Is Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut Any Good?

As Bioware promised, the new Mass Effect 3 ending came out on the June 26. It’s free to download, and
I believe it provides a more satisfying ending.

*Spoilers*

The new details start in London after the Reaper is destroyed. There’s an extra scene involving the squad
right before Shepard beams up to the Citadel. There are a few changed details in the conversation with
the star child, plus the ability to ask him more questions. There is one new ending option, and a longer
ending cinematic, regardless of the ending choosen.

*End of spoilers*

Is the ending going to satisfy the internet? I doubt it. But the internet has surprised me before, so I’ll
hope that it does. See, I never had a problem with the ending in the first place. It wasn’t perfect, but
I accepted it for what it was. I’m such a big fan of Mass Effect that I was just happy to have the game.
Really. I’d been looking forward to Mass Effect 3 since I finished Mass Effect 2, and I wasn’t going to
let anything ruin it for me. Maybe I’m biased. I enjoyed the new ending more, and I’m glad Bioware
released it. And honestly, it’s free, so there’s no reason anyone should be upset with the new ending.

-Emily Sherburn

Magic: The Gathering Review: Better then the rest?

Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers is one long title. Despite the incredible improvements to Magic 2012, it lacked a few things. Does Magic 2013 improve on what was already there and make the game worth upgrading to?

Story:

There is no story. It's a card game. Magic 2013 knows what it is so it doesn't really give one. There is the slight story introduced in the opening sequence, but never touches on it again.

Gameplay:

The objective of the Magic card game, as well as the games, are about one thing and that's dueling each other using decks. The core experience hasn't changed one bit. There is a campaign mode to go through. Each stage of it has a increasing amount of AI opponents. Along the way, you unlock decks and cards. All of this concludes with the final boss Nicol Bolas. The AI is relentless in this game. It's almost to the point of cheating. Whatever cards you have, they almost always have something to counter it. It's very hard to win at this game unless you think ahead. Not that it's a bad thing. It's just upsetting.

"Planechase" is a new mode in Magic 2013. It's beyond infuriating. Four players face off in a free-for-all match. There is a deck in the middle laying next to a dice. Depending on what you roll, the card will change. Each card is different with each changing the overall game-play. The results can lead to some interesting things, allowing almost everyone to reach 700+ life-points or more at times. At that point, the game just turns into whoever runs out of cards last wins. The first "Planechase" match lasted me almost two hours, and I didn't even win. I'm a big fan of the Magic card game, but this mode tests my patience to the absolute limits.

One of the most wanted features for the Magic games is deck customization. Sadly, it just isn't there. It would make the game hard to balance, and it could make the game no fun, as anyone could look online for the best combination of cards. One thing that would be nice is land customization. Players try to have as close to 60 as possible, but 24 of those are forced to be land. That is a very high number, as there will be times where you draw nothing but land turn after turn. I hope that this will be improved on the next edition next year.

Sound:

Graphics:

The graphics are as good as they can be in this type of game. The cards detail makes them look quite stunning. The board itself has a lot to be desired, but that can't be changed. The interface has had some improvements done to it, such as selecting cards with enchantments or artifacts. It is now much easier to see what is going on.

The problem with the game is its random issues. The game has a good amount of syncing issues online, while single player has the interface sparring out at random times. Also, if the AI can't decide to do something, the game will sometimes just completely crash.

Lasting appeal:

There is a normal campaign, a revenge campaign where all your opponents are more aggressive, and a "Planechase" mode. The further you get in the game, the more frustrated you will get. However, you also get better at the game which is what really matters.

"Planechase", Two Headed Giant, Free-for-all, and more allow for co-op to be played. Some modes work very well with other players, such as Two Headed Giant. "Planechase", on the other hand, is a bore. A "Planechase" match against the AI can hit two hours or more. Humans, naturally, lengthen that time a great deal. Many players quit before the game normally ends.

Conclusion:

The goal of the Magic video games is to get a player hooked, then have them go out and buy the cards. It is very, very good at it. The amount of attention to everything in Magic 2013 is quite obvious. It's been improving year after year and this year is no different. It's a fantastic game to own for everyone, both for Magic fans or just casual gamers.

This game has been reviewed for PC primarily, but it has also been played on both the Xbox 360 version and the iPad version.

Edit: I didn't give it a score as I didn't feel like it needed one. It's a casual game based off a card game. The same would go for mobile games. It's best to give my thoughts and have the player decide on purchasing it. Any other game, especially full retail games, would receive a score.

Sony's Conference Thoughts

After the poor performance of Microsoft this morning, I expected Sony to do better. They did, but not by much.

Opening montage:
Mind blown. That was the way to start off E3!

Quantic Dream's Beyond:
Their previous game was Heavy Rain so I was expecting a graphics feast. I wasn't disappointed. It was incredible. It's also incredible that it was all done in real time, something Xbox fails at. Job well done! While it showed very little gameplay, I'm excited. Besides, the main charectar is performed by Ellen Page.  That's enough for me.

Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale:
The title is horrible, but what can you do? It is a direct copy of Super Smash Brawl, but that can be overlooked. The levels themselves mix in with many Playstation locations, such as the God of War series or Racket and Clank. It also has cross play between the Playstation 3 and the PS Vita. They showed a demo of this and it was really good. Two played on the Vita and the other two were on the PS3. The combat, however, looked rather boring. It was just them jumping around trying to hit the air. I was also expecting more in the graphics department. They chose a very bland graphic style, most likely to blend in with any of the game locations that it takes you to. It's not high on my list of games to get.

They ended the showing by unveiling two new charectars to the game. Big Daddy from Bioshock and Nathan Drake from Uncharted.

Cross Play between Vita and PS3:
All talk, little show. They only showed this for Battle Royale and a little with LittleBigPlanet.

Playstation Store:
Bragging about their store, especially with Journey. Unfinished Swan looks rather good, though. I'm looking forward to it.

Playstation Plus:
They just exploded the amount of games that it offers. I'm so impressed. $5 bucks a month for five or more free games is just incredible.

Vita:
Youtube and Hulu coming to the Vita. Yawn.

Call of Duty Vita:
Oh god. It's true. Black Ops 2: Declassified is coming to the Vita.

Assassin's Creed for Vita:
IT'S TRUE! IT'S TRUE!!! OH MAN! Gorgous graphics, rendered wonderfully. It comes out the same day that AC3 does. That's going to tear my heart apart. Vita is coming in white soon

Assassin's Creed 3:
Another demo is being shown. I'm okay with this. It's showing a naval battle this time around. The water alone is something to behold. The player is just about to crash the ship into another ship. There are cannons going off everywhere. Oh god. A cannon ball just killed a guy and it was glorious.  The demo also showed off a dynamic weather system. Assassin's Creed 3 will take game of the year for sure.
That and Microsoft is dead in the water. All they have is Halo 4.

Far Cry 3:
They just announced that Far Cry 3 has four player coop. Some screen tearing and dubstep don't stop them from kicking some ass. Job well done.

Playstation Move:
Dust 514, Bioshock, Epic Mickey 2, etc. All of this games are said to use the Move. Why? Nobody uses it.

Wonderbook:
What did I just see? I don't even know what happened. They did announce the first book coming to it is Book of Spells, made by J.K. Rowling. It's cool, but the whole presentation is really off. Everything is so very awkward. That's what you get when using motion capture technology, though. So much for a flawless presentation...

Playstation Suite:
Playstation games are coming to any Android or iOS device. This basically puts Playstation exclusives such as InFamous onto mobie devices. Not much else was given.

God of War: Ascention:
The graphics are jaw dropping. Combat is the same old same old, only with more gore. I mean, they really went all out on that. Like stated, the combat is the same. it's a shame they didn't try to add on to it. Apparently Kratos has time control powers? He just rebuilt something that a sea monster just destroyed.
Once again going back to the graphics, though. The series has never really been about combat, but graphics and storyline. This one seems to go with both really well.

Last of Us:
Uncharted quality graphics, but we were already expecting that. The enviroments definately make it feel like the apocalypse happened. At one point, they go up against a vent. The amount of interaction between the object he is behind (such as touching it lightly or leaning against it) is incredible. Naughty Dog once again shines in the detail apartment. The rest of the game was mostly a escort mission. The combat doesn't improve much, despite the slamming into the wall part. Same old broken Uncharted gunplay. At another point in the demo, he pulled up a menu to create a moltov with the items he had on hand.

The demo had it's up and down moments. Graphics and attention to detail were a huge plus. The combat needs improvement, as does the AI. It's still high on my want list as it's a Naughty Dog game.

Conclusion:
Overall, it was a pretty good conferance. It showed off some great footage of God of War and Last of Us, but that was it. There was no new exclusives (InFamous 3, Sly Cooper) that were shown during the presentation. Sony did beat Microsoft, though. Too bad neither of them got even remotely close to the awesome that was Ubisoft. That conferance was pure gold.

Microsoft's Conference Thoughts

I was expecting quite a bit from Microsoft's conference. I'm not really a fanboy of the Xbox consoles, but I do prefer them at the moment. They suit my needs for gaming, as well as satisfy my desire for gamerscore. I'm addicted, but it's healthier then drugs or alcohol. The conference, however, was terrible. While not as bad as their previous ones, but it was up there among the worst.


Here is a summary of the conference.


Halo 4:
The conference started out with a bang. 343 showed off new footage of Halo 4 which was impressive. The graphics were top notch, as were the sound effects. The environments and new enemies were also very interesting. What striked me most, however, was the amount that Master Chief and Cortana were talking. Usually you just hear a few words or grunts from him. I had doubts about Halo 4, but the footage shown had me sold. November can't come fast enough.


Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Being a fan of the series ever since the first game, I was super excited for it's reveal. It opened up with someone carrying a body into a tent. You couldn't really tell until the mark feature from Splinter Cell Conviction was shown to mark the targets. The deaths were sweet, introducing a more fluid motion to the executions. Kinect functionality was also shown with the demo, but that's not what stuck out. What stuck out was the voice. It was younger, as well as rather odd. It might have been the demo, but the voice wasn't that good. However, there is plenty of time for the game to release so that might change. Reboot!


EA Sports:
Madden now has Kinect integration. That's about it.


Fable: The Journey also showed a trailer, but it was nothing exciting. It's a good thing this series is dead after this game.


Gears of War: Judgement:
New Gears of War! This game is set 15 years before the original, with Baird and Cole being the center of attention. Note the Xbox 360 logo at the end wasn't shown?


New Forza game. It looks more beautiful then ever. Does it still have the power to take on Need for Speed or Gran Turismo?


New Xbox Dashboard update:
A big focus on the Dashboard and Kinect were shown. Kinect can now recognize multiple languages as well as search genres. Nickelodeon, Paramount Movies, Machinima, Univision were also added to the list of subscription based content. Xbox Music was also introduced, which allows you to listen to Zune on everything basically.


New fitness game for the Kinect. Footage wasn't that exciting.


Smart Glass:
This was probably the biggest feature of this presentation. Smart Glass allows you to control your Xbox with any device, such as Ipad or any mobile phone. It can integrate into everything, such as controlling Madden or adding detailed maps to the likes of Skyrim. It was pretty impressive, but nothing new. The Vita can already do stuff like it.


INTERNET EXPLORER FOR THE XBOX!


Tomb Raider:
The demo of the latest Tomb Raider game was incredible. While it can be compared to Uncharted, it seems to set itself apart. It's gorgeous and very mature. She is no longer a busty girl that shoots people. The footage showed that she will get hurt, having to pull metal that she lands on out of her body. The animations needed a lot of work, but it's a very good start. Spring 2013!


Arcade games:
From the games that were shown, all new exclusives were Arcade based. I was extremely disappointed in this. Sony, after what was shown today, will continue to be king in console exclusives.


South Park:
Makers of Fallout: New Vegas made a South Park RPG. Enough said.


New Dance Central game. Usher showed it off. Yay...


Black Ops 2:
The presentation closed with footage from Black Ops 2. As expected, it was full of explosions and death. A few features stood out. The ability to control the drones were a nice touch, allowing the gameplay to become more thought out and not so run and gun. The graphics were the same as previous Call of Duty games, but it all has a brown tint now. The gunplay and sound effects were still top notch, though. The demo ended with a on the rails airplane fight. The demo ended after that.


The entire demo was pretty boring. It's true that it's different when watching someone else play, but it didn't have the same effect when watching the gameplay from Halo or Tomb Raider. Those were incredible to watch. The game demo itself must have been poorly put together, as it was lagging almost the entire time it was being presented. The game is set to release in November.


Conclusion:
For the most part, the conference was pretty much a fail. Smart Glass and Kinect features were nice, but that was the biggest focus during the presentation. The exclusives were Arcade based, which wasn't really a surprise. Everything was media based (Xbox Music, Kinect features, Browser, etc). In terms of games, all Microsoft seems to care about now is Forza, Gears, and Halo.


It's worth noting that nothing of the new Xbox was announced. Sad face...