Wasting Time: Weekend of March 11th

This week was quite a big week for new releases for you nerds out there, and I ended up partaking in just about all of them. The two 100 pound elephants in the entertainment room this week were the DVD and Blu-ray releases of the first season of Game of Thrones, while the other being the exciting conclusion to one of the greatest sci-fi adventures to hit gaming, Mass Effect 3. If medieval backstabbing and intergalactic conversation wheels are not your thing, Capcom's newest fighting game crossover Street Fighter X Tekken was released this week as well. My wallet cried out to me when I dished out the cash for all three this week, so here's whats up:

Mass Effect 3 (Xbox 360 version)

Bioware's Mass Effect series is easily one of the best franchises in this generation of gaming, with the second entry being one of my favorite games of all time. It was a no-brainer that the third entry in the series was a must buy for me, seeing as I am a huge fan of elegant sci-fi worlds and adventures. I put about three hours into the game so far and have been impressed with what I've witnessed. Mass Effect 3 basically feels like the last game but with some notable enhancements in the shooting physics, the health system, and the presentation.

Shooting mechanics feel more solid this time around with guns packing more of a punch when fired. Bioware adopted a health system similar to Halo's where an armor bar and health bar represented by four quadrants are displayed on screen; once the armor bar depletes, the quadrants on the health bar start to drop and will not recharge until health packs are picked up. The way Bioware opens and presents the story to the player makes more of an impact this time around, making the player invest in the motivations of Shepard far more than the previous two did. The biggest letdown I've witnessed is the inability of the game to properly transfer your created Shepard's face into ME3 if you started with ME1, thus forcing you to recreate your face that never really looks the same. I'm really looking forward to playing more.

Street Fighter X Tekken (Xbox 360)

Typically I am not a fan of fighting games, with the exception of the Dead or Alive and Soul Calibur series. It isn't that I dislike fighting games, it is just that the value relies solely on competitive play, and the fighting game community is BRUTAL. Playing fighting games online (especially Capcom fighters) can be extremely discouraging for new players due to how dedicated die hard fans are to mastering the game and ensuring victory. Plus, I feel like dishing out the cash for an expensive arcade stick is sort of a requirement for any player to be able to properly compete on the online battlefield. Lag has always been an issue for online play too and SFxT is no stranger to input lag. Still, I've been wanting to pick a fighting game to dedicate myself to and attempt to become good at and this game is the one I picked.

The game itself looks great, animates very well, and introduces a new fighting system that isn't just another cash-in on the same old Street Fighter IV engine. The Tekken characters actually play quite a bit different and require a whole different approach to attacking your opponent. The need for a compatible duo of fighters is much stronger than in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, so experimenting with all of the fighters is a must. I found myself performing much better in this game than SFIV and MvC3 on the single player front, but online I still cannot win a single ranked match. I'm trying not to become discouraged too much and end up selling the game, but I can honestly say I am pretty frustrated that I cannot find anybody online around my own skill level to play and have fun with. We'll see how I feel when I sink more time into the game.

Game of Thrones (Blu-ray)

I am a sucker for medieval battles, swords and bows, kings and queens and giant battlefields. Even though I have not read any of George R. R. Martin's novels, I have been really looking forward to watching Game of Thrones. Seeing as I do not have HBO (nor do I intend to), I had to unfortunately wait for a DVD release until I could experience this groundbreaking series. Now that I have my hands on it and am currently 7 episodes in, I can happily say that the show certainly lives up to the hype. The actors are all fantastic and seeing Sean Bean on the screen again as a medieval solider is exciting. The cinematography is gorgeous and the production values match those of a 100 million dollar Hollywood blockbuster. The Blu-ray presentation is fantastic with great sound, breath-taking HD transfer, and a ton of extras. What I was not expecting was how explicit the show is and how often times it can be uncomfortable to watch. Game of Thrones is littered with explicit sex scenes, nudity, rape, incest, gore and uncomfortable situations. As shocking as the show may sometimes be, it all makes sense in context and time period and presents itself in a way that the viewer can easily swallow. I've been rather addicted to Game of Thrones and I will be sad when the season ends, knowing I will have to wait another year until I get more.

One release this week that I'm interested in but didn't get around to was the Blu-ray release of Tarsem Singh's The Immortals. The film's reviews didn't fare so well, but I've heard the visual style is outstanding (which is to be expected coming from Singh) and that if not taken too seriously it can be a fun film. I'll give it a look later this upcoming week.