The latest issue of @Gamer magazine features broShep on the cover and an article on Mass Effect 3. They've also made the entire ME3 article available in a high resolution PDF on their website!
Sam Hulick, Mass Effect franchise composer extraordinaire, has recently made a few tracks (previously a part of a charity promotion, which is now over) available to download from his Bandcamp page for free for the remainder of the holidays. Tracks include the two songs from his B-Sides from Another Galaxy charity album, and "Shepard's Return". You have until January 1, 2012 to reap the fruits of this generosity!
Love to write fanfic? Well, this contest is for you: To celebrate the release of David Gaider's newest Dragon Age novel Asunder, BioWare is hosting a creative writing contest. The objective is to write a short story from the perspective of a Mage or Templar. The top five entries will win a signed copy of Asunder, and will be read by David Gaider himself to choose one overall winner. This overall winner will receive a full suite of products from the Razer Dragon Age II line: keyboard, mouse, mouse mat, and messenger bag to assist in his or her future writing endeavors. He or she will also be invited to a private Skype Q&A with David Gaider. The last day to submit your short story is January 10, 2012.
Curse Gaming's is offering (only to their premium subscribers) some hefty sweepstakes prizes for their SWTOR giveaway: a copy of Star Wars: The Old Republic Collector's Edition, a SWTOR-branded Razer gaming headset, and a SWTOR-branded Naga Epic gaming laser mouse. This is the first time I've see the SWTOR-branded Razer peripherals being offered as prizes, but you do have to be a Curse Premium subscriber to enter the sweepstakes after all. You have until January 24, 2012, at 12:00 a.m. PDT to enter.
Knights of the Old Republic is now less than $2.50 for today's Steam Holiday Sale. If you've yet to experience this gaming masterpiece, now's your chance.
BSN member Athenas_Wrath has put together an excellent overview of all the companion/follower/party-member npcs you can obtain in Dragon Age: Legends. The guide includes a list of skills each companion member can obtain by the endgame, as well as comments about their value in a party composition. Other forum members have also contributed interesting facts like gold costs for upgrading follower rooms and so forth.
BioWare's newly rebooted company blog is holding a little competition over the holidays for those with a little artistic inclination and a passion for all things BioWare. They're looking to redo the blank slate that is their blog with a spiffy new design, and are soliciting your mockup suggestions. Prizes include a $250 BioWare Store gift card and a community spotlight article about your winning submission. The last day to submit your mockup screenshots is January 3, 2012. Read More
SWTOR podcasting group Corellian Run Radio is running a contest in which they will be awarding Razer gaming peripherals to the best four SWTOR original character profiles submitted. "Create a character profile that describes the name, class, and background of your Star Wars: The Old Republic character. This can be in the form of a short story, a descriptive summary, a fill-in-the-blanks form, a picture, a comic, a journal, correspondence, a video, an audio recording, etc." See the contest page for more information about word limits and video durations. You have until January 1, 2012 at 11:59pm CST to exercise that creative muscle.
As a part of their "Episode III" holiday promotion, Beamdog has discounted MDK 2 HD by 33% ($10 instead of $15). This is the first time this high fidelity remake has been on sale. Sadly, today is the last day of that sale period, so you might want to jump on that ship before it sails, if you feel that the price is finally right.
SWTOR Senior Community Manager Stephen Reid will be participating in an "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) Reddit online event this Wednesday, December 28th at 2pm CST. Presumably, you'll want to deluge him with questions about Star Wars: The Old Republic. Instructions on how this event will be conducted is available in the announcement post on Reddit. The event is listed on our calendar events sidebar, starting time translated to EST. (I've had the event listed in the calendar on our sidebar for a few days, but forgot to post about it.)
Mass Effect senior writer Patrick Weekes has posted a first-person perspective story to Bioware's official blog, exploring the Commander's thoughts as he winds down from a recent mission that did not go exactly as planned. The story itself is an interesting perspective on a character whose thought processes we usually fill in for ourselves, but we can also read between the lines and glean some possible spoilers about what we can see in Mass Effect 3. Follow us below the break to see what Weekes' story has to show us. Read More
If you're in the U.S. or Canada, Direct2Drive is currently offering two all time price lows on Dragon Age 2 ($5) and Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition
($7.50) pc digital downloads. These copies can be registered on Origin.
Update: Amazon has pricematched these offers, for those who prefer that store: Dragon Age 2
