A Fallout of Epic Proportions

Welcome to Earth, 2277. It has been two hundred and three years since the Great War, a battle that has destroyed the entire world. You are a Courier in the Mojave Wasteland, a land filled with war and death. Two main factions constantly battle for control over this land: The New Californian Republic (NCR) and Caesar's Legion.

As well, the natives of the land inhabit New Las Vegas, more commonly known as New Vegas. This is the namesake of the videogame we talk about today, "Fallout: New Vegas". The game starts you off by getting shot in the face as you look the end of your mail-delivering days in the eye and say "Bite me." Naturally, being the main character, you survive this dark ordeal and wake up about a week later, deciding to trade in your mailbag for a nine millimeter pistol.

As an open world game, you get to travel the Mojave Wastes, battling your way through the fallout of the nuclear war that had happened two hundred years prior to the game. The game has several things to do, and multiple skillsets for different abilities for each individual playthrough. This doesn't mean you can ONLY have a Lockpicking Skill in one playthrouh; in fact, by the end of my main playthrough, I had all but three skillsets maxed out.

The initial Level Cap is 30, just like it was in Fallout. However, with each DLC you get, your cap gets raised by Five Levels. That is five whole levelups to apply! More skills to max out! The most lovely thing I'd ever heard of.

Not only that, but each DLC has it's own deep storyline to follow, all leading up to who you (The Mojave Courier) really are. The story and ending revolves around who you choose to be, who you choose as your friends and enemies, and how dedicated you are to the cause of saving the Mojave Wasteland from whatever you perceive the greatest threat to it to be. You can even be the greatest threat to the Mojave, as anyone and everyone in the game is...well, fair game. Anyone can be killed, and everyone can be killed. But there are consequences to these decisions.

The Symbol of the NCR--a Two Headed Bear

If you kill a quest-giver, or someone related to a quest that needed to be alive for it, you naturally are no longer capable of completing that quest. So maybe exterminating all life in the Mojave is a bad idea. That said, there are many, MANY quests that, even at the Level Cap of 50, I have not done. You can find a lot of quests in close to anywhere in the Mojave, but beware, doing these quests can be a bad idea at times.

You see, this game isn't just "Good and Evil" like Fallout 3 was. This game entails a large variety of Reputation. What is Reputation, you may ask. Why, Reputation is how a faction sees you! Not everyone in the Mojave will see you the same way: for instance, if you are a stout follower of the NCR, and help them wherever you can, their enemies, the Legion, are not going to be very fond of you. Vice versa, as well. However, there are several communities in the Mojave who will all have their own opinions of your actions through the Mojave--everything between being Idolized to being Vilified by a nation.

Concept Art of the Legion slavers

There is still a Karma system, which is really just saying that you are a good or a bad guy. You may notice you have a title somewhere in  your Pip-Boy, the game's GUI system. That title is based off of two things: Level, and Karma. The top three titles are "Messiah", "True Mortal", and "Devil". 

All of these choices, all of these communities, all of these consequences and ideas lead to some very interesting ending scenarios, with great rarity on repetition. Being one of my nice guy games, I always did my best to be my best, and help everyone, so I got some pretty positive endings. I still have two endings I need to see, being "Side with NCR for the war" and "Side with Legion for the war", as I have already made an Independent New Vegas and a House-Ruled New Vegas as two characters.

The DLC's all have their own endings, as well. I will briefly describe each DLC, as they are all good and are definitely worth a look over.

Dead Money: 

You have been kidnapped by Elder Elijah, formerly of the Brotherhood of Steel. Forced to navigate the deadly Sierra Madre Casino and it's outskirts, it is up to you to gather a deadly team out of your fellow inmates and escape this crisis situation. New weapons and companions will aid you as you navigate the deadly terrain, filled with toxic gas and a new kind of Ghoul called a "Ghost Person".

Honest Hearts:

After returning to your Courier roots and deciding that maybe you better remember that you are, in fact, a Courier and not a genocide machine as many people play him as, you head up with the Happy Trails Caravan for a job all the way to New Canaan. However, you are headed off at Zion National Park by tribal bandits, killing everyone but your badass genocide machine self. After allying yourself with the natives of the Park, you find new weapons and enemies in this new area as you try and find your way back to the Mojave. You also get to meet Joshua Graham, known as "The Burned Man" by the Legion, a barely-living legend who is still skilled in combat.

Old World Blues: 

Kidnapped again by scientists, you awake at a dangerous area known as "Big  Mountain". The natives call it the "Big Empty" because "Mountain" abbreviates to "MT" and people phonetically tried to figure this one out. So? You've been in dangerous places before. You now find out you have to help your kidnappers to get something very important back. What could be so important, you ask? That's why you need it back! To find out. There actually is a reason described, but for suspenseful reasons you need to get this DLC to find out.

Lonesome Road:

You get a mysterious message from a man named "Ulysses" saying to go to an area known as "The Great Divide". The Great Divide is a highly dangerous area, filled with radiation and highly destructive winds. A highly lethal place that makes the Mojave seem like a pleasant place to live in. It is here, in the Great Divide, that you learn of your past and who you were before the bullet to your noggin back at the beginning of the game. You have to find Ulysses in the Divide, and settle matters with him once and for all. Whether those matters be peaceful, or end up with Ulysses' corpse is up to you. After settling matters with him, you have to make a choice that would change the Mojave Wasteland forever.








The graphics, however, are outdated. Using the same engine as Fallout 3, it naturally has all the same problems that Fallout 3 had; frequent crashes, not too good looking character models. However, other than those small problems, this is a very good game, and I recommend it highly.

Until next time, I post, peace! Remember that the Elder Scrolls: Skyrim comes out 11/11/11, and Assassin's Creed Revelations only four days after! My wallet is certainly in pain just thinking about it.

Four Against the World

So if you ever got caught in a zombie apocalypse, what would you do? Why, find all of your still-alive friends and team up of course! Many hands make a lighter load, after all. It isn't as though you're going to survive every zombie there is alone, even if you are armed to the teeth with military-grade weaponry and immense piles of ammunition everywhere you go. In the case of the latest game I have been thinking about, "Left 4 Dead" and "Left 4 Dead 2", I am going to say it was a good idea from the start.

The "No Mercy" poster, the first campaign
in Left 4 Dead 1. Pay attention and it looks
like Zoey has three hands.

This isn't the first predominantly multiplayer game I've played, for those of you remembering the second post ever on this blog about "Army of Two: The Fortieth Day". Due to it being predominantly multiplayer for the platforms of Xbox 360, PS3, and PC, it is naturally a very lonely game to play on your own, though the AI is really all you need to play.

Let's start talking about Left 4 Dead 1. This game, like it's successor, plays out in various campaigns that are advertised like movies. It is an interesting concept--the end game results play out like movie credits, and while waiting for it to load you get a different movie poster for each campaign.

You start off and get a brief overview of everything. This is a game by Valve, a company that likes to introduce segments of the story at a time and make it so only a keen observer can see the whole thing. A process which increases replay value a surprising amount.

Now back to the game, since I keep getting distracted by preparing you for the game. It starts by asking you which character you want: in Left 4 Dead 1, your character choices are: Bill, a Vietnam Veteran who's been looking for a meaning to his life. Francis, a biker punk who sees the Apocalypse as "The world's biggest bar fight". Louis, a laid back businessman who worked out once in a while (has a pill addiction according to the internet) and Zoey, a Gamer chick who used to go to college before all hell broke loose.

Naturally I picked Louis. He's a badass. The game starts and my basic loadout is a pistol with unlimited ammunition and an automatic weapon, tier one. I swapped out for a shotgun that was just conveniently  on a table. Francis was anxious, so I shot him before realizing Friendly Fire was on. Well, bad start, sorry Francis, I thought, before opening the door and going down to the apartment complex.

A few zombies, nothing bad. From the CGI I was expecting a "Tank", a gigantic steroid zombie, to be waiting down on the streets, which was kind of why the characters started on a roof. We make it down to the streets and I realize that it is probably not the best idea to waste all my shotgun ammo at once when I have a pistol with unlimited ammunition.

Apparently why Zoey shot the car.

We reached the first "Safehouse", or checkpoint in the level at last after Zoey shot a car and set off a car alarm. She was caught in the zombie horde so I left her, and everyone else, behind while bolting for the safehouse. If they don't feel like living, fine by me. So Bill and Francis miraculously survive due to Zoey dying and them no longer caring, (Louis cried out in agony as Zoey died. I sense fanfics all over the internet) so they ran to the safehouse.

So we start the second part of the campaign, and I start reading things on the wall. In Apocalypses, the Internet and forums and chats are replaced by painting on the wall and hoping the intended recipient stops long enough to see them. After amusing myself a bit, I realized that Zoey had respawned in the safehouse, and patted myself on the back for not caring for the stupid car-alarm activating zombie attracting female. I slapped Bill and Francis for caring and trying to help. Yes, you can smack things, it makes reloading in the middle of a horde attack a lot easier. And when you have stupid companions who care for other stupid companions.

After whacking around my companions for a bit, enjoying my safehouse paradise for a little while, and debating whether to leave or not (on singleplayer, of course), I finally decided to start killing zombies from the safehouse door. They just sit there, putting their arms through the bars, like they're waiting for us to kill them. Why not pull out my shottie and pick them off? I have unlimited ammo as long as I am in the safehouse.

After some more amusement, we went through the subways, running around and killing zombies. We ran into a tank at what was known as a Crescendo Event, where zombies just start charging in from everywhere. After the Crescendo event (and Francis' unfortunate demise) we blew up a gas station once going topside.

Zoey died again and I finally made it to the safehousse with Bill. The rest of the campaign was running through a sewer to get to the hospital, and fighting through it. After encountering a whole host of zombie menace, such as the Smoker, a zombie with a boa constrictor tongue, the Hunter, who would disembowel their foes, a Witch which has near one hit kills, and a Boomer which can attract more zombies to the scene, I was thoroughly impressed by the time we almost escaped the hospital by helicopter. Only Francis got on the copter, everyone else got caught by a Freak Tank Accident, and we died.

But hey, Francis survived! The guy I shot survived the apocalypse...for now.

The second campaign of Left 4 Dead 2, showcasing that
all of the characters are, indeed, tall enough to die.

Now for Left 4 Dead 2. The game isn't all that different, in reality, save for a bit wider variety of bombs now accessible to the party. A new cast of characters now tries to survive their own zombie apocalypse, before and after the events of Left 4 Dead 1.

The first campaign of Left 4 Dead 2 is called "Dead Center", which is similar to Left 4 Dead's first campaign in a few aspects: First, it starts on a rooftop with the characters desperately wishing they had a helicopter. Second, it involves diving headfirst into the zombie horde to get to a public center (mall, hospital, what's the difference?) where they are expecting a rescue to be possible. The differences start when you get to the rooftop of the public place. In Left 4 Dead 1, there actually is a rescue waiting. In Left 4 Dead 2, you and your partners end up being left behind again once reaching the rooftop.

Your character is one of four, like the original game. Your characters are: Nick, a gambling alcoholic mafia wannabe kind of guy. Rochelle, a news reporter that got caught up in all this. Coach, the nameless fat PE teacher who unites the four like a family, and Ellis, my favorite, the redneck hillbilly kid that has all sorts of stories that may or may not be embellished.

Ellis, being my favorite character, is the one I picked, naturally. So we battled our way to the mall, after learning about the new Special Zombies: the Jockey, a zombie that will ride on your shoulders and drag you away from your group, and a Spitter which breaks up concentrations of Survivors with their acid spit.

After some banter while in an elevator, the group introduces themselves to eachother. Ellis then realizes that there is a racecar driver's racecar on the ground floor of the shopping mall, with tanks of gas that conveniently happen to be lying around for just such an occasion. After the mall scramble, Coach got caught by a Charger, which is like a Tank but with one arm instead of two. Ignoring his death and waiting for Nick and Rochelle to give up trying to save him, I wait by the car, patiently killing enemies as they attack me.

Finally, everyone else dies but me, and the game registers me as the only survivor of the Mall Massacre. Sweet! I survived. Now I'm alone...so did I really want to survive? I predict that I'd be dead if I helped Coach and Nick and Rochelle, but I am alive now. Ethics don't exist in zombie Apocalypses. They don't, I swear!

Actual in-game screenshot

The game is an absolute must-play with plenty of replay value for storylovers like myself. However, the game gets very repetitive, especially because it does not change very much between the first and the second game. It ends up being "Run through this area, kill zombies, stay alive", which, while staying true to genre, makes for a depressing game after a while.

But wait! There's more. Online, there is a "Vs Mode" which allows one team to play as the zombies. This was true for both games. VS mode is an interesting twist, as on the Survivor Team, the Special Zombies are no longer as predictable, (depending on player, of course), and especially, playing as a zombie.

Each different Special Zombie, or Special Infected, has their own unique HUD and abilities. Hunters pounce victims, Boomers puke, Jockeys grab, Spitters break up groups, Chargers smash the group apart one Survivor at a time, and it each different one has their own controls, making a refreshing playthrough. Though after a while, this too gets repetitive, especially because this is only available online. So you have to deal with other players and their droll...

So like I said, definitely worth a playthrough or two. Or four. It gets repetitive, though, so build up a good amount of patience beforehand.

Until next time I post, see ya around!

The Dragon's Second Age

Not too long ago I did a review of Dragon Age Origins, the article entitled "Damnit Bioware!" for those who wish to look back. Why am I bringing it up? Because I got my hands on and played Dragon Age II for the Xbox 360. Anyway, I started the game, expecting much the same thing I was when I played Dragon Age Origins...you know, crappy "Click and Go" navigation with a controller.

I am pleased to say that this, indeed, was not the case in Dragon Age II! They upgraded the graphics and combat system. So the game starts, and I pick a Rogue class (naturally) and the game begins, seemingly starting me with an arsenal of deadly moves and tomfoolery to kill an army. Me and one ally decided that Darkspawn was a nuisance, so I got a really good look at what was possible for my character in this playthrough.

Varric is awesome at bullshitting stories. Look at
Rod Hawke's awesome costume and weapons!

The combat system is no longer click-and-go, but especially as a rogue, it was hack n' slash to the extreme. You had to keep hitting the button to keep attacking, and moreover, it was overly satisfying to crush my opponents with lightning button-pushing skills. The abilities it started me with were all of them, but I preferred Miasmic Cloud, a skill that stunned a group of enemies for a short time, coupled with the ability called "Backstab", which teleports your character behind an enemy and causes a critical hit nearly every time.
After wasting legions of Darkspawn, the story takes another turn, with someone calling total BS on my asskickery. At first I was like, "What!?" then I was like "Oh..." as the story elaborated that it was, in fact, a recounting of the actual tale. The two characters, Varric and the Seeker, as she is called, are speaking. Well, Varric being interrogated, more like.



Anyway, after having BS called, my character, Roderick Bonesword Hawke, (Rod Hawke to his friends) was downleveled to Level One and I had to deal with having only Miasmic Cloud and Backstab. Conveniently, the two skills I felt most at home with. (And the two skills that carried me through the game, even though they were well-enhanced by the end)

So I finally fight my way out of Lothering with my family, decimating all Darkspawn in my way, and we are met with a Templar. "Cool," I thought. Then Rod Hawke did something I wasn't expecting...he TALKED. My character has a voice in this game! Then I found out I had an Apostate family, then I'm like, "Crap, I have to hate Templars now."

After a couple of waves of Darkspawn, an Ogre spawned and killed my last teammate, so I was left doing my Rogue-ey thing. Running like hell and using Miasmic Cloud and Backstab wherever possible, drinking Stamina Draughts like nothing before. So I finally win, first try, a lone Rogue, all by myself, then a nifty cutscene happens where a Dragon comes down and wipes out every Darkspawn nearby.

At first I was like "Damn, an Archdemon for the first boss?!" then it turned out to be Flemeth then I'm all like "Ha! I killed you in Dragon Age: Origins!" She saves my family's sorry arses, and I make a promise to do something for her. She's dead, right?

The story continues where my character basically becomes a slave for a year to live in the city of Kirkwall. A Templar City. A bunch of Apostates moving to a Templar city...absolute freaking genius. So a year passes and I am a little bit more badass for it. Then I have to muster 50 whole sovereigns, enough to buy me out of poverty, to join an expedition.

This is Fenris. He is abnormally badass. Don't mess with him.

So I do. I gain allies along the way: Anders the Grey Warden Mage, Fenris the Mage-Hating Lyrium Encrusted Badass, Varric the Storytelling Master, and an Elven Mage whose Name I forget at the moment. Anyway, we're all badasses and form the badass club of Kirkwall while venturing to the Deeproads to find ancient treasure.

We find it. Sadly.

So another timeskip, and I am a nobleman. AWESOME, I decide, and wave it around in criminal's faces as I promptly annihilate every gang in Kirkwall. Hey, why not? Make some Qunari friends, stand up for the oppressed, be the good guy. Little did I know that would cause a Religious War between the Qunari and Kirkwall. Caught in the middle, Rod Hawke had to slaughter his way through Qunari, Elves, and Mages, all the oppressed peoples he was protecting prior to that event, to get to the Arishok and hand his ass to him on a silver platter.

After the One Day Religious War, I decided to be an ass to the Templars anyway and decide I was going to still fight for the little man, even though they tried to kill me on multiple occasions. By the way, another timeskip and I am the Champion of Kirkwall! Ha-cha! The whole story is about Rod Hawke becoming that. I am glad they continued it after.

So Rod Hawke decides to go on another celebratory Crime Raid, slaughtering another couple of gangs. Keep in mind, this is all optional, I don't have to kill these criminals. I just do.

Woahwoahwoahwoah. I got this.

So then I find out that one of my assets has stopped communicating. Curious, I check it out to find the mine, what I was getting cashez from, attacked by a High Dragon, equivalent to an Archdemon. Roderick Bonesword Hawke would not stand for such blasphemy, and killed the dragon posthaste, teaching all dragons near and far he is not to be trifled with as he completed his Champion Armor.

Then I start yet another religious war and we find out what the whole story is about. Apparently being a dick like Roderick was, the Templars didn't like him. But being a crime fighter and philanthropist, always fighting for the little guy, I found an army where I wasn't really looking for it.

In short, Rod Hawke kicks ass, takes names, and goes home. He got lost somewhere in Varric's story...

Now the fun part is over, to the actual review. Dragon Age II did a good job of setting a unique perspective on the story, and was creative in manipulating that aspect. They didn't forget this was hindsight by a frequently bragging dwarf, and there are several times it shows. It makes for an intriguing story, though I was dismayed by the lack of class choice and past choice.

You can only choose the Human. Can't be an elf or a dwarf. Your past is always "Runs from Lothering like a pansy" and it makes for a stale opening. Dragon Age Origins had it right by allowing choice of race and class, as well as a reflexive past based upon your choices. However, Dragon Age Origins had a click and go feature that was promptly replaced by II's hack n' slash system.

The party is a lot better at fighting in general, and you have more in-depth Level Trees. It is a better RPG experience, in my mind, than DAO. However, DAO represented RPG in a better way, which was actually creating the role you were born to play.

In the end, I really enjoyed Dragon Age II. They got right what they got wrong last time, but they screwed up what they had going for them last time to do it. But hey, we all need to have a few faults here and there.

Until next time I post, peace

PS:
Also, let me know through one of my contacts (on the left, I believe) if you would like to see more of Roderick Bonesword Hawke's Adventures through Kirkwall and it's outlying areas, and I will dedicate an update to it everytime I can.

An RPG Niers...

Er...nears. Anyway, figured I'd post about Nier Gestalt, the American version of Nier. The Japanese one is called Nier: Replicant. Anyway, I started the game to hear a nice monologue full of curses--yup, definitely Square Enix's attempt at making an "M" rated game.

Feel my dark powers! FEEL THEM

The game starts at the beginning of humanity's end. You are Nier, protecting your daughter from hordes of dark monsters with a lead pipe. Armed with a tome of dark power, you are given an arsenal of powers that include skewering your enemies on pure energy and leaving them to die, or creating a gigantic hand made out of dark power and simply crush your enemies. With this book's power, you are practically a god.

So you battle it out in front of a supermarket for a small while, killing every dark monster you see, then a boss appears and you slay it with your vast amounts of power. It was only the end of level one, and I was impressed as hell, being able to manipulate the forces of darkness without being forced onto the ethical "Is it right to launch a gigantic lance at your enemies?"

After that and a short cutscene, it propels you approximately thirteen hundred years into the future, with you still being Nier and having a daughter named Yonah, just like 1300 years ago. I thought he was immortal for a while, just keeping it a secret that he was alive all these years.

As Nier in the distant future, you see time after civilization fell. There are monsters called "Shades" prowling the world. The dark monsters I mentioned earlier? Yeah, even after a thousand years they exist. People refer to places like America as "ancient cities and places." I have to say, it was really cool being the ancient dead all-knowing race, for once in my lifetime. Instead of something vague, I can laugh about how wrong they actually were. I digress.

You are a hunter for your village, trying to also find a cure for your daughter's terminal illness. After she disappears, you track her down and find...a book of extreme dark power. This brings continuity into question, but in a good and intriguing way...like, "How did this get here? :)" because you know the full extent of its power. It's name is Grimoire Weiss (Book White, for those interested. Lovely name for a tome of darkness.)

This is Grimoire Weiss, the White Book. It is
your best friend, and greatest source of
Dark Powers. Also witty oneliners. Gotta
love those.

...then you learn it hasn't been reviewing it's dark spells this past millennium, and only knows how to rapidfire dark bullets. A relatively weak attack, but still, it's more than most humans can boast of. You then start wandering the land in a renewed attempt to save your daughter from illness, this time collecting allies and powers as you go along.

...this is the part where you say "Hulk Smash!"...right?

At the One Third Point of the game, you return to your village to find a gigantic monster (let's mark number two on our list of giants slain) attacking. With all of your dark powers at current, you take it on and do some good amounts of damage. After a while of fighting, you realize you can't win, and you had to sacrifice something dear to seal it in the library.

The game timeskips five more years, and you are now uglier than ever. Sorry, it had to be said...you now look like you have a diaper on your face for some reason...

Anyway, after five years of training with the Jackie Chan of the future, or he must be, Nier has become a master of all things weapon. Melee weapon, at least: aside the shortsword which I neglected to talk about earlier, you can now use lances, axes, and two handed swords. In addition to your dark arsenal of death, you are now officially a demigod in my eyes.

You release the seal in the library to get back what you lost and take on the monster one last time, this time with dramatically different results.

The game has a beautiful plot I could go on and on about, as well as multiple endings. However, now we talk of gameplay. The game does a good job of giving you a good amount of power without it being too much. It takes after Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. You have the main story you can follow...or you can deviate and whore out on sidequests for extra stuff, often allowing for deeper insight into Nier's and Weiss' friendship as it blossoms into a beautiful thing. Two companions making one liners and witty jokes at eachother as they slaughter badguys.

It is a hack-and-slash RPG, one of my favorite kinds of RPG, and it is definitely worth picking up if you ever get the chance. The plot is deep, the gameplay is meaningful, if the quests get repetitive now and then you can skip them...and the soundtrack is absolutely beautiful.

Anyway, until next time I post, PEACE OUT!

I punch harder than bullets

So anyway, I've been playing a lot of Halo: Reach lately, from the Legendary Mode campaign with friends to Firefight Mode to Matchmaker Mode. I have to say, the game has really been fun so far.

Out of no hatred to Halo, I have prolonged actually playing Halo: Reach and beating it for some time. However some time ago I did actually beat the game, and I really enjoyed it. Keep in mind, Halo is a brilliant franchise, and as much as haters may say that the series has no originality or whatever, it really does. They probably just don't know what originality is--that, or I go cynical and say "Nothing new under the sun."

Me, getting ready to kill an enemy in Infection Mode

Now, I will say that Halo is best played with a friend. Even the campaign mode is best played with a friend, and that is true of both Halo 3 and Reach. The multiplayer is much the same as the singleplayer, except that you respawn whenever you or a partner are killed in battle. If all players are killed, they go back to checkpoint.
The control scheme is close to identical to all Halo games, save for the addition of Armor Powers, including Armor Lock, Jetpack, Sprint, Portable Shield, and Active Camo. Each ability doing almost exactly as it explains, it definitely adds an element to Halo not seen before.

The story takes place before Halo: Combat Evolved. As the Spartan known solely as Noble VI, you have joined the team Noble Six. A team that has been contracted to--what else?--save Reach from the coming alien invasion. As you progress through the game, it gives a sense of melancholy. Anybody who has played any of the Halo Trilogy, and has the combined knowledge that Reach is before that, knows that this battle is destined to be a failure.

That is where this game gets it's uniquity. It is about saving the world, but ultimately losing. You can try your hardest, but no matter what--the game will end with the destruction of Reach. Therefore, the game takes several liberties in missions--hordes of enemies, loads of dropships, and barely any allies whatsoever. It makes you feel like a badass as Noble VI is one of the few people able to do anything about it.

As Noble VI, an unnamed character that is widely unexplored, you get to be close to whoever you want to be. You even get to customize his armor, for use in both campaign and Online Modes. As you progress in Multiplayer and Campaign, you get upgrades to your military rank, from Privateer all the way to General, then to Master and Hero.

The more you play, the more credits you get. According to rank and credit amount, you can buy different armor and helmets, as well as things like Firefight Voices and Armor Effects. Firefight Voices being what they sound like--the voice Noble VI will have--and Armor Effects being the effect that happens when you die. It can be anything from Birthday Party Confetti all the way to Thunder and Lightning. They have no effect on the overall game, however.

Having logged enough hours of play to achieve Warrant Officer Grade 1 rank, I highly recommend the game. It is an action shooter, still, and keeps to the theme Halo has had throughout the whole series: Humans vs Aliens. I suggest it if you are looking for a good game, a refresher from standard Halo. The replay value is "Meh" unless you're playing with friends, and the online maps are actually quite fun. (coming from someone without the map packs)

Until next time I post, see you around!

Damn it Bioware!

So I was playing through a decent game of Army of Two, The Fortieth Day on Solo Mode, when one of my friends logs in and I notice what they are playing. Dragon Age: Origins. That's cool, I think, so later that night I do a little research on the game: The thing? It looked beautiful, and best of all, expansive.

After I borrow it from him, I quickly discover what a "Halo Ring" is, when I mistakenly kicked the console over. So I buy him a replacement and install onto my Hard Drive. That way I can play with the damaged disc, so I now own Dragon Age: Origins, by Bioware.

What was that? Fight and not run? OH. That could have
saved us some trouble...

Anyway, seeing as it was Bioware, I was comparing it to Mass Effect by a lot. There were a couple of things I hated, and other things that I loved about the game. First of all, being: Why is this click and go?!

Sure, you can walk around and move. But you need to physically move the camera to point at an enemy, and click your attack button of choice to attack. You have skills and shortcuts for the other buttons, too, however it is still "Point and Go" on a console. On a PC, point and go is a brilliant interface--I point, you attack. Why? Because in the blink of an eye I can move my cursor and click on my enemy. Using a control stick from a console, the cursor has a set speed so you don't outpace yourself--it is slower and more cumbersome in general.

Having played the game on the console, not the PC, I disliked the way the game played. Especially because moving the control stick even slightly off-course and you end up going in a completely different direction.

Sometimes, I thought my character was just being a pansy about the way he was attacking. Maybe a status effect? Perhaps he didn't have a high courage stat? Then I realized there WAS no courage stat!

Then we have the character interface. Seeing as this game came out after Mass Effect, I expected the character to be able to talk. I know this is out there, especially considering how many different characters you could be, but since you can change your battle voice, maybe go the extra mile and have those voice actors voice out your character? It seems logical, if a little bit more expensive, at least.

Finally, after getting over my discrepancies with the game, having it face a corner for an hour and a half and saying it loses it's TV for a month, I decided to play and try to forget the interface. Looking at the actual story, and the choices possible, I was blown away.

Examples of characters you can be

First: Your origin. The point of the game, possibly expanding on Shepard's origins concept. You can be a human, dwarf, or elf, the stereotypical races in fantasy games. As a human or an elf, you can be a warrior, mage, or rogue. Dwarves can't be mages as the story outlines that dwarves are stupid and can't use magic.

So as a human rogue or warrior, you get the "Human Noble" storyline. You are a prince, basically, and your powerful family is betrayed and destroyed when your brother is sent out for war. You survive, of course.

As an elf, you can be a "City Elf", which are the oppressed peoples of the world. Kind of like, and I do mean this as purely a historic reference, the black peoples after the Civil War and before Dr. King Jr. They aren't slaves, per say, but they are hated and oppressed and they did recently become not slaves. You are getting married, and your marriage is interrupted and depending on whether you are a guy or a girl, you are either saving your wife from being raped, or saving yourself from getting raped.

These are the only two origins I have explored so far. Although no matter what race you are, if you choose "Mage" you get the "Magi" origin, because unlike City Elves, Mages are the slaves of the Ferelden Empire.

Commander Shepard ain't worth shit to me.

So I make a human warrior, and name him Shepard. Sue me Bioware! Afterwards, I decide to make him as much like my "Jak Shepard" as possible, though I quickly found that you actually had to back up your talk, unlike in Mass Effect where Shepard took care of that for you.

After making it to the last boss and figuring out how much of a FAIL my Shepard character was, I restarted the whole game as a female City Elf. I didn't bother naming her--so the default name "Kallian" took precedence here.

This guy? He's an asshole, so look out.

As Kallian, I was a nicer person, and had extreme armies at my command by the end of the game, and it was GRATIFYING to kick the final boss' ass.

The basic story is, that you become a "Grey Warden", a warrior who drank the blood of the "Darkspawn" and became the good version of the Darkspawn. As in, you keep your mind.

The Darkspawn are the greed and hatred of men's hearts given form. (*cough*Heartless*cough*) So, naturally, they need an antithesis. They need you to be there to kick their ass everytime they decide to show up in what is called a "Blight". A Blight is when the Darkspawn get an Archdemon leader, a big darkspawn version of a Dragon, and march across the land slaying all in their way.

Like the football team after school, the darkspawn are planning
to beat you  silly for no good reason.

It is Darkspawn vs Grey Warden warfare, basically. Unfortunately for you, due to Ferelden politics, you and your partner are basically it. The only two people fighting for people to stay alive--and the only two people that Ferelden wants really, really, really, without a shadow of a doubt, completely and one hundred percent--dead.


So you must bring the political environment of Ferelden to order, or risk "Civil War II" during the Blight. Being the badasses that darkspawn are, they would trounce the country and move on to kill everyone on the planet that I assume is Earth in fantasyland.

To do that? Call on every peace treaty the Grey Wardens own, befriend powerful political leaders, forge a kickass team of your own from travelling the land, and defeat a tyrant in a fight any way you please. Seriously--there is "All Out Brawl", "One on One Duel" and "Alistair, kill this man for me." Of course, I always balled up and kicked the dude's ass.

Once you bring Ferelden to order, your war with the darkspawn starts. Depending on your decisions through the journey, you have different armies--my winning army was composed of Dwarves, Elite Dwarven Mercenaries, Mages, and Werewolves. Yes-werewolves.

It is a lovely game, very involving. The interface sucks balls, and the lack of voice on your character's part makes me somewhat upset, but after grounding your game from TV for a month it becomes a much better game. The graphics are beautiful, dungeons are limited but prevent repetitiveness, the skill tree is expansive and grants a lot of choices for your character.

All in all, I recommend it highly. Enjoy until next time!

And I'll try to update again within the month, I promise.

Politically Incorrect, Morally Sound?

Lately as I've been playing games, I've noticed a growing trend in things. Games have grown to the point where moral choices have become the key to many of them, oftentimes giving the player different appearances or powers depending on the side they choose. I believe this all originated from either Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic or Fable somewhere along the line,  but somewhere the line between good and evil was drawn in videogames, and has always been tempting the players to cross it.

It  is a very interesting system, especially when games decide to not only make good and evil, but add in shades of gray. It adds depth to the game to have a morally controllable character, and brings up many more possibilities when trying to attach a gamer to their in-game avatar.

As good a system as it is, and as much as they try to add a system of "shades of gray", it often leaves out just what it is I am looking for. What if I don't want my character to be good or evil? What if he's just a mercenary, or a dark hero? Using bad methods to achieve the greater good, or just trying to stay alive? There is also the idea that I want my character to be a villain who stands behind the scenes, making nice with the populace in daylight but having illegal moneymaking deals in the shadows?

A rich drug dealing politician? They are seen as good, but are really evil. A brash, hot headed vigilante willing to do anything for the greater good? Seen as evil, but with good intentions.

Or better yet, the kind of character I've always wanted to be. The cool, collected hero's adviser, who is obviously infinitely more powerful but only willing to help if it involves them outright.

It would obviously be difficult to do, and we might not have the technology for something like that in a singleplayer game, but it would be nice to be able to choose between more than just "good" or "evil". To have a perspective all your own, and to have unexpected consequences to your actions.

Anyway, it's been a while, and I don't actually have a game review for this time around, though I might be reviewing the different New Vegas DLC sometime in the near future.

Until then!