Mass Effect, not much else

The "keep me signed in" checkbox actually worked this time, which kind of threw me for a loop because I like to keep my annoyances consistant. If I can't sit down, hit the "sign in" button, and be annoyed when I have to input my information...well, what can you rely on these days?

So you'd better believe that www.blogger.com is going to be getting a nasty email!

Seriously though, having never worked in customer service in any capacity...I take that back, I did briefly work the front desk at Blockbuster video. Shortly after telling a late fee complainer, and you probably know the type, comes in there knowing they have a late fee and get all mad when you tell them they have a late fee and demanding you take it off, that the late fee stands and I don't care if they never come back because they don't pay their bill anyway I was relegated to changing the DVD books to the printed out Blockbuster blue and white ones for eight hours a day.

Oh, in case you were wondering and remember when blockbuster used to have blue and white cases, yes someone does them all by hand and each Tuesday they get the new releases in so they swap them in by the hundreds every week.

Anyway, besides never working in customer service aside from that time, it makes me curious what kind of insane complaints an internet based company recieves via email. I mean, I could take a guess, I've mailed a few dripping-with-sarcasm-thinly-veiled-threats-accusations-of-incompetance-sprinkling-of-F-words myself, but not everyone has such a way with words like one such as me do.

That said, one of the companies I wouldn't email this time around is Bioware. See, I sent my computer in to get some new parts, and it's working much better now thanks to a suggestion from my friend flem who you may, or may not, know from the comments section (in which case you don't, you should probably leave a comment. I get excited about spam down there, an actual person would be awesome! But you heartless google spiders don't care about me, do you?!) about a new power supply, the guy is on his stuff. Anyway, the two days being without my computer gave me some time for some personal reflection, and because that's boring and gay, I put in Mass Effect and finished it. I hadn't touched it since probably January, and surprisingly the controls came back pretty quickly and I was on it. And I was really close to being done with the game.

Anyway, I stick by my assertation that the game is awesome, probably among the best RPGs released in a while. I know the game has taken some heat from some cats who are perpetual haters of anything that was made after the millenium, but those are haters and that's what they do.

But regardless of them, Mass Effect has a lot going for it. Primarily, carrying a gauge that never runs out of ammo makes the FPS part a lot of fun. Call me primitave, but there's nothing better in an FPS than shooting someone in the face with a shotgun. I don't care what the game is, if it has a shotgun that's what I'm carrying. But for some reason, in most FPS games they're either really hard to find or the ammo for them is, which is ridiculous considering how abundant rockets are in them. But in Mass Effect, you never have to use anyting else.

The other thing that's great is the dialogue responses. I saw the early screens where you'd get to say "yeah!", "nah!", or "what?" on that little wheel...but peep this: that's not actually what the dude says. You'd choose "yeah!" and he'd be all "Hells yeah!" and blast somebody in the face with a shotgun. Or not, sometimes he said more, but you get the point. There are times that you may choose the wrong thing because of the shorted responses, but they're pretty few and far between. Also, the much lauded The Witcher pulled the same stunt and didn't catch any flak, so don't believe the non-hype.

Plus, there's a lot of choices you have to make. I don't know if the consequences actually matter in a way that's more than "wow, I sold that guy up the river" and I doubt that'll bite you in the end (but there are some involving your friends, life or death and suchlike), but just on an imaginative scale. That'doesn't really bother me because the last few at the end are pretty huge.

Anyway, it has a few weak spots like the Mako which really sucks to drive and try and shoot things with and the side quests, while interesting, basically take place in boring worlds and all of the building interiors are more or less the same, so it gets repetitive. But there's a good 20 hours of main quest awesomeness, which while probably not worth the $60 box price I paid for it, still worth playing.

But that's all I've got to say on that.

Anyway, I've begun to think about what I'm going to do next after I get Subtlety of Thay Ch 2 done. There's a few themes on the polls there, and since I'm in the forming the basics in my mind stage, thought I'd get some input. So vote! For the Wild West! A Wild West/Horror theme would be awesome!

Anyway, I'll be back soon. Going to pick up where I left off a few days ago now that my computer is up and running.