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Mass Effect



Developed by: Bioware
Published by: Microsoft Game Studios
Engine used: Unreal Engine 3
Genre: Action role-playing game
Mode: Single Player
Platforms: Xbox 360
Release Date: (AU) 22/11/2007
Rating: ESRB M (Mature)

About:
Mass Effect is an action role-playing game under development by BioWare exclusively for the Xbox 360, which will be the first installment of a planned trilogy. It is scheduled for release on November 22, 2007. The game takes place in the year 2183, with the player assuming the role of an elite human soldier named Commander Shepard, set out to explore a vast universe on his/her ship, SSV Normandy.

Besides the plans for a trilogy, which BioWare claims "will cover the Xbox 360's five-plus year cycle", there are plans for episodic content to be uploaded to Xbox Live that will fill in the story between each game, though these episodes are not essential for understanding the story of the main games. Apart from the games, there is also a book, Mass Effect: Revelation, covering the origins of some of the characters in the game, and the creation of the main protagonist. There is another book, whose publish date has not yet been revealed, call Mass Effect: Revolution. Though Mass Effect has been marketed as an exclusive title for Xbox 360.

Mass Effect: Revelation, Story:

The story begins in 2157 with Admiral Jon Grissom who is on his way to Arcturus aboard the SSV New Delhi to congratulate the new graduates of the Alliance's N7 specialist training program. Nine years ago in 2148, scientists discovered a cache of alien technology buried under the surface of Mars. These aliens were known as the Protheans and it was decided that they had disappeared for unknown reasons 50,000 years ago. Using this technology, humanity discovered faster-than-light travel, or FTL, and expanded throughout the solar system. In 2149, an exploration team near the edge of the solar system discovered that Charon, Pluto's moon, was a mass relay, a dormant piece of ancient Prothean technology covered by sheets of ice. Scientists discovered that the mass relay granted instant travel across thousands of light-years to another mass relay in a different area of the galaxy. Jon Grissom led the team of brave men and women through the mass relay and became a symbol of the Alliance, a global coalition formed after the discovery of the Prothean cache on Mars. Back in 2157, Grissom meets with Second Lieutenant David Edward Anderson, a promising young graduate of the N7 program, and informs him that his true reason for arriving at Arcturus was to find new recruits to battle an unknown alien force that attacked an Alliance post at Shanxi. It was this that started the First Contact War between the Turian Empire and the Alliance. Several battles ensued until the Citadel Council, a multi-species government devoted to preserving galactic peace and stability, intervened and stopped the conflict. Eight years later, humanity was recognized by the Council and granted an embassy

In 2165, David Anderson, answers an S.O.S. while patrolling the Skyllian Verge, an isolated region on the farthest fringes of Alliance space. Inside the facility, Anderson and his crew discover an elevator leading to the lower sections of the facility which was never taken back up to the surface. In the lower facilities, Anderson and his crew are attacked by several mercenaries who they manage to defeat. They discover a pile of dead bodies of the scientists and also find out that there was a traitor on the inside because the mercenaries had the codes to open certain doors. One remaining mercenary manages to set off a bomb that destroys the entire lower facilities. Anderson and his crew manage to escape

On Camala, Edan Had'dah, a rich batarian, meets with the Blue Suns, an infamous mercenary group in the Skyllian Verge, who he hired to attack the Sidon base. A krogan Battle Master bounty hunter named Skarr is hired by Edan to assassinate Kahlee in order to cover up his involvement with the attack on the Sidon facility. At this time, Anderson arrives at the Citadel, the center of the Citadel Council, to meet with Ambassador Anita Goyle, the famous elected representative of the Alliance. Ambassador Goyle informs Anderson that the Sidon facility was researching artificial intelligence, technology that was banned by the Council after an incident 300 years ago where the quarians created an artificial race known as the geth that eventually turned on their creators. Ambassador Goyle reassured Anderson that the studies were being conducted under safe conditions. She sends Anderson to locate Kahlee Sanders who may have information on who was behind the attack and who may know the whereabouts of Dr. Shu Qian, the brilliant scientist in charge of the Sidon facility who is believed to still be alive.

Meanwhile, Saren, a turian Spectre, soldiers of the Council allowed to work above the law, who also has an extreme hatred for humanity over the First Contact War in which he lost his brother, tracks an illegal weapons exchange in a warehouse on Juxhi. After interrogating one of the arms dealers, Saren learns that the weapons were for the Blue Suns but at the last minute they pulled out to pursue a different job. Saren becomes suspicious and becomes dedicated to finding out what the Blue Suns were involved with. From a Blue Sun mercenary named Groto Ib-ba, Saren learns that a bounty hunter named Skarr was sent to assassinate a human named Kahlee. On Elysium, Anderson appears to Jon Grissom who tells him that he sent Kahlee away from Elysium to safety. Anderson leaves and a few hours later, Skarr shows up and attacks Grissom and Kahlee who was actually hiding in the house. Anderson appears to fight Skarr and later Saren appears and drives Skarr away. Saren questions Kahlee on what was going on at Sidon and she lies and says they were working on prototype weapons because if she revealed the work on artificial intelligence, Saren would alert the Council and the Alliance would be in trouble.

After Saren leaves, Kahlee tells Anderson that while working at Sidon. Kahlee mentions that all the equipment for the project were supplied by the Dah'tan Manufacturing Company on Camala. Meanwhile, Skarr returns to Edan who sends him and the Blue Sun mercenaries to destroy the Dah'tan facility and erase any information connecting him to Dr. Qian and the Sidon facility.

Anderson finds and kills Skarr in a Had'dah refinery. Meanwhile, Saren kills Dr. Quian and Edan after stealing Dr. Quian's files. He plans to use the artifact to take his revenge upon humans.

Mass Effect: Revolution, Story:
There is currently no information on this particular story.

Subject due to be updated.

Clive Barker's Jericho


Developed by: Mercury Steam
Published by: Codemasters
Designed by: Clive Barker
Engine used: Mercury Engine
Genre: FPS, Action, Horror
Mode: Single Player
Platforms: Xbox 360, PC, PS3
Release Date: (AU) 7/11/2007
Rating: ESRB M (Mature)

About:
Clive Barker's Jericho is a supernatural horror-themed FPS computer game currently in development by Mercury Steam, with horror author Clive Barker providing the premise for the game. A demo for the game was released for the PC on September 26, 2007. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 demos were made available on the Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store on September 27, 2007.

Story:
Before Adam and Eve were created, God fashioned the Firstborn. Neither light nor dark, both terrible and beautiful to behold, it disturbed the Almighty who banished this flawed creation into the Abyss. There, it waited and watched until it was able to reach out with its power into our world. Seven Sumerian priests met its arrival and fought to contain it, successfully entombing the place of its escape within a great ziggurat. Ever since that time, there would always be a secret order that would train seven warriors to await the Firstborn's attempts to escape. They would always disappear into the ruined city of Al Khalid that had been built atop this bedrock of strife and somehow succeed in banishing the Firstborn back to the Abyss. However, none of these teams have ever returned from their mission.

The Firstborn would make four attempts to escape, each time taking back a piece of the earth to add to its domain. Fragments of time and space would form layers around Al Khalid, entrapping pieces of history within its walls from the time of the ancient Sumerians to World War II. Over time, other conquerors would arrive to claim the city as their own but eventually, the city was forgotten and buried by the sands around it.

The Department of Occult Warfare was created in the 1930s to combat the unexplained and meet Nazi Germany's own research into the paranormal. One of their most brilliant members, Arnold Leach, was recruited in 1962. However, his unscrupulous behavior and nature would eventually have him expelled. He was marked for assassination, and although the operation appeared to be successful, it seems he may have survived.

Gameplay:
In Clive Barker's Jericho, players assume the role of the leader of the Jericho Squad - a seven man Special Forces strike team that protects U.S. interests against paranormal threats. Each member of the squad is an expert in modern warfare as well as their own different para-psychological disciplines, including clairvoyance, alchemy, blood magic, exorcism, etc.

Players must lead the Jericho Squad into the flaming ruins of the city, moving block by block towards the dimensional rift tearing away at its heart. Along the way, they encounter the horrific armies of hellish denizens that now rule the city and corrupt everything they touch. As players incrementally approach the source of evil, they will have to rely less and less on traditional weapons and instead focus on the combined psychic talents of the Jericho Squad.

Game Features:
- All-action first person shooter (FPS) combined with darkest horror from the twisted mind of horror legend Clive Barker

- Modern weapons and paranormal powers

- Switch between and play all six squad members- use the best member for particular combat situations. Additionally, members can combine their paranormal powers for even more substantial attacks

- Direct your squad as they watch your back and follow your orders

- Squad first person shooter (Squad FPS) mechanics deliver tactical action

- Each character has unique paranormal abilities

- Abilities can be combined to create new powers

- The game takes place in Al-Khali, a city formed over 6 different eras and ruled by evil. You will traverse through multiple planes of existence, including Ancient Rome, the Crusades, WWII and more!


Characters: (Brief List)

Sgt. Billie "Church" - A ninja-esque blood mage who uses her own blood to cast spells and wards, she uses a Japanese sword as her main weapon and a pistol as her secondary.


Lt. Abigail "Black" - A telekinetic sniper who can control bullets in mid-flight


Cpl. Simone "Cole" - The Jericho Squad's reality hacker who can alter time and teleport supplies and personnel

Main Site:
http://www.codemasters.com/jericho/
Fan Site:
http://jericho.dee-london.com/
Achievements:
http://www.achieve360points.com/game/clivebarkersjericho/