Decisions, decisions.

I ran across this article yesterday while browsing my Facebook news feed and found it quite interesting.  I don't really think much about the decisions that I make in games and how they don't really mean much when it comes to the ending.  Should I be more upset that these decisions are completely arbitrary and that they won't have much of an effect on the outcome of whatever game I am currently playing?

I am not upset at all.  I don't think it's possible to make a game that will have content that truly differs depending on the choices you make.  For me it's more about the journey than the destination.  I might be a little weird in that I do not look up alternate scenarios for the games I play.  I would much rather play through the entire game and make different decisions and see the outcome myself than watch someone else's journey.  It's more about the character I am trying to develop than just getting a different result.  Maybe I apply too much logic to my characters and should make their decisions more human and random.  I tend to play a character completely one way and not the other.  Very rarely do I pick the "neutral" option.

Punch him Kenny!  Choices from "The Walking Dead"

It's more important to me that I have the option to make decisions rather than being forced down a single path.  I get to choose how my Lee or Clementine choses to navigate the fractured world in The Walking Dead.  Without these choices the games we play would be very stale.  It's the moral quandries that make games engaging. 

The Future of Mass Effect

Now that I've completed BioWare's latest and greatest, Dragon Age:  Inquisition, I find myself wandering back into the world of Mass Effect and wondering about the direction of the next game.  There haven't been a lot of details released about the next incarnation of my favorite sci-fi action drama.  Anyone who hasn't been living under a rock and who is a fan of the series probably knows that the series ended in a weird place and there are so many possibilities for where it can go.  I've been thinking about things that I would like to see in the next game.  (There will be spoilers about the Mass Effect series)

Should the next game be a prequel of sequel?
I would like to see the next game be a sequel.  The events of Mass Effect 3 were so dramatic that I think a story set after those events would be open to many more creative possibilities.  We've already gotten to see a lot of the council races and need something new.  One huge strength in BioWare's storytelling is their ability to tie the games together.  I always feel like the decisions I made in previous games will have some effect on the next game.  I am curious to see how the galaxy rebuilds after the devastation of the reaper invasion.  My Shepard cured the genophage, will that decision come back to haunt me?  Did I unwittingly unleash a new Krogan superempire?  How will the major decision at the end of Mass Effect 3 effect the galaxy?

Should there be any ties to Commander Shepard?
At the end of Mass Effect 3 there is that weird epilogue scene where it seems like the future and an older person is explaining to a child the importance of Commander Shepard.  Could this be a possible Shepard child?  Should there be a Shepard child?  Personally, I vote no.  I think the Shepard story line needs to be done.  There needs to be a new protagonist or new group.  I think it's alright to reference Shepard, and how could you not, but no child/grandchild.  I think it would be really cool if players were given the option of playing as different races--that the protagonist could be Asari, Turian, Quarian, Krogan, or Human.

What aspects of the three games would I like to see incorporated into the next game?

The new Mako.

There were many people who were upset when Mass Effect 2 seemed to take a clear departure away from RPG-like aspects.  The change from not having the multitude of loot--customizable armor and weapons--was a big change.  Mass Effect 3 seemed to somewhat rectify this problem by adding in mods for weapons and some new pieces of armor.  I would like to see the old loot system return with more options.  Of the few details released about the new game there has been concept art of the Mako.  Does that mean that they are going to add planetary exploration back into the game?  Should it be more open-world, like Dragon Age:  Inquisition?  As someone who is not a big fan of "open-world" type games I am hoping that they don't.  I liked doing some minor exploration on the planets, but have always enjoyed the focus on the story in the Mass Effect series.  One part of DA:  I that I really enjoyed was the ability to customize Skyhold.  It would be fun to have a new ship that is more customizable.  It's not the Normandy, but it's something you can make your own.

What about Shepard's old crew?  Should they make a reappearance?
I always like getting some closure about the characters from previous games.  While I want a departure from the Shepard storyline I think it would be nice to see these characters playing a role in the new galaxy.  Maybe Tali is leading the Quarian effort to rebuild Rannoch and you cross paths or you complete a mission for the shadow broker (AKA Liara).

That's all I can think of at the moment.  I'm currently replaying the Mass Effect series so it's on my mind.  I can't wait to hear more about my favorite series and hope all the other fans are just as anxious.

What I Look for in a Game

Over my years of gaming I have accumulated a fairly large collection of games.  Some of them have been absolute gold, but others...not so much.  Personally, RPG's are my bread and butter.  I have always loved playing as a specific character or having a designated role in a group.  This doesn't mean that I haven't branched out into other genres, but RPG's are my ultimate favorite.  These are the tags recommended for me on Steam:  RPG, action, sci-fi, co-op, and adventure.  I have to hand it to them, they hit it on the nose.

Here are some of the factors I look for in a game.

Engaging Story
I am drawn to games that have a strong story line and that are very story driven.  I have always loved BioWare's games because of their strong storytelling.  I find myself very invested in carrying out the story I have envisioned for my character.  I find myself tuning out in games that don't have a strong story  line.  I made the mistake of buying Spelunky during one of the Steam sales.  I'm sure it's a great game, but I just haven't been able to get into it.  I have played it for a total of 30 minutes.  Good thing I only paid around $5 for it.

I'm sorry Spelunky.  I can't love you.

I really enjoyed playing TellTale's The Walking Dead series and it's a simple point and click game, but another great example of a series with a strong story.

Replayability
Great games make you want to play them over and over.  Games are pretty expensive often $50 or more for leading titles.  I'm not laying down that kind of cash for a game that I'm going to play through once and then shelf.  A well made game makes you want to replay it and uncover all the divergent paths.  The Mass Effect series is my all-time favorite due to the fact that every time I replay it I find something I missed.  (I will replay the entire thing too--no Genesis for me!)  I have around 375 hours in Mass Effect 2 and just discovered Fist (from Chora's Den on the Citadel) hanging out in Omega.

Engaging Gameplay
I have a really hard time with open-world games.  I do own Bethesda's Fallout and Elder Scrolls series (well, really just Oblivion and Skyrim).  The gameplay is what keeps me playing them.  I find that the story becomes diluted in most open-world games.  There is so much more focus on exploration and looting than on following a certain story line.  There's just something about shooting and slashing through hordes of enemies and searching through mountains of loot that keeps me playing.

Challenge
Games that push you are always better than games that allow you to roll through them.  I'm not one of the elitists that only plays games that have been identified as hardcore or extremely challenging.  One of my favorite strategy games is X-Com:  Enemy Unknown.  I like that you really struggle through the early parts of the game as your squad develops.  I also like the randomness, it can be frustrating at times, but that challenge is what keeps me playing.

So what do you look for in a game?

Reborn

Classic Gauntlet.  Elf needs food badly!

It has become a trend in movies and games to take something old and rework it into a newer, hopefully better incarnation.  I don't know that this is always necessarily a good thing for movies, but it seems to be working for games.  Recently I finished a rebirthed version of the 1980's classic RPG Wasteland.  Now, thanks to a generous gift from my little brother, I am revisiting another classic arcade game that I actually played on an arcade machine.  I have many memories of playing Gauntlet in my uncle's basement and now I can play it from the comfort of my own PC.

I have only spent a couple of hours playing this reworked version of Gauntlet, but I can tell that they really tried to capture the essence of the original.  You can still choose from one of four playable classes--warrior, valkyrie, elf, or wizard.  Each class has it's own distinct playstyle--the warrior slashes through enemies and can use a spinning move to mow them down, the valkyrie wields a shield and spear and can block enemy attacks, the elf is a ranged class and can snipe enemies from afar and use a bomb to take out large groups, and the wizard uses a series of different magic attacks to roast, freeze, or zap enemies.

Once you've chosen your character the game is very much like the classic.  You must navigate a series of dungeons filled with hordes of bad guys. As in the previous game there are summoning stones that continually spawn large groups of enemies and must be taken out.  In your journey your goal is to collect gold as you slay your way forward.  There are locked doors that require you to find keys and exploding barrels that can be used to blast open weak walls.  Beside your companions your old nemesis, death, is present and often chases you throughout the dungeon.  It's fairly easy to avoid, but can be tricky in some places.  At the end of each set of dungeons there is a special boss that must be slain.  After you have finished a set of dungeons you can use the gold you have found to purchase special relics that give you additional powers for a short period of time.  These powers use potions that are found throughout the dungeons and can be a lifesaver in sticky situations.  Like the arcade classic you only have so many lives in the form of skull coins which are obtained from killing enemies, and you must use your coins to be reborn if you die.

Gauntlet can be played solo, but is much more enjoyable when played with friends.  Steam offers a special deal to get four copies for the price of three.  I have played three of the four playable classes and settled on the valkyrie as my favorite.  Her shield throw ability is amazing but takes some aiming practice to get right.  The wizard appears to be the most challenging class and switching spells on the fly is tough.

If you're looking for a decently priced fun game to play with your friends or have a special connection to this classic arcade game, you should check out this reworked version of Gauntlet.

The Journey is Complete.

Leliana--she's not as interesting as in Origins.

(Firstly, there could be spoilers.  This is mostly a review, but possible spoilers!)

After around 96 hours of playtime I have finally finished my first playthrough of Dragon Age:  Inquisition (I know what you're thinking, "shut up about Dragon Age:  Inquisition already!"  I'm sorry!  One last post to get it out of my system).  I was extremely excited about this follow-up to what a lot of people felt was a weak game in the form of Dragon Age II.  I have to say now that I'm finished I feel sort of weird.  It's more of a "meh" feeling.  I will try to explain my feelings of "meh" in my review to follow.

If this was a Steam review one of the first things it would ask me was if I would recommend this game to a friend.  The answer to that question is yes.  You should play it.  You should especially play it if you've played the previous games.  You should play it even if you haven't played the previous games (but it would make so much more sense if you had--it's still totally playable without having played them).  Did I have fun playing DA:  I?  Yes.  Overall I was not extremely wowed by it.

I have yet to try the multiplayer.  I've heard that it is fun.  In my playthrough I tried to complete as many side quests and collections as I could.  I had mixed success and didn't spend time going back to find mosaic pieces that I didn't come across in my explorations.  I think I only completed one mosaic (which is kind of sad, but it's a huge world and finding all those pieces is difficult).

Things that I enjoyed about Dragon Age:  Inquisition:
1.) If you played Dragon Age II then you know that one of the biggest complaints about that game was that it all took place in the same areas.  And then those areas repeated themselves.  Well, I have to applaud them for completely obliterating that problem.  The world of Thedas in Inquisition is huge.  Of the 96 hours I played I can almost guarantee that 60-70 of those hours were spend exploring the new zones.  The new zones offer quite a bit of variety in their overall appearance.  The Hinterlands is a pine forest/farmland area, the Storm Coast is a rugged coastline littered with dwarven ruins and shipwrecks, and when you head into Orlais you could be in a sandy desert or on a war-torn plain.  It is extremely diverse and it is extremely gorgeous--the graphics are stunning and part of the fun of exploring is enjoying the wind blowing through the trees or the sounds of birds chirping from above.  Another fun aspect related to exploration is the addition of mounts.  If you're into collecting you'll definitely want to try to unlock all the unique mounts.

2.) Skyhold.  The Normandy from Mass Effect is really amazing, but Skyhold is a freakin' castle.  A CASTLE!  Isn't it the dream of every nerd to have their own castle?  Well, that dream comes true in Inquisition.  I enjoyed planning the decorations and layout of my home base and that you could somewhat customize it.  From hanging out in the rookery listening to the ravens cawing or wandering along the ramparts, Skyhold is an amazing setting.  There is even more collecting in Skyhold as you can unlock different decorations, like stained glass windows, banners, and thrones.

3.) Logistical details--AKA the War Table.  I really liked the concept of having advisors with their own unique strengths and using their assets to command.  This made my character feel like an actual commander directing a massive effort as opposed to just commanding your few companions.  It was nice to know that there was always something else going on in the background and that some of these operations could lead to new missions.

4.) Combat.  I don't feel that I am as good at managing combat as I should be, but I have always enjoyed the combat in the Dragon Age series.  It is fun to figure out how to best use the different abilities of your squad members and how to plan powerful combos.  To watch it all unfold is extremely rewarding.  Fighting dragons is as good as it gets.  Taking down a dragon in Inquisition is a serious feat and feels that way.

5.) Humorous moments.  I always appreciate some levity in my games.  Finding out that Cassandra secretly read Varric's romance novels and was a huge fan was funny.  Sera was a character who was diametrically opposed to my character but her dialogue got some laughs.  One of the best moments was playing a game of wicked grace with a big group of your companions and watching as Cullen ended up losing all his clothes.

6.) Character creation tool.  It is extremely detailed and allows you to make a very unique character.  I didn't spend as much time as I would have liked with it and am planning on taking my time while designing my next character.  You can also choose different voices for your characters which is a nice change.

7.) Art style.  The way that they used a medieval type design scheme for the "cards" that made up the codex entries was really cool.  I was very excited when I noticed that the cards for my companions were changing as I got to know them.  At the end of the game they use a series of portraits to explain the epilogue and I thought those were really interesting and beautiful.

Things I didn't enjoy:
1.) Number of companions.  I think this may just be something I disliked, but I felt like there were way too many party members.  Do we really need two or three of each class?  I have always liked BioWare's character development and ability to design interesting characters, but I felt like with a larger group that there wasn't as close of a connection between party members.  I didn't chat up my teammates as much because there were so many of them.  I am hoping in future playthroughs to do a more thorough job of getting to know all my party members.  (I might be totally wrong about the number of party members seeming large--when I think of previous games it seems like you also had quite a few options)

Another area related to party members was the decision to get rid of gifts in Inquisition.  Maybe I am cheesy or sentimental, but I actually enjoyed finding unique gifts for my squadmates and getting the satisfaction of making them happy.  I also didn't really know how to gauge how my squadmates felt about my character overall.  I would get the occasional messages about "Sera slightly disapproves," but never found a scale that recorded these feelings.  Does it matter that Vivienne seemed to hate my guts out?  I guess not.

2.) Tactical camera.  I want to stab it.  I like being able to pause combat, but maneuvering this thing was a pain in the buttocks.  I played as a mage so it was difficult to track the melee as well as my ranged characters.  The camera does not work well in tight spaces like caves or tunnels and requires some serious adjustments.

3.) Weak connections to previous games.  I like seeing some of the characters from previous games pop up.  Yes, you get Varric, Morrigan, and Leliana, but I would have liked some interactions with Alistair or Aveline.  Maybe in some future DLC?  Alistair does make one very brief appearance, but it's not that exciting (I don't even think it was the same voice actor).  I also would have liked there to be more interaction between the races.  It felt like you were working to unite the humans of Thedas--where were the dwarves and the elves?  In Origins you really got a feel for the major races--in Inquisition they feel very disparate.

I also felt like this game was somewhat of a departure from previous games in the layout--somewhat open world, but also still somewhat directed.  It was different--better than Dragon Age II, but still a little weird.

4.) Ending.  I felt slightly underwhelmed by the ending.  I know they're trying to keep the door open for future games, but it just didn't feel very epic.  It was like "yaaaay, we're done! Now what?"  There is a pretty big cliffhanger at the very end, but I didn't feel that same sense that I did when I finished something like Mass Effect.

Don't expect to be blown away by something that is completely new and different in Inquisition.  It follows BioWare's tried and tested formula and succeeds, but it's more of the same.  Sure, it's huge and gorgeous, but I don't know...it's lacking something that drew me to the previous games (yes, even the second one that everyone hated).

DLC Mania

The DLC screen from Dishonored.

Downloadable content has become a staple in gaming.  You buy a game, play it for awhile, and then get some new content to keep things fresh.  Some DLC adds in new content or characters to flesh out a game.  Other DLC might add in fun items like new skins or cosmetic effects.  But is this DLC excessive?  I know that some game series are guilty of releasing a glut of DLC (Borderlands or The Sims are two that immediately come to mind).  Do you buy it? Or angrily ignore it?  Is DLC just another way for developers to make more money?  Are gamers getting ripped off?

I would call myself a cautious consumer of DLC.  I don't immediately slap down cash on all the DLC from a specific game.  I want to know that what I am buying is going to be worth the money I spend.  For the most part I will invest in DLC that adds content to a game (like Lair of the Shadow Broker from Mass Effect 2) but will probably avoid the more cosmetically angled content packs.  I don't really care that I can spend five extra dollars to make my character look cooler.  I already spent forty or fifty dollars, why can't they just put all that cosmetic stuff in the game?  I can't help but feel that features like that are nothing but a way to make consumers spend more money.  In my World of Warcraft days I was always shocked at the number of people who purchased all the special flying mounts--bought with real cash.  I would much rather spend the time to grind out a cool mount rather than just spending some cash for one.

The Sims series is notorious for releasing extra content packs.  The Sims 3 featured eleven expansion packs, nine "stuff" packs, and ten purchaseable cities.  But why buy all this extra stuff when there is an extensive community of extremely creative Sims geniuses cranking out cool stuff for free?  I have to greatly admire the modding community that creates content for free as a labor of love for a game.

Whether you are a DLC junkie or a cautious consumer, keep on gaming the way you game.  Thanks to the modding community for making fantastic free additions to make the games we love even better.

Loving to Hate Dragon Age: Inquisition's Tactical Camera

A major feature in the Dragon Age series is the ability to control the actions of your entire squad.  To better accomplish this, the player needs a view of the entire battlefield.  To accommodate this they have added in a feature known as the "tactical camera"--this unique view allows you to pause, zoom out, and issue commands to your whole squad.  In theory, it's great.  In reality, it's awkward.  It works really great in open areas with no overhead obstacles like trees.  You get a wonderful top down view of combat.  The downside comes when you enter an area that is narrow, like a cave or tunnel.  Rather than a nice top-down view you get a weird view of the ceiling or some tree branches (granted, they are pretty tree branches).  Yes, you can angle the camera, but it's slightly annoying.

A tactical view in one of the zones with few trees.

After more than seventy hours of playtime I can say that the tactical camera isn't perfect.  I spent a large chunk of time last night fighting the toughest dragon I have faced so far.  There was more pausing, moving and usage of the tactical camera than in previous fights.  I spent a lot of time (way more than I wanted) adjusting the camera.  I don't know if I'm the only person feeling this way, but the tactical camera needs some help.