At the Mass Effect and Legendary Pictures panel, BioWare director Casey Hudson and movie writer Mark Protosevich discussed the challenges of transporting Mass Effect onto the big screen.

Hudson states that the strength of the game comes from its characters. However, Protosevich adds that people can be easily be seduced by visuals and the cinematic qualities of a game. And, when it comes to turning a game into a movie, filmmakers normally don’t care if the game has a solid enough storyline.

“In the early days [of video game adaptations], the idea was, let’s try to recreate this, instead of pausing and asking is this a good story,” Protosevich said to the crowd at Comic-Con. “Does it have interesting concepts, does it have interesting philosophies and themes? I think most games fail that test. This doesn not.”

But, when it comes to Mass Effect, Protosevich argues that the Mass Effect universe is as strong as the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings universes. Hudson then adds that working with Legendary Pictures will allow them to make sure that the Mass Effect movie will be “different” from other movies.

Speaking to global business giant Forbes, BioWare founders Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka talked about the possibility of continuing the series after the third installment, stating that the diverse alien races and planets have struck a chord with the series’ audience.

“We do have a desire to continue the Mass Effect franchise,” added Muzyka, “and we’re working on the details, figuring out what the fans want, figuring out the right way.” Judging the amount of backstory surrounding the Mass Effect universe, there’s no doubt that they’ll find someway to continue in the universe.

During the Microsoft press conference, Ray Muzyka stepped on stage to announced Kinect support for Mass Effect 3. However, Kinect isn’t planned as the primary input of the game; it’s used to “augment” the experience.

When the game releases, players will be able to command their team on the battlefield using the motion device — in addition to verbally using the dialog three, the main conversation feature from past installments of the series.

The most recognizable aspect from the Mass Effect universe, other than Commander Shepperd, is the Normandy, the series’ main form of transportation. However, according to Game Informer, the Normandy has been “taken apart, studied and rebuilt” in the sequel.

“You’re a Spectre, but you’re still an Alliance marine,” said exclusive producer Casey Hudson. “It’s like if someone commandeered an aircraft carrier in [WWII], they’re not going to say ‘Lucky for you! You have your own aircraft carrier!’ They want to take it and analyze it… It’s still the Normandy, but its different again and it’s got some different parts and rooms to explore.”

It’s hard to say that something has “out done” the original without some kind of proof, something without a doubt proofing that the successor is better than the original. Throughout the review process, I considered searching for this. Then I stopped and realized that I needed no evidence; this sequel is proof on its own. That’s why I pride myself by saying that BioWare have outdone themselves with Mass Effect 2. By them doing so, they’ve fulfilled the promises of the original while continuing to push the boundaries of what we can expect from a modern-day role-playing game.

Intended to capture a darker and more serious tone, Mass Effect 2 begins with an attack on the SSV Normandy, leaving it destroyed and Shepard, series protagonist, missing in action. However, thanks to some “unexplainable” events, Shepard returns. This time under the influence of a controversial pro-human organization called Cerberus. You see, human colonies have been disappearing across the galaxy and The Illusive Man, the watchful eyes of Cerberus, needs you to find and eliminated the forces behind these disappearances. However, Shepard can’t do this alone; he’ll need a squad.

In total there are eleven squad members, each with their own past experiences and specialization. However their most important attribute are their motivations; their motivations add a level of engagement to the Mass Effect 2 experience. For example, Thane, a Drell assassin, has chosen to fight alongside you in his final hours. Just by this example alone, you can understand him; him wanting to pass on in a positive light and the absolution of his sins. Its human characteristics like these that build a bond between the player and the character, an aspect present throughout the Mass Effect 2 experience.

Another engaging aspect of Mass Effect 2 is the improved combat and control systems. Though the controls are relatively the same, BioWare added more options to the control interface with better squad commands and a smoother cover system, addressing complaints of the original. These improvements have drastically changed the control and combat systems, making for a more streamlined, action-packed experienced. However, these systems need work; they are choppy and poorly mixed into combat. Add in some collision issues, and you add for a bad combination; in other words, prepare for a bit of bedlam.

This is what brings me to the technical aspect of Mass Effect 2. Taking note of the criticisms from the original, BioWare has improved on Mass Effect in almost every way. However, the most notable complaint of the original were its technical and presentational issues. That in mind, I’m happy to report that there are no major technical issues to speak of; this is a much smoother experience when compared to the original. But, thanks to the games excellent presentational style, it’s able to seamlessly makes up for any technical mishaps that may happen — there maybe some unseen glitches present.

However, the technical and presentational aspects aren’t the only things that have improved. BioWare also streamlined the games inventory and skill management systems. Though these systems may seem a bit dumbed down from the original, they divert the attention away from content management and onto visceral combat –- visceral combat being very important in this installment. In other words, you’ll don’t have to worry about the armor your teammates equipped with anymore, and seeing that content selection is slim, it shouldn’t take you more than a few moments to get your squad prepped for action.

Closing Statement:

Though there maybe some questionable missteps, planet scanning being a prefect example of one, Mass Effect 2 is the share-product of a developer lessening to the criticisms of the fans and innovating on them. As I said at the beginning of the review, I pride myself by saying that BioWare have outdone themselves with this sequel and, if you have been paying attention, you’ll know that is a game that was only achievable thanks impart to the collective criticisms of its fans. In other words, I can’t wait to see what the final installment in the series is to bring to the table.

Final Score: 9.4

Movies based on anything within the gaming industry are notorious for being bad. However, BioWare, Mass Effect series creator, has insured us that, if there’s going to be a film, they’ll make sure that it’s in the “right hands”. And that, for some time now, Hollywood has been keen on garbing the Mass Effect movie license.

“Obviously we have a tremendous amount of interest from people in Hollywood to make a major motion picture about ‘Mass Effect,’” BioWare’s Casey Hudson told MTV. “The most important thing for us is, we don’t just want to see a movie get made. We want to see a great movie get made, if it’s going to get done at all.”

However, back in ’08, Avi Arad, known for some awesome comic-book adaptations, optioned the film rights for Mass Effect. But, since then, we’ve heard anything. “We’re just looking at our options there, but waiting to make sure we have something really right before we do it,” Hudson told MTV.

Despite having previously stated that trilogy’s exclusiveness is “in the question”, the Mass Effect series lead project director, Casey Hudson revealed that the trilogy, just like how it started, will finish on Microsoft’s platform. When questioned about the trilogy going multi-platform, Hudson had a couple of choice words:

“You get the Xbox 360 or your PC, but the Xbox 360 is the one that’s going to run out of time at some point, and you create your character and play through an entire trilogy on that platform,” Hudson told GameZone.

As early last week, Hudson did revealed that he’s expecting a “short turnaround” with the development of third installment into the trilogy, meaning that after the release of Mass Effect 2, development should begin shortly after. Be that as it may, this news still confirms a multi-platform Mass Effect 3; it doesn’t detract from there being one.

BioWare has revealed that it has already started “building” the third Mass Effect title, even though the second hasn’t hit the market yet. Talking vaguely about the final chapter in the trilogy, project manager Casey Hudson spoke about the upcoming installment into the Mass Effect trilogy at the Consumer Electronics Show.

“We are already at work on Mass Effect 3,” he told IGN. “Building the first bits of the story, putting that together.” However, he did reveal that, simultaneously, BioWare would also be working on the downloadable content for Mass Effect 2 extending the life and replay value of the sequel.

“There will be great downloadable content throughout the time that Mass Effect 2 is out there while people are waiting for the third one. You’ll always have great stuff. New adventures to play. New things to do,” he continued. With that in mind, he continued to taking about the final chapter into the Mass Effect trilogy, Mass Effect 3.

“I think the exciting thing in the final chapter of the series is going to be just seeing where everything goes that we started,” said Casey, remaining vague. “With Mass Effect and now Mass Effect 2, you’ll see when you play it, all of these threads keep going. And not only that, all of the choices you’ve made too. You made choices in Mass Effect and you’ll see those in Mass Effect 2. And it just cascades. And people will see that by the time you finish Mass Effect 2, you’ll know that it’s your universe — everything is the way you set it out — and that all of these things get to come to fruition and some kind of ending in the final chapter.”

BioWare’s known for impressive and engaging RPGs. However, the genre been seemingly non-existent this console generation; there are only a few out in the market right now. One of the many unnoticed problems of this console generation, BioWare has set out to fill this void with its “dark heroic fantasy” Dragon Age: Origins, the spiritual successor to the highly praised Baldurs Gate franchise on the PC. That said, unsurprisingly, Dragon Age surpasses all expectations; pushing the breaking point and scale of any previous RPG. In fact, Dragon Age could even be considered as the greatest RPG ever conceived.

In Dragon Age, you play as a newly mended Grey Warden, warriors tasked with fighting off the advancing Darkspawn in the time of “The Blight”, a catastrophic event in which Darkspawn try and take over the world causing years of darkness and chaos. However, the Grey Wardens have seen better days; their influence, as well as their numbers, are weak. Then, in this time of great weakness within the Wardens, push comes to shovel. Now, your character finds themselves building up an army in time for the impending Blight; done by pulling in debts from the other races and other factions within Ferelden, the setting for this adventure.

But, that’s only apart of the story. Dragon Age’s story also branches of into multiple segments; thanks in part to NPC dialogue tree, made famous in BioWare’s Mass Effect series, and the character creation system. However, with the dialog system, it’s not as obvious as to how your discussions effect your progression towards good, or evil. You see, since you cannot physically see the see the outcomes of your discussions, you’ll have to read and layout your options before picking your answers. This adds interesting aspect but, the moments when there’s only one outcome, are where the dialogue system trends to drags on.

That said, you’ll have three races (human, elf, dwarf) and three classes (warrior, mage and rouge) to pick from when customizing your character. Pick carefully because this decides how the world views and treats your character. Along with, which one of the six origin stories you’ll be to explore as that character. This is the biggest problem with the origin story aspect. After playing though a portion of the game, your characters origin story starts feeling like an afterthought, ie. The people of Ferelden don’t favor elves but, after awhile, it’s like people don’t care about who, or what, you are. This isn’t a major problem; it’s just that it adds an unrealistic feeling to the Dragon Age experience.

Even though there are some substantial differences between the PC and console versions, BioWare has created a combat system that mirrors that of the PC. This system works in one of two ways; fighting in real-time, and micromanaging. However, micromanaging isn’t the preferred battle preference on consoles; the console versions are geared more towards action, which is opposite to the PCs more tactical approach. Meaning that, there’s really no need for micromanagement on consoles – you can play though all the game without micromanaging. However, when you’re facing 15+ enemies, micromanaging is the prefect way for you to insure a clean victory. Be that as it may, the most notable difference between the versions are there presentations.

But, don’t get me wrong, Dragon Age is a gorgeous game. It’s just that, on consoles, the graphics can’t hold a candle to that of the PCs; the colors look washed out and foggy. Also, in the time it told me to play through Dragon Age, I noticed that the game was plagued with many annoying little glitches that, while not breaking the game, put a damper on the overall experience, ie. there’s a glitch in which a character’s lips move while no words came out. However, it isn’t all bad with presentation. Character animations, while stiff at some points, are smooth and well done, and the art style is very eye catching.

Closing Statement:

Dragon Age is one of those titles that can easily take hours out of your life, which, surprisingly, isn’t a bad thing because you won’t want them back. That, along with the fact that BioWare has chosen to introduce downloadable content, proves that Dragon Age is something that you do not want to miss. But, even though I did have a lot of fun playing Dragon Age, there’s just to many glitches that took away from the overall experience. However, if you can get past them, this is the game for you. In addition, never has a game been fully worth the $60; Dragon Age’s quality surpasses that.

Final Score: 9.1

During the latest episode of GamerTrailers TV, BioWare revealed The Illusive Man, the head of Cerberus. They’ve, also, released new information about Mass Effect 2, revealing a new squad member that goes by the name of Mordin, Garrus’ introduction phase into Mass Effect 2, and the Vanguard class, a new character class.

But, first, The Illusive Man. Commander Shepard is now working for Cerberus, meaning that The Illusive Man is Shepard’s new boss. However, him and Shepard have this “love/hate relationship” – Shepard is putting up with The Illusive Man because he needs information from Cerberus to piece together the mystery taking place within Mass Effect 2.

In addition, BioWare also revealed the Vanguard class, which is home to a new “Charge Ability”; the higher the level of your character, the more abilities can be added into the Charge Ability, like slow motion (please view the view from a more in-dept look at this new class).

They’ve also revealed Garrus’ introduction phase: you’ll meet up with Garrus during a gang war on Omega, one of the many planets in the Mass Effect universe. However, last, but not least, Mordin, a smart-mouth and witty new squad member (expect more details soon). With that said, you can view the GameTrailers TV episode for even more details about the game.

With the impending release in a couple of months, BioWare have announced the collectors’ edition for their upcoming futuristic space adventure, Mass Effect 2.

Available on January 26 in North America alongside the standard edition, the Collectors’ Edition of Mass Effect 2 comes in a premium, tin case and includes the full version of the game, a 48-page hardcover “Art of Mass Effect 2” book, Issue 1 of the Mass Effect Redemption comic book, and a bonus DVD with behind-the-scenes and making-of videos.

In addition, the Mass Effect 2 Collectors’ Edition will include unique in-game weapons and armor that can only be obtained by purchasing this version.

“We’re really excited to roll out this Collectors’ Edition featuring so many unique items, including special Collectors’ Edition armor and weapons and content that will surprise Mass Effect fans,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder of BioWare. “The limited edition comic book and bonus DVD will really enhance and expand the overall Mass Effect 2 experience.”

With the recently released “The Thane” screenshots, players have been wondering who exactly is that new Krogan, seen featured with Thane. Now, BioWare has announced the identity of the newest Krogan and his name is Grunt.

A violent and unpredictable Krogan fighter, Grunt has never faced true defeat. His unsurpassed physical strength makes him a strong asset to Commander Shepard’s team, if he can be tamed, and if he can be trusted.

“The Mass Effect trilogy is an epic saga with consequences that will carry through from chapter to chapter” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, GM and CEO BioWare, VP EA. “Building out a diverse and loyal party is one of the features that makes the Mass Effect series unique. The characters Commander Shepard recruits are not only pivotal to the storyline but essential to the players overall success.”

Grunt is the second party member to be revealed in the Mass Effect 2 universe following Thane a deadly assassin who was first introduced in June. More details about the rest of Shepard’s crew will be revealed in the coming months.

BioWare wasn’t keen on releasing any details on the newest alien character, which debuted as an assassin, at E3, however, now, that has changed because it’s “Meet Thane” day over at the official Mass Effect 2 website. And you won’t believe who’s the star of the event.

“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 when announcing the game. “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.”

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Well, I did some small title editing there so… it’s really ‘controversial moments’ not controversy, just so that people don’t get it mixed up. Anyway, it seems that Mass Effect 2 is going to retain the ‘dirty boy’ attitude from within the first game.

When being interview by VG247 at GDC, it was revealed that one of BioWare’s co-founders, Ray Muzyka, that they’re promising more “emotionally engaging moments” in Mass Effect 2, which means alot more ‘alien sex’.

“We don’t shy away from emotionally engaging moments. We try to make them contextually appropriate. They’re not gratuitous for the sake of gratuity. We put them in to actually drive an emotional response, but the journey you’ve gone through to get to that point in the game, it has to feel like that is a real point, a real outcome that makes sense to the player to get that point. They’re not there for shock value,” he told VG247.

“If there’s surprise and delight in the emotionally engaging moment then that’s great too, but they have to feel contextually appropriate. We just make games with great stories and characters and, just like in real life, some of the interactions are emotionally charged between some of the characters. There could be all types of different emotions. And even the experience itself, we strive for emotion… We’re not shying away from it.”

We can’t wait for BioWare’s newest project, but, really, when are they going to release anything about the game’s plot? I mean we already know its links up with the ending of the first Mass Effect – thanks to the ever so revealing teaser trailer for the game.

Anyway, it seems like we have some more in depth details about the games plot – it not an official reveal tho. In the Amazon listing for the upcoming sequel, Mass Effect 2, it ‘leaked’ what seems to be the plot details for the game.

The second chapter in the Mass Effect trilogy “takes you to the darkest reaches of space, where you must uncover the mystery behind the disappearance of humans across many worlds.

“Prepare yourself for a suicide mission to save mankind. Travel the galaxy to assemble a team of soldiers and combat specialists, and launch an all-out assault on the heart of enemy territory.”

Today, when we visited the Mass Effect website we saw that BioWare had posted an update for the title, and by the title name of this article you can tell that it has to do with the sequel. As I was saying, when we had visited the site we saw the teaser trailer for Mass Effect 2 and lucky for you we were willing to share it with you.

If you didn’t know, ‘Mass Effect’ was an epic science-fiction roleplaying game set in a spectacular new vision of the future.

There is no doubt in our mind that Mass Effect was one of the best titles of 2007, even if many us didn’t get a chance to buy it because of the stupid old guy that runs your local GameStop store, like I did. But, I digress. Anyway, with that said, we recently got official word that Mass Effect 2 is a reality and that we would be getting chance to view it ‘very soon’. And, with that said, it looks like that time has come.

According to GameZine.co.uk, BioWare will present the iterative level design process of Mass Effect 2 at this year’s Game Developer’s Conference, GDC ’09.

By learning from the mistakes and issues they encountered in the development of Mass Effect, BioWare has made progress in level-creation by maximising quality whilst minimising cost or having to rework sections. This enables them to address problems early in the development cycle and their eager to share their lessons with other developers.

BioWare’s epic science-fiction role-playing game Mass Effect was released last November exclusively on the Xbox 360, the game got many rewards and many fans. Now, today some Mass Effect 2 details are floating around the web and they apparently originate from a now deleted Gamespot post. There alot of details revealed from the game and many key information that will make you wonder just remember that this is a rumor and it may not be true. Back in March, BioWare’s senior manager Matt Atwood was quoted stating that the will be hitting “soon but not real soon” do keep your eye out.

-Platforms: Xbox 360, PC
-Release date: Xbox 360 – November 2009 (Worldwide), PC – TBA 2010
-Developer: BioWare, with support from EA and Microsoft Games Studios
-Publisher: EA
-Engine: Unreal Engine 3 (Custom)
-Mass Effect 2 is a 6-month timed exclusive game for the Xbox 360
-The same team that worked on Mass Effect is working on Mass Effect 2
-Mass Effect 2 has been in development since July 2007,
total development time for Mass Effect 2 will be 28 Months
-The story in Mass Effect 2 will continue 2 months after Mass Effect
-The story will not continue depending on the last decision made by the player in Mass Effect, it will however continue after the PC version ending
-The character created in Mass Effect can be transported into Mass Effect 2 via save-files
-Level cap has been increased to Level 120
-Physics will be power by Havok
-Bioware has spent an enormous time on facial animations and charater movement animations, so expect animation quality to be at the very top.
-BioWare is using the Unreal Engnine 3 for graphics, with many custom changes made, graphics will be better than in Gears of War 2
-Water is confirmed to have fluid simulation, also, if a player or NPC dies on water, the players body will slowly sink, this also applies to weapons and certain objects
-The Game Over sequence has been reduced to 1.78 Seconds, due to complains from fans over the long Game Over sequence in Mass Effect
-Mass Effect 2 will have up to 5-player CO-OP, depending on the host players decision of how many players will be able to assist him/her
-There will be a Multiplayer component called Survival, where players will crash on a planet and battle to survive against endless hordes of enemies, the score will be determined on how many enemies will be killed and how much time players will be able to survive, there is no end to this mode, it’s a very similar mode to Gears of War 2′s Horde.
-Armor has to be repaired, armor will also react to different weapons,
bullets will damage it, fire will melt it, ice will freeze it,…
-The player can now lead a squad of 2-5 members, the player decides how many squad members will be on each mission
-The Citadel is now much larger, and whenever a player visits the Citadel all members of the players squad go with him/her, the squad will interact with other NPC’s if you allow them to
-Battles wil be on a much larger scale, reported scale is the same as in Gears of War 2
-There will 2 more classes added to the aditional classes from the first game
-The Galaxy has been expanded, you can now explore 8 times more planets than in Mass Effect, also, every planet now has a bigger scale, players will be able to set up small bases on planets with a sustainable atmosphere
-The player will be able to create mines near resources and send resources to Earth or by the decision of the player mine illegaly and collect all resources for him/her self
-Weapons can be upgraded and customized, the weapon arsenal has been expanded, the player can now carry a bionic arm on each arm, the player can dual wield not just pistols, but also shotguns and semi-automatic weapons
-One new weapon is called “The Scilary”, it’s a missile based weapon, the player marks a targed on the ground and then shoots a missile into the air, the missile is then split into multiple pieces and hits the target and an area around it
-The player can now equip a knife, the knife can be customized and upgraded, the knife can also be used with different powers, i.e. the knife can be thrown and then brought back, the knife will also react to environment hazards, i.e. a knife over fire will cause it to catch fire and eventually melt
-There will be Boss Battles in the game
-Depending on the decision made by the player on Noveria to either spare or kill the Rachni, they will assist you during a crucial time or you will be left alone
-Preston Watamaniuk, the Lead Designer hints at more and larger environment hazards,
for example a volcano erruption than can destroy a base built by the player, another example is an ice storm of different colors, dependning on the planets atmosphere
-The primary planetary exploration vehicle can now be upgraded and customized,
it can also be expanded to carry up to 4 members of your squad
-The armor can now be upgraded and customized to the players liking, similar to the weapon customization, the player can now select a certain part of the armor, i.e. the left shoulder and put a small picture on it, i.e. the Earth’s flag
-The second mission will be to save a squad member that was believed to be dead in Mass Effect, depending on the decision made on planet Virmire (the cloning facility mission), you will have to rescue the squad member left behind,
the story will explain how the squad member survived the detonation
-Planet Eden Prime can now be visited, explored and the player can now build his own house on the planet, same with many other planets
-The total number of interactive NPC’s you can talk to is around 3000,
total number of NPC’s in Mass Effect 2 is unknown

According to GamesIndustry.Biz, Miles Holmes, the lead designer on the upcoming Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, told Eurogamer.de in an interview that they have some really big plans for Mass Effect. In the interview he told them that “Having a DS version would be an awesome way to keep interest alive and keep it going in addition to the next one.”

Miles Holmes calls the upcoming DS title, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, as an effort to get BioWare’s handheld division off the ground. Holmes commented that he would personally like to see a Mass Effect title on the DS: “I tell you which one I would want. I want the Mass Effect one”.