6:27 PM 0 comments

SG’s Arcade: My Game Room Launch in Review

Insert Quarter to Continue!

Game-Room I managed to circumvent the initial hurdles that Xbox LIVE had thrown at me (inability to load Game Room, server connection issues) on day-one and get into the thick of the Game Room experience.

My initial impressions of the Game Room are extremely positive.  The other evening I garnered the ‘4 Hour’ achievement for time spent playing games in the arcade.  I have also won my first challenge!  Game Room really takes me back to my gaming roots, I look forward to see what other great games are coming down the pipeline in the next several weeks so that I can relieve other great moments from my youth as well as discover those games that eluded me.

As for the initial batch of games I added 4 to my arcade (after all, what is an arcade without games).  I actually have been very pleased with my initial purchases. Here is a quick rundown of my purchases, year released, weapon of choice (controller preference), my high-score, and a twitter-sized impression.  Enjoy:

icn_arc_asteroidsdeluxeGame:  Asteroids Deluxe (Atari)

Released: 1980

Weapon of Choice: Arcade Stick

Hi-Score: 23,560

TwitteReview: #AsteroidsDeluxe: Reflexes will be tested! Fast paced shooter w/ enemies galore! Use your shield to advance! Best #GameRoom Day1 purchase!

 

icn_arc_gravitar

Game:  Gravitar (Atari)

Released: 1982

Weapon of Choice: Arcade Stick

Hi-Score: 14,050

TwitteReview: #Gravitar: Most excited to purchase #GameRoom. Great concept, difficulty spikes quickly! Much practice time required to advance!

 

icn_arc_tempest

Game:  Tempest (Atari)

Released: 1980

Weapon of Choice: Xbox 360 Controller; D-Pad / Analog split

Hi-Score: 26,611

TwitteReview: #Tempest: Always been curious about game. Was better once I discovered #SmartBomb. #QtrMuncher! Surprised how much I like this one #GameRoom

 

icn_int_skiing

Game:  Mountain Madness Super Pro Skiing (Intellivision)

Released: 1988

Weapon of Choice: Xbox 360 Controller; D-Pad

Hi-Score: N/A

TwitteReview: #MountainMadnessSkiing: Good old-skool skiing game. Menu is clunky but once on slopes it is fun! Don’t get sideways out there! #GameRoom

 

Game Room

-SG

6:21 PM 0 comments

SG’s Arcade: My Game Room Launch in Review

Insert Quarter to Continue!

Game-Room I managed to circumvent the initial hurdles that Xbox LIVE had thrown at me (inability to load Game Room, server connection issues) on day-one and get into the thick of the Game Room experience.

My initial impressions of the Game Room are extremely positive.  The other evening I garnered the ‘4 Hour’ achievement for time spent playing games in the arcade.  I have also won my first challenge!  Game Room really takes me back to my gaming roots, I look forward to see what other great games are coming down the pipeline in the next several weeks so that I can relieve other great moments from my youth as well as discover those games that eluded me.

As for the initial batch of games I added 4 to my arcade (after all, what is an arcade without games).  I actually have been very pleased with my initial purchases. Here is a quick rundown of my purchases, year released, weapon of choice (controller preference), my high-score, and a twitter-sized impression.  Enjoy:

icn_arc_asteroidsdeluxeGame:  Asteroids Deluxe (Atari)

Released: 1980

Weapon of Choice: Arcade Stick

Hi-Score: 23,560

TwitteReview: #AsteroidsDeluxe: Reflexes will be tested! Fast paced shooter w/ enemies galore! Use your shield to advance! Best #GameRoom Day1 purchase!

icn_arc_gravitar

Game:  Gravitar (Atari)

Released: 1982

Weapon of Choice: Arcade Stick

Hi-Score: 14,050

TwitteReview: #Gravitar: Most excited to purchase #GameRoom. Great concept, difficulty spikes quickly! Much practice time required to advance!

icn_arc_tempest

Game:  Tempest (Atari)

Released: 1980

Weapon of Choice: Xbox 360 Controller; D-Pad / Analog split

Hi-Score: 26,611

TwitteReview: #Tempest: Always been curious about game. Was better once I discovered #SmartBomb. #QtrMuncher! Surprised how much I like this one #GameRoom

icn_int_skiing

Game:  Mountain Madness Super Pro Skiing (Intellivision)

Released: 1988

Weapon of Choice: Xbox 360 Controller; D-Pad

Hi-Score: N/A

TwitteReview: #MountainMadnessSkiing: Good old-skool skiing game. Menu is clunky but once on slopes it is fun! Don’t get sideways out there! #GameRoom

Game Room

-SG

10:46 AM 0 comments

Mission Accomplished: Left 4 Dead 2

The Greatest Game I Never Play…

left4dead2

BRIDGE BURNER
Survive the Parish campaign.

Gamerscore = 20   Acquired 21/3/2010

This achievement came way too long after the fact.  I remember prior to Left 4 Dead 2’s release that I had proclaimed in my head that this was the game I was most excited to play over the Christmas season.  As it turned out games like Forza Motorsport 3, Borderlands, and Modern Warfare 2 took hold of me in a serious way, leaving Left 4 Dead 2 left behind.

In the months between its release and now I have hipped away at it with a few play sessions, some being more successful than others, but until this past week I had never even seen the Parish campaign.  So I gathered up my brother and decided that enough was enough and I was going to see this level through.

And I did see the game through, but my adventure is not over.  It was recently announced that this game along with the original Left 4 Dead will be expanded and storylines intertwined as The Passing downloadable chapters are added to the L4D epic.  The Passing will arrive before Summer and will carry with it a serious shifting of gears as one of the survivors…will not survive!

I look forward to see how The Passing handles the story integration as well as the death of a survivor.  For me, this really meshes the zombie movie with the zombie video game.  If you have ever seen a zombie flick you know one thing…that Nobody Survives Forever!

Left 4 Dead 2 - HOME

-SG

8:51 PM 0 comments

SG’s Arcade: Enter the Game Room

Take a Trip Back to Gaming’s Golden Age! 

Xbox-Game-Room-Debut Being a child of the 70s and 80s I had fond memories of arcades and the early video game console scene.  I think that is one of the main reasons I am very excited for the Xbox 360 launch of Game Room tomorrow.

Growing up in a rural environment my visits to arcades and opportunities to play video or pinball games were few and far between.  Each time that I had an opportunity and a spare quarter (which when you are a kid can be sparingly at best) I could be found plugging it into some arcade cabinet and getting minutes or (and depending the game) seconds of satisfaction!  I cherished these moments, often going to extreme measures and great distances to even have a moment to cherish, but these early days of gaming formed my love of gaming that is stronger than ever over thirty years after the fact.

xbox-game-roomSo the games of my yesteryear will be front and foremost with Microsoft’s newest gaming platform, the Game Room.  I am excited to once again experience favourites from my past, or to try games that I always wanted to for the first time.  Some gamers and pundits have been sour on this initiative saying that it is too expensive for old games.  I say the present 240 point per game price tag is very acceptable for a game experience, considering the additional work and features that they have built around these games.

Tomorrow after work you will find me hanging out in SUPERGHOST’s arcade.  While it may not be overly impressive day one, you can expect it to be the place to be as time goes on.  Make sure your joystick wrist is in good shape because the challenges for old school gaming supremacy starts tomorrow!  You can put your initials on that!

Xbox.com | Game Room - Game Detail Page

-SG

5:16 PM 0 comments

Rolling Start: Nascar Knights and Blur Beta Impressions

Nights of Thunder!

Nascar_KnightRubbin’ is Racin’: Late Wednesday evening I mentioned to my friend TormentX that we needed to have a Nascar racing night.  A night where we would purchase a stock car body from the store in Forza Motorsport 3 and then purchase somebody’s design from the game’s Storefront.  Torment did one better and suggested that we design our own Nascar-themed paint-jobs and bring them to the race.  I thought that was an excellent idea, so the race was on!

We went on to spend the next couple of hours designing our own cars.  My design can be seen above and is also currently available through my in-game Storefront.  So after the designs were done myself and three friends took to the game’s ovals to attempt to recreate the Stock Car experience.  To make it in some ways more authentic and in others more forgiving I forced the view to in-car only, but left the damage as cosmetic.

The races were what you would expect, left turns, drafting, a little bit of paint traded, but all in all it was a lot of fun!  What is cool about Forza Motorsport 3 is that the game is very flexible, especially in the multiplayer department.  There you can create your own fun my making races with rules that don’t just end with the fastest lap times.  Feeling creative? Well you can paint your car, take photos, or make videos that detail your experience.  I am hoping to once again have a Nascar Knight, and next time I hope to have a full field of competitors.  Do you have what it takes?

blur_screenshot_04Blur Beta Impressions: Speaking of full fields, Blur is at its best when a full field of twenty (that is right, TWENTY) cars take to the track where rubbin’ is not only racin’, it is a necessity!  I didn’t mean to jump into an impression without a more sound lead up, but that full-field transition was just to perfect.

Blur for me started as a bit of a slow burn.  My initial impressions were not the most favourable.  Coming from Bizarre Creations most recent racers, Project Gotham Racing 3 and 4, I had more of an expectation regarding the cars handling in the game.  But once I started to earn better cars and get my head wrapped around the ‘Kart-Racing’ mentality things started to come around for me.

Yesterday I had my most extensive runs with the beta and was very pleased with how things went.  What is tough that early on you may have the underpowered cars that make the experience fairly rocky, but as you build in-game ‘fans’ you will unlock better cars and mods that allow you to compete or excel (it is up to you).  But even in losing the game can be wildly fun.  As I  mentioned earlier, a field of 20 cars all frenzied for crumpled metal creates a gaming atmosphere quite like no other.

So my advice for you regarding this beta if you find yourself with an opportunity to play it, give it some time, level-up, and if possible, gather some friends up to play.  The beta has literally taken me from curious about, to not buying, to must buy.  While the visuals are not stunning, the player count is, that with twitter intigration it looks like Bizarre Creations may have their grove back!

Mines_GTR_Tyre

That is all for this edition of Rolling Start.  Hope to see you on the track or in the comments section.  Until next time, don’t let off the accelerator!

Home Page | Forza Motorsport

-SG

3:36 PM 0 comments

Rolling Start: Forza 3 Drifting and Blur Beta

Much like I have expanded my Zombie Action News blog into the Survival Horror genre with ‘Scare Tactics’, I am now pushing my video game racing blog posts beyond Forza and into other racers.   ‘Rolling Start’ is now my catch-all video game racing blog post that will appear when I have some racing game news or stories I would like to share.   In this, my first edition, I will recount my success on obtaining a certain drift achievement in Forza Motorsport 3, my impending Blur beta key, and a little introduction on one of my new favourite Zune Marketplace TV shows.

Drift100K

Drift Lap
Earn over 100,000 points in a single lap.

Gamerscore = 5    Acquired 6/3/2010

Achievement Unlocked – Drift Lap:  I had previously made several attempts to gain this achievement to no avail.  I did have a feeling though that my Ford Focus RS would be the car to take me there.  The only thing was that I did not think that this front-wheel drive car had the hp to make my drifts score high enough to get the total of 100,000 points that I needed.

So yesterday I decided that another attempt needed to be made, this time though I auto-tuned my car into the ‘B’ Class to give it the power it would need to keep those tires spinning after the fact.  My first lap was somewhat of a failure, only garnering me 87,000 points, but it did allow me the practice I needed to get the feel for the new upgrades I applied to the car.  So next up was lap 2, and I was not going to be denied.

Right from the get go I could feel that with each corner I was producing more points.  At the half-way point I was already at 50,000 with nothing but down hill in front of me.  The picture above was taken near the end of my run, but I almost got ahead of myself as I was able to produce just enough points to get the achievement.  I have only a handful of achievements yet to earn in Forza 3, all surrounding the season mode.  So I hope to earn the rest over the next few months. Stay tuned for that.

blur_screenshot_09A Bizarre Turn of Events:   I thought I had sworn off Bizarre Creations.  I have been a staunch supporter of their brand since the days of Metropolis Street Racer on the Sega Dreamcast until the release PGR4 a couple of years back.  When BC was picked up by Activision, lost the PGR brand, and then was off to make a ‘Mario Kart’ style of racer, I figured they had jumped the shark so to speak, and I would move onto bigger and better things.

Sometimes for me my interest can turn on a dime, and with the recent buzz about the Blur beta, I suddenly have found myself back on the BC train!  At present I am waiting for my code to enter into the beta (thanks to twitter-friend @thewesker).  I actually once again find myself excited for an arcade racer.  I know if anyone can pull this off it is the team at BC.  And with features like twitter integration, challenges, and massive multiplayer racing, it is no wonder Blur has my attention.  Stay tuned for some of my Blur impressions in an upcoming post.

480-topgearTop Show, Top Gear:   My brother introduced me to this show and I now I am a die-hard fan!  If you like cars and like being entertained you will love Top Gear.  Heck, I wager that even if you did not like cars you would still love it (I made my wife watch…she loved it).  It is hard to explain why it is so good, I just recommend that you go to your Zune Marketplace and download an episode and see for yourself.  Even the culture barrier is shattered as both North Americans and Europeans will find common ground and common laughs during an episode.

Abarth_500And that is all for now.  Be sure to check in on my Storefront in Forza Motorsport 3 (Gamertag SUPERGHOST of course).  While there please be sure to view and rate my photos as well as do a little shopping.  Check out my latest creation above for my 2010 FIAT Abarth 500 esseesse.  Get it while it is hot! On the web, check out my Profile Page at forzamotorsport.net.  Until next time, don’t let off the accelerator!

Home Page | Forza Motorsport

Twitter: @superghost

1:28 PM 0 comments

Scare Tactics - Episode #2: Featuring Deadly Premonition

It Wasn’t Wrapped in Plastic 

Part of being scared certainly is the ‘surprise’ factor.  Episode Two of Scare Tactics is what I would consider a ‘surprise’ edition as that I did not know up until the last hour that I would be writing this post.  This edition looks at two budget conscious and curious additions of survival-horror games to my Xbox 360, Ignition Entertainment’s Deadly Premonition and Atari’s Alone in the Dark.

deadly-premonition-announced-x360Did Not See Deadly Premonition Coming: I follow former 1UP.com ‘man –god’ and current Director of Business Development at Ignition Entertainment, Shane Bettenhausen, via his twitter feed as I do many other industry types.  I did see several mentions of Deadly Premonition, but sometimes I skim the feed so quickly I do not get all the detail I need.  So when I saw Shane tweeting about this game I automatically assumed that it was another Wii game as I was under the impression that it was all they were doing.

Last night my brother joined my Xbox LIVE party late at night and started raving about this new game, Deadly Premonition.  Using key descriptors like Twin Peaks-like, open-world, survival-horror, and most importantly, $25 price tag, I was quickly sold on this game and knew I had to have it!  Now that I was sold on acquiring this game my next hurdle would be to actually find this game in stores.  Knowing how GameStop/EB operates, I knew this game would be short-ordered, with perhaps one or two copies to be made available per store.  But if I have been in the dark about this game, more than most would be as well.  So this morning my search ended as quickly as it began, I snagged the last copy of this niche title from my local EB Games.

Now that I have it, I look forward to playing it.  I am going to go into it cold, not reading any previews or reviews to cloud my judgement.  All I have to go on is the brief description given by my brother and the back of the game’s box which I am looking at right now.  It certainly looks and sounds to be very interesting.  The one glaring negative that was expressed to me by my brother was that the game’s graphics lacks much to be desired.  But recent plays and purchases of Silent Hill: Shattered Memories and Silent Hill Origins has already prepped me for less than perfect graphical fidelity.  So tonight I will journey to Greenvale to investigate the town’s deadly secrets.  Wish me luck!

alone-in-the-dark-screenshot-ny-nightThird Time ‘In The Dark’ is the Charm?: Another unusual pickup for me this week was the re-acquiring of Alone in the Dark for the Xbox 360.  I have had a long history with this game without actually ever playing it.  At first I had i pre-ordered and ready to go when I got scared off by poor reviews.  Now normally I don’t let reviewers dictate my gaming picks, but when money is tight and choices between games have to be made, Alone in the Dark was voted off my island.

My next encounter with Alone in the Dark came when I purchased a discounted version of the game (complete with a AitD T-shirt) for $18.  I actually got as far as putting this disk into my console and dabbling for a few minutes, but that was as far as I would get.  It wasn’t meant to be as later traded the game off in a massive purge of my 360 collection.

Finally, this week I was picking up some Microsoft points at my local EB when I saw AitD sitting on the shelf with a $4 price tag.  I will buy any Xbox 360 game for under $5, even if it is just for the possibility to acquire a nice game case.  So I once again have the game in my possession (as well as the game’s soundtrack which was included with the game), I am unsure when I will try to play it again, but since it was so cheap I am sure I will never trade it in, so it is with me for good.  I have always had an interest in the game.  Perhaps it would be a good warm-up for Remedy’s Alan Wake which is set to arrive this May.

alan_wake_1So in conclusion, it looks like al signs point to Alan Wake.  Like Deadly Premonition, Alan Wake has been compared to Twin Peaks.  As for Alone in the Dark, its episodic styling's and fire/light combat have oft drawn comparison to the upcoming Alan Wake.  Rest assured I will be focusing on Alan Wake as its release draws closer.  For now, just be sure to check under your bed and close the closet door before going to sleep!

Deadly Premonition

Twitter: @superghost

2:29 PM 0 comments

Scare Tactics - Episode #1: Featuring Silent Hill Origins

For Games That Go ‘Bump’ in the Night!

Previously in my blog I would post on Zombie games with ‘Zombie Action News’.  Since I have a strong interest in Horror-themed games I thought I would expand my scope beyond the Zombie menace and branch out into ‘Survival Horror’ games as well as others that will fit the into this genre.

For as long as I can remember I have always been a fan of ‘scary’ games.  in the 90s we saw the rise of the ‘Survival Horror’ genre with the arrival of Resident Evil franchise.  Soon after we saw the sophistication of the genre with the more cerebral Silent Hill games.  Now many games and series of games have come, gone, or hung around in this space, but certainly Resident Evil and Silent Hill are the biggest names on this block.  For my first edition of ‘Scare Tactics’ I will some of my recent goings-on with each of these two franchises.  Stick around for some old news and personal perspectives on the survival of horror games if you dare:

lisaoriginsposterOrigin of the Species: I recently posted about my adventures in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, the most recent of Silent Hill titles.  I have had a strong desire, if I ever can find the time, to play through the entire catalogue of Silent Hill games.  Over the past several months I have been acquiring all the games, some of which I already had, some on eBay, others waiting for the price to be right.  Regarding Silent Hill Origins, I thought I would need to buy a PSP in order to play it, something this weekend I was strongly considering.  I liked the idea of having a portion of the series playable on the go (Silent Hill, Shattered memories, and Origins).

On vacation this past weekend I was in a used game store in Calgary when I noticed Silent Hill Origins on the shelf for the PS2.  I have been so out of the loop regarding Playstation releases that I did not even realize the game arrived on the PS2 as well.  I picked it up and now I believe I have all of the core releases in the franchise.  The only thing with ‘Origins’ is that I know nothing about it.  I had heard in passing that the game is not particularly good.  I will be the first to admit that most Silent Hill games suffer from control issues.  Nevertheless, I am excited for this addition to my collection. 

Here is a rundown of my Silent Hill collection along with the corresponding system that I have it on in order of its release.  Hopefully I can find the time to marathon these games in the near future:

  • Silent Hill (PS1)
  • Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams (Xbox)
  • Silent Hill 3 (PS2)
  • Silent Hill 4: The Room (Xbox)
  • Silent Hill: Origins (PS2)
  • Silent Hill: Homecoming (Xbox 360)
  • Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (PS2)

resident-evil-5-alternative-edition-dlc Back to the Mansion:  The 2009 Tokyo Game Show gave word that new downloadable scenarios would be made available For Resident Evil 5 in early 2010. "Lost in Nightmares" is essentially the prologue to RE5 as you play the alluded to adventure of Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine infiltrating the Spencer Estate in 2006 which clearly resembles the mansion from RE1.  The next episode, "Desperate Escape",  allows you to play as Josh Stone and Jill Valentine post Jill’s liberation as they race to assist Chris and Sheva in their quest.  We will also get to see for the first time in next-gen, Rebecca Chambers and Barry Burton, as they make their respective return to the series in the Mercenaries reunion.

Personally I am looking forward to the “Lost in Nightmares” Chapter as I was very intrigued by that flashback in RE5.  Also, word on the street is that it plays like a next-gen version of the original mansion.  My favourite parts of the Resident Evil franchise take place in the original mansion and the streets of Racoon City in RE2 and RE3.  Like Silent Hill, I too would love to run the table of Resident Evil games, again time is the factor that most stands in my way.

My core collection of Resident Evil games is complete along with one of the side games.  Here is a list of what I have:

  • Resident Evil (Saturn and Nintendo DS)
  • Resident Evil 2 (Dreamcast)
  • Resident Evil 3 (Dreamcast)
  • Resident Evil: Code Veronica (Dreamcast) Code Veronica X (PS2)
  • Resident Evil: Outbreak (PS2)
  • Resident Evil 4 (PS2)
  • Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360)

The completes my first edition of Scare Tactics.  In the next instalment I plan on getting up to speed with Dead Rising 2, BioShock 2, and Alan Wake. Until then make sure to check under your bed and close the closet door before going to sleep!

-SG

6:43 PM 0 comments

Massively Effective: Mass Effect 2 and the Cerberus Network

 

me2sheppard

Missing in Action
Save your crew from an overwhelming attack

Gamerscore = 5   Acquired 26/1/2010

One of the question I have about Mass Effect 2 is how they are going to keep it the game journalist minds 10 months down the road when ‘Game of the Year’ voting rears its ugly head.  I am only a dozen hours into the game, but you only really need to see the first hour of the game to acknowledge that Mass Effect 2 is not only heads and shoulders above its predecessor, but that it is one of the finest games of this generation.  By blending genres BioWare has created the unthinkable, a hardcore RPG that anyone can play.

I could write thousands of words comparing the two Mass Effect games, the improvements and changes that were made, the graphics, the sound, everything that makes this package special.  What I think perhaps the most important change/addition to the new title is the inclusion of the in game news feed/DLC delivery system, the Cerberus Network.

The Cerberus Network is very important in several ways.  Firstly it almost ensures that BioWare/EA will see money when a used copy of the game is purchased.  In order to enable the Cerberus Network you need to input a one-time use code that is included in every new copy of the game.  If you buy used you eill have to shell out 1,200 MS points to have access to this portal.  I am sure some gamers will find this upsetting, but developers are always looking for new ways to have gamers buy new copies of the game.

illusive_man-02-pSecondly, the Cerberus Network is the realization of a promise BioWare made prior to the release of Mass Effect 1.  Some years back we were told that new and interesting chapters of downloadable content will be made available for Mass Effect, bridging the gap between the sequels and keeping gamers engaged with the property.  We are all too aware of how that worked out.  In the years between games, BioWare was only able to squeeze out two content packs, one of which was more of a game mode that a add-on.  I have heard several reasons from project director Casey Hudson why that was the case, but that is the past, what is done is done.  The Cerberus Network has already added two DLC packs and promises much more in the future including vehicle missions.  The regularly updated news feed from around the Galaxy contributes to the games’ flavour.  These things will keep me checking back with the game over the following months.

Mass Effect 2 is designed to keep us coming back for more.  With so many choices to be made and ways to play the game, plus the ability to port over the decisions from the first Mass Effect and take all that data beyond into Mass Effect 3, BioWare is creating an RPG dynasty the likes of which we have never seen.  It even has me wanting to once again go back into ME1 so that I can play both games all over again, and I am not even close to being done my first ME2 playthrough!  So when 2010 draws to a close I believe BioWare has set a stage so that we all will not forget ME2 when comes to choosing the Game of the Year.  In fact, we will probably be playing an all-new mission from the Cerberus Network.

BioWare | Mass Effect 2

-SG

6:43 PM 0 comments

Massively Effective: Mass Effect 2 and the Cerberus Network

me2sheppard

Missing in Action
Save your crew from an overwhelming attack

Gamerscore = 5   Acquired 26/1/2010

One of the question I have about Mass Effect 2 is how they are going to keep it the game journalist minds 10 months down the road when ‘Game of the Year’ voting rears its ugly head.  I am only a dozen hours into the game, but you only really need to see the first hour of the game to acknowledge that Mass Effect 2 is not only heads and shoulders above its predecessor, but that it is one of the finest games of this generation.  By blending genres BioWare has created the unthinkable, a hardcore RPG that anyone can play.

I could write thousands of words comparing the two Mass Effect games, the improvements and changes that were made, the graphics, the sound, everything that makes this package special.  What I think perhaps the most important change/addition to the new title is the inclusion of the in game news feed/DLC delivery system, the Cerberus Network.

The Cerberus Network is very important in several ways.  Firstly it almost ensures that BioWare/EA will see money when a used copy of the game is purchased.  In order to enable the Cerberus Network you need to input a one-time use code that is included in every new copy of the game.  If you buy used you eill have to shell out 1,200 MS points to have access to this portal.  I am sure some gamers will find this upsetting, but developers are always looking for new ways to have gamers buy new copies of the game.

illusive_man-02-pSecondly, the Cerberus Network is the realization of a promise BioWare made prior to the release of Mass Effect 1.  Some years back we were told that new and interesting chapters of downloadable content will be made available for Mass Effect, bridging the gap between the sequels and keeping gamers engaged with the property.  We are all too aware of how that worked out.  In the years between games, BioWare was only able to squeeze out two content packs, one of which was more of a game mode that a add-on.  I have heard several reasons from project director Casey Hudson why that was the case, but that is the past, what is done is done.  The Cerberus Network has already added two DLC packs and promises much more in the future including vehicle missions.  The regularly updated news feed from around the Galaxy contributes to the games’ flavour.  These things will keep me checking back with the game over the following months.

Mass Effect 2 is designed to keep us coming back for more.  With so many choices to be made and ways to play the game, plus the ability to port over the decisions from the first Mass Effect and take all that data beyond into Mass Effect 3, BioWare is creating an RPG dynasty the likes of which we have never seen.  It even has me wanting to once again go back into ME1 so that I can play both games all over again, and I am not even close to being done my first ME2 playthrough!  So when 2010 draws to a close I believe BioWare has set a stage so that we all will not forget ME2 when comes to choosing the Game of the Year.  In fact, we will probably be playing an all-new mission from the Cerberus Network.

BioWare | Mass Effect 2

-SG