"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.

Random Pics of the Month - Six Things about Zo'or from Earth: Final Conflict

For tonight's post, I'm in the cold, windy city of Chicago for family business. I probably won't be posting this weekend, but I wanted to get this one out for this character. Zo'or is a Taelon Companion from Earth: Final Conflict. The Companions were a benevolent but dominant force that came to Earth on the show. While Da'an was our nice Taelon, Zo'or was far from that. While the show had problems, the Taelons and another character (Ronald Sandavol) made the show worth watching. So, here are six things about our "lovable" Companion:

When Zo'or first shows up, you can already tell he's gonna be the "Kai Winn" of the show. 

Don't give Zo'or that good stuff. He won't know if he's coming or going.

Zo'or is not a fan of replicas. He also knows when he's getting the bad batch of Kryss, a Taelon narcotic.

Zo'or is the only Taelon that has "Let's Drown Them Like Rats" on his list when humanity is concerned.

Zo'or can sometimes be swayed by Da'an to be not so douchey... sometimes. Zo'or would be the show's biggest douchebag if Sandavol and the Atavus weren't around.

Finally, Zo'or is kinda hot... as an Atavus. While Season 5 is a piece of crap, at least we get to see Zo'or sport a new body.

In the end, Zo'or (as well as the rest of the Taelons) made this show decent. Too bad it always wasn't that way. Y'all find out next time as I do an overview of the pretty much forgotten show.

Random Pictures of the Month - 12 Things Battlestar Galactica Has Taught Me

Well, I'm at the end of my journey of looking at the rebooted Battlestar Galactica. Since I haven't done this section in quite a while, I thought I'd just post some pics and some lessons that BSG taught me. These may or may not be real lessons, but you never know.

1. Sometimes, fan service is good. Seriously, Richard Hatch (RIP) knocked the role of Tom Zarek out of the park.

2. Don't tick off the really nice ones especially when they've gone through some stuff. That Mutiny arc was awesome.

3. If this show and some personal experience has taught me, blondes can sometimes be trouble.

Random Pics for the Month - Nine Things About Battlestar Galactica's Starbuck

Well, it's another May and another Sci-fi Month. It's time to dust off this old segment and return to the 12 Colonies of Kobol. So, what can I say about Starbuck? All of the Starbucks?

Starbuck was once a man... a cool but sometimes annoying man. Also, he looked good in white.

Starbuck saved the last episode of Galactica: 1980. Seriously, that show sucked!!!

Kara Thrace is one cocky woman.

Kara Thrace loves to get into trouble.

Kara Thrace loves to be the attention of all men. Seriously, whether you're old, lost one eye, egotistically smart, a daddy's boy, some sports star, or some random black dude who has a blog, Kara's got your heart by the strings.

As I said, Kara Thrace loves to get into trouble.

Kara Thrace loves to tick off the people she cares about. She even ticks off the audience at times.

Kara Thrace does actually resemble the old man a bit.

Finally, Kara Thrace's ending still confuses me. SERIOUSLY, WHAT WAS UP WITH THAT?

Overall, Starbuck was a character that could be anything: interesting, cool, sexy, annoying, and cocky.

Random Pics of the Month - Eight Things About Daniel Jackson

It's been a while since I've done one of these. I think it's time to look at a property I've barely touched here: Stargate. So, in keeping with the tradition, here are eight things about the other brain of the group, Daniel Jackson.

Daniel Jackson looked a lot like James Spader for some reason...

Daniel Jackson somehow gets all the ladies with that brain of his.

Daniel Jackson 'bout to bust up some fools, yo!

Daniel Jackson is such a softie.

Daniel Jackson got some guns. MacGyver got him working out!

Daniel Jackson will do the will of anyone even if it's the government, the Ori, or the Ancients. Just pay the man!

As I said, Daniel Jackson can get the ladies.

Finally, the gene pool didn't stray far when it comes to Daniel Jackson since he started it.

Random Pics of the Month - Six Things about Admiral Will Adama

I haven't did one of these in a while. Yeah, I know it's Star Wars Day, but it's kind of relevant. So, here are seven things about Battlestar Galactica's Adama. Yeah, I'll throw the original in as well.

Old-School Adama had one nice cape.

Will Adama ain't afraid to get down and fight alongside his people.

Will Adama  probably wonders how the heck he and Tigh ever got so tight. I wonder that as well!

Will Adama is an okay father figure. He's not too bad though.

Will Adama's art career didn't take off like it could have.

Will Adama has fine taste in women and one slammin' mustache. Who knew Castillo would return?

Finally, Will Adama would make a fine President. So say we all!

Well, that's all I have for today. Peace, God Bless, and may the Fourth be with you.

Random Pics of the Month - Feburary

Wow, it has been a while since I've done one of these posts. I guess I post enough pics, so I tend to forget about this section. So, here are some pics on things I'll talk about over the coming months.

This is from a forgotten game called Jade Empire. What is it about? I'll let you know... later.

I'm past ready for this. Don't let me down, Snyder!

Yeah, I'll be talking about this event though not in detail. I'll say this, "Civil War" is definitely a talker.

Since Ben Affleck is also appearing in it, we better see something similar to this in the new Suicide Squad movie.

Don't worry Gwen. I didn't forget about Ultimate Spider-Man.

Random Pics of the Month - Favorite Alternate Superman Costumes

I really haven't done this in a minute. While there have been changes to Superman's iconic costume over the years, he's been in a lot of different costumes as well. Today, I'll list (in no particular order) my 10 favorite alternate costumes from the different media. I'm not putting the Man of Steel and New 52 suits on here primarily because those are Superman's main costumes for now. By the way, I do like them both. I also wanted to include variations that you don't normally see Superman wear.

1. New 52 'First Costume' 

While I'm not including the armor on here, I did want to include this one. In the New 52, Clark didn't have Ma Kent to help make his suit, so he had to make due with what he had. For a young, inexperienced Superman, this wasn't a bad start at all. He even had different colored shirts and that was pretty funny.

2. Justice Lord Superman

In the Justice League episode "A Better World", we saw an alternate universe where the League basically declared martial law on the world. Superman adopted a new suit and it was pretty cool. It definitely fit his new outlook on life. He and the rest may had been the bad guys, but you have to admit that they looked good.

3. Kingdom Come Superman

In the story, Kingdom Come, Superman returns from a decade-long exile in order to help shape the world. Instead of sporting his classic suit, he sports a darker suit with a stylized 'S'.  He turned his back on humanity and his suit kind of fits this darker world. It's a cool look overall.

4. Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey Battle Suit

In this story, Superman realizes that Doomsday may still be out in space alive, so he gets a Mother Box and heads out there. During the battle that also involves The Cyborg-Superman and Darkseid (!!!), his suit gets damaged. Mother Box makes him a new battle suit in order to fight Doomsday. While the suit does reek of the 90's, I like it. He only wore it this one time and that stuff came in handy. Heck, considering Doomsday did kill him before, wearing some armor is a smart move. I do wonder hat that yellow thing on his crotch does though.

5. Kryptonian Recovery Suit

When Superman came back from the dead, he needed something to wear into battle. He was pretty underpowered, so he got this piece of goodness. I think I my first comic owned had Superman in this suit, so I've always like this suit. They even had a variation of it on Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

Random Pics of the Month - Green is the Word

Top of the morning to ya... or evening. Is that saying even Irish? Anyway, since it is St. Patrick's Day, here are some pics of heroes and villains who are fascinated with the color green.

Rogue

The Green Lantern Corps

Many Green Rangers.