ME3: Extended Feels DLC

This is reasonably spoiler free for those who have completed ME3 prior to the new DLC. For the spoilerific mindspill, click here.

Despite knowing it was coming, when the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut was announced last week, I was surprised. Then surprise quickly turned to fear that Bioware's definition of "clarification" would be a lot more like the definition of "change" and that all the things I had come to terms with, headcanoned or just deleted from memory would be thrown painfully into the fire. So I summoned my support group - the people who'd been with me through the tears and pain and 2:00AM what the fucks and we promised to go through this together because no one. No one with a soul should have to deal with Mass Effect 3 feels alone.

Guys! I found this at IKEA! Does anyone have an allen key?

In preparation, I went on ME3 lockdown for the weekend and NG+ed Molly Shepard. It was much easier this time. Not just because I set it to casual, but because I knew what was coming, obviously, and I didn't have to keep pausing to wipe away as many tears. And the story problems along the way didn't bother me quite as much this time since I'd had so long to think about them. How did they just find the Crucible yesterday and build it in two weeks? Headcanon fixes that. Why are the quarians fighting the geth now of all times? Headcanon fixes that. Why is Thane using a gun and missing so horribly? Headcanon fixes that, too.

Replaying reminded me of how fantastic this entire series is (as if I really needed reminding) and, while it's always had its problems with things like logic and consistency, these things could always be overlooked for the greater good.

But those endings.

I'm sure there are many people who thought the original endings were fantastic and hates fandom for forcing Bioware to do this. I'm sure there are many people whose definition of "different" when it comes to the endings actually sounds a lot more like the definition of the words "very similar except for the colours." but I'll just assume those people enjoy gaping plot holes, inconsistency and the same cinematics brushed with red, blue or green and some added lens flare. I assume those people won't be bothering to play the DLC. I bet they like the fourth Indiana Jones movie, too.

Don't get me wrong. It's not the concept of the endings that I hated. I love inconclusive endings and I loved the route Bioware decided to take with the choices, rather than a typical boss fight. I loved all the thoughts and discussions that spewed forth because of this. In fact, I'm one of the few people who actually doesn't mind Starchild.

But the delivery. The execution.

That was filled with so many obvious flaws that it was painful. And for that, I blame EA for pushing to a deadline and Bioware for allowing them to do so. Integrity and quality were sacrificed for the sake of profit. It's not the first time this has happened with a Bioware game, but this was, evidently, the final straw for fandom. Well, that and the fact that it was all compounded by statements from certain Bioware staff that seemed to make it clear that they were either just blind to how clearly rushed the endings were, or were just plain arrogant and ignorant, hiding behind "artistic integrity," without heeding the constructive criticism fandom was offering (yes, there was a lot of constructive criticism - not just vile hatred from assholes and idiots). Fortunately, there were a few members of the staff who snuck through the defenses and confirmed what fandom had already figured out. For those people who were honest and humble -- those are the people who ensured that I could never quit Bioware.

When the DLC was announced, I was apprehensive. Scared. Because I had already come to terms with the endings. I had headcanoned an entire conversation with Starchild and determined what my choices meant for my Shepard, with help from fandom alternate endings and epilogues. I had reviewed the Indoctrination Theory and the Virtual Reality Theory and determined if those theories worked for my Shepard. I had shed tears over the cut dialogue. I had deleted everything that happened with the Normandy. I had filled in all the blanks, but the DLC threatened to take that all away. Because what if Bioware really didn't get it? What if they totally missed the point of our anger and tears? What if they foolishly glomped on to one of the theories and made that canon?


What if they changed the ending????


So I skillfully avoided the more spoilerific parts of the internet and pursued retaking the galaxy with Molly Shepard and yesterday, I nervously kept watching my Origin account, waiting for the DLC to pop. I refused any temptation to learn from those who gained access earlier, in the end, only allowing Digitaltempest, who had accidentally been spoiled, to reveal that ... it would be okay...

When the DLC finally arrived, my daughter had the audacity to be earning herself three certificates at school, so I had to go deal with that first. SIGH. Priorities! Then I finally played through.

And was disappointed.

But that was because my DLC hadn't worked. Instead of getting the extended cut, I got a refresher on the pain. After some frustration and tweaking, I managed to get going with the changes (though I missed the push to the beam) and ...

And I am happy. (Even though I didn't get my Jack and the Biotics, flaming rachni armada, Yahg uprising and/or krogans on kakliosaurs.)

Just enough questions were answered, while still leaving room for speculation and imagination, plot holes were filled, the lost were remembered, and there was always hope. Even if you lost the battle, the war could still be won.

And Joker. Oh bless. That was our Joker.

Oh and we got to have an actual conversation with Starchild. I couldn't help but notice that the dialogue wheel options here felt a bit bitter on Bioware's part - or perhaps they were just tongue in cheek. "I want details!" and "I reject your choices!" are what fandom cried and so that's what we got. This was the clarification and, while some of it still leaves room for improvement (lolscience), there's is now a whole lot less confusion about it all, while still being inconclusive enough for our imaginations to happily run wild.

And then, choices made, we actually got different endings. Four different endings that were more than just coloured variations on a theme. Because our choices mattered.

And, the part that really pleased me: at the end of the journey, a message from Bioware that did not simply warn us that we'd be paying more money for DLC. Instead, a heartfelt message about how much the journey has meant to them; a thank you.

So thank you, Bioware, for understanding. It's because we love your games so much that it hurts when you forget to put that love in there from start to finish. Quality always comes first. Always. And if that means we have to wait a little longer to get our next fix, then we will wait.

30 Day Video Game Challenge (Days 11-15)

Day 11 - Gaming system of choice.
I’m a Playstation girl, but Nintendo has a special place in my heart and we will always have their systems in the house. Even the Gamecube that my husband bought “for me” when we started dating. (I do have fond Sega memories, though!)

Day 12 - A game everyone should play.

After being convinced to play Mass Effect last year based on the happy chatter of friends, I took it upon myself to start a campaign to get others to do the same. It’s only fair that I take this opportunity to promote the game further. Don’t be deterred by the fandom backlash over the Mass Effect 3 endings. Understand that it is because this series was So Damn Good that the problems with the endings and various other aspects have upset us so much. You definitely still need to play it, and here’s why.

Day 13 - A game you’ve played more than five times.
Technically, I could throw any of the MMOs on my list in here, but instead, I’ll group the Mass Effect series together and ignore the math. I have three Shepards and at least one of them has gone through each game twice. My husband thinks I’m crazy for replaying a game, but I point out how many times he watches the same, never changing movie. While Mass Effect ultimately ends up in the same places, the path you take to get there changes through the decisions you make. My legacy Shepard is a renegon, so I created Tarisa, my Test Shepard to see how paragon decisions and certain other relationship choices work out. Later, I decided to try out a renegade male Shepard, Ian, but Mark Meer’s voice acting for Sheploo is intolerable. I did manage to make it through ME1 with Ian with the volume mostly down, but then Miranda’s Lazarus Project did more than just bring Shepard back to life. Thus Jax Shepard was born.

Day 14 - Current (or most recent) gaming wallpaper.

I hadn’t played SWTOR for a while, but I still have wallpapers from my Agent times up. This is Cipher Nine's X-70B Phantom - the best ship in the game. SWTOR desperately wants me back, so I've started up on my Trooper again.

Day 15 - Post a screenshot from the game you’re playing right now.

Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords

In defense of Sansa Stark

True, I get frustrated reading about Sansa in the books because I want her to stand up and fight like the other women do, but in truth, she is fighting. She is fighting in the only way she knows how. I appreciate that the TV series has given her more of the strength that this blogger always saw. Reposting from here:

Sansa Stark must be one of the most hated characters in A Song of Ice and Fire. The vitriol levelled against her is often frightening in its intensity, surpassing that for actually horrific characters like Joffrey and Ramsey Bolton. Her crime? The unforgivable fact that she is a pre-teen girl.

As a massive fan of Sansa, even I must admit that she is difficult to like at first. She’s spoilt and a bit bratty. She fights with her fan-favorite sister and trusts characters who the reader knows are completely untrustworthy. She is hopelessly naive and lost in dreams of pretty princes and dashing knights. She acts, for all intents and purposes, like the eleven year old girl that she is. Most of us were pretty darn unbearable to older people at that age (and that’s fine, because they were also pretty unbearable to us). Robb and Jon, although older than Sansa, are similarly misguided and bratty, with Jon’s constant “poor me, I deserve so much more” attitude at the Wall, and Robb’s clumsy attempts at being the Lord of Winterfell. But these mistakes are only reprehensible to readers when they come from a girl, interested in girly things and making girly mistakes. Because viewers have been taught that “girly“ is automatically bad.

READ MORE.

Movie time

We went to see Madagascar 3 with friends and their son. Loved it. I appreciate that the movie didn’t even bother to make itself believable. If it wanted to get from A to B. It went from A to B, leaving no time for your disbelief to register the transition. Was it as good a story as its predecessors? Who cares. My kids got up and danced their little butts off and we all laughed and Afro Circus is stuck in our heads.

More importantly, prior to the film, there was a preview for Rise of the Guardians. I had skimmed over promotional posters for this on Tumblr without thinking too much on it, but when I saw the preview itself, I was staring in fascination, intent on seeing this movie. My girls didn’t comment, even about the tooth fairies as I would have expected, but I didn’t care. I didn’t want to see this for them. I wanted to see this.

Our friends later commented that they found the preview to be inappropriate young kids, as Guardians clearly has a more mature theme, but after a severely censored trailer for Bridesmaids promo’d before Gnomeo and Juliet the last time we went to a kids movie, I no longer bother to question how this stuff works.

Our friends were concerned that such a film would give their child nightmares. That might have been a concern for us, but our daughters have proven themselves, watching Ghostbusters and The Neverending Story repeatedly without issue. If they want to see Rise of the Guardians with me, that’s cool, but whatever happens, I am going to see this movie, with or without them. And it better not let me down.

(There was also a preview for Katy Perry’s movie, which I told my husband he was not allowed to see in 3D, much to his disappointment.)

30 Day Video Game Challenge (Days 6-10)

Day 6 - Most annoying character.
Jonette, Hungry Wolf and Sieglinde in FFXI with their stupid Abyssea quests for the Seals required to upgrade artifact armour. All they have to do is grant you 8 of the specific job Seals you need but noooooo they have to give you every damn thing else and make you waste all of your stones running around the damn zone looking for their ???s. Wrote this about them:

Dear Sieglinde: I have been tolerant of your rudeness, but I can no longer tolerate your blatant disregard for my request. I explained to you several times that, when both my WAR and my SCH reached 60, I had to make a decision and, due to time and subjob restrictions, opted to follow the path of the SCH. Continually giving me Ravager's Seals (10/8) will not make me change my mind!

Dear Jonette: You are an idiot. I have been foolishly finding you cookbooks and pages of cookbooks for years and you have yet to produce a worthwhile recipe, much less an appropriate number of Ferine Seals (3/8). I begin to wonder if you really are a cook afterall. Can you even read a recipe? You certainly can't comprehend that I am a BST, not a WHM (6/8) or a SAM (8/8). Get cooking, !@#$%&.

Dear Hungry Wolf: I was told the way to a Galka's heart was through his stomach. I thought you loved me when you finally gave me my RDM seals (9/8), but you continue to tease me with my PUP seals (6/8), often giving me nothing. And yet I come back for more! Risking my life to cook sheep meat amidst dangerous Clusters. I can't help it. I am addicted to you as you are to your Sausage and you know it! Stop stringing me along! Love me or let me go! I beg you!

Day 7 - Favorite game couple.
Caddoc and E’lara from Hunted: The Demon’s Forge. He’s a brute of a warrior with a level head, having learned tragically that rash decisions make for bad endings. Surprising that he’s hanging out with the impulsive and bloodthirsty elf archer who hides her dagger where exactly? I’m sure some people ship them, but I much prefer their friendship. Their in-game banter is amusing and their game play co-operative is fun.

Day 8 - Best soundtrack.
MORTAL KOMBAT! Yeah I don’t care if it’s actually a movie soundtrack. It’s a soundtrack based on my favourite fighting game series. Deal with it. When this comes on, no matter where I am or how old I am, it requires over indulgent singing along, heavy breathing and movement.

Special recognition goes to all of the Final Fantasy soundtracks, which I was treated to by my husband when he took me to Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy for my birthday. The visuals of the concert were disappointing, considering their source, but the music brought back alllll the memories.

Day 9 - Saddest game scene.
Two particularly emotional scenes for me involve death and song, but as they are from games that friends are and/or will be playing soon, I won’t speak of them.

Instead, I will speak of the scene where my choices came back to haunt me ... In Mass Effect 2, I didn’t believe a so-called suicide mission should be survivable, so I strove to kill at least one character. Unfortunately, I ended up unintentionally killing another: Tali’Zorah vas Normandy. It hurt, but I refused to reload my save because this was the drama I wanted from the game. I knew that in Mass Effect 3, it would cut me, but I had no idea how much. At the very start of the Quarian/Geth mission, Molly Shepard was walking through to the Geth ship and looked out at Rannoch. “Tali would have loved to see this,” Shepard said.

And I cried.

Day 10 - Best gameplay.
I am normally not big on strategy games because they require a lot of thinking I don’t feel like doing when I play a video game, but Valkyria Chronicles surprised me. I loved the strategy aspect so much that I went back and redid all battles to ensure an A score.

Honourable mention goes to Hunted: The Demon’s Forge for being the game that gave me a previously non-existent interest in archery and sniping. I also initially played this in co-op, but my husband quit part way through and I continued on alone. I am certain the game learned from him, though and Caddoc’s playstyle ended up being a lot like his, plus the NPC would pick up tricks that I did and start mimicking them.

The Women of Westeros and Why TV Needs Them

"The women are the strong ones, truly."

I was going to blog about the women of the Game of Thrones series, but when someone else does all that work for you and is far more eloquent with the words and stuff, why should I get in the way.  So go on over to GeekQuality.com and read this.

And women aren’t just protagonists in the Game of Thrones universe, either. There are women like Cersei Lannister, the ice queen everyone loves to hate. Her cool, calculating nature is a wonderful example of the myriad ways a woman can be a mother, sister, wife, and daughter. When we compare Cersei and Cat Stark, for example, the differences are staggering, and that is so refreshing. These women could have easily been relegated to the roles of “doting wife and mother,” but they’re not carbon copies of each other. They are fully realized people, whose personalities, upbringings, and motivations shape their choices and give depth to their characters. Cersei’s character development throughout Season 2 has been an absolute delight to watch. It’s becoming more clear that she’s not simply “the bitch” of the series, but that she cares deeply and fights fiercely for her children and her family. She is cut-throat and vindictive, but not entirely unsympathetic. It may seem ridiculous, getting so excited over the fact that a female character in a popular television show is treated as a multi-dimensional human being, but damn it, it is something worth celebrating.

Now, that said, I wanted to approach this in terms of comparison to the books. I am extremely pleased with the way the women are being handled in season two, especially considering how low they started on the series, with tits-in-our-face-doggy-style-sex being the standard way we were introduced to the majority of the female characters. There's no easier plot device than showing a woman at her lowest to emphasis her subsequent rise above (right Joss?).

Fortunately, the gratuitous sex didn't last too long in season 1, and even more fortunately, in season 2, the writers of the show have truly uplifted the women, even further than they were in the books. Despite their  lesser status, which Cersei drunkenly explains to Sansa towards the end of the season, the women of Westeros have always shown strength - some more than others. But the series has chosen to given them even more, altering some characters slightly. Most notably, Maergary Tyrell, Sansa Stark, Jeyne Westerling and Brienne of Tarth.

While Cersei was softened a bit to make her more of a mother with ambition who loves her children and less of a straight up beotch, these other women have been given stronger personalities to define their roles. Sansa is not quite the timid little bird she is in the books,  we see far more of Jeyne and understand clearly why Robb broke his vow for her, Maergary, mostly a trophy in the books, is clearly gunning for the throne, and Brienne. Ah Brienne. She is everything the book made her, but without the naivete that Jaime was able to prey on so easily.

It's a pity this season has been so short, but, I'm definitely looking forward to the next to see where they take the Women of Westeros. Especially since Dany is on fire in book 3!

Honk if you're a Revanite!

KOTOR spoilers.

30 Day Video Game Challenge (Days 1-5)

Day 1 - Very first video game.
Probably Centipede, and another... Doodle something? I can’t remember what it was called, but it involved drawing circles around objects that popped onto your screen. The objects would disappear if you encircled them and as you levelled, they would appear more often and some would move, making it difficult to avoid touching them, which would cause game over on my spiffy CoCo2. Note: These games were on a cassette!

Day 2 - Your favorite character.
For this category, I’m going to draw upon my fighting game days and recall the characters that I simply loved playing. I would generally gravitate towards the female characters and was often teased by the boys because “only girls pick girls.” Silly boys. Yes, I boobs appeal to me, but I love the speed of the characters and the deadly things they could do with their legs. (Ironically, I rarely played females in my favourite fighting game of all time, Mortal Kombat because none of them appealed to me strongly enough.) I mastered all their moves and made sure I had all costume options available.

At the top of my list is Ivy Valentine from Soul Caliber. Yes, I know she has a really powerful backstory, but I didn’t care about that back then. What I cared about were those costumes and that blade and those moves – especially the moves involving her lovely legs. I had thought it mere coincidence, but I think my subconscious was telling me something, considering both my daughters bare her names...

Day 3 - A game that is underrated.

Hunted: The Demon’s Forge. From my original review:

[My husband and I specifically picked this up for the co-op option, having previously enjoyed playing Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance II together.] Co-op play did not let us down. This is more than just a button masher. There was actual strategy involved to avoid getting your butt handed to you. Not that we weren't often left holding our butts, but each massacre allowed us the opportunity to rework our strategies to suit.

Frustration really only came in the initial stages when we found ourselves short on potions and, not being used to games with save points (we've been playing MMOs lately, where people are usually around to heal or raise us and you don't take the big risks unless you *really* want or have to), having to go back through dungeons and trials when we died.

The story is engaging and the character banter is amusing (but it's no Dragon Age: Origins). The path is straight forward, but surprisingly, not overly repetative. The puzzles are interesting enough to do them all without the temptation to Google a walkthrough, even for me, who is a fan of the Holy Cult of Strategy Guides. Once you reach Chapter 4 onward, the game thankfully acknowledges that side quests and such get kinda tedious and starts to get straight to the point.

Due to other engagements, our co-op play was put off and I eventually decided to go on by myself to victory. Initially, I had played the introduction alone and was annoyed with the NPC who enjoyed running into battle, dying, then yelling for me to toss him a regen potion, by which time, I had been swarmed by the mobs and was soon dead myself. Fortunately, Caddoc wised up by Chapter 4 and was a very useful and intelligent ally. Almost made me happy I dumped my husband, but, if I didn't know better, the AI's actions and banter were plucked from J's previous play. It also seemed as if Caddoc was picking up on my tricks and using them himself.

Day 4 - Your guilty pleasure game.
Warhawk. This isn’t the kind of game I’d normally play. It’s repetitive. It’s frustrating. It can be filled with assholes. I can’t fly a Warhawk for shit. But dammit, sometimes it just feels good to get in a tank and blow shit UP.

Day 5 - Game character you feel you are most like (or wish you were).

Commander Molly Shepard. Mass Effect was the first RPG I played where I actually RPed, however, much of me slipped in to my legacy Shepard. She is Nightxade: the me I would be if I removed all my insecurities and bindings to society’s rules. She gets the job done, no matter the cost. She understands that sacrifices have to be made and she understands the concept of “means to an end.” She is ruthless, but that does not mean she is heartless. The sacrifices always cost her a piece of her soul, but she to believe that what is lost is always slightly less than what is gained in the end; victories are always Phyrric. She is willing to die for the cause, but finds far greater value in fighting and surviving to keep on fighting, because no one can predict what comes next, and she doesn’t believe that anyone else but her is capable of handling those unknowns.

30 Day Video Game Challenge

Dragon Age: The Calling

The Calling by David Gaider

Story-wise, this wasn't as good as its predecessor, with a somewhat shaky plot pushed a long by the questionable motivations of the characters. Fortunately, it was the characters that made me want to read these books in the first place in order to learn more about them, and Gaider again delivers, with the focus, this time, on Maric and Duncan. He adds a load of depth to both characters, making me love them all the more and feel for them and those that come after.

I also like Gaider's grasp of battle writing. It probably helps that I've played the game these books spawn from, but I think anyone else would appreciate and be able to visualize the battles and how each character moves and flows within them. Playing the game means you can actually visualize the commands used by the PCs and NPCs in game.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Merra Averos

I'm on to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic now, mainly on the recommendation of a friend who tsk'd at me for playing SWTOR without having played the others and knowing the history. Not that you have to know KOTOR stuffs to understand what's going on in SWTOR, but they include a lot of lore, including a full quest dealing with followers of Revan.

It's hard for me to play a game like this after playing something as beautiful as Mass Effect 3, but I know the story is powerful, so I endure. Even through the horrid combat system.

But I'm sticking to it and have therefore, though I obviously haven't been able to release Bioware completely, I have, at least temporarily been able to break from the Dragon Age and Mass Effect obsessions.

Until Carth Onasi decides to channel his inner Kaidan Alenko.

Fortunately, I'm over his issues and his need to not trust me and yell at me. I've got Commander Shepard Bastila Shan for that.

If there was one thing I took from SWTOR, it was that the Jedi aren't the wonderous and benevolent beings they pretend to be and the Empire might not be so bad after all. The Sith though, well, those kids are a bit crazy. I used to read the EU books, but all of them focused on the same old favourite characters up against a big bad and the good guys always saving the day. It appears that questioning the black and white standards George Lucas created long ago is something the video games have taken to heart and continue to do an excellent job with.

I'm very focused on the main story because I just want the game over with. As I said, the graphics and combat are not at all appealing to me and make it difficult for me to progress. I am not being as thorough as I usually would be, so I'm sure I ultimately won't appreciate this game as much as  I could, but it's still better than just wiki'ing it. I really want to get where I'm going and then move on to KOTOR2 and be reminded of how Bioware used to handle their sequels.

Batman: No Man's Land

Batman: No Man's Land by Greg Rucka
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I learned from Phoenix: End Song that Greg Rucka is skilled at turning characters I dislike into human beings. (Or in that case, back into human beings). In No Man’s Land, he managed to come close with Batman, by allowing him so many moments of weakness before his friends and enemies, but unfortunately, there’s only so far you can go with Batman’s character, (or any of the main DC heroes). In all their time, these characters are largely unchanged, remaining untouchable, inhuman gods. I’ve realized that this is why I have never truly cared for DC comics when I had Marvel characters who, despite being very powerful, were always human with human flaws and human successes and we always know their minds and could relate.

Batman is, ironically, one of those untouchable, inhuman DC gods. We don’t get to know what he’s thinking any more than his companions do. But Rucka does well in making us see Batman through the eyes of those who have come to rely on him, perhaps too much. And it’s not all that pretty. Batman's an asshole.

This is, by no means, a condemnation of NML. NML is an excellent read that I would recommend to any Batman/comic book fan. Rucka’s descriptions of the physical and emotional hopeless of No Man’s Land carry much weight and his characterizations are his strength. The plot moves along at a sometimes slow, but acceptable pace, but I’m more interested in the character interactions and what it means for the future of Batman’s supporting cast members, than I am in what happens to Gotham after a devastating earthquake.

My only complaint is the portrayal of Bruce Wayne. There's no need for him to be that vapid.

View all my reviews

Nostalgia never tasted so good

The girls have been demanding we stop at the concession stand at the rec centre after swimming lessons, but we've refused on the grounds of "don't need." But today, my husband was with me and we witnessed someone eating french fries. With gravy. From little cardboard containers.

Just like back in highschool.


With some prompting from a friend, I increased my order from small to large and yeah. It's awesome. Tastes just like back in the day when we'd scrounge for change to afford this, and if we were really lucky, we'd have enough to get a burger or even a cheeseburger to go with it. The kind you had to peel out of their

Screw healthy food in schools. Kids need to experience this goodness.

Oh you might argue that this is why our kids are obese.

Another time, I might listen. But today, I'll probably just tell you that your argument is irrelevant because I have gravy in my hair and I will giggle and continue to feast upon my nostalgia.