New Year and New Gaming Resolutions!

image credit: daykarobinsondesignsblog.com

Well folks, with January already half over (!!) 2013 is well on its way.  The past couple of weeks I have thought back over my gaming habits from the past year and ended up coming to a few conclusions about where I would like to see myself and L'Épée Magique this year.  They are as follows:

I will place ME2 and Meriel's Story on hold.

I have enjoyed Meriel, but at the moment she has gone on too long. I enjoyed Mass Effect tremendously, and I even enjoy Mass Effect 2 when I can convince myself to play it.  The operative key words here though are "convince myself to play it".  For me, gaming is meant to be an enjoyable adventure of both the mind and imagination.  Why then, should I have to feel like it is work just to place the CD in the drive and launch a title?  I'm not sure where along the line playing ME2 began to feel like drudgery, but it's likely tied to the obligatory install of Origin alongside ME3 that will prevent me from ever completing the series and experiencing the final chapter of this trilogy first hand.  That alone is enough to dispirit anyone.  I'm not done with the title, and I would really like to see Meriel finish her current mission, but I think we both need space before that can happen.  It's okay. The galaxy will wait.

I will make a dent in my GOG shelf.

I have a weakness for 90s/early '00 style adventure games, and GOG is more than willing to feed this fascination of mine.  As the result of weekend and holiday sales across the past couple of years, shelf upon shelf of these titles now fill my GOG gamecase (as opposed to bookcase).  I really want to sit down and spend some quality time with Gabriel Knight, Sanitarium, or my beloved Microïd titles.  I have, after all, recently acquired the rest of the Still Life trilogy.  It's been hard the past year or so to play this kind of game without feeling guilty about Meriel.  With her on hold, I finally have a chance to both play and blog musings about these titles.

I will start another lengthy title.

I have so many epic length cRPGs on my shelf  of both the virtual and physical varieties.  It is time to make a series dent in that list.  While I have not decided which of these titles I will plug in next, a decision will be made within the next week. I still want to story-tell whichever title I choose, but am not sure how exactly it will be approached. Look for posts regarding all of this around the beginning of  February.

ME2 - Zaeed

Vengeance and anger.

There are spoilers after the break.  Continue reading at your own risk.

ME2 - Miranda

Changes in perception.

There are spoilers after the break.  Continue reading at your own risk.

ME2 - The Recruits

The motley crew.

There are spoilers after the break.  Continue reading at your own risk.

ME2 - Rejection

A failed reunion.

There are spoilers after the break.  Continue reading at your own risk.

ME2 - Breeding

Déjà vu.

There are spoilers after the break.  Continue reading at your own risk.

ME2 - Prisoner

Powerful and unpredictable.

There are spoilers after the break.  Continue reading at your own risk.

ME2 - Mordin

Realizations in the plague zone.

There are spoilers after the break.  Continue reading at your own risk.

ME2 - Reflection

Serious conversations.

There are spoilers after the break.  Continue reading at your own risk.

ME2 - Archangel

The unexpected ...

There are spoilers after the break.  Continue reading at your own risk.

ME2 - Omega

A resolution is made.

There are spoilers after the break.  Continue reading at your own risk.

Let's Talk About - SOPA/PIPA Blackout

As you may have noticed at right, I am a member of the Entertainment Consumers Association (the ECA) which is dedicated to preserving the rights of gamers and advocating for the gaming community as a whole.  I am not a very political person, but some recent United States legislation has had me quite up in arms since it was first introduced - the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act.  While not directed at gamers, this legislation (if passed) could have negative effects internet wide - both inside and outside of the United States' borders due to bills' extremely vague wording - wording that would make abuse of the law far too easy.  The potential impact on the internet gaming community/industry alone could be detrimental.

As such, I have decided to join that January 18 online SOPA strike.  I have installed java code into this blog that should replace my blog with this, or forward you to a similar screen.  There is no guarantee that this forwarding will work, but I have at least made a full faith effort.  Either way, L'Épée Magique will not be updated in anyway for the whole of the 18th.  This is something I feel very strongly about, and hope that you will understand the reason for this inconvenience.

For those of you who live outside the United States, take a moment to read what GOG.com has to say about the legislation.  Good Old Games (GOG) is a much loved and much respected digital distributor that is best known for their classic computer games and strong anti-DRM stance.  They are also the sister company of CD Projekt RED, the developer behind The Witcher and The Witcher 2: The Assassins of Kings.

Everyone please also take a moment to watch the video below, and help keep yourselves informed.

I am sorry for the heavily political nature of this post as L'Épée Magique is not a political or advocacy blog in any form or fashion.  In fact, I make a habit of never discussing politics IRL either.  Let that alone tell you how important this is to me.

ME2 - Rejected

Betray me once, shame on you.  Betray me twice ...

There are spoilers after the break.  Continue reading at your own risk.

ME2 - The Crew

... the rest has been replaced.

There are spoilers after the break.  Continue reading at your own risk.

ME2 - Amusing Oddities 1

It has been a while since I did one of these, since there really was not a great deal odd about Mass Effect despite the prolific nature of convenient boxes for cover-based shooting.  Now that I am more familiar with Shepard's world though, there are a number of Amusing Oddities that have already reared their collective head in Mass Effect 2.  Below are a number of things in the game that were rather befuddling or simply made me laugh.

Eternal Makeup

You have to admire Miranda's attention to detail.  The Illusive Man told her to make sure Shepard emerged from the Lazarus Project the same as she was before death.  He wanted her personality to be intact, he memories intact, and her appearance intact.  Apparently he also wanted her makeup to be intact.  In Meriel's case this is actually rather appropriate, since she wore red lipstick for a very specific reason.  It is unlikely that Miranda could have known that though.  I wonder how many times the resurrected Shepard's lipstick was repeatedly, freshly applied during the two years she spent on the laboratory table.  Was it Miranda's job to apply the lipstick, or did she simply tattoo it (in a realistic manner) on Meriel's face?  I suppose the world will never know.

Click to Enlarge

Missing Scar

While we are on the subject, what happened to Shepard's scar? In Mass Effect, Meriel had a facial scar which began above her right eyebrow and crossed diagonally across her face, ending halfway down her left cheek.  Like the red lipstick, Meriel had proudly wore this scar (choosing not to have it medically removed) for a very specific reason.  As such, I was very sad to see it missing post-Lazarus Project.  Granted, Meriel now has those glowing facial scars working in her favor, but they are not quite the same.  The scar from ME1 was a testament to her past with the Tenth Street Reds.  During her time in the slums, had been in a vicious knife fight (in a world ruled by biotics and guns), and managed to emerge the proud victor.  By retaining the scar, Meriel was warning everyone she met that she was not someone you should mess with.  Again, it is possible that Miranda did not know this, but the Illusive Man knows so much about Meriel that you think he would have known this as well.  Why would he have taken such pains to have her brought back "as is" (right down to her makeup) and yet not have Miranda replicate facial scarring?

Bathrooms!

I would like to take this moment to rejoice.  The new Normandy not only has one bathroom, but it has three! There is a common men's room, a common women's room, and a private bathroom in Shepard's quarters (seen above).  If femShep walks into the men's room, she even hears an audio message telling her where to find the women's shared bathroom.  Brilliant.  These restrooms not only have showers and sinks, but you can even flush the toilets! This seriously makes me all kinds of happy.  It does beg the question though, of where crew on the first Normandy used the restroom.  Did they simply hold it in between planetary missions? Come to think of it ... I do not believe there were any bathrooms on the planets they visited either.  It is nice to see that the galaxy wised up during the two years that Meriel lay dead/unconscious on a table.

ME2 - Returned

Some of what was lost is now regained ...

There are spoilers after the break.  Continue reading at your own risk.

ME2 - Collected

The missing colonists.

There are spoilers after the break.  Continue reading at your own risk.

ME2 - Lazarus

Two years later ...

There are spoilers after the break.  Continue reading at your own risk.

ME2 - Gone

Over before it began.

There are spoilers after the break.  Continue reading at your own risk.

Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 2 came in the mail today and is now sitting pretty on the shelf. Once my most recent playthrough of DA:O/DA:O Awakening is finished then it is on to Planescape: Torment. I expect to actually invest time in Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 this summer but we shall see how long my weak will power holds out. It has been a while since I played an RPG that was not rooted in high fantasy (I think Knights of the Old Republic II was the last one) so this should be interesting and I'm quite excited at the prospect.

Image: Bioware