Crave

Cyber Monday score! This new classic for the PC is on sale for just $4.95.

Sigh. Sellout blues today, people. But I'd like to see a digital download sell out!

As part of a Cyber Monday promo, Direct2Drive is offering the award-winning, uber-popular PC game Mass Effect for just $4.95.

How award-winning? How uber-popular? Check out GameSpot's review of Mass Effect, which awards it the rarely achieved score of 9.0. Average user score? About the same: 8.9.

In fact, the PC version of the Xbox 360 classic offers "streamlined combat and numerous minor improvements." (Sounds good to me: I prefer to game on my PC anyway.)

The game sold for around $40 when it debuted in summer 2008, so $4.95 is just too good to pass up--especially for fans of the action/RPG genre.

Direct2Drive's deal is good until noon (ET) Tuesday. Get it while you can!

As what one might call mainstream consumers of interactive entertainment, we're quick to snicker at anything too concerned with elves and dragons, or any kind of stat-juggling role-playing game. That said, we've always had a soft spot for epic, story-driven games such as Oblivion and Fallout 3, which use the trapping of the RPG format to build a fully realized virtual world.

This year's entry in the epic RPG/adventure game category is Dragon Age: Origins, released Tuesday. After getting an early preview during this year's Game Developer's Conference, we were surprisingly hooked and eager to see more. Having now played a preview build of the game for the past six weeks, we can safely say it's one of the year's best, alongside Batman: Arkham Asylum and The Beatles: Rock Band.

More surprisingly, it's a rare example of a game that calls out for a high-powered PC rig. While Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions are available, this is one of the few high-profile games in 2009 designed and built for PC gamers and then ported to home consoles, rather than the other way around. While it keeps the same storyline, characters, and locations--along with a redesigned menu system for gamepads and lower-resolution TV screens--we judged the PC version to be superior, with better graphics, a more flexible camera, and the ability to easily pause the action for some strategic planning.

In our initial preview back in March, we felt the heart of the game--a sprawling big-budget action/adventure in the style of the "Lord of the Rings" movies--was buried under tired ideas about how to best sell a game of the sword-and-sorcery genre. There was plenty of talk about party management, the history of various fictional kingdoms, and most frightening, a "prequel novel" explaining the game's backstory.

Fortunately, EA has gone into the home stretch emphasizing the massive battle scenes, PG-13 love triangles, and--of course--the occasional fight with a giant dragon.

While the major beats of the game remain the same, we were impressed that the choice of race (human, elf, or dwarf), profession (fighter, mage, or rogue), and even social status (noble or commoner) determines which of six opening chapters you play through--potentially making the first two-to-three hours of the game different each time, depending on the character you design.

To be sure, entering the world of Dragon Age is no small commitment for casual gamers. There's a ton of dialog, pages and pages of onscreen text to read (a throwback to early computer RPGs that feels in need of an update), and a fair amount hacky scriptwriting involving every cliche in the fantasy genre. The voice actors generally do a fine job, but too often are stuck delivering lines from a Ray Harryhausen Sinbad movie.

Still, even non-RPG types like ourselves were able to get the hand of it quickly, and thanks to expert pacing, interspacing exploration and interaction with plenty of combat, the hours seemed to fly by. We suggest putting any lingering anti-RPG bias aside and taking the very impressive Dragon Age: Origins for a spin; and for PC gamers, it's practically a must-play.

Scott Stein offers a concurring opinion:

Games like Dragon Age: Origins are instantly unappealing to me. There's a seemingly generic fantasy setting and the sense that this is some pre-existing game in a franchise that I'm unaware of and will therefore feel confused by.

Thankfully, Bioware seems well aware of my apprehensions and held my hand from the very get-go. Picking a character and backstory developed into an unfolding of the story that felt organic, and explained everything as if setting up exposition for a good movie. So few games do this, and I appreciated that you could also pick your starting point for the story, changing many elements by doing so.

Did it win me over? In a way, yes. It's still a huge tip of the hat to classic swords-and-sorcery gaming (I prefer RPGs closer to Phantasy Star in setting), but it's made with the care of a Peter Jackson "Lord of the Rings" movie. Pretend you've never played one of these games before, then give it a try.

Screenshots: Dragon Age: Origins

Butter.

(Credit: Light Blue Taxi)

Can 2009 give us any more bad news? I think at this point, the three of us are ready to move straight into 2010, mostly because we're too afraid of what's going to happen in the next three months. To put it lightly, this year has been a tough one for celebrities. Although it didn't exactly make Twitter headlines, we're all saddened by Patrick Swayze's death and take a few minutes out of the beginning of the show to talk about all of his great movies, including "Ghost," "Donnie Darko," "Dirty Dancing," and of course "To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar."

Lots more good and bad news to discuss, including Facebook jumping on the @ symbol bandwagon. After Twitter reportedly rejected its purchasing offer, Facebook is now starting to introduce features that mimic the microblogging site. The first change is that Facebook users can now tag friends using an @ symbol in front of their names. The other is Facebook Lite, a less-cluttered version of the classic that discards the left navigation and info page.

Jeff found a pretty hilarious story from China about a bridge getting covered with butter, but before we get to that, we do a quick run-through of the 10 most pirated movies, and you'll be surprised at which flicks made the cut. Finally, we reminisce about high school LAN parties (look it up, young bloods), how to get 50 PC games for $5, and a new gaming console accessory called the Spawn Labs HD-720 that's making waves in the industry.

Mark the Former Intern stops by The 404 studio today to shake us out of our slumber...maybe we do need Wilson's laugh after all! Today we steer through more news about the upcoming "BioShock" movie, CBS running a video ad in a magazine, Jessica Biel (that's all), Woofer, and more!

We haven't had Mark the Intern on in a while, so since Wilson is still gone we take the opportunity to reacquaint ourselves with the host of CNETTV's The Green Show. We're all a little sluggish this morning from severe lack of sleep and lingering illness, but we all know laughter is the best medicine, so we rip right into the new "BioShock" movie, slated to come out in 2075. Just kidding, but it's not far off considering the weekly changes we've been reading about in the news!

Next up, we take a look at a creative new video ad to run in Entertainment Weekly magazine this fall. The ad is the first of its kind to appear in print and can handle 40 minutes of video. You can even attach a mini-USB plug and recharge the batteries if you literally have nothing better to do. Although, something tells me Neil Patrick Harris giving the "peace" sign isn't exactly going to sell boatloads of Pepsi products...

After a Call from the Public (just one), we're very excited to talk about Woofer, another Twitter clone that requires each post to have a minimum of 1,400 characters, or roughly 500 words. Obviously, we don't expect the service to catch fire as quickly as Twitter, and in fact many of the early adopters are reaching the minimum by copying and pasting excerpts from the Gettysburg Address and the Old Testament. Go check it out, but you might want to brush up on your writing skills first!

Check out the show and please leave us a voicemail at 1-866-404-CNET and let us know what you think about any of the stories, or just tell us what's on your mind! If it's good, we'll play it on the show. Heck, even if it's awful, there's still a good chance you'll hear yourself on the air!

EPISODE 411

So we've started our back-to-school retail roundup of laptops, and while Dan and Scott got their first reviews posted without incident (the HP Pavilion dv7-2185DX and Sony Vaio FW480J/T, respectively), I wasn't as lucky with the Asus G71GX-RX05.

Actually, that's not entirely true. You see, the review was sailing right along until I started reading complaints about the system's Nvidia GeForce GTX 260M graphics adapter basically dropping frame rates to 1-2fps once the GPU temp hits roughly 81 degrees Celsius. So we did a little more testing and, sure enough, the frame rates dropped and we couldn't get them back up without a restart.

Turns out Asus is aware of the problem and has been busily working on a fix. Some hiccup in the BIOS is causing the drop out, and the manufacturer will be issuing a new BIOS version on or about July 9.

As soon as we have a chance to test it out, we'll be revising and rating our review. However, if you've already bought one, rest assured that a fix from Asus is on the way and your frame rates will be back where they belong. (Which, at least in our tests, was very good for the well-configured $1,149 laptop.)

Update: The new BIOS is ready for download. For the easiest updating, use the Asus Live Update app preinstalled on the laptop. It will download the new BIOS and then just follow the onscreen prompt to flash your system.

You can also go to the Asus support site and look up the model number and download the BIOS. Installation instructions are available from there as well.

We'll be testing out the new BIOS today and with any luck refreshing our review with performance results and ratings.

The breakthrough sci-fi role-playing-game is back in Mass Effect 2. Lead Commander Shepard through the galaxy once again as you interact with different alien races. Mass Effect 2 is set to blast off in early 2010 for the PC and Xbox 360.

How do you follow up one of the most critically acclaimed video games in recent memory? 2K Games is facing that very challenge with its sequel to the 2007 hit BioShock. We recently sat down for an eyes-on preview of the upcoming BioShock 2 from the game's developers.

The original game succeeded by mixing a solid first-person shooter mechanic with a wildly imaginative fictional world, set in the ruined underwater city of Rapture. The art deco design of the 1940's city was a welcome break from the warehouses and space stations most games are set in, and the background story of a utopian social experiment gone wrong incorporated influences from Ayn Rand to Jules Verne--heady stuff for gamers used to a steady diet of zombies and elves.

The dangerous Big Sister, glimpsed in the darkness.

(Credit: 2K Games)

BioShock 2 keeps the underwater setting from the first game, but shifts the point of view from an amnesiac plane crash survivor to a prototype Big Daddy, putting you in the oversized boots of one of the most fearsome adversaries from the first game. Playing as a hulking man-monster, we're concerned that audiences won't be able to identify with the protagonist, and not be drawn into the story. Fighting seemed very similar to the original game, but instead of using a gun along with his various "plasmid" powers (essentially genetic engineering that looks and works like a magic spell), your Big Daddy sports a giant drill on the end of his right arm.

The demo level we saw, which may or may not be in the final game, gave us a basic overview of the game, and involved a meeting with a new super-powered adversary, the Big Sister. If you're familiar with the original BioShock, she's a Little Sister (one of a community of creepy little girls who harvest energy from dead bodies), who has evolved into something much bigger and more dangerous.

Genetic powers, such as this fireball, return in BioShock 2.

(Credit: 2K Games)

New plot aside, the settings, graphics, combat, and gameplay all seemed very familiar, and we could see BioShock 2 suffering from a case of sequelitis--without significant upgrades in the graphics, locations, and action, it feels at this point more like a downloadable add-on pack than a whole new game. Adding to our concern is that BioShock's original Creative Director, Ken Levine, apparently has only minimal involvement with this sequel.

Still, an overly familiar sequel to a great game is better than a sequel to a bad one, and we're looking forward to checking out more of BioShock 2, which should be available on Xbox 360, PC, and PS3 later this year, with further details to be unveiled at the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show in June.

(Credit: Forbes)

One of the great things about working at a creative firm is that there's so much creativity around that it sometimes takes non-client-related work to fully channel it. From time to time, my colleagues at frog design embark on concept work for magazines to explore new territory and flex their skills.

The latest piece is a special project for Forbes' Special Report on Identity: The Troika card, a concept for a smarter Social Security card with a multifunctional screen that turns your identity card into a gadget. "Of the three forms of identification we have in the States--the other two being the passport and driver's license--the Social Security card is the one that unlocks your life," says my colleague Laura Richardson.

Made of lightweight aluminum, the Troika card is durable but also flexible. A multifunctional screen allows users to switch between driver's license, passport, and Social Security card. Thumbprint identification serves as protection against identity theft. "By combining the familiarity and proportions of a standard ID card with the durability of a water-resistant, flexible screen and the security of biometrics, [a card like this] could revolutionize the future of identification," Richardson says.

Here are the features in detail:

1. Thanks to the thumbprint reader, only the owner of the card is able to activate it.
2. The material of the Color E Ink display scanner is thin film used in electronic displays.
3. Buttons allow the user to select between Social Security, driver's license, and passport information.
4. The sturdy yet light aluminum body will last much longer than a typical plastic card.
5. The water-resistant cover keeps the card shiny and protects it from the elements.

Enough with the lame updates

(Credit: Switched.com)

With Wilson at the auto expo in town, our good friend Kenley Bradstreet from "Heavy & Flow" joins us today on the show. We chat about Gore Verbinski's decision to make BioShock over another pirates movie and how that'll either be the best or worst thing he's ever done.

Justin then enlightens us about the logistical issues with sending feces through the United States Postal Service and how it isn't exactly a crime. First thing you'll want to do with the new OnStar system in the event of a car accident is Twitter about it as the service has found its way to the on-board vehicle communication system.

Next Kenley tells us about The Transcendent Man, Ray Kurzweil, and how he used to come visit the Bradstreet home on major holidays. Finally, we touch on some tech no-nos, a few tech-inspired faux pas (can you even pluralize that?) that we're all guilty of.

Make sure you keep sending in those stories of survival for a chance to win Tom Avery's incredible book, "To the End of the Earth". Leave us an email (the404 [at] cnet [dot] com or call in @ 866-404-CNET).

EPISODE 316