Mass Effect iPhone Game Gives Exclusive Content

June 24th, 2009 4 Comments   Posted in Action, Adventure, Apple, News, RPG, Xbox 360

The iPhone might not be taking off as the next big thing in portable gaming, but some companies have figured out how to use the App Store as an effective marketing tool. A short time ago EA announced that iPhone and iPod Touch owners could get a little hint of what was to come in the Mass Effect sequel by downloading a prequel game called Mass Effect Galaxies.

Now we find out via AppGamer that if you play through the game it gives you an option at the end to log in with your EA account. If you do, you get this message: “Your reward for completing the game is already waiting for you in Mass Effect 2“. I’m sure EA is hoping the story will spread and prompt some people to buy the iDevice game, but I somehow dbout that it’s anything terribly exciting, possibly a new skin or some minor perk or stat boost.

GameStop offers exclusive Madden NFL 10 demo with pre-order

Mega-game-retailer GameStop has recently announced that those who pre-order Madden NFL 10 for either the Xbox 360 or PS3 will get access to an exclusive demo towards the end of July. Regardless of when you pre-order the game the demo codes won’t be made available until July 15th. Said demo will feature 4 5-minute quarters with the Pittsburg Steelers and Arizona Cardinals as the playable teams.

Considering the loyal following of the Madden NFL series, this promotion probably wasn’t necessary but is a welcome one. For those of you who don’t know the latest rendition of the game, Madden NFL 10, will be out for the Playstation 3, Playstation 2, Xbox 360, PSP, iPhone/iPod Touch, Wii and Nintendo DS on August 14th.

DLC Review: Knothole Island

January 26th, 2009 No Comments   Posted in DLC, News, RPG, Xbox 360

It’s simple enough to avoid paying full price for a game; borrow it from a friend, trade old titles in, buy used or auction-hunt on eBay. Unfortunately this isn’t an option with downloadable content, so gamers always have to ask themselves if the bonus content is worth the cost. In the case of Lionhead’s ‘Knothold Island’ content pack recently released for Fable 2, the answer is a definite yes.

I wouldn’t recommend the content pack for someone who’s relegated the game to trade-in status and is hoping it’ll breathe life back into it because the quests it adds aren’t terribly long. Put in an hour or two and you’ll be able to explore pretty much anything the island has to offer. Where the content really comes in is expanding the possibility for a player who hasn’t purchased the game yet, or has only put in a little bit of time. One of the big appeals of Fable 2 is that since they did away with armor you can choose your garb to fit your style of character; black-garbed assassin, swashbuckling pirate or powerful sorcerer. The content pack gives you some interesting style options to round out the content.

It puts in some more assassin pieces, allowing you to complete that set, as well as more scandalous options if you’re interested in the fighting bar wench idea. There’s a suit of armor for anyone desiring a more medieval look to go with that battle axe, and a couple staves if you’re looking for a complete wizardly theme. The Halo assault rifle nicely rounds out the full Master Chief gear, although like the sword it’s sadly underpowered. In addition to the weight loss potion there are other beverages that’ll change your character’s appearance, making them taller, brawnier, even removing scars.

There are some interesting augments available but nothing is quite so nice as the augment remover. It doesn’t allow you to remove augments from legendary weapons but you can take out an augment you regret using. By far though the best feature for anyone who’s completed the main quest and gone the route of absolute good is that you can get a certain furry friend back.