The Metacritic score is in on "Mass Effect 3"

and the reviewers from IGN to Destrucoid are making happy noises (It scored an average of 92).  For some reason I'm not thrilled or motivated to play the game.  I apparently enjoyed Mass Effect back in 07 and Mass Effect 2 in '10.  This time around I just don't have the charge for ME3 that some of my friends do.  I played the demo and while it was cool to see humanity getting the dick kicked out of it I just couldn't bring myself to be interested.  The shift in gameplay towards an action 3ps might have something to do with my disinterest.  It plays like Gears of War or Binary Domain, which for you fans of those run and gun and cover and gun and run and cover games.  There's a multiplayer co-op shooter part of the demo that was pretty fun but really was the same as any other multiplayer co-op survive waves of enemies.  Bioware once again has the same conversation wheel that it's been using since KOTOR.  The voice work is still good but the character models have a weird plastic sheen to them that was really distracting (a piddly gripe I know).  The regular cast shows up but here's where I kind of stumbled in the demo and realized I wasn't particularly thrilled:  I didn't care who they were and I didn't remember what the fuck was going on.  Looking back at my reviews I commented that I like the story but frankly I have little to no recollection of what happened.  I remember the "very model of scientist Salerian" and having to fight a shit ton of Reavers and Garrus shot some stuff and there was that idiot savant weirdo alien assassin and I banged everyone I could (including the idiot savant weirdo alien assassin).  Martin Sheen smokes cigarettes while looking at a sun and talking to some hot chick (who I ended up banging).  Oh and there's a cliffhanger, again.

I think my boredom with SWTOR bled over into somekind of Bioware & EA = Meh, been there done that malaise.  Come to think of it - it's very similar to the way I feel about the Final Fantasy games (since VII).  Part of it might be game fatigue as well.  I played the wheels off Skyrim and ended up feeling like, "Is that all there is to Skyrim?".  SWTOR has ended up on the back burner.  Alan Wake was a disappointment and turned out to be a Silent Hill knock-off.  I worry that the next three titles I'm actually excited for are gonna be flops as well.  Sigh.

SWTOR: the adventure continues

More like adventures in scavenging scrap metal.  I joke...sort of...let me fill you in on my recent escapades:

I got bored with my Imperial Agent, correction - I got bored with getting my ass kicked because my gear is shite and Agent is just kind of boring to play.  Run into cover, charge shot, shoot, get shot at, and whomped in melee.  It's kind of regrettable because I do like the story.  So I created a bounty hunter (Bessler) and I've had a much better time with her, both in combat and versatility in game play.  However I ended up in the weeds in a crafting skill that while potentially awesome didn't really ring my bell - Cybertech.  Cybertech is cool - it's the craft for mods and droid parts and ship gear - and potentially useful down the road but in the meantime it's kind of less than thrilling craft.  So I started another bounty hunter - after starting an awesomely grizzled looking older woman Republic Trooper and finding out I can't trade gear between Republic and Empire characters (which is kind of lame).  This time I went for a male Rattataki and made the biggest guy I could.  He looks like an alien Buster Bloodvessel.  I slapped the hooliganyouth moniker on this goon and contrary to most male characters I play this guy is actually pretty nice and has been shifting over to Light Side pretty quick (unlike Scoville who is sinking into the Dark Side with rapidity).  So Hooliganyouth, the big moosey, lumbers along and actually looks more like a Space Marine than a Bounty Hunter.  I've noticed a changed in my combat style as well, with this alt I tend to get stuck in pretty quick (the same way I was playing the Republic Trooper) charging into the fray with two blasters, missles, and a flame thrower.  I guess I play him as a Space Marine too.  Wait a second, "For the Emperor!" hmmm...

I decided to go with armortech with hooliganyouth because it seems like the most practical skill for my class to have.  I've heard a lot of chatter about biotech - which allows the crafting of medpacs and stims - and its ease of use/levelling but frankly I don't use stims or medpacs since my companion is my heal monkey and medpac recharge rate is fucking useless at 90 seconds.  Plus I seem to come across a lot of armor drops that I can simply reverse engineer for parts/templates.  Combined with scavenging and slicing I've got a set-up that works for me.  I also have Scoville and Bessler set-up with armstech/investigation/underworld trading and cybertech/slicing/underworld trading respectively so shifting goods and gears back and forth is easy enough.

All in all been having fun, which I'm starting to think is the most important thing in life/recreation. 

Star War: The Old Republic - Impressions up to level 10.

Disclaimer: I'm going to do my best to avoid spoilers for the Imperial Agent story arc.

I used my natural 20 willpower to avoid downloading SWTOR...wait, I have no willpower and purchased SWTOR after work on Saturday.  It was a 25GB download which by the time I could actually play I was pretty drunk and I had to work the next day.  My initial impression of the game was good, I think,  like I said I was pretty drunk, I do remember having serious issues with the mouse/keyboard control.  Sunday after work though I was able to have a better experience (sober) playing.  I think I will always have problems with the mouse/keyboard set up (thirty years of console gaming compared with less than five PC gaming).  I've been having a pain in the ass trying to get a wireless 360 controller hooked up to my PC so I'm gonna switch over to a regular controller (hopefully before this weekend).  SWTOR is going to play a lot smoother for me once I get a controller mapped.  As is my movement is stop and start and combat is kind of static - which sucks because combat in SWTOR is kind of awesome.

I joked about SWTOR being to WoW what G+ is to FB.  It looks better, it's cooler, I like it more even though the controls are kind of weird, nothing is really explained so you have to learn by trial and error, and I'm usually alone except for one or two other people (I'm on a light use PvE server which might account for something).

But is SWTOR good?  Yes, and more importantly it's fun and it's a Star Wars that doesn't have suck attached to it.  I've caught myself *theatrical gasp* enjoying my gaming experience and the locations I'm playing in (another reason I want to map a controller is better camera control so I can actually look at the environs easily).  The designers did a great job of creating something new and awesome while at the same time keeping within bounds of the 'verse (see?  was that so fucking hard?).  Granted SWTOR is from the fine folks at Bioware so this level of quality was to be expected.  Here's a run down of the good, the bad, and the Hutt.

• The best part of this game so far is that I'm actually playing a character in a MMO, with a story, a personality and...uh...wait, really?  For some reason it just kind of struck me that, in my limited experience with MMOs, I haven't really played a character.  I've just been running around gathering resources to build shit (or being sent by NPCs to do their grunt work).  There have been a couple of step'n'fetch quests but these have been minimal for the most part.  Some of the missions have been pretty cool, particularly those story based.
• I'm also aware of playing a role as an Imperial Agent and for some reason I've been playing her a little cagier than my normal chaotic good.  Now the dialogue choices use the Bioware three responses which kind of telegraph positive, negative, neutral.  "Would you like a cheese sandwich?"
• 1. Why yes please and thank you.
• 2. I already ate.
• 3. I'll fuckin have you killed!
• I haven't really explored how companion and advanced skills work.  I like being able to send my lackey to do step'n'fetch quests without really having to do anything.  This must be what it feels like to ab a NPC, "You there, go find this thing for me while I remain in this cantina.  Move along.  Chop, chop."
• Jo Wyatt does an excellent job as voice actress for the female Imperial Agent.  Having a voiced character with a kick ass accent?  Fuckin sweet!
• Which leads me to the point that the voice acting in this game is astoundingly good and varied (though a couple of static background NPCs have the same dialogue which made me laugh everytime I heard the guy in a cantina trying to pick up a chick.  I just imagined him saying that to any chick who walked by).  Even dialogue for side quest NPCs is good and well-voiced.  Nicely done Bioware.  High five!

On the downside:

• Learning the controls and what all what does has been kind of a pain in the ass.  Correction - the basic controls are the same as every other MMO but nothing is particularly explained.  For example the game advised me to check the codex for info about my companion.  Uh, where the fuck is the Codex?  It took me awhile to find it as a tab on the bottom of the quest log.  Another example is trying to figure out what the hell my companion skills were doing or will do.  These are listed in the codex but this was before I figured out where the codex was and before I had selected skills.  Then I read some stuff in the codex about the skills I selected, one of which apparently makes armor for Jedi or some shit, so then I had to figure out if I could change companion skills.  Fortunately I can, which is going to be something I work on after I read the codex entries.  Alternatively I could have just gone here.
• I really hate mouse/keyboard controls for basic controls and combat.  I know that some of you hardcore PC gamers are all like controllers are for n00bs but y'know what?  Go fuck yourselves.  You probably have $300 gaming keyboards and have spent decades honing your skills.  Me?  It's like a monkey fucking a football and my fingers start to cramp from all the weird combinations of keys I need to use.  I know a lot of major releases have been mapped to a controller (e.g. Skyrim) and while a controller is shite for menu control, chat, and that type of use in combat it's a huge help for me.  At least have an in-game option to set a controller and keyboard.  What are people with arthritis supposed to do if they want to play?

Other than those two complaints I'm having a good time and will post pictures and assorted schtuff soon.

SWTOR intro cinematic and idle thoughts on the game and the 'verse

Truth be told I wasn't excited about Star Wars: The Old Republic until recently.  I had idly followed the swell of hype - for and against - the game.  I was excited when I learned that BioWare, creators of Knights of the Old Republic (an excellent game that is not quite as pretty or fun to play as it was several years ago), was in charge of this beast.  I never played Star Wars Galaxies though I have a friend who became one of the better known tailors in the game.  I also never had much experience with MMOs until the last few years.  The cherry on top of my indifference sundae is my ever fading love of the franchise.  Call it a case of pop culture over-saturation/fatigue but I now regard the entire enterprise with a jaundiced eye.  I'm a fan of the outsider art, the well done fan videos, scores, Robot Chicken specials, and hot chicks in Imperial uniforms but the rest of it I admit, I rudely roll my eyes and kind of sigh like an asshole.  Jedi is not a religion, in fact Jedi are kind of sanctimonious dickweeds who weren't blaster proof.

And yet, there's still a part of me that jumps up and down and claps his hands and giggles when I hear a light saber duel or the screech of a TIE fighter.  I still get goosebumps when I hear the first notes of the theme.  There's a big chunk of my brain still cluttered with quotes and trivia.  Hell, I even thought Episode III was pretty awesome (it's my #2 favorite of the films).  It was this part of me that wants to play SWTOR and this desire was greatly increased when I saw the opening cinematic in its entirety.  Now to be honest the real selling point will be whether there is space combat.  Wandering around WoW questing (gathering junk and body parts for lazy ass NPCs) isn't exactly a selling point for me but space combat will be - PvE and PvP.  The character classes and races sound pretty Star Wars standard fare except for the Imperial Agent class and Cyborg "race".  According to some of the info I've been reading the Agent sounds like the character I play in almost every game and can be specialized as a sniper with engineering skills (there are probably some forum posts and reviews calling the Agent "huntard").  Plus I'm an Imperial at heart.

I'll probably be picking this up in January once I get my computer woes resolved.  When I do, expect the usual slew of reviews.

PC Games - E3 2012 - Star Wars: The Old Republic

Dragon Age II: The demo.

I'll be honest with you folks, I have a strange relationship with RPGs.  Considering I've been playing them for over a quarter century I think I know my way around the genre a bit but lately I've noticing a trend - in particular with Bioware and Bethesda.  Each company does somethings I like and others that I don't (I want to see them merge into an uber-RPG company but that will never happen) and frankly I've figured out how to break each system.  With each successive game the bloom fades from the rose faster and faster.  I love the blending of gaming genres with RPG and I believe that full incorporation of multiple game play modes would truly move the genre to the next level.  All that being said I played the demo for Dragon Age II last night.

I wasn't excited about Dragon Age II - especially considering the price debacle that ended up costing me an arm and a leg with Dragon Age and attendant expansions - so when the demo froze on me last night I had to laugh at it.  I gave it a second chance though and I wasn't thrilled.  Granted it looks pretty and the combat is fancy and faster and the skill trees have an interesting set up but I'm not impressed.  I ended up button mashing A with ranged attacks and ended up fast switching to another character to heal her.  I set up the tactics from the get-go and had no problems whomping the hordes.

I will end up buying Dragon Age II but not until the GOTY edition comes out with all expansions included - thus avoiding getting hosed on pricing thanks to DLC.  

Mass Effect 2 almost final thoughts and a new character is created...

Well I polished off my first playthrough of Mass Effect 2 last weekend on hardcore.  I enjoyed it very much.  The universe is safe again...for now...dun dun dun.  The last section of Mass Effect 2 is actually one the better endings to an RPG out there, even though it's a cliffhanger.  I'd love to discuss the plot and what happens to characters but I don't want to spoil it for anyone else.

I decided to begin a whole new character in the ME-verse and downloaded Mass Effect.  Last night I created "The Inquisitor" - a ruthless Earthborn adept with nothing but disdain for xenos and weakness in humans.  I'm gonna play him pure Renegade (my other character is a Paragon...for the most part).  He's a really ugly fucker, scarred and beady-eyed, with a potato nose.

Now the first time I played through ME I was kind of disappointed.  This time around I am really enjoying myself and have been noticing some remarkable differences between ME and ME2.  The main difference is in the first game there's a great deal of control over your character's skills, armor capabilities, combat prowess, even what kind of upgrades and gizmos you can equip on weapons and armor.  Personally I love tinkering with my character and equipment - it goes with the territory of being an RPG-hound and is still one of favorite things about Elder Scrolls IV. 

In comparison there is minmal tinkering with any item, armor, or character in Mass Effect 2.  Sure you can upgrade weapons and armor to a certain extent, however you cannot change any character's armor.  You can equip some different types of armor on your PC but once you get decent armor you never change it again.

This may sound like a petty argument to most of you but I view it as one of the downsides of blockbuster games.  In order to make a game accessable to the masses (no pun intended) fiddly elements (item selection/equipment/character stats) need to be streamlined.  In some cases it works, in ME2 skills and biotics are far easier and faster to use than in ME.  However, removing in-depth customization of a character and their gear takes a major element of challenge out of a RPG, tactically and otherwise. 

I will make one more complaint about ME2.  There ain't grenades!  There are grenades in ME!  Jeez, Bioware - did the grenades not test well?

Okay one more gripe, squad control stinks and especially stinks in comparison to ME. 

More reviews to follow re: ME & ME2

ps: the story of ME2 is truly great and one of the best I've ever played through despite gripes about gameplay.

Mass Effect 2 (2010) Bioware, XBOX 360: First Impressions in five hours

Mass Effect 2...I don't even know where to begin this review.  My review of Mass Effect was generally so-so.  I enjoyed the game but wasn't overly impressed.  I only really started getting excited about ME2 while playing the hell out of Dragon Age: Origins.  ME2 is a different animal than DA:O though both games were made by the same company.

Here are some of my first impressions (good and bad in the first five hours)

1. Jennifer Hale is back as the female voice of Commander Shepard.  Jennifer Hale is one of my all time favorite female voice actors. 
2. ME2 is shockingly gorgeous.  While there are some problems with human character's mouths looking a little weird everything else is astounding.  The alien races are totally believeable and in some cases, horrendous to look at.  The evironments keep making me stop and look around like some hayseed who just left Tattooine. 
3. Scanning planets instead of driving around in the MAKO makes me very happy.  Systematic scanning with a grid method?  Planet mining?  I don't like those things, nooooo.  Snickering when I see a planet's status after mining listed as depleted?  Not me...
4. Combat is pretty intense.  Insanely enough, Bioware managed to perfectly capture the thrill of 3rd person actioners in an RPG.  Two tastes greats that taste great together?  Damn right.
5. Downside to squad control:  I haven't gotten the mechanics of moving the squad around as easily as with tactical shooters - leap-frogging the squad and getting squaddies into postition.  Personally I'd be content to use them to draw enemy fire. 
6. Upside to squad combat:  So far I've only had to minimally baby-sit my crew.  What's cool is that they are just using their skills without me having to poke them with a stick.
7. Here's an insane revelation: ME2 has a cover system that works in combat.  No really.  I need more combat time to really get the mechanics of it but so far I am very pleased.
8. Story, voice acting (all characters), and the characters themselves (human and non) are top-shelf.  I am really looking forward to expanding the story.
9. I worry about game length.  Mass Effect I tore through in forty hours.  That being said, Mass Effect 2 is two fucking discs.  Two.  Dos.  Aweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesome.

Hooligan Youth: new and improved Rogue/Ranger in Dragon Age: Origins (XBOX 360)

Note: Yes, I did use the Ostagar cheat up to level 20. Okay here's my newest new new (maximized?) character: Moxie Rogue/Ranger Strength: 20 (Considering that the Felon's Coat only needs a Str 20 to equip this seems reasonable.  Medium Armor requires up to Str 34 for the good stuff. Dexterity: 36+ (The Rose's Thorn requires Dex 30, the four best longbows require Dex 34.) Cunning:  22 Constitution: 20 (any left over points will be dumped here) Willpower: 20 Magic: whatever the base score is, not wasting points here. For skills I am taking: Ranger (because having a Giant Bear as an ally is always a good thing) Traps aka Booty Traps (Leliana has poison, Morrigan has potions so why bother wasting points on those skills?) Nature: It's not just for paving over anymore. Pickpocketing (aka "What has it gots in its pocketeses?").  Apparently you can pickpocket to your heart's content with little/no consequence. For armaments I am going for the tried and true longbow and instead of going for two hand weapons I am staying truer to class and wielding daggers.  Too bad they aren't throwing daggers. More news to follow as I progress.

Dragon Age: Origins Return to Ostagar XBOX 360 DLC (Spoilers)

I downloaded Dragon Age: Origins Return to Ostagar last night.  For the price - about four bucks - the content is pretty awesome.  As far as length it's comprable to one of the character origin stories.  As far as loot it's pretty damn cool.  Sure you can recover the late King Cailan's armor but - more importantly - you can recover Duncan's Sword and Dagger.  I started up - yet another - entirely new character who I hope can be my final and all encompassing character. DA:O - RTO is an awesome download for the price.  Well done Bioware.

Level Caps: Yay or nay? I say Yay.

I'm not sure who first introduced "level caps" in RPGs but I have to admit that I like them.  There are two particular reasons I like them: I love tinkering with a character and attempting to come up with the perfect balance of stats/skills/weapon emphasis for my final goal. I do not love demi-god characters unless the enemies can match the player in terms of skill/power/dangerousness. Having a level cap with opportunities (sidequests/loots) to boost skill points is my favorite balance that has shown up in Bethesda games and to certain extent Bioware. Additionally having a fallible character makes for more exciting gameplay/role playing experience.  As an in-game looter/kleptomaniac I tend to lean toward an archaeologist (thief/rogue) type of character but I never beef up my character's strength enough to carry huge amounts of loot.  Also I rarely end up in heavy armor, etc etc etc.  With a level cap I have to be more careful with what skills I take and how I distribute attribute points.  Without a level cap I can put points wherever I want and end up some kind of uber-mensch able to carry eighteen suits of armor, twenty-two weapons, and enough healing potions to open my own Red Cross.  Where's the fun in that?  What do you folks like?

My observations on homosexuality and other plot devices in "Dragon Age: Origins": MINOR STORY SPOILERS

I'm just going to add my two cents about this surge of press concerning "dirty gay sex" in Dragon Age: Origins. I've seen some articles on some NSFW websites (no I'm not going to give you the links, you degenerate) about DA:O and homosexuality contained there-in. Amanda sent me a link to a NYT article (12/05/09) which was pretty interesting and has a good interview with DA:O's lead designer Mike Laidlaw. Penny Arcade has an awesome webcomic, of course.

Now normally I'd go on and on about the yadda yadda video game blah blah series of choices, games rated "M" are not intended for xyz, video games are not part of the homosexual agenda, etc etc. I don't think that I am going to.

I'm going to try to keep this coherent, for once. So what? Does the option of entering into a romantic relationship with a humanoid of the same gender (in a video game) really bother people? Is it miscegenation if a heterosexual romance and becomes "sexual" between a human & dwarf/human & elf/elf & dwarf? Is it "dirty gay sex" if my dwarven female rogue has intercourse with Leliana? What about the minefield that is romance with Morrigan (who will only engage in heterosexual relationships)? What if one of my characters performs acts of good and charity yet sleeps with everyone possible (including but not limited to: a pirate queen, prostitutes of varying races and genders, deflowering an elven virgin, and schtupping almost every important character besides Sten and Ohlgren - who are un-schtuppable)? What about my male dwarven noble engaging in a threesome with two female casteless "noble hunters" (the casteless are the lowest of the low in Dwarven society and these women try to impregnated by dwarven nobility in order to move out of the slums and into society) and when my dwarven noble returns to the dwarven realm it turns out of the women is with child? Do I take care of the woman and child or cast them aside (for the record I did the correct thing)? Do I allow a mother to sacrifice herself for her son? Do I sacrifice a friend for her mother? Do I murder a child? Do I allow demons to possess children and roam the earth? Do I let imprisoned demons roam free simply for monetary gain? Is it unscrupulous to do the demon's bidding for my own selfish rewards, only to trick it in the end and killing it for even greater gain? Do I bring brutal justice to a man who has done wrong - though he thought he was doing was right and his daughter begs me for justice? Do I dump bodies down a well? Should I tell the Chantry to seek the light of Andraste in my butt?

And some people are worried that there might be the possibility of a chance of an option of a PG level love scene between two digital characters of the same gender? Or are people worried they may like it?

Side note: I think The Sims is a dirtier game than any console RPG. Besides "dirty gay sex" and polyamory, the high level of emotional manipulation seems cruel and unusual. Not to mention that a Sim usually is murdered horribly when boredom sets in.

PS Further proof Bioware is gay brainwashing us, Mass Effect dirty gay alien sex. Interplanetary filth!

Dragon Age: Origins Final(?) Thoughts

Well I finished Dragon Age: Origins play-through one. I've started several other characters and deleted others. My favorite character has been Hrothgarn, Dwarven Noble Warrior. I ended up calling him "Cuisinart" due to the two runed up swords he was slicing and dicing with. Snikity snak indeed. Another favorite was a female mage who ended up being a really unpleasant character, treated everyone like shit, and killed pretty much everything and everyone in the way.

My current character is going to be a human rogue with a penchant for grenades and traps.

Dragon Age: Origins is a good game, from start to finish. The story was fantastic, the characters developed nicely, and oddly enough I even grew fond of some of them. Alistair can still go take a long walk off a short pier.

I have to admit that, in the wake of Fallout 3, Dragon Age: Origins seems to leave me wanting...more. My first complete playthrough only took about 60 hours and other playthroughs have just taken less time. While I can play through several times and in fact start a new character just to really tweak my stats - plus there's one or two things I have forgotten to steal, ahem...purchase for a fair price - ultimately there's a vague sense of...meh. I suppose it is like picking up "Game of Thrones" and realizing that "Clash of Kings" ain't comin' out for awhile.

All in all a great game, very enjoyable and exciting, and good enough that I keep playing it. Nice work Bioware. Now don't screw up the DLC.



I lifted this cheat from wikicheats.com

There is an unfixed glitch in where the player is able to raise his/her level in relatively no time at all. In Ostagar, you will be required to obtain three vials of Darkspawn blood and the Grey Warden treaties as part of your ritual to become one of the infamous Grey Wardens. It is well known that if you obtain the three vials of Darkspawn blood and go back to Duncan without the treaties, you will recieve the XP for completing the quest without, well, actually completing the quest. This can be repeated as many times as the player likes in order to reach high levels in no time at all.

Dragon Age: Origins Tips and Tricks 1

1. I discovered that by holding down Left Trigger/L2 (brings up the radial menu) you can scan the area for items of interest and in some instances enemies. The names of said items will pop up in the general area they are in. Granted, it's a very short range scan but it is helpful in discovering secret areas and pickups you might have missed.
2. This may depend on your style of play but I wholeheartedly recommend bumping up your persuasion skill ASAP. Communication actually matters in Dragon Age: Origins (unlike most RPGS where communication is a wasted skill *cough* Oblivion) and unless you want to strong arm everyone a little tact is a good thing to have.
   

Dragon Age: Origins Voice Actors, or I thought I knew that voice!

Yes, Dragon Age:Origins is awesome, narf, narf, narf...we know Joshua why do you keep writing about it?

Because it just gets more awesome!

The Grey Warden Duncan sounded very, very familiar but I couldn't figure out who the hell it was. Turns out it's freaking Peter Renaday! The voice of Splinter, about a million video game characters, and bit parts ranging back to The AristoCats. Awesome!

Turns out Steve Valentine does a voice, you'd know him if you saw/heard him, he's kind of like a bizarro Richard E. Grant. I like him.

Kate Mulgrew, who played Capt. Janeway does a voice though I haven't encountered the character yet.

Tim Curry also does a voice and I have yet to encounter his character either.

I'm sure there are more but I have to go to class.

Dragon Age: Origins (2009) First, first impressions.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

That was how I felt about Dragon Age: Origins over the last few days and although I only got a few hours of gaming in I still feel that way.

The manual (you know that thing that comes with the game that has been rendered archaic by most games) is dense with 8pt font text. Bioware calls the game, "a modern re-imagination of an epic party based fantasy roleplaying game, dense with story and tactical combat" and so far they are right. Narf, narf, narf. I am +d20 with glee.

For my character I chose a female dwarf commoner (dwarf commoners excel at stealery) rogue with a specialization in ranged weapons. Her name is Scylla and she rules.

Apparently there's a different opening story for each race and class - for a total of six. That's kind of wicked awesome in my opinion. I don't want to give away Scylla's story but it's pretty fucking bleak. Odd that I experienced racism and classism in a game. Interesting too.

There is a serious learning curve in Dragon Age: Origins. If you're a gamer used to FPS styled RPGs (i.e. Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Fallout 3) then you might be in for a shock. I was drinking while playing so that might have impaired my ability to assimilate information but damn this game has a lot to it. Some gamers might be put off by the amount of tinkering and menu fiddling (weapons, armor, assorted gear, etc.) but I love it.

Hopefully I will be able to get some serious game time in tonight. Granted we do have a guest but I want to make him feel comfortable and at home. Besides I can either goob out about Dragon Age: Origins and bore people or I can sit quietly.

Turning Point: Fall of Liberty demo, Burnout Paradise online fun, and something else...

I' ve been pretty geared up for Turning Point: Fall of Liberty (02/26). Personally I am a huge sucker for speculative fiction based on the USA getting invaded - i.e. Red Dawn, Freedom Fighters, The Man in the High Castle. This isn't because I am not a patriot it's because I think Americans would kick the Hell out of an invading force. Could you imagine the Red Army trying to take down Chicago? The demo is available for download and it's impressive as all get out. I worry that it won't be able to go the distance - FPS tend to fall apart at the end. That doesn't mean I won't play the shit out it though.

* * *

Burnout Paradise is a frickin' blast online. It's because it's so easy to get online - if you have an account that is - just tap right on the D-pad and select what you want. Sometimes the servers get bogged down but more often than not there's no delay in game play - no pain in the ass menus or waiting period. I'm a big fan of ghosting people who are crashing and smashing - if someone is just running time laps or jumps or basically not bothering anyone I leave them alone. I do love smashing the living shit out of opponents though and playing high speed chase. I was joking with Amanda that Burnout Paradise is nothing but big kids playing Hot Wheels.


I forgot what the something else was...oh yeah!

For those of you still playing Mass Effect - there will be downloadable content March 10th. It will introduce a new race and new planet and will called Bring Down the Sky and will be available for 400 points. I think that's pretty cool. I already sold my copy so if someone downloads this let me know how it is.

Mass Effect (2007)

I polished off Mass Effect on Sunday after forty something hours of gameplay. I'm pretty sure that I did everything in the game - I managed to get the Completionist achievement - but it didn't seem like there was that much to do. Maybe I'm just used to other RPGs that are pretty much time sinks *cough* Oblivion *cough*. I guess I was expecting something more...well more...

Mass Effect is an impressive game from character creation all the way to the cliffhanger ending. I enjoyed the hours of dialogue and depths of the Codex. I enjoyed driving the Mako across planetscapes and using it the run over Geth. There were a few moments where I worried about the characters and the events unfolding around them. Hard decisions were made and consequences were felt. The Universe was saved but was the cost worth it? The storyline is pretty straight forward if you're familiar with the Space Opera genre: bad guys are up to good, grim hero and companions are out to right wrongs and kick ass, experimental space ship with smart ass pilot - very ably voiced by Seth Green, pissed off alien allies, a seriously daunting foe, and a touch of romance.

I don't really have any problems with Mass Effect. I would recommend it to a friend or neighbour. A lot of the problems reviews had - slow elevators, load times, cumbersome inventory screens, driving the Mako, etc., etc. - didn't really bother me all that much. Personally I liked the elevators - they were an opportunity to have a stretch or go get a drink - plus there was dialogue between characters and on the Citadel there were news casts. So where is my vague sense of dissatisfaction coming from? The voice work of Jennifer Hale as the main character Commander Shepard was top notch, the story satisfying, the graphics great to look at, gameplay was perfectly reasonable, and yet I feel like I didn't get my fill. You ever been to a top notch restaurant and been blown away by the food but afterwards you realize that you're still hungry? That's the way I feel about Mass Effect.


Quite possibly the fact that I played Mass Effect very soon after I was playing KOTOR led to some disappointment. Where KOTOR allows for much more character control and influencing other characters and events Mass Effect just allows you to go in one direction or another. I also noticed that the other characters weren't terribly bothered by your actions. Where in KOTOR characters would make you guilty for being bad in Mass Effect they don't really care too much.

Sad to say the more I think about the game and what I liked and what I didn't like I and what I'm on the fence about the more I think, "Meh." If you're in the market for a RPG then I certainly recommend it - just don't expect the epic scope that some RPGs have - but if you're not an RPG fan I wouldn't bother.

Thanksgiving, Signature Pork, Mass Effect, and an upcoming Hitman review.

Like my grandpa used to say, "There's another Thanksgiving shot in the ass." but in a good way. It used to piss me off when he would say that but now I'm beginning to appreciate the sentiment. There's lots of work and build up and what not and then it's over. "Is that all there is to Thanksgiving?"

Actually Thanksgiving was a good time. Thanks to Bart & Sarah for cooking and letting me use the grill - I made beef ribs. They were pretty good. Friday went off without a hitch - this year I realized that prep work makes cooking much easier. I might put up a post on the food site.

Better than feeding and fellowship and hugging fun I got to spend some serious time playing Mass Effect.

How good is Mass Effect? Well...if you like sci-fi space opera RPG talkies with some action, a lot of sci-fi codex mumbo jumbo, and a game that will suck up all your free time to the point you don't want to eat - Ctrl+Alt+Del has a good comic about this - then you might want to pick up this game.

The appeal of Mass Effect really comes down to the story and the ability to shape and direct conversations with NPCs. If you've played KOTOR then you'll know what you're in for. I am pretty interested in my responses to situations and other characters. I've noticed that I don't respond well to aggression or authority or both and have a tendency to help aliens. I miss the bounty hunter and double crosses of KOTOR but in Mass Effect I have plenty of opportunities for graft and corruption. Oddly enough this means my character is pretty much in the middle neither good nor bad - Paragon and Renegade in Mass Effect.

I want to put together a big review of the game once I finish it which at this rate should be soon.

We also went to go see Hitman. I liked it, I liked it a lot actually. It was exactly what I was expecting. A lengthier review is pending.

Happy Preemptive Thanksgiving Airstrike!

"I don't know if it's art..."

Going to have a good block of time off for the Thanksgiving so I won't be posting for a bit. Figured I'd throw together a post to tide you over.

I was weak and broke down and picked up Mass Effect. Just to let you know I don't have a sack full of money with which to buy games - I've been basically rotating credit. On the upside I don't think that there are any more games I want to pick up before the new GTA comes out.

Looks like I'm gonna be putting ribs on the grill this Thanksgiving. I know, I know, "It's not turkey?!?" but since turkey has become a non-holiday food I'm just not very impressed. I don't know if I'm gonna be doing pork or beef. Chances are I'll be doing beef since I plan on making my slow roasted pork on Friday for the Misfit Toys Thanksgiving.

If you feel so inclined gimme a call or drop me a line or send hate mail. Hope you guys have a good holiday. Don't kill your loved ones no matter how much they ask for it.

xoxo

All of us at Hooligan Youth Reviews...except me.