DLC Review - Mass Effect 2: Arrival

"The number of people Shepard has just disappointed with this DLC."

Let's say you've made a video game series that has just taken the industry by storm: an in-depth, absolutely gorgeous, and intriguing space opera that has sold millions of copies around the world. While fans hold their breath for the sequel, you decide you want to send this last game out with a bang before the inevitable conclusion to the series: an epilogue, if you will. Wouldn't it behoove you to make a bookend that will just...gosh...blow the player away, so that they have no choice to wait for the next chapter on pins and needles?

Wouldn't it?

BioWare?

...Wouldn't it?

To those of you who have not played this last add-on for Mass Effect 2 - dubiously-named "Arrival," since nothing technically arrives just yet - I'll keep spoilers to a minimum. But, honestly, there's not much to spoil; your best guess is probably better than what this add-on has to offer.

The add-on begins as all of them inevitably do: "You have a new message waiting for you at your private terminal." This time, Shepard takes it in his office, and it turns out to be Admiral Hackett, who contacts you through your...model ship display. I kid you not. Basically, the good admiral needs you to rescue one of his contacts, who has hard evidence of a Reaper invasion and would like her rescued because of this.

But let's back this up real quick and analyse this. First: Why would a model ship display double as a monitor? Shepard has like 100 real monitors at his disposal. Secondly: You have to realize that Hackett is asking you, Shepard, to rescue this scientist because she supposedly has the Reaper's smoking gun. Because, certainly, Shepard has never had any dealings with the Reapers in the past, and has absolutely no evidence to back him up - well, depending. But anyway, Hackett's basically looking you in the eye and saying those two games' worth of action weren't enough to convince anyone (still!), so you'll have to do a bit more.

"Okay," says I. And suddenly everyone forgets that the Alliance Navy spent the entirety of ME2 snubbing Shepard on account of his ties to Cerberus.

But here's the real kicker. Admiral Hackett wants Shepard to go in alone. Why? Because he feels that any more than one person going in and shooting up the place will result in the scientist being killed by her Batarian captors. "Go in alone, or don't go in at all," he tells me. So, perhaps fearing Hackett's omnipotence, I agree. Even though, if it were up to me, I definitely would have brought Garrus along. Just saying.

This kicks off what is essentially an hour's worth of running and gunning, with little substance beyond what occurs in the last ten minutes (and even that wasn't all that impressive). There are no real decisions to make other than to agree eagerly or indifferently. There is one outstanding moral dilemma, but the game will not let you make it since Shepard automatically agrees with the entire thing. So, for pretty much the entire hour, you're on moral autopilot.

And let's not forget the twist, which I found so laughably bad and cliched that I got myself killed from the shock of it.

After being so disappointed by Dragon Age 2, I cannot believe I've been stung twice by BioWare in a single month. This was not the add-on or the epilogue that "Arrival" should have been. This wasn't worth all the promotion, hype, and the little advertisements that were sent along inside copies of DA2. What this $8 add-on amounts to is an hour of shooting guards and a revelation of what might happen in Mass Effect 3, though I doubt it'll be all that impactful, since you're still going to have players who won't get this add-on. The story can't change dramatically for some.

If you've bought all of the DLC and just have to buy this, then I won't stop you, but I can tell you that I was very, very disappointed by "Arrival". Heartbroken, might be a better word. It's a huge shift in quality that I wasn't expecting after the very good "Lair of the Shadow Broker." I find myself saying the same thing after Dragon Age 2. All they had to do was match the quality of the last game (or DLC) and they would've been golden. Instead, they slapped together something for a quick dollar, selling people on their reputation instead of the quality I know they're capable of.

1 out of 5 Stars

Knight's Game of the Year: Twenty-Ten Edition

It was a pretty good year for gaming, especially for fans of RPGs and FPSs. We saw the release of Bungie's "final" entry in the Halo franchise, Halo: Reach, the redemption of Obsidian Entertainment with Fallout: New Vegas, and Rockstar make a valiant effort in making American westerns cool again with Red Dead Redemption.

And let's not forget BioWare's major release for the year: Mass Effect 2. Can't forget that.

I had a lot of fun this year, though 90% of all the games I bought were released in Autumn. Needless to say, my holidays were busy - not to mention rewarding. Some truly masterful games were released in 2010, a year I thought was surely going to end up being a little dry for the most part. So, I figured I'd go over the best of them, the worst of them, and lead up to the game that, in my opinion, was the Best of 2010.

Hence the title of the blog.

Call of Duty: Black Ops

What's this game doing here! I can hear you asking yourself that from here, but don't worry, I'm not going to sit here and tell you Black Ops made this list because of its enthralling story, its amazing level design, or Sam Worthington's flawless American accent...because that would be a great way for me to lose the few strands of credibility I still cling to.

No, this game is a runner up because I had a great deal of fun with it. Call of Duty has become an annual event all its own, and because Activision is so afraid of dropping the ball, they throw a metric shit-ton of cash at whoever happens to be developing the next game; in this case, it happened to be Treyarch. The result is a game with an action-packed campaign and a very, very addicting multiplayer mode. It's no Bad Company 2, and just a short step below its predecessor, Modern Warfare 2, but it's definitely fun while it lasts.

MASON!!! I SAID IT'S FUN WHILE IT LASTS!!! ALL CAPS, MASON!!!

Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition

I know DA:O technically wasn't released this year, but this new edition certainly was. Buying it was a good excuse to replace my original broken copy and to play all of the DLC that was released for the game over the course of the year. On the whole, I mean, most of the add-ons were, ah...negligible? They really didn't serve any sort of purpose other than to earn BioWare some easy money. (How else to you explain a repackaged zone with no voice acting and no story as DLC?)

But the few add-ons that really did work for me did A LOT to make the whole DA:O experience much more enjoyable and, dare I say: complete. It was great returning to Ostagar, helping out the Dryden family, and giving my Warden a heartwarming ending on top of the one he already got. If you've never played the game, this version is the one to own.

I'm not buying Dragon Age II to watch how Hawke's story turns out; I want to see what happened to my Warden, plain and simple.

Fallout: New Vegas

I waited a very long time for this game, and it did not disappoint when it finally arrived. Obsidian have always been a company of talented individuals who find some little way, here and there, to improve upon the classic RPG model. Whether it was your influence over your party members in KotOR II: The Sith Lords, or the dynamic story line and the "intent" wheel in Alpha Protocol, Obsidian always finds some way to deliver...and then proceeds to shoot themselves in the foot almost immediately after.

Obsidian would be right up there with BioWare in terms of writing and immersion, if they didn't ALWAYS fuck up the quality assurance process. New Vegas was, in my opinion, Obisidan finally doing everything right. They were given all the exact same tools that Bethesda had used during the creation of Fallout 3, and still managed to turn out a game that throughly trounced its predecessor. The writing was superb, the lore was deep and well-defined, the world was beautifully depressing (depressingly beautiful?), and the amount of control that you had over the story was...well, that's Obsidian.

Don't wait too long to make another RPG, my friends. We need you on the frontline.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

This game really took me by surprise. When UbiSoft announced they were releasing another installment in the AC series so soon after the stellar, involving, and masterful Assassin's Creed II, I was sure, you know, that was that. UbiSoft had decided to make the series their Call of Duty, to rush out a sequel once a year, which would arguably lead to a decline in quality.

Oh, and they're adding a multiplayer mode to it, you say? Well, shoot, there goes the series. At least it ended on a high note...

But imagine the shock I got when I actually played the game and found it to be BETTER than Assassin's Creed II, and by a very wide margin. The improvements were small, but they made all the difference. The storyline was just as long as its predecessor, but much more dramatic and immersive. Fixing up Roma and training up assassins made the whole journey much more personal, and the sidequests were many and most were unique enough as to not feel so repetitive.

And the much dreaded multiplayer actually turned out to be original as hell. It was fun, addicting, and frustrating beyond all belief. Whoever thought it up and refined it to this level should be given a medal. Definitely one of the best multiplayer experiences in a very long time.

However, I do hope that UbiSoft tries not to leave off on such a confusing cliffhanger for the next game. Does wonders for dramatics, but it definitely sours the overall feel of the story. Endings are important, UbiSoft. A bad one can leave a lasting impression that might actually bring down what was a flawless experience. Just ask Fable III.

Mass Effect 2

ME2 a runner up?! Blasphemy, says I!

For that, I'm sorry, but lemme defend myself here. The Mass Effect series is shaping up to be one for the text books. It has a well-defined universe, unique races, fantastic characters, and a story only gets better as it progresses. If people want to argue that it is BioWare's magnum opus, I won't be waiting outside your house the next day to throw bricks through your window.

But see, I buy BioWare games because they make RPGs, not because they make Gears of War. Mass Effect 2, to me, represented a big step back in what RPGs rightfully should be. Your decisions have little impact on the story, most of the tried and true elements of the genre were stripped away in favor of a streamlined experience, and, frankly, most of ME2 revolved around gathering your team - like a space-bound version of Ocean's Eleven.

Ugh, I should be talking about the good things. There were many. This game was beautiful, I loved the characters, and going to new planets for the first time was very exciting. I loved this game, I love this series, and I'll be in line to buy the final chapter at midnight at the end of this year. Definitely.

Game of the Year: Red Dead Redemption

Gah! What can I say about this game that hasn't already been said! I've sunk dozens of hours into Red Dead Redemption, and I've not regretted one second of it. The story, though flawed in a few respects, is absolutely amazing, not to mention emotional. The ending encouraged one of the few moments in my long history of gaming where I simply could not react. My jaw dropped, I stared blankly at the screen for a long time, and then slowly regained my grip on reality long enough to save my file.

But even setting the amazing story aside for a moment, there are just so many things to do in this game. You can do a whole lot of nothing and still feel like you're being productive; the world is just so vast, so beautifully crafted, and it seems to take on a life of its own no matter where you look. You can stand on a hill, look out into the distance, and watch as a storm comes rolling in, darkens the land, makes the trails go soggy. Sometimes I boot up the game just to do some sightseeing, that's how remarkable New Austin and the piece of Mexico it borders really are.

And let's not forget Undead Nightmare.

RDR is an intense and unforgettable experience. I can't wait for Rockstar's next release, LA Noire, nor can I wait for the other big releases this year:

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Mass Effect 3

Poke'mon: Black and White

Dragon Age II

Modern Warfare 3

Gears of War 3

The untitled Assassin's Creed release.

This is going to be a great (and possibly better) year for gaming! I know it! MASON!!! THIS IS GONNA BE A GREAT YEAR FOR GAMING!!! MASON!!!

DLC Review/Rant: Mass Effect 2 - Lair of the Shadow Broker, Stolen Memory, Overlord

I don't know what it is about downloadable content that gets me...perturbed? That'll do. Yeah! It makes me perturbed!

Through Mass Effect 1, 2, and Dragon Age: Origins, I outright refused to even think about having anything to do with downloadable content. My philosophy on video games is that there are things you can sell as DLC, and things you can't. Now, the stuff that BioWare have been putting out lately isn't quite something they can't sell, but it's almost something they can't sell. So, I'm gonna make a ruling on this...Okay, that reference from The Departed doesn't quite work, but you get the point.

Basically, I think there are some add-ons that should never be parted out to gamers. Sure, people will buy them; a lot of people have money to burn. But I think there's a moral factor at play here. We used to believe in things called "expansions" here in the gaming world, but somewhere down the line that translated into: Let's sell single missions for $10 a piece. Let's sell things that should rightfully be in the game, hold them hostage, so people will buy new copies of the game.

This last year saw BioWare put three party members up for sale on the Xbox Marketplace. Party members. On top of that, Dragon Age was hit with a bunch of 1-2 hour quests and items that made chatting up your party members ultimately meaningless.

To put things in perspective: While BioWare was releasing all of these DA mini-quests, which have a total value of $51 and add roughly 10 hours of gameplay (at the very most, since time-spent will depend on how fast you can kill things (since most of that time will be spent on combat)), Rockstar put out an add-on for Red Dead Redemption that added new game modes, a new story, achievements, new weapons, with all of the original voice actors in a remade landscape that took me 13 hours to complete at a sprint (and I didn't try most of the other game modes out; that game is scary) for a measly $10. This add-on should forever set the standard; I feel like I ripped Rockstar off.

Rant over.

But! Recently, there was a sale going on that allowed me to purchase the big add-ons for ME2 for $10 even. Which was a decent enough price for me to fold like a lawnchair on the matter and give these add-ons an honest try.

LAIR OF THE SHADOW BROKER (800 Microsoft Points/$10)

This add-on had me especially conflicted. Mass Effect fans might remember that this Shadow Broker business has been going on since the opening hours of Mass Effect 1, and was a recurring element in the sequel. Since Shepard's death, Liara has since made it her life's mission to track down and destroy the Shadow Broker by any means necessary. Not quite sure how that happened, since I'm sure it was Tali who'd had business with SB in the last game, but whatever.

In this add-on, the Shadow Broker plotline comes to an end. When I had first learned about this, I was reasonably disappointed. I just couldn't see why BioWare saw fit to lop off the ending to a story that had been building across two games and put it up for sale. How very renegade. In this instance, I was thinking with slippery slopes.

But! Then I actually played the thing, and I enjoyed it. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it, and not just because BioWare decided to give Liara a makeover. You hand over some information on the Shadow Broker that Cerberus has conveniently dug up for you, and you're caught in quite the predicament as SB closes in on you. This includes riding along with Liara on a high speed chase through Ilium's skylanes and a subsequent sprint through a ritzy hotel. And, finally, you will reach the eponymous Lair of the Shadow Broker, which actually had me in awe for a few minutes. A lot of work went into that place.

The writing here is pretty tongue-in-cheek the entire way through, with Shepard and Liara wisecracking about omni-gel and the hacking minigame. There was definitely a lot of variety in this add-on, with a bit of mystery, drama, and a satisfying (albeit quick) ending. When all is said and done, your eventual encounter with the Shadow Broker will last a few minutes, then it's over.

Lair of the Shadow Broker does a lot to set up what could be another storyline in Mass Effect 3, and if that's the case, then maybe it was a good idea this was turned into DLC. I think, if anything, this add-on proved that BioWare has to be more open with what their intentions are when it comes to these things. I spent months, BioWare, MONTHS brooding over this, thinking that you were selling an ending back to us. In reality, you were selling a probable sidestory we most likely wouldn't have seen otherwise.

In that sense, I can't say with 100% certainty if this should have been in the game. Part of me says, "Hell, yes!" but another part of me says, "That should be the purpose of DLC: to expand on the baseline experience." Whether or not I was right or wrong will hinge upon how it's handled in ME3.

This is the stuff I think about.

Bottom line: $10 seems a little steep to me (again, RDR: Undead Nightmare was $10, and the two are by no means comparable), considering that most of the add-on involves lengthy stretches of combat, and will take you no more than an hour and a half to finish. But there are some impressive visuals, some great dialogue/drama, and an interesting twist in the legacy of the Shadow Broker that just might have an effect on the next game. Unless you didn't care for Liara too much, this add-on is a pretty safe purchase.

Quality: 4 out of 5 Stars

Morality: 5 out of 5 Stars (Pending the release of ME3)

STOLEN MEMORY (560 Microsoft Points/$7)

This, on the other hand, should have definitely, 100%, been in the vanilla game. Yes, this add-on is fun. Kasumi is a good character, her loyalty mission is enjoyable and well-written. But! Selling party members as DLC? I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever approve of that. Sell me weapons (ugh), sell me items for my avatar (ugh!), sell me armor (rah!), sell me additional missions (meh), but don't sell me things that should rightfully be in the game itself.

If BioWare wants to make an expansion, add a ton of new missions, new character, etc., then by all means, I'll be there to support that, but don't make me do this again. Walk this thing back a few years and imagine paying $7 to have Canderous Ordo in your party.

$2.50 was enough to help me make up my mind on this matter. At full price, I probably would have moped a little longer.

Quality: 4 out of 5 Stars

Morally: 0 out of 5 Stars

OVERLORD (560 Microsoft Points/$7)

Okay, BioWare, c'mere a minute. You see this add-on that you put out? Overlord? Now, granted, it's not as polished as it could've been, but a rather lengthy mission with a palpable atmosphere, interesting story, some mystery, drama, and a climactic tug at the heartstrings...this is what DLC should be all about. It's a mission that doesn't look like it was a leftover from the editing room. It feels unique. I liked it.

But that price tag...I still don't agree with that. I know we can sit here all day and argue whether or not it's "just seven dollars" or it's "just not worth it," but I feel that, at the end of the day, the word of the consumer matters. So here it is: this mission isn't worth $7. It's not that it isn't quality, it's just that you can't charge that much for a 1-2 hour mission. This is a steep price to people who have just shelled out $60 + tax to buy the game itself, and almost an insult.

The Cerberus Network? Great freaking idea to control piracy. It really is. But hows about giving people who actually have it a little bit of a discount on the DLC? That would show people that you care about the fanbase who bought that game at launch (I bought it at midnight) and won't be putting them in the crossfire in this piracy war.

Anyway, I liked this add-on. Anytime that I find myself leaning forward in anticipation, that's the sign of a good game. Fighting to disable a Rogue VI is something that I feel we've done before, but this time around it was decently creepy, and definitely had some thought put into it.

Quality: 4 out of 5 Stars

Morality: 2 out of 5 Stars

I guess the bottom line here is that the Mass Effect 2 DLC isn't as pointless as I had figured it was going to be. I still wholeheartedly believe that the add-ons are overpriced, but not at the price I got them for. Aside from Stolen Memory (and even that was pretty good) I can't say that any of these packs are entirely pointless. They were good, and how much you enjoy them depends on how much they're worth to you after you've played them.

Now, the Dragon Age: Origins DLC...that's a whole other battlefield, my friends. See you next rant.

Mock Effect 2 is up and online...!

... and I am very impressed.

Regular readers of my blog entries will remember at the beginning of this year, me dilly-dallying about whether or not to write a spoof of Mass Effect 2, considering the bizarre and ego-boosting success of my parody of Mass Effect in 2007/8 - Mock Effect.
I spent ages going back and forth, trying to decide whether or not to do a sequel. I made a huge fuss about it and attracted a lot of attention to myself, which was secretly the whole point of the exercise.

But I was always quite sad that the concept and the characters of John and Jane Shepard died there, with my creativity.

OR DID THEY!

I really should have mentioned this ages ago. Fittingly, John and Jane have been ressurected by the beautiful Australian scientist/marine that is Clint Johnston.

Clint has been writing Mock Effect 2 for months now, and uploading each chapter as he goes. And honestly, it's very very good. If you enjoyed the first one - here is the improved sequel. It's teriffically funny, painstakingly well-observed, and very kindly brings back the Shepard twins exactly as I wrote them. It was a very nice moment when I first started reading this - seeing those characters still going and still just the same.

Because fanfiction.net doesn't allow script-format stories/parodies, Clint has been uploading at Bioware and the Mass Effect Fanfic Forums (the home of Mock Effect 1).

Here's an excerpt :D

---------------------

(The Turian in front of them holds up a finger, and the team waits impatiently as he takes out the last remaining mercenary. He then turns to them and dramatically removes his helmet, revealing GARRUS VAKARIAN)

JOHN: Oh shit. I’m out of here. Hey, guys, you can kill him now. We’re sorry!

JANE: Not so fast now. Maybe he’s not as boring as he used to be.

GARRUS: Guys, I’m right here. I can hear you. How come you aren’t dead?

JANE: We’re not… anymore… I think. I’ll explain it later.

JOHN: No thanks to you, Mr. I’ll-Shoot-My-Rescuers…

GARRUS: You were part of a heavily armed attack force that has spent the better part of the last few days trying to kill me. I was supposed to notice you were different? Thanks for shouting that out by the way, I got in a lot of shots at shocked mercs.

JANE: (dryly) No problem. No offense, but what the hell are you doing here? In Game 1 you at best a mediocre human shield, at worst, you were nearly killing hostages.

GARRUS: Don’t worry, I still do that, but I’ve picked up some new skills. I got tired of C-Sec and all it’s bureaucratic crap…

JOHN: Oh come on, not this again!

GARRUS: So I decided to come out here and lay waste to all the criminal lords in the area. Back at C-Sec, we never had decent sniper rifles.

JOHN: (suddenly paying attention) Actually, that doesn’t sound so bad. Shooting people interests me.

JANE: I don’t imagine that went over well.

GARRUS: Er… no. I’m throwing a major kink in their operations, not to mention the fragile local economy. But killing mercs is hard work. I’ve had to study up on gangland tactics. Would you believe that Eclipse uses cement shoes for disposing of undesirables? It’s all very impractical. Have you any idea how long cement takes to mold?

JANE: (mutters) Probably as long as it will take archaeologists to find our bodies. (aloud) How did you wind up with the name Archangel?

GARRUS: The locals gave it me for… for….(searching for a logical reason) all my good deeds.

(JANE raises an eyebrow)

GARRUS: (sigh) I don’t know. It just sounded badass. “The Punisher” was taken. I tried to call Wrex for some name ideas but he’s been very busy lately. Something about his new writing career.

MIRANDA: Well, if you three are finished with old home week over there, the robots climbing over the wall might need your attention.

JANE: Well it was polite of them to wait until we ran out of topics.

JOHN: Ooh, robots. Can I see?

(GARRUS hands him the Sniper Rifle. JOHN headshots a robot, exploding it in the middle of its compatriots. JANE, MIRANDA, and ZAEED join in, leaving nothing but spare parts lying around.)

GARRUS: I’m just going to take a nap on the couch over here. You guys keep up the good work. (Immediately falls asleep)

JOHN: Jackass. He thinks withstanding a siege for days on end gives him an excuse to nap?

JANE: Well… remember the Alamo! Let’s get ready to fight!

Too Bad My Shepard Already Romanced A Photo!

(Click to ENHANCE!)

That picture of Tali without her helmet popped up on reddit today, and even though it's probably just some really, really good fanart, stuff like this doth make one ponder: what the hell's under there?

Entitlement: Do We Have It?

It's a debate that's been going on for awhile in the gaming circles. Do some gamers have a sense of entitlement? No, haven't heard of that debate? Then lemme take it a step back: Do you have a right to be pissed when your favorite game gets whored out on DLC Street?

Now we're on the same page.

For full disclosure: I hate DLC. I think it flies in the face of the purity of gaming. Sounds pretentious, yes, but it's true. Nothing aggravates me more than seeing a new slightly-better armor piece pop up on the Xbox Marketplace for Mass Effect 2, especially when it comes months after the game came out! Why don't you just sell me the fucking I-WIN Button when money gets tight?

To that end, whenever one of these armor pieces or horse armor pieces comes out and I get hit by an announcement on my Facebook feed, the arguments are always the same - and not so polite. On the one hand, you've got the people like me, who just don't think it's worth it. Sure a couple bucks for armor on Mass Effect 2 isn't so bad in the grand scheme of things, but why the fuck would I buy that? I've already beaten the game. The DLC that BioWare have released thus far has been slightly better than suck - because it's free. Plus, it's the principle of the thing. I would never pay to make a gaming experience slightly better.

On the other hand, you have the people who are likely going to buy the DLC regardless, and want to turn the argument around and show just how snobby the other side is. The whole, "Quit acting like BioWare owes you shit" argument, which also pisses me off, but whatever. No, BioWare doesn't owe me a goddamn thing. The only thing they owe me is $60 worth of a gaming experience after I walk out of GameStop. That's it. I pay, they provide a service. They don't provide? I take my money elsewhere. That's the beauty of capitalism.

At the same time, I don't like that BioWare think that they can nickel and dime their fans to death by putting out little things like armor pieces. Extra characters and missions? I can begrudgingly get behind that if the price is right. But a list of not-even-just-okay armor pieces and weapons? That's bad business practice to me.

But here's the kind of DLC I can get behind. The Singularity Weapon for ME2 that I got for free when I preordered the game. Honestly, I would have bought that if I hadn't got it for free, because it added a level of entertainment to the game. Charging up that weapon and creating a black hole in the middle of the field that most of my enemies will be sucked up into is amazing to see, and it's fun. The only point of contention there would be that it came out the same day the game was released, but I can understand EA and BioWare taking steps like that to deter piracy instead of resorting to UbiSoft's terrible, 1984-ish DRM system.

Another kind that I like would be Bethesda's expansions for Fallout 3. Despite the mixed reviews on the five expansions, I can tell that they weren't just thrown together overnight. Plenty of voice acting, new weapons and armor, nice action set-pieces, a bunch of new quests, new areas to mess around with: all for ten bucks each. BioWare could learn a thing or two about making an expansion from Bethesda.

So there you have it. But am I wrong to think that way? Many people would think that I have an aura of "entitlement" for wanting a game company that I admire to put out GOOD DLC that doesn't amount to a slight stat upgrade for a game that I've already beaten. Give me a reason to play the game again JUST to use what you've given me, BioWare.

The difference:

"Hey, Knight, we totally just put out some new DLC!"

Eh?

"Yeah! Now you get a slight upgrade to your biotic abilities!"

I, uh...Mmmhmm, I'm gonna pass.

"Okay...ah...Oh! We have this gun that when you shoot it, it creates a goddamn black hole that destroys all the enemies it touches!"

!!!

"And we've created an expansion where you have to fight to regain control of a device that controls the weather!"

Wow! That's...That's from Fable II.

"Nooooo."

Yes, yes, it is.

"Nooooo, come on. You can bring back your dog and everything."

I'm leaving now.

OBJECTION: In Defense of Knightfall

So, I wake up this morning, feeling utterly incapacitated by the ruthless hiking trip I went on in Yosemite, and I drag myself to my computer to find that some British dude had disagreed with my previous post! This is outrrrrrageous! I'm going to attempt to defend myself against this heathen, and I invite him to retort if he dares shows his face around this blog again. >=D

First of all, he had the nerve to say this:

"...this..."

To top things off, he went on to quote something I had said in my review of Fable II concerning my philosophy on the ending of a game. I read what he had to say on the subject AND HONESTLY...I can find myself agreeing with him. This is going to me a bad argumentative essay already, I can tell. Because I agree! I really do. But lemme draw the line between what I agree with and what I prefer.

Let me use KotOR as the prime example here, and allow me to begin with something Mister Buch said, and use a red font to make it look sinister:

"Rather than ending on a bang, the character ends with a whimper. He ends when you get bored of side-quests. I hate seeing the world AFTER the cataclysmic events of the ending... and seeing it's just the same."

I can understand this, actually. I'm winding down in terms of side-quests and things to do throughout Fable II. Dare I say, I'm starting to get tired of the game. And with the exception of a few achievements that I can only obtain by beating the game over again and getting a different ending, I've almost increased my gamerscore as much as I can in Albion. There will eventually come a day when I wander around my favorite area of the game, looking for that one last shred of awe left, save and quit, and likely never play the game again. That will be a sad day, and probably won't have the same feeling as a proper ending would have had.

Dragon Age: Origins for instance, had an amazing ending. It took that adventure that you just went on and not only closed it up nicely and intelligently, but it also left it open for further adventures with later games. I loved that. Even though it was all a bunch of text blocks, I loved it. Teary-eyed. And that was okay with me, because BioWare has been fulfilling their promises of late.

But let me point out the one rotten egg, and it pains me to even relate this game with that term: KotOR. It is my favorite game, for all the reasons that Mister Buch illustrated. It was the pinnacle of storytelling in video games at the time, allowed you to own the story that you created, and let you invest way more of yourself into it than any game before it. In contrast to other games, you don't take on the role of the hero (i.e. Zelda), the hero takes on the role of YOU. Additionally, it did what Mister Buch pointed out:

At the very end, when the classic John Williams theme music kicked in and the credits rolled over the story's climax (and a teasing hint at a sequel) I was so excited I pumped my fist into the air like a fool.

Not only did I react the same way, but I saw this little tease as well. But as I was doing this Manly Arm Pump so wildly, I realized something: KotOR II had been released only a short time ago. Not only that, but it was my birthday that month. I nearly shat myself thinking about it. I got the game as a gift not too long after, threw it into my Xbox, and began playing...and that's when things went wrong in my life.

See, when it comes to KotOR II, I think that me and Buch are in agreement that it was technically a good game. It had some amazing moments (the character of Atton Rand being the highlight) but it was overall not KotOR. It didn't provide that same feeeeeling that its predecessor had brought to the table. Most of all: IT DIDN'T CONTINUE REVAN'S STORY!!! I watched the ending of KotOR II in horror and confusion, not able to grasp anything that had just transpired before my eyes. I had to do a ton of research for Revan's Shadow, and I STILL didn't get it!

That's when I was like...okay. That was a silly game, and crushed my dreams like so many glass unicorns under its foot, but that's okay! KotOR and The Sith Lords both sold more than enough to warrant a sequel. For sure! All I have to do is wait...

That was five years ago, and I'm still fucking waiting.

BioWare's unwillingness to make a sequel, and their complete willingness to capitalize on everything that made that game great and whore it out to the masses still burns me, because I know that I will never see Revan and his companions' stories come to fruition. It's a feeling of dejection that I will likely feel until the day I die, and well into whatever afterlife awaits us. In a Riverworld scenario, I will probably be recounting my sorrows to Mark Twain. I know he would listen.

I never wanted to play a game where that feeling might return. Never ever. And, thankfully, I've not had to. Fallout 3 gave us the Broken Steel DLC, which allowed me to roam the Capital Wasteland for as long as I dared to, and let me do all the little quests that I had wanted to do with that character. I would have been in the same sort of mood with Dragon Age: Origins had BioWare not promised constantly that there would be a sequel (but there's still a chance if fucking Dragon Age - Awakening is any indication on how a sequel will turn out. Think happy thoughts). Fable II allowed you to keep playing, but unlike Mass Effect 2, there was still stuff to do, and people still reacted to how you went about your business; not only that, but the See The Future DLC pretty much said, "Be patient, Hero, for history to repeat itself," and went about teasing the story in Fable III.

See, allowing me to keep running around the world, despite the shortcomings in the programming (everyone in Mass Effect 2 says exactly one thing to you after you beat the game, then repeat the same lines over and over) is way more preferable. It keeps me in the illusion for as long as I'm not bored. I prefer playing the endlessly wandering hero; it makes it more romantic in my mind. And I know that nothing can mess that up.

Mass Effect 2 did some great things, allowing your character to continue on into a new story almost seamlessly (despite mine and, apparently, Buch's view on Shepard's character being independent of our own). I say almost seamlessly, because there are always bits of your story that are completely disregarded in the sequel. "Oh, you thought you had united humanity against the Reapers, did you? Sorry about that. Turns out, everyone thinks that's a load of bollocks and have continued about their lives. Also, Anderson has become a complete puss in years, despite his bravery fighting those Reap...I mean, geth. That load of geth." Also, the importation nightmare that was Dragon Age - Awakening where 90% of the endings from the original game were disregarded.

So, I suppose I agree and disagree with this set ending premise. I agree that it makes for a powerful story to have the lights go out on the highest possible point, but at the same time, I've been burned by KotOR, where the lights went out halfway through the story and never came back on. And I agree that having the game keep going after the ending diminishes the story, but so does replaying the story, which you're almost constantly encouraged to do. I would much rather keep going, living in the illusion and warm, fuzzy thoughts left over by the initial story than end on a high note than wonder what could have been.

The British Are Coming: or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Redcoats

At the risk of writing a review for a two-year-old game, which I really wanted to do, I think I'll just make a comment on the state of RPGs as I see them today. But to put this in context: I recently borrowed a copy of Fable II from my cousin. I had actually done this once before last year at some point, but that year belonged to BioWare and Bethesda in the form of Fallout 3, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age: Origins, each of which I spent no less than forty hours with. And because I spent so much time with those marvelous game, the hack 'n' slash, collect-your-exp-in-the-form-of-glowing-orbs aspect put me off.

But I eventually gave that game one more try - and I'm very glad I did. It's like I found the third piece of the Triforce, because each of my most favorite game studios brings something to the table that I wish would crossover into each other's games. Lemme 'splain.

1) BioWare, without question, provide the best stories and production values out of the three companies. Hell, at this point, the Mass Effect series is pretty much an interactive movie, and a believable one at that. But what I love about their games, and the reason why I keep coming back to them no matter what, is that I actually feel as though I'm traveling through their worlds, affecting them, and interacting with their occupants. The romances and friendships feel true and dynamic, giving it all the more realism. Case and point (in the current generation): Dragon Age: Origins.

DA:O had a lot of problems. It was relying on the formula and production values from the last generation. It was striking just how accurate the KotOR comparisons were, with its small-ass zones, frequent loading times, and how I couldn't walk over a ledge if it was slightly higher than my ankle. But the story came through for me. It was well-written, engaging, entertaining, funny, sad, aggravating: all the good emotions wrapped up in one experience. And the ending to it all felt genuinely unique, like I had just spent forty hours crafting my own personalized adventure, and it still one of the greatest gaming moments of my life.

2) Bethesda is a different kind of beast with its focus on a different aspect of the genre. Their philosophy is that if you're gonna make an adventure game, give the player some room to roam around (to put it lightly). They offer the most seamless of RPG experiences, for my money. Their games are made so that you can literally walk for hours without encountering a loading screen. And this is where the comparisons kick in.

Bethesda games have still not delivered a story on par with anything cranked out of BioWare's camp (well, except for Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening, just to take another shot at it). I think this is safely evidenced by the fact that they completely blanked out the ending of Fallout 3 with the introduction of the Broken Steel DLC (but don't get me wrong, I loved that I was able to take my character back into the world, but how it happened was a bit of a cop out). That's not to say that their stories are terrible, only that they aren't so deep. It's the sidequests that they excel at, and I find myself frequently putting the main quest aside in favor of freeing slaves, exploring long lost Vaults, and curing Aleswell of its curse of invisibility.

In this regard, Bethesda are better at world-building. You can go anywhere in the sandboxes they create almost immediately, and you typically can't walk ten yards without seeing something interesting and unique. Most of the time I spent playing Fallout 3 was just wandering around! It felt like a proper adventure, where there was stuff that you might never see even if you've played it three times through. Where you have an inflamed sense of freedom to the point where it can feel like the world belongs to you. For instance: Oasis. Three-Dog talks about this place at length during the game, but you're never told exactly where it is. You've got to find it. You're not missing out on anything quest-wise if you don't; it's just there for you to discover at your leisure, which I loved. And it made it all the more rewarding when I actually found it.

And to go back to BioWare: they have nothing on Bethesda's world-building. Most of their zones are too small for my liking, or they're designed like labyrinths to give the illusion of distance and scale. Even Mass Effect 2 was not immune to this, since there was a loading screen between every deck on the Normandy. And Dragon Age was the worst of all. An example being the forest outside of Ostagar near the beginning of the game. When I looked at the mini-map for it, I swear it looked like a maze you'd find in the Sunday paper, and it wasn't limited to just this forest, either.

To make my first point, this is where I could do with some overlapping. If there was only an RPG with the story and dialogue of a BioWare game and the epic world-building and sidequests of a Bethesda game. This is what I was getting around to, because that's what I've always effing wanted. It doesn't have to be completely free-roaming, but just big enough so that the loading screens aren't so intrusive. I died a little inside whenever I hit one of these bastards in the game, which was like every couple of minutes. To reenact this experience, watch one of your most favorite movies, then pause it every two minutes, and watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL0guyWFIl0

3) Okay, now here comes Lionhead Studios, the makers of a game that I only semi-liked, Fable, and a game that's quickly becoming one of my favorites, Fable II. The funny thing is that this game had a lot of the problems from the other games. Lots of loading screens, a disjointed feeling about it, and a story that was pretty much Zelda: OoT but with "heroes" instead of spiritual stones. But what Fable II did absolutely right was to give you the option of making a home for yourself within that world, no matter where it was. Your reputation follows you everywhere, and people even know if you're living within their town. People stop to sing your praises and talk about your family or dog or exploits.

Whereas the stories from BioWare felt dynamic, the entire WORLD felt dynamic in Fable II. You can get married, have kids, and start multiple families if you're feeling a bit Mormo...I mean, in the mood for polygamy. People react to your decisions, spread gossip about you, and even blackmail you! The bastards. You can buy almost every building in the game, redecorate them, resell them, rent them out to get a steady cash flow going, even when you're not playing the game, giving me the feeling that the world kept going when my Xbox was switched off. I loved that aspect; it made me feel as though I had some control over the world itself. It felt a part of that world, because I could prove it! I had a house and an address.

And a job!

That's what I want in a game:

-The story and production values of a BioWare game
-The free-roaming, expansive and detailed world of a Bethesda game
-And the dynamic (i.e. home/job/a place to call your own in the world) feeling of a Lionhead game

This, I think, would equal the perfect western RPG. Each of these companies are slowly trending toward that outcome, with Mass Effect 2 giving you captain's quarters and Fallout 3 giving you a house or apartment as a reward for a quest, but it just wasn't as cool as in Fable II, where I could find my favorite spot in the game and choose my house accordingly. It made the difference between playing a game and feeling immersed.

That's what I wanted to say. Took awhile to get that out there but, yeah. To that end we have many sequels on the way for each of these properties. Fable III might make an appearance this year, Fallout: New Vegas is coming out this Fall, Mass Effect 3 might be released as early as NEXT year, and Dragon Age 2 has a release date in February of next year, or so Dragon Age - Awakening told be, but I don't trust that thing at all these days.

Also THIS.

2,000 Now, Plus Fifteen When We Reach Alderaan (The Slippery Slope of DLC)

I don't rightly recall my first experience DLC. It was, most likely, with Halo 2 or some such. Then there was Guitar Hero, and then Gears of War. Then it was everywhere. In fact, it's hard NOT to buy a game these days that doesn't have a little something extra for sale online or on your console marketplace. At first, it was kinda neat, because long after the game you owned had run its course, you could still buy cheap little additions to keep the fun alive just a bit longer.

Gears of War made it a habit of releasing their new maps completely free in the beginning. Their justification: "We always take care of our customers." That's what it all boiled down to, huh? And I agree! I'm the head of a company that just made one of the best selling games of all time and have created a rabid fanbase that will follow me anywhere (even into the bathroom). Why shouldn't I give my fans something extra for their patronage and support? Right? That's how it was in the beginning, until something went awry:

Someone discovered they could make tons of internet money.

It started as extra maps, extra levels, extra weapons, goddamn horse armor...But then, this trend sorta climaxed with the Resident Evil 5 incident, where people were paying out the ass for a multiplayer mode that was already on the disc! I believe this is where the question of developer ethics first came around. I mean, are they within their right to charge you, the consumer, who've already paid full-price for the product, for extra content that is already included on the disc you're holding? In the end, people were paying for a simple "unlock patch" that clocked in at a devastatingly huge file size of...1.8 MB.

Seemed as though Capcom was selling you a car, and then charging you to drive it.

Fast forward to the present, so that I can comment on EA's recently implemented "Project Ten Dollar," which basically says, if you buy our game brand fucking new, we will provide you with ten dollars American worth of DLC that was intended for that game. This was supposed to provide incentive for buying games new instead of used, or torrented. Sounds like a marvelous idea, right?

Bioware, owned by EA, was the first to use this with Dragon Age: Origins. Those who bought the game new were given an awesome set of Blood Dragon Armor, which was just fantastic to have sucking up space in my inventory whilst my rogue continued on leather-bound. (Coulda given it to Alistair, I guess, but...I didn't. Why the hell would I pay for armor for Alistair to use?) Additionally, we were given access to The Stone Prisoner DLC, which was also a fantastic 20 minute adventure to get a party member who did nothing but sigh at me for the entire game.

And that was about it. Wouldn't say that's ten dollars' worth of content, but what do I know? I'm just the consumer who doesn't know how much time and effort was poured into that DLC. It could easily be worth a billion dollars, and I wouldn't know.

Mass Effect 2 fared better in some respects. We were given new armor, new weapons, a place to mourn the old Normandy, a hovercraft mini-game, and a new party member, Zaeed: The Crocodile Dundee in Space. Were any of these things worth downloading to my already-limited hard drive? Well, I think that's where EA/Bioware would make the argument that, you know, since it's free you have no right to complain. It's not like somebody twisted your arm to download stuff that cost you absolutely nothing and provided you the opportunity to hang out with a space Australian, like you didn't have one already. Edit: I've just been made aware that Zaeed is not Australian. That is all.

To that, I would say, "No." This was not ten dollars' worth of content. If my game wasn't screaming at me to keep this shit on my hard drive, I probably would have deleted all of it already. Spoiler Alert: I already tried that with the Zaeed DLC, and it ended with me downloading it all over again so I could keep playing. Not that I was already peeved having a character in the game that some people have to pay for to gain access to.

The Firewalker DLC was our last bit of free stuff from Bioware, as there is now ANOTHER party member DLC and a meh set of new costumes for Jack, Thane, and Garrus that will force members of the Cerberus Network to pay cash money for. So what does this mean to those of us who don't really feel up to paying for this DLC, specifically this new character? Does this mean our experience in future games will be hindered? Am I now paying for the content of a game that doesn't exist yet? Is shelling out $60 in this economy just not enough proof of support? But now we have to pay for what have been the most interesting facets of this series?

I don't know, actually. Knowing what I know now, I can almost imagine Bioware paring off characters like Mission Vao and Zaalbar to be sold as extra DLC for those willing to pay full price (plus). It's a scary thing to think about, because of how far we've come, and how far we have to go. Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening did not bode good things on the horizon. We're coming to a dark time in the gaming industry where developers are deciding the value of their product, regardless of production cost and time. Where Bioware can create a 10 hour game, call it an "expansion," and charge 20 bucks shy of full price for it.

I might just be tired, because this is verging on a rant. I just see an industry that sought to wow us in past years. To provide a genuine, entertaining experience. Sure, gaming is an expensive habit. I think companies like EA saw it, too, when they came to the realization that if we're willing to pay THAT much for games, perhaps we're willing to pay just a bit more.

I fear that this might be a very slippery slope that will lead game developers to section off their products, adhering to the methods that many grave robbers and treasure hunters of old came to realize: You make more money if you sell it in pieces.

And to anyone who bought the $15 recycled map pack for Modern Warfare 2, you are not helping! >=O

Bioware's Countdown

I hate the countdowns the video game industry have used repeatedly to drum up hype for things that just end up disappointing people. When I heard that Bioware threw one up across their various websites, I sighed.

I sighed because I'm such a big fan of Bioware that this actually excites me. But what could it possibly be? The various sites bill it as a "Countdown to an epic Bioware community event." Not sure what that could mean. I don't even have any guesses.

At first, I thought it was going to be an announcement for some new game or DLC, but the community wouldn't have anything to do with that. Could it?

As I write this, the clock has 5 hours and 14 minutes remaining. So, by the time I wake up for school tomorrow, this thing will be done and I will either be shocked or crestfallen by the time my archaeology class rolls around. Bioware have done a lot lately to make me think that it's expanding toward horizons of...awesome? But so far they've only been awesome within the confines of what they've always done.

Mass Effect 2 = Awesome
Dragon Age: Origins = Double Awesome/Top 10 Most Favorite Games
ME 2 DLC = Meh
DA:O DLC = Meh
DA:O - Awakening = Good, but no point/Possible Cash Grab

Only time will tell what Bioware has in store for its fans in 5 hours. Hopefully it's not more disappointment.

EDIT (AFTER COUNTDOWN):

(Click To Enlarge)

Review: Mass Effect 2: Firewalker DLC

I still maintain that the MAKO and everything Bioware designed around it were the Achilles Heel of the first Mass Effect. I despised driving that thing, and the six-wheeled bastard still managed to somehow pop up just about everywhere like a sci-fi version of Herbie. It was the worst possible sight when after plodding through Noveria, finally managing to get the garage key, I find the thing parked in there, waiting...mocking me.

So I can say with no undue enthusiasm that I relished the sight of a totaled MAKO amongst the wreckage of the Normandy SR-1 in Mass Effect 2. In fact, I flew all the way back to Omega just to do a little dance in celebration (lies). I'm just glad Bioware saw reason, but when I heard that they were going to attempt to add in more vehicle levels, I began to second guess that thought: perhaps they didn't see enough reason...perhaps.

To those of us who bought ME2 new, this package will likely be the last bit of free content to be delivered through the Cerberus Network. It was a fun ride while it lasted, though I'm not sure if anything we received was all that great. I have yet to keep any of the armor or weapons provided on any of my characters, since it all kinda sucks. And the non-interchangeable DLC armor upgrades are still a slight problem.

Anyway, yeah, the Firewalker DLC. I'm typically not one to look a gift hovercraft in the mouth, but I would have deemed this whole package passable if I had shelled out money for it. Still, I'll be damned if that little hovercraft doesn't handle like a dream and is actually fun to fly around, but we have to remember that this is a very isolated set of missions (four missions, I believe). There are no dialogue options here, no great rewards other than some minerals and credits, and your party members will have a grand total of three lines of dialogue (give or take one), all of which are more than likely stock lines to fit any situation. "Let's get out of here!" and shit like that.

There is a bit of a story, but I'm not sure what it could possibly mean. It certainly doesn't have any bearing on this game. Rest assured, you get a few "thank you" letters in your inbox.

To give credit where credit is due, Bioware have redeemed the MAKO with these missions. So much so, in fact, that I wanted to play around with it even more! But after those four missions, you're done. A shame, that: because this whole thing seems too little too late to have any sort of relevance to the overall game. Hopefully we see the return of the Firewalker in ME3, but here it means little more than an hour of killed time, a few minerals, and a demo of what could be a great game mechanic in the future.

R.I.P. MAKO, you will not be missed. >=)

Review: Mass Effect 2

It's a late but thorough review of Mass Effect 2!

(There will be lots of spoilers.)


I'm not a very smart man, and there is little I excel at, but - Mass Effect 2 is something I'm extremely knowlegable on. And after playing it through twice, deliberately varying the games as much as possible, I have a lot to say.

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Now, I love this game. This blog is named after it, and it's almost all I talk about, even now. But I'm going to focus on the faults.

The professional reviews I've read rated the game extremely highly (awarding it 9's and near 10's) but I think everybody but me missed the following five big problems.

I think a lot of these are only 'problems' to people like me - big fans, who adored the original. And who are picky. But they spoiled the experience for me, so here they are.

1) Not enough inventory, too many guns.

This is the big one. Whereas Mass Effect was a 'shooter-RPG' which had difficulty drawing the line between the two genres, the sequel decides right from the start that it's more shooter. Way more shooter.

This time there is no inventory, levelling up is easy, quick and simplistic, and every single quest - EVERY single quest is solved by shooting a bunch of people with the new Gears of War-style combat. The quests are fascinating and well-written, but they always boil down to hiding behind boxes and shooting people. The worlds are small - quests are more like levels - albeit levels with a lot of interactive dialogue. And when the level is done, you get a 'level complete' screen and you return to the home base. No exploring, no looting, very few sidequests.

It's a genre change, not a fault. But I dislike it. What makes Bioware RPGs so fantastic is their seamless mix of dramatic, personalised story and fun gameplay. Here that divide is skewed much more than I like. I get the impression this is an attempt to sell more copies - everyone loves shooters, right? And that annoys me.

2) We Were On A Break... in space.

There is an issue with the 'romance quests' in the first game - in Mass Effect (as in most Bioware titles) you're able to fall in love and persue a relationship with certain members of your party. Mass Effect 2 - a direct sequel - begins with a huge explosion and then a '2 years later' tag. So naturally I was assuming my old squeezes would be dead and I could romance one of the many, many new characters with a thing for the protagonist. No worries.

The problem is that all three possible lovers survive, even going so far as not-quite-dumping-you when you are (finally) reunited. So if you played ME1 and you persue a romance quest in the sequel, you're pretty much cheating on your boy/girlfriend. It's just clumsy and confusing, and out of character for everyone involved. And it could have been fixed so damn easily!

It's possible that the writers have something planned for these characters and love affairs in the final part of the planned trilogy. We will see.

3) Probe away.

The 'scanning minerals' mini-game is abominable. Bioware have a history of bad mini-games, but this one really is awful.

4) Achievement unlocked: Kinda.

The plot, no matter how hard I try, didn't grip me. The first game introduced an incredible, rich new SF world, allowed you to become a secret agent, command a battleship, fall in love and save all life in the galaxy from complete destruction.

The sequel's plot consists of stopping the evil aliens who are kidnapping human colonists. There's little in the way of investigation: we know immediately who did it, and how to reach them. So you spend the next 40 hours building a team to stop them, then you take that team to their dungeon, and an hour or so later you're done. You didn't really rescue anyone, but you stalled the enemy a bit, and you've prevented further humans from being killed. As excellent as the writing is, this just doesn't feel suitably epic for Commander Shepard.

The plot is on a much smaller scale. Again, this isn't necessarily a flaw - it's not bad writing, it's just hard to care about 'slowly gathering a team and briefly avenging some dead people' when last time I was saving the world with my beloved at my side.

5) The character death issue.

Depending on seemingly-insignificant and unrelated decisions you make throughout (and especially in the endgame) - members of your party can be killed - permenantly - at the game's climax. This suceeds in making you pay attention to the characters and your governing of them - and certainly makes the endgame extremely tense - but for the wrong reasons. I lost my favourite character for the simple reason that I picked a soldier instead of a veteran soldier to lead his team. And I only figured out what I did wrong by scouring walkthroughs online for hours. It just ruined the ending for me - 'We won! But... this guy is dead because I made a tiny error in judgement... yay...'

Similarly, a large number of my crew died because of another random, unrelated error - which my crewmen strongly encouraged me to make!
This concept of your people's lives being in genuine danger could have been a wonderful device - but all it did was irritate me and break my immersion in the story.

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Those are the noteworthy flaws, right there. Just five, but each one was such a blow to me, considering how good every other aspect of this game is.

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Small-scale and episodic as it may be, the plot is magnificent. This has to be the best-written videogame I've ever played, and the voice-acting is even better. I haven't found ANY bad acting in this - not one line - and this is two discs' worth of acting. Even Mark Meer (who plays the male lead in both games, and whose earlier performance seemed flat and unimpressive) does beautifully here - he has really made the character his own, and this improves the experience a great deal.

The new plot doesn't just give us 'more of the same' but takes daring leaps, bringing big plot twists, entirely new sapient species (only one of which is Baraka), new enemies and very different allies. Shepard's standing in the galaxy has drastically changed, and you're visiting very different places this time.
Some of the short quests were incredibly engaging, one or two were powerfully emotional, and absolutel every one was memorable and unique.

A lot of games claim to have 'Hollywood-movie-quality writing and acting' - this exceeds most movies on both counts.

The voice cast, incidentally, includes some proper, profesional actors (including Martin Sheen of all people, and Seth Green performing miiiiiles better than he does in the movies.) This trend seems to be growing, but you know Bioware were always doing it! They even had Nathan gorram Fillion once.
Now they're allowed to get the likes of Sheen - and it seems to have made every other actor involved up his or her game.


The biggest complaint I had about the original Mass Effect was the fact that the 'paragon and renegade' (i.e. good and evil) choices were poorly balanced: whilst the paragon Shepard came off as a brave political idealist (I loved this version of the character) the renegade seemed like a foolish, near-sighted schoolyard bully. Saving the day by making silly threats and commiting petty crimes.
In the sequel, this has been addressed perfectly - and I actually enjoyed the renegade Shepard a little more! Now s/he genuinely is a 'renegade' - a tough, hard-hearted bastard, selfish and maybe even kinda racist, but one who gets superior results by sacrificing heroism. It works like they clearly intended it to in the original.

For all my complaints about the Gears of War-style combat taking centre stage - that combat is very good fun. A lot better than the first game, where fighting got old fast. Now there are more weapons, ammo, all sorts that keep the endless third-person gunplay very fresh and exciting.

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Mass Effect 2 is a brillaint game, and a milestone for story and writing in the medium. It's just a shame it's not the masterpiece it could have been with a few better decisions.

Before it came out, I was very doubtful. I heard about the changes / flaws I detailed above, and saw the new characters, and decided I would hate them all. (There's a tank character named 'Grunt'? Evil characters have red eyes? Garrus is a love interest? Garus Vakarian? And what the hell is a space hamster?!)

But like Garrus and the hamster, the game forced me to love it through sheer cuteness and effort. Mass Effect 2 defied my curmudgeonly determination not to have a good time, beating back every criticism mightily, if not quite destroying them all.

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There's more combat than role playing, but both of those elements are hugely improved.

There's a couple of issues with continuity that make the story and the world fiddly and inaccessible - but when you try to figure them out you accidentally unlock the details of a brilliant sci-fi saga.

The mineral-scanning is awful, but it's worthwhile.

The plot is more like a series of episodes than the epic adventure of the original - but every one of those episodes is a work of art.

And the ending... is kinda disappointing. But everything that comes before it surpasses expectations.

Plus - this is the second act in a trilogy. I suspect the third one will end better!

Bioware, and lead writer Drew 'The Karp' Karpyshyn, will have a very tough job: making the plot more satisfying than that of Mass Effect, and making the game more fun than Mass Effect 2.

8/10