And Now, Something Personal

Now that I've established the need for unhappy ME fans to remain civil in this situation... I would like to give my own personal opinion on the game.

By and large, Mass Effect 3 is an awesome game. The graphics are gorgeous, the music is phenomenal, and the characters are all reasonably believable. I love the reintroduction of banter between your teammates (banter, how I missed thee!) and the fact that your crew members now interact with one another and aren't simply confined to one location on the ship? Oh, that made me squeal like a gleeful little schoolgirl. Some of those moments are just pure gold.

And their interactions with your Shepard? It was so genuine. There were parts that honestly brought tears to my eyes.

But... the game isn't without its flaws.

Don't get me wrong, no game is perfect. But some of this stuff is absolutely, mind-bogglingly bad. Like, for example:

1. The journal system. What was once a fairly organized, useful feature for keeping track of side missions has become an utterly convoluted, disorganized mess. Yeah, you have a list of missions for you to do, and even some marked "priority," but it's such a mess that it's stupidly easy to miss out on important time-sensitive missions, causing them to expire when you hit important plot points and thus costing you important resources. It's also utterly useless when you need to go to find most "fetch quest" items, or where and who you need to take said recovered items to, because it doesn't tell you.

Seriously. The journal structure from ME2 worked just fine - why change it?

2. The map system. Another thing that's lost at least some of its functionality. Sure, it looks prettier, but... Function over form, guys. Function over form.

3. MOTION BLUR. Oh my god, motion blur - and the accompanying motion sickness. Yeah, I get it from a stylistic point of view, but it really should be an "opt in" feature, not an "opt out," if for no other reason than the crippling lag it tends to cause.

4. The scrapping of the classical Paragon/Renegade system for that patently ridiculous "Reputation" meter, and the directly-related paring-down and muddling-up of your dialogue choices (which give you either one extreme or another, neither of which tends to be very useful.)

5. Angst for the sake of angst. Attention, BioWare: gratuitous character death does not good storytelling make. When character deaths are done solely for the purpose of character death, they quickly lose their impact and become mundane. Also, when you spend entire missions to save characters only to have them die a pointless death at the last minute (see: Lieutenant Victus) it just becomes gratingly frustrating. It makes you not want to keep playing when everything - everything - is made out to be completely hopeless.

There's a glaring difference between "You can't save them all," and "You can't save anyone," BioWare. You seem to have missed that distinction.

Which brings me to...

6. That thing. You know, that thing that's being talked about?

And by "that thing," I mean "the end."

Now, I could go on a long, long rant about the quality of the last half hour. I really could - ask anyone who knows me. I could rant for pages about the ending of Mass Effect 3.

But I'll save you the novel and just go with three small words.

The ending sucked.

I know you're probably going to counter with "But there were multiple endings!" The truth is, no, there weren't. There was one stock ending with a few very minor changes.

Essentially, when you go to use the gratuitous Deus Ex Machina (which shows up out of nowhere, with precious little in the way of a silly little thing called "explanation") you're confronted by the equally-gratuitous Reaper God or whatever it is, and it proceeds to give you:

a.) a shoddy explanation for the Reapers (they are synthetics created to... kill off organic life in order to "protect" organic life from synthetic life that would inevitably turn on it and wipe it out,) and,

b.) Three different flavors of "destroy galactic civilization." They are as follows.

- Control: You take control of the Reapers and make them leave. The relays then explode with blue energy, leaving everyone more or less stranded where they are.
- Merge: You (forcibly) merge organic and synthetic life, effectively halting evolution. The Reapers leave, and the relays explode with green energy, leaving everyone more or less stranded where they are. . The Citadel explodes, too.
- Destroy: You destroy the Reapers - and all other synthetic life in the galaxy, including EDI and the geth - and potentially destroy all advanced tech in the galaxy. The relays explode with red energy, leaving everyone more or less stranded where they are. The Citadel explodes, too.

I'm not even going to get into the truly epic amounts of Fridge Horror brought on by the destruction of the relays - anyone with even slightly-below-average intelligence can pick it out by putting just a little bit of thought into it.

I will, however, ask: Just what the hell was up with that ending?

Actually...you know what? I'll just sum up all of my problems with the ending thusly:

- Plot holes big enough to fly a Reaper through
- Random Deus Ex Machina
- Glowy Reaper God
- Shepard is OOC
- The Normandy crew is OOC
- None of our choices matter
- Virtually nothing from the entirely of the past two games matters
- All the time you spent gathering War Assets is more or less meaningless
- Fridge Horror

and

- Mountain Dew destroys galactic civilization.

And there you have it. My (admittedly "not nearly as thorough as I'd like it to be") take on the drawbacks of Mass Effect 3.

Been a while, hasn't it?

Well, rest assured that I am very much alive, if very much broke (like about 75% of the nation!)

What have I been up to this past year? Not a whole lot, surprisingly. I recently got back into using markers for coloring, and have apparently been making a bit of a name for myself as a fan-artist for a truly engaging video game trilogy. I also picked bead weaving back up, and have dusted off an old Etsy shop, rebranded it, and intend to sell fandom- and space-inspired jewelry there. Expect an official announcement on that front when it really gets going!

In the meantime, you can find my artworks here and here! The first link is my more "serious" artwork account, while the second is my "fun, fanart, and general goofing-off" account.

These Dreams #1

Usually, I don't remember much about my dreams. When I do, there's usually some lesson or message in there for me. Time was, I didn't pay much attention, even when I probably should have - nowadays, I try to pay more heed to them.

Like this morning.

See, I dreamed that sis and I had moved in with mom. But we weren't living in the house she currently lives in - rather, we were living in the house we'd lived in before that one. And the two of us were staying in my old bedroom.

Unlike past dreams involving that house, though, this time the room was crumbling and falling apart. Only instead of the deteriorating walls and ceiling exposing wiring, the outer walls, or the environment outside... they exposed a much bigger, more beautiful house.

I still have to ponder over this dream a bit to figure out the message within, but it did leave me feeling peaceful and hopeful.

Because It Needs To Be Said

I believe that love can change the world. If more people loved their fellow man... if it replaced the destructive mindsets of hatred, anger, selfishness, and greed... maybe, just maybe, the world would be a better place.

There will, of course, always be people who cannot seem to function if they're not making others miserable. There will always be users, abusers, haters, manipulators, warmongers and naysayers... that is an inescapable fact of human existence. But just imagine what life would be like if we stopped empowering them with more and more negativity, and started empowering each other with something much more uplifting and powerful - love.

Why love?

Because where hatred oppresses, love uplifts.
Where anger and greed destroy, love creates.
What selfishness abandons, love defends.
Where sadness exhausts, love empowers.
Where fear causes us to falter, love gives us the courage to press on.

It may sound corny and overdone, but it's true. Haven't you ever noticed that when you love something, when it makes you happy, you have more energy and get more accomplished? How things seem to come so easily? And how when you're sad, or angry... you feel drained and get very little done, and everything just seems impossibly difficult? Yes? No? Look back at your life, at the times when you were happiest, and the times when you were at your lowest. Remember how you felt during those times, compare them. Think about your mindset now, and how you feel.

Think about how you want to feel.

You want to be happy, right? You want to feel like you could move mountains. Like you could change the world and make it a better place. Right?

Then love. Love, and be loved. Give it freely, and see how it returns to you. See how it builds you up even as you use it to build up others.

Not sure where to start? Ask, and ye shall receive...

I love you. Even if I don't know you, I love you. Even if I know you, but don't like you, I love you. Even if you hate me, I love you. I love you with all of my heart and soul, with every fiber of my being.

I love you because you are worth it. No matter what anyone else might say, no matter what you might have been led to believe, you are worth it and you deserve it.

I love you, and I believe in you. I believe that you can change your life for the better. I believe that you can change the world for the better.

I love you.

Now go out, and pass it on, because the world needs it.

You Know It's A Slow Week When...

...you're complaining about ice cream. But, hey, I think it's a valid complaint...

So. It's that time of the month, if you know what I mean. I'm craving chocolate something fierce, y'know? So I take some of my hard-earned commission money, and go to Hy-Vee to buy myself a chocolate bar and some ice cream.

I picked out a brand called Skondra's, the flavor being Super Fudge Brownie. The flavor text (lol lame pun) says "Rich chocolate ice cream swirled with fudge ribbons and chunky brownie bites." Sounds delicious, yeah? I sure thought so.

Until I got home and took a big, chocolatey-bite... only for my c: to turn into a :c I tried a few more bites, to see if it was just a bad first impression... but my :c just turned into an even bigger :C because... good grief... it's terrible. It's so bad that it's terribad.

This is not "rich" ice cream by any stretch of the imagination. It tastes like how I imagine ice cream would taste if the cream was changed to watered-down skim milk. And the brownie bites? Have the taste, texture, and chewiness of stale chocolate chips. Ugh. Even the fudge swirls taste... off.

I don't think I want this ice cream any more. I should have just gone ahead and bought Breyer's. Or Blue Bunny. Heck, even Edy's would be an improvement over Skondra's. I think the store brand might even be better...

I wonder if you can return ice cream *sniff*

The moral of the story? Never buy Skondra's ice cream. If it's a choice between Skondra's and store brand... go with the store brand, because Skondra's is crap.

Random Bouts Of Eugh...

Ever have one of those days? The ones where you wake up feeling less-than-optimal, and just kind of slowly deteriorate throughout the day?

Yeah. It's been one of those here. Only replace "less-than-optimal" with "like you swallowed a whole package of golf balls."

And the best part? I've been working on my bedroom all day while feeling like this. And I'm still not done. I think I may just give up for the night, and finish up sometime tomorrow.

Weather.com Drops the Ball

I don't know why, but ever since Weather.com updated their site to its newest version, they've been really inaccurate when it comes to reporting our weather. Before, they used to be spot-on with the current weather, but now... not so much.

For example? Right now, it's darkly overcast, pouring rain, and thundering. Weather.com's report? Says it's "partly cloudy" and that "locations nearby are reporting thunderstorms."

Ahah... no.

I used to rely on you, Weather.com. And then you just had to go and drop the ball...

Wild Weather

I just stepped outside, and whoa, that is one wicked-looking storm front bearing down on us. Pitch-dark, scud clouds, a very visible shelf on the leading edge... it's all making me quite nervous. Here's hoping it will pass with no ill effects and be over soon...

The Mysterious Case Of the Baby Food Bomber

Well, okay, so no actual bombs have been involved (so far, anyway.) But someone has been leaving mysterious bundles of baby food at peoples' doorsteps around my apartment complex. Boxes of baby cereal, jars of baby food... they even left a baby stroller at one of the mailbox banks.

We don't know who it is, or why they're doing it. Due to the risk of... ulterior motives, the police have been telling people to throw the mystery food away - no one wants a rash of sick or dead kids on their hands, after all.

Which leads me to this... An open letter directed to the person responsible.

"Dear Sir or Madame;

People tend to be very suspicious nowadays, especially when it comes to things that would affect their children.

Therefore, if you are trying to be a Good Samaritan... You really would be better served by simply knocking on our doors to offer your assistance. By remaining anonymous, you are only inspiring people to throw away the food you're trying to give them, which is a waste of your money and your effort, don't you think?

So, really... please, just knock next time."

I really hope that they find out who's doing this, and that no ill comes from it. Sure, the person might be trying to help, but if they are, the way they're going about it is completely wrong....

Future? What's That?

Le sigh. Sometimes, worrying about the future can be vexing.

For example, my sister and I are planning to move out of this apartment soon. Where are we moving to? We're not sure yet, but we're going to talk to mom about maybe staying at her house for a while, until we get together enough money to make our move. In the meantime, we could pitch in for food, keep the house clean, look after the animals, do laundry and yard work, etc... to make up for taking up space in her house.

Maybe I could also surprise her by getting fresh gravel for her driveway. Or sturdier fencing for her horse pastures. Or both.

Once we're out there, and things are stabilized, I'm also going to look into doing something I've wanted to do for a long time - starting a housekeeping business. Since most of the people in my old hometown are senior citizens, maybe I could get a few who would want me to come around once a week to do some cleaning and light yard work. I would start off light, naturally, with 5-10 customers, and work up to taking care of more once I had my own place. Sure, it would be the equivalent to a full-time job, but... it would be the equivalent to a full-time job, and I would be the boss. And who wouldn't want that, right?

But I'll think more seriously on those things once I go to cross that bridge. They're still nebulous and tentative now, and I'm a bit leery of making concrete plans just yet...