Mass Effect

[AggonyDuck]

Is anyone else waiting to get their hands on this game? I'm looking forward with great anticipation for November the 20th. I've got the feeling that Bioware will deliver once again.

[Tratorix]

This game is the main reason I want a 360 now. I've been reading previews on IGN, and if it's 1/3 as good as they say it is, I'll be in heaven. In my perfect world, all RPG's would be made by clones of the development team at Bioware.( Wow, this post really makes me sound like a fanboy. Oh well. )

[Bob the Insane]

I am pretty hyped about it too... It looks like KOTOR on next-gen steroids...

The voice acting in the mvoie clips is sweet...

[Spino]

I'm really looking forward to the day when Mass Effect gets released for the PC... complete with snazzier graphics & extra content. Bioware gave the PC version of Jade Empire a facelift and content injection so I imagine they'll do the same for the PC version of Mass Effect.

I know it sounds silly but one thing that bugs me about Mass Effect are the cheesy sounding voice actors they used for the aliens. Come on now Bioware, modulate a little bit, add some growls or neat effects.. anything to not make them sound like those two bit method actors that co-starred on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Heck, just take a page from the KOTOR book and force gamers to read subtitles whenever aliens speak (most of them anyway).

[Bob the Insane]

Maybe it is the universal translator that had it's voices recorded by those two bit method actors that co-starred on Buffy the Vampire Slayer...

[Tratorix]

I believe I read somewhere that some of the voice work in the previews was not the finalized product. They said some of it was placeholders, as they hadn't gotten all the fianl voicing finished up. I hope thats true, it would be a shame to have cheesy voice acting, the game looks absolutely spectacular otherwise.

[Xiahou]

I'm really looking forward to the day when Mass Effect gets released for the PC... complete with snazzier graphics & extra content. Bioware gave the PC version of Jade Empire a facelift and content injection so I imagine they'll do the same for the PC version of Mass Effect.

I'll definitely be waiting for this one to come out on the PC as well.

[Bob the Insane]

Well it is out!!

Got it yesterday, played all evening...

The short summary... KOTOR on steroids but optimized for shooting rather than lightsabers...

God I wish this was on the PC, you can hear the 360 struggling to deal with it at times. Why in the name of all that is holy they put 512MB rather than 1GB in the box is beyond me... However having said that, it is smooth most of the time and does look great...

The improvement to the way converstion works is really cool, but does not really dramatically change hopw things play out, it simply flows more naturally. Is it an excellent mechanism that I am sure we will see in other games... But it applies only to the conversations and does not really impact the rest of the gameplay...

The combat mechanics are kind of "GRAW lite"... Over the shoulder with a simple cover machanism. I don't think I have full mastered it yet, but my FPS background encourages me to shoot my own weapon rather and giving myself commands. The fact that you can't queue commands for your guys is a bit of a pain, but they shoot back well enough and because combat (so far) is ranged, you do have more thinking time... I have not seen any melee yet, but I think it is in,

Other than the combat mechanic and the coversation mechanism, this is next gen KOTOR, or rather that is the vibe I get from it... It could be the same corridors of the same space stations, only prettier and usually bigger...

I played all evening and I have only done the Eden Prime mission (which is a kind of tutorial as well as plot) and have done a bunch of missions (tasks) on the Citadel space station. Still plenty more to go...

[Papewaio]

Actually conversations do have an effect... your equivalent of light and darkside go up depending on what you say and that has a direct effect on the ending of the game.

Also with things like high charm NPCs will give you more information and/or items... which obviously has a direct effect on game play.

I'm not sure if you need high charm/intimidation to get the alien encounter of the 69th kind. But obviously you have to choose the right conversation elements.

[Azi Tohak]

Despite the silly flaws in the game (buggy, chuggy) this is my main reason to want a 360. I think I would love it, particularly with its take on shooters. I'm not a shooter fan (doesn't matter, Ikaruga to Halo, I don't like 'em), but I think this, with its RPG parts and buddies would be great fun. Too bad Bioware couldn't quite get all the bugs out of it.

Azi

[Bob the Insane]

Actually conversations do have an effect... your equivalent of light and darkside go up depending on what you say and that has a direct effect on the ending of the game.

You are correct of course, but I did not really mean the conversation had not effect (I explained myself poorly), I meant that it had no greater overall effect then the old style stop and go, choose your response from a list style of converstion. It just flowed better...

I had a ME marathon and finished it with my James Shepard Soldier/Commando...

The last save game listed 36 hours and I think I did quite a lot of side quests.

I have mixed feelings overall, the only one landable planet (or ship) per system with 1 to 5 systems per cluster seems a little mean. And once you get down there (planetside), between 3 and 6 places of interest, often a crashed probe(and quite why searching a crashed probe would turn up an assault rifle I have no idea!) and some abondoned installation...

The story is fantastic and the end is really intense. However the overall story is really pretty short once you get stuck in. You really need to fill up your time on other quests to keep things interesting, which can kill the realism a little towards the end where the story is giving it "we must hurry, we are ina race to save the galaxy", but you can in reality mess about polishing off your side quests...

It seems to be missing alot of depth, there are little in the way of factions and there does not seem to be any building of optional relationships (I don't mean the romance thing) with those factions. YOu don;t so much get side quests as you are assigned missions with a defined goal and possibly some options in the execution... The story is pretty straight really, a bit of a railroad with optional sidings, but to progress you need to return to the main track... It does not feel as open as Oblivion, nor as populated. The only built up places you go to are main story elements, every where else is a back water or uninhabited. And the vast bulk of your missions is taking out the opposition in some manner...

Reading over the above, I am being overly critical. This is a great game, but I expected more...

[Geoffrey S]

It seems to be missing alot of depth, there are little in the way of factions and there does not seem to be any building of optional relationships (I don't mean the romance thing) with those factions. YOu don;t so much get side quests as you are assigned missions with a defined goal and possibly some options in the execution... The story is pretty straight really, a bit of a railroad with optional sidings, but to progress you need to return to the main track... It does not feel as open as Oblivion, nor as populated. The only built up places you go to are main story elements, every where else is a back water or uninhabited. And the vast bulk of your missions is taking out the opposition in some manner...

Sounds like KotoR, then, with a different type of combat.

[alman7272]

I bought a 360 for 3 reasons:

1.) Mass Effect
2.) Assassin's Creed
3.) BioShock

I've got about 6hours logged on mass effect and it's awesome thus far, as expected from BioWare.

[AggonyDuck]

Well I finally finished the game and although I'm currently in awe of the game, I must admit that it has its share of flaws. The game can be truly spectacular at its best, but at times it just falls short. The main planets are very nicely done and the main plot is excellent, but the side quests and the explorable planets leave a lot to be desired. The game could had definately used a couple of major sidequests, because at the moment most sidequests follow this pattern: go somewhere and do whatever they tell you to and then come back to fetch the reward. Even when a group of side quests are about the same faction, there is very little connection between them.

About a certain group of sidequests:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

For example you will get the opportunity to fight a group called Cerberus who are responsible for horrid experiments on several planets, yet there is very little connection between the quests about them. I'd imagine if I destroyed approximately ten of their facilities that they would do something about it, but nope. Dunno if their saving the bastards for Mass Effect 2 though.

In comparison the main quests are excellent and here's where the true production values of the game become apparent. The quests are interesting, the planets are well designed and the plot truly shines. Especially the Finale is propably the best I've ever played. None of the previous Bioware RPG's came even close to sheer awesomeness of the final two and a half hours of gameplay. Hell the best comparison to the Finale is the finales of Star Wars Episode IV and VI, and it might just actually trump that. Even the fight against the final boss is different from other games that I've played, and is something, that everyone should experience on their own. The only problem is that the main plot is rather short.

The NPC's were a bit disappointing. The problem was that they were rather limited in what they had to say and they actually ran out of anything new to say. What they did have to say was excellent stuff, but I wish that they would had more to say. Also another thing that I've missed was the interactions between party members, that somehow still hasn't been brought back from BGII. They were the salt of BG II and I truly miss stuff like that, simply because there was potential for some rather nice banter.

But overall I'm very happy with the game and although it has it flaws, it's still one of the best RPG's I've played. So yes, Bioware did deliver again, although not completely to their full potential.

[Bob the Insane]

Having also finished I can only agree...

[Mailman653]

The more I read about the game, the more I'm into getting it, although with the holidays comming soon, I'll most likely see it during the middle of next month lol. Isnt it game one of a trilogy though? If so, I'm sure they will expand in the 2nd game what they've implemented in the first.

[TinCow]

FYI, Bioware has announced that Mass Effect will be released for the PC in May 2008.

http://www.techspot.com/news/29001-m...to-the-pc.html

[Mailman653]

Plus new d/l content for the 360 in March.

[Kekvit Irae]

Any word on what the DLC will be?

[TB666]

90 minutes worth of extra gametime featuring a new race and a pretty big side-quest.

[OverKnight]

Good news.

I always assumed it would be ported, but waiting can be difficult. I hope the May release is accurate, and not some will o' wisp.

[Ferret]

just picked this up for £25, only took me 11 hours to complete though, I'm gonna replay and do a lot more side quests.

[frogbeastegg]

:uses unity to revive the thread with 40% of its shields:

Does anyone have any advice for killing thresher maws? They are the only thing in the game consistently giving me trouble. I've found 3, somehow managed to kill 1, and got fed up of the die ->reload -> die cycle on the other 2. If I'm lucky it takes 2 hits for me to die, more often just 1. My cannon and machine gun barely do any damage. I keep constantly on the move so I'm harder to hit. Sooner or later the maw pops up right under me, insta-killing me, or gets lucky with its acid spit.

I've got a level 22 female soldier Shepard, and my team's not shabby in other combat situations. I've not had to reload more than twice on the other combat encounters, however I'm past my 9th reload on the ice planet thresher maw alone.

Otherwise, loving the game to bits.

[Bob the Insane]

Circle strafing is the answer... Awkward to do with the controls as they are, but still possible... forward is always in the direction you are aiming, so as long as you keep going left or right with the aim point on the worm you will circle it... just keep going flat out and don't too close and aim for the head...

[Kekvit Irae]

As you probably already guessed, thresher maws don't do shield damage, so a character with electronics wont help you in this battle. Really, the only thing that you can do is dodge the maw's ranged attack and repeatedly use your cannon (the machine gun doesn't cut it). Annoying, but there's only like four or five in the entire galaxy.

[Mailman653]

Anyone with the 360 version have some observations on the DLC? My 360 is in the shop right now but I'd like to get the new content once I have it back.

[frogbeastegg]

Thanks. That's what I was doing. I must be unlucky; on the two maw 'arenas' I have left I keep hitting a lump in the terrain or something else which throws the camera out. The controls alter, the vehicle stalls, and then it's toxic burp vomit all over the windscreen. The first one I found had you fighting in a very wide open space, and that's why I found it doable.

Pity I can't send a crew member down to draw it out while I hang back and hit it with a rocket launcher. "Oh Tali, come here, I need you for something ..."

Level 36 now, over 1 million in the bank, running out of side quests, and still loving the game to bits.

Mailman, I've got and completed the DLC. I enjoyed it, however I did do it fairly early on in the game so I hadn't already done a load of the planet based missions. I don't agree with the critics who accuse it of being just another run of the mill mission. So far I've not encountered another planet mission with this quantity of scripting, dialogue or cutscenes. There look to have been multiple outcomes, too.

[frogbeastegg]

Copying my thoughts on the game over from the "What are you playing?" topic. Once the PC version is out I expect people will be looking for opinions on the game and so it will be helpful to have everything all in one place.

Mass Effect

If I expand that to useful singular words then we're looking at the likes of: OMG!! WOW!! Awesome!! Stunning!! Brilliant!! Gorgeous!! Amazing!! And yes, the double exclamation marks are compulsory.

If we step away from singular words then I'm presently having no qualms about the phrase "Best game I've played on my 360!" or "Best game I've played this year!" or "At last, after years of waiting, an RPG which is completely enthralling!"

If we had for something more personal, and thus more verbose, then I think "Bioware are back!" does very well. Jade Empire was awful. I didn't make it past 2 hours of Neverwinter Nights 2. That's two strikes against the people who made many of my favourite RPGs, and those strikes are their most recent work. I feared their day was done, that the final bastion of the great names from my childhood gaming days was toppled. I avoided playing Mass Effect for half a year because I was terrified of it being the third and final strike.

Bioware are back, woohoo!

I have not loved the opening hours of an RPG so much since KOTOR.

I have not been sucked into a new and fresh world so comprehensively since Baldur's Gate II.

I have not sat there in the opening hours of a game and realised that I'm going to have to play it several times to see everything and then grinned with delight for so, so long.

Yes, it has technical issues. Rampant pop in and pop up, jerky framerates, long loading times. Somehow it's hard to care when the rest of the package is so damned good. Maybe after 20 hours my view on this will change.

The world is rich and unique, populated with well-voiced and well designed characters. The plot is somewhat run of the mill but it's being done in style, and feels fresh, unlike the stale rehash of uber stale rehash that was Jade Empire's predictable dullness.

I'm playing a female character and Bioware appear to have finally, at long last, produced a male character who won't annoy the crap out of me if I follow the romance line. Not a sad past in sight, not a hint of whininess, and he's not self-absorbed to the point of resembling some kind of sponge. He's got a nice voice, too

The combat works. Actually works. 3rd person squad based tactical combat. In an RPG. A Bioware RPG. And it works. I usually find Bioware's combat systems to be a trifle rickety, so this is doubly a surprise.

There's a race of giant space-faring Eyores. Same doleful way of speaking, same sad eyes, vaguely donkey-like appearance. What's not to love? I want one in my party.

I'm leaving citadel station for the first time now. If the game doesn't live up to this amazing start I shall be completely heartbroken.



[Post 2, on having completed the game]

I have completed Mass Effect. 31 hours in 5 days. I feel exhausted. Elated. My hands are trembling. I'm still amazed my 360 hasn't died from such heavy usage.

Next up is .... Mass Effect. What can I say?

This is the first game I've replayed immediately on finishing since KOTOR.

This is that rare, rare thing: a game I would happily buy a console for. If this were the only game I ever played on my 360 I'd be content.

This is the first game in this console generation I'd call 10/10. That makes it one of an exclusive handful of games I'd rate so highly. Even my beloved KOTOR doesn't get that.

There was not one single thing about it I didn't like, which is incredible. Even the tech issues didn't bother me. The rest of the experience was such that frame rate shudders and pop up textures really did not matter. Ordinarily this kind of issue bothers me greatly.

The world was great. The characters were great. The plot was great. The detail was great. The execution was great. The voice acting was great. You get the idea - I loved every second of those 31 hours.

If the replays leave me feeling the same then Mass Effect will edge Planescape: Torment out of the top spot of 'froggy's favourite RPGs', a spot it has occupied for 9 years.

Bring of Mass Effect 2! I want to see where this trilogy goes.

[Bob the Insane]

Wow... Much love there...

I also greatly enjoyed the game, played it heavily to completion...

I think it did rather suffer from side-quest-weakness...

The side quests, even though there some good background stories running through them suffer in comparison to the greatness that is the main plot line... It is pretty obvious when you veer away from the central plot. Few cut sceens, repeated interiors and exteriors, simplifed missions...

My chief gripe in this it that there was really not that many side missions. I took the good guy route and I don't think I left any stone unturned...

I initial impression playing the game was, where is my light saber. But considering the quality of KOTOR that is hardly a bad comparison...

Anyhow, it might be time to give it another try, I have finished GTA4 and nothing else is grabbing my interest right now... Mind you I wouldn't mind waiting for the PC version to have another go...

[frogbeastegg]

Hehe, my initial impression when wandering the Normandy was "Where's my starfighter?!" Mass Effect's early parts reminded me of the between mission sections of wing commander, star lancer, et al. I liked that; it brought back good memories. The scifi setting was well made, and exploring it was a pleasure.

I'd prefer to go through the reused mini-dungeon to find the mercenary with trauma issues and spend a few minutes talking to him and exploring his story than go through a unique dungeon to shoot a generic guy because they didn't have the money to build and implement that story. The tech problems show Bioware were being somewhat overly ambitious as it was, pushing for too much.

With regard to cutscenes and such, I didn't miss them. I looked for someone, found them, talked to them for several minutes in a fully voiced encounter, then did whatever. What more would I want? Where would you put a cutscene? Bringing down the sky was one of the few which I felt did need cutscenes, and they were present. I must admit that overall I am not fond of numerous cutscenes. I prefer them as embellishments at critical moments.

In most RPGs the plot/side quests split is more usually 2/3 plot and 1/3 side quest. Mass Effect had this the other way around; I spent something like 20 hours on the side quests. In the early parts of the game it felt like I couldn't move without finding several side quests, and as I wrapped one up UNC would call me up with another. IMO it felt like it had more side quest than any other Bioware game, except perhaps the gigantic 100 hour behemoth that is Baldur's Gate 2.

Did you reach level 50 on your first playthrough? I did, and I guess that means I found most, if not all, of the side quests, as that is the highest level you can get until your second playthrough.

Thinking about side quests made me realise something - there were comparatively few fetch quests in this game. Many of the missions wrapped up with a report being filed via your galaxy map, or there and then as you found the objective. That is likely responsible for a good part of my enjoyment. I dislike 'go there, then come back' quests.

I was paragon the first time through, so my second playthrough will be renegade. I have my fingers crossed that they have gone a different route to the usual "I will steal your sweets and then kick sand in your face! :evil laugh:" depiction.