Mass Effect 3— Faster and Far More Difficult

In Mass Effect 3, an ancient alien race known only as Reapers, has launched an all-out invasion of the galaxy, leaving nothing but a trail of destruction in their wake. Earth has been taken, the galaxy is on the verge of total annihilation, and you are the only one who can stop them. The price of failure is extinction. You, as Commander Shepard, must lead the counter assault to take it back. Only you can determine how events will play out, which planets you will save from annihilation and which alliances you will form or abandon as you rally the forces of the galaxy to eliminate the Reaper threat once and for all. It’s been over eighteen months since gamers braved Mass Effect 2’s suicide mission, with players’ Shepards either rescuing the crew of the Normandy in the nick of time, or seeing some of them gooified or killed in action. The real world has seen its fair share of trouble in the past year and a half, however things are decidedly worse in the Mass Effect universe. In Mass Effect 3, the genocidal Reapers have staged a full invasion of Earth, leaving major cities in ruins and giant robots stomping about the place. 

In the concluding chapter of Commander Shepard’s story, he (or she) must rally the various races of the galaxy for a climactic showdown against the Reapers on Earth, attempting to break the cycle of destruction that’s gone on for millennia. In much the same way as he had to build a crew to assault the Collector stronghold in Mass Effect 2, ME3 sees Shepard having to build an interstellar alliance to take back humanity’s home world. Mass Effect’s branching storyline winds on in the third instalment, with fresh twists and turns, and different plot developments depending on your actions in the previous two games. That means if you’ve managed to shepherd (if you pardon the pun) a save file through Mass Effects 1 and 2, you’ll see the consequences of the decisions you made over the past four years played out as the story builds to its climax. 

Newbies won’t be left out of the fun, however— just like Mass Effect 2, it’ll be possible to enjoy ME3’s branching plot from start to finish without importing an older saved game. And for die-hard fans, all of the favorite characters including Wrex, Ashley, Miranda, Thane, Jack and Legion will make an appearance too, providing they made it out of Mass Effect 2’s suicide mission alive. Mass Effect’s gameplay has changed dramatically between the first and second titles in the series, and the third instalment sees further refinement of the popular action/RPG formula. Bioware says it’s expanded on the armor, weapon and character customization system of Mass Effect 2, allowing greater depth of pure gameplay without having to trawl needlessly through countless inventory menus. 

Weapons and action sequences have also been tweaked in ME3— combat is now faster and more difficult, with Mass Effect 3’s Normal mode being described as roughly equivalent to Veteran mode in the previous game. Mass Effect 1’s weapon mods are back, along with grenades. There’s also a renewed focus on melee abilities, as evidenced by the giant holographic spike that Shepard’s wielding on the game’s box art, and each class has its own unique, high-powered melee attack. In addition, Mass Effect 3 promises a full compliment of biotic and tech powers, though expect many of these remain under wraps until a little closer to launch day. 

Mass Effect 3 was one of the many titles to show off deeper Kinect integration at this year’s Microsoft E3 press conference, allowing players to use their voice to accelerate certain parts of the game. For example, dialog options can be spoken aloud, and squad members can be given spoken orders. While this isn’t intended to replace the traditional gamepad-based control system, we can see this being an enjoyable optional extra for gamers with the necessary hardware. It’s safe to say we can’t wait to get our hands on Mass Effect 3, and although we won’t see a retail release before next March, we’re hoping (and expecting) that Bioware will be able to deliver a conclusion worthy of the immersive universe it’s carefully crafted over the past five years.

The Grey Brings A Box Office Triumph

In The Grey, Liam Neeson's character leads an unruly group of oil-rig roughnecks when their plane crashes into the remote Alaskan wilderness. Battling mortal injuries and merciless weather, the survivors have only a few days to escape the icy elements— and a vicious pack of rogue wolves on the hunt— before their time runs out... oh and you can expect it to run out... The Grey has Liam Neeson at his best, an outstanding movie that will have you gripping the edge of your seat. Some parts of the movie are slow, and people maybe upset by the films tone and ending. 

From the literary classic Moby Dick to the groundbreaking motion picture JAWS, one of the most enduring popular narratives has centered around the conflict between man and nature. Now comes an engaging new adventure about ordinary men stranded in the wilderness and pitted against impossible conditions and even more nightmarish predators. In THE GREY, set in the frozen mountains of Alaska, a pack of angry, snarling, bloodthirsty wolves are in dogged pursuit of human prey. As they pick off their helpless victims one at a time, the chances of survival for the last men standing just becomes more and more remote, which is scary. 

"This is a hard-core survivalist film," says director and co-writer Joe Carnahan, whose previous hits include Narc and Smokin' Aces. In The Grey, a group of men must fight for their lives against the extreme cold and snow as well as a hungry pack of wolves protecting their den. "If you're afraid of wild animals or plane travel, this movie will put you off for a good, long time." 

"The picture crosses numerous genres," says producer Jules Daly. "It's a thriller. It's a horror film. It's a character-driven drama of men struggling to survive." Based on the short story "Ghost Walker" by Ian Mackenzie Jeffers, The Grey marks the second collaboration between Carnahan and international superstar Liam Neeson (Taken, Star Wars Episode I, Schindler's List), who previously teamed for the 2010 action-comedy The A-Team. Serving as producer and executive producer respectively on The Grey are Ridley and Tony Scott, who were also behind The A-Team. Nature is a scary place. Scientists depict humans as the top of the food chain. We are because of our superior intelligence and dominance; our current society is proof of that, even if we are still virtually primitive by our actions. It is only when we leave the comfort of our reason-driven domain that we are truly helpless. Even the most experienced survivor cannot survive the wilderness for long. There is a reason why animals, wolves specifically, are masters of their domain, and we are the prey, not the hunter. 

We follow Ottway (Neeson) a man who is hired to protect workers at an oil refinery from any predator that tends to attack them. On their trip back home, harsh weather conditions causes their jet to crash, with only 7 survivors. Their location could not be any better ,for they find themselves in gray wolf territory, and are picked off one by one. However, the story goes far beyond that. The movie deals with thoughts of suicide, the elements of death, philosophy, bad luck, survival, and if you analyze it a little more, twilight.  

Liam Neeson is physically up to the task in the harsh conditions his character battles in the cold, and is mentally prepared to venture al of Ottway's weaknesses. We are given flashes of his wife, that can only lead us to think she is no longer with him. Neeson explores these weaknesses. He displays a character wanting to leave the realm of life and enter the celestial one. It's only when the plot begins to take charge can we decrypt the words "wish granted". The other actors play their parts very well, displaying just how fragile and human people are when faced with danger and predators. We can admit that in our own world we can't help but establish our own territories; "big talk" because we want to prove how bad ass we are. To the vicious bwolves, we're just playthings, like mice to a hungry cat. 

"The Grey triggered something very primal inside of me," says Neeson, who initially heard of the project while conducting a string of press interviews with Carnahan for The A-Team in Berlin and later asked the director about the project over a lively dinner in London. After seeing the script, he quickly signed on for the lead, knowing full well that Carnahan would strive for realism by shooting on location near the sub-artic zone. "When I read the script, I was 57 years old, and the little boy inside me thought it would be great to take on such a demanding role," says Neeson. "I wanted audiences to say 'Wow, how did you guys do that?' At the same time, I was thinking, 'Jeez, can I physically do this?'"