ME2 | The Will to Act Freely, With or Against the Law

To continue my rampage over the ME3 ending, there is an excellent article that picks apart the ending of the game with specific reasons to feel disappointed. It justifies the fans' negative response in an eloquent manner. Worth reading, but be warned: there are massive spoilers, since it literally takes moments from the last ten minutes and exploits them. (I haven't played the game yet but was willing to be spoiled in order to understand why the ending certifiably sucks.) If you're not even a gamer, it's also worth reading. First of all, it furthers a point I've tried to make with this blog: gamers are people, too. Smart people, even. There is more to video games than staring at a television set for 12 hours, drooling, sweating, and getting calluses on your thumbs. Yes, sometimes that happens, but we put an intellectual and emotional (and, technically, physical) investment in these games that sometimes transcends that of any other medium. It's a very personal and exciting experience to play video games, especially RPG's, in my opinion. So, there. 


Garrus Loyalty


Have I mentioned that Garrus is also one of my favorite characters from the ME series? I don't really know why. I'll have to think about it. Perhaps I like him even more as a Renegade FemShep. I contemplated pursuing a relationship with him as my FemShep character, but didn't end up going there. (Actually, I didn't end up pursuing any romantic connections at all in this playthrough.) Perhaps it's because I can appreciate sarcasm, and Garrus definitely amps up the sarcasm.


Largely, this mission was about understanding the difference between vengeance and revenge. (The mission is even called "Eye for an Eye".) Garrus was effectively being a turian version of Batman who acted as an anonymous vigilante to wipe out crime syndicates and mercenaries. He gathered other strongarms who believed in his cause. One of those sidekicks, Sidonis, turned on him and caused his entire team to be murdered. Naturally, Garrus is seriously upset about it, dealing with a lot of guilt and anger. The mission (should you choose to accept it) is about helping Garrus to either kill the SOB or forgive and forget him. As a Renegade, I absolutely helped him with the killing. (Garrus is an excellent sniper, let me tell you.) 


I couldn't help but remember that scene from Batman Begins when Rachel Dawes is talking to Bruce after the trial for his parents' murderer. She points out that Bruce wanting to kill his parents' murderer is revenge, not vengeance.
Define "revenge":  The action of inflicting hurt or harm on someone for a wrong suffered at their hands.
Define "vengeance":  Punishment inflicted or retribution exacted for an injury or wrong.
By the dictionary, there is no definitive difference between the two. Hence the confusion. I think a lot of the issue here is that revenge indicates pleasure or satisfaction with the act, whereas vengeance is supposed to be a form of justice that elicits no pleasure from the enforcer. Revenge is dehumanizing, but vengeance is morally acceptable. I find this interesting, since the dictionary claims that they're synonymous and society differentiates them by emotional empathy. One word changes whether or not you're morally reasonable. Is this a clever ploy created by some guy years ago to make murdering his dirty cheating wife justifiable?
This clip isn't the whole scene, and cuts out the dialogue that I'm referring to, but I always laugh when Rachel slaps him not once, but twice. This remix nearly made me erupt with laughter in the middle of a quiet library area. Oops.

(Quick sidenote: I've completed the Batman Begins video game for Gamecube a dozen times. I loved Batman, and it was the only real game I had at the time. There wasn't an Xbox or a Wii in my household then. And who doesn't want to be Batman at some point in their lives? I got to drive the Batmobile!)


Investigating a Collector Ship


Every time I do this level, it kinda freaks me out. This game isn't easy to play at night if I'm alone in my room, I admit it. The Collectors are creepy. It's the one area of the game where I take pleasure in blasting my guns. I loathe the husks with a fiery passion and enjoy watching those ugly, evil creatures fall to their deaths. The Collectors themselves are just below my feelings for husks, so I hate them, too. (After knowing things from the ending of this game and ME3, I don't hate them quite so much. All for the love of science and, in a twisted way, saving the galaxy. But I'll always hate the husks. They're almost an equivalent to zombies, except worse.) The danger of influence and science at its most extreme form is embodied by the Collectors themselves. (Again, nod to ME3 with the issue of organic versus synthetic.) The whole place is like a technological beehive. I don't like bees. It makes sense that the game makers did it this way, though, since the Collectors harvest species for study. They're meant to be like insects. 

Personally, I was pissed that the Illusive Man lured me into the ship. He planned the whole thing just so he could get some intel from the inside of a Collector ship. From the Renegade perspective, though, it made sense. Shepard makes impossible missions possible and has some of the best of the best crew members in the whole galaxy, so having confidence in FemShep's abilities is reasonable. Furthermore, the opportunity to learn about the Collectors from first-hand experience is rare and incredible. Their technology - which is technically Prothean and Reaper technology - is very advanced. To be able to study that would be amazing and could help out humanity as well as other species. (In other words, it's a very dangerous thing to put into the Illusive Man's hands as a Paragon, but a very good and innovative thing to give him as a Renegade.)


FemShep spoke with Mordin after the mission. (He's the voice of reason in all of this chaos, which is interestingly contrasted with the difficulty of following his speech pattern.) The Collectors are not Protheans, or even descendants of Protheans. They are clones of Protheans. Their genetic and organic material was studied, taken apart, and put back together with modifications to create the Collectors, a race purely designed by the Reapers to collect species, study them, and probably do the exact same thing. (ME3 answers this, I think.) They have no culture or personality - nothing that gives them any sense of individuality.  Culture and art, as Mordin points out, represent a philosophical and intellectual progression in some form. Advancement in society is dangerous at opposite ends of the spectrum; if there is no progression when society is ready for it, or progression when society is not ready for it, bad things happen. There must be a balance where a step forward in culture occurs when the people are prepared for it. As time changes, society changes. The Collectors have no society to be changed, and time makes no difference to them. This proves their synthetic connection - the part of them that is technologically altered by the Reapers. They're organic robots. It's an awesome and terrifying idea. 

Image of Prothean statues on planet Ilos from ME1. (Click to enlarge.) Supposedly, a living Prothean actually makes an appearance in ME3 which has me really excited. It's difficult to see what they look like here, and the Collectors have altered the actual appearance of the Protheans.

Miranda Loyalty


There isn't a lot to say about this one, I don't think. There's the stuff about Miranda as a character, which is interesting. She is a genetically-modified human. Everything about her is made to be perfect, or as close to perfection as physically possible - even her appearance, as she herself points out. Technology assisted with making her so freakishly awesome, but she's very much a living being with flesh, blood, and personality. Not an organic robot. She has some serious baggage, though, about having no choice in the matter. Her father literally designed her to be this way. He's so narcissistic and egomaniacal that he used his own genetic material and combined it with whatever else he found that was the best of the best. She doesn't have a mom. (How sad!) She ran away from him once she had planned it out and was old enough to, and Cerberus scooped her up. She quickly rose in ranks and became one of the Illusive Man's best cohorts. Goody.


This mission is about Miranda's identical twin. Genetically, anyway, since her twin is actually several years younger. Miranda kidnapped her sister, Oriana, to save her from their father. She did it to protect her, since she understood the villainous ways of her father and wished to spare her from that life. You could compare her to the "silent angels" that euthanize dying patients in hospital wards, acting by the belief that they're helping others when perhaps they're not. (Free will, folks.) Did she have the right to do it? Maybe since she's actually a familial connection, there's more of a reason for her to be allowed to do it. And, of course, she experienced it herself and actually knows for a fact what her father is like. I'm on the fence about it. The situation warrants more merit than the typical trying-to-protect-my-sibling case. But I also never got to hear about the father's side of the situation, nor much about him as a guy beyond the fact that he's uber wealthy and successful in business. The whole concept of twins and genetics and whatnot is particularly relevant to me because I'm an identical twin. All those jokes and references and stuff made in society about twins is something I'm either fully aware of or have experienced in my two decades of life. I can attest to the fact that I'm absolutely not a clone, by the way, and that there are some pretty substantial differences between my sister and I. 


I'd really like to pick a bone with Bioware about potentially sexist programming with her character, how the camerawork specifically forces the gamer to "check her out" and accentuates her feminine aspects, but I'll bite my tongue for this blog. The game itself largely appeals to the young-adult male demographic, but I'm a college girl who loves these games. Then of course, you could argue whether they should do the same sort of sex appeal for male characters and if I would complain about that, which I very well might not, so... Ah, devil's advocate.

I love Yvonne Strahovski. She's a great actress, she's modest, she's gorgeous, and she's Australian. And all of this is coming from a straight woman.

Illium


A quick note about this planet. It's like a futuristic Seattle or New York City. The only place I visit as FemShep is Nos Astra, a marketing district to buy stuff. Pity, because this place would be awesome to explore. Well, I visit a couple of separate locations for the missions with Samara and Thane, but they're exclusive buildings that are nearby. This place is much less grungy than most of the planets visited. Clean, shiny, and - as well other places in the game - boxy. Synthetic stuff is to lines as organic stuff is to circles, if that makes sense. 

Pretty, no?

Recruiting Samara


I believe a character in the game described her best: a warrior monk. She's an asari like Liara (who I'll come to in my next post) with wicked biotic abilities. (Hence the weird glowing purple stuff in the image below.) She's a justicar, a term in the game that refers to a small, powerful classification of asari who strictly follow a set of codes to uphold the law. They're similar to Spectres. The term "justicar" came from medieval England, and is used appropriately since justicars from our own timeline were judges who upheld justice. Good job, Bioware, for your historical accuracy. Asari justicars are selfless and lethal. They have a reputation for killing law-breakers ruthlessly and protecting the innocent to the death. If you're a criminal, you do absolutely everything in your power to steer clear of justicars or they'll getcha. They're a monastic order that follows a borderline religious code that covers pretty much any possible circumstance they could possibly face. They're governed by this code rather than living beings. In American society, the citizens are checked by the government, and the government is checked by the Constitution. The invariability lies in the fact that our court system can change the code with the laws and interpretations they pass. But I'd rather not delve into that ethical debate right now. Even so, I find Samara to be a fascinating character. 

Again, I'm biting my tongue over sexism here. Speaking plainly, Samara's boobs are ginormous and the outfit she wears certainly emphasizes that. Boing! As a character that vocally sounds like an older woman (and as a character who technically is an older woman), this could be a representation of the male audience that enjoys the appeal of "cougars". I could be making an interpretive leap here that isn't true, but...um. I have reason to believe it.


Video games are nothing but symbolic coding figured into computers to create technical images. How interesting that asari justicars abide by a strict code, when as far as I'm concerned, they're completely created by a technological code. 


Gaming Segment (7 Hours)


Free will keeps popping up in my mind with the ME series. It's much like the article I posted about ME3 where they actually do discuss how free will plays an important thematic role in the series:One of the series’ strongest themes is an exploration of what it means to be a living being. This ties very closely the concept of free will, and both ideas are defined by contrast to the Reapers. Reapers see other beings as material resources, and their most insidious trick is that before destroying organic life, they rob it of independence. In Mass Effect, the struggle to maintain control over oneself at all costs, even if it means dying in the process, is an important concept. This is further developed in Mass Effect 2, first in Jacob’s loyalty mission ( his father is discovered to have used the side effects of an indigenous plant to turn female coworkers into sex slaves as a means of survival), and with Legion’s, where it’s revealed that the Geth are actually a complex people who simply want the freedom to go their own way without fear of being destroyed. This creates a moral environment in which the crew of the Normandy isn’t just fighting to save Organic life from evil machines, they’re actually fighting for the right to exist on their own terms. 


It can't be ignored that a powerful concept that humans love to explore is free will. Look at the United States and our history of gaining independence. Look at our Bill of Rights and the First Amendment to the Constitution. Humans love freedom and frequently exercise their right to have it. It's no different, hypothetically, for any other competent species. Granted, we also love control and power, which creates a very interesting and conflicting dichotomy.

I'm enjoying this project immensely and am finding great intellectual satisfaction in it. I hope others can share my enthusiasm for it. Video games are awesome.

~Mel

ME2 | Crime, Genetics, and Batman

To prove my love for this series, I give it big thumbs-up for replay value. At least half of the games I have I've only revisited maybe once, if ever. I've made tons of different Shepard characters and gameplays. I have a mix of both genders, Paragons, Renegades, Paragades, and Renagons. I think I've tried every class, background, status, etc. And I still have fun with it.


Recruiting Okeer/Grunt


The environment reminded me of a dying, torn-up corporation building or storage facility. It looked like a war zone, which is exactly what it was. Maybe not all of planet Korlus looks this way, but the area I went to is not remotely a hospitable vacation destination. I will say that it's an all-out trend for the ME series - the design of the landscapes. They all have those blocky, industrial, technologically-enhanced environments, but in different ways and to a different degree. I mean, this place had what looked like a bombed ship to make your way through. Sure, it had the cool slidey doors to open, but you could die just by walking too far any given way. Rooms without walls or guardrails. Freaky.

Okeer was developing mindless, genetically-bred fresh-from-the-test-tube Krogan soldiers. It's similar to before in ME1 with the test-tube Krogan Saren was creating, but not the same.

• ME1 Krogan: controlled by Saren aka controlled by the Reapers; bred specifically to be used as Saren's army to help the Reapers kill everyone
• ME2 Krogan: created by Okeer as a science experiment to make the perfect Krogan; imperfect experiments sent into battle field to be used as live bait for mercenary groups to shoot at or given to the Collectors for study

The situation is still rather unfortunate, since pretty much all of the test-tube Krogan die. (At least the ME1 Krogan were all killed at the same time and very quickly by a massive bomb. These Krogan get shot until they stop breathing.) The main similarity is that these Krogan can't think for themselves. They're created for a specific purpose that is out of their control. Are they really Krogan if they lack personalities and the ability to think for themselves? Would you say the same thing if we were talking about humans? The idea of chemically or genetically altering beings to make the perfect soldier isn't revolutionary for the past few years. Look at Captain America. He is the product of genetic engineering. (Ignore the fact that comic books tend to make things impossible, possible in a somewhat "magical" way. I think almost every main comic book character dies and comes back to life more than once.) Okeer was willing to give life to thousands of Krogan "rejects" and throw them to the wind to create the perfect Krogan that defies a genetic disease that's innate to all Krogan: the Genophage. It's basically a complicated genetic mutation that makes it difficult and sometimes deadly to give birth, which effectively controls the Krogan population. They're dangerous and powerful, especially in numbers, and after a galactic war with them... Well, a lot of aliens felt that keeping a cap on these guys would do the galaxy some good. Again, this is one of those areas where I understand what both sides (Paragon and Renegade) feel about this. It's like how society feels about abortion: most people are either pro-life or pro-choice and have good reasons for each. There actually are good reasons to limit the Krogan population, and the Genophage isn't the same thing as genocide. (I would recommend Googling or YouTubing what Mordin has to say about it, because his words are far more punctual and descriptive than my own.) If I didn't have an open mind, it would be very hard for me to understand this; I would be inclined to have a 100% Paragon attitude. But I am open-minded and can see why the Genophage, to a certain degree, makes sense. Okeer's experiment is "quality over quantity". He threw away hundreds of Krogan experiments - living experiments, no less - to ensure that at least one Krogan was ideal. Was it worth it? Maybe. That one Krogan - Grunt, who I became increasingly fond of and may even prefer over Wrex from the previous game - represents a rare and fascinating specimen of science. This brings up the nature v. technology thing again, though. He should be allowed to live his life without being used as an experiment, right? But shouldn't we be able to learn from his rare and potentially life-altering genetic code, especially if his genes could change life as all Krogan know it? (Put humans in place of Krogan if it's easier to consider that way.) 

Okeer (tanks with Krogan experiments behind him)

This mission also discusses legacy - the life you live and the life you leave behind when you die. It's a huge concept to all living things with the capacity for memory. (Goldfish have a memory capacity that lasts about ten seconds, so it's probably not a very big deal to them.) The evolution of technology and technical images have altered how we think of and how we view legacy. Facebook and all of the photos and statuses and such, when compiled, represent at least a portion of your legacy. Those photos and statuses could be stored on a digital format for hundreds of years and won't disintegrate like the time capsules of ye olden days. Also, consider the film industry. Cinema began in the late 1800's as a far more primitive form than what we're seeing today in 2012 with digital effects and 3D imaging software. For the folks who work with the media medium, their legacy largely involves making good films. James Cameron will forever be known for Titanic and Avatar. Even as someone who has barely begun my own life, I consider video games to be a part of my legacy as they have shaped how I think and view the world. I didn't make them, of course, but I've played them and manipulated them in my own ways, should the format allow it (meaning RPG's versus regular third-person, linear-action games). In some ways, we shouldn't feel so comfortable about this transformation, but in others we should be extremely grateful. (Insert argument from readers between paper and electronic novels.) 

I'll talk a little more about Grunt once I reach his loyalty mission, but it'll definitely come back to this stuff of legacy and genetic engineering. Poor dude was born in a tank. No personal attachment. Only memories and bits of genetic material sent through tubes and wires. 

Sidenote: Has anyone seen Gattaca? I can't help but recall the movie as I'm thinking about this concept of genetic mutation. Developing a science and technology relationship to a point where you can select specific attributes that you want in your child - as simple as creating an avatar character in a video game. What fun is there in life if everything is chosen for you?

Omega and Aria T'Loak


There is so much crime and gang activity on Omega. It's another not-so-happy place. I would never want to be anywhere on Omega alone. Anywhere. You could get jumped for no good reason. And everyone knows it. People - that is, the more innocent civilians who live in housing areas - pay a monthly fee to mercenary groups to protect them. Just like paying the bills. Crazy. I suppose it might work this way in foreign nations. I'm not well-informed with global politics. There's a good chance that some African tribes or the like do the same thing. And that is unfortunate indeed, when crime becomes the norm. (Then again, if it's the norm, what's so bad about it? Define normal.)

Planet Omega (I told you - it's built into an asteroid. AWESOME.)

It doesn't look that grimy, but trust me. It is. Miranda vocalizes her sentiments about it once.

Omega is where I found that blatant use of sexism. I was registering to help the mercenaries stop Archangel (I'll get to him in a minute). When the merc recruiter sees that FemShep is, well, a woman, he cops a snarky attitude and says something along the lines of, "The strippers are in another room". I wish the game had given me the option to pistol-whip him. Oh well. I probably killed him during the forthcoming mission anyway. Sweet vengeance. (Technically, I only killed a bunch of coded numbers, and didn't actually kill or shoot at anything. Thank you, technical images.)


Aria T'Loak is a neat character. A non-gamer told me that she looks a bit like Angelina Jolie. I don't see the resemblance, but I thought it was interesting enough to take a mental note of it. She's much like the Illusive Man or the Shadow Broker in that information and reputation are her main power sources. She can certainly kick someone's butt into the next century, based on the battle she had with the Patriarch (non-critical game detail, but interesting story), but she doesn't really have to use that kind of power anymore. And, of course, there's the sex appeal, which she unabashedly proclaims. Perhaps she's overconfident, but she runs all of Omega and, admittedly, does it well. I wish I could pinpoint it, but for some reason I trust her more than the Illusive Man.

Recruiting Archangel/Garrus


I didn't write much for notes on this part. (Well, to be honest, I didn't write anything at all, but I tend to remember things that I don't need to remember. Like movies, books and video games. Instead of more important things like history, politics, philosophy, and scholarly citations. Is there something to note that I remember things that interest me? Perhaps, but it's kind of common knowledge.) I found it to be one of the most tedious missions of the whole game, but maybe I'm just being picky. It's interesting that he became a Batman-like figure. A dark knight, if you will. The hero for the little people of Omega who takes care of the big bad wolves in a gesture of good faith. Garrus is one of my faves in regards to characters on a "Best bud" level more than a character development level, though he's good on both ends. I loved that he came back as a guy who turned around from a tragedy and kept helping people and kicking butt. I feel like he's more significant in ME1, though I certainly enjoyed having him on the team in this game. He's one mean dude with a sniper. His loyalty mission continues the Batman vibe where he toes the line between revenge and vengeance. One team member resulted in the death of his entire team, and he's (naturally) pissed. As a Renegade, FemShep easily lets Garrus kill him. Whatever it takes, eh? Also, it's no secret that I totally love that headpiece he wears. I've always found it so freakin' cool.

Horizon Mission


I'm not gonna go into great length about this part because it's mostly just a lot of shooting at the ugly Collectors. The big stuff with them that I'll probably take into consideration is at the end of the game when the real trouble goes down. Such a pity to learn that they're actually Protheans that have been extensively modified by the Reapers. (There seems to be a lot about genetic modification, eh?) This is one of the single-most frustrating parts of the game, even more so since I'm playing on a harder difficulty. I died twice, mostly because of those stupid husks that attack you at random. I can deal with the Collectors and Scions. All you have to do is duck beneath objects and sprint for a few seconds when they get too close.


Gaming Segment (4 Hours)


How do technical images me us feel so connected? (Haha. Punny.) Video games seem to do this more than any other technical medium. They're clearly not real, but they must be doing something right because of how people like myself become so immersed and invested in them.


I should talk about Miranda as a character. She very well might be one of my faves from the ME series. I have a sneaky suspicion that I'm biased, though. 1) I adore Australian accents. 2) Yvonne Strahovski portrays Miranda, who played Sarah Walker in one of my absolute favorite TV shows, Chuck. I'm still mourning its ending. 3) Her transformation is greater, in my opinion, than most of the other characters, especially in a Paragon route.


Speaking of character development, there's less of that on a Renegade mission. Not necessarily by a mile, but enough that it's noticable. Renegades simply don't take the time to get to know people and feel an emotional connection. If Renegade FemShep ever got the opportunity to settle down and raise a family, I don't think she would. She's a workaholic.


I honestly just want to power through the rest of the game and finish it. I'm on the cusp of the final battle. I just have to find Tali, explore that Collector ship and then after that, I can blast through the Omega 4 Relay and get down to business. (At that point, I'll have to figure out what I want to do with the final battle. Renegade Shepard is a little bit evil, but not stupid, so I probably won't make it into a suicide mission. Unless I'm persuaded otherwise.)


I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite store on the Citadel. (That line is so annoying, it's funny. Renegade Shepard never uses it, though. FemShep simply DEMANDS the discount and gets it. Charm versus intimidation.)


~Mel

ME2 | Politics, Realism, Technology, and You

Now that the basics are out of the way, I can use these blog posts to zoom in on characters, concepts, thematic elements, and more specific uses of technical images and augmented realities. In other words, I can start to dig beneath the surface and get to the good stuff.

Honor still matters, despite some seemingly dishonorable actions, to the Renegade FemShep. She is a soldier who will do her duty and follow orders (with the exception of exigent circumstances). That's a distinction that must be recognized: both Paragon and Renegade Shepard characters are heroes who do great deeds and impossible feats. It's the manner at which they go about it that changes, which alters pieces of the puzzle without completely changing the end result. FemShep still has to defeat the Collectors and stop the Reapers from killing everyone at the end of the day. I always assumed that the Paragon route was purely good and Renegade was purely evil, but it's quickly becoming clear to me that that is anything but true. 


Recruiting Mordin

Mordin Solus, the brilliant salarian scientist, clarifies that the way to help people isn't black and white; rescuing someone innocent and killing someone dangerous can both be helpful in some way. He's an interesting character in that he's both a doctor and a soldier. He worked for the salarian Special Tasks Group (STG), a military organization that was known for its deliberate strategics as well as its ventures into espionage, reconnaissance, and assassination. When FemShep adds him to her team, he's working in a medical clinic on Omega, a civilization that thrives on crime and corruption. (It also happens to be built into a giant asteroid.) He built the clinic in the middle of a battle zone rampant with a deadly plague to help humans - a species that many aliens blame for the plague. He's a somewhat paradoxical character in that he's just as likely to save a life as he is to end it, and he's willing and able to see both sides. An interesting note that carries over to all characters in this game is that he seems to be an amphibian-like character who, at first glance, seems hard to adjust to. Thanks to technical images, not only does he exist, but we can understand him perfectly. A male human being, just like us, is providing the voice to this character. Had the game creators decided to give all non-humans strange, garbled sounds and provided us with on-screen subtitles instead, our reactions to these characters may have been quite different.

The Illusive Man and Cerberus

The Illusive Man, the mysterious leader of Cerberus, strikes me as an egotistical type who believes humans are worth protecting to a point of superiority over other species. At some point in the game, it's mentioned that he essentially represents the polar extremes of humanity - the best and the worst qualities of the human race as a whole. His name came from a little nickname the Systems Alliance gave him when he started rebelling and news reports came out about him and his actions; they couldn't find him or figure out who he was, so they dubbed him the "illusive man" and it stuck. He's more concerned about the end goal than the means at which he achieves it, which may explain why many view Cerberus as a terrorist group. He spent seemingly "unlimited resources" to bring FemShep back to life, and all because he thinks the future of humanity hinges on Shepard. (Effectively, he puts the pressure on FemShep of the entire galaxy. It's somewhat understandable, but not necessarily fair or right.) As FemShep goes on missions to recruit crew members and discover more about the Collectors, the Illusive Man is always watching and gathering intel. What makes him a somewhat evil character - a Renegade like FemShep - is that he's willing to keep things to himself and put people in harm's way if it means gathering necessary data; he purposefully sends FemShep and crew into a trap, but doesn't really care because he has confidence in Shepard's abilities and needed to seize the opportunity to find information that would have otherwise been impossible to get. Inhumane, but justifiable. This man is rich, powerful, and mysterious - a combo that's worth trembling at. What clinches it is his casual demeanor as he sits in his chair, smoking a cigarette, acting like the end of the world is just another movie he's watching on Netflix. He's playing god - a puppet master in a galaxy of gullible creatures. He isn't in the action himself, but his words, his contacts (no, not the eyeball kind, although his freakishly blue and likely technologically-altered eyes are quite alluring), his money, and his reputation get the job done. This reminds me of the Internet. Take MuggleNet, for example. It's a fansite for the Harry Potter series that was created several years ago by a big fan of the books, Emerson Spartz. He made it before it became hugely famous as a young kid. But when the series began to pick up, so did the site, and now it's a HUGE website with millions of followers - a go-to resource for HP fans everywhere across the globe. What society would call "nobody's" can become "somebody's" because of the Internet. There is power in words and influence, and we can use it at the touch of our fingertips. A good idea can take off if it passes through the right computer monitors.

The Citadel

I could talk about the Citadel for days. It's such an impressive and beautiful thing. It represents the center of galactic stability and balance - the yin and yang of the known universe. All civilized alien races come to the Citadel; many live there in various wards, some of which are considered the slums where there are higher crime rates. The attack on the Citadel at the end of ME1 caused a lot of damage, but didn't destroy it. Efforts have been made to rebuild it, and much of it has been restored by the time FemShep revisits it. Here's one of my favorite images that shows the detail and massive size of it. There are five "wings", and there are large, apportioned wards on each wing. Every human on earth could live on the Citadel and might not even fill one wing. It's astronomically huge and astounding. 

The Presidium is the elite sector of the Citadel. It contains embassies for species across the galaxy - the political heart of space. Every alien race sends representatives to the Citadel to speak for their kind about their nations. They address the Council, a select group of leaders that make the ultimate decisions for everyone. In some ways, they could be viewed as a parliamentary government. The game series makes a statement about politicians and how corrupt and bureaucratic they are, but at the very least they're an efficient bunch that does get things done and reacts well to even the most dire situations. They even have an organized system for law enforcement: Citadel Security Services (C-Sec). It's volunteer-based (though each recruit must come well-recommended and either have a military background or demonstrate strong skills) and consists of a variety of species, just like the Citadel itself. After ME1, there are a lot more humans involved, and security is tightened to prevent infiltration (especially geth). I'll refrain from delving into the area of Spectres because it isn't relevant in ME2, but feel free to Google it and check it out for yourself. They're basically powerful Batman-like figures that do big, off-the-books missions for the Council. 

Presidium

C-Sec (Citadel Security Services)

Recruiting Jack

The environment on Purgatory - a massive floating prison - is hostile and dirty, certainly worse than our prisons now. Torture of inmates is frequent by both guards and other prisoners. Most - if not all - of these prisoners, however, are not mere white collar criminals. They've all committed multiple murders and done degrading, violent things to many beings. (Does that mean they deserve to be tortured? Not necessarily, but it increases the likelihood that less people will stop it.) This ship represents a possible future for prison systems when money and technology advance and we decide to "improve" on the government. The Warden seems okay with jettisoning individual crates of prisoners into space "as an example". Nice, dude. He also claims: "I do the hard things the government isn't willing to." Perhaps he feels that the Citadel has gone too soft on prisoners. He deals with some of the worst criminals in the galaxy. As for Jack herself - yeah, Jack's a girl - she's an interesting analysis of pure biotic energy. (I can delve into her character more later with her loyalty mission.) If I remember correctly, biotics stem from something similar to radiation poisoning. They were exposed to the chemical Element Zero, which humans hardly new anything about, and civilians were then tested with Element Zero and eventually displayed biotic powers. It's as though the idea came straight out of a comic book. I have a strong Fantastic Four/Hulk vibe from it. The introduction to the possibility of biotic energy was less than reputable, but the exploration of it afterward is pretty interesting. Jack didn't have such a good time with it, but she turned out to be one of the most - possibly THE most - powerful biotic in the galaxy. She swears a lot, has a ton of tattoos that represent her life (cults she joined, people she killed, things she destroyed ,etc.), doesn't trust anyone, and loathes Cerberus with a fiery passion. She's a loose canon, but a very powerful ally. I died once trying to save her in the game. 

Sidenote: I'm not quite sure why, but Purgatory reminds me of Ender's Game and the strange military-style ship that Ender is sent to. At least Purgatory has gravity, though.

Recruiting Zaeed/Zaeed Loyalty Mission

I didn't jot down much for notes with him, but he's an interesting character. He used to lead the Blue Suns, a renowned mercenary group, but was betrayed by his partner and has held a grudge for it ever since. His loyalty mission is to destroy his partner, Vido. (I can't completely blame him. Vido nearly killed him by shooting him in the head. He survived, miraculously.) So much detail was put into the landscape that he visited. Why bother putting so much effort into a technical image when it's not even real? Well, we want to immerse ourselves into the story - the alternate reality where this stuff is real. (Think Source Code where the technical equation that put Stevens into the past for eight minutes effectively created alternate realities.) Maybe it's not real, but the fact that it could be one day is fascinating. Why not make it look real, too?

I took this with my phone on the TV. The detail with the environment (like the waterfalls) is amazing. There's also a blatant combination of technology and nature with that giant dish next to the lush water and trees.

Recruiting Kasumi/Kasumi Loyalty Mission

I've noticed that planets covered in more natural habitats are less intimidating to me. There's something comforting about trees and rivers where almost everything is covered head to toe with technology. I fear for future generations, if that's there we're heading. That said, Mr. Hock's mansion is awesome. It screams rich, posh fancy guy who likes to throw his money around, especially his vault with neat, rare, and freakishly expensive artifacts. (He has the head of the Statue of Liberty!) Mr. Hock is a criminal who specializes in thievery, amongst other things, and he claims to be "the support structure for the galaxy's delusions of peace". It's an interesting statement that criminals actually support world peace. Is there validity to it?

Another screen capture I took with my phone, contrasting the vibrant city on the left with the pretty mountaintops and setting sun on the right. Nature v. technology at every turn.

Gaming Segment (5 Hours)

Something that I feel proves the creators behind ME2 were going for a realistic feel with the game is the seemingly tedious sense of stores and lounges on various planets. While The Sims portrays the ultimate control over an artificial, technological being - the user chooses when their characters eat, shower, sleep, move, and so on - the technique of providing a lifelike setting where others are shopping with you and need to grab their own supplies puts your technical image of a character into a seemingly living setting. (It truly is hard to believe that these technical images are nothing but equations put into a computer, when you're immersed in the game and not thinking about it.) For a casual shopping trip, you can buy pets (fish and a space hamster), small ship models for your private room on the Normandy, weapon/armor upgrades, magazines, books, etc. in little stores like this shop on the Zakera Ward. Shops on the Citadel and Illium are more clean, polite, and organized than on some of the other planets, like Tuchanka or Omega.

Gaming Shop (A video game with a store for video games!)

FemShep's private room on the Normandy even has its own bathroom with a flushable toilet. If that doesn't prove their attention to detail and strong sense of realism, I don't know what does. (I never bother with it, but the fact that it's there tells me something.)

This begs the question: On a spaceship, how does the plumbing and garbage system work? The Zaeed mission (purchased through Xbox Live) answers that question: There's a room for the garbage where it's compressed into a cube (think WALL-E) and jettisoned into space. I've launched a few cubes, in my boredom.

On another note, I've noticed that sometimes my gaming is done in a specific way: I cheat the system. If I know a giant mech is coming for me, I'll stragetically put myself at a point where I know he won't get to me - not because he can't walk there, but because the technology of the game itself prevents him from being able to walk there. Technical images allow you to seize their flaws and use them against them. This is where glitches and hackers come in. I've seen a few hilarious glitches in this game myself, such as "dancing" mechs (more like their dead bodies dangling about), flying enemies (randomly vault into the air and soar several feet before landing, if they land at all), or disappearing characters (their voice speaks, but their figure is invisible). Such flaws occur because the property of the system - the game and all its numbers and equations - can change. Previous mediums - a la Flusser - cannot change. Once a photograph is taken or a book is written, the property of that medium is permanent. You can rip it up, burn it, or use it to create an augmented reality, but that abstraction itself is incapable of having technical difficulties. Get it?

There's also a hint of sexism in the game. One specific moment that I recall comes up later with Archangel, but there are little flickers of it throughout the game. All the more reason to have a badass FemShep. Girl power! 

I made a connection between The Invention of Morel and voice actors. The fugitive inserted himself into the looped projections on the island and thus became a part of the projections; any future visitor would never doubt that he was there in the first place. Voice actors - all actors, really - become synonymous with their characters in technical images. Pierce Brosnan is no longer simply Pierce Brosnan. He's also James Bond. Logically, we know that's not true and that 007 is simply a character, but as far as we're concerned, the technical images prove that Brosnan and Bond are one and the same. Actors effectively imprint themselves into technical images and become immortalized as that figure. 

Bdee, bedee, bdee - that's all, folks! For now, anyway.

~Mel