Mass Effect 3 Review

The original Mass Effect was one of the reasons I got an Xbox 360 back in 2007. I enjoyed the game and it was one of the first games I can remember actually finishing all the way through without getting bored and moving on to other things. Now with Mass Effect 3 (ME3) from BioWare, I have just completed a trilogy of games.

ME3 begins with you making the decision to either play multiplayer missions or the single player game. If you choose single player, you will then have the chance to either import your Commander Shepard from Mass Effect 2 or go with a new Shepard (there is an achievement for completing the game 2 times or once with an imported Shepard as incentive). After your choice, you get to spend time tweaking your Shepard (male or female) to look however you want. After that you are thrown into the struggle as you find Shepard being called into a meeting to discuss the Reapers just when the Reaper invasion hits Earth. After escaping, the rest of the game is about trying to stop the Reapers and taking back Earth, which will require a lot of help from wherever you can find it.

I enjoyed ME3 immensely. For any fan of the franchise and of Shephard’s journey to stop the Reapers, it hits all of the right notes. The addition of Kinect voice commands adds to the immersion factor and takes some of the play-stopping controls out of the mix when interacting with squad members. Though I will say one of my dogs didn’t enjoy the number of times I yelled “First Aid!” at my TV. The cover-based combat is easy enough for those who aren’t skilled with shooter games, but deep enough to be fun if you are skilled. Of course the story is also great along the way with highs and lows, twists and turns.

All of the characters you have come to know and love are here (unless they died in a previous installment of the trilogy and you imported your character). In many ways, the entirety of ME3 is a farewell to the series as there are many instances where you come across characters you helped (or stopped) in the previous Mass Effect games and they remind you of the good ol’ days before the Reaper invasion. It isn’t necessary to have played the other two games in the series, but it will add depth and make you connect with the characters even more.

There are a couple of things that you should be aware of, some good and some not as good. The multiplayer part of the game does play a part in your single player campaign. As you play multiplayer missions, you will raise the galactic readiness of the military troops fighting the Reapers, which seems to help determine how hard the final missions of the game will be. Take some time to play at least a few multiplayer missions, they are fun even if it takes some time to get used to combat only focus and working together with other human players. One drawback to the game is the number (and duration) of loading screens. Ttravel from one system to another? Loading screens. Go from one level of the Citadel to another? Loading screens. Travel from one deck to another on the Normandy? You got it, loading screens.

As repetitive and time consuming as the loading screens are, they can’t detract from Mass Effect 3 being a great game – both for single and multiplayer. There have been complaints about the ending, but I was satisfied. After almost 40 hours of single player campaign and another 5 – 10 of multiplayer, I felt I definitely got value for my money. Mass Effect 3 is a fitting end to the Mass Effect trilogy, which I give five Mick Happies. Go save the galaxy, soldier.

The Riyria Revelations Review

After a bit of a hiatus, here is a review of The Riyria Revelations by Michael J. Sullivan. The Riyria Revelations were originally published as a six book fantasy series by Ridan Publishing (owned by Sullivan and his wife). The books were later picked up by Orbit publishing and released as Theft of Swords (November 2011), Rise of Empire (December 2011) and Heir of Novron (January 2012). Each volume contains two of the original novels.

The Riyria Revelations cover the story of Royce Melborne and Hadrian Blackwater, two thieves collectively known as the Riyria. We are first introduced to them as they ride toward their latest job, they are thieves for hire taking on different assignments, mostly for the nobility. Like most fantasy series, this one starts off small and later expands to epic world-shaking proportions as the story evolves, with the main characters involved – whether they like it or not.

Royce is a typical dexterous thief capable of stealing just about anything. Hadrian is the strong arm of the two and carries three swords, which he is very skilled at using when the need arises. I enjoyed the banter between the two characters, which had the feel of two people who spent a lot of time together in sticky situations. There is obviously a lot of history between the two that happened before the start of the first book and the reader learns more about some of that history along the way.

The world of the book has many of the staples of fantasy, elves – though they are treated as near slaves and outcasts, dwarves – also in servitude to humans and not allowed their own lands, humans and the Ba Ran Ghazel (goblins).  Elan is mainly a collection of human kingdoms inhabiting a land that previously was united as an Empire under Novron, the son of one of the gods. Factions are at work in the background trying to reform the Empire and this political maneuvering is part of the backdrop for the series (as the titles of the later books would indicate).

One of the drawbacks in the book would be that the banter feels a little too modern for the fantasy setting and may take you out of the story a little. There are also times where the development of some of the characters seems rushed. A magic user in the story thinks about how something might be done and then a few scenes later is doing it without many of the struggles you might expect. However, there are enough twists and turn and fun along the way to make these easy enough to overlook.

I purchased the series through iTunes, got to love iTunes gift cards, and at $9.99 each, I thought the price was well worth it for essentially two novels in each book.  It is also a major bonus that the story is already finished – no waiting for the next book here. I give The Riyria Revelations 3 Mick Happies. If you want to try it out, download a prequel short story, The Viscount and the Witch, for free from the author’s website and enjoy. Samples of the books are also available on Mr. Sullivan’s website here.