Mass Effect: Hype, Praise, Criticisms, Minor Spoilers

[Sovard]

I played about 5-6 hours or so today at my brother's place.

The story is fairly typical in some regards. I could not shake the feeling that the world was familiar. Feelings of Star Wars and... Master of Orion (come on, the Krogan are totally Sakkra, and the Geth are so Meklar) were poking their heads up. As far as characters go, they did a good job. The dialog accurately conveys the character's personality for once, without necessarily having to just identify what archetype they applied.

There were a couple of dialog moments where I exclaimed at their stupidity.

SPOILER:For example: Feros. You have the option to incapacitate colonists with a gas grenade, or kill them (they're under a form of mind control). I chose to kill every single one of them, and at the end one of the unafflicted colonists told me that I "Saved a few, which is more than some other people would have done" WTF? I got 32 dark side poi... err, renegade points for doing it that way. Was that the consequence? I'm sure it affects the ending in some way, but the response was totally out of place.

Also, when you're made a Spectre one of the council members says something and then completely contradicts it in the next sentence.



Those are some of the ones I remember. I didn't do ANY side quests just to get as far as I could in the main story. I'm sure there are more, as I didn't exactly finish the game.

And yeah, the vehicle is retarded. I managed to have a good time with it, though. It has boosters which let you "jump". I would slowly creep up on enemies, fly into the air, and land on top of them. Repeatedly.

Overall, the only "RPG" part people can come up with are the leveling up and dialog. The dialog choices mainly affect inflection and tone, rather than what is actually said. The thing is, no matter what way you go about it, you're still trying to do the right thing. You may crack a few eggs- or try not to step on any toes, but that remains constant. Just as I initially thought... If you were just able to do your own thing for once

The combat is 50/50 for me. I don't know why, but I like it. I have it cranked up to maximum difficulty and low target assist from my allies (to add to the difficulty), yet I find myself comfortably going through it. If it was set to anything lower, I'm sure I would find it boring. I find that having played so many shooters I want a certain level of control over my character that isn't present. I ended up looking forward more to the combat than the dialog, though, that's for sure.

Overall, yeah. I was enjoying myself. I didn't want to stop playing. As much as I'd hate to agree with Volourn... it's a typical Bioware game. It isn't groundbreaking, and you know what to expect. They may have perfected their formula by now, that's for sure. I went in not expecting much, and I still managed to be entertained. It is fun for what it is, etc. etc.

Although, ultimately, it's nowhere near scratching my itch for storytelling and depth.

 

[Jaime Lannister]

IMO, Bioware does hack-n-slash pretty well, but with the exception of BG2, their storytelling is pretty overrated. Admittedly, I haven't played Jade Empire or Mass Effect, but I've heard they're nothing special.

 

[Volourn]

Heard from who exactly?

 

[Jaime Lannister]

Heard from who exactly?

The people posting here. Are you saying that Mass Effect and Jade Empire have better stories than BG2?

 

[MetalCraze]

Oh he will

If I remember correctly Volly didn't play BG2

 

[Volourn]

"you saying that Mass Effect and Jade Empire have better stories than BG2?"

When did I say that?

As for hearing it from people here, I tend to laugh at people who claim that KOTOR has a better story than JE. L0L

 

[MetalCraze]

JE has better story than KotOR, because KotOR is a generic star-wars fairy-tale.
but in everything else it sucks.

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

JE has better story than KotOR, because KotOR is a generic star-wars fairy-tale.
but in everything else it sucks.

Except it doesn't. JE has its moment of distilled brilliance, like this:

Being able to corrupt some of your companions is also nice. It could have been much better, no arguing there, but it's a huge step forward for BioWare.

 

[MetalCraze]

yes. :disguised:
yes.
yes. :morpheustalk:

 

[Volourn]

"yes. :disguised:"

Wrong, you don't have to help him, IIRC. In fact, you can get him in trouble with the townsfolk, or even kill the fellow.


J"E has better story than KotOR, because KotOR is a generic star-wars fairy-tale.
but in everything else it sucks."

JE > KOTOR in every meaningful way but non linearity (in tersm of where to go as JE crushes it in C&C).

 

[Deleted member 7219]

I'd love to see the world through Volourn's eyes for a single day.

 

[Volourn]

Your life will likely be improved as far as enjoying games go. Other things, not so much. HA!

 

[bezimek]

Heard from who exactly?

The people posting here. Are you saying that Mass Effect and Jade Empire have better stories than BG2?

No Mass Effect is not bad game but it is not great, too . IMHO it is good action (sic !) game. Some of hardcore players think that way too . For instance Scelous from Bioware forum :

First, the summation of my experience: a by-the-numbers RPG that promised a lot, fails to deliver on most. Has a few highs but is filled with plenty of mediocrity. Not bad, but not great either.

Now let me explain.

I was expecting a LOT from Mass Effect. The hype from the game combined with the fact that it was from Bioware made it get to the point where I was frothing at the mouth for ME. I checked all the previews, read all the backstory, read the novel (not a big fan of it), watched all the videos, all the interviews. I was on these forums daily. Casey Hudson became a household name for me. What I was expecting was for Mass Effect to not just be a game of the year, but one of the best games ever made.

Needless to say, with those kinds of expectations, this game was a huge disappointment.

Over the years, I've noticed that since Baldur's Gate 1, Bioware has continually made games more streamlined, more compact. Less empty spaces, less places to roam. Go from point A to point B down a straight hallway for your quest. I don't think that's inherently bad or anything, but I do think Mass Effect is the culmination of that kind of gaming experience.

I've heard others ask if the Citadel is the only real city in the game. Pretty much, yeah. I was really surprised at how... small most areas felt. The universe is huge. There's only one planet you can land on in each solar system, but that's still a lot. However, each planet is a barren wasteland, with a few events scattered around. All of these events are extremely repetitious - mine some ore, find a probe (the equivalent of opening a treasure chest), and go into the same-looking mine or bunker over and over. Towards the very end, it got to the point where I realized I just didn't care anymore, and started skipping those things. The experience was only made worse with driving the land vehicle, which feels like driving a dump truck with grease on its wheels.

The combat was sufficient and simple - satisfactory, but not excellent. It's almost as if the game designers had played Gears of War, wanted to have a Gears of War experience, but instead we get one more akin to Wolfenstein 3D. Here's how it would go: open up the door to the 50th same-looking bunker, fire a shot, and watch on the radar as whatever enemies you're fighting swarm you headfirst. You then proceed to stand there and fire until they are dead. I rarely, if ever, used cover. The AI companions were satisfactory (the keyword for ME), but nothing amazing. Sometimes they would get stuck, sometimes they would run right out into the open straight at enemies and proceed to get mowed down.

I've noticed that Baldur's Gate was good, and Knights of the Old Republic was good, but both Jade Empire and ME combat mechanics are kind of weak. I wholeheartedly believe Bioware should give up making IPs and go back to established systems, or at least some kind of established rule-base, because this really isn't working out for them.

NPC character interaction is my most favorite thing about RPGs - it's one of the primary reasons I play them. I found the character interaction in this game to be atrocious, especially compared to previous titles. Note: while this can apply generally, I'm thinking specifically of my NPC teammates.

I'm used to previous titles (such as BG or KotoR) where NPC party members would interject things. Where I could have discussions with them. Basically, where I would feel their presence. Their presence in this game is almost non-existent. Yes, in-between the main storyline missions (the whole 4 of them), you can speak a few sentences with your NPC party members. However, for the most part, they add nothing. When out on one of the countless monotonous quests on barren planets, they'll usually just say generic statements, if anything at all. "Wrex: These are bad guys." "Ashley: We need to kill these bad guys." Etc, etc. The only time I noticed that the NPC party members interacted with each other was on the Citadel elevators. That happened twice for me, in the entire game. It got to the point where I would take the elevators just in hopes of having other party members converse, but besides two times, I would just hear the same news stories repeat, over and over again.

The game is INCREDIBLY short. I am left stunned by how short it is. I got the "Completionist" achievement, where I finished at least 75% of the game. In reality, I did every side quest I could possibly find. Every single one. It took me 28 hours to beat the game, and that was with a slow, leisurely pace of wanting to see everything.

So the cons are: side quests can be excessively repetitive, the NPC party members have absolutely no presence, the combat system is straightforward and generic, and the game is extremely short.

There are two good things that really stood out for me. First off, what practically every review has been saying, the music. The music is probably the best thing about Mass Effect. 9.8 out of 10 for the music as far as I'm concerned. Everything except for the end credits music, which sounded like some bad 80's music.

Also, the main storyline quests were amazing. Simply amazing. It's almost as if all the things that Bioware had promised come alive in the main storyline quests. The problem is that there are 4 of them, and if you only do the main storyline, I could easily see someone beating the game in 10-15 hours. The rest of the game is padded with those empty side quests. If the entire game had consisted of the same quality as those main storyline missions, and it was 3-4 times as long, then Mass Effect would have been epic.

The thing that really gets me is I have no idea how seemingly so little content can exist when Bioware took such a long time releasing the game. Let me put it this way: I have never seen a game take so long, and have so little. Yes, the graphics look nice. The game is also free of bugs, which is a significant accomplishment in this day and age, and is commendable. Even so, it feels like a year's worth of work for the content that is in Mass Effect. KotoR and BG shame this product.

Mass Effect was a satisfactory experience, but it wasn't nearly as good as I believe it was promised to be, nor as good as I was expecting. That's disappointing in and of itself, but to have this come from Bioware, a renowned and quality game company, is doubly so. Jade Empire tempered my enthusiasm for Bioware games, but Mass Effect has made me all but lose any enthusiasm I had. Dragon Age sounded hopeful, and it does have David Gaider working on it, and I really like that guy. However, Dragon Age now has a long way to go in earning back some credibility for Bioware. I will definitely not be buying into the hype of Bioware's future games; they must now earn that enthusiasm with the actual product.

I say all this, but realize, I love Bioware. I think they're one of the greatest companies, not only in their productions, but in how friendly and open they are to their customer base. Baldur's Gate 2 (and it's expansion) is one of my most favorite games of all time, perhaps my MOST favorite game. Knights of the Old Republic was pretty damn good. Jade Empire was OK.

I expect a lot from Bioware, and in this case, I think they dropped the ball. Mass Effect isn't a BAD game, it's just not a great one. It's an okay experience, you play it, and then sell it back. I'd give it an 8/10, whereas I was expecting a 9 or 9.5/10.

@ Volourn / Skyway

Sorry but Jade Empire suck big time (development of player, inventory/economic system, party system, combat system and of course there are not long term C&C). Maybe story is ok but it is linear to pain .

But IMHO story in KOTOR 1 is not great , too but is more no linear :twisted:

 

[MetalCraze]

Your life will likely be improved as far as enjoying games go. Other things, not so much. HA!

yeah. do you want a dull linear life with a black'n'white world, exchanging short lines with people and having only extremely good and bad choices?

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Exactly my thinking there, skyway. Volourn sees things only in extremes, truly in black and white. I don't think I could live like that.

 

[Volourn]

"Some of hardcore players think that way too . For instance Scelous from Bioware forum :"

The guy thinks KOTOR is awesome. His opinion suffers greatly for that; but to each his own. He actually wants people to believe that KOTOR has good combat mechanics. That's a joke.


"course there are not long term C&C"

This simply isn't true. And, what it lacks in non linearty of movement, it makes up for in non linearity of convo and quests. KOTOR isnowhere near JE in terms of story, role-playing, C&C, combat, and inventory/economy system.


KOTOR is BIo's worst overall game.


"yeah. do you want a dull linear life with a black'n'white world, exchanging short lines with people and having only extremely good and bad choices?"

Mirror, mirror of the inetrnet whose the biggest hypocrite of them all? Skyway, Skyway, Skyway!


R00fles!

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Bioware's worst overall game, from those that I have played, has to be Baldurs Gate. The 2d drawn backgrounds were pretty... thats about it. The plot was poorly explained, and it was just a hack n slash the whole way through. No choices and consequences other than character stats in level up.

 

[Nerve Gas]

The 2d drawn backgrounds were pretty

 

[Volourn]

Huh? While BG wasn't exactly on fire with C&C; it sure had some. Even the npcs who aren't as talkative as later BIoe fforts are involved and can attack npcs at certain times. Jaheria/Khalid tend not to last long with Tiax/Montaron so you have to choose sides. Your repuation can lead to major detrimental effects, etc., etc.

People can be really dumb with try to white wash soemthing with 'no C&C effects'. That's lame.


Plus, the plot was explained quite well nor should it take a genius to figure out. Gah.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

I don't band companions in with C&Cs. Sure if you act like a bastard they leave and if you act too nice some leave too, but it has no real effect on the game other than you have to pick another companion to join you.

 

[One-guy]

Well, there was (in BG2 ) "Anomen's Order quest", when his sister was murdered by hostile family. And you have to choose what path you will gonna walk: revenge (murdering hostile family's child and senior- than Anomen will not gain the Order rank ) or desceve revenge (let the crime not be paid off, but be the Order's knight). Even with not much consequences it was a good quest.

It was one of the greatest moments of BG2. Bad luck, there was no more.

Sory for my english.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

I was talking about Baldur's Gate, NOT BG2, and to the troll who posted the pictures, definitely not about PST.

 

[MetalCraze]

Mirror, mirror of the inetrnet whose the biggest hypocrite of them all? Skyway, Skyway, Skyway!

wait. I've forgotten to say about the lack of long-term c&c in your life.

KOTOR is BIo's worst overall game.

KotOR > BG1 and NWN OC
bg1 is simply a hack'n'slash with a big world (though). the only two things that I like about BG1 are: art, combat

NWN OC is just hack'n'slash. with stupid companion "interactions" and more linear than KotOR (which has illusion of non-linearity, like the "fly-where-you-want" galaxy)

I don't know how KotOR could be worse than those two.
but I think everything is possible when it's Volourn.

 

[Volourn]

NWN has better quests, better combat, and outside of which planets to choose in KOTOR, is no more non linear.

 

[MasPingon]

NWN has better quests

You are trying to hard not to look like Bioware fanboy ;]