Tech Olive

As BioWare foretold earlier this month, Dragon Age II‘s demo released to the masses. For completing the demo and importing your demo save when starting your full retail gaming experience, you will be given Hayder’s Razor, a special dwarven blade to help you jump-start your epic quest. Furthermore, if 1,000,000 fans download the Dragon Age II demo, BioWare will add two new in-game items to the final game: Lothering’s Lament and The Far Cliffs of Kirkwall.

[Demo Landing Page]

Huge-name movie composer Clint Mansell has signed on to bring his orchestral brilliance to Mass Effect 3‘s musical score. Though it is a disappointment that the game won’t have music from the two-man team that provided the tracks for both previous games, it’s still very exciting that the job is being given to a man that has proven himself many times over.

If you are unfamiliar with Mansell’s work, he’s probably best known for “Lux Æterna,” a track that has made its way into countless advertisements, montage videos, and just about anything that called for a classical and emotional track.

via [Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

BioWare has detailed Mass Effect 2‘s next (and probably final) DLC release; The Alternate Appearance Pack #2 will bring new outfits for squad members Grunt, Miranda, and Tali.

The Alternate Appearance Pack #2 features new outfits for your favorite squad members, including Tali, Miranda, and Grunt.

Price:

Xbox 360: 160 MS Points
PC: 160 BioWare Points (About $2.00)

[Mass Effect 2 DLC Info Page]

Pulling out all the stops to ensure a profitable launch for their upcoming RPG sequel, BioWare confirmed the rumors of an upcoming Dragon Age 2 pre-release demo. The demo is scheduled to release February 22nd and will take place during the game’s prologue. Further rewarding the player, loading your completed demo saved game into your retail install of Dragon Age 2 (releasing March 8th), you will be given a bonus weapon: Hayder’s Razor.

via [Shack News]

While details surrounding the game’s reveal are a bit thin, BioWare has announced Dragon Age 2 with a new landing page, and there are some details for fans to latch onto along with some concept art and a promise of a trailer debuting August 17th.

Key Features:

• Embark upon an all-new adventure that takes place across an entire decade and shapes itself around every decision you make.
• Determine your rise to power from a destitute refugee to the revered champion of the land.
• Think like a general and fight like a Spartan with dynamic new combat mechanics that put you right in the heart of battle whether you are a mage, rogue, or warrior.
• Go deeper into the world of Dragon Age with an entirely new cinematic experience that grabs hold of you from the beginning and never lets go.
• Discover a whole realm rendered in stunning detail with updated graphics and a new visual style.

Seems a bit late, but Bioware has released a demo for Mass Effect 2 to PC gamers that are still unsure about buying the game. The demo features the game’s first two levels and a “bonus” level presumably from later in the game. So, if you want to give the massive RPG a shot, then head over to Big Download and grab the 1.8GB demo installer.

via [Big Download]

After already getting tons of post-release support, it seems Bioware has not yet stopped the stream of new content for Dragon Age because they’ve announced the upcoming release of the Darkspawn Chronicles on May 18th. Unfortunately, the only other detail released was that it will cost 400MSP when it hits Xbox Live. It’s safe to assume that the DLC will also release for PC, but it’s possible that it will cost gamers.

via [Game Informer]

Steam’s mid-week madness deal this week features Dragon Age: Origins. For $33.49 (from $49.99) you can buy the standard edition or for $43.54 (from $64.99) you can buy the deluxe edition.

It seems that the stream of free Mass Effect 2 DLC has ended. Bioware announced that the next DLC release pack for the game will come to gamers at a cost. Yes, even us beloved PC gamers. The new DLC, titled “Kasumi’s Stolen Memory,” will release April 6th and bring with it a new Locust SMG, along with adding a new 30-minute mission, new party companion and some other additions. Unfortunately, Bioware is still in discussions on what the final price for the DLC will be. We’ll keep you posted.

via [Joystiq]

Bioware has just announced their next step in DLC for Mass Effect 2. Expected to hit late March, the “Firewalker Pack” will feature five new missions that will somehow be based around a new vehicle that the DLC is also bringing in: The Hammerhead (pictured above) is a fast, missile-guided killing machine. There are also rumors of a new heavy weapon releasing too, but there is little to say about it right now. As expected, the DLC will release through the Cerberus network and will come to gamers at no cost.

via [Big Download]