barely fatal

Have you seen this Normandy SR2 made out of Lego? Fan-made, brilliant.

There are other great models on that site, like a Nebulon B frigate (or two), or a Galaxy Class.

I’d still love to build the original Ultimate series Star Destroyer with more than 3.1k pieces … but where to put it (and let’s be honest here, it’s not really cheap). Of course the Falcon with 5.2k pieces wouldn’t be too bad either.

Oh and no, you cannot be too old to love this as a respectable geek.

Saving the galaxy is hard work. Ignorant, whiny people cry for my help wherever I go. Sometimes, you have to roll the hard six. On my last trip, I let the rachni queen live, and the krogan. I played games with a self-aware console.

No more games. The council had to die to make space for human advancement. I was dead and it wasn’t an experience I want to go through again. I wear my scars with pride for they show what we endured to accomplish survival. No man or alien is going to hold me back, let alone order me or my loyal, hardened crew around – illusive or not. Sometimes a boot to the head is all the universe can understand. So be it.

Bioware, they are consistently ingenious. Last year they caught me by surprise with the superb Jade Empire, this year they blow me away with Mass Effect (before that they had other hits like KotoR or Baldur’s Gate). I finally beat it, took me about 33 hours in total. While I’ve played longer RPGs, ME keeps the pace high and is more action-oriented anyway. Yes, the side quests are a little dull at times, the (side-)planets similar and empty, but still then the “get the better gun” feeling sets in. And you don’t have to go there.

A lot of people complain about the complicated inventory system. I must say, it never bothered me. I equipped my team during the missions only, and there it worked wonderfully. The character’s faces look fantastic, you can read the moods perfectly, and it always matches the voice acting, too. I encountered a strange bug where I couldn’t talk to two of the crewmembers using a custom key, but I found a solution for that (use the default key). I can think of a few extra controls that would have made it better, like a bulk-delete option for items. I can live with that, considering that the game is about storytelling. And man, the storytelling, the cinematics, it’s like playing a great sci-fi movie, really playing for once…!

I want to play this game again with another class, make other choices, maybe play a nice guy. But at the moment I still identify with Killian Shepard too much and any “nice guy” thoughts seem … wrong. But I’ll definitely go back, just as I did in Jade Empire. Bioware, congrats. To your QA guys, too – even though they overlooked the button thing. I know that feeling Build on this, and part 2 will be just perfect (I guess you still agree there Static? ).

My name is Commander Killian Shepard. You might remember me from when I shot at you or kicked you in the face. I wasn’t always that hard. At first, everybody played real nice, so did I. They sent me on missions, told me stories of their woes and begged me for help. They are all liars, back-stabbing bastards. The universe is full of mad scientists cutting up people, playing with weapons of mass destruction. Full of mercs, waiting to shoot you in the back. Full of greedy corporations with dirty little secrets. Full of power-hungry “politicians” who don’t give a crap about their people, only trying to protect their own asses.

I stopped being nice. Now I shoot first, ask questions later. Blast them away with my shotgun before they can harm me or my crew. Use my biotoc powers to lift them up and crush them under my heels. Bodies to my left and to my right, humans, aliens, synthetics, it makes no difference anymore.

My loyal crew of five. They never question my orders, because they know we do the right thing. Somewhat tells me I’m yet supposed to find another crew member. But then again, maybe I already met her. And shot her. Or fed her to her own monster, virus, or plant. Nobody lies to me anymore. I get the information. I finish the mission. Like it or not.

They call me a renegade. I’m a realist.