magerette
Hedgewitch
- Joined
- October 18, 2006
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UK site Critical Gamer posts the first of a two-part brief but in-depth (and spoiler-heavy) look at Bioware's Mass Effect 2. This first article is designed to point out flaws, while the one to come is stated to be about the more positive aspects.
Here's a relatively spoiler-free exerpt from the end of the article:
Here's a relatively spoiler-free exerpt from the end of the article:
More information.Mass Effect is populated with a number of different alien races; the codex catalogues these races with information on their culture, their history and technology. This is all great stuff and it shows that Bioware have put in a significant amount of consideration when fleshing out their universe. But one niggling problem remains in the way these aliens are portrayed in the world. Despite the unique characteristics each race has, getting past the speech problems of the Elcor, or the all female Asari, each race acts like a funny looking human. So you get a hard-boiled Asari detective, reminiscent of a thousand others, the only difference being she’s blue....It would be interesting to see races that are so different and so ‘alien’ to humanity that their outlook and philosophy is nigh on incomprehensible. Even the Asari Justiciar – part of Asari culture supposed to be unique and interesting is able to liken herself to a monk or a chivalrous knight, and thus becomes an instantly recognisable archetype.
Imagine a companion whose outlook was so diametrically opposed emotionally and philosophically to anything human, that working them out was a true mystery. Instead we hear about wives, daughters, sons, religion and marriage, topics that are all too familiar to us.
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2006
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- 7,834