It's been so long since I've invoked any hostility in defending PC-centric control schemes over console counterparts—I guess Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare changed me, or made me soft, or something.

But with Mass Effect's somewhat limited Xbox 360 control configuration transitioned to its reworked form on the PC, I'm on the cusp of becoming an elitist jerk again.

Sure, Mass Effect certainly looks great on the PC, but veterans and newcomers alike ought to be most interested in how it plays. Utilizing familiar FPS controls, the game allows you to pull up the tactical HUD by holding the space bar at... Read more

Fresh from EA's Spring Break event are a bonanza of screenshots from the publisher's lineup, including Mass Effect PC, Warhammer Online and more.

Be sure to scope out the full post, as there is simply far too much media to contain on the front page, and don't forget to check out the whole of our EA Spring Break coverage.

Left 4 Dead (PC, X360)
Valve, Turtle Rock Studios / November 2008

Battlefield Heroes (PC)
EA DICE / Summer

Battlefield: Bad Company (PS3, X360)
EA DICE / June 23, 2008

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BioWare producer Derek French recently caused an uproar after announcing that copy protection on the PC editions of Mass Effect and Spore would require online validation every 10 days in order for the games to continue functioning.

In the face of increasing pressure, BioWare and publisher Electronic Arts today relented, updating the official Mass Effect PC FAQ to note that validation will now only be required when the player downloads new game content.

Q: If the game isn't going to require an authentication every 10 days, will it ever require re-authentication?

A: Only if the player chooses to download new game content.

Electronic Arts also released a statement mentioning that Spore's copy protection will be similarly changed to allow for offline play, only requiring validation on a patch or game content update.

The publisher further noted that the protection will still only allow users to authenticate each game on up to three computers. Approval of further authorizations... Read more

Update: Electronic Arts has relented to the pressure.

Original story: BioWare technical producer Derek French has said that the PC versions of both Mass Effect and Spore will make use of copy protection that will require online validation every ten days in order for the games to continue working.

"After the first activation, SecuROM requires that [Mass Effect PC] re-check with the server within ten days (in case the CD Key has become public/warez'd and gets banned)," said French in a post on the BioWare forums.

If customers do not come online after ten days, the game will cease to function.

"After 10 days a re-check is required before the game can run," added French. "..An internet connection is not required to install, just to activate the first time, and every 10 days after."

The check is run when users activate the game's executable file, with the first re-check coming within "5 days remaining in the 10 day window."

According to French, Maxis' Spore will also make use of the same scheme: "[Electronic Arts] is ready for us and getting ready for Spore, which will use the same system."

French also noted that the online requirement will be clearly labeled on the games' packaging.

Those who pre-order the PC edition of Mass Effect at participating retailers will get $10 off the sci-fi RPG's $49.99 MSRP when it hits May 27, publisher Electronic Arts has revealed.

While the company did not provide a complete list of those "participating retailers," it named GameStop, Amazon.com and GoGamer.com in today's announcement.

It should be noted that the discount does not apply to EA's own online store. Instead, those who pre-order Mass Effect PC from the EA Store will, while supplies last, receive trinkets--including a poster and a comic book--from EA Redwood Shores' space horror effort Dead Space (PC, PS3, X360).

Originally developed by now-EA subsidiary BioWare and released on Xbox 360 last fall, Mass Effect was ported to the PC with the aid of indie developer Demiurge Studios. The PC edition sports a number of additions and improvements, such as free downloadable content and a redesigned interface.

When BioWare's sci-fi RPG Mass Effect is released for the PC this May gamers will be able to download the "Bring Down The Sky" content for free, publisher Electronic Arts has announced. Released for Xbox 360 through the Xbox Live Marketplace last month, the DLC introduces the Batarian race and adds about 90 minutes of additional gameplay.

The PC version of Mass Effect will be in North American stores May 28.

In advance of the game's May 28 release, developer BioWare has, via its official forum, issued the minimum and recommended system requirements for the PC edition of its sci-fi action-RPG Mass Effect.

Ported from the Xbox 360 with the aid of Demiurge Studios and sporting a revised interface, the title requires a minimum of 12GB hard drive space, a 2.4 GHz Intel or 2.0 GHz AMD processor, a GeForce 6 series or ATI 1300XT video card, and 1GB of RAM for Windows XP users.

The full minimum and recommended specs are as follows:... Read more

Developer BioWare has released a new set of screenshots from the PC version of its RPG shooter hybrid epic Mass Effect, showing off the game's revised interface and decryption minigame.

As shown in the new screenshots, the title's graphical interface has been reworked to support the more versatile mouse and keyboard control configuration available for Mass Effect's PC incarnation. A look at the game's revamped decryption minigame was also revealed.

BioWare announced this morning that Mass Effect PC had been delayed from its May 6 release date. Sci-fi fans can now expect it to hit retail shelves on May 28.

The PC edition of Mass Effect has been pushed to May 28 in North America and June 6 in Europe, developer BioWare has revealed. Co-developed by Demiurge Studios, the Xbox 360-to-PC port of the sci-fi RPG was originally slated to arrive on May 6.

"A few more weeks in the studio will ensure we deliver the quality that our fans deserve," BioWare community coordinator Chris Priestly wrote on the developer's forums.

"The additional time will allow us to incorporate more play-testing feedback, add extra polish and tune the additional features so that Mass Effect is a natural and outstanding PC gaming experience," he continued.

The upcoming sequel to BioWare's sci-fi RPG Mass Effect will arrive on Xbox 360 first with a PC version hitting soon after, according to senior manager Matt Atwood.

"I believe we'll be Xbox 360 exclusive for at least a short period of time," Atwood told CVG. "We've got a really great PC fan base, we think it's really important to deliver the PC experience as quickly as possible," he continued in a VideoGamer interview.

The first entry in BioWare's planned Mass Effect trilogy arrived on Xbox 360 last fall, with a PC version, co-developed by Demiurge, due out May 6. Many had speculated that, following EA's acquisition of BioWare and the publishing rights for Mass Effect, the sequel would release simultaneously on multiple platforms.

BioWare has yet to specify a release window for Mass Effect 2.

Microsoft just sent over a trailer for the first batch of Mass Effect (X360) downloadable content, titled Bring Down the Sky.

Released on the Xbox Live Marketplace earlier this week, the expansion for BioWare's sci-fi RPG introduces the Batarian race, adds a new achievement to the game, and offers about 90 minutes of gameplay. It sells for 400 Microsoft Points ($5).

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As expected, newly available on the Xbox Live Marketplace this morning is Bring Down the Sky, the first downloadable content for BioWare's sci-fi role playing game Mass Effect.

The scenario, which introduces the Batarian race and offers around 90 minutes of gameplay and 50 Gamerscore points, is a 253mb download, and will set you back 400 Microsoft Points ($5).

Previously announced for a "May" release, Electronic Arts today narrowed down the store date for the PC version of Mass Effect to May 6.

The PC version of Mass Effect will include numerous upgrades over the Xbox 360 release, including an improved squad control interface, re-designed Mako controls, a new inventory screen GUI and functionality, hot-key mapping, a quick save button, and an additional decryption mini-game.

BioWare's sci-fi role playing game has won numerous awards since its release on the Xbox 360 last November, and has sold well over a million copies worldwide.

Developer BioWare has released a few screenshots of the just-announced Electronic Arts-published PC port of its hit RPG Mass Effect.

The new inventory user interface can be seen here, in addition to higher-resolution textures. Other than that, it's good old Mass Effect.

The PC port arrives this May.

Gamers hoping that BioWare's critically acclaimed Xbox 360 sci-fi role playing game Mass Effect would eventually hit PCs will be pleased to know that the wait won't be long, as the port will be released this May.

The PC version will be enhanced in several ways over the Xbox 360 release of the game. The inventory user interface and functionality has been reworked, allowing for easier equipping and modifying of weapons and armor. There will also be visual boost, due to the inclusion of higher-resolution textures, characters and environments. Also look for optimized controls, as well as control remapping and hot key binding of biotic powers and skills, along with a new decryption mini-game.

"Mass Effect serves as a powerful example of video games as an art form, delivering new levels of emotional intensity, realistic characters and a gripping storyline -- all set in a compelling new universe," said BioWare General Manager Ray Muzyka.

Publishing of Mass Effect PC will be handled by Electronic Arts, which said it has struck a deal with Microsoft to handle future publishing of the franchise. EA recently completed its purchase of BioWare.

Developer BioWare today unveiled the first round of downloadable content for its hit Xbox 360 RPG Mass Effect.

Bring Down the Sky will introduce the alien race of the Batarians, an extremist group that has taken over an asteroid station in the Asgard system, sending it hurtling toward the colony world of Terra Nova. Players will be unsurprisingly tasked with averting the disaster, exploring a new world in the process.

BioWare estimates the scenario will last most gamers about 90 minutes, with 50 Gamerscore points hanging in the balance.

The content--the first in a series of such releases--is coming to Xbox Live on March 10, for the price of 400 Microsoft points ($5).

Cooper Lawrence (pictured left), who recently appeared on Fox News' The Live Desk with Martha MacCallum and, despite never having actually played the game, attacked BioWare's Mass Effect (X360) for containing pornography and misrepresenting women, has now admitted that she was wrong in her criticism.

"I recognize that I misspoke," Lawrence, the author of several self-help books, told The New York Times. "Before the show I had asked somebody about what they had heard, and they had said it's like pornography.

"I really regret saying that, and now that I've seen the game and seen the sex scenes it's kind of a joke," she continued. "I've seen episodes of [the ABC television show] Lost that are more sexually explicit."

During the segment, which repeatedly and incorrectly informed viewers that the game contained full digital nudity and graphic sex, Lawrence was asked by games journalist Geoff Keighley if she had ever played the game. She laughed and answered, "No."

BioWare and its owner Electronic Arts, meanwhile, are not amused... Read more

The ever-growing controversy regarding BioWare's Mass Effect (X360) and Fox News Channel's gross misrepresentation of the RPG as a graphic sex simulator shows no signs of slowing down.

Despite Electronic Arts' demands that Fox News correct the multitude of errors made when reporting on the game earlier this week, the network now claims that EA has ignored all invitations to appear on-air and set the record straight.

"Fox News Channel has extended several invitations to EA through a company representative to appear on 'Live Desk With Martha MacCallum' to discuss 'Mass Effect' and the segment which aired on Monday," a Fox News representative told MTV Multiplayer. "We have received no response."

The whole affair began this Monday, when Fox News hosted a segment on Mass Effect that involved longtime gaming journalist Geoff Keighley, who had played the title, and five other participants who had not. Baseless accusations began... Read more

BioWare's next RPG franchise is finally here, after years of beautiful screenshots and tantalizing videos. Does it live up to the hype? I chime in with my take.

But right from the opening scenes, Mass Effect quickly distinguishes itself as a wholly new experience. Simply put, a video game has never been this cinematically engaging. Just gazing at a simple grain-filtered shot of a planet--complete with lens-flared sunlight, Star Warsian framing, and a disparate synth-heavy sci-fi score by Richard Jacques--can be an exciting moment. Even the most insignificant environment or character is rendered and shot in a compelling light--or shadow, as the case may be. Rarely does the polish fade. From back to front, Mass Effect is one of the first games to truly approach an actual cinematic quality. Read more...

With Mass Effect shipping to stores next week, Microsoft has sent out a few more videos from the Xbox 360 exclusive sci-fi role playing game. At FileShack you can find sentinel class and mako rover combat videos, as well as this galactic exploration movie. You can also stream these videos below.

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