Defending Mass Effect

Defending Mass Effect

So . . . I loved Mass Effect: Andromeda!

 

Yes, I am a hardcore fan of the Mass Effect trilogy. Yes, I played them to the end three times. No, I didn’t hate the ending enough to let it ruin the rest of the games.

 

So, what? I’m reviewing video games now? No, I’m not, but this is a series I love dearly, and I’m sick and tired of seeing the one-sided arguments laid out against it. This isn’t a review of Andromeda, but a quick argument that it was a decent game. At the very least. it didn’t deserve to end up on so many worst games of 2017 lists. I’ll briefly touch upon the hate 3 got before moving on to Andromeda. If I vanish suddenly and without a trace, a crazy Mass Effect Zealot did it! Also: If the statement above render my opinion useless to you, you’re a giant tool, but I understand. (I really don’t, but whatever.)

 

The unending waves of hate:

Wubba lubba dub dub! I saw this video, and was immediately reminded of my own experiences with the Mass Effect series. I’ve had people come up to me in the streets because of my . . . fashion choice. I bought the jacket you see in the picture below because:
A) I love me some Mass Effect.
B) I was doing a new playthrough of the entire trilogy (femshep represent!) and couldn’t for the life of me get over how awesome these games are.
C) And this is the most important bit: The black and red design and the N7 logo are among the coolest looking uniform/armor/costume things I have ever seen. I probably would’ve bought an N7 item without even knowing about Mass Effect if I saw it at the store.

 

But I digress: What I’m trying to say is that the hate is completely off the charts on this one. I’m fine being greeted with ‘Commander,’ or ‘Shepard,’ (who on earth wouldn’t be?) when I pass someone on the street. But when I’m stopped and almost asked to explain myself, or asked whether I bought the jacket before or after playing Mass Effect 3, that’s bordering on harassment. I don’t want to have a discussion, drunken or sober, with someone screaming in my face about crayons and kindergartners, color choice and what huge pieces of shit the people at Bioware are. (This happened, by the way, step by step.)

‘This is my favorite jacket on the citadel.’

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Stop the negativity!

This one is for all you negative nellies out there. And you youngsters too. (I know, I’m not that old myself, but bear with me, please.)

 

Don’t dismiss an entire concept outright just because someone else has trouble with elements of it.

 

What on earth did I just say? Let me simplify: When someone is having trouble related to their significant other; don’t immediately say, ‘This is why I’m never getting married.’ First of all, you don’t know that, no matter how old you are. If you’re divorced, I can understand that you’re a little scorned on the subject, but if you’ve never been married, you can’t possibly know enough about it to just dismiss it like that. This goes double if you’re young, because young people – myself included – have a tendency to generalize and simplify most things. Never getting married, never having kids, never doing this or that. Yes, you are, my dear. Not because it’s the grown-up thing to do, but because someday you might actually want to.
Yeah, right . . .

‘I’m never having kids, they’re so annoying!’

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Is it worth it?

Relationships. How much should you really invest in them? Are all of them worth it?

No, I’m not getting divorced or anything, but there are some burning bridges behind me. I’ve lived a mostly sheltered life free of conflict, but there’s been a few incidents and confrontations over the years that really, really put me off people and much of their bullshit in general . . . No, I’m not trying to do the cool introvert-y thing where I ‘hate’ people because I’m so much better than them. I just genuinely can’t seem to invest in people I don’t care about. Subsequently, the list of people I care about is short and growing shorter.

To a degree, people! Do a degree!

To a degree, people! Do a degree!

Concerning experience

Everyone has experience in some way, shape or form; it’s what life is comprised of. Mostly, these will not the same experiences as yours – even far from it, sometimes – but that doesn’t negate the whole thing. If people were to only give advice if they’d had a 99% similar experience – not to mention with the same approximate impact – no one would ever give advice.

I’m actually a perpetrator myself this time, so I suppose that for me this sounds a little bit like a perfect world scenario. I often find myself struggling to take advice from others. Not so much because their experiences don’t match mine, but because I’d rather work through shit my own way. I understand that most advice comes from a well-meaning standpoint, but getting advice when you haven’t asked for it?no_u_for_knowyourmeme

They don’t care about you

This one is kinda bleak, but it’s also true. I’ll admit that the title is a little over the top, but hear me out: People mostly talk to throw their own voice into the mix. Maybe they just love the sound of it, maybe they have something important to tell (according to themselves), maybe something really funny happened or maybe they just need to get something off their chest. Either way, they aren’t doing for your benefit; they’re doing it for their own.

    

We all know the old adage, and like many, I’ve grown sick and tired of having conversations where people just talk to hear their own voice. Couldn’t we rather enjoy the silence for once, huh? On certain days, this gets so bad that I just decide to keep my mouth shut. And people don’t really seem to notice it, because they’re all busy talking about their own things. But then suddenly someone sees me, and feel the need to tell me that I’ve been quiet lately. ‘Well, you know what? It sounds like you people pretty much got this covered. I’ll be over here with my thoughts . . . they ones you just interrupted to tell me that I’m being quiet.’ I’ll admit once again that I’m being bit of a negative Nelly here. People talk to one another (or past one another); it’s how we pass the time. If the conversations are boring, I can either try to contribute or I can leave. Sometimes, I kinda feel like the angsty teenager that wants to get invited to the party just so he can decline the invitation. But there is more to this. I can endure boring small-talk as well as the next person, but when people make the conversation about me when I’m not participating, I get pissy! And you wouldn’t find me nearly as complacent and non-threatening when I’m pissy! (Working on a punchline for a superhero . . . how’s that one?) I’ll try to explain:

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