Predicting Anthem & Bioware's Future

Bioware has gradually given up on making role-playing games, not just the brilliant games they used to create. They are now a husk of what they once were and EA are using them like a sock puppet until the industry wears it out and nothing but dust remains. When they announced Mass Effect: Andromeda, I was skeptical, but hopeful. When they started to release gameplay footages and boasted about their engine and graphics over story and characters, I knew what Mass Effect: Andromeda was to be and I did warn them, I warned the internet wherever I could like a madman. Me, the guy who was so impressed with Mass Effect 2 and with the marketing for Mass Effect 3 that I decided to pre-order it, as I rarely do. Not only that, I pre-ordered Mass Effect 3's collector's edition for that damn N7 patch. I am a fan of both Bioware and Mass Effect in particular, yet I knew better than to buy Andromeda.

Bioware has been pulled from creating more content for their "promising" Mass Effect: Andromeda, you know, at least to justify paying full price for an obviously rushed travesty of a game. I don't need a confirmation to know that Anthem isn't Bioware's thing and that they've been given an ultimatum. You'd think that Andromeda was successful enough, right? But is it ever enough for the greedy board of shareholders who want more, more, more and even more? So EA pulled out the whip on Bioware.

Why the first season of Star Trek Discovery ended poorly

I've done a bad, bad thing. I responded to some random guy on Twitter describing Star Trek Discovery's last episode of the season as objectively awful and adding a sarcastic "Enjoy!"
Aside from the obvious shitposting, there was a hint of honesty in my dumb statement. Well, when a couple of actors took passive offense, leaving their own harmless sarcastic responses to me, that's all it took to attract a horde of bloodhound fans. You can't just simply mess around with a beloved intellectual property without pissing off the fanbase one way or another. I will admit, joke aside, that my tweet was mean, though not malicious or ill intended, and that I could've either minded my own business or further elaborate. For that I am sorry and I might flagellate myself for this crude mistake, maybe. Though I have decided to ignore most of the "nonconstructive" messages, some have argued that my "criticism" wasn't even constructive or creative, so why bother "sharing"? People have this wrong mindset that "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all," but it doesn't take much imagination to see it brought up by hypocrites and it's a funny thing that they only apply this quote whenever it suits them. Well, I'm sorry for not being able to self-censor my thoughts just because people will take offense with my opinions, stupid as they may be... or not. So even if that is my subjective opinion, I feel that I now have to explain why some episodes of Star Trek Discovery, especially most of the second half of the first season, are OBJECTIVELY awful. Consider this my constructive criticism.

Video Games Featuring Black Protagonists (Part 3)

I'm back with another batch of games in which you can take on the role of a black character with a story and a personality. I'm really sorry I couldn't include Sheva Alomar from Resident Evil 5 or Isaac Brigs from Splinter Cell: Blacklist, even if they are playable characters, have cool personalities and change the game completely in co-op, they can't be selected as the main character in single player, nor can you play as them in at least one mission. At the same time, no matter how I tried to twist the “fictional races” thing, I still couldn't bring myself to include Star Wars: Republic Commando. Delta Squad are all clones of Jango Fett, who's portrayed by a talented Maori actor, Temuera Morrison, the canonical face, and he is Polynesian, not black. Also sad to not include games like LEGO Marvel Super Heroes or its sequel because the stories mainly focus on the usual protagonists, which are all either white or... green. Another debate I had with myself was if strategy games like Civilization V or VI count when you play as the ruler of a country or empire, but is there really a plot and do you really play as that character or are you playing as their secretary? And lastly, still bothered I picked story protagonists only because I can't include any of the awesome Overwatch characters since they don't lead any plot. I did mention that in the first article, the rule about half-backed stories for an online-only game without an actual plot, but I do feel bad about it.

5 awesome new TV series worth giving a chance (February 2018)

I like to seal the day with a good TV show in the evening. It's my relaxing way of escaping from mundane to exciting and fascinating worlds, even for a while. I'll be honest, sometimes it doesn't really pan out. Many times I had to give up on watching the rest of the episode after just one episode, sometimes on very popular series. Other times I stuck around through and through with the most obscure of productions. Of course, not all stories are for everyone, so please keep an open mind, even if you are critical, and please try giving these shows at least a try. They are worth it.

Book Review Press Release for my festive short story The Tiniest Elf

Author's new book receives a warm literary welcome.

Readers' Favorite announces the review of the Children - Adventure book "The Tiniest Elf" by Laurentiu M. Badea, currently available
at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077KBWRJ2.

Readers' Favorite is one of the largest book review and award contest sites on the Internet. They have earned the respect of renowned publishers like Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Harper Collins, and have received the "Best Websites for Authors" and "Honoring Excellence" awards from the Association of Independent Authors. They are also fully accredited by the BBB (A+ rating), which is a rarity among Book Review and Book Award Contest companies.

"Reviewed By Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

It is the day before Christmas and Lilly is waiting for her mother to arrive so that she can spend Christmas together with her parents. Her mother works in another city and she was unable to make it on the first day of Christmas because it was snowing way too much. In The Tiniest Elf by Laurentiu M. Badea, Lilly decides to write another letter to Santa Claus, apart from the earlier one she wrote, because she realized she should ask Santa for something else. In the northernmost realm of Lapland, inside Santa’s workshop, Santa’s elves are working to finish the last touches of Santa’s departure. Like every year, Santa’s five trusted elf friends are going with him to share gifts to children all over the world. Lilly is wondering how she can get her letter to Santa Claus. Will Santa get Lilly’s letter on time?

I like the concept and the underlying message of the story which will awaken the child inside all of us. It is such a magical and heartwarming story, and the innocent girl and her wish to be with both her parents for Christmas is tangible. It is a good book to read out to youngsters during the Christmas season as it captures the essence and spirit of the season beautifully. Many children will be able to relate to Lilly’s feelings. It is a good storybook for both read aloud sessions in classrooms and also bedtime story-telling as it conveys a beautiful message to young readers."

You can learn more about Laurentiu M. Badea and "The Tiniest Elf" at https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/the-tiniest-elf where you can read reviews and the author’s biography, as well as connect with the author directly or through their website and social media pages.

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