Mass Effect

**frogbeastegg** · 05-16-2008, 16:41

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** · 05-16-2008, 20:29

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** · 05-17-2008, 10:24

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.

**Kekvit Irae** · 05-17-2008, 12:24

I got max paragon and max renegade on my first playthrough.

The only things I hate about Mass Effect was A) the Mako drives like Britney Spears on acid, B) the Normandy REALLY needs to install a higher-powered elevator (Seriously, it'll be quicker just to go down a ladder than to use that thing), and C) the texture lag.

**Lehesu** · 05-17-2008, 17:31

I liked the game, but had the same gripe against it that I had against Jade Empire. The combat is somewhat unfulfilling. The Mako, which makes up a goodly percentage of the combat, is a terrible role-playing crutch because it doesn't reflect any skill development. Considering that most all of the skills involved combat, it is surprising that such skills got little use compared to other RPGs.

**frogbeastegg** · 05-17-2008, 19:52

I solved most of my mako related ills by rolling up until I was just in range with the cannon, taking out the tough targets like geth colossi with it, then hopping out to handle everything else on foot. You get more XP this way too.

As far as I can see the character combat skills vary in usefulness considerably. I confess I barely used any of my soldier's skills. Skills like fitness will be more use on the higher difficulties; there is no need for 80% damage reduction on the standard difficulty because by the time you get it your armour is so good your shields take a lot of bringing down and will recharge in a matter of seconds. It's the early game where you need it, and you can't afford the skill then. Kaiden and Garrus were throwing out a constant barrage of biotic and tech skills, and to great effect. Most of the tougher set piece battles involved them throwing, sabotaging and lifting the nastier enemies while I took out the peons with my assault rifle and felt semi-redundant. Then I got my spectre VII assault rifle and some high end upgrades and nothing could stand before me.

Playing as a tech, biotic or one of the mixed classes is probably more varied in combat, but I have vague hopes of completing the game 1050/1050, and a soldier seems better suited to the hardest difficulty levels. More health and shield power plus mastery in all weapons = combat powerhouse with high survivability ... I hope. I'm going to do the high difficulty run seperately, with a level 60 character with the best gear. Speeding straight through the plot with no side quests sounds like my best hope of survival.

**Kekvit Irae** · 05-17-2008, 20:30

You'll be definitely singing a different tune about not needing skills once you hit Hardcore mode. My suggestion is a Soldier with Barrier (you will NEED barrier to survive as a tank), or an Adept with either Electronics (shields = love) or Shotgun or Assault Rifle. Shotgun will help you early on, but you'll score much more damage at range with a Spectre X assault rifle with damage and heat upgrades. Also, if going Adept (which really shines in Hardcore and Insane), be absolutely sure to pick the subclass that upgrades Singularity. Nothing sucks worse than stopping three charging Krogans only to find out that you cant harm them until the effect wears off.
Supplement your party with both Garrus (electronics and sniper rifle), Wrex (OMG TANK RUSH KEKEKEKE), or Liara (biotics in Hardcore = essential).

**Monk** · 05-18-2008, 12:39

Originally Posted by frogbeastegg

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.

Renegade is a much funner game. In Kotor and kotor2 I hated being evil, I really did because the game almost guilts you when you did something bad. Like "OMG HOW COULD YOU KILL HIM HE HAD A WIFE AND KIDS!". Mass Effect on the other hand doesn't really guilt you too much when you do something seedy, in fact it rewards you a lot of times with dark humor to go along with your alien-hating, genocide conducting, baby-eating Shepard.

Oh yeah. You remember the News Reporter? The one who ambushes you for an interview?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

I mean. Come ON! Best game ever for that alone.

The galaxy becomes a very different place if you are renegade, especially if you take the renegade ending to go along with your reign of hilarious terror. To be quite honest ever since I saw the renegade play-through I haven't had it in me go to back to Paragon when I have an itch to play, I still crack up at some parts of the game I know I shouldn't just because of the dialogue the characters respond with.

**frogbeastegg** · 05-18-2008, 13:08

Well, I have already (minor spoiler for the first hour)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

That was unnervingly funny. "Yeah, well he's a lot calmer now," says my Shepard in a deadpan.

I can't wait until I meet the council.

**pevergreen** · 05-18-2008, 13:53

This game is sounding better and better!

If only I could get into the storyline part of RPG's.

**Mailman653** · 05-21-2008, 16:32

Well, I just got done with bringing down the sky and it was pretty fun. This is my second playthrough, I'm on hardcore with a level 50 something vanguard. Those missle towers make quick work of the Mako, I had to save every two towers I took down unless I wanted to go through the gauntlet over and over.

The funny thing, my first time with the game I got almost all paragon, this second time I'm trying to go renegade, yet somehow I still mange to have a higher level of paragon, maybe I'm still being too nice. It's fun to see Sheperd go bad ass on people.

I agree with Kekvit, your going to need those special powers once you step up the difficulty, great armor and guns help alot, but sometimes you'll need that extra push to take down aliens. Liara is awesome with biotics of course, she was a major asset when I took on Benezia the first time around. Most of the time I use Tali and Ashley together, or Garrus or Ashley, or Liara and any of those menttioned, I probablly don't use Wrex and that other guy that offten, especially that other guy, I can't even remember his name I barely use him ha ha ha.

I haven't made it too far into hardcore yet, only did a few side missions and rescued Liara, so maybe my teams will have to get switched up again depending on what kind of stiff resistance the AI will put.