A Journey 600 Years in the Making

Mass Effect: Andromeda is out, which means I get to dive right back into one of my favorite video game franchises. I think the original Mass Effect trilogy is a near perfect set of games. The amount of time you invest in your team rewards with you all the personal interactions, and that's always been the main draw for me. 

Once I boarded the new ship--the Tempest--I instantly felt like I'd arrived in a Mass Effect world. Is the game perfect? No. But I still really enjoy the game, which means the game overcomes it's shortcomings for me. I love this game, even if the reception has been pretty divided, and that's okay.

Between this and Breath of the Wild, I don't know where I'll find time to sleep.

The new characters are interesting, including Jaal, who is from a new alien race. These new aliens are pretty uggo, but they are interesting, so it balances out. Liam is a cool bro to talk to, Vetra is a cool...mom-like character, and Peebee brings some levity to an otherwise serious game. I left out Cora, because I don't trust anyone with the last name Harper in Mass Effect (I'm looking at you, Illusive Man). 

Mass Effect is a continuation of what has been, so far, one of my favorite years in gaming already. Resident Evil 7, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mass Effect: Andromeda have all been exactly what I hoped for. 

Hopefully the rest of the year can continue to give us fun experiences.

Breadth of the Wild

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is...wow. It's everything I've ever wanted from a Zelda game.It takes the best elements from every open-world and every Zelda game and combines it into a masterpiece.

I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this game.

Everything from roaming the open world to solving individual puzzles feels exciting and new--something that's hard to do for a series that has been around as long as Zelda has. There is so much detail and love put into this game, that I understand--for the first time--why this game was delayed so much. It's missing nothing and so well polished.

The Zelda series is known for it's consistency, but Breath of the Wild somehow manages to raise the bar even more for the series. This game truly lets you experience the most complete open-world experience I have ever played. And I love the heck out of The Witcher: Wild Hunt.

I've had more memorable moments playing Breath of the Wild's first 10 hours than I did in the entirety of 2016 (including Dishonored 2's excellent Clockwork Mansion).

The game manages to feel like a Zelda game while still deviating from Zelda traditions in so many ways. It's a masterclass in open world game design and game design in general, and I can't wait to go play a lot more.