Mass Effect 3: “The War Begins” Trailer: Er, You Mean With Folks Who Hated The Ending, Right?

Yeesh. I haven’t even played the game yet and already I’m hearing and reading bitching about the ending to the game. I guess all those who wanted a happy (or sad) Hollywood ending were shocked to see a door left swinging or whatever, but man, I wish they’d shut up about it and maybe think about great books and films that ended in a similar fashion. Let us adults who don’t mind ambiguity or hell, even an ending that’s bleak and one-way ticket-y as can be play a game like this and get in our knowing nods and perhaps chat up those of you that didn’t get what just happened or something. Eh, what can you do? Everyone wants to make their opinions mean something these days and the internet is “perfect” for just that one thing… argh.

At First, BioShock Infinite’s “Motorized Patriot” Was A Bit TOO Timely For My Tastes…

When I first heard the name “Motorized Patriot” last night before seeing the video, I laughed for a good two minutes or so. Thankfully, the actual enemy from BioShock Infinite isn’t amusing at all and packs quite a wallop with that “pepper mill” machine gun. Why was I cracking up, do you ask?  Well, I instantly thought of footage from a few Tea Party events that had some cranky old people riding Rascal scooters or in wheelchairs protesting hard and getting it all WRONG about wanting the government here to get its paws off their Medicare benefits. They’d been so brainwashed and willing to believe anything bad about the current president that they thought (and still think) the Medicare and SSI payments they get each month are doled out by someone else (I have no idea who, by the way).

Of course, if you ask these folks who think the government is wasting too much money if they’d love to give that monthly check back to partially pay off the debt, they’d want to roll over your feet a few times. In a motorized patriot sort of way (ouch)…

Armored Core V Gameplay: Steel Yourselves For Some Heavy Metal Hits…

Courtesy of the PlayStation Blog, here’s a look at some more ACV gameplay. This one looks like it’ll be fun for those who love a ton of pre-battle preparations and tweaking (par for the course in the Armored Core franchise). It’ll be interesting to see how well this stacks up against the other titles in the long AC history, but I have the feeling that From Software will be pleased with the response from fans old and new once the game ships out on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

It’s Intenational Women’s Day? FemShep To The Rescue!

Ha! I was wondering just what to do with this FemShep trailer from Mass Effect 3, but thankfully, an email about IWD being today gives me the perfect chance to show BioWare’s on the case when it comes to bringing equality to the forefront. Amusingly enough, I’ve not yet played as a female Shepard in any ME game, but that’s because I haven’t gotten around to it just yet. I have done a complete play through of Dragon Age: Origins using a female character, so I’m at least partially practicing what I’m preaching…

OK, that’s my good deed of the day and much better than running around the UN trying to pass out flowers and candy to random women. That’s only good for a few slaps to the head and a trip to the closest jail cell. Er, that’s what I’ve heard. Not speaking from any experience, mind you…

Dead or Alive 5 GDC 2012 Trailer: So, Crossovers Are The Next Big Thing (Again)? Bring It.

While Capcom has perfected the art of the crossover franchise fighting game, as you can see here, Team Ninja (with a little help from Sega) also wants in on the spectacular fan service with their own key franchise. I’m psyched for this one because the VF series has always been a more technically demanding game than DoA (as some of those crazy Japanese gameplay videos have proved that for a while). While this doesn’t seem to be a FULL crossover game in terms of the total number of VF characters, I’m hoping we see one at some point. In terms of 3D fighters, both VF and DoA do things that Capcom’s awesome arcade hits haven’t on the 2D plane. I guess we’ll see what sort of craziness is going on in future videos, right?

(Thanks to XboxViewTV for the video!)

Medal of Honor Warfighter Trailer: Yup, A Lot Of People Liked That Reboot…

Warts and all (and some of them were pretty big warts), EA’s Medal of Honor reboot had some really solid moments in its single player campaign plus a decent enough multiplayer that was worth messing about with for a while. I figured that a sequel was inbound not too long after I completed the campaign (the game sold decently despite a few less than impressive reviews) and what do you know, we’re getting one come October 23. New settings, some of the same characters and even more action are planned (which hopefully means a longer campaign) along with the move to the Frostbite 2 engine, which should have both single and multiplayer fans jumping for joy. Um, lock and load, I guess. I’m not a total military FPS nut at all, mind you. I just dig a decent story (no matter the genre), want to see where the team ends up this time and how insane things get in terms of pacing and big set pieces that stick in your head long after you’ve played them. Hell, as long as it’s better as a game than Act of Valor was as a film to sit through, I’m going to be suitably impressed.

Street Fighter X Tekken Hits Stores – Overly Obvious Header Puns Begin…

It’s finally here and (from what a few friends say who’ve gotten it) well worth the wait. My review copy also showed up yesterday afternoon, but I’m not getting to it until later today/tomorrow, as I’m still playing the incredibly fun Tales of Graces F and tinkering away on another project or three. I did pore over the excellent guide that came with the game for a little while (it’s packed with great artwork), but I know those pretty pictures won’t keep me safe from a total beat down at the hands of some of you out there. Check back in a few days for a full review…

XCOM: Enemy Unknown Deep Dive #1 – The Best Stuff Always Comes From The Bottom…

Firaxis and 2K Games present an excellent look at the upcoming reboot of the classic sci-fi turn-based squad strategy game. I’m a huge fan of the original (as well as Gerry Anderson’s UFO TV series, the source material for that original XCOM), so I’m liking what I see here quite a lot. Of course, I’m also really intrigued by the upcoming XCOM shooter just to see how it deals with the beginnings of the franchise when the UFO threat was somewhat smaller (but no less deadly to humanity). Now, if ONLY those rabid haters of all things FPS in their XCOM could just get a nice brain wipe so they’d at LEAST accept the other game for what it gets right, we’d all be happier campers (the “we” in this case being me, 2K and the dev team busting their asses on both projects). It’s all about respect, people…

UPDATE: Want More Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor Footage? Here You Go!

It’s really late, I’m really wiped out and REALLY too tired to run as long a post as I’d like here, but here’s the latest video from Capcom and developer From Software’s upcoming Kinect exclusive that’s set to hit retail in June. All I’ll say before falling into bed is those of you out there who’ve been kicking the peripheral around (or just hate the 360 for some reason) will more likely than not be taking a begrudging glance at the console once this game ships out. Or even before as the gameplay previews drip out…

OK, off to bed for me – I’ll be back later today!

Exclusive DLC Mode For Xbox 360 Version Of REORC Gets Some PS3 Owners Cranked…

Well, here’s how to get a wee bit too many folks ticked off for yet another kooky reason: console exclusive content in a multi-platform game. PS3 owners have had this in Batman Arkham Asylum, Mafia II and Battlefield 3 among other games and there have also been a number of cool 360-only downloads that now include the Nemesis Mode DLC from Slant Six Games’ upcoming Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City.

Of course, I can understand any PS3-only franchise fans being royally ticked off about this (given that the RE series began on and became a staple of Sony’s consoles for a few key years), but that’s business, I guess.  I know I’m beating a dead (and soon to be zombie) horse here, but I’ll say it again: hopefully, REORC will sell well enough to net an updated edition down the road with ALL of the additional content. But again, that’s Capcom’s call and not mine.  In any event, March 20 is creeping up mighty fast, that’s for sure…