mass effect 2 is a huge hit

Not that that was unlikely to be the case or anything! EA and Bioware's latest Xbox 360 exclusive title, the follow-up to its 2007 space-based shooter RPG Mass Effect, is posting great sales numbers in its first week on shelves, especially compared to the first title's release sales numbers. Mass Effect 2 has topped the UK sales charts for this past week, beating MAG, CoD Modern Warfare 2 and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Fans of the original Mass Effect game get the added bonus that the sequel lets you carry a completed game file over from the first game, giving the player access to their well-developed Commander Shepard character from the original story. IGN gave Mass Effect 2 a 9.6 "Incredible" and it currently has a metascore of 96 and a user score of 9.0 at Metacritic. If you are a fan of the RPG genre and never played Mass Effect, you can pick it up used for... Wow, I was going to say like $18 but apparently the used price has jumped again, surely based on the success of the sequel. Well, $23 is not a bad price to pay for the original if you've never played it I suppose. Anyway, Mass Effect 2 seems good enough that playing through the first before taking it on will be worth it. Anyone playing it and loving it yet? I know my boyfriend is itching to pick up a copy but is practicing discipline and playing through the first one again before starting the sequel.

UK Video Game Chart: Mass Effect 2 the new No. 1

dragon age: origins

The boyfriend just finished his first playthrough of Dragon Age: Origins, the latest party-based RPG from developer Bioware, and it was a pretty epic game. This fantasy RPG is a pretty awesome, full game that certainly is reminiscent of Bioware's Star Wars RPG Knights of the Old Republic, and this first playthrough at least took over 70 hours. Considering there are six different character class origins to start with, each with a unique storyline, I think this speaks highly for the replay value of this game. If you liked KOTOR or Mass Effect in recent years, Dragon Age: Origins may be up your alley. The combat is pretty typical if you've played Bioware games before. The characters are very cool and despite the game's similarities to Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, they are more deeply developed and offer more of an emotional distinction from character to character. One big issue I have to take with this game is its graphics and presentation. While it runs smoothly, it looks like crap and seems like not much of an engine upgrade from KOTOR - I would believe it if I read that it was the same game engine at work here. Considering the leaps and bounds taken by other current-generation games with regards to animation, this game seriously disappoints in that realm. Luckily it is pretty much the only area in which this game suffers, so as long as you are not too much of a graphics snob (and are planning on playing it on an Xbox 360 - can't speak for how much worse it might look on a PS3) you will most likely still get some serious enjoyment out of this game. Looking forward to experiencing different characters and plot elements in the second (and other future) playthroughs!

demon's souls on ps3

We are very excited for Uncharted 2 which debuts next week, but until then our latest PS3 acquisition has been getting a lot of play: Sony exclusive title Demon's Souls. An RPG with as much customization as you could ask for, Demon's Souls is a dark fantasy-themed game involving a land corrupted by demons and beasts that you of course need to save. The graphics are very nice to look at and the online integration is cool and innovative. You can leave notes along the way that others connected to the Playstation Network can view and rate as helpful or not. If the note is found to be unhelpful it disappears, but if your note gets voted as helpful then you even get a health bonus in your own game! Cool stuff. There is a lot to look forward to on the newly-cheaper PS3 and Demon's Souls is definitely one to try if you like RPGs with a lot of good fighting in them. Most reviews I've read have been very positive, like this one from PSXextreme that goes into quite a lot of detail. IGN even gave it a 9.4 "Outstanding"!

spore galactic adventures falls short

I have yet to pick up the Spore expansion Galactic Adventures for the PC and I'm beginning to think I probably am not going to. I enjoyed playing Spore for awhile and felt that it could surely use some new gameplay infusion that could come from a successful first EP for this franchise. Sadly, it sounds like Galactic Adventures is really best taken as a toolset of level design and game content creation, while its actual gameplay leaves much to be desired. This reviewer even calls it a series of mildly amusing minigames, which is never a very good description of what could have been an adventure-RPG-style game with deep potential. Sounds like if you like the level creation aspect of the game it might be a worthwhile pickup but that its shortcomings elsewhere really bring it down:

Nothing is essentially wrong with charging good money for a virtual tool kit. Yet the environments in Galactic Adventures cannot sustain the basic suspension of disbelief required to care about any digital construct. Common logic suggests that when a wall, a building or some other “solid” stands between two creatures, you can’t just shoot or move through it. In Galactic Adventures you can. I found myself jumping into the middle of supposedly solid structures and then shooting through the walls at foes who couldn’t see me, not a few times but over and over.

Video Game Review: Role-Playing At Warp Speed In A Galaxy Darwin Never Imagined

final fantasy VII on the playstation network!

If you've always wanted to play Final Fantasy VII but aren't looking to spend collector's prices on a PSX copy, you're in luck: one of Sony's major E3 press conference announcements was the release of the game title for download onto its Playstation Network online community. Widely considered one of the best games ever (ever!), Final Fantasy VII was intended for the SNES originally, then for the N64, but was moved to the Playstation during development due to the lack of size on Nintendo's cartridges. Now you can download it for $10 on the PSN and play it on your PS3 or PSP. Enjoy!

now we've gone and done it

We rounded up some less-played games ($42 trade-in for Resident Evil 5, woohoo!) and traded them in towards our newest addition: a backwards-compatible 80GB Playstation 3! I'm pretty psyched to have rounded out the consoles in our house and opened up infinite new possibilities for gaming around our place. While the benefit of the Blu-Ray player is awesome and there are some PS3 games out there I've been wanting to try, I am mostly excited to have access once again to the wonderful game libraries of the PSX and the Playstation 2, two of the best consoles to ever have games developed for them. I have a long list of games I'm looking forward to trying and I also really want to check out the Shin Megami Tensai Persona series.

new fallout 3 dlc a bit broken

The latest and last installment of downloadable content for Fallout 3 on the PC apparently is riddled with issues upon its release this week. Fallout 3: Broken Steel, which among other additions ups the level cap from 20 to 30, has fatal errors that are evident upon installation. Developer Bethesda is aware of the problem and looking for a solution, and this isn't the first time Fallout DLC has had issues. I know this is the DLC that the boyfriend was waiting for for Fallout so it's a shame that it can't be played as of yet.

New Fallout 3 DLC Broken, Again

more handheld gaming in our household

The boyfriend made the plunge over the weekend and bought a used Madden blue PSP Slim and a bunch of games. He is thoroughly obsessed with Japanese RPGs and thus was thrilled to find good copies of Star Ocean: First Departure, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness and Tales of the World, plus a new copy of Star Ocean: Second Evolution. The graphics on the PSP really are pretty awesome and I'm excited to try out some games like Parappa the Rapper (LOVE on the PSX), Patapon and ultimately LittleBigPlanet! We now have five gaming platforms in our house. Rock on.

little king's story sounds pretty awesome

If you are a fan of RPGs and also a Wii player, you're in luck because the upcoming Wii title Little King's Story is getting fantastic reviews. Co-developed by Town Factory and Cing (who made my beloved Hotel Dusk and Trace Memory) and published by Marvelous Entertainment, Little King's Story is an RPG with a deep and completely explorable world full of side quests, collectibles and other unlockable goodness. Apparently the game may be the longest Wii adventure made thus far and promises much enjoyment in developing the world around you by battling and foraging for treasures. It's great to hear good things about this game, which has a June release date here in the US. Little King's Story sounds like one to check out this summer!

IGN AU - Little King's Story Review

new 360 elite bundle

Rumor has it that Microsoft has a new Xbox 360 Elite bundle on the way. Priced at its usual $399, this one comes with not one but two games, and both fairly desirable ones at that. The black console with a 120GB hard drive will be packaged with Halo 3 and Fable II, both Xbox 360 exclusives. If you've never owned a 360 before this is actually a pretty damn good deal, if you're the kind of gamer who needs the big hard drive. Personally I have yet to come close to filling up my 20GB but we don't download much stuff. Anyway, the black 360 is pretty cool looking and the games come close to a $100 value, so you're pretty much getting the black console and the extra 60 GB for the price of the regular Pro 60GB system. I still think Microsoft needs to come out with a rainbow spectrum of color options for 360 cases! That would definitely stand out against the black PS3 and the white Wii.

new fallout game

Looks like there is a new Fallout game in the works by Bethesda and Obsidian, makers of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II and Neverwinter Nights. The new title is called Fallout: New Vegas and is due out for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2010. It will apparently be an RPG like Fallout 3 although it isn't a sequel. I bet it will have a lot of the cool aspects of Fallout 3 like V.A.T.S. along with some interesting innovations and the obvious differences in setting between DC metro and Vegas. Sounds cool!

New Fallout Announced

godfather 2 is pretty cool

We picked up Electronic Arts' recent release Godfather 2 and have been enjoying it so far. The graphics are very nice and we haven't seen much clipping or graphical issues yet despite some reviews mentioning problems there. We haven't gone very far but one of my first impressions is how awesome the character design system is. There are tons of customization options for hair, eye color, face shape and clothing. Even on the extreme ends of the x-y axis sliders the faces all look believable and lifelike. It actually made me wonder if EA borrowed from new character design in the Sims 3 for this game... I was very impressed with how much you could custom-create a character and it really felt very Sims-like to me, so if Sims 3 delivers a character design system as good as the one in Godfather 2 I'll be very happy!

fallout movie in the works?

Apparently developer Bethesda Softworks has trademarked the rights to a television series and film based on the Fallout universe that was the focus of Fallout 3, one of last year's most highly acclaimed games. This seems to indicate that we will probably see a major motion picture in the works over the next few years based on Fallout 3. Cool stuff! While Fallout will make a cool story for a movie, I think it would be even more awesome if they eventually make an Elder Scrolls movie! That would really rock.

Fallout movie coming? Bethesda trademarks television series and film

mc chris is funny

Shot at a Gamespot After Hours event, this video features MC Chris sharing his feelings on Kingdom Hearts II and why Resident Evil 4 is way better. Hilarious and pretty NSFW unless you have headphones or your own office and don't mind loud swearing and a drug reference. Enjoy!

oblivion dlc discounts, horse armor increase

Strange marketing decisions, or just a silly April Fool's Day gimmick? Who knows. Bethesda Softworks has discounted its downloadable content for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for the next week so if you've never expanded your Oblivion world, now's the time to pick up these expansion packs. Every Oblivion DLC is half-price for the next week, except the Horse Armor pack, which has jumped from 200 to 400 Microsoft points ($5). Bethesda's PR/marketing guy Pete Hines had this to say:

"In celebration of the arrival of April, the wackiness of April Fool's Day, and the upcoming 3rd anniversary of the release of Horse Armor (Friday, April 3), we are pleased to announce that for the next week all Oblivion DLC for Xbox 360 is half price, except for Horse Armor, which is twice as much as usual."

Oblivion DLC half off, Horse armor twice as much

rune factory for wii is out

I love Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility for the Wii although it is admittedly a little slow-moving in its plotline. That's why I think Rune Factory: Frontier might be a great new title on the Wii. The new Rune Factory, which hit stores on Wednesday, gets an impressive 8.3 (any Wii game over an 8 has to be worth trying in my opinion) from IGN. Sounds like it is an interesting combination of the farming and animal care of Harvest Moon mixed with dungeon crawling and a bit of battling that can be leveled up just like your farming skills, making this game a cute and innovative RPG.

The designers could certainly be nicer to players in the future, making it easier to figure out where to get the starting items and exactly what’s needed to expand the story, but as far as “do anything” gameplay goes, Rune Factory dominates on Wii. Everything from farming, fishing, forging, dungeon crawling, medicine making, mining, and cooking could be used as a key form of income, and it all leads to a simple – but fun – dungeon crawling experience complete with a handful of locales and bosses.

mass effect 2 announced

Mass Effect 2 has been officially announced by BioWare and Electronic Arts and they are promising it to be even more epic and engaging than the 2007 first sci-fi RPG title. The Mass Effect sequel will be released on PC and Xbox 360 in early 2010.

“We’re going to surpass the extraordinary gaming experience we brought our fans in Mass Effect by delivering intensified combat and expanded weapon options as well as increased depth of planet exploration, all while delivering a powerful, emotionally engaging story,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, General Manager and CEO, BioWare and General Manager and Vice President, EA. “Mass Effect 2 is shaping up to be an unforgettable RPG-shooter experience, taking players on a non-stop roller-coaster ride filled with stunning plot twists and no-holds-barred action.”

star ocean: the last hope

The boyfriend has been obsessed with incredibly long JRPGs lately - after spending 120+ hours on Tales of Vesperia he picked up Star Ocean: the Last Hope recently and has been attached to it ever since. The graphics are really beautiful to see and the character design is... interesting to say the least! Plus the Japanese-to-American voice work provides much hilarity, and some of the cutscenes (very long, unpausable cutscenes) are just totally ridiculous, weird and cheesy (main character's name: Edge Maverick). Plus it borrows a small plotline from Futurama, LOL. I won't spoil it but it involves going through a black hole and ending up in the past. Oh, and there's an alien girl with cat ears and a tail. Kooky!

2009 is the year of the wii

With so many Wii games to be released in the near future, one can only hope that at least a few of them will be serious blockbuster hits that will rejuvenate everyone's favorite little white console. Along with the latest news that Electronic Arts has set its sights on a whole line of Wii games and ports (including Dead Space!), 2009 should be a strong Wii year. Here are a few of the upcoming game titles for the Wii that I'm most excited about:

Deadly Creatures. Scorpion and tarantula team up to battle snakes and other creepy-crawlies, all amidst a noir-style plot going on high above their heads in the world of men around them. If there's one thing I can say, it's that I've never played as a protagonist insect, at least not since SimAnt anyway!

Tenchu: Shadow Assassins. This one just came out this past week and looks pretty sick. Leaping around in the shadows, lurking about to find the perfect moment to attack, and the graphics even look pretty cool. Click here for the IGN review - they gave it an 8.0 which is pretty damn good for a Wii game.

Pikmin. If you never played this wonderful game on GameCube, make sure you pick up the upcoming port for the Wii, due in March. Rumors are swirling about since last year's E3 of the potential of an actual Pikmin 3 title new for the Wii due out sometime in the future but until then, revisit the fun of directing your little dudes around with a whole new set of sweet Wii controls. The first game port in the GameCube Masterpiece/Play for Wii series.

Little King's Story. Apparently a "Pikmin-like strategy game", the animation looks adorable and this game is made by Harvest Moon creator Yasuhiro Wada and the music is by the same guy who did the Kingdom Hearts series. Due out February 17th.

Wii Sports Resort. This sequel to the game that ultimately sells the console more than any other (studies show that many Wii buyers never even purchase a game to play other than Wii Sports) is doubly exciting because it will ship with the new Wiimote MotionPlus add-on. The MotionPlus is supposed to revolutionize the motion controls of the remote and take the Wii's unique control system to a whole new level of accuracy.

Dead Rising: Chop till you Drop, House of the Dead: Overkill & MadWorld. Three awesome-looking games with the M-for-mature rating we all want and need from Wii game developers. Yes, it's true, people over 17 do play the Wii. Keep the blood, guts, gore and zombies coming on the Wii and I'll be a happy girl.

Fragile: Fairwell Ruins of the Moon. 2008 saw some pretty fantastic RPG titles come out, and Fragile is one of the ones people are discussing for 2009. Another game featuring ghosts and demons as enemies, Fragile is by RPG titans Namco Bandai, and looks to use the Wiimote's pointer for much of its controls.

Fatal Frame IV. Not much is out about this one yet but it sure sounds cool. While I'm not familiar with this franchise, this new one will be a Wii exclusive and sounds like it will use some pretty innovative controls to help you fight hostile ghosts while studying/photographing nice ones. Also it apparently will push the limits of the Wii visually and boasts no load times to suffer through.

Between the GameCube ports, EA's new efforts and the M-for-mature renaissance, 2009 should be a grand year for the Wii. Fingers crossed!

fallout 3 expansions rolling out

The first of three planned packs of Fallout 3 downloadable content, Operation Anchorage, is now available. Operation Anchorage pits you against the communist Chinese in the frozen landscape of Alaska. The future packs apparently include one expansion that allows you to play past the ending of the original storyline. Cool stuff!

Fallout 3 Operation Anchorage DLC Now Available