Armchair Diplomat

It’s amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it, and don’t mind poking around inside your savegame.  YouTube user HarroSIN has managed to unlock the final DLC character from Mass Effect 2 for use in the suicide mission towards the end of the game, and has video’d the results for all to see.  Say hello to Kasumi … or her voice at least:

As you can see, it’s unlikely that Kasumi’s player model has been inserted into the game yet (she looks like a run-of-the-mill FemShep), but you can hear plenty of her voice-over work which is obviously just waiting to be activated inside the code.  Here’s HarroSIN’s notes on how this all works:

- She cannot be added to the party. If you attempt to do so, the game will remove her with a warning message but will still allow you to continue.

- After adding her to your squad, the Port Side Observation Deck will become available, although there is nothing currently present besides empty space (the outside of the level map).

- Being a tech expert, she can successfully navigate the pipeline during the suicide run. She can also be used to escort the remaining Normandy crew back to the ship.

- It is possible for her to die during the suicide run if you do not upgrade the Normandy’s armor.

Along with all that, this video also seems to confirm that Kasumi has trouble determining the difference between a military commander and an old Elvis Presley song, but who knows what dark secret in her history caused that.  So at this point, unless someone is very good with their shooping skills, I’d say we can double-dog confirm that Kasumi is our final character.  Now if BioWare would just stop acting so shady about it all!

Check out the original video (UPDATE: or don’t bother, EA has had it removed), and thanks to One Last Continue for the heads up!

Concept art for the Hammerhead tank, as found in the Collectors Edition art book

The crew over at BioWare have been all a’Twitter this week, with the release and almost universal acclaim for the new Mass Effect 2.  Well a little while ago, they’ve also announced that a second DLC pack will be making it’s way to the game in the next couple of weeks.  And the best part of all?  Just like the Zaeed Massani content, it’s completely free for those already signed up to the Cerberus Network.  Nice to see that there’s still a developer out there who doesn’t mind adding the word ‘free’ to their DLC, BioWare.

As to the upcoming package’s content, there is all manner of speculation over the internet.  Eight out of ten Salarian science teams agree that this pack will be adding the M57 Hammerhead Hovertank, which was originally designed to replace the literally-all-terrain vehicle Mako from Mass Effect 1.  If so, then this means that we might actually get some planetary exploration back, instead of long, drawn-out scanning for minerals.  Quickly, launch moar probes while you still can!

Other rumours point to the 12th recruitable member of Shepard’s team, who is discoverable using a little debugging with the PC version.  The last member, known only by her placeholder name and image “Kasumi”, is a thief of some variety and is definitely probably not a crossover character from Dead or Alive: Paradise.  To my mind the tank seems more likely at this point, as we haven’t even heard BioWare discuss the last crew member, but there’s still an empty slot on the selection screen and a spare room in my Normandy, so they might surprise us yet.

I guess we’ll find out in the next couple of weeks.  For those with Twitter accounts, it’s no doubt worthwhile following the BioWare feed.  Gameplay developer Christina Norman is usually also quite free in her insider info.  Those wanting our opinion on Mass Effect 2, hold tight for the time being, as Stu is currently mopping the drool off his floor before writing his review.

Twitter is currently aflame with guesses flying back and forth on LucasArt’s announcement of an even bigger announcement, due this Monday (which is today, for us Australians). Although at first it was insisted that no hints would be dropped, something about getting inundated with hundreds of @ messages seems to have opened up information a little, to the point of:

Okay, we will do hints. It is awesome news for our old school fans. (anything more direct might get me in trouble)

-@LucasArtsGames, via Twitter

So, given that we also know the announcement isn’t anything to do with any new series, we’re obviously looking at an updated version of a classic LucasArts game. For my money I’d love something new for Day Of The Tentacle, but realistically it could be anything from Full Throttle: Special Edition to episodic Indiana Jones games. Anyway, we shouldn’t have to wait long to find out what the fuss is about, but kudos to LucasArts for using Twitter to ignite such a speculation-storm.

View their Twitter feed to sift through the hints and guesses. Apparently several people are dengerously close to guessing correctly, so see what you make of it.

UPDATE AN HOUR LATER: Apparently we’ll know in 12 hours, but someone on Twitter has guessed the announcement “dead on”.  Not surprising really with the quantity of guesses.  I’m hoping it’s this one: “RT @mhaley A Kingdom of the Crystal Skull game built entirely in SCUMM, but without the infamous refrigerator scene“.  Could we get the jungle vine scene cut while we’re at it?

I can only assume this one came about by either chance Googling or a misprinted article, but according to a recent marriage announcement in the New York Times, Lionhead’s Fable 3 could already be in the early stages of production.

Mr. Atkins, 34, is the lead game designer for Fable III, a video game series produced by Lionhead Studios in Guildford, England. He graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

-New York Times, 26th of June

If it’s true, then it’s the most amusing place I’ve seen a rumour come out of in a little while. Given that I still haven’t played Fable 2 however (residual bad feelings over the first), the news hasn’t really excited me much. Maybe it’s time to give it a chance, I’m sure hundreds of copies are probably clogging up pre-owned shelves at the moment.

Given that Molyneux has stated in the past that they have plans for Fable 3, 4 and 5, it’s probably safe to say that this isn’t just rumour, but as no-one has made an official announcement yet, we’ll stick this one as “highly probable”.  An even better rumour would be that players take the role of 11 year old Milo in Fable 3, and you battle enemies for PR domination … but I just made that up.  To the hashtags!

Anyhoo, read the announcement for yourself. And don’t forget to congratulate the happy couple!