Anticipating Dark Souls

Dark Souls…say it in a hushed tone and in a dramatic manner! For that’s what *I* have been doing lately, in anticipation of this successor to Demon’s Souls. Yep, the one that is one of the hardest games in the gaming market currently.

So, Dark Souls. Made harder, complex, puzzling, bewildering than Demon’s and yet considerably more beautiful too. The game mechanics are nearly identical to Demon’s Souls and it has a souped-up multiplayer component. Not that I particularly care for the latter.

I saw the gameplay vids and was impressed with the ultra sharp textures of this game. I mean, the game’s grittiness, harshness and brutality is literally dripping from the environments…it is worn out, it is brown/gray/faded green and is inviting and punishing at the same time. It is truly incomparable.

So with all this virtual hyperventilation about visual and feeling, I wonder will I be actually able to PLAY this damned thing?! Or will I just retire in frustration and tedium after trying to kill a particularly hard enemy/boss for the umpteenth time? And how on earth will I possibly kill those TWO huge belfry Gargoyle bosses?! OMG!! One of them even spits fire constantly!!! In case of Demon’s Souls, I took extensive help from Wiki and other resources, but with Dark Souls…I am in…well, Dark!

So I imagine exploring dark haunted forests, grand rustic castles, mystic cathedrals and occasional loooong pathways and winding staircases..and the bonfire in the middle of nowhere…where at last, I will be totally free from harm and danger..

And my hero looks at the flying embers as he feels the warmth of the burning flames. He has just cleared one huge section teeming with murderous demons, ghosts and other abominations, complete with scale-defying boss.. and another section lies just some distance ahead! But at *this* moment in time, he is at peace, resting, relaxing. Watching the shadows as they dance on the nearby walls…and he also feels the gusts of wind on his face and senses the movement of leaves from the nearby bushes. He closes his eyes for a while, praying to the Goddess for giving him strength and courage…for his unwavering and resolute faith is the only light in this dark and foreboding world. He opens his eyes after a pause and sees some apparitions of other warriors. They are the brave souls who are fighting the same demons and dark souls like him, but in another parallel dimension. But he can see them…running, going past the bonfire, some resting just like him, others only looking and wandering. And I, just as my hero, feel a strange connection with all those strangers, even thought I can’t see their faces or communicate with them. But we are all together, bonded through a common cause and yet we each are all so alone in our quest in these dark and desolate lands.    

Dark Souls Blu-ray Disc will be in my PS3 system sometimes next week!

10 Coolest Android Apps for 2011

By popular demand! Here is the list of ten coolest Android apps that I use most frequently on my Galaxy 3 (i5801).

Disclaimer: This is a personalized list. I do not claim the apps listed here within are best of the lot.  Also, installing and testing new apps from Android Market is my hobby, so the list may get enhanced / updated from time to time..

A) Management

All Samsung Smartphone users are aware of the extremely problematic, unreliable and buggy piece of software known as Kies. After searching for numerous alternatives, I zeroed on following apps to easily browse and manage my phone contents.

1. Remote Web Desktop: No matter how big your phone screen is, it certainly can’t be bigger than your desktop monitor! :) This app allows you to remotely utilize your smartphone’s functionality in a web browser, through WiFi connection on your PC. It offers a convenient and eye-pleasing GUI and lets you browse and send SMS, set wallpaper, manage multimedia content and more. Also includes WiFi keyboard utility. Truly outstanding!

Alternative-

* SwiFTP FTP Server: Simply configure your phone as an FTP server and browse + manage the contents using a web-browser. A no-frills alternative to remote web desktop mentioned above.

B) Security

Do you wish to protect personal / sensitive info from your nosy friends and colleagues? Now you can selectively lock things such as Messaging, Contacts, Gallery, Camera and anything else with one the following security apps. *Do not forget to EXCLUDE security apps from Task Killers!! *

2. App Locker II: Made by the same intelligent developers of Remote Web Desktop, this security app simulates a fake app crash when someone tries to access what they rather should not. You can customize this behavior as per your liking. Highly recommended! Free version allows only 3 lockable apps.    

Alternatives-

* Carrot App Lock: Password protect up to 3 lockable apps in the free version with no suggestive "this is locked!" prompts. Also includes a desktop widgets for fast locking. Recommended for newbies…   

* Smart app Protector Free: Similar to Carrot App, but free version allows up to 4 locakable apps and more customization options.

C)  System Tools

3. Sense Analog Clock: Mimics the Sense analog clock look and feel of HTC Smartphones very closely. Couple that with additional info of battery level, available memory, internal storage and SDCard storage, makes this essentially a 5-in-1 app. Very handy and available in many variants! Includes optional weather info too…

4. My Settings: Control all the most frequently used settings in one convenient full-screen view, via toggle buttons. While Galaxy 3 already has a pull-down menu that allows WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth toggle, this app ALSO gives you toggle buttons for brightness, auto-rotate, flight mode, auto-sync and many more. 

5. Easy Answer: Do not like the slider bar for accepting and rejecting calls? Use this app to replace it with (somewhat too) large buttons!

6. JuiceDefender: Given the generally weak battery life of most of the smartphones, this app is one of the MOST essential ones. Users have reported to gain up to 40% more battery life with this app..

7. Battery Indicator: After trying Juice Defender (or others), you need some sort to a indicator to know whether its actually working! Battery Indicator app sits in the notification area, thereby freeing valuable screen space. Not needed if you are already using one of the Sense Analog Clock variants mentioned above.

D) Multimedia

8. Dhingana.com: Like Bollywood music? Me too! This little app lets you listen to latest and not-so-latest songs from Bollywood, turning your phone into a personalized jukebox. The songs are neatly categorized and are of generally higher bit-rate. You will also find regional songs from Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Tamil and more. Works best on WiFi.

9. Fliekie Wallpapers: My personal favorite app for browsing a vast collection of good quality wallapapers. It also auto sets the desired image as wallapaper without needing the crop.  

10. Album Art Grabber: Galaxy 3 is braced with one of the best audio players in the market. It displays the album art as background while playing the song, but uses random camera pics when it doesn’t find one. Use this app to grab missing album art. Very handy!

Feel free to comment on the list and also let me know which apps YOU find as the most essential and cool ones! Depending on the feedback, I will publish another list..

Samsung Galaxy 3 (i5801)- My Android Companion! (Now with FroYo)

Android OS is for smart people? I would like to think so, now that I have purchased a smokin’ hot Android Smartphone for myself! ;)

UPDATE 1: Looking for coolest Android Apss to try on your phone? Find them here! 

UPDATE 2: At last, Samsung has released Android 2.2 (FroYo) update for our beloved Galaxy 3! Simply fire up Kies, connect your phone and let Kies search for available updates. 

Samsung Galaxy 3 (i5801) is targeted at medium-budget market and comes with Android v2.1, codenamed - Éclair. The next update (2.2, FroYo) is keenly anticipated and my phone supports that too! (Android is an Operating System for mobiles btw, similar to how Windows is for PCs)

For someone who had NEVER used a Smartphone before, let alone Android, this phone surprised me on many instances.  Touch screen navigation was a breeze to use with no noticeable lag, menus were placed intuitive and logically.  Colorful icons and animations aptly complemented the fast speed. Moreover, the phone offered plenty of customization to make it a showcase of your creativity. An open playground for tech curious minds to fiddle around!

Hardware and features

Hardware wise, Galaxy 3 comes with 667 Mhz processor, 256 MB RAM, 3.2” Capacitive touch screen, 3G, Bluetooth and WiFi-n, along with 3.2 MP cam with auto focus (but no Flash). The smartphone supports external memory up to 32 GB and comes with free 2 GB SDcard. Sweet!  

The front body is metallic glossy and can even be used as a handy mirror! :) It’s a fingerprint magnet though. The back of the phone is plastic, which admittedly doesn’t look that good. Overall, the phone is compact and lightweight...and yet provides a firm grip and gives a nice feeling when held in hands. It also comes with accelerometer and proximity sensor, but has no dedicated camera key, which is really a shame.    

Galaxy 3 is exceptionally feature-rich for the price bracket (around 12k at the time of purchase). It offers multi-touch, GPS, Google Maps, Web browser with Adobe Flash support, pinch-zoom capability and text reflow, FM radio, superb audio player supporting 5.1 channel virtualization (in headphone mode) and equalizer, built-in DivX and XViD video playback support, Think Free office, which can read and edit Ms Office and PDF docs, Voice recorder, Layer browser, Swype and seamless integration with all Google services (Android is Goggle’s baby after all).   

The world of Apps!

Now lets talk about the thing which separates this phone from the other 'normal' phones…Apps!

Ability of customization and availability of numerous productivity apps / tools was amongst my primary requirement while purchasing a ‘Smartphone’. Android offers a HUGE HUGE HUGE variety of apps on the Market. In fact, the number of 'free' apps is largest in Android market compared to other stores, including Apple's App Store for iPhone / iPod Touch.

Apps, (short for applications), are pieces of code that add  / enhance the functionality of your base Android device. Using apps, you can customize your phone as per your liking. Don’t like the default appearance of the clock? Want something more retro looking? Download one freely from thousands of available clock apps! If you wish to record your phone calls, add dazzling effects to your cam photos, stream music from international FM stations (and police stations!) and even record them, use PC keyboard for entering text on mobile etc, there is an app for each of this…basically, an app for anything and everything! Well, not *everything*, but its close! ;)

There are brain and puzzle games, sports, lifestyle, multimedia and reference apps, finance and healthcare apps (you can measure your heartbeat rate), utility and productivity apps and some downright fun apps (there is this talking cat which mimics all that you say) and many many more. Some apps like compass and Google maps can prove extremely useful when you are lost in the city and don’t know where to go. You can jot down notes, take pictures and sync this data to / fro PC, all while on the move. You can also add widgets, sticky notes, reminders on the screens and make your phone a feature rich PDA, personalized and perfected!

It is easy to see that Android OS gives you the feel of desktop usage with all this customization. Since it also supports multitasking, you can use it as a mini-replacement for Netbook / laptop etc.   

I also have rooted (hacked, in other words) my i5801 to enable LIVE (interactive) Wallpapers and to benefit from super user apps. Rooting essentially gives you full control over virtually all aspects of the OS and you can tinker around with your phone with no access restrictions.    

Fielding complaints…

One complaint that is often thrown at galaxy 3 is its apparently low resolution screen (WQVGA, 240 x 400 pixels) . People spoilt by iPhone and the likes are OBVIOUSLY gonna get disappointed, but they need to understand that i5801 costs 1/3 of iPhone’s cost. Personally, I didn’t come across a single popular app that refused to run on my phone due to supposedly low resolution. On the other hand, HTC Wildfire, its direct competitor, definitely suffers from extremely low resolution and it restricts the app usage.

i5801 is, however, woefully incapable of playing heavy duty 3D games and will not play HD (720p and above) videos too. I was disappointed only with the latter, because as far as 3D gaming is concerned, I have PC and even better, a PS3! HD playback would have been welcome, but again, its something too much to ask from a 12k device. Apart from that, general video playback is flawless with no lag or sync issues. Additionally, due to (relatively) fast processor and plenty of RAM, the speed was never a bother for me. Indeed, if you open 10 apps at the same time and then experience sluggishness, its not the phone’s fault.

The phone’s screen visibility isn’t very impressive under sunlight. You need to increase brightness level all the way UP to have a decent readability. A slight annoyance if most of your time is spent outside.

Battery backup could prove to be a little troublesome as well. This is especially glaring problem as my last phone, SE K810i Cyber shot, had excellent battery backup. With some tweaks and judicious use of task killers, I have managed to extend the battery life to a tolerant degree.

Summing up...

Pros:

• 3.2” Capacitive touch screen with multi touch, auto-rotate and proximity sensor
• Plenty of connectivity options (GPRS Class 12, 3G, Bluetooth, WiFi-n, GPS, Mini USB)
• Android 2.1 (Éclair) OS, upgradable to 2.2 (FroYo)
• Built-in Swype and Think Free Office (which are otherwise paid apps)
• Fast Android web browser with Flash, text reflow and pinch-zoom capabilities
• Excellent music player with 5.1-ch virtualization and many Equalizer presets
• Video player with out-of-the-box DivX / XviD support
• Stereo FM Radio and 3.2 MP Auto focus cam supporting various modes
• xTremely economical: all the above features for less than 12k !!

Cons:

•  Poor screen visibility under sunlight
• Battery backup could prove problematic (but can be improved with some tweaks)
• Incapable of playing 3D games and 720p+ HD videos
• No camera flash and no hardware camera key
• Somewhat spotty GPS (can be rectified using GPSOpt app from the Market)

All in all, I am IMMENSELY satisfied with my purchase and would recommend Galaxy 3 to anyone looking for the BEST Value for Money Smartphone and / or who wishes to dive in the vast expanses of Android using a compact device!

Udaan- film review

Each one of us has memories from our growing up days…some fond, some bitter and many in between. Grouping with friends, ‘bird’-watching, staying ‘out’ more than in house, confusion over deciding a career path, struggling against parent’s wishes, occasional rebellion and much more…if you wish to relive any of these moments, you owe it to yourself to watch Udaan, a realistic coming-of-age film…a first from India.

Story

Udaan tells the story of a creative boy - Rohan, in his early twenties. He is about to complete his schooling, but lives in a hostel, however gets expelled in the beginning reels of the film. The movie then depicts his trials and tribulations as the motherless boy is made to live with his aggressive, brutally strict, drunkard and often hypocrite father and a younger step-brother, Arjun.

Rohan wishes to be a writer / poet but dad dryly tells him to ‘chhod do!’. He instead wants his son to become an Engineer AND work part-time in his factory as a labourer. For him, even offering shelter and food is a ‘favour’ and he expects prompt returns from his sons by whichever means. And when little Arjun unwittingly makes him lose on a business deal, he hacks him to the point of hospitalization (shown only indirectly). Additionally, dad routinely insults Rohan by calling him ‘ladki’, threatens of physical abuse and makes him do the rounds of whole town at dawn. He is one dad from hell indeed. 

But amongst all this oppression and the obligation to address his father as ‘Sir', Rohan eventually starts to live his life on his own terms, albeit only at the super late hours of the nights, that too by stealing his dad’s car! He finds unlikely companions in his college seniors, who are wasting their life in booze, swearing and pub brawling. It doesn't exactly suit the characterization of a sensitive and moderately cultured boy that Rohan comes across, but he defends his misdeeds by terming them as the need of having 'a different experience’.

The only sympathetic shoulder he ever receives is from his uncle, who also later gives up on him after getting harshly insulted by Rohan’s dad for supporting Rohan. This incident brilliantly highlights the power of (bad) words, the language people use to insult others without even literally abusing, cutting them off with irreparable damage.

Treatment

In general, the film beautifully conveys many emotions without lengthy dialogue and excessive melodrama. Also, many scenes contain razor sharp and to-the-point interaction between characters, without avalanche of words. Due to a thin storyline the film admittedly drags in the second half, but the scenes aren't stretched to the point of boredom.

It is easy to see the dad as a villain and indeed, the film leaves no stones unturned to show his evil side by any means, short of sexual abuse. However, at one point dad confesses that he only knows this form of parenting as that’s how his own father treated him during his childhood. It effectively conveys the horror of bad parenting and how it can corrupt generations ahead. However, on one (trivial) occasion he apologizes to his sons, displaying his rare tender side.     

The cinematography is adequate, capturing the smog filled industrial environment of Jamshedpur appropriately. I particularly liked the background score that is played when Rohan is first made to jog with his dad. It gels so perfectly with what’s going on the screen. 

Acting

Acting wise, Rajat Barmecha as Rohan, given his natural cute boyish looks, wasn't required to display any acting histrionics and he does an adequate job. But the child actor who performs the role of Arjun is one fantastic find! He will tear thru your soul with his innocent eyes. He conveys such pure emotions and maturity thru his expressions alone, you can’t help but feel for him deeply. He is shown as a perfect counterpart to his brutal father. He was the reason I was chocked up on more than one occasions. Ram Kapoor, as Rohan’s uncle, also does an impressive job. Hats off to the casting director. 

Ronit Roy as the dad is a revelation. In Hollywood, you see many film actors ‘becoming’ the characters in flesh and blood, but in Bollywood, its very rare, except for some notables like Pankaj Kapur, Nasirruddin Shah, Tabu etc. Undoubtedly, Ronit’s performance in Udaan should make him stand toe-to-toe with these biggies. Forget anything you know about his image from Television serials. His acting in Udaan far outweighs many attempts from the so called badshah’s of Bollywood, who make hue and cry about their ‘acting skills’ even if they are nothing but glorified make-up miracles (see Amitabh Bacchan in Paa). Ronit's dialect, accent, body language, the sheer anger fuming through his eyes..he has enacted the part with complete understanding of the character and showcases his hitherto unknown acting capability in full force. He of course will not get any mainstream awards for Best Acting, as that will jeopardize the chance of our popular ‘heroes’ to get awarded for their stupid roles in hit movies (Imran Khan in "I hate luv storys", for example!!). However, if award organizers have any sensibility, I expect them to at least nominate him.

Final words

As a debut film from director Vikramaditya Motwane and co-produced by Anurag Kashyap, Udaan was India’s official entry at Cannes film festival 2010 and since then it is generating steady buzz amidst bloggers and lovers of good cinema, and for good reasons.

                             Udaan cast on Red carpet at Cannes 2010   
      (L to R: Rajat Barmecha, Vikramaditya Motwane, Ram Kapoor, Ronit Roy)

Udaan is realistic yet entertaining. Never preachy and subtle on most occasions. Although one can predict the film ending right away from its title, its the inspiring journey of this 17-year old boy that will stay with you long after you leave the cinema halls. Highly recommended!

20 Hours with Demon's Souls

Termed as one of the hardest games in the world, Demon’s Souls for PS3 was nonetheless an anticipated purchase for me...mainly due to the almost unanimously glowing reviews it received across the gaming media. It even got Gamespot’s Game of the Year 2009 award.

So why is it considered so damn hard? It doesn’t have any check-points or quick saves. If you die at any point, you have to replay a given level right from the beginning. When you die, you lose ‘souls’ collected from the slain enemies. After you re-spawn, so do all the enemies you had previous killed and you need to go back to the location where you died and collect your souls. But…if you die in between, all your souls are forever lost!! Apart from this, the enemies are ultra tough, locations dark n foreboding and when you are online, other players can invade your world and crush you like a fly! If any of this isn’t enough to drive away a casual player, then the fact that it costs close to Rs 3500 will surely do the trick!! 

Yes, in India it got released only as a ‘Black Phantom Edition’, and thus commands the exuberant price. It essentially is a Collector’s Edition containing an artbook, soundtrack and a strategy guide. Incidentally, this marks my first ever Collector’s Edition purchase of any game!

After logging in about 20 hours in Demon’s Souls, here is what I think:

Even if you keep on dying, the game is strangely addictive. It punishes you for the slightest mistake of yours but it is almost always FAIR. You die because *you* didn’t pay enough attention to your enemies or environment. Your over-confidence too is promptly crushed every now and then by a well placed ambush. And that makes you *want* to replay the level again to prove your worth and teach those baddies a lesson or two! While you can learn the enemy patterns and strike at the opportune moment, the first encounter with a strong enemy is almost always guaranteed to send you back at the level-start with zero souls.

The bosses fall into an altogether different league, as you learn their vulnerabilities and attack patterns only with trial n error, which only means repeated unfortunate deaths. And indeed, to even *reach* to that end level boss the second time, you need to kill all the enemy horde standing in between one more time! Fortunately, in many levels, there are shortcuts which you can unlock to make your re-travel quick n speedy.

Currently I am playing a level called Stonefang Tunnels. And atmosphere wise, it reminds me so much of Thief. I simply LOVED the ‘Down in the Bonehoard’ level from Thief 1 and Stonefang Tunnels, with its maze-like caverns, flickering torchlights, lava, killing heights, fire elementals and the constant feeling of decay n dread feels almost like a homage to Thief’s atmosphere. Then there are these ‘miners’ who can as well be called as Zombies to complete the similarities with Thief.

Even though I *have* taken help from various online guides and have read some forum threads, I haven’t yet got a good hang of the leveling system. The mechanics of world tendencies and characters tendencies, which stats affect what and which are most essential to upgrade..I am confused to various degrees on each of these. But admittedly, I have completed only 30% or so of the game and I just wish to keep on playing n learning things at my own pace. This game gives me a feeling of accomplishment, keeps me engaged from start to end, extending my sleep timings way past 2.30 am!!  

Tonight I plan on killing that Flamelurker and Dragon God! :)

Thoughts on INCEPTION

The FIRST judging criteria of a movie for me, is how entertaining is it. That is, it should NOT bore me. It should be engaging, engrossing and immersive.  By means of visuals, story or technique, I expect the film to make me forget the world around me and dig out the emotions in me…of happiness, sadness, awe, inspiration, tension, depression, dread and myriad others…sure, there have been films I saw ONLY for individual elements such as acting or its innovating / weird theme, but these films never felt remarkable (or even entertaining) on the whole.

Given my inherent curiosity and attraction towards working of mind and human psychology, its no wonder I was drawn towards works of Christopher Nolan. Memento was conceptually incredible and I really liked Batman Begins. I loved how the film, in detail, dwelled on the psychology of Bruce Wayne and believably depicted his transformation into Batman, step-by-step. The action scenes were impressive too. In the end, the movie was superbly entertaining. The Dark Knight was very average compared to it and The Prestige was just decent. And both certainly weren't as 'entertaining' as Batman Begins. When Nolan announced Inception, I was amongst the hundreds of thousands who wondered what creative genius will be displayed on celluloid this time.. 

The tagline of Inception is: Your mind is the scene of the crime. How intriguing! And it offers so many curious possibilities for its practical implementations. The trailer looked decidedly action-oriented though…to my mild disappointment. 

I saw Inception on its release day (the last English movie I saw on its premier day was Star Wars Episode III). The theater was packed and Inception took better start than combined figures of other 3 same-day-release Hindi films. Now these films weren’t your usual run-of-the-mill types too, but still multiplex audience preferred the Western science fiction actioner than anything else. I also witnessed whole-hearted immersion of theater audience after a long time, especially during the later half of the film. There were cheers, claps, laughter and sighs. The ending reaction especially, left the whole theater *audibly* awestruck!

My impressions of the film? It is smart, grand, thrilling, pulse-raising and heart-stopping! The thrill and tension is almost palpable. I remember myself sitting on the edge of the chair most of the times, completely hooked and mesmerized with what's going on the screen…it felt as if I was in the frame and witnessing the events in first person. Its amazing how a well written, tight script and talented director can make you feel like this..

The basic premise of the film is about planting an idea into someone’s subconscious, an ‘inception’, as they call it. It is achieved by means of entering an individual’s dream. Actually, dream-within-a-dream-within-a-dream-within-a-dream! It *may* sound confusing here, but if you are paying sufficient attention to the screen and have decent IQ, you shouldn't feel lost! Nevertheless, it is credible that the film never leaves audience so confused so as to lose interest and give up totally. You are whisked into the proceedings with just about enough explanation for everything that is going on. Still, admittedly, it will not be everyone’s cup of tea. In fact, even if you understand most of the film, the ending provides tremendous amount of debating material (which is exactly the purpose of such type of ending!).

So as an action-thriller, a heist movie, it is one of the best out there. But as a psychological thriller (something what I had initially thought), not so much. Its not as intellectual as is it fast-paced. It is an action movie with a sci-fi layer. A thinking man’s action movie, if you will. The special effects and ‘dreams’ aren't THAT breathtaking or may be I am just spoiled by video games, which do this whole Escher-esque environments in a whole lot better ways. Also, as much good it sounds conceptually, the ‘dreams’ are still decidedly familiar environments- city streets, buildings and snow mountains. It could have been weirder and more innovative I suppose. Soundtrack is phenomenal though.

Overall, Inception is immensely entertaining and I look towards my second viewing!

Mass Effect 2 Impressions

Mass Effect remains one of my favorite games, if not one of THE MOST favorites. It’s understandable that I was waiting for Mass Effect 2 with a bated breath. However, I played it dedicatedly only around 20 days back or so.

Interestingly enough, ME2’s arrival coincided with my new HD monitor purchase, but ME2 bears considerably more dark and reddish visual style compared to the first one, and that was number one enthusiasm killer. Later on, I was fixated with PS3, which resulted in me abandoning PC gaming temporarily.   

So my impressions follow:


ME2 didn’t sweep me off my feet as much as ME1. Understandable, since hardly anything matches the magic of the first experience. Be it a first kiss, first salary or first…anything! :) As mentioned, the harsh color palette of initial sequences also contributed to my cold shouldering of the game.

Presently, I remember this game primarily for interesting and life-like companions. Miranda and her cold self-conscious tone, Jack and her super-edgy battle rants, curiosity to understand Legion and so on. Its fascinating how one gets attached to these computer generated characters and starts sharing their happiness and pain. Undoubtedly, much credit goes to the way they talk, walk and execute various actions in ultra realistic fashion. Kudos to BioWare writers for creating these characters and also to the voice actors of Jack and Miranda.

Jack (Subject Zero)	Miranda	Legion

Apart from the end-game ‘suicide’ mission, I don’t remember any remarkable mission from the whole game. In fact, all I remember otherwise are stacks of metallic boxes and warehouse environments. The game is almost devoid of any “organic” feel and the game vistas consists mainly of pipes, machines, boxes, strobe lights and confined spaces. Quite bland and boring, overall. Visually, Illium was a massive let-down too.. 

After tweaking the speed of mining mini-game, I found it mildly enjoying. Speaking to the couple of NPCs such as Yeomen Chambers, Joker and one particular bartender at Eternity lounge was fun.

The game is a colossal disappointment in terms of story. Virtually nothing substantial happens throughout the game and the state of galaxy is same at the end of game as it was in the beginning. You discover and wipe out the Collector threat, that’s all this game is about.

The stripped down RPG mechanics hurt most when it comes to non-availability of equipping companions with weapons and interesting armor.

And..I guess that’s it? This game doesn’t leave a long lasting impression and is “fun” only in bits and pieces. Still, something about it is arresting enough and once you venture deep enough, you feel like playing almost non-stop. The combat is fast and fun, especially with Biotic powers, so that might be one of the reason. I have already logged 53 hours and if I choose to pursue optional side-quests, around 4 more hours might get added.

In the end, it offers an interesting backdrop for the inevitable ME3 but I don’t feel any urge to replay it immediately. In case of ME1, I started a new game right after completing it once, so that speaks for itself..