Tag Archives: rant

5 Things I Hate About Mass Effect (That Were Fixed in Mass Effect 2)

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Recently a friend of mine compelled me to finish Mass Effect, the hit sci-fi RPG from BioWare that made its debut way back in 2007.  I actually hadn’t touched the game in over a year and having now finished it, I feel like some purpose has been added to my life.  Ok, that’s a stretch but it did feel good to finally knock it out.

Anyways, despite my love for the story, characters, and general polish of the experience, there were a few things that bugged the ever-loving shit out of me that have been rectified in Mass Effect 2.

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Dear Apple: Stop the Anti-Flash Crusade

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Hi Apple,

I’d like to talk to you today about your decision to not support Flash.

We get that you’ve spurred lots of innovation over the years, but your image has taken some serious hits lately what with the anti-porn defense for the app store, violent search warrants, and factory worker suicides.  You were the bad boy on the block, eschewing our perceptions of  lifeless corporate routine by shaking things up and well, thinking different. But now, you’ve missed the mark by telling us what to think and tarnished that grand image you’ve cultivated over all these years.

I’ve no problem with your decision to not support Flash. You’ve given us one of the best operating systems on the planet and we thank you for it and it’s your decision as to what technology you wish to employ on your devices. However, what I do have a problem with is the manner in which you’ve chosen to justify that decision. Beating up on another company’s technology, especially one with such a rich history of supporting your products is kind of a dick move.

In fact, it’s starting to look like you’ve gotten a little too big for your turtleneck. Innovation needn’t be fueled by slanderous undermining. As new technologies emerge, their efficiency will propel their adoption just fine, without the need for browbeating their predecessors. Much in the same way the advantages of digital distribution became apparent over traditional media, so too will web developers latch on to the next means of producing dynamic web content, leaving Flash to gracefully join the likes of 10baset networks and vb6.

You know we love you Apple, and we want others to see what made you so special in the first place, but as it stands today we need you to go back to being the hammer- not the telescreen.

Sincerely,
Joshua

Returning to Rapture

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As I write this, I’m sitting at at my desk in the basement with only the sights and sounds of Bioshock behind me.  Nicole’s played, I’d say no less than 7 hours or so today, meticulously working through a strategy guide to research every last splicer, recover each and every audio log, and rescue every last little sister.  Normally I’d implore her to pop in something we can both play together, but not tonight.  No, tonight I’m simply as fascinated watching her play through Andrew Ryan’s twisted and derelict underwater dystopia as I was the first time I entered that fateful bathysphere over two years ago. So why am I so enthralled at the adventure I’ve already experienced?  Is it because the sequel is just around the corner, launching next week?  Certainly, but it’s more than just that.  Read on if you’d like to know more about why I hold Irrational Games’ masterpiece in such a high esteem.

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