Mass Effect
Yes, I finished the first playthrough in how many days? Yeah, yeah, I was lazy and bailed on practically all the sidequests. Yes, I'm going to start my next playthrough tomorrow.
When I first played KotOR, I enjoyed the game but wasn't struck with the insatiable urge to replay immediately. I think I replayed Jade Empire probably five times in a row before I completely burnt out on it, however. Take that as you will. I'm going to gab, so if you like being surprised, turn away now.
The boyfriend just started up a male Shepard game (and despite my warnings fell into the same trap that I initially did and mangled his character's face in the customization. Something about not having a full head rotation, but it'll look find dead on and then your character will turn for a cut scene and ZOMGFACE! I'm telling you, pick your face shape and leave the things like cheekbone width and depth alone unless you are an expert.) I am struck by the feeling that a female Shepard comes off (mostly due to Hale's voice acting) as a hard-assed bitch, while a male Shepard sort of comes off as a whiny douche. Which is interesting because for all intents and purposes, their dialogue is identical.
I am in love with the fact that no matter how well-intentioned you are, no matter what your choices are, characters will die. This isn't to say that your interaction's meaningless like say, in the Sith Lords, but that there's an added sense of realism in that you can't always protect everyone and sometimes hard decisions have to be made. Of course, the decisions were never hard for me. Talk Wrex out of you murdering him because the dude's a freaking tank and excellent to use as a "krogan shield" to hide behind during battle. Pick Ashley to die for many reasons. 1) Her name is Ashley. 2) She is super duper annoying. 3) Her name is Ashley. 4) If she doesn't die, Kaidan does. And where the hell else am I going to get that quiet, broody caveman love?
I'm conflicted about how the game displays dialogue choices. Because it doesn't tell you word for word what your character will say until you pick an option. Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised with hilarious results (I picked a "stfu" option and instead of any real conversation, Shepard whipped out a pistol and shot the guy in the face,) but other times I was irritated because I was aiming for a different tone (when you have options that roughly sound like "aww! I sympathize!" "O RLY?" or "STFU" and you think the aww one is too wussy and go for the medium ground and then Shepard's telling people to blow it out their asses... or conversely, you wanted something straight to the point and then she turns out to sound sympathetic to a clinger-on annoyance like Ashley...) It certainly forces you to pay more attention to what you say and the reactions, at any rate.
I really liked how female Shepard was the aggressor in the Kaidan relationship (I use relationship loosely since they have like what? Four big conversations and hop in the sack? I understand, it's game mechanics at work there and both characters respond like they've got a lot going on between them, etc come convo three and four, so it's a leap of faith belief-wise. I'll jump.) I like it because it fits with the hardass persona and also it's different than how it usually is when you play a female character. Think back to Carth and how he was tossing the "gorgeous'" around and flinging "I LOVE YOU's" at you and you at the passive end of things could either say, "zomg yay, I love you too" or "gtfo noob." Whereas with Shepard, she's the one to say stuff like, "Why are you still calling me Commander? Pants. Off. Now." Not to say that either method is preferable, just that it's different and different's nice.
The twist of the guy you think is the bad guy isn't really the bad, bad guy was old and predictable. But it worked damn nice. Saren being the Geshtal made him amazingly weak and pathetic to the point where near the end I found myself thinking, "Damn, it really sucks to be you buddy and the worst part is you don't even realize it." But I think what made it work so much is that he played into the Soverign's Kefka. It sounds really lame to write out "The ship is the real scary ass bad guy. For reals." But it worked really well. I think it's because it played into the fact that when you're working with a human being (or human-like alien) you can relate to that bad guy on some level even if he's a lunatic. When it's a machine, that element's missing, so there's just this scary, powerful thing that can't be rationalized with or reached on an emotional level. It just wants to kill you and everything you know.
I will say that I was horribly pissed about getting Jenkins and thinking long and hard about how I would level him up only to do so and discover he was a redshirt that gets blasted to hell before I could use these newly acquired skills.
Obligatory rundown of characters and first impressions, etc.
Kaidan: I like this guy. He's quiet, thinks a lot, isn't quick to anger. I can see why some other folks would be disappointed with him or think he's dull, but I am not one of those folks. I think he's something to point a finger at to show that Bioware's really listening to fans. His past is kind of screwed up, but not in an overly angsty and melodramatic and damaged goods type of sense. He's the one that actually states point blank "I'm 32, if I wasn't over it by now, I'd be off writing dark poetry and completely useless as a soldier" (not exact words) Most of the stories he tells you are more about "This is what happened and here's the lesson I learned" as opposed to, "This is what happened and only you can fix my shattered soul." The only thing that makes me wonder if they're still pussy-footing around female gamers is Kaidan's insistance that he and his teenaged puppy love sweetheart never knocked boots. It almost seems like an ackward insertion of, "It's okay, we didn't do it, so that means she wasn't my one true love!" that should have just been cut from the dialogue.
Ashley: I like her voice. But she's bratty and I dislike the way she talks about "aliens." I think she was supposed to be a stereotypical fiesty character, but I think for that to work, she had to have been really good deep down. What I see is a character who thinks she's good, but is really dog poo underneath it all. Yeah, I killed the bitch dead.
Garrus: Is supposed to be buff, but for some reason was the first to die whenever I had him in my party. I felt meh about him. He seems like one of the sociable, chatty types that smiles for you, but is really a total asshole. I can take him or leave him.
Wrex: I like my Wrexy. I really like the indepth history of the krogan and genophage you get through him. He's also a freaking tank that can take anything. He reminds me of a mix between Gamorrean and a Mandalorian. He's to the point, but the Mandie "honor" garbage is delightfully lacking, but he's very pragmatic and admits it's about the money as opposed to say the Black Whirlwind that seems to get a kick out of watching people scream as he maims them. Wrex is also ballsy enough to just kill someone right in front of you with little to no provocation leaving Shepard going "wtf, I'm in charge here, bitch."
Tali: I heart Tali. She's sweet, well-meaning and completely socially awkward. I was really hoping she'd be a romantic interest, but I suppose she wasn't saucy or sexy enough. Must be that helmet she can't take off. I want to feed her cookies.
Liara: The last romantic hopeful along with Kaidan and Ashley. Liara's cute, but the lack of ears and slicked back tentacles is off-putting to my human tastes. I know, I know, speciest. She's been called the traditional male romance option next to the irritating Ashley, but I don't know if I can agree because I usually can't get down with the twits traditionally reserved for that virile hero. She's pleasant and inquisitive, but she's also very thoughtful. Sometimes the conclusions she comes up with (like letting the Council die) don't sound very nice initially, but in the end make a lot of sense. Her speech about her people breeding with partners regardless of species or gender also gave me lots of lols.
That's another thing, in terms of romances there's always a way out. I appreciate that. Liara started grilling Shepard about Kaidan and there were options ranging anywhere from "He's my man, be-yatch" to "none yo' business" to "I wouldn't touch him if he were the last man in the galaxy." So that puts an end to "You have more influence with Kaidan, so you're stuck with him, sucker."
Also, I can't be the only one that laughed at the pixelized "lurve scene."
Okay, bedtime.
Edit: This wasn't sent because the internets crashed when I went to bed? Meh, coffee's on, I need to crawl over my sister and her sleeping boyfriend to locate a bra. Holidays are weird.
When I first played KotOR, I enjoyed the game but wasn't struck with the insatiable urge to replay immediately. I think I replayed Jade Empire probably five times in a row before I completely burnt out on it, however. Take that as you will. I'm going to gab, so if you like being surprised, turn away now.
The boyfriend just started up a male Shepard game (and despite my warnings fell into the same trap that I initially did and mangled his character's face in the customization. Something about not having a full head rotation, but it'll look find dead on and then your character will turn for a cut scene and ZOMGFACE! I'm telling you, pick your face shape and leave the things like cheekbone width and depth alone unless you are an expert.) I am struck by the feeling that a female Shepard comes off (mostly due to Hale's voice acting) as a hard-assed bitch, while a male Shepard sort of comes off as a whiny douche. Which is interesting because for all intents and purposes, their dialogue is identical.
I am in love with the fact that no matter how well-intentioned you are, no matter what your choices are, characters will die. This isn't to say that your interaction's meaningless like say, in the Sith Lords, but that there's an added sense of realism in that you can't always protect everyone and sometimes hard decisions have to be made. Of course, the decisions were never hard for me. Talk Wrex out of you murdering him because the dude's a freaking tank and excellent to use as a "krogan shield" to hide behind during battle. Pick Ashley to die for many reasons. 1) Her name is Ashley. 2) She is super duper annoying. 3) Her name is Ashley. 4) If she doesn't die, Kaidan does. And where the hell else am I going to get that quiet, broody caveman love?
I'm conflicted about how the game displays dialogue choices. Because it doesn't tell you word for word what your character will say until you pick an option. Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised with hilarious results (I picked a "stfu" option and instead of any real conversation, Shepard whipped out a pistol and shot the guy in the face,) but other times I was irritated because I was aiming for a different tone (when you have options that roughly sound like "aww! I sympathize!" "O RLY?" or "STFU" and you think the aww one is too wussy and go for the medium ground and then Shepard's telling people to blow it out their asses... or conversely, you wanted something straight to the point and then she turns out to sound sympathetic to a clinger-on annoyance like Ashley...) It certainly forces you to pay more attention to what you say and the reactions, at any rate.
I really liked how female Shepard was the aggressor in the Kaidan relationship (I use relationship loosely since they have like what? Four big conversations and hop in the sack? I understand, it's game mechanics at work there and both characters respond like they've got a lot going on between them, etc come convo three and four, so it's a leap of faith belief-wise. I'll jump.) I like it because it fits with the hardass persona and also it's different than how it usually is when you play a female character. Think back to Carth and how he was tossing the "gorgeous'" around and flinging "I LOVE YOU's" at you and you at the passive end of things could either say, "zomg yay, I love you too" or "gtfo noob." Whereas with Shepard, she's the one to say stuff like, "Why are you still calling me Commander? Pants. Off. Now." Not to say that either method is preferable, just that it's different and different's nice.
The twist of the guy you think is the bad guy isn't really the bad, bad guy was old and predictable. But it worked damn nice. Saren being the Geshtal made him amazingly weak and pathetic to the point where near the end I found myself thinking, "Damn, it really sucks to be you buddy and the worst part is you don't even realize it." But I think what made it work so much is that he played into the Soverign's Kefka. It sounds really lame to write out "The ship is the real scary ass bad guy. For reals." But it worked really well. I think it's because it played into the fact that when you're working with a human being (or human-like alien) you can relate to that bad guy on some level even if he's a lunatic. When it's a machine, that element's missing, so there's just this scary, powerful thing that can't be rationalized with or reached on an emotional level. It just wants to kill you and everything you know.
I will say that I was horribly pissed about getting Jenkins and thinking long and hard about how I would level him up only to do so and discover he was a redshirt that gets blasted to hell before I could use these newly acquired skills.
Obligatory rundown of characters and first impressions, etc.
Kaidan: I like this guy. He's quiet, thinks a lot, isn't quick to anger. I can see why some other folks would be disappointed with him or think he's dull, but I am not one of those folks. I think he's something to point a finger at to show that Bioware's really listening to fans. His past is kind of screwed up, but not in an overly angsty and melodramatic and damaged goods type of sense. He's the one that actually states point blank "I'm 32, if I wasn't over it by now, I'd be off writing dark poetry and completely useless as a soldier" (not exact words) Most of the stories he tells you are more about "This is what happened and here's the lesson I learned" as opposed to, "This is what happened and only you can fix my shattered soul." The only thing that makes me wonder if they're still pussy-footing around female gamers is Kaidan's insistance that he and his teenaged puppy love sweetheart never knocked boots. It almost seems like an ackward insertion of, "It's okay, we didn't do it, so that means she wasn't my one true love!" that should have just been cut from the dialogue.
Ashley: I like her voice. But she's bratty and I dislike the way she talks about "aliens." I think she was supposed to be a stereotypical fiesty character, but I think for that to work, she had to have been really good deep down. What I see is a character who thinks she's good, but is really dog poo underneath it all. Yeah, I killed the bitch dead.
Garrus: Is supposed to be buff, but for some reason was the first to die whenever I had him in my party. I felt meh about him. He seems like one of the sociable, chatty types that smiles for you, but is really a total asshole. I can take him or leave him.
Wrex: I like my Wrexy. I really like the indepth history of the krogan and genophage you get through him. He's also a freaking tank that can take anything. He reminds me of a mix between Gamorrean and a Mandalorian. He's to the point, but the Mandie "honor" garbage is delightfully lacking, but he's very pragmatic and admits it's about the money as opposed to say the Black Whirlwind that seems to get a kick out of watching people scream as he maims them. Wrex is also ballsy enough to just kill someone right in front of you with little to no provocation leaving Shepard going "wtf, I'm in charge here, bitch."
Tali: I heart Tali. She's sweet, well-meaning and completely socially awkward. I was really hoping she'd be a romantic interest, but I suppose she wasn't saucy or sexy enough. Must be that helmet she can't take off. I want to feed her cookies.
Liara: The last romantic hopeful along with Kaidan and Ashley. Liara's cute, but the lack of ears and slicked back tentacles is off-putting to my human tastes. I know, I know, speciest. She's been called the traditional male romance option next to the irritating Ashley, but I don't know if I can agree because I usually can't get down with the twits traditionally reserved for that virile hero. She's pleasant and inquisitive, but she's also very thoughtful. Sometimes the conclusions she comes up with (like letting the Council die) don't sound very nice initially, but in the end make a lot of sense. Her speech about her people breeding with partners regardless of species or gender also gave me lots of lols.
That's another thing, in terms of romances there's always a way out. I appreciate that. Liara started grilling Shepard about Kaidan and there were options ranging anywhere from "He's my man, be-yatch" to "none yo' business" to "I wouldn't touch him if he were the last man in the galaxy." So that puts an end to "You have more influence with Kaidan, so you're stuck with him, sucker."
Also, I can't be the only one that laughed at the pixelized "lurve scene."
Okay, bedtime.
Edit: This wasn't sent because the internets crashed when I went to bed? Meh, coffee's on, I need to crawl over my sister and her sleeping boyfriend to locate a bra. Holidays are weird.