Seeing as I've been back blogging for a while now it's time for a rant on a subject I have needed to rant about for quite a while.

Bioware becoming steadily bad.

A few years ago, even on this very blog I sung the praises of Bioware. I looked forward to their games to a vast degree and really enjoyed the experience every time one came out. Baldurs Gate 2, Jade Empire, Dragon Age... masterpieces (and many more of course). However with the recent installments of Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age 2 I've been increasingly impression that since EA got their fingers deeper into the Bioware pie that their games are losing quality. Worryingly fast.

Lets take Mass Effect 2 first. I very much enjoyed Mass Effect 1 it had some frustrations sure but I rank it as a Bioware great. Enter Mass Effect 2. Mass Effect 2 was for me the first warning sign that Bioware were gradually paddling their games up sh** creek with no intention of dropping out again after only temporarily been tarred with the "bad game" brush,

Mass Effect 2 isn't an RPG. It's a third person cover shooter with an abnormal amount of talky bits. Unfortunately it was a bad third person shooter which lacked any real oomph to it's combat, while at the same time it was a bad RPG because the talky bits were about as shallow as an inflatable paddling pool. In short everything was simplified and it turned into a "How can we sell a game to people who have previously avoided RPG's based largely on the fact they couldn't cope with them not being shooters". The plot felt weak, it was more linear than Mass Effect 1, it has the shocking planet mining (I genuinally prefered the Mako), an un-memorable cast, unfinished messy dialogue options and a point where I was suddenly thrust into the end-game when I wasn't done exploring and talking to people (unforgivable!). Presumably they thought having your entire crew kidnapped and have to do the life or death finale was needed to be thrust on you in case that some people who were playing's attention spans were waning when the game passed the 8 hour mark.

I was so insulted by the general attack on my intelligence as a player I stopped playing before finishing the game. It was bad. Very bad.

BUT HEY, I'm a reasonable girl, need to give Bioware a second chance. Enter Dragon Age 2.. ok pre-set character not TOO happy about that but still theyve done good pre-set character games before so lets give the benefit of the doubt. Let's get playing and see what the sequel to one of my all time favourite games of all time is l...

10mins in..

You have got to be F***ing kidding me...

Dragon Age 2 features the worst combat in perhaps any RPG I have played. Dungeon Siege one is more complex than this and that game gave me blisters. Finishing every fight by hammering one button, running through the same copy-pasted environments and the ONLY redeeming feature being an interesting cast (they did get the RPG talky bit right on this one at least) blew my mind. I gave up halfway through Act 2, Bioware had totally failed twice in a row.

---------

Which brings me to now..

Dragon Age 3 and Mass Effect 3 seem likely to be the next shocking offerings from Bioware and despite reports of Mass Effect 3 being a bit more RPG like ive lost confidence in the franchise enough to not be purchasing the newest installment.

Old Republic I shall be getting based largely on the fact that it's an MMO not a "proper" RPG and thus I'm not all that fussed about a plot and cast it's the simple gameplay and raiding content im interested in and I'm hoping they haven't messed that up for launch too.

In short Bioware may have now much wider mainstream appeal but at the cost of dumbing their games down beyond all belief. A game can still be mainstream a not stupid.. New Vegas, Borderlands, Dead Island and I'm hoping Skyrim deliver a quality product without you feeling the game itself has been jepordised for the sake of mainstream appeal. Bioware just took way too many steps into the "appealing to the idiot masses" direction and I eagerly await the announcement of their new first person/rpg world war 2 shooter hyrbid. Long live originality.

Nothing too exicting for this post.. if your interested click the links below for my thoughts on Dead Island and Metro 2033. Rate the too... if you like them :)

Dead Island

Metro 2033

More interesting blog soon ;)

While those of you across the pond have now had a few days to digest Dead Island, those of us in Europe only just got taster. I've put in about 5-6 hours now and can pretty much give my opinion which frustratingly seems to go along with the general consensus of. "It's not that well polished, it's buggy, the characters are lifeless... but it's so much FUN!". Just to let you guys know I suck at Dead Rising 1 and 2, the only version I could cope with was Chop Till You Drop because I didn't have to f**king dash back to inject my whning child with some chemical every 2 mins nor did I have the pressure of a constant clock sucking my eyes away from the action so some cannibal (and apparently invincible) chef can get get the jump on me. Fortunately for the zombie fan in me, I can play Dead Island and my God is it fun.

Dead Island see's you taking control of one of four ridiculous characters with equally ridiculous backstorys and wandering round a large island completing simple sidequests while fending off the hordes of the undead with mostly melee weapons. Choosing the Chinese girl whos name eludes me and realising that according to my backstory I was on some Communist spying mission or something equally bizarre I realised very quickly this game didn't take itself seriously. It was time to kill some sh**. While the zombie slaying isn't on the bodys piled high level of Dead Rising, it's still high, the slavering hordes of the undead seemingly ache to have a weapon shoved through their heads and the complete fun of dismembering a zombie then proceeding to kick its face in (literally) while it's brain leaks out it's ears is worryingly enjoyable. Dead Island's combat is intense, fast and relentlessly brutal and it's this coupled with the amazing environments and RPG system that make the game so much fun. Who cares if some person whos name you forget in 3.2 seconds wants you to get some soft toy from some place full of zombies based purely on the "plot twist" she is totally mental! It's the getting through the horde of zombies caked head to toe in blood using a machete that makes getting the soft toy worth it, and when you level up you can make yourself even more superpowered. Put simply is Fallout 3/New Vegas with better combat but lacking a soul, and it's fortunately a mix that works well.

In terms of what else I have been up to I am sligtly in gaming hell at the moment. Deus Ex remans unfinished (Detriot for the second time at present), Shadows Of The Damned I just started then got sidetracked, same for Farcry2 .... and there is a tonne of games on the horizon. What will I do? *sobs*. Oh I did finish Metro 2033 last weekend (it took me like 5 hours), and will review that shortly as well as a blog post on the current state of Bioware. In terms of videos, aiming to start doing some video reviews, maybe some Vlogs and various things both here and on Youtube shortly, so I am most definately "back".

Wow is it good to be writing again!

Hi guys,

No idea if anyone is going to be reading this anytime (I mean does anyone follow me still?) soon but I shall probably start posting on my old forums again soon and see whats going on.

It's been a looooonngggg time since I posted on GS, years in fact and a tonne of stuff has happened since then...

• I became a minor youtube celebrity along with the fairly scary fans and recently found I have absolutely no time to make videos with my current job
• I went back on everything I ever previously said and played MMO's again, fortunately this time they didn't destroy my life.
• I got a Wii (I mean seriously wtf)
• I've shifted into playing a much wider variety of game genres, maybe it's because 30 is looming on the horizon in a few years and I'm a bit older and wiser as to think RPG's are the only thing worth playin.
• I've excepted that as a rule, games are getting crapper, probably because I'm getting older and still have my views clouded by the original Half-Life and Ocarina Of Time.
• I quite want to start reviewing games again in text format, always enjoyed writing.
• As soon as The Old Republic comes out I shall have no time for eating/drinking let alone posting on here again.
• I just realised I didnt like either of the games on my profile/signature. Great.

Anyway hope all of you (i.e 2 people who quite GS years ago) who read this are doing well. Now I need to untrack 125 games that came out ages ago.

EDIT: WTF it says im 24 on my profile it's been THAT long. Oh Well.. I can dream

Hi Guys,

Been away a long while lately, what with moving house to someplace completely different and getting a new job and stuff, plus my whole youtube channel thing soaking up my free time AND playing games.

Im going to be hopefully updating here maybe once a fortnight with my usual reviews and blogs and things (I made top 500 reviewers today incidentally, yay!).

My youtube channel will still probably get most of my attention (Im LPing Dead Space on the PC at the moment) but in general things should balance themselves out more.

Game wise at the moment Star Ocean 4, Dead Space, Fatal Frame 3 and Tales Of Versperia are on the agenda. Oh and Overlord II (far too many games).

Hope you all are well and I apologise for not being around much lately, maybe things will be more settled now.

Well I promised I'd do a blog on this ages ago and didn't actually get round to do it as that other website I now frequent has distracted me :p . However it is now time for me to do so.

Im going to talk about ga-yness in gaming (stupid GS filters)gaming something that has recently been touched on by a number of websites (most recently Kotaku I believe) due to a spate of news coverage. Gay characters and scenarios in games are slowly but surely becoming more prevelant and for the first part of this series of blogs lets look at some of the more popular characters whos sexuality is more than a little questionable..

Vamp - MGS Series

Short of the fact he looks like he's pretty much taking Raiden from behind in some of the MGS IV fight sequences, Vamp actually is bi-sexual and it isn't just innuendo. I think Vamp (along with a few other MGS character I won't mention here) is an important individual in any list of gay gaming because hes part of such a major, testosterone fuelled franchise and dosen't meet the overly effeminate cliche which in terms of male characters who probably/obviously sleep with other guys we will see this is a fairly rare occourance. Normally I would consider him being bi a bit of a cop out (again something ill touch on in another post) but as we all know, all vampires are bi. So its fine.

Juhani - KOTOR

Juhani is in my opinion the best example of a gay female character in a video game, there are better realised gay and lesbian relationships in Mass Effect and Jade Empire for sure, but as the characters in thats sexuality alters depending on the leads gender I thought Id focus on Juhani as she stays gay even if you play a guy. Juhani's sexuality is proven clear by the way she can bond with a female lead (not nessecerily a romance, but a bond none the less) and the fact that if you kill her on her home planet her female lover pursues you looking for revenge.

Hana & Rain - Fear Effect II

From a lesbian character I like to a pair who I consider fall into the "cop out" category. Yes they have a romance, yes they are pretty hot (for PS1 ****sprites anyway) and yes they do manage to develop a relationship, but I considered their creators insistance they were bi a bit of a cop out, possibly to sell more games. But still! At this time gay characters in gaming were an extreme rarity so they did bring progress..

Cho Aniki Bros - Cho Aniki

Oh dear God. The Japanese are pretty keen on their overtly gay male stereotypes in video games but these two really takes the cake. If you really want to know more im sure you can find lots of lovely videos and images online and you can join them on their search for holy sperm.

Joachim - Shadow Hearts: Covenant

Now this is a bit different, he may be a bit flamboyant and over the top but Joachim is a mildly cliched g-y guy who works well. Whether it's him crying out "No I like men!" in the Veronica torture sequence or taking part in the Man Fest to show the true power of his manhood in his side mission Joachim provides great entertainment and is a pretty cool character at the same time. The right balance? Maybe..

So there a few important bi/gay characters to set the scene.. next time ill be talking more about various companies attitudes to gay characters in their games in more depth.

Oh and before I forget..

Bridget - Guilty Gear

O.K he's not gay but he kinda accidentally gets another guy to be... its complicated. But the key thing to remember is (yes I am going to use it)

.. is just one of the great lines the Prince quips in what I thought was the best entry in the franchise by far. Oh and it's a "next-gen" (Im using this term with increased dislike =p) game I actually like.

Yes you all know there will be a review link at the end of this post.. but first some more screenshots.

Well.. artwork more than screenshots I guess.

O.K this one is a screenshot!

ANYWAY here is my review:- http://uk.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/princeofpersiaworkingtitle/player_review.html?id=655722

No fancy text link as GS is endlessly broken on that front.

Please Comment. Rate. Appreciate. And tell me how Im stuck in the past after my previous blog. Oh and in case I forget http://www.youtube.com/user/MangaminxSUBSCRIBE (most of you have now =p)!

I'll be back with more thrilling blogging in the future!

Yeh I'm terribly sorry to shove this on you my beloved readership but it's time I had a rant!

I've mentioned before how disinfranchised I am with this current gen of consoles on a number of times and I've mentioned on numerous occasions why I think the PS2 in particular is a far, far, far superior machine to anything that the current generation of consoles with better variety, more originality.. more soul to pretty much every part of it. Maybe I am stuck in the past but I have dug out a tonne of my older games and really see how better they are in almost every way shape and form compared to this gen's releases.

The onlycurrent gen game I have enjoyed this year has been Clive Barkers Jericho dammit! That IS shocking. Yeh we have Resident Evil5 for example but Resi stopped being Resident Evil back when it decided to become yet another 3rd person shooter series as opposed to a proper survival horror series. It is a title I want to buy for sure... but not one that excites me or makes me want to make a "get it now" purchase.

This > 4 and 5 combined

Recent announcements have really left me jaded towards this gen too, endless sequels, spin offs, usually third or first peron shooters. If I am brutally honest the 360 AND PS3 lineup set for 2009 makes me want to throw up in my mouth. Where is the variety? The volume? Where is the sheer choice I had for the PS2? It's non exsistant these days and to add insult to injury the only game recently announced I am excited about is the new Silent Hill on the Wii and PS2. In fact the more I think about it lately there seems to be a disturbing large amount of PS2 titles I want over ones with shiny graphics.

Looking at the Wii's current lineup in terms of volume and more and more in terms of choice I am ashamed to admit I may end up getting one because it seems to be the only console coming near to emulating what the PS2 did, not well enough I may add but it may be the next best option. But then I would fund Nintendo's evil casual gaming corporate machine, ah the decisions one must make eh?

Anyway end of this minor rant, hope you enjoyed, I suggest that when enough of you are moved by the power of my words we organise a console burning party.

Hi everyone,

Subscribe to my youtube channel for hot loliyuritwincest!! (or maybe just a FF2 Let's Play)

First of all I apologise for lack of blogs that I may or may not have promised in my last blog because I seem to be clinically addicted to Let's Plays and Youtube at the moment. I also apologise for lagging behind with comments and not being too active work plus youtube day consumed. BUT ANYWAY.. I have been tagged (apparently a few times) so I must therefore do a blog post with 10 thrilling facts about myself I didn't tell you last time I got tagged last year..

SO, without further ado..

1) I have travelled pretty much everywhere in Europe including the far reaches of Eastern Europe/Russia but have never left Europe itself.

2) My favourite meal in the whole world is egg, macaroni and croquets in cheese sauce. A little weird and it's been a loooong time since I had it but maybe Anne will see this and surprise me *hint hint*

3) I used to enjoy surfing back when I was younger and while I haven't even been swimming for about 5 years now I miss doing so as I was pretty good at it.

4) The first games I ever played were titles like Fred, Bugaboo and Attic Attack on my Uncles Spectrum, I really sucked at them.

5) I clocked up over 365 days playtime on Everquest thats pretty f**king bad.

6) I adore horror films and being scared and have recently reignited my love of horror video games.

7) My favourite colour is black and it's pretty much all I wear although I got out of accompanying that black clothing with white face paints and makeup back in my teens.

8 Despite not mentioning it here I (as my name suggests) read quite a lot of manga, dojinshi etc..

9) I own over 300 anime DVD's

10) My middle name is Anya

THAT IS ALL! (I may have repeated these before but hey it'll do)

I promise to be more active soon! Please comment in horror at my 365 days of Everquest!

Oh and I need to tag people right? I choose RE-GAMER X and AlmightyMax (I apologise if you have been tagged already but hey I have been inactive :p )

Sorry I've been so quiet I just have way too many games to play in my free time at the moment. Persona 4 is proving to be a major time suck in particular and I am now on the third dungeon.

Yukiko is definately my favourite character so far.

I think the most interesting thing so far is the games approach to sexuality (particularly Kanji of course) have a blog planned on that in the next week,

Other than that I've been playing a lot more Project Zero/Fatal Frame whatever and continuing my Let's Play of it which I am enjoying immensly. Managed to find my copy of the sequel , ah the fond twincest memories. So stay tuned for my new blog this week and if you haven't already http://www.youtube.com/user/Mangaminx. SUBSCRIBE!