Mass Effect 2 has been a fun ride (so far) and I've dropped about 25 hours into it over the past few days (so far). It plays different then the original Mass Effect, in that it does indeed play off as a bit more of a FPS, rather then a usual RPG. What I am liking is how the story itself feels familiar and yet still it remains so different.
My only disappointment was at the very start, before I even started playing the game. Apparently since I changed over to a new hard drive, my save file from the original Mass Effect is no longer valid to start a new game with. Meh... I just might have to go ahead and replay the original all over again...
Speaking of the story, what I am liking most about it is this new crew that you must assemble. It is a diverse crew, no doubt and sometimes I even wish I could take this band of misfits and tear the galaxy apart myself! But among them all, my favorites so far have been Jack (Subject Zero) and the assassin, Thane. Ah hell and I like Grunt too... That Krogan is a maniac!
Is it strange that my three favorites end up being the trio that loves to make things dead? But hey, if you're going on a suicide mission, what better crew to have beside you then a bunch of crazy mutha-you-know-whats right?
What is also fun and interesting to me is the interaction that takes place between Shepard and members of his former crew. It is just awkward and strange at times, given the circumstances and all of that.
And with all of this going on, the DLC for Dragon Age has also arrived too! What bad timing BioWare! Why, oh why now?! I suppose I shall take a break from space and kick some ass old school style for a bit. Why couldn't they have given a sword to go along with the Blood Dragon Armor? That would teach anything in the galaxy not to mess around with a guy packing a back full of guns and a sword at his side to boot.
Final thought: With Mass Effect 2 released, that also means that Final Fantasy XIII is just that much closer to being unleashed here in the States. I am going to jam through these games, because once March arrives...
It's over.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Nearly 4 Hours Later...
For the love of god people, if you are playing Mass Effect 2 and have DLC codes, MAKE SURE YOU LINK THEM THE CORRECT EA ACCOUNT THAT IS ASSOCIATED TO YOUR GAMERTAG!
Sorry for the caps.
But I say this because I, like apparently a huge number of other people out there, linked my DLC codes to the wrong account (I linked mine to the EA account I bought my copy of Mass Effect 2 with and not with the one tied to my tag) and as a result, came up with no bonus armor of any sort.
What proceeded from this was a 3 1/2 hour wait on the phone with EA Customer Support. Now that felt bad to me at first, but the guy who helped me out (didn't catch his name) was absolutely cool about the whole thing and even gave me more stuff then I went into this with (got the GameStop Terminus armor set!).
So in the end, yes it was kind of worth all the wait for and yet I could have spent the time playing the game rather then being on hold for this. I gotta say though, I kind of wish they kept the DLC codes the way they were (redeemable through XBL). Still, I am grateful for the pleasent and quick (the actual call took under ten minutes) service. I wish all tech support was this awesome...
Anyway, moral of the story again folks: Before you punch in those Mass Effect 2 DLC codes, make sure you have the right account logged in (the account that is linked to your gamertag) or else you'll be in for a heck of a wait to get it all fixed.
Sorry for the caps.
But I say this because I, like apparently a huge number of other people out there, linked my DLC codes to the wrong account (I linked mine to the EA account I bought my copy of Mass Effect 2 with and not with the one tied to my tag) and as a result, came up with no bonus armor of any sort.
What proceeded from this was a 3 1/2 hour wait on the phone with EA Customer Support. Now that felt bad to me at first, but the guy who helped me out (didn't catch his name) was absolutely cool about the whole thing and even gave me more stuff then I went into this with (got the GameStop Terminus armor set!).
So in the end, yes it was kind of worth all the wait for and yet I could have spent the time playing the game rather then being on hold for this. I gotta say though, I kind of wish they kept the DLC codes the way they were (redeemable through XBL). Still, I am grateful for the pleasent and quick (the actual call took under ten minutes) service. I wish all tech support was this awesome...
Anyway, moral of the story again folks: Before you punch in those Mass Effect 2 DLC codes, make sure you have the right account logged in (the account that is linked to your gamertag) or else you'll be in for a heck of a wait to get it all fixed.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Just A Little Longer
Despite having a rough start to this new year, this month has been otherwise quiet. Overall I think we've just been trying to get a better focus in trying to get our act together and not have to struggle as much financially.A lot of the reason why I have not written as much has been because I just have not been into all that many games lately. More accurately, I just haven't seen all that much that has caught my eye. But all of that is about to change.
What am I saying? I can't wait for Tuesday! I have been jonesing for a new RPG to sink my teeth into ever since I finished off Dragon Age and I am having little doubt that Mass Effect 2 will a perfect way to hold over until March, where Final Fantasy XIII and possibly even Dragon Age: The Awakening would step in.
Surely the DLC for Dragon Age could have easily helped feed my addiction during the mean time, but alas that has not even been released yet (technically). As I have mentioned before though, BioWare's recent string of issues with their DLC has me a little worried as to how much content they will actually release for both Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2.
The most pressing issue in my mind as far as Mass Effect 2 is concerned is this: What happened to the original crew? Were they captured or are they dead?
Aside from that, I am interested in seeing just how much of the game has changed since the original Mass Effect. I've read that this has become a bit more like a FPS, which could mean combat will be much crazier then before. On top of that, even exploring worlds has been improved greatly as well. I really did not like having to drop into worlds that ended up looking the same, just the screen color was different. Perhaps this will all end up being enough to warrant a more playthroughs.
Now all I have left to do is wait away the time and hope that UPS doesn't decide to wait until after 6PM for the game to be delivered to my door. It is no fun jumping up every time it sounds like someone is at the door, only to see a little old lady shuffling by with her bag for the eighth time in the past two hours. All that ever invokes is madness, madness I say!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Starting Out Rough
The title about says how life has been going for me these past few weeks. I just have been a mess in the brains. I mean with a recent passing in the family and with work and everything, it has just be madness! I am hoping that this insanity has run its course and there will be peace for at least a couple of months! I would hope for the rest of the year, but a part of me knows better.
Anyway, games have sort of taken a backseat as all of this crazy was going on. Honestly though, Dragon Age has gotten me a little irritated. I was very much looking forward to their DLC "Return to Ostagar." I was pretty thrilled to have read that it did finally see release, but then it was pulled. Now apparently its stuck in a state of limbo and details have been slim pickings to say the least.
I remember reading how BioWare promises full DLC support for Dragon Age, as well as Mass Effect 2. But with how they've botched up this DLC release with so many delays, even I am beginning to wonder how they'll ever manage to work out content for two games. Hopefully they are learning their lessons well and this sort of chaos can be avoided in the future.
Speaking of Mass Effect 2, I just recently threw in my pre-order for it last night. Late huh? I am looking forward to it and I am ever so curious to find out what happened to Shepherd's previous ship and crew.
Remember how I wrote last year about having doubts about Final Fantasy XIII? Well those days have come and gone and even the music I am sold on. What did it take? It was a simple fix really. All it took (for me) was to watch the International trailer for the game (which included My Hands by Leona Lewis) and I was sold.
Needless to say I can't wait for March 9th!
Oh and there is the little tidbit about Dragon Age getting a real expansion, which should be arriving in March as well. Am I looking forward to that one? Yes and maybe. Yes in that I am kind of sad to have found out that once you finish the main game, you can't revisit cities and such, so it'll be nice to be able to take the characters I have left and move forward.
What gets me wondering is this though: I chose to kill the Darkspawn myself and in turn, killing off my character in the process. And apparently this expansion happens after the events of the main game. How will this work out I wonder? Hmm...
One final thought: I just recently rented Darksiders and truth be told I am glad I did not buy it. The story does seem a little interesting, but overall the gameplay wasn't all that fun to me. It felt bland and a little boring, like there have been a ton of games to have done what this one was trying to do. Then again, truthfully I never really got into games like this, so maybe this isn't my cup of tea?
While I do enjoy trying out different types of games, I have to believe that this year is the year RPGs make their return to the forefront. Well, at least that is how it is looking for this portion of the 2010. I mean with Mass Effect 2, Final Fantasy XIII and even Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (and a number of others as well) seeing the light of day, I hope this year will help me forget a lot of the bad ones that have come out during the last few years.
One last thought, for sure this time!: I wonder when Final Fantasy Versus XIII will be released...?
Anyway, games have sort of taken a backseat as all of this crazy was going on. Honestly though, Dragon Age has gotten me a little irritated. I was very much looking forward to their DLC "Return to Ostagar." I was pretty thrilled to have read that it did finally see release, but then it was pulled. Now apparently its stuck in a state of limbo and details have been slim pickings to say the least.
I remember reading how BioWare promises full DLC support for Dragon Age, as well as Mass Effect 2. But with how they've botched up this DLC release with so many delays, even I am beginning to wonder how they'll ever manage to work out content for two games. Hopefully they are learning their lessons well and this sort of chaos can be avoided in the future.
Speaking of Mass Effect 2, I just recently threw in my pre-order for it last night. Late huh? I am looking forward to it and I am ever so curious to find out what happened to Shepherd's previous ship and crew.
Remember how I wrote last year about having doubts about Final Fantasy XIII? Well those days have come and gone and even the music I am sold on. What did it take? It was a simple fix really. All it took (for me) was to watch the International trailer for the game (which included My Hands by Leona Lewis) and I was sold.
Needless to say I can't wait for March 9th!
Oh and there is the little tidbit about Dragon Age getting a real expansion, which should be arriving in March as well. Am I looking forward to that one? Yes and maybe. Yes in that I am kind of sad to have found out that once you finish the main game, you can't revisit cities and such, so it'll be nice to be able to take the characters I have left and move forward.
What gets me wondering is this though: I chose to kill the Darkspawn myself and in turn, killing off my character in the process. And apparently this expansion happens after the events of the main game. How will this work out I wonder? Hmm...
One final thought: I just recently rented Darksiders and truth be told I am glad I did not buy it. The story does seem a little interesting, but overall the gameplay wasn't all that fun to me. It felt bland and a little boring, like there have been a ton of games to have done what this one was trying to do. Then again, truthfully I never really got into games like this, so maybe this isn't my cup of tea?
While I do enjoy trying out different types of games, I have to believe that this year is the year RPGs make their return to the forefront. Well, at least that is how it is looking for this portion of the 2010. I mean with Mass Effect 2, Final Fantasy XIII and even Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (and a number of others as well) seeing the light of day, I hope this year will help me forget a lot of the bad ones that have come out during the last few years.
One last thought, for sure this time!: I wonder when Final Fantasy Versus XIII will be released...?
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Delusional Mind
Delusional.
That is exactly how I would describe myself and my state of mind and being at this moment. Why? I am increasingly losing my sense of time and thus my world is in chaos. This has been a disturbing trend that I have been lost to for the past several years now. I would love to state just how many, but I've... lost track of time.
Its so bad, so very bad when entire years blend together to the point where I can remember in what year I did what. I think that sense ended after the year I graduated from high school. From that point on, it has all been nothing but a downhill slide.
How has this affected me recently? Take the pending release of Mass Effect 2 later this month.
I have not reserved myself a copy, which I am wholly intending on purchasing a "Collector's Edition" some day soon. However, pretty much since the first day of this new year, I have been mentally panicking as if I am about to miss the release of the game. Why? I couldn't remember when that day was and when I did, I thought it was next week. What is the date today folks?
January 6th.
What the hell am I thinking?!
Another example would be the newest (and delayed... ick) DLC for Dragon Age: Origins. I was still checking XBox Live every day from Christmas day until the apparent release date. All of this even while knowing when the release date was suppose to be. Again, why was I doing that? Because I could not remember for certain.
Bad, bad, bad.
On the flip side though, I don't lose my wallet or house keys and I remember where I am at all times. So in that regard, I at least know I am not really losing my mind. But when I go to work, sometimes the days all blend together and I get a little confused.
Anyhow, back to the talk of games to end out my little post of my decreasing sanity, I have been trying to withstand impulse buying video games. It has not been an easy task, considering I have interest in more games this month besides Mass Effect 2. Two titles that come to mind immediately would be Army of Two: The 40th Day and Darksiders.
But I promise myself I would show more restraint in these types on purchases. I've gotten way too many crap games over the last few years (I think...?) that I am much more hesitant about which games I buy. So at this point the only games I am actually committed to buying are Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age: The Awakening and Final Fantasy XIII.
We shall see just how long I can hold out and not go crazy over the games that were held back from last year. There were a good number more that I am interested in, but more or less the deciding factor has been trying to find games I like playing. And with how my list has shaped up so far, it looks like this year looks to be the year I hit back into the realm of RPGs.
That is exactly how I would describe myself and my state of mind and being at this moment. Why? I am increasingly losing my sense of time and thus my world is in chaos. This has been a disturbing trend that I have been lost to for the past several years now. I would love to state just how many, but I've... lost track of time.
Its so bad, so very bad when entire years blend together to the point where I can remember in what year I did what. I think that sense ended after the year I graduated from high school. From that point on, it has all been nothing but a downhill slide.
How has this affected me recently? Take the pending release of Mass Effect 2 later this month.
I have not reserved myself a copy, which I am wholly intending on purchasing a "Collector's Edition" some day soon. However, pretty much since the first day of this new year, I have been mentally panicking as if I am about to miss the release of the game. Why? I couldn't remember when that day was and when I did, I thought it was next week. What is the date today folks?
January 6th.
What the hell am I thinking?!
Another example would be the newest (and delayed... ick) DLC for Dragon Age: Origins. I was still checking XBox Live every day from Christmas day until the apparent release date. All of this even while knowing when the release date was suppose to be. Again, why was I doing that? Because I could not remember for certain.
Bad, bad, bad.
On the flip side though, I don't lose my wallet or house keys and I remember where I am at all times. So in that regard, I at least know I am not really losing my mind. But when I go to work, sometimes the days all blend together and I get a little confused.
Anyhow, back to the talk of games to end out my little post of my decreasing sanity, I have been trying to withstand impulse buying video games. It has not been an easy task, considering I have interest in more games this month besides Mass Effect 2. Two titles that come to mind immediately would be Army of Two: The 40th Day and Darksiders.
But I promise myself I would show more restraint in these types on purchases. I've gotten way too many crap games over the last few years (I think...?) that I am much more hesitant about which games I buy. So at this point the only games I am actually committed to buying are Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age: The Awakening and Final Fantasy XIII.
We shall see just how long I can hold out and not go crazy over the games that were held back from last year. There were a good number more that I am interested in, but more or less the deciding factor has been trying to find games I like playing. And with how my list has shaped up so far, it looks like this year looks to be the year I hit back into the realm of RPGs.
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
And The World Expands
On what should have been the day of release for Dragon Age: Origins' DLC, Return to Ostagar, has instead turned into a day of disappointment. Where is it you may wonder? Well apparently it has been delayed at the last moment and further details about it will be "coming soon."
Truly though... what is with the last minute delay? Is this the new trend? I almost have to agree that this is similar to another game's day of release delay (coughAlphaProtocolcough)! But I suppose that is a little overdramatic, isn't it?
In similar news though, apparently the rumors about Dragon Age's first actual expansion were true all along. From the sounds of it to me, the story behind this expansion will follow along the lines of the second Dragon Age book (Dragon Age: The Calling). But this seems to have to do with rebuilding the Gray Warden order with a few Wardens from Orlais.
I am wondering if this follows after the end of Dragon Age: Origins? I hope it doesn't end up playing off of how you chose at the end of the first game. If that becomes so, then I will be having a very interesting start into all of this I'd think...
Truly though... what is with the last minute delay? Is this the new trend? I almost have to agree that this is similar to another game's day of release delay (coughAlphaProtocolcough)! But I suppose that is a little overdramatic, isn't it?
In similar news though, apparently the rumors about Dragon Age's first actual expansion were true all along. From the sounds of it to me, the story behind this expansion will follow along the lines of the second Dragon Age book (Dragon Age: The Calling). But this seems to have to do with rebuilding the Gray Warden order with a few Wardens from Orlais.
I am wondering if this follows after the end of Dragon Age: Origins? I hope it doesn't end up playing off of how you chose at the end of the first game. If that becomes so, then I will be having a very interesting start into all of this I'd think...
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