Mass Effect 3 (Also Mass Effect General I suppose?)

[Jillers]

Just finished Arrival. It was everything it needed to be, but nothing I wanted it to be...
But I've been wanting a Virmire Survivor DLC. So anything short of that wouldn't have been anything I wanted.

It was solid though, and I enjoyed it. It was very action oriented though, and less dialogue-y. I like dialog.

[Dave-O_Boy]

Yeah I just finished it too. I heard it was supposed to be more story heavy, but that wasn't really the case at all.

Apparently the count down is always 2 days regardless of when you do the mission. Though I could be wrong.

[Jillers]

Can you do the mission anytime or is it only an end game thing?
Anyway, it makes sense from a programming perspective that the countdown is always 2 days away.

[FFN]

I think the worst part about this DLC is, even by the standards of Mass Effect, your choices don't really matter, as you are railroaded into following the narrative. That is, when the DLC deigned to give you a moral choice.

The best things about the DLC is Hackett and the little touches to acknowledge what you did during the Suicide Mission.

Jillers, you can do the DLC anytime after Horizon.

[Jillers]

Oh okily.

I did think it was neat that Harbinger spoke to you directly, and honestly if I had waited until after Arrival came out to play ME2, I think I'd really like it.

There were definitely neat little touches here and there, but, and I'm not sure this makes sense as a criticism of the DLC, it felt like a deleted scene they got to put back in.


Edited for forgetting Reaper's name

[JackSlack]

Oh, you Bioware. Y'know, I think I've started playing Mass Effect just for the brain-breaking levels of stupid. And this time you gave us a doozy.

Where to start?

1. First off, the deep cover agent in Batarian space. This isn't that bad, merely a little whiffy, but given that the Batarians are previously shown as (and again shown here as) incredibly hostile to humans, how can you be "deep cover" there? I can see ways, but it's tricky. Still, this is low grade stupid. Unlike...
2. Don't bring your squad. If one human is caught in Batarian space, it looks worse on humanity, it seems, than if you bring a Turian and a Krogan along. Y'know, because that way ALL the blame winds up on humanity. What the hell? Wouldn't it make the most sense to bring some aliens along, and make the Batarians work to find out the real story? I know, I know, already caught 'the ringleader'. Still, I can't see why you being alone reduces the diplomatic risks.
3. "If the Mass Relay is not destroyed, they'll take months, maybe years to fly to the next one, even at light speed." Wait, what now? The Mass Relays are only about a light year apart? How many ARE there? We're talking hundreds of thousands at this point. I coulda sworn the idea was that they were a few hundred light years apart -- that's why they're so damned valuable. So if we stop one, it should be centuries before the Reapers invade. Shouldn't it?
4. Bringing Shepard to the project. Here's where the real high grade stupid begins. Why, why would you do this? If you are, in fact, a Reaper indoctrinated servant taking orders from the Reapers, the last place you want to take Shepard -- the deadliest man/woman in the galaxy -- is to the one place she can make a difference.
5. "We want her alive!" Really? Why? It's never explained!
6. I have mech control from inside the med bay? Really? Were they more afraid of a rescue attempt than a breakout? I ... guess that makes sense. But ... no, no it doesn't. You have intercoms. Ring security, you twits!
7. OK, OK. At least they were smart enough to store my guns, gear and very impressive shielding system on the other side of the ba... OH COME ON.
8. The manual cooling system is triggered by two rods being inserted on opposite sides of the room? With no automatic release from a single point? Was the cooling system considered a 'Do you really mean this?' thread like the nuclear missile system, rather than a "OH SHIT SAVE OUR LIVES" thing that needed to be activated quick smart? The hell?
9. "I don't need to look at your report. I know you did the right thing." WHAT? For this whole time I've been trying to convince everyone that the Reaper threat is real. I still have no evidence; I destroyed it. Apparently all I needed to do was kill 350k people to convince people? Well, gee, if you'd just said that sooner...

UGH. Bioware, please. Lift your game. This writing is shameful.

[Dave-O_Boy]

I wish Harbinger talked to Shepard more often in the game. That scene was kind of cool. It would have really given the game more of a central villain. Sure he appears in combat pretty frequently but eh... That really didn't serve for much more than a slightly tougher enemy.

[Tycherin]

Arrival seems weird to me (haven't played it yet, but I've read some things). It's basically Bioware's way of saying, "Ok, we got off track from the actual plot in ME2, so here's some DLC to remind you what's really going on here." Can anyone who's played Arrival comment on that?

[Jillers]

Oh, you Bioware. Y'know, I think I've started playing Mass Effect just for the brain-breaking levels of stupid. And this time you gave us a doozy.

Where to start?

1. First off, the deep cover agent in Batarian space. This isn't that bad, merely a little whiffy, but given that the Batarians are previously shown as (and again shown here as) incredibly hostile to humans, how can you be "deep cover" there? I can see ways, but it's tricky. Still, this is low grade stupid. Unlike...
2. Don't bring your squad. If one human is caught in Batarian space, it looks worse on humanity, it seems, than if you bring a Turian and a Krogan along. Y'know, because that way ALL the blame winds up on humanity. What the hell? Wouldn't it make the most sense to bring some aliens along, and make the Batarians work to find out the real story? I know, I know, already caught 'the ringleader'. Still, I can't see why you being alone reduces the diplomatic risks.
3. "If the Mass Relay is not destroyed, they'll take months, maybe years to fly to the next one, even at light speed." Wait, what now? The Mass Relays are only about a light year apart? How many ARE there? We're talking hundreds of thousands at this point. I coulda sworn the idea was that they were a few hundred light years apart -- that's why they're so damned valuable. So if we stop one, it should be centuries before the Reapers invade. Shouldn't it?
4. Bringing Shepard to the project. Here's where the real high grade stupid begins. Why, why would you do this? If you are, in fact, a Reaper indoctrinated servant taking orders from the Reapers, the last place you want to take Shepard -- the deadliest man/woman in the galaxy -- is to the one place she can make a difference.
5. "We want her alive!" Really? Why? It's never explained!
6. I have mech control from inside the med bay? Really? Were they more afraid of a rescue attempt than a breakout? I ... guess that makes sense. But ... no, no it doesn't. You have intercoms. Ring security, you twits!
7. OK, OK. At least they were smart enough to store my guns, gear and very impressive shielding system on the other side of the ba... OH COME ON.
8. The manual cooling system is triggered by two rods being inserted on opposite sides of the room? With no automatic release from a single point? Was the cooling system considered a 'Do you really mean this?' thread like the nuclear missile system, rather than a "OH SHIT SAVE OUR LIVES" thing that needed to be activated quick smart? The hell?
9. "I don't need to look at your report. I know you did the right thing." WHAT? For this whole time I've been trying to convince everyone that the Reaper threat is real. I still have no evidence; I destroyed it. Apparently all I needed to do was kill 350k people to convince people? Well, gee, if you'd just said that sooner...

UGH. Bioware, please. Lift your game. This writing is shameful.

This is how I viewed it:
1.)You can be in deep cover in hostile enemy territory by being in deep cover. You don't let your enemy know the real reason why you're there. I didn't see this as an issue.


2.) If you take a squad of aliens that can't be linked back to Shepard, sure. However, all of your squad mates, humans and aliens, will be linked to Cerberus, AND Shepard, which means, by default, The Alliance. These races will be seen as working with the humans, and open them up for political, and military backlash, something none of the aliens on your side need - the Krogans and Quarians are still trying to get their shit together, and the Drell are highly endangered, and a Batarian attack could wipe out their race. As for the Turians, if a Turian is seen in the attack, that could reflect badly on the Turians as a council race, be seen as a plot against the Batarians, and have all kinds of political backlash for the Alliance.

3.) Except the Reapers created the Mass Relays, and know where they are, and can survive in Dark Space. Who knows what a Reaper is capable of.

4.) Because Harbinger, and the Reapers, seem to have some sort of thing about Shepard specifically. Seriously, like, it's an obsession. Can you answer why Harbinger was dead set on getting Shepard all throughout ME2?

5.) Though security was trying their very best to kill you once you get out of the med bay though. I can't argue too much with this one, though it could be more that Shepard hacked or somehow interfaced with the machine to be able to do that maybe? Who knows.

6.) I don't see why this bothers you when clearly there's security that needs to be able to equip their weapons, and these things are found throughout the entire game.

7.) Alternatively, a person can't also fuck with them from one centralized place.

8.) No one, officially, believes Shep about the Reapers, that doesn't mean that no one really believes Shep.

And can I ask what game do think was written well that blows Bioware's writing out of the water? Because I don't think it exists.

Arrival seems weird to me (haven't played it yet, but I've read some things). It's basically Bioware's way of saying, "Ok, we got off track from the actual plot in ME2, so here's some DLC to remind you what's really going on here." Can anyone who's played Arrival comment on that?

I don't think so. ME2 didn't really have an over-arching plot. It was a series of vignettes, you can pretty much play it in any order you want. The story for ME2 can actually be thought of more in terms of a theatrical narrative than a typical video game narrative; ME2 is an excellent example of a non-linear structure seen in movies and theater. As I said, you can play it in any order, like some plays, movies, and novels, have plot points that can occur in pretty much any order; effectively done, this type of story-telling leaves you, not with a plot line that makes sense chronologically, but with a feeling of the experience. And, I feel, ME2 is pretty effective at evoking an emotional reaction to the themes present,without relying on an a-b-c plot progression – isolation and dedication in particular. Ok, that’s a digression, but I still feel it’s appropriate.

Arrival was more - Shepard's going to be on earth in ME3, here's the reason. Still feels like something put back into ME2 that just should have been there to begin with.


Now that I think about it though, Arrival makes so much more sense to be played after the Suicide mission - during that you find out the Reapers are coming to Earth, and this expands on the immediacy of that threat.

[JackSlack]

And can I ask what game do think was written well that blows Bioware's writing out of the water? Because I don't think it exists.

I won't respond to the story critiques, although fair enough on point #8. (Hackett's generally seemed to be supportive.) But as far as the rest go, I will point out that they're basically speculation on previous information: The story does not answer them in any satisfying fashion. This means either 'why they need Shepard alive' or such needs to be answered in a future installment, or it's sloppy storytelling. And I'm betting on the latter.

Now, as for which games blow Bioware's writing out of the water? Why, none. That's exactly it: For years, I've seen Bioware's writing as the industry's apex. Games like KoTOR 1, Jade Empire, Mass Effect 1 and Dragon Age 1 have been for me some of the most satisfying and brilliant stories out there. This doesn't mean they're flawless, of course, and there's some other groups out there who also do excellent work here. But Bioware have been the most consistently excellent for a long time.

Until recently.

Mass Effect 2's story was disjointed, at times ludicrous. Certain subplots were excellent (Subject Zero's loyalty mission, Mordin's loyalty mission, Thane's loyalty mission being the best; Tali's loyalty mission had some dumb bits ("I'm solving a court case... by shooting things!") but ultimately was quite well done.) but the main plot was a train wreck. Dragon Age 2's plot was horrible.

I like Bioware. They're one of my favorite developers. But of late, they've been really frickin' bad.

[Moon_Called]

I'm really excited for ME3. Hopefully I'll actually be able to get it in a sane amount of time, instead of waiting half a year or so until EB Games drops the price to 25 dollars.
I really hope Bioware doesn't get rid of my team again. I still haven't had a chance to properly get to know Thane (or Legion for that matter, but he died in the end mission =c) and I put a lot of effort into getting Garus to love me.

On the topic of male Shepard versus Fem!Shep, I play a female Shepard. Most of my friends play a female Shepard of some variety. To me, Shepard is female, and that's why she's so awesome. Pretty much every Alliance character is male, which means the future military is still male-centric. That means that Shepard had to work extra hard to get where she is now, giving her that extra layer of bad-ass on top of everything else. It's actually weird to look at the default male Shepard.

I'm curious, does anyone have any specific teams? Like, for me, I had two teams that I used for most missions - Jack and Wrex were my team for "Wreck Their Shit" missions that were mostly or all combat. Garrus and Jacob were team for more diplomatic missions, although I imagine if I hadn't gotten Samara so late in the game she would have taken Jacob's place.

[JackSlack]

I'm curious, does anyone have any specific teams?

Absolutely! I had a bundle, but probably the most distinct was the Geth Killer team for ME2: Tali, a FemShep Engineer, and Legion. Between the three of them, they had three combat drones, two AI hackers, two overloads, and an energy drain. Frankly, nothing mechanical stood a chance against those three. We did Legion's loyalty mission with those three and I spent the whole time laughing.

[FFN]

EDIT: Never mind, G4 apparently got it wrong.

[Jillers]

Ahahaha... it's like they think I'll notice the difference and care! I won't, because the shooter aspect isn't what's important to me. (that is, I may notice it, and think it's nice or not, but it won't affect my opinion about the game)

[FFN]

Ahh wait, never mind. Apparently G4 got it wrong. DICE is advising Bioware on sound design (which is probably DICE's greatest strength as developers, in my opinion).

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2011/04/15/the-sound-design-of-mass-effect-3.aspx

[Metcarfre]

Sweet. I Loved BF:BC2's sound design. It actually stood out, IMO.

[Drinnik]

Mass Effect 3 delayed until 2012. This gives me the sad face.

[ANeMzero]

Mass Effect 3 delayed until 2012. This gives me the sad face.

Good news: Today is Mass Effect day for the EA Steam Sale
ME1 is $5. FIVE DOLLARS, and it is the PC version which unlike a lot of PC ports is actually has a superior UI layout. (It even got the "Bringing Down the Sky" dlc as a free patch)

Oh, ME2 is $10.. or $20 if you want some inconsequential armor/weapons.

Also a silver lining to ME3 being delayed, Skyrim and ME3 are no longer releasing within a month of each other, so we don't have to choose.

[Cybren]

Also a silver lining to ME3 being delayed, Skyrim and ME3 are no longer releasing within a month of each other, so we don't have to choose.

probably the reason for the delay

[Phenonemis]

Sweet Jesus! This thread has made me realise how awesome this forum is. If you go to the Escapist forums, you seem to be bombarded with wave after wave of annoying douchebags who seem to know everything about ME3 and that it will be entirely FPS because Bioware made some annoucements about improving the combat and totally ignoring the fact that combat has been the shittest part of the Mass Effect, and apparently Bioware have been making too many shit games and are going downhill, totally ignoring the facts that Dragon Age 2 was done by a different team, wasn't even that bad, and that Bioware have never actually made a shit game. Luckily, this place isn't filled with those complete and total wankers. (END RANT)

OT: I'm actually really happy it's been delayed. Mass Effect 2 was released 3 years after Mass Effect 1, while if things went the expected way, Mass Effect 3 would only be coming out 1 year after ME:2, so it might be a little bit rushed in comparison. This way, my fears are put to rest.

[Jillers]

Sweet Jesus! This thread has made me realise how awesome this forum is. If you go to the Escapist forums, you seem to be bombarded with wave after wave of annoying douchebags who seem to know everything about ME3 and that it will be entirely FPS because Bioware made some annoucements about improving the combat and totally ignoring the fact that combat has been the shittest part of the Mass Effect, and apparently Bioware have been making too many shit games and are going downhill, totally ignoring the facts that Dragon Age 2 was done by a different team, wasn't even that bad, and that Bioware have never actually made a shit game. Luckily, this place isn't filled with those complete and total wankers. (END RANT)

OT: I'm actually really happy it's been delayed. Mass Effect 2 was released 3 years after Mass Effect 1, while if things went the expected way, Mass Effect 3 would only be coming out 1 year after ME:2, so it might be a little bit rushed in comparison. This way, my fears are put to rest.

[aeric90]

So with all the Tali talk going around on the internet I was chatting with a co-worker about our Mass Effect 2 experiences and we had both tried to seduce Tali in the hopes of seeing under her mask. I found out you didn't see it from him so I switched to Jack (cause it was easy to pretend she was a guy... *AHEM*) ANYWAYS...

We joked about how funny it would be to have a scene with Grunt, simply cutting to the outside of Sheppards quarters, Sheppard yelling "NO! NO WAIT!", screaming, loud crashing noises, followed by a thump and Grunt commenting on how squishy humans are, then 'Game Over' (the game having mercifully saved before your conversation choice).

I would pee myself with laughter if this ever happened and would create a save file just to see it again and again.

[nicholasmc1]

My opinions of Mass Effect and bioware are best summarised by my long winded writings here https://ironcurtainproject.wordpress.com/ for those who are two lazy, I really hope ME3 brings back what was awesome about ME1(Inventory, moding, heat instead of ammo) while keeping the strong story/writing/voice acting on par with the first two games.

[Metcarfre]

And this is why developers can never win.

[Xiryc]

My opinions of Mass Effect and bioware are best summarised by my long winded writings here https://ironcurtainproject.wordpress.com/ for those who are two lazy, I really hope ME3 brings back what was awesome about ME1(Inventory, moding, heat instead of ammo) while keeping the strong story/writing/voice acting on par with the first two games.

The inventory system in ME1 was atrocious. If they can balance the shooter elements of ME2 with more of the RPG elements of ME1. I'd be thrilled.

Of course, the story is what will be dragging me to the store to buy it.