Mass Effect Trilogy

[GarfunkeL]

Yeah, that would have been better - make it a spin-off or something.

 

[pippin]

You still can play it as a standalone game, since the ending to ME2 is pretty much conclusive on itself and you even have an option to make up a backstory for yourself so you don't really have to play ME1.

 

[Wayward Son]

You still can play it as a standalone game, since the ending to ME2 is pretty much conclusive on itself and you even have an option to make up a backstory for yourself so you don't really have to play ME1.

That's actually what I did, since ME2 was my first ME game, or even Bioware game in general AFAIR.

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

Am I the only one who felt like Mass Effect 2 would have been way better as its own standalone game? Like a sci-fi Ocean's 11 in which you navigated this outlandish alien underworld like a B-rate Han Solo. Making deals with various black market gangs and then double-crossing them, like New Vegas' faction system on steroids. The first half of the game you'd make your mark on Omega, and then the second half would be uniting the underworld to take down the Collectors.

Maybe. It's almost self contained already. Very compartmentalized, like a season of "The Mass Effect Show" with stories of the week about the companions and then occasional arc episodes about the collectors.

 

[oldmanpaco]

ME2 might not have been the worst Bio game (DA2, ME3, and DA:I battle for that crown) but it may have been the most disappointing. Its where the bottom fell out of the Bioware design philosophy and story/emotion became more important than gameplay or RPG mechanics. All the previous Bioware game tried to be RPGs but ME2 was an adventure game with cover shooter mechanics and the trapping of an RPG.

 

[Jaesun]

Bioware stopped making RPG's a long time ago. Still, ME2 stands out as thier most enjoyable game to date.

 

[Coma White]

Bioware stopped making RPG's a long time ago. Still, ME2 stands out as thier most enjoyable game to date.

I KIND OF agree with this. But I think the things that make ME2 good also make it a bad RPG.

 

[Jaesun]

Bioware stopped making RPG's a long time ago. Still, ME2 stands out as thier most enjoyable game to date.

I KIND OF agree with this. But I think the things that make ME2 good also make it a bad RPG.

They no longer make RPG's, as I already stated.

BUT the gameplay (and story, even with it's LOL points) is however fun. And that is about it. It is *still* one of their best games to date.

Crooked Bee I believe agrees with me on this point.

 

[SausageInYourFace]

ME1 gave me a sense of wonder and exploration and it was for the most part an enjoyable space adventure.

ME2 had better combat mechanics but a terrible and formulaic plot that felt like a huge patchwork of very badly connected parts. I don't really understand the props ME2 gets here, for its plot least of all. I had more fun with DA2, not gonna lie. I daresay DA2 was objectively better in the story and character department. Can't even remember the names of all these ME2 fagets that told me all their lives woes in our second conversation and then sent me off to do their laundry while I should've been busy saving the universe.

ME3 again felt a bit more engaging and straightforward (albeit also pretty formulaic and cheesy) but I got so angry about all the expensive DLC and content I was cut off from that I stopped about half way through. Haven't played a Bioware game since. Might try DA:I eventually but I got better things to do at the moment and better games to play.

 

[Jaesun]

At least you COULD talk to your Companions and they would not RAPE you in ME2, unlike ME. (See Ashley).

 

[SausageInYourFace]

Ashley rapes Shep? How did I miss that? (Probably by letting Ashley die and playing FemShep)

 

[Jaesun]

Ashley rapes Shep? How did I miss that? (Probably by letting Ashley die and playing FemShep)

You can NEVER EVER under any circumstance talk to Ashley once you have the ship. IF YOU DO, she will RAPE you. At least as a Male Shep.

 

[SausageInYourFace]

IF YOU DO, she will RAPE you.

But how is that a bad thing?

 

[commie]

I can handle every plot hole and the horrible ending to the series. The only regret was not being able to get down with Chakwas.

 

[Bumvelcrow]

Ashley rapes Shep? How did I miss that? (Probably by letting Ashley die and playing FemShep)

You can NEVER EVER under any circumstance talk to Ashley once you have the ship. IF YOU DO, she will RAPE you. At least as a Male Shep.

What? I must have been doing something right/wrong. Despite being nice to her and competing all the missions up to and including that bit where you have to sacrifice the boring companion, she's never even tried to rape me. Not that I want her to, of course, but I am curious.

 

[Crooked Bee]

They no longer make RPG's, as I already stated.

BUT the gameplay (and story, even with it's LOL points) is however fun. And that is about it. It is *still* one of their best games to date.

Crooked Bee I believe agrees with me on this point.

Yeah, ME2 is fun (and the best of nu-Bioware).

 

[VladimirK]

I remember thinking Mass Effect was dumbed down for mass audience appeal when I first played it. Back then, I didn't know how bad it would get. It was only in a later playthrough that I really came to appreciate the first game. That's not to say that it was amazing or anything, ME1 suffers from plenty of "biowarisms" - an absolutely terrible inventory, cringeworthy dialog, plot holes, level design issues, etc. But the universe held a lot of potential and the premise - eldritch machine gods are coming to wipe out all sentient life - could have potentially been amazing if done well. Saren was a well-done villain (especially by Bioware standards) and the rest of the main cast were all passable. The last hour or so of the game had some pretty dumb moments, though.

ME2 I tolerated for its mindlessness, but putting any thought into it at all basically ruins the game.

ME3 was so terrible that I can't even find the words to describe it, luckily other people already have.

No. That is the one part of the Mass Effect universe that really sucks and is the root cause of many other narrative problems.

That's not the premise's fault. See Babylon 5, where they swiped it from, and where it worked perfectly fine. Of course, they couldn't just rip-off the whole thing, and when the writers had to come up with something concrete and original for the Reapers, it went bad.

 

[J1M]

Also wrong, the light/dark war was the worst part of Babylon 5 too.

I wish more literal christian mythology was produced. Maybe then hack writers would stop injecting laughable and childish good/evil arcs into decent sci-fi.

 

[SausageInYourFace]

the light/dark war was the worst part of Babylon 5 too.

There wasn't any light/dark or good/evil conflict in B5, it was more about order vs chaos (amongst other things) and both sides in that conflict (or the races who represent those sides) where depicted as ruthless fundamentalists.

The others are correct that there are similarities with B5s and Mass Effects ancient evil from beyond the stars. That kind of lovecraftian theme is pretty scary to me - particularly the Shadows - it was also reasonably well done in ME1 (the first conversation Shep could have Sovereign was legit pretty scary).

 

[Sceptic]

I wish more literal christian mythology was produced. Maybe then hack writers would stop injecting laughable and childish good/evil arcs into decent sci-fi.

Left Behind

it was also reasonably well done in ME1 (the first conversation Shep could have Sovereign was legit pretty scary).

YOU CANNOT COMPREHAND! WE ARE BEYOND YOUR UNDERSTANDING. YOU CANNOT COMPREHAND!

That conversation was possibly the most retarded bit of writing in ME1 (not that the rest is stellar, but it's reasonably competent for the most part). We've also argued about this many times before, it's the antithesis of the way Lovecraftian horrors work. These do NOT walk up to you and casually strike up a conversation in which they tell you how much more awesome they are. Even the Lovecraft ripoffs like August Derleth didn't miss the point of Lovecraft that much.

 

[SausageInYourFace]

Fair enough, it makes little sense (particularly the 'You can not possibly comprehend us!'-stuff) but the idea of incredibly advanced mecha cthulhus who dwell beyond the stars and casually wipe out all life every cicle is pretty scary. This conversation is the first time in the series this issue is relayed to you after gathering several leads hence I found it a scary enough reveal at that time.

 

[Jaesun]

The whole Sovereign conversation was basically a fun guilty pleasure. You KNOW you would love to just have a small conversation with it. If however Ziets had written that conversation, it probably would have been pretty fucking cool, and vastly better done.

 

[Sceptic]

but the idea of incredibly advanced mecha cthulhus who dwell beyond the stars and casually wipe out all life every cicle is pretty scary.

It's a great concept and maybe my annoyance with ME is that it could've been done vastly better in the hands of another writer, like Jaesun pointed out. For maximum effectiveness the cthulhus have to be unfathomable though - for a great example (and one that IMO Bioware ripped off almost wholesale when they came up with the Reapers) see Frederick Pohl's Gateway (both book and game; the game is excellent BTW). The biggest problem with trying to bring down the cthulhu to our level is that it makes it hard to accept these nigh-omipotent beings being so incompetent (as they are in the entirety of ME2 and ME3)

 

[Trotsky]

Imagine spending as much time as he did doing that retrospective. Really puts "wasted time" into perspective.

The Mass Effect trilogy should have revolutionized story telling in games. It failed creating one of the biggest controversies in gaming history instead. There is a lot to be said on the topic. Even if you dislike Bioware ME3 was a major turning point in gaming when the masses finally turned against Bioware. I don't think the industry will ever be the same.

They no longer make RPG's, as I already stated.

BUT the gameplay (and story, even with it's LOL points) is however fun. And that is about it. It is *still* one of their best games to date.

Crooked Bee I believe agrees with me on this point.

Yeah, ME2 is fun (and the best of nu-Bioware).

Dragon Age Origins and ME2 were Bioware's last good games. They were already in development before EA took them over. It also takes a few years before new ownership is able to fundamentally change the corporate culture. As for ME2 specifically it was a major improvement over Mass Effect. It's true that the series went in a different direction but it was still a good direction. Being a renegade player I was happy that a minor antagonist faction received more depth in the sequel and was portrayed as morally ambiguous.

 

[Trotsky]

So I finally finished my first playthrough of the entire trilogy. I had played the first and second games a little bit back when they were released but never completed them - nor had I ever played the third. But with my new PC, I figured what the hell. Let's give waifu-shooter a spin.

I went with Renegade Fem Shep, Adept-Soldier-Adept (bad call, should have remained Adept in ME2, soldier was damn boring), and Liara was my waifu. No, I didn't cheat on her during ME2.

It's pretty obvious that writers / designers changed between ME1 and ME2 - the game changes quite drastically. Women get more sexualized, every companion becomes "unique" like this is Final Fantasy, and the retarded inventory from ME1 is gone completely. Even more, the cliche but workable sci-fi plot of ME1 gets an utterly retarded future fantasy sequel. I don't understand why Shep had to die to join Cerberus, how Cerberus could get all the resources it utilized, why the Collectors were working for Reapers, why use human tissue to create a Reaper anyway and what the fuck, the entire game is one massive plot hole. So ME3, which its stupid, cliche alien invasion plot, is at least going back to being sci-fi. Too bad that the ending, which is stupid beyond all measure, ruins it. Whoever came up with Synthesis needs to stop writing.

The writers didn't change but there were new writers added to the team and Drew Karpyshyn left production half way. Most of the changes were good some were bad. Most of your complaints are nitpicks though. In any work of fiction you have to suspend disbelief. The problem with the series was ME3 which failed utterly to deliver what was promised. In the end people who wanted a proper sequel to ME1 weren't satisfied nor were people who wanted a proper sequel to ME2. Each game feels like a separate installment with the same protagonist instead of a proper trilogy which either follows its predecessor strictly or wraps everything up in the finale. ME3's short development schedule didn't help.