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 DLC: Stolen Memories, Money

Let me preface this post by saying that Mass Effect 2 is among the best games I’ve ever played. Even after two playthroughs with two different Commander Shepards (one male and one female), I still find myself consistently drawn to this second chapter in BioWare’s meticulously-crafted space opera. So when I learned that Electronic Arts and BioWare were releasing “Kasumi’s Stolen Memory,” the first piece of premium downloadable content (DLC) for the game, I knew I needed to own it. After all, 560 Microsoft Points ($7) seemed at first like a small price to pay for a new mission, new weapons and a new character.

So I bought the mission pack and was introduced to a mysterious thief named Kasumi. She needs my help infiltrating a formal party so she can break into the high-security vault of smugger/weapons dealer/art aficionado Donovan Hock. In return, she’ll join the crew of the Normandy. Sounds reasonable.

I liked the secretive James Bond-esque feel of the first half of this mission, as Shepard must dismantle Hock’s security bit by bit without alarming the guests at the party. Once Shepard and Kasumi get into the vault to retrieve the titular “stolen memory” (housed in a device called a graybox), the mission more closely resembles a standard Mass Effect 2 loyalty mission, with legions of faceless enemy soldiers and mechs to mow down before a final showdown with Hock. It was over in just an hour, which is consistent with other loyalty missions in the game. But, then again, we didn’t have to pay extra for any of those.

While some hardcore Mass Effect fans might argue that “Kasumi’s Stolen Memory” is worth the $7 it costs to download in spite of its brevity and the fact that Kasumi isn’t overwhelmingly interesting character-wise, the premium DLC trend is becoming a bit alarming. Why wasn’t this mission included in the release version of the game? Why must fans of the game shell out more than the $60 retail price of the game just to round out the crew of the Normandy? This is akin to a book publisher releasing an unfinished novel and asking readers to pay for additional chapters a few months later. Very lame.

EA Has “Far-Reaching” Plans for Mass Effect in 2011

Gaming blog Kotaku reports that Mass Effect 2 publisher Electronic Arts is planning “something far-reaching” for the Mass Effect franchise in early 2011.

Is this “far-reaching” something a spinoff? Downloadable content? Or could we be getting Mass Effect 3 next year? After finishing the second game—which is one of the most satisfying titles I’ve ever played—I immediately wanted to dive into the final installment.

BioWare project manager Casey Hudson has reportedly said the developers “definitely want to make Mass Effect 3 a fairly short turnaround.”

However, unless BioWare began working on the third game immediately after finishing the second—which is possible—getting it shipped next year could prove challenging even for them. The last thing we want is a rushed wrap-up to the so-far stellar Mass Effect trilogy.

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.