Collector's Edition for PC

While I do have a 360, I chose to go with the PC version because not only do I have Mass Effect 1 on PC, I prefer PC controls over a console gamepad.  Mouse+keyboard is still tops for me!  Unfortunately, it seems Mass Effect 2 was designed primarily for console gamers in mind and the PC version seems less polished than it’s predecessor.  A lot of owners have complaints about mouse sensitivity, crashing, and other problems.  Personally, I’m very annoyed with the lack of mouse scrolling ability in-game.  Mass Effect 1 had this but it seems it was dropped from ME2.  All menu scrolling has to be done manually.  Come on Bioware!  Scroll wheels have only been around for like 15 years now =P

Aside from these technical problems (which I’m hoping will be addressed in a patch soon), the game is pretty satisfying ^^.  Bioware did decide to go with a more actiony feel to the game this time around.  While it does retain RPG elements with a deep, engaging story and characters, the combat system has been entirely revamped.  It feels much more like a shooter with RPG components blended in.  The health system is now like many FPS games in that you regenerate health if you take cover to allow your character to recover.  The classes have been overhauled as well, with each type only being able to use certain weapons and powers.  It has taken a bit of time to get used to but I don’t think it’s bad.  It’s just different.  Bioware is obviously trying to target non-traditional RPG gamers (like console FPS fans).  The end result is a combat system that is much faster paced, edgier, and keeps things pretty exciting.

Go, go, go!

Thankfully, Bioware has kept strong RPG roots in the game with an excellent story and interesting characters.  I’m not quite halfway through the game so I can’t make any absolute judgments on the entire story, but it’s good so far ^^.  It does follow the Bioware style of character development that has been present since KOTOR.  Recruit new characters, befriend them, learn what makes them tick, help them on their personal quests/requests.  Whether you think that is a good thing or not is up for debate xD

Character aptly named "Grunt" ^^;

Well, I probably shouldn’t judge a game without finishing it yet, but I give Mass Effect 2 a 9/10 based on what I’ve seen/played so far.  If you’re an RPG fan, you should get this game!  Though you might want to play Mass Effect 1 first.  It can be found on Steam and other places for about $5 pretty often :).

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I want to get a bit more ME2 before it’s time to head off to bed ;)

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Posting an update to let readers know I am indeed still alive and not dead xD.  Have not posted in over a month due to a few factors.  My new place took longer to get settled in than I expected and things are finally returning to normal for me.

Of course, my recent move wasn’t the only thing keeping me away from the blog ^^;  I happened to pick up Dragon Age: Origins a few weeks back and I have been a slave to the game since xD  I just finished the game last night (finally!).

Near the end of the game

I know Meronpan also got himself temporarily addicted to the game, so I’m not alone ^^;  I tend to take my time though so I probably played a bit longer than he did >_<.  My final play time was 67 hours.  I can’t recall the last game on which I spent so much time (excluding World of Warcraft, of course ^^;).  Was it worth it?  Heck, yeah.  I’m pretty picky about playing games all the way through and I wouldn’t have put that much time into this game if I didn’t like it.

I chose to play as a human female warrior.  Continuing the Bioware tradition, the game lets you chose between good and evil throughout the course of the story.  The actions you take and the choices you make will affect how your companions and NPCs view you as well as what quests you can get and what abilities you can acquire.  This time around, I tried to play as an all good character ^^;  Of course, not all the choices in the game are clear cut between good and evil and more than once I had to stop and think about the possible consequences of my actions.

One choice I do regret is using this hair/face combination for my character, as seen above.  Not that it’s a bad look, but sadly it turned out to be very similar to one of the main companions in the game (above left) and they ended up looking too alike >_<  I will probably replay Dragon Age but not immediately.  When I do, I will choose a more unique look for my character ^^  I would upload more screenshots but Bioware’s screenshot uploader thing is not working at the moment so I had to take manual screenshots from my last saves (mostly endgame).

Overall, an excellent game.  Story was superb, combat was pretty good (got a bit repetitive at times though), and the character development was top-notch.  Definitely a recommendation from me.  I don’t care much for Japanese RPGs these days, but this game reminds of what I do like in an RPG ^^b

Aside from Dragon Age, I am done moving and it didn’t take me a month to do it despite the time elapsed since my last post ^^;  Had to buy some new furniture and such but my new home is now mostly complete.  Lots more storage room for all the lovely figures that were once crowded :).  Will have pics of the new crib up in a day or so.

P.S. Morrigan is awesome :D

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Though short-lived against Sony and it’s PS2 marketing propaganda, many gamers still love the console as many of the relatively few games that were released for are still great games.

Personally, I think I will pull out my own Dreamcast and play some classic Jet Grind Radio, Soul Calibur, and Toy Commander ^^.

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I don’t know about you but one of the most important aspects of a good computer setup is noise level.  I can’t stand having noisy computer fans, speakers that hum, or loud hard drives.  I make an effort to pick low decibel hard drives, video cards, and case and CPU fans.  Not only that, I specifically chose the Antec P180 for it’s great noise dampening and insulation.  Of course, I purchased my P180 a couple years ago and I believe there are successors to it now, but it’s still a great case for me.  It comes with padded side panels, 5 120mm fan slots, and silicon hard drive mounts to reduce vibration noise.  As a result of all this, when my quad core processor is running at 100% load, it is barely audible and the five 120mm fans still keep the guts nice and cool ^^

That’s also the scanner I use for scanning images from my artbooks and doujins.

I’ve already discussed my monitor in a previous post but as you can see from the photos, I have dual monitors set up.  This is extremely useful for coding sessions.  Being able to keep one terminal open with code on one monitor and a browser for referencing on the other is great.  Of course, it helps a lot with gaming as well.  Fullscreen gaming on my 26″ while keeping IRC and IMs open on the other.

Kagami keeps my monitors company.

I also have a glowing keyboard because I thought it was cool.  Not bad for typing either.

Here are my bookshelves with my artbooks, doujin, DVDs, manga, books, and figurines.  I recently set up a second bookshelf since the one I had before was getting overcrowded ^^;  I think I have too much anime from when I first started watching it.  Some of the series I have are not as good as I once thought they were.  Anyone else have that problem? xD

I need to clean up some of the doujins there >_<

Lastly, here is my TV stand.  I have a Westinghouse 42″ 1080P LCD TV.  Sure, it’s not a name brand like Sony or Pioneer, but I researched TVs a lot before picking this one and it’s turned out great.  Gaming in 720p on the PS3 amazing.  Terminator 2 in 1080p blu-ray is also spectacular.  I still need an Xbox 360.

I am too lazy to wall mount my speakers -_-

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No, really… I’m not addicted… I’m not T_T
All I have to do is follow these 12 easy steps and I’ll be clean in no time.

In all seriousness, while WoW can be fun to play, I just don’t have the time for it any more. Since my first character was level 20, I decided my ultimate goal was to do end-game raiding. Well, I’ve mostly accomplished that, but it’s such a massive time sink. Raiding for 4+ hours each weekday night is just crazy. I use to play on weekends as well, but I stopped that a while ago.

Sure, it’s fun being in the top raiding guild, being the first to down bosses on the server, and getting those l33t purple pixels. Working out strats for new bosses, banging your head on the wall for days trying to get that first kill, yelling at people who stood in the volcanos and didn’t move with Fatal Attraction, and then cheering when you and 24 other people finally get the kill is great. But I think it’s time to move on ;) I always liked being unique when it came to my WoW character. Instead of a traditional DPS class, I played an Elemental Shaman (no resto bolts for me) and threw lightning at my foes. Instead of the normal Tauren shaman (with Warstop), I played a Troll. Hadouken!

I think I’ve gotten what I wanted out of the game. I leveled to 60, did my quests like a good n00bie, raided some pre-BC content before the expansion, leveled to 70, ran Kara way too many times, and finally did some high-end raiding. Made some friends along the way, and got a few other people to start playing (oh noes). And, of course, wasted too many hours to count XD Besides, I’ve got a new, more casual MMO game to play now

Now I just have to tell my guild they are losing their only raiding Elemental Shaman… :-/

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