Bioware

The new Star Wars: The Old Republic cinematic trailer, “Return”: Excuse me for a sec, while I try real hard to hold my eyeballs in. They’re sort of bleeding out right now from watching all that awesomeness — but also from the flash and razzle dazzle. And here I thought the “Hope” trailer was over the top. Still, Blur Studios has done it again, pulling off what is in my opinion the most detailed and elaborate out of all the SWTOR cinematic trailers. They gave attention to both the Empire and the Republic, filling in some of the history for both Satele and Malgus, while throwing in a healthy dose of space combat and the compulsory lightsaber duel sequences. A few classes also got to relish their moments in the limelight, though some managed to look waaaaay cooler than others, *cough* Smuggler *cough*. I was a little skeptical about the overall look and feel of the Gunslinger at first, but no longer. He looked like he was born to rock the Star Wars … [Read more...] about SWTOR: E3 Eye Candy

Three and a half months later, I am finally finished with Mass Effect 3. I know I’m late to the party, but I wrote this post anyway because I was immediately asked left and right about my thoughts on the ending. Obviously, the rest of this entry will contain spoilers, so if you still wish to avoid them, feel free move along; I’ll understand. I myself have been dodging spoilers like a madwoman dodging missiles in a Michael Mann movie since March. So here goes. After all that I’ve heard, I braced myself for the ending. From the hubbub, you’d have thought BioWare committed the worst travesty of travesties when it comes to the final moments of the game. Now why do I feel like I’ve been punk’d by the entire internet? As the final scene after the credits played, I found myself staring at the screen and thinking…what the hell, it wasn’t that bad. I sought to do some post-game research and discovered that those who dislike the ending mostly fall … [Read more...] about Mass Effect 3 Ending: I Hate It And I Don’t Hate It

Too many colons in the title! During the time Bioware wasn’t busy absorbing every sub-developer of Electronic Arts, the company was busy working away at their first and arguably one of the most risky entrances into the MMO genre. The Old Republic is the labor of love of a company that has never put out an MMO, let alone having not developed a multi-player game since 2002. But with the announcement of The Old Republic, at least we knew that Bioware would be consistent, and that we could expect heavy voice acting, a whole load of plot and subplots, and an incredible soundtrack. I’ve found that The Old Republic is best played as Bioware once referred to it: Knights of the Old Republic 3, but online in a persistent world. The Old Republic is heavily instanced, and while that is for good reasoning, it’s a bit obnoxious when you walk into each city and see a number of buildings that cannot be entered because they are locked by class or by level. However, as it stands, all … [Read more...] about Why Aren’t You Playing: Star Wars: The Old Republic

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a new story was told that captured the minds of millions, and to this day, continues to capture them. The movies started it, then books, then video games, then a duo of animated series, all have helped make it grand. Yet, for video games, there’s one key drawback, many of them are considered “non-canon”, and by “many”, we mean pretty much all of them. The one exception being the upcoming Battlefront 2, which has a story which is made to be canon. But, for some, including us here at MMOExaminer, we think that the people at Disney/Lucasfilm can take this a step further, what if they did a canon game…set within an MMORPG? You might be thinking, “Aren’t they doing that in Star Wars: The Old Republic?” Well…yes and no, they’re trying to do something meaningful with the game, but, whether it’s canon or not is up for debate. Not to mention, because this takes place in the “Old … [Read more...] about Star Wars Needs An MMORPG That’s Official Canon

It’s Over At this point I don’t know for certain if my character is weeping tears of frustration or joy.  Which ever the case I am just really happy that as of today and by the time I get home from work… the Love is in the Air event will be finished.  I felt so damned conflicted this year when it came to this event, largely because I don’t even know why I was participating.  I really really do not enjoy World of Warcraft holiday events, because they somehow manage to make something that should feel fun an exciting… into an obligation.  Then on top of that… I don’t even like the Love Rocket mount.  However because it is the rarest mount in the game, and I do not already have one… I feel somehow obligated to try for it every year.  I wish I could understand why I do it… and to the extent of pushing aside other games that I would enjoy more just so I can haplessly farm for a chase mount.  Sure it only … [Read more...] about Deep Roads