What I Want To See In A New Mass Effect Game

It shames me to admit that, when it was first released back in 2007, I had zero interest in Bioware’s new sci-fi shooter/RPG called Mass Effect. It was mostly because I was still on a bit of a Star Wars high, having recently finished both Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel The Sith Lords, so anything from Bioware that wasn’t Star Wars just didn’t pique my interest. 

It wasn’t until roughly a year after Mass Effect’s release when, one late night, I was browsing the Xbox Live marketplace for something new to play when my cursor paused on Mass Effect’s icon. By then it was relatively cheap and I was bored and desperate for something new to play so I shrugged, whipped out my wallet, and soon I was immersed in what would later become one of my favorite game series of all time. 

Review: The Elder Scrolls V: Dawnguard

This article first appeared on vgutopia.com

Continuing the tradition of releasing epic-scale expansions to its popular Elder Scrolls games, Bethesda had a high bar to clear considering how epic its latest entry Skyrim is on its own. The first major expansion to Skyrim, titled Dawnguard, drops the player straight into the middle of an all-out civil war between the expansion’s namesake, an order of elite vampire hunters known as The Dawnguard, and a large sect of vampires led by the mysterious Lord Harkon.

Review: Dragon's Dogma

This article first appeared on hookedgamers.com

Mentioning the name ‘Capcom’, the mind of many a gamer would probably conjure images of shooting zombies in a mansion or slicing up demons as a brash, white-haired, sword-for-hire. I doubt many would think of a rich fantasy setting complete with dragons, magic, and a vast open world to explore but that’s exactly what Capcom has delivered with their fantasy epic Dragon’s Dogma. So how does this strangely out of place title fare against big name RPGs such as Skyrim or Kingdoms of Amalur?

Video Game Review: Dead Island; A Zombie-FilledTale of Trouble in Paradise

Before I begin this review I want to start off saying I am a big zombie-game fan.  I’ve played through almost every Resident Evil game out there, spent more hours then I care to admit conquering Left 4 Dead and L4D2 along with friends up at college, and I’ve sunk a healthy amount of my life into taking down the walking dead in Call of Duty's zombie mode so when it was announced that a zombie game featuring a lush tropical setting, customizable weapons, and rpg elements was on the way, naturally I was more then a little excited.

Video Game Review: Deus Ex: Human Revolution; The Future Is In Good Hands

It’s been a long time since Ion Storm’s and Eidos Interactive’s cult rpg/action hit Deus Ex was released in 2000.  Praised for its cyberpunk setting, engaging story, and the variety of gameplay options available to players, it made sense that the developers would want to continue the series.  However 2003’s sequel Deus Ex: Invisible War, while receiving a fair amount of praise as well, didn’t quite live up to its predecessor’s hype so Eidos decided to go back to the drawing board and take the series in a new direction.  After a rather long wait they finally brought gamers Deus Ex: Human Revolution, a prequel to the original Deus Ex and despite the skepticism of fans and critics, a game that lives up to the high bar set by its predecessor.