#This was my first time drawing Geth and Elcor ^^

[useyourthinkpan]

@vyrenrolar and I were discussing Elcor theatre last night, and how it would be awesome if friendly Geth were the ones who ran all the tech, like the lights, cameras, mics, etc. So of course I had to draw it. They’re preforming Hamlet :3

[eggoreviews]

My Top 25 Games Advent Day 16 - Mass Effect 2 (#10)

​​“They tell me it’s a suicide mission. I intend to prove them wrong.”​​

​​Here we have another example, and in my eyes the best example, of the product of Bioware being at their absolute peak. Mass Effect 2 is a nigh on masterpiece of a game that, even after almost a decade, still holds up extraordinarily well in every aspect. I love the Mass Effect series (well, the main trilogy anyway) for its cinematic storytelling, its interesting and unique plot concepts and gameplay elements, its intricate setting and, crowning all, its always unforgettable companion characters who go on your journey with you. The series’ second instalment, at least in my eyes, does all of this absolutely perfectly without 3’s wonky ending and 1’s slightly outdated settings and mechanics. If I called Dragon Age: Origins the Lord of the Rings of gaming, here’s Star Wars.​​

​​Mass Effect 2 doesn’t fuck around. It starts you up on the original ship from the first game, before immediately blowing it up and killing Commander Shepard, the vaguely cheesy space hero we all love so much. After Shepard’s revival at the hands of Cerberus, Mass Effect 2 kicks off with an epic space opera story taking you all across the universe, with espionage, emotive character arcs and an oppressive, genuinely fearful atmosphere created by the game’s big bads, the vastly superior alien race known as the Collectors. It’s amazing how they managed to blend that overriding fear of an enemy so powerful it could wipe out everything with this giddy excitement to explore. Whether that be the plethora of planets you can seek out, mine for resources and explore or some of the more densely populated space stations, such as the vast cityscape of the Citadel or the seedy, neon underworld filled with criminals and night clubs, Omega. Mass Effect’s universe truly has a life of its own and it tells such a grandiose story within it that it’s impossible not to become immersed. Each and every area you visit is packed full of memorable characters of various diverse species, like the awesome looking Turians and Krogans, down to the hilariously blunt Elcor, who communicate by prefacing everything they say with how they’re feeling. On top of this, a bountiful selection of engaging side quests and an overarching main story that largely involves you seeking out each of your party members to hunt down the Collectors make this a truly perfected combination of a well-realised sci-fi setting and story.​​

​​Drawing on those companion characters for a moment, I would say that this is one of the best, most diverse and engaging cast of characters you can find in a game, as each of them follow their own individual character arcs and have unique relationships with Shepard depending on your actions and the behaviour you exhibit towards them. The likes of Jacob (the guy you start with who is admittedly a bit boring), Miranda (the biotic who was experimented on by her family to make her ‘perfect’), Garrus (the kickass Turian who is everyone’s favourite and also has gotta be the canon love interest for male Shepard), Mordin (the quick-thinking, quick-everything Salarian doctor with a surprisingly dark past), Grunt (a wartime experimental clone taken by Shepard as a replacement for their original target, Grunt’s creator), Jack (a highly powerful, erratic biotic in a maximum security prison), Samara (Asari matriarch who can step on me and also everyone), Thane (the coolest, chillest assassin in the galaxy), Zaeed (amercenary veteran with a sick ass scar), Kasumi (cool space thief) and Tali and Legion (oneQuarian and one Geth, both interesting and unique characters in their own right, these characters draw upon the central conflict between the two races explored in the first game’s main story. In the sequel, the slow development of the two from sworn enemies to allies is something to behold, especially as both are so lovable on their own). Went on a bit of a tangent there but I felt it was important to include everyone in that list. The best part about this is you spend the entire game building your relationships with these characters, choosing a romance option, decking Shepard and the gang out in the best gear, upgrading your ship with the materials you mine from planets. And then it all comes down to the finale, the so-called ‘suicide mission’ in which anyone and everyone can die depending on your choices and upgrades beforehand, as well as any decisions you make during the mission. It is genuinely incredibly difficult to save everyone first try and is a great example of how to ensure the choices you give to your player have weight and lasting impact; in Mass Effect 2, everything is on your shoulders and no one’s survival is guaranteed.​​

​​As I said before, I don’t think it would be wrong to call this the Star Wars of gaming, and it wouldn’t take that title without a lot of pew-pewing and excellent use of the sci-fi genre. The gameplay and gunplay (which is the majority of your experience) is slick and well-executed, even feeling intuitive and fun almost a decade later. Even that final boss encounter, that I will never really understand the potent hatred people seem to have for it, is an awesome final test of what you’ve learned and how you’ve improved along the way, pitting you up against an all-out giant Terminatoresque killing machine as an excellently overblown ending to a game full of dramatic encounters to shoot at. Alongside this, the visuals are superb and do little break immersion even as time has gone by and I would argue that this game still holds some of the best graphics you can find from the previous generation. And last but not least, this game’s spicy ass mechanical sci-fi soundtrack is definitely something to flap about, especially when it comes to the combat and that Suicide Mission score is nothing short of incredible.​​

​​So now I’ve ranted aimlessly for three chunky paragraphs about each singular aspect of this game that I adore, you can probably see why this title has such an enduring memory to me. Playing this game for the first time at 12 years old off the back of the also amazing Dragon Age: Origins, Bioware took their perfected formula of knowing exactly how to craft a story, setting and excellently realised characters and shot it up into space both figuratively and literally. In my eyes, Mass Effect 2 is Bioware’s greatest title and it’s honestly more than a shame that we haven’t received anything from Mass Effect in recent years, aside from the less than great Andromeda. A Mass Effect 4 would kill me dead, but at the very least an original trilogy remaster would keep me ticking for a hot minute. Get on it, Bioware. Pls.​​

​​Standout Moment Award: Probably already mentioned this, but of course it’s the suicide mission. An unforgettable epic of a quest and one of my favourite overall game finales to date.​​

Standout Character Award: Thane Krios. The ice-cool, terminally ill assassin takes today’s award for being an all-around great dude.

​​It’s been a long ol’ month, but we’re finally getting there. Today, I kicked off my top 10 games of all time. From here on out, it’s going to be beyond difficult to stop myself from descending into rambles, but I’ll do my best to keep myself coherent. ​​ ​​Tomorrow: No. 9; An odd creature with floating appendages takes off to save some blue things in dire distress.