Learn more about the enemies Commander Shepard will face through Mass Effect 2 in this new video. View new creatures like the Collectors, praetorians, abominations and the ever-present geth.

This trailer for Mass Effect 2 gives a first look at Subject Zero a tattooed and scarred wild woman who is extremely dangerous.

This trailer for Mass Effect 2 shows off a minute and a half of gameplay and cinematic footage first shown at Gamescon 2009.

Would a Neverwinter Nights be a viable MMO? Sources at Variety say Atari is betting on it. Supposedly it’s the whole reason Atari bought out Cryptic Studios.

I question whether porting NwN into the massively multiplayer realm is really a sure thing. The most obvious obstacle is taking BioWare and Obsidian out of the equation. However, I believe that taking the modding out of the game which has already spawned many persistent worlds which are essentially mini MMO themselves will take away one of the elements that makes NwN such a fascinating setting.

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Following the revelations of earlier today with the Microsoft E3 2009 kickoff events Electronic Arts hits the stage in California at 2PM California time (yes that’s an official time zone… California is more important than the rest of the Pacific time zone… just ask them). We’ve included the embed link to G4TVs JustinTV feed for the event.

I’ll attempt to do a liveblog of the event in the same post as well if you’re interested in my insight into the whole thing.

You can see the embed and the liveblog after the jump. Read the full article

Finnish developer Recoil Games have released the first screenshots of its upcoming ‘when nature goes wrong’ inspired 3d shooter Earth No More. Powered by a heavily modified Unreal Engine 3, the screens (above) show off the game’s Crysis-like graphics. However, very little of the game itself is known at this time.

What little we do know is that the game takes place in a small New England town that has been quarantined due to a mysterious outbreak. The player will assume the role of Will Foster/Forsythe, a DHS chemical weapons specialist, initially responding to a gas attack on Washington, D.C. As the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that the gas-attack is nothing but a government cover-up devised to hide the truth: plants are taking over the world. Poisonous red vines have spread throughout the region simultaneously strangling and terra-forming the environment. It is up to the main character, who will be joined by four other characters, to survive the apocalyptic threat of environmental extinction. Conversation paths similar to Mass Effect will presented to substantiate the game’s character driven story. Multiplayer and co-op options have also been put on the table.

Recoil Games is founded by Remedy Entertainment (Max Payne) co-founder Samuli Syvahuoko.

Also worth note is that Scott Miller’s Radar Group will be producing the game. Many of you may recognize his name in association with the now defunct 3D Realms (Duke Nukem Forever).

When recently asked if the recent closure of 3D Realms will have any effect on the game’s development, Recoil Games responded “No, the situation at 3D Realms has no effect on us or Earth No More.”

Recoil Games and Radar Group plan to release the game for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 at a future date yet to be announced.

I talk weekly about the convergence of pen-and-paper gaming with the digital game space of video games but today I get to announce a convergence going in the opposite direction.. Green Ronin, publishers of the popular Mutants & Masterminds, True 20 and the current publisher of The Song of Ice and Fire RPG just announced that they will be taking the world of BioWare’s forthcoming Dragon Age: Origins and converting it into a traditional RPG.

Dragon Age, often referred to in hype releases as “the spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate” (BioWare’s original Fantasy RPG based upon the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms settings), will be getting a “box set” release in the summer meant to introduce both the world of Thedas (Dragon Age’s setting) and the concepts of traditional role playing to video game fans.

“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. “Our development teams craft rich, deep worlds, and this is an excellent way to expand the franchise.”

This is not the first RPG setting to make the transition from video game to paper – previously Everquest, Diablo, Starcraft and World of Warcraft have gotten a conversion to traditional RPG products at Wizards of the Coast and with White-Wolf’s Sword and Sorcery imprint. While none of those settings are still in active development this is the first time I can recall that an in-development video game property is getting a tabletop treatment before its even been released.

Who knows, maybe if Dragon Age grabs its audience Green Ronin and BioWare can negotiate to bring Mass Effect to pen-and-paper RPGs as well. I’d be first in line for a game based on that setting. Dragon Age feel like more of the same Tolkien derivative fantasy at this point unfortunately. You can read the full details of the press release after the jump.

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After a renewed start we had an interruption these last few weeks but rest assured Filefront is still hosting and promoting all the great user created and hosted content contributed to us. We return with a double length post highlighting some great mods and files for quite a few outstanding games including usual suspects like Half-Life 2, the Battlefield games and of course one of my favorite series “that I am really no good at yet still enjoy” – Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War

Highlights from this week’s column include mods for:

• Doom III – Wrathchild Act I (not ROE compatible), Revised Alphalabs
• Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion – A Provost of the Nine Divines, More Nord Beards
• Battlefield 2 – Operation Peacekeeper, Allies Intent Extended
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R – Ballistics Mod
• Far Cry 2 – new maps: MP_Surf & Gold Rush

There are also links to other maps, mods and patches for many of your favorite PC modifiable games. Be sure to check it all out after the jump.

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Electronic Arts is being targeted by another class-action law suit over the DRM included with Spore, SecuROM. This time, California resident Alex McQuown is hoping to use Spore to take down SecuROM once and for all.

The grievances listed in Alex McQuown’s class-action suit against EA are much the same as the other suits with three big differences. His lawyers at Finkelstein Thompson claim that SecuROM damages computers costing consumer time and money to repair the havoc caused by its installation. The suit also asserts that EA has needlessly caused its customers grief. The figures prove that piracy of games that carry SecuROM has risen dramatically. The biggest difference in McQuown’s suit is that he invites every U.S. citizen that has purchased an EA product with SecuROM to join the class.
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Most video game fans have not been happy with the recent DRM suddenly seeping its way into some of their favorite games (at least, if the outcry against games like Spore and Mass Effect are any indication). Since game developers tend to be fans as well, it’s not surprise really that even those in the industry are not pleased with the current direction that copyright protection is taking. Now Gabe Newell of Valve has expressed his disapproval with DRM in the form of an e-mail to gamer, Paul Reisinger. In the e-mail, Newell stated:

As far as DRM goes, most DRM strategies are just dumb. The goal should be to create greater value for customers through service value (make it easy for me to play my games whenever and wherever I want to), not by decreasing the value of a product (maybe I’ll be able to play my game and maybe I won’t).

We really really discourage other developers and publishes from using the broken DRM offerings, and in general there is a groundswell to abandon those approaches.

Maybe not the most eloquent argument ever, but he still gets his point across. Mostly though, it’s just nice to hear that some of the most respected names in gaming also think some of these DRM restrictions are just plain nuts.