Mass Effect 3 Countdown

Less than a week before the release of Mass Effect 3. There is a lot of anticipation for this game, I hope it doesn't disappoint.

Good things are being said so far. Here are two reviews/previews so far.

SEVER SPOILERS WARNING

Summary of a German Magazine Review
PC Gamer Preview for Mass Effect 3

Update: 

Mass Effect 3 Preview from Gaming Nexus - Minimal spoilers in this one, but it does list the planets you will be visiting.

Another update: Launch Trailer just released

Good PC Game Reviews - Out Of Eight

Whenever I read video game reviews on the big gaming sites, I never know if I should trust them. The video game review industry is rife with examples of the big game sites writing reviews the benefit their big advertisers, and not their customers. 

If you are looking for a site with good game reviews, I recommend Out Of Eight.


He has been posting reviews since 2005 and he has no ads on his site. I read a few reviews of some games that I have, and he is spot on. Also, he appears to have much of the same taste in games as I do.


So check him out.

Session Report - BSG Pegasus - Despair and Executions in Deep Space

This 7 player game was played on 25 February 2012. We used New Caprica and Pegasus, with one Cylon Leader and no sympathizer.

In turn order

Admiral Adama (Admiral)– Fiona

Caprica Six – Matt

Tom Zarek (President) – Me

Saul Tigh – Glenn

Chief Tyrol – Garrett (BSG Virgin)

Apollo – Will

Helo – Jonroy

Choices for characters were a bit questionable. We had 3 military leaders with only one of each other type. Adama offered to switch to a pilot. She chose first, so she should be the last person to have to change. We let it go. The humans may regret it.

I am not a Cylon

Adama plays first. With Cylon ships on the board, Adama elects to go to the research lab to draw cards. I immediately suspect him of being a Cylon. His crisis is Build Cylon Detector and Adama decides to give up a nuke. Neither choice is good, but as this is not Exodus, there is no opportunity to get back nukes, so this may be another indicator of Cylonhood. Not a good start. Caprica Six is next, and I am quite curious to see what she will do. Knowing the player, I figure Six will indicate if she is for us or against us right off the bat. If she tries to infiltrate and claims she is for the humans, she is either has human win conditions or is sneaky. If she stays with the Cylon fleet, she is likely against the humans. She stays with the Cylon fleet and draws a crisis card, Food Shortage. I choose to lose 1 food and skill cards.

Mass Effect 3 Updates and Demo

I promised myself that I would not download the demo for Mass Effect 3. I am anticipating a great ending to the series and did not want to spoil the story. I lasted about 8 hours.

This post will give you some information about the demo and updates about Mass Effect 3. No spoilers will be in this post, but links to information off of this blog may contain spoilers. I will warn you in the link so you can decide if you want that information.

Firstly, the demo: it contains two levels of the game.The first level is very basic, teaching you some of the controls (but by no means all of them). If you watched the Fall of Earth trailer, the first level of the demo will not provide significant spoilers. There are a few character revels, but this info has been previously released through the Voice Cast Revel video. If you are really jonesing for a fix of Mass Effect, playing this level will not ruin the game.

Why the Star Wars Prequel Movies Suck

I always knew that the Star Wars prequel movies sucked, especially the first one.

It took Red Letter Media to show me just how bad they really are. Plinkett is a genius and funny. 

If you thought the prequels sucked, but have trouble articulating their suckiness, these videos will help. And give you a good laugh.

If you want a pizza roll leave your name in the comments and I'll mail you one.

Session Report - BSG Exodus Expansion - Fate Favours the Cylons

This game was played on Saturday, 4 February 2012. This was our first game using the Exodus Expansion. We used all the Pegasus rules except New Caprica, and used the Exodus final five cards (no personal goals) and the Cylon Basestar board (no Ionian Nebula). Six players were present, most having experience with the game. 

Cally - Matt

Dee- Mike

Boomer - Charles (BSG Virgin)

Baltar - Nate

Starbuck - Brandon

Gaeta - Me

I am not a Cylon.

We are pretty keen to give Exodus a try. Most of us have about 10 plays of BSG but it has been off our game radar for a few session (due to fatigue). We stick with only a few rules from Exodus for our first game.

Nate is Baltar (again) and I inwardly groan. He has never been a Cylon in any game he has played (statistically unlikely for a guy who plays Baltar a lot) but he tends to make wild, unfounded accusations, making me think he is a Cylon trying to sow paranoia. It can be dangerous for him to be president. However, the games are always interesting.

XCOM Updates

The first person shooter version of XCOM has been delayed until 2013, while the strategy version will be released thrumoured to be due to the fact that moreis year.

Unlike some of the purists out there, I have no problem with the shooter version of XCOM. It is what it is, and combining a shooter with between mission elements such as leveling up characters, building new weapons and picking your next mission could make for a good game. And is does look good.

However, having a turn based version cannot hurt and I am looking forward to that. Not sure why they would delay the FPS version. Each is being made by a different company, so it is not due to moving resources from one game to another. It may be due to the outcry from the purists and some in the media on the FPS version.

XCOM Turn Based Game Information 

Hooked Gamers.


Three Part Series from Rock, Paper, Shotgun: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3


XCOM FPS on IGN

Mass Effect 3 Updates

It is one month until the release of Mass Effect 3. It is still on track for its March 6th release date, and there should be no changes to the date as it is rumoured that Mass Effect 3 was slated for a Christmas 2011 release, but it was delayed due to the release of that other Bioware game, Star Wars: The Old Republic.

A demo, which is rumoured to include the first level/mission, is set for release on 14 February.

This article talks about the first 90 minutes of the game. It sounds as if the writer was able to play the demo. Warning: Spoiler Alert. She gives away some interesting bits of storyline.

Here is a video interview with some of the voice cast of Mass Effect 3. No spoilers (unless knowing who the cast is is a spoiler.) I have yet to see one of these which includes the guy who voices the male Shepard. Is he really ugly or something?

Some video of the multiplayer portion of ME3.

What is in the future for Mass Effect? Bioware suggests it might be a good idea to keep your saved games.

Update: Anyone who downloads and runs the demo of Kingdoms of  Amalur: Reckoning, will receive a set of armour for Mass Effect 3. If you finish the demo, you will also get a weapon (I cannot confirm this, as I have not finished the demo). This is for the XBox 360 version, I am not sure about the PC and PS3.

More Info on the Next XBox

As we get closer to the next generation of consoles, rumours get more accurate and interesting. Here is the latest info on the next XBox.