Mass Ass Erect Effect: a Mass Effect 2 review

The first Mass Effect revolutionized the presentation of dialogue and facial expression, and had one of the most enthralling stories in a video game in a long time. After playing Mass Effect I had high hopes for the sequel, and if they had merely shortened load times (which have been shortened, and instead of elevators we are now blessed with some of the most riveting load screens i have ever seen.) I would have been extremely happy with Mass Effect 2, but instead they gave me one of the best gaming experiences of my life.

Right from the beginning Mass Effect 2 pulls you into its story with biggest "WTF?!" intro I've ever seen. (is that a spoiler? im sorry if it is.) Then it's off to character customization, or character approval if you're importing a save file from the original, and then its off to the combat introduction, then the game. I highly suggest importing a saved game from Mass Effect if you remember the choices and relationships you had with your crew, because the guys at Bioware have done an extraordinary job of tying the two games together.

Combat is handled with more strategy in mind this time around. There is a new, or just improved?, cover system, the ability to hot key three of your "abilities" and two of your teammates, and the ability to give your teammates direct commands. The idea of an overheating gun has been replaced with a new "clip" system, under the guise of an overheating gun, and the grenade has been replaced with a variety of new heavy weapons.

Which brings me to my next point. Mass Effect 2 doesn't have an inventory. Although there are items to buy at stores throughout the game, most of these are either passive "upgrades", quest items, or cosmetic additions. The closest thing to an inventory would be the Armor Customization Closet, with which you can choose between the different pieces of armor that you've bought on a customization interface. Each of these pieces provides different stat boosts, and you can also recolor your armor and pick between a few patterns. (and make Shephard look like the most bad ass war machine ever.)

At first the idea of zero loot upset me, but by the middle of the game I was actually extremely please with the new system, which provides an RTS feel with the gathering of minerals (through an awesome planet scan and probe mini game) and the upgradeable tech trees. The different types of ammo are still present, but this time through class and character specific skills which last an entire level.

Dialogue is once again very entertaining, if not even more captivating this time around with the inclusion of "Renegade" and "Paragon" actions (triggered by hitting the corresponding trigger when presented an opportunity) that leads to some extremely bad ass "leader" actions or some extremely bad ass "bad ass" actions, cinematic conversations that have the characters moving and interacting with the world, and INSANELY awesome camera angles. (im not going to share what my favorite was because it may be a spoiler. fucking spoilers.)

Mass Effect 2 is polished to the tee, so much that I was already looking forward to my "New Game+" during the end credits of the game. Although the cinemas are flawlessly executed there are small stutters where the game is loading the clip that correlates to the choices you've made throughout the game. It probably sounds annoying, but these small load times are actually extremely inviting, making me wonder how many different possibilities there are.

PREMATURE EVALUATIONS: Bioshock 2

It should be known that the original Bioshock is, hands down, one of my all time favorite games. However, upon completion I certainly didn’t say to myself “wow, I can’t wait for the sequel” because it didn’t really need one. Everything wrapped up quite nicely, so it is with extreme hesitation that I approach the sequel.

So far, I’m about 4 hours in, having completed the first three areas of the game. It has to be said that the outset of the game fails to impress in exactly the way I feared. The best part about the original Bioshock was seeing what twisted part of Rapture was laying around the next corner, but the earliest stage here has a kind of “been there done that feeling”. I was also a little put off in the way the game just, well, starts. There is a bit of an intriguing opening cinema that contains a pretty good hook. But then, bam, there you are, searching for tonics…again.

Luckily enough, this feeling is slowly assuaged the deeper you get into the game. In fact, the second area you reach, Ryan Amusements, is really well developed and interesting. The plot starts to open up some there as well and by the time I reached the third area, I was actually hooked on unraveling Raptures secrets all over again.

I really dig the new characters. Sofia Lamb stands in sharp contrast to Andrew Ryan as the games antagonist, and despite her desire to kill you, you kind of have to appreciate what she was trying to do for Rapture (although now, she seems a bit over zealous.) I’m a little disappointed that you’re being led along by a swarthy, accented gentleman again, it seems like too much of a rehash, but the more you learn about Sinclair the more intriguing he becomes.

Combat has also seen improvements, specifically the way you use plasmids. The ability to dual wield guns and plasmids totally changes the way you play the game adding some serious strategy into the mix. This particularly comes into play when guarding the little sisters while from splicers. These sequences offer up some of the most calculated and intense shootouts I’ve seen in a while.

For the most part, Bioshock 2 has already convinced me that it’s a worthy sequel and I’ve heard the last half of the game is really something special, so I’m excited to see what it has to offer. Look for my full review sometime next week.

X10-STRAVAGANZA!

Last Thursday I managed to weasel my way into Microsoft’s super exclusive press event X10 where all things Xbox were discussed and shown off at length. I got a chance to take a look at some awesome games, I hung out with Major Nelson (turns out he’s a super nice guy) I met Peter Molyneux and managed to not geek out too hard, and I enjoyed about thirty tiny hot dogs. But, hot dogs aside, here’s what I saw:

CRACKDOWN 2:

I never played the first Crackdown, but I had always heard good things, and the sequel looks undeniably cool. I wasn’t allowed to play it, but the Ruffian dev team did show off an impressive demo. Highlights included base-jumping, helicopter piloting, and about 100 rockets to mutants faces.

What impressed me most about Crackdown 2 is how, for lack of a better term, videogamey it was. It’s unique cell shaded look and over the top action stood in stark contrast to the slew of hyper realistic games at X10, it was clear that it didn’t take itself too seriously. It just looked fun to play. Dudes were taking cars off of sweet jumps, mowing down zombies with a bevy of weapons, and blowing up everything in sight. I wish I could have got my hands on it because those Ruffian dudes looked like they were having a blast.

LEFT 4 DEAD: THE PASSING

Still intense. Still Left 4 Dead.

FABLE III:

I liked Fable and Fable II so it kind of seems like a no brainier that I’ll be into Fable III as well. I didn’t see the fabled (ha!) demo, but I did hear Mr. Molyneux talk about the third entry into his hit series.

The big thing this time around seems to be the Touch system. In Fable II you could tell a joke, do dance or rip a fart to impress those around you. Touch seems a bit more tangible and realistic. You can shake someone’s hand, embrace your loved ones, or drag a criminal into a cell. It’s all presented in a very engrossing manner and according to Molyneux it allows the player to better feel the implications of their actions.

Mr. Lionhead himself also talked about the game’s pivotal shift in which (spoilers) your character takes over the throne of Albion. Apparently, you can make promises to your people that you’ll have to deliver on once your king or face the wrath of the common man. Apparently, being a ruler is not as easy as one would think and Molyneux promised that acting as King creates opportunity for real humor and uncommon challenges.

He also said the game was charming a lot. Seriously, he said it like 5 times. Look for it later this year.

FINAL FANTASY XIII:

This demo was strictly about the battle system. I controlled a party of three wandering a grassy field, and occasionally I fought a few monsters.

Here’s the catch. This particular field was an area found very late in the game, therefore the battle system was extremely complicated. I’m not kidding, there were numbers, words and percentages flying all over the screen. It was like doing complex algebra, I had to get one of the PR reps to sit with me and explain what the hell I was doing. Once I got the hang of it, it was actually really fun and very unique to the series.

You control your party leader and the AI handles your support characters, although you can set up their actions in a style similar to the Gambit system from FFXII. The big focus here is on Paradigm Shifts. If your party leader is operating in a paradigm that’s combat focused, then your support characters will also wail on enemies. But if you shift to a paradigm that allows you to cast magic, more spells will open up for you and your team.

It’s a frantic system, and it requires quite a bit of strategic planning. I wish I had been able to play a little earlier in the game and get a feel for it a little better. I’m still not entirely sure I was doing it right….

SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION

Not gonna lie, I’ve never played a Splinter Cell game. I also chose Solid Snake over Sam Fisher. That being said, Splinter Cell: Conviction is going to kick ass. I got to play the first level and was totally blown away.

This game does so many things better than other games in the genre. For starters the control is flawless, same ducks into cover, climbs walls and punches bad guy so intuitively that you’ll forget there’s a controller in you hands. Specifically, two systems stand out in my mind. The first is the interrogation system. The scenes reward creativity, I interrogated a guy in a bathroom and found at least four spots that helped me “convince him to talk” and each was as brutal and ruthless as the next. Then there’s the Mark and Execute system. It’s an amazing risk/reward mechanic that is incredibly satisfying, I’m not sure I can go into detail here, but trust me, every time you pull it off you will say “that was awesome”.

The game’s aesthetic is really cool and the way mission objectives and back-story are delivered to you is probably the most original thing I’ve seen in a while. Also the co-op looks kick ass. Buying it.

ALAN WAKE:

It’s been a long strange trip for the guys at Remedy, but I was assured that Alan Wake is nothing short of a labor of love.

I waited most of the day for a chance to play the game, and while the game play is still under embargo, I will say that the demo we were shown was pretty impressive. The story line seems very original, and from what I saw it’s told in a very cinematic way (the story was set up in a cut-scene that began with an announcer saying “Previously on Alan Wake” which I though was really cool). Safe to say, I’ve got my eye on this one.

Other games included Dead Rising 2 (meh) Lost Planet 2 (looks like fun), Halo: Reach (never been a huge Halo fan) and a few Xbox arcade releases including a re-skin of Perfect Dark that looked interesting, but I didn’t get to spend much time with any of those.

All in all it seems like a pretty great year to be a 360 owner and Microsoft certainly knows how to throw a party. Seriously, those tiny hot dogs were tasty.

In other news....

If youre planning on visiting, or just randomly find yourself in, San Francisco at 8pm on Saturday, February 13th, you should head to the Beale Street Bar, on 133 Beale St., and check out Kid with Katana and Genius and the Thieves.

Kid with Katana is a pretty awesome band. They play a few weird covers and do them pretty well, in most cases. Plus last time we were there some dude got really drunk and fell down the stairs. Maybe he was there to see Kid with Katana so maybe hell be there again, and get really drunk and fall down the stairs again, because it was hilarious.

Genius and the Thieves will rock the dust off of your brain. (Ask them to play Theme Song, for the good old days, and Stay Young, for the days to come.)

Apologies to Everyone Re: the new Spoon album "Transference"

Recently I was telling people that the new Spoon album "Transference" wasnt worth listening to. I would like to publicly apologize and retract that statement. The entire album is actually very good. There are some very original sounding songs, then there are other songs that sound like a good homage to other bands (ex. I Saw the Light; Goodnight Laura).

The only complaint I have lies in the mixing of the album. Some of the songs have strange sounding levels, at least through certain outputs. On first listen I was using my car stereo, but on relisten today I'm using good headphones, and Im not hearing the same levels issues.

I really suggest giving this album a listen if youve enjoyed any of Spoons past albums, or if you enjoy "indy rock". There term not mine.