"Vampire: the Masquerade--Coteries of New York" Review

Publisher:   Draw Distance

Genre:  Visual Novel

Summary:  A new vampire tries to learn to survive and find allies amid the politics of the vampires of New York City.

Gameplay:  You have options in what quests to pursue when, what actions to take, and in dialogue choices.  There are three characters for the player to choose from, which influences a few story options and some of the vampire power use opportunities.

Style:  The art has a nice painterly look, with occasional movements in the backgrounds and characters to add interest.  The sound and music are good.

Story:  The characters and the various quests are interesting, with being able to choose your pace and mix it up for different games adding some nice variation, since you can't do all the quests in one game.

However, it is ruined by one of the more spectacularly horrible endings I've seen.  It might even make the list.  (Skip the next paragraph if you wish to avoid any chance of spoilers.)

A minor character with whom you may have had little interaction rambles incoherently (but is treated as amazing by the game) and takes over.  Your character is offered no closure against any of the enemies they have made.  I don't expect a glorious triumph in the World of Darkness, mind, but I do expect a more satisfying conclusion than a forced ending that's the same every game after having so many options in the game itself.

Summary:  Coteries of New York is an enjoyable, varied exploration of the vampires of New York, and a good introduction to the World of Darkness if needed.  That is, until the horrible ending rather sours the experience.

"Mass Effect 3: Omega" DLC Review

Publisher:  Bioware/EA

Genre:  RPG

Summary:  Aid Aria in retaking control of Omega from Cerberus.

Gameplay:  There are several new types of enemy to fight.  The companions, Aria and Nyreen, have some unique new abilities.

Style:  The excellently atmospheric locations of the asteroid space station of Omega, with neon catwalks, cramped service tunnels, dark power facilities, and vast mines, give a cyberpunk flair to the proceedings.  The music and sound design are good.  The cinematics are good as well, though some lasted a bit long and I wanted to get back to my own action.

Story:  The story is linear, a few hours of fighting, but in fun environments, as noted above.  The DLC feels like it peaks slightly before the actual climax, so the pacing feels a bit off.  More disappointing is the lack of choice and therefore replayability, especially when there seems to be several potential places for choices within the story.  The dialogue varies a bit because of Paragon and Renegade responses, but that's it.

Conclusion:  Aria and Nyreen are both interesting characters, and Omega is an interesting location.  Omega is not that great (mass?) effect to the overall game story, a small slice of the greater war of Mass Effect 3, but it's a fun few hours.  I just wish it had more variation and interaction with the rest of Mass Effect 3.