"It's a Video Game!" - My Time with Mass Effect Legendary Edition: Part 3

Well, it took a while, but I finally finished my time with Mass Effect 3. According to the Playstation 2021 Year-End thing, I put 125 hours into the whole trilogy. It's time well spent, I say! So, with saying all that, what do I think of this upgraded Mass Effect 3?

Like with Mass Effect 2, ME3 just received a bit of a coat of fresh paint. Not a lot has changed here. While there were a couple of noticeable changes (my crazy dance scene got taken out!), things are pretty much the same. I also know that they upgraded Tali's unmasked face, but I never got to see that since I was romancing Liara in this run. Everything from beginning to end was pretty much the same especially the ending. The baby still plays well. We got some of the best gunplay in the franchise with Shepard being a straight-up beast. The only thing I didn't revisit was the Omega DLC. I may do that some other time. 

"It's a Video Game" - My Time with Mass Effect Legendary Edition: Part 2

The moment when you feel that you've played one of the best games ever.

Yes, it's Christmas Day, and I'm posting this. We got a little break in the day, so I thought I'd come on here and get these out. I actually did plan on doing this last night, but sleep swept upon me. That tends to happen when you're wrapping gifts and watching some Space:1999 while recovering from a crapton of food-eating.

Anyway, on to the point of this post. After my time with ME1, I jumped right into one of my favorite games: Mass Effect 2. Now this felt like home. If Mass Effect 1 made me fall for the series, Mass Effect 2 is what keeps me coming back. Yes, it lacks some of the customizable details like upgradable weapons and armor, but everything else is good. It takes what ME1 built upon and just expands on everything. The lore of this universe is expanded on. The combat is thankfully retooled and done well. The story is really good, and the most important aspect, the characters, are so well done. 

Unlike ME1's revamp, ME2 doesn't get the same unfortunately. Heck, the game was pretty much firing on all cylinders back in 2010, so nothing really needed to be done to it. Things do look a bit fresher, but that's it. I do wish it could've gotten a bit of a graphics upgrade, but this are fine as is. I didn't take too many pics this time though. I think I was having too much fun in the game. Still, here are some good ones.

"It's a Video Game" - My Time with Mass Effect: Legendary Edition Part 1

Since I've been pretty busy doing just about everything, I haven't had much time to post here. One reason for that is because I've been knees deep in the Mass Effect universe... again. I've been pretty much on ME since Andy's been born since I've been going through all three games. My replay's gone down well overall. While kicking Collector and Reaper butt is cool, the one place I had to revisit was the first Mass Effect game since it was revamped just a bit. So, I'll just talk about it a bit and show off some pics I made with the new photo mode.

Jumping back in this first game was fun. It felt like coming home, but the home had been refurbished and looked more modern. Things in the game are pretty much the same story-wise. I did skip that one mission that was DLC (Project X57) because I mainly wanted to focus on the missions and characters. Things do change when we get to the character creation. Thankfully, someone knew I'd be playing "Black Shepard" again because I actually have a fresh haircut! I didn't play FemShep, but I heard that she's gotten the same upgrades with looks.

The graphics look beautiful. The graphics for the game initially were good for its time, but Bioware really put their work into making the first outing look good. The gameplay is much more refined. Gunplay is much better here than it was in the original. Another thing that got a giant overall was the Mako. Yes, it still handles poorly at times, but taht's the fun part of the Mako. Aiming on that thing has also been upgraded, and you can actually hit things! As for any negatives, I have none. I could nitpick about maybe something new story-wise being added, but what we got here is awesome. Check it out.

Favorites - 15 Favorite Black Characters in Sci-Fi

The science fiction genre has given us a crapton of characters to follow and root for. When it comes Black folk, it gets a little tough. You may see one or even two of us running around or being a side piece somewhere. Even when you see one of us playing a character, they’re sometimes playing an alien. Just guess why you won’t see someone like Guinan, Worf, and Tuvok from Star Trek or Gamora from Guardians of the Galaxy. I could make a case for Teal’C from Stargate: SG-1 since he is technically human, but I’ll leave him off this one. It gives me a chance to look for other characters outside of these big sci-fi franchises.

So, here are my favorite black characters in the genre. One limitation I gave myself was that I wouldn’t include any superheroes on this list, so no Storm or John Stewart. I actually made a list similar to this years ago, and I wanted to look in other places where there are some cool characters. I might break that rule for a couple, but I’ll only go so far. As usual, it’s a bit of a random list, but I’ll put my favorites up top. You only can guess who’ll be first.

Favorites - Seven Creepy Moments from Non-Horror Video Games

Now, I’m not the biggest fan of horror games. It’s not that I don’t like them, I’m just not that interested in them. If it has a lot of zombie shooting, there is a chance that I won’t play it since I kinda of want more than that. That doesn’t mean I don’t like horror themed games. I own Vampyr on the PS4, and I think The Wolf Among Us could be considered to be horror. By the way, I finally was able to finish that game. I wish it got a sequel.

 I think I like it more when RPGs include horror elements. Heck, most RPGs tend to mix in a lot of genres together to make something pretty memorable. So, I’m going to go into detail about 7 scary moments from non-horror video games. I was going to go all out and make this a longer list, but I then hit a block when it came to finding scary moments in non-horror games. Besides, this just leaves me to get a little more detailed on these moments and levels. So, let’s start out with what’s probably my first big scare in video games.

1. The Final Level from Spider-Man

“RAWR!!! DIIIIIEEEEE!!” Imagine hearing this for an hour. That’s how long it took me to beat a pretty short final level on the PS1 version of Spider-Man. I hadn’t even ate food for Thanksgiving yet because this thing held me up! In the level, all you gotta do is swing away from the pretty freaky combination of Dr. Octopus and Carnage (Carn-Ock? Doc Carn?). Beating those two separately was hard enough, now I gotta face a merged version of them? While it would’ve been interesting to actually fight them, running from them kinda sounds better.

Anyway, while running like a coward sounds simple, you have to swing, climb, and run your red and blue butt off. You’re jumping over pipes, climbing walls, and running. I think there were a couple of times where I was like “All right, take me!” or something like that. I think I also only got to really beat this once since my PS1 ultimately gave out on me. It’s definitely one memory from I PS1 days I have still held on to.

Random Thoughts #49 - So Much To Do, So Little Time...

Well, we’re getting to the end of July. So far, this summer’s been fine. Outside of painting a living room and wondering about eye pressures, things have been good. Right now, I’m just chillin’, yo’. Before I head off to work, it’s time for some Random Thoughts.

“The thrill is gone/I’m burnt out/So…Much…Stuff!/Etc.”

Well, this had to happen eventually. For a while, I haven’t been feeling like writing here. I’m not sure what it is. It’s not like I’m out of things to talk about. I just recently posted that Planet of the Apes ranking. I guess I just need a break more these days since I kind of felt like this last year as well. There’s also the fact that is just so much to see and do out there. I wonder what changed… oh yeah.  There’s a certain cool redhead named Liz to consider. At least my time away from here is going toward the good stuff in life.

Another Mass Effect Playthrough… Oh Yeah!

Recently, I’ve been playing through the Mass Effect Trilogy again. I think I’ve almost made it into a yearly thing. Even though I’ve done this dance before, I still find it to be compelling and interesting. This time, I’m Genevieve Shepard… that’s right. I refused to use any relatives' or current/former loves' names. FemShep’s been in the house and it has been… nuts. I had to change it up not only with the gender but with big decisions. I also upped the difficulty to hardcore. I unfortunately finished Mass Effect 2 without two of my favorite companions. It was quite a sad experience and one I don’t need to relive. Zaeed died too but I didn’t shed any tears for that dull dude.

Movies

I haven’t been to the movies in a minute. The last one I saw in theatres was Life of the Party with Liz. I haven’t even gone to see Ant-Man and the Wasp… and I think I’m going to keep up with that for now. I’m more interested in the new Mission Impossible movie and another movie called Sorry to Bother You. Still, I got an opinion on a few I’ve seen recently:

• Avengers: Infinity War – Oh yeah, I was supposed to talk about this one! I’ll get more detailed when it comes out soon, but I have to say that it was pretty good. I had a couple of issues here and there, but I was glued from beginning to end. Thanos is definitely a villain that won’t be upstaged anytime soon.
• Solo: A Star Wars Story – I was worried about this one being a waste of time. Luckily, this one was good. I’m not going to call it one of the best SW movies, but it kept me entertained from beginning to end. I might have to do a look at the SW movies we’ve gotten so far because I may have some things to say about them.
• Life of the Party – I ended up seeing this one with Liz on Memorial Day. It was a comedy about a middle-aged lady going back to get her bachelor’s in… archeology? I guess I remembered more about this one than I thought.  It was okay. I’m not the biggest fan of Melissa McCarthy, but she does make me laugh. She did that here, so mission accomplished.
• Heat – Yeah, I hadn’t seen this Michael Mann classic from the 90’s until a few months ago.  It popped up on Netflix and I was interested. I remember someone saying this was an inspiration for The Dark Knight and I saw that here. While it was a long one (almost 3 hours), it kept my attention all the way through. The acting from the big guys was good, the story was interesting, and the action was sweet.
• Calibre – I saw this on Netflix with my sister and dad one weekend. It’s about hunting trip in Scotland gone completely wrong. I actually thought this was a suspenseful ride. I didn’t know what was coming and thought the acting was quite nice. It’s one that’ll make you wonder what you’d do in the protagonists’ shoes. Let’s just say I wouldn’t have gone hunting back there in the first place.

……………………………………..

Well, that’s all I got for now. Next, I may do something involving the Dark Knight. I’m not even sure what it’ll be, but it’ll probably involve a bunch of villains… and holidays. I might even throw in a crazy cult or something. For now, Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there.

Favorites - Favorite Soundtracks from Video Games

You know, there is one thing I haven’t talked about here in a while: music. I guess it got lost in the shuffle of comics, books, movies, and TV. Heck, I’m still not letting go of a couple of those things in the next couple of posts. I started to wonder about my favorite movie scores and started to run into blanks. I got them, but I really couldn’t call up many except for a few. Then, a lot of the ones I could think of are from the same dudes.

Then, I began to wonder about my favorite musical scores from video games. I shockingly had more luck there. Music is one thing that helps enhance gameplaying. It can help you get hyped up at the big moments and it can make you pretty annoyed at the low moments. I can’t count how many times I heard Saren’s theme when I died in the first Mass Effect. So, here are my ten favorite musical scores from video games. It’s not completely in order, but I do have the best up front.

"It's a Video Game!" - Mass Effect: Andromeda

“Space: the final frontier. This is the voyage of the Survey Ship Tempest. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no Ryder has gone before… and no, I ain’t just talking about dating a hot asari either!”

Well, it has come to this. When I heard that another Mass Effect game was on the way, I was stoked. The Mass Effect trilogy is one of my favorite video game series. I think every ME fan was throwing that “my body is ready” meme around or something. Then, as we started to see more of it through trailers and gameplay, the excitement started to die down. Also add reports of things going on behind the scenes. Then, the game was actually released. The reception was pretty mixed overall. Some liked it while others thought it was really flawed for what Bioware is known for.

Mass Effect: Andromeda was released during March this year. The reports and videos about the game did leave me worried, so I thought I’d wait until those game patches got released. Besides, I’m an adult with bills to pay, so it had to wait. I did rent it through Redbox first to see how the game actually was. Later, I finally bought the game along with the latest Witcher game. I’m playing that now and… well, I’ll keep my opinion on whether it’s better than MEA. After over 70 hours of gameplay, what did I think of this spinoff?

The Many Faces of Ryell Ryder. I played around with some looks and they worked for the most part. I did have that weird gaze that everyone has, though.

Mass Effect: Andromeda takes place roughly 600 years after the original trilogy. In 2185 (between Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3), the major races came together and formed the Andromeda Initiative. The plan was to make a one-way trip in four giant ships (arks) and the Nexus (their version of the Citadel) to the Andromeda galaxy and explore new planets. 20,000 citizens from each race (human, krogan, turian, and asari) volunteered for this undertaking and they were all put to cryogenic sleep for the long, 600-year trip.  One of the leaders of the Initiative was Alec Ryder, a former Alliance soldier and one of the Pathfinders for this undertaking.

Daddy Ryder!

You’ll either play as Sara or Scott Ryder, Alec’s children. When the Hyperion (humanity’s ark) makes it to the galaxy, they run into trouble. Hey, it’s the Mass Effect universe, so you know things will go bad. It turns out that the planets that the races are supposed colonize aren’t perfect. Add new threats, new races, and infighting with your people into the mix.  Top all of that off with something happening to Alec and you are made humanity’s Pathfinder, the one who’s supposed to lead the colonization of these planets. With a new ship and new crew, you’ll have to brave space and make the Heleaus Cluster a viable place to settle.

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.

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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!

Movie Talk - Mass Effect: Paragon Lost

“Is it warm here or is it just me?” I almost said to someone online. In either case, both would be true since Tennessee is getting a bit warmer. It’s not a “summer-warm” since it there are times winter creeps up. Here’s hoping I can enjoy my small vacation from work, Nashville, and anything else.

Today, I’ll be talking about Mass Effect: Paragon Lost which was released in 2012. I’m still on my Mass Effect fix, so watching this anime sort of hit the spot. I’ll get to why I said “sort of” later. This movie was produced by Bioware, Funimation, and T.O. Entertainment. It was made to tie right into the Mass Effect universe by focusing on James Vega, one of Commander Shepard’s companions from Mass Effect 3. Freddie Prinze Jr. reprised his role as James Vega from the game and he was apparently the only one to do so here.  Critically, the movie isn’t regarded too well but that didn’t stop me from checking it out.

Random Thoughts On… Mass Effect: Redemption and Mass Effect: Evolution

Wow, it’s been a minute since I’ve posted anything! Maybe I’ll let it last a month… or not.

While I’ve been on my sabbatical, I’ve been in a bit of a Mass Effect fix. Mass Effect: Andromeda is right around the corner, so a revisit was needed. Heck, since the beginning of year, Bioware has been my go-to developer for a bit.  I played through Mass Effect again and it is still really good. I played some of Jade Empire last month and decided to face the Collectors again with Mass Effect 2. Somehow, I lost Mordin again. A tear was shed for the cool salarian. Right now, I’m finishing off the trilogy with Mass Effect 3.

While playing the games, I started to think about a couple of Mass Effect trade paperbacks I picked up some time ago. I think it was at McKay’s but I really don’t remember. It was a while before I really read them. They were tie-ins done by Dark Horse around the time of the Mass Effect sequels and they center on certain characters from the series. Today, I thought I’d give a bit of an overview of these two trades.

Mass Effect: Redemption was released around 2010. It contains one storyline. The next trade, Mass Effect: Evolution, was released in 2012. It not only contains a four-part storyline but two short stories. Mac Walters, the creative director for the games, handled the story for these two trades and later ones that I won’t be talking about today. John Jackson Miller handles the script and dialogue. The artwork for Redemption and Evolution was done by Omar Francia. Incursion’s artwork is done by Eduardo Francisco while Inquisition’s artwork is done by Jean Diaz. The colors and letters for all the stories were handled by Michael Atiyeh and Michael Heisler.

Favorites - 12 Favorite Mass Effect Companions

This sweet image comes from JoesHouseofArt on DeviantArt.

Yeah, I got another list. It’s the season. Besides, I’m preparing for September.

If there’s one thing I can say about Bioware, it would that they have some cool companions in their RPG games. I’ve run across a lot of them in the Dragon Age and Mass Effect games. To me, a companion not only has to be interesting,  you have to be able to use them in battle. You’ll get some good ones and bad ones. You’ll have some companions that are good in battle but bad everywhere else. Yes, I’m looking at you, Zaeed. You were good on missions, but that was it. You also have the inverse of that with a guy by the name of Kadian. Nice guy, but he was pretty weak.

Today, I’ll be listing down my favorite companions from the Mass Effect trilogy. I’ll save Dragon Age for later since I still haven’t finished Inquisition yet. Man, that game’s long and I can only play it well on an HD TV. Fortunately (or unfortunately), that’s a post for another time. Most of these companions all had something that made like or care for them. They also were pretty cool on the battlefield and that’s always good. There will be some spoilers, but I won’t spoil everything.

"It's a Video Game!" - The Mass Effect Trilogy

So, what does one get when they combine elements of Star Trek, Star Wars, Starship Troopers, Aliens, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, and everything in between? It’s possibly one of the coolest trilogies around. Today, I’ll be looking at the Mass Effect Trilogy, so sit down and lay back. This’ll take a while.

Where can I begin with Mass Effect? I guess I’ll start at the beginning. I didn’t know crap about this trilogy before March of last year.  All I had heard about it was it was good and that its third game had a crappy ending.  I had finished up a new game called Watchdogs. The game itself was fine, but it didn’t have any replay value for me, so I decided to trade it in at Gamestop. Since I got a sizable amount back for it, I looked around for something that might be good. I saw the Mass Effect Trilogy for a pretty cheap price, so I got it. The rest, you might say, is history… also, the helper there was pretty cute. I think I saw her at Hastings in Murfreesboro.

Anyway, here’s a little info for the uninformed. Mass Effect was released on the Xbox 360 and PC’s (it got ported to PS3 much later) in 2007. It was developed by Bioware who was responsible for games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, and Dragon Age. It takes place in the somewhat distant future (2183) in the Milky Way galaxy. You play as Commander Shepard, an Alliance soldier who you make your own. Mass Effect 2 was released in 2011 on all consoles while Mass Effect 3 was released in 2013. For this review, I decided to play through the whole trilogy again in order to give it a better look and see what trouble I could really get myself into.

My Shepard’s black and looks like he’s trying to do his best Captain Sisko imitation.

Random Pics For The Month - October

Well, here's something I haven't done in a while. Here are some of the things I've got planned for later on. 

More Grant Morrison? Yep, yep, and yep.

It's another "old vs. new" project that similar to the one I did for Superman a long time ago. I can safely say that it won't take two months to do!

Yeah, I'll get to this franchise eventually.

Well, it took me a couple of months to do it, but I finally finished the Mass Effect Trilogy. I might talk about it.