Is Mass Effect 3's Citadel DLC really worth it?

Yes, yes it totally is. I'll talk about the topic spoiler free at first but I'll get really into it in the spoiler section.

 I was as disappointed as everyone else when the ME3 came out. Without spoiling anything, the problem comes when you find out who is behind the whole reaper threat. Then they force you to make a choice, and all the choices are dumb. It's the same problem I had with Fallout: New Vegas. You give us a choice, but I hate all of the choices. Now a sad ending can work, (for example Fallout 3), but it has to feel earned. With Mass Effect, and New Vegas for that matter, I felt like "Seriously, these are the only ways this can go? Your telling me we can't make this work in a better way." Sometimes I feel like Frank Sinatra or Finn and I just wanna force through and get things done MY WAY.

But seriously the citadel DLC is totally worth it and it may even be my favorite DLC in all of Mass Effect. I may even like it better than Leviathan and the Lair of the Shadow Broker. Citadel allows you to go on a short adventure with your team. Even bring back Wrex from the first game, allowing you to have your entire team with you. It also gives you the chance to have even more personal time with whichever character you're romancing. But most importantly you get to ..... 

PARTY !!!!!!!!

The greatest thing about Mass Effect was it's characters. I loved everybody on the ship for all three games. YES, even Ashley. Citadel allows you to actually spend time with the group and enjoy them as people er... um aliens....well people and aliens I guess. 

Now before I go into the spoilers I just want to say that if you are on the fence because you are still pissed at EA for that ending, OR you were interested until you heard people bitching up and down about the ending and consequently didn't get it: PICK UP THE GAME. Citadel is well worth your money and lots of fun to play through. I know, you don't want to give them even more of your cash but I'd say Mass Effect 3 with the extended ending, Leviathan DLC, and the Citadel DLC, is a pretty solid game. The other DLC's are good but not essential. I wouldn't recommend playing ME3 without Leviathan and Citadel. Also DO NOT play the Citadel DLC until you are at the end of the game. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll say its after the mission where you run into Miranda and her sister. You will be given the final mission after that and this is the perfect time to do the Citadel DLC. One last hurrah before you go off to destroy the reapers. Well Now that that's out of the way. 

Now the original ending to Mass Effect was a bit of a let down. In the first and second game the Reapers were a real threat. THey were a mysterious, awe inspiring, formidable, and seemingly unstoppable force that was going to wipe out the galaxy. However in the end, they were run by a faulty AI gone rouge. Either that or you sign on to the whole indoctrination theory. An interesting theory but I could never sign on for it, because it's kind of a 'fuck you' to the audience. Now, to be fair a big pull the rug out from under you surprise ending can work for one game ( i.e. Bioshock), but you can't build up a trilogy making us care about the characters, just to end it with AND YOUR ALL FUCKED.

Damn you Star Child!!!!!

To be honest, that whole thing reminded me of another scene I hate.

But with Leviathan and Citadel DLC the games ending doesn't seem nearly as bad. When you actually find Leviathan and discover what the Reapers really are, I felt like "Damn, this is how the game should have done this in the first place." It stays in line with the epic scale and makes you feel like Shepard is facing impossible odds. Citadel gives us all the real goodbye we wanted. In the main game you get to say last words on a video phone. A FUCKING VIDEO PHONE. While some random dude watches you. You cant have a real moment with them because you have the operator staring at you. Citadel allows you to really say goodbye.

Internet Commercials Suck.. But They Don't Have To.

I love watching things on the internet. I actually don't even have cable because I can catch any show I want to see online. Between Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Streaming I can see just about any show I want to see with relative ease. The problem is when you watch so many videos on Youtube and Hulu, you end up watching loads of commercials. And unfortunately it's gotten to the point where I honestly hate the internet ads. 

I realize the real reason internet adds suck more than regular comercials. Because we are more likely to watch them. Nobody watches commercials on TV for the most part (unless its REALLY funny). During the commercial break most people run to the bathroom or get something to eat. Internet commercials are short and because the video can be paused we don't feel the need to get up whenever the commercial break starts. So we end up watching them, which wouldn't be so unbearable if they weren't all THE FUCKING SAME! Every I'm sick and tired of having to sit through the same commercial over and over again. I'll admit I always pay attention for a new commercial but after seeing the same one maybe 30 times a day, it begins to get a little jarring. The problem is on Youtube people get sponsored, so if you are going through a bunch of videos on one Youtuber's channel then you will be seeing lots of the same commercial. 

But these commercials don't have to suck. Advertisers are missing a great opportunity being on the internet. Why are they just showing us stuff like they do with TV adds when they could be interacting with us. I once saw a commercial for a puzzle game where instead of showing they actually gave me the option of doing a puzzle and I played it for like 20 mins. Then bought the game. Advertisers aren't being creative, they are just taking the adds from TV and putting it on the internet. So advertisers I'm talking to YOU. Because I'm sure you all read my Blog, here is what you could do to make commercials better. 

1. Change it up. And I'm not saying the same advertiser can't advertise twice. I mean you should have different commercials even when it's the same product. We get sooo tired of the same ad over and over and over and over and over and over and over and..... you get the point. 

2. Make it more interactive or creative. Hit us with something we haven't seen before. Screw with our expectations.  Like the 'don't skip it' intro to the Evil Dead add. Where we got told not to skip the trailer. It totally threw me off when I saw it. 

3. Keep em short. The longer the commercial the more tempted I will be to leave. Honestly most places do a good job of this already but sometimes I'll notice some pretty long commercials in there for certain programs. If the commercial gets to long you run into the same problem that you had with the TV adds. People turn off completely and don't want to see int anymore. 

DO these things and maybe, JUST MAYBE, I'll consider buying your products. And hey someday maybe we'll look at ads as something we look forward to, instead of something we have to put up with. 

Why We Should Never Pre-Order Video Games Again

I know that I probably shouldn't make my first entry such an angry one, but I think that this is an issue  that deserves our attention. Video Games aren’t cheap, especially for young people. We pay $60 plus tax to get a new game. Now I love video games, but the gaming industry and stores like Game Stop are pushing for people to pre-order EVERYTHING instead of getting it the old fashioned way. And this practice puts the consumer at a pretty large disadvantage.

Love this game

                 Love this game too

I remember the first game I ever pre-ordered was Windwaker for the GameCube. Nintendo offered anyone who pre-ordered the game a special disk with TWO VERSIONS of Ocarina of Time, and I thought that deal was amazing. It really was a win win situation. It’s good for the company because they have a number of sales before they even release the game. And it was good for consumers because we got an extra game as a thank you for pre-ordering. Now take a moment to think about that. You got AN ENTIRE GAME as a prize for pre-ordering. Two games really. So things started out nice but then companies got lazy. Nowadays we get a bonus skin for our character or we get to some special armor when we start the game. To me it feels less like a prize for pre-ordering and more like them just withholding part of the game if you don’t pre-order. Honestly think about the last few pre-order specials you got. Did they feel like something extra or just something that should have been included in the game from the beginning? Video games came with fun modes and unlockables as a reward for playing all the way through or finding and Easter egg. Now those same fun modes are held hostage, and we don't get them unless we pre-order or pay an extra fee online.

My biggest problem with pre-ordering is that we have no idea what we just paid for. Sure we may know the game series, but sometimes a new developer is brought on to design the sequel and they can kinda screws it up. *Cough* *Cough* Obsidian *Cough*. When you pre-order you haven’t seen any reviews. You don’t know anything about the quality of what you are buying, and personally I think that $60 is a lot to spend on a shot in the dark. Let’s not forget what just happened with the Aliens Colonial Marines.

Because of the pre-orders, this game sold like crazy before anybody even knew it sucked. Well I suppose the developers knew. But my point being that people basically had been duped.

Now I know that the video game industry's response to this would be something like “Well we loose so much money because of game rental companies and people reselling used games.” Well in response to that I’d say News Flash: Every medium has to put up with that. What makes you so special? Books, DVD's, Blu-rays, even computers get resold all the time. Hell, libraries rent books out for FREE. In 2010 the video game industry made around 100 billion dollars. I can’t say they're hurting for cash.

100 billion, That's a lot of coins.

So what can we do? What can the average person do against multi billion dollar companies. I’d say lets just stop it. Stop pre-ordering games just to get some stupid bonus skin. Funny thing is, video games are one of the only industries that can get away with this. Imagine if the Blu-ray you bought didn’t come with special features. Instead you’re left with a message that says, “You have to pre-order the disk to see the gag reel. You may go online and purchase the special features for $10.” I’m telling you if we keep doing the pre-order thing, that’s where we’re headed. Now I know that not pre-ordering can be difficult. I’ll admit I couldn’t resist pre-ordering Batman: Arkham City, just for a few brief moments as Robin. But we have to resist. 

So this is my proposal: From this point on, lets not pre-order anything unless the item offered is amazing. BUT only put down the minimum amount money needed to pre-order. Then, before picking it up, look at the reviews. If the game is as abysmal as Aliens was then skip it. I know, I know you put down five bucks. Well I'd rather loose $5 than loose $60 on a bad game. Then when the game company finds that no one is shelling out the money promised to them by the pre-orders then maybe, just maybe, they'll have to think twice about trying to sneak a crap game under the radar.