Monthly Archives: May 2021

Game Reviews

Review: Mass Effect Legendary Edition

Edmonton’s BioWare has created some great series and characters, but none became so close to my heart as the Mass Effect line of games with its roster of heroes and villains. The newly released Mass Effect Legendary Edition brings the original trilogy to a new generation of gamers in a remastered package that lets the games shine far brighter than they ever have before.

Though this is a remaster, not a full-on remake, of the three games, there are are number of quality of life changes – most sizable in the series’ first game. Mass Effect sees an overhaul of the leveling system that makes the game much more enjoyable thanks to the revamped power curve.

Prior to this remaster’s release I was playing through the original game – available on the Xbox consoles via backwards compatibility – on Insanity difficulty and the game-stopping difficulty spikes have been leveled out. The games also run better, even while outputting at 4K, which helps with the action-oriented combat. The result is a game that feels both easier and yet also far more rewarding.

This release also includes almost all the downloadable content (DLC) available for the games, over 40 bits of content in all, except for the Pinnacle Station DLC, due to the source code having been lost over the years. The game also takes a pass on the multiplayer from Mass Effect 3, though if there’s enough demand for it that may yet be added back in.

Wrex. Shepard.

The trilogy lets gamers, who can take the ‘stock’ Shepard in male or female variants or create their own, through an epic space-faring tale of betrayal with some revenge and a dash of ‘saving the universe’ thrown in for good measure. As the Shepard of their choice, players will make decisions with long-lasting consequences – to an extent not often found in games, including character deaths that leave you wish you’d done things differently.

The ability to go Paragon or Renegade – which often don’t really translate to good vs evil, but more doing the right thing vs doing the righteous thing – extends the replay value here. With three games in the package, clocking in at around 55 hours combined for just the main storylines, plus all that DLC, you’ve got a whole lot of gaming ahead of you.

The console experience offers two settings: Performance and Quality. The PS4 is 1080p/60fps in Performance, 1080p/30fps in Quality. PS4 Pro and PS5 both offer up to 1440p/60fps in Performance and up to 4K/30fps (PS4 Pro) and 60fps (PS5) on Quality.

Xbox One consoles offer up to 1080p/60fps in Performance or Quality, while Xbox One X and Series S both offer up to 1440p/60fps in Performance and 4K/30fps in Quality. The Series X is up to 4K/120fps in Performance and 4K/60fps on Quality.

The game also includes an all-new photo mode that allows you to rotate the camera, hide player/non-player characters, and other goodies. It’s a great addition to a franchise that has some gorgeous environments and character models.

What I Loved:

  • Great work on bringing the visuals up to modern standards
  • Top-notch performance transforms the feel of the earlier games
  • Quality of life changes to the first game
  • The “Wrex.” “Shepard.” exchanges are still great
  • Voice acting is still top-tier after all these years
  • The new photo mode!

What I Liked:

  • Character creator changes allow you to carry ‘your’ Shepard over all three games
  • Load time improvements allow for skipping elevator sequences
  • Forgot how much I loved the music
  • Three games + almost all DLC means at least a hundred hours of gaming
  • Better Mako controls

What I Disliked:

  • Mako still a bit frustrating to handle
  • DLC integration feels haphazard

What I Hated:

  • Reminds me there’s no Mass Effect movie…

The Final Word: Mass Effect Legendary Edition is a must-buy for sci-fi lovers who missed out on the original games, but also offers a lot for fans who were around the first time through as well. Incredible value for your dollar.

Available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Playable via backwards compatibility on PS5 and Xbox Series S|X. Series X version reviewed using code provided by the publisher.

Game Reviews

Review: Days Gone (PC)

Days Gone hit PS4 in 2019, and makes the leap to PC this week, part of Sony’s expansion to PC.

The game pits the player against a harsh post-zombie apocalypse world…think The Walking Dead, but almost everyone, including the main character, is Daryl Dixon from the first season – the leather-wearing, motorcycle riding, don’t-need-nobody antihero version.

There are no zombies here though, with gamers – as Deacon St. John – putting down hordes of ‘Freakers’ while exploring the open world. There’s also not much of a supporting cast, with the game relying heavily on players identifying with Deacon, who is basically as unlikable of a character as he can possibly be for the first 20-odd hours of the game, or his friend Boozer who doesn’t fare much better.

The opening 10-odd hours of the game are heavy on stealth. At that point Deacon only has the tools and knowledge to take on a few Freakers at a time. Once you unlock traps it’s not quite so necessary to sneak in and one-hit-kill as many as possible before going loud, but you’re still best to stick to 10-15 Freakers at a time and avoid the massive hordes with a few hundred zombies in them.

Alert a large horde and you’d think a terrifying run for your life would commence, but that’s not the case. Instead, it’s a bumbling run through the environment being chased by things that can’t quite catch you. Leading Freakers over ledges that slow them down or cause pathing problems can be entertaining, but not really stressful. Later, with more weapons and traps, these fights distract from the main game but they’re still filler.

The PS4 launch had serious performance issues, with my review advising people to hold off until it was patched. That’s not the case here. The game runs well on a half-decent GPU. I’ve even seen video of it on a 1030, though it was a bit rough. If you’re running a 1060/1070 (or equivalent) or better, however, it’s smooth sailing with only minor visual bugs. I also had one crash during my playtime, but nothing repeatable.

While the PC version doesn’t fix the so-so story or the empty open world, it does include every PS4 update. This includes higher difficulty settings and challenges, so PC players are getting the absolute best version of the game.

What I Loved:

  • Great visuals
  • Huge zombie hordes look intimidating

What I Liked:

  • Good variety of weapons and traps
  • On-the-fly crafting system
  • Solid performance on lower-end systems
  • Screenshot resolution boost to allow for 4k/8k/12k screenshots

What I Disliked:

  • Horde chases felt more like slapstick than horror
  • So-so plot, driven by busywork
  • Doesn’t make use of features like raytracing or DLSS
  • Some minor visual glitches still

What I Hated:

  • Gorgeous open world, devoid of anything interesting, feels wasted

The Final Word: The performance boost PC offers does little for the story issues, but think of this as a summer action movie. It looks good enough and is fun enough that you don’t want to examine the plot all that closely.

Days Gone is available now on PC via Steam. Reviewed using code provided by the publisher.

Tech News/Reviews

E-WIN Racing Chair Review

I have always been a bit of an outspoken critic of gaming chairs, so I was surprised when E-WIN Racing reached out to ask if I wanted to review one of their chairs. It turns out there’s a reason they were confident in the product, which recovered from a poor initial impression to be a surprisingly solid chair.

The chair, an E-Win Racing Calling Series chair in black and red, arrived at my work in a box that’s sizable but still fit in the back of my Fusion to get it home. Assembly took about 25 minutes from unboxing to the chair being ready to use thanks to a design that allows for quick assembly. E-WIN Racing ensured all the fasteners and tools needed were in the box and even included a few extra parts – a touch I really appreciate in a manufacturer.

The chair itself is solidly built, even when I’m the one building it. The seat and back are high-density foam that’s a step below memory foam but provides good elasticity and will hopefully weather long hours of daily use better than memory foams do. The covering is polyurethane (PU) leather, which means it won’t absorb liquid spills and is easy to clean, but we’ll see how it holds up to daily use. I’ve had PU leather products in the past that cracked and peeled over time, so I’ll update its ongoing condition in a few months.

With a hydraulic piston allowing seat height adjustments, adjustable armrests, and a ‘dial it in’ locking tilt, it took about five minutes to get the chair adjusted how I wanted it. There are also removable lumbar and neck support pillows that I opted to keep in place for now. I’m not sure the lumbar support will make the long haul as it feels a bit too intrusive, but we’ll see if it loosens up over time.

I’m hopeful it will as my initial impressions of the seat were poor because, out of the box, the cushion was very, very firm, and just not as comfortable as I’d hoped. I’m liking this E-WIN Racing chair a lot more and find it far less stiff after a few days of use, however, so I’m glad I gave it a chance beyond those poor initial impressions.

I also wanted to mention the adjustable back, which reclines near enough to flat that you could take a nap if you really wanted. As a guy a little over six feet tall, however, leaning it back that far gets dangerously close to ‘this chair’s going over’ territory so I’m not brave enough to try and catch some sleep in it.

What I Loved:

  • Quick assembly and solid build quality
  • Not an over ‘gamer’ looking chair
  • Adjustment flexibility
  • Great support for taller and heavier users

What I Liked:

  • Suitable for long stretches of gaming
  • Good comfort level after initial wear-in period
  • PU leather means little to no cleaning concerns

What I Disliked:

  • Awfully stiff right out of the box, though this chair did break in quickly
  • Dial tilt control is ok, but I prefer a locking tilt lever

What I Hated:

  • Nothing

The Final Word: The E-WIN Racing chair surprised the heck out of me. I’ve been a critic of gaming chairs in the past, but this shows they’ve come a long way and exceeded my expectations in comfort, style, and build quality.

Review done using a Calling Series chair provided by E-WIN. If you’re in the market for a chair, use code AntiMacro at checkout for 20% off.