Mass Effect

Every so often a game is scheduled for release, which I'm really excited for. The last one was Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfigter, which came out in the beginning of spring. The shine has since worn off, though it's still an excelent game that I play from time to time.

There were a few coming out over the summer and fall that really caught my attention. Chromehounds, which I bought, is really good, but a bit dissapointing with the X Box Live. My squad's hardly ever online, so it's difficult to find members to play with. I've since left them and started my own squad.

Too Human was an action game from Silicon Knights, which really interested me. However, a low preview score from EGM, and news that they're ditching Unreal Engine 3 (basically they have to rebuild part of the game) means there's going to be a delay for a game that doesn't appear to be as good as I first thought. I'll keep watching, but this one seems to be a bit dull now.

Viva Pinata was interesting for it's quirkiness. Huxley still holds my attention, but it's not looking like the game I first thought it would be. Gears of War looks incredible, but I've never been one for survival-horror.

But then there's Mass Effect. A video on GameVideos.com reminded me of this game's existance, and I almost wet my pants watching it. Slick visuals, a great conversation system, what looks to be great gameplay, and the promise of a fully explorable universe. Wow.

I've read up plenty on the game, and I can only get more excited. It's from Bioware, the company that produced the smash Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. They've got an excelent track record, and I can't wait for their "stunning new vision of the future."

Here are some pretty pictures from Mass Effect. The first few are concept art, which really caught my eye. And the last few are in engine looks at the game. If you've never played many games before, let me tell you: It might not be photo-realistic, but that might very well be the best looking game I've ever seen.

A nice Lava Planet (seems to be a convention of Science Fiction) with a little firefight going on. Interesting building in the background.
A neat looking place. I assume it's from a cruise ship, or some other high-society place in the future. That's a neat fish tank too.

Neat Cityscape. The four other things up top make it look like it's part of a rotating space colony of some sort. Looks like a busy place.

Another city place. Looks very pretty. The way the water curves up there on the left, I'd say it's another space colony. A nice one, too, not as industrial as the last one.

Looks like the bowels of another city. And another firefight.

Nice over the shoulder view. The HUD looks nice and unobtrusive. Very schmoove.


This appears to be in-engine as well. VERY sharp.


I know this is in-engine. Look at that alien person! She has a stinking complexion! It's not just peach painted over a face! Ooh, you have no idea how great that is!

Also, a few videos from GameVideos.com. You know you want to watch them. Especially you, Specker.

The Galazy Map and Vehicle Combat
The Bar Scene from the E3 Demo
The Mass Effect Preview (Includes a bit of both above)

Anyways I'm done.

Skimmer Version:

- Some games aren't looking as good as they used to.
- Included games:
Too Human
Chromehounds
Viva Pinata
Huxley
Gears of War
- Mass Effect looks better than ever.
- I can't wait for Mass Effect.
- The concept art and in-engine screenshots for Mass Effect are incredible.
- The videos of gameplay are absolutely astounding.