Minor game update
By vidiot 4 Comments
Just a very small update, nothing fancy. I began writing a big blog, but my virus software went off and I lost everything....again...
Were all at the beginning of the precipice people. I've already begun my plunge.
Instead of bundling a bunch of releases for the holidays, the next few months is going to be a series of titles. If you play games, in general, it seems there will be multiple titles for your tastes till the end of March. I'll be, of course, periodically chronicling my thoughts if my opinion has weight.
Assassins Creed 2 DLC is a stinker
Skip it.
The Battle of Forli is appropriately priced, your eye's do not deceive you: it's the price of a coffee at Starbucks for a reason.
Sadly, I am torn between deciding which is better: a Cinnamon dolce Latte, or playing through this DLC. It's upsetting for numerous reasons, this DLC really does feel like something left on the cutting room floor, and quickly salvaged. I beat the chapter (Sequence) in under and hour, if I ran and didn't do the typical random exploration of stuff that's already there, I can see speed runs of this under 20mins easy.
I'm not bothered by length, but the manner of what you play here distracts me. You kill two very uninteresting targets, then you learn about the real target that set up the first two, complete with complimentary video dossier...and then it just abruptly ends. That's it. It's half a plot point, why this wasn't bundled with the second part of the planned DLC is beyond me...It feels...amateurish in nature, although there's a great wealth of fun to be had with Caterina Sforza, a character I wish the game spent more time with.
Regardless if anything, it's more Assassins Creed 2 which is always a good thing. Plus, I'm learning to say more terrible things in Italian. Seriously, turn on subtitle's while playing through this one if you do: Some of the stuff she says is amazing.
There are no achievements also, (Mega bummer) although if you missed the kick the dude while flying achievement, you can with this DLC.
Initial Mass Effect 2 Impressions
Like Uncharted 2, this game's initial impressions are really messing me up. I am waiting to strike on this game, to find some problem or blemish to reign opinionated death upon. I don't think I'm going to find one, or if I do, it's going to be so minor it will redefine the term "nit-pick". This is a polished game. This is a very polished game. The production values are through the roof and back.
The general consensus is that the first game was more of an RPG masquerading as a shooter, while this game is a shooter masquerading as an RPG. I think it just goes to show you how versatile the term "RPG" can be utilized. At first I though such a "dumbing down" of not just mechanics, but design was a detriment. Not so. This is still an RPG, with skills and levels to gain. The classes do feel very different from one another, and the constant change of ammo types for different enemies reminds me of using the correct element for the right enemy or situation.
It's just not technical.
The first Mass Effect tried to mesh Gears of War cover tactics, with very strict RPG concepts. It resulted in stuff, like, you shoot a guy four times in the head: and he's still alive. Acceptable for an RPG (looking at you Fallout series), not at all for a shooter. It couldn't compromise, let one design philosophy co-exist with the other. By comparison this is a more focused product, when the shooting starts you know what to do. You also never feel being mobbed en-mass by enemies. Some fights in the first game bordered on chaos, I have yet to run into an issue similar to that.
(Note: I #S Ranked the first Mass Effect....you know...jus saying.... << >>)
I've seen some people complaining about how Final Fantasy XIII has dumbed itself down from a mechanical standpoint. This doesn't always have to be viewed as a sin. I loved System Shock 2, but I know it wouldn't appeal to the larder audience like Bioshock did. If the game has a strong identity, and knows what it is, then you should at least give the gameplay mechanic adaptation a fair shot.
The presentation is also superb, and if you played the first game...wow, you are in for a treat. Nick Shepard was a rad dude :P I'm really kinda taken aback that Bioware tackled the complexity of continuing the story of all your decisions from the first game. They don't take reservations or hold back either, they really committed to making everything carry over with a unbelievable level of thought, detail and polish. Meeting up with Garrus, who became a vigilante against crime, after I kinda set the seed for his idea of righteous justice from the first game. Convincing Tali I was back from the dead, by referring to the way I helped her in the first game, and my personal favorite: Watching Udina being essentially to go fuck off from Anderson. Yes, nominating Anderson at the end of the first game was the right decision. Nobody like's you Udina.
Yes, it's all an illusion. It's not truly non-linear (we will never achieve such a concept, I could go on, and on about that subject but it's 2:41 in the morning and I want to wrap this up.), every decision is still funneled into a pre-written narrative, but for me: It's the small things, the little references that stand out, versus the large decisions like deciding whether or not the council burned at the end of the first game. Bioware deserves to be commended for not just an artistic accomplishment with narrative, but a technical one as well. I see a lot of people talking about how this game is very personal, it's a valid statement.
P.S. The Sniper rifle has no waggle or movement to really speak of, making it a perfect killing machine.