Finished it. Did not rush, but I have been motivated. :D

I enjoyed the game through and through. Especially the ending as it all settles in. Though I didn't at first. Not at all.

I'm not taking anything away from anyone who loathes the end or wants a new one. For me on completion I felt a bit...confused. And I was doing a lot of thinking...processing. Lots of processing.

I thought about all I had seen in this series. What I know of the world, the fight, the enemies, allies and all the goals.

I will quietly lose my mind for at least the next week or so as ME3 eclipses most of my free time. It's been some time since a game has caused me to feel all twitterpated. Feels good.

I've enjoyed the modern twist to a "War of the World" situation via twitter that lead up to the release. And if you play and know Emily Wong well you might not want to punch her....well may be not so hard through your next play through.

Fun times. See you in MP...eventually.

This post is 100% true. Yes, I am defending Timmys. You'll see why by the end.

***

So, I had my first real Multiplayer (MP) experience this weekend on XBOX Live. I've messed around a bit in game voice chat in the past, but this time I went for the whole shebang.



I decided because I'm a HUGE Mass Effect (ME) series fan and the ME3 demo is open to all, that I'd try MP. I'd stop being the introvert I can be and put myself out there - without my gaming swagger. I put myself on some lists at some ME3 sites as a total newb and warned them: I might know ME, but no guarantee of my ability on MP. I might die a lot. I might shoot you accidentally. I'm prone to dumb questions with good intent. If you don't want that as part of your experience, you don't want to play with me or at least not right now.



Surprisingly, I was befriended by quite a few people.



Once I could access the ME3 MP Lobby, I logged in and created a Sentinel class (new class for me as I usually play a Vanguard, but wanted to try something different). None of my befriended folks were available, so I adjusted my big girl pants and got ready to step into the public foray. Then I remembered the XBOX came with a headphone and after a long search found it copulating with dust bunnies in a forgotten cabinet drawer. After detangling and cleaning it, I put it on and hit the slider to show I was ready to communicate. I moved to the public lobby and waited to connect to a game. There were three people in the pregame room I joined of levels varying 1 - 12. None of them had pressed to go into play. After a minute or so of waiting I tried to say hello. "Hey there. I'm new so just a heads up this is ALL new to me. If that's not your-"

And they were gone.

Now you might think I would have learned my lesson about being too honest, but I can't seem to help myself. I move toward "Paragon" actions naturally (with some "Renegade" maneuvers when I think it is the best response for the situation.) Overall, I tend to play by my gut and good sense, not by the manual or "correct" response.



Second attempt - Three people, Levels 8 - 17. I say the same thing but this time they all hit green. Holy moley we're gonna play!



And we're in - we're at the snow base running around killing damn Cerberus units and Atlas troopers. I work hard not to shoot my teammates before I realize my bullets don't affect them. I am quiet except to say thanks when they raise me after I'm ambushed, shot, stabbed, hit, or nearly stomped many, many, many, many times. We make it to Wave 9 before we are all wiped out and I see we are playing Silver, not Bronze. (Quick rundown of play levels in ME3 MP: Bronze for newbs, Silver for intermediate and Gold for the pros.) I suddenly felt a little better about all that dying. More than that, I jumped about 4 or 5 levels at once.

After the group broke up, I joined another screen with just one person waiting (level 50) I gave him the same speech. To my surprise, I got a reply!

A kid, a Timmy as we refer to them here, telling me it was no big deal I was clueless. He'd help me and just to do my best until I got the hang of it. Even more, he called 2 more Timmy friends in to play, told them the drill and they all said the same thing. They introduced themselves and seemed nonplussed that I was female. They didn't treat me rudely though in the joking that ensued they gave me the rank of Lieutenant. They were Commander, Corporal and Captain, of course. But I didn't care. In my head - I was Lieutenant Commander…ha!



But I digress.



After reading so many posts here (and everywhere actually), then facing down my first real Timmy(s)...this was not the Timmy behavior I expected.

I asked them where they were located and learned they were all on the East Coast and from New Jersey. Which makes perfect sense to me and only proves (based solely on my days past when I worked in the gaming industry) that the entire state of New Jersey is made up of gamers and is breeding even more gamers at astonishing rates. I felt at ease, but then wondered once the action started how would they treat a female non-Timmy in the group? Would they steal my kills? Relegate me to support? Call me a girl and tell me to put on pink armor?



And here is where the Timmys surprised me again.



As we played they explained things. They censored each other from heavy cursing (at least until about 2 am their time, when understandably we all got a little potty-mouthed). They were cool about showing me the ropes, even if the damn ropes kept slipping out of my bloody hands. They were patient and encouraging. They spoke to me and treated me like a teammate. Even though I knew they still shared and taught me what they knew about the recruitment packs and leveling. We learned to work together, made strategies and had partners for maneuvers. We were silly yelling "Man down! …er woman down!" when someone died and we raced to help and support each other. Yelling out, "Dude that was so SIC! or "That was totally BEAST," when we kicked ass. We laughed a lot (and I especially laughed A LOT) as they spoke on topics of great import to their age and experience. Things like, how this MP compared to Battlefield and COD. Quoting cartoon characters and skits seen on Robot Chicken and Adult Swim. Boasting their kill prowess. Making the occasional fart joke. The longer I listened, the more I enjoyed myself and I concluded a couple things.

One: These Timmys had NO idea how old I was and assumed I was in their age bracket, which made them completely relaxed and themselves. I admit I did nothing to disabuse them of the notion and they didn't ask. I think this allowed a rare thing; being able to see people as they are and not as who they want you to see them, particularly in this sort of context. These guys had NO desire to "show off" for me because they were there to play and….

Two: These Timmys, are at that magic cusp age group right now. Do you remember this point? Where childhood things are still very important and the sex you are attracted to is on the horizon, but they are not quite on your radar. These Timmys were more inclined to tell the virtue of a good hoagie or Cheese melt then talk about some girl they liked - though these Timmys definitely liked girls. They were more into the stats, comparing games, telling jokes and having a good damn time kicking ass and talking playful trash to each other and me. We were a team. It was pure fun.

Three: Their demeanor reminded me of something. Overwhelmingly, strongly and specifically, they reminded me of this.



If you can't follow the link (or are too lazy for the reveal :P), they reminded me of the boys in the movie, "Stand by Me." I kid you not, the three of them even spoke and had personalities that were a perfect mix of the characters portrayed by River Phoenix, Will Wheaton, Jerry O' Connell and Corey Feldman. One of them was very pro-violence and military (Teddy - in the movie), and he was the only one who gave me a little passive aggressive shoving at first, but by the end of the night was my best partner in taking down guardians (I FREAKING hate guardians, btw. Almost as much as phantoms.). The initial one I met was like Gordie and Chris characters mixed together: he was the one who guided us and kept all of us on point. The one who had us all dying of laughter with his random Ke$ha lyric quotes, silly voices or debating about cartoon characters - clearly our Vern. I even made my husband listen to the chatter for a few minutes while I muted my mic and without telling him my thoughts, he turned to me with a big grin and said, "They sound like those kids from that movie! The one where they go looking for the dead body…"



So there it is. I don't know should we play together again if we will recapture the fun of that night or our prowess, 'cause we did kick a lot of Cerberus booty on Bronze and could get to wave 7 on Silver before we got shut down. And amazingly, they all befriended me and want to make plans for the four of us to play again. But for my first real experience online with Timmys? It was silly, positive, fun and went directly to the part of me that just loves to play.



To these Timmys in particular I just want them to know that I think they really are SO very, very beast. And due to this experience, I have to suggest to you that perhaps not all Timmys are worth your sharp-tongued, eye-rolling derision. I can attest that some of them are really worth spending some time with and playing online.



Now...does this make ALL Timmys worth playing with and should we stop teasing them altogether? Probably not. BUT

…maybe give them a minute or two past the nervous laughter and awkward jokes to show you who they are before you school them. You might find yourself through the interaction playing for a few hours and enjoying an experience that is as precious as gold, diamonds or killing an Atlus with a sticky grenade when you are just about to die.



Now that's beast.

****

Thanks for looking!

Maxxie

Hello 2O2P!

If you are reading this and we are familiar, then I hope you and yours are well and the gaming gods have been kind to you.

If you are reading this and we are not familiar - Hello! I still hope you and yours are well and the gaming gods have been kind to you.

I do not expect anyone to really remember me or care who the hell I am or whether I'm about or not, given my wanderlust ways. I don't really expect you to care though it'd be nice - I won't lie. But I'm back for now because I truly adore this site, the people (mostly :P) and the fact that there is real community here, which is fun to see if not dip my toe into every now and then. So I wander in and away, but as my posts testify sooner or later I wander back for a while at least (BTW whomever kept my blog open through the purges -- thank you and I seriously owe you at least 2 beers).

If I weren't already Maxxie, I might call myself "Bad Penny." But....I'm Maxxie and it really is the name that suits me best. And I'm as enthusiastic about gaming and as silly as ever - case in point:

To satisfy that human urge I share with so many to cry out in validation of one's existence, please consider this me beating my chest and crying out the following:

• I'm not dead!


• I am alive and reasonably well!


• I game whenever I can!

So what game has brought me out of my self-imposed exile, now?

Mass Effect 3 of course!

I will censor my desire to go on and on about my excitement for this title and just say by and large (nothing is perfect) I've loved this series. While I'm curious to some aspects of the gameplay that the demo can't show, I feel confident I'm in for a good time and my hard earned money's worth at the least. So what more can I ask?

Except now I should really go watch some "Walking Dead" and check out that long preview of ME3 trailer...

Thanks for looking!

Maxxie

...how much I adore Zero Punctuation as hosted by The Escapist.

After watching and catching up on the latest reviews there, I've been thinking about game critics. Also about this community and who expresses opinions that we trust.

Underneath his vitrolic, curse-laden, twistedly humorous delivery "Yahtzee" (aka Ben Croshaw) of Zero Punctuation offers some of the best solid game reviewing in the industry currently, at least for me. Even when "Yahtzee" is reviewing a genre he hates/dislikes he still gives points where points are earned and spanks where spanks are deemed necessary. His reviews are amusing to me when I agree but even when I don't I'm usually still laughing myself silly. Usually. I note this is one of my first stops when I'm seeking opinions besides my own about a possible game purchase.

To me, "Yahtzee" is a passionate gamer critic. Foulmouthed and dirty-minded to be sure with a misogynistic tilt to some reviews (yet I sense a level of philogyny and even a level of misandry underneath... to me he is like "Archie Bunker"/misanthrope in his derisive remarks), yet he knows his core audience, how to entertain them and does play the games he reviews to their end or to a reasonable point before opening his mouth. He is honest about his biases and his preferences, so the watcher can take some of the reviews with a grain of salt in relation to his predilections. Despite his celebrity in this area and an impressive verbal swagger, he still seems at his core to remain pretty humble and focused on sharing his honest thoughts without pandering to the gaming companies that attempt to seduce him with swag, trips or praise.

I posit that he can retain his integrity because at the end of the day he stays a gamer first. So now I ask you - is he the only one?

Including those stars in our community, (but besides yourself) what critic do you allow to influence you?

Or to ask related questions: when it comes to game recommendations from the "critics" whom do you trust? Do you check out Zero Punctuation reviews? Think they suck or rock? Who's a better game critic and who should be avoided at all costs? Who is a gem of a critic on our site in your opinion that you reccommend (besides yourself)?

And 10 points to me for using misogyny/philogyny/misandry and misanthrope all at once! :P

Thanks for looking!

...how much I adore Zero Punctuation as hosted by The Escapist.

After watching and catching up on the latest reviews there, I've been thinking about game critics. Also about this community and who expresses opinions that we trust.

Underneath his vitrolic, curse-laden, twistedly humorous delivery "Yahtzee" (aka Ben Croshaw) of Zero Punctuation offers some of the best solid game reviewing in the industry currently, at least for me. Even when "Yahtzee" is reviewing a genre he hates/dislikes he still gives points where points are earned and spanks where spanks are deemed necessary. His reviews are amusing to me when I agree but even when I don't I'm usually still laughing myself silly. Usually. I note this is one of my first stops when I'm seeking opinions besides my own about a possible game purchase.

To me, "Yahtzee" is a passionate gamer critic. Foulmouthed and dirty-minded to be sure with a misogynistic tilt to some reviews (yet I sense a level of philogyny and even a level of misandry underneath... to me he is like "Archie Bunker"/misanthrope in his derisive remarks), yet he knows his core audience, how to entertain them and does play the games he reviews to their end or to a reasonable point before opening his mouth. He is honest about his biases and his preferences, so the watcher can take some of the reviews with a grain of salt in relation to his predilections. Despite his celebrity in this area and an impressive verbal swagger, he still seems at his core to remain pretty humble and focused on sharing his honest thoughts without pandering to the gaming companies that attempt to seduce him with swag, trips or praise.

I posit that he can retain his integrity because at the end of the day he stays a gamer first. So now I ask you - is he the only one?

Including those stars in our community, (but besides yourself) what critic do you allow to influence you?

Or to ask related questions: when it comes to game recommendations from the "critics" whom do you trust? Do you check out Zero Punctuation reviews? Think they suck or rock? Who's a better game critic and who should be avoided at all costs? Who is a gem of a critic on our site in your opinion that you reccommend (besides yourself)?

And 10 points to me for using misogyny/philogyny/misandry and misanthrope all at once! :P

Thanks for looking!

You know who you are.

I salute you....

...I'm more of a sci-fi/fantasy omnivore really, but my father (who also technically would NEVER self-identify as a Trekkie/Trekker for his entire life) LOVED Star Trek. He turned into an 8-year old boy all his life when he watched it. Always a rapt expression of joy and wonder on his face as he watched the show, even the same episode for the umpteenth time. As much as he worked ( a lot), he made time on his day off each week to stay awake early in the wee hours of the morning and watch Star Trek. Now and again he might wake me to spend a little time with him and watch while mom snoozed next to us. I always loved to share that time with him. I remember asking him what about the show he enjoyed so much, though by that point I thought I knew.

Dad said that first of all, it was a Sci-Fi show (which next to films with Things-Blowing-Up-Spectacularly and Westerns created the third spoke in dad's trifecta of cool). It was a sci-fi show that often displayed humaniity showcasing many of our best ideals or qualities, celebrated our creativity and often showed us as eager, resourceful, enthusiastic and adventurous.

Peaceful exploration while expanding knowledge may have been a major goal as was contact with other cultures, but we were not so pacificistic that we wouldn't fight fiercely to defend ourselves. Not for bloodlust's sake but with intelligence, thoughtful consideration of consequences, cost and even perhaps an eventual truce/peace with the enemy. Well some of them anyway.

Star Trek showed a future where different cultures survived/thrived, celebrated their differences but remained united by the clear understanding that if you wore the uniform you were part of the team first. Among the humans in the uniform and of different cultures it seemed a common sense notion that we are human first and above all else.

Humanity in this future still isn't perfect even with the perseverence toward these noble ideals. There were episodes that featured us fighting with our worst traits either within ourselves or with others. Humanity imperfect yes, but evolving, growing and trying to learn.

And often Star Trek had hot chicks in really short skirts or less, which was never a negative for my dad...in fact I'd say he thought that was a necessity toward the inspiration for the future. Of course he didn't share that reason for loving the show with me until I was well into my adulthood.

In fact, when I was an underaged teen I tried to wear really short skirts for dates and pointed out to a frowning dad they did so on his beloved Star Trek. He'd retort something like, "It's future sci-fi fantasy young lady, this is your reality. Go put on some pants. Thick ones. With a large ugly belt. In fact, I don't care if it is summer - go get a sweater too..."

Sure, it's funny now...

Apparently this day in 1966 aired the first episode of Star Trek which love it or hate it begat a legacy that continues. Thank you to cast, crew, networks, writers and the Roddenberrys for giving the world such a lovely, progressive, hopeful dream that inspired so many others and especially my dad.

It inspired a secret joy and hope that lived in him which continues to live on in me.

...are seducing me. Are there any games on your phone that you sneak playing while at work, on bathroom break, riding the train, at the Dr's office, waiting for the movie to start or at the Labor Day picnic while you are trying to enjoy the shade? Or anywhere, really...

I have an iPhone but friends of mine have Droids, EVOs and more, so I don't care which platform you play on because I can always impress them with my expanded knowledge and suggestions...with a little of your help - thank you. ;)

For your consideration (and purchased through the App Store), here are some games that have made me laugh, smile, curse enjoyably and contributed to a good or very good time:

• The atmospheric game 1112 episodes 1 & 2 has GREAT atmospheric music and reminds me strongly of the point and click puzzle adventures from many years ago...caution: there are amusing misspellings in the text but I suspsect this is because this is made by a company that doesn't hire native English speakers to proof their game before release.
  
  
  
  


• Godville is doing wonders for my self-esteem and keeps me amused with my follower's antics. If you are sick of the grind from traditional MMOs then this is FREE to play and worth checking out. I see why this is often called "The best game I never have to play in order to play..." ;)
  
  
  
  


• ...but when I feel a need to meddle in a god-like capacity Sims 3 does a decent job of satisfying the urge..
  
  
  
  


• Words with Friends let's me be social, competitive in a friendly way and feel erudite all at once...
  
  
  
  


• Space Miner is funny AND a solid shooter/RPG hybrid too! I HIGHLY recommend this one especially for those of us with off kilter senses of humor.
  
  
  
  


• I have solved all levels of Clue and if you have a murder in your home, I can effectively search rooms, elminate weapons & hone in on the location of the deed while questioning your prone to oversharing suspects for motives with expertise!
  
  
  
  


• Fly Kiwi Fly just makes me laugh and laugh. Very silly and fun!
  
  
  
  


• Assassin's Creed makes me feel sneaky and deadly - in a gamerish way..

So what do you reccommend is a great mobile game to buy and play?

Happy Labor Day!

...are seducing me. Are there any games on your phone that you sneak playing while at work, on bathroom break, riding the train, at the Dr's office, waiting for the movie to start or at the Labor Day picnic while you are trying to enjoy the shade? Or anywhere, really...

I have an iPhone but friends of mine have Droids, EVOs and more, so I don't care which platform you play on because I can always impress them with my expanded knowledge and suggestions...with a little of your help - thank you. ;)

For your consideration (and purchased through the App Store), here are some games that have made me laugh, smile, curse enjoyably and contributed to a good or very good time:

• The atmospheric game 1112 episodes 1 & 2 has GREAT atmospheric music and reminds me strongly of the point and click puzzle adventures from many years ago...caution: there are amusing misspellings in the text but I suspsect this is because this is made by a company that doesn't hire native English speakers to proof their game before release.
  
  
  
  


• Godville is doing wonders for my self-esteem and keeps me amused with my follower's antics. If you are sick of the grind from traditional MMOs then this is FREE to play and worth checking out. I see why this is often called "The best game I never have to play in order to play..." ;)
  
  
  
  


• ...but when I feel a need to meddle in a god-like capacity Sims 3 does a decent job of satisfying the urge..
  
  
  
  


• Words with Friends let's me be social, competitive in a friendly way and feel erudite all at once...
  
  
  
  


• Space Miner is funny AND a solid shooter/RPG hybrid too! I HIGHLY recommend this one especially for those of us with off kilter senses of humor.
  
  
  
  


• I have solved all levels of Clue and if you have a murder in your home, I can effectively search rooms, elminate weapons & hone in on the location of the deed while questioning your prone to oversharing suspects for motives with expertise!
  
  
  
  


• Fly Kiwi Fly just makes me laugh and laugh. Very silly and fun!
  
  
  
  


• Assassin's Creed makes me feel sneaky and deadly - in a gamerish way..

So what do you reccommend is a great mobile game to buy and play?

Happy Labor Day!