Mass Effect: The Insanity Run Update

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den!

So yesterday, I finally got my brand new power supply for my Xbox 360, and it works GREAT.  It's as quiet as my first one was when the console was brand new.  And with this in mind, it reminded of something that I learned when repairing my PS2 a few years ago; third party companies care more about keeping your stuff running once the console's lifespan is over.

Now, to keep up interest in this "project", I'm going to post the entry data partially filled in, since I'm still on the setup run for this round.

1. Name: George Shepard
2. Background-"It's not about how hard you can get hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and get back up." No phrase has meant more in the life of George Shepard than this.  Born on Earth and given to an orphanage while he was still in diapers, he lived there until it was closed down when he was 10.  Forced onto the streets at that point, he was recruited by the Tenth Street Reds as a pickpocket due to his small size, but became more of a bruiser as he got older and bigger. 

   But he always wanted more; he worked toward getting his high school diploma equivalent and trained at how to fight at the local YMCA.  And when he finally turned 18, he left his life on Earth behind and joined the Systems Alliance Navy.  And life in the military fulfilled him; he worked as a marine during his on duty time, and studied for his college degree in his off.  And things went great until he was sent to Akuze during the first year of his second enlistment.  He lost his entire unit there during the attack of a Thresher Maw, and he had to spend a month seeing a psychiatrist to help with the stress of the horrors he saw.  But George is not giving up; he refuses to give up on himself or the galaxy. He will still do whatever he can to make him self, and the galaxy, better.

    
3. Class-Soldier
4. Extra power-Barrier
5. Build-Since the first game is very much a run and gun, especially in close quarters, I've build George to be able to soak up damage.  This means I've focused on Barrier, getting my armor to max and getting the shield recharge and boosting Fitness to get both health and Immunity. I've also taken Shock Trooper, to boost health, damage protection, and give bonuses to Immunity.
6. Created on date-This one will be the date I start the insanity run; so it will be the day that the level 56 version of George will start.
7. Setup-What level and gear I start the run with.  This will be more clear when I do the first entry.
8. Companion tier-How good each companion is based on the difficulty and my build.  And I want to make things clear; just because I don't like a companion's characterization doesn't mean they're automatically low tier.  For example, Baldur's Gate 2 has an incredibly annoying character in Aerie, but she's incredibly useful due to her being able to use both arcane and clerical magic. So I use her when I'm doing a run where I'm not using Viconia, who is a pure cleric.
9. Level of frustration-How angry I got with the BS the game throws at me.  Like I said, I'm not going for the challenge, so I'm going to get mad at the cheap stuff the game throws at me.
10. Content completed-The vanilla game, and Bring Down the Sky.  Pinnacle Station was used to gear up for this run, but due to the buffs that even low level enemies get on Insanity, a couple missions get really, really cheap.
11. Achievements I'm going for-Medal of Valor, the only achievement I have left to get on this game.
12. Finish date
13. Final thoughts-This is where I wrap up my feelings on the run.

The entries for setup, companion tear, level of frustration, finish date and final thoughts will be filled in when I get to the run, and upon completion.  The only loadout I know without question that I'm going to have for a companion right now is Ashley, since I get a full copy of Shepard's gear at the start of an imported run; so my Spectre X guns and Colossus armor will go on Ashley.  But I can't guarantee whether I'll be able to get Colossus armors for everyone else in this run, nor can I guarantee that everyone will have Savant biotic amps (I'd have them with Savant omnitools too, but for some reason, ME1 on Xbox 360 deletes those unless Shepard has one equipped.)  I could also kind of do the companion tiers, but it wouldn't be fair to make definitive statements before I actually start the run.

I should be ready to start the run by the end of next Friday, and it shouldn't take me more than two weeks to get through it.  I say two weeks because I'm going to get pissed off and not want to play for a while after a number of unfair deaths. But for now, look forward to future posts, check out my referral code of you're a SWTOR player, and stay beautiful freaks!

Assassin's Den Reviews Funimation's Dragon Ball Super: Battle of Gods arc

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den!

Now, I know I said I'd wait until the Beerus arc ended before reviewing the arc, but I can't wait any longer to say what I need to say: this is BORING! Why is one of the most exciting franchises in anime history SO BORING in the first arc of the newest series?

At this point in the series, Goku is fighting Beerus in his Super Saiyan God form.  Back and forth, Beerus lets Goku get used to power before wailing on him, only for Goku to come back with another power boost.  But it's so badly paced; this much back and forth is FAR from necessary.  Between when Goku becomes a Super Saiyan God and when the arc finally ends next week, it's 5 whole episodes.  That's two and a half hours.  The entire runtime of the Battle of Gods movie? One hour and forty-five minutes.  The fight between Goku and Beerus in the show is 45 minutes longer than the movie in which Beerus was introduced. 

And Beerus? He's a dick.  All I've seen in this arc is "Give me what I want, or I blow up your planet!"  If I hadn't seen him in Xenoverse first, I'd hate him.  He is completely unlikable in this arc.

Now I know, maybe I'm spoiled by being able to buy a saga on DVD and watch it entirely the way through without stopping and having to wait for a week, but between the poorer quality animation in this first arc and my general distaste of cliffhangers, this is not boding well for my enjoyment of the series.

The only positive things I can say about this arc are about the English voice acting, and the early hints on what will be on full display later in the show with Goku.  Sean Schemmel, Chris Sabat, Kyle Herbert, Meredith McCoy, Colleen Clinkerbeard...they've been doing these characters for over a decade, and they know the characters very well.  They're experienced, they're dynamic, and they always a joy to listen to.

And as for my second point about Goku's characterization, you can see a LOT of early hints when it comes to future arcs.  His selfishness is on full display, and you can tell right from the start that he cares more about his fight with Beerus than he does about the fate of the Earth.  Oh yeah, the fate of the Earth is in his thoughts, but it's more "They make good food there!" and less "There's billions of lives down there!" Very inline with Toriyama's view of Goku's character.

All in all, I agree with a LOT of people when I say they should have just skipped this arc, as well as the Resurrection F arc, and just done new stuff. Granted, it would have left the few people, like myself, who didn't see the movies in the cold, but they could have easily done a whole "the story that came before" thing like they do before every episode. 

At this point, I'm going to just go with a review episode by episode.  And once I get to Episode 27, I'm going to link to the videos of MasakoX, the voices of Goku and Gohan in Team Four Star's Dragon Ball Z Abridged.  That will also give us an idea how far ahead the Japanese version of Super is from the English dub.

But for now, look forward to my review of Episode 14 of Dragon Ball Super next week, check out my referral code if you're a SWTOR player, and stay beautiful freaks!