Review | Mass Effect 2

Many would argue that the first Mass Effect is one of the best games the Xbox 360 has to offer. I would definitely consider it to be a good game, but technical issues such as long load times, clumsy inventory and clunky controls kept it from being a great one. Almost two years have passed since BioWare released the first game of the trilogy, and it’s obvious they’ve listened to what fans had to say.

Mass Effect 2 is particularly darker and more personal than the first Mass Effect; much like The Empire Strikes Back was to A New Hope. Without spoiling: Commander Shepard has to take on a suicide mission, with the fate of humanity resting on its success, but first he has to recruit the best and brightest from all over the galaxy and gain their loyalty—a very important theme in the game.

I’ve seldom been so attached to videogame characters before; each has something interesting to offer, and by the end of the game I wound up liking characters I was convinced I would hate. The dialogue is so incredibly well written and the voice cast is filled with big names including Martin Sheen, Tricia Helfer, and Seth Green. My personal favorite is Miranda, who’s voiced and modeled after Yvonne Strahovski from the TV series Chuck! Nice.

Gameplay has vastly improved. The controls have been redesigned to make combat feel smoother and more intuitive. If you’ve played Gears of War or Uncharted, you should feel right at home. Classes have also been touched on—everything is balanced out and you’ll have fun whether you want to destroy your enemies with heavy weapons as the Soldier class or toss them around with your biotic powers as an Adept.

A possible gripe to all you min-maxers out there is that the RPG elements have been somewhat simplified. Inventory has been completely removed and replaced with schematics that can be picked up and later used to upgrade your equipment, provided you have the materials.

Overall, Mass Effect 2 makes me feel good to be a gamer. It has fun, fast paced third person shooter gameplay, amazing visuals, and deep role playing elements. The Paragon/Renegade system alone makes the game worthy enough to be played through at least twice, and the game will last you 20 to 40 hours depending on how deeply you want to get into it.

One of my only gripes is the “grind” aspect to obtaining materials—the necessary ingredient to upgrade your ship and equipment. It’s a mundane process of playing a hot and cold mini-game scanning planets for resources. Load times can still be on the long side, too—but nowhere near as long as those damn elevator rides.

Final Verdict: If you haven’t played through Mass Effect, buy both games now. If you have, buy this game now. If you already have them both, why are you still reading this?

Anthony Papallo

Special Correspondent

The iPhone Killer?

I'm feeling pretty ambivolent about this iPad. It looks nice enough, it might be great for certain tasks. It doesn't look like Apple have really come up with a solution to the keyboard problem, but watching video on there should be lovely. On balance, it's probably not for me: most of my commutes happen on crowded trains, where my iPhone lets me read the news or watch an episode of Doctor Who, but where an iPad wouldn't. Still, this isn't the first time apple have released a product I don't want to buy. If some other people do buy it and love it, that's fine, right?

Well hold on. What if the very existence of the iPad is enough to break a product I already own and love? iPad runs iPhone OS. Until now, my iPhone has been a lovely device running a lovely bespoke operating system. And I've downloaded lots of useful apps designed for a specific screen, a specific CPU (or two), and a specific user experience. Now, all that ends. It appears iPhone OS 4.0 will have two very different devices to cater to, so it's almost inevitable that it'll include a lot of features I'll never need or be able to use. What does that kind of bloat remind me of? Well, Windows Mobile.

And the apps I use will all get updates too, to incorporate iPad compatibility. How will that affect me and my iPhone? Well, the higher resolution assets will presumably mean the app files will get bigger, so I won't be able to fit as many on my device. There's a good chance that will also make the apps slower, so I might need to wait longer for my iPhone to open them up. And perhaps most troublingly, it'll mean future updates to these apps (and even to the OS itself) will be more likely to focus on iPad features and functionality, rather than on improvements to the iPhone user experience.

So my beautiful little phone, which has grown better and better the longer I've owned it, will now stagnate at best, or even start to decline. For me (and the other 75 million iPhone and iPod Touch users out there), the iPad might be set to make our lives worse whether we decide to buy it or not.

BlackBerry Bold 9700 Review

Ernesto Aponte is a Supervisor at our New York SoHo store. The following is his opinion on the BlackBerry Bold 9700:

Recently, I managed to get my hands on the Blackberry Bold 9700 and have been utterly impressed. It is sleek, smooth, and a great investment if you're looking for a new phone or want to upgrade your current BlackBerry. RIM's new track pad technology is based on, and is similar to, a laptop computer's trackpad. This new method of navigation is a definite upgrade from older model's trackball. It may not be an iPhone, but the BlackBerry Bold 9700 excels in its own category. The 9700 is, in my opinion, the greatest phone for texting, emailing, and business. You can integrate multiple email accounts, manage contacts and music through the BlackBerry desktop manager, and much more. Here are some pros and cons:

Pros:

• Makes staying connected simpler.
• Great Mp3 player
• High-quality speaker
• Great screen resolution
• Qwerty Keyboard makes typing a breeze for emailing and texting
• Materials used make the phone feel high-end
• Much more grown up than a Sidekick
• Long battery life
• Very good reception

Cons:

• Web browser leaves something to be desired
• Physically smaller than the original Bold
• Long start up time
• OEM holster and headphone quality is lacking

Overall, I would recommend this phone to anyone. It will not disappoint.

iPass

Apple wanted to create something that was between an iPhone and a MacBook... but all they did is make an iPod touch with a 9.7" screen and a faster processor. They upgraded the native apps, added iWork (which no one actually uses) and an eBook client. That's pretty much it. By all means, correct me if I'm wrong.

The first and most important blunder in my eyes, is the lack of multitasking. One of the rumors going around was that iPhone OS 4.0 would be released concurrently and that it would have some form of multitasking support. No such luck. You're still stuck listening to music or replying to emails, no-can-do both.

In the Apple video, the word "best" gets thrown around A LOT, but is it really the "best" at anything? I would still rather carry a laptop with a 3G card and get the full use of a computer while traveling. Apple can't boast that the iPad is the "best" at browsing without a Flash Player plug-in. Early adopters will be shelling out between $500-900 for one of these things and I'll be watching Hulu on my Palm Pre before it even ships.

The lack of a forward facing camera and iChat on this bad boy is another thing I'm not very impressed with. In the hands-on videos this thing looks pretty snappy, are you telling me that it couldn't handle a little iChat action? C'mon. Not even SMS?

Another deal breaker for me is the lame 30-pin connector. That means that there are going to be a boatload of adapters for this thing. Why not mini-USB? It could've also had at least ONE USB port. Maybe an SD card slot for importing photos?

Ultimate fail: AT&T data plan. (for US)

One thing the iPad WILL be best at though, is replacing Amazon Kindles and all other eBook readers. At a $500 price point, why NOT get an ebook reader you can check your email, browse the internet and play games with? If you were already in the market for one, might as well pre-order your iPad, the Kindle is dead baby.

Gizmodo complains about the name, the "huge bezel" and no HDMI/HD Video out, but those things are by no means going to stop me from buying one if it had everything else. If the OS was more robust (a mini Mac OSX), Flash, iSight/iChat support and proper peripheral support, I would have already placed my order.

All in all, there is definitely a market for this thing. It's a super cool toy that plays games, music and videos and connects to the internet. I know many of my compadres are ready to snatch one up. I just know I won't be shelling out the dough for one.

Do Not Want iPad

As Wednesday quickly approaches, the innertubes are becoming flooded with crazy Apple rumors. There seems to be a consensus about Apple naming their new tablet the iPad. I can think of many reasons why that SHOULDN'T be the name, but this is by far the best one:

Moments of truth in 2010

2010 will finally allow us to get our hands on technology that has been promised or speculated over for most of 2009. Here’s a few of the delights coming our way in 2010.

The Apple tablet or slate computer. Will it be announced on 27 Jan? Will be a Kindle killer? Will it have a camera and run OS X? All I know is most of us will be glad when this speculation finally stops and the damn thing is announced. I’ll also be having a sweepstake with fellow geeks to see how many times Apple boss Steve Jobs says ‘mere mortals’ or ‘un-be-lievable’ in his presentation. Not sure what I’m talking about? Here’s a video of Steve at his best.

2009 was the year of resurgence in 3D cinema and in 2010 your living room is set to go 3D. While your PS3 just needs a firmware update, you’ll need a new 3D TV to reap any of the benefits. Yes, entry into this club will not be cheap, but the price living at the bleeding edge of technology has always required sacrifices. Improved depth perception has been the driving force behind 3D commercial simulators for years, so why not enjoy a real ‘in car feeling’ in GT5? In true 3D gaming, falling of a cliff in LittleBigPlanet really will be down to a lack of skill and not because it’s so hard to work out where you’re standing. 3D blu-ray films are also due for launch in 2010 and your PS3 will play those too. We'll have to see how people respond to having wear 3d glasses for hours on end. Spare a thought for those of us who already wear glasses, how can we wear the 3D glasses on top of our normal specs without looking utterly ridiculous?

Microsoft promise hardware innovation of their own too. Perhaps as recompense for making online gamers wear uncomfortable headsets that make us resemble call centre drones, but more likely as a response to the run away success of the Wii, Microsoft will launch Project Natal in 2010. It’s an add-on for Xbox 360 that promises 3D motion capture, gesture recognition plus facial and speech recognition all without the need for a controller or headset. The promise is a level of interaction with games never seen before. If it works it could really change the way we play. It all looks a bit too good to be true, but all will be revealed on its launch in late 2010. Don’t let me down Microsoft; I’m holding you to this E3 2009 video, especially the dressing up bit.

Agree? disagree? Why not leave a comment?

This whole smartphone fight

So I read the other day that Apple were mulling over the possibility of switching its iPhone search from Google to Bing. So its not just about hardware, OS and software applications any more its also about services. That made my head hurt, how can I compare which Phone I want when I have to compare search, with design, with gaming possibilities, with OS platform for instance?

When the PC first came out - the smartphone's predecessor - all you did was pick your OS from DR Dos, CP/M, MS Dos or OS 2, then pick your Motherboard - The Mobo awards were then between Gigabyte, Tyan and MSI, riotous parties they were - CPU, Graphics Card, Case, Memory, Drives and bobs your uncle. Upgrading was a simple task of changing a part.

With Phones its all integrated circuitry so its more like a Prix Fixe menu at a posh restaurant - you choose the restaurant and you eat what your given. With PC's it was more like scruffing about the kitchen to see what you can muster up. If the iPhone looses Google search and Google Maps, can that Prix Fixe menu loose a Michelin star? Certainly. But you still have to eat the cabbage on the menu because you're stuck with it. Can't scruff around the kitchen and replace the Mayonnaise in your Nutella and Banana sandwich with a lashing of yummy Soy Sauce, oh no, not that easy.

Which brought me to writing my top secret Michelin Star guide for smartphones, just like the famous French Michelin Star guide for rating Restaurants and their menus. Did you know in the original Michelin Star guide the men's restroom should to be less distance than the women's, or that it is recommended that all food should be served by men, otherwise Nul Points. Some say rules like these still exist but no one can prove it because the rules of scoring are still secret.

I've kept my guide conceptually similar, faithful to the father of all guides, The Michelin Star Guide and its appraisal technique known as the 'Technique Purs De Testicules" or the "Pure Bollox" technique.

I hope this may assure the less convinced members of our readership that editorial integrity and independence was of the highest French standards.

So here goes, 20 features scored with between 1 to 3 Stars.

1 Star being 'ce jouet monte le passage arrière'

3 Stars being 'il est magnifique mon petit jouet'

The contenders are: iPhone 3GS - Google Nexus One - Nokia N900 - HTC HD2

CeXpansion

CeX is going strong here in the US and last year we brought our store count up 7 on the East Coast. This year we plan on opening several new stores in cities nationwide, including San Francisco and Chicago. Currently, we have close to 100 stores in the UK alone with almost half of them as franchises. Seeing as how the US is is significantly larger than the UK, we're going to need some help bringing our store numbers up. That's where you come in.

We recently brought on a great Franchising Director for the US who is ready to help you set up your own CeX Franchise. If you, or someone you know, is looking to stake your claim on a virtually untapped market, head over to webuy.com/franchising to get all the info you need.

four dot oh

boygeniusreport.com... well... reports that their trusty Apple insider has revealed certain deets on the new iPhone OS. Among some GUI changes there is also talk of multitasking and programs running in the background. There is also some new ways to sync contacts and calendar events (cloud-based?). Seems like they're sticking it to Palm.

BGR seems to think that the GUI changes and gestures are probably for increased compatibility on a tablet device. It may have a similar, if not the same OS.

Such a tease...

Apple is holding an event on the 27th of this month (January) to unveil their "latest creation". Question is, WTF is it? Most are speculating that it is the most anticipated tablet or iSlate or iPod Touch XL or whatever name it shall don. Personally, I'm not holding my breath. I wouldn't be terribly surprised if it ends up being something completely different. Then again, what else could it be?

Later that day...

Ok, so Engadget seems to think the new iLife, iPhone 4.0 and the "tablet" are going to be the holy Apple trinity this month... we'll see, I guess.

Post CES... Post

Well as the CES buzz continues to fizzle this week, it seems like there is a whole lot of tech coming out that I think we all pretty much expected. I don't know about anyone else, but I wasn't really blown away by anything this year.

There is a lot of talk including the word "tablet" this year with the looming possibility of Apple feeding their iPod Touch one of Mario's mushrooms. Other laptop and mobile computing manufacturers are feeling the pressure to come out with new or improved versions of their own tablet PCs or, at the very least, iPod Touch/PMP comparable devices. Although I'm curious to see what manifests itself from this hoopla, right now I'm not too interested.

Another term being thrown around a lot this year is "3D". 3D technology is a novelty that has been around for quite some time (1890 if Wikipedia is correct) but has yet to creep into our everyday lives, that seems to be on the cusp of change for 2010. With ESPN announcing 3D broadcasts of the World Cup in June, 3D televisions are springing up all over the place with not-so-ludicrous price tags, all things considered.

Now, as much as I would LOVE to watch the world cup in 3D, I’m not going to go out and spend $2k+ for the hardware to make it happen, especially on something that is a long way from reaching it’s full potential. Personally, I think 3D is cool when you’re going to the movies or going to catch the rerelease of Captain EO at Disneyland this year. I’m not so sure I want to strap on a pair of 3D specs (or have enough on-hand for a group) whenever I want to watch something on TV. While there was a hint of “glasses-free 3D” technology shown at CES, we’re probably still quite a ways away from that. Until then, regular 1080p w/ 240hz is good enough for my World Cup experience.

CeX & Muscular Dystrophy Campaign

CeX Partners with UK charity Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, allowing you to trade in and transform lives at CeX.

Read the whole article.