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Thursday Link-Off: Form an Opinion

anais-pouliot-eres13-02I did tell you on Sunday that we’d be a day late with this week’s set of mid-week links. I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s history of Mass Effect 3 post. That’s not the end of our Mass Effect coverage because we’ll have a review of the Citadel DLC next week. But for now, here’s Canadian model Anais Pouliot.

Have you ever wondered how you formed an opinion about an article or author? It may have to do with the contents of the comment section. (New York Times)

People think social media is a good proxy for public opinion but a comparison of public opinion and Twitter opinion shows Twitter generally skews more liberal. (Pew Research Centre)

Hugo Chavez died this week. If you want to know more about the former leader of Venezuela and his legacy, the Economist has you covered. (The Economist)

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Mass Effect Is Getting an Ongoing Comic Book Series Called Foundation

mass-effect-foundation-cover-artAt last weekend’s Emerald City Comic Con, Mass Effect 3 lead writer Mac Walters revealed that the Mass Effect series would spawn a comic book series. While the Mass Effect saga is no stranger to comic books, previously, it had only been in the form of one-off digital comics or short miniseries.

Now, Mass Effect is getting a full-fledged comic series to be published by Dark Horse that will span at least twelve issues. It will be called Mass Effect: Foundation.

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4 Comments Posted on by Steve Murray Video Games

The Unauthorized History of Mass Effect 3

mass-effect-3-posterToday marks the one-year anniversary of the release of BioWare and EA’s Mass Effect 3. The highly anticipated conclusion to the Mass Effect trilogy launched on March 6, 2012, to great reviews from the gaming media but was almost immediately at the centre of a massive controversy among fans over its ending and DLC practices.

Let’s look back at the history of ME3 from launch to today to see what happened and when it happened to make one of 2012’s most anticipated games one of its most controversial. Continue reading →

Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Randominity

Lowdown Monthly – February 2013

lowdown-new-small-lIt’s time to once again take a look back at the past month here on the blog with Lowdown Monthly. Considering the amount of content we’ve pushed out over the 28 days in February, I thought now would be a good time to bring it back. So here’s our look back at our favourite and the most popular posts of February. Continue reading →

2 Comments Posted on by Steve Murray Video Games

This Is It, Isn’t It? Mass Effect 3: Citadel DLC Drops Today

The final piece of Mass Effect 3 DLC is out today. Mass Effect 3: Citadel brings Shepard and his crew back to the Citadel for one final reunion and adventure. Well, I say one final adventure but this is pre-ending DLC so technically, from a plot standpoint, it’s not actually Shepard’s final adventure. Continue reading →

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Formula One: 2013 2nd Barcelona Test Recap

f1-2013-barcelona-test-2-vettel-rb9This past weekend was the final pre-season test ahead of the 2013 Formula One World Championship. Once again, the teams returned to the Circuit de Catalunya for one final tune-up before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix which was only two weeks after the conclusion of the test.

So who would enter the new season with the momentum from a strong showing in the final test?

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Sunday Link-Off: Sequestered

jennifer-love-hewitt-shape13-07While the US government may have been sequestered (or maybe it’s just the collective sanity of the Congress that’s been sequestered), we’re still in action. Also still in action, Jennifer Love Hewitt. Terrible segue but still a great picture even if she’s looking a little thin/Photoshopped in this one.

The NRA will bully people, especially the news media, if they try to access records of people who are registered gun owners. However, they access that info regularly for fundraising. Hypocrites much? (Gawker)

In the latest case of the US Congress playing chicken with the global economy, the mandatory spending cuts negotiated in 2010 called “the sequester” started this week. So what exactly is it? (Washington Post)

I’ve probably put this post too far up in the post but I found it interesting just the same. Folks are accusing Budweiser of watering down its beer. (The Week)

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1 Comment Posted on by J Entertainment, Link-Off

Entertainment Link-Off: Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum

eleanor-tomlinson-jackthegiantslayer13-01This wouldn’t be a bad weekend to play catch-up at the theatres or just watch the trailers. This weekend’s wide releases aren’t exactly hits with critics. Just when you were worried that everyone would try to be The Hangover, 21 & Over proves that films now want to be Project X which is great if you run a torrent site. The Last Exorcism Part II is out which begs the question of if anyone can remember The Last Exorcism Part I. Stoker is reasonably well reviewed but I’m not sure it’s actually a wide release.

That leaves Jack and The Giant Slayer, another movie with a “dark” take on a fairy tale. It’s not getting great reviews but it’s being better received than the rest of the wide releases. That’s what happens when you give Obi-Wan Kenobi a lead role. Also in a lead role is relative newcomer Eleanor Tomlinson.

After the jump, the latest on some sci-fi and fantasy sequels, the buzz about the upcoming Superman re-reboot, some Marvel comic book movie news and more. Continue reading →

1 Comment Posted on by Steve Murray Humour

Caption This: February 23 – March 1, 2013

Inspired by the Globe and Mail’s caption writing person, we waste our time writing funny picture captions for some of the more interesting photos we come across when blogging. So here are some of the best pictures from the past week with a funny (-ish) caption. Continue reading →

1 Comment Posted on by Steve Murray Columns, Video Games

Uncharted 3 and the Future of Triple-A Games Going Free-To-Play

uncharted-3-multiplayer-free-to-play-bannerI must admit that I was quite surprised to find out that Uncharted 3’s multiplayer component went free-to-play earlier this week. I couldn’t quite make heads or tails as to why Naughty Dog and Sony Computer Entertainment would release a part of a game for free or who would want to play such a thing.

But when you think about it, giving away a part of the game that isn’t the core component that’s the reason why people by the game on release day actually makes perfect sense. That’s because Naughty Dog’s play isn’t your standard free-to-play model of funding the game using solely the minority of gamers who provide microtransaction revenue.

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