Mass Effect 3 Needs Origin to Play

If you haven't heard to play Mass Effect 3 EA's next big thing then you'll be forced to use the widely despised Origin software. You will need Origin to play ME3's multiplayer and will require a one time, single authorization for the single player game, whether you buy the game through Origin as a digital download or as a boxed game.

Sounds a bit like Steam yeah? But there are a few major drawbacks. Origins history has been shown that the application collects information from your system, something akin to spyware. The only assurances we get from Bioware the developer is "Users will be allowed to opt-out of Mass Effect 3 data collection" But that only covers ME3 data as for other data I can't say and nether did Bioware.

The Forums are blazing with angry customers, many stating they no longer wish to buy ME3 instead choosing moral dignity over entertainment. Others stated they canceled their pre-order in disgust. The reasons for this are more then Origins history, forcing players to use EA's Origin means players are slave to what ever price EA places on the game and the DLC. It's the DLC that EA seem most concerned about. To buy DLC for a game like ME3 a player must first buy Bioware points, the points are strategically coasted so that a player must buy more points then is necessary for the DLC they wont. This forces the customer to pay more then they would if buying the DLC directly through other outlets like Steam. Other players simply just don't wont another application on their system when they are happy with the better alternative they already have, and have invested in with a library of games and friends.

Most unfortunate although expected are those that have stated their intention to turn to piracy, showing that shoving DRM down peoples throats and in this case software too only pushes gamers into piracy. Some will do it as a way to hit back at the big company's disrespect at punishing those that do the right thing and buy the game. Others will do it just to dodge the DRM

So if your a firm hater of DRM and the Origins software your going to have a bad time when installing your shinny new copy of ME3. As for me the Mass Effect saga will be on hold until EA drops the BS, I know I'll be waiting a long time, but there are other brilliant games out there that don't force feed me applications and DRM I don't wont/need.

If your interested here are some links the the discussions and info: IGN forum and Bioware forum.  

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine - First Impressions

In the December/January Steam sales I picked up warhammer 40,000 Space Marine by Relic. I've played their previous 40K title Dawn of War 2 and really enjoyed it, so I thought I'd give this new one a go.

I installed the game just a couple of days ago and have been blasting my way through the campaign ever since. It would come as no surprise to Dawn of War 2 players that the story and characters are a bit two dimensional, but so far from what I have seen it's not necessarily bad. After all it's all about stomping around as a heavily armored Space Marine and smashing squishy orks!

That brings me to the combat, it's fast and bloody, easy to pick up but can be a bit cumbersome in melee. Ranged combat works very well and you'll have a range of heavy and small arms to blow your enemy's away from afar. The thing I like most about the weapons in this game is that there are no "crap" guns, their all good in their own way so your free to use your favorite without disadvantage.

When it comes to interacting with the environment there's not much to be had, other then pressing buttons (also a little cumbersome at times), you can't "take cover" gears of war style so you'll have to stay mobile with room to maneuver if you are to avoid incoming attacks. But on the plus side the developer did a great job of showing the weight of your Space Marine as you stomp around the battlefield.  

One reason why I did buy this game is because of the co-op mode released not too long ago called Exterminatus. I got addicted to the co-op in Dawn of War 2's last stand and expected a similar experience for Space Marine's co-op mode. It's similar in the way that a team of four player work together to fight off wave after wave a bad guys with increasing difficulty and it's just as addictive and fun as Last Stand. It seems less social compered to Last Stand but that's probably because there's just no time to chat compered to it's real time strategy counterpart.

I hope this little insight helps those thinking about buying the game, if you already have the game I'll see you online!