Official* HAF Video Game Thread

[ThinkAnarchy]

Mass Effect 3 to get new ending.
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/122/1221273p1.html

It's nice to see them taking the time to make their fans happy. I might re-buy the games after a price drop, if they actually differentiate the endings a bit more, which I imagine would be a result of more closure.

He added that "the reaction to the release of Mass Effect 3 has been unprecedented. On one hand, some of our loyal fans are passionately expressing their displeasure about how their game concluded; we care about this feedback, and we're planning to directly address it."

Muzyka concluded by reminding fans that BioWare is listening, and that fans should "trust that we are doing our damndest, as always, to address your feedback."

No additional details about the new content have been revealed. We reached out to BioWare and a spokesperson reiterated that "we will be able to share more in April."

[xSilverPhinx]

I don't play Mass Effect, but at least it shows that they're trying to fix things. The same happened with the Witcher, didn't go through a beta stage (I think), had loads of problems and bugs but the developers gave everyone who bought it a free upgrade to a deluxe version. 

[Augustus]

I can see them trying to monetize the new ending to be honest..

[ThinkAnarchy]

I would hope they would release the ending(s) updated free to those who already purchased the game. If it free, or how much to charge would be up to EA though, so I'm not optimistic of the ending(s) being free. I think they only said one ending in the article, but I imagine for closure, they would have to change them up depending on who you romanced, who you kept alive, etc.

[ThinkAnarchy]

I can see them trying to monetize the new ending to be honest..

Actually, after reading this article, I'm inclined to agree with you fully.

http://www.geekosystem.com/mass-effect-3-ending-changes/

Bioware cofounder Ray Muzyka has announced that the Mass Effect 3 team is now working on "a number of game content initiatives that will help answer the questions" so many fans complained about having.

It makes me think they are planning to tie up the loose ends through DLC, rather than gives us different choices in endings. The news is still very vague, so this is simply speculation, but it seems like the most probable outcome. Post-endgame DLC is unacceptable in my eyes, seeing as my game can't logically continue after the final cutscene. I hope they choose to release new endings that incorporate the closure of everything in the finale.

Regardless, I want closure with Miranda, and the other races. I will hold out judgement until the new content is released, since all I can do now is speculate.

[Hector Valdez]

Well, there's always slash-I mean, fanfiction.

Video games are all the same these days. A real logical challenge is Baduk, the first, and still best game, ever made.

[xSilverPhinx]

Baduk looks like a difficult game to play. I'm more of a bejeweled person myself.

[Hector Valdez]

Nah, it's not difficult. You just find some other newb and have fun placing the stones randomly around the board while exchanging toasts to His Noodleness over cups 'o hot joe. If you want to get stronger, you can, but it's fun just for the pretty shapes, too.(Although, I should mention that once you understand the elementary concept of "atari", the urge to get stronger will become so strong as to pull you into a black hole of endless gaming, problems of life and death, and speed-baduk/hoping to win on time just to further your rank. The game is actually classified as a controlled substance in Canada. Those pussies.   )

[xSilverPhinx]

Looks like awesome fun. I know I wouldn't be too good at it though.

[Hector Valdez]

Don't worry about that. No one is. 

(It is a widely held belief in the Baduk community that if you are not a professional 9dan(the strongest rankK), then you know nothing about the game. I most definitely agree.)

[history_geek]

Well. they have now officially announced the ultimate fate of Mass Effect 3, and in my case, the ME and EA related franchises in general.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BioWare, a Label of Electronic Arts Inc. announced Mass Effect™ 3: Extended Cut, a downloadable content pack that will expand upon the events at the end of the critically acclaimed Action RPG. Through additional cinematic sequences and epilogue scenes, the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut will give fans seeking further clarity to the ending of Mass Effect 3 deeper insights into how their personal journey concludes. Coming this summer, the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut will be available for download on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC for no extra charge*.

"We are all incredibly proud of Mass Effect 3 and the work done by Casey Hudson and team," said Dr. Ray Muzyka, Co-Founder of BioWare and General Manager of EA's BioWare Label. "Since launch, we have had time to listen to the feedback from our most passionate fans and we are responding. With the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut we think we have struck a good balance in delivering the answers players are looking for while maintaining the team's artistic vision for the end of this story arc in the Mass Effect universe."

Casey Hudson, Executive Producer of the Mass Effect series added, "We have reprioritized our post-launch development efforts to provide the fans who want more closure with even more context and clarity to the ending of the game, in a way that will feel more personalized for each player."

The Mass Effect franchise is one of the most highly decorated series in the history of games, having earned over 250 awards from critics around the world. Mass Effect 3 launched last month to universal critical acclaim, receiving over 75 perfect scores. For more information on Mass Effect 3, please visit http://masseffect.com, follow the game on Twitter at http://twitter.com/masseffect or "like" the game on Facebook at http://facebook.com/masseffect. Press assets for Mass Effect 3 are available at www.info.ea.com.

http://investor.ea.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=662095
http://blog.bioware.com/2012/04/05/mass-effect-3-extended-cut/

Are they. Fucking. Kidding me. An "Extended cut" of the ending, without actaully adressing any of the issues that the fans (myself included) were nigh raging about!?

I was one of those who really believed in the so called "Indoctrination Theory", which would have explained everything. Basically, according to the theory, ComShep was actually going through an hallucination, in which he was not fighting the Reaper indoctrination (think about it, how many times has Shep been near or in contact with Reaper Tech? And at the end of the "Arrival" DLC for ME2,*SPOILER, SPOILER* he gets knocked out by a Reaper device that has indoctrinated an entire Alliance facility*SPOILER, SPOILER*). And if you made certain choice, and had 8000+ war assets, you would get a short cut scene where Shep is lying under a pile of rubble, but then loudly inhales, which would suggest that he never got to the Crucible. He is still on Earth, and the battle is still not over! How awesome twist would that be, Shep has not only beaten Reapers physically left, right and center, but now also beaten their inevitable, irreversible indoctrination, arguable one of the most terrifying weapons in Reaper arsenal! Now all that is left, is to put badass mode on the overdrive, deploy the Crucible for real and put some real fear into those damned Reapers before incinerating them into space dust! The most epic space saga, ever!

But no. Instead of that, we get an "extension" to the existing "ending". No changes, now or later, promises of future DLCs and that's it.

Yeah, EA deserves its award as the worst company in America, and so much more.

http://consumerist.com/2012/04/congratulations-ea-you-are-the-worst-company-in-america-for-2012.html

In my own words: I wanted an ending to the epic tale of Commander Shepard, not a "stay tuned for extra ripoff DLC & Mass Effect 4" commercial!

P.S: Sorry for the rant guys, but stuff like this just infuriates me to no end. Not only was EA/BioWare sitting on a potential future gold mine(s) and full pardon almost every ME-fan, they have taken and sawed off both of their arms and legs, and blinded themselves with a spoon.

Yeah, I'll just shut up now and go to sleep. I'll still finish ME3 on Insanity, I enjoy the game too much (note; I do not count the last 10 minutes as part of the game....)

[ThinkAnarchy]

Are they. Fucking. Kidding me. An "Extended cut" of the ending, without actaully adressing any of the issues that the fans (myself included) were nigh raging about!?

I was one of those who really believed in the so called "Indoctrination Theory", which would have explained everything. Basically, according to the theory, ComShep was actually going through an hallucination, in which he was not fighting the Reaper indoctrination (think about it, how many times has Shep been near or in contact with Reaper Tech? And at the end of the "Arrival" DLC for ME2,*SPOILER, SPOILER* he gets knocked out by a Reaper device that has indoctrinated an entire Alliance facility*SPOILER, SPOILER*). And if you made certain choice, and had 8000+ war assets, you would get a short cut scene where Shep is lying under a pile of rubble, but then loudly inhales, which would suggest that he never got to the Crucible. He is still on Earth, and the battle is still not over! How awesome twist would that be, Shep has not only beaten Reapers physically left, right and center, but now also beaten their inevitable, irreversible indoctrination, arguable one of the most terrifying weapons in Reaper arsenal! Now all that is left, is to put badass mode on the overdrive, deploy the Crucible for real and put some real fear into those damned Reapers before incinerating them into space dust! The most epic space saga, ever!

But no. Instead of that, we get an "extension" to the existing "ending". No changes, now or later, promises of future DLCs and that's it.

Yeah, EA deserves its award as the worst company in America, and so much more.

http://consumerist.com/2012/04/congratulations-ea-you-are-the-worst-company-in-america-for-2012.html

In my own words: I wanted an ending to the epic tale of Commander Shepard, not a "stay tuned for extra ripoff DLC & Mass Effect 4" commercial!

P.S: Sorry for the rant guys, but stuff like this just infuriates me to no end. Not only was EA/BioWare sitting on a potential future gold mine(s) and full pardon almost every ME-fan, they have taken and sawed off both of their arms and legs, and blinded themselves with a spoon.

Yeah, I'll just shut up now and go to sleep. I'll still finish ME3 on Insanity, I enjoy the game too much (note; I do not count the last 10 minutes as part of the game....)

For me, it was more that all the endings were essentially the same. I was extremely annoyed that my romance options meant squat by the end and despite playing renegade, I got the same exact endings as paragon players. I would have been happy with a few drastic differences in endings based upon you're characters reputation, but I don't even think that carried over into ME3.

I traded my copy in already, and don't plan on ever replaying the series again. I will watch the epilogue on youtube once it's released though.

And EA has sucked monkey dick for a few years now. 

[Amicale]

You guys are going to laugh hysterically at me, but when I was a teenager I played Doom, Quake, and I've always had a fondness for the Civilization series. What do I play now? Wii games, internet flash games, the odd PS1/PS2 game when I visit a friend, and I'd play any sort of word game I could find online, like say Literati (sorta like scrabble). 

Eh, what can I say... I get busy with other stuff. And with a 4 year old, it's hard to find the time/ability to seriously play much of anything. Heck, I know I probably seem like I post too much on HAF, but whenever I do I always have 2 or 3 work projects on the go too. And maybe an internet flash game. 

[Jimmy]

You guys are going to laugh hysterically at me, but when I was a teenager I played Doom, Quake, and I've always had a fondness for the Civilization series. What do I play now? Wii games, internet flash games, the odd PS1/PS2 game when I visit a friend, and I'd play any sort of word game I could find online, like say Literati (sorta like scrabble). 

Eh, what can I say... I get busy with other stuff. And with a 4 year old, it's hard to find the time/ability to seriously play much of anything. Heck, I know I probably seem like I post too much on HAF, but whenever I do I always have 2 or 3 work projects on the go too. And maybe an internet flash game. 

Don't worry, won't laugh at you; just with you BIG Doom fan here!!! Have you played Doom3? It is wicked awesome!!! I don't play it so much now because it would scare the living CRAP out of my kids

Anyways we play LOTS of Wii because it is kid friendly. My daughter made sure I earned ALL of the Mario Kart's drivers and kart....that took a while..lol. You know that you've played WAY TOO MUCH Mario Kart when you're driving down the road and are ITCHING to jump your car into a turbo boost!!

THEN she FORCED me(against my will ) to get ALL the 120 stars on Mario Galaxy(fun game, really) and now we're working our way through the entire game again, this time as Luigi, to get ONE "secret" star

[ThinkAnarchy]

You guys are going to laugh hysterically at me, but when I was a teenager I played Doom, Quake, and I've always had a fondness for the Civilization series. What do I play now? Wii games, internet flash games, the odd PS1/PS2 game when I visit a friend, and I'd play any sort of word game I could find online, like say Literati (sorta like scrabble). 

Eh, what can I say... I get busy with other stuff. And with a 4 year old, it's hard to find the time/ability to seriously play much of anything. Heck, I know I probably seem like I post too much on HAF, but whenever I do I always have 2 or 3 work projects on the go too. And maybe an internet flash game. 

It isn't that odd. I have a ps3 with amazing games, but I put more hours into Hanging with Friends on the ipod than most other games.

If you haven't already discovered this game; it's one of my favorite games free online.

http://www.addictinggames.com/sports-games/curveball.jsp