Mass Effect

Since the release of Mass Effect, the game has enjoyed great popularity within the RPG gamers’ community, the degree of customization granted to the player being the most prominent part of the game; in addition the story and the number of choices available and their effect on how the plot unfolds is also a very big part of what attracts gamers to this game; I can only say that Bioware did a great job with the development and plot line.

Mass Effect 2 takes place after the events of the first part of the game, due to the ability to import saved games from ME1, ME2 is effected by choices of ME1 were dead characters and living characters both effect who you meet and many events in the game. I can say that Bioware have done a very good job in linking the events of both games together. The fact that a save import is available in the upcoming ME3 can only show how many different scenarios are available and would unfold in that game, where it is possible for two people playing the game to have completely different endings and events that lead to those endings if they used saves imported from the previous games.

The story of Mass Effect is centered on Commander Shepard a human soldier who becomes the first human SPECTER (a special operative directly under the authority of the council the governing body of the greater part of the universe; though it is possible for the player to choose not to allow Shepard to become one and rather keep him/her a normal soldier) who is tracking down Seran, a Turian SPECTER Seran Arterius who appears to be attempting to destroy the universe by bringing a race of Machines called the Reapers who every specific time period after the current inhabitants reach a specific level of evolution and development, tend to destroy said universe; in the game the player collects companions in an attempt to stop Seran and the reapers from carrying out their plan.

The events of Mass Effect 2 expand on the story and answers several unanswered questions the player was faced with in the previous game; it also reveals what happened to some of the minor characters that were met in ME1; The choices made in ME1 affect how these go in ME2, for example saving the Rachnai an insect like alien race, that will result in ME2 with an emissary of their queen explaining that the rachnai wars were due to reaper interference and done against their own will, however if the player chose to kill the rachnai then the entire race is dead and there no explanations regarding the war.

When it comes to controls, the games are simple to understand and play and a short tutorial at the beginning of the game is more that good enough to explain how to play.

Graphics in the games are good and have been praised many times by different reviewers and gamers, the detail given to characters and their facial movements and expressions would put many other games to shame which is one of the main reasons Dragon Age received as much heat on the subject because of both being developed by the same people (Bioware).

The plot would win any RPG fan over and is simple to understand and easy to get attached to.

My only complaint about the series lies within ME2, which is the decrease of customizability, for the player can only change the appearance of their crew between 2 to 3 outfits depending on if a crew member’s loyalty mission has been carried out or not; and Shepard’s own appearance has a very limited amount of changes that can be done to in in terms of clothing.

In my own books the series as a whole (excluding ME3 which has not yet come out) takes a 9/10 the 1 missing because of the customization weaknesses mentioned above in ME2.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Earlier this week The Last Airbender opened in the cinemas, it is based on an Anime style cartoon which tells the story of a young boy named Aang the last of a race of humans who can manipulate (bend) air and happens to be the current incarnation of the avatar, who is the master of all four elements and the bridge between the human world and the spirit world. Thus I take this opportunity to write a review about the animated cartoon which has inspired the movie.

The story revolves around Aang who was frozen in ice for a hundred years without realizing it, a hundred years later when the ice is broken thanks to Katara and Sokka and Aang discovers that he is the last of the airbenders. Afterwards the story starts to follow his attempts in mastering the other three Elements (Water, Earth and Fire) in order to stop the Fire Nation which is waging war on the entire world.

The Story is cut in to 3 parts called books, each book named after one of the elements Aang is trying to master and in that book he begins learning the said element, book one is called Water, book two Earth and book three Fire. Each book contains at least one major war which helps the main characters to grow and mature.

there are 7 main characters that appear in all three books however an eighth joins in the second book, i found the adding of a new character in to the original group an interesting move, though sceptical about it at first the new character fit in the group perfectly, like ebony and ivory fit Dante in the DMC Games.

The story is what I would call a serious comedy, there many comic events, actions and reactions throughout the story however the main plot elements remain of a serious nature which happen to reflect a world at war with the Fire nation on one side and the Earth kingdom and water tribes on another. Some of the plot elements could be shown to reflect the current world, but that’s politics and those who wish to discuss please do.

It is the first time in a very long while that have I found an American cartoon that I thought this is worth watching, the story is enjoyable, there is a comedy, romantic factor and action, all which complement each other and make the experience enjoyable and does not boar the viewer.

It gets a 9/10 in my books, with the missing mark being on the fact that some episodes are nothing more than filler episodes.

ASDA Story

I have been trying out different Free MMORPGs over the past few months and would have to say that the one that has pulled me the most is ASDA Story, after signing up and downloading the client you get in to a fantasy world which is truly addictive.

In game you create a character who must become a hero and discover the reason behind the monsters becoming hostile and you also get to find a partner from the in game players (PCs)and become soul mates, which gives you advantages those who don't have one cannot have.

The game is fun over all, and is suitable for solo play, if you do not want to form parties with other players, however doing dungeons is next to imposable unless your level is far above the level of the dungeon.

This is a game I would give a 8/10, its a fun addictive game but it does have its boring point when leveling up and having to spend a lot of money or time travelling between cities for quests.

Fall of the Lich King

Blizzard has been providing great entertainment for its customers since a very long time and World of Warcraft has been one of its biggest successes and with every new patch a new addition to the excitment, however the newest and what is called the last patch of the Wrath of the Lich King expantion came to me with a dissapointment.

Eventhough the gamepaly has somewhat improved and the new features in the game are a good addition patch 3.3.0 comes at least to me with the greatest disspointment in the story line, i will not go into it since that will be a spoiler but i will say this many players i met have also expressed dissapointment with this storyline development, however on the upside non has shown the inclination that it would stop them from further playing the game.

Here is a link to a video in youtube that shows the ending of the storyline i talked about: watch.

Lyrical Magic

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha is an anime I recommend to anyone with an interest in anime. It tells the story of a young girl who one day rescues an injured ferret only to find out he was in fact a magician who is trying to recover magical items of immense power, called Jewel Seeds, which have by accident fell into her world. Nanoha decides to help him since he is injured and collect them in his place.

Though the general plot seems rather common for a magical girl setting however the enemies she faces are not always specifically bad, but tend to have a rather understandable reasons behind the acts they commit.

The characters are well developed in my opinion, and the plot does not have any continuity issues and there are always reasons for many occurrences in the series.

This is one of the few series that I would give an overall 10/10.

Intro

Hello and welcome to Slices' Reviews , here I review anything including movies, TV Series, Anime, Games, Manga, Books and Magazienes.

My reviews reflect my own opinions, and in the end I give you what my Honest thoughts are.

Please feel free to recomend anything to be reviewed, I'll do my best to get to them as soon as I can.

Slices out.