The question stands, will you be out celebrating Valentines day with that special someone or that special Xbox? I guess only time will tell, keep an eye on the market and load it up as soon as you can though because there will no doubt be a rush of downloads that day.

btw: that means you’ll be able to use that Gold Subscription for other games and features as well during the demo period

Links – Bioware | Xbox Live Marketplace [Game goes up February 14th]

Massimo Carnevale Cover

Omega’s defenses are down, unmanned and vulnerable, it seems that everyone and everything is using this opportunity to gain control of Omega.  Colonel Ashe and his men, at the direction of the Illusive Man, are now hoping to act fast and take over Omega before anyone else has the time to regroup and step in.  Aria is still imprisoned by Oleg and is unable to use any of her powers to escape.  After an important conversation with Oleg, Aria proves that she is not just physically powerfully but also mentally powerful.  She succeeds in planting seeds of doubt in Oleg’s head about the Illusive Man and Oleg’s loyalty to him.  Even though she is imprisoned in such a way that her powers are stifled, she is still a badass and manages to find a way to escape.  As Aria makes her way back to Omega we learn that Colonel Ashe and his crew have pissed everyone on Omega off so bad that they have successfully made all the warring groups come together in unity to destroy the Cerberus crew.  Will they succeed under Aria’s direction or will the Illusive Man come out on top?  We will find out in the next and last issue of this series!

This issue is very good, I enjoyed it a lot more than the last issue.  There is more action and the dialog moves along at a better pace.  The dialog and story progression also helps to make many of the characters, like Oleg and Ashe, deeper and more interesting.  The art, as always, is great; however, a little more facial detail might bring the emotions that the characters are feeling to life just a bit more.  This issue is definitely recommended but if you are new to the series, do yourself a favor and start with #1, jumping into the series in the middle would be impossible to follow!

Paul Renaud Cover

Release Date: December 21^st, 2011

Story:	3.5/5.0
Art:	3.5/5.0
Dialog:	3.5/5.0
Overall:	3.5/5.0

Dark Horse Comics has been on a roll of as of late, today we have a ton of new release information to pass along though.

First up! Dragon Age the digital comic series, we’re getting a 6 part event starting in February 2012 with issues priced at $0.99 each, quite a steal if they stack up to the quality of the Mass Effect releases so far. Readers will be able to follow Alistair, Isabela, and Varric on their latest adventure to Antiva, a land ruled by some of the deadliest foes they’ll face. More information is coming and we should have a preview sometime in January for the book. In the meantime, check out the current art for the book below.

Next we have a new project to be announced next week by Caitlín R. Kiernan of such fame as The Red Tree, Silk, A is for Alien and more. We only have the teaser art for that as well but the image title leads one to ponder if it’ll be a graphic adaptation of her work Alabaster… Check it out with the Mass Effect art and speculate for yourselves.

What happens when Nate Cosby, Evan Shaner and Rus Wooton walk into a room and start cranking out a comic? We’ll find out in Dark Horse Presents #9 with Buddy Cop and more. For those scratching their heads, Nate and Evan worked on The Storyteller and Rus Wooton is from Walking Dead fame. Expect some epic stories and twists in that issue when it drops in February as well.

Finally, Dark Horse Digital is going into overdrive, catch the release list for this month below. Goon fans can rejoice as they crank up the releases for that series too.

Dark Horse Digital release list (November 2011)

Release Date: 11/02/2011

Trigun vol. 1 & 2

BPRD: 1947 #1-5

BPRD Hell on Earth: Russia #2

Crying Freeman vol. 1 & 2

Hellsing vol. 1-3

Lady Snowblood vol. 1

Lone Wolf and Cub vol. 10

Old Boy vol. 1 & 2

Path of the Assassin vol. 1

Robert E. Howard’s Savage Sword #3

Star Wars Legacy #13 – 15

Chimichanga

The Goon #26

Star Wars: Crimson Empire III: Lost Empire #1

Release Date: 11/09/2011

House of Night #1

Baltimore: The Curse Bells #3

Conan the Cimmerian #13 – 16

Gear School #2

Lady Snowblood vol. 2

Orchid #2

Paradox Entertainment Presents: Kult #4

Serenity: Downtime and Other Half

Star Wars: Empire #1 – 4

Star Wars: Boba Fett: Overkill

The End League #1 – 4

The Goon #27

Release Date: 11/16/2011

Mass Effect: Invasion #2

Abe Sapien: The Devil Does Not Jest #2

Gigantic #1 – 5

Hellboy: Weird Tales #1-4

Kull: The Cat and the Skull #2

Dark Horse Presents # 5

Samurai Executioner vol. 6

Star Wars: Purge #2

Star Wars: Dark Times #1-5

The Goon #28

The Occultist #1

Fallout: New Vegas

Release Date: 11/23/2011

Usagi Yojimbo # 141 (200th Issue)

BPRD: The Ectoplasmic Man

Conan: Road of Kings #10

Groo: Hell on Earth #1-4

Hellsing vol. 4

Path of the Assassin vol. 2 & 3

Rex Mundi: Book Three

Star Wars Adventures: Boba Fett and the Ship of Fear

Star Wars Invasion #0-5

Star Wars: Invasion: Revelations #5

Star Wars: Knight Errant: Deluge #4

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #19-24

The Goon #29

Trigun Maximum vol. 4

Release Date: 11/30/2011

Hellboy: House of the Living Dead

Color of Rage

Conan the Cimmerian #17-20

Hellboy: House of the Living Dead

Star Wars Adventures: The Will of Darth Vader

Star Wars Legacy #17-20

The End League #5-9

The Goon #30

Today RPG fans can go wild, Bioware brings official confirmation that Dragon Age 2 will be coming in March of 2011 to the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. The latest story will take players into the role of Hawke a Blight survivor and hero set to transform the world.

Details are vague on the changes to the game for the sequel, noting only that the game will deliver the same epic story and a new bar for action. The key of course is that they still wish to keep original fans happy and familiar with the sequel instead of jumping beyond the target. New combat systems, improved graphics and storytelling are just some of the foundations to be focused on.

From EA/Bioware:

Dragon Age 2 thrusts players into the role of Hawke, a penniless refugee who rises to power to become the single most important character in the world of Dragon Age. Known to be a survivor of the Blight and the Champion of Kirkwall, the legend around Hawke’s rise to power is shrouded in myth and rumor. Featuring an all-new story spanning 10 years, players will help tell that tale by making tough moral choices, gathering the deadliest of allies, amassing fame and fortune, and sealing their place in history. The way you play will write the story of how the world is changed forever.

For more information, keep an eye on the Dragon Age website / twitter / facebook pages.

Some years ago, a lone traveler paid a visit to a tavern in Denerim, and after imbibing a great quantity of ale related a tale of his travels to the tavern-keeper. The traveler claimed to have stumbled upon a strange village high in the Frostback Mountains. The village was peaceful, he said, and the villagers polite, if a little aloof. They fed him and watered his horse, and then urged him to be on his way. When he lingered too long, suddenly their mood changed. Their faces grew cold and knives appeared, and the traveler was told that what was to happen next “was done in Andraste’s name and for the good of all.” He fled in a panic and could not afterwards retrace his path. The traveler took a room at the tavern and yet never slept there. He disappeared that night and was not heard from again.

Haven:

(Video: Watch this video on the post page)

B-Roll:

(Video: Watch this video on the post page)

Conference Trailer:

(Video: Watch this video on the post page)

(Video: Watch this video on the post page)

Once players have assembled their squad from amongst the galaxy’s most powerful mystics, geniuses, and convicts, they must lead them on a suicide mission to discover why humans are vanishing from the galaxy. The success of the mission hinges on the squad recruited and their loyalty to the mission. Shepard’s future depends on it.

“The Mass Effect trilogy is an epic saga with consequences that will carry through from chapter to chapter” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, GM and CEO BioWare, VP EA. “Building out a diverse and loyal party is one of the features that makes the Mass Effect series unique. “The characters Commander Shepard recruits are not only pivotal to the storyline but essential to the players overall success.”

The new character revealed in the Mass Effect 2 squad is ‘Grunt’. A violent and unpredictable Krogan fighter, Grunt has never faced true defeat. His unsurpassed physical strength makes him a strong asset to Commander Shepard’s team, if he can be tamed, and if he can be trusted.

Grunt is the second party member to be revealed in the Mass Effect 2 universe following ‘Thane’ a deadly assassin who was first introduced in June. More details about the rest of Shepard’s crew will be revealed in the coming months.