Electronic Arts and BioWare have announced the final single player downloadable content for Mass Effect 3, which will round out Shepard's life, allowing players to explore more of the Citadel and reconnect with the characters from the entire trilogy.
The final multiplayer downloadable content pack for Mass Effect 3, Reckoning, is now available today for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and is free.
Major Nelson has announced the Xbox Live Marketplace content for the next two weeks, and it is highlighted by a Gears of War 3 downloadable content sale and the critically acclaimed shooter Far Cry 3 hitting digital distribution on Games on Demand.
The final single player downloadable content pack for Mass Effect 3, Citadel, is coming out tomorrow on the 5th March, and the launch trailer will bring a tear to fans' eyes as they are given one last chance to spend time with friends and romantic partners from the previous three games.
Sony has revealed this week's PlayStation Network content for European gamers, including some of the PSN Plus deals. Notably, PSN Plus Euro gamers can get Mass Effect 3 free, along with Mass Effect 2 for 10% off, presumably to celebrate the release of the Citadel DLC.
Gamers have been enjoying the multiplayer portion of Mass Effect 3 for a year, and BioWare has released some of the stats accumulated in that time.
Mass Effect scribe Ann Lemay describes one of the "simplest and smoothest" processes she's ever experienced in the video games industry and it surrounded the creation of the first female Turien - Nyreen. Nyreen originally was an unremarkable asari, but Lemay saw an opportunity. If joined by a female Commander, it presents a "triumvirate of interesting, diverse, and powerful female characters."
Casey Hudson, executive producer of the Mass Effect series, has reiterated at PAX East that 'Mass Effect 4' will be "a new thing," as it breaks away from the Commander Shephard trilogy. The original Mass Effect team at BioWare Edmonton is creating a "whole new fictional universe", while BioWare Montreal takes the reins. Tali almost wasn't a squadmate in Mass Effect 3.
BioWare co-founder Dr. Greg Zeschuk doesn't hold much hope in the next generation of platforms as catalysts for revival. Unlike Microsoft and Sony "pull something magically out of a hat," it's the same old tricks. The trouble is that the new market emerging is "not really that great" - only some are making a ton of money, but most don't see revenues like from the console business. Need something innovative.
Dr. Greg Zeschuk muses that if their original Xbox RPG Jade Empire had of been held back as a launch title for the Xbox 360, its impact would have been vastly greater. Instead it released when the cycle was winding down. The BioWare co-founder says it "would've been great to put off a bit" and polish it some more. The studio also missed a trick when Mass Effect missed its launch title window.
It seems that BioWare is looking to either improve the Firebase multiplayer maps from Mass Effect 3 or is working on multiplayer for the next Mass Effect title, as the developer has been polling gamers on them. The survey asks gamers about the layout, visuals, difficulty, and overall experience of each of the maps from the DLC.
Mac Walters was the lead writer for Mass Effect 3, and he's confirmed that his talent for stringing words together is being put to work on the next Mass Effect which is "coming out of Montreal," and not Edmonton. Walters defended the original ending to Mass Effect 3 saying the reaction was from a 'vocal minority' with the majority not having an issue. BioWare eventually released the Extended Cut to address it.
Future Mass Effect adventures could very well star one of Commander Shephard's squad mates or even dastardly foes as the leading man/lady. BioWare say it would be cool to do something with one of these NPCs. Turian ex-C-SEC officer Garrus is rated high among the possible candidates at getting a spin-off "completely unrelated" to the larger plot of Mass Effect, i.e. no Reapers or Prothean artefacts.
Electronic Arts has announced that the Mass Effect 3 "Datapad" iOS app has been retired and will no longer receive updates.
BioWare Montreal is working on the next game in the Mass Effect series, according to studio director Yannick Roy on Twitter, it'll be "borrowing" many game systems from Dragon Age: Inquisition.
The first day of the Xbox 360 "Ultimate Game Sale" has some pretty good deals on Xbox Live Marketplace, with Assassin's Creed 3 being sold for $14.99 USD, Far Cry 3 for $19.99, Max Payne 3 for $9.99 and Borderlands 2 for only $9.99.
Gears of War: Judgment senior producer Chris Wynn is leaving Epic Games to work for Bioware as senior development director for the next Mass Effect.
BioWare has teased some new info about the upcoming Mass Effect prequel, and have also revealed that an all-new IP has been approved for the go-ahead.
Producer Avi Arad, known to have brought comic book universes to film successfully, is involved in the adaptations of Uncharted, Metal Gear and Mass Effect. He's got a real good feeling about Nathan Drake. The "father and son" dynamic in Naughty Dog's Uncharted could give it a "shot at being the first" successful game-to-film project. Metal Gear flick is 3 years away, with Mass Effect about 5 years.
Xbox 360 gamers will be getting a major Mass Effect-themed DLC pack for Minecraft, which will add tons of new content.