[Mass Effect 3] Prothean Grumbling (Potential Spoilers)

No, I’m not grumbling about the DLC thing. This is more a character design rant.

I got the N7 edition of ME3, in part so that I’d have the Day one DLC, which I rant through first thing on the off chance that the Prothean would be another Kasumi and I’d spend the rest of the game with them permanently part of my ground team. That is sadly not the case. In fact, I’ve avoided Javik ever since we brought him on board.

First off, he’s a total dick. His attitude towards the crew is worse than Ashley’s was in the first Mass Effect. I hoped perhaps this was just a front, a Jack like hard shell that contained an interesting character within. The debrief dialog gave no such inkling.

Second, he is totally a Roman Batman+2. He describes himself as the Avatar of Vengeance, meaning that he’s really just an angry Paladin and we had one of those in Samara. If not her, there’s Garrus’s righteous fury, Wrex’s near genetic resentment, or even Vega’s gung-ho marine mindset. It feels like he’s a wasted character.

No seriously, Javik’s entire character is boxed in and since he’s “non-essential DLC” it isn’t like the course of the story will change him. Why couldn’t he have been, oh I don’t know–an aritist? A writer? A musican? A poet? A philosopher? Something that could bring a positive change to the universe?

I mean, look at Mordin. Yes, he’s the most badass doctor this side of the Tardis, but he is still a doctor. Tali’s amazing at watching my back against the Geth, but it’s her tech specialization and genius that makes her an asset. So why couldn’t Javik have been a Bard or an Artist? It isn’t like he wouldn’t have picked up a gun as the last member of his species if he wasn’t a warrior. Instead, the chance for world building  is wasted on a character who’s less interesting to have around than Zaheed was.

Feel free to disagree with me, but I feel like Javik was a let down and certainly wasn’t worth the 800 points that people who didn’t get the Collector’s Edition had to spend on him.

Edit: Just finished an event that sort of warmed me to Javik. He send me an email to meet him on the citadel and we had a talk about what it was like for him and his people. Then a Hanar shows up, followed by an Asari and a Turian. At first Javik is about to go on a rant about how we are all doomed and that we have no chance at stopping the reapers. There’s a paragon interrupt and Shepard takes him aside with a chastising rebuke and he seems to understand that he’s being a dick. So he turns to the assembled crowd and instead gives a speech that make me smile just a little. He admits that the other, younger races had potential and it is now that potential that will save them where his own people failed. Still not totally cool with him, but was impressed they had that moment.

The Quest for Creative Employment (cont.)

With my start at StoneCoast, I’ve found myself more and more begrudging of my soulless current job. That isn’t to say I don’t enjoy it most days, in fact there are really good days. However, most of the interaction I have with people is somewhat sterile. Even when in the office, most of the people I work with are in another building across town or would communicate via e-mail anyway. Mostly to demand things.

So I’ve been putting in applications in places that might be a better fit. Just put in an application to ThinkGeek to do PR stuff, like news posts and such. (If someone from ThinkGeek is reading, greetings!) I’m fairly certain that I’ve got the knack for such things, and it would be nice to find employment up in NoVA seeing as we’re moving there in a few weeks to a month. Still no word from Bethesda, but I’m not really surprised I suppose.

Packet for StoneCoast is due the 8th, I’m pretty much done just want to get in some polish over the weekend. Also ME3 is Tuesday. So. Freaking. Excited.