xbox one

Revisiting the Mass Effect Universe in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition

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I’ve enjoyed the Mass Effect series of games since the first game was released in 2007. Over the years I’ve played through all of the games (Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3 and Mass Effect: Andromeda) at least twice with several shorter revistations here and there. Most of the time I played them on Xbox 360 and Xbox One consoles, though I’ve also played Mass Effect 3 on Windows.

I’m a fan of many aspects of the games. They generally have very good writing and dialog and exceptional music and overall design. As a sci-fi fan, I’m also fond of the various references to other science fiction works (Alien, Bladerunner, Ender’s Game, Babylon 5 and so on).

Bioware decided to re-release the original three games, which include massive overhauls of the graphics, gameplay and many other characteristics, bringing the games up to a more modern gaming experience. Of course, I could not pass this up. I’ve played through these games in various ways and have experienced all of the high-tier endings.

I purchased my copy from GameStop (due to a strong desire to quickly acquire the game) but you can easily find the Xbox One version of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition on Amazon. Note that it is also available for PlayStation 4 and Windows 10.

I started out taking my time in Mass Effect to enjoy the updated graphics but after a while I decided to skip many of the side missions and focus on finishing the game more quickly. The other missions are worth the time, but I have played Mass Effect so many times that I was ready to jump on into Mass Effect 2, which many, myself included, regard as THE best Mass Effect game in the series.

I’m having a blast in ME2 right now. I’ve been focused on powering up early on (as I often do in Mass Effect games) playing in the normal mode as an Infiltrator. Sniper rilfes are a favorite of mine in the ME games so I tend to prioritize increasing any related skills. ME2 is also the game that really makes Incendiary Ammo a fun add-on.

I’ll likely take my time with ME2. It’s a large game with a number of side missions and many of the available choices will have a greater impact in ME3.

Is it worth it as a fan of the Mass Effect series? Absolutely! If you’re new to the series this may also be the best way to jump in.

Logitech Harmony Companion All in One Remote Control

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This post contains Amazon Associate links. If you purchase something through them I may get a small commission, which helps cover the hosting costs for this blog.

Last year, after we moved, I grew tired of having to hunt for all of the various remotes every time we wanted to watch one of the two main TVs in our home. Our toddler had a habit of tossing the remotes under the couch, beds or various nooks and crannies. Finally, I decided to consolidate by researching the current Logitech universal remote systems.

After some basic research I determined that the Logitech Harmony Companion would be a good fit for our needs. I would have preferred to get a Logitech universal remote with an embedded touch screen but those were well outside of our price range. The retail price of about $140 is still a bit pricy but the features made it appealing to me.

It’s capable of controlling up to eight entertainment devices; the TV with the most devices in our home has no more than five connected (including the soundbar). The system is composed of a hub (controller) and a Logitech remote. It also provides a remote IR blaster and a mobile app. The app is required to configure and update the system so you need to have a compatible phone to manage it. The mobile app also functions as a universal remote, which can be handy when our toddler has managed to hide the Logitech remote as well (or on very lazy days when you’re tired of getting up for the hundredth time and the remote itself is way, way over there on the kitchen counter).

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Game Streaming from an Xbox One to a MacBook Air (11 inch, mid-2013) using Windows 10 (Boot Camp)

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The Short Version: I was able to successfully use Xbox One Game Streaming using Windows 10 via Boot Camp (OS X El Capitan) on my MacBook Air (11 inch, mid-2013) with 8 GBs of RAM and the Medium quality setting with only minor audio lag and no noticeable video lag.

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