Waiting for some Witcher? Try the adventure game.

I don't really know how I feel about spinoff games or about how it seems like developers are trying to take them into different genres.  Take Hearthstone for example, it's a fun spinoff from the Warcraft world that takes the characters from Blizzard's series and makes it into a card game.  CD Projekt Red, the company that created one of my favorite RPG series, The Witcher, seems to be wandering down a similar path.  They have very recently released The Witcher Adventure Game which is a digital version of a board game.  Here's  a video if you haven't heard of it:

It looks kind of interesting.  I mean, Hearthstone works, so why couldn't this?  If I wasn't still neck deep in Dragon Age:  Inquisition I might try it out.  You can play by yourself against AI, with friends, or publicly in a matchmaking system.  I don't know that a digital board game really has draw enough to tempt me into buying it.  It's only $8.99 on GOG (DRM-free!) so it's a fairly cheap investment.

If you're desperate for some Witcher this might be an excellent choice.  As for me, I think I'll hold off and continue anticipating the release of The Witcher III early in 2015.  By that time I might actually be done with Dragon Age:  Inquisition :)

She's back.

(Spoilers ahead regarding Dragon Age:  Inquisition.  Yup, I'm still writing about it.)

Morrigan, the character I was most excited to see returning to Dragon Age:  Inquisition has finally made her appearance.  So what has she been up to for the last ten years?  Unsurprisingly, she's pretty vague but she has managed to ingratiate herself with Empress Celene of Orlais.  Apparently as a "magical adviser" she has been teaching the empress about all types of magic.

You first run into Morrigan while attending a ball held by the empress at a beautiful and very Orlesian palace.  In your previous mission to court the mages or templars it is revealed that in the future there is a plot to kill the empress to throw the empire into chaos.  It is your job to attend this fancy party and figure out who is plotting against her.  Of course there are several possible candidates who all have some reason for wanting her out of the picture.  As you navigate the Orlesian social scene, chatting with nobles and dancing with strange ladies, you also explore the palace in your efforts to find the assassin.  It's after a few rounds of exploration that you run into Morrigan.

It seems strange that Morrigan would end up in Orlais.  To go from being extremely isolated and living in the Korcari Wilds with her "mother" to the Orlesian royal court seems like quite a leap.  Morrigan is not a party member who will accompany you on quests, but takes on the role of another adviser.  I have attempted to chat with her a few times and it has yielded nothing interesting.  She very vaguely recounts travelling with the "hero of Ferelden" during the blight, but reveals little else about what she has been doing.  After storming Adamant fortress she does drop a pretty big bomb--in her travels she has managed to piece together an eluvian--an elven artifact (possibly soul sucking and demonic as indicated in previous games) that allows travel into unknown realms.  She leads you into a zone she calls "the crossroads" where many eluvians seem to meet up.  It's not quite the fade, but it's somewhere close.  She states that she hid out in this weird realm for sometime after the events in the first game.

I'm not completely sure what to make of her return.  She's seems to have important knowledge, but at the same time it feels like she is hiding things.  I have a feeling she's going to wind up being much more important than what she currently seems to be.  Her return has not been as exciting as I had hoped.

I still have many hours left to go in my adventures and hope to unravel the mysteries of Morrigan (and her creepy mirror).

It's my party...

(Dragon Age:  Inquisition spoilers ahead)

The whole crew.  It's a tough choice who to bring...

And so far I haven't managed much variety within it.  Dragon Age:  Inquisition offers up a large number of followers to fill up your new home at Skyhold.  Initially your party consists of yourself, Cassandra, Solas, and Varric.  I have only slightly altered this formula replacing Varric with Iron Bull to keep my party balanced between ranged and melee.  I feel like this combination works because Iron Bull's melee abilities set off cross-class combinations much more frequently.  But I feel like I'm missing out by not adding some of my many other followers into the group.

What specifically am I missing?  The banter within your group.  (Apparently there might be some sort of bug that is causing there to be no banter--BioWare is in the process of fixing it--fortunately it doesn't appear to have effected my game).  I feel like the banter changes in every new zone you enter, but I haven't changed up my party much.  Solas and Iron Bull argue about the Qun and how it is good or bad.  Iron Bull compliments Cassandra (it's completely awkward) on her armor choices as well as his appreciation for her talents.  I've taken Blackwall on a few missions and he and Varric joke about the best tavern names.

Your party selection in Dragon Age:  Inquisition can have a number of choices (it's almost like they wanted to give you three of every class to choose from--I'm wondering if this is a plot choice that I haven't gotten to yet).  You have Cassandra, Blackwall, and Iron Bull as your warriors.  Cassandra and Blackwall seem to be interchangeable as your tanks and Iron Bull is a two handed bruiser.  For your rogues you have Varric, Sera, and Cole.  Varric and Sera are both archers while Cole is a melee rogue.  Your mages are Vivienne, Dorian, and Solas (I've tried to mix and match their talents for variety).  Why so many choices?  This seems like a pretty big departure from the past games where you had only one or two choices.  There has to be a reason...I'll have to keep playing and find out.

Dragon Slaying Guilt

(Spoilers regarding Dragon Age:  Inquisition ahead--read at your own risk)

Poor dragon.  Now I'm going to slay you.

Ah, dragons--the traditional fantasy foes.  I have to say that the dragons in the Dragon Age series are very formidable foes.  When you encounter a dragon, you better be ready to bring your "A" game.  In Origins I would always opt to slay the high dragon who cultists were worshipping as Andraste reborn.  I would always face off against Flemeth, the famed witch of the wilds, in her dragon form.  I dreaded the one dragon fight in Dragon Age II because it was a tough fight.  In the newest incarnation of dragon slaying, Dragon Age:  Inquisition, I have continued my quest for total dragon genocide.

I've now slain exactly two dragons in my travels through Thedas.  Talk about epic battles!  Dragon slaying has somewhat changed in Inquisition.  The first dragon I slew was the Fereldan Frostback in the Hinterlands.  The basics of dragonslaying haven't really changed--don't stand your ranged characters in front of the dragon unless you want them to get roasted by it's firebreath, have your melee characters attack from the side rather than the back to avoid getting kicked, and be prepared to pause and move your party quickly--but there are some interesting and challenging changes.  The dragons in Inquisition are much more agile and will frequently charge or turn around very quickly.  They will move a lot during the encounter so movement of your party has become even more difficult.  I bet you're thinking "that's easy to avoid, just take three ranged party members."  The new, improved dragons also have an ability like a wing buffet that sucks all your ranged characters into melee range and does heavy damage.  As a result, much of the healing that takes place is a desperate attempt to keep your ranged characters alive.  One new feature allows you to target the legs of the dragon.  Doing so allows you to temporarily cripple it allowing you to unload while it is down.  Even though I managed to cripple the Frostback, the next dragon I fought was much tougher to take down.  In order to confront the Abyssal High Dragon in the Western Approach you must complete a fairly long quest chain involving an Orlesian "dragonologist" and his research.  Upon completing this quest chain you are able to finally fight the dragon.  Unlike the Frostback, this dragon is much jumpier and moves all over the place.  The firebreathing and wing buffeting attacks are still in place, but this dragon will periodically armor itself making it even more difficult to take down.

If you're looking for party members to accompany you on your dragon slaying quests, you should definitely take Iron Bull.  He is extremely excited to fight a dragon and even remarks on it if you see the dragon fly overhead.  Upon successfully downing a dragon with Iron Bull in the party you can meet with him in the tavern in Skyhold and share a celebratory drink...or three.  This event is hilarious and he shares many pearls of Qunari wisdom about dragons...and his weird obsession with red-heads.  It's one of those extremely memorable moments that BioWare is great at peppering throughout their games.

I always feel a little guilty when slaying the dragons.  They're supposed to be extremely rare, but your goal is to kill them all?  It seems a little weird.  During my drinkfest with Iron Bull my character was finally given the option to remark on how sad it was to kill them.  I'm sure I'll get over it....and kill some more dragons. 

Spoilers. This post is basically 100% spoilers about Dragon Age: Inquisition.

As the title of this post infers, there will be spoilers about Dragon Age:  Inquisition.  Please stop reading if you haven't played through some of it yet.

Yesterday I questioned some of the strange design decisions, but after logging some additional hours I have to say that I just keep getting excited for whatever is going to come next.  I finally fought off the urge to explore every inch of the unlockable zones and focus on doing the main questline. If you are reading this and haven't focused on the main questline, do that!  The nice thing about main quests is a little text box that says "recommended for levels 4 to 7."  I am regretting not looking at this sooner.

As I progressed through the main questline I was forced to make that traditional Dragon Age decision-- mages or templars?  Who did I want as my ally in the effort to close the breach?  Being that my main character is a mage, I sided with the mages.  My decision did not sit well with some of my companions, namely Vivienne.  She's a mage, shouldn't she be happy that I sided with the mages?  No--she greatly disapproves, because she is a Circle mage firmly entrenched in the traditional system of keeping mages under the protection of templars.  She does raise a semi-legitimate concern about abominations...hope that doesn't come back to bite me.

Part of the mage questline involves fighting off an evil Tevinter plot to enslave the rebel mages.  As part of this plot you are introduced to yet another new party member named Dorian who is a Tevinter mage, but who opposes the bad guy who is running things.  The bad guy, Alexius, is using a particularly dangerous type of magic, time magic, in his efforts to bring the rebel mages under his control.  As you confront him about his usage of this magic he uses a special amulet that distorts time.  You are sucked into a vortex and wake up in a waterlogged prison cell.  Dorian, your new Tevinter mage friend is your companion on this quest.  During your explorations of your new setting you discover a few things, firstly there is red lyrium growing out if everything--the walls, the ceilings, even people.  Secondly, you learn that you have been thrust forward in time an entire year.  This freakish setting is what the world will be like if you fail to close the rifts.  As you advance through the dungeon you find your other teammates in cells, but they aren't looking so hot--they have a red glow in their eyes and it's obvious that the red lyrium is having a very detrimental effect.  You fight your way through Alexius's lackeys and close several rifts.  You also discover Leliana in a torture chamber and she looks horrible.  In one of the documents you find, it is revealed that she and Felix (Alexius's mysteriously ailing son) have been exposed to the Blight.  She accompanies your group to find Alexius.

After gathering some red lyrium shards you are able to unlock the main door to reach Alexius.  This fight is the first "boss fight" in the game and isn't terribly difficult.  Alexius is a mage and uses magic, including fire mines that must be avoided, and summons a number of demons that must also be killed.  As you finish him off you grab the amulet and Dorian informs you he can reopen a time portal so that you can return back to where you started.  Unfortunately it's going to take him an hour to work his magic.  From the pounding on the chamber doors it's obvious that you don't have an hour, the demons are closing on your position.  Your companions (in my case Cassandra and Varric) offer to make a last stand in order to allow the time to get the spell to work.  Leliana agrees to guard you in the main chamber for as long as she can.  You watch helplessly as your companions sacrifice themselves to protect you.  It's a little disturbing to see a terror demon toss Varric's corpse into the room and to watch Leliana desperately shooting and stabbing demons until sh's overwhelmed.  You manage to make it back through the portal and capture Alexius.

I am now a little bit further than this, but am curious how similar the mage and templar questlines are to each other.  Red lyrium seems to be central to both groups.  

Mistakes

How many times have you played a game and realized that you've been going about things wrong?  If you're anything like me, it probably happens quite often.  But how do you deal with those mistakes--do you soldier on and try to make the best of a bad situation?  Do you start completely over with a clean slate?  Or do you rage and vow never to pick it up again?  I tend towards the to two, but have had my moments with the third option.

I am having this dilemma in regards to my first round of Dragon Age:  Inquisition.  I have spent a large chunk of time running around the starting area trying to complete everything.  In my time exploring the Hinterlands I kept wondering, "when am I going to get some new companions?"  The answer was way sooner than what I actually did.  Now this might not seem like a big deal, and maybe it's not, but I have been selling gear left and right that could have been used to gear up my new characters.  I suppose I could craft them some stuff if I wanted to gear them up, it might drain my collected resources though.  Should I gear up characters who I have little actual intention of using?  If Inquisition is anything like Mass Effect I will eventually be accompanying all my companions on some sort of side quest.  I think it's best to err on the side of safety and get them some passably good gear.

I am also feeling a little perplexed at this weird design decision.  Why make the initial zone so huge?  Part of the reason I stayed so long is because I've been burned in the past.  How many times have you followed a main questline only to be locked out of side quests that you didn't finish?  I know it's happened to me numerous times and I have had to replay large sections or just totally scrap a playthrough.

Redcliffe.  Another part of the Hinterlands.

Now that I know some of these facts, I feel like I want to start over.  I am now about 25 hours in and that is just way too much to replay.  I am going to opt to soldier on and in my next playthrough do things differently.  Overall I am enjoying Inquisition, but I just have to boggle over these decisions.

Thedas is huge.

I have finally settled into Dragon Age:  Inquisition and feel more comfortable with the gameplay.  My elf is no longer jumping at strange times, but instead is calling down lightning bolts from the sky to decimate enemies.  The combat controls, which felt awkward at first, seem to take aspects of the first and second games.  You can choose to play in third-person and have up close control of your character (similar to the combat in DA2) or zoom out with the tactical camera to better control your entire party (more like Origins).

One new change that I am enjoying, but is a big change from previous games, is the lack of healing spells.  All healing is now done strictly through potions.  Depending on your playstyle you might find this good or bad.  I like it because I'm having to pause combat less and can focus on playing as my character more.  The AI tactical controls are much better in this game too so you don't have to worry as much about what the other members of your party are doing.

I am most impressed at the size and detail in this game.  One of the biggest complaints from DA2 was the lack of variety in locations throughout the game.  The developers listened and have created an extremely detailed and unique set of locations in this game.  I have now played for about 20 hours and have barely even touched the main questline.  I've been busy exploring and building up my Inquisition forces.  In one zone you are sent to help refugees who have been caught in the middle of the chaotic fighting that has broken out between mages and templars.  Farms are raging infernos, set on fire by marauding forces on either side (there really are no good guys or bad guys--both sides are guilty).  Many of the side quests in this region are centered around helping the refugees and farmers.  Another zone is set on the coastline and features amazing dwarven ruins.  The coast has crashing waves, that are amazingly realistic and is littered with shipwrecks.

Although I am greatly enjoying this new game, I do have some complaints.  What happened to the gifts?  I enjoyed finding gifts out in the world and them being able to give them to my companions.  Some of them triggered unique dialogue that was interesting and added to the backstory of the people who were accompanying you on your quest.  I have noticed that some of my actions trigger notifications like "Cassandra slightly approves," but I haven't been able to find any indicator of what her overall feelings are towards my character.  Is there a bar somewhere that I've missed?  The tactical camera can also be somewhat wonky.  I zoom out on a hill and am left with a completely bonkers view that requires me to do uncomfortable things with the camera.  Tunnels and narrow spaces are the worst for this.

Yesterday I found out that I was playing wrong.  Those 20 hours I spent in the game were spent primarily in one very large zone.  While I was looking for some information on a quest that I cannot finish (a requisition quest, that apparently, I have now messed up), I saw several posts urging people to leave the Hinterlands (which is the beginning zone).  This makes me question some area design decisions--if you want people to move onto other places, why make the zone so huge?  I get that they want people to return later to complete stuff, but if you're even remotely the completionist that I am you want to do every quest and explore every crevice.  Here is a Tweet from someone associated with BioWare urging people to leave the Hinterlands

I did finally decide to approach the main questline and briefly visited Val Royeaux and it is amazing.  The Orlesians are whacky, but the city is beautiful.  I will be continuing my explorations of Thedas this holiday week.

Piracy--Not Just on the High Seas Anymore

Yesterday while casually browsing the web I found an interesting article that explains how some game companies combat piracy.  I have to admit that most of them are quite clever.  Unbeatable monsters that kill your character every time it spawns, a wavy "drunk effect" that makes you so nauseous that you can't play, and even guns that shoot chickens.  Chicken guns actually sound fairly entertaining.

Piracy can be a tough moral issue for a lot of people.  I personally can afford to buy games, but can understand the temptation for someone who cannot.  Plus, we all know that big game companies make millions of dollars in profits every year--what's another $40-50?  Morally I do think it's wrong, but I have a hard time when it seems like there is so much collusion and effort to just make money.  For example, every time I have purchased a new computer it has not come with any productivity software included.  To add it would cost another $300 or more.  Sheesh.  Because of this, I have to admit to being a pirate.  I've pirated software for work before (the programs that require the purchase of a license to use--then you just use the same # on every machine).  Am I a horrible person?  Or are the companies that keep their prices sky high the bad guys?  Why don't I feel bad about pirating work software, but would feel bad about pirating a game?

In the good 'ol days before everything was done online you could just swap the game disks with your friends.  I am glad to see that distributors like GOG are making an effort to return to the DRM-free days of yesteryear.  It really feels like every time I buy a game there is some sort of third-party software that must be installed.  I already have Steam, Origin, and Battle.net!  I don't need any more.  

Indies with Great Music

Indies tend to follow their own unique path and can often include many interesting and different elements.  There have been several Indie games in which the music has been an extremely strong factor.  If you've ever played either of Supergiant's Indie hits, Bastion and Transistor, you will recognize the similarity in music style and the phenomenally smooth voice of Ashley Barrett.  I can't really say that either of those games are my favorite games to play, but they do have great music.

Transistor

Another really great Indie soundtrack comes from the folks who designed Guacamelee.  The music really echoes the setting for the game--a world set in a Mexican folktale.  Because the game centers on moving between the world of the living and the world of the dead you get a different feeling from the music as you move back and forth.

The next time you're at work and tired of listening to the same old stuff, try out one of these great Indie soundtracks.

The Music of Mass Effect

I think I've written something about Mass Effect at least ten times already.  I'm sorry, I can't help myself.  The Mass Effect series has always been my favorite series.  One of the reasons why Mass Effect is so firmly entrenched at the top of my list is because of the amazing music in the game.  The music has a sci-fi feel with lots of synths and futuristic tones.  I will proudly admit to owning the soundtracks from all three games and spending some serious time listening to them.

One of my favorite places in Mass Effect is the bridge of the Normandy and that's partially due to the music.  The music isn't soothing or calm but instead gives a sense of determination and focus.

Another of my favorite places in the Mass Effect universe is the Citadel.  This mysterious and amazing structure is clearly awe inspiring and the music as you make your initial exploration definitely reflects that feeling.  In the first game the characters marvel as they wander through the Presidium and are introduced to the center of galactic life.

In Mass Effect 3 the music did a great job of reflecting the fact that the entire galaxy was in jeopardy.  One of my favorite musical moments in this game was from a particularly sad place.  Very early in the game Earth is attacked by the reapers and Shepard is forced to make the difficult decision to leave in order to rally galactic defenses.  The mournful piano melodies haunt you as you watch Shepard leaving Earth as the Reapers launch a terrible and relentless assault.

One of the most surprising musical moments from Mass Effect (besides Mordin singing) happens as the credits roll at the end of the first game.  This weird song from a band I had never heard of added to the excitement.

Auditory Memories

I think maybe I might be a little weird, but just a little.  I have always enjoyed the music from video games and have downloaded numerous soundtracks.  The sale of soundtracks from video games has become much more common in recent years.  Now, they are often included as bonus content or can be purchased separately from games.  You can search on iTunes for video game soundtracks and will have a wide selection from which to choose.  Listening to a soundtrack reminds me of my adventures--whether they are in space, in mysterious lands populated by dangerous enemies, or in worlds torn apart by conflict.  Music sets the tone and energy for a moment.  In Skyrim the thundering chorals and chants echo as the dragonborn learns shouts and slays dragons.

In World of Warcraft the music varies from zone to zone, but the music in the capital cities is permanently etched in my mind--the heroic feeling of the Alliance in Stormwind or the strength of the Horde in Orgrimmar.

What are your favorite musical memories from gaming?  Are they the raucous moments of combat or the calm moments exploring a region?  Maybe they are classics from your favorite childhood games.  Tomorrow I will continue my exploration of my favorite video game music.

Favorite Video Game Music

The music in a game can really set the stage for whatever is currently happening or going on.  I'm going to keep it brief so I can log some hours in Dragon Age:  Inquisition.  I have always enjoyed the music from Diablo III (I've heard the music from Diablo II is even better).  Here is a video of the OST from Diablo III.  Enjoy!

Dragon Age: Inquisition First Impressions

Finally!  After a false start yesterday in anticipation of the release of Dragon Age:  Inquisition it became available at 9:00 P.M. last night.  I was able to start my new adventure in Thedas--albeit very briefly (I was only able to play for a little over an hour--work the next day).  One hour was enough to get me even more excited about returning to the fragile world that is Thedas.

My first task was to create a hero to be my inquisitor.  I resisted the urge to roll a qunari and settled into an elf mage.  The character creation tool in Inquisition is amazing--you can alter the look of your hero in almost infinite ways.  I knew I had limited time to play so I chose a preset face and only slightly altered it, but you could realistically spend hours perfecting your hero.  Finally ready to play...

The opening sequence is nothing like the previous games, there is no revisiting of lore, you're just thrust right into a confusing situation.  Your hero appears to be in a strange place (the fade?) being pursued by ravenous spiders when a mysterious glowy figure reaches out to pull your hero up onto a ledge, out of reach of the skittering horrors.  The next scene shows your hero falling out of a green flash of light and being surrounded by soldiers.  Immediately it becomes apparent that you have been arrested and are in trouble.  Your hero finds himself/herself in a prison, handcuffed to the floor, with strange green light emanating from his/her hands.  The door slams open and Cassandra Pentaghast and Leliana enter the room.  Cassandra immediately starts questioning your hero while Leliana assists.  Your hero is clueless about what is happening, but Cassandra knows more.  She decides to take your hero out of the cell and release them.  Somehow she has pieced together that your flashy green hands are an important tool in closing mysterious rifts that are appearing all over Thedas.  She agrees to accompany you to the location of the first rift, near the temple of Andraste.

Once you have left the starting area you have a chance to try out the new combat system.  Combat doesn't appear to have changed drastically from previous games, but it is slightly different.  You must press and hold a button to perform basic attacks and you use special abilities (spells for my mage) by pressing the numbered hotkeys.  One big change--there is jumping in this game!  I kept hitting spacebar to pause combat only to watch as my willowy elf jumped around like an idiot.  I'm still not 100% certain which key pauses combat.  The combat is as detailed as in Dragon Age 2--my mage twirled her staff around in a fantastic fashion while hurling fire spells and lightning bolts.  One thing I noticed that was different was a much higher level in detail when it came to status effects related to spells.  Fire spells cause a target to panic and lightning spells reduce defenses.  In my brief play time last night I made it to where I could control my party, but didn't get a great feel for their abilities.

One of the major bragging points from DA:  I pre-sale was an "open world."  This was somewhat evident in my initial explorations.  Rather than following a narrow set path I found myself climbing up snowy mountains to look for loot.  This wider world is very detailed and beautiful--the graphics are amazing and I am awed by just the small zone I am currently playing in.

Cassandra and Varric--totally not friends.

My favorite moment so far came when my combo of Cassandra Pentaghast and my mage ran into an elf mage named Solas and none other than Varric Tethras (who is even sexier in Inquisition) fighting off demons.  As Varric introduces himself and adds in some color commentary about being "ass deep in demons" Cassandra can't help but cringe with total disgust.  It's obvious that these two aren't over their past differences and aren't going to be BFF's any time soon.  I have to work late tonight but am anxious to explore more of the chaos plaguing Thedas.

Crushed Dreams and Dragon Age Talk

The weather where I live has been pretty horrible of late.  We had a huge snowstorm and have had subzero temperatures the last couple of nights.  As a result of this weather I haven't had to go to work (one of the perks of being a teacher--snow days!) and have been trapped indoors doing much more gaming than I would normally.  I have been really hoping that the snow days would coincide with the release of Dragon Age:  Inquisition so I could park myself at the computer and play all day rather than for a few scant hours in the evening.  I got the magical phone call this morning that school was cancelled and was super pumped!  Inquisition is out--I can play all day!  I sprinted into my computer room and happily booted up my computer and logged into Origin--then my soul was crushed.  I could have sworn that it said that Inquisition was released at 9:00 P.M. last night.  The simple answer is no--it's 9:00 P.M. (Pacific time--12:00 Eastern) tonight.  Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar.  -20 to reading skills.

(The rest of this post contains spoilers about the Dragon Age series.  Read at your own risk.)

Now that I've finally gotten over my disappointment and lack of reading skills I want to write about Dragon Age as a series.  I'm totally in Dragon Age mode at the moment.

1.)  Favorite party member from the Dragon Age series
--For general utility I would pick Morrigan.  Her magic skills were always great in my Origins playthroughs.  Combine her freezing skills with a warrior and you get chunks of frozen bad guys all over the battlefield.  Morrigan pretty much disagreed with all my actions though so she and my hero weren't exactly BFF's.  I always liked Aveline too.  Doing her quests to woo Donnic was humorous and just totally different from other companion quests.

2.) Funniest party member
--Alistair was always saying something that made me laugh.  The banter between he and Morrigan was great.  I still like to stick those two in my party so I can listen to them insult each other.

3.) Least favorite party member

Sten.  From comic book cover.

--Sten.  I just don't get the qunari.  Their culture is so strict and they seem so much like crazy zealots.  Trying to have a conversation with Sten was always extremely painful.  There is one golden moment with Sten that involves him revealing his adoration of cookies.  That is about the only time I like Sten.

4.) Favorite class
--I like them all.  The combat in DA2 was so cool that I found it really hard to choose.  I like mages for all their awesome big spells and ability to crowd control and AoE things down.  In DA2 my favorite class to play was a rogue.  All the disappearing and popping up behind foes and stabbing was way too enjoyable.

Tomorrow I'll be enjoying some Inquisition and will hopefully find some new characters to love or hate.

The Age Old Question--Ashley or Kaidan?

(This post contains spoilers about the original Mass Effect.  If you haven't played it, you should, and you shouldn't read this.)

I've been replaying Mass Effect to kill time until Dragon Age:  Inquisition is released on Monday.  When I got a new computer a few months ago all my save files from my numerous playthrough's went into the closet.  I had to start over from scratch (I refuse to get the Genesis DLC--I will replay all of Mass Effect!).  This has to be about the tenth time that I've played through it and I'm enjoying starting over.  One of the first things I did was to crank up the settings--through all those playthroughs I never realized that the graphics were set on the absolute lowest settings.  I turned the resolution and texture detail all the way up and it's like an entirely new game, even after seven years.

Ashley Williams.  Poetry loving xenophobe.

Replaying Mass Effect has thrust me back into thinking about my decision making in games.  One of the biggest decisions you must make as Commander Shepard is who to save on Virmire.  Do you save Kaidan or Ashley?  I really got to thinking about how I make this decision (which is sort of psychology related).  Do you go with your heart or your brain?

Kaidan Alenko.  Biotic eye-candy.

I tend to go with logic.  If I need Kaidan or Ashley's skills to balance out my squad I will usually save the one I use for balance (Kaidan has biotic skills and Ashley has combat).  That seems heartless, I know.  Maybe you go with your heart.  On a few playthroughs I have decided to have my character romance one of them and that is usually the person who I save.  Or maybe you go with the character that you like more.  Kaidan is such a bland character.  Sure, he's eye-candy for the FemShep's out there, but he's not the most exciting character.  Ashley, on the other hand, is way more interesting.  She comes from a disgraced military family, is a bit of a xenophobe (I kind of forgot this), and enjoys reading poetry.  If I had to choose on personality alone, I would go with Ashley.

So how do you choose?  With your heart or with your brain?

Pre-Load Madness

Dragon Age:  Inquisition is just a mere 2 days from release.  To prepare for this exciting event I pre-loaded for about 10 hours yesterday and am happy to report that I should be ready to play the minute...I get home from work (not at release--real life, what a downer).  While browsing my newsfeed on Facebook I was teased into believing that I might be able to play for 6 hours before launch using something called EA Access.  I excitedly clicked the link only to find out this is for XBox One players only and is some sort of subscription based service.  No thanks!  You can keep your console and it's playable demo mode.

I'm really looking forward to this new installment of one of my favorite series from one of my favorite game makers (BioWare--not EA.  We all know EA is slowly trying to make amends for being horrible).  But now there are other questions that I have to consider before I start my new adventure in Thedas.  Here they are--maybe you're thinking about them too.

1.) What race am I going to roll for my first inquisitor?
I automatically want to roll a Qunari since they're a new playable race in the Dragon Age series.  I can't say I'm wild about them as a race though.  They always struck me as a little religious zealot-like and way too strict.  Yes, they look cool with their blue skin, giant horns, and bulging muscles, but they're completely crazy.  Maybe I'm not giving them enough credit.

Maybe a human?  Too bland!  I had to play a human in DA2 and had no choice in the matter.  A dwarf?  I think having a dwarf as the inquisitor seems weird.  Would dwarves really want to get involved in all this magicy nonsense?  Am I racist against dwarves?  A real mental conundrum.  How about an elf?  I could totally see an elf as the inquisitor.  And no, I'm not just picking an elf because they're pretty!  One of my favorite characters that I played through Dragon Age:  Origins and Awakening was an elf mage.  So I'm leaning towards elf....

2.) Now that I haven't made up my mind about a race--what class am I going to roll?
Just so you get a total picture of my mental craziness regarding games my class choice is very much tied to my race choices.  I know, that seems a little roleplay-esque.  If I pick a qunari I could see rolling a warrior (is mage an option for qunari?--I got the impression from DA2 that the qunari really hate magic and will go to great lengths to control their mages).  I don't really see a qunari as a rogue.  If I do roll a dwarf my only choices are rogue and warrior and I tend to lean towards rogue for a dwarf.  Short and stabby!  With an elf I will almost always go mage--this may stem from lore, I like to think of elves as having a special connection with magic.  For humans I like either warrior or mage (not rogue--that is for dwarves).  That's really complicated, I know.  Am I nuts, or do other people make decisions this way?  Don't say it!

3.) What NPC am I most excited to see return from the previous games?
A few members of your team in DA:  I are returning characters from the previous games.  Cassandra Pentaghast, the interrogator from DA2 is back to bring some Chantry zealotry to your squad.  She's one tough cookie and could make an interesting tank-like addition to a squad.  Varric Tethras, my favorite wise-cracking sexy dwarf, is also back with his lady-friend/crossbow Bianca.  I like keeping him in my party for comic relief and levity, but I'm not super fond of archers as a class--they're sort of ranged, but they're sort of rogues--it's confusing.  Leliana, the beautiful bard/nun/Chantry spy, is back for some singing and loving of the Maker.  I liked the DLC Leliana's Song and am looking forward to her return.

Morrigan is looking less witchy and way more emo.

There are quite a few returners, but the character I am most looking forward to seeing is Morrigan.  Yes, that horrible witch who hates anything resembling actual decent behavior.  After her sudden disappearance in Origins you have to wonder what she's been up to.  Birthing some demon spawn?  Colluding with her dragon mother/demon abomination, Flemeth?  Plotting more ways to disapprove of your actions?  We'll see.

I haven't been this excited about a game since Mass Effect 3 and am planning on diving right into Dragon Age :  Inquisitions the first opportunity I get.  Start pre-loading folks so you can be ready to play on Monday!

The Nostalgia Factor--Wasteland 2

Wasteland 2 is a Kickstarter effort to bring back a classic RPG from the 1980’s.  I would recommend Wasteland 2 to anyone who enjoys turn-based RPG’s or anyone really.

What I liked:

--Graphics and artwork

  Wasteland 2 looks nice and has a ton of little graphical details to keep players

   engulfed in the post-apocalyptic world.  The artwork maintains the same quirky

   “Mad Max” style that was evident in the original game.  I enjoyed the multitude of

   character portraits that complimented the in-game characters.  As a nice little extra

   you get a digital artbook that shows many of the conceptual designs and finished

   artwork from the game.

--Nostalgia Factor

  One of the main reasons I purchased Wasteland 2 is because of my experiences

  with the original game.  I appreciated the humorous details put into the game.  Many

  of the items you pick up as junk are reminders of the 80’s--Laserdiscs, Teddy

  Ruxpins, 8-track tapes, etc.  I often found myself laughing at some ridiculous piece of

  junk that I picked up.  Players of the original game will also appreciate that many of

  the locations and characters from that game are present in the new game.  You

  receive a copy of Wasteland with Wasteland 2 so you can revisit the original.

--Challenging Gameplay

 I enjoyed the combat and exploration in Wasteland 2.  I found the combat challenging

 and it was refreshing to have “critical failures.”  The realism of having things go wrong,

 while annoying at times, felt different from a lot of games.  Guns jammed in the middle

 of a fight, lockpicks broke, your demolitions expert triggered a trap while trying to

 disarm it.  Too many times players are presented with a cakewalk of perfection and

 Wasteland 2 really strays from that path.

--Choices

 Players are given multiple choices in how to solve quests.  Maybe you’re a shoot first,

 ask questions later type who opts to blow up all the Atchison’s rather than work out a

 truce.  That’s a completely valid option.  Or you could attempt to negotiate a truce.

--Character Design Options

  Your characters can have a multitude of different and random talents.  Part of the

  challenge in Wasteland 2 is distributing abilities around your group for the maximum

  benefit.  Toaster repair is something I skimped on and regretted. Go toaster repair!

What I didn’t like:

I really enjoyed Wasteland 2 and don’t have many complaints.  For a Kickstarter game

it’s really well done.

--Bugs

 My first playthrough went really well for about 90% of the game.  It was when I got to

 a later zone (won’t spoil it) that things got a little sketchy.  There is one area that will

 not work if you do not complete the quests in a very specific order.  It also seems

 somewhat unfinished--there are references to places in town that do not exist.  There

 have been several major patches that have attempted to fix many problems, but this

 one still persists.  It’s not unplayable, just mildly annoying.

I would recommend Wasteland 2.  If you have any frame of reference to the original game you will enjoy this immensely.  There are a lot of extras thrown in--artbook, the original game, and the soundtrack--which are fun.

Strangely Fun

Steam and it's plethora of sales have made me into an impulse buyer.  75% off!  Heck yeah--I'll buy some random game I've never heard of.  I recently made an impulse purchase that turned out to be really great.  Cook. Serve, Delicious was 50% off so I snatched it up like a weird hot potato.  I've been mashing buttons and potatoes for a few days now and enjoying it.

Cook, Serve, Delicious is described on the Steam store page as a "hardcore cooking sim."  I've played a few cooking games and they're pretty fun.  CSD revolves around players running a fictitious restaurant.  Your goal is to help your restaurant grow from a pitiful no star establishment that serves low-class foods like corn dogs and hot pretzels to a shining five-star restaurant that serves lobster and expensive wines.  At each level players must accomplish certain goals to improve the rating of their restaurant.  One of those goals is running your restaurant successfully for 20 days.  Each gameplay day consists of the player setting the menu and then filling customer orders correctly as well as performing vital chores like washing the dishes or taking out the trash.  To fill an order the player must correctly enter the combination of keystrokes for that specific order--and you want to do it as quickly as you can.  Let's say we're in our crappy no-star restaurant and someone orders a corndog with mustard.  I would have to press the correct ticket number (1-3 in a no-star restaurant) and them press M, for mustard, and enter to fill the order.  Simple, right?  Not exactly.  Certain times of the day are "rush hour" and customer orders are placed as fast as you can fill them, oh and the garbage needs taken out, or there are rats, or the trash needs taken out, and there are more orders...sheesh!  Customers won't wait forever for you to fill their orders so if you decide to do a chore their order might start to disappear.  Mess up on an order or miss an order and the customer will storm out angrily earning you "negative buzz" and never returning.

This may sound a little odd, but it's extremely addicting fun.  I've progressed to the point that I am running a 3-star restaurant.  As your restaurant gets better the recipes get more complicated and the pace gets much more frantic.  In my 3-star restaurant I have 7 prep stations that can take orders--during rush-hour it's a mad house.  There are also other management related tasks, like balancing your menu for the most buzz or winning bets for cash.  To keep moving up the ranks you must earn enough cash to upgrade recipes--making them more complicated and pass health inspections.

Cook, Serve, Delicious is a great little indie cooking/management game.  It's fairly priced and a ton of fun.  If you're a perfectionist this game will drive you mad.  Pick it up on the Steam store (Here) or for your mobile device.

UPDATE 12/11/16:  Now that I've completely played through CSD I thought I would add a little more to make this more reviewlike.

As your restaurant progresses, CSD gets tougher.  Menus have to be balanced and buzz has to be maintained all while you scramble to fill orders.  The more money you make means that you have to decide which recipes to upgrade and which to skip.  Certain recipes offer much challenge--shish kabobs require you to make sure that the same ingredient doesn't touch, lasagna must be layered in a specific pattern or else it's considered a bad order, bananas foster sometimes must be flambe-d, and don't even get me started on sushi and soup. Of course you could always choose not to upgrade your recipes, but you'll be missing out the cash to be made from offering higher quality foods.

Eventually you reach the coveted five-star restaurant status and get to experience the magic of occupying the top floor of the SheriSoda towers.  Once you've finished the main game there are still plenty of challenges in store--BattleKitchen edition offers individual challenges to beat with each challenge getting tougher.  I still haven't finished all of them.  There is also an option for some sort of co-op or head-to-head challenge mode (I didn't mess with this, so I'm not quite sure how it works).  Then, if you're feeling truly sadistic you can start a new game on "extreme difficulty."  Extreme difficulty means you are frantically mashing buttons most of the day with Rush Hours lasting twice as long and turning from slightly panicked to full-on disaster mode.  It's not for the faint of heart.

Cook, Serve Delicious is a great game that has a lot to offer for fans of games that require quick reflexes or for those who enjoy the management aspect.

Commander

I recently read an interview featuring the voice actress who voices my favorite lady character.  I was surprised to read that only a small percentage of players pick the female character (18% according to BioWare).  Let me tell you, you're making a mistake!

FemShep

Stop playing the male Commander Shepard, right now!  The female character is so much better.  The voice acting for the female character is done by Jennifer Hale who has voiced so many important characters in gaming.  Why do I love FemShep?  Because she's a badass.  Doesn't matter if you play her paragon or renegade, she's a character that rocks.  I know that a lot of it has to do with BioWare's tactic of using an almost identical script for the male and female characters, but when FemShep says it...it's just so much cooler.  Unlike many other female characters in gaming, FemShep fits the role.  She's a soldier--she looks and acts like one.  She's not overly sexualized (in fact, when you assist Kasumi Goto on her quest to crash a fancy party and FemShep is required to don a pretty dress, you really get the feeling she's not comfortable with it) and she is in charge.  As a lady gamer, FemShep is more the direction that I'd like to see female characters going.  No more sexy ladies with unrealistic giant chestal regions who storm fortresses while wearing minimal clothing!  I want my female characters to be realistic--if they're a soldier, dress them like a soldier and not like a prostitute who wandered onto a battlefield.

The next time you're rolling a new Commander Shepard, give FemShep a try.  I guarantee you'll enjoy it.  Heck, you might even forget that there is a male option :D

Betrayal

This character is one of the good guys, but also one of the bad.  She's gifted and deadly and uses her exceptional powers to get revenge on those who betrayed her.

Sarah Kerrigan

Before Kerrigan was the Queen of Blades wreaking her Zerg havoc across the galaxy, she was a ghost--an elite soldier trained in stealth.  But Kerrigan was also unique, she possessed powerful psionic powers.  Because of her skills she became a powerful tool of the Sons of Korhal.  She gets sent in to carry out a secretive mission and meets up with Jim Raynor.  Initially, Kerrigan and Raynor don't really seem to get along, but over the course of several missions their relationship improves.  Part of the reason why this happens is because of their mutual distrust of the leader of the Sons of Korhal, Arcturus Mengsk.  Mengsk is willing to do whatever it takes to put down the rebellion--including unleashing the Zerg on his fellow Terrans through the use of powerful Psi-emitters.  Kerrigan strongly disagrees with this tactic and urges Mengsk to stop using it.  Eventually Kerrigan and Raynor end up on Tarsonis where Mengsk, despite his promise to stop using the Zerg, has planted more psi-emitters to lure the Zerg to attack the Confederate bases.  As the Zerg overwhelm the colonies defenses, Kerrigan calls to be withdrawn only to discover than Mengsk has abandoned her.  In another amazing Blizzard cinematic from Starcraft II, players are given a glimpse into Kerrigan's betrayal and last moments as a wave of Zerg overtake her.

Players of the Starcraft series know that this isn't the end of Kerrigan.  The Zerg capture her and turn her into a powerful psionic weapon.  She becomes the Queen of Blades, a force of unstoppable psionic power, that is hellbent on seeking revenge on Arcturus Mengsk for his betrayal.  Throughout Brood Wars and Starcraft II:  Wings of Liberty, Kerrigan and her Zerg are formidable opponents.  All traces of the ghost Sarah Kerrigan seem to be gone and replaced by the Queen of Blades.  In the recent second episode of Starcraft II, Heart of the Swarm, players get the chance to play as Kerrigan and command the Zerg swarm.

I've always liked Kerrigan's character.  She has an interesting backstory and her quest for vengeance is engrossing.

Zombie Slayer

In 1996 the first Resident Evil game was released.  Resident Evil is one of a handful of console games that I follow.  My next heroine is one of the original playable characters from that game who also has popped up in later games but not in a starring role.

Jill Valentine

Although I am a confessed horror game wuss, Resident Evil is one of the series I have followed since the beginning.  Yeah, it gave me nightmares and I had a few periods where I was worried that a zombie dog would come lurching out of the bushes at me, but I liked it enough to put up with the feelings of terror.  One of the reasons I kept up with RE was because players are given the choice to choose between Chris or Jill as their character.  I always go with Jill.

Jill is a member of STARS (Special Tactics and Rescue Squad) that is sent in to investigate a mysterious mansion.  In the mansion they find many secrets and many zombies.  Jill isn't as hardy as Chris, but she starts off with better weapons.  I liked that the original Jill was outfitted as a soldier (as opposed to a streetwalker, like many female characters) and wasn't overly sexualized.  She utilizes her skills and smarts to navigate the mansion--picking locks and playing the piano (seems trivial, but is important).  She's tough, but also smart, a great combination in a female character.

The Doctor's Assistant

Some of my favorite characters aren't always the star of the show.  Some of them play a supporting role, but are important nonetheless.  Without this next character's intervention, Dr. Freeman's trip through City 17 would have been a lot more difficult.

Alyx Vance

Not all my favorite female characters are of the super tough variety.  Alyx often shows her emotions and seems very vulnerable at times.  She is an important part of the resistance against the Combine, but doesn't seem like a hardened soldier.  You get the idea that she spent much of her childhood alone and dealt with the loss of her mother and the fact that her father is very much a part of the ongoing rebellion against the Combine invaders.  One of my favorite parts of Half-Life 2 is when Alyx introduces you to D0G.  You get a clear picture of a lonely little girl whose father designed her this robotic playmate.

Like her father, Eli Vance, Alyx is very gifted.  She excels at overriding the Combine defenses and hacking into their systems.  She also has some combat skills and will fight alongside Dr. Freeman at certain points.  Unlike a lot of other female video game characters, Alyx isn't necessarily one that would be considered "sexy."  Sure she's attractive, but not in the general oversexualized way in which female characters are often depicted.  Alyx is very sweet and appears to have a sort of crush on Gordon even though he's one of her father's friends.

Half-Life 2 is a classic and Alyx Vance belongs on a list of great female characters.  She's brilliant and sweet and the perfect companion to help guide Gordon Freeman through the many obstacles in City 17.

(It saddens me that modders have added content to make Alyx a "sexier" character.  I think it really detracts from how her character is depicted in the game.)

Console Crossover

The next character on my list of favorite female characters is one who rose to popularity in console games.  She's also a character that I used to despise, but who's recent re-invention has caused me to change my mind.  She's smart, agile, and really into looking for treasure.  My next choice is Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider series.

Lara Croft

I'm not much of a console gamer, so I didn't fall in love with the early Lara Croft.  To be honest, I kind of hated her as a character.  She exemplified exactly the type of female character in gaming that was designed to appeal to the teenage male masses--lots of T 'n' A (way too much, in my opinion) and very little else.  Sure, she can shoot and use her gymnastic skills to navigate crazy terrain, but she was basically eye candy.

Early Lara--Not a fan.

It wasn't until the Tomb Raider games started moving over to PC that I liked Lara Croft.  She had been redesigned from her early character model that I hated to a more realistic version.  Now, this doesn't mean I necessarily liked the games themselves (the camera angles in one of them are so atrocious that I actually quit playing it out of frustration).  The most recent redesign of Lara Croft is one that I really like.  She's no longer the sex kitten of the early days, but more of a beautiful, but gritty and tough heroine.  In Tomb Raider (2012), Lara seems more human as she struggles to overcome many obstacles to reunite with her crewmates.

New Lara--Awesome!

I like what Square Enix has done with Lara Croft.  Her evolution from sexy video game babe to rough and tumble survivor has made me change my mind about her value as a female character.

Hell Hath No Fury...

Like a woman scorned.  At least according to the playwright William Congreve.  But this commom turn of phrase could also be applied to my next leading lady.  She's not really a main character, but she does play an interesting role in both Warcraft III and World of Warcraft.  Players of WoW would recognize her as the leader of one of the creepier factions--the Undead.

Sylvanas Windrunner

Sylvanas makes her first appearance as the defiant ranger-general of the elves of Silvermoon.  As Arthas and his undead legions threaten to invade the elven lands, Sylvanas leads her troops in a last ditch attempt to keep Arthas from reaching the Sunwell--a legendary source of magical power sacred to the elves.  Sylvanas stubbornly refuses to give up in the face of defeat and rather than simply executing her Arthas turns her into an undead abomination, a banshee, that is forced to obey his will.  But even in death Sylvanas opposed Arthas and was able to reclaim her body (through the banshee's power of possession).  After the power of the Lich King waned, she worked to band together a group of rebel undead with the goal of defeating Arthas's Scourge.  Sylvanas seethes vengeance and you can really feel her hatred of Arthas.

One of the more interesting moments in World of Warcraft occurs when you turn in a quest that is started by finding a locket (Horde only--drops randomly in the Blood Elf starting zones).  You are told to take the locket to Sylvanas and upon turning it in she summons a few banshees who then break into a mournful song.  Sylvanas sings of the fall of the High Elves in the "Lament of the Highborne."  It's a beautiful and mournful tune that indicates that she still feels a connection to her elven roots.

I love Sylvanas for her hatred and defiance and the fact that you admire her but also question her ruthlessness.  Here's to the Dark Lady.

Leading Ladies

The gender of the character I play in games really doesn't matter much.  If the main character is male, then I play as a male.  Heck, when I played World of Warcraft I made one of my characters male just for some variety.  I will say that if I'm given the option to choose my gender in a game I will choose female.  But enough about that, I thought I would write about some of my favorite female characters (playable or NPC's) from my gaming experiences.  I am going to write about a different character everyday until I run out of ideas.

Samus Aran

If you've ever played any of the Metroid games on Nintendo you are familiar with this leading lady.  Samus is one of the first female characters to be featured as the protaganist.  If you go back and play the classic Metroid games you realize that Samus's gender is a surprise that is revealed at the end of the first game.  Samus is a power suit wearing bounty hunter who travels around space solving all problems related to life sucking metroids.  Her suit allows her to fire a cannon as well as missiles.  It also gives her the ability to morph into a ball to navigate tight spaces.

Samus Aran

Samus is the original tough chick game character.  She silently navigated many Metroid games, shooting and morphing her way forward.  It wasn't until later games that Samus was given a voice (which, after being a silent character for so long, I found really weird) and pictured outside of her powersuit. Outside of her suit Samus is known for being one of the "sexiest" female characters in gaming.  I don't care about all that sex appeal nonsense as long as she keeps kicking some bad guy tail.

Feeling that itch...

Not that you pervert!  World of Warcraft is set to release it's next expansion Warlords of Draenor on November 13th.  As a former WoW addict the mere mention of a brand new x-pac is enough to make me feel oddly squirmy. I want to Google things.  Thus far I have managed to restrain myself.  I'm holding stong with over a year of WoW sobriety.

There are a few new features that have peaked my interest.  A student and I were discussing the promotional offer of immediately being able to make a character level 90 (the new level cap).  I think Blizzard is trying to lure back some of it's lost subscribers who have experience but grew tired of WoW.  My student made a good point about this being very detrimental to new players.  Imagine a bunch of brand new players who haven't had 90 levels in which to learn the game, their class, and other basics. That sounds like a really crappy end-game scenario.  I always liked doing the quests and getting a feel for the new zones so moving directly into end-game stuff isn't very appealing to me.

New character models.  After ten years Blizzard has decided to update the look of the chatacters.  I've liked what I've seen.  WoW still maintains it's slightly cartoonish models, but refines them.  The faces seem more expressive.

100% sexier gnomes.

Player housing.  I guess Blizzard finally caved on this one and decided to add the ability for players to have their own personal fortresses.  This seems really cool.  You can recruit NPC's to man your fortress, improve it through quests, and establish trade routes.

"Flexible questing."  I'm not sure I fully understand how this is changing, but it sounds like you can unlock more quests by completing quests.  It is also stated that any quests have a chance to reward rare or epic items.  This would be awesome for someone like me who enjoys doing quests.

I won't be going back to WoW as much as I would like to.  I am curious to hear about the number of subscribers.  If you choose to go back to WoW I hope you have a great time.