Mass Effect (PC).. first impressions; can't say I hate it

[MetalCraze]

shit right now Mass Effect does not look that good... on the one hand I wish to have some space cinematic experience but on the other one I don't want to be bored until I fall asleep. if it is as bland as JE was then hmmm...

 

[DefJam101]

After going through a long long long dialog and then immediately going straight into battle (No saving!) is fucking shitty. I fucking hate that. WHY do developers do that? :/

That happens a lot in this game; since the bossfights tend to be fucktarded (your teammates stand around and get shot) just crank it down to casual to avoid having to reload 4 times.

shit right now Mass Effect does not look that good... on the one hand I wish to have some space cinematic experience but on the other one I don't want to be bored until I fall asleep. if it is as bland as JE was then hmmm...

What are you talking about? It's a decent little game, I'm having fun playing it.. even if it's not the most fulfilling thing ever. Even if you don't heart teh bad movies you might still like it. Wait until it hits the bargain bin if you are really that skeptical.

 

[MetalCraze]

we have no bargain bins here and the price won't be high at the start - just $20 or something. it's more a question of whether to waste my time on it or not.

 

[DefJam101]

we have no bargain bins here and the price won't be high at the start - just $20 or something. it's more a question of whether to waste my time on it or not.

I think you're expecting a bit too much from my review; when I say it's a mixed bag I literally mean it's a mixed bag. It's a game that has some merits and qualities to it that certain people might like, and some qualities that almost every sane person should probably not like. 90% of games would get this exact same treatment if the magazine reviewers didn't just toss Editor's Choice awards around like they are frisbees.

It would be more accurate to call the game an action-adventure game with stats, actually. The RPG elements are very subdued, and hardly effect gameplay. If that doesn't interest you, then no.. you would not like it and shouldn't waste your money. Just speaking from what I have played so far; if you don't find bad movies funny, and you can't stand bad combat.. don't bother. The occasional piece of well-written dialog won't be able to save this one for you.

 

[HanoverF]

ME is a lot like other Bioware games in that it suffers a death of a thousand cuts of mediocrity. It's all a matter of how much lame combat, 10 minute lift rides, abysmal mini games, etc etc you can sit through.

 

[Xi]

And the million dollar question, how bad was the DRM? What happened and how inconvenienced were you? I've searched for good impressions of such things without much of a result. I'll leave discussion of such things to the other thread, but could you please provide the experience you had with it and explain how it made you feel?

 

[WalterKinde]

ME is a lot like other Bioware games in that it suffers a death of a thousand cuts of mediocrity. It's all a matter of how much lame combat, 10 minute lift rides, abysmal mini games, etc etc you can sit through.

I'd forgotten about the mini games , if its one thing i hate in rpgs i play are the ridiculous quest mandatory mini games that have to be won at least once in some side quest or as part as the main storyline, it seems like the space shooter they had in JE would fit right in ME.
And if the 10 min loading screens/elevator rides are in ME for the PC it just screams they didn't optimize the game too well for PC consumption.
Well i only watched one combat video of the 360 version so i don't know how intense combat is but they way folks are complaining about dying comrades i guess its not of Kotor or Republic Commando style where once the battle is over or during it you can revive your fallen comrades or have them all spring back up to life when the battle is over?

 

[MetalCraze]

of course they will return to life after they've fallen in a battle. we're still speaking about a console game, remember? apart from a cynicism - yes they are getting auto-revived. also as I take it - when you heal yourself you also heal all of your companions.

 

[ricolikesrice]

good review, kinda same impressions i got.

personally think its NOT worth buying. € 50,- (or whatever full prize is in your country) for 20 hours of mediocre fun .... nah thanks.

imho as a RPG (or wannabe-RPG) its "quality" is kinda like the NWN2-OC, i.e. a "really mixed-bag" with some good but also plenty of bad moments.

its however the quantity that doesnt make it worth buying. NWN2-OC had easily double the content with an editor thrown in. same price. go figure.

if you arent sailing the 7 seas do it like me and play it through on a friends xbox360 (or rent it), doesnt take long and replay value just isnt there imho.

 

[Jaesun]

... doesnt take long and replay value just isnt there imho.

That's the one thing I was wondering (Replay value). In NWN-OC depending on your influence, NPC's turn on you in the Final Battle, which was amusing in that in my last NWN-OC play through I was trying to kiss both Quara and Sand's ass... but Sand turned on me (Which seemed kind of weird... but oh well).

So far, I don't see any replay value yet... but I am way to early in the game.

 

[Trash]

If you want to pick a class I strongly recommend the biotic one. It's powers do spice up the rather mediocre combat quite a bit and is easily the most fun class to play. If you want a laugh play as a renegade female. The voice acting is great and the character feels quite a bit over the top.

Otherwise ME is a rather fun rpg. It has it's problems, but I enjoyed it thoroughly for what it is. A typical bioware sf rpg with top notch production values.

Since I've bought and played the xbox360 version I'm going to "try out" the pc one. I'm kinda interested to see how it differs. If I like it, I might even buy it.

It's annoying though that the extra episodes and content that Bioware promised have yet to materialise. The one little addition they brought out felt like a small sidequest and really wasn't worth the money. It also feels a bit shitty that they'll give it for free to the pc crowd after buying it. Oh well.

 

[Texas Red]

Bioware stated that this Bringing Down the Sky thing would be 10 hours but reviews said it was more like 1.

 

[Trash]

yeah, I'm pissed I paid for it.

A bit longer than that. It felt more like one of those side missions on a planet than a full episode though. I was decidedly unimpressed, some new achievements, some gear and a handfull of new enemies in a mission with only a limited amount of roleplaying at the very end is not something I'm in the habit of paying for. I'd much rather they spend the time and money and create a real traditional expansion instead of filler like this.

 

[Korgan]

From what I've read, this bit of roleplaying at BDTS's end is actually nice enough. You can capture or kill the big bad terrorist bastard at the cost of a few dozen lives, or let him go, saving them but poteltially endangering many others. I would definitely choose the Renegade option here. If only all the Par/Ren choices were real ones like this and not just be polite/be a fucking jerk.

 

[Trash]

Hah, what about exterminating or releasing a potentially dangerous race into the galaxy? Seriously, Mass Effect has some neat bad boy choices in it. The choices are rather diverse and done in a nice manner. That's one of the things that they really managed to improve on their other recent games.

 

[aries202]

Here's an example of some (minor) c&c in Mass Effect:

http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/vi ... =0#5818728

You can't get the (some) dialogue options if you don't put skills into charm or intimdate.

And yes, the c&c in Bring Down the Sky DLC seems OK...

maybe even fine...

 

[Saxon1974]

So from what I am reading, it sounds like I expected...An action RPG more like a FPS.

No real meaningfull skills or class choices
FPS style combat
average dialog and story
not a very interactive world
linear

No thanks, not my kind of RPG, although it sounds like you could debate whether it's really an RPG at all as with most games coming out now.

Im going to stick with my replay of Might and Magic Book I.

 

[Korgan]

By the way, there's one case of Paragon/Renegade points gain that seems BAT SHIT INSANE. I haven't reached the confrontation with Wrex yet, but a walkthrough I stumbled upon says that you get 3 Ren for ordering Ashley to kill him, then 2 Par for yelling "WTF U DUN biatch i didnt mean it!!!!". Can someone comfirm or deny that please? Makes no sense to me at all.

 

[DefJam101]

Gonna answer some questions that have piled up overnight.

And the million dollar question, how bad was the DRM? What happened and how inconvenienced were you? I've searched for good impressions of such things without much of a result. I'll leave discussion of such things to the other thread, but could you please provide the experience you had with it and explain how it made you feel?

The DRM was hardly intrusive, a very slight hassle at the start but many games out there use a system that is not much worse than this for installation. You don't need the disk in the DVD drive to play, which is a big plus.

As for the 3 install thing, I cannot see myself replaying this game more than once, and the only reason I would do that is to pick the total asshole dialog options every time to see how the game played out. So it's not a big deal for me. Of course, this comes at the cost of the game not having any real replay value; if this was a Fallout or a Deus Ex, I would be outraged.

And if the 10 min loading screens/elevator rides are in ME for the PC it just screams they didn't optimize the game too well for PC consumption.

The loading times are fine on my PC (2gigs of RAM), although there are frequent times where the game pauses to load textures. The '10 minute' elevator rides do exist, you have to wait while an elevator goes up and down for roughly 30 seconds every time you visit the citadel, and in various other parts of the game. Nothing is loading. The lulzy elevator music is a decent attempt at a joke but misses it's target once you find out that the elevator rides are really fucking annoying.

Well i only watched one combat video of the 360 version so i don't know how intense combat is but they way folks are complaining about dying comrades i guess its not of Kotor or Republic Commando style where once the battle is over or during it you can revive your fallen comrades or have them all spring back up to life when the battle is over?

They spring back to life after the battle is over, keeping them alive is very tough on pretty much every difficulty. You can usually win every fight by yourself but if you want them to help you have to give them commands using the pause menu.

of course they will return to life after they've fallen in a battle. we're still speaking about a console game, remember? apart from a cynicism - yes they are getting auto-revived. also as I take it - when you heal yourself you also heal all of your companions.

Well, yes they do get revived. This is true for basically every party-based 'RPG' in history, PC or console. Yes, the medi-gel triggers everyone's medi-gel packs, but can only be used once every minute or so, as long as you have gel remaining. Most party members have abilities that recharge shields, as well; but those must be activated individually.




Gonna be playing a lot more tonight. I'll post more thoughts on the game, as well as progress reports on the "turian/human gay sex" issue.

 

[WalterKinde]

Thanks for the info guys.
So today i went to my favorite mom and pop secondhand video game store, and requested a first playthrough of ME (not me playing but one of the employees of the shop) to see what was so great about it.
Well i got to see the first 30 mins of the 360 version in gameplay and i had a surreal FF7 moment.
The first planet you touch down on one of your companions gets killed and apparently theres no way to revive him, like Aeris he just has to die.
Anyway after seeing the first 30mins of game play and story, ME doesn't look as a must have pc rpg, and this is not even factoring the drm for the pc version ,I know people are now saying the 3 limit activation thing doesn't bother them because they highly doubt they will replay the game once done but seriously if you don't stand up now on this limited activation method , they'll just keep doing it until people except this shortage of their rights as status quo also the game is incredibly around 20-25hrs in length depending on how much of a gamer (this was from the employee i asked about how long it is, note this was the 360 version) you are and at the asking price for the pc version not a good deal at all.
For a console based rpg game , if all you are used to is the Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy ripoff games it will be refreshing however as far as Pc rpgs go its not a game you have to rush out and buy, not a MUST HAVE.
Wait until its in the bargin bin and theres a working drm crack because you never know what could happen down the road with these activation servers, remember all the drm media stores that have gone out of business that don't even bother to refund people who have purchased from them.

 

[The Ticktockman]

Just throwing out a few random thoughts about the game after playing for 15 hours:

First, to give you an idea about my taste in games, I really enjoyed BGII, and my enjoyment of Bioware games has decreased from that point. I could only play 1 hour of Jade Empire before uninstalling it.

Anyway, the dialog system in ME is actually pretty cool...in theory. But as it plays out in the game, there is the BADASS option, the SWEETY PIE option, the MOAR option, and the generic option. Oh, and these options are always located on the same spot on the wheel, so literally no thought is necessary when choosing your dialog option.

But the dialog wheel does show promise. It honestly does make for a more intriguing dialog between characters that flows better. Also, I agree with the idea that you don't need to know exactly what your character is going to say before he says it.

Otherwise, the MAKO handles like shit, the sidequests are boring, but the main mission is pretty good. I would say it is probably the best thing Bioware has done since BGII.

 

[DefJam101]

Also, I agree with the idea that you don't need to know exactly what your character is going to say before he says it.

Well, that kind of removes you from the conversation, since you no longer get to choose your words carefully. I wonder how many times a real person would have punched me for the stupid shit I said accidentally in Mass Effect, the only reason I was not is because this is a game and they can magically tell if I picked the nice option or the cockfag option. Seriously, saying "So you just quit because you didn't like how they do things?" with a bitter tone is very different than "I see."

--- --- ---

Judging from observations, the actual C&C is very very light throughout the entire game. When you choose an option, there is a quick reaction depending on your choice, and then the conversation hops back onto the railroad. For instance:

These flowers are lovely! <s>You're the hottest alien ever</s>*. +2 Par
-You're welcome shepherd, <s>I love you too</s>.* Hey, have you seen Saren lately?

Thanks. +1 Par
-You're welcome. Hey, have you seen Saren lately?

Fuck you, you boomerang-faced piece of shit. +2 Ren
-That's the last time I buy you flowers! Hey, have you seen Saren lately?


The only real consequence comes from the points of renegade/paragon you get by choosing options. This is not always the case, but most dialog plays out like this.





* Gay alien sex crack still not out.

 

[Jaesun]

It makes me wonder if variables are located in the save file that track your decisions you made in MassEffect and may have consequences in MassEffect2..(If you import your character)?

THAT would actually be cool.

Playing a game for 30 minutes you can tell if a game is not the must have PC RPG? How did you acquire this amazing power?

I still don't think this is a game that will appeal to most codexers. I'm still enjoying it with some reservations. The story and dialog so far has been good.

 

[The Ticktockman]

Well, that kind of removes you from the conversation, since you no longer get to choose your words carefully.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that is more Bioware's fault than a general fault of the system. While I agree that the dialog wheel would most definitely NOT work in a game like PS:T, I think at least for RPG-lite games and maybe some other more serious rpgs the dialog wheel could be implemented in a very interesting way.

Granted, I think the main strength of the wheel is in the ability to create a more *shudder* cinematic conversation. It is not for meant for ponderous decisions, but instead for games where the dialog serves the purpose of conveying a story. Which isn't always a bad thing.

 

[Volourn]

"of course they will return to life after they've fallen in a battle. we're still speaking about a console game, remember?"

NWN2 is a console game? HOLY SHIT!

Anyways, ME is a great game. Better than KOTOR + PST + IWD put together.