Part 2 of 4, by Jay Watamaniuk

Big day down at E3! We stitched up a quick video to show off some of the goings on down in L.A.

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Press Highlights!

Gamespot
“Dragon Age: Origins is shaping up to be an impressive and dynamic RPG with loads of combat and character development.”

1Up Game Videos
“Like a revamped Baldur’s Gate, Dragon Age lets you take control of your party and patrol the countryside, fighting animals, demons, and dragons.”

Shacknews
“Anyway, the remaining few minutes of the demo were relegated to the reveal of the first dragon in Dragon Age. It was an impressive fight, but I’ve never doubted BioWare’s ability to create an engaging fantasy combat system. It’s the engaging fantasy world that I have yet to see evidence of.”

Top Ten Reviews
“We even had the chance to step behind the Xbox 360 controller and take Dragon Age for a test drive. As a longtime CRPG player, Bioware fan and D20 roller, I’m feeling really good about Dragon Age: Origins. Disregard the nu metal trailers, Dragon Age looks like the real thing.”

PS3 Attitude
“Not only that, but the language in the video soundtrack is as blue as the blood-drained corpses left in our hero’s wake. Consider yourselves warned…Should we be put off by this level of gore and violence? Of course not! It’s refreshing to have a console-bound game as dark as this.”

For a complete listing of press highlights for Dragon Age: Origins go here

Joystiq
“Yup, this was the point in the demo that Hudson prefaced with: “What we’re about to show you is actually a spoiler that is from something that we will never show again outside the game.” So, consider yourself warned before you read on for the the long answer to: Is Commander Shepard alive or dead?”

G4
“I did not expect Mass Effect 2 would impress me as much as it did. Moments after leaving the 20-minute hands-off demonstration by Mass Effect 2 project director Casey Hudson, hours before I’d be able to compose my thoughts here, I sent a message to my Twitter page announcing that Mass Effect 2 slammed my jaw to the floor.”

Gamer Tell
“From what we can see and what was pitched, it seems like something that would be well worth the time to develop it and the time it would take to play. We’ll be finding out sometime in early 2010 when the game is released for Xbox 360, PC and PS3. Prove us right about the quality, BioWare. ”

Geeks of Doom
“While we’re still not sure what the sequel holds for us, this new E3 preview shows us a lot, and allows us to breathe a cautious sigh of relief. I still think there’s more to it all, but for now, it’s more than enough.”

Game Zone
“Mass Effect 2 is on pace to deliver a compelling blend of fantastic storytelling, deep RPG features, and intense action. Look for it to release early next year.”

For a complete listing of press highlights for Mass Effect 2 go here

Picture taken from real pie media

Part 1 of 4, by Jay Watamaniuk

Press highlights!

shacknews

Mass Effect 2 E3 Preview: Shepard Lives, Shepard Dies

It is no longer be a spoiler to say that Commander Shepard, hero of Mass Effect, lives in Mass Effect 2. Despite the clever teaser, he is, again, the hero.

Thunderbolt

Dragon Age: Origins promises to be a rich, deep game. My time with it was brief here at the show, but given Bioware’s strong track record of delivering excellent RPGs, I think it’s safe to say that this is going to be a huge hit. Everything seems in place, from an excellent combat system that should appeal to those of all play types to a detailed character relationship system that will hopefully really help move forward a compelling storyline. It’s still a few months away from release, but Dragon Age Origins could very well be one of the most promising games of the show.

Games Radar

Mass Effect 2 just keeps looking better

We knew deep in our hearts that Shepard couldn’t be dead, and the new trailer confirmed it. We heard a voiceover exclaim, “Shepard, I thought you were dead!” or something along those lines – she must have watched the first teaser, too. Other notable bits include a precariously large rocket launcher unleashing a small mushroom cloud of Geth death, which indicates at least one new class of weapon, and plenty of the tactical sci-fi combat looks like a smoother experience than the first game. The climax of the trailer shows a new, mysterious (not the Geth) type of enemy approaching in an unknown ship. Gasp!

MTV

The star of the disjointed show was certainly Bioware. “Dragon Age: Origins”[and] “Mass Effect 2” managed to wow even just as trailers.” “…The ‘Mass Effect 2′ trailer was also suitably dramatic, showing off familiar faces, some fresh and speedy gunplay, and a promising lack of elevators.”

Image taken from Wired

Console Monster

“Shepard returns”, that is more than enough to get the hairs standing as the return of Mass Effect, one of the most acclaimed titles on the Xbox 360, is back with full force. Boasting a deeper story than the original, taking your team into the heart of enemy territory, with brand new characters, all new worlds and advanced new weaponry – I don’t need to know any more, just a release date will do.

Video Games Blogger

Shepard a Geth? Mass Effect 2 E3 2009 trailer teases us more. Mass Effect 2 is coming to PC and the Xbox 360 in early 2010. But that’s not stopping developer BioWare from generating a lot of hype very early on. Did Shepard die? Is (s)he a Geth now? Who knows, but this is one E3 2009 teaser you don’t want to miss.

Anjel Syndicate

I think the most exciting thing revealed at the EA conference was the Bioware trailers. I’m pretty excited about Mass Effect 2 [and] Dragon Age: Origins…” “It was refreshing to see EA making more games for girl gamers and expanding that market. I can’t wait to see what other trailers get shown throughout the show this week.”

Digital Trends

Dragon Age: Origins will be gory. Very gory. The sheer amount of splatter in this game made quite a contrast to the above titles (Charm Club Girls. Littlest Pet Shop Friends.).

College News

But probably the coolest thing I wasn’t familiar with already was Bioware’s Dragon Age Origins.

An RPG that’s like a true fantasy tale with blood, lust and betrayal, Dragon Age: Origins has graphics that look amazing, and it gameplay looks like it came straight out of a movie. Honestly, I wanted to go line up and reserve a copy after seeing the trailer. Mass Effect 2 was also shown briefly and it looks just as awesome as Dragon Age Origins.

Banner image taken from XBOXIST

Part 1 of 1, by Jay Watamaniuk

If the crazy train had a name it would certainly be E3. A short history for those who have never heard of E3:

• Games were an unloved but mighty side show at the Consumer Electronics Show years ago
• Games then mutinied and started our own show called the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3)
• E3 is a convention that shows off all the latest and greatest in the world of video games
• Then E3 became big enough to crack worlds and question our significance in the universe
• E3 became a bloated, lumbering husk that finally fell down and couldn’t get up
• But E3 did get up, bought a leather jacket and a motorcycle and got back in the game

BioWare is having our biggest show ever with Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age: Origins and our recently announced iPhone game Mass Effect Galaxy.

I‘m Super-Important: Give Me the Highlights

EA just had a big press conference that had Ray and Greg up onstage talking about the big boat of BioWare games being developed.

New Dragon Age: Origins website.

A dramatic change in style for the Dragon. I myself have the red dragon logo image on my desktop. You too can be this cool. Dare to dream my friend. Dare to dream.

Here is the video we showed at the EA press conference. Watching this video will make you feel bad it is not October 20, 2009.

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Fans of Mass Effect 2 can finally explore some real space meat and space potatoes of BioWare’s next sci-fi epic on the all new website featuring locations, hints on team members, gameplay and a space buckets.

You must have seen the new ME2 trailer below that shows off some great gameplay, new weapons and angry, neck-snappin’ aliens. If not, then I’m prepared to call your life starkly free from awesome. Feel shame.

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