The votes are in: FemShep will be a kick-ass ginger. This week at the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), BioWare unveiled the final image of the female Commander Shepard for the cover of the upcoming Mass Effect 3 (to be released in March 2012). In two heavily debated rounds of voting, fans on Facebook voted for facial structure and hair color on various versions of “FemShep” (or as Chuck and I call her, “Shep” — the other Shep is “ManShep”). Here’s the voting breakdown, according to MSNBC:
Blonde FemShep: 5,434 votes
Brunette FemShep: 5,573 votes
Black-haired FemShep: 12,834 votes
Red-haired FemShep: 19,571 votes
Interestingly, before voting Round 2, blonde FemShep was way ahead in the polls, much to the chagrin of Kim Richards at PCGamer.com. However, some speculated it was the hairstyle that pleased the crowds rather than the color. So FemShep kept the hairstyle, and in the end it was the cut that won out — except this time a redhead – and with quadruple the votes of the blonde.
The acclaimed actor Jennifer Hale, who voices the female Shepard in ME1 and ME2 (as well as, incidentally, lady protagonist Samus Aran in the Metroid Prime game series) spoke at PAX after the announcement:
“I want to say a huge thank you to everybody out there who plays FemShep who spoke up and said ‘we want to see FemShep,’” Hale told the cheering audience as the results were announced. “You have no idea what that means to me.”
Indeed. It’s about time we see a female Shepard get some props. Even if only 18% of ME players chose to go peen-less, how many more might have gone with a few role models paving the way?
The XBox 360 Halo Reach Limited Edition
Wishes can come true. Remember back in podcast 229 when the GWC Crüe asked us to call in with what we would do with $300? I called in and said I would get an Xbox 360 because Shooter Jr was on his all the time and wouldn’t let me play. I remember Sean smacking me down pretty hard in podcast 230 when they played my call because I wasn’t doing it right with Xbox live accounts (Gee, thanks for the parental back-up there buddy). Do you also remember in my blog post “Passing On The Family Geek Card” when I mentioned I was woefully behind the times with modern console gaming? Well, about six months later and with a Cromload of hard work and savings behind me, I was able to scrape together enough cash to start my Xbox journey. For someone who last “gamed” on an Atari 2600 this is not as easy as it sounds. But in the end, I know it will be worth it.
NCSoft announced on Friday that it will be opening up the beta version of their new MMORPG, Aion, on September 6th for a one-week period before the game is finalized for their release version, which comes out September 22nd. If you pre-order your copy of Aion now, you can get a two-day head start on gameplay beginning on September 20th. NCSoft’s press release states:
Aion’s Open Beta Test featuring version 1.5 will take place 6-13th September and will include numerous Western enhancements, including improvements to Aion’s innovative character customization with a host of Western styles, as well as new zones, instances, skills, quests and continued game balancing and improvements. Open Beta will retain a level cap for both Elyos and Asmodians characters at 30 allowing players to focus on getting to the same level so they can explore the lands of Atreia together, as well as the Abyss.
If you wish to try the closed beta client to fight the celestial war as one of the four classes on Atreia, you can download the client from FilePlanet (you have to be a registered member of their service) or from GamersHell. This is a six-gigabyte file, so plan your download accordingly!
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