This week, a multitude of gamers are finishing the fight in Mass Effect 3: cavorting with aliens, punching mouthy reporters, and trying their damndest to protect the galaxy. This is his (or her) story, but it is also ours. We may not voice Shepard, but we do make decisions for him. We can even define how Shepard looks. Character creation has allowed gamers to become more intimate with the characters they are playing, but it isn’t always executed flawlessly. There are limits to what can be done in a video game, but those boundaries are constantly widening. READ MORE
This week, we have the return of a long-absent PC series, a long-quiet PlayStation Move action game and the long-ridiculed concept of Transfarring.
TOP STORY: SimCity V revealed
SimCity will be returning to PCs finally in 2013 compliments of Maxis. During its GDC event this week, EA revealed that this entry would use an entirely new game engine called Glassbox. This engine will enable SimCity V to contain fully-3D cities for the first time, along with curved roads. The only real details about its gameplay state that there will be both a competitive and a cooperative online component to the game. We expect to hear more about it at E3 this year, but if it doesn’t incorporate llamas in some way, it just won’t be SimCity.
Paradox Interactive and Arrowhead Studios, the creators of Magicka, have unveiled their newest project: an arena battler called The Showdown Effect. We’d tell you that it plays similarly to Super Smash Bros. and focuses on customization of modes and parameters, but… at this point, you should know nothing we say is going to be as ludicrous as what Arrowhead puts in a trailer. Check it out.
The story of Katamari Damacy is one of the most surprising successes in Namco’s history. A budget import title becomes a cult hit and leads to nine sequels and spin-offs, including the Vita launch title Touch My Katamari. There hasn’t been much evolution in this beloved franchise, but Touch My Katamari makes a strong debut on Sony’s new handheld, proving that the series has a lot of life left. READ MORE
Dominiondesigner Donald X. Vaccarino has put together another winning mid-weight gaming experience in Kingdom Builder (published by Queen Games). Ideal for both a “gateway” game for new strategy gamers and as a filler for gaming veterans, Kingdom Builder plays fast and has very simple rules, and yet provides enough game to offer a decent challenge. It’s never going to be the centerpiece of game night, but as a warm-up groups could do far worse. READ MORE
