Bioware has done it. While the famous video game studio may have stumbled with previous editions to its stellar space opera, the latest DLC Lair of the Shadow Broker is something to behold. Delivering on not only a great Mass Effect experience but a unique game in and of its own.

Story
------------------------------------------------------
The essential part of the Mass Effect series is its story.
Unfortunately (with the exception of Overlord), previous Mass Effect expansions have not been able to complete fulfill the expectations set by fans of the series. Lair of the Shadow Broker delivers, telling an emotional narrative that even rivals the main campaign.

The story follows Commander Shepard, and former teammate Liara as they struggle to take down a powerful and omniscient crime lord, whom Liara has a personal grudge with. Together the two face terrorists, high flying car chases, personal revelations, and more then a bit of humorous banter.

The plot carries on at breakneck speed. The action continues almost constantly, but feels completely natural. This makes the gaps between the chaos all the more important and impactful. Lair of the Shadow Broker feels truly cinematic, even more so then the main game.

In true Mass Effect fashion, Shadow Broker is a character driven tale. Liara T'Soni, a friend and squadmate from the original game, steals the show. Her character is truly expanded beyond the relatively shallow shell seen previously. Liara actually evolves as a character throughout the course of the narrative, something which is surprising considering that the campaign is relatively short.

However, Liara is not the only scene stealer. Something that Mass Effect 2 was missing was a memorable villain, Lair of the Shadow Broker has several. From the morally ambiguous Spectre Tela Vasir to the Shadow Broker himself, Bioware has collected an interesting rogue's gallery.

Even the normally hollow Shepard has his moment to shine. Perhaps where Shadow Broker is most memorable is its fun and amiable relationship created between its protagonist and Liara. The two joke and banter like old friends, and it feels incredibly genuine. It's also really funny.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for your squadmates. Although Bioware makes sure to add in a cool feature that allows them to further flesh out your battle hardened team, your squad will once again remain completely silent for this mission. While understandable due to budget constraints, it's still a frustrating experience.

+Exciting Main Plot
+Dozens of memorable moments
+Great Characters
+Great Comic Relief
-Silent Squadmates

Score: 38/40

Gameplay
-----------------------------------------
Story is the only aspect that makes Lair of the Shadow Broker such a success. The expansion delivers everything the fans have come to love with the addition of a new temporary squadmate, new game feature, smarter AI, and interesting combat locales.

While she does not remain with your party permanently, Liara makes an interesting and welcome addition to your team. Her biotics powers are unique, and allow for some combat. Liara's addition to the game also comes with a revistable location that will updated with upcoming expansions.

The enemies are also more intelligent. They can now throw flash-bang grenades and employ clever flanking tactis, all adding to the experience. Add on some of the most original locations in the history of the series and you have some really memorable combat sequences.

Easily the most drastic edition to the game, the high speed car chase may be the clunkiest edition as well. While its exciting and a fun change, the controls for the vehicle are stiff and confusing. Luckily, this experience is so short that you are ultimately left with a cool experience without the frustration.

+All that made Mass Effect 2 good
+Liara
+Smarter enemies
+Memorable Locales
+/- Chase Sequence

Score: 38.5/40

Graphics
---------------------------------

Mass Effect has always been a stunningly beautiful game, and Lair of the Shadow Broker continues this to great degree. With great new locales that look jaw-droppingly good, and increasingly complex character animations Lair of the Shadow Broker looks better then ever.

While you may encounter the occasional awkwardly animated scene, there is little negative to be found.

+Locales
+Character Animations
-Bugs

9.5/10

Sound
----------------------------
Mass Effect 2 has perhaps some of the best sound ever in a video game. From expertly crafted sound effects, genuine voice acting, and a powerful score, the game is an absolute aural treat. Lair of the Shadow Broker is no different.

The same expert voice acting returns, along with Jack Wall's score. The music itself is perhaps even more spectacular this time around. Jack Wall pens new themes for the Shadow Broker and his team, while incorporating themes from the first Mass Effect to accompany Liara.

+Score
+Voice Acting
+Sound Effects

Score 10/10
---------------------------------------
Overall:
Definitely the best edition to the Mass Effect franchise in months, this expansion is necessary for any fan of the series.

Aggregate/Overall Score: 96

September 7th will be a big day for Bioware fans. With it two of their largest titles move forward to their next stage of existence in the release of DLC for Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2. Dragon Age Origins fans will be treated with Witch Hunt the final DLC for the game that will wrap up the story of your Grey Warden and will reveal the fate of the witch Morrigan. Mass Effect 2 will also move forward with its DLC Lair of the Shadow Broker. This new chapter in the games story will connect the plots of Mass Effect 2 and 3 and will feature the return of fan favorite Liara.

Whoa! Is the Around The Web feature actually on time today? Yes it is! And this week we have late breaking memes, unnecessary censorship, and some stupid Mass Effect video I think is funny...Never said I had a good sense of humor.

1. Epic Football Fail
------------------------------------------------

This latest breakout viral hit has taken Youtube by storm.

2. Viral Classic: The Count Censored
----------------------------------------------

The original censorship classic, has spawned an Internet craze that has spread through almost every form of media. However, nothing beats this original Sesame Street classic.


3. Mass Effect CSI
-------------------------------------------

Yes....I did just do that.

When it comes to DLC, the Mass Effect series has been a mixed bag at best. You have your fantastic add ons (Brind Down the Sky, your mediocre (Kasumi's Lost Memory), and your terrible (Normandy Crash Site). Although it is nice to have regular additions to the amazing franchise that Bioware has created, it is disappointing that that fans are not given a more consistent level in quality to these (some times expensive) features. It is easy to say that the latest update, Overlord, although far from perfect is the best released for Mass Effect 2 so far.


Story
------------------------------------------------------

The story is the essential part of any Bioware game, and unfortunately almost every DLC has been lacking in this department so far. The concept for Overlord is a fairly simple one. Cerberus scientists in an attempt to gain influence over remaining Geth forces have interfaced a human mind with a highly intelligent and powerful virtual intelligence. When the VI goes highwire, machinery around the planet goes haywire and launches an all out assault against the science team. However, it does not stop there. The menacing computer plans to spread its influence across the entire galaxy creating a galaxy wide apocalypse. Already the scale of this DLC is far larger then any of those previously presented. For the first time since the main game it feels as if the mission we are undertaking is a worthy one for our now battle hardened team. Although the plot is a seemingly familiar one, Bioware manages to tell the story with a decidedly disturbing, human, and emotional tone. Despite the overarching plot, story only really matters at the onset and ending of the mission. However, the ending to Overlord is absolutely fantastic. The last twenty minutes of the campaign justifies several hours of relative mediocrity and is easily one of the best Mass Effect scenes ever rendered. The choice presented to the players is shocking and surprisingly poignant. There are also moments of refreshing comic relief scattered throughout the missions. However, perhaps the most disappointing aspect of Overlord is how little our main characters do throughout the campaign. Shepard (outside of the bookends of the mission) is surprisingly silent except for several snarky quips. Most upsetting is that your teammates will never utter a word. Although this is understandable due to budget and actor constraints, it is still sad to have your teamamtes stand there like relative puppets. (However, there is a rather nice scene involving Legion and the lead scientist.)

+Great Presentation
+Humor
+Fantastic Ending Sequence
+Epic Scale
-Slightly Cliched Main Plot
-Silent Teammates
-Story only relevant at the beginning and end of campaign.

Score: 32/40


Gameplay
--------------------------------------------------------
The base game of Mass Effect 2 remains in this DLC. The outstanding combat and dialogue system remains, with great opportunities presented for both. There are numerous fun action set pieces in this expansion including a rather disturbing series of bosses ranging from a corrupted Geth Prime and the insane VI itself. The dialogue is offered less time to shine, but the amazing interrupt system is once again a standout. There are also numerous puzzles introduced into the gameplay that add to the experience. Perhaps the best introduction gameplay wise into this DLC is the expanded use of the Hammerhead vehicle, first introduced in the Firewalker pack earlier this year. Unlike the original Mass Effect's Mako tank, the Hammerhead is easy to handle and is alot of fun to use. There are numerous creative uses of the vehicle, including some very fun platforming sequences. However, the same flaws present in the original Firewalker pack still remain. The Hammerhead still only has one form of attack, and it you are prohibited from saving within the vehicle. Luckily, there are numerous autosaves which prevents this flaw from totally ruining the experience. Unfortunately, the campaign is also annoyingly short only lasting about five to six hours in length.

+Great Combat Sequences
+Fun Puzzles
+/-Dialogue
+/-Hammerhead
-Short

Score: 35/40


Graphics
---------------------------------------------------------
Overlord is perhaps the most impressive looking Mass Effect content ever released. Exploring the planet the campaign takes place is a breathtaking experience. As the VI on your Hammerhead points out, the scenery is a beautiful sight. Whether its the flames of the volcanic station of the game, the haunting presence of the VI as it stalks you throughout your mission, or the Tron-esque finale Bioware has provided a striking visual experience. The amazing character animations remain, and only experience slight hiccups.

+Outstanding visual design and scenery
+ Outstanding character animations
-Some minor graphical hiccups


Score: 9.5/10

Sound
-----------------------------------------------------------
Mass Effect has always shined when it came to an exceptional sound experience, and Overlord is no different. Jack Wall's score returns, although more subtle then in previous iterations. The top notch voice acting is still present, although in smaller additions then in the main game. Shepard's actor gets better with each time he plays the character, and he is far from the wooden statue like soldier seen in the original. However, the real star are the brilliant sound effects. Whether its the pang of bullets shooting past your head, or the eerie insect liking shrieking of the villainous computer Overlord is an aural treat.

+Jack Wall's Score
+Voice Acting
+Sound Effects

Score: 10/10

Overall
---------------------------------------------------------
Overlord may not be perfect, but for Mass Effect fans it is easily the best expansion delivered since the award winning Bring Down the Sky for the series's original installment. Your money is well spent in this short but sweet gem of a DLC.

Aggregate Score: 86.5/100
Overall Score: 88/100

Although the Mass Effect DLC's tend to be a mixed bag, it is still always a pleasure to have a reason to return to spend time with Shepard and his crew. However, the latest DLC Overlord, which was shown at this year's E3, looks to be the breath of fresh air that Mass Effect fans have been waiting for.

UPDATE: EA has come out to say that these rumors are completely false, and that we will not see Mass Effect 3 or Dragon Age 2 at this year's E3.

Bioware is slowly becoming the most successful and influential video game studio in the industry. With such titles as The Old Republic, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age taking the world by storm, Bioware has changed the way that storytelling is approached in video games.

The critically acclaimed company announced last month that production had begun on a film adaptation to the science fiction epic Mass Effect. Today, Bioware released further plans to expand their franchises into different forms of media. According to aintitcool.com, Bioware along with FUNimation plans to release an anime adaptation of their fantasy RPG Dragon Age some time next year.

Here is the press release listed on the site:

BioWare and FUNimation Entertainment will be collaborating on an anime movie adaptation of well regarded fantasy RPG Dragon Age.

Production of the Dragon Age anime movie is slated to begin this month with a home video release in 2011. Executive producing the film are BioWare's Executive Producer Mark Darrah and Creative Director Mike Laidlaw, as well as FUNimation's president and CEO Gen Fukunaga and Director of Original Entertainment Chris Moujaes.

Dragon Age has been selected as the first title in FUNimation's slate of major anime movies to be developed through FUNimation's Original Entertainment team since the announcement of the company's co-production initiative in November 2009.

"Dark heroic fantasy" Dragon Age: Origins, reminiscent of works like George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, allowed the player to explore the history of a Human Noble, Mage, Dalish Elf, City Elf, Dwarf Commoner or Dwarf Noble before taking control of a Grey Warden in their campaign to revived Darkspawn.

Perhaps one of the most influential and universally praised role playing games of our time, Mass Effect has now become a worldwide hit. The franchise will even have a movie adaptation in the coming years. Naturally Bioware would want to expand on its most successful property; however, today's news comes as a surprise.

Today, Bioware posted a job listing asking for help in adapting one of its major properties into a multiplayer system. Seeing as the announcement was made from Bioware's headquarters in Montreal, which is most known for its work on the Mass Effect series, it is easy to assume that we will at some point in the future see a multiplayer aspect to the Mass Effect experience.

Source: IGN.com

Back in February I posted a commentary about the possibility of a Mass Effect film, today Legendary Pictures announced that it has acquired the rights for the popular sci-fi video game series and plans to distribute the film through Warner Bros. The creative minds behind the new Batman films Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni along with Avi Arad, producer of the Spider-man films, and Casey Hudson, executive producer of the first two games in the series, will co-create the project.

The three producers issued the following statements regarding the partnership between studios and genres.

Thomas Tull:"Mass Effect is a tremendous property ripe for translation to the big screen. Mass Effect is a prime example of the kind of source material we at Legendary like to develop; it has depth, compelling characters and an engaging back story. This coupled with Avi and Ari producing and the skills of a great team adapting the screenplay, are the start of turning this smash videogame based property into a successful feature film."

Avid Arad:"We are thrilled to be working with Legendary. EA and BioWare are terrific partners who have created a brilliant piece of fiction with a universe filled with amazing aliens and technology. More importantly, though, they created a parable whose conflicts mirror the ones we currently face in our own world. This story emphasizes the need for all cultures to learn to work together. All this magic is presented in a fast paced action-adventure that makes for the best kind of movie experience."

Casey Hudson: "At BioWare, we've always thought of Mass Effect as having the depth, emotion and plot twists perfectly suited for an adaptation to a motion picture. With Legendary and Avi and Ari Arad attached, we believe that the Mass Effect movie will be an extraordinary entertainment event that realizes our vision for the franchise and thrills fans."

(All quotes courtesy of ign.com)

My Opinion: What I think of a Mass Effect film is detailed in my commentary mentioned earlier. However, I am glad that the film is in good hands. With Casey Hudson attached to the production it is likely the film will be respectful to the original.

My Commentary:

After several disappointing free DLC's for Bioware's sci-fi masterpiece, April brings us our first priced expansion to Mass Effect 2. This new update looks to have the depth and story that the other expansions were missing, keep your fingers crossed folks.

Well ladies and gents, the time has come. After about two and half weeks the mighty Mass Effect 2 has fallen to my gaming abilities. Has Bioware's latest epic lived up to the/(my own) hype? Does it deliver its promises? Read on!

Story
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The essential part of any Bioware game is its story. Bioware is a master at its craft creating beautiful in depth worlds with complex and captivating characters. Mass Effect 2 begins with a bang and continues throughout the entire game. The story follows Commander Shepard, returning from a brief hiatus to assemble a team of heroes, assassins, prisoners, and mercenaries to take on what appears to be a suicide mission. Although the main story itself lapses into the occasional cliche (the ending boss is familiar to say the least), the real strength of this story rely in the side moments inside. Since Mass Effect 2 relies on your save game from the previous installment, you'll find yourself interacting with some incredibly personal moments. Discussing fallen teammates with the ships doctor, getting a hug from your former teammates, or even meeting up with that annoying fan from the Citadel all resonate deeply because they actually feel like something you accomplished. Shepard himself is improved as a character as well. No longer a dry and lifeless hero, your Shepard actually gains personality according to your actions. This adds to the level of immersion. Mass Effect 2 delivers possibly Bioware's best cast to date. Every character is enthralling and beautifully rendered. They make you laugh, yell at your screen, and maybe cry. (Hey I said maybe.) When things come down to the final mission and the big choices really begin to culminate it is heartbreaking to lose them. ( I lost one of my favorite teammates on the end run.) In fact this may be where one of the games major story flaws is. Some of the decisions are to hard to live with. This adds a level of tension, but also heightens the frustration. A decision that activates at a certain point in the story will hurt you no matter what happens.

+Good Writing/Dialogue
+Shepard has personality
+/-Hard Choices
+Amazing Charcters
+Memorable Moments Throughout
-Slightly cliched main plot

Score: 39/40

Gameplay
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perhaps the biggest fallback to the original Mass Effect was its gameplay. Although combat was fun it was often hampered by dumb AI, lackluster coversystem, and lack of weapons. When looking that the combat between the two games, it really could be compared to night and day. Mass Effect 2's encounters are intense, action packed, and exciting. The game delivers a caliber of action that can only be compared to the Call of Duty series in intensity. The new heavy weapon system also allows for fun kills, and really do make you feel like a badass. The dialogue system from the new game remains intact, but this time sports an interrupt system that allows for your character to become even more of a hero or villain. The terrible Mako system is gone, replaced with an easy dropdown shuttle system. The sidequests have also been fleshed out and have much more originality then the previous installment. However, the gameplay does suffer from a few hitches. The first being the mining. Although harvesting resources does grow on you as the game progresses, it is just incredibly slow paced and monotonous compared to the rest of the game. There are also numerous points where the game will crash or you will float up into the sky. In other words its slightly buggy. However, the most blatant problem with the game design wise is the odd mission completed screen that appears after every quest. This drags you out of the experience and feels out of place in an rpg. There is also a lack of general RPG elements, but in the end this allows for a much more streamlined shooter experience.

+Fantastic Combat
+Amazing dialogue system
+Fun Quests
-Mining
-Design flaws

Score: 38/40

Graphics
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mass Effect 2's graphics standout primarily due to their art design. Although not on the level of such powerhouses as the Call of Duty franchise or Uncharted, the graphics of Mass Effect 2 carry the necessary emotion and grittiness needed for the sci-fi world it depicts. The environments are detailed, expansive, and incredibly atmospheric. The character animations especially in combat are fluid and natural, and add to the intensity. However, perhaps Mass Effet's greatest strength is the facial movements in its interactive cutscenes. The emotion and weight carried by the face alone is astounding.

+Detailed Environments
+Smooth animation
+Charcter design
+Art design
-Lacks the polish of other games
Score 9/10

Sound
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bioware games are known for their amazing voice acting, and Mass Effect 2 doesn't disappoint. With such actors as Martin Sheen, Yvonne Strahovski, Tricial Helfer, and Seth Green in the supporting cast it is little wonder that the sound in this game is phenomenal. The game triumphs outside of the acting to. The battle sound effects are superb and frenzied. The zip of bullets flying past your head, and the screech of laser fire adds to the intensity. Yet, the real star is Jack Hall's superb and heroic soundtrack.

+Outstanding voice acting
+Polished sound effects
+Amazing Score

Score: 10/10

Overall
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mass Effect 2 is a phenomenal game, and has probably taken the place of my favorite game of all time. Yes I said it, shut up haters. With a personal and emotional story, and intense gameplay this sci-fi epic is one to remember.

Aggregate Score: 96/100
Overall Score: 97/100
(Yes they're basically the same, shut up.)
Letter grade: A+

In the first week alone, Biowares "Mass Effect 2" has sold over 2 million copies in the first week alone. And with an average score of 96, its safe to say the game was a success.

Just to prove my point on how awesome this game will be. I will have my own review up once I have finished my play through. Also, Tali has been confirmed as a love interest. (Listens to the thousand screaming fanboys)

I am sufficiently hyped.

Watch at your leisure. Caution: SPOILERS!

Wow. More Mass Effect? Does Bioware want me to die from a nerd induced coma? Here we go. This new developer diary focuses on the character costumization and planetary exploration in the game, but also offers several new interesting story bits. We also get our first shot of Ashley Williams for the new game. Fanboys once again rejoice.

As release date nears, we get more and more hype for Bioware's newest magnum opus. Syfy is now airing a special for the game due out on the 19th. We have a short clip of it below. Looks pretty interesting if you ask me, even if it is just one long commercial.