Favorites - Ranked Dragon Age: Inquisition Companions

Well, I did say I’d be done with Dragon Age Inquisition by Christmas, and that was partly true. Still, when you have a wife, toddlers, a job, and other interests, you can usually push these playthroughs indefinitely… and I still ain’t done. I got sucked into doing the DLCs for the game and actually fought those blasted dragons. I actually have just the rest of "Trespasser" to finish up and then I can call it quits on Dragon Age for a while. Still, I’ve played at least 100 hours of this game to get this written.

If you want a nice overview of the game, just check out my old review because it’s pretty much the same. In fact, I think I’ve fallen for this game more the third time around. It’s as good as I remember it. Each DA installment brings something unique, and this is no different. DAI is definitely a return to form after DA2’s adventures in Kirkwall. You’re back and forth between Fereldan and Orlais in trying to stop Coryheus from destroying the world. Oh yeah, “Cory” still sucks as a villain. That was one thing that hasn’t changed with me. Even though I did complain about the vast emptiness of the world, I kinda got used to it this time around.

The gameplay still rocks with you and your companions dishing out loads of destruction to your enemies. This time, I was a Rogue Inquisitor with the twin daggers, and that was so much fun. The graphics are good, but this was one area I kinda struggled with especially with my character. At least Veilgard has added more black hairstyles… but I’ll get to that someday. Weapons and customization are also pretty dang good. The DLCs were also pretty good and added a lot to the game... including a full ending/epilogue... EA, why are you like this?

I tried to do my hair right... they needed a bigger afro and some curly hair options.

Our companions are good as usual. We get 9 companions this time, and they all range from okay to pretty dang good. I will say that some of their personal missions don’t stack up to the ones from Origins and even Dragon Age 2. I’m not sure if it was that there were too many companions or that there wasn’t as much thought put into their personal missions. Either way, I still think the companions help make the game awesome. So, with that out of the way, here’s my ranking of all the companions from DAI. I’m also adding the advisors (Cullen, Leliana, Josephine, and a surprise) in this as well. You don’t fight alongside them as much, but their presence and stories are right alongside the other companions. 

Favorites - Ranked Dragon Age 2 Companions

Now, this was definitely one game I wanted to revisit. Dragon Age 2 was released in 2011 and was underwhelming for fans. I didn’t play it until like 2015 since I was in my Bioware phase. I remember liking DA2 and can kinda see why some folks didn’t like it. It did feel a few steps below Origins. We had a lot of reused dungeons and areas, some of the gameplay could be repetitive, and some of the writing wasn’t the best. Still, I had a fun time back then and eventually went on to play Inquisition. 

Now that I’ve replayed it and some of the DLCs (I skipped Mark of the Assassin), DA2 really grew on me. The fact that this game was rushed out of development and made to shelves playable was a miracle. While I get that some wanted an experience similar to Origins, I like how DA2 changed it up. We’re limited to Kirkwall  and get to see how bad things are for Hawke, his companions, and the rest of the city over a span of a few years. Last time, I had no idea what I was doing and didn’t know what to expect when some big moments happened.This time, I really wanted to see what could happen with these characters. I came away with a bit of a realization from some of my companions. I was Warrior Hawke this time and I had so much fun with that big sword/axe/hammer. I might go two handed for Inquisition, but I’m not sure yet.

So, how were the companions this time? They were pretty good as usual. Some of them don’t hold a candle to the ones from Origins, but there are some that are on par. We also have a limited number of companions which I think helped things a bit story wise. Since we play Hawke over a span of years, we get to see these friendships go through the ringer, and you sometimes don’t know how things will end. 

Favorites - Ranked Dragon Age Origins Companions

I did not want to be gone this long! This is what happens when you’re married, have two growing kids, have a job, and have other activities that get in the way of writing on your pretty old blog. One of those things that took a lot of time away from here was revisiting one of Bioware’s greats: Dragon Age Origins. After Dragon Age: The Veilguard was released, I had a hankering for some Thedas action especially since I can’t play the thing yet. “That will happen one day,” I wistfully say to myself. 

I thought about maybe doing a bit of a retrospective on it, but I already don’t have that much time. Just know that I still had a blast replaying this game. This time, I was able to really delve into it unlike with my first long playthrough. I made some thankfully better decisions. Alistair didn’t leave my party, Zervan became a good friend, and I held off going off into those dang Deep Roads. I still couldn’t romance Morrigan nor Wynne (Bioware dropped the ball on some old lady action!), but Leliana still fits that role in a good way. I also was able to play more companion quests as well.

The game play is still the same in that weird “turn-based/real-time action”, but I got used to it. I was also curious about the rest of the DLCs I didn’t play through way back when. That Witch Hunt DLC was a waste, finding an old Warden castle was alright, and returning to Ostagar was interesting. Anyway, since I have been able to do a more detailed playthrough of the game, I thought a new companion ranking would be good. I did one back in 2015 with all the main companions in the games. This time, it’s just gonna be the Origins ones, and I mean all of them. I’ll even throw in the DLC ones this time. I’ll also add a quick tip on gameplay.

The Favorites - My Top 7 Assassin's Creed Video Games

Since it is the end of the year, I felt like returning to the world of the Assassins. Ubisoft has released some more DLC and even free DLC at that. I don’t know if I’ll play any of it though. I got a couple of posts that I’ve wanted to get up for a while now.

First up is a post I thought would be a struggle. Of out of all of the AC games, which ones do I consider to be the my favorite? It’s a tough question because all of them have a lot of good things and few bad things. It ultimately comes down to a few factors like story, protagonists, gameplay, and just overall fun. Another thing that could make it tougher is the fact that there are 13 mainline games (including Liberation which I never played). It’s tough to make a top 10 of that, which is why I made the corporate decision to make this a Top 7 list. Here are my favorites from the franchise.

Favorites - 12 Favorite Songs from Mr. Mister

It’s been a minute since I’ve gone into some music, so I thought I’d take a left at Albuquerque and talk about some 80’s pop group called Mr. Mister. I don’t have to turn in my “Awesome Black Dude” Card again, do I? Oh well, I think I switched it out for the “Average Black Dude” Card anyway. For those who don’t know who Mr. Mister is, they’re the dudes who did the 80’s classic, “Broken Wings.” Another song they’re also known for is “Kyrie.” That was where my knowledge of the group ended for years. Those were the only two songs I heard from the group. I can thank Mixed 92.9 FM for that.

It didn’t stop there, though. As I started to peruse through different stations on Pandora, I came across the group again and something clicked for me. I think it had to do with hearing another song of theirs, “Don’t Slow Down.” For some reason, that made me want to search more for the group on YouTube, and I started to look for more music. I even bought their most successful album, Welcome to the Real World, on iTunes. As I listened to more and more, I started to become a bit of a fan. Also, and this is a personal detail, some of their music helped me get through some tough times last year. Heck, it’s still helping me.

The group was formed in 1980 and lasted throughout the decade. The members were Steve Farris (guitar and background vocals), Steve George (drums/percussion), Pat Mastelotto (keyboard and background vocals) , and Richard Page (bass and lead singer). They technically released four albums during that time with Welcome to the Real World, the second album, being their biggest one. Pull, their last album, didn’t see the light of day until 2010. It was supposed to be released in 1990, but their studio didn’t release it.  The group went their separate ways after that. Since I’ve finally listened to all four albums, I thought I’d do a list of my favorite songs. It’s not in order, but my favorites are up top.

Favorites - 10 Favorite Superman Movies

Well, I’m at the end of the month, and I gotta admit I’m kinda beat. There were a couple of other things I wanted to talk about, but most of those will have to wait. I’ve needed to get some house work done. Also, I’ve had some personal stuff draining me a bit. I’m fine, but I’ll get better and do better too.

Anyway, since I finally got caught up on the recent Superman animated movies, I wanted to do a different list. I wanted to list off my favorite Superman movies, and I’m not stopping at live-action either. While Superman doesn’t have as many movies as that Dark Knight guy, there are at least 10 out there I can throw on a list. They may also involve that Dark Knight guy, but considering the villains in those movies are mostly Superman villains, they apply. This isn’t going to be in any order, but I’ll list some major favorites off in the beginning. First, I might as well mention a couple that didn’t make it. Whether they’re honorable is a matter for debate:

• Superman Returns – Yeah, it’s up here and you pretty much know why. While the cast (except for Kate Bosworth) was nice and that plane sequence was awesome, this was a subpar entry. The story homaged Superman: the Movie way too much. Also, it made some changes to Superman that felt kinda weird. Even Superman’s reason for leaving Earth in it was weird. Add that fact that it felt like it didn’t know what it wanted to be. Tying it to the Donnerverse wasn’t the best move.
• Superman 4: The Quest for Peace – Speaking of the Donnerverse, we have its worst entry. Yeah, some could say that Superman 3 is just as bad, but I can at least find some good things in that movie. Not so here. Yes, Christopher Reeve and Gene Hackman are in good form here. Also, the concept of Superman facing nuclear proliferation was good. Unfortunately, this was a Cannon Films production. The effects were lazy, the story had problems, and quite a bit got cut out of the film.
• Superman: Doomsday – I had to add DC’s first official animated movie to the list. While the movie did house some nice visuals, had an okay story, and a fine cast, it was just okay. The fact that’s a really loose adaptation doesn’t help matters. Also, what they replaced with that story wasn’t really up to snuff. By the way, what was up with Superman’s face??? Those lines… why? At least we finally got a better adaptation of that story years later.

Mini-Music Reptrospective - Jamiroquai Part 2

Here is are the rest of Jamiroquai's studio albums. I also got a ranking of all the albums from least favorite to favorite. 

A Funk Odyssey (2001)

This is probably my least favorite album from the group. Something about it just feels off. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who thought that. Even reviews from that era were mixed on this one. It really sways into the techno/disco side of things, and most of the songs don’t stick with me at all. Now, they do try to do some new things and use some different sounds. Only a couple of songs here really come  to mind. The rest are fine for the most part.

Favorite Songs:

• Little L – Of the fast songs on here, this one and another one are the only ones that really hit with me.
• You Give Me Something – This is another fast love song. It’s cool and funky, but that’s about it.
• Corner of the Earth – This is one of the songs where the group tries to use a different sound. iN this case, it’s Bossa Nova… not Chevy Nova for you 1990 TMNT movie fans out there. It’s slower, not funky, and just more spiritual. Heck, Jay Kay is wearing Native American regalia in the music video, something that would probably get him into trouble these days. Still, it’s a pretty cool song.

Mini-Music Retrospective - Jamiroquai Part 1

You know, it’s been a while since I’ve geeked  out on some music here. I don’t have a lot of favorite artists, but there are some I tend to go back to from time to time. You can find most of them here on the blog. One group I’ve been listening to a lot has been… (checks Google)… Jamiroquai. If you don’t know who they are, you can do two things: look up that music video with the white room and moving floor, or check out that Napoleon Dynamite dance scene. Yeah, it’s those dudes. That “Virtual Insanity” music video was my first intro to the group, and that was pretty much it for a long time.

For those not in the know, Jamiroquai is a British funk and acid jazz group. Acid Jazz basically mixes funk, disco, R&B, and soul into a blender. They also started to add a lot of house and techno music to their repertoire in the 2000’s. Their front-man, Jason “Jay” Kay, is pretty much known for the wacky hats he wears, his soulful voice, and some of the dancing he does. While the group has some success in the US, they do much better on the UK charts. They’ve released eight studio albums between 1992 and 2017.

“Virtual Insanity,” “Canned Heat,” and couple of other songs were the only ones I heard for a long time. I think it was a couple of years ago when I decided to check out the rest of their discography starting with their first album, Emergency on Planet Earth. Since then, I’ve been listening to more on my iPod. Since I’ve finally gotten to listen to their latest album, Automaton, I thought I’d quickly talk about their albums and list off some of my favorite tracks. I was going to originally do a favorites list, but I couldn’t do it.  Besides, I think I would’ve thrown most of their first two albums on there.

Favorites - 14 Favorite Battlestar Galactica Episodes

Yes, I’m still on a bit of BSG surge. Y’all know how it is! It’s something that’ll take a while to kick. Now that I remember, there is Caprica to look forward to…. (sigh)… and now I think my problem has cleared up by thinking about that show. I’ll touch upon “One Frak to Live” one day, but not today. I’ll probably get to something else like a certain movie crossover starring a knight and some amphibians next.

Before I get to Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, I wanted to touch upon my favorite episodes of the series. It’s been a while since I’ve done some favorite lists.  It took me a long while to get to this and this is going to be a tough list to do. I’m even including the mini-series and movies here as well. You gotta count them since they were pretty much glorified two-parters. Since ranking these will be too tough, I’m just sticking to chronological order for this one. I’m also including 14 episodes (as well as two-parters) since I couldn’t stop at 13. So, how do I not rank most of Season 2’s episodes on here?

Favorites - Planet of the Apes Movies: Least Favorite to Favorite - Part 3

Well, here is part 3 of my long ranking of the Planet of the Apes movies. Yeah, I'm getting in depth with this thing. Since my first look at the original movies was pretty brief, it was time for a do-over. So, next up is the latest entry into the franchise. Some say that it's the best of the bunch. As for me...you'll see below.

Favorites - Planet of the Apes Movies: Least Favorite to Favorite - Part 2

(Updated 7/24/18)
So, why didn't I split this whole thing up into three parts to begin with? I don't know. I guess I had some other things on my mind at the time. All I know is that I'm now doing it after the fact. Oh well, it's a learning experience. So, here's the new part two of my ranking of the Apes movies.

6. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes

If you’re wondering why the fifth movie was tamer, look at this one. Conquest was the fourth movie from the franchise. It takes place 18 years after Escape from the Planet of the Apes. Because of Cornelius and Zira’s arrival, all dogs and cats died. This led the governments of the world to domesticate apes and they were eventually made into slave labor. Milo and his master come to the city (what city was it?) and they get the full brunt of how this dystopian world now works. Because of a lot of sad events taking place, Milo (eventually named Caesar) starts a revolution with the apes in the city.

Favorites - Planet of the Apes Movies: Least Favorite to Favorite - Part 1

Well, this was definitely a long time coming. Years ago, I decided to quickly browse over the original Planet of the Apes movies. Rise of the Planet of the Apes was just about to be released. I also remember an old friend who really liked the movies… sigh. Now, that’s someone I’d like to forget about. Anyway, my overview of the movies wasn’t all that great. Those were the first movies I ever talked about on the blog and I was still improving the in this writing thing. I always wanted to revisit that post since, at that time, I hadn’t seen the movies in years.

Now that the newer POTA movies have been released, I think it’s finally time to rank these things from least favorite to most favorite. I’m saying least favorite because even when the movie or show is bad, you can still find something worthy in it. This time, I’ve re-watched all of the original movies, the newer movies, that Tim Burton thing, and the TV shows. I did think about including the TV shows with this list, but this thing’s going to be long enough without them. Besides, I’ll just tell you now that I’d rather watch some of those episodes more than a couple of these movies. With all that said, I’ll get to it.

Favorites - Ten Favorite Superman Villains

Made by Legion472 on Deviant Art.

Well, it’s been a busy month. I think I’ll take a small break after this. Now that I’ve looked at 20-ish villains of Superman’s, you know a list of my favorite ones is next, right? As I said before, Superman has more than Lex Luthor and those two other dudes. Some of them are alien powerhouses.Others were ordinary folk who got transformed into something horrible. Then, you have the ordinary guys who are intelligent, rich, or pretty screwed up in the head. Sometimes, those ordinary guys are all three. I’ve already said a lot on them, so I’ll be quick about it.

Favorites – Best Animated Versions of the X-Men Part 1

You know, there is something missing from TV these days: an X-Men cartoon. While I can’t call myself an uber-fan of the X-Men these days, I can still say that they’re one of my favorite superhero teams. A lot of that fandom mostly stems from the many animated shows. Heck, I think I could almost recite a lot of the dialogue from the 90’s show’s first season. If only I could put that type of power towards something truly worthwhile…

Anyway, ever since Wolverine and the X-Men ended, we’ve seen less and less of them on TV. While the movies are still coming out and there are live-action shows coming, even I’ll admit that they get it wrong at times. The animated shows were able to capture more of what the X-Men were all about. Plus, they knew how to have fun and that is something the movies still struggle with. The X-Men (Wolverine at least) will pop in every so often on some Marvel show but that’s it. I think even Deadpool is supposed to get his own animated show. I bet someone’s happy about that!

So, what are these posts all about? A while back, I was wondering about which X-characters from the cartoons were done the best. I considered everything from the stories to even the voice-acting. Since most characters don’t crossover to different shows, I’m keeping the list to only a few heroes and villains. I’m also only including X-Men (the 90's show), X-Men: Evolution (EVO), and Wolverine and the X-Men (WATXM). I know there’s an X-Men anime from 2011 out there, but I’ve never seen it. Besides, something tells me that those versions of the characters probably wouldn’t make it on here anyway. Also, this isn’t a competition in which show was the best. I felt that these three shows had some great strengths as well as some unfortunate weaknesses.

Favorites - Top 15 Missions from the Mass Effect Trilogy

So… it’s another Mass Effect post. Some say, “Is he mad?” Others may say, “Who’s this dude?” As for me, I’ll just say that I’m one random guy who does what he wants, dang it! I’m back on days, so this is a late post. Anyway, this should do it for Mass Effect for now. I don’t know when I’ll get to play the newest game, Mass Effect: Andromeda, but it might be soon. It comes out soon but I barely get games right when they’re released.

I’m almost done with my replay of the trilogy. I have a couple of missions left. For a while, I started to wonder what my favorite missions from the trilogy were. A lot of Mass Effect’s missions were action-oriented. They’d also shake it up at times. Not only did a lot of folk die, decisions were made that had repercussions as you kept on playing. Here are my 15 favorite missions from the trilogy. These are the ones that I was pretty excited on playing again for whatever reason. They’re ones that have everything from good action to good story.

15. Project Overlord (Mass Effect 2)

“Overlord” was a DLC mission for ME2. You go to a planet where a Cerberus VI (Virtual Intelligence) has taken over all the technology in the facilities. The VI is even reactivating inoperable geth in the area. When you find the project leader, you end up learning that a human mind is behind it all. It’s a good mission but it does get dull at times since you’re driving around in the Hammerhead. Towards the end, the story takes a twist as you find out the truth. The ending is still pretty shocking and messed up today. I won’t spoil it here though. Let’s just say that you really want to shoot the project leader at the end.

14. Rite of Passage (Mass Effect 2)

Grunt’s loyalty mission wasn’t like the others. Since he was genetically engineered, he had no family. He still had the primal urges of a krogan and that began to mess with him. They go to Tuchunka and it turns out he’s sick. In order to balance himself, Grunt must undergo a rite of passage and face a craptton of insects and even a thrasher maw. It’s pretty fun overall. You even get to face a krogan who sounds a lot like a Klingon by the name of Worf. It may not have deep introspection, but it does pack a lot of punches.

13. The Adart-Yakshi (Mass Effect 2)

Most of the missions from ME2 were loyalty missions and some of them revolved around the companions’ families. While most like Miranda’s and Thane’s were okay, Samara’s stood out to me for a few reasons. In the mission, she wants to track down her daughter, Morinth, who is an Ardat-Yakshi. Let’s just say that while most Ardat-Yakshis are fine, Morinth is one of the bad ones and she’s killed many people. Samara tracked her down to Omega. In order to lure her out, you get to play as bait. It’s such a weird mission and it’s one that doesn’t involve any gunplay. At the end, you even get a chance to get Morinth on your team if you’re really that messed up in the head. It’s a weird mission to find one weird asari.

12. Dossier: Archangel (Mass Effect 2)

In ME2, you have to go around space in order to recruit your companions. One of these companions was a vigilante who went by the codename of Archangel. Considering it’s a turian, you can only guess who he is. I’ll just say that he is my favorite companion. During the mission you have to fight through legions of gangs who want Archangel’s head. It even gets pretty challenging at some points.  It was definitely a mission that brought the fun.

11. Leviathan (Mass Effect 3)

Leviathan was another DLC for MS3 and one that really should have been in the game proper. It’s part- mystery and part-shooting range. You find out about reports of a weapon out in space that can take on the Reapers. As you learn more and more, you find out that it may also be a Reaper or a rogue one. All of your searches and research take you to a planet where you find out some pretty shocking things. It’s a nice mission for a couple of reasons. It’s one of the only missions that centers on the Reapers themselves. Plus, it even makes the ending (which most folk don’t like) make some sense. It’s also a one tough one to beat, so be ready.

10. Old Blood (Mass Effect 2)

Unlike most companions, Mordin Solus’s mission revolved around heading to Tuchunka and finding Maelon, a young colleague who’d been kidnapped by the Blood Pack. On the mission, we find out that Maelon has been conducting experiments on krogans in order to cure the genophage, a disease that was created by the salarians in order to stop the Krogan Rebellions over a millennia ago. It basically made the krogan infertile and kept their numbers down. Not only is this a good mission to blast some of the Blood Pack, we find out a lot about the genophage and Mordin’s guilt about the disease. It was this mission (and other conversations) that made me think that Mordin was one cool dude.

9. Priority: Earth (Mass Effect 3)

This is the final battle on Earth and it’s pretty much the last level of the game. You make it back to Earth and face Reaper forces on the ground in London. You go up against all of the assimilated enemies you’ve faced throughout the game from Husks to those freaky-looking Banshees. Afterwards, you get to the pretty controversial ending. While this mission isn’t the best final mission, it’s still a good one. You get to put on an epic fight with the Reapers, you get to say farewell to your companions, and you get to change the scope of the galaxy for good or bad.

8. Noveria (Mass Effect 1)

On Noveria, you track down Matriarch Benezia (aka “Matriarch Hotness”) as she is playing with experimentation. She’s trying to bring back the rachni, a group of intelligent insects-like aliens (more or less) that waged war centuries ago. They’re the reason why the krogan were made cannon fodder by the salarians and why the krogan eventually became a problem. The ME universe is full of problems, ain’t it? Fighting the rachni and geth here is pretty tough as well as creepy especially when the rachni are involved. Benezia is another matter. She and her squad of fighters are pretty challenging even on a low difficulty. You also have the choice to commit genocide by killing the rachni queen.

7. Priority: Rannoch (Mass Effect 3)

This is another mission from Mass Effect 3 that brings an end to a long conflict: the quorian/geth war. Basically, the quorians decide to take back their homeworld from the geth and all heck breaks loose. Since the Reapers are involved, it’s up to you to possibly save both groups. The fighting itself is cool and pretty challenging especially when you go up against a few Geth Primes… ugh. Then, top it all off with a battle against a Reaper… sort of. Also, you get the choice of either destroying the geth or allowing Legion (or his double) to upload a virus that’ll save the geth. Either way, tears may be shed. It definitely pulls on the heartstrings whichever way you go here.

6. Treason (Mass Effect 2)

This loyalty mission was Tali’s and it revolves around her being accused of treason by the quorians for sending active Geth stuff back to their fleet. Tali knows she didn’t do this. The situation is made worse when it turns out that those geth have taken over a ship where Tali’s father is stationed at. It’s a mission that’s part-Matlock and part-Star Trek: First Contact. We also find out more about the quorians and how they operate out in space. It’s a mission full of speechify-ing, sadness, and some dead geth.

5. Shore Leave (Mass Effect 3)

Citadel was part of a DLC made for MS3. The whole mission has you and your companions on shore leave. Instead of enjoying yourself, you get embroiled in a fight with your clone. Yeah, the story for this mission is a little too on the nose especially with how the companions act. Still, it’s a fun mission that has one pretty tough battle against your clone. Dang, I didn’t know I was that good! It also has an added bonus after the mission ends: more time to spend with your companions. Even former companions from previous games (living ones, anyway) come back for one more good time before all hell breaks loose with Cerberus and Earth. By the way, save this mission for the end before you chase after Cerberus. That way, you can get everyone in on the fun.

4. Ilos/Final Battle (Mass Effect 1)

This is pretty much the final mission from the first game. It’s split up into two parts. On Ilos, you find Saren and his forces have amassed here.  You ultimately find out why Saren came to Ilos and that the Citadel is key to Sovereign winning. Not only is it a cool mission where the MAKO is actually cool to ride in, it’s also got some good music that sounds like it came from The Terminator. The second part of the mission brings you to the Citadel where you have to fight through legions of geth and beat Saren. You get to fight in space (sort of) and Saren is one tough sucka to beat. Overall, it’s not the best final level ever, but it’s still cool to me.

3. Priority: Tuchunka (Mass Effect 3)

In Mass Effect 3, you’ll have to do certain things for races in order to get them to help you with Earth. One of those things is ending the genophage. While genetic engineering isn’t one of Shepard’s strong suits, there are certain salarians that will help you get this done. Unfortunately, you have to deal with a Reaper literally blocking your way. Luckily, you’ll get some help from one big thrasher maw. You also have the choice in making sure the genophage continues. The mission is awesome for a lot of reasons. Not only do you get to help end (or continue) the genophage, you get to (possibly) team up with some former companions. Plus, that fight between the thrasher maw and the Reaper is awesome.

2. Virmire (Mass Effect 1)

Obviously, Virmire is up here for a few reasons. It’s pretty much the turning point of the first game.  It’s also where I got invested in the Mass Effect universe. A lot of stuff happens in this mission. You personally go up against Saren for the first time. Krogans are also being created to be nothing but mindless soldiers. You find out what Sovereign truly is. You also have the potential to lose not only one, but two, squad mates. Top all of that off with Virmire being a really good-looking place to shoot up geth. This was another area where the MAKO seemed pretty cool and did its job by running over geth. It’s one where you really have to make the big decisions.

1. Use the Omega-4 Relay (Mass Effect 2)

There are a lot of reasons the suicide mission against the Collectors is number one. Pretty much everything goes into that final mission. All the decisions you’ve made go into how it plays out. You could get out with a few scrapes or you could lose your whole team. It’s all up to how you play the game. You fight through legions of Collectors in order to save the day. While the final boss itself (a human Reaper) was a little weird, beating that thing was a bit of a challenge. It’s a final level that I can honestly say is one of the best final levels in a video game.

.................................................................................

Well, that’s where I cut this ME love off for now. As I said before, I don’t know when I’ll get to play ME: Andromeda. I actually don’t have anything good to play it on yet. Plus, even if I did have something, I’m probably going to be catching up on some games anyway. I will talk about it someday though. Here’s hoping that it is worth talking about. Well, I’m out. Peace, God Bless, and remember to do this one thing... Hold The Line!

Favorites - 11 Favorite James Bond Theme Songs

For Thanksgiving, I was going to post something different but this little topic recently popped into my head. This is something I’ve wanted to blog on, so this feels like the right time to do it. Besides, there’s probably a James Bond marathon on TV somewhere. I remember TBS or SpikeTV would do marathons of all the James Bond movies. I’d sometimes tune in especially if it’s one of the good ones.

If there’s one thing that always a “must have” about the movies, it’s the theme song and opening. The visuals and the music combine to make something that shouldn’t be missed. It’s not the visuals that folk center on so much as it is the songs themselves. Unfortunately, someone didn’t tell Sam Smith that with SPECTRE. I mean, the guy isn’t a bad singer, but I thought “Writing’s On the Wall” was not a good one. I think Smith’s style wasn’t to my liking there with that whining he does. So, here are my 11 favorite Bond theme songs. I’m also including the instrumental ones too. They’re also not in order favorite-wise but you’ll know what I think are the best of these bunch.

Favorites – Top 10 WTH Moments from the Metal Gear Solid franchise

The Metal Gear Solid franchise is one of my favorite video game franchises. It mixes in spy games with scifi and some real world issues. The stories throw in a lot of things to ponder about. It’s kind of like a thinking man’s franchise. You definitely get that with MGS2. It’s talked about society, hidden government groups, conspiracies, the invasiveness of technology, politics, and people not getting their hopes up. If you know anything about Hal “Otacon” Emmerich, that last point comes up a lot for that cool but lonely nerd.

While Metal Gear is awesome though a bit convoluted, they just had to get weird with us. It may be Japanese culture or it’s that just the creators being weird. Whatever it is, I don’t know. Hideo Kojima threw some weird moments into the franchise and I’ll quickly talk about the ones that popped out to me. They were at times funny, random, unsettling, and overall weird. I got 10 of them, so this should do it for me. Also, I will spoil some things here but not everything, so let’s start out with literal toilet humor.

Favorites - Favorite Songs From Genesis

You know, I haven’t talked about anything music-related in a long minute. I think I need to change that today. It’s back to Genesis, and yes, I’m a black dude talking about Genesis, a progressive rock/pop/new wave band. I’m allowed to have good taste, right? Right. A few years ago, I did a small list of my favorite songs from both the group and Phil Collins and I think it’s time to update that list. I’ve listened to a lot more of Genesis since then. I don’t know if I’d call myself a big Genesis fan. I’m probably a decent fan. I’ve even listened to the era that doesn’t get played on radio.

For those who don’t know, Genesis started out in the late 60’s and grew over time into a progressive rock group. Collins wasn’t even in it at the beginning. He didn’t come around until their third album. After their original frontman, Peter Gabriel, left in the mid-70’s, the group stayed like that until the late 70’s and 80’s where their music started to become more mainstream. You didn’t come here for a history lesson though. Today, I’ll list off my favorite songs from the group. Since the group’s catalog is pretty sizable, I thought I’d split it up by eras: The Gabriel Era and the Collins Era. That should keep things simple.

Favorites - My Random (though not perfect) Star Trek Crew

Since this is Star Trek’s 50 anniversary, it’s finally time to make this post. I have other posts planned for the next few months and this is one of them.

Over six shows, 13 movies (I’m counting Star Trek Beyond too), and a crapton of novels, we’ve been shown a lot of officers. We’ve had some good ones and a couple of okay ones. I doubt we’ve had any bad crew members unless you count Harry Kim. Personally, he’s alright but he’s definitely not on this list. Some have braved the vastness of space and have done some cool things. Others just did their job and they were good at that. I can say one thing about the many crews: they were at least good at their jobs. You can’t always say that in real life.

So, here is my ultimate Trek crew. I know that folk online have done this, so I’ll try to do my own spin on this. By the way, some of these may not be my favorite characters from the show. They may not even be the best at their certain job. I also wondered what team-ups or pairings would be interesting. I’m also not going to crowd it with just one crew. I could do that easily, but that wouldn’t be fair to the other shows. I do think each show has at least one character that would be on a list like this. So, if I was Admiral Williams of Starfleet (played by Tony Todd or Michael Dorn for cool reasons), who would I want to head a crew that’s heading into that final frontier we call space?

Favorites - Nine Favorite Fight Scenes from Martial Arts Movies

Hey, all. Well, it’s sort of been a good month. Other than some weirdness here and there, I had fun doing this themed month again. I finally got to talk about some things that have been a long time coming. Of course, Butt-kicking month will be back next year. Last year, I ended it on my favorite Bruce Lee fights. This time, I’m just going to talk about nine of my favorite fights scenes in movies. It’s not going to be in order or anything like that.

I originally wrote a lot of this stuff a couple years ago. I was going to post it at the end of my first Martial Arts Month, but I decided to do something else. As I said before, these are just some of my favorites. It’s not a definitive list of the best since a couple of these wouldn’t be on that list. You’ll see ones I’ve talked about before and some I haven’t gotten to yet on the blog. I will also limit it to one martial arts actor or series of movies. I may have to cheat with one you'll see.