Mass Effect: Gaming's Star Trek?

Just about every medium that tells a story seems to eventually develop universes - collections of lore and history originally attached to particular stories, but that stay relevant long after those initial tales are completed. The allure of the universe is stronger than any individual story told within it, so people come back time and time again, demanding new stories told within its confines.

Television gives us some of the most numerous and obvious examples. Star Trek, for instance, is a terrific analogue for what Mass Effect could be. Its universe has sustained multiple television series, books, movies, games, and more. While the original show that started it all still remains popular, clearly there is more draw here than just Kirk and his crew.

Another obvious example, this time from the world of film, is Star Wars. There should be no need to explain the importance of this one. It is one of the most influential story universes of all time. It strongly centers around the original movies which made it famous, but has produced countless examples of other forms of entertainment only related by the universe they share.

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Mass Effect 2: Achievements and the RPG Experience

I can honestly and proudly say that I am not addicted to achievement points. I am not one of those poor souls who dedicates his entire playing experience to squeezing out every last point possible and doesn’t give up until every tedious, impossible task is done.

That simply doesn’t appeal to me in the least.

I’m not immune to the allure of the points, however. I know how satisfying it can be. I am aware of the double edged sword they can present. At their best, they give you incentive to play the game in fun ways you might never have thought or bothered to otherwise. At their worst, they lure you into wasting your time doing boring, unnecessary crap just for the increased achievement score.

Basically, my interest in points extends exactly as far as that line of boredom and insanity. I will happily chase a few points for fun, as long as it actually remains fun.

But I have recently realized that even my merely casual affection for the points can have a greater influence on my game playing than I thought.

The original Mass Effect contained a good number of fairly interesting cast members. This should have been a good thing, but the game’s structure combined with those blasted achievement points actually turned it into a negative for me.

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Mass Effect 2: Friends or Foes?

My gigantic assembly of party members in Mass Effect 2 has me a little perplexed.

See, I like them all. They’re a fascinating bunch. Even the evil bastards that I don’t agree with are interesting (I’m looking at you, Jack).

But I can’t help but think that there’s something missing.

This is not a comment on the quality of the characters themselves. I have previously said that I think Mass Effect 2 has a high quality cast and I stand by that statement, but something feels off about the assembly.

It took me a little while to put my finger on it. My moment of revelation came when I finally got my old friend Tali back in my party again. It was nice to see a familiar face.

And that’s when it struck me. I don’t feel any camaraderie here. We may be a bunch of capable individuals working toward the same goal in a broad sense, but I wouldn’t dare call us a team yet. Hell, the only people I even trust so far are the two that were with me in the last game. I guess newcomer Jacob seems like a decent guy. Cerberus goon though he may be, his head seems to be in the right place at least. Miranda, on the other hand, I’m not so sure about. And she’s not the only one.

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Mass Effect 2: An Examination of Character

Defining what makes a “good” character is relatively easy as long as you stick to useless generalities. It is someone that feels like a realistic human being. It is when you dive into the details that things become decidedly muddier.

Games are not a medium known for creating believable characters. This is somewhat perplexing considering that games have more untapped potential for this than any other medium in history. They can combine great writing, acting, and visuals with the unique element of interactivity. It is only recently that we are beginning to see games scratch the surface of what is possible.

Bioware has led the way in this area. Playing Mass Effect 2 makes it abundantly clear how far games have come. They continue to top not only most every other developer in the industry, but also themselves, in creating interesting, believable characters time and time again.

Yet, when I try to figure out exactly what makes their characterization so good, I can’t quite come to a solid conclusion. I know that they’re steadily getting better by examining my gut reactions to their characters. I enjoyed spending time with the Dragon Age cast more than most of Mass Effect’s crew. I don’t even remember Jade Empire’s characters. Mass Effect 2 seems on track to be their best effort yet.

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Mass Effect 2: Disturbingly Frequent Demise

This just in: Mass Effect 2 is really hard!

I do not want to cast an accusing glance in Bioware’s direction if it is not justified, so I will try to reign in my nasty stares as much as possible whilst I attempt to figure out the true cause of the phenomenon, but let me just say that as a general rule I am decidedly not fond of sequels that decide they need to be more difficult just because there is a higher number in their title.

It is a remarkably common thing, and one that frustrates me to no end.

“Oh,” the developers seem to be saying, “clearly they beat the first game, so what they must want is more and harder, right? I mean, they can’t possibly just want more of what they already enjoyed but with new stuff added. Sureely they want to be incredibly frustrated along the way as well. We must assume their skills have become superhuman and throw all sorts of torturous walls of difficulty at them. That’s the ticket!”

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