilair with the franchise, Fallout is a grim depiction of the a post-apocalyptic future – as it was envisioned in the 1950s.  Fallout 3 stands as one of my favourite games made yet, and for those who have not tried and are curious, this piece of software is highly recommended.  And yes, this image is just Death Valley, not a nuclear blast, but hey – it looks convincing, doesn’t it?

I feel like it is long past time I said a few words about the Xbox 360′s Mass Effect 2.  Mass Effect 2 is Bioware’d space RPG that continues the story of Command Shepherd in his battle against a great threat to humanity.  I am leaving plot references vague, in order to to avoid spoilers, but be warned regardless.   Long story short: It was a good game with a lot of great things to say about it, but I was still disappointed.

The teaser trailer for Fallout: New Vegas is out.  See for yourself.  The trailer looks intersting – Vegas appears like a diamond in the rough… a futuristic city of lights in the otherwise post-apocalyptic environment.  The Capital Wasteland (Fallout 3) by comparison was the ruined remnants of Washington DC and didn’t have much live within it – except the angry super mutant kind.  Good music choice, too.

I’ve decided to wait until I’m deeper into Mass Effect 2 to comment on it – but my early impressions are very good, I’m enjoying my playthrough.  Today I am going to talk instead about another recent Bioware game – Dragon Age: Origins.  This came came out near the end of 2009 as a multiplatform title.  My opinions on it are based on the 360 version.  I’ve heard that graphically the PS3 version looks sharper, but the 360 is less prone to glitches and runs at a faster framerate.

Dragon Age: Origins is a fantasy RPG, in which players are tasked with destroying a horde of Darkspawn and defeat the Archdemon about to overwhelm the Kingdom of Ferelden.

UPDATE: In a followup post on Penny Arcade, this was revealed to be based on a test build and is incorrect.  Mass Effect 2 DOES NOT allow you to edit these past actions.

Penny Arcade’s Tycho spoke with Bioware’s Chris Priestly on the subject of Mass Effect 2 recently.  Mr. Priestly confirmed that players who no longer have their Mass Effect save file need not fear.  When you create a new character, Mass Effect 2 will let you select a variety of options that you were able to affect when playing the first one (space bugs, anyone?)  so as to recreate the universe that your role play had created.  I think this is a great idea.

If you came of age online before year 2000, you probably remember MUDs – those text-based multiplayer games that were the precursor to EverQuest and World of Warcraft. Even remembering those old games is enough to put a date stamp on you if you’re old enough to have played them during their heydey. Without any shame for our advancing age, this is a nostalgic look back at those traits possessed by gamers when the only images their digital worlds had were those conjured in the imaginations of the players.

Mass Effect 2 is being well received.  IGN gave it a 9.6 / 10.  As of when I looked this evening, Gamerankings.com had given a 98.33% score, based on compilation of 3 reviews.  This is one of the games I’ve been waiting for for some time and is on my list of top 2010 games.  Mass Effect was a game that completely took me in.  I enjoyed every minute of that game and am eagerly anticipating the sequel which comes out next Tuesday in North America.