Wednesday, December 29, 2010

That was a joke, Shephard

       Machines can be difficult. Just this last week several computers have come in with motherboard failures and a few loaded with viruses. In fact, we see Windows blue-screens and internal errors on a regular basis. Cars don't start, remotes run out of batteries, and those nasty Reapers are threatening to destroy the entire galaxy and use us as some kind of biofuel. Machines.
       If subtle advances from an omniscient and ancient technological evil weren't enough the ships computer has recently opted to have a sense of humor.

Joker: So I have to go crawling through the vents again?
EDI: Yes. I enjoy nothing more than seeing humans on their knees.
Joker:....
EDI:That was a joke. Jeff.

       Poor Joker (Jeff) has faced the brunt of it. You see, as a helmsman for one of the most sophisticated and advanced ships in the galaxy he is in charge when I am away. Yes, I am the captain. During an invasion when all the regular fighting personnel have gone on a walk-about he finds himself, glass bones and all, faced with stemming a full fledged alien attack. Crew members and familiar faces are plucked away for use as organic ooze while Joker slips about with a hunch and a limp to the AI core so that the machine, EDI, can be difficult to the right people. "But if you start singing Daisy May..."
       Machines join the group, machines gain intelligence, machines kill, machines save lives. Some machines go rogue, others are just built that way.   Machines machines. The decisions start to gray out when this artificial intelligence, cognizant and opinionated, can be rewritten. Is this brainwashing a species? One only has two options to obliterate them all or rewrite. We don't reprogram humans, but can one really compare? I'll let you all decide.
       The moral dilemmas in Mass Effect 2 are often multi-tiered and difficult. Decisions need to be made and if you are a gamer like me these decisions can be extremely difficult. The game, thankfully, makes it slightly easier by adding a simple measuring device. Conversation options on the top of the ring are generally good (Paragon) and on the bottom become evil (Renegade) with the indecisive middle gaining you neither, a dangerous method to play the game. Fence sitters will lose team members and end situations destructively in many cases. A large price to pay for a little piece of mind; and, the game makes these characters matter. These are the people you help, laugh with, and even argue with. A father reunites with his son, sisters bond, home is secured, A nameless being finds purpose, and a 400 year witch-hunt comes to an epic finish, all because of you, and that is only a scratch on the surface. The lives you touch for better (or horribly worse as you may) resonate on emotional and intellectual levels that will entertain book lovers, thinkers, and moralists everywhere. Mass Effect 2 is a game of choice up to the very last moments. And, it is a game of consequence, some of which can be stifling and shocking. It is a dark game full of plenty of vices (Strong language, blood, and sexual themes to name a few), but in such darkness one can shine the brightest of all.
        A world of great sci-fi and beauty, I invite all those of proper sentiment, morality, and maturity to drift into space from the first game (much more family friendly) to the shadowy and epic sequel. Enjoy.

Monday, December 20, 2010

The choices we make

     We are all very aware of our ability to choose in life, but in the media that choice is grossly limited. It usually comes down to 'will we watch this movie, or not?' Editing seems irrelevant as a story will not shape itself well around what you have cremated so a movie is a movie and music is music. But, something delightful exists in the world of games.
     Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Jade Empire, Arcanum, Baldur's gate, Planescape: Torment, Oblivion, Bioshock, and more. All games that offer the ability to choose (more or less) in very moral, dynamic, difficult, or no-brainer ways. Now, let me put this very plainly. In these games you can be very, very wicked. The whole foray is offered in many of these games from murder to sex, but this also means you have the most appealing and heart-felt moments doing good as well.
    As a paragon in Mass Effect I talked a young lady out of suicide, promoted inter-alien kindness and forbearance, stopped a young man from foolishly joining a dangerous mission, and helped a delusional man return to his family. In fact in my entire gaming career I have stood up for honesty, morality, love (not lust), patience, mercy, God, independence, responsibility, kindness, forgiveness, diligence, loyalty, and almost every other virtue imaginable. And? the effects were wonderful. These were moments that left you thinking, applying, and desiring good in your own life. The decisions at times were hard with long running consequences on the line. And, sometimes these decisions were downright tempting, but dangerous; the effects irreversible in the game and in this life (Yes, that Witches Gone Wild achievement will forever be inscribed in my account).
    This ability to decide helps us choose in our own private imaginations and they let us shine in a world of darkness as a symbol and reminder to ourselves, that there is good in this life. I salute all games that bring with them thought, decision, and true good in the form of imagination. They do contain horrors (Oh truly they do), but as always in life we are free not only to avoid, but to remove and eventually heal them. Inspiring, moving, fulfilling, may we all make the hard decisions in our very own microcosms. Happy creating to you in all of your worlds.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

"...Like butter over too much bread."

         I have been spread a little thin. I am currently playing: Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic, Half-Life 2 (For the umpteenth time), Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age: Ultimate Edition, Sacred: Gold, and reacquainting myself with why I don't necessarily adore Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. I am also hopelessly glued to Plants VS. Zombies. Reasoning and detailed elaboration will follow.
        First, let me wow you all with my very-budget gaming machine. My point being someone may game the latest without murdering their bank account. Now, I have heard it said that the human eye can only register 30 Frames Per Second (FPS) on a computer screen (give or take). With that in mind consider this: the lowest and most meager of graphical cards (the gamers catalyst) will easily cost the affordable $50 to $60 dollars and manage most of your games (even Crysis at gorgeous and playable levels) and pull off that frame rate. Power gamers (the ones who buy pricey graphical cards), of course, aren't satisfied with two things: having fat wallets, and 30 frame rates per second. Most of the cards they will spend their $120 and up on will provide far beyond the desired frame rates at ridiculous visual values. Let me state then that I am a power gamer. A very very poor power gamer who is cleverly disguised as a 'budget gamer.'
        
         The specs: 2.9 Ghz AMD Athlon 2 X2 True Dual Core processor.
                          3.5 Gigabytes of 533 DDR2 RAM.
                          One 250 Gigabyte Seagate 7200 Hard Disk Drive (HDD).
                          585W (Watt) Power supply by ORION.
                          $40 Cooler Master Case (And Orange!)
                          Used PATA DVD RW drive (Why get more in this wonderful digital age?)
                          And my glorious $60 EVGA Nvidia Geforce GT 220 Video Card with 1 Gigabyte of          GDDR3 Memory. Mmmmm.

         Age of Wonders is a beautiful fantasy turn based strategy game. The overland map is filled with teeming wild life and plants, mysterious ruins, and mythical creatures. The game itself is reminiscent of Heroes of Might and Magic, Master of Magic, and Disciples: Dark Prophecy, all wrapped into one with a dash of the classic board game Risk thrown in. You play an immensely powerful wizard king (or queen) with a variety of elemental schools to choose from (focus or mix and match).  You seek to unite the land either under your flag or through establishing allies. I have to admit that the diplomacy has seen little use from me as I am still getting down the basics, but the game play is soothing and still retains that 'just-one-more-turn' draw. There are always spells to be researched, darkness to explore, and cities to manage and grow. This is the latest edition in the franchise and features a remarkable random map generator so every scenario can be a new and drawn out experience. It is quite detailed too! The creatures and races are abundant. 10+ races with unique traits and powers, 6 elements of magic plus the mysterious Cosmo (mix and match) class, and plenty of quests and options. This game should run fine on nearly any modern computer (netbooks included) and the moral quality is wonderful, just avoid some of the more skimpy wizard portraits or enter your own picture if it bothers you (those scanty sorceress types never last long anyhow).
        Ohhhhh Half Life 2. Ours has been an off and on relationship. I still hail it as the king and conqueror of the first-person shooter world. The game is a battle between the resistant forces of, well, you (Gordon Freeman, a physicist with a crowbar), and the communistic and extremely conservative tyrannous Combine. They take away homes, the ability to have children,  and ultimately want to turn everyone into zombies or worse (ZOMBINE!). The game is presented cinematically yet without a single cut-scene (except for the moments when you are on the ground looking up, helpless). You feel as if the world revolves around you and your actions as a super MIT Alumni. You start out humble and by the end truly feel like you have become capable and ingenious in every way. A powerful experience in the gaming world. The game is a shooter and is gorgeous. This means that it can be quite gruesome. Minor swearing dots the game, nothing used in the extreme vulgar, and blood and violence are always apparent.
         Half Life 2 does an excellent job at making you, the silent hero, take on your own persona and still feel heroic, noble, and the right sort of fellow to save the world. The characters also need to be mentioned. They make all the dark and scary horrors contrast with their brightness and innocence. Among others Alex Vance, the game's female protagonist and personal companion for the player throughout much of it, is a delight. You will be taken with the first smile.The game will run on a wide variety of machines, from the old to the new, but with my current budget setup it will run on all settings set to max with full anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering. Translation: crisp, clear, beautiful. Enjoy!

          Further updates will be made soon!