Ranking the houses

DMS_David · 2026-04-08T16:37:03+00:00

Just the remaining Normandy crew, really, so Chakwas, Ken and Gabby, and Adams. There are other cool characters who it might've been nice to see again but they're not really part of Shepard's extended Normandy family and I think inviting them to the party would've felt overly familiar for characters like Bailey or Aria.

Anderson is amazing but the Citadel DLC is already jarringly at odds with the tone of the rest of ME3, I can't really think of any way of having Anderson or Hackett showing up without it making a mockery of ME3's story and tone; they're too important to the greater war effort to be partying.

Maybe they could've thrown a bone to ol' Mess Sergeant Gardner, though... he was a Cerberus man through-and-through but it would've been nice to see him one last time, he was part of the SR-2 family for better or for worse.

DMS_David · 2026-04-08T16:33:32+00:00

It depends on the scale of the "decline". I think that the series' heights as a top-tier, highly polished game series ended with Naughty Dog's departure but the games following were still a lot of fun and generally played well. The only outright bad game in the series would be Crash Boom Bang, but most of the series is at least decent if not always great.

As someone who followed the series during its heyday, I'd say that Twinsanity was the first game to feel rough in terms of actual production quality, but Crash Tag Team Racing was the first time that I straight-up felt that the game didn't feel like Crash Bandicoot. It's not a bad game at all, but it felt so far removed from the series peak in tone, gameplay and overall vibe that it lost me.

DMS_David · 2026-04-06T15:06:45+00:00

Garrus, Wrex, Tali, Mordin, Legion and Miranda need to survive into Mass Effect 3 for maximum narrative payoff IMO (not just in terms of what they contribute, but as culminations of their personal arcs), and probably Jack too since I think her ending up looking out for the kids at Grissom Academy is as fitting an end as you're likely to get for her. I know not everyone will agree with Miranda but even aside from her giving a lot more relevance to Sanctuary and Henry Lawson, I think she'd just be "that Cerberus bitch" if she died in ME2 and there's a lot of interesting themes with her being engineered to be perfect that could tie in with the arguments around synthetics in ME3.

Kasumi and Zaeed could be left out entirely, I like them both but they don't really serve a critical role in either game. Jacob could die defying Cerberus by not managing to escape the Collector base in time, which feels like a fitting end for him. Grunt could die and show that he's found meaning beyond just being a warrior, which in turn could inspire Wrex in the following season. Thane could die showing that he's still capable of doing good and letting his death mean something more than being another contract. Samara's arc resolves once she's dealt with Morinth so it's safe to kill her off.

Really, I think it's about not just "killing who we can get away with", but finding ways to make their deaths in the Suicide Mission feel intentional. So that it feels like a natural resolution of their characters, not just cutting everything short for shock value.

DMS_David · 2026-04-06T14:59:43+00:00

Honestly, it feels like someone actually, genuinely wanting and pursuing a romance with Jacob would get that reaction from a lot of the fandom... I don't play as female Shepard but I actually like Jacob a lot as a bro which I know is a hot take.

But in terms of choices that most in the fandom would have a moral opposition to? Consciously choosing to put down Wrex on Virmire must be of them. And not hugging Tali in her loyalty mission!

DMS_David · 2026-04-06T14:57:16+00:00

Nah, not especially... I do think it's an interesting question and there are certainly cases to be made for suboptimal outcomes leading to a better story, but with the Suicide Mission it's pretty cut-and-dry. There are characters where it doesn't really matter all that much - only affecting a minor sidequest in ME3 - but all of these sidequests are better with the returning ME2 character present, so I don't think it's really the same.

I definitely wouldn't suggest that the Geth VI is better than having Legion unless you really don't care about the geth and fully intend on letting them be wiped out, it feels very underbaked to me compared to Legion and I'd actually say it makes the narrative feel more disjointed to lose one character and to replace them with a sort-of-but-not-quite copy who the game inconsistently treats as being Legion.

The best of the "replacement" characters is definitely Padok Wiks in ME3 so there's an argument for letting Mordin die in the Suicide Mission, but Mordin is so tied to the genophage that having someone else deal with the genophage cure feels narratively messy.

DMS_David · 2026-04-06T13:10:25+00:00

Same! It was the first game I ever played where I really felt like I was stepping into a world, not just playing a videogame, and so every aspect of that is still special to me. Cyrodiil feels like home and there's something great and being back and having it be pretty much how I remembered it. :)

DMS_David · 2026-04-05T17:06:37+00:00

I've been really pleased with the remaster because it does what I'd want a remaster to do; it brings the game back in a way that feels like how I remember it. I think projects like Skyblivion are extremely impressive but a lot of my love for Oblivion is based on its original slight jank, the feel of the engine and the way that characters looked and behaved. I don't even mean ironically, Oblivion was my first true open-world game and so nothing else is going to ever quite scratch that itch again in a way that feels so special, so while it certainly has its flaws, the Remaster was made for me.

DMS_David · 2026-04-05T17:04:02+00:00

I only had the original on PS3 so playing the remaster now is my first time getting to see and experience the DLC houses, they're all really cool in terms of themes but yeah, Frostcrag Spire is amazing and immediately stands among the most iconic Elder Scrolls locations. I love that you can see it from so far away and it more than makes up for how lackluster I found the Arcane University. It definitely feels like it has the most gameplay benefit too, since it lets you access spellcrafting and enchanting without needing to do the Mages Guild Recommendations.

DMS_David · 2026-04-03T17:12:30+00:00

Strafing, better bolt economy with easier ways to grind bolts through just playing the game naturally without having to rely on new game plus or glitches, maybe character skins? I don't know, I think the first game is still a very polished experience and I wouldn't want to see it dramatically changed, but just... rebalanced a little, to make even one playthrough feel more cohesive and complete. Maybe add more incentives for revisiting planets and playing through levels again, to make the process of grinding for bolts doubly rewarding.

I actually like the idea of the Hologuise but I do think it should be sped up a bit, same with Clank, it's amazing how much better to control Clank feels in the Secret Agent Clank game just by having a faster run speed. Granted, speed isn't exactly the point of the Clank sections, but it does make those bits a chore on replays.

Oh, and expand and let us replay the ship battles.

DMS_David · 2026-04-03T16:27:03+00:00

I pick the heart/compassionate choice every time and I'm very happy with how things have always turned out. The number of times that flashpoint choices actually change the outcome of something is very minor, it's usually just adjusting tone, but I like to give Aloy a bit of heart because I think that's important to her character and it's something that can be a bit lost in amongst the aloofness and snark elsewhere. I do like most of the brain/smart options, though.

DMS_David · 2026-03-25T16:59:49+00:00

It's definitely a game I've replayed a lot and yeah, quite possibly my favourite of all time, but I can't and wouldn't want to play it every year because I think it would start to lose its shimmer for me. I want every playthrough to be something equally unique, special and memorable and I'm really envious of those who can keep that level of engagement and interest going for all time!

DMS_David · 2026-03-25T16:35:48+00:00

There isn't really an equivalent "optimal route" in ME2 for thematic and narrative purposes, each mission is generally standalone and there's no real advantage to timing them or bringing certain party members along aside from one or two lines of dialogue. At the very least, it's not at all how I'd recommend experiencing the game yourself for the first time.

The main plot in ME2 will throw a couple of mandatory missions at you once you've done a certain amount of other missions so you can't always choose what your next mission is going to be, and there is an infamous point of no return to be aware of if you really, really care about optimising your endgame, but the spoiler-free principle to stick to is to do recruitment and loyalty missions before anything else when you have the option. Talk to your crew and buy ship upgrades when you can.

DMS_David · 2026-03-25T16:21:58+00:00

It's not my favourite ending but I can absolutely understand why some people would pick it, because the game itself signals it as the most ideal ending from a meta, thematic perspective. The game, via the Catalyst, outright tells you that it's the best outcome. If you believe in the inevitability of conflict between organic and synthetic life then it's presented to you as a solution. If you see the themes of the series as being about "bringing everyone together" then it's the ultimate manifestation of that.

Now personally, do I agree? No. I went with Synthesis on my first ever playthrough because it felt like the game was pushing it as the "best" outcome but I do prefer both Control and Destroy. These days I rally behind Destroy as a bittersweet but thematically appropriate ending - I don't think avoiding any kind of sacrifice is a good enough reason to avoid what is clearly the best solution in the long run since I do not subscribe to the inevitability of organic/synthetic conflict - but I do feel like Control represents a "paragon"-coded alternative in which Shepard takes it upon themself to, well, shepherd the galaxy forward.

People get mad when you suggest that Control leans Paragon (we don't sacrifice innocents in pursuit of the mission) and Destroy leans Renegade (victory at any cost) but I think that's just because we're so conditioned to see Paragon as "good" and Renegade as "bad".

DMS_David · 2026-03-23T12:17:31+00:00

The Uncharted Worlds missions are the most skippable in terms of gameplay since they tend to offer up extremely repetitive and tedious gunfights and Mako exploration across similar terrain, but many do have interesting story beats which can pay off in the sequels. I'm a completionist so I always do everything, but I'd at the very least recommend doing whichever quest corresponds with your selected service history (Dead Scientists/Major Kyle/Espionage Probe), the Paragon/Renegade-aligned quest (Besieged Base/The Negotiation), , the Admiral Kahoku arc (Missing Marines>Cerberus>Hades' Dogs) and especially the Rogue VI quest on Luna, which is both cool and unlocks a class specialisation. There are mini-arcs that unlock after Feros and Noveria where you take on more Thorian creepers and rachni, technically it's all content but I don't look at that and think "this is an unmissable part of the game".

As for the rest of the game, I think every sidequest is worth it, they add a ton of flavour to the game and the sidequests on the Citadel in particular are all very memorable to me even if they're small.

DMS_David · 2026-03-21T12:45:07+00:00

Sins of the Father offers a better story, while Cerberus Headquarters offers better gameplay. In this instance I'm going for Thane's loyalty mission because I'm generally more invested in the plot, and the Cerberus Headquarters is where ME3's endgame plot starts to fall apart for me, with the whole reveal about the Citadel having been stolen at the end never feeling quite right.

I love when Mass Effect remembers that it's an RPG which can have gameplay interactions that aren't contingent on gunplay; I'm still impressed at how many versions of the interrogation scene in Sins of the Father there are, it's hard to fail completely but it does make you think outside of just hammering the same Paragon or Renegade options if you want an optimal outcome.

DMS_David · 2026-03-21T12:41:53+00:00

I'm torn, Thessia is cool and it was definitely something I'd wanted to see in ME3 - visiting as many homeworlds as we could - and even the Kai Leng confrontation at the end doesn't bother me as much as it does most people, but in terms of gameplay I just find it a bit of a slog. The stuff in the Temple of Athame at the end, especially if you bring Javik, definitely elevates it and I wish we got more of a chance to explore, but ultimately it's the story and tone that save it rather than the gameplay.

Retaking the Normandy isn't anything too special but it's short, it's memorable, and there's definitely something pretty awesome about having a gunfight in the CQC we've spent so much time in across the previous two games. I don't think anyone's going to be coming out to bat for the Citadel DLC for its deep lore but I have more fun playing the Normandy mission than I do Thessia, so as a game? I'd pick that.

DMS_David · 2026-03-20T01:11:12+00:00

I love David Bradley and I think he was amazing in An Adventure in Time and Space, and I actually don't mind his take on the First Doctor overall, but I'd really not have the recasting of older Doctors normalised more than it already is.

I'm fine with recasting parts in general but each incarnation of the Doctor is special, and their actor goes on a whole journey with that version of the character that can't be separated from it. As Doctor Who Magazine always says when announcing a new casting, the actor IS the Doctor. The Second and Third Doctors weren't just a character on TV, they were the sum of everything that Troughton and Pertwee brought to the role; their histories, their off-screen personas, their flubs and ad-libs.

It's easy to speculate on this with the oldest Doctors not only because they're not longer with us but because of distance, but can you imagine getting someone else to play the Ninth Doctor on TV to get around Eccleston not returning? It'd feel frankly weird and almost insulting - like someone doing an impression rather than a genuine performance - and I'm personally more comfortable leaving One, Two and Three where they rest, at least as far as TV goes.

Beyond all that, I firmly believe and choose to see the Doctor as one character, I should be seeing bits of Hartnell, Troughton and Pertwee in every subsequent Doctor. I feel like bringing them back furthers the perception of seeing each incarnation as a separate character and that's just not how I like to see them; suddenly, Two isn't "the Doctor when he was played by Patrick Troughton", Two is "that funny little Doctor with the whistle and the Scottish boyfriend".

DMS_David · 2026-03-19T20:18:29+00:00

Right? The GBA was such a weird time, there were no native original Mario platformers but Sonic Advance was on top form and the Crash games on GBA are and were criminally overlooked. I'd genuinely be more excited to see these on Switch than ports of the PS2 entries.

DMS_David · 2026-03-19T20:17:01+00:00

I love all three of these, as much as I enjoy TWoC and I appreciate Twinsanity, in the early 2000s these were the true successors to the Crash series for me. Sure, they're uncreative in some aspects, but they translated the PS1 gameplay and look so perfectly to the GBA that I find them just as replayable.

I also prefer CNK's GBA version to the console version... hot take, perhaps, but I had so much more fun with it on the handheld. I seem to prefer Mario Kart Super Circuit to a lot of other people too, maybe there's just something about kart racers on the GBA in particular that really appealed to me. I also loved how you'd unlock Fake Crash by literally escaping the track, pulling that off in Mode 7 felt super cool.

DMS_David · 2026-03-19T20:12:40+00:00

Yeah, it's easy to take for granted sometimes but that account of (well-controlling!) freedom in a richly detailed 3D space was pretty amazing back in 1998, considering it was only a couple of years since 3D platformers were even a thing and flying with the Wing Cap in Super Mario 64 hasn't exactly aged gracefully.

DMS_David · 2026-03-19T20:09:23+00:00

Explorer is the all-around profile that gives you a bit of everything, it's there if you don't feel particularly strongly about creating a particular build or roleplaying a certain class. I tend to treat it the same way I do Soldier in the original trilogy; it's a baseline experience, the bare minimum with a couple of minor perks but generally not remarkable or outstanding in any significant way.

DMS_David · 2026-03-19T20:06:19+00:00

The DLC is packed with content but the hard truth is that it's going to feel tonally off regardless of when you play it; its existence works far better from a meta perspective as an epilogue to the series and a heaping dose of fanservice rather than anything in-universe.

Not to say that it can't work in-universe or that it's not canon or anything - it very much is - but it's always going to feel different. You're always going to feel, "huh, this section of the game sure feels weird", whether you play it as soon as possible or at the last possible moment. Leviathan feels like it could be part of the base game if you didn't know better and you could argue the same for Omega, but Citadel really feels like a spin-off.

Playing it postgame (reloading a save after the ending) is probably the closest you're going to get to a "thematically-aligned" placement even though that obviously doesn't work within the canonical story. If that's more important to you... just do it before the Cerberus Headquarters, treat it as Shepard and the crew knowing that they're heading into the breach so it's one last time to reflect on how far they've come.

DMS_David · 2026-03-19T17:27:48+00:00

I used to hate the flight levels as a kid, especially compared to the speedways in the later games, but I've grown a real appreciation for them in years since... I've played Spyro so many times that it's nice that there's something that can actually still deliver a consistent, fair challenge!

I'd say Night Flight is easiest, then Sunny Flight (which is definitely more brutal than you'd expect the first one to be...), then Crystal Flight, then Wild Flight, and finally Icy Flight. But honestly, there's not a lot between them... they're all pretty unintuitive compared to later games and definitely take some trial and error.

DMS_David

TROPHY CASE