Filmmakers Aim to Adapt, Ruin Mass Effect

Remember how movies based on video games, as a rule, totally suck? Okay, good.

Moving right along, I’ve just learned via The Hollywood Reporter that Legendary Pictures has purchased the movie rights to Mass Effect, BioWare’s phenomenal 2007 space opera that spawned an even better sequel this past January. Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend, Thor) is reportedly in talks to write the movie, which is being produced by Avi and Ari Arad alongside Legendary’s Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni.

Now, I always get fanboy douche chills whenever one of my favorite video game franchises makes that doomed voyage to the silver screen, but a Mass Effect movie? Aside from the fact that both Mass Effect games are pretty lengthy (each took me about 20 hours to complete, give or take), one of the primary appeals of this series is that ever-important element of choice. You choose Commander Shepard’s gender, appearance, past, abilities and moral choices. By stripping Mass Effect of that level of immersion, you’re left with a universe—as intricate and cinematic as it is—that’s far too similar to Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica and other existing science fiction properties to stand on its own as a piece of non-interactive entertainment. To the general public, a Mass Effect movie will be wrongfully received as a Wars/Trek knockoff. This franchise is better than that.

THR notes that BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk will serve as executive producers on the adaptation, which should provie Mass Effect fans a glimmer of hope. After all, one of the main problems with these game-to-movie translations (from Super Mario Bros. right on down) is that the creative forces that made the source material so compelling are seldom involved. Perhaps the BioWare guys will keep this project focused and give some pointers as to how a story that depended so much on audience (player) involvement can work as a feature length film. Since the project is still in its infancy, it’s difficult to say whether or not that will be the case.

But until we hear otherwise, the game-to-movie curse lives on.

Mass Effect 2 Sells Two Million Units in First Week

BioWare’s Mass Effect 2 is officially the first video game blockbuster of 2010, selling more than two million copies in its first week of release. The anticipated second chapter in the Mass Effect trilogy—which hit shelves on January 26 for Xbox 360 and PC—has also earned an average review score of 96 on Metacritic and is the second-highest rated Xbox 360 game of all time. So yeah, people are digging it.

“Mass Effect 2 is poised to be one of the biggest games of 2010,” Ray Muzyka, MD, co-founder of BioWare and group general manager of Electronic Arts’ RPG/MMO branch, said in a statement. “We could not be more proud of the game’s universal acclaim and early commercial success.”

As for me? I. Love. This. Game. The sprawling, operatic Mass Effect saga—which began in 2007 with the release of the first installment—is a defining moment in video game history that further cements the medium as an art form. Mass Effect 2 allows players to import their Commander Shepard character from the first game, carrying over each of his/her decisions, no matter how small. You’re not just working your way through scripted interactive fiction, you’re shaping the overall experience as you go. The gorgeous visuals, visceral combat and engaging characters only add to that level of immersion. I completed the game two nights ago (on February 2) and I’m still geeking out about it. I can’t wait for my second playthrough.

I could go on and on about how incredible Mass Effect 2 is, but if you’re an Xbox 360 owner you need this game (and the first one). Storytelling rarely gets as satisfying as this.

Peer Pressure Prevails, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Dragon Age: Origins

I’m not quite sure I should be telling the world that it took a healthy dose of peer pressure for me to buckle down and purchase one of the year’s best video games, but I finally picked up BioWare’s Dragon Age: Origins this weekend after a strong recommendation from a friend. I suppose the abundance of top-tier titles being released this holiday season isn’t exactly a problem for gamers, but damn, the hobby gets expensive this time of year. After Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2 and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, I thought I was all set with video games for a while (and so did my wallet). But I’m the highly suggestible type…or so people tell me.

At dinner, prior to a marathon Lego Rock Band session last night (another fun game), my friend Morgan told me that if I was into Mass Effect, also developed by BioWare, then Dragon Age would be right up my alley.

Now, if you’ve been following The Wort Report with any regularity over the past three years, you know that I’m a major BioWare role-playing game fanboy. I loved Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (not just because I’m also a notoriously unapologetic Star Wars nerd), I played through Mass Effect several times and I’m counting down the days until Mass Effect 2’s January 26 release date. If Dragon Age was anything like Mass Effect, I needed to own it, despite already having far too many games to play right now. Again, not the worst of problems for a gamer.

There was a Target nearby, and everyone in the group was keen on going there after we were done eating. Okay, I thought. In all likelihood, the game would be sold out and the burning desire to buy it immediately would subside by morning. Damn, they had it. Double damn, there was a salesman nearby. And when he brought the game to the register, it was on sale for $39.99. Triple. Dog. Damn. I couldn’t even argue over the price! So, it was mine…the only trouble would be finding the time to actually play it.

While I haven’t gotten the chance to sink my teeth into it fully, I really like Dragon Age thus far. I’m still getting the hang of some of the micromanaging and combat mechanics (it’s a bit more like SW: KotOR than Mass Effect on that front, which isn’t a bad thing whatsoever), but I dig the medieval fantasy setting, the voice acting and the character customization thus far. I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to finish the game and write up a detailed review anytime soon—if at all—but most of the reviews out there already are positive overall and seem mostly in line with my own thoughts. Click here to check out Dragon Age’s Xbox 360 Metacritic page.

And thanks, Morgan. Now I need to somehow invent a moderately healthy alternative to sleep.