Mass Effect Retrospective 11: Does the first game still stack up?

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

So I've been going through the trilogy again recently, and I realized that the first game came out on my birthday in 2007.  So that means that, this November, it turns 9 years old.  That means a lot of you guys who read this were still playing with action figures, toy vehicles and dolls when this game came out.  This makes me think about two things; how old I'm getting, and how the series has changed since 2007.

So, for this post, I'm going to compare Mass Effect 1 to three other Bioware games; Jade Empire, an action-RPG that came out two years earlier, and the third game in the franchise, which perfected the system that Mass Effect 1 introduced and Mass Effect 2 refined, with a little bit of the things I don't like about Dragon Age: Inquisition's mechanics.

Now, Mass Effect has been billed as an action-RPG, and this means it follows certain aspects of both genres.  Combat is fast paced and real time, and special abilities are used via a quickbar or power wheel, instead of combos that you normally see in an action game.  Now, Bioware was building off concepts they introduced in Jade Empire, their first action-RPG, two years earlier.  Granted, I can safely assume that ME1 had been in production while Jade Empire was being finished, but still, they saw what worked in JE and implemented it in ME.

Now, what Jade Empire introduced was a "style system" where you chose between unarmed, weapon, magic, support and transformation styles, and used those in combat in different ways.  However, unlike ME1, Jade Empire's system allowed you to be competitive in combat without putting any points into the styles.  You could go into the final boss fight with the Legendary Strike unarmed style at its most basic form and not have any problem, depending on the difficulty.  ME1? Not so much.  Between recoil and abilities being locked out if you don't have enough points in other abilities, ME1 is more difficult than it has to be at low levels, even on the easiest setting.  That's not to say that it's hard at all, but it's more difficult to hit things than it is in the games to come.

Another thing that was done better in the in the next two games is squad control.  Now, I don't have the PC version, but on the console ones, both squadmates are controlled with one button on the controller.  This makes it difficult to send your tank character into battle to soak up fire while you line up your shots, especially when you consider that your enemies run and gun in the first game.  And, as we can tell from the next two games in the series, this was not the intention of the developers.  They wanted you to fight from cover and maneuver the battlefield tactically, but the ME1 engine was not built for that.  This got better with the next games, but this was a huge misstep in this first one.  Especially when you consider that, in previous Bioware games, and the Dragon Age series to come, you could switch between your character and your companion, but, like Jade Empire, the side characters are not as important as the playable character.

Now, in order to get the good abilities, this game, and Dragon Age Inquisition 7 years later, required quite a bit of grinding in order to get the good stuff for your character.  The game gets really fun about 30 levels in, which gives you a good range of low recoil weapons, better armors with good shields, and a wide assortment of powers, and a specialization at level 20.  But you've got to hit planet after planet of side quest in order to get that xp.  Don't get me wrong, side quests are a part of RPGs, but ME1 did them badly.  They require you to drive through huge areas in the damn Mako, which never controlled as Bioware intended.  And Bioware brought back a mechanic that wasn't that good in Inquisition, and gave you a vehicle again to traverse it, this time, a mount.  And it worked about as well as ME1's system.

Don't get me wrong; it's still a very good game. Great story with no missteps there.  Very few glitches, none game breaking outside when the Mako flips over.  But it's not as good mechanically as the next games in the series.  And I can't blame them for using bits of a system that worked so well in Jade Empire. But what worked in a martial arts action-RPG didn't work as well in a military shooter action-RPG. 

With all that said though, even though it is very flawed compared to what we have now, I still advise you play it.  It sets up story points in the next two, and you can't complete a quest in the third one without a certain side quest this one in a satisfying manner.  But I find that this game takes longer for me to complete get the side quests out of the way in order get to the stuff I like, which was my main complaint for Dragon Age Inquistion, as well.

That said, even without the nostalgia right there, ME1 is an enjoyable ride.  It does a lot well, and it even gives you a New Game +, which helps out in a second time through.  So, if you want to get into Mass Effect, play this game first.  Not only does it set up the universe, but it makes you appreciate the refinements made in the second and third game.  I'd even recommenced Jade Empire, due to how well it controls.

For now, check out my SWTOR referral code, and stay beautiful freaks!

http://www.swtor.com/r/8vl8L5

SWTOR Character Tales: Unrevealed Second Names

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den! Today, I'm going to talk about the names of my characters. In particular, parts of their names that are unrevealed.

This has actually been mulling around in my head since Cavik brought up how he thought Amelisan was mononymous; that is, she only has that first part of her name.  I gave her the surname of "Strannos", because it was needed in the future.  And as of late, this got me thinking about the other characters who just happen to be currently mononymous.  So, even though their names won't show up in the stories, I'm here to reveal all characters' second parts of their names!  (Or the reason why they don't have one/don't use one. :P)

Ragdat: Ragdat does not have a last name.  The Rattataki are tribal by nature, and Ragdat has been away from his tribe for so long that he no longer feels a connection to it, and thus, no connection to the "clan name" they gave him. 

Adaso and Colmallus: They both have the same surname, but they do not use them, because doing so would take away from what they're supposed to represent.  So "Adaso of House Adaso" and "Colmallus of clan Mallus" are what they go by.

Darth Nox: Technically, she has two. The first is the obvious "Kallig", but the second ties in with twi'lek naming conventions.  Technically, her name, by Earth standards, would be "Koyi Shak", but she utilized the twi'lek naming convention of joining her personal and clan names together.

Vedere Marr: No explanation needed here. :)

Maircus Renfer

Curoda: By the point in the story where it would matter, it would be "Riggs", as she'll have been married to Corso for several years.

Allisani: She's kind of interesting, since she follows the Chiss naming convention of family name, personal name and clan name.  So her full name would be Gua'llisan'ireshoth, with "Allisani" being the part of the name that others would consider the "first name".

Amelisan Strannos

 Vizhdam Pucat

Chas'Raan: Conforms to the twi'lek naming convention.

Gentugo: He does not lay claim to to any last name due to the life he has lived; from slave to escaped slave to slave again to consort of Darth Nox, so he really has no connection to anyone but his family.

Tavella Corray

Mamine: She can lay no claim to any family name or clan name, due to her exile.

Suthazi Rushir

Yokonari: Technically, it is Kutswi, but due to events happening between the end of Shadow of Revan and the beginning of KOTFE, she rejects it.

Casek: He claimed Yokonari's surname as his own, but rejected it for the same reasons.

Anstrisil Khidin

Azulini and Hardatt: No family to call their own, no clan or tribes to claim them, so they are 
mononymous.

Some of these were more difficult than others; I couldn't really find any naming convention for Sith.  But even if a character's second name is never revealed, here they are.

For now, stay beautiful freaks!

20 years of Pokemon: An outsider's perspective

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den!  As most of you know, Pokemon turns 20 this year, in Japan at least.  In the west, it turned 18, due to it being released in 1998.  But still, that's impressive.  Few kid friendly franchises have both the worldwide appeal or lasting power of Pokemon.

However, I never got into the series.  When Pokemon came out in 1998 in the west, I was 15.  I was more leaning toward games like Mortal Kombat and Doom, violent and "edgy" games as I tried to reject all things "kiddy".  There also wasn't a gameboy in my household either until I graduated high school in 2001.

I didn't actually pick up Pokemon game until 2004, with FireRed for the GBA, mostly because I was traveling a lot for the military.  I wanted an RPG that could get me through long plane rides and downtime with no tv or internet access.

So by that point, I wasn't thinking about how cute these monsters were, or about the journey, or any of that.  I captured a lot of Pokemon specifically for dungeons, gym battles and the elite four.  I was minmaxing, building teams to soak up damage and exploit weaknesses of my foes.  I never named them, I never bothered to form a bond with them.  I also never EV trained them, due to me not knowing about that metagame aspect at the time.  The only Pokemon I kept in my team the whole time was my Blastoise, due to it being able to soak up damage while I learned strategies.

FireRed was both my first and last Pokemon game.  I stopped traveling a year later due to getting out of the Air Force, and my GBA eventually broke.  So I'm not really a fan of it today, though I have kept up on it a bit.

But that doesn't mean I don't recognize the significance of the series.  Pokemon has brought people together in ways I'd have never thought possible when I was a kid.  My brother told me about how kids with a link cable became the popular kids on the playground due to the games requiring trading to get certain evolutions.  And today, with wifi, you can trade with people all over the world!  And that's not even counting the trading card game, side games, toys, and all the other stuff.

Pokemon is big, and for a good reason.  It's upbeat, and, like Pope John Paul II, it is “full of inventive imagination,”and does not have “any harmful moral side effects” and was based on “ties of intense friendship".  It's a fun game that is both simple and surprisingly deep, bringing people of all ages and nationalities together.  It deserves its popularity, and it deserves this celebration Nintendo is having for it.

So happy anniversary, Pokemon! Here's to 20 more years of friendship and fun!

Assassin's Den Reviews: Undertale

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

Today, I'm going to talk about an indie game that's made the rounds on Youtube over the last four months;

Released on September 15, 2015 by developer Toby Fox, Undertale is a game that's basically a callback to 1990s JRPGs (the Mother series in particular), but with a twist.  Not only does it remember what you've done whether or not you've saved your progress, but you can complete the entire game without killing anything. 

Developer Toby Fox started out as a forum moderator of Earthbound fansite and music developer for Earthbound fan music.  He was also know for Earthbound fan hacks before developing Undertale. 

Now, I have to talk a little about Earthbound before going on to Undertale.  Long story short, Earthbound is part 2 of the three part Mother series in Japan, but due to Nintendo not really knowing how to market JRPGs in the west at the time of Earthbound's release, it didn't get the attention it deserved.  Fast forward to Super Smash Brothers Melee in 2001, which had Ness, Earthbound's protagonist, as a playable fighter, and Earthbound began to gain some renown.  But Nintendo of America (and by Proxy, Europe), weren't having fans' newfound appreciation for this quirky JRPG, even refusing to translate and release Mother 3 five years later.  Yes, Earthbound fans did eventually get an Earthbound re-release for the Wii U virtual console, but it's far from what fans wanted.

Which loops back around to Undertale.  Toby Fox was inspired by Mother 3, and its fan translation, to make Undertale's system, which is a huge focus of this review.  You see, there's both an active and passive RPG interface; in order hit and do damage in combat, you have to hit the hot spot on a bar.  And in order to dodge attacks, you actually need to dodge the bullets.  It's an interesting combat system that keeps you on your toes.

And speaking of combat, the second big focus of it is whether or not you kill anything.  Without spoiling the story, whether or not you kill has effects on the game.  Characters react on whether or not you kill, and whom you kill.  A complete Pacifist run is different than a Genocide run. 

Another interesting thing about this game is the Save system.  It always mentions something "Determination" when you hit a save point, which actually applies to the story of the game.  Yes, saving your game isn't just a game mechanic. It is integral to the plot of the game.

The basic story of this game is thus; you are a human child who fell into the Underground.  You meet all kinds of interesting characters and monsters along your quest go get out.  Along the way, you learn about how the monsters came to be in the Underground (you actually learn that in the opening crawl), and how they plan on getting back onto the surface.

Now, here's the interesting thing about this game; you actually need to complete it 3 times in order to see the whole story.  Once on the Neutral path, which unlocks the "True Pacifist Path", once on the True Pacifist path, and once on the Genocide path.  The Neutral path allows you to get to know the characters, the game mechanics and the consequences of your actions.  The True Pacifist path allows you to see the best ending of the game and get the full story of how the Monsters planned on getting out of the Underground, and the Genocide path gives you the story of the fallen human.  But the Genocide path's ending irrevocably changes the ending of the True Pacifist path, so don't finish that before the True Pacifist path if you want to see how that ending's supposed to be.  (There are ways to remove the "Genocide" flag from the games files, and you can find that in a lot of place on the internet, so it's not TOO bad if you screwed up.)

As for my analysis; I like this game.  I like the story, I like the characters, I like the music.  However, I could take or leave the battle system.  I am terrible at bullet hell games, so combat is very difficult for me.  The combat alone is why I'll never be able to finish the Genocide path. Two bosses are impossible for me; Undyne the Undying and Sans.  I managed to get past Undyne the Undying by luck, but Sans requires skill that I just don't have.  So I had to resolve myself to reset and play the pacifist and neutral paths.

Anyway, despite my personal problem with the combat, it is great game.  It's worth your time to play through multiple times due to way the game handles flags.  Second, third, fourth, etc, playthroughs have subtle differences in dialogue and the way you interact with characters.

Undertale is 10 dollars on Steam, and it is well worth the price.  Go get it if you're interested in non-traditional JRPGs.  But for now, stay beautiful freaks!

SWTOR Character Tales personal arcs: Rise of Mamine Universe

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

Now, it's time for the White Knight Universe's character arc.

Mamine: Redeemable, then Redemption.  First, Mamine believed that she could be a Dark Jedi while remaining true and loyal to the Republic and her people.  But after being exiled, she realized that she needs to change her ways. 

Yokonari: Shattered world view.  For Yokonari, the world was supposed to be simple. She was light, the Sith were dark, and she protected the Empire's citizens from the worst of the Sith.  But after the White Knights betrayal of her after Mamine disappeared, she's seen the futility in following the Light.  And she's going to make people pay for what they did to her.

Casek: Fighting through the pain.  Between what Casek has fought through during the game's story and what happened to him and Yokonari in the time jump, Casek has fought through a LOT of pain.  And now, he's using his pain as power.  No one will hurt him or Yokonari again.

Anstrisil: Frustration.  Very few people trust Anstrisil in the Republic due to his species, the Empire see him as a traitor, and only a handful of people seek him out for guidance.  It seems that only those whose lives you have directly affected, like the members of the Rift Alliance, your crew, Yokonari, Casek and Mamine, trust you implicitly.  And you are getting tired of it all.

Suthazi: Hope.  As a child, Suthazi was found out to have two conditions; the hamask gene to cause her to go berserk easily, and Force sensitivity.  She'd been taught her entire life that she needs to avoid the pull of the Dark Side and be better than her genes want to make her.  But she won't give up. She will take Mamine's example and reject the Dark Side, all while remaining true to herself and her people.

Azulini: Savage in a modern jungle.  She takes what she wants from people; money, weapons, sex, and gives nothing back.  The only thing that matters is her own pleasure and her own survival.  The only time she's ever close to kind is with her husband.  He made her feel something more than just a desire to survive, and she'll defend him to the death.

Hardatt: Indulgence.  There's more to existence than survival, and Hardatt wants to experience it all.  And he's going to experience it all with Azulini by his side.

I won't be doing this for the Twins universe.  There's really not much to go there anyway.

For now, stay beautiful freaks!

SWTOR Character Tales personal arcs: Ragdat's Darkest Day Universe

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

I had an interesting thought as I was sleeping last night about each character's personality that I've written and am going to write.  A while back, I gave my interpretation of the Mass Effect characters character arcs across the trilogy, and I though about what the arcs of my SWTOR Character Tales characers would be.  Here's what I came up with, and I'd like to see how well this has come across, or in the case of those who have had little screen time, will come across in the future.

Ragdat: Warrior for a cause.  Ragdat loves to fight, but he'd always felt hollow without a reason TO fight.  Darth Vich gave him a purpose, and after that, the Jedi Order.  And being named a Battlemaster has given a true purpose; he is the restless defender of peace, though he will never experience it himself.  He will fight for those who cannot defend themselves, and spend his every waking moment in preparation for the next battle.

Vedere:  Wisdom beyond her years.  A lifetime of preparation to join the Jedi Order, as well as what she had learned on Katarr and many other places have made people, Vedere herself sometimes, forget how young she is.  She has counseled many in her short time in the Order, and cares for all those who come to her in time of need.  That said, she's still barely an adult, and has not had all the time she's needed to hone the skills she needs to survive her coming trials.

Adaso:  Dark Paladin.  Holding to a strict code of honor and carrying a concept of chivalry, Adaso uses his power in service of his house, his Empire and his Emperor in that order.  He cares for those under his charge, but will not hesitate to punish them if they displease him.  And he will bring down vengeance upon those who would dare strike against anyone who would dare hurt those he's pledge to.

Darth Nox: Successful ambition.  Darth Nox never thought that her craving for more would ever be sated, but the Sith Empire has done so.  They give her a chance at power, at status, at wealth, and she has greedily taken everything she's been given, and more.  But that's still not enough for her sensibilities.  She's succeeded at every point when it came to what she'd craved as a slave, so she sees no reason to stop now that she has everything.

Maircus: Law man.  Maircus has never liked seeing criminals hurt people, and he's liked seeing them go free even less.  So he's taken his titles of Mandalore's Chosen, Grand Champion of the Great Hunt, Republic Federal Marshall and Slayer of Darth Tormen and is using them to do what he set out to do as a bounty hunter in the first place; to be the figure that can cross any border, to go to any planet and bring down anyone who would harm the innocent, whether they are Sith, Jedi, Hutt or just some dumb thug who thinks they have have that right.

And here's the final picture for him; the armor set that I was looking to get when I found the Mando Hunter armor, but was just outside my price range at the time.  Now, he's finally got the shoulder pads and jetpack I wanted at the start!

Amelisan: Humanity in the face of warfare.  Amelisan is tough.  Vowing to bring down the Sith Empire, she's steeled herself for battle over the years she's been fighting.  And she's good at it; she's taken down targets that no other soldier would dream of and many of her commanders thought impossible. But inside, she's still the the girl that lost everything that mattered to her during the Sacking of Coruscant, and she's been trying to fill the void ever since.

Curoda: Caught in the winds of destiny.  It seems that no matter what you've done since Arwen got sick, it's always led you into something else.  Nok Drayen's Treasure, the Voidwolf, Pirate Queen, and now the Alliance, Curoda has always felt that she's not really in control of her fate.  However, she's not letting that, or anything else, get her down.  She's doing what she can with the hand that fate has dealt her, and does some good with everything she's got.

Allisani: Anti-human spymaster.  After what the Empire did to her combined with their disdain of non-humans, Allisani has really built up a distaste for that species.  She feels she must protect the rest of the galaxy from them, and to free them from human oppression.  But that doesn't mean she won't give them a chance as individuals. But she's met very few that have gotten through her distaste for humanity.

Colmallus: Educated Loyalty. Colmallus, while no longer actually part of his brother's house, still wants to see him succeed. And that means two things; giving him forces to command and advising him. Somethimes, whether Adaso likes your advice or not.  And even though he was named heir for a reason, you're not going to let him make a stupid mistake with your family's name in any way, shape or form.

Vizhdam:  Great Protector.  Vizhdam has seen enough pain in this galaxy to know that people need to be able to defend themselves.  He trains the members of the Jedi Order in lightsaber combat, those outside the Order with blasters, and defends those who do not have the ability to take up a weapon.  Special care has gone to his childhood friend Vedere, who, while very experienced in use of the Force in combat, is far from the best duelist.

Chas'Raan: Success despite inferiority complex.  Chas'Raan has spent all her life trying to live up to her own standards, but she just can't reach them sometimes.  She lacks the ability to use the Force for for telekinesis, so she must rely on her armor, lightsaber and her unique ability of energy absorption, which has made her a great defender of others.  But even with all that she's done, even with all the people she's helped and the battles she's won, she still doesn't feel that she's doing enough.  And she will never stop trying.

Tavella: Dark researcher.  Tavella cares nothing for the politics of the Sith.  The only thing that excites her passions is the eternal quest for knowledge.  But just because she's sedate does not mean she rejects the Dark Side.  Far from it; some of the things she's been interested in require extensive knowledge of the Dark Side in order to utilize and understand.

Gentugo: I really have nothing for him.

I'm going to break this into the three universes, because this post is rather long.  Tell me if these characters have come across as I've posted, and if they aren't, I'll make an effort to showcase their mindset a little better.  This obviously doesn't mean much for the "side characters", since they'll be better developed when KOTFE finally rolls in.

For now, stay beautiful freaks!

Assassin's Den Reviews: The Force Awakens

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den!  It's time to review the newest Star Wars movie, the Force Awakens!  Now, I warn you, there will be spoilers, but I'll try to keep them to a medium level.

Now, people have been saying that this movie feels like Episode 4, and both my dad and I agree.  It brings back what we loved about Episodes 4-6 while dropping the baggage of 1-3.  No mention of the Clone Wars, Dooku or midiclorians.  On top of that, they've turned both Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker into beings of myth and legend.  Heck, the lightsaber that the two men shared, in essence, became the "item of power" for the main hero.  The Force has been made mystical and mysterious again.  No trade conflicts, no conspiracy, no gungans, just a story about a young reluctant hero being forced to become the hero the galaxy needs her to be.

That's right; in the tone of Disney's badass princess and J.J. Abrams tendency to make stories about badass women, the hero of the story is Rey, a woman from the planet Jakku.    Portrayed by British Actress Daisy Ridley, Rey shows little girls of this generation that they can be a hero, no matter what anyone says.

Now, time for spoilers.  30 years have past since the end of Return of the Jedi, and while the galaxy isn't in the same dire straits as it was during the Rebellion, it is in trouble.  The First Order, a dark side cult dedicated to a lot of the principles of Palpatine's Empire, is searching for Luke Skywalker, the "Last Jedi" as he's called in the opening crawl, seeking to finish Palpatine and Vader's quest to wipe out the Jedi.  The Resistance, an offshoot of the New Republic military, is led by General Leia Organa, fought back against the First Order and is keeping Luke's location a secret by splitting up the map and keeping it safe.

The major focus of the movie is that of Finn, a First Order Stormtrooper deserter, and Rey, a scavenger on Jakku who has the Force in her.  She gets caught up in the adventure when Finn gets Poe Dameron, a Resistance pilot, off the First Order base, who had previously given his droid, BB-8, the missing piece of the map to Luke Skywalker.  At first, Rey doesn't want to get involved, wanting to return to Jakku after getting BB-8 to the Resistance, even rejecting the item of power that is the lightsaber, but when the chips are down and her friends are threatened, she steps up and accepts her destiny, actively using powers she'd been using instinctively since childhood.  And, much like Luke before her, she seems to be a prodigy with a lightsaber, being able to beat a wounded Kylo Ren in a lightsaber duel, even rejecting the Dark Side's pull to kill him.

Now, I won't beat around the bush with this; Kylo Ren is Ben Solo, the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, grandson of Darth Vader.  And the mythical figure of Darth Vader is who he looks up to; he rejects the light legacy of his mother and uncle, and embraces the Dark Side like his grandfather did.  He's even the reason Luke went into exile; Luke was trying to rebuild the Jedi Order and Ben was one of his students.  But Luke's lessons didn't take, and Ben murdered Luke's other students.  Luke, feeling a failure, went into exile, and that's where we are at this point; Rey needs Jedi training, and Luke is the only place to get it.

This movie feels good. It pays homage to what we've loved about the franchise and reminds us that someone out there still cares about where the franchise is going.  Some people are upset that it doesn't conform to the previous Expanded Universe canon, but honestly, it feels right. Disney did away with the the baggage of the Yuuzhan Vong, the Killiks, Darth Jacen Solo (I know Kylo Ren fulfills his role, but he's not Jacen Solo. He wasn't lied to in order to be come Sith. Hell, he's not even Sith at all.  He's more of a Dark Jedi who wants to emulate Vader.  That's the whole reason for his mask!).  It focuses on the story of the characters, and is not trying to make the bad guy sympathetic.  But even then, it succeeds; Kylo Ren is sympathetic because he's trying to be bad, but isn't, unlike his grandfather, who was trying to be good, but wasn't.

All in all, I enjoyed Episode 7.  It felt like Star Wars, something that you couldn't really say about 1-3.  (Yeah, 3 was good, but it didn't feel like 7 does.)  I'm looking forward to what Disney and J.J. Abrams bring to the table with Episode 8 and 9.

But for now, stay beautiful freaks!