Life is Strange Reflections

If you haven't played Life is Strange yet, you're missing out.  It's a great little episodic story game that manages to improve on a relatively new genre.  There are several mechanics that make Life is Strange different, and in some ways more satisfying, than some TellTale stories.  Being able to rewind time might seem cheesy, but it has made me think about my decisions so much more than simply being rushed into a decision that I might not have time to fully consider.  There are also so many smaller, more intimate moments that give players much more insight and feeling related to the characters in the game.

Life is Strange has made me realize a few things.  Firstly, I am really glad that I am not a teenager today.  Yes, I'm getting older and I'm reminded of this every day, but I don't know if I could survive in a world where everything is connected and documented.  All your ridiculous teenage mistakes are easily accessible for a much wider audience.  A large part of the plot in the second episode revolves around some serious bullying of a specific student.  Kate Marsh is presented to players as a character who has strong religious values and tries to promote those values.  As Max prepares to start her day she runs across a group of particularly mean girls who are trying to spread a viral video of Kate at a party.  Players can choose to support Kate and try to keep the video from spreading or to simply ignore what is going on.  This situation didn't exist when I was growing up--no one carried around a video camera to record every event.  Today recording everything has become commonplace.

Small moments like a bus ride are memorable.

I am also enjoying the smaller, more laid back moments in the game.  The fact that you can choose to have Max lie in bed and listen to a song or have her sit in Chloe's junkyard wasteland and ponder the situation is something unique in a game.  The soundtrack for the game has been very carefully chosen and gives a nice vibe to moments like riding the bus into town or hanging out in Max's room.  The scene in episode two where Max and Chloe were walking on the train tracks and talking made me feel nostalgic for old friends who I haven't seen in years.

Life is Strange is taking the episodic story genre into a much deeper and enjoyable direction.  I like only occasionally being rushed into my decisions and being able to change my mind.  The game has run so smoothly that I think TellTale needs to start taking notes--no annoying save game bugs, no horrible technical problems, and only a slight delay to the release date.  I'm rooting for you Life is Strange!

Are War Games Realistic?

I enjoy the occasional FPS.  I will admit to not being a big FPS player especially when you think of the genre-defining games of today--Call of Duty or Battlefield.  I've played a few of the CoD games, but never the newer ones.  So I don't know that I could call myself a real fan of FPS war games.  An episode of PBS's "GameShow" questioned if war games, like CoD, are an accurate depiction of warfare.  Here is the episode if you're interested in watching it.

After viewing this episode I realized that I agree with many of the points that Jamin is making.  One of the reasons I, and probably most other people, like playing these games is because you do get the feeling of being a "one man/woman army."  It's very rewarding to run around wreaking havoc and putting your enemies in their place.  Part of the fun of video games is that you get to be a hero--you can easily take down scores of bad guys and withstand huge amounts of damage.  Yeah, it's not realistic, but it's fun.  But maybe that's part of the problem...are games glorifying war a little too much?  I've never been in combat and hope I never have to be in a situation that remotely resembles actual combat.  Is making it seem fun a bad thing?  I have to say yes.  In real-life there is no life-meter, you can't withstand getting shot numerous times and you most likely aren't by yourself running across a battlefield filled with enemy soldiers.

Jamin also points out that there are different types of war games--there are the FPS's which put you on the field in the position of a simple soldier and then there are the more command-oriented games which put you in the shoes of a general with a more top-down view.  I've played both and can't really say if either are a more realistic depiction of war.  Maybe the command type of games are more realistic?

I like many of the ideas that Jamin put forward to make war games more realistic.  The idea of having a fixed amount of ammo would really force players to think about the shots that they are taking.  As a fan of cooperative games I also like the idea of promoting teamwork to accomplish something rather than a simple "lone wolf" type of scenario.

I'm not really sure what the answer is to making war games more realistic.  How can developers keep it real and not sacrifice the entertainment factor?  This seems to be a difficult balancing act that no one can master.

Multiple Characters or One?

I have run into a bit of a conundrum in my recent return to Diablo III.  Should I focus on one level 70 character or should I just mess around on several?  I have no intention of trying to earn any special place on a leaderboard and I just mostly play for fun.  My crusader has come along nicely and seems decently geared.  I also have a level 70 monk who is really fun, but could use some shiny new legendaries.  So how do you roll?  Do you focus on one set class or do you choose from a set?

I really like my monk.

If I roll one toon:

1.) Better chance of gearing up a character and increasing the difficulty level resulting in better loot.

2.) More practice with one specific class.  Gain a more thorough understanding about class abilities and how to most effectively use them.

If I roll with multiple toons:

1.) Grinding becomes less stale.  Simply switching classes makes things feel different.

2.) More experience with different classes.  I'm not expecting to play multi-player anytime soon, but understanding other classes is good.  I've always enjoyed learning every class in games.

3.) Spread the wealth--gear up multiple toons with drops.  Choose the best for each situation.

Or, the random thrid option is to look into the whole seasonal play.  I haven't tried to make a seasonal hero yet, but as a fan of levelling I could see this as a valid option.  As a casual player I wouldn't expect to get much out of it--I won't be on any leaderboards.

These are my Diablo dilemmas.  /sigh.

The Joy of Grinding

I'm generally not a huge fan of games that involve seemingly endless hours of grinding.  It takes a certain degree of patience to want to complete the same actions over and over with the hope of some "phat lewtz" at the end.  Strangely I've been enjoying the Diablo III grind.  My little crusader who started out as a fun side project has turned into a hulking mass of holy destruction.  I'm not going to be topping any leaderboards, but I'm having fun.

The dominion of the greed demon.

I made the decision to turn up the difficulty a few days ago and am finding that this has really paid off.  I have seen significantly better loot drops and have managed to amass a decent amount of gold.  One really fun event happened the other day purely by accident.  A treasure goblin popped up and I desperately chased it all over the map.  I finally managed to corner it and proceed to pound on it like the loot pinata that it is.  In my frenzy of clicking I somehow managed to enter the mysterious portal to the realm of the greed demon.  If you haven't managed to get into the portal you're missing out on a fun experience!  Inside the portal you find yourself in a vault that is filled with riches--tons of gold (plus, it's 100% bonus gold and XP right now) and more treasure goblins to kill.  At the end of a maze of riches you enter the inner sanctum and face-off against the greed demon.  The demon wasn't a very difficult fight for my crusader, I just has to make sure that I avoided the charge attacks and falling loot chests.  Once you've downed the demon you are rewarded with a huge chest of loot.

Besides downing the elusive greed demon I also found my first greater rift keystone.  I don't really know much about these keystones other than they unlock rifts that function as a sort of challenge mode.  The goal seems to be to unlock more powerful rifts by completing them quickly--there is a timer that runs continually and the rift guardian must be defeated before the timer runs out in order to advance to a more difficult rift.  If you beat the timer you earn a loot reward which also includes the option to earn a legendary gem.

It's nice to have some fallback games that I can enjoy while I'm waiting for new releases.  Grand Theft Auto V is next on my playlist and it has already been delayed a few times.  In the meantime I'm going to keep grinding out some loot in Diablo III.

Are Games Like Goat Simulator Brilliant or Stupid?

Here in Oregon it is spring break.  As a teacher I get to enjoy some relaxation and mentally prepare myself for the end of the school year.  Part of that relaxation has included trying to catch up on my backlog of games and gaming videos.  I've mentioned PBS's GameShow before and it is one of my favorites.  Yesterday I watched a video about a game that is most likely far off of anyones radar, Goat Simulator.

I first heard about this strange little game prior to its release on April Fools day of 2013.  As much as I hate to admit it, I was intrigued.  A game where you play as a goat?  The choice of using a goat is great.  Anyone who has ever browsed YouTube for even a short amount of time has undoubtedly come across a hilarious video of goats screaming like humans or goats doing something ridiculous.  Goats are funny, who wouldn't want to play as a goat?

Then I decided to check out the trailer.  It features a goat rampaging across a fictional city causing massive destruction.  Ummm, alright.  So I took it a step farther and checked out a "let's play" of the game.  I watched and giggled as the hosts headbutted humans and used the tongue of their goat to latch on and drag objects around.  Then, to cap it all off they climbed the goat to the top of a tower and managed to jump on a hang glider.  But what was the point of all this?  To simply do stupid things in a game as a goat?  I'm pretty sure that's not worth $10.  Maybe I'm wrong.

I partially believe that Goat Simulator is brilliant.  It's the kind of game where there are very few rules and you can do whatever you want.  You can't die and can perform all kinds of crazy stunts with your goat.  The only limitations to what you can do are in your mind!  I think it also serves as a great example that almost any idea can work in gaming, even one this ridiculous.

Another part of me thinks Goat Simulator is a waste of time and money.  I couldn't believe it when the game was released and it topped the bestseller list on Steam.  Sure, it looked like it offered a few laughs, but it also looked like the kind of game that is a novelty--you play it once or twice and then it sits in your library collecting virtual dust.

My final classification of Goat Simulator is that it's brilliantly stupid--a game world where the sky is the limit and there are no rules.  If getting some laughs is your goal then you can't do any worse than this.  It's not my cup of tea, so I'll content myself with watching goofy videos of goats wearing a jetpack and blowing up gas stations.

Life is Strange--Episode 2

Max and Chloe rekindle their friendship.

The second episode of Square Enix/Dontnod's episodic story game Life is Strange was released two days ago and I've finally completed it.  I gotta say, for a game that I picked up on a lark I'm really enjoying it.  There are some great plot elements--a missing student, a long-lost friendship that is revived, weird supernatural phenomenons, and modern teenage angst.  I'm looking forward to seeing how the whole thing actually plays out.  They are definitely giving TellTale a run for their money in the episodic story genre.  (Spoilers ahead.  If you haven't played it, don't read.)

But back to episode two of Life is Strange.  If you remember back to the ending of episode one (which, unlike Tales from the Borderlands, wasn't delayed for months so is much easier to remember) there were a bunch of weird things that were happening in the fictional town of Arcadia Bay.  Max, a high school student at a prestigious school, discovered that she possessed the ability to rewind time.  At the end of episode one Max and Chloe are hanging out at a lighthouse and discussing Max's new ability.  It's then that Max blacks out and has a vision of a huge tornado coming to destroy the town.  When she wakes up she makes the decision to inform her friend Chloe about her powers.  Then it starts to snow....when it definitely shouldn't be.

There's something strange going on in Arcadia Bay and unfortunately episode two doesn't really delve very deeply into those things.  The beginning of the episode sees Max back in her dorm room sleeping.  A voiceover reveals that she stayed up almost all-night reading books about quantum physics in an attempt to understand her powers.  She still doesn't really understand where they come from and much of this episode deals with Max learning more about them.  Max then receives a text from Chloe asking her to meet up at the local diner.  You navigate the dormitories at Blackwell academy and learn that Kate Marsh, the quiet religious girl from episode one, is being relentlessly bullied.  Rumors are swirling of a video featuring Kate at a party looking very drunk and making out with a bunch of random people.  These rumors are being circulated by Victoria and her posse of mean girls.  Throughout this episode Max can choose to support Kate or to leave her hanging.  I opted to help her and made sure to choose every option that involved trying to prevent people from watching the video or sharing the link.  Kate also reveals to Max that she thinks she was drugged at the party and that Nathan Prescott, the rich kid/drug dealer from episode one, might have taken her somewhere and assaulted her.  Kate asks Max what she should do and you are forced to choose between informing Kate that she should go to the police or that she should try to find evidence first.  This is a tough decision because Nathan Prescott appears to be threatening Max over the bathroom gun incident that happened the day before.  You want to support your friend, but you also don't want Nathan to harm anyone.

After Max leaves the dorm she heads out to meet Chloe at the Two Whale's diner.  Chloe finally shows up and that's when things get interesting.  Chloe is very interested in testing Max's rewind ability an formulates a series of tests.  One test involves guessing exactly what is in Chloe's pockets.  Another test involves Max predicting a series of events that take place inside the diner within a short time period.  You pass the tests and Chloe is very impressed with Max's superpower.  She decides that they should take a trip to one of her "secret lairs" and really get a sense of what Max can do.  Before you leave the diner, Kate calls Max.  Players are given the choice of answering the call, much to Chloe's dislike, or ignoring the call.  It's obvious that Kate is having a really hard time and that Max is a source of support.

Chloe takes Max to her "secret lair" which is actually a junkyard filled with rusted out old cars and signs of Arcadia Bay's decay--broken signs from closed businesses.  At the junkyard Chloe decides that she wants to do some target practice and sends Max searching for beer bottles to use as targets.  Max wanders through the junkyard finding bottles and also finding more evidence that this was a place where Chloe and Rachel Amber, the missing girl from episode one, had hung out.  Max manages to find the bottles and returns them to Chloe.  Chloe sets them up and whips out the pistol she stole from her stepfather, the Blackwell security guard David Madsen.  She asks Max to use her powers to help her aim.  Chloe shoots and then Max rewinds time to tell her how to alter her aim.  It's here that Max starts to feel her nose bleed and realizes that using her powers all the time may not be a good idea.  She still doesn't understand how they work but it's obvious that she can only use them so much before she starts to have problems.

As Max and Chloe are leaving the junkyard they are confronted by a strange man.  It turns out that this man is the person who Chloe owes money.  At this point Chloe has handed the gun to Max in an effort to get her to try shooting.  Chloe and the man, named Frank (owner of the weird RV from episode one), get into an argument and Frank pulls out a knife and threatens Chloe.  Max holds up the pistol and tells him to step back.  Here players also have a tough choice--you can opt to have Max shoot Frank or to have her hold off.  I chose to have her hold off and the result was that Frank took the gun.  So now Frank is armed with a gun and is clearly out to get Chloe.

There are some really nice moments as Chloe and Max balance on the railroad tracks and talk like old friends.  Their friendship seems to be slowly getting repaired and you are given a sense of the unbreakable bond between them.  It's here that things start to go wrong.  As Chloe and Max are laying on the tracks and reminiscing, Chloe realizes that her foot is stuck under the tracks.  Max has to figure out a way to help Chloe avoid getting squashed by a train.  Fortunately there is a shed with tools nearby and players are able to rewind time in an effort to figure out how to free Chloe.

After Chloe is freed, Max decides it is time to return to school to attend class.  Chloe drives Max back to school and continues to expound on Max's new powers.  Max then enters the school and heads off to class.  On her way to class she witnesses Kate talking to the photography teacher, Mr. Jefferson, and telling him about the video.  Mr. Jefferson informs Kate that there is nothing she can do about the video and Kate runs off, clearly very upset.  Max tries to talk to Mr. Jefferson, but their conversation is interrupted by a phone call.  Max enters class and is forced to face off against Victoria and Nathan who have taken over her desk.  The bell rings and Mr. Jefferson enters the room.  He starts teaching the class but is interrupted by another student who runs into the room announcing that there is something going on at the girls dorm.  The students run out of class and toward the dorm.

Once Max arrives at the dorm she sees what is going on.  Kate is standing on the roof and she looks like she is going to jump.  Max tries to rewind time and realizes that she has nearly spent all of her ability while messing around with Chloe.  With great effort she manages to stop time and reach the roof.  On the roof Max realizes that she can't rewind any more and that she has to talk Kate down without making any mistakes.  Fortunately I had paid close attention earlier in the episode and knew what to say to convince Kate to back down.

The next scene opens with Max in the principal's office being interrogated about Kate.  Max explains what is happening but is forced to pin the events on someone.  You are again forced to choose who should take the blame--David Madsen, the security guard who seems to be stalking Kate, Mr. Jefferson, the teacher who did little to help her, or Nathan Prescott, the devious rich kid who may have raped Kate.  I desperately wanted to pin it on Nathan Prescott but instead opted for David Madsen.  This is one decision that I am regretting.

The episode ends with Max and Warren sitting in front of the school discussing the events of the day.  As they are talking they notice that there is a solar eclipse happening.  Warren remarks that it is unscheduled.  Are Max's powers changing the entire universe?  The game closes with a montage of events--the principal talking to Mr. Jefferson in his car, Kate lying in a hospital bed, Chloe sitting by the lighthouse smoking a cigarette and texting Max to ask her if she's alright.

I enjoyed this episode and thought that the most significant part of it was the exploration into Max's powers.  It's very apparent that Max needs to use them sparingly as they are limited and can cause her to have severe pain or to even black out if she overuses them.  I'm not so sure that David Madsen is the jerk that he appears to be.  As a middle episode it left plenty of room for the story to grow more.  The very brief preview of episode three looks to have Max and Chloe investigating the school directly.  It appears that they have broken in at night and are looking for clues...and that they are being pursued.  Can't wait to see what the rest of the story brings!

Virtual Reality--Is it the Future of Gaming?

It seems like I'm always running into articles about virtual reality and how it could change the way we think of gaming.  I haven't tried it yet, but think it sounds interesting.  How fun would it be to play an FPS and actually be in the middle of the action?  Or to play a simulator type game and get a more accurate simulation of something like flying a plane?  In theory it sounds unbelieveable, but I want to see it in practice.

I've read that VR can take awhile to acclimate to--some people who are more prone to motion sickness have difficulties playing and can experience nausea.  I am one of those people and would like to avoid throwing up while gaming as much as possible.  And what about support?  Since VR is in it's early days are there many good games either being developed or being converted to use with different headsets?  I'm also not completely sure how they work.  Do you have to turn around in real-life to see what's behind you?

So while I'm curious, I'm going to hold off on running out and buying a shiny, new VR system.  I think I'll wait awhile and see if it really catches on or if it's just a fad of newer technology.  I'm leaning towards fad--think of how many other "virtual reality" or other gaming products were advertised as something revolutionary, but which never caught on.  We'll just have to wait and see what the future hilds for VR.

Favorite Villain #10--Ridley/Meta-Ridley

Favorite Villains #10--Ridley/Meta-Ridley

As a fan of the long running Metroid  series I have become familiar with one boss/villain in particular.  Ridley is like a bad penny--it just keeps showing up.  It doesn't matter how many times you kill it, it continually reappears in games throughout the series.  This is another hallmark of a great villain, the fact that they just keep popping up despite your best efforts.

I don't know a lot about Ridley.  It seems to be some sort of dragon-like creature that has a strong desire to destroy the hero of the Metroid series, Samus Aran.  The first appearance of Ridley was in the original Metroid game way back in 1986.  According to the Wiki entry about Ridley, he is the last member of a species that was almost completely wiped out and now seems to want revenge on everything.  Players kill Ridley several times throughout the series, but through cloning and robotics it just keeps coming back.

Ridley is also featured as a boss in several of the Super Smash Bros. games.

Although I haven't finished Metroid:  Other M, the Wiki entry alludes to it finally being killed in this episode.  I have my doubts as villains who seem to be dead tend to not really be dead.  If there are other Metroid games made I fully expect to tangle with some form of Ridley again.

Favorite Villains #9--The Reapers/Harbinger

Favorite Villains #9--The Reapers/Harbinger

The Reapers invade the galaxy.

I haven't written about Mass Effect in so long I thought it was time to bring it back.  The best villains are the ones who seem untouchable.  They are superior to you in every way whether it is intelligence, strength, power, or abilities they just seem invincible.  The Reapers in Mass Effect are a great example of the untouchable foe.  An alien race whose origins can't be explained and who possess powerful technology that overpowers anything else in the galaxy.

The most frightening aspect of the Reapers is their motivation.  Why do they need to harvest almost all life in the galaxy?  Why does it have to happen every 50,000 years?  There are some explanations presented throughout the game, but it is still extremely puzzling.  The Reapers seem to be an extension of the synthetic vs. organic conflict that is present throughout much of the Mass Effect series.

The Reapers also possess the ability to turn members of all the different races in the galaxy into living weapons.  In Mass Effect 3 there is a conversation between Garrus, Javik, and a random crew member where Garrus expresses admiration for this tactic.  The fact that the Reapers can convert any race becomes a useful tool in psychological warfare.  No one wants to face down a former friend who has been converted into a terrible Reaper creature.

Harbinger is the one Reaper who seems to be the de facto leader of the Reapers.  In Mass Effect 2, Harbinger drives the strange insectoid race known as the Collectors in their efforts to harvest humans from around the galaxy.  It also has the strange ability to possess random Collectors and turn them into powerful avatars with enhanced abilities.  Harbinger also enjoys periodically sending you threatening messages about how the Reapers are planning on crushing all life and that you are virtually powerless to prevent this from happening.

Then there's the whole indoctrination thing.  You can't even be close to a Reaper without risking becoming a puppet controlled by their will.  Those who fall victim to reaper indoctrination hear voices in their head an eventually begin hallucinating as they are controlled by the overlords.

There's nothing more satisfying than the few times where you actually get to take down a Reaper.  Watching Sovereign disintegrate as Alliance vessels pound it with fire, taking down one of the smaller ships with the laser aiming device on Rannoch, or watching as a the mother of all thresher maws pulls one beneath the earth.

Favorite Villains #8--Striga

Favorite Villains #8--Striga

Geralt battles the striga.

The Witcher saga contains some really fun monsters to slay.  The thing I like best about the monsters in The Witcher is that there is a very clear explanation as to how the many different varieties of monsters came to be.  I've always liked the lore in the series and the fact that it is somewhat based on real-life myths from eastern Europe.

Out of all the monsters you slay in The Witcher, the striga has to be my favorite.  And, I suppose you don't have to slay her.  Maybe it's the opening cinematic in the first game that makes me remember the striga so much.  There's an epic fight between Geralt and this hideous beast.  The fight lasts till morning and then Geralt attempts to lift the curse.  Re-watch it!

Only females can become striga and the cause of the curse seems to be somewhat poorly explained.  In the case of Princess Adda, the curse was placed on her by a member of King Foltests court when he learned of the king's incestuous relationship with his sister.  As a result of this curse the morher (also named Adda) and the child both died in childbirth.  The child was laid to rest in the same sarcophagus as the mother but continued to grow into a hideous beast within the tomb.  Seven years later a full grown monster emerged, a monster whose only goal in life is to satisfy it's hunger by hunting down humans.

This is where our brave witcher, Geralt of Rivia, is called in to lift the curse.  The only way to lift the curse is to fight the creature through the night until dawn and prevent it from returning to it's tomb.  In the cinematic players see Geralt jump into the tomb and slide the lid closed as the beast pounds on the coffin.  When he emerges, he sees the human princess laying on the floor and he attempts to rouse her to see if the curse has been broken.  It's at this moment that he discovers that the curse is still somewhat intact and he is mauled.

In The Witcher 2, Geralt is called in again because it appears that Princess Adda is still cursed.  Members of the court notice her strange habit of requesting raw meat and realize the curse wasn't fully lifted.  So Geralt returns to the tomb where there have been sightings of the striga and he enters.  The fight largely consists of running away and laying traps to keep her from catching you.  As you watch the candles on the sarcophagus burn down, you realize that dawn is nearly upon you.  The last candle burns down and Geralt hops into the tomb.  This time when he emerges it appears that the curse is lifted and Princess Adda can go back to not eating people.

I like the striga because of the specific details that explain how to lift the curse and the fact that you have the option of lifting the curse rather than simply slaying it.  The fight against the striga is a little annoying if you are used to a straight up type of hack-n-slash monster kill.

Favorite Villain #7--Zombies

Favorite Villains #7--Zombies

Just like dragons, I'm going to lump all zombies into one category.  The best part about zombies is that they come in a variety of shapes and sizes.  You have your typical shambler that wanders around aimlessly seeking out any living flash as a source of sustenance.  But then it gets really fun...

Left4Dead really spiced up your typical zombies and created some interesting variants.

1.) The Boomer--a bile spewing, bag of explosive gas who draws zombies with it's weird green slime.

2.) The Hunter--leaps from nowhere to take down players quickly and viciously.

3.) The Smoker--uses it's retractable tongue to entangle players and explodes in a cloud of choking smoke.

4.) The Tank--a hulking ball of muscles who is hellbent on smashing in your face.  You have to shoot it....a lot.

5.) The Charger--rushes forward in an attempt to smash through everything.  Strangely, wears overalls.

6.) The Spitter--Wife of the boomer (thanks Left4Dead for making sure there are some female zombie variants), likes to spit strange substances.  Also likes cuddling.

7.) The Witch--long claws....cries a lot....don't disturb her.  RUN AWAY!

Even cute games like Plants vs. Zombies use zombies as your foe.  I hate those stupid bucket head zombies, they are tough to kill.  Ultimately you have to face the evil Dr. Zomboss.

The Resident Evil series also presents a number of disturbing zombie variants.  I hate the ones who make that weird grunting noise the most.  You know, the ones with the weird parasite that you have to shoot to kill?  Just the sound of those coming is enough to freak me out.

Favorite Villains #6--Sarah Kerrigan/The Queen of Blades

Villain #6--Sarah Kerrigan/The Queen of Blades

Kerrigan in Heart of the Swarm.

Blizzard really has a thing for taking characters who are the good guys and turning them into the bad guys.  That's fine with me as I find that the revenge element adds great plot elements into many games.  Who doesn't love the satisfaction of watching someone get back at those that did them wrong?

In Starcraft, Kerrigan starts off as one of the good guys.  As a ghost she has valuable stealth and psionic powers.  She plays a big role in helping Jim Raynor in his quest to overthrow the confederacy.  Unfortunately for Kerrigan, Arcturus Mengsk--the leader of the rebel movement, is just using her to achieve his own goals.  At the Battle for New Gettysburg, Mengsk abandons her on the surface of the planet and watches from afar as it is overrun by the zerg.

Kerrigan is then captured by the Zerg who decide that her psionic abilities are too powerful to simply ignore.  The Zerg overmind places her in a chrysalis where her abilities metamorphosize into something much more powerful.  When she emerges it is as the Queen of Blades, a Zerg-human hybrid with vast potential.

Starcraft II pits players against the Queen of Blades as she cuts a swathe of destruction across the galaxy.  It becomes very apparent that with the Zerg behind her she is a force to be reckoned with.  In the Heart of the Swarm expansion players get the opportunity to play as Kerrigan and aid her in her quest for vengeance.  It's very satisfying.

Kerrigan/The Queen of Blades is a great villain because of her unwavering desire to seek out vengeance.  She is willing to sacrifice her relationship with Raynor as well as her humanity to avenge her betrayal by Mengsk.  It's easy to admire her but also to fear her.

Favorite Villain #5--Dragons

Villain #5--Dragons

I'm feeling somewhat lazy today so I'm just going to lump all dragons into the villain category.  I'm sure there's some amazing game out there where you befriend dragons rather than murder them, but I'm thinking mostly about the ones who are flying monstrosities of death.  Like...Deathwing from World of Warcraft.  So that ended up being way too literal...but is still a great example.  (I'm a teacher and the pre-spring break week is rough--forgive me!)

Dragons represent something powerful and unknown.  There's never any real explanation about where they came from or why they seem hellbent on trying to kill everything in sight.  I've played so many games with interesting dragon variations.  In Shadowrun, dragons represent powerful corporations that are poised to take over the world.  They are the intelligent and cunning CEO's that manipulate events in the world.  This is an interesting take as I mostly envision dragons as ruthless firebreathers.

Why are dragons so angry?  Why do I feel the need to slaughter them in record numbers?  I don't know, but if they keep dropping all the phat lewts they're going to have a problem.

Tales from the Borderlands Episode 2!

Yesterday I came home and started up Steam.  I was surprised to see something downloading and realized that I had completely forgotten about the release of episode two of TellTale's Tales from the Borderlands.  A large part of the reason why I had forgotten was because it kept getting pushed back...and pushed back...and pushed back until I finally gave up on trying to figure out when it was actually going to be released.  Now it's finally here and we get to learn more about the fate of our strange group of companions.  (Spoilers ahead!  Don't read it if you haven't already played)

One thing I regretted when starting episode two was that I didn't take the time to go back and replay the first episode.  There is a nifty little refresher in the intro to episode two, but I still felt somewhat disconnected from the story--the first episode was released in November and it had been a long time.  The story starts with our group stuck in the strange bunker beneath the death race arena.  At the end of episode one the group has stumbled upon the bunker and found a mysterious Atlas item that resembles some sort of key.  The "key" when assembled brings up a map of Pandora that seems to mark the location of something.

Much of the plot in episode two follows the group as they work to figure out the purpose of this mysterious item.  There are many fantastic obstacles that make this task challenging for the group.  One of the most memorable moments from the series comes toward the beginning of the game.  In the Atlas bunker Fiona, Vaughn, and Sasha come upon an Atlas computer that requires a retinal scan from an Atlas employee in order for it to become active.  As you search the room you realize that there is an odd cabinet in the bunker.  After you do a little investigating you realize that this crate is actually some sort of stasis pod containing the body of an Atlas general.  Fiona finds a big yellow button and decides to press it.  The pod pops open!  The only course of action becomes obvious almost immediately--the only eye that the retinal scanner will accept is currently lodged in the skull of the general.  Some more investigating reveals a spork sitting on an abandoned lunch tray.

I am not sure what TellTale's thing is with wanting players to experience things like Clementine in The Walking Dead stitching together her own arm or Fiona using a spork to gouge out eyeballs.  If you're squeamish this may not be the moment for you.  Maybe that's part of their strategy...to make something that disturbs you.  It's definitely memorable.

Once the group has escaped the bunker things get much more interesting.  There's a high speed chase featuring some rakk and a rakk hive, the ghost of Handsome Jack, a strangely ripped Vaughn, a narrow escape from Vazquez, bro-fisting a loader bot, and an alien artifact.  It's action packed and filled with some difficult choices.

I'm not sure I liked this episode as much as the first one.  There are definitely some great moments that I'm sure people are talking and laughing about today.  I enjoy the divergent storylines that split and let you follow events as they happen to Rhys and Fiona.  I am hoping that the wait for the next episodes won't be as long.

Favorite Villain #4--The Umbrella Corporation

For my fourth favorite villain I didn't pick a specific individual or boss.  I decided to pick the overarching evil that is the Umbrella Corporation from the Resident Evil series.

Favorite Villain #4--The Umbrella Corporation

Evil, greedy, do anything to make any gain organizations make for the best enemies.  How can you not hate a group that is responsible for releasing a horrific zombie-causing virus into the atmosphere?  But the Umbrella Corporation represents much more than some evil scientists unleashing a powerful virus...they represent an evil empire that dominates society.  They will do anything to cover up their evil deeds including bombing an entire city off the map.  Umbrella is willing to send it's own troops in to stop anyone from investigating the cause of all the different zombie related events.

It's the intent of the Umbrella Corporation that is the scariest part.  They created the T-virus and all its variants with the purpose of developing an invincible super soldier.  It doesn't matter to Umbrella how many lives are lost as long as they profit.

Favorite Villains #3--Handsome Jack

Generally when I think of villains I think of a malformed, ugly, monstrosity who epitomizes evil.  But what happens when the villain is actually a good-looking and hilarious narcissist?

Favorite Villain #3--Handsome Jack

Borderlands 2 features one of my favorite villains, Handsome Jack.  Jack is the president of the ultra-evil Hyperion Corporation.  Hyperion has become a powerful organization thanks to the discovery of eridium, an alien mineral found on Pandora, that can be used in a variety of power augmenting ways.  Players first become acquainted with Jack in the very first scene.  Jack has been luring vault hunters to Pandora only to sabotage their trains and kill them off.  Your chosen character manages to survive but has to wade through the corpses of all the other vault hunters that Jack has killed.

As you follow Claptrap throughout Pandora, Jack periodically calls in to torment you.  In one series of recordings you listen as he insults Helena Pierce, a character from the original  Borderlands, and then murders her. But he doesn't simply murder her, he laughs about it.  It's easy to hate Jack from that point on.  He holds his own daughter prisoner to use her powers for his own means!  The rest of the game is composed of Jack sending his lackeys (innumerable bots) to kill you until you finally confront him in another hidden vault.

A unique part of Jack's villainy is his narcissism.  At one point in Borderlands 2 you visit the Hyperion city known as opportunity.  The city is filled with statues of Jack, cardboard cutouts of Jack, and propaganda that promotes him as a conquering hero on Pandora.  He's known as "handsome" because of the mask that he wears that makes his features perfect.  The reason for the mask is never explained in the game.  Did he suffer some sort of plastic surgery accident?  Was he deformed in a freak chemical spell?  It's not really explained.

Favorite Villains--#2

My next favorite villain is an extremely mysterious character who periodically pops up in the Half-Life series.  He's not some hulking monstrosity who poses a physical threat but instead represents a psychological one.

Villain #2--G-Man

G-Man doesn't look like much of a threat.

Most people would probably think a guy in a suit carrying a briefcase isn't really that bad or that scary.  It's more about what he represents.  G-man is mysterious, you don't really know who or what he is.  He seems to show up at vital times and in impossible situations.  Is he human?  Is he part of some huge government conspiracy?  Is he just some dopey businessman who got stuck in an interdimensional rift?

G-Man's most interesting feature is his voice.  He speaks with a slow, calm, and slightly odd tone.  At times it almost seems like there are strange pauses in his speech.  Is this because he's some sort of alien just learning human language?  There is something creepy and disarming about the way he speaks.

It's also strongly hinted that the G-Man might be some sort of higher being that is causing all the events in the Half-Life series to occur.

All of these factors make the G-Man an intimidating but untouchable figure in the series.  Maybe someday (like the day when Half-Life 3 becomes a reality) we will finally learn who or what the G-Man really is.

Favorite Villains

A good villain can really make or break the plot in a video game.  Villains help motivate players to mow down masses of enemies to finally reach the evil masterminds.  I'm going to spend the next few entries discussing some of my favorite video game villains.

Villain #1--Arthas Menethil

Arthas by namesjames on DeviantArt.  Cool!

If you've played Warcraft III or World of Warcraft, you're familiar with this infamous baddie.  If you've only played WoW you might not know the full story behind the evil figure who controls a legion of the undead and who sits on the frozen throne in Icecrown Citadel.  Arthas was the crown prince of Lordaeron and was a beacon of hope for the people in his kingdom.  When he turned nineteen, Arthas became a member of the elite Knights of the Silver Hand.  As a member of this organization he became an apprentice to the famed paladin Uther Lightbringer.  Events start to unfold and Arthas is sent to investigate a plague that has broken out in parts of Lordaeron.  He eventually discovers the source of the plague and kills the necromancer who helped spread it through plagued grain.  Unfortunately, the plague continues to spread-- Arthas learns that the city of Stratholme is infected.  This is where things really start to unravel for the prince.  He decides that the best decision is to kill all the inhabitants of the city to prevent further spread of the infection.  Uther Lightbringer objects to this plan so Arthas expels him and the Knights of the Silver Hand.

While killing off the many residents of Stratholme, Arthas meets the demon lord Mal'Ganis and learns that he is responsible for spreading the plague.  Arthas swears that he will hunt Mal'Ganis to the ends of the earth.  It's from here that Mal'Ganis escapes to the icy wasteland of Northrend.  Arthas doggedly pursues him.  It's in Northrend that Arthas finds the legendary blade known as Frostmourne.  What he doesn't know is that this blade is cursed and that even though it will grant him immeasurable power he will fall under it's sway..  But it's already too late for him--the sword begins speaking to him (hearing voices in your head is bad) and he seems to be slowly going insane.  He eventually returned to Lordaeron and was welcomed as a triumphant hero.  It's here that Frostmourne speaks and tells him to slay his own father in order to seize power.

After seizing power in Lordaeron, Arthas has fully become a death knight and dedicated himself to the undead scourge. Then he makes the decision to merge with the Lich King and take over the Frozen Throne placing himself at the king of the undead forces.

Good guy turned bad makes for a really great villain.

Blizzard's Overwatch Looking Good

I've been reading a lot lately about Blizzard's new team-based arena-style first person shooter (jeez, that's a really long description--think Team Fortress 2) Overwatch.  It's currently in development and hopes to proved an alternative to the aforementioned TF2.

One of the more interesting articles I read described one of the two  most recent characters added to the game.  There is a character called McCree who appears to be some "old West" style gunslinger and a muscle-bound female character named Zarya.  That's right--I said muscle-bound female character.  She reminds me a lot of the heavy from TF2--she totes a big gun but can do more than simply mow down the baddies--she can also launch bomb-like projectiles that appear to have a devastating effect.  She's part heavy and part demoman...err woman.

The thing I like best about Zarya is that Blizzard decided to make a non-traditional female character.  All the other female characters seem to be of the pantsless, stealthy/snipery, castery variety.  She also has rockin' pink hair.  Who doesn't want to have rockin' pink hair?

Gay Characters in Video Games

It seems like there's been a big shift in the way video games address issues of sexuality.  Now, it's completely common to have gay characters in a game.  Games like Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age:  Inquisition have broken the mold when it comes to gay characters in games.  BioWare seems to be one of the many game developers out there who strives to include characters who run the gamut of human sexuality.  The whole issue of sexuality and depicting it in gaming was discussed on PBS's "GameShow" and the episode was very interesting.

I think the inclusion of more gay and transgender characters in gaming is a good thing.  To me, video games should echo real-life (if the game is trying to be somewhat realistic) and in real-life there are people of different sexual orientations.  I agree with the fact that allowing players the options to see issues related to sexuality in a game is a great way to help people empathize with others who are gay and the struggles they go through.  Dorian, in Dragon Age:  Inquisition, is a great character.  His personal companion quest deals with his broken relationship with his family due to his sexuality.  His family has basically disowned him and you are given the choice of helping him reconcile with his father or to completely break ties.  In the quest where you confront his father at an inn you witness a very emotional exchange where Dorian describes how he has disappointed his family by not fulfilling his destined role--getting married, producing offspring to inherit the family magical abilities and pass them on (something very important in Tevinter).  Ugh.  Poor Dorian.

I also really enjoyed the inclusion of the Krem character in Dragon Age.  I don't think I've played any other game that has a transgender character.  The story about how Krem started passing as a man and all the struggles he faced were eye-opening.

It's nice to see some new perspectives in gaming.  Opening the doors to more gay and transgender characters is definitely a good thing for gaming.

Is Killing in Games Necessary?

Yesterday a new episode of the PBS gaming series "GameShow" was released on YouTube.  In this episode the idea of using killing as a mechanic to keep people playing and entertained is questioned.  Here is the episode.

Killing is a vital mechanic in so many games and it is rewarding.  Every time you kill a foe you are rewarded with loot.  The bigger and tougher the baddie, the better the loot.  Are these games violent?  Much of the time, yes.  Has this violence caused me to become a psychopathic serial killer who slaughters people on the street?  No, and I don't feel like it has really had much of an impact on my personality or psyche.  I do feel that I've been somewhat desensitized because of it.  I try to avoid games that seem to use gratuitous violence--I'm not really into gore just for the sake of making things gory.  (It's actually funny that this aired when it did--my brother is trying to convince me to buy a game called Nazi Zombie Army which involves slaying masses of zombies and other creatures.  One of the mechanics used by the makers of this game is the "x-ray kill cam" which slows down time and shows you the internal results of your sniping skills.  It looks fun--ugh, is there something wrong with me?)

Why do I like killing in games?  It's rewarding--both challenge-wise and loot-wise.  It's enjoyable to figure out the best way to take out your foe.  I'm re-playing Borderlands 2 and always enjoy dousing my enemies in flame, slag, or acid and watching their health tick away.  That huge red "critical" that pops up when you score a critical hit just feels so great.  The best is when you line up some uber-headshot and manage to land it.  I always find myself grinning or laughing when that happens.  In games like World of Warcraft that require a group of people to take down raid bosses it's extremely enjoyable.  Ask any WoW player who raids what the best feeling is and they will tell you killing new bosses.  There's nothing like the sense of achievement that comes after dying repeatedly and then finally getting a boss down for the first time.  I still remember the first times that my guild took down the big baddies like Illidan or Deathwing.  Then there's the loot...the feeling of seeing a piece of loot drop that you absolutely need is somewhere between Christmas morning when you're a little kid and pure elation.  So not only do you get an emotional high but you also get something tangible for your effort.

Killing things in a game also makes you feel like your character is someone powerful.  You can mow down an army of zombies or bandits no problem.  You're not like any other character, you are special.  Being able to slay masses seems to be the video game staple for proving this superiority.

I don't think that killing is a necessary mechanic in games.  There are plenty of games that don't use any killing that are really great games.  I'm really into Cook, Serve, Delicious which is a restaurant sim.  You get rewarded for your ability to multi-task and fill orders correctly.  The episodic story genre doesn't hinge on killing.  The player gets to interact with the story and see their choices come to life and have an effect on the story.  In Papers, Please you process documents (occasionally you have to make a choice to shoot someone--but you can always choose the non-lethal option) and are rewarded for your attention to detail and speed.  With the popularity of indie games, I don't think that players are limited strictly to games that use killing as a mechanic and that the game industry is changing.  There are so many cool games with novel ideas that are way outside the box.  Games can definitely be fun, challenging, and emotional without all the killing.

Tetrobot and Co. Purchased through Trickery!

This weekend I fell victim to some of the oldest advertising tricks in the book.  Limited time offer!  Limited quantities!  Get it before we run out!  I was casually checking gog.com to see if there were any classic games that might be on sale.  They were having some sort of flash sale that included the original and reduced price and a countdown that indicated that there were only a few games left!  I had absolutely no intention of actually buying a game, but found myself wanting to buy it.  Sure, it was only $2.49, but I was mentally kicking myself for falling to the same old tricks.  As soon as the number went under 20, I hit the buy button.  That's how I ended up buying Tetrobot and Co.

Tetrobot and Co. is a cute puzzler that I was intrigued by after I unlocked a character in Cook, Serve, Delicious.  In it you command a robot with very simple point and click controls.  The goal is to navigate levels filled with different obstacles and puzzles.  Another goal is to find special "memory blocks" that will unlock pictures that help to tell the story about how the different robots came into being.  So far I've learned there is a girl who engineers the robots and that the idea to create them came from a dream.  I think, anyway.  Here's the trailer that actually explains the premise and shows a little gameplay.

I buzzed through the initial levels of Tetrobot fairly easily.  Then the puzzles got much more challenging.  Your cute little robot can grab certain blocks of material and save them for later use--you can only carry 6 blocks at a time and at certain points there places where you lose whatever blocks you are carrying (like in Portal where certain particle walls would disintegrate any cubes you were carrying).  The blocks of material--called "blox"--have certain special properties.  Wood blocks can be burned when placed on a laser.  Sand blocks...well, I've only figured out that they're made of sand.  Stone blocks will completely stop a laser beam with no damage.  Blocks of similar material will stick together--so if you have two wood blocks you can shoot them at each other and make a sort of platform.  I got stuck on a level that required you to create shapes with the blocks.  I really wanted to get all the memory blocks, but I just couldn't figure out how to make one certain shape that seemed to require blocks to float.  I tried every possible way I could think of and the only thing I accomplished was giving myself a headache.

For only $2.49 I don't feel so bad for falling for the same old advertising tricks.  Tetrobot and Co. has been entertaining and promises to keep giving me headaches for many more hours.

Cook, Serve, Delicious: Battle Kitchen and New Game +

Some games are really easy to pick up after some time not playing them.  The indie restaurant/cooking sim Cook, Serve, Delicious is not one of those games.  This weekend I decided to return to the frantic world of correctly filling orders, managing chores,  weird food related dates, and impressing snotty celebrities.  Let's just say that you really need some practice to perfect the keystrokes in CSD.

I also decided to check out the "Battle Kitchen" addition which came out a few months ago.  "Battle Kitchen" includes a bunch of really great features to keep you engulfed in the chaotic world of fictional restaurant management.  Each week a new challenge is added that tests your skills.  The challenges are themed and include a Steam leaderboard.  The challenge this week was themed around meat (namely steak), potatoes (hashbrowns), and beer.  Each order consisted of a steak, some hashbrowns, and a beer to top it off.  The stakes (or steaks!) are high--each time you mess up an order you are penalized time.  Orders must be completed quickly and accurately to earn a good place on the leaderboard.  You can re-try the challenge as much as you want and your fastest time is posted.  My best attempts earned me a place somewhere around 176.  Not that impressive.

Weekly challenge screen.

Besides the weekly challenge there are also other challenges.  The Strike challenge requires you to make as many orders as you can before you make three mistakes.  There are challenges with different food sets that push you to limit your mistakes.  Three strikes and you're done.  The Endurance challenge pushes players to achieve as many perfect orders as they can with rapidly changing conditions.  You are pushed to make a snap decision mid-stream that will insert a new food or upgrade a current food making the challenge much more difficult.  Out of all the new challenge modes I felt like I had the most success in the endurance challenge.

Battle Kitchen also added in several options for up to 4-player multiplayer.  You can play co-op with a friend or challenge a group of friends.  The downside is that you need gamepads for the other players.

Besides the great new play options there have also been some cosmetic changes.  Players can pick from a wide variety of chef themed profile pictures or unlock special characters by earning stars in the challenge modes.  The graphics have been improved and some of the food that looked a little weird before looks much more delicious.

Special unlockable profile pictures from other indie games.

I thought I wanted to start a new campaign and was greeted by the option to create a new game using "new game +" mode.  The selection screen is almost like a warning and they aren't kidding.  New game + is extremely difficult and will wreck your life.  You start off with 6 prep stations and can have "Super Rush Hours" in which orders pour in as fast as you can fill them.  On the plus side, you start off with $15,000 to spend.  I only lasted two days in new game + before I decided to give up.

If you haven't played any Cook, Serve, Delicious you should!  It's a highly addictive and fast paced game that is fun and challenging.  The "Battle Kitchen" patch has added a lot of great content that makes it all that much more fun to play.

Experiences as a Female Gamer

Once again as I was perusing back episodes of PBS's "GameShow" on YouTube (which I would recommend to anyone who likes reflecting on video games in a more thoughtful manner) I found one that really resonated with me.  Here's the episode:

Now, I'm not very well-versed in the whole "GamerGate" dramafest that seemed to be tearing up the interweb last year, but as a female gamer I do have an interest in issues related to ladies and their gaming experiences.  I can't say I've ever felt so offended by a game and it's portrayal of women that I've wanted to trash it.  I'm a fan of Grand Theft Auto which seems to be a series that garners so much negative attention for a wide variety of reasons.  But may of the issues discussed in this episode are relevant to my own experiences.

One sad fact of my gaming experience is that I actively try to avoid most multiplayer games.  I can't say  that I've had some totally awful event occur that made me quit forever, but I do find them to be a source of stress.  Especially games that throw you together with a large group of strangers.  I played World of Warcraft for over six years and had mostly positive experiences.  I credit this mostly to my extreme pickiness when selecting a guild.  I thoroughly vetted the guilds I joined to make sure that there wouldn't be drama (most of the time) and tried to find people who had a similar background to my own (working adults, mid-core gamers, friendly and helpful...like that).  I am not sure that my experiences are typical--one guild I belonged to was almost 50/50 male to female.  It was great because there were other women there.

But I do feel like I dealt with many of the issues that are covered in this video.  I don't like talking on voice chat and will usually mute it at the first opportunity.  I have had to answer questions about my gender (I've been told that I sound like a twelve year-old boy) for really no reason.  I've had really uncomfortable moments where people have asked me how old I was (I got a totally creepy vibe from that one and actually lied about it because of that vibe--if anyone asks I'm 65 and newly retired).  I've seen other women do ridiculous things to get in good with the crowd and then have it completely backfire (it's never a good idea to send anyone nudes--just don't do it!).  It's sad that I don't want to play multiplayer games because I know I'll be harassed, that I can't talk on voice chat, and that women are pressured to expose themselves to fit in.

I do think video games need a feminist voice.  I'm not saying that they need to completely change, but there is a deeply disturbing part of gamer culture that has made something that is supposed to be fun into something miserable for women.  Come on guys, think about it--you have an opportunity to share your hobby or passion with women.  Isn't that a good thing?  Wouldn't you rather share the experience than simply try to shut women out or isolate them?  Let's just enjoy our games together!  

Video Game Spin-Offs: Mass Effect "Foundation" #13

(Spoilers!) The last issue in the Mass Effect comic series, "Foundation," picks up with Rasa.  She's having a flashback from her childhood as a slave forced to steal from miners at the camp from the first issue in the series.  But she's no longer the girl forced to pretend to be a boy, instead she's making her own plans.  Those plans include posing as a scientist in order to steal a clone of Commander Shepard that was created as a backup plan if the Lazarus project failed.  Her plan goes awry as a passing Cerberus lackey recognizes her and she's forced to shoot her way out.  The command center in the lab is warned immediately, but they can do little as Rasa has overridden the security system and forced it to loop a Blasto the Hanar Spectre film.

Miranda isn't pleased and rounds up a team of soldiers and mechs to take care of Rasa.  But Rasa has overridden all the security systems and the sprinklers come on, dousing Miranda and her mechs.  Rasa continues to remember scenes from her terrible childhood and sees a time when she was caught stealing and was forced to defend herself.  Then the scene cuts forward to the lab.  Rasa has programmed a mech to follow her and is preparing to move out.

Miranda and mechs move to take out Rasa.

Miranda confronts Rasa.

Miranda has finally reached the lab and confronts Rasa.  She states that she should have listened to Kai Leng and killed Rasa when she had the chance.  Miranda unleashes a biotic attack and takes out Rasa's mechs.  Just when it looks like Miranda is going to be victorious the mechs that are accompanying her open fire.  Rasa has re-programmed them all to protect her and the clone.  She orders a mech to haul a pod containing the clone to her shuttle which she has hidden on the underside of the station.

As she waits for the mech to haul the pod to her ship she continues to have flashbacks and remembers the trouble she got into for killing the miner who caught her stealing from his locker.  She's snapped back into reality as a gunshot hits her ship.  It's Miranda and she's not about to let Rasa escape with the clone.  Rasa and Miranda exchange some gunfire and verbal barbs.  Miranda questions why Rasa is doing this when Cerberus has given her so many chances.  Rasa wisely responds that Cerberus's help comes with strings attached and questions why Miranda feels such loyalty to the organization.  Miranda states that the Illusive Man saved her life.  By this time Rasa has made it into her shuttle and has managed to escape.  Miranda is forced to admit her failure and tell the Illusive Man that Rasa has escaped.

Rather than being upset at Miranda, he calmly informs her that they aren't going to worry about Rasa but are instead going to focus on the Lazarus project.  The Shepard clone isn't the real Shepard anyway.  The scene cuts back to Rasa on her ship with the clone.  She is talking to the stasis pod and seems to have formed a real attachment to the clone.  She states that she is going to make this Shepard into a better version and that with the clone she can finally control her own destiny.

If you played the "Citadel" DLC from Mass Effect 3, you know how the story ends.  This final issue in the comic series did a great job of tying the whole story together.  Readers learned the origins of the Brooks/Rasa character and got a better idea about the events leading up to the epic clone fight.

My overall verdict on this series is that as a fan it was fun to get a little more insight into the characters and details from the game.  Other fans will probably enjoy the stories.  I didn't feel like the artwork was as strong in this series as in the previous series.  Some issues were great and added a lot to the story while others seemed a lot less informative but might be good for people who have a favorite character. I am interested to see what the future holds for the Rasa character and if she makes some sort of appearance in the upcoming Mass Effect game.

Video Game Spin-Offs: Mass Effect "Foundation" #12

(Spoilers!) #12 in the Foundation series picks up with Miranda informing the Illusive Man that Rasa is becoming too dangerous.  Rasa has been sticking her nose into the Lazarus project and knows too much.  She is continuing to compile the dossiers and is now investigating the drell assassin, Thane Krios.  Rasa and Krios tangled briefly in a previous issue and Rasa only escaped because Krios decided to show her mercy.

Thane's story starts off with him on an assignment to assassinate a Salarian war criminal.  As he takes aim and prepares to pull the trigger, a female drell sees the dot from the laser sight and steps between the target and the assassin.  If you've ever romanced Thane in Mass Effect 2 this story should be familiar.  It's the story about how he met his wife.  After she interrupts Thane he becomes obsessed with her.  He can't understand why someone would put their own life at risk to save a stranger.  He begins tracking her so he can learn more about her.  This is very fortunate because she is attacked and he is able to save her.  He finds out that she is a scientist working on a cure for a hanar disease and informs her about who he is.  She threatens to call security to arrrest him, but he begs her forgiveness. She decides to let him stick around and their relationship blooms.  Thane is a different person when he's with her and feels awakened from his "battle sleep."

Thane meets his future wife.

Eventually Thane decides he wants to marry her.  In order to get married he must get permission from the Hanar that he is bound to through the compact.  The Hanar warns him that this isn't his path and could be a big mistake.  Thane ignores the advice and decides to marry Irikah anyway.  Soon they have a family, but Thane struggles to be a good father.  No longer able to use his skills as an assassin, he is forced to take meaningless jobs and he finds that this is difficult.  He makes the tough decision to return to assassin work and finds that he is away from his family for long periods of time.

Things turn sour when a group of Batarian slavers who Thane had been paid to take out decide they want revenge.  They pay the Shadow Broker for his identity and wait for him to travel far enough away that they can take out his family before he returns.  Thane then makes it his goal to find the ones who killed his wife and eliminate them all.  He does it in the most painful ways possible and feels no remorse.  As he prepares to take out their leader he has a flashback of his wife standing in his sights.  He pulls the trigger anyway and ends his quest for vengeance.

The issue ends with Thane holding a coin given to him by his wife and tossing it into the ocean.  He laments the fact that he didn't listen to the Hanar priest who warned him that he wasn't meant for a simple family life.

Thane is another of the characters that I like and I thought it was nice to see his story fleshed out.  If you're looking for some new information about Thane there really isn't much in this issue.

Video Game Spin-Offs: Mass Effect "Foundation" #11

(Spoilers!) Unlike the last issue, this issue tries to remind readers about the whole Cerberus/Rasa storyline that is going on.  It opens on a Cerberus facility where Rasa is confronting Miranda about the fact that she has been placed on permanent medical observation.  This status is preventing her from returning to field work and Rasa is upset that her skills as an agent are being wasted.  Miranda shocks her into reality by revealing the fact that she has caught Rasa peeking into classified files that are part of the Lazarus project.  Miranda kindly reminds her that "Cerberus doesn't take prisoners."

The rest of the story returns to dossiers and the focus on an individual member. #11 focuses on the veteran human mercenary, Zaeed Massani.  Like Kasumi, Zaeed was a character who was a sort of "extra" in Mass Effect 2.  His content is only available through DLC.  As a character, I liked Zaeed.  He has a gritty, tough old-guy thing going that makes him interesting.  I thought it was fun to stroll through his bunk area and listen to him tell his stories about all his souvenirs.

Zaeed's story starts off with him being in a very precarious situation.  He's on a mission and things aren't going very well.  The story is told in his own voice, which is a great idea since his voice is so distinctive.  He starts his story off with his departure from being the leader of the mercenary group the Blue Suns (it wasn't pretty) and his new career as a mercenary.  His reputation helps him find a mission with the Shadow Broker (who is depicted as a Yahgg in this comic--I didn't really like that--the lore felt off).  This mission isn't some easy job and requires Zaeed to crash a Turian warship in the most fantastic way possible.  Zaeed's instructions are to "be creative."

To prepare for the job Zaeed begins building a group of talented mercenaries.  He recruits a sadistic Salarian tech expert, an Asari sniper, and a Human who totally hero worships Zaeed.  His group of misfits plans to board the ship and meet their Turian contact aboard the vessel.  Little does he realize that there is more trouble on-board than he originally thought.

Zaeed assembles his squad.

The plan starts off with Zaeed's crew jumping from their own moving ship to the Turian ship.  It's dangerous, but they all manage to make it.  It becomes apparent that the Turians have caught wind of Zaeed's plan.  As the group readies to open the interior door on the ship another door opens and sucks them out of the airlock they just entered.  Fortunately they cabled themselves to the interior of the ship--not so fortunate for the member whose cable didn't hold.  Now they know that their cover is blown, but Zaeed has no intention of ditching a job that pays as well as this one.  They manage to crawl aboard through another open bay door and Zaeed sends his two underlings to distract the guards while he fights his way toward the bridge.

Zaeed's two compatriots continue to fight their way forward and seem to be having a good time.  They banter about their success and then suddenly the Asari, Tristana, decides to lock the door behind her leaving her human squadmate on his own.  It's very obvious that these mercenaries are all in it for themselves and the idea of splitting the payday isn't particularly engaging to any of them.  The next panel shows a Turian defense base that has just been alerted to the attack on the ship.  The commander decides that their only option is to shoot down the ship if it enters their airspace.

As Zaeed makes it to the bridge he forces his Turian hostage to open the door.  He firmly believes he has made it and that all the distractions have worked.  When he opens the door he discovers a large group of Turians who are more than ready to kill him.  Suddenly a shot rips through the air and the Turian's brains splatter all over Zaeed.  Tristana has made it to the bridge and helps Zaeed fight off the group of Turians.  They both seem pretty happy that now the loot is a 50-50 split.  Then Tristana uses her biotics to zap Zaeed into submission and informs him that she works for his Blue Suns adversary Vido Santiago.  It's right at that moment that the ship enters the atmosphere of a planet and Tristana momentarily loses her biotic grip on Zaeed.  And it's exactly when the Turian defense battery gets a lock on the ship.

Zaeed and Tristana are locked in a death struggle as the ship starts to break apart.  As a gaping hole is blown into the side of the ship they both manage to grasp a small part of the ship and hang on.  Zaeed isn't one to forgive and kicks Tristana in the face, dislodging her into space.  Zaeed holds on and makes it to an escape pod.  As he lands, he peeks out the door and is greeted by the sight of the Turian ship brilliantly crashing into the planet's surface.  Zaeed grins.

The very end of the comic returns to Rasa back on the Cerberus facility.  She's still reading Zaeed's dossier, but she's also checking out a human form that is currently suspended in a tank. The issue ends with Miranda watching Rasa on a monitor and informing the Illusive Man that they need to talk about Rasa.

This issue is one of my favorites in the series.  I liked that the story broke away from the Cerberus focus and that it was very action-packed.  The character dialogue in the story was well-written and I could hear Zaeed's voice telling the tale as I was reading.  This is a good one and I would recommend it above many others in the series.

Video Game Spin-Offs: Mass Effect "Foundation" #10

(Spoilers!) The next issue in the "Foundation" series takes a departure from the story that seems to be largely based on the Cerberus activities surrounding Rasa.  The issue, instead, focuses on the story behind Kasumi Goto.  I found it a little strange that they threw in a random issue that seems unrelated to the storyline that is presented in the previous issues.  Kasumi is one of the dossiers that Shepard receives in Mass Effect 2, but she's a DLC character.  If you're a fan of Kasumi, you'll enjoy the focus on her backstory which does have a more romantic feel to it than the other stories.

Much of this issue focuses on Kasumi's activities as one of the most well known thieves in the galaxy.  The story follows Kasumi and her boyfriend, the almost equally talented thief and hacker, as they plot a major heist on the planet Bekenstein.  If you've played the Kasumi DLC from Mass Effect 2, you know that this is the site of the Hock heist.  You get a really nice sense of the relationship between Kasumi and Keiji as they plan together.

Flying!

Kasumi and Keiji

As they land on Bekenstein their plot seems a little crazy--they are sneaking through an empty shuttle bay and then sky-diving across buildings to reach their target.  Once they arrive they realize that what they thought was going to be a soft target is actually well-defended.  As they split up Kasumi tries to distract the guards in order to keep them from discovering Keiji.  After she has used a clever decoy program she catches an elevator and manages to evade the guards.  While she's taking the elevator to Keiji's location she hears him call out and then he's suddenly cut off.  Something is wrong and she needs to get to him quick.  When she arrives she sees Keiji lying on the floor with a pool of blood around his head.  With his last breath, he makes her promise that she will get his greybox back.  In a sad ending to this issue, Kasumi begs Keiji not to go as his life slips away.

This issue was not one of my favorites from the series.  It was nice to see a softer story, but it didn't really add much to what I already knew about Kasumi.  From playing the game I already had a good understanding about their relationship.

Video Game Spin-Offs: Mass Effect "Foundation" #9

(Spoilers!) The ninth issue in the Mass Effect "Foundation" series takes up the story of the Salarian scientist Dr. Mordin Solus.  The story starts off as Rasa wakes up from her brush with the Drell assassin, Thane Krios.  Miranda greets her and informs her, none too politely, that she expects Rasa to immediately get to work compiling the dossiers of prospective crew members to accompany Commander Shepard after the Lazarus project is complete.

The first dossier on the list is that of Dr. Mordin Solus.  In Mass Effect 2 Shepard becomes familiar with the Salarian doctor and his work on the genophage project.  In the comic a clearer picture of Mordins involvement on the project is painted.  The story starts off with a group of Salarians plotting to plant a new and improved genophage on the Krogan homeworld of Tuchanka.  Dr. Solus is given the honor (or curse depending on your perspective) of creating this new genophage, testing it, and deploying it.

The Salarian Special Tactics Group is sent to Tuchanka with Dr. Solus to help him deploy the new genophage.  It is a race against time because there is a large storm moving towards the area they need to be in to effectively disperse this new virus.  As they approach the pre-determined area they run into a group of Krogan who are participating in some sort of religious ceremony.  When the Krogan become alerted to their presence a firefight breaks out between the two groups.  Mordin flexes his scrawny Salarian muscles and shows that even though they're considerably smaller than the Krogan, you shouldn't overlook a Salarian in a fight.

The other scientists in the group are shocked at Mordin's fighting abilities but are busy trying to configure the device that is going to release the new genophage.  A female Krogan survives and confronts Mordin about what he is doing.  There is an interesting exchange between Mordin and the female that confirms the difficulty of the choice of the Salarians to use the genophage.  A sudden explosion rips through the area and Mordin is injured and the Krogan female is killed (this is where he sustains the injury to his cranial horn).  A few members of his team survive and manage to drag him back to the Salarian ship.  Once on board the other Salarians ask him about what the Krogan said to him.  It's at this point that Mordin appears to have doubts about the use of the genophage.

This issue was another good one in the series.  I felt like it did add some significant details to Mordin's back story and again highlighted the fact that he is very conflicted about the use of the genophage.  He's not the cold, calculating figure that you argue with in Mass Effect 2 but is actually somewhat torn about the usage of the genophage.