...I would be playing Mass Effect right now and moving onto the last major mission in the game after spending about 28 hours playing it already but NOOOO. My 360 decides that it's time to start freezing because I've been playing it for 6 hours straight.

It's obvious that this thing was not designed for gamers like me, who sit down and spend multiple hours on end playing the console into the wee hours of the morning. It froze once when loading with the rapid transit between the Markets and Chora's Den in the Wards and then after I restarted it froze again. So I decided to give it a break for a little while even though I am ready and willing to continue on in the game and frustrated that so near to the end (AFAIK) that I am forced to stop.

I really hope this isn't a sign of the red lights coming on already. I've had the thing for not even two weeks. It's a pain in the ass when my games freeze and it only makes me really angry. I've had a game freeze on my slim PS2 maybe once, I don't ever really remember it happening (it happened on my fat one at every second chance it got).

I still don't understand how Microsoft has not dealt with this inherent issue with the console, nearly three years after it's release.

I got rocked, hard. Sure, I'm a newb to the SHMUP genre and shouldn't take it so seriously considering that the game is considered one of the "more difficult" ones in the genre... but JEBUS! I just cannot understand how they can make a game so hard and how I even thought I could consider myself "hardcore" before playing a game like this let alone Radiant Silvergun (which I now need to get considering how absolutely orgasmic Ikaruga is and that I have a Saturn with an action replay).

I can get to the second boss on "Easy" pretty easily but then I just get my face ground into the pavement. I first tried it on Normal considering that's what I start most games on but no, it decides to rock me even harder. And then there is a "hard" difficulty on top of that... which blows my mind considering how all enemies return fire regardless of polarity and even on easy where they don't, I have trouble even getting to the second of five bosses.

It is an absolutely fantastic game and probably one of the best entry points into the SHMUP genre I can get pretty easily.

There definitely needs to be more of it.

Over the past couple years I've played several games that have attempted to re-create realistic romance between characters and barely have I found one that does it well enough to be considered "great." But many of them have been good and quite refreshing.

Max Payne and Mona Sax (Max Payne, of course). They do care for each other even if they show it in odd ways. It is understandable that there isn't much development between them considering the context of the game's story. Still it leaves a lot to be desired but overall one of the best and most realistically depicted romances.

Wander and Mono (Shadow of the Colossus). Another decent attempt if cliched. Wander loves Mono (and assuming Mono loves Wander), Mono has an accursed fate, Wander breaks into the Forbidden Lands and attempts to use the Forbidden Power to return her soul to her body and resurrect her. Still, a little stereotypical and lacks inter-character dialogue. Heart-warming, but nothing special.

Bastila Shan and the player character (Knights of the Old Republic). Even though the end result of their relationship is nothing short of craptacular they do form a bond between them in a quite realistic manner, if the player so chooses. One of the better examples I can think of yet still it falls very short.

The Doom Guy and his Shotgun (Doom)... err... umm... yeah... that's quite the love affair... >_>

Carla Valenti and Marcus Kane (Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy). Again, not much development between the two of them but one the whole it is another "realistic" one even if it is quite unreasonable.

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Now moving past past examples and onto the topic at hand. Mass Effect and the romance sub-plot between Shepard and Liara (mild spoilers are to come).

I've not made it far into the game let alone into any of the character sub-plots (as far as I know) but there are two things so far that have struck me in particular about those two so-far, one bad and one good. The good thing being, it is pretty much the most realistic and "down-to-Earth" development of feelings between two game characters I have ever seen so far in gaming. They talk about themselves to each other, they share their pasts and problems and how it effects them and they genuinely show compassion and affection towards each other.

However, as far as I've gotten into the sub-plot it hasn't taken long nor has it seen much "development" of feelings towards the two characters. Liara at one point talks about the Asari culture and the misconceptions about them being promiscuous because of their ability to "meld" genetically with any race or gender and both her and Shepard share their pasts and family issues. Then right after that conversation, Liara jumps into a speech about her caring deeply about Shepard beyond just his connection to the Protheans and that quickly jumps into them confessing their feelings for each other and both desiring a physical connection be made.

I don't like complaining about it since it's the best I've seen so far but there really was never any point at which either one of them actually showed any subtle signs of developing feelings for the other one. It feels really "rushed." It was just "oh yeah, I forgot, I find you very attractive and think we should meld our genetics and bond" (in other words "let's ****"). It does feel genuine and realistic though, in my eyes, even if they jump far too quickly into confessing their attraction and feelings for each other.

There was one thing that Liara did mention that sold me on the romance though and that was her discussing the Asari philosophy and relation to their always outliving their partners due to their average age of a millennium. She said that even though they will always outlive their partners and the loss is devastating, they strive to make the most of the time they have with them and make it as fulfilling as possible. That was something I really wasn't expecting coming from a game touted for it's sex scene used to appeal to 13 year-old males.

Of course, all of this culminates in the infamous alien sex scene and I am quite interested in how it turns out considering the realism of the, albeit brief, development between the two of them. From what little I have read about the game's romances is that there can be a love triangle fraught with conflict between you, Liara and Ashley... it seems intriguing only if Ashley weren't so pretentious and conceited. And so far, it is one of the only "great" romances in gaming.

Now that I am the commanding officer of the Normandy and am free to travel anywhere in the galaxy it has hit me. This is the game I have been looking for all my life. It may not be as in-depth as I would want it to be but it has everything that I want. I keep muttering to myself while playing that "this is one of the best games I have ever played in my life" and I've not played more than four hours so far.

I literally cannot describe how I am feeling. This is exactly the game I've been wanting to play ever since I started gaming. I just started exploring my first planet (Edolus of the Sparta system in the Artemis Tau cluster) and I said to myself "this is what I want in a game." I must be weird because I find exploring the dull, dusty and desolate surface of the uncharted world of Edolus and discovering what little secrets it holds to be utterly fascinating. While most people complain about it being "tedious and boring" I am having one of the most incredible gaming experiences of my life. This is exactly what part of science fiction interests me the most, (another reason why I enjoy Star Trek) exploration and discovery.

I cannot wait to explore every planet, read about all their technical specifications and get deeper into this astounding game. KotOR was great but this is BioWare's defining moment. I cannot believe I did not play this game when it first came out. It is still far too early to tell but so far it is looking like there will be another 360 game in my top-5 list and it will be pushing out Vampire: TMB as "best role-playing game." And I haven't even really delved into the role-playing aspect yet.

I should stop typing, the exploration of Edolus must continue and the source of the automated distress beacon must be found.

Definitely wasn't a great choice on my part. Hopefully I will be able to ration time between it and Persona 3.

As with most fantastic Western role-playing games, Mass Effect is no different than past incarnations of great foundational RPG's. It starts out by giving the player a large part in choosing what kind of character they want to be as well as giving them the ability to make a unique looking character on top of that. Well, as with most RPG's that give me choice I ended up using it... it took me 30 minutes to make my character and even then I wasn't completely satisfied with how his face turned out. I am a male Colonist who became a War Hero and now works as a Soldier. I wanted my first time through to be simple and straightforward, I just want to shoot stuff.

I chose to play as a male this time instead of a female like I have done on many occasions in the past with games like KotOR because I wanted my first experience with the game to be as immersive as possible. I have been expecting since I learned about the game to become fully engrossed in the world and with the characters.

Now onto my first couple hours of playing (just Eden Prime). When I first was on the Normandy talking to a number of characters I was reminded very much of KotOR and can tell this is very much a BioWare game. However, unlike KotOR the dialogue choices make more sense and are less "black and white" between moral standings... which I like. The two KotOR games were too double-faceted instead of multi-faceted in terms of choice. I didn't want to be evil or good, I just wanted to be a balancing force in the Star Wars galaxy. I can tell that this game's role-playing is right up my alley, very similar and along the lines of Vampire: TMB.

Again, I've been missing out on these fantastic visuals for far too long. Even on my SD CRT 480i television the game looks utterly fantastic. First setting foot on Eden Prime made my jaw drop. I have noticed a few hitches and performance drops but nothing that is detrimental. Also there is the texture pop-in which is reminiscent of the UE3 engine (is Mass Effect based on UE3?). Like in BioShock I just had to deal with it, even though it made the game at times look much less appealing it goes away eventually (and at least in ME, much faster than BioShock, which at times took 30-40 seconds). It's the price I have to pay for such a fantastic looking game and if it is an inherent problem with the engine, I am betting the problem is no better with the PC version.

Now to the combat. This game is EXACTLY what I have been looking for in a shooter for a LONG time. Exactly. I cannot stress this enough. It is not only a tactical shooter but also a role-playing game with character statistics and skills that help make combat less tedious and more varied. It may be a damn good role-playing game but to me, it's a damn good shooter as well.

Combine that with the fact that it is science fiction, exactly the kind of science fiction that appeals to me, the realistic kind that takes what we already know about science and molds things around it instead of coming up with crazy "magic" like in Star Wars (The Force, although cool, isn't very realistic). It's one reason I actually enjoy Star Trek is because of the realistic science behind the technology.

I think I've found a Western role-playing game that will easily give Vampire: TMB a run for it's money. If the actual role-playing and character development holds out, the combat will easily put it over Vampire since it isn't buggy and extremely clunky like TMB. It is fun and dare I say it, intuitive. I spent more time getting used to the controls in Gears of War than I did Mass Effect.

It was both a good and bad idea that I started the game. Bad because I will have a hard time finishing Persona 3 but good that I have a very high-quality title to follow up my spree of Dead Rising. Speaking of which, I think I will put it on hold for now so I can dedicate more time to Persona 3 and Mass Effect. I would like to continue playing it but if I play it anymore, it will only become tedious and less enjoyable. Like with most games, it's good to know when to stop.

I think I probably should have got a 360 around the time ME came out. Not that it isn't good to play it now, I just was liking the look of the game and now that I have played it, I regret not getting it when it came out.

And yes, the infamous sex scene is obviously in the back of my mind as I am sure it was for every heterosexual male who plays the game. A game with realistic romance is always welcome in my repertoire. There are too many games these days that don't include it in character development even though it plays a massive role in most people's lives.

I just keep adding to this blog post and should stop before I turn it into an essay. Anyways, I look forward to getting deep into ME and reading about every little piece of fleshed-out detail there is. I think BioWare should have started with ME and just skipped KotOR altogether. This is truly a "role-playing" game. Something Nintnedo should look at if they ever decide to make a Metroid RPG.

Dead Rising on the Wii.

My first response is: "Why?"

Why put a game that was designed from the ground up for the 360 onto a piece of hardware not fully capable of rendering the true vision of said game? I'm no Xbot but this just doesn't make any sense to me. Dead Rising, from what I have experienced, is about taking down massive hoards of zombies while traversing a picturesque "middle-of-America" mall and recording the events of said outbreak.

Now don't get me wrong, the game could look great on the Wii, like Prime 3 and Mario Galaxy do (or even Resident Evil 4), but there is something that just wouldn't work and that is the massive amounts of zombies on screen all at one time. The Wii is capable of producing wonderful looking games but I seriously doubt it is capable of supporting both a good-looking game AND lots of on-screen action at one time. The one thing I personally love about DR is the fact I can go into the underground maintenance tunnels and crush a sea of wall-to-wall zombies under the tires of my car without a performance hit.

On all the screens released so far for this new and inferior Wii version there has been no more than 25 zombies in the picture. In the 360 version, you can go to any large and open place in the mall (Paradise Plaza, North Plaza, Wonderland Plaza, Entrance Plaza, etc) and see at least 100 of the walking dead sauntering their way around the mall, wherever you point your camera. Heck, if the Wii version cannot support even 50 zombies on-screen at once, there will be no difficulty at all unless they make it "one-hit-kills" or there is enough pop-in to make even those who are not epileptic have seizures.

This is exactly what shouldn't be done with games these days. You make a well-designed game that has a certain formula that requires certain hardware power, you don't just go and put it on something that cannot support it. It would be like putting one of the PC Total War games onto the 360 or PS3... it just wouldn't work and would ruin what makes the games great.

Call me bitter or call me a fanboy but at least don't tell me I am wrong... because I am not. This picture alone proves it...