To say when gamers find something they really care about, they take it to extremes can sadly sometimes be an understatement. Back in 2007, Mass Effect was released for the XBox 360 and PC to much critical acclaim and commercial success. The game’s follow up, Mass Effect 2, would release in January 2010 for the XBox 360 and PC and almost a full year later on the PlayStation 3. The final part of the Commander Shepard trilogy was released on March 6th of this year with, as you guessed it, Mass Effect 3.

One of the biggest draws for Mass Effect was the promise of an epic storyline that not only spanned three full games, but contained choices that would affect the rest of the player’s story throughout the remainder of the story. Destroy a race in Mass Effect and they would not appear in Mass Effect 2. Let a character die in Mass Effect 2 and don’t expect to see them in Mass Effect 3.

So in a series all about choice, many players were floored to learn that upon completion of Mass Effect 3 and whichever choices they ultimately made, the game presented them with one of six different endings. The “perfect” ending would feature an additional five seconds of footage. The six “different” endings however were merely palette swaps. No matter what choices were made through the entire story or even in the ultimate decision of the player, they just received a different color explosion, particle effect and small changes in animation, but essentially the same ending.

Look at the side by side comparisons in the video from Crosscade (obviously, spoiler warning).

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It shouldn’t come as any surprise that a game like EA’s Mass Effect will be coming to the big screen. After all, the game is hugely successful and has spawned a sequel that has taken the gaming world by storm.

And now, according to reports, Legendary Pictures has picked up rights to Mass Effect and will develop it into a potential franchise. I Am Legend and Thor writer Mark Protosevich is currently in negotiations to handle adapting the game for the big screen.

Just in case you don’t play video games or haven’t, for some reason, heard of Mass Effect, the game debuted in 2008 and is a sci-fi action game set in the year 2183, focusing on a human soldier and his starship, the SSV Normandy. It features alien races, combat and technology which spans the galaxy offering a great deal of diverse situations and role play. In short, its a pretty darn fun game and would probably make a great movie.

Seeing as how this film is in the early stages and these kinds of movies tend to take a long time to make it to the screen, especially if you want to do it right, expect to see us bringing you more info on Mass Effect the movie over the next year at least. Until then, go back and play the game again and imagine what could be.

To help you, take a look at the Mass Effect 2 trailer after the jump.

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Numbers of console and games sales were released by the NPD group for the month of January 2010 today with some not so surprising results. The Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS (including the DSi SKU’s) lead the console war as they continue to dominate this generation in terms of sales. Even after their record setting Wii sales in December, the little white box with waggle controls still is flying off shelves. With that comes five of the top games being Wii titles.

The griefer’s paradise New Super Mario Bros Wii tops their charts, follwed by evergreen favorite Wii titles like Wii Fitt Plus, Mario Kart Wii and Wii Sports Resort. The only surprise on the Wii comes from the critically panned Just Dance from Ubisoft (averaging a score of 47 from Metacritic).

XBox 360 surged back in front of the PlayStation 3, no doubt with some help of their over half a million selling release of Mass Effect 2. The XBox 360′s version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 also outsold the PS3 version by a firm 65,000 units. Co-op shooter Army of Two: The 40th Day debutted on the charts in the number 8 spot, followed by the apocalyptic release of Darksiders, both the games being the XBox 360 versions.

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This week on The Flickcast Chris and Matt are joined by resident gaming expert John Carle for another round of discussions and debate. This week’s topics include the rather lame Superbowl ads, Smallville: Absolute Justice, Avatar being dethroned by Dear John, Betty White hosting Saturday Night Live, Microsoft stopping XBox Live for original XBox, reboots of Daredevil and The Thing and upcoming games such as Mass Effect 2 and the future of console gaming.

The boys also made some great picks this week including John’s pick of the animated X-Men series, Matt’s pick of Double Team with Jean Claude Van Damme and Mickey Rourke and Chris’ pick of John Carpenter’s 1982 horror/sci-fi classic The Thing.

As usual, if you have any comments, questions, critiques or offers of sponsorship, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitterand at Facebook, MySpace or via email.

We’ve been fans of BioWare and EA’s Mass Effect game around here since its debut way back in 2008. Now, as things often do, the game has expanded into other areas like a comic book from Dark Horse Comics. Obviously, the game is pretty popular and has sold well and that success seems to have carried over into the comic world as well because according to Dark Horse’s official press release, the first issue of the comic has completely sold out.

The comic, called Mass Effect: Redemption, serves as a prequel for the new Mass Effect 2 game and tells the backstory for event that lead up to all the action in the game. Sound cool? It is. If you want to know more, check out all the following from the press release:

Just in time for the arrival of the hit series’ second issue, in stores today, Mass Effect: Redemption #1 will be reprinted to fill demand after selling out across the country.

Mass Effect: Redemption tells the exciting backstory that leads up to the events of Mass Effect 2, the recently released video game developed by the award-winning creative team at BioWare. The game’s lead writer, Mac Walters, takes up the pen to give fans exclusive insight into the events that unfolded between the conclusion of the original Mass Effect and the beginning of Mass Effect 2. Scripted by John Jackson Miller (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, The Invincible Iron Man) and drawn by Omar Francia (Star Wars: Legacy), this four-part series explores the exotic and dangerous future Milky Way of Mass Effect, revealing previously unseen locations, aliens, and enemies in this rich science-fiction landscape.

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