Adam Zimmerman's Favorite Game Series! THE SHEP...Male and Female Sheps

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I have been playing video games for over 20 years. I started as a little kid playing Super Mario Bros. on the original NES. Over the years I have played hundreds, if not thousands, of different games, and the Mass Effect Series made me do something none of the others had ever done, feel genuine emotions.

Don’t get me wrong, games have made me excited, mad, happy, frustrated, etc., but only during my time with Mass Effect did I actually laugh out loud, have to try my hardest to hold back tears, or feel hatred toward a character. Even if it did nothing else, that alone would make me give my vote to Mass Effect for the greatest series in gaming.


I personally am the type of gamer who never plays through a game twice, even if there is stuff I missed the first time around. Even games that I consider to be in my top 5 all time, like the original Bioshock, never play through more than once. Mass Effect is a different story for me. I’ve played through the first one twice (soon to be 3 and 4), the second one I’ve played through somewhere around ten times, and the third one I’m about to start my third playthrough of.

Not to mention Bioware has always teased us during E3 and other conferences showing a live action trailers. Not the first to use this technique but the best. These trailers look so real and convey all the emotions of a Mass Effect game in under 2 minutes.

The games are experiences that I just can’t get enough of, and if you have never played any of them, then you’re missing out on some of the best on some of the best that gaming has to offer.
The simplest possibly explanation of the story of Mass Effect is that it is an epic intergalactic sci-fi adventure.

In the first game you are trying to stop an alien named Saren from taking over the universe. In the second game you are trying to figure out why the Collectors and Reapers are kidnapping thousands upon thousands of human colonists, and in the third and final entry you are fighting for the survival of all sentient beings in a war against the Reapers I don’t want to get too deep into the story however because my story won’t be the same as your story.


While both your and my stories would share major plot points, the details could be entirely different. Plenty of games have allowed player choices to effect the outcome of a game, but never before had the dozens upon dozens of decisions you make in each game carried over to the next. It’s amazing if you play through the entire series seeing the outcome of small decisions you made in the first game finally come to fruition 2 games later.


The series has evolved from its first entry back in 2007. While all 3 games fall into the action/rpg genre, the first Mass Effect was probably 70% rpg/30 shooter. Mass Effect 2 swung in the other direction playing 70% like a tactical shooter and 30% like an rpg before settling into the middle with Mass Effect 3.

For all three games you and your squad have a wide range of weapons and powers (sort of like magic in other games) at your disposal, and can pause the action at any time so you can tell your squad what you want them to do and more carefully pick your abilities and targets.


After the games have launched, Bioware has continued supporting the games by releasing several DLC’s for each. Each one adds several hours of gameplay, and adds to the already incredible story. The two that stand above the rest for me are the Lair of the Shadow Broker from Mass Effect 2, which reunites you with a teammate from ME1, and the Citadel from Mass Effect 3. Citadel is a trip down memory lane, and lets you get all of your living squadmates from all 3 games back together for one last time. There are also numerous nods to the previous games sprinkled throughout it.

Mass Effect 3 also saw the series first foray into multiplayer. For me it was a great success. It plays a lot like Gear of War Horde Mode, with 10 progressively harder levels before a final 2-minute survival 11th round. One of the things that makes the multiplayer so fun is that you can actually play as all the different alien races that until then had only been non playable.

The multiplayer also ties into the single player campaign. All the original maps were also mission locations in the campaign. Bioware has been great to their fans as well, putting out multiple multiplayer's DLC’s all for free.


Any look back at the Mass Effect series wouldn’t be complete without talking about the ending. Opinions vary widely from it being great to an absolute travesty. I fall somewhere between those extremes. However, this is a case where it’s not about the destination, but the journey. Bioware did release an extended ending that addressed many of the problems with the way they originally ended it though. They didn’t change the ending, just added to it.


In the end, no series is perfect. But between the emotional highs and lows, extremely high quality gameplay, impressive graphics, and arguably the best story telling in all of gaming, the Mass Effect series stands atop my list of greatest video game series of all time.

Future:

Mass Effect a year later has one more DLC which is still being played through. They've saved the best for last earning it's one individual review. 
Also Bioware has confirmed Mass Effect 4 giving us a whole new gaming engine to play on Oculus Rift. Also confirmed is that Shepard's story is over, he like Nolan's Batman is a trilogy so now, we'll have a completely new story to play through and get emotional over. This seems fitting that one of the best gaming series ever should do the classic reboot that most are doing these days. Tentative release date stands at 2014.

By: Adam Zimmerman

Replay Value: Extremely High (For All 3 Games)

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Review: "Dead Space 3" (2013) "Scare Me Once Shame On You, Scary Me Three Times....Dead Space."

 Now how can we review Dead Space 3 without going into details on the other two amazing games in the series. Remember to like our facebook page; @ https://www.facebook.com/GreatestReviewsOnTheNet?ref=hl "Our Honest View"

"Dead Space"
Dead Space is a survival horror game with its calling card being dismemberment. The Dead Space game puts you in control of your silent protagonist Isaac Clarke. Now to clear the air right
off the bat this game to me is not scary, in fact I was never terrified even once thought my play through. Dead Space relies too heavily on jump scares and while this tactic worked once after the 100 th time an enemy jumps out of an air vent or playing dead you come to expect it and it loses its touch. Now while the game in my opinion isn’t scary it does suck you in with its atmosphere and fun combat system forcing you to unlearn everything about aiming for the center of mass but to aim for the rather fragile limbs instead to dispatch your enemies. And speaking of dispatching your enemies there is a rather rudimentary leveling up system which you use to level up your health and various aspects of your weaponry. The big main thing that is bringing the dead back to live and turning them into flesh hungry necromorphs is the marker. Dead Space also has big boss monsters that you are forced to dispatch as well to either clear an area so that a section of the ship will work or simply because it keeps trying to kill you. There are also a few fun levels where the gravity has been turned off and you have to jump from platform to platform while enemies are attacking you, and solving puzzles in zero gravity was rather fun. You also have access to a stasis device which will freeze enemies for a short time and a telekinetic device which you will use to solve kindergarten level puzzles and throw sharp objects at your enemies. However, one of my big complaints is the lack of a voice and characterization that Isaac goes through. There is no way to feel invested or even sorry for this character as he rummages through this living hell trying to save his girlfriend and the rest of his crew. There is also a god awful turret level where you have to shoot asteroids as they are about to hit your ship which felt exceptionally tacked on and could have been completely removed from the game without losing anything.

Our Honest View gives "Dead Space" 3.5 out of 5. In conclusion even with these complaints this is still a good game even with how long it has been
out to give it a try the combat is fun and it is stingy enough with its ammo drops to create a few tense
moments, but with the lack of character development you really don’t care what happens.

Dead Space 2 review

Dead Space 2 sets the story after the events in the original Dead Space. You end up on the space
station on one of Saturn’s moon called Titian with no recollection on how you got there and even better you are imprisoned in an asylum. This time around Visceral games really bumped up the quality, and Isaac Clarke not only has a voice but he is heavily characterized and you begin to actually connect and feel for this character as he tries to destroy the marker and try to stop the visions of his dead girlfriend from haunting him. With all the problems that Dead Space had they fixed a good majority of them in the second installment. They still unfortunately rely too heavily on jump scares but the beginning scene in the game was the only time I was truly terrified since you were wearing a strait jacket and have to run for your life as necromorphs chase you, and while the original Dead Space only had a few variations in necromorphs Dead Space 2 beefs it up by adding many new ones and improving greatly on the enemy ai. Also while the original was filled with gray lifeless corridors in the new game the whole space station feels like people really did live there bringing more life and gravity to the necromorph outbreak. Another welcome addition to the game would have to be its higher weapon amount and its more in-depth leveling up system which made more noticeable differences making leveling up more rewarding. The stasis device also got reworked so that it would slowly recharge overtime making it more accessible to use in a tight pinch and making the game more fun as well. Another big improvement over the first game would also have to be the supporting cast. While in the first game Isaac’s support was always in the background and would only contact him via com-link in the new installment they are more fleshed out and even fight the necromorphs though they never follow Isaac into the dangerous missions. Another great addition that they made to the game was upgrading the number of suits that Isaac had available as well as making each one look unique and have different perks. Some suits will greatly increase your stasis recharge while others will increase your armor making each suit tailored to your individual play style. The last and most impressive addition to the Dead Space franchise was the competitive multiplayer mode. Though while it does feel tacked on as a way to check off a box on their company’s to do list it is actually quite fun with human players having to work together to complete objectives and escape while the other team who gets to play as the necromorphs have to stop them. The only really disappointing aspect of the game was the fact that the main plot repeated itself in the first game you were required to destroy the marker and then once again in the second game you have to destroy another marker I’m just worried that in the third installment you will have to of course destroy another marker.

Our Honest View gives "Dead Space 2" a 4.5/5 while it is still flawed it shows great improvement.In conclusion this is a good step in the right direction for Visceral games making Isaac Clarke a more human character and creating a very engrossing story that quickly makes you forget that the air
vent that the monster just attacked you from has no other form on entrance and is literally just an
enclosed space with a necromorph in it.

"Dead Space 3"
And I was right only this time you have to destroy a mega marker. Dead Space 3 sets the
story in what seems like a couple of years after Isaac’s victory in the second game. Only everything has not ended happily ever after for our hero because we see him alone and rather disheveled as we listen to Ellie on his answering machine telling him that she is leaving him. In the third installment the whole horror aspect of the game is very quickly thrown out the window for more of a thriller appeal. This game is not scary but it does contain some very tense moments and the addition of multiplayer surprisingly does not hinder that but increase the tension. The story for the third game will take Isaac and Carver (your co-op partner) to an abandoned fleet of 200 year old military ships and a long forgotten frozen planet to destroy the final marker which will shut all the other markers down and save mankind. After Isaac’s two victories against the markers he has been singled out by the unitologists as the “Marker Killer” and that has caused them to take a much more active approach and their attempts to kill you has given Isaac the ability to roll and use cover now for luckily the few levels where you will be forced to kill gun toting minions. Now my first big complaint with this game would have to be its story Isaac conquered his inner demons in the second game and that makes his involvement in this one rather bland. He is no longer haunted by Nicole his dead girlfriend in fact Isaac has no hallucinations at all throughout the entire game making your co-op fiend Carver actually more fun to play. Carver has a very troubled past with the death of his wife and son causing the marker to attack his mind and force him to either fight his inner demons or die leaving the main character Isaac missing out and making Carver seem like a deeper character. This time around we actually see Carver grow and develop as a character while Isaac keeps chasing Ellie around trying to win her back from some jerk named Robert Norton who very quickly becomes the least liked character in the game.

However, on the good side this game again makes great leaps and has a couple new set of
necromorphs for you to fight making their encounters very tough and a weapon crafting system that
is ridiculously fun and addicting. Though while suits where something you had to save and scrape by
for now they are just given to you free of charge and even better the suits have literally no effect on
gameplay they are merely a cosmetic choice on what you want you Isaac to wear. Also while each suit in Dead Space 2 was unique and offered something new to the table a lot of the suits look virtually the same with only minor color scheme changes and whether it is a visor or goggles that you see out of. In my opinion that was a giant step back it makes you feel like you aren’t obtaining anything if the game just throws you suits that alter nothing except on what your character looks like. Another big thing that EA did which is gathering hype is the micro transactions meaning that you can buy all the supplies you need to make the most powerful weapon you can dream up and not even have played for an hour. Now while this doesn’t seem like a bad thing it makes playing multiplayer with someone who has done this brutally boring as you simply sit back as his overpowered weapons tear the necromorphs to shreds and removes all tension.

Our Honest View gives "Dead Space 3" 4 out of 5. In conclusion Visceral made great strides by giving you the ability to make your own weapons and giving Isaac an actual out door location to fight new and exciting necromorphs, but it falls short by having a rather bland story and taking Isaac’s characterization a step back by making the optional co-op character Carver have a more interesting story and actually develop. The second game was much more enjoyable with a gripping story and actual moments of terror instead of just tension.

By: Tyler Comp