Mass Effect 3

[Kekvit Irae]

Mass Effect 3 just got weirder with the addition of a day one DLC featuring a new team member.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

A Prothean. http://www.vg247.com/2012/02/21/mass...-on-xbox-live/

And, of course, people are up in arms about day one DLC.

[Mailman653]

I saw the pictures but I didn't think they would make him a team member. That's nuts though...how do they plan to explain him being alive in the first place?

[seireikhaan]

If in doubt, cryo. Very... strange.

[Monk]

Mass Effect 3 just got weirder with the addition of a day one DLC featuring a new team member.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

A Prothean. http://www.vg247.com/2012/02/21/mass...-on-xbox-live/

Pretty lame an interesting and potentially really profound moment is packed away in DLC. Especially since the Collector's Edition needed for it is so expensive. EA is already pushing what I can accept with the $60 pricetag, then.. ugh. No. No way I can afford $80 for a single game no matter how much I've loved the demo.

And, of course, people are up in arms about day one DLC

Meanwhile at the official Mass Effect forums:

[seireikhaan]

Having given it a bit of thought, I'm not remotely surprised at the day one DLC. Having already pre-ordered the game(too hooked on mp, let alone the main single player) to not, the main reason I went ahead and suckered up for the 'digital deluxe' was the promise of an additional party member and missions. So my best guess is all this means is that everyone else will be able to buy Mr. Cryo/Ghost in the Shell/Evil Tristan that didn't do so.

[Graphic]

If the DLC party member is as one-dimensional and bare-bones as the ones in ME2, I don't think people are missing out on much.

[Kekvit Irae]

Under all the vitriol and the shock-jock persona, TotalBiscuit is an extremely intelligent and rational person.

Quoth the Twitter:

Totalbiscuit
If it doesn't offend you then by all means purchase, your right as a responsible consumer, but at least know what you are talking about

Totalbiscuit
That is the worst bit. It's a case of making an informed and responsible purchase decision and having your own, rational opinion.

Totalbiscuit
The fact is, it is ok to like a game, or like a company, even love them, but do not allow that to cloud your judgment. Stand up for yourself

I, personally, weighed the pros and the cons of boycotting Bioware over this, and it's unfortunate to say that the cons of sticking by your guns do not outweigh the pros of finally finishing a series I love to much (as well as the multiplayer), and I will not be joining in the boycott. But at the very least I made a personal decision influenced by judging both sides of the argument, instead of joining the Cynical Fleet without a thought for myself. It's the same with the boycott of Battlefield 3 when they did the same thing with pre-order exclusive gear; I weighed both sides of the argument and decided that a boycott would be in my best interest.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

I'm actually more disappointed that they decided to dig up some Protheans to talk with Shepard than EA decided to slice it off and sell it for more cash. I mean, they're nothing special, just the last round of aliens the Reapers uplifted then paved over. They should've stayed dead (I think the Collectors were a mistake in the plot as well, but at least they weren't actual Protheans).

[Graphic]

I got my Krogan soldier finally

...something that fun should be illegal.

[Monk]

Under all the vitriol and the shock-jock persona, TotalBiscuit is an extremely intelligent and rational person.

I, personally, weighed the pros and the cons of boycotting Bioware over this, and it's unfortunate to say that the cons of sticking by your guns do not outweigh the pros of finally finishing a series I love to much (as well as the multiplayer), and I will not be joining in the boycott. But at the very least I made a personal decision influenced by judging both sides of the argument, instead of joining the Cynical Fleet without a thought for myself. It's the same with the boycott of Battlefield 3 when they did the same thing with pre-order exclusive gear; I weighed both sides of the argument and decided that a boycott would be in my best interest.

That's one of the reasons I enjoy TB's work so much. He feels quite strongly about whatever it is he's talking about, but he never moves into hating on others for their choices solely for them choosing differently. He's big enough to admit when he's wrong, or to respect your opinion when its wholly against his own.

In this case I hear him fully and I don't like it any more than he does - but boycotting ME3 would be a little like not watching Return of the Jedi in a world were no one has seen the final part of the star wars trilogy. There's too many unanswered questions, too many loose ends, and a love of the series thats weighing too heavily on me to say no. Mass Effect is my favorite gaming franchise, I've enjoyed the last two games way too much, the multiplayer way too much to not buy this over something like a day 1 companion DLC.

Though I still cannot justify the digital deluxe edition, I'll stick to the standard and read spoilers/get the companion at a later date if I feel like it.

[tibilicus]

Are the Mass Effect 2 DLCs worth playing before ME3? As in will they effect my ME3 story playthrough in any way?

[Chaotix]

Are the Mass Effect 2 DLCs worth playing before ME3? As in will they effect my ME3 story playthrough in any way?

I would argue yes for some and no for others.

Arrival- this "happens" in ME3 whether you play the DLC or not. Its conclusion is why you are on Earth at the beginning of ME3.

Shadow Broker- play this if you romanced Liara in ME1 and want to keep that romance open as an option.

Overlord- mostly irrelevant to the main story.

Zaeed & Kasumi - if you want them as squad members in ME3, you have to import them from ME2.

I think those are all the big ones. The rest should be irrelevant.

[seireikhaan]

I'd say shadow broker is easily the best one. Even if you didn't romance Liara or anything, it's still very nice. Overlord's utterly unnecessary and not particularly good. I'd say the only major ones to pick up would be Shadow broker and Zaeed/Kasumi, and even the companions aren't exactly enthralling.

Arrival, despite being the whole reason for ME3's intro being why it is, is totally skippable. Pretty sure you'll get the gist of what happened.

[Monk]

I'd say shadow broker is easily the best one. Even if you didn't romance Liara or anything, it's still very nice. Overlord's utterly unnecessary and not particularly good. I'd say the only major ones to pick up would be Shadow broker and Zaeed/Kasumi, and even the companions aren't exactly enthralling.

I disagree slightly. I found Overlord quite enjoyable, but despite that it is entirely skippable. It's a side-plot and is in no way tied to the main story from any indication.

Like others have said Shadow Broker is the best without a doubt.

Arrival is forgettable. Read a plot synopsis on Wiki to find out what went down, its not really worth the money to buy imo.

[Kekvit Irae]

I disagree slightly. I found Overlord quite enjoyable, but despite that it is entirely skippable. It's a side-plot and is in no way tied to the main story from any indication.

+1
I got System Shock 2 vibes from playing Overlord, which is always a good thing for me. The only downside of Overlord is that the ending is redundant if you did Legion's loyalty quest.

Zaeed is a good party member for shooty shooty party compositions, and his DLC is free.
Kasumi's DLC gives you a third choice during the suicide mission for the vents, and the DLC quest isn't half bad.
Firewalker was overhyped and is trash. Skip it. On the bright side, it's free.
Normandy Crash Site is just for nostalgia. Again, it's free.
Arrival... well... the ME3 demo single player pretty much tells you everything you need to know anyway.
Shadow Broker... BUY THIS. Seriously. Best DLC in ME3.

[Chaotix]

+1
Zaeed is a good party member for shooty shooty party compositions, and his DLC is free.
Kasumi's DLC gives you a third choice during the suicide mission for the vents, and the DLC quest isn't half bad.

I always thought it was odd that Zaeed was basically useless in the suicide mission. I expected him to be another possible Fireteam leader since, you know, he founded and lead a band of mercenaries. Especially when Kasumi gets to be a possible Hacker. He is good for "holding the line", though, when your "line" is otherwise composed of squishy aliens like Mordin and Tali.

[Monk]

I always thought it was odd that Zaeed was basically useless in the suicide mission. I expected him to be another possible Fireteam leader since, you know, he founded and lead a band of mercenaries. Especially when Kasumi gets to be a possible Hacker. He is good for "holding the line", though, when your "line" is otherwise composed of squishy aliens like Mordin and Tali.

The only reason I can think of him being no good is his history after leaving the suns. Twenty years of looking out for yourself above all doesn't nurture good leadership skills. Seriously, how many stories does Zaeed have where "only I made it back alive"? That guy could take the normandy crew out for lunch and somehow everyone but him would die.

[a completely inoffensive name]

I think the idea of not boycotting a game that is milking you of money because you love it too much is why the gaming industry is the way it is.

BF3 is easy to boycott since there are a dozen modern military FPS shooters out there, take your pick.

ME3 is something unique and story driven. I'm not advocating the boycott, but I just want to throw out there that you all are part of the problem.

[rajpoot]

ME3 is something unique and story driven. I'm not advocating the boycott, but I just want to throw out there that we all are part of the problem.

Fixed it for you. Unless you are boycotting it ofcourse.

[a completely inoffensive name]

Fixed it for you. Unless you are boycotting it ofcourse.

I'm not boycotting it, I simply don't have the time to play it. So I don't even have a chance to buy it. If I had time to play it, I would at least be honest with myself and everyone here by saying that I am a hypocrite.

[Monk]

I'm not boycotting it, I simply don't have the time to play it. So I don't even have a chance to buy it. If I had time to play it, I would at least be honest with myself and everyone here by saying that I am a hypocrite.

Personally I don't find the issue of day one dlc to be a deal breaker. Sure it annoys me, but it doesn't cause me anything in relation to 'outrage', and certainly doesn't get enough of a response for me to not buy the game. That doesn't make me a hypocrite, that makes me someone able to make a choice.

People are not hypocrites solely for disagreeing with your opinion.

[Graphic]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[rajpoot]

I believe hypocrite is a very strong word for such an issue. I have my own thoughts about how the money grubbing game publishers will finally be fixed but they are rather backroom-ish.

That chart seems accurate. I would be glad to know who made it though.
Also, I do feel that if any content can be made before the game is released, it should be included in the game, no matter what.

[Chaotix]

I don't doubt that the chart is accurate for how the gaming industry works today.

However, that doesn't make it any less BS. 10 years ago, there was no such thing as "DLC". Maybe the closest you got to that was an "Expansion Pack" for a PC game. Either way, every game was released complete (meaning, with ALL the content it would ever get), and if the dev team needed more time to fit everything in, they either got it or they didn't (and it wasn't a game worth playing anyway). And when they were done making that game, they set to work on making a new one.

There's only one reason why things aren't done the same way today, and that's because DLC, Day 1 or otherwise, is more profitable for game producers because they can sell it at inflated prices compared to the actual in-game content they contain.

So yes, the game industry is an industry for profit, and they have every right to sell their content in whatever way they want. But I won't pretend they're anything more than that, and I won't be pleased about them dangling extra add-ons in front of me with $10 price tags.

[a completely inoffensive name]

Personally I don't find the issue of day one dlc to be a deal breaker. Sure it annoys me, but it doesn't cause me anything in relation to 'outrage', and certainly doesn't get enough of a response for me to not buy the game. That doesn't make me a hypocrite, that makes me someone able to make a choice.

People are not hypocrites solely for disagreeing with your opinion.

If you have principles, you have principles. Saying that day 1 DLC that is not cosmetic should be part of the original game is a stance. By making the "tough decision" and deciding to feed the day 1 DLC machine anyway because you just HAVE TO HAVE the game is hypocritical. It's fine, everyone is a hypocrite.

If you have no problem with day 1 DLC, you are not a hypocrite and I never said you were.

[a completely inoffensive name]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

That chart is 100% correct and it perfectly illustrates that what is needed are shorter games. We shouldn't be supporting a system where we end up paying $90 for a game instead of $60 because the structure of teams causes layoffs. Games should be short and sweet and the team wouldn't have to be laid off because there is a year between when they finish and when they are needed again.

[Kekvit Irae]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

HAHAHAHAHA! No.

TB deconstructs the chart.
(language warning with the link)

[Graphic]

That's one of the reasons I enjoy TB's work so much. He feels quite strongly about whatever it is he's talking about, but he never moves into hating on others for their choices solely for them choosing differently. He's big enough to admit when he's wrong, or to respect your opinion when its wholly against his own.

It would seem he's moving away from that

This chart has been making the rounds and is being used by fanbois to lazily justify Bioware and EA's position. https://i.imgur.com/m77S3.png This is fairly typical, easily influenced people with weak positions tend to flock around things that look scientific. It doesn't mean it's right. To address some specific points.

Anyone who disagrees with him is now an impressionable fanboi [sic].

To be clear I don't agree with the chart (or have an opinion on it at all, really, or this whole subject) but just posted it for the sake of discussion. Still I can't help but roll my eyes at the epic terms he's framing this issue in. I recently unsubscribed...mostly because I have too many subs but also because I can use less "Game politics is serious business, bro" in my life right now.

[a completely inoffensive name]

HAHAHAHAHA! No.

TB deconstructs the chart.
(language warning with the link)

I'm skeptical about some TB's arguments here. He is comparing Mythic which is working on subscription based MMO that requires constant tune ups/patches, dodging layoffs with the Mass Effect team, making a one payment product. yes, big devs are not charity cases, but EA and Activision have had no problem in dismantling successful and innovative studios that have hit a rough patch or are only turning out mediocre results.

What I do agree about is:
A. Why should we care in the first place.
B. It is price gouging and is wrong.

[rajpoot]

I think it all comes down to whether or not one agrees with what he said at the end-

If it's done before release date, it should come with the game.

This is what happened in the olden times and this is what I would like to see now.