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RECENT MASS EFFECT 2 NEWS

6  Top Ten RPGs Of This Generation... So Far Sat, Aug 28th, 2010, 12:46 pm (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS This console generation has seen a remarkable shift in what it means to be a role-playing game. Elements that have traditionally been exclusive to RPGs - such as leveling/upgrading characters and equipment, branching, non-linear plots, and collectible items - have begun to be incorporated in numerous other genres, blurring the lines between them. However, the core RPG genre remains intact, featuring a wide variety of the best Western and Eastern game designers have to offer. This is Gaming Union's top ten RPGs of this console generation (roughly 2005 to present), in alphabetical order. More »

	0  New Mass Effect 2 DLC Dated, Titled Lair Of The Shadow Broker Tue, Aug 24th, 2010, 5:02 am (EST) BY DARRYL BioWare have announced that the next DLC pack for Mass Effect 2 will be called The Lair of the Shadow Broker. It will see the return of Liara T'Soni, a core character from the original Mass Effect. More »

4  Top Ten Development Studios Right Now Thu, Aug 19th, 2010, 10:43 pm (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS Games have always been behind other creative mediums - such as film, music, and literature - when it comes to making consumption choices based on the team behind a product, as opposed to its franchise tag or brand. That being said, the "hardcore", enthusiast crowd has always had a deep appreciation and sense of loyalty toward the select group of studios that continually produce quality. Thankfully, that trend is slowly beginning to penetrate mainstream gaming. With that in mind, we decided to compile a list of the top development studios at the present moment - studios that generate a great deal of anticipation behind their endeavors, and are an influential force in the industry. This list is specifically directed towards individual teams, not publishers (i.e. Nintendo) or multiple teams that produce games under a common label (i.e. Ubisoft Montreal). More »

6  Mass Effect 2 Announced For PS3 Tue, Aug 17th, 2010, 2:20 pm (EST) BY COLIN EA's just dropped a rather large bomb, a good bomb, a bomb that explodes into a vast array of colourful confetti and joy, at least for PlayStation users around the world! That's right, EA's just announced Mass Effect 2 for the PlayStation 3 and it'll be out January 2011. More »

2  New Dragon Age DLC Announced Thu, Jul 29th, 2010, 11:02 am (EST) BY ADAM MA It's always nice to see a game get some support after release, but the amount of content that's been added to Dragon Age: Origins would almost constitute its own expansion at this point. Either way, Bioware has recently announced The Golems of Amgarrak, DLC with rewards for characters from either the first Dragon Age, or Awakening. More »

4  Top Five Most Intense Moments of 2010... So Far Tue, Jul 27th, 2010, 11:17 pm (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS 2010 has been a fantastic year for gamers. It's not often we are able to compile a solid list of 'Game of the Year' contenders only half way through the calender year. Mass Effect 2, Heavy Rain, God of War III, Final Fantasy XIII, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Alan Wake, Red Dead Redemption, and more are all high quality experiences that would normally be reserved for the holiday season. With that in mind, we decided to examine some of the most intense moments so far this year. Intense could be anything from terrifying to awe inspiring, anything that really got our blood pumping. It should go without saying that if you haven't played these games yet and want to avoid spoilers, stop reading after each headline. The following is the top five most intense moments of 2010... so far. More »

3  The Best Games Of 2010... So Far Fri, Jul 9th, 2010, 9:14 pm (EST) BY ADAM MA I'll cut straight to the chase on this one, 2010 has had some phenomenal games. Most years start out a little slow and then wind up into a big bang, but honestly it's hard to imagine anything better around the corner aside from a few releases here or there. So before we get all wrapped up in Halo: Reach, or severely addicted to the latest MMO, let's take this time to reflect upon the phenomenal games that the first half of 2010 have brought to us. More »

1  E3 2010 Preview: Electronic Arts Fri, Jun 11th, 2010, 1:49 pm (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS As E3 draws closer, Gaming Union continues our feature series of publisher previews before the big show. This time around it's Electronic Arts under the spotlight. The publisher has released a fairly detailed list of the game lineup for this year's conference, but there will definitely be a handful of surprises as well. We already know blockbuster titles such as Bulletstorm, Crysis 2, Dead Space 2, Medal of Honor, and the staples of EA Sports will all be there. The question remains, what is EA still hiding up its sleeve? Mirror's Edge 2? Battlefield 3? A new Burnout? Mass Effect 3? EA's lineup of non-sports certainly looks impressive this year. Personally, Dead Space 2 is one of my most anticipated E3 titles to see in some form next week. A playable demo would be spectacular - finally getting to hear Isaac talk, although, I'm not sure he needs to as the original did fine without it. Crysis 2 is another title that could have a very big showing. The original Crysis was the benchmark of PC graphical prowess, but now Crytek have decided to bring the sequel to consoles. Reports have been mixed as to the quality of the graphics on consoles, but ultimately it's the gameplay that will make or break this game. More »

1  Mass Effect 2 Overlord DLC Coming June 15 Thu, Jun 10th, 2010, 6:00 pm (EST) BY JAMIE COURTS It's been revealed via Major Nelson's post of upcoming titles that "The Overlord", the upcoming DLC pack for Mass Effect 2, will become available for download on Xbox live starting on June 15. This means players can start on the new side mission for commander Shepard as early as next week. More »

0  Mass Effect 2 DLC To Bridge Story To Mass Effect 3 Thu, May 20th, 2010, 2:23 pm (EST) BY JAMIE COURTS Those who have played the Mass Effect series are probably familiar with how it ties together the story from save files in the last title played. Today BioWare Lead Producer, Casey Hudson, has said that Mass Effect 2 will be bridged with downloadable content leading into the story of Mass Effect 3. More »

0  Alan Wake Including Free Add-On For New Copies Only Thu, Apr 29th, 2010, 3:55 pm (EST) BY JAMIE COURTS It seems that Alan Wake, Microsoft's new spooky adventure game, will be following in the footsteps of EA in an attempt to stop up used game sales a little more. With games like Bad Company 2 and Mass Effect 2 having a new game VIP code for free content, Alan Wake will also be including a code in its new copies of the game that are also one time use only. More »

0  Reviews Round-Up (Splinter Cell: Conviction, Samurai Shodown And More) Sun, Apr 18th, 2010, 11:51am (EST) BY COLIN It's Sunday people! Which means it's time for Gaming Union's weekly Reviews Round-up! Last week saw some interesting titles like Cho Aniki Zero for the PSP, Relativity for Xbox Live Indie and the DLC pack for Mass Effect 2, Kasumi: Stolen Memory. More »

0  Reviews Round-Up (Mass Effect, Cho Aniki, Relativity) Sun, Apr 11th, 2010, 9:48 pm (EST) BY COLIN The past week has been a relatively mundane one regarding game releases since most of the big boys are expected in the coming week or by the end of the month. Splinter Cell: Conviction, Super Street Fighter IV and Monster Hunter Tri, anyone? More »

0  Mass Effect 2: Kasumi - Stolen Memory Review Fri, Apr 9th, 2010, 11:51 am (EST) BY DARRYL Mass Effect 2's first piece of DLC, The Price of Revenge, was a little on the short side. Zaeed himself wasn't a very talkative man, and the mission didn't really offer anything memorable aside from being able to get the flamethrower and witness a pretty hilarious ending, depending on what choices were made. It seems as though BioWare may have been taken on board the criticism though, as Kasumi Goto, the character introduced in this piece of downloadable content is a much more lively, and likeable individual. More »

2  Where's The Discovery Gone In RPGs? Mon, Mar 29th, 2010, 11:27 am (EST) BY ADAM MA There was a time when the only information that you could get about an upcoming game was in magazines. You would subscribe to your favourite one (perhaps more) knowing that each issue would give you a taste of what was to come, maybe you'd even dare to hope that your favourite upcoming title would be covered next. However, the world we live in today is quite different. The internet has created a new information craze, one in which people demand to be the most informed about their respective subjects at all points in time. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it is a form of murder to one particular type of game: the RPG. More »

0  Mass Effect 3 Development Has Begun Thu, Mar 25th, 2010, 2:37 pm (EST) BY KYLE WYNEN Twitter has quickly become the source of all kinds of gaming news, and today it can boast the confirmation that development of Mass Effect 3 is now underway at BioWare. Christina Norman, a developer at Bioware, posted a vague, perhaps teasing message, saying, "ME3 Trivia: Today I started work on 'Project Wombat' for Mass Effect 3." The message essentially confirms the game is in development, consider she's More »

0  BioWare: Expect More DLC For Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age Fri, Mar 12th, 2010, 8:42 am (EST) BY DARRYL According to BioWare chief Ray Muzyka, gamers should be expecting more DLC for both Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins. The reason? Because they loved what's been done so far. Speaking to VG247 at GDC, Muzkya said "We are seeing a good response to the DLC for ME2 and Dragon Age. he fans like it and we have more in development and the different teams for DLC and the franchise are working together moving back and forth. More »

0  February NPDs: 360 And PS3 Strong, Wii Down Thu, Mar 11th, 2010, 10:26 pm (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS The NPD Group has released the February 2010 sales numbers for the United States. The Xbox 360 has come out on top in hardware sales with 422K sold, while Bioshock 2 took the software crown with 563K. Below are the hardware and software numbers. More »

4  How Heavy Rain Succeeds Where Mass Effect 2 Failed Fri, Feb 26th, 2010, 7:29 pm (EST) BY ADAM MA Mass Effect 2 was a game about choices. Yes, it did have aliens, a plot to shake the universe on its very foundation, sex sequences, and an epic soundtrack to tie it all together. But ultimately Mass Effect 2 completely hinged itself on the decisions commander Shepard made. The alliances you chose, the romances you engage in, and even your save file from the last game all played a role in shaping the storyline that unfolded till the very end. However, while Mass Effect 2 did keep many of its promises there was one really powerful storytelling element that was all but absent from the gameplay. Something that Playstation 3's exclusive Heavy Rain has in spades. Giving decisions to a player and then telling them that they will experience the full weight and consequences of their actions is a hefty promise to make. For a consequence to be experienced, the player needs to genuinely care about the characters. Mass Effect 2 never really gave me the chance to love my team. Sure I collected them, met them, learned about their hobbies and sexual preferences. In some ways I became attached, more for their combat usefulness than anything else though. The most interesting characters are received late in the game (Thane and Legion) and they aren't covered nearly enough, while the useless predictable eye candy hovered about for no particular reason at all (Miranda and Jacob). You learn about them through forced conversation that only sometimes seem to flow, and it's only through the game's cutscenes that characters really seem alive. More »

0  Aliens vs Predator Topples BioShock 2 In UK Charts Mon, Feb 22nd, 2010, 8:37 am (EST) BY DARRYL Aliens vs Predator launched last week and it has shot straight to the top position in the UK charts, ousting BioShock 2 after just one week. Not only that, but BioShock 2 actually dropped down to the third position as Just Dance held firm. More »