cm_cameron's Mass Effect: Evolution #1 - Part 1 of 4 review

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    The First Casualty Of War Is Story, Apparently.

    THE BASICS

    A prequel to Mass Effect taking place during the "First Contact War" between humans and Turians.

    MY COMPLIMENTS TO THE CHEF

    • I feel bad for prequels. By design, they're doomed to be bad for multiple reasons. For one, we already know the outcome of the events taking place and how they effect the big picture. Secondly, characters have to be less interesting because all the events that change them and make them grow as a person haven't happened yet. Mass Effect: Evolution, though, avoids both of those pitfalls. The First Contact War is largely unchronicled in the games and we're working with an almost entirely new cast of characters instead of regressions of old ones. By sidestepping those two pitfalls, the potential for this series to be great despite its nature is their.

    • I like the art on display. It nails the feel of the games just like the first mini series did but without the ugly looking faces. Always a plus.

    FEEL THE STING OF MY DISCONTENT!

    • Normally, I'm a fan of the "in medias res" approach to storytelling. I like being dropped into the story with little bits of exposition and backstory strung about throughout the duration of the tale, but this comic takes it a bit too far for my liking. It's got the whole, "in the middle of" thing down, but it missed the part about giving us some backstory. I hate to criticize a comic for that, but I do view it as a problem, so I must.

    • Despite the fact that I like that this series is using mostly new characters, they still feel like empty shells playing a part, not people (or aliens). Again, this could just be a symptom of Issue One-itus, but it's still a problem. I can't reasonably expect a writer to make me really care about a character in one mere issue (though it's nice when they do), but I can reasonably expect them to make an effort towards reaching that goal. I just don't see that here.

    I'M JUST SAYING

    Hopefully I don't seem overly critical here. I can see how me criticizing issue one of this series for the above reasons could be likened to me criticizing a novel for not having fully developed characters by the end of chapter one. The difference there though, is that novels aren't released chapter by chapter, one month at a time. Comic books are. Comics have to have something in their first issue, or any issue, really, that's going to make me remember it and still be anticipating it a full month from now. This comic just doesn't have that.

    WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE

    Certain fans of Mass Effect may like this, but of all those who like the ME franchise, I'm willing to bet that most of them won't find much enjoyment here. Non-fans can pretty much forget about it.

    Other reviews for Mass Effect: Evolution #1 - Part 1 of 4

      Humans vs. Turians?! 0

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      For my first review I chose this book because it's a number one issue and that it encompasses two medias which I thoroughly enjoy, comics and video games.      A tale of who and how The Ellusive Man becomes who he is from the Mass Effect 2 video game. The Illusive Man is someone that wants what is best for humanity and the ways that he goes about to accomplish his goals could be thought of as wrong or too harsh. Playing the game Mr. Illusive comes off as someone that can not really be trusted bu...

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