Game News Mass Effect 3 and the Spirit of Streamlining

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Tags: BioWare

<p><a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=258534" target="_blank">BioWare's Casey Hudson revealed</a> <em>that <span class="text_article_body">Mass Effect 3 will be shaped by over 1,000 story variations from the first two games in the series.</span></em></p>
<blockquote>
<p><span class="text_article_body">"Numerically, it's over 1,000 variables that we'll have access to for shaping the Mass Effect 3 experience for people who've played the previous games."</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Man, that's a lot of variables, numerically speaking.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Also, staying true to their Bioformula ME3 will deliver you from having to deal with outdated stuff like having an inventory or actual stats to customize.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><span class="text_article_body">"If you define an RPG as a game where you equip your hero by sifting through an inventory of hundreds of miscellaneous items and spend hours fiddling with numerical statistics, then Mass Effect 2 isn't one," he added.<br /><br /> "In Mass Effect 2 we focused on what we love about RPGs: An awesome sense of exploration, intense combat, a deep and non-linear story that's affected by your actions, and rich customisation of your armour, weapons and appearance...<br /><br /> "We had an overwhelmingly positive response to this approach, and while we'll make further adjustments to it for Mass Effect 3, we're really happy with how it's been received so far."</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Spotted at: <a href="http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/99052-mass-effect-3-wont-have-sifting-or-fiddling.html">GB</a></p>

 

[Drakron]

At one point he said the response to the mining mini game was "surprising addicting".

"Snake Oil" Pete have a new mate.

 

[commie]

Yeah all these 'variables' will boil down to checking your paragon/renegade status at the end of ME2, your finishing level, who is left alive, and what you did at the end of ME2 which will lead to a line or two at the beginning of ME3 acknowledging that you saved/killed organization x or y, and give you more or less loot.

Hoo fucking ray.

Why do they lie so blatantly, when these 'thousands' of variables is just cynical speak for just counting all the things you did in game that then affected your alignment plus the ending choice and whether you killed or saved a character? I bet every time you use a renegade choice in dialogue, it is counted as being one of these 'variables'.

 

[CrimsonAngel]

They lie becaus Bioware fans and your standard gamer are to fucking stupid to figure it out.

 

[Drakron]

They lie becaus Bioware fans and your standard gamer are to fucking stupid to figure it out.

Hudson little mini game BS was called on their forums, the "is it a RPG?" treads have shown again and again as they were hardly peaceful.

They lie because "gaming journalists" do not call upon their statements, that is why they do it with BioWare being hardly the only offender.

 

[mondblut]

"If you define an RPG as a game where you equip your hero by sifting through an inventory of hundreds of miscellaneous items and spend hours fiddling with numerical statistics, then Mass Effect 2 isn't one," he added.

Wow, they are actually finding the balls to admit it.

 

[chzr]

me2 -> me3 - 1000 variables.

sounds good?


well, don't have sauce but in similar interview they also added that

me1 -> me2 - 700 variables.


how it sounds now? 5 more emails in me3?

 

[commie]

"If you define an RPG as a game where you equip your hero by sifting through an inventory of hundreds of miscellaneous items and spend hours fiddling with numerical statistics, then Mass Effect 2 isn't one," he added.

Wow, they are actually finding the balls to admit it.

Yeah, but in his case with that backhanded remark, he makes it seem like its a GOOD thing as sifting through 'hundreds of items' and spending 'hours fiddling statistics' is a shitty chore. Never mind the unsubstantiated hyperbole.

I can't even believe that some of Bio's employees actually made RPG's in the past when I hear such obvious contempt for the genre.

 

[Volourn]

"At one point he said the response to the mining mini game was "surprising addicting". "

Unsurprisingly, you show the typical internet geek arrogance. The net is not the be all end all of shit. BIo doesn't give a fuck what internet troglodytes think. They're peanuts in the grand scheme of things.

ME2 is more of a RPG than either KOTOR game despite those having 9shitty) inventories.

What he is saying is *if* you think RPGs are just games with shitty inventories and lots of meaningless stats (ME2 has stats/skills/talents/btw) than ME2 is not one ; but it is one. An Action RPG.

ME2 even has fuckin' dialogue skills (dumbed down from ME1 mind you) unlike many so called rpgs.

So.. ME3.. fuck yeah. Codex will play it, love it, and bash it. And, when ME4 comes out 9or whatever game in the ME universe is called), Codex will be there playing it too.


That's the Codex in a NUTshell.

 

[Ruprekt]

How is ME2 an RPG?

I need u to explain.

 

[RoachKiller]

The number of unlock achievements is thereby increase to 12000 and the number of endings to 1000 to the 1000th power, a number too big for finger counting, numerically speaking.

 

[FeelTheRads]

RPGs are about appearance, clearly.

Wow, they are actually finding the balls to admit it.

Yeah, but they say it like they'd actually say "who the hell would want that?".

 

[MetalCraze]

How is ME2 an RPG?

I need u to explain.

You can choose which cutscene to watch before shooting up the same corridor. That's what is called roleplaying man, this isn't some shitty rollplaying, here you can select to roleplay an angry Rambo or a less angry Rambo.

 

[JagreenLern]

It really seems that at this point game developers adhere to the "Glenn Beck" theory of argument: say whatever the fuck you want, and people will actually believe some of it. Although to be fair Molyneaux has been doing that shit long before Beck got popular.

 

[DriacKin]

Hey guise, did you know that Fallout 3 actually had 200 different endings?

 

[AnalogKid]

Numerically, it's over 1,000 variables that we'll have access to for shaping the Mass Effect 3 experience

Have access to, too bad they'll only use about a dozen (or more likely 1, as has been posted).

If you define an RPG as a game where you equip your hero by sifting through an inventory of hundreds of miscellaneous items and spend hours fiddling with numerical statistics

Nice strawman. Nobody defines RPGs that way, not even in the 1000s of BS definitions posted daily on teh intranuts. Having inventory and stats affect gameplay? yeah, that'd be nice.

Mass Effect 2 isn't one

True dat.

In Mass Effect 2 we focused on what we love about RPGs: An awesome sense of exploration, intense combat, a deep and non-linear story that's affected by your actions, and rich customisation of your armour, weapons and appearance...

BULLSHIT!

- Exploration? You focused on it by removing the only "exploration" game mechanic from ME? And replacing continuous gamespaces like the citadel with instanced non-branching corridors!? Holy lying douchebag!

- "Intense combat"? How about tactical combat? You know, like RPGs traditionally have had. How is "intense" something you loved about RPGs? Oh, you meant "we focussed on what teenage fuckwads would buy and make us rich". My bad.

- "Non-linear story"? Orly? "Affected by your actions"?! I might actually have liked that game. Too bad you're COMPLETELY full of shit and a straight-out lying liar person.

- "Rich customization"? Oh, you mean like the inventory and stats that you were bashing a few lines before? And like you DIDN'T implement in ME2? Yeah OK, fuck off.

- "Appearance". Jiggle tech re-invented the gaming world. Hallelulia!

"We had an overwhelmingly positive response to this approach...we're really happy with how it's been received so far."

Only true statements in the article. I wish I could call bullshit, but that right there is the driving force of all the decline in the western world. Fucking dumbfuck kids with buying power.

Biggest problem is that instead of actually improving various RPG elements that didn't work very well in ME (rover, inventory, stats), they completely eliminated them and made an action adventure game. I will go to my grave insisting that a game isn't an "action RPG" just because you can make your boobs jiggle in blue or purple or semi-transparent neon pink spandex! (or chose which boobs you want to jiggle beside you while paying your "intense" hide-and-regenerate combat. I want to rage, but all this newshit press is really starting to suck the life from me.

 

[Felix]

Mass Effect 2

sense of exploration, intense combat, a deep and non-linear story

[/quote]

 

[oneself]

I demand a menu option to turn off all dialogues, cuts scenes, intros and god forbid; C&C.

And stop using words in menu and such. If I wanted to fucking read, I wouldn't holding a controller in my hands would I?

EDIT:

Need more achievements too.
I want the world to know that I rammed 10 + 1 unlockable bitches.

 

[GarfunkeL]

News at 11, here are the latest news!

According to Casey Hudson of Bioware-fame, MEGAMAN was the inspiration for the non-linear story of MASS EFFECT TWO.

 

[Xor]

I could play devil's advocate and defend Bioware but I don't feel like it.

I think ME1 had a bunch of problems that all of Bioware's RPGs since KOTOR have suffered, and I actually respect them for taking a different approach for ME2, because it could have blown up in their faces and I did find it refreshing. On the other hand, it would be great if they started making actual RPGs again.

 

[Gay-Lussac]

Unsurprisingly, you show the typical internet geek arrogance.

I wonder if you're aware of the irony or not, I really do.

ME2 even has fuckin' dialogue skills (dumbed down from ME1 mind you)

Wut? Where?

 

[Jaesun]

ME2 even has fuckin' dialogue skills (dumbed down from ME1 mind you)

Wut? Where?

 

[Xor]

I think by skill he means karma meter.

 

[ortucis]

I enjoyed ME2 and didn't hate mini-games at all (like I didn't in ME) but WTF IS THIS? > An awesome sense of exploration, intense combat, a deep and non-linear story that's affected by your actions, and rich customisation of your armour, weapons and appearance...


The only thing I remember is customising armour.. changing colours, to be precise. Also I remember my character making out with helmet on (hilarious, never lolled that hard playing a game before).

So yeah, ME2 is the light(est) RPG you can find. Compared to DA, at least you have a bigger world to explore, but there's absolutely NOTHING going on no matter where you go. All you notice are a few random quests which may or may not be there if you were a cunt in the first game (aka, didn't trigger them or completed them the "right way").

That reminds me, the concept of C&C affecting game after game needs to die with ME (and I think DA to). WORST FUCKING "FEATURE" EVER!

In my first play-through with ME2 I triggered almost every side quest (or "mini" quests) and every party member (all were alive in ME, killed no Krogan). So I enjoyed the first play-through.

Then I replayed the game with a new character and everything went downhill from there. All those shiny new side quests and old party members disappeared from the already barren world, leaving only few side quests to trigger everywhere you went. I still finished it just to see if anything changed (nope, still finished at Veteran and died only cause of retarded cover system) but my god the developers really managed to suck what little sense of discovery and "hey that's cool" moments existed, from the game thanks to the moronic designing decisions.





PS: There is a site dedicated to save games for all these games. So if you don't want to sit through first game or ME2 now (for ME3), just go and download the save you like (unlocks everything). I discovered it too late (did the second playthrough) but at least I know where I will be shopping for characters for ME3..

 

[Silellak]

I think by skill he means karma meter.

Yet that's still one more dialogue skill than AP offered.