For Daniel Starkey, Mass Effect isn't just the story of fighting the reapers and saving the galaxy. It's also a story about his mother, the person his FemShep is modeled after.

Writing for Gameranx, Starkey walks us through the life and struggles of his mother, an altruistic woman who is deeply in love with sci-fi. She loves sci-fi so much in fact, that she once bought a second TV set just so that she could play Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic while she also watched the sci-fi channel.

Her vast love for the genre makes sense. Sci-fi, after all, can be thought of as the promise of a better future—and when we consider that Starkey's mom worked tirelessly to help the community as a social worker, that's no small thing.

She wanted to pass on that devotion and idealism, so she'd regularly remind Starkey of what her work meant to others.

She made me listen to voicemails from people she had helped. "This. This is what it's about," she would say. "This is why it's important. This means something to someone. It may seem small, but everything you do, every single thing can be used to help real people."

After spending over a thousand hours in Knights of the Old Republic, Starkey's mother looked out to Bioware's next sci-fi game: Mass Effect. Mother and son got excited over the title, and waited patiently for it to drop. They'd go halfsies on a new Xbox, with Daniel selling his Pokemon cards so that he could afford the 360.

Then his mom got sick, developing two autoimmune diseases: rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. After waiting two years for Mass Effect, she couldn't play it anymore: the arthritis reduces the functionality of the joints. Compared to Knights of the Old Republic, which is slower and turn based, Mass Effect required too much of her.

So Starkey did the next best thing: he played Commander Shepard as his mother.

Despite her diagnosis, I wanted to have my mom with me, even if she couldn't experience the game in quite the same way. Instead, I began modeling my version of Commander Shepard after my mother. I gave her the same sense of altruism, of dedication and of hope for a better future. She gave second chances and she was uncompromising in her pursuit of her pro-social ideals, in spite of her sordid past.

We all role-play a little when it comes to games, but for Starkey, playing as his mother was much more personal. They say you can't truly understand someone until you walk in their shoes, and in a way, that's what playing Mass Effect was for him. A way to understand his mother.

What he learns and comes to realize about his mother by playing as her in the Mass Effect franchise is as revealing as it is heart-wrenching. This is especially true when we consider the suicide mission that Shepard undergoes in Mass Effect 2, as well as the ending of Mass Effect 3—this, in conjunction with all the important moments that happen in-between. It's a good parallel for a woman that put so much of herself to help others out, regardless of what the cost was.

His account of his Mass Effect playthrough and its relation to his mother is definitely worth a read. Check it out here.

My Mother, Commander Shepard [Gameranx]

As with most new console debuts, the Wii U launch has been rocky. The part that has gotten most consumers complaining is an hours-long, 1 GB patch required to access many of the system's features. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has even apologized for it. Nevertheless, that annoying experience won't be going away anytime soon.

In an interview with Gamasutra, Nintendo of America's Reggie Fils-Aime said the update's software won't be included in the Wii U's built-in OS until sometime next year. That means that consumers buying the Wii U will still need to apply the update for the foreseeable future. Fils-Aime says that this is simply the cost of being "ground-breaking":

"Every time we launch a new system, there are significant challenges. There's everything from supply to making sure the new offering meet our expectations. In the digital, connected services area, much of what we're doing is groundbreaking, so we are having to learn as we go to make sure the consumer has the very best experience possible."

He also explains that the much-hyped Nintendo TVii streaming service—which would have the console and GamePad interact with various home entertainment options—yet wasn't good enough to be part of the Wii U experience:

"On launch day for us, Nintendo TVii wasn't at a point where we wanted it to be," he said. "It was not the compelling innovative product we wanted it to be and we needed it to be."

Nintendo's Fils-Aime unfazed by Wii U's launch hiccups [Gamasutra]

DC Collectibles makes very plastic things based on various interpretations of their characters as they appear in print, movies or games. And with the Netherrealm-developed Injustice: Gods Amongst Us due out next year, there will be a new set of figures based on the designs for the superheroes appearing in that fighting game. The first two-fer pairs up Green Arrow and Deathstroke and will be followed up by a pack with Wonder Woman and Solomon Grundy. Here's how DC is soliciting the Injustice action figure set:

Injustice: Gods Among Us Action Figure 2-pack Series 1: Green Arrow/ Deathstroke

3 3/4 inch scale fully-articulated action figures with character specific accessories. Packaged in a 4/c window box.

Master Archer vs. Master Assassin!

Straight the highly anticipated new game "Injustice: Gods Among Us" comes two masters of precision, Green Arrow and Deathstroke! But who will win?! One thing's for sure—Oliver Queen has no problem bringing a bow to a gunfight!

Injustice: Gods Among Us Action Figure 2-pack Series 1: Wonder Woman/ Solomon Grundy

Amazonian Wonder vs. Cursed Powerhouse!

Straight the highly anticipated new game "Injustice: Gods Among Us" comes a powerful 1-2 punch featuring Wonder Woman and Solomon Grundy! "Can't stop Grundy?" I think a certain Amazonian Warrior Princess might have something to say about that!

The figures will come out alongside the game in April 2013 and will cost $29.95 per set.

The Mistletoe Lane storyline has progressed in FarmVille this evening as a series of six new goals has been released in the farm's Chapter 5 goal series. These goals will be available for the next week, and you'll need to work and plan ahead as much as you can along the way to stand the best chance of finishing all six goals in time. We're here with a complete guide to completing these goals, thanks in part to Zynga.

Post Haste
• Get 6 Post Whistles
• Harvest 50 Winter Grain
• Craft Hot Mint Chocolate 2 Times

For this Post Whistles task, and all other tasks that ask you to gather a specific number of a collectible item, you'll need to ask your friends to send them to you via a general news post placed on your wall. As for the Winter Grain, this crop takes a full day to grow, so feel free to use an Insta-Grow potion if you'd like to make some fast progress without waiting. Finally, the Hot Mint Chocolate can be crafted in the Patisserie using two Choco Mint, two Winter Grain and two Peppermint Bushels each. You'll receive 150 XP, a Baby King Penguin and 3,000 coins for completing this first goal. As a helpful tip, you'll want to place that Penguin in an animal storage building, or at least harvest it every time it's ready, as you'll need those mastery points for a goal later on.

Letter Labors
• Get 8 Letter Grabbers
• Harvest 75 Potatornaments
• Make Holiday Stew 3 Times

The Holiday Stew can be cooked inside the Patisserie using two Potatornament, two Flint Corn and two Tomato bushels each. If you've already reached Level 2 of the Patisserie upgrades, you'll have access to at least three empty stations at once, so make sure you're crafting all three of these Holiday Stews at once to save time. Speaking of saving time, the Potatornaments take 12 hours to grow, so feel free to plant them while you're also waiting for the Winter Grain to grow in order to save time. You'll earn 200 XP, a Frozen Snowfall Tree, and 3,500 coins for completing this goal.

Post by Pony
• Get 8 Mail Saddles
• Harvest 125 Flint Corn
• Make Holiday Cookies 2 Times

The Flint Corn takes a full day to grow, so make sure to plant it as soon as possible, even if you plant it before ever reaching this particular goal. If you do plan on planting these crops ahead of time, you'll also want to make sure that you don't let the Corn wither because you planted it too early. Whatever the case, you can craft the Holiday Cookies inside the Patisserie using one Winter Grain, two Cider Apple and two Sugar Cane Bushels each. Completing this goal gives you 250 XP, an Express Pony and 4,000 coins.

Synthetic Seasons
• Get 8 Fake Snows
• Harvest 150 Chocomint
• Make Holiday Pudding 2 Times

The Chocomint takes 16 hours to grow, so this is another time where it might be smart to plant two crops at the same time. In this case, you can plant the Flint Corn and the Chocomint at the same time, and will hopefully have fully grown Chocomint as soon as you're ready to start this particular goal. As for the Holiday Pudding, this is one of the first recipes available in the Patisserie, and it requires one Winter Squash, two Cider Apple and two Coffee Bushels for a single batch. After you complete this goal, you'll receive 300 XP, a Holiday Post Office decoration and 4,500 coins.

Trail Mail
• Get 9 Sparkle Ribbons
• Harvest 175 Frost Holly
• Master Baby King Penguin to 1-Star

As we said earlier, harvesting the Baby King Penguin should have become a secondary priority for your daily gameplay, as you'll need to earn at least a single Mastery Star on this animal to complete this goal. As for the Frost Holly, this crop takes two full days to grow, so if you've held back any Insta-Grow potions, this would definitely be an appropriate time to use one. If not, you might want to plant this crop back when you're planting the Chocomint above in order to save time in the long run. After you complete this goal, you'll receive 350 XP, a Cuddlesome Cub, and 5,000 coins.

Not-So-Polar Express
• Get 10 Holiday Saddles
• Harvest 200 Wax Beans
• Make Hot Mint Chocolate 3 Times

This goal series ends where it began, as you'll need to craft even more Hot Mint Chocolate in your Patisserie. As a reminder, this recipe requires two Chocomint, two Winter Grain and two Peppermint Bushels to craft. For the final crop task in this entire series, you'll need to plant the Wax Beans, which take 16 hours to grow. If you can complete this final goal within the seven days available to you, you'll receive 400 XP, a Holiday Express Horse and 5,500 coins.

If you happen to finish all of these goals with plenty of time left on the clock, you can start them over again for additional prizes. This definitely isn't required though, so don't drive yourself crazy to earn these duplicate prizes—I know I won't. Good luck finishing these goals at least once.

Play FarmVille on Facebook Now >

More FarmVille Coverage from Games.com

• Beat Mistletoe Lane Guide
• White Holiday Items Guide
• Atlantis Farm Sneak Preview

What do you think of the prizes and requirements for these Chapter 5 goals in FarmVille's Mistletoe Lane? Do you think you'll have enough time to finish all of them before they expire? Which ones can you see being hard to complete? Let us know in the Games.com comments!

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Republished with permission from:
Brandy Shaul is an editor at Games.com

Formerly one of 2012's most anticipated games, BioShock Infinite will hopefully be a highlight of February, 2013. But a game out of the public eye can be a game we begin to worry about. What can assuage concern? Not box art. Not models. No, we need to see gameplay. And we need to play this game.

Courtesy of the folks behind Spike's Video Game Awards, we've got seven tantalizing seconds—hey, it's something!—of new BioShock Infinite gameplay for you to enjoy.

Pretty cool, yes?

You can see the full thing during the VGAs which air on Friday on Spike at 9pm ET / 6pm PT. The VGAs are both an awards show and a showcase for many of the big games planned for release next year. Expect to see full, new trailers for The Last of Us, Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2, and Gears of War: Judgement . You can watch super-short teasers for those trailers here.

Infinite is eligible for fan voting for the Most Anticipated Game award. Vote for it, if you want GTA V, Tomb Raider, South Park: The Stick of Truth and The Last of Us to lose.

Love or hate the VGAs, they should produce a fair amount of excitement on Friday. We'll be covering them. You might even see one of us on them (on the second-screen version of the show at least).

BioShock Infinite will be out on February 26 for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on

Yes, this is real. Yes, you can download it. No, I'm not excited that you use a TI calculator every day and no, I can't just be happy for you. In my day we did actual math in math class. I want cool things, too! Hmph.

Portal on a TI calculator! (new video) [YouTube via Reddit]

Stunning combat games like Infinity Blade and Avengers Alliance are nice and all, but they waste a lot of time in-between battles with exploration and poking at items. In Glu Mobile's Dragon Slayer you slay dragons. That's it.

You also upgrade and manage equipment and, in order to truly excel at the game, spend a large chunk of change on in-game currency, but those don't take much time, leaving you free to swipe at some truly impressive-looking specimens of dragonkind.

There are land-based dragons, air-based dragons, and boss dragons so large you'll wonder what sort of insane person your magic-wielding character is to dare to go up against them. Suspension of disbelief isn't a big priority when death-by-dragon is on the table.

Sure, it's a bit clone-y and simple and the pay wall is pretty steep, but Dragon Slayer is free and rather spectacular.

Dragon Slayer — Free [iTunes]

Dragon Slayer — Free [Android]

When Skyrim first came out, Bethesda had lofty promises for the game's downloadable content. Skyrim's DLC will feel like expansion packs, the developers assured us.

Reality has told a different story. Skyrim's first DLC, Dawnguard, was a disappointing add-on filled with boring, samey quests. The second DLC, Hearthfire, was basically Barbie's Playhouse with dragons.

Third time's a charm. I've spent a few hours with Skyrim's latest piece of DLC, Dragonborn, and what I've played so far certainly feels like an expansion pack. It could also turn out to be Skyrim's best DLC yet.

Skyrim's newest DLC—out today for Xbox 360, and early next year for PC and PS3 (yes, PS3!)—takes you to the island of Solstheim, which you may remember from one of Morrowind's expansion packs, Bloodmoon. Solstheim is full of problems, quests, cities, dungeons, and all sorts of other things to explore and fight your way through. It's also rather unusual.

See, the first thing you'll notice, once you take a boat to Raven's Rock and start poking your way through Solstheim, is that it actually feels like a new experience. There's a new map. There are strange new areas and enemies—a city of nature-worshiping Skaal is protected by a powerful wind barrier; an underground tomb's dark elf corpses turn into hideous (and deadly) Ash Spawn; little goblins called Rieklings infest watchtowers and castles all across the land. It's all very bizarre and interesting.

Entering Solstheim, for me, was sort of like starting up Skyrim from the beginning, with no knowledge of what was in store. Even though I haven't even seen everything that the original game's massive world has to offer, there's still something really exciting about dropping into a new map that's full of potential. In other words, it feels like an expansion pack.

The second thing you'll notice about Dragonborn, if you're like me and recently spent a ton of time with Dishonored, is that you will miss the Blink spell a great deal. That shit should be in everything.

But I digress. Perhaps the most common complaint about Skyrim, generally considered an excellent game, is that its world was not as magical, not as creative, not as unique as the world of Morrowind before it. Solstheim has some solutions to that problem. Yes, you'll still be battling through some dark dungeons filled with the same old traps and levers—hope you like fighting Draugr!—but there's more to see and explore. There are giant mushroom homes furnished with magical air elevators, sickening demon squid Lurkers that shoot blasts of shadowy ink at your face, strange gems that command you to bring them to nearby mountains. You know, the usual.

The main quest is fascinating, too. I won't spoil the details, but it revolves around a dude named Miraak—who may or may not be the first ever Dragonborn—and the spell he's cast upon the people of Solstheim to subconsciously turn them into his slaves. Your goal is to stop him.

"But wait," you might be saying. "It wouldn't be Skyrim without countless bugs and glitches everywhere you turn. Does Dragonborn have any of those?"

Of course! When you first load up your copy of Skyrim with Dragonborn installed, you'll be accosted by a group of cult members who want to kill you. This happened to me in Windhelm. Except they weren't very good at showing that they wanted to kill me: once our dialogue had ended, they walked around in a circle for a few seconds before finally going hostile and pulling out their fireballs.

And of course there are the goblins floating in mid-air in the middle of fights, the janky animation during one particular moment when you're switched to a third-person point of view, and all of the other little bugs that make Skyrim Skyrim.

But still, so far I'm very pleased with this piece of DLC. It might have taken a year for Skyrim to get its first real expansion pack, but this seems to be the one we've all been waiting for.

I'll have more on Dragonborn here on Kotaku as I continue to play the game today. Expect a full review soon.

The Erasure-powered glory of Robot Unicorn Attack has seen many different iterations, from the original Adult Swim flash game to the mobile app, heavy metal to Christmas to a Facebook evolution. Now PixelJam takes us back to the very beginning with Retro Unicorn Attack.

Some might say that Adult Swim is beating a dead horse with all of these rehashes and retoolings of Robot Unicorn Attack. I say you cannot kill a robot unicorn, and the chiptune version of Erasure's "Always" is worth the price of admission.

Also admission is free, so there's that. Go play.

I used to love SimCity so much that I bought SimEverything, which is why I didn't just play SimTower but studied a game guide in a bookstore in order to discern how to best manage the game's elevators. Elevator management! The joy.

I liked my GameCube enough that I gave Odama an honest try, despite or because it was a real-time strategy war game that was also a pinball game. I never had someone play the support role using Donkey Kong bongo controls, but the option was available.

Sorry, but I skipped Seaman and so I can't tell you that I am an expert of the weird, awkward, alternately fun and boring works of one of the most enduring creators of oddball games, Yoot Saito. I can at least tell you that his new game on 3DS is... very Yoot Saito.

Aero Porter is a game about getting luggage onto airplanes, which would be a damning description if SimCity, a game about city planning, wasn't proven to be fun and if a game about making boxes—ArtStyle Boxlife—wasn't one of my favorite games (ever!).

Real-life tedium can be turned into superb video games.

I just can't tell you that Aero Porter is superb. Not yet. I'm suffering through it now, in the bits that I play when I'm not being pulled back into the new Professor Layton. I'm suffering, but I'm fascinated, because this thing is a mad creation.

The luggage spirals down, down, down. You can speed up the belts or slow them down. The pieces of luggage are different colors and you want to get them onto their proper planes. Your main lever of control are the connecting arms that you can raise and lower—a set on the left and a set on the right—that reconfigure the game's stack of circular belts into a connected spiral. Lowering the right arms lets the luggage swirl to the next levels down. Lowering the left arm lets the luggage spiral back up. Using these arms, you want to get the luggage on like-colored luggage rings and then send them into the waiting planes, before those planes take off.

That's not madness, you might say. That sounds like a straightforward puzzle game.

It is a puzzle game. It is hard. It is also a game that gives you a bonus (!) if you get all of a plane's proper luggage on it before it takes off. And it's a game that puts all these belts on a power meter that drains as the belts roll and drains faster if you speed the belt up. You can refuel by dropping a gas tank on the same luggage belt as long as you can get it to the bottom belt and then drop it lower still—ideally without dropping any luggage off the belt in the process. But to save power, you can dim the lights in the game and play in the dark. Also: there are bombs, as you can see in the screenshot here. (That's screenshot in the singular; I've broken the vertically-aligned shot up in this article to make room for my scribblings.)

Aero Porter's fun? It's tedious? It's too hard, too early? All of that. Plus: it's got some weird Streetpass feature that lets me collect planes and then share them to send them to other people's games and. I'll be shocked if I ever Streetpass with anyone else who is playing this.

I'm not confident that I can recommend this game yet, but if you were wondering what in the world Yoot Saito is up to or what to make of the new 3DS luggage game, I sure hope this helped.