In Defense of Mass Effect

In a previous post I commented on not having played BioWare's latest release, Mass Effect. Recently, I had (am having) the opportunity to correct that having borrowed it from a friend. I was planning on writing a sort of review of this game while being in the middle of it anyways, but ever since I saw the Fox News report about Mass Effect, I have wanted to write this even more.

I will say very bluntly that there I harbor little respect for Fox News. They hold no actual journalistic integrity as their so-called "reports" are merely re-processed information from various surveys that have been pre-packaged with opinions. These opinions are usually less-than-savory and find ways to argue against what most people would consider "common sense" properly understood: a set of basic pragmatic ideas that allow the world to function through the acceptance of compromise. Fox News, instead of finding "news" even stoops low enough to discard any hope of compromise (not in a political, partisan-hackery sense; in a pure and simple social sense) and embrace the spirit of endless criticism. Now, I'm all for debate strengthening the integrity of a subject or concept, but there's always a threshold. Individuals able to think for themselves would be the easy solution to correcting the sway that Fox News has on the general public, but in a world that lives paycheck-to-paycheck and is concerned with the bottom line, that's not always possible. Anyways, enough about Fox News and the system they've played upon to ensure their longevity, turning to the report.

In Fux News' report, they alleged that there was a sex scene with full nudity and it was able to be fully controlled by the player. This statement is as incorrect as it is uninformed. It is easy to jump on the bandwagon, much like the "psychologist" does when asked what she feels about the game, and regurgitate numbers of surveys that prove that men have hormones, and unfortunately, that's just what happens. A member of the gaming community is opposite her and addresses the claims that both she and the Fux News host are claiming. He has played the game, he knows the situations in the game. To reinforce his position, the sex scene does not, as most people know due to leakage of the sex scene's footage on YouTube and other popular video hosting sites, show anything past a partially naked alien butt and alien side-boob. Additionally, it is quite tricky actually accomplishing the "romance subplot" and occurs no sooner than about 15-20 hours into the game. It is blatantly apparent that Fux News wants to comment on the "Lesbian" nature of the sexual encounter, but knows that they don't have a strong enough case, so they jump back on harassment of a game, a game that's rated appropriately and deserves, beyond anything, immense praise.

Mass Effect is more than an RPG, it's a world. A world that spans the confines of the Milky Way and forces us to challenge what we conventionally think about Science Fiction by building the occurrences in a completely rational and believable light. This is bolstered by the Codex of Commander Shepherd, the player-controlled main character of the game. The codex weaves together information about what is seen and what is inferred in this extremely compelling plot. Codex entries range from technical information about somewhat plausible theories of space travel to the evolving meta-political situation with regards to humans, other races of aliens, and a confederation which serves as the "United Nations" of most of the "civilized" galaxy. Even these concepts, whether the authority of the confederation should be taken into account not only are pervasive throughout the political story woven through the codex, but factor into decisions made by the player in real-time. Mass Effect is so compelling as a storyline, that it becomes a philosophy; it becomes, in some ways, a normative look at humanity's future and in others warnings based on human decision theory.

Decision theory actually becomes a large part of the gameplay. The player is asked to choose between several options during everything ranging from normal conversations to stand-offs, their response determines not only the course of action taken in any given situation, but in the entire game. To compare this with other games that have allowed users to make decisions revolving around whether to "diffuse situations without violence or draw a weapon and let the bullets speak for themselves" is a complete disservice to the game. It's so much more than that, and in the process, it manages to capture a good representation of the human essence. Returning to the "romance subplot," although it may seem a bit strange in the course of the plot, it is nonetheless compelling as an actual relationship; contrary to what everyone has heard about this game, it's not just sex, it's an actual bond thats forged between two people. The videogame advocate was so right when he stated that Mass Effect should be the standard for how videogames portray intimacy because it rejects the conventional "women-as-objects" stereotypes - something that the psychologist would have probably embraced had she played or even seen footage of how the relationship plays out in the context of the struggle for survival (as it were, she merely responded something witty and "intelligent" to the degree of "I let the numbers do the talking for me.")

Given that, I'm completely immersed in the environment, which is far more detailed and rich than most anything encountered, and if not, at least far more compelling. Honestly, aside from a few very basic logical miscues and some almost insignificant game flaws (most of them are barely even noticable,) it is, for sure, one of the best games I've ever played... and I'm not even finished with it! I have to say, if you're a fan of Battlestar Galactica or Firefly or any other somewhat compelling Sci-Fi series and you're prone to stay up late watching to see what happens next, pick up a copy of this game... but don't rush through it. This game is best enjoyed savored.

That being said, I'll probably have more to say after I've finished the game, which shouldn't be too long now.

-B$ out

Beer! The Brews I sampled while on vacation

I'm going to try to keep this as organized and as short as possible... but there's really not going to be any order aside from which beers come to mind... hopefully I'll keep it organized by brewery. To make this list, either myself or my girlfriend would have had to drink one of these beers.


Dogfish Head
-Raison D'Extra
-Chateau Jiahu

Pyramid Breweries
-Pyramid Hefeweizen
-Pumpkin Ale

Chimay
-Red (Premiere)
-Blue (Gran Reserve)
-White (Cinq Cents)

Boston Brewing Company
-Sam Adams Black Lager
-Sam Adams Triple Bock
-Sam Adams Winter Lager
-Sam Adams Cherry Wheat

New Holland Brewing Company
-Dragonsmilk Ale

Bell's Brewing Company
-Batch 8000
-Two Hearted Ale
-Oberon Ale
-Winter White Ale
-Java Stout

Fletcher Street Brewing Company (Alpena, MI)
-Celebration Ale (Growler)
-Maple Porter (Growler)
-Thunder Bay Bock (Growler)
-Lumber Lager Red

Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales
-Calabaza Blanca Witbier

Great Lakes Brewing Company
-Burning River Ale

Brouwerij Huyghe
-Delirium Nocturnum
-Delirium Tremens

Spaten Brewery
-Spaten Premium Lager
-Spaten Optimator

Hoegaarden Brewery
-Hoegaarden Ale

Rogue Brewery
-Juniper Ale
-Mocha Porter

Goose Island Brewing Company
-Bourbon County Stout
-Oatmeal Stout

Lexington Brewing Company
-Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale

Sapporo Brewery
-Sapporo Reserve

Ridgeway Brewing Company
-Insanely Bad Elf Ale

St. Peter's Brewing Company
-St.Peter's Cream Stout

Belhaven Brewing Company
-Belhaven Scottish Ale

Moorhouse Brewing Company
-Black Cat Ale

Paulaner Brewing Company
-Paulaner Salvator Doppelbock

Breckenridge Brewing Company
-Vanilla Porter

Hieniken Brewing Company
-Hieniken Lager

Magners Brewing Company
-Bulmer's Irish Cider