I actually wrote my review for Mass Effect 3 several weeks ago; the day after I beat the game, in fact. However, I didn’t want to discuss it until I dragged myself out of my hole and wrote the review for the strategy guide, as well, that’s kind of the reason for this site, no?

As you can probably guess, I absolutely loved every minute of Mass Effect 3. 

I have always said that if a Mass Effect game could have the story and RPG-elements of the first game and the gameplay of the second, it would be a perfect game. Mass Effect 3 was pretty darn close.

Overall, BioWare wove a rather realistic tale in how things really go in war preparation and execution. My husband is in the military and he served in Afghanistan back in 2002. Whenever I would tell him what was going on in my story, about how Shepard had to play politician, had to go find assets all over space, rub someone’s back so they could rub yours, etc., he consistently nodded and said, “That sounds about right.” When I came to him sad that I couldn’t save this character or that character, he said that that was just how war went. You have to make sacrifices in order to save as many as you can. There is no saving everyone, and in this aspect, BioWare hit the nail on the head. The series completely embodies this notion, across all three games.

What makes it all so great is that the game gets you to care. I found myself sobbing over so many things that culminated in ME3, no matter if it was good or bad. I laughed out loud at several comments, scenarios and even back references to things my Shepard had done in the past. I really sweated over if I was going to go back to Kaidan or stay with Garrus. How many video games can say that they have created such an engaging environment that makes players actually care about what they decide or what happens? There are others, to be sure, but it’s a small club. For this reason, it feels more fitting to say that the Mass Effect series, as a whole, is more of an experience than it is a game.

I’m not going to sit back and say that the game was perfect by any stretch of the matter. There were texture-popping issues, freezes, crashes, and really weird visual glitches. Compared to the first two games, this one came off as incredibly unpolished, which was a fairly big disappointment.

If you want to read more of what I had to say about the game, please read my review at Gaming Angels.

And now with this, I am done talking about Mass Effect 3 in terms of review. At least I’m done until the Extended Cut ending releases this summer and everyone hates that too.

I had a very hard time writing up my review for Final Fantasy XIII-2 for Gaming Angels. I had a lot of fun playing the game, but the story never grabbed me. JRPGs are always a little hard to swallow, but this one never once connected for me, even after the big reveal of what is really going on. So I don’t rage all over again over here, here’s a sample of what I wrote:

Let’s just get this out of the way: the story is awful. For starters, I couldn’t stop seeing the similarities between this and Final Fantasy X. Tidus was sent to future to save the past. This story’s protagonist, Noel Kreiss, was sent to the past to save the future. Noel even looks like a hybrid between Tidus and Yuna. And here’s another similarity for you: Noel is a Guardian tasked with protecting the Seeress. Sounds too familiar, doesn’t it? Unlike FFX, however, Noel and Serah jump back and forth time at a fairly regular basis.

And here’s why that is so. Instead of the ending we all remember from Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning was snatched away by the goddess Etro, making everyone believe that she is part of the crystal pillar holding up Cocoon with Fang and Vanille. Only Serah remembers her standing there with everyone else, laughing and giving Snow and Serah her blessing. Lightning is in Valhalla, fighting forces of Chaos on behalf of the goddess. (Sound like Dissidia, anyone?) She sends Noel, the last living human from the future, to Serah, to bring Serah to Valhalla and save the future. Of course, Noel and Serah can’t just go straight back to Valhalla; they have to jump all over the timeline to find the way back. And while they’re there, they might as well solve any problems they find, right? The story is exactly as weak as it sounds, and it even dares to end with a “TO BE CONTINUED” like it’s a Back to the Futurefilm. So yes, there will either be a Final Fantasy XIII-3 or lots of DLC. Either way, it means that they sold an incomplete game.

That said, I do admit that I have gone back to play some more of FFXIII-2, so I can see the alternate endings and basically go trophy hunting. The sidequests were the best part of the game, so I’m happy to get all the satisfaction I can from them. Not to mention, I’m trophy hunting a little too. I know I won’t get a platinum just because I refuse to finish one particular fragment quest, but there are plenty of other gold and silver trophies to be had.

My trophy hunting aside, I cannot recommend anyone buy this game, even if you loved Final Fantasy XIII. Borrow or rent. If the “TO BE CONTINUED” aspect doesn’t scare you off and you love the story, then buy it. If you’re iffy about anything else, save your money. Ye has been warned.

Old game is old, blah blah blah, but it’s new to me, dammit! Since I’ve gotten into shooters, I’ve really wanted to sample a bit of everything. I also wanted to see first-hand what Colin Moriarty loves so much about it.

I’ll say one thing: the story is what makes the game. Yes, the idea of people getting infected and becoming zombie-like is nothing new. Halo pretty much started that route with shooters, and then Gears of War 3 took it, and I could go on forever with other examples. But what makes the story of Resistance so unique is that it is historically based. In fact, it takes a cue from something that was suspected post-WWII. The Chimera were born from Russian labs while they were developing a secret weapon after World War II, which is actually something that both FDR and Winston Churchill believed was going on. They were convinced–and most likely with good reason–that Stalin was developing a bio-weapon that would help the USSR take over the world. In the world of Resistance, it kind of did, but not in the way Stalin envisioned.

And that’s kind of where the fun stopped for me. The gameplay was standard fare, with nothing earth-shatteringly new, but I had to remind myself that this was a very early PS3 title. Of course I’m going to see things that have already been done. However, I didn’t like some of the horror elements that were thrown in. It reminded me a lot of the first Gears of War game, and I was not a fan of little monsters jumping out of dark corners when everything is quiet.

I also didn’t really like the main character, Nathan Hale. I get that he’s infected and is therefore a bit tormented, but he was so boring. Rarely talked. Compared to Hale, Master Chief is the king of eloquence. Cartwright is constantly talking to him when they team up, so why couldn’t Hale offer some returning banter? Or what about the woman lieutenant whom I cannot remember her name? He never once responded to anything she said, and she yammered at him more than Cortana from Halo. I need a little more from my main characters.

But am I going to continue with Resistance 2? Yeah, I am. I have this thing about seeing things through–how else did I finish Twilight series (and I’m not proud of it)–and well, I have the game. Plus, I’m going to need something actiony and shooty to play while working on Final Fantasy XIII-2. But yeah, I can’t recommend it to anyone else. So far, the Xbox reigns when it comes to exclusive shooters.

I just realized that I never wrote up my thoughts on Battlefield 3 over here; there’s only my review on Gaming Angels. The game has been out for awhile, and while I strongly urge everyone to read my review on GA, I feel the need to share a little of what I think here. It won’t take very long.

Battlefield 3 was my first “real” first-person shooter since the days of Doom II on the PC when I was in college. I was nervous that it would be a rough experience, but I was able to slide into it rather easily. Once I shook off the nervous feeling, I started to have fun. That was sadly short-lived.

BF3 is one of the most unbalanced games I’ve ever played, probably second to Arc Rise Fantasia. It constantly switched from being boring to being hair-pulling frustrating and back in nanoseconds. Same goes for the story. It initially had me, and then I would drop interest in the next chapter. And then I would get intrigued again, just to drop out in the next scene or so.

Not to mention, the ending was a complete let-down, in both story and gameplay.

BF3 should have been a multiplayer-only game. That is where it excelled, it’s not boring, and the gameplay never gets stale. The biggest problem there is learning how to fly a helicopter without a camper blowing you up with a rocket launcher. I still hate helicopters.