Mass Effect (PC) Review

PC Box Cover

Mass Effect was developed by BioWare studios. BioWare developers are well known for their RPG console game legacy: Star Wars KOTOR and Jade Empire. They also have some PC RPGs under their belt, such as Neverwinter Nights and Baldur's Gate. I am very confident this team is able to create a masterpiece RPG, but we will see if Mass Effect is it.

Before release the game had massive following and high expectations. This was greatly due to Bioware's open ambition to create a game that actually allowed the player to make meaningful story decisions. Mass Effect is not particularly ground breaking since there are other games that have previously used this idea, such as Oblivion and even Jade Empire. The stories for this type of game, however, tend to lean towards D&D-like fantasy with magic, and prophecies. Mass Effect, however, managed to stay innovative by applying this blueprint to a Sci-Fi story line. In the other hand, Mass Effect also created some discord because it seemed to appeal to bigger masses by having a slightly dumb down feel to it, especially when compared with Oblivion.

This game is the start of a currently well-known RPG trilogy, but is it a worthy start to the journey? Or a massive fail? Did BioWare manage to create the masterpiece they promised with an innovative Sci-Fi universe?


Story: 
SCORE: 9/10

NPC Dialog menu

Mass Effect's story feels like it is right out of the SciFi channel repertoire, but with a bigger production budget and better writers. The story is set in 2183; we, humanity, obtained advanced technology from ruins of an extinct intergalactic race, called the Protheans, found on mars about thirty years before the game begins. This discovery led to the development of technology that allowed humans to travel outside of the solar system. Humans managed to colonize several other planets and harvest materials from many others. In one expedition humans found a Mass Relay, used for instant travel between vast distances. As humans tried to turn it on, a scouting troop of turian ships, one of the many alien races, found them and fired on humans because opening a Mass Relay connection is considered an impertinent and precarious action by the Citadel Council, the galactic government currently in place. This leads to the "First Contact War" (Surprisingly no acronyms...lol), but more importantly it leads to first contact with the Citadel and the rest of the alien races.

Salarian's camp

The story is very believable; it almost seems as if it was an obvious future for human kind. The game quickly places you on the shoes of a hero, with a background of your choosing, in charge of saving the Galaxy from a mechanical race, called Reapers, that plans to annihilate all organic-sapient life forms. Shepard, main character's last name, is part of the Alliance, the human military corps and front face of intergalactic relations, and serves in a state of the art stealth-prototype ship named, Normandy. From there you become more powerful and well known around the galaxy giving you more influence and difficult missions. Although the story is engaging and interesting it's hardly the story itself where the game shines brightest. The best part your experience the story. There are plenty of traditional cut-scenes and "codex" entries to read about the galaxy, technology and alien races. But interactive conversations with NPCs are what critically enhance the narrative. This is because it does not feel as if you are watching a movie that you are helping unveil; it feels as if you are truly controlling the way the story unfolds. These interactive dialogs are controlled via a circular dialog menu. The dialog menu has a setup that stays consistent through the game; thus, it is quite easy to decide what attitude you want to take in each matter. Although the selection tree is straight forward sometimes it is hard to anticipate NPC's reaction, but this hardly becomes a problem because the game is extremely clear when confronted with critical decisions that affect your game considerably.

Krogan: Urdnot Wrex

In the end, the combination of cut-scenes, written entries, and NPC dialogs successfully create a future for humanity that makes you feel like you are in control of what happens next. Although there is only one ending, Mass Effect's story is extremely rewarding. It is great to see how the game truly pays attention to your mood and attitudes towards characters and creates consequences in a decisive and sometimes crudely realistic way. 


Gameplay and Design:
SCORE: 8/10

Mass Effect's gameplay can be described as a third-person shooter sprinkled with elements of squad commands and strategy, and role-playing decisions, which at times may affect who is friend and foe. Conversation queries, as previously discussed, add a completely new variable to the typical third-person shooter. If a conversation is executed appropriately confrontations can be avoided or created out of nowhere. Again, dialog is the most influential aspect of the whole game; however, not every encounter can be solved with talks. Confrontations tend be divided into quick-pace firefights from cover spots. However, they do not get old as the enemies are decent at flanking and have great aim. The overall design of the game is quite logical and easy to comprehend and follow. The game asks you to select a character class at the beginning of the game, you level up after gaining experience, and experience is gained by completing missions, killing enemies, finding hidden equipment, etc. However, it is not spotless; there is plenty of room for improvements on the equipment management and galaxy navigation systems. Also... elevator loading scenes get old very quick.

Galaxy map on Normandy's bridge

Mako

Navigating galaxy map interface

Shepard is usually sent to specific locations with a mission explaining the situation on the surface of the planet, your objectives and hints about the consequences of your actions. To access these locations you go to the Galaxy Map interface located on Normandy's bridge area. Although it is easy to manipulate it is annoyingly difficult to keep track of which planets you've previously visited and which are important quest locations without memorizing or checking mission logs. Before landing on a planet, you pick the members in your landing squad. Once your squad members are chosen one of two things will happen: The Normandy will either dock and let you out through the side door, or drop you on a controllable vehicle called Mako to the surface of the planet; the former option occurs mostly on main-quest sites while the latter on most side-quest sites. The Mako, however, makes appearances on certain main-quest segments; Mako has two weapons, a machine gun turret and central cannon, that quickly decimate enemies, and it is extremely versatile and resistant. When on foot all squad members have four types of weapons: Pistol, Assault Rifle, Shotgun, and Sniper Rifle. None of them require ammunition, but if weapons are shot repeatedly for too long they overheat, which creates a pretty good pace for cover and shoot gameplay. Each weapon type has stronger models that can be found and obvious pros and cons: Shotguns are best at close-quarters combat, sniper rifles are impossible to aim in small rooms, etc. In addition, there are different mods and ammunition that can be applied to weapons and armor to enhance them. This type customizing is fairly simple, but it is mostly necessary when playing harder difficulties. Characters are not limited, however, to weapons. Some Characters have psychic powers due to exposure to a certain kind of radiation; they are called biotics. Biotics are able to lift, trow, and stun enemies among other things. Other characters can use "tech" powers like instant shield regeneration, weapon or shield sabotage, etc. Biotic and tech powers are great addons that shift the pace of firefights, but only become crucial in harder difficulties.

Item interface

Equipment/power talk brings me to the biggest design letdown of the game: Item management. Exchanging equipment between squad members, and trade can become frustrating fast. First of all, characters must always carry one weapon for each weapon-type; thus, if you wish to exchange one character's weapons for another character's you must carry spares for each weapon-type. Second, even with weapon type filtering it is easy to lose items because the menu does not group exact copies together. Once this problem becomes obvious it is only natural to decide to use the same two squad members throughout the whole game. This makes the experience one sided as each character reacts differently to your role-playing decisions while in your squad.

Squad commands interface

On top of controlling Shepard, you also have the ability to issue general commands to squad members, such as attack, change weapons, move, hold position, or use specific powers. Overall AI is good enough to minimize the need of commands, but the option gives enough room to plan ahead and create minor ambushes or save teammates from imminent danger. This aspect is not too deep, but it gives the sense that you are in charge; thus, helping the role-play aspect of the game.

Leveling interface

The leveling system also applies to all teammates; this makes it possible to make a decently balanced squad with pretty much any combination of characters. Talent points are awarded after leveling up; those talent points can then be applied to an ability of your choosing. Keep in mind that not all characters have biotic or tech abilities; there is a range of things each can do, but it is not too limited. The problem is that leveling up doesn't seem to make much difference; very few powers feel influential. I didn't use half of them because I forgot they actually did something (like sabotage and shield overload). In addition, the difference between a power's first and second level is almost unnoticeable. In the long run it does matter, but the immediate satisfaction of gaining a level is just lacking.

In the end, Mass Effect brings a mixture of successful gameplay genres to a higher level with the addition of conversation queries, appropriate consequences for your actions and a good story. It is obvious that there is plenty room for improvement in design, and some tweaks should be done with the leveling system. However, gameplay is so varied and paced between conversations and action that you will be distracted enough to overlook those few problems with ease. It is extremely easy to have fun with this game and play it all night without stopping... at least that is what I did a couple nights in a row.


Presentation:
SCORE: 8/10

Mass Effect obviously shoots for realist visuals, and it gets real close. Facial animations during dialogs are incredibly detailed and feel as if you were watching a movie. When a character is upset with you it shows on their face (even in some alien races), but the change between moods is not always fluid; there are times where you see programming suddenly kick in, but it is rare and brief enough to ignore or not even acknowledge. Cut-scenes are well designed; they use good angles that focus on the action and feel of the situation; there are some clunky camera shots here and there, but nothing to worry about. Camera during gameplay is easy to control (it moves with your mouse and it is always behind you), and it is rarely, if ever, obstructed by objects or characters. Corpse physics have their clunky moments, but they are rare and funny instead of annoying (there are bodies that should have fallen off a ledge and did not because of invisible walls, but nothing like floating corpses in midair). Although overall graphics are high quality and have great detail I think the best part of the presentation in Mass Effect has to be the voice acting. (Disclaimer: I only played as a female!). The voice acting does not feel like prerecorded messages at all; it is as if they recorded each conversation as the actors actually talked to each other, and this is not how they did it. There are plenty of codex entries that have a voiced reader who is great at setting the perfect tone for each. This reader does a great job in luring player into the story effortlessly (I mean common you don't even have to read to get involved). There are some grammatical errors on some silent codex, but most people won't notice or will just chuckle.

Enemy stuck on wall after affected by a biotic power

My biggest let down on the presentation category is actually a combination of gameplay and graphics mistake in regards to biotic powers. Biotics powers worked fine in ample spaces with enough room for people to float around in the air, but inside of ships and small rooms they tend to trigger glitches. I had to repeat a biotic boss battle about 15 times (no kidding) because the enemy's biotic powers would send get me stuck between immobile graphic frames or just propel me out of the scene completely (this last one happened at least twice.... I was just floating away from the fight infinitely while my teammates fought incessantly; I had to reboot my computer in order to try again). Now this could be a gameplay only mistake, but I attribute it to graphic and physics because the power was doing what it was supposed to do while the graphic frames programming did not have enough rules to stop biotic programing from overriding it (or at least that is how I imagine the coding behind it).

I think the overall presentation of the game is beautiful and incredibly satisfying, but there is significant room for improvement considering the polished state of most aspects of the game. I know there is a sequel and I hope that there is plenty of work done to biotics powers and physics because I really do not want to be traveling through walls anymore.


Lasting Appeal:
SCORE: 9/10

Mass Effect has a re-playability value similar to that of Oblivion or other massive RPG titles. A single play-through can easily last anywhere between 40-60 hours and if you play this game only once you will surely miss at least a quarter of the full game. This game features plenty of situations where your decisions make the game change course. Although most decisions are either evil or good there is plenty of reasons why you'd want to experience the other side as well. In addition, there is enough incentive to want to try out the other character classes for yourself. Your strategies will change dramatically!

I am not going into much detail about the forks in story because I do not want to spoil the game, but this is the main reason why you want to repeat the game. I think anyone who does not play it again is not getting their money's worth. Bioware made those forks because they wanted people to see how tone of voice and attitude can change everything around you.


Overall Score: 8.5/10

Going back to my review tone questions:
Is Mass Effect a worthy start to a trilogy? Or a massive fail? Did BioWare manage to create the masterpiece they promised with an innovative Sci-Fi universe?
It is a perfect start! But it is not the great masterpiece promised, yet. This is an amazing game that deserves a lot of credit, but there is too much that needs improvement. Hopefully these problems are tackled in the well deserved sequels, but you will not be disappointing to start at the beginning of the journey.

Again thanks for reading!!

Diablo III - Beta Test, Auction House Reveal & Bad News?

Blizzard Entertainment announced the upcoming, undated, Diablo III Beta Test and a new auction house system, to be debuted at game launch, that may revolutionize ideas like "gaming for a living" and "getting more value out of your game."

The beta test release date is still in the air, but it will feature everything that has been announced to date, except the auction systems: all 5 character classes, barbarian, witch doctor, wizard, monk, and demon hunter; artisans and followers; runestones, charms, and gems; etc.

The great reveal is the creation of two parallel auction houses: one involving in-game currency, gold; and another involving real-money. The auction house systems will not be included in the beta test, but it will certainly be a part of the game at launch. They will allow players to post nearly every item found in the game, including gold and previously purchased items, for exchange. Auction houses are no revolution, WoW already features one that is great, but Diablo III's new twist to the mix will definitely change everything. Vice President of Game Design Rob Pardo admitted with a nervous chuckle "We've found that no one's actually done this before. So it has been a long road to getting to where we are today, where we can actually announce we're doing this." This system is revolutionary, it allows players to exchange loot items and in-game currency for real dollars (yens, euros, or what have you) without leaving the game domain; but don't worry features like selling items to NPC vendors and character-to-character trading will still be present for your convenience.

The real-money auction house will work as eBay; Blizzard will charge a fixed fee out of each transaction at posting and after the sale is completed. Money accumulated by the player will be placed into their battle.net account and can be used towards other Blizzard products and services or taken out by paying a percentage-based withdrawal fee. Although no details in the numbers or financial institution providers have been announced I am certain Blizzard will amaze us as always.

Blizzard emphasized that they will not be posting any items for sale on either auction system; auctions will only include items posted by other players at the price they desire. Although Blizzard does not want to interfere with the free market of the auctions they reassured that if security is in jeopardy they will act immediately in order to accommodate the system. They justify the creation of this system mainly because they wish to provide customers with better protection that other third-party trading sites lack. But we all know they also want to keep customers from using eBay in order to get that money for themselves. Furthermore, Blizzard is making it very easy to post items for auction and transfer loot between characters. They have a new shared stash system, which any character in your account can access, and sellers can post items for auction from any character or from their shared stash without much complication.


Lastly, the bad news (albeit they may not be news to everyone). Diablo III will be unavailable to play with internet connection; this rule applies even if you wish to play "offline," by yourself. In addition, there will be no bots or mods allowed in the game as Blizzard's servers will be monitoring such activities and disrupting players connection accordingly. Blizzard states that these measures are in place to keep the fluidity between the online and offline planes and accounts security. Blizzard claims that if offline play is allowed they would not be able to track the use of cheats and item mods on offline characters that will provide unfair advantage in online gameplay and auction trading. In this case Blizzard would have to require players to build characters from scratch for both offline and online play instead of the seamless "transfer" they plan to have in place.

In my opinion, these announcements are great, even the "bad news." Open beta tests tend to be a good sign of well planned developing phases, at least when referring to AAA games. It will also create hype that will build up momentum for increasing sales. The "bad news" can also have an upside if handled correctly. The internet connection requirement may drive players to create a sense of community bigger than expected, as it happened with WoW. The prohibition of mods and bots will not be beneficial unless addons are allowed. I think that, at least, Blizzard should manage addons as in WoW; this will bring a lot of player involvement, increase the degree of convenience for all players, and take advantage of consumer labor to improve the game.

The auction systems seem to have great potential, but they may bring issues as well. On the upside, there is plenty of monetary benefits for both consumer and Blizzard. The biggest opportunity for Blizzard is the complete replacement of monthly subscription fees for auction fees. This stunt will attract more players, perhaps more than WoW, because the cost to play is greatly minimized while the possibility of raising money is extremely appealing. This also means that Blizzard will have a bigger incentive for renovation and upkeep of the game; players will notice that benefit too. It is not like Blizzard wasted subscriptions fee money in WoW, in fact it was well invested towards their consumers. It is about Blizzard putting their trust on gamers involvement (and greed). Even if Blizzard decides to charge subscription fees the game will still be successful. The safest strategy for them, however, would be to first charge monthly fees to test the auction's activities and revenue; then evaluate and perhaps switch to no monthly subscription. If this is done they would have to provide bonuses for their previously subscribed players. On the dark side, this new feature will provoke a lot of controversial debates to come afloat. Will the real-money auction house support Chinese worker exploit? Will children under 18 be allowed to sell in the real-money auction? Is the systems susceptible to monopoly? Are rare drop rates appropriate to maintain a free market economy? Questions like these must be addressed and fixed quickly in order to ensure the stability of the game.

In the end, Diablo III seems to have greater potential than I previously expected (and my expectations were high). This game might make every gamers dream a reality, play games for a living. It also brings a whole new factor to more value for your buck; you can possibly make enough money to reimburse yourself the game's cost while funding further expansions and corporate services. I see a future where other games attempt to copy this new idea consistently. I think this may even become such a popular feature in certain games that it will be added as if it was a multiplayer mode for shooters. Either way, only time will tell whether this is a big success or just a headache for Blizzard.

Sources:
Blizzard: http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/events/diablo3-announcement/index.html#summary
Game Trailers: http://www.gametrailers.com/video/new-features-diablo-iii/718443
Joystiq: http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/01/diablo-3-to-feature-player-to-player-real-money-auction-house-fo/#continued
Tom's Hardware: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Diablo-3-Rob-Pardo-Auction-House-DRM-Battle.net,13154.html

I'm Back!

It has been a long while since I posted anything on my blog. I apologize to anyone who actually cares about what I have to say, but I can explain myself!

Altes Museum: Hitler's preferred Speech Venue

I went on a trip through Europe this last month where I got to see Berlin, Bern, Cologne, Amsterdam, Prague, Vienna, Rome, Venice, and some others. Although Europe was, surprisingly, a major disappointment I will make blog posts for each of the major cities (or at least a mass blog with bits and pieces from a group of cities). I will share my opinion of Europe as a whole with you now, however, so that you get the sense of why I feel so disappointed.

I found myself repeating this phrase to myself over and over again at each city. "Europe is like Latin America, but with more money and time to spend it." To be honest everything I saw and felt reinforced my opinion (at least culturally wise). This thought was not exclusive for Hispanic-like countries; it also crossed my my mind while in Germanic countries. Although Latin America is not as bad as some Americans say I did not like Europe being so similar to it and, in a nutshell, that is why I am disappointed.

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In order to explain my feelings further I have to share the ideas I had before embarking (old stylish too; I left the US on a cruise...) on this trip. I knew what an average American would know about Europe from typical comparisons found on travel books and news: Europe has a more relaxed workplace, better work vacation programs, more organized and better quality of public transportation, more environmental policies, more history, freedom of personal choice, a less violent and more sexually comfortable culture, etc. Simply put, I thought of Europe as a more developed, acculturated and comfortable USA; this notion is completely erroneous. 

Vienna's Street Garbage Can

Florence's Street

The first thing I would like to mention about Europe is that EVERYONE SMOKES EVERYWHERE. For the exception of most indoor places it is utterly normal, actually expected I would say, that you smoke. It does not matter who is around you, what time of the day, or even if there is an elementary soccer team right next to you: YES, I witnessed PLENTY of mothers smoking while pushing their baby's stroller. This made me very upset every day; it was impossible to avoid snorting the foul, disgusting smoke coming out of someone's black and dying lungs for a whole day. I must've inhaled more cigarette smoke from only second-hand-smoke in that month in Europe than in all my life put together. The overkill is the best part: THEY NEVER TURN OFF (step on, water or smash up) UNFINISHED CIGARETTES.... and by never I mean MOTHERFUCKING EVER! On top of everything, unlike in the US, you feel unable to ask them to please smoke somewhere else or to turn it off because it is just culturally wrong since they have a different kind of freedom of choice. Plus no one else minds because they smoke too. It is just frustrating and disappointing to see how a place that I thought was more civilized, educated, and developed than the US was so suffocated in such a meaningless and easily recognizable disease/vice like smoking. I choose to call it disease because the abundance of smoking in every corner at every moment just makes non-smokers addicted to it as well without them even knowing and because it kills so effectively.

Bern, Switzerland
1 USD = 1.15 CHF

Another aspect that nearly blew my mind was how much they charge for things that we take for granted in the US. I know that most currencies in Europe are more expensive than USDs, but charging 7 British pounds for a sub at Subway just seems a little excessive when they have the most expensive currency in the world. Perhaps I was just overreacting because Ryanair had just raped me in the ass hardcore. DO NOT EVER GO ON RYANAIR IF YOU HAVE LUGGAGE AT ALL and DO NOT FORGET TO CHECK IN YOUR FLIGHT ONLINE 4 HOURS BEFORE DEPARTURE. If you don't follow my advice prepare to hand over your ass (around 50-100 pounds per person) to the airline. If you know what is like to be raped by Spirit airlines just grab that feeling and multiply it by 1.71 in exchange rate. But this is not only about outrageous prices it is also about paying for going to the restroom, takeout boxes (If they actually have any), fees for a train you already paid, etc. Restrooms are not outrageously priced, but the only one I saw that was clean enough to warrant a charge was at Bern, Switzerland; the other were pretty much anything you'd find in USA or worse. Takeout, actually called "takeaway" (British), is not expected in sit down restaurants so they may not have bags or boxes for you to put your excess food and if they do have expect to pay some cents for each (Yes it is just cents, but it is quite stressful when you cannot discuss the bill with the waiter because of language barrier).There is charges for plenty of other stuff that have developed because of the overwhelming presence or tourists (charges to go into churches, charges to sit down to eat, etc). These I can overlook, but in the grand scheme of things they are quite annoying and frustrating.

Day Train from Berlin to Bern, Cleanest Train I rode.

I also have complains about the public transportation system, but these are due to American's opinions back home. Americans love to talk about how incredibly organized and punctual public transportation (PT) like buses, trains, and trams can be in Europe. I attribute their comments to the fact that there is no properly functioning public transportation in most US cities. The reality of European PT is far simpler; Europe has: trains that work, some ugly and old while others crisp clean and new; schedules change all the time, but they try to stay true to timetables; trains, buses or trams are not exactly punctual, but definitely attuned with the time hungry American lifestyle; facilities are severely different from one city to the next, but generally better in richer countries. In my opinion PT in Europe is an advanced version of what you will find in South America. By advanced I mean: it is more predictable (allowing for timetables and planning), cleaner, and safer. That is literally it. Bus, Tram and Metro lines are extremely difficult to learn if you are staying for just a day or two. There is plenty of rubbing against each other inside trains and buses, "hop-on salesmen" (at least that's what I've been calling them in my head all my life), and homeless and beggars on trains and stops.

Venice, Second to Rome in Nastiness

City garbage is still a problem despite Americans saying that Europe is very clean. I think this is due to the size of the cities (big cities are bound to have street garbage and smelly alleyways), but the American pedestal quite exceeds the reality. A lot of Europe looks exactly the same as downtown Miami (and Latin America for that matter) in the garbage department, disgusting and unapproachable. It is noticeable, however, that they spend time and money to keep high traffic and tourist concentration areas fairly clean. Thus becoming Latin America ++.

Beggars and 'Buhoneros' (street vendors) are everywhere. While there is plenty beggar and buhoneros in USA I have never seen any as annoying and persistent as the ones found in Latin America; sadly, I encountered several that surpassed them in Europe. I have never been slapped or pushed by a beggar or buhonero anywhere in Latin America, but this fact didn't stop them in Europe. There was at least two occasions where I can distinctly remember being mistreated. First, it was by an old lady beggar in front of a church and after by a Turk buhonero that followed us for almost two blocks. Perhaps these people are not from that country or from Europe at all (we saw several Africans and Turks as street vendors), but I still think that Europeans (in their glorious freedom and letting others be) don't have the guts and character to tell these people off so that they behave better.

The quality of the food is definitely better in Europe, but not enough to justify prices and the simple, insubstantial plates served in restaurants. The only food worth money in amount and quality are Doner Kebabs, but they get old fast when that is your only food. If you are going to Europe thinking that you will have great food rich in culture for a normal price you are tremendously mistaking. If you want decent food you have to be ready to spend a lot more than you would in the US (and Latin America for that matter). Food is the single aspect in which I honestly think that Latin America completely outperforms Europe. The best meals I had in Europe at a bargaining price were a Mexican torta in Bern and a meter diameter pizza in Venice. My overall diet while in Europe were Doner Kebabs (or its chicken counterpart), and salami/bologna/cheese sandwiches with juice simply because of budget. Take this advice when you go to Europe: If you are going to spend your money there make sure you have extra to cover good food expenses first!

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Needless to say Europe is a very good place to visit. It is extremely safe (even thought it may not seem that way at first), there is plenty of history to see (although not much to feel), and there is plenty to do aside from sightseeing. Hostels are what you would expect: some dirty, some smelly, some with 30 people in a shared room. They vary severely in price, place, and quality. I am simply trying to say that Americans have Europe on a high pedestal that does not represent it and for this reason I was disappointed. I thought Europe was something else than what I found. I ask you not to make the same mistake; I am certain that if I had gone there with my mind empty and no expectation I would not feel as empty about Europe as I do now.

In the end my Europe trip helped me realize how wasteful Americans are, but at the same time how ingenious they can be when making life easier and less burdensome (putting workplace aside). I went to Europe thinking I would find a place that I would love to call home, but found a part of the world that I would love to visit, and only visit, again. Yes, the USA has many problems, but I just did not feel as comfortable over at Europe. Now.... Canada.... That is a place I would call home ranking above USA. We will see when I go back up there, how I feel about it and what I decide to do.


PS: I was working on some drafts before leaving to Europe and I know I haven't posted them yet, but I am trying hard not to make blogging part of my homework or job yet. I do not want it to get tedious and frustrating before I am even started. I promise I will post another game review soon and some video games news (there is plenty of material with the past E3 event and upcoming releases).
The thing is that reviewing a video game is tremendously difficult when all I've done in life is play video games for fun. I definitely think I have an aptitude for it because I am now able to look at video games with a different eye, but in the end it is strange and difficult to play games while I looking for stuff to write about. I think I should make a comparison in one post.... I'll call it "Reviewing gaming vs. Fun gaming" (or something like that). I hope you have a good few weeks of summer before fall starts approaching (In my opinion it's just too hot and I want winter already....).

Darksiders PS3 - Review

Darksiders was released on January 5, 2010 for the PS3 and Xbox360, the PC version was released a little later, but it is out already. This game, made by Vigil Games, seems to be an attempt to take the God of War franchise and twist it around enough in order to create an original game that would satisfy Xbox360 owners since God of War is a PS3 exclusive. It is inspired on the christian/catholic apocalypse, with the player taking the role of of one the feared horseman - War. A sequel is currently under development and expected to be released in Q4 of 2012. In my opinion this game definitely took the safe route to success (although only mild success I'd say). It takes the God of War formula and scrambles the story and artwork. It only redefines design and gameplay slightly (some people may say that it does not change it at all thought).


Story: 
SCORE: 4/10

As I mentioned in the introduction, the story is based on the idea that four horsemen will appear one after the other once the end of time approaches and judgment will be brought upon everyone that has not follow the commandments put forth by God. I do not know the apocalypse from the bible verbatim, but that is my understanding of it. Darksiders twists the story a bit by making the horsemen righteous entities due to the fact that they are supposed to bring "balance" to the fight between heaven, earth, and hell. However, the search for balance is thrown off when you are summoned before your time by an unknown entity.

The story has enough name dropping and indirect references for people to be able to relate it with the bible and other apocalyptic writings; however, the story does not go into explaining anything other than its own premise and goals. In the end, this helps the story from getting overly religious, but it makes it feel like aliens from heaven and dinosaurs from hell would have worked just as well. In other words, they place the game in a mythological environment that they are weary of using... so why do it at all? After being tricked War is given a chance to redeem himself by fixing the situation down in earth and killing the perpetrator for his own revenge and for restoring the balance. War simply heads out to find out why, how and who tricked him into appearing before his time, killing that entity and returning to his former glory without further a due. Throughout the game there is plenty more names dropped into the story, but none of the characters really become part of the story in a relevant way so that you actually care about them.

The story ends quite abruptly with obvious and expected plot twists, dramatic cutscenes, and a paved road for a sequel. I felt that the mythological (or religious) story was used to make a supernatural setting without the need of much thinking (Yes, this is my opinion with God of War as well). I was quite disappointed with the story; It did not explain the mythology and it felt extremely disconnected from its basis without a good reason. Nothing seems to make sense because they do not explain to you the story completely at the fear of becoming a bible game, but in my opinion that was a mistake. If you have such a fear and cannot visualize how to make a 'bible' game that is worth playing, then you should not pick that mythology setting altogether...

DISCLAIMER: I was raised a catholic; I know the bible's apocalypse story very superficially. I am not religious and do not specifically desire a bible game at all.... Actually, I despise them just as much as any other educational game.


Gameplay and Design:
SCORE: 9/10

This section can be boiled down to a single sentence:
Why fix what God of War has perfected?

Honestly.... Darksiders plays exactly the same as God of War: It plays at the same speed, fast but with enough gaps to allow enemies to hit you; War has a lot of similar moves in comparison to Kratos, such as counters, magic, area of effect slashes, etc; leveling system is based on the blue souls (red orbs in God of War) collected from chests and enemies; the use of green and yellow souls (instead of orbs in God of War); temporary Chaos Form... granting invincibility, extra damage, reach, etc; even the "dramatic kill moves" triggered by the same fucking button... circle. Simply put; there are too many similarities; it would not surprise me if they actually purchased rights to the game engine from SCE Santa Monica Studio, but there are no official announcements about this that I could find.

The gameplay varies sharply on one of the items that you get to use later in the game. This item is the voidwalker; it allows you to create portals as in Portal from Valve. The cool thing about this item is that they implement the item for both puzzle solving and combat (although only for mini-bosses, but new feel nonetheless). 

Another, thing that is fairly new is fighting on horseback. Ruin was actually given a whole level for running around: The Ashlands. There you confront several enemy types and a unique one to this level on Ruin (Wurms). There is also boss battles which require that you master control over Ruin; the implementation of horseback riding and combat is perhaps the most original in this game, at least in comparison to God of War. I found myself riding on Ruin even if I didn't truly need to and the boss encounters that involved Ruin were the most entertaining in my opinion.

I realize that this comparison with God of War makes it seems like I am trying to bash the game, but this is not my intention. I just mean to point out that these two games are extremely similar. As I said at the beginning of this section, this game copies all the good stuff from a game that is already established and attempts to add to experience in a small way. In the end, I deduct a point for lack of originality, but I think there is little they could have done to improve the system while still trying to capture the same audience. Plus, the elements they appended were fitting and well received.

Presentation:
SCORE: 6/10

The art here is similar to that of the board game Warhammer 40K minus the guns. Characters look bulky, even if they are categorized as slick and agile; exaggeration of proportions is common practice in Darksiders as well. Art is also comparable to God of War in technical quality. Environments, enemies and such look good enough to not be judged. Bosses and major characters tend to have more detail and differentiating characteristics as it is always expected. There is only one woman in the game.... and coincidentally she is the only skinny humanoid (not counting the ghosts) character in the whole game. Voice over is good, but not great. Cutscences can be quite disappointing as they often picture a conversation previous to a fight and nothing truly worth a cutscene.

Overall, I think the presentation is intrinsically hurt because of the lack of story and clear purpose in the game. However, Vigil provides gamers the expected traditions of cutscene action that has been exploited in the last decade. It is hard to say that the formula is terrible, but it is most definitely not great.


Lasting Appeal:
SCORE: 2/10

This game is quite long. It took me about 40 hours to finish (including the search for all the collectibles in the game). I will admit that playing Darksiders doesn't get repetitive because it changes scenery and item exploit much like in Zelda games, at the right time. Darksiders, however, has no lasting appeal other than trophies/achievements. The only reason you would not resell this game is because you are a game collector or your friend borrowed it. Sadly, this game is a perfect rental or used turn-in product.


Overall Score: 5/10



I would recommend people to play this game if they truly love the hack and slash action genre. It is silly fun without an engaged story line. Simply put, if you like hacking enemies because it looks cool and killing unrecognizable bosses because it gives you a raw sense of achievement by all means buy and play the heck out of this game. Otherwise... just get a PS3 and play God of War....

PSN Hacked!

Sony announced Apr 26 on their blog that the PlayStation Network was hacked and the intruders obtained personal information like email/mail addresses, passwords, date of birth, etc. Among the stolen info may be credit card numbers and expiration dates (excluding security codes). Info was stolen for about seventy million customers in PSN and Qriocity (Netflix is not mentioned by Sony, but I bet that log in information may have been taken as well).

Sony recommends to replace CC numbers, usernames and passwords for anything that may have been taken or that is similar in any other services. It is also recommended to keep an eye on bank accounts and credit reports: U.S. residents are entitled under U.S. law to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit bureaus. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com. Sony Submiteted names and other contact information to the major US credit bureaus free of charge. This will allow US residents to place a "fraud alert" for free to protect your identity.

See below for Contacting the US credit bureaus:
Experian: 888-397-3742; www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
Equifax: 800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
TransUnion: 800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~KEEP READING FOR DETAILS AND OPINIONS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sony noticed an intrusion on their servers on April 19th and consequently shut down services. Supposedly they weren't certain if the customer database was at stake, but we all know that the intruders that take the risk to accessed such massive servers would have customer cc and identifiable info as part of the top files desired. A lot of people pointed fingers at the faceless hacker association 'Anonymous' for this incident, but Anons insist that they had nothing to do with it as a group despite their previous threats towards Sony. The identity theft, phishing, and scam cases that will emerge because of this incident are far scarier than anything else. I don't know about anyone else, but I did notice that since last week I started to receive a shit load of spam on my email trying to sell me new Bras and giving me jobs located on the other side of the country. I thought this was because I was putting my email on several website because of my trip to Europe, but not I am sure that its because of this breach.

Honestly, I think this is partially Anonymous' fault. Someone must have wanted to gain acceptance to the group by proving their abilities and/or was very pissed at Sony and desired to just make them look bad while obtaining some useful monetary recompense. I can't help but hear Xbox fans long/loud rants in my head about how Xbox Live is so much better; please hold your reins! Microsoft has released a warning about a series of Xbox Live scams that are circulating the network and are fooling people successfully quite frequently. Kotaku website even think that both of these incidents are related to each other, but there is little proof.

In the end I think this shows how much companies like Sony are truly falling behind on terms of security and there is nothing we can do about it. We can only abide by their rules and terms; there really is little choice if someone wishes to stay totally anonymous while being part of a community other than just not joining that community. I believe that most computer savvy people know that a breach this size is almost inevitable and will occur eventually despite new security measures. In my case I barely take any precautions concerning my identifiable information because I believe that if anyone wants to know something about you they will find it in the internet with little to no effort. I mean give me someone's facebook page link & 15 minutes --> I will tell you what websites they visit and where they have accounts, and I am not a hacker....

Are you afraid of identity theft? and what precautions do you take? or do you think that the less you try to protect yourself on the internet the less hackers will target you?

Thanks for reading!

References:
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/04/26/update-on-playstation-network-and-qriocity/
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/04/27/qa-1-for-playstation-network-and-qriocity-services/
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2384012,00.asp
http://www.anonnews.org/?p=press&a=item&i=848
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2384353,00.asp
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2384366,00.asp?kc=PCRSS03079TX1K0000585
http://www.cnet.com/8301-19709_1-20057984-10.html

2D glasses?

I stumbled upon this new product that seems to be smartly invented while targeting a small audience. I am talking about Hank's 2D Glasses. I personally hate 3D movies; they give me headaches, picture quality goes to shit when you are not looking at the sweet-spot (usually the center of attention in that scene), and just plain annoying to have 3D glasses on top of my prescription glasses (I don't wear contacts... my eyes despise them...), and 3D movie tickets are just more expensive.

The 2D Glasses cancel out the 3D effect by having the same polarization in each lens. Thus the same image is blocked for each eye creating the "normal" 2D effect that we all know. (PS: These only work for the big screen movies, 3D TV & 3DS technology are totally different; they have to do with real ultra-position and alternation of screens... or some crap like that... read about it and forgot :P ).
I am confident these glasses work perfectly; by using these glasses people who get headaches from watching 3D movies will be released from that suffering and picture quality will be the same across the screen (since there is no intervention from the other image). However, I still have to wear glasses on top of my prescription and I really do not see the point on paying extra for the 3D tech because of my companion wishes when I will not take advantage of it (Don't get me wrong... I do it from time to time).
Therefore, this product's target audience is limited due to the two disadvantages I mentioned and maybe even more that I have overlooked.

3D movies + 2D Glasses = -1 Comfort ( -3+2 ) & -2 Money ( -1[extra for service] -1[pay for 2D Glasses] ) = overall increase of +1 ~~ Not worth it for me.....  

{Do not understand the equation? well read article.... Do not understand it after reading article? well... I'd bet you didn't read close enough :D}

I am not judging the seller or customers; I am just trying to convey why mathematically I deem this product not worth my money. It is an improvement! It is not for me thought :)
Let me know if you would buy this and why.... I am interested to see what people think.... (maybe you will even change my mind)

For more information or purchasing take a look at the original website: http://www.2d-glasses.com
Purchase is also available via Amazon too: 2D Glasses

Gravity ruler trick! TRY IT!

Check this out and TRY IT....

All you need to make one of these is a ruler, a string, and a hammer with a rubber handle!
Please be careful with your feet and floors... the hammer will drop at least once when you try.

Have fun! cya later

Valkyria Chronicles - PS3

This game was originally released on Nov 2008 for PS3 only. This is a high quality RPG made by SEGA. It combines several aspects of different genres into a cohesive whole. There have been 2 sequels to the game; however, both only on the PSP. (This reminds me of what happened with Monster Hunter on the PS2. We can expect that the next console Valkyria Chronicles will be for the Wii...). In my opinion this game was buried under the many releases that came out that capitalist season and it never reemerged from the overwhelming pile on top of it.


Story: 
SCORE: 9/10
Story Cut Scenes video sample (Chapter 1)

Valkyria Chronicles' story is combination of anime style drama, comedy and romance. Although it tries to stay away from being too overly dramatic, possibly in order to appeal to more western audience, the Japanese influence is still obviously present.

This is a story of war, love and revenge that seems like a colorful WWII alternate spin off. War has split Europa in two: the Atlantic Federation to the east and the Empire to the west. The story develops on a tiny neutral nation called Gallia located between both alliances currently at war. Gallia is involved in the war by the invasion of the Empire in search of ragnite resources and the Valkyria power to aid their goal of world domination. The story focuses on Welkin Gunther as he becomes the lieutenant of the militia's Squad 7 and has to command a group of individuals from distinct backgrounds and attitudes to defend their homeland.

The story is told through a series of chapters and episodic cut scenes that divide the story and allow exposure background and context that further your attachment to characters and personalities while keeping things fresh and advancing every subdivision of the chapter.

Overall, this story can be quite engaging as long as you can put up with having to hit X every time a speech is done during the manga style cut scenes, which comprises of about 60% of all the cut scenes. The character development is slow and repetitive at first, but abrupt and satisfying at the end, which makes it feel like these personalities changed in a realistic manner (people tend to stick to what they know despite influences all around them until one day something just clicks and everything changes).


Gameplay and Design:
SCORE: 9/10

The gameplay combines elements from three genres (RPGs, strategy games, and third-person shooters) in order to create a unique Turn-based RTS (That's exactly how it felt to me).

Missions begin with an overhead view of the battlefield with all units are represented by icons that separate them by class. Command Points (CPs) allow you to choose one unit in order to move and attack. Once the unit is chosen the camera shifts into third-person; movement is limited by an action gauge and only one type of attack is allowed per unit's action. When attacking one can consider cover, weak points and positioning in order to get the most out of that action. Once all CPs are spent the Phase shifts to the enemy's side after that another turn begins on the player's phase. Battles are won by either obliterating all enemy forces or completing certain tasks, such as capturing enemy camps or disabling certain units, within 20 turns.

After each battle you get money and experience according to the mission completion rank dependent on your performance. These can be used on headquarters to upgrade your troops and weapons. You can also customize your squad from a list of recruits that have unique personalities and tastes that will affect their performance in battle. Your troops are divided into 5 classes; each class behaves differently and has advantages confronting certain opponents.This creates a rock-paper-scissor system that requires the player to use a certain class in the right situation. Battles tend to emphasize squad teamwork because of different attacks and special moves of each class that are required to overcome obstacles. The factor that I like the most and did not expect was a squad member death. If one of your soldiers is shot down in combat you have 3 phases or before an enemy reaches them; otherwise they will perish for the rest of your game. This adds an additional layer to the game as you probably will bond with some of the personalities and skills.

Overall this game is well balance, complex and deep (Perhaps a little too deep). Although once you are able to keep track of all the different variables you will be severely rewarded it is so much to remember that you will make mistakes that can jeopardize the mission and waste your time. If you are not willing to give the same mission a try a couple times you will not be able to complete every mission. This game is difficult; even if you are a great chess player.


Presentation:
SCORE: 10/10

The visuals in Valkyria Chronicles are just great. All animation and interaction feels anime cartoon like, but of great quality. The game's shading style makes it feel as if you were watching a moving watercolor painting instead of your TV. There is not other game that looks like it. There is very little difference between the CG cutscenes and the actual engine work seen during battles and gameplay. The voice acting feels very genuine and nails what each cutscene wants to convey.
Overall the presentation is just beautiful without having to exploit all of the engine's power. However, if you do not like anime styled art you will definitely hate the look of this beast.


Lasting Appeal:
SCORE: 4/10

This game is a strong single player experience. However, there is very little incentive to make you play again once you have finished the game once other than to relive the story. There is no online or multiplayer to exploit. Although farming for experience and money to crack up your squad's level and equipment might keep you busy it will not bring out new content that is truly worth your time. The hard mode is a way to go through the game again with added challenge, but the story is the same and strategy is extremely similar as in normal mode. You could also strive to achieve a rank A in each mission, but you will receive little more than in game medals that do not transfer to PS3 trophies. Thus there truly is nothing to stop you from reselling this game once you played through once.


Overall Score: 8/10


PS: I know this took me a LONG time... but it was very difficult to figure out what type of layout to use and the type of scoring I found fitting. As of right now this is still  a draft of what I'd like to work on.... If there is anything anyone can contribute to help me make better reviews please go ahead and let me know.

Again thanks for reading!!

Dark Souls & DLC Annoucements Before Release

There is two topics I'd like to tackle today. First off I will talk about a sequel to a game that did not receive enough attention from RPG lovers and that they should not pass up now. The second thing is an issue that has been slowly creeping in... DLC... Furthermore, release day DLC. 

Dark Souls (PS3 Exclusive)

Dark Souls is the "sequel" to Demons Souls in the aspects of concepts and execution, but it is set on a similar yet different world. Thus it is not a direct sequel to the story, but instead to the feel and gameplay. Dark Souls still offers the same kind of intense action within the dungeons and encounters with terrifying enemies along with the different type of online system that makes this game very unique. The developers said that this game will have a world that allows for fluid exploration between all locations; I get the feeling that he meant to convey that it would be like oblivion, but without loading screen.


Demon Souls was successful in the long run, but even today it seems easily overshadowed by other JRPG games. The most common turn off of this game is the difficulty level and yes Dark Souls will be just as hard; so if you do not like hard games neither of these is for you. It seems like story and decision making will not be a driving force as in western RPGs, but the combat is definitely very complex and engaging; a little mistake gets you killed easy. Japanese RPGs have been "dying" because of their attempt to westernize according to a lot a gamers, but the mild success of this game and Monster Hunter 3 show how Japanese developers are trying to approach the RPG fight through the gameplay instead of the story. I think the next step would be a game where the elements of complex fighting found here and story line decisions found in western games are blended into one (A game that seems to be approaching this is The Witcher 2).

I just thought it was worth to mention that this game plans to release for 2011 holiday season (Nov/Dec...ish) because any fan of the western RPG style would probably like to give this game a big chunk of their time.

Sources:
Game Trailers: http://www.gametrailers.com/game/dark-souls/13855
IGN: http://ps3.ign.com/objects/086/086623.html

DLC (Down-Loadable Content)

My opinion of DLC is utterly negative. I do not want DLC to become the only way to purchase and sell games. Although it is convenient for both customer and developers in many aspects it will completely cut out the factor of supply and demand as well as destroying a second market option (unless a way to "share" games is created). I feel that people are taking this change far too lightly. If a full scale change to DLC happens people will be saying good bye to being able to share games with friends, re-selling games that you hated or finished, price drops, and possibly collection items. However, you will NOT be saying farewells to piracy! (I'd argue that it could make it easier), but I am sure that hackers and programmers will find a way to pirate games. Now tell me is it worth it to go this way? I don't think so... I may be proven wrong, but I highly doubt that companies will not take advantage of the DLC power to exploit more money from honest customers. In other words, I think that honest customers will lose a lot of flexibility in exchange for convenience by implementing this system, while pirates and hackers would have a much better flexibility and the same convenience. Are you sure about moving in this direction?
(PS: I do not buy or support any kind of DLC products that do not allow for me to literally own the product aside from Netflix because I still consider it a 'rental' system)

Developers are taking advantage of the DLC systems already to get more money. YTF are developers and publishers announcing DLC for a game that has not even been released yet!? I mean they want to sell you "extra" content the first day of release. I am sorry but shouldn't that content be on the disk already? It was created before the release.... people argue that the content was not meant to be on the primary story to begin with to justify the 'extra' and to this I agree. However, I would also agree that the efforts they put into this extra content could have been used in creating a more robust and fulfilling game than the one being sold to me at full price. Of course companies choose the path of making extra instead of more robust in order to make more money.... Overall I would say that developers should emphasize on making each section separately and please do not make DLC for release day unless is free. -.-

Do you support/like DLC? Do you disagree with me? Why?
After you answer that think about this:
What do you do with DLC from a big game after you are done? What can you do? Will your friend who borrowed your game enjoy that DLC as well? Will you be able to get extra cash for trading in/selling you copy of the game?

One example of this that is disappointing:
Dragon Age 2 - Exiled Prince DLC Trailer (from GT)