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Mass Effect discussion thread

Nah

Nah

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    I was planning to get and start Mass Effect 3 today or tomorrow actually lol
     
    When comes to the Mass Effect series, I recall I first heard of it when I read a Mass Effect/Halo Reach fanfic. As for the first two games, I first got them on Christmas 2011 from one of my brothers. Course the versions were the Steam versions. Unfortunately they caused my first laptop some problems. So in January of 2012, I ended up buying the Xbox 360 versions. Course I did pre-order Mass Effect 3 that same year.

    Now when I first played Mass Effect 3, the ending left me with so many unanswered questions that I had a brain overload. Due to the brain overload, I ended up not playing the games for a week. Course I have also read the first three Mass Effect novels. (Revelation, Ascension, Retribution). I have even read one the Mass Effect comics as well. I even have the Mass Effect Galaxy at War version of Risk.

    Now for certain favorites of mine in the series:
    Favorite game: Mass Effect 3
    Favorite Squad member: Tali'Zorah vas Normandy
    Favorite Romacde Option: Tali'Zorah vas Normandy
    Favorite Weapon: M-76 Revenant LMG
    Favorite Race: Quarians
     
    Last edited:
    Preordered on PS4. I really hope there will be a demo where you can create your character beforehand?
     
    I'm out of playtime : ( But here is what I had to say after 8 hours of playtime, taken from discord and reformatted for inferior conditions

    Well having played so far 8 hours of Andromeda, I can say its not as bad as everyone seems to be saying (?). Its a fun game and the combat is smooth af. The story (so far) I'd say is somewhere inbetween above average and good (do note I'd still have the teirs Great, Amazing, and Fantastic above that). The animations are... well I'm sure most have seen them. Bad isnt the word (The original ME had bad animations) more like... nonexistant. A lot of people just stand stiff while talking to them. But from what Bioware has said it sounds like something theyre willing to work on after release (my favorite answer from companies after release is honestly when they admit they did something bad and fix it. It turns bad/lazy delivery to a bad design decision (and then a fixed one). The cutscenes are a bit laggy but I'm playing at 4k which I've had trouble running with other games. Oh and there are a fair share of cheesy dialog lines but w.e. Still not sure how big the world spaces can be. It doesnt seem huge on the map so far but idk if it can load other parts of the planet, or if I actually havent gotten out of the area I'm in. I wouldnt call the maps small either though so far. All in all I'd give it a solid 8 so far. Hopefully will go up after release. It reminds me kind of the first Mass Effect game, that suffered many of the same problems.



    And for those who say ME1 didnt have any of the same problems
    Spoiler:


    Click to expand...
    All in all, I very much enjoyed the Origin access trial. I'm super excited for the full game. DAIs story really didnt kick off for me until after the first areas as well so I'm hoping it can only go up. But even if it stays at the level of story it is at now, that's ok with me!
     
    Arsenic said:
    And for those who say ME1 didnt have any of the same problems
    Click to expand...
    Is there really anyone out there that would stick up for ME1, though? 'S not often you meet a ME1 apologist. Hell, I'd say I'm the closest to one I know, but the only reason that's the case is because I had a grand ol' time with ME1 but kind of pushed myself to play 2 and 3, to say nothing of their actual quality.

    Though after playing it somewhat recently, I will say that at the very least squashing giant geth with your vehicle, running where you need to go, then leaving was and always will be a joy.
     
    machomuu said:
    Is there really anyone out there that would stick up for ME1, though? 'S not often you meet a ME1 apologist. Hell, I'd say I'm the closest to one I know, but the only reason that's the case is because I had a grand ol' time with ME1 but kind of pushed myself to play 2 and 3, to say nothing of their actual quality.

    Though after playing it somewhat recently, I will say that at the very least squashing giant geth with your vehicle, running where you need to go, then leaving was and always will be a joy.
    Click to expand...

    Fair enough. I find people tend to remove of the problems of ME1 with a good ol' coat of nostalgia paint is all.

    All in all Andromeda is pretty fun so far. Though armor paint is a pit weird since its a color wheel with a triangle. I kinda just liked having pre-set buttons...
     
    I think I might be the only person who was okay with Mass Effect 3's original ending. To me it was very fitting to the 70s sci fi theme that they were going for from the beginning. It didn't need to be clear. Ambiguity is perfectly fine in my book. I can see why so many people hated it, though. I was as disappointed as anyone else that my decisions that seemed important in Mass Effect 1 were basically ignored for the duration of the conflict.

    Speaking of Mass Effect 1, it's actually my favorite of the series. I was not happy with the introduction of ammo in the second game. The overheat system was what set it apart and gave it a more rpg feel. It seemed like any other shooter moving forward.
     
    Necrum said:
    I think I might be the only person who was okay with Mass Effect 3's original ending. To me it was very fitting to the 70s sci fi theme that they were going for from the beginning. It didn't need to be clear. Ambiguity is perfectly fine in my book. I can see why so many people hated it, though. I was as disappointed as anyone else that my decisions that seemed important in Mass Effect 1 were basically ignored for the duration of the conflict.

    Speaking of Mass Effect 1, it's actually my favorite of the series. I was not happy with the introduction of ammo in the second game. The overheat system was what set it apart and gave it a more rpg feel. It seemed like any other shooter moving forward.
    Click to expand...

    I just wanted meaningful endings. I mean ever _different_ endings would have been fine but for the most part you just chose an explosion color, which after 3 games worth of struggles was a HUGE letdown.

    At least they added a bit of closure.

    As far as my favorite, 2 was the first I played and I think my favorite would be tied between 2 and 3. If I can just do DLC as a choice than The Citadel for ME3 was the series at it's best!

     
    Arsenic said:
    I just wanted meaningful endings. I mean ever _different_ endings would have been fine but for the most part you just chose an explosion color, which after 3 games worth of struggles was a HUGE letdown.

    At least they added a bit of closure.
    Click to expand...
    I get that. The actual ending choice was very poorly done imo. It pretty much boiled down to exactly the same paragon vs renegade choice. It wasn't that interesting a decision in the end. The thing for me though was that for the most part you really don't make many changes on the plot already. Paragon and renegade are personalities playing out the same story, not moral binaries like other games have.
     
    Well, started playing ME3. So far so good.

    I am confused though as to why the game brings in Liara becoming the new Shadow Broker as a plot detail. That was a DLC thing for ME2 so it's like....what if you didn't play that bit of DLC and the game just drops that on you? But fortunately that was something I played so it was fine to me.
     
    Nah said:
    Well, started playing ME3. So far so good.

    I am confused though as to why the game brings in Liara becoming the new Shadow Broker as a plot detail. That was a DLC thing for ME2 so it's like....what if you didn't play that bit of DLC and the game just drops that on you? But fortunately that was something I played so it was fine to me.
    Click to expand...

    It's a story DLC is why, and considered a canon happening. If someone didnt play it its on them I suppose. I'm sure theres a bit more dialog.

    Or maybe it doesnt count her as the broker since she'd be sitting in her office the whole time of me2.

    idk...
     
    I've only ever played 2 since it was being given away on Origin.

    It's pretty good from what I've played, though I haven't played all that much of it mind you.
     
    Artorias the Abysswalker said:
    Someone sell the Mass Effect series to me. I love RPGs, but I've never really looked into Mass Effeect. What makes it stand apart from other high caliber RPGs?
    Click to expand...
    Well, Mass Effect is a tricky one really. There's not a lot out there that's truly comparable. Borderlands comes to mind with its fusion of shooter and RPG elements, but if you go in with a Borderlands mentality you will likely have a bad time. In some ways it's also like Knights of the Old Republic, a game from the same company, but really only in how the plot is constructed. The dialogue system is improved over KOTOR, too.

    When I first tried to play Mass Effect, I actually hated it. I barely got through the intro because I just wasn't feeling engaged. It wasn't until I gave it another shot and forced myself to keep going that I discovered how great it is. It's really a game that you should just give a try and let yourself become immersed in the world.

    One of the advertised features of the series is choice, but I'll be honest, there's not a whole lot of REAL choice. For the most part, Paragon and Renegade are different ways of portraying the same Sci-Fi movie with different character tropes. You can be the all encompassing hero of the world (or galaxy), or the gritty rogue antihero, but for the most part the outcome will be the same. It's more about how you see yourself acting in a situation than making choices. This does make the conversation system pretty fun, but you can be certain that the plot is always going to move forward the way it wants to.

    The Sci-Fi plot of the series is on a very grand scale, although you really won't realize how far it goes until the second game. Which I think was a good route to go since it let's you warm up in the first game and get familiar with the world. There are some smaller scale thematic elements that foreshadow the later entries in the first game though, like deciding how to handle the genocide of a resurrected species from extinction. Did I get your attention with that one? Thought so. Thematically, the Sci-Fi is very much like Star Trek, taking place in a clean utopian future, as opposed to stuff like Alien or Blade Runner, though some later planets in the series do explore this sort of visual theme.

    Anyway, you should play the game for yourself and see what you can find to like about it. I think this is a series of games that has different appeals for different people. You won't find deep RPG gameplay here, but you will find a really well constructed plot and a great dialogue system that became the model for a lot of modern games (fuck, did Mass Effect really come out 10 years ago?) and I certainly think it's worth your time.

    Oh, right, the gameplay. Well it's basically a third person shooter with RPG elements, but it's not the same as Borderlands where you take perks have really unique effects. In the first game it's much more about specializing into certain weapon types or abilities. I'll be honest though, I don't remember how leveling works in later games so someone else will have to elaborate on that front, but it does become more shootery later on with the addition of clips over a heating system. If you like RPGs I would recommend playing as a character with power instead of a soldier, and the reverse if you like shooter games. The classes are actually really well differentiated and one of the reasons the game is so accessible to so many people.
     
    Adding on to what Necrum said,

    The choice in the game is there and theres plenty of it. Doing X may cause Y consequence in the same game, or even cause Z to happen two games later. This is where Mass Effect is different even from other games you can carry characters over from, in that it remembers all of the major and even the majority of minor decisions you make.

    The best example is a choice you make in ME1 has a rather large impact in your options to complete the third. (It could be explained a lot better with spoilers but then I'd be spoiling the game.)

    As far as gameplay goes, it's gotten more action oriented over the sequels, but that doesnt mean it doesnt have depth. You get a plethora of different skills and powers to use depending on class, from Biotics (Physics heavy space magic, make people float over cover, push them off a ledge, make them explode etc etc) and Tech (Overloading shields, bots, fire bombs) to simple grunt skills like bulking up heath and doing more dmg with different weapons (and grenades in later games).

    Classes also dictate which weapons you can equip (one of the main perks of a soldier class is you can carry all weapon types into battle at once)

    Try it out for your self! I think ME2 might still be free on Origin (pc)
     
    Arsenic said:
    The choice in the game is there and theres plenty of it. Doing X may cause Y consequence in the same game, or even cause Z to happen two games later. This is where Mass Effect is different even from other games you can carry characters over from, in that it remembers all of the major and even the majority of minor decisions you make.

    The best example is a choice you make in ME1 has a rather large impact in your options to complete the third. (It could be explained a lot better with spoilers but then I'd be spoiling the game.)
    Click to expand...
    Okay, so maybe my post gave too little credit to the amount of choice in Mass Effect, but really while they can have consequences they very rarely have any meaningful impact on the plot. Perhaps the most egregious example of this is
    Spoiler:
    I don't think this is at all bad, it's just that people get bent out of shape about stuff like the ending not having much change when really the plot as a whole makes little change throughout based on your decisions. They had a story to tell and they did so. You have the ability to shape your character but that's most of what you do. The exceptions to this is when you have an opportunity to save one of your party's life or have to choose who is going to do what on a critical mission, which can give you very distinct advantages. Death is still coming though, and I think that's part of the point with the franchise. You can fight all you want but the cycle is ignorant and will do anything it can to prevent your success. You make choices but the gods that be care little for the acts of a mere man. Obviously there's more to it but until you reach the end that is sort of the gist of what is going on in the story of Mass Effect: A sort of cosmic horror story with a brighter outlook.
     
    Never played ME, but it's #138 on my steam wishlist, so hopefully I get to it soon. It looks really interesting from what I've seen! I haven't played too many games where choices matter a ton... I bet I'll be doing lots of resets xD
     
    I suppose that the plots of the games all ultimately reaching the same conclusions when your choices don't seem matter that much in the grand scheme isn't so bad because at least the choices you do make still gives the game(s) your own personal touch. While we all basically reach the same destination, our experiences weren't exactly the same since we all said different things and did different things and all that. Even though Shepard is in some ways their own character, we can still mold them how we want to some degree too. You get to color the experience yourself basically (even though this is not unique to Mass Effect, nor is it necessarily the best at it either). The fact that we at least get that is still a positive point for the series.

    It's not as if your choices don't matter at all, since a good chunk of characters (or even species in a couple of cases) can live or die depending solely on you, especially in 2. But at the same time it's not hard to feel a bit of disappointment that some obviously major decisions end up not exactly having truly major impacts later.
    Spoiler:


    But still, having some choice is better than no choice.



    ....also almost have enough money now to get my Widow back. Get that and the Locust back and I'm good =)
     
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