Game Thoughts: Never Forget Me

Recently I found that a game I had played by WinterWolf Studios, received a sequel. Always Remember Me was a sweet stat building visual novel where the main character Amy and her bae get into a motorcycle accident. This should have ended in death but instead ends up with Amy having light injuries and the bf with amnesia. Yes...I know...but how it plays out you decided to either stay with your man in hopes he remembers or take advantage of this lapse in memory to start anew. (I make it sound terrible.)

So I'm talking quite a bit on the original game, so what about this sequel thing? WELL...

Never Forget Me is the epilogue in a way dealing with Amy's life with her chosen man AFTER the events of the first game. (The good endings). So it actually deals with married life.

Yes...you read right. A VN about married life! Whaaaaa?

In the beginning you choose which epilogue you want to play through and experience the various endings it could have.

Features
The game is a stat building game, but the stat building is optional. (Required to get some endings).
Similiar to the last game it gives you a series of 2 choices in a scene for you to play out.

Virtues
Does not over romanticize relationships
Deals with marriage AND KIDS
Handles mature topics gracefully

Vices
Uses the same character art from the first game but has way cool art for the title page.
The stat building feels like fluff
Doesn't make sense unless you've played the first game (Not a super negative but it's there)

Final Thoughts
The game is mature in that it deals with infidelity, child abuse, abuse, divorce, and taxes. That is to say that it does go through story points that go through some of the lows of relationships. But many things are good. It may not mean as much to a player if they haven't played the first game.
However, I can recommend it so long as you are aware of what you might be getting yourself into. (Honestly one of the storylines hits it a bit close to home for me and makes me uncomfortable.)

The game is available on the Winter Wolves website.

Game Thoughts: Ozmafia!

So I wasted my whole weekend going through all the endings for this game. I was turned around so many times.
Heads up, this will not be a spoiler free review.

So TL;DR: It's a mature game. Handle with care. Can't fully recommend. Bag of D*cks. <---Something I would say a LOT during my playthroughs.

So Ozmafia was released way back in 2013 by Poni-Pachet Sy. It was only made available on Steam this year I guess which is where I found it.

Synopsis:
You play the role of the amnesiac "Fuka" (or whatever you name her) as she blunders through a town full of characters from classic (and not so classic) fairy tales. (Reminds me of Fables in that regard). Anyway, the town is run by several mafia families based on various fairy tales and literary figures. Fuka has to decide what to do with the life she has and figure out who the heck she is.

Let me go right into the virtues and vices.

Virtues:
Some paths end in marriage. Yay.
Going through life with a positive attitude
Generosity?
You can be a nun! :)
Hilarious anime situations and dialog. This game made me laugh so much.
End of Life ethics

Vices...vices as far as the eye can see:
Murder
Organized crime
prostitution
pre-marital sex
manipulation
Corrupt clergy <--This made me so sad on many levels. Even though CLEARLY not Catholic.
General cheapening of life
Adultry/Infidelity

Dang, right? What's good about this game?! Granted, taking a lot of these things out of context can seem unfair. Because you can definitely have ALL these things and an amazing, worthwhile story. (Like Crime and Punishment which also has most of these things I list in the vice list.)

There are lots of things I like about the game too. Mostly it's art and the setting appeal to me. I'm a big fan of the Fables comic series which I see some similarities with. The music was charming but I really felt the art style (a soft watercolor) was a pretty stark contrast to the action in the game. Including straight up murdering folks and threats of gun violence. It's like a beatrix potter illustration gone dark.

Anyway, now let's get to the spoilery bits. If you don't want spoilers stop reading here.


The real premise of the game...
Dorothy Gale at the end of her journey does not go home but becomes a "good witch" instead. This requires her (for some reason) to live alone and never use magic on herself. She grants the wishes of her former travel companions to become human and creates a town for them including characters from fairy tales. (...which includes Oscar Wilde's characters. WHAT WAS THIS LITTLE GIRL READING!???) However, she ends up actually making a wish for herself which splits her into 3 parts: the tower, her magic and her hopes and dreams to grow up and fall in love. (Because the witch doesn't age older than a little kid.)

It took me days to get through all the endings to get to this reveal. One of my biggest frustrations was that "Fuka" NEVER gets her memories back or really tries to retrieve them in any of the romance paths. I tried every one. It gets mentioned but never resolved. It drove me CRAZY. So...good on you game making me replay ALL the things to see if they answered anything.

Part of the fun was trying to figure out each characters fairy tale counterpart. I was really bad when I first started and just started labeling people things. After playing the whole thing, my first guesses were WAY off. Also, my whole mistake of calling it OZMA-fia instead of Oz-Mafia. >_> Look, Ozma was a character in the books. I thought that was the play. Not being godfathered into mafia crime. -_- It took a long time for the lore to actually settle in. My first play through nothing was answered and I was floundering trying to make sense of anything except one character. Why don't they die when riddled with bullets? Why do the general population die? They BRAND everyone like cows? What even? I don't? Uggggggh!

It also had a mechanic with the Oz Trio where once you started "dating" one of them officially, the character with the 2nd highest affection points would try to interfere. You could switch characters. >_> For some reason this usually means as soon as you jump ship to the other ship you sleep with them...in the biblical sense. (Glen...everything cool she just said...you ruined it!)

First Play Through: Axel
 Took me far too long to realize he was the Tin Woodsman. ...I am an idiot.
I really enjoyed this character as he was considerate, restrained, honest and an awkward turtle. Didn't get the "good" ending but reminded me of myself. What is sad? What is love? Can not compute.
The most innocent character of the Oz three. Usually. (As I said if you jump ship from anyone you "break his factory seal" <---Dammit Kyrie! Why is this so hilarious to me?)

Second Play through: Kyrie...the bag of D*cks.
One...unfortunate name...really distracting when I go to Mass and think of this arse instead of Lord have Mercy, Kyrie Elison. This guy...I didn't like him...he was pretty tragic...and you end up marrying him in one ending. -_- I was so worried that this guy would be like Toma. He's manipulative and openly cruel. I couldn't trust him farther than I could throw. So not far. Oddly enough, his story is probably one of the more interesting ones. I personally liked the first ending I got where he loses his brains. ^_^ Seriously though...he's kind of a d*ckbag.

Third play through: Caramia
Again...unfortunate name...I kept thinking of Gomez and Morticia.

It's how it's said in my head EVERY TIME. Too sensual! His story was kind of vanilla if you ask me. It wasn't bad. I really enjoyed his storyline and character. He also treats the main character the best of all three in my opinion. But some endings are a bit on the eck...side. True ending ends in mawwige. So yay. He can cook too...always go for the guy who can cook! (Or will eat your crappy cooking. Either is good.)

Everyone Else...
Caesar: I was hoping this route would finally answer my burning questions about her past. NOPE. Disappointment. But hey...he stopped threatening to kill me? (Seriously, falling for your potential killer. What is wrong with this place?)

Scarlet: Innocent and sweet, one of the better ones. Optimism wins...and he cooks. Love a guy that can cook.

Pashet: Not a homosexual relationship like I originally assumed because ANIME. Fantastic storyline and I love her awkward relations with Axel. I ship them.

Robin Hood: I felt so unclean. >_> Once you find out he's a freakin' married man! But mix in Dr. Freeze and Frankenstien and yeah...it gets weird. I was so uncomfortable with this route. It was so wrong on so many levels. 

Brothel: One...the route is called BROTHEL ROUTE. You know nothing good can come of this. Guess what...NOTHING GOOD COMES OF THIS! This one made me feel the uncleanest. I didn't read most of it. I clicked through so much. 

Granted, the ending where you take over the brothel was weirdly satisfying. Probably because it throws Kyrie for a loop. Did I mention I don't like that guy? Yeah I REAAAALLY don't like Dorian Gray. Kyrie is cakewalk to that guy. He's the real bag of D*cks. 

Soh: Remember what I said about guys who cook. YES. Soh was another good one. Especially after the trauma that was the Brothel route. He's one of the few who tries to take you OUT of town away from madness. But his real identity isn't revealed until the Epilogue. Turns out...

He's the worst kind of. All this b.s. is his plan. It's terrible. Soh how could you play with my heart like that!?

Hamlien: I almost forgot about the Pied Piper. This one you can become a nun because he's a schizophrenic criminal. (Spoiler: It's Soh's fault. ;__;) It wasn't a super interesting storyline. It comes up if you don't settle for someone else's route. Probably because he appears as the villain in every other route, it unfairly paints him into a corner. It's also a super short route so not a lot happens. 

The Ending...everyone starts killing each other. Even the young lady...

My feels after playing this game. It's good in that it played with my expectations, flipped all the tables and stuck with me. But also so much yuck happens. Not that stories should exclude this stuff but still...so much Yuck. 

WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU DOROTHY GALE??!?

Final words, you have to be built of pretty solid stuff to get through this game on the moral front. It's not promoting a lot of good stuff. BUT it's entertaining as all get out. I weirdly enjoyed most of it. That said, can't say I would recommend it highly for the gif reasons above. However, mature audiences can enjoy it. It is a Will weakening one though. So maybe Pokemon Go...

Game Thoughts: Fire Emblem: Fates

So for Easter I got myself the game bundle for Fire Emblem Fates so I could play both storylines - Birthright and Conquest. One was advertised as being more difficult and focused on strategy, so I figured I might get frustrated with that storyline, but no...if you play both in Casual mode it's no biggy.

Synopsis

The avatar (Corrin) is royalty captured from their home country at a young age and raised with "the enemy" with the conflict growing between the countries Hoshido (clearly Japanese influenced) and Nohr (medieval Europe inspired). Once you find out your true heritage you must decide who you will support: the land of your birth or the family who raised you? Then work for peace and all that nonsense.

Features

The game decided to split the story into two games and you have to buy both to get the whole story, which is lame if you are more story-motivated to play the game. There's also a 3rd game that's supposed to clarify a few things "Revelation".

There is DLC and amiibo stuff and nonesense.

Weapons no longer have a limited number of uses.

The partner, marriage, children system is back. They added bonding time with avatar's chosen spouse. Which just means more work for me...uggggh.

Pros

Again the marriage with children thing I have to highlight that here.
Lovely art and music
Some returning characters for nostalgia.
Easier gameplay compared to Awakening, a lot more accessible.
Empowered female roles.
A huge cast of interesting characters
Lots of pro-family goodness.

Cons

Very sexualized, revealing armor and body-types for female characters
Includes a gay marriage (male in conquest, female in birthright)
A somewhat convoluted timeline, really not sure who was the parent of who, but there is time travel which ruins everything.
Almost an overload of characters.
Ritual suicide (samurai story so...it's expected.)
Personally the cutesie "bonding time" with your spouse is weird to me. Are we having sex? Is that what we're doing? I can't tell! I'm glad I can't tell, but seriously weird and oddly uncomfortable, but I'm uncomfortable with any affection from game characters anyway. I'll have to write about it later or something.
Suggested Incest? I think you can "marry" your blood siblings. Unless there's a story point that means you're not related to EITHER family. (Looking through walkthrough: spoiler not blood related but still very very very weird.)

Conclusion

I think this iteration can be passed over. The gameplay is similar to the last one but it's not super great. The fact you have to buy two games is rough. Personally, I like the Conquest storyline better. (Because personally, I'd feel more loyalty to the people I grew up with.) However, Awakening was a better experience for me.

Life Changing Games

In every gamer's life there are often a few games or series that are very special to us. They changed us or helped us grow. It is definitely a part of gaming that doesn't get enough focus, but games have powerful potential to change minds and lives.

Here are mine.

A Bug's MUCK

Now here's something I may need to explain a bit. Online MUDs and MUCKs were pre-cursors to online MMO gaming. These were text-based adventures with multi-player played over Telnet. The biggest differences were that MUDs usually had a game system with loot drops and enemies and stats like MMOs of today. MUCKs however, were more like improv classes where people would group up as characters in a story and act out a situation. It was a LOT of fun for me as a creative person.

How does something like this change a life? Well, the benefits of improv apply a bit here but something more important was learned. I learned how my words both written and spoken could be misconstrued. What might be considered too extreme an action. It helped me adjust socially in a way that I couldn't in my current social situation. I could look and experience another person's point of view. Which is great in terms of empathy, viewing both sides of an argument and so on.

There was also a hard lesson about romance that may or may not have colored the rest of my romantic life or lack thereof. (Trust became an issue, but also the realization that everything was my fault. I was the creepy one.)

Legend of Zelda

Previously, I never considered myself a "gamer" although looking back on my childhood I was in many ways. However, particularly the title Twilight Princess officially brought me into gaming "seriously". I bought my first console for that game and it was the first game I ever preordered. It was the first game I actually got excited about and "fangirled" for.

It also marks when I was first able to share in gaming with peers. Previously I had only gamed with younger kids or my siblings. I started quickly learning about other famous series like Final Fantasy, Halo, and DDR.
At that point I was pretty much a Nintendo only fangirl.

It brought me into a community and into analyzing game design.

Dragon Age Series

Dragon Age came into my life long after I had established myself as a gamer, but my passions had cooled about games. Partly because I was working in the game's industry and poor. My co workers were also big into gaming and titles and introduced me to SO many good game titles.

It was a game that reawakened my inner fangirl. I should be embarrassed how much of the extra stuff I have for the game. I have the Table Top RPG and the special dice even though I don't have anyone to play it with. It's also plagued/inspired my imagination in many ways.

It is the game that got me into Cosplay and sewing. Granted this was very recent but the games and characters have stuck with me since 2009.

This series ALSO improved my ability to work with computer hardware. I had to get a new video card and install things all by myself. *proud* For Inquisition, I had to straight up buy a new system which I got custom built. :3

Big Buck Hunter Pro

There's one out of left field, right? I only say it changed my life because it was my life for a couple years. I worked on the mobile version of the game and the TV plug'n Play version. I have credit as level designer. :)

Dragon Age Inquisition Part 3

Okay I did make it through some more of the story. A couple of themes came up:

Religion and Faith ( a big theme)
Homosexuality (another theme throughout the games)

So spoilers a bit here, at one point you meet with an openly gay mage as a companion. In a side-quest you can trick him into meeting with his father whom he was estranged from for years. It mirrored a lot of common modern reactions to a child coming out. It was very humanizing and illustrated the struggle of parent trying to reconcile with an older child. Also both being stubborn about things. It definitely was better handled than in Dragon Age II. Clearly this was planned out better.

In one of the random codex things you can find scattered throughout the game one was titled "Sexuality in Thedas". This one of the few codex entries I actually read read and I was saddened to see how well it reflects a common misconception: Sexuality is Separate from Procreation. One is just a taste, for fun or preference and the other a duty. ...See this is why you get plagues and blights Thedas. Seriously...sex...makes...babies. Fact of life. And it's not terrible. Also marriage not terrible.

Sooo...now for religion stuff. There's a LOT of it in this one. This is one of the few games that lets you play as a religious character without it coming off as too pandering or negative. I've gotten to a point in the game where it was revealed how the Inquisitor got the "mark". Throughout the beginning of the game, lots of people seem to believe it was a gift from God (I hate that they call him the Maker. Blegh...so generic.) or the religious prominent prophet. But surprise, surprise, the Mark is from a happy accident. Well, not that happy. This throws some characters into a situation where they could think "Wow...I've been LYING to people saying I got this mark from Andraste."

But they have SMART religious characters. If you have Faith you can believe that God works in the world and allowed it to happen. If you don't, nothing changes. Religion and Faith are themes I feel are handled well in this series. They do a good job humanizing characters even "religious" ones.

The main "church" of the world isn't the only one on the chopping block either. My main play through is with an Elf character who comes from a background that has a completely different belief system. (Which was uncomfortable for her to be called chosen by the main religion's prophet.) But there was a big twist (which I won't reveal) about one of the Elven gods.

Reforming the main Church was also a big thing. The player gets to "choose" or "influence the clerics" on who to choose for the next Divine. This particular Church comes off as a bit more political than spiritual but that would make the game less fun not to choose the next leader of the main faith of the world. (Although personally, I'd probably be part of the Black Chantry that's lead by a male Divine...just sayin'.)

The role of this Chantry is also pretty well...earth centric. It has the common criticism of building elaborate cathedrals and dresses instead of feeding the poor. Huh...where have I heard this criticism before? Sounds so familiar! -__-

Anyway, I'm very, very close to finishing my first play through of the game. :D

Game Thoughts: Amnesia: Memories

Greetings...excuse me while I dust off this blog. A lot has happened in the past year. The last time I wrote I was finishing up a contract job and spent a long time job searching and generally enjoying other hobbies. I got a new job back in April and it's been a fun challenge. Finally I feel settled in and I'm doing very well.

I've been playing plenty of games as well.

Today I'll write about the one that's freshest in my memory, Amnesia: Memories.

No...not the horror - survival game series Amnesia Dark Descent but a Visual Novel/Dating Sim...anime style. Although...it might fit with the Amnesia series in some ways. Allow me to introduce the game.

Summary

 You play as a young woman in her first year of college (university) whose memories were displaced by a clumsy, young spirit named Orion. He and the heroine (named by the player) are on a quest to recover her memories so the spirit can separate. They have about one month to do this.

There are 4 "worlds" to enter which follow a different storyline/scenario. (Basically it picks which guy you were dating before losing the memories.) Characters are slightly different but the same in each world.

Virtues...

Well...it's one of those more "innocent" dating sims where there's no sex or excess of mammaries.

 Lots of focus on various relationship types and how memory affects them. Interesting in that way.
Also Truth and Lies.

 Lovely anime style art. Very fancy. Although that chest piercing really got distracting.

I suppose there's lots of good advice about trust and personal safety. It illustrates what NOT to do very well.

It made me do math problems. Thank God it was multiple choice.

Just lots of interesting themes if you care to read into them. (And after much after thought as I squeal "Notice Me Sempai" to my cat while playing.)

Vices
 MATH PROBLEMS WAAAH!?

Promotion of co-habitation.

Very passive protagonist prone to getting walked all over and taken advantage of. Well, there is the "amnesia".

An amnesia plot. Meh.

Rewarding abusive behavior. This always hurts me to see.

Spoiler: There's always one serial killer type of character in these kinds of stories. (Or at least some of them that I've been playing.) This one has 3. ^^ So easy to die by murder. So easy.

Lots and lots of sexual harassment. ...so painful to watch...

Other Thoughts:
So many I want to go through right now I'll break it up into the various "chapters" I've played so far.
Just so you know there will be spoilers to the story. I do think the game is enjoyable and worth a read if you are of appropriate age. If anything, the artwork is gorgeous.

So let me give a rundown of my play-throughs and reactions. (There's a playing card theme.)

Clover: Kent
 The first plunge I took was in clover world since I had heard about the game from a Let's Play video and didn't like the world she picked. Went into this with NO pre-conceived notions about the characters. So the man that you "date" is Kent. A graduate student. Go figure I'd pick the oldest and smartest. I was generally enjoying the storyline going with my instincts on choices. Ended up getting a "normal ending" (yay for branching path stories.). The story itself was one of those trying to humanize a super robot nerd. In this playthrough you were given 10 word problems to solve during the game. I remember thinking "THIS IS THE WORST" why would you make me do math in a romance novel? It's so cruel! I question my choices in life! I got most of them right.

After you get to know Kent better there's a stalker/psychopath who is CLEARLY the murderer. Because...he threatens to do so. Despite that one factor, it was fairly light-hearted.

 I felt pretty good about the game after that playthrough. I decided to just work my way through Spade World like the let's play with the intent of breaking up with the character.

Spade: Ikki
 In this world you date playboy idol Ikki. One of those narcissistic womanizer tropes that is god's gift to woman kind because he so pwetty! (Personally eye tattoos and barrettes aren't a big attraction factors for me.)
Ikki is always followed around by a gaggle of girls that call themselves a fanclub. They threaten to kill you if you date Ikki for more than 3 months and your time is almost up. It did start getting a little dark in those scenes.

In the end I did manage to break his heart as I had planned.

 Of course I went back to play for the other endings but next I went to Diamond World.

Diamond: Toma

 Wow...this one threw me for the biggest of loops. Toma is a childhood friend who is like an older brother (that you want to jump). He treats you like a little sister. The storyline is pretty drastic and scary in an uncomfortable way. There's harassment, online bullying, and threats to physical safety. It was tense. But the scariest of them all is Toma himself. Early on he seemed safe enough. LESSON LEARNED THOUGH. Holy balls...at one point he locks you in a large dog kennel for your safety. OH and mickeys your drink. In trying to keep you IN, he makes you want to LEAVE even more. I was like WTFballs is this nonsense. Some of the potential responses were even MORE disturbing.
I was like POKE HIM IN THE EYES! FIGHT! You can win.

I got two bad ends right way. One ended in physical death the other in mental/emotional death.

Can't even. Had to calm down after that storyline. I tried replaying it over and over to attempt a different ending. Nope. The normal ending was best because Shin saves you and Toma leaves for good. Probably the best ending in that situation to be honest.

Heart: Shin

The kid with the pec piercing? (Is that really a thing? I kept wanting to cover it up. Looked uncomfortable. What if it snagged on a shirt or someone gave you a titty-twister?) Anyway, Shin is another childhood friend, who is a bit cold, arrogant but super observant. Don't judge a book by its cover...I ended up really liking his tough love attitude. Ended up getting a "normal" ending which was nice.

 Also solving a mysterious crime that happened to you! Who pushed you off a cliff and nearly got you killed? (Oddly enough since I played this after Toma's line...ALWAYS SUSPECT HIM!) So a bit of investigation and logic. Also it was refreshing that he figures out about your memory loss pretty much immediately and helps you out.

I immediately played it again to see the bad endings. Because I'm like that. Ended up dead...twice! Once by the creeper who shows up in every world. And once by guess who...our favorite villain...Toma! Double homicide. You'd never think it too. So scary. SO SCARY!

The good ending was very sweet and satisfying. Not going to spoil that so enjoy.

Side note: You're in a band apparently. awesome.

Diamond Revisited: Toma...can you be gud?

Followed a walkthrough to see the good ending. Not super good. End up dating him DESPITE THE DOG CAGE. Even if it was to protect you from harassment from Ikki's fanclub which was getting dangerous. Like seriously dangerous. It's terrible that they think you were dating Ikki thus the overboard harassment. Toma tries to hide it from you to the extreme. /sigh/ Not very happy with that one. It was weirdly satisfying in away but not.

So off to Spade again to try the "good" ending.
I was a little harsh about Ikki before. He has a celebrity complex which is why I feel bad for celebrities. It's hard to tell who likes you for you and all that. Even though he acts sleazy...gets drunk...flirts a lot...you get through it and he's not that bad. But there is that co-habitation thing and suggestions of future sexy times. ...buuuuuugggghhhh....gross. Went back to play the ending where I was killed by fangirls. Yes...sweet death.
Toma was not fudged up in this one though.

HA HA kidding. One of the many bad endings he straight up kills you to protect you from the fanclub or something. Honestly I was skipping dialog just to see these endings in one night. Will actually read what he does but waaah...

Other bad endings are mostly just death and break up.

I liked the normal ending for this one though. Character moves back in with her parents and Ikki visits on the weekends. Appropriate.

Clover World: What could be bad about Kent?

 Wanted to save his good ending for very last so I went through the bad endings. Again, one ends in murder in a hospital...thrown from the roof by the creepy killer in every world. Then there was a break up version too where you're put in a hospital and just get worse.

Finally the good ending. The best good ending IMO. Get to go to London and we get a proposal. A GUY WHO GETS IT?? WHAAAA? Squeeeeeee!

Final World: Joker World??

So this world opens up after you've seen all four good endings. It's one of those characters who screws up the timeline by traveling to all the worlds and turns out to be the reason why you've lost memories in the first place. Original boyfriend made a deal with a god (don't mess with spirits man.) in an effort to save girlfriend. Ends up that reality realizes he an anomaly in every world he goes to and kills him somehow unless he can kill you first. (SO this is why you can get murdered SO FAST in the other games.)
All the death endings (there are 7) are absolutely brutal. Just brutal. I was just getting through the choices to see the screens at this point and didn't really read much. Didn't like his character design. (stupid cop hat just didn't look like it sat right on his head.) But dying over and over yet not dying is kinda the worst and probably would make anyone a rampaging, murdering psychopath.

This is a long post so I'll wrap this up now.

Dragon Age Iniquisition Part 2

So I've moved a little bit further into the story, not by much but by enough to add a NEW PART.

I haven't had a chance much to write about game soundtracks. Soundtracks are my favorite genre of music. I have the soundtracks or parts of them from all the Dragon age games. Orchestral swells that make things seem grander and more moving. This is the power of music. A good soundtrack can really make a game more endeared and memorable.

Games with good music stick with me. Legend of Zelda has always been big into music, and Halo has that haunting chant that has become a staple of the series. Now at first, I didn't hear any repeating melody that I would consider memorable in DA:I. That is until one scene where characters break out into a song. It starts a Capella but then you hear the theme song swell in at the end. Then I started noticing the melody everywhere in the game. It did have a running them. And it was a pretty song too. I'm glad I got the soundtrack.
Also...this is now Dragon Age the Musical. Ha ha! (And characters do comment on the scene. "Hey you made people start singing all together." "Yes...please don't break into song now." "...Fine...*pout*")

Also, it finally happened I met the cameos I was HOPING to meet. King Alistair makes a brief appearance. But Hawke is a character. Unfortunately it kind of stops the game and makes you recreate Hawke or use the default. Pssh...of COURSE I remade Hawke to look like AJ from my stupid fan comics. Yes I may have scripted some out before I even knew what the game was about. But sadness, I lost the thumbdrive on which they were stored.

It breaks up the gameplay and story flow to do a character creation but I kind of appreciate the effort too add the character in. So how much farther did I get? Not far at all. I keep going back to play other characters until they're at the same point. I don't know why I do this to myself.

I lied I do know. I want to see how different the world is based on the world states I used for each saved game.

Anyway, as I get further in I'll add more. Until next time.

Game Thoughts: Dragon Age Inquisition Part 1

This will probably be a bit of a series as I try to get through the game. It's already ruining my life/sleep cycle. So there's that. I think I've put in a good 10 hours for each character I've made. For now I've narrowed down my game to one character to go through the game. I've designed maybe 6 characters with more on the way.

Currently I have:
- Self-Insert Elf version - similar to my first playthrough of Origins, I started with an elf. Although this one is a mage, not a warrior.

- Fanfic Self Insert - based on my fancomic Tale of Mage Angelo and Warrior AJ...now we have Inquisitor Modesty...also a shameless self-insert.

- Mage Angelo - he has a playthrough in every game and manages to make the world worse. :D It's his thing.

- Willow Qunari Mage - because qunari are playable, I had to make one.

- Malkia - My buck-toothed dwarf warrior. She was a happy accident of the character creation and I just like her.

- Bigby - Male qunari warrior. ...I had to have someone be my ruthless playthrough. And I like the Fables Series.

Anyway, on to some overall thoughts on various aspects: aesthetic look/Art Design, gameplay, graphics, story, and characters.

Art Design

By George, I think they've finally done it! They've taken the iconic look of Dragon Age 2 and added the fantasy flair of old. I am so very pleased with the new art direction...and yes I do follow one of the art director's art blogs. Now the world I feel is coming into its own with unique art for each culture. However, even the UI has seen some nice touches that make it feel like a fantasy game. The codex in particular uses this fascinating almost tarot card art style for the entries.

The armor designs are also much better than Origins, finding a nice balance in visual interest, personality and so on for each main character. Let's just say, I'm loving my Vash The Stampede style mage coat that flutters in wind. And I can't wait to get that Carmen Sandiego style hat.

Graphics

Hand in hand with the art design the graphics have seen a major upgrade from the first two games in the series. It's a good mix of stylization and "fantasy realism". But if your computer settings aren't just right, it like you're in the future because everything here is shiny. Tip: Set Meshes to high to get rid of the extra glisten to hair. I'm hoping there's a fix or mod for this. Also the graphics are INTENSE, so it's no wonder the system requirements are so high. Also world map size. Good gravy.
So that gets us into gameplay.

 

Gameplay

It feels like each game in the series has it's own unique gameplay style. Unlike Mass Effect which was always had a semblance of consistency with gameplay. Dragon Age Origins was yet another D&D style RPG game. You had a camp, companions, and a campaign. Dragon Age II was almost an episodic game with an MMO quality to it. Dragon Age Legends was a flash game where you did fight 2D RPG style but also managed a castle. I can't say I've played Dragon Age Heroes but I'm sure it's unique.

What's this to say, Inquisition feels like a completely different take: It mixed a bit of open world like the Elder Scrolls games, some resource management and a bit of politics. It's weeeeird. But in a good way.

PC control scheme is crap though. Completely unintuitive and hard to utilize. I switched to a game controller because that noise...still. The movement systems in the other games worked fine for PC gaming. /sigh/

Story

Seems a good point to segway into story. Now I'm still in the earliest portions of the game, I don't have a stronghold yet. BUT I am happy to see that one of my biggest beliefs about stories is illustrated so well: Time Travel Ruins EVERYTHING. No spoilers, you can read that elsewhere. To be honest I was wondering how things were going to go between DA2 and other titles. I'm still a bit confused as to how things progressed. The character is sort of thrust into the situation.

I'm not so much of a lore nerd to notice the inconsistencies yet. I know they are there though. I can feel them. But I'm too distracted by throwbacks to characters from earlier games. (Just like in Mass Effect 3.)

However, overall, I feel that so far the story has the epicness of the first game but now with more established lore to back it up.

Characters

So there are several "types" of characters: Advisers, Agents and Companions.
Companions fight with your character, similar to other games. Agents are usually around to run specific crafting or game altering influence in the game. Advisers are like companions but don't fight directly in battle. Okay, so I'm not clear on how this all fits together yet but maybe it will make sense.

I don't have all the companions yet and I purposely avoided all promotional stuff...or as much as possible. I went in only knowing their names and sexual preferences because that's how they market these things nowadays.

Like Mass Effect 3 it's fun seeing old friends and see how they've changed. Meeting new characters which at first you're resistant about but then they grow on you. Like Fungus.
My take on the characters I have so far...

Cassandra: She's remained consistent throughout the media I've seen her in. I like her brash, opinionated personality but peppered with experience.

Cullen: Hello familiar face I recall from the rest of the series. I know you're popular with the female fan-base...it's great to see how you've grown and changed over the years. Also, awesome feather pauldron things. It's soooo fluffy! Also super cute, this is obscuring my better judgement.

Josaphine: Mole...mole...molely molely molely. I like her though. She's crafty and got a great accent.

Lelianna: Poor girl. You were so innocent now...so dark. Mage Angelo would be SO SAD. He never should have left you. Shame on him this is all his fault. ...now this post is getting silly...ANYWAY, she's clearly dealing with hard struggles which I like to see, I hope she maintains some of her innocence. Probably not. Which is fine too I guess.

Solas: He sounds like a proper, older gentleman. I do enjoy his conversations. Again just the sound of his voice is...comforting. Which is kind of awesome. Also, the straight man in a lot of jokes.

Varric: His personality is unchanged from Dragon Age II, which is why he's a bit more endearing to me at least. It's something familiar to cling to in a world gone mad. But you CAN change his armor to be something with a closed shirt...this should not be allowed. ...Just kidding.

Sera: ...she...confuses me. She's incoherent most of the time. She's also raunchy. I keep hoping for funny banter from her but I'm left wanting.

Blackwall: I thought he'd be more stoic. But he's actually more like a mildly drunk lumberjack. He's actually kind of funny. It's oddly endearing. And that beard...is so attractive. *fans* Oh my...what was I talking about again.

Iron Bull: See I was sure HE'D be the inappropriate macho man. So far, he's just macho and more serious than I thought. I will never understand the qunari. :P

Vivienne: I...LOVE...Vivienne. I find her super attractive. Elegant, well-spoken, and a touch of sass.
And proof that mages can indeed pull off the MOST silly of hats.

That's who I have so far. I'm looking forward to running into Hawke . I've already run into some of my Hero of Ferelden legacy. (I'm using a world state based on my first playthroughs of previous titles. So...my warden is dead.) Also Alistair and Morrigan. I kinda wish Anders came back...but I can see how that would make things incredibly awkward with the party.

Update: I just ran into one cameo of Alistair. I was pleased to see he's wearing the armor from the comics which means I have a much better reference for the cosplay. But what happened to the beeeeard. :( And since the hair style no longer include the Nathan Drake duck butt carved out of wood...he looks mildly dignified. Mildly. But he also looks a lot like Cullen. :/ I hope the hair mods come out soon.

Overall

I've been gushing a lot. But that's because I'm on the honeymoon period still. It's long. It takes a lot of time. And I had to buy a whole new computer JUST to run it. (Now I have 2 desktops to get rid of.) That's the part that makes me the maddest. The requirements are intense. Also the control scheme and the initial graphic-lighting issues I had were distracting. I had a rough start with the game but I am enjoying it now. As the plot thickens. But I'm also trying NOT to spend too much time on sidequests...but I'm failing horribly. Also the sound effects of some creatures are awfully ear wrenching...particularly the Red Hart. :P It squeals and screams so terribly.

I am enjoying it...maybe too much. I must take time off to sew this upcoming long weekend.

Tips: Set meshes to high to remove the hair glare.
I used Pinnacle to create a profile for the game controller so I could keep the layout of the mouse/keyboard. However, it's seriously nearly impossible to play with the current mouse/keyboard set up. 

I Got a New Computer and a New View

Another personal experience that has oddly deepened my faith. All experiences can be ways God talks to us.

So I've been anticipating the release of Dragon Age Inquisition for many months. I pre-ordered a digital copy, downloaded it early and the moment it was unlocked to play I started it up.

Or I tried to. At first things were just slow so I figured it was just because of Origin. Then it just didn't load. After fiddling with settings and continually meeting the same black screen, I decided to google my issue. It took only a short time to realize that...yes...it was true. My machine was not powerful enough to run the game even on minimal requirements.

Now, in the months past I tried to avoid media about the game. I did look into the min requirements and I went out to get a newish computer and new monitor for it for about $400. However, it didn't quite cut it.

As you can imagine, I was very, very disappointed, but I hadn't given up hope yet. I found a website that would check my system specs against the game requirements to see what I was lacking. Alas, the RAM and Graphics card were not able to handle the game needs. And becasue of the computer model I got, I can't change out the graphics card.

But I have other computers so I tried to see if any of them could cut it. My 10 year old dell desktop had the graphic card power but did not have the CPU or the RAM or the operating system. My laptop was close. It lacked the RAM and graphics card as well.

So I went into a fury of research to solve my problem quickly.
At first I thought, I could just upgrade the parts of my 10 year old dell. I ordered a new OS and decided to go to the electronics store for lunch at work. It was then during more of my research and help from friends who build machines that well...my desktop although customizable could not handle a new cpu without a new motherboard. And the case could not take retail motherboards. So I thought, I would have to buy a new computer again!? The price tags of gaming computers are much higher than others. I didn't want to drop 1000 dollars to play this game.

Almost on a whim, but mostly salemanship, I decided to get a build. I customized my PC, got it assembled at the store and now I have a new custom PC...and it cost less than a gaming pc. :)

It's pink! :) I call her "Eevee".

Thinking about it now, I think this computer cost about the same as my current laptop so it was a good deal. However, I felt a weird guilt.

Over this game I was willing to drop a lot of money and make sacrifices to play. It felt a bit misdirected. Possibly because on Sunday we hear about the parable of the talents. The priest at the mass I went to also had a long (too long) homily on tithing. Oh yes, giving a percentage to God is what is demanded of us. But to someone working on an hourly wage, it takes a lot of faith. The priest had very good points that were hard to hear. So when I was so reluctant to give some of my wages for the Church, how could I turn around and give 90% of a paycheck to getting a computer.

It was a bit of an awakening. I live alone and may have fallen into the trap of selfishness.
But then I looked at it another way:
1) I have passion again. Which is something I haven't had in a long while it feels.
2) I reached out to friends and gave them an opportunity to offer their expertise.
3) I learned a lot about computer hardware.
4) I am impatient...and a bit impulsive. But I did do research first.
5) I brought God into many aspects of this. (I did end up tithing a bit to my parish this week. Because Catholic guilt works that way.)
6) I have two computers I want to give to someone else who may need it more than I. (Granted I can't donate them really after this big purchase.)

So my struggle with that homily and this big purchase for a single game has actually deepened my faith and relationship with God. I prayed last night after plugging everything in that this wasn't a bad thing. I might suffer for it, but I felt it was worth it. If I could do that for a game, I could certainly direct towards other things as well.

On the downside, I was brought to much frustration too. Working with technology is never easy. Nothing goes as planned. Another life lesson I guess/

Game Thoughts: Dreamfall Chapters

So after 8 years, the sequel to Dreamfall: The Longest Journey has finally been released. It started as a Kickstarter campaign. Red Thread games is the new company developing the game made up of most of the original team. Instead of the full game, they are going for the episodic gaming route.
So this will be a look at the first chapter which is the only one out at this time.

Synopsis

We return to Zoe Castillo who is still in a coma and living in a world between called Storytime. She wakes up and starts her new life after her coma. She's starting a new job, volunteering for a political campaign and got back together with her boyfriend Reza. Meanwhile, Kian is in prison awaiting his execution. He is assisted in an escape. The first chapter closes with another between world's location where you play as a baby named Saga.

Virtues

Choice system affects later events in the game. It's similar to some of the aspects in The Wolf Among Us, where choices selected will affect later chapters.

Lovely graphics, beautiful scenery, and a great soundtrack. The atmosphere in every location is well crafted and detailed. The character models have improved, but we still have that familiar voice acting.

Female lead, not overly sexualized. Lots of strong female characters. Good diversity in characters.

Puzzles make sense so far.

Vices

There's lots of rough language, f-bombs, and a few instances of the Lord's name taken in vain.

Co-habitation. Look I'm Catholic, I take issue with this although it's common. Granted the relationship is portrayed realistically. Sex is only discussed never shown.

Performance issues. Maybe it's because I'm on a laptop...but hey, I was able to play Mass Effect 3 without lag. A patch did go in to help though. It worked for me. But the framrate would really chug and drop in a lot of places.

Bugs here and there. People floating, characters getting lost/stuck in the geometry. No lip sync or improper lip sync.

Having to wait for the next episode.

Did Kian get whiter? I thought he was black. I'll blame the lighting.

Conclusion

I'm invested in the series, but personally it might be worth waiting for a couple episodes to be out. The stories flow better when they're done all at once. But that's okay too. I enjoyed it very much and I wonder what themes will come out of this one. It's also worth playing through a few times.

Game Thoughts: SoulCalibur Games

It's been awhile since I could sink my teeth into something mildly worth writing about. Also, I started a new job, so thanks for the prayers on that. It's an awesome workplace.

For the past couple of days I've been playing SoulCalibur IV and V. I like spending time to unlock all the unlockable content which seems to be the only reason to keep playing single player.

I have 3 SoulCalibur games now: 2, 4, and now 5. And here are the primary reasons I bought each.

2: I had a Gamecube, Link was a playable character.

4: I just got my PS3, Darth Vader was a playable character, and I had a create my own character option. I will spend days making characters.

5: More options for Creating Characters, Ezio is a playable character...I made Tali from Mass Effect. ^^

Things that appeal to me about these games are the character driven nature, visual design and animations. I do care a bit about gameplay too. Quarter circles are the worst.
So it's not so much the fact of winning a match (which does motivate me) but performing the button sequence correctly to see my favorite animations.

In SC 4 and 5, Tira is one of my go-to characters. My favorite move of hers is a hula hoop move, it's not too hard to perform in 4 but in 5 they made it a little harder for me.

Now onward to virtues and vices:

Virtues for 5: ...
I can make my own fighting characters. That's fun.

The graphics are very pretty.

The characters have interesting designs and personalities that actually shine through.

Most of the characters have small breasts that don't jiggle oddly. 

No Blood or gore graphics

Vices:
I guess there's a story, but it's paper thin. 5 is going for a plot but it's not that gripping.

Revealing outfits and jiggle graphics: Both Male and female characters are highly sexualized. Yes, males too. This is probably a good example of equal sexualization isn't really equal. Sexy, revealing contortionist Voldo is creepy and gross vs. sexy, buxom dominatrix Ivy who is appealing.

Nothing but violence, which is standard of an arcade fighting game. It is part of the genre, so the whole genre is under this vice.

Not a vice really but fighting games hurt my thumbs. :P

I wouldn't recommend the SoulCalibur series even though I keep buying them especially around children. I'm a sucker for making my own custom characters. 

Upcoming Games I'm Looking Forward To

I honestly think that sometimes I'm the hardest audience to reach when it comes to advertising. I don't have cable or even basic. I have awesome ad blockers, I don't read newspapers, and I've been pretty lax watching YouTube videos on E3 and such. Word of mouth or Facebook are the only ways.

OR in such cases I'm actually a fan of a series. So here's my list.

Episode 5 of the Wolf Among Us: 

This comes out this week. It will be the big finale for the series. And maybe the murder mystery will finally be solved and I can have some peace and closure. I've also officially become a Bigby Fangirl. I'm up to volume 9 in the comic collections. (The romance, the adventure and adorable babies. ^^)

I got distracted. Sorry. Next game.

Dragon Age Inquisition

The third title in the series that has been firmly planted as my favorite Bioware series. Again, a big enough fan where I have lots of extra paraphernalia both official and unofficial. (Except the novels...I don't like reading. LOL. j/k)

The graphics look amazing so far and I'm looking forward to an open world with Mounts and such. I actually have been trying my best to avoid too much media on the game. I don't like knowing too much before I play. Unfortunately, it's in my facebook feed all the time so I keep getting to see the companions. (I'm glad they got Freddie Prince Jr. to do a voice again. I liked him in Mass Effect 3.)

I've already got it pre-ordered so I'll get the Bog Unicorn. >_> A unicorn in a game will ALWAYS entice me.

Hyrule Warriors

Mixing Dynasty Warriors gameplay with Characters from the Legend of Zelda series. I am thrilled to the bone to see this new twist and some of my favorite characters return. ...I also tend to buy fighting games with Link in them. I swear I don't always do it on purpose. I don't know too much else so it'll be fun to finally have another good game for my WiiU.

Zelda WiiU

Not coming out for awhile, but I've seen early screenshots of a potentially more "open world" (I see this term a lot in gaming recently. Oh trends.) Again, I'd love to see more games on my WiiU. Also, bring back the horse...I love the horse. :)

DreamFall Chapters

Almost 8 years after Dreamfall the Longest Journey the sequel is coming out this years. I have also really enjoyed getting into this series and it's characters. It'll be nice to finally have so many loose ends taken care of.

Objectification and Games

Recently the infamous Anita Sarkeesian of Feminist Frequency came out with a new video in her series Tropes vs Women. This one focuses on female characters in the background of games specifically those that are "objects".

The video itself does contain explicit examples that are Not Safe for Work or Children.
A copy of the video's transcript can be found here.

I was particularly fond of Anita's look into the psychological effects of these visuals and gameplay have on players.

One of the points I really liked in the video was this:

A toaster is still a toaster regardless of whether or not you choose to make toast with it. It’s still designed for the express purpose of toasting bread. And it still communicates that fact even while sitting unused on your kitchen counter.

Likewise a sex object is still a sex object regardless of whether or not you personally choose to use and abuse her. And that fact, in and of itself, still communicates extremely regressive ideas about women.

This seems like a problem that won't go away, but that is the big lie. It can be stopped.
We begin with prayer, one of the most powerful tools in the Catholic armaments in our fight against evil.
Then support is given to better games.

God in Sci-Fi and Fantasy

As I played through the Sci-Fi romp Mass Effect, I thought of other sci-fi titles in other media that I have experienced. Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate, Battlestar Gallactica and pretty much anything that takes place OFF our planet seems to leave God back on Earth. Seems a bit odd seeing as he's the Creator of the Universe according to our Faith. Everything in the heavens and on Earth, visible and invisible.

Science, the New god 

It was in a philosophy class IN a secular school that I re-encountered the notion of the "religion of science". Now this wasn't news to me, but the concept and reasoning was understandable. People are comfortable with the idea that Science will explain everything. Anything can be done through science. It has it's rules, laws and methods. The faith put into science is certainly greater than what a lot of people put in any one religion.

Science can be wrong but, it makes sense and follows logic. The mistake can be corrected by approaching the problem differently. It has a following of defenders that will vouch for science with a passion equivalent to an evangelical. But Science is not the enemy of faith. This Extra Credits video illustrates the point very well.

In most future settings, the only true god is Science. But it can't answer all questions. Some questions must be dealt with in philosophy or theology. BOTH these fields use reason and logic similar to science, however, it goes into metaphysics. Things that may not be readily observable.

Deities, the Old gods

On the flip side of the coin, many fantasy worlds have some form of religion and deities. Generally, these are set in "simpler times". There is no democracy, no off world travel. If there's flight it is by "magic" or flying creature, not invention. In this quaint setting, there is also an old quaint belief system. Maybe there's some formality to the religion but it's there often to govern magic. Thus giving the impression that religion is an "old-fashion" thing, something for a simpler people and a somewhat oppressive system.

I think the only "sci-fi" or space travel set story that uses any kind of supernatural force is Star Wars. (Ah...I said force.) That's why I often think of Star Wars as more of a "space fantasy" than a sci-fi movie.

Not to let fantasy off the hook so easily because often a fantasy story can be about defying the gods and killing the gods. (Killing God must be a human thing. *shrug*)

Mythology

Our modern mythology just goes to show how far away we have fallen. Now I only remember the quote from the TV mini-series of "The Odyssey" where Poseidon's "big moral lesson" was "Man is Nothing without the gods." All the punishment suffered was due to hubris.
Modern myth now glorifies man has the pinnacle, a creature that no longer needs the gods. C.S. Lewis describes us as being "men without chests" that is to say "no heart". We find our gods in our own intellect and heads.

That is not to belittle man, because humans ARE great. God himself took on our form and became human. If you believe such things...which I assume a Catholic geek would.

A Godless World

 There is something very unsatisfying for me about a world without God. It's empty or tragic or un-human. However, in our pluralistic culture, we don't want to exclude any one faith. Therefore, it's easier to just not include religion or make up a "safe" religion. In a strange way though, it makes a life-giving sacrifice almost more of a sacrifice. There is literally no promised reward. Just boom...dead, but everyone lives. You're the hero.

I guess the redeeming quality there is that luckily these games and worlds are open to interpretation. For me at least, like in the real world, I see a glimmer of God's work within human art and story. To me it is very significant that in Mass Effect the big bad Enemy is defeated on Earth (where God walked) by a human (a form which God himself has taken.)...or it could be taken as American Imperialism if you want to feel so cynical. Star Wars, while relying heavily on Buddhist philosophy, has an afterlife in which those in the past still affect the physical world. I'm not familiar enough with other Sci-Fi series (besides the comedy series Red Dwarf) I can't point to more examples.

Conclusion

Dear writers and authors, if you are of the Christian or Catholic persuasion AND not just culturally following your religion, I encourage you to write more. I'm doing my best. But I would love, love, love to read/write a book about a Catholic priest sent on a missionary trip to another planet with another race. I've already got Out of the Silent Planet that does the opposite.

Game Thoughts: The Wolf Among Us

Last weekend I started watching a play through of The Wolf Among Us (TWAU) on YouTube, but after the first episode I stopped. I HAD to play this game myself. So I did. This is my first time playing an Episodic game title. I'm getting positive vibes from this...but here are my game thoughts.

Synopsis

 Based on the comic series "Fables", the game acts as a pre-cursor story to the "Fables" comic series. (If wikipedia is to be believed.) In a neighborhood of Manhattan fairytales live in the mundane world as mere shadows of their legendary selves. The game follows Sheriff Bigby Wolf (formerly the Big Bad Wolf) in a film noir style, murder mystery.

Virtues

I am rolling around squealing at the AMAZING art design. The lighting, the lines, the colors. It IS like a living comic book page.

...personal preference...I like Bigby's visual design and voice...this may have colored my WHOLE view of this game. I'm sorry/not sorry. I go for Wolverine types.
...
Sorry...still thinking about him and the voice. /sigh/

Okay I'm back.

Lovely soundtrack and voice acting.

Mostly consists of quick time events to progress the story and even make little changes depending on those choices.

Very cinematic.

Some very well developed female characters. Mostly modest...see vices for the exceptions.
(Bloody Mary may be my favorite.)

Themes of redemption.

Replayability. I feel you have to play it many times through to get the whole story. I've gone through at least twice with a good wolf and a bad wolf. I will play many more times to see all options.

Vices

So, off the bat you'll find that the language is very, very crass. God's name taken in vain, lots of f-bombs...seriously...and overall foulness. It goes with the tone of a comic, noir...but can be very off putting.

Also off the bat, violence is very prevalent and at times a bit gory. But, it is a murder mystery...so there is a body expected. And lots of fist-fights. Early on it's established that the Fables are near immortal. Surviving multiple gunshots, an axe to the head, a fall from the 2nd floor, etc. Still, it's very violent and on the gruesome side.

Working Women are present and there's so far only one topless scene at the brothel? Topless bar? I don't know what to call it without resorting to foul language. For the most part the girls are actually wearing clothes like halter top dresses or even knee length pencil skirts with a corset top. Sex is suggested but never shown.

No options to speed through cinematics which can be tedious on replay.

Waiting for the next episode??? OH man, now I know what episodic games are like. Maaaaan...
(This is not really a vice. But the problem with me and murder mysteries...I'm too dumb to figure it out I need to know!!!)

Conclusion

I don't know if this really reflects what NYC and the Bronx is really like OR if it's just adding to my long list of reasons why I'll never even visit the big apple. Violence, poverty, swearing, and sinful behavior are staples as is typical of this type of story. I think like most "gritty and real" stories, if you can get past the abrasive surface, there's a good story and good characters. ...And I may just be giving my interpretation of Bigby there. Lol...this is the problem with being a fan of a character I guess. It's making me biased. The warning signs are all over the game, but I found it worth playing.

(Oh my wolverinnnnnnne!!!! Why am I so drawn to chain smoking, gruff, near immortal guys??)

Game Thoughts: Hometown Story (First Impressions)

The other day I was browsing a game store before an appointment when I noticed Hometown Story. I remembered that some months ago I had heard about this title and was interested in checking it out. My interest was due to the fact that the creator of Harvest Moon was also the creator of this title. As a big fan of the HM series I figured that the new venture would be worth looking into. However, I have found that I may not be the biggest fan of Hometown Story (now HMS). Here's my look at the game.



Synopsis
After the passing of your grandmother, your character returns to the town she/he grew up. Upon meeting a magic creature that now lives at Nana's shop, the protagonist is suddenly recruited into running the shop and restoring the town population. In the game your character forages or buys stock from locals or traveling merchants, arranges the shop layout, stocks shelves adn sets the price for products. Customers come in and buy items, make suggestions as to their favorite products and so on. There is a social aspect where the protagonist is able to woo and marry one of the villagers.

Virtues:

Non-violent: Like most games in the HM series, HMS takes on the tradition of a non-violent storyline.

Good Graphics: The characters are visually appealing and the color scheme is very relaxing.

Customized Avatar: You're able to create your avatar and change their look at the beginning of the game. You can play as either a male or female protagonist.

Vices

Lack of Concrete Goals: The game taught only the most basic of controls. The storyline was not very motivating nor the goal clear. Was the town dying? Were people leaving en masse? No, from the in-game dialog it's almost a kidnapping. The protagonist answers a letter and a strange creature basically tells you that you now must own and run the shop.

Unintuitive Gameplay: In my gameplay, I was able to figure out stocking and setting the price easy enough. I was able to ring people up without a fuss. However, for the longest time I could not figure out where to get new products. In my mind, I had to man the shop from open to close, but here's the thing, the store actually does NOT close until the protagonist goes to bed. What I did not realize until I read a walkthrough was that you are able to leave the shop at ANY time to collect new materials and talk with townsfolk. This simply did not make sense to me. A store has business hours. After business hours, the owner can do other things. Or the owner has the power to close the shop for a period of time.

Boring: Perhaps it is the slow start, the uniteresting dialog and descriptions, or the traces of a plot. There is not much to motivate me to play this game. The pacing is very slow, the work is tedious. Now I've play shop simulation games that I enjoyed. HOwever, the style of gameplay was different. (Both had annoying floating sidekicks but the other at least had RPG elements that drive the shop.)

Disorienting Camera: The camera changes angles on its own in every location. It becomes disorienting moving between screens. The layout of the town is quite empty and tricky to navigate. Luckily the map is very good. It also weirds me out that everywhere you go, the floating mouse thing follows. And speaking about the floating mouse thing...

The Pet thing: The little "guide" is some kind of magic floating creature that after the tutorial seems to have no real purpose. The model often gets in the way when trying to place items on shelves. It would make more sense IF the pet thing could be sent to collect for forest items while the owner stays in the shop. OR to man the register while the owner is out.

Uninteresting Characters: The 2D graphics and character designs look very plain and uninteresting. The visual style of the characters lacks something distinct.

Conclusion:

I hate to say that I'm going to sell this game back to the store to get something else. I am disappointed with how this final product came out. It could work but the execution just did not meet my expectations. (These weren't high expectations either.) That said I am still looking forward to the new Harvest Moon, Linking the New World.

God's Box

Usually I'm not that inspired to write about something that is purely Catholic spiritual and then publish it, but today is different. While browsing my deviantart messages I noticed a snippet of someone's journal. The artist was describing why he was doing a somewhat controversial photoshoot of attractive, scantily clad men around religious icons, mostly having to do with the Crucifixion. The subject matter had to do a bit with the artists faith and his own struggles as a homosexual man.

However, the subject matter of the photo shoot was not what sparked my interest, it was a sentence (which I will paraphrase) that caught my attention and made me feel a strong opinion.
The phrase was: "Whether in a Church, mosque or synagog, no matter how beautiful the interior may be, I never understood why God should be trapped in a box."

Part of the idea I totally agree with. God should not ONLY BE within a church building. He must be out in the world among us all and within us. Like the kid's song, "This little light of mine" we should be Christ's light to the world shining on the hill, not under a bush.

More commonly though, I think the sentiment comes from a place where a person may not feel that they "need" to go to Church to pray or go to Confession when they can pray wherever. And yes, you don't need to go to a Church to talk to God. Despite it being called the House of God, that's not the only place God can be found. When first reading the words, I felt a bit upset that someone would think that a Church building was a sort of cage for God. (I'm sure that's not the intent, but that's what it came off as to me.)

I've heard it explained once or twice why a church building is so important and it's a concept I feel is being lost. The idea of a sacred space that is separated from the mundane. This is why I feel it's important to have beautiful art within a church. The Church is not like any other building. Not only is it sacred, God becomes truly present within the walls. Not that Creation is not beautiful and noble. There are places in Nature that are also sacred. These are mundane places that are uplifted.

The sacred space is not for God, it's for us. Outside the Sacred Space, we are confronted with life's mundane struggles, harsh realities, and heavy burden. With all the distractions of daily life, even prayer can be difficult and unfocused. The conversation with God is limited. Thus it's a good practice to have a little sacred space for prayer in your home/apartment. It makes it a little easier for us to meet God and find him.

Sacraments, Sacramentals, and Churches, God knows we need these physical things to know Him better. It's a bit sad to dismiss things as such.

That's all I really have to say on that for now. Like I said, a bit of a reaction. I did start brainstorming the game idea. It's going to be tougher than I thought.

Death and Martyrs in Games

While working on one post that just isn't going where I want it, I thought of a different topic to write about: Martyrdom. There are many examples of game characters sacrificing themselves or being sacrificed for the sake of something or other. It got me thinking about how martyrdom is treated in some game titles.

Real Martyr Stories

Historical accounts of martyrs evokes a certain reaction. Awe for their bravery (or stubbornness if one wants to be cynical about such things.), conviction, and willingness to physically suffer. The stories inspire us, perhaps make us feel bit ashamed we do not show courage in small things, but above all their sacrifice gave new life. Something great is accomplished.

For St. Maximilian Kolbe, a man was able to return to his family. In the case of the 816 Martyrs of Otranto, the Ottoman invaders failed to conquer Italy and the heart of the Church. Thousands of Christian Martyrs throughout the Roman Persecution only helped fill the Church. Good things usually happen when a martyr dies. God's work continues through them and that sacrifice. In Earthly time and space we may not see it right away of course.

There are martyrs for things other than the Catholic Church of course. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination is a martyrdom for the Civil Rights movement in a way. However, I'm most familiar with the Catholic stuff and this is a Catholic blog so that's why they get the big mention.

Now in games I tend to see certain trends in a sacrificial or martyr type death that are maybe not so great.

Romanticized Sacrifice

 It's clean, beautiful and poetic. Oddly enough it's usually a female character in this role...and most of my top-of-my-head examples come from Japanese titles. Minor spoilers ahead but...
Final Fantasy VII - Aerith's Death, Fire Emblem: Awakening - Chrom's older sister, and others.

Usually the scene is very artistic, clean and almost crudely colors the idea that "THIS GIRL WAS INNOCENT". It will most definitely inspire emotion and provide narrative motive for the surviving characters.

Heroic Death

In a similar strain, sometimes it is the player character that makes the sacrifice.  This is done in a way that somehow praises the player. The sacrifice is SO noble, other characters are in mourning, and so on. Also very artistically portrayed and such. However, I think that in part the very nature of "death" in a game world is different than a narrative death.

With my recent play through of the Mass Effect series, I found that final sacrifice really did reward the player in a way. It stroked the ego and emphasized the "nobility" of this act.

However, this isn't just an aspect of death portrayed in games. Many narrative mediums want to give the hero a glorious, heroic death.

Narrative Martyrs

Is there a way in which a sacrificial death can be made not heroic? Personally, I don't want there to be such a thing. Even the stories of real martyrs, even if they aren't over-the-top heroic, they should be treated as such. Glorifying the sacrifice in a respectful way is good, especially in narrative. It highlights how amazing a human life is. It's is worth more than we can imagine. Pardon me for getting stereotypically Catholic but God became Man to die for human life.

With the triumph over death and promise of eternal life, there is always the risk of feeling that well, death isn't really all that big of a deal. They go to Heaven, it's all good. Christians have the great example in Christ's death and Sacrifice. It's still hard though. As St. Paul says, "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die." (Romans 5:7) Somehow though, I feel it's even more heroic for a character without such beliefs to make that same sacrifice.

Conclusion

Some part of me feels that the overly romanticized death of a major character in a game makes it cheesy. However, at the same time, that character represents several hours of time spent playing the story and "letting that go" is a big deal. It does deserve some type of "reward". 

Thinking about it now, a game character martyr is very rare. Probably because any sense of spirituality, religion, or cause is so rarely included with a main character. 

And this short thing is all I have energy to write for now. My new job is a bit tougher than the last one.

Game Thoughts: Mass Effect 3

So I've played the 3rd and final game of the trilogy which is definitely very intense. I wrote about the notorious ending before but now I get to experience it for myself.

Synopsis

 After defeating the Collectors, the Reaper threat looms. With the galaxy under attack it's up to Shepard to rally the whole galaxy under one banner and defeat the Reapers or die trying.

Virtues

 The immersion and environment is very well done. My goodness. It's so depressing. The sheer scale of things really does feel heavy.

Amazing characterization so far. Lots of throwbacks to previous games.

Gushy, sweet "romantic" lines (as Shepard tends to be super awkward). I am a SUCKER for these.

Moreso than the romantic cuteness, more focus is now on family bonds and other meaningful relationships. Not just one or two characters, but almost everyone really starts emphasizing their family. I guess the situation makes that easier.

I think the situation also makes things less sexy or sexualized. The whole "issue" with the neutral ground space station is that the war doesn't feel real there. All the distractions seem hollow or tragic.

Positive homosexual character. For the most part. It feels like they "get" the gay guy, but all lesbians seem like male pandering.

Decisions made early in the game that seemed like a good idea can turn out to be short sighted. Renegade (evil) choices finally hit a sweet spot of short term benefits that came back to haunt me later. Some Paragon (good) choices also don't seem correct.

Weapon modding was fun. No vehicle sections again. Mostly familiar gameplay elements.

Vices

 The duck and cover mechanics were much better in 2.  Do not like the new cover and movement system.

 ...a sexy robot...sigh... You have objectified a woman. *slow clap*

Still a lot of language, violence and sexy cakes of beef and cheese variety.

Definition of Life, Soul, and Humanity: On the plus side, VERY good to think about. What separates us from the animals? What separates us from the androids? In any case, the simplified answers to this bug me and seem very off. It basically dumbs down the supernatural soul and reasoning to complex programming. The only thing humanity seems to have over the machines is "free-will".

No God. Again, all deities are equal and pretty much hokey. Thus the above complaint about the hollow definition of humanity. It's pretty much the fullest extend of human hubris to think that we are something without God. It definitely illustrates the failings of finding a meaningful answer without something supernatural.

Sex is always outside of marriage. *head desk* I just...I mean...darn it culture! I know I can't expect the real moral high ground from a big game company but still. There's a ship captain! Can't we do a Pirates of the Caribbean marriage thing? I know the world's about to end but that has never stopped people before! This has been the vice in all 3 games.

The Homosexual issue. So there is 1 lesbian, 1 gay, and 4 bi-sexual characters that are "romance options". (One of whom is a potential "Anders" incident where he's straight in the other 2 games.) I'll throw back to the whole culture shapes entertainment and visa versa. It's normalizing the vice of pre-marital sex throughout all games, but also cakes on the gay marriage.

Conclusion

I have mixed feelings on this title. The story world had definitely suckered me in and offers a playground of moral, ethical and philosophical issues to think about. However, vices are also stronger. Perhaps I'm just tripped over all the sexy robot stuff or "synthetic life". Thank you for the tough question of when do you call something alive, but the complete absence of anything believably spiritual or supernatural bothers me. It's what bothers me most about space exploration style sci-fi.

Of the three, I have to say that the first game is probably my favorite. It had the right balance of severity, mood and characters. At the very least it gave a nod to any human religion. And it was easier to shoot things.

Now having played through the "controversial" ending, I was absolutely fine with the ending. I even got the worst one on my first play through. And that was without the "extended cut"...which I forgot to download (I do intend to play the same ending with the extra cutscenes).

Game Thoughts: Mass Effect 2

Okay, well, I guess I'll do the whole series as I go through it because well, things change from 1 to 2.
Now I knew the story before playing the game since I watched someone's renegade playthrough. I'm also playing the games with 3 characters. Paragon Male, Paragon Female, Renegade Female. So I've played all 3 games 3 times in one sitting.

Synopsis

After saving the galaxy, Shepard goes on missions to hunt down Geth (semi-sentient robots) and find more evidence of the return of the Reapers (more robots coming to wipe out advanced organic life in the galaxy). One of the missions tragically ends in Shepard's death but s/he is brought back by the questionable organization Cerberus and the Illusive Man. Human Space Colonies are disappearing, supposedly by an advanced species known as the Collectors. Shepard must form a team to take on this newest threat.

Virtues

More of the moral dilemma goodies like the first game of the series.
Humanity's Self-Interest vs Getting Help, Justice vs Mercy, and so much more.
I really liked Mordin's loyalty mission for medical ethical goodies.

Pretty good philosophical questions to think about, although responses are limited and very simplified.

No Vehicle sections.

More fun alien designs and cultures. Story depth and immersion.

More Organic environments.

Better gameplay, graphics etc.

Good choices can often make something more difficult if you wish to keep your ideals. Bad choices can offer short term rewards and make more sense.

Vices

Still a lot of weird sexualized situations. The sex scenes are tamer or only implied...mostly. Still kind of soft-porny. But all optional.  But dear lord, do I hate Miranda's outfit or Jack's lack thereof. (Thank you modding community for giving me an alternative outfits.)

Again, no organized religion, only crazies or "safe" nondescript spirituality.

No Souls. Not so much a vice as it is a criticism. The whole premise of "bringing Shepard back" with all memories, personality, etc. using science is not convincing to me. But fictional story, fine, I'll go with it. I'll just say Jesus was undercover there all along. /sigh/ But now I'm thinking of C.S. Lewis' "That Hideous Strength". ...I want to make a game for that book series. It would be awesome. Crap...project idea pinned. Curse you Mass Effect!!

Limited ammo is not my friend. Okay not a vice just whining.

Violent. The story requires it but there's a lot of needless violence and petty violence. Add realism I guess but eh.

Conclusion

The story, myth and so on still suffers the same vices as the first game. So there really isn't too much to add on that. This story I found (well, sans the beginning "Lazarus" project) more engaging. The world is established, my choices in the previous game seem to have made an impact and old characters come back.

Still a lot of poo-poo on religion and women.

So, I like this game but it's definitely for a mature minded person. Lots of opportunity to weaken the will are present.