Mass Effect (merged thread)

[MetalManiac666]

Just a playful jab.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

Just arrived at the Shadow Broker's ship in the new DLC. Really good so far.

[skydivingninja]

Saw the Shadow Broker preview.  Looks epic as all hell.  Hopefully my roommate will buy it so I can partake in its wonderful goodness.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

So I just finished it...

Man am I pissed. Amazing DLC, but I wanted my Shepard to do the bone dance with Liara so bad and it never happened. I knew I would regret going for Ashley over her in ME1. One of the worst decisions of my life, easily.

[Sigz]

 

[Dimitrius]

Without spoiling if the Shadow Broker is an AI or an organic being... do you get to see the Shadow Broker?

[In The Wake Of Poseidon]

Without spoiling if the Shadow Broker is an AI or an organic being... do you get to see the Shadow Broker?

Yes



My god, the visuals in this DLC is fucking fantastic.

[Dimitrius]

Finished it about 20 minutes ago.

EASILY the best DLC so far and EVERYONE should get it!!

[TheOutlawXanadu]

I just read the IGN feature on what Mass Effect 3 should have and it got me to thinking about my own list...

1) Compromise

Mass Effect 1 had like 15 types of each gun and then 10 levels of each (Raptor V, VI, VIII, etc.). It had like 15 types of armor and then 10 levels of each (Colossus V, VI, VIII, etc.).

Mass Effect 2, by comparison, has like 4 types of each gun and only one level of each. It has like four or five types of armor, but most people just use the default and screw around with the color scheme.

Mass Effect 3 should compromise. It should take a cue from the first game by bringing back all the types of guns and armor as well as take a cue from the second game by having you continually upgrade those guns and armor instead of having multiple levels of each.

2) Better Action

All the combat in Mass Effect 2 took place in small areas. Combat in Mass Effect 3 should take place in bigger areas that give you tons of options as to how you want to gameplan.

For Red Dead Redemption players, a great example is the mission at Tumbleweed where you have to storm the mansion. You've got a long distance to cover and there are tons of ways to get where you want to go. You can take cover in houses, on the road, and then as you get closer to the mansion, you can flank left, center or right. It's so much fun running from cover to cover, trying not to get hit by incoming fire as you dash from side to side.

3) An Antagonist

Not having a main bad guy in Mass Effect 2 was huge. Not having a main bad guy for each mission was even bigger.

There is something about the anticipation of fighting someone with a reputation that gives everything a sense of urgency. In Mass Effect 1, you read about Liara's mom causing shit at Noveria, you go to Noveria and hear even more about it, you go to the laboratory and hear even more about it, and before you know it, you're itching to fight this bitch. What you're doing appears to have a purpose.

On the contrary, in Mass Effect 2, you keep hearing about the Collectors, but you rarely do anything that has to do with them. So the urgency disappears. The game feels like a game of side missions.

In Mass Effect 3, establish an antagonist or two right off the bad. Keep us updated on what that antagonist is doing. Make sure everything we do has to do with that antagonist. It will make the story infinitely more engaging.

[Super Dude]

I dunno, I rather liked that about ME2, that there was no real drive to face the antagonists.  It made the world feel a lot more open-ended because I could just simply explore the universe rather than worrying about Saren and the Reapers.

[Dimitrius]

I would really like to see the Reapers attack Earth, give humanity a sense that the Reapers want to annihilate them because of Shepard always thwarting them. But I really doubt this will happened.

[kala1928]

What I hate about the main plot (or sort of lack of) in ME2 was the fact that about 20% way through it was clear what you were supposed to do (go thru the relay and get rid of the collectors) and then the games drags on as you recruit all the sidekicks (I guess you don't have to but I still did) and do their sidemissions and then...

you just go through the relay and kill the collectors, THE END.

As I was playing through the final 'episode' or part or whatever, I was silently thinking to myself 'please don't let this be the final part of the game' pretty much trough it.

I also hated the removel of many (some somewhat innecessary though) min/max RPG elements of the first part (oversimplyfing or consolizing the game) and the way the missions were handled (each was just a "level"). It was really enjoyable, but still somehow the flaws were so big that it didn't live up to the expectations.

PS: hated the AI bug (feature callit whatever they were stupid as hell) with those big flying things which were supposed to be scary minibosses.

[Super Dude]

I actually like the simplification and de-RPGization. I always feel like RPG elements make gameplay (in any game) way more complicated than necessary; it detracts from the game itself, namely the engaging story, top-notch combat, and the joys of pure exploration (although Oblivion manages to balance this to a reasonable extent).

[kala1928]

I think the main issue was that the gameplay was so much different from the 'original' or part one that it felt like a totally different game. Take away most of the familiar NPC's, insert a plot that has nothing to do with the first part and the only real tie-in between the two is the protagonist.

[Super Dude]

Well it's an issue for you, but I personally loved what they changed about it.  I liked the first game but I would never go back and replay it; ME2 I totally would.

[Dimitrius]

I think the main issue was that the gameplay was so much different from the 'original' or part one that it felt like a totally different game. Take away most of the familiar NPC's, insert a plot that has nothing to do with the first part and the only real tie-in between the two is the protagonist.

I absolutely love that they change the gameplay, because I always felt the fighting was very clunky in the first one. The second feels much smoother. I was a little disappointed that they took out the immense amount of different weapons and armors though.

And of course it has nothing to do with the first part, Mass Effect was conceived as a trilogy! Before they even released the first one I remember reading BioWare always planned it to be a trilogy, so the story has nothing to do with the first one, but has everything to do with the overarching one!

[faemir]

My only complaint with ME2 was the swap of ammo management. ME1 made you balance out your attacks to avoid overheating, but never ran out / had to scrounge around. ME2 was a step back in that department.

[Super Dude]

Agreed, but again, the only weakness.  I also really liked that the loyalty missions really fleshed out the crew in a way the original game never could have.  Never before Mass Effect 2 did I care about secondary characters.

[kala1928]

Well to me it takes an awful lot away from the grand storyline and ME3 being a trilogy if the games don't feel like they're even made for the same series gameplay-wise and in the case of ME-series, story-wise too since they (1 & 2) are so detached from each other. Storywise ME1 is so much better, ME2 story did show a lot of promise a long the way but eventually crashed and burned in the end.

[Sigz]

I don't see how you can judge the 'grand storyline' when the 3rd game hasn't been released yet. Frankly I'm not sure what you were expecting; the game followed a logical progression from the end of the first game, who's story was pretty well wrapped up.

[kala1928]

I don't see how you can judge the 'grand storyline'

I didn't

the game followed a logical progression from the end of the first game, who's story was pretty well wrapped up.

I'd say 'logical progression from the end of the first game' is pretty way off.
And its story is definitely not 'wrapped up', collectors aren't the main villain in ME2, its still the reapers.

[Sigz]

I don't see how you can judge the 'grand storyline'

I didn't

Well to me it takes an awful lot away from the grand storyline

I'd say 'logical progression from the end of the first game' is pretty way off.
And its story is definitely not 'wrapped up', collectors aren't the main villain in ME2, its still the reapers.

OK, once again, what were you expecting? Everything about the reapers was just setup and exposition for the later games, which was continued in ME2 and will presumably be wrapped up in the 3rd game. The main story arc of the first game was essentially about stopping Saren, which you did. ME2 had it's own story arc as well as continuing the greater story. What's the problem?

[kala1928]

Don't misquote me. I said the lack of similarity in gameplay takes away from the grand storyline or "series-feel".

And ME1 wasn't about stopping Saren, he was just a tool for the reapers. It was about stopping the reapers, which was not even nearly resolved. The way the reaper-threat is dealt in ME2 feels more like a mission or an episode, not a complete part of a trilogy. Especially since it introduces a 'new' threat(collectors working for reapers) but then takes it away in the end, effectively leaving you where you began except for the new potential villain (illusive man). But they do say the second part of a trilogy is always the worst!

[Sigz]

Well to me it takes an awful lot away from the grand storyline and ME3 being a trilogy if the games don't feel like they're even made for the same series gameplay-wise and in the case of ME-series, story-wise too since they (1 & 2) are so detached from each other.

[Super Dude]

kala, you seem to have a thing for weird opinions today.

[kala1928]

kala, you seem to have a thing for weird opinions today.

I've created this (bad) habit of clinging to the smallest poorly made details in otherwise excellent things

And its really late, too!

[Sigz]

And ME1 wasn't about stopping Saren, he was just a tool for the reapers. It was about stopping the reapers, which was not even nearly resolved. The way the reaper-threat is dealt in ME2 feels more like a mission or an episode, not a complete part of a trilogy. Especially since it introduces a 'new' threat(collectors working for reapers) but then takes it away in the end, effectively leaving you where you began except for the new potential villain (illusive man). But they do say the second part of a trilogy is always the worst!

I feel like you're not separating the overall reaper threat from each individual story arc. Yes the reapers are the 'real' threat, but both Saren and the Collectors were the face of that threat in their respective games, and they were the focus of that game. Those games serve to, among other things, develop the reapers and their background/lore/motives/whatever, presumably to come to fruition in the final game. But don't think that just because a new enemy was introduced in ME2 that the game somehow lost sight of the storyline.

[Super Dude]

Not to mention there was a significant plot purpose in using these "minor" villians: Saren is the reason we know about the Reapers in the first place, and the Collectors forward the plot interesting ways as well, such as divulging to us the true fate of the Protheans (and implications for the humans).

[kala1928]

Meh Saren was just a tool. It was pretty obvious once found out that the Sovereign was the major and minor villain in ME1, not Saren. It (he?) was even present in many occasions in the game as opposed to Harbinger in ME2. The Collectors were also a different kind of villain because they were working for the Reapers without being directly controlled. This detached them from the Reaper-threat along with the fact that Harbinger was never even semi-directly (as the Collector General) faced.

[MetalManiac666]

I actually found ME2's storyline to be much more gripping than the first game's, especially in the last quarter or so.  I guess part of that was the lackluster side-missions that detracted from the overall plot in the ME1.

[Scurvy!Dreams]

Harbinger is a Reaper and you fight his avatar multiple times in every mission. How is that more detached than Saren?

[Dimitrius]

Harbinger is a Reaper and you fight his avatar multiple times in every mission. How is that more detached than Saren?

I was about to post this. He basically controlled the Collector General and took control over whatever Collector he wanted. Also, the Collector themselves came from the Protheans which the Reapers re-purpose to serve them... how are they not controlled by them? They are subjugates to the Reapers, the Reapers are their masters.

[kala1928]

Harbinger is a Reaper and you fight his avatar multiple times in every mission. How is that more detached than Saren?

Harbinger is a Reaper which means that he is a big ass ship somewhere in the dead space. The "Harbinger" shown in the ingame vids is the Collector General whom Harbinger has in his(its?) control. Also you dont fight his avatar you just fight regular collectors the Collector General has taken control of.

[Dimitrius]

Harbinger is a Reaper and you fight his avatar multiple times in every mission. How is that more detached than Saren?

Harbinger is a Reaper which means that he is a big ass ship somewhere in the dead space. The "Harbinger" shown in the ingame vids is the Collector General whom Harbinger has in his(its?) control. Also you dont fight his avatar you just fight regular collectors the Collector General has taken control of.

Actually, when Harbinger "assumes control" of a collector, the little window at the top of the screen that has the name and the health explicitly says "Harbinger".

[MetalJunkie]

Harbinger is a Reaper and you fight his avatar multiple times in every mission. How is that more detached than Saren?

Harbinger is a Reaper which means that he is a big ass ship somewhere in the dead space. The "Harbinger" shown in the ingame vids is the Collector General whom Harbinger has in his(its?) control. Also you dont fight his avatar you just fight regular collectors the Collector General has taken control of.

Actually, when Harbinger "assumes control" of a collector, the little window at the top of the screen that has the name and the health explicitly says "Harbinger".

This.