Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan – A Recap and a Rant

[Author's Note: This turned out to be a LOT longer than I had anticipated.  Bravo to you if you make it through this post.  And thanks for reading.]

I wrote a post a long time ago pondering whether or not a possible sequel to Knights of the Old Republic 2 could be vexed by the existence of a book revealing Revan‘s story.  I finally had a chance to read the book, The Old Republic: Revan, and finished it just a few nights ago.

I came to a couple of conclusions after finishing the book.  The first conclusion I came to is that there will be no Knights of the Old Republic 3.  Ever.  That was likely decided even before LucasArts was shut down by new owner Disney, but that’s another post entirely.

The second conclusion I came to was that this book, as someone pointed out in my previous post about this, is nothing but a setup for Star Wars: The Old Republic.  I didn’t know the commenter, as he/she posted anonymously, but I took the comment with a grain of salt.  Whoever that person was is right on the money.

Please be advised, after this point there will be plenty of spoilers from the book so if you haven’t read it yet and don’t want to know…STOP READING NOW!!

Dragon Age 2 Review

Photo courtesy of BioWare.com

I picked up Dragon Age 2 shortly after it was released last year, but only got 6 hours in before I had to put my gaming on hold due to the birth of Baby C.  After finishing Mass Effect 3, I remembered I had Dragon Age 2 and moved back to that.  It was a little weird at first, because I could not remember anything that was going on in my game when I started it back up, and seriously considered starting over from scratch.  I decided, however, that I didn’t want to waste the 6 hours I spent playing last year even though I couldn’t remember what I had done so far in the game.

Story

The story for Dragon Age 2 actually starts at the same time as Dragon Age: Origins.  Your character’s name is Hawke.  Kind of like Shepard in Mass Effect, you can choose whatever first name you like, but Hawke is your last name and the name by which everyone addresses you.

You and your family live in Lothering, which is a city just north of Ostegar.  Ostegar is where the Blight starts and as the story begins you (Hawke) and your family our fleeing the Blight.  As you flee, you run into a soldier and a Templar, who team up with you to fight the darkspawn as you all endeavor to escape the coming Blight.  Your mother declares that you should make for Gwaren, a coastal city, so that you can set sail for Kirkwall where you family has an estate.

You eventually make to Kirkwall and find that your family estate is no longer your family’s estate.  You must perform odd jobs to pay your way into the city.  Once you have completed that you must earn enough money to buy yourself into an expedition into the Deep Roads in search of treasure.

Once Deep Roads expedition is complete you have enough coin to buy your family estate back.  Then you must find a way to get the Qunari out of Kirkwall because they’re missing shit up.  You do that and become the Champion of Kirkwall.

Once you have done that, tensions between the Templars and Mages come to a boiling point.  You must then pick a side to support and support that side in the coming war.  Once the battle is over the game ends and the stage is set for Dragon Age 3, which I read was currently in development.

Overall, I like the story and enjoyed the decisions I was presented with.  Each character in your group has an interesting set of side quests and unlike any other Bioware game that I can recall, every character in your group save one is an option to romance.  No matter what gender you choose.

One of the things about the game which I found to be unappealing was the locations.  Except for the beginning of the game (when you’re fleeing the Blight) and the expedition into the Deep Roads, the entire game is played in Kirkwall.  I understand that as part of the story you live in Kirkwall and stay there, but seeing the same locations time after time (after time after time) got to feel a little redundant.  Bioware tried to mix it up a little bit by having day and night locations in which different things are or aren’t available, but they’re still the same maps.

I also read reviews that accused this game of being short.  I don’t know where those reviews got that idea unless the people that wrote them only completed the main tasks.  I completed every quest I could find and it took me nearly 40 hours of game play to finish the game.

Graphics

The graphics are pretty good in this game.  There are no complaints here.  I was actually impressed with the syncing of lips to words in the graphics in this game.  Dragon Age 2 did the best job of this I have ever seen in a game.

Sound

The sound effects in this game were superb.  From the chilling sounds of blade meeting blade to the roar of a fire-breathing dragon (yes, you fight a dragon in this game, too), it was all done supremely well.

I wish I could say the same about the voice-acting however.  The voice acting was adequate, I guess, but could’ve (and should’ve) been much better.  What’s worse is that there was no account taken for accents in this game.  In the Dragon Age: Origins, all Orlesians had French accents.  So Orlesians therefore have French accents.  Great.  The same is true in Dragon Age 2, however there were other accents mixed in amongst the races.  For instance, the Elves all had normal accents in the first game.  In Dragon Age 2 I ran into Elves with Scottish, French, English, and American accents.  How can this be?  How can only one elf out of an entire tribe of them have a Scottish accent?  The same was true of Dwarfs, too.  There were a couple of Dwarves who had Scottish accents.  It’s just weird.

Gameplay

The gameplay is not too dissimilar from Dragon Age: Origins.  Most of the talents are the same, as is the way you level your players up.  The way you choose your talents is a bit different as the talents are separated into groups in tree form.

The combat system is slightly different, as well.  Instead of a turn-based combat system in which your character automatically performs basic attacks against enemies unless you choose a talent, you only attack if you mash the attack button in this game.  Whether are not your attack connects still depends on your attack modifier and your enemy’s defense, but the way you attack is different.  It took me a while to get used to this set up.

Once I had gotten used to the gameplay, however, I was quite enjoyable.

Replay Value

The replay value is phenomenal as it is with every BioWare game.  I have started a second play through, this time as the female character, and already I have one different companion.  I played my first play through as a rogue and this time I’m going as a mage.  As such, the people are treating my differently as mages are looked down upon in Kirkwall because the Templars are extremely overbearing there.

Overall

Overall, this is an excellent game.  The pros far outweigh the cons in this game.  The mediocre voice acting is easy enough to look past and the regurgitated maps at least don’t have things in the same spots when they’re reused.  The story itself is epic.  In the world of Thedas, not 10 years after the end of the 5th Blight, war looms worldwide because of the events of this story.

Don’t like the Mass Effect 3 ending? Tell the FTC

That’s right.  Tell the FTC.  That’s what one person has done.

According to the linked article, some dude on the Bioware forums named El_Spiko has filed a complaint to the FTC regarding the lame ending(s) of Mass Effect 3.  Per the article:

“After reading through the list of promises about the ending of the game they made in their advertising campaign and PR interviews, it was clear that the product we got did not live up to any of those claims,” wrote the poster (who we’re assuming didn’t file it under the name El_Spiko). “This is not somethign [sic] I was happy to do, but after the terrible ending that was in no way the product that had been advertised to me and the lack of any kind of response from Bioware/EA to address this, I felt it was one of my only recourses.”

While I’m not at all enamored with the ending, filing a complaint with the FTC is a little childish, I think.  And idiotic.  I think the FTC has bigger fish to fry than BioWare for an ending that wasn’t all that popular.

BioWare has acknowledged the issue publicly, however, and I found this in my Facebook newsfeed yesterday (I follow BioWare…):

“We are aware that there are concerns about a recent post from this account regarding the ending of the game. In this post it was stated that at this time we do not have plans to change the ending,” the developer said. “We would like to clarify that we are actively and seriously taking all player feedback into consideration and have ruled nothing out. At this time we are still collecting and considering your feedback and have not made a decision regarding requests to change the ending.

“Your feedback and opinions are of the utmost importance to us. We apologize for any confusion this has caused. Our top priority regarding this discussion is to keep communication with you, our loyal fans, open and productive.”

I guess once you think about it, any endings against a seemingly insurmountable foe are all going to be tragic, yet if you play the game a certain way in ME1 and ME2 there are outcomes where everyone makes it alive and you have a happy ending.  The same cannot be said of ME3.  You can recruit every asset in the galaxy and complete every side mission.  It doesn’t matter.  Every ending sends the galaxy back to the stone age and strands the entire military might of every species in the Sol system.  Shepard is disintegrated in every ending, however if you attain the perfect ending you get to catch a glimpse of him buried under rubble and the chest plate rising and falling as if he’s breathing.  The Normandy still inexplicably ends up traveling between Mass Effect relays before they all explode and ends up crashing on an unknown planet.  And somehow squad members that died on Earth walk off the Normandy after it crash lands on this unknown planet.

So am I disappointed in the ending from BioWare?  Yes.   Their track record indicates that they can do much better.  Am I going to the FTC and file a complaint?  Hell no.  It’s a freaking video game.  Get a grip, El_Spiko.  Our government already has its hands in things that it shouldn’t and we don’t need that list getting any longer.  So the ending sucked.  Get over it.  Overall, the game still kicks ass.

Mass Effect 3 Review

Photo courtesy of BioWare.com

I picked up Mass Effect 3 last Tuesday after work and completed my first play-through last night.  I have logged roughly 40 hours into the game already, which is partly why I haven’t posted so much in the past week.

For those who are unfamiliar with the game, Mass Effect is set a couple of hundred years into the future.  Interstellar travel is made possible by devices left behind by an ancient species.  The technology has been called Mass Effect.

A race of sentient machines have entered the galaxy and are intent on destroying all life.  This is a cycle they say must continue for the good of the galaxy.  The sentient species of the galaxy are fighting back to prevent their extinction.

Story

The story picks up roughly six months after the end of Mass Effect 2.  Commander Shepard has been placed on administrative leave and essentially is under house arrest for allying with Cerberus.  As the story begins, the Reapers have entered the galaxy and launched an all out assault on Earth.

The Alliance brass quickly call on Shepard to assist in the defense since he has the most experience fighting the Reapers.  Admiral Anderson orders you to leave Earth and to go to the Citadel to rally support from the other species to assist in Earth’s defense.

The council says that their own worlds are under Reaper attack as well and there’s not much to be spared.  It’s up to you to form an alliance with all of the sentient species to put up a united front against the Reapers and to also find a way to defeat them.

Overall, I like the story in Mass Effect 3, however there were some things that bothered me.  None of your crew from Mass Effect 2 join your current crew.  They are certainly part of the game, and you have some side missions with them, but they don’t join you.  You only have two of your crew from Mass Effect 1 with you.  A third one joins you temporarily.  You have three new characters as your crew now.  I was disappointed with this as I wanted some of the crew from Mass Effect 2 to join my mission.

Otherwise, the story is still good up until the end.  The ending is ridiculous and one of the most awful endings I’ve ever seen.  I don’t know if you’re supposed to feel victorious after the end of the game or not, but you don’t.  At least, I didn’t.  You have three options for the ending, but no matter what you choose (SPOILER) every Mass Effect relay in the galaxy explodes and Shepard dies.  There is reportedly a “perfect ending” that shows the chest plate of Shepard rise and fall once before cutting away to another scene.

The final battle takes place on and over Earth, so after the end of the game every fleet in the galaxy is stuck in our solar system because the Mass Effect relays have all been destroyed.  Everyone stranded there would likely starve to death within a few months.  Plus, after you make your decision, there is a cut scene in which the Normandy (Shepard’s ship) is running from the beam destroying the Mass Effect relays.  How did the Normandy get there since it was engaged in battle above Earth?  The next scene shows a heavily damaged Normandy on an unknown planet.  Then, the rest of Shepard’s crew exits from the ship.  How did they get on the ship?  They were on Earth last time I saw them.  Plus, one of those crew member’s died along side of me trying to get to the Citadel.

In short, there is no happy ending.  There’s not even a decent ending.  Every ending is a tragic one.  Not only for your character and crew, but for the entire galaxy.

EDIT:  I started my renegade play through just a couple of hours ago and have found an inconsistency in the story.  At the end of Mass Effect, you have an option to save the council, which is made of up three different alien species, or to let them parish in order to ensure your victory.  As my renegade character, I let them parish.  Afterward, an all human council was made.  At the beginning of Mass Effect 3, however, the council only has one human on it and the other three members are of other alien races.  WTF?

Graphics

The graphics, as they have been for the entire series, are stellar.  I noticed no glitches at all while playing and the cinematic scenes are well crafted and if strung together could probably make a very decent looking movie.

Sound

The voice acting is, again as it was in the previous two games, superb.  Also the background music blends in well on the cinematic scenes.  During the more battle scenes the musical accompaniment adds to the emotion.  The sound effects for the in-game play are also top-notch.

Gameplay

The gameplay is similar to the prior two games.  It is a third-person shooter.  In addition to being able to take cover, Shepard now has the ability to roll to avoid attacks and the melee attacks have been upgraded a bit.  If you hold down on the melee button, Shepard will unleash a devastating melee attack that kills most opponents with a single hit.

You also occasionally get to control a turret in this game, which is quite fun.  Especially when you get to control a turret on the side of a shuttle on the Quarian home world (whose name I cannot recall currently) and light up Reaper forces while the shuttle is flying.  That was pretty neat.

Other than the ability to roll and the updated melee attacks, not much was added to the combat.

The leveling system has changed again for the third installment, however.  For each rank you purchase in a particular skill the point cost goes up.  One rank costs one point, two costs two, etc.  I did not notice any new powers, but I have only played through once.

There is a multiplayer mode on this game which I don’t know if I will try or not.  The reviews for the multiplayer are good, but I can’t stand playing games online because most people online are assholes and take the fun out of the game.

Replay Value

The replay value is phenomenal as it is with every BioWare game.  My first play through I played a paragon, or the good guy.  This next play through I will be a renegade.  Plus, as I import my characters from the other games in which I made different decisions I will see how those decisions affect me in this final Mass Effect chapter.  I have three other characters saved so I will likely play the game through that many more times.

Overall

Overall, this is an excellent game.  The only weak area this game has is the ending, and that’s only 7 minutes out of the 40 hours I’ve put into the game so far that sucked.  I highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys RPG’s or even shooters, as this is a 3rd person shooter in addition to being a roleplaying game.  If you have not played ME1 or ME2 I recommend playing them beforehand.  Not only for the background story but one of the best parts of this game is seeing the consequences of the decisions you made in those two games.

Mass Effect 3 Trailer

I haven’t talked about video games for quite a long time because, frankly, I haven’t had time.  I’ve been busy raising Baby C, who doesn’t let me play.

I’m going to have to find time soon, however, because the third installment of my favorite game franchise is set to be released this coming Tuesday.

Mass Effect 3.

Have a look see:

This trailer is pretty epic and I was stoked about this game before I ever got to see the trailer.  Now that I’ve seen the trailer I’m freakin’ ecstatic.  Can’t wait.

Will there ever be a KOTOR3?

For years, gamers have been clamoring for a third and final chapter in the Knights of the Old Republic saga.  We all want to know what has happened to our beloved characters.  Where did Revan go?  Did the Exile find him?  What did Revan find out in the Unknown Regions that turned him to the dark side?  What did he leave out there that he needed to go back and fight while abandoning all of his friends?

There actually were plans to produce a second sequel to Knights of the Old Republic, but KOTOR3 was cancelled when LucasArts hit a pretty rough patch in the latter part of the decade.  Why it hasn’t been picked back up mystifies me.  Per game designer John Stafford “we wrote a story, designed most of the environments/worlds, and many of the quests, characters, and items.”  Why not just pick up where they left off now that they are back on their feet?  If nothing else, the early success of The Old Republic should be a sign that gamers love Star Wars RPG.  There are handfuls of online petitions begging LucasArts to produce KOTOR3, yet it still hasn’t happened yet.

There is slightly good news, however, depending on your point of view.  If you are just dying to know the fate of Revan, that wait is over.  No, there are no plans (that I know of) for KOTOR3, but there is now a novel written by Drew Karpyshyn titled The Old Republic:  Revan.  This novel details Revan’s exploits after the end of the first KOTOR game.

While I’m eager to read this book to find what happened to Revan, and perhaps the Exile, at the same time I have a sense that because Revan’s story has already been told, there will be no third KOTOR game.  And that angers me.

LucasArts has been steadily declining in quality over the last decade, and I wonder if mismanagement has anything to do with it.  They’ve reportedly had many layoffs.  But I wonder how something as massive as The Old Republic can get the green-light but KOTOR3 can’t?  LucasArts has put out a steady string of failures in recent years.  The failures have outweighed the successes.  They did great with The Force Unleashed, then release a sequel that offered nothing really new, and a game that I completed in 6 hours.  I could go on and on about other disappointments, but then I’d be here all day.

They bottom line is this:  LucasArts is not listening to the consumer.  We want a KOTOR3.  Many others want a Battlefront 3 (another successful franchise that they abandoned).  Others want another addition to the Jedi Knight series.  I personally would like to see a sequel to Bounty Hunter, featuring Boba Fett instead of Jango Fett.  There are all kinds of possibilities for LucasArts out there, but they seem to be focused solely on making Clone Wars games, which leads me to believe they are getting their direction from Lucas himself, who somehow went from a genius in the 70′s to a senile old idiot in the 90′s who forgot how to create a compelling story.

Please, LucasArts, give the customer what they want.  Starting with KOTOR3.

Why I Won’t Play COD Again

I have played a few of the Call of Duty games in the past. They weren’t bad, that is until you played them online. The problem I have with the COD games online is that you get more rewards for how much you play as opposed to how well you play. That’s just stupid. I have a job, so I don’t have the kind of time to play the game all day like all of the 12-16 year olds you come across. Since they get to play all day, they have better weapons and equipment. That means that no matter how well I play, they still have the advantage over me and I get killed when they should be the one dying.

Now they have that double XP code that you get for buying Mountain Dew or Doritos. Basically, they’re giving people who drink Mountain Dew or eat Doritos better weapons and equipment, when those things should be earned by playing well in the game. What a bunch of crap. When it comes to Multiplayer First Person Shooters, video games peaked with Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow. Everyone had the same weapons, same equipment. How well you did in the game was based on how well you played, not on how much you played or which products you bought.

The Madden curse is alive and well

The Madden curse is alive and well, after seemingly taking a year off and leaving Drew Brees (mostly) unscathed last year.  This year’s victim is Peyton Hillis, running back for the Cleveland Browns.

Hillis was largely unheard of until last year, before busting out for almost 1200 yards after being traded from the Broncos for Brady Quinn.  EA Sports let the fans vote for this year’s victim, and Hillis “won” the vote.

So far this year, he has only 60 carries for 211 yards and has missed a handful of games due to sickness or injury.  He’s also campaigning for a big-money contract extension.

Hillis held himself out of Week 3 because he had strep throat.  Teammates began questioning his toughness afterwards and the media, and some teammates, believed the move had been related to his desire for a new contract.

He played (poorly) in Weeks 5 and 6, pulled a hamstring, and hasn’t played since.  In that time, he’s also alienated his teammates, failed to show at a Halloween event, and lost the favor of Brown’s management, thus losing his ability to renegotiate his contract.

The history of the Madden Curse is documented well here, and it’s unfathomable to me why players continue to agree to being put on its cover.  I would suggest that EA go back to putting Madden on the cover, but then something horrible may happen to him.  Maybe they should put Justin Bieber on the cover.

Knights of the Old Republic 2: Restored Content

Query:  Why would you even consider playing a game that didn’t feature me?  Answer:  Because you’re an imbecilic meatbag, of course.  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

I have finally completed KOTOR 2 with the Restored Content mod installed.  I completed it as a male, light-side Jedi.  The ending is completely different with the restored content.

 

To be honest, not much changes throughout most of the game.  The beginning and the adventures you have traveling to the five planets (Telos, Onderon, Korriban, Nar Shaddaa, and Dantooine) have only subtle differences between the original and restored versions.  The most noticeable is the HK-50 sub-story.  There is also a sub-plot with the Handmaiden and Atris.

 

However, once you have completed all quests on those four planets is where glaring differences become apparent.  Starting with your return to Telos.  The Handmaiden gets there before you and her “sisters” attack her for deserting Atris.  She defeats them and then she battles Atris, who whoops her ass.  You then come in at the end and whoop Atris’ ass.

 

Then HK-47 goes to the HK-50 factory and destroys it.  This little side mission, which was one of the biggest reasons I wanted to play the restored content, was somewhat of a let down.  You go in there, blow away a bunch of HK-50 droids (and HK-51 droids), and that’s pretty much it.  HK-47 inquires as to who built the facility and who the master is that the droids keep talking about, but these questions are never answered.  So even after completing this mission you have no idea who commissioned the factory and who programmed them to destroy the Republic.  Lame.

 

You then board the Raveger as you do in the original, but after you defeat Darth Nihilus, Visas (if you let her live – yes, she can be killed in the restored content version of the game) and Mandalore have a very candid discussion about Revan and where he went and why.

 

You then take off and head to Malachor V where there are some major changes, too.  Mira faces Hanharr like she does in the original, but in the light-side ending she tells Hanharr to take her to Kreia, which he does.  Then Mira, the Handmaiden, Visas, and Atton attack Kreia…and fail miserably.  All are captured and imprisoned except for Atton, who escapes and then has to face Sion.  Atton then beats up Sion enough to get away.  You then have to go find the other three and rescue them from prison cells.

 

From there it’s much the same.  You face and defeat Darth Sion and then Kreia.  Although with the restored content, Kreia reveals to you where Revan went and why he disappeared.  She urges you to go help him now that you have completed her “training” because you are now ready to face what he is facing. You then have the choice of helping Revan, going back into exile, and…..crap, I forgot the third one.  Oh, well.  I choose to help Revan.  I left the Handmaiden in charge of the Trayu Academy on Malachor V so she could help train more people for the war to come.  Atton seems to tag along when you leave.  In the original, when you choose the light side ending you destroy the planet so no one else can learn at this academy.

 

To be honest, now that I know where Revan went I’m even more pissed that there has been no KOTOR 3.  The original version of KOTOR 2 left enough of a cliffhanger that you wanted to know where Revan went and what happened to him, but now that I know all the details of his disappearance it makes it all the more maddening. Considerably more in light of the fact that they decided to make an MMORPG based only a couple hundred years after the events of KOTOR (The Old Republic).

 

Why has this story been left uncompleted?  I’ve read accounts online that say Bioware and Lucasarts had started to build a project to make KOTOR 3, but it was cancelled for reasons unknown.

 

If anyone at Lucasarts or Bioware reads this (hahahahahahahaha – yeah, right) get this thing going.  A third Knights of the Old Republic game would definitely be profitable for you and you please a lot of disappointed fans.  Like me.

 

Sooooooo, I’m going back to playing KOTOR 2 now, and see what other things I can find in the restored content.

 

And for your viewing pleasure, here is the best of HK-47 from KOTOR 2:

 

 

Giving KOTOR 2 another shot…

I got discouraged with KOTOR 2 a few months ago because the Restoration content wasn’t working properly.  I quit playing it for a while.

I took one of my laptops and installed Windows XP on it (which is the OS that KOTOR 2 was designed to work with) and am going to try again.  The only add-on I installed this time is the restored content and I’m hoping that I can actually play the game all the way through this time.

Here’s hoping…cause I’m really looking forward to raiding the HK-50 factory as HK-47.