Bioware

Amazon.com is having a deal today on Mass Effect 2 for both PC and Xbox 360.  So in case you were waiting for the game to go down in price or you rented it and want more after your rent was up, here's your chance to snag this amazing game.

The galaxy needs your help once again and it's up to you, Commander Shepard, to save it. With huge improvements and a great new story, Mass Effect 2 is already a contender for game of the year.

New armor and a shotgun are available for your Shepard tomorrow to anyone who's registered with the Cerberus Network.  There's not a lot to it, but can you really complain when it's free?  Hit the jump for the specs and details.

One of the first RPGs I ever played was Chrono Trigger. Oh sure, I had played Dragon Warrior when I was but a wee zygote and I'm pretty sure I hit Earthbound on the SNES first, but I was still damn green when it came to RPGs. I know this because after some moaning to my friend about the difficulty of saving in Chrono Trigger, he informed me that I could actually save anywhere on the world map instead of saving only once in a blue moon at the game's very uncommon save points. I give my old friend endless credit for gently informing me of an RPG trope that is only slightly less common than magic swords. Had he chosen to mock me instead, he might have spontaneously invented the modern usage of the word noob in 1995.

Despite such early stumbles, RPGs very quickly became my genre of choice. Needless to say, I had made a terrible decision  that would cost me dearly in time, money, and general social standing for years to come. At least I had friends leveling up along the road to hell with me! Squaresoft was setting the world on fire back then as far as our little gang was concerned, and the feedback loop of our enthusiasm kept us all going and made “gamers” out of the lot of us. As for myself, I would eventually develop an obsession that not even some of my fellow gamers understood.

Damn pirates are at it again, but who's really surprised?  Earlier this week, Mass Effect 2 was posted up on torrent websites all across the internet.  Seems that someone from Walmart snagged copies of the game the second they came into the store and posted them on the internet.  That's my understanding this time around. Hit the jump to continue reading.

For some odd reason, Mass Effect 2 was listed under "Coming Soon" on Steam, but no one was able to make a purchase.  Didn't they want my money?  That's all changed now.  You can now place your pre-orders for this highly anticipated sequel.

They've already got my money and my save game is ready to go!  So check out the Steam store website or open up Steam already and give your money to Bioware. They certainly deserve it.

2009 was a strange year. There weren't that many big named titles that grabbed me. I had a blast with a lot of smaller games, a lot of mods, and the occasional return to games of yesteryear. Normally my favorite games fall into the MMORPG category or the extremely popular FPS of the year. Strangely however, neither of the two really made my top three of 2009. As much of a multiplayer person that I am, none of the games I selected are multiplayer. Thanks to some sweet Steam deals as well as on-time releases and updates, I’ve kept a decent record of new games coming around. 2009 delivered some awesome games, but along with success often comes failure. I’ve experienced both sides of the coin and have to admit that the good definitely outweighs the bad for me. With that, here are the three that stood out the most in my eyes.

                I've been putting off this review for awhile now.  I don't know what to make out of Dragon Age: Origins.  Bioware is one of the masters of RPGs, and what I can't figure out is whether or not this new IP is their greatest accomplishment or a terrible bane on the genre?  Unlike Dragon Age: Origins, this review is going to be very short.  I don't plan on answering that question.  I plan on looking at Dragon Age: Origins for what it is, and what it's accomplished to me.

As promised, today I've started a new character.  It wasn't as enthralling as I thought it would be.  I'm finding out that the basic outline of all the stories starts off with "challenge to prove your skill -> Overcome -> challenge to prove your character -> Overcome -> Now you're a Grey Warden".  It's necessary to move the story along, and afterwards you can continue to go wherever you want to continue down the story or do basically anything you want within the games constraints.  However, doing those 4 - 5 main story quests before/during the battle are just a snooze fest.  Thankfully though, I was intrigued by the mage class.  So hit the jump and find out more.

Weekend sale, Mass Effect, 50% off standard price.  I suppose I should talk about the game a little. Mass Effect is your standard third person RPG blah bla- MASS EFFECT HOLY CRAP!  Hit the jump to find out just how amazing of a deal this is.