It seems that BioWare and a browser-based development offset of EA called EA 2D have teamed up to produce Dragon Age Journeys: The Deep Roads. This game is a browser-based tactical RPG set in the same universe as Dragon Age: Origins.

There haven’t been many details regarding the game other than that it will be a 3-chapter title with talent trees, classes, sound effects, music and user interfaces taken straight from its console counterpart.

via bioware

Make note that this ring is in addition to the Memory Band in-game item that all retailers will be giving out to pre-orders of Dragon Age: Origins.

BioWare’s Dragon Age: Origins will be out for the Xbox 360 and PC on November 3rd and for the PS3 on November 17th.

The above launch trailer for BioWare’s Dragon Age: Origins has just hit the internet and boy does it make the game look good. Of course it doesn’t show any actual game play but the Lord of the Rings style cinematics really make me want to check this game out.

Despite being a launch trailer, we aren’t going to be able to get our hands on Dragon Age: Origins until November 3rd.

Bioware’s Mass Effect 2 will be out in stores sometime early next year.

“Fans of Mass Effect are going to be pleasantly shocked by the events in these comics,” said Walters. “We worked very closely with Dark Horse to make sure this story was built in to the Mass Effect 2 arc, right from the ground up. Reading the series won’t just add to your experience of the universe, it will change the way you look at Mass Effect 2… and beyond.”

Mass Effect: Redemption will be out in stores on January 6th, 2010.

Read (ActionTrip)

“We’ve said Mass Effect is supposed to be a trilogy,” said Zeshuck, “so you’re going to see at least a third Mass Effect, and even more if everything goes well.”

The Mass Effect universe is a pretty expandable one, so we could be seeing spin-offs and other types of installments to the franchise. At least we know now that the series is here for good.

Mass Effect 2 is slated for a first quarter 2010 release for the PC and Xbox 360.

Read (GamerZines)

It seems that as with Spore the overall aim is to blur the line between single player and multiplayer. With Spore you created creatures who existed in a universe populated by the creations of others. The developers are looking for some method of connecting the community of Dragon Age players through a ‘network of manually and automatically shared content’.

Some of that will be more passive, similar to the stat-tracking features of games like Halo 3 where you can nip over to Bungie’s and check out lifetime game stats for yourself and others. Given that they’ll be including a suite of content creation tools though there could be some other aspects to it. In-game merchants selling weapons and armor others have created is a possibility, as well as other people’s characters being used for NPCs or hirelings.

Bioware’s newest RPG, Dragon Age Origins reportedly contains similarly racy content at some point as well and one can only assume that Mass Effect 2 will allow more boffing of sexy blue aliens (or aliens of some other hue). In an interview Bioware co-founder Greg Zeschuck defended his company’s decision, citing that that they’re doing this to reflect real human relationships in a “sophisticated mature experience”. He admitted that they’re not necessary for every game but “in certain types of games it makes sense to have them.”

Do digital recreations of sex scenes, no matter how tasteful, really improve the immersiveness of a video game’s romantic subplots? Public opinion still seems to be split on the matter, so what do you think?

EA is really taking out the big guns in an attempt to take down Blizzard and their World of Warcraft — Recently announced is the merger of Warhammer Online developer Mythic and Mass Effect developer, BioWare.

These two merged studios will form a new RPG/MMO studio group with most all of the executives from both studios staying onboard. However, Mark Jacobs, co-found of Mythic, has left EA yesterday June 23rd, 2009.

Both of these studios have come up with some great stuff, now let’s just see if they can pump out a game that will be enough to send Blizzard packin’.

First announced back at E3, BioWare has some Mass Effect DLC cookin’ but details are scarce. Luckily, a developer by the name of Evil Chris has tweeted about an impending announcement:

Getting the feeling some news about the next ME1 DLC may be coming this week. Keep your eyes peeled. – Evil Chris

So what does this exactly mean? Are we definitly going to hear about some Mass Effect DLC this week or is this just a mean joke being played by BioWare.

Chances are, we’ll see an announcement so continue to check back as the story unfolds.

Later though it was revealed that he had survived and would be present for at least some of the sequel. Now BioWare’s Casey Hudson, the executive producer on the title has revealed that not only has Shepard survived to the sequel, he may even make it to the final chapter of the trilogy. I say ‘may’ however not out of any ambiguity on the part of the developer- the choice rests on the player. Mass Effect 2 will have certain events or differences based on choices you made in the original (assuming you played it and still have your save file). As you’ve probably heard, depending on your actions characters can die in this game. Hopefully it won’t simply be due to the rigors of everyday combat, because in the original I generally found myself the only one standing at the end of nearly every encounter. Not only can your teammates die, but Shepard himself can be offed.

Of course if you fail to keep him alive, he’ll be replaced by a stand-in character in Mass Effect 3 so as to not force the developers to create two different plotlines, but if you play your cards right the hero can survive the supposed suicide mission he embarks on in #2 and head out for another attempt at defeating overwhelming odds.

Mass Effect 2 was showcased at this year’s E3, and will be released in almost a year, in March 2010.

“As a trilogy we have our three acts. So Mass Effect 2 is the dark act. It’s an opportunity to really explore the tougher, more brutal parts of the universe.”

Expect a lot more details at E3. Mass Effect 2 is slated for release later this year.

Now Dragon Age: Origins is coming back to, well, its origins. Green Ronin Publishing will be releasing a pen and paper version of the game to accompany the digital adventure this summer. “We’re delighted to be working with Green Ronin to explore more of the Dragon Age universe through a pen and paper role-playing game. We’re excited to deliver Dragon Age’s unique dark, heroic fantasy to our audience in a brand new way – a perfect complement to the landmark game we’re launching on PC, Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 this fall,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, General Manager and CEO, BioWare and General Manager and Vice President, EA.

The initial release will be a boxed set with more boxed sets and expansion books to be released later. An interesting possibility given that Bioware is including the suite of adventure creation tools is the possibility of user-created adventures being purchased and put out for the tabletop version.

The protagonist Jacob Taylor is of course a “biotic powered super soldier” who stumbles across an evil plot to terrorize galactic civilization. Of course he’s probably not going to have much of a chance to stop this plot, because to do so would doom your character in Mass Effect 2 to be stuck on guard duty for the whole game. Jacob’s Story will cost a mere $2.99 and though no release date has been announced a good guess places it at anywhere from a month to a week before the release of Mass Effect 2, since it’s quite obviously set up as a marketing device. The survey however suggests that this title could just be the first, with others set in the Mass Effect universe and possibly even Dragon Age games for the iPhone as well.

We haven’t had an update for Star Wars: The Old Republic for almost two months, but the wait has been rewarded with a bunch of treats. The official website has been updated with new concept art pictures and screenshots.

Along with visuals, history lessons have been added regarding the planet Ord Mantell. The fourth issue of Threat of Peace was also released.

The game will be out sometime next year for the PC and is being developed by BioWare.

Read (Star Wars: The Old Republic Official Website)

In light of this incredible success Bioware are planning to release a toolset along with Dragon Age: Origins (a game that when first announced was using the NWN engine). Once again the community will be able to build their own adventures to share with the public once the main storyline is completed. Right now they’re accepting applications for the beta test of the toolset. Luckily for anyone with no real programming or modding experience they’re not just looking for people who will use it to mold their own universes. They’re looking to get a broad range of users with different computer systems and levels of expertise. Sign up for it here.

"With Dragon Age, our DLC strategy is doing it in maybe a year and-a-half or two years, planning exactly when you’re going to do it and how you’re going to do it," he said.

While he wouldn’t offer any details of the content itself, he had this to say: “Some of our fans would really like us to extend the world, so it’s going to be something that will make the world even bigger and more interesting."

Dragon Age is due out this fall on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Titles like Halo 3 and Resident Evil 5 have explored the idea of online co-op, a feature which for years was only available locally. Since little information has been made available thus far regarding Mass Effect 2, fans have contented themselves with rumor mongering and speculation. One feature that people had been whispering about was online co-op which would be an excellent fit for the squad based shooter. Yes, that’s right, I’m calling it a shooter because in truth the combat sections functioned as one, despite the RPG flavor to the rest of the game.

Folks from BioWare had come forth previously saying that the buzz about five player online co-op in the sequel wasn’t based on any fact. That’s far from a flat-out confirmation that we won’t see co-op in Mass Effect 2 and when asked about the potential of the trend carrying over into the game Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk said that although they hadn’t disclosed a feature set for the game multiplayer is something they’re considering for all future titles. It’s hard to glean any Mass Effect specific details from their statements because they say that they’d only include co-op if it fitted seamlessly into the overall experience, citing games built around co-op like Left 4 Dead. Yet with the squad-based nature of the previous title putting in co-op gameplay seems quite perfect.

The game is confirmed to be coming to PC and Xbox 360 early next year.

"We’re going to surpass the extraordinary gaming experience we brought our fans in Mass Effect by delivering intensified combat and expanded weapon options as well as increased depth of planet exploration, all while delivering a powerful, emotionally engaging story," said BioWare CEO Ray Muzyka.

"Mass Effect 2 is shaping up to be an unforgettable RPG-shooter experience, taking players on a non-stop roller-coaster ride filled with stunning plot twists and no-holds-barred action."

The second chapter will extend the storyline from the first, introducing an “even greater peril” than the one in the first game.