mass effect 3

The 404 1,246: Where we kick rocks (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- EA awarded "Worst Company in American History" for second consecutive year.

- Next Xbox won't be backward-compatible, report says.

- CNET How-to: How to make a video game patchbay.

- Warner Bros. Montreal developing Arkham City prequel starring "unrefined" Batman: Arkham Origins.

- 404 news: We're starting to break segments out into shorter clips that are easier to share. Help us blast these out to your friends, won't you? The first one is our report on the list of NSFW movies the Vatican is watching right now!… Read more

Time to target those rich Mac users

Today's headline roundup will have you worried about Terminator cats targeting rich Mac users via their Facebook email addresses:

The engineers at the super secret Google X lab have created the self-driving car and the augmented reality Google glasses. This time, while trying to push the limits of technology, they may have started to create Skynet. Google engineers strung 16,000 computer processors together, and then set the network free on the Internet. The New York Times explains that the system began to learn... about cats. Google engineers never told the computer what a cat was, it just picked … Read more

Xbox continues to reign amidst weak video game market

The Xbox 360 scored its 15th month in a row as the top-selling gaming console, NPD reported yesterday.

With a 42 percent chunk of all console sales, Microsoft sold 371,000 Xbox 360 units last month. Total spending on Xbox hardware, software, and accessories hit $430 million, more than was spent on Sony's PS3 and Nintendo's Wii combined.

Among the top 10 games last month, five of them were Xbox titles: Mass Effect 3, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, NBA 2K12, SSX, and Major League Baseball 2K12.

As usual, the rest of the video game industry was down … Read more

EA, named America's worst company, tries to make amends

Can Electronic Arts possibly be a worst company than, say, Bank Of America? Can it possibly offer more troubling customer service than even Facebook?

It seems that, in more than a few eyes, it can. For it has just been voted by readers of Consumerist as America's worst company. Yes, the worst. The very worst. The most irredeemably awful company of all.

The Hollywood Reporter tells me that some people were rather upset that Mass Effect 3 had a rather less satisfying ending than "The Sopranos." In conclusion, the customers stopped believing.

Gamers, just like any other … Read more

With pressure on, BioWare enhances Mass Effect 3 ending

BioWare announced today Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut, a downloadable content pack due this summer that adds cinematic sequences and epilogue to the arguably lackluster ending of the popular space-bound role-playing game.

To further sweeten the deal, BioWare will give away the enhanced Mass Effect 3 ending free to gamers on PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 consoles until April 2014.

"The goal of the DLC is not to provide a new ending to the game, rather to offer fans additional context and answers to the end of Commander Shepard's story," a BioWare representative said in a blog post. … Read more

Friday Poll: Should BioWare change Mass Effect 3's ending?

No spoilers here, folks. You'll have to look elsewhere for those, but it's no secret that the gaming ranks are getting all hot and bothered by the controversial ending to BioWare's Mass Effect 3.

The ire over the space-bound role-playing game has raised the fan discussion to levels previously reserved for television shows like "Lost" and "The Sopranos." It's left many gamers asking if the conclusion lived up to the prerelease promises.

There are even reports that one disappointed gamer felt so let down that he lodged a false advertising complaint with the FTC.… Read more

Bowing to fans, BioWare mulls new Mass Effect 3 ending

Sometimes, it pays to protest.

In the aftermath of fans of the BioWare game Mass Effect 3 nearly rioting over their displeasure about the game's conclusion, the publisher appears to be willing to consider new endings.

According to CNET sister site GameSpot, fans were unhappy with the game's ending, and its initial downloadable content, known as From Ashes.

"Members of the Mass Effect community even formed a charity petition called the Retake Mass Effect Chipin fund, collecting PayPal donations for the Child's Play charity as a way of encouraging BioWare to make alternate Mass Effect 3 endings," GameSpot wrote. "The fund has [now] amassed over $75,000." … Read more

Rumor Has It, Ep. 25: We're just gonna wait for Windows 8 (podcast)

Back on Episode 3, Emily was on vacation, and put all her faith and trust in Sharon Vaknin. We took a vote on whether Microsoft would reveal the next-generation Xbox at E3 2012 (Sharon said yes, I said no). Well this week, Microsoft told everyone not to expect a new Xbox anytime soon, which means I won a point! It also means that Sharon and Emily are in a fight.

Today's show gets wild and crazy with two Windows 8 rumors, but no iPad rumors. Imagine that. Will Lenovo be the first to launch a Windows 8 tablet? Rumors … Read more

BioWare considering changing Mass Effect 3 ending

Will gamers get a new Mass Effect 3 ending? BioWare hasn't ruled it out. Writing on the official Mass Effect 3 Facebook page last night, the company said it has not yet decided whether it will offer fans a new ending to the space-faring role-playing game.

"We would like to clarify that we are actively and seriously taking all player feedback into consideration and have ruled nothing out," the statement reads. "At this time we are still collecting and considering your feedback and have not made a decision regarding requests to change the ending."

Read more of "BioWare considering changing Mass Effect 3 ending" at GameSpot. … Read more

The 404 1,013: Where just because you can doesn't mean you should (podcast)

Mark Licea resurfaces today after a half-year absence from the show, but he can't miss out on our revolt against Michael Bay for tearing apart another memory from our childhood.

Over the weekend, the director announced that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in his upcoming reboot will come from space instead of a green canister of toxic ooze.… Read more