Dragon Age 2 is one of those games released carrying the burden of high expectations and predefined conceptions, both based on the standards setting success of the previous installment, Dragon Age: Origins. With the RPG genre being probably the most reluctant in the face of evolution, the new Dragon Age was met by the gaming community with mixed feelings, many claiming that the game doesn’t meet the nowadays RPG quota, while others fell instantly in love with what the game has to offer. Everyone is entitled to a personal opinion, but these opinions can be influenced by factors ranging from previous gaming or game developing experience to one’s personal favorite color, so in the end they might not have much value in deciding if a game is good or bad. … More

Today the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences picked 2010’s winners. Read Dead Redemption, the open-world western shooter developed by Rockstar was this edition’s top dog, taking home no less than 5 AIAS awards: action game, art direction, game direction, character performance and gameplay engineering. Read Dead Redemption’s success was already foretold by The Escapist Magazine which on January 21, 2011 awarded it with 2010 Game of the Year, praising the game for its engaging and well-told narrative and innovative gameplay and design. … More

Have you ever dreamed of saving the galaxy… twice? Well now you can, as the highly anticipated sequel of the famous BioWare RPG is finally out. Two years have passed since Commander Shepard has defended the galaxy from the Reaper threat and saved all organic life from annihilation. Not much has happened since. The newly formed human controlled Council is wasting no effort in burying any Reaper related information and shifting the public’s attention towards the artificially created life form known as the Geth. All inhabitance from some human colonies based in the Terminus Systems are mysteriously disappearing and no one has a clue as to why or how. A new alien race, The Collectors, makes its dramatic stage entry. Oh yes, and there is also the small matter of your death which functions as the main catalyst of the whole sequence of events that hold Mass Effect 2 together. … More

At the beginning of this month Bioware released its latest fantasy RPG for both PC and consoles, and ever since then it’s been raining roses, praises and applause. But is it really that good or are we again witnessing the power of EA’s marketing’s machine combined with the strength of the hypnotized masses? We’ve invested a few days of gameplay into it to find that out for you.

The character customization section that you will need to go through at the beginning of the game is decent enough and there is a pretty good variety of elements you can mix together in attempting to create something to suit your tastes. But don’t expect it to be extraordinary, because it’s far from it: you can create something… humanoid, but don’t try to create a character that looks, walks and talks just like you because you’ll be wasting your time. … More