Originally, I popped in Mass Effect 2 but honestly, it was too Bioware, too familiar from the Dragon Age model. I wanted something entirely new. Luckily for me, it’s Christmas and that means a office nerd gifts! Nobody gets me nerd gifts like my co-workers. I was not disappointed. I unwrapped Tommy’s gift and there was Sam Fisher giving me the eyeball. I’ve never played a Splinter Cell game before. I usually don’t go for realistic war time games and assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that anything with Tom Clancy’s name on it wasn’t worth my time. Yes. I am a game and book snob. And don’t get me started on music.

Once Splinter Cell was up on screen, I was singing a different tune. First off, it is a beautiful game. The voice acting is superb and although it seems a little Jack Bauer at times, the story piques my interest. Like Jack Bauer, Sam Fisher is a complete badass in both deed and word. He employs violence as a major interrogation tool, can clear an entire hanger of thugs and stalks his prey from the shadows. What’s not to like?!?

Fisher comes across as very agile and very deadly. The cover system, while not completely flawless, is really strong. By holding the trigger and aiming at highlighted cover points, Fisher can silently move from cover to cover without getting stuck on unwanted surfaces. Sometimes, the cover area you want does not highlight but there is usually a way to find another path. I find the the aiming/sniping behaviour is very forgiving and usually fair. This did not stop me from a couple of, “Come on! I shot that guy!” moments.
I also have to give the pace a big thumbs up. This is one of those games where you look up after a particulary intense session and realize two hours have passed. The tension vs action ratio is great. Also, there aren’t any in-game loads. Splinter Cell: Conviction does most of its loading during sweet cut-scenes. This makes for a fairly seamless experience. I find that the missions are clear yet challenging. I haven’t gotten “lost” yet. This is not to say I’m just breezing through. My Sam Fisher has definitely gotten shots to the face but this just makes me replay to mess up that dude that messed up my dude. dude.

There are plenty of gadgets and weapons that can be upgraded. Weapon upgrade points are earned by executing certain challenges like pulling 5 guys out of windows or sniping a certain amount of guys from the shadows. I like this type of reward system. I feel it encourages me to try actions that I might ordinarily wouldn’t. For example, if I know this one action will work, I will do that action as much as I can. But if I can get a bigger, better gun by executing a less tested move, I will definitely try it out.

Bottom line: Get Tommy to buy you Splinter Cell: Conviction. You won’t be disappointed!

At first, I was hesitant to get started.  I’ve been wronged by fantasy rpg’s before and I didn’t want to get my hopes up.  But this was Bioware, maker of my beloved Mass Effect.  They wouldn’t let me down. Well, I can say this about that, Dragon Age is freakin’ awesome!  I have been playing non-stop at the peril of my eyesight and personal relationships. (Why exactly does Bioware make their text in migraine font?)  In fact, I now have dreams with multiple-choice dialogs.

While I completely love Mass Effect, I get the feeling that the Dragon Age universe is deeper and more involved then what I experienced with Shepherd at the helm.  I suppose with 6 story lines to follow and 120 hours of gameplay, Dragon Age: Origins would have to feel huge.  My first dose of universe magnitude came after I restarted the game about 5 hours in.  I don’t know about you but I am one of those players that constantly battles the urge to restart using the knowledge of some outcomes to make what might be “better” choices.  I then do some quick calculations of how OCD I am verses how much time I’ve already spent playing.

Sometimes I win this battle.  This time I lost.  I basically remade the same character I had been playing but changed some of the stats.  On the second time through, most of my options were the same but not all.  The guard I had previously been able to persuade to release his prisoner was less open this time around and I had to bribe him.  While not exactly the outcome I was hoping to gain by restarting, it did point to the fact that the amount of gameplay I could see was disproportionate to the gameplay I was not seeing.  It’s the ole tip of the iceberg trick.  In other words, there is potential for an awesome amount of  replay value in Dragon Age: Origins. Maybe this game will actually help me save money by distracting me for weeks instead of hours.  I am already looking forward to checking out the other races and classes.  I know I should not expect wildly different experiences but I still look forward to comparing story tracks.  I feel that if the story is written well enough, then there should be a desire to see that story from every angle.  As opposed to Mass Effect, I get the feeling that my character’s background actually will effect the NPC’s.  I did not get that impression with Shepherd.  It didn’t matter if she was an orphan or a military brat.  In Dragon Age: Origins the racism against elves is palpable and nobody really wants to be seen with a Grey Warden.  This piques my interest into how the other characters experience will compare to my current elf lady mage.

My theory is that Mass Effect could have been Dragon Age: Origins but Bioware was courting different audiences.  Mass Effect might be a somewhat lighter experience so those intimidated or uninterested in the complexities of a full-blown rpg can have a product that also offers a richness to the experience through great writing, heroic themes and highly customizable characters.  Dragon Age: Origins is definitely intended for the WoW players and middle-earthians.  At this point in my life, I am sometimes turned off by the medieval fantasy setting.  This is due to the amount of hokiness I’ve had to put up with as a fan of the genre.  I am a grown woman who wants mature (get your minds out of the gutter) story-lines.  There is a small amount of damsels-in-distress that I can actually get behind and unicorns should be cruel and violent not virgin transportation (why else have the crazy, stabby horn?).  I am not ashamed that I am all sorts of “Huzzah!” for this game.  And now that I mention it, I have missed the pleasures of spell casting and flaming broadswords.

Man. I can’t wait to get out of work so I can go play me some game!

Propaganda Lander Lives! In this super, up-to-date video you can hear the sounds of the revolution. Stephen Harwood has been making all sorts of groovy tracks and this is just the beginning. Notice the fancy new shield boost and the stylish Lava Level!

Tommy has designed a rockin’ level editor so I can plot land and set all sorts of parameters in the construction of the levels.  Now the term “rockin’ level editor” may not incite a fury of excitement for you humble readers but as one who has spent far too much of her life (that I can never get back mind you) wrestling with buggy level editors that refuse assets, drop floors, deny any type of after-the-fact editing and offer the flexibility of an 80 year old after a VFW dance off, Tommy’s homespun level editor is a dreamboat.  I’ll try and put up some video of the new levels once we fix the emulator.

Nik has been hard at work with the GUI and other interface assets.  Through a giant discussion on how a timer should be presented, we’ve finally agreed that rather than a clock or gauge, we would represent time through how much fuel the lander has.  I bring this up because one of the lessons of making a game that I’ve picked up is how much one tries to make every asset relative to each other and the overall game production. By forgoing an obtuse clock system, the idea of “space vehicle” is upheld with the notion of fuel consumption.  This is a much nicer fit.

We keep working and Propaganda Lander keeps getting better.  Stay tuned for news on release dates, development news and general groovy times!