I must confess that whenever I start up Skyrim I usually let the main menu screen sit so I can listen to the theme song for a bit before picking up where I left off in the game. I always did the same when playing Oblivion.

I’ve recently found myself purchasing a lot of recent “old” games.  I say recent “old” games because they aren’t exactly old when you compare to Atari 2600 or NES games.  But one of the things I collect are old gaming systems and games.

Several months back I managed to buy off of a friend their old Sega Dreamcast.  I remember when this system was out, and wanting one so bad.  But being a recent high school graduate going into college I didn’t exactly have the money for something like this.  But I do have fond memories of “testing” the system out while killing time at Funcoland in the mall.  Little did I know at the time that a year or so later Sega decides to pull the plug on this cutting edge system, and refocus their attentions to only software development.  So naturally I never ended up getting a system for myself.  Bad timing I guess.  Luckily some Dreamcast games were ported over to the big 3.

Game ports are nice, but if they aren’t done correctly things can get lost.  Music and graphics and other weird glitches can happen in the porting process.  Heck it’s still a problem for old 8bit, 16bit, and 64bit games that get ported for on demand services like Nintendo’s Virtual Console and Xbox Live Arcade.  Plus I’m a strong believer in playing the games within their natural state in the way they were meant to be played.

If someone gave me the option for playing Castlevania on the VC or on the original NES with it’s controller.  I’m going to opt for the NES experience.  I want the feel of THAT controller in my hands, not a Wii mote.  As silly as it sounds, I don’t mind the experience of fighting with my NES trying to read my game by doing the tap and blow method and really jamming the thing into the system and keeping it locked in place with a hot wheel.  Perhaps it’s that little bit of nostalgia I cling on to from my childhood where that was part of the game, so that when it actually worked it made you even more excited about playing it.

Even though I’ve found myself purchasing some games on both the VC and Xbox Live Arcade in the past.  I just feel that need for wanting something physical in my hands.  What’s weirder is that Apple’s iTunes and iPod system made it okay for me to not care about having something physical in my hands when it comes to music.  But anything else, like films, tv shows or video games I’m still very much attached to that physical object.

Anyway my most recent purchases of recent “old” games have been one Dreamcast game that is a favorite of mine when it was ported over to the Game Cube.  Phantasy Star Online, brand new in the plastic.  This was a great find for me.  I’ve also found myself purchasing several original xbox games.  Jade Empire, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, and Baulder’s Gate Dark Alliance 1&2.  BG isn’t actually and xbox exclusive.  My second actual Game Cube game was BG DA1.  At the time I wasn’t used to playing top-down RPG’s like this.  So it was a game that quickly got sidelined for me and eventually sold off. But when I got in to Dragon Age: Origins, that was the little tipoff I needed to go back to the BG games and repurchase them.  Eventually I’ll take the time and play through all theses acquisitions.  Some for the first time, others to enjoy in their own natural state.  Either way I always find joy and value in playing the gems from video gaming history.  I think the experience allows you to appreciate the games for the influence they’ve had over the years as well as appreciate the restrictions and accomplishments made at the time.

Okay so I think it’s pretty obvious that my overall opinion of ME3 is average right now.  But what about the things that I DO like about ME3?  Okay here’s a run down of the things that I felt worked well in the game.

Characters and their interactions/relationships.  If there is one thing that BioWare does BEST in comparison to any other video gaming company it is this.  My MAIN Shepard, romanced with Garrus in 2, and stayed faithful to him in 3.  I absolutely loved the romance between my Shepard and Garrus.  They captured the awkwardness of interspecies relationships in such an endearing and comical/heartfelt way.

Mass Effect 2 allowed for players to plant the seed of romance between their Shepard any just about any species of alien on his/her crew.  I felt that the most fully realized and interesting of relationships was between FemShepard and Garrus.  You had two people who were equal in their abilities, but both so busy doing their duties that they forgot about doing what was right/good for themselves.  Sharing similar experiences in their work being their lives, Garrus and FemShep find common ground that bring them together beyond just respect and friendship for one another.

Mass Effect 3 is very much a end of world tale.  Thus FemShep and Garrus recognize early on the life/death situation they are in.  So neither (based on the player’s decisions of course), waste little time in making the most of each and every day/mission in fully growing and solidifying their relationship.  In doing so, the writers did an excellent job of portraying the awkwardness of a non-traditional relationship (be it gay, or interspecies).  This adds a level of an endearing quality to both characters that helps to solidify a satisfying fully realized relationship between two very unlikely, yet equal individuals.

The same is said of my favorite NEW addition to ME3, with the whole Joker and EDI relationship.  That was THE BEST OF ME3 by far.  The overall story was well a retread of Dragon Age Origins, and Lord of the Rings in a very condensed and ambiguous unsatisfying ending.  But aside from the Garrus/Shepard relationship, I felt that the blossoming relationship between the crippled pilot Joker and the AI android EDI was just absolute genius!

One could argue that EDI as a squadmate to be rather throw away.  But her general role as a crewmate/companion is still incredibly strong.  I thought that the ME dev team was missing a bet by not allowing any of the ME2 suicide mission squadmates be playble in 3.  But I AM GLAD that at least EDI, was still apart of the active crew and additionally became fully realized in 3 in being playable in her physical form.  I rather enjoyed her personal insight and jokes she added in ME2.  It added an extra level of camaraderie to the whole Normandy crew dynamic that was in essence lacking in the first game.  While one could argue that EDI isn’t exactly the “go-to” squad-mate in 3, due to slow level-up abilities, she still added to the overall dynamic of the crew.  EDU helped to round out and make the Normandy Pilot “Joker” fully realized as a contributing member of the crew as well as give him closure.  It’s easy to write off a character like Joker to be one dimensional in ME1.  Joker was brought back, intentionally by the Illusive Man, to surround Shepard with familiar faces to win him/her to trusting Cerberus.   This allowed for tertiary characters like Joker and Doctor Chakwas to develop and become greater trusted assets to Shepard by the end of ME2.

Ultimately with the addition of EDI obtaining a physical form in ME3, it helps to bring Joker full circle and round him out as a fully realized secondary character that isn’t throwaway any longer.  By the end of ME3, the player develops such a fondness for secondary characters like Joker and EDI they can’t help but feel a strong bond when the two solidify their own personal “awkward” relationship between one-another.  They too have their own awkward “interspecies” relationship just like FemShepard and Garrus.  Just in this case it is Synthetic and Organic.

So in conclusion I feel that if there is one thing that Mass Effect 3 will always be known for it’s the superior character development.  They know how to humanize and draw the player into characters and how they relate to one another within a fictional gaming world.  The first Mass Effect game is successful in introducing the player in thinking beyond what is familiar.  The second and final game takes those relationships and developes what is alien into what is familiar and then eventually fully realizes these characters and their relationships to a level that is endearing/meaningful and essentially “human.”  This is what Mass Effect 3 does BEST beyond anything else.

I couldn’t help myself. I’m doing another run-through of ME 1 with my Shep Helena. But this time I’m doing everything opposite. Playing on Hardcore. She’s going for the full Renegade achievement. Plus get to level 60 (which she was almost there, so not too much longer now.) Also working on some other smaller ability/party member achievements that I haven’t acquired. This time she’ll go for Ashley and let Kaiden die instead. Already set in stone on that one. Annnnnddddd…. I think I’ll let Wrex and the Raccnid Queen die. Yes complete and total opposite. Oh and maybe even not recruit Garrus. XD!! Like I said this one is for fun.