söndag 7 februari 2010

Dragon Age Awakening

In March this year, the expansion of Biowares lovely RPG will be released. And it looks like Dragon Age: Awakening will meet all the high expectations set by its predecessor.

Storywise, the game picks up where you left it in DA: O. The Grey Wardens are now rebuilding their order, and the kingdom of Ferelden is recovering. The Dark Spawn are not yet defeated though, and getting rid of them has proven to be a very difficult task. Some even say the Blight is far from over, despite the fact that the Archdemon is slain.

You are a Grey Warden commander, in charge of rebuilding your order as well as eliminating the Dark Spawn threat.

Keep your saved games!
It has been confirmed that you can import one of your characters from the first game into DA:A - so keep your saves! Doing this will probably also change the story, depending on the decisions you've made in DA:O - a lot like in the Mass Effect series.

Characters and customization
You will meet both new and old characters in DA:A. Five new party members, and atleast one from DA:O. The popular Alistair is sure to make an appearance - though probably not if your character decided to sacrifice him - and a rogue mage was recently confirmed to be one of your potential party members.

Here's a short video of Anders, an apostate who will join your party quite early in game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BW2z6Y6Msg

In terms of customization, you'll have a lot more options in Dragon Age: Awakening. There will also be new spells, new abilities, new armor sets, and new items. Bioware hasn't been very specific so far, but you can see some new features in the trailer as well as in the character video above.

More information can be found on Biowares homepage:
http://dragonage.bioware.com/awakening

// Rick'

Mass effect 2 - Who is the Illusive Man?

The Illusive Man is one of the most mysterious characters in ME2. You can find out more about him during the game though.

The Illusive Man and Cerberus
The IM is the leader and creator of Cerberus, a pro-human military organization. Though Cerberus used to be a part of the alliance as a galactic intelligence agency, it’s now a separate organization, labeled as a terrorist group by the Citadel council.

This is probably because Cerberus corresponds with the IM: s ethical standards, which are based entirely on consequence (“The ends justify the means”) and a pro-human extremism.

Appearance and personality
The IM has a perfect exterior. His physical features are ideal, probably the result of extensive plastic surgery, and his eyes are highly advanced. (However, it is very unlikely that he is a machine. This popular belief is probably based more on science fiction clichés than on empiricism and logic).

The IM displays both the best and the worst features of humanity. He’s smart, confident and tough, but he’s also ruthless and enigmatic. He has both a drinking and a smoking habit.

The IM will be one of the more central characters in Mass Effect 3. Also, his actions will probably depend greatly on your decisions in ME2.

// Rick'

Mass effect 2: How to get a perfect ending

Like in many other Bioware games, your choices in Mass Effect 2 matter. How much do they matter? Well, if you're careless you will lose members of your crew, permanently.

You can easily get a perfect ending though. Contrary to popular belief, your moral alignment (Paragon/Renegade) has nothing to do with whether your crew members live or die. To accomplish this, you only need to think about 3 things:

1. Earning the loyalty of your crew
If you want all your characters survive the last mission, you have to make them loyal. To do this you must accept and finish their personal quests. For example, if you want Grunt to live, you have to accompany him to Tuchanka and help him through his Rite of Passage. You get the personal quests by talking to the characters while you're on the Normandy.

To preserve a characters loyalty after this, you have to resolve the conflicts aboard the ship by using the paragon/renegade options. Other choices might affect the loyalty status. However, if you choose one of the other options, you can correct it later by talking to the disloyal character. (You need a certain amount of paragon/renegade points to pick the conversation option that restores their loyalty though).

2. Improving your ship
The second Normandy isn't a perfect ship. She needs plenty of improvements before you enter the Omega 4 Relay. To find out what improvements are required, talk to your crew members. You have to get every available upgrade, so be thorough.

3. Making the right decisions in the last mission.
You'll make a lot of choices near the end of the game. Make the wrong ones, and people die. To save your crew, choose the following characters for the specified assignments:

Climbing the ventilation system - Tali or Legion
Leading the secondary squad - Miranda or Garrus
Escorting the crew back to the ship: Mordin or Jacob
Keeping up the Biotic Field - Samara or Subject Zero (Jack)

A sidenote: If you want Yeoman Kelly Chambers to live, you have to enter the Omega 4 Relay as soon as your crew has been kidnapped. If you travel anywhere else with the Normandy at this particular moment in the game, she'll die.

If you'd like to see a perfect ending, there are plenty on Youtube.

Good luck!

If you have any questions, post a comment.

// Rick'