Just finished Mass Effect 2 and I’ve got to say, it is an exceptional game. If you haven’t played it yet and you own a 360, get your ass in gear and beg, borrow, or steal a copy. If you haven’t played it and own a Wii, move along, because we don’t like your kind here.
That being said, if you haven’t finished the game, jump to after the picture, because I’m about to indulge myself in some
***spoilers***.
One of the things I really liked about ME2 was a sense of the massive scale of the universe which Shepard and Co inhabit. Bioware and EA did an exceptional job of tying up loose ends from the first game (if you loaded a character from the original). The little notes and interactions from the NPC’s in the first game delivered a level of believability that not many games have these days. Lets face it, did anyone walk away from their encounter with the reporter in ME1 and not want to smack her in the face? Getting that opportunity in ME2 was a delightful surprise.
More on that vein is the continuation of the storyline. The subtle (and not so subtle) prodding that your decisions will have an impact on the way that ME3 plays out. That’s one of the reasons I chose not to wipe out the Geth, and why I saved the Collector’s ship instead of blowing it up – how will those decisions play out when the reapers finally arrive in the Terminus systems? I’m hoping that they mean I get a lot of extra support from the sentient species. The scope is truly incredible and I’m eager to see what the developers throw at me next – I like space operas, and this is a space opera of gigantic proportions.
I was a bit vexed at the planet scanning system that they included, it was such a waste of time… I did start to get into it when I got the scanner upgrades, but could do without it in the sequel. Additionally, much of the RPG aspect of the game has been removed, this was seriously disappointing. I don’t know whether EA or Bioware were to blame, but the game has changed into a linear shooter masquerading as a sandbox RPG rather than the true RPG it was in the original. It still plays well and is thoroughly engrossing, but I miss getting all the gear and having all those options. I will return for the third enstalment however, Bioware knows that by showing me the armada of the Reapers i am certain to return. Maybe this time we can jump to the meat instead of marching around the galaxy picking up a ragtag group of misfits...
Hell, maybe they'll even let Shepard vas Normandy live past 10 minutes into the game, and save us all the trouble of having to start over.

Anyway, Mass Effect 2 was excellent. I’m having a bit of an internal struggle to decide whether it was better than
Darksiders, but am going to restrain my judgment until I’ve played
Dante’s Inferno and
BioShock II… 2010 has already been a great year for gamers, and it is looking like it is going to continue – I can’t wait. For those of you interested in Dante’s Inferno (made by the same crew who did God of War), go to Digg.com and press Ctrl+U; it looks like the source code has been jacked – clever hacking or clever advertising for technically aware nerds? I do like it, whatever the reason.
(Click
here to see Ben “Yhatzee” Croshaw’s reaction to some very clever marketing on the part of the DI team)
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After my massive geek out over the last couple weeks with Scifi books, video games, and general nerdiness i have started reading
Kafka on the Shore by Murakami (it counts as "literature" right? I think it works as my pennance for space opera goodness). Only just getting my feet wet, and reserving judgment until i have finished, but can already feel my enthusiasm for the book going the way of
Catch 22.
When i first picked up
Catch 22 i absolutely hated it. It took 7 years and a second reading to convince me this was the funniest thing i had ever read, and now i go back to my well worn and dogeared copy about once every 6 months...
Kafka on the Shore is weird, no doubt about that, but i will just have to see how it plays out. Murakami does go well with the musical intonations of Less than Jake though, who would have thought that combo would work?
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And on to local news....
Christina Chan will be talking at the FCC today on the "post 80's generation Hong Kong". I have already given my thoughts on the topic, but it will be interesting to see how she goes about it. I have a feeling that it will boil down to an indifferent government, vested interests, and kowtowing to Beijing being detrimental to the growth of our fair city - but she can be fairly out there on occasion. I know that it should be a good chat though - will she talk it up as a "Student Activist" or look for a more serious approach and title herself as an "Analyst"?
***
Tony Chan is being investigated on charges of fraud following the startling conclusion that he forged signatures on documents he submitted to the court when trying to get his hands on Nina Wang's fortune... Did anyone reasonably believe otherwise?
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Saw an article in the SCMP yesterday about potential smoking legislation. Apparently when you ban indoor smoking, all the smokers will move outside. This has caused the weedy folk out there to complain about having to breathe "foul air". I hate to break it to these sad acts, but with the amount of particulates floating around in the air of our city, you don't have to inhale second hand smoke to get cancer - just go outside and take a deep breath of PRC pollution... Any opinion which chooses to go after smokers in such light, while ignoring the rampant pollution issue is severely misguided, not to say idiotic. Yes, there is an air quality problem, but it really isn't caused by smokers - there just happens to be several thousand pounds of CO2 being emitted every day across the border... It's all good though - Donald and his masterminds have come up with the exceptional environmental policy of "wind".
The article also mentioned Tax increases on tobacco, an issue i've touched on before. Again, it is retarded; the idea that raising taxes will stop the issue, but having no factual soundness on which to base the argument. An "academic" is at heart here, but can she really be an academic if she has done no studies and can present no solid conclusions to her hypothesis? I shouldn't be surprised though - that is how we ended up with the cross border high speed rail link after all.
And today, another article about smoking... this one focused on the facts that teens have access to tobacco. This has an exceptionally simple solution - Card tobacco purchasers no matter their age. Problem solved. I should totally be on a government advisory board.
Thats me done for this week.... Let me know your thoughts below.