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#SaveMassEffect

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What This Is About: "You exist because we allow it, and you will end because we demand it." -Mass Effect Reaper Following a leveraged buyout by the Saudi Arabian government , the publisher Electronic Arts has announced the closure of the studio BioWare and the cancellation of their next game, Mass Effect: Universe (previously known as Mass Effect 5). BioWare is a studio that specialized in creating rich worlds with characters that captivated gamers for over 30 years: Baldur's Gate , Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn , Neverwinter Nights , Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic , Jade Empire , the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series. A lack of dedicated resources, crunch, trend-chasing, and shifting ambiguous plans from the leadership at Electronic Arts (EA) put the studio into a downward spiral from which they have yet to recover. Electronic Arts decision to close BioWare and cancel the next Mass Effect jeopardizes the studio's incredible legacy. A leake...
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Music to Level Up Your Day: Zone of the Enders

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I don't know much about musical theory, nor am I a musically inclined person. However, I do love to listen to video game soundtracks. They can be a powerful listening experiences in their own right, or be as evocative as the scores composed for film. Each of these posts will feature a sampling of music tracks from a single game title, or series/franchise in some rare cases. A complete list of these can be found on the Video Game Music page. Composers: Maki Kirioka, Akihiro Honda, Norihiko Hibino, Toshiyuki Kakuta, Shuichi Kobori Singer: Heart of Air, Maki Kimura Release Date: March 2001 (ZOE) and February 2003 (2nd Runner) Set in the 2100's, humanity has branched out from Earth to colonize Mars and Jupiter's moons. Over time the relationship between the three degraded as Earth began to see itself as superior to the Martian people and exploited them for labor and resources. "Ender" became a derogatory term for anyone not born on Earth and growing t...
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My Time at Sandrock Review: A Diamond In The Rough

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Review based on patch 1.3.0.0 Story: Set in a post-post-apocalyptic world 300 years after the "Day of Calamity", an event that destroyed civilization and most technology. The people who survived had to rebuild society from scraps. The player character is part of the "Alliance of Free Cities", a coalition of independent city-states comprising Atara, Highwind, Lucien, Portia, Sandrock, Tallsky, Vega 5 and Walnut Groove. They are wary of technology but not completely opposed to its use. The Alliance is engaged in conflict with the "Empire of Duvos", which seeks to expand its territory and obtain powerful ancient technology. Non-affiliated and neutral countries include Barnarock, Ethea, Meidi, and The Peripheries. Max or Lucy (default player character names) is a "builder" who travels to Sandrock from Highwind to take up a job offer after the previous builder, Mason, retired to Portia. The remote desert settlement of Sandrock struggles with d...
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Music to Level Up Your Day: Dispatch

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I don't know much about musical theory, nor am I a musically inclined person. However, I do love to listen to video game soundtracks. They can be a powerful listening experiences in their own right, or be as evocative as the scores composed for film. Each of these posts will feature a sampling of music tracks from a single game title, or series/franchise in some rare cases. A complete list of these can be found on the Video Game Music page. Composer: Andrew Arcadi Singer: Deep Dream, Primer, Brea "Bershy" Shay, Release Date: November 2025 Set in an alternate Los Angeles where superheroes and supervillains are commonplace, society has been divided between the "supers" (those born with powers) and "normies" (those born without). Robert Robertson III is a "normie" who achieved superhero status thanks to a mechanical suit passed down through his family. While hunting his father's killer, Robert is lured into a trap and narrowl...
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Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner Review: Since When Are Mechs This Stylish?

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Story: Set in the 2100's, humanity has branched out from Earth to colonize Mars and Jupiter's moons. Over time the relationship between the three degraded as Earth began to see itself as superior to the Martian people and exploited them for labor and resources. "Ender" became a derogatory term for anyone not born on Earth and growing tensions between the two eventually led to Mars forming their own military organization called "BAHRAM" (the ancient Persian name for Mars). Specially made mechanical suits called "Orbital Frames" , piloted by people called "Runners" , allowed Mars to hold their own against Earth's UNSF forces (United Nations Space Force). The cold war between BAHRAM and the UNSF blew up into full on war in the year 2172 when the UNSF took control of BAHRAM's production facility. BAHRAM managed to recapture one of their most powerful Orbital Frames called "Anubis" , but a second frame called "Jehu...
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Music to Level Up Your Day: Xenoblade Chronicles X (Part 2)

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I don't know much about musical theory, nor am I a musically inclined person. However, I do love to listen to video game soundtracks. They can be a powerful listening experiences in their own right, or be as evocative as the scores composed for film. Each of these posts will feature a sampling of music tracks from a single game title, or series/franchise in some rare cases. A complete list of these can be found on the Video Game Music page. Composer: Hiroyuki Sawano Singers: Aimee Blackschleger, Cyua, Mika Kobayashi, mpi, Sayulee, North American Release Date: December 4, 2015 In the year 2054, a galactic war forces humanity to flee Earth aboard spaceships dubbed "arks". After being pursued by extraterrestrials for two years, the "White Whale" ark makes a crash landing on the uncharted planet Mira. Several stasis pods are ejected during the crash, of which the protagonist Cross is one of the only survivors. Rescued by Elma, the leader of BLADE (Bu...
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Rune Factory 3 Special Review: Pulling The Wool Over Everyone's Eyes

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"Special" is a port and minimalist remaster of the original handheld title. Rune Factory 3 was the game to introduce many of the series staple gameplay systems and is when the Rune Factory series "finally got good" according to most fans. That said, the remaster retains some of the rough edges from those early days. The controls are slippery and finicky, causing Micah (protagonist) to hit the wrong field tiles. Other times if you aren't standing in the exact spot the game wants you to be in it will be impossible to collect resources from ore and stumps, even though visually, it looks like you should be able to. Of the three games I have played (RF3, RF4, and RF5), this entry in the series has my favorite player home. The colorful cast of characters are considered to be the most eccentric of any Rune Factory game and I love it. There is just something about Rune Factory's brand of 'quirky character' that suits their world. Sofia and Sherman f...
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