WrenchNinja
Member
A device full of a person's memories. It's an implant.
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GAF Plays: Mass Effect series (unmarked spoilers)
- Thread starter EatChildren
- Start date
Alignment was much more nebulous in 2 than in 1. I did a full Renegade playthrough, and even then I would sometimes get 1 or 2 paragon points when making a decision.
They seemed to make it so that you got a little of both points for each decision, unless you went full Paragon.
blitzcloud
Banned
I bought back some time ago M1+2. Tried 1 so far. I went into the game... not good. Go back and forth making chores. My friend kept saying: The argument is amazing so it makes up for these flaws etc.... But when the council removed the Specter status of the bad dude based on a recording I show them. That was the point where I said: "really?"
You were just telling me that I wouldn't be able to lay a finger on him because he's a veteran, very respected Specter. Suddenly I come up with a recording and without a second thought or any kind of sound investigation they remove his status?
So, I'd like someone to encourage me to continue playing it because... well, that broke it for me. Guess my friend hyped it up too much for me.
In other words, I understand the game needed to make an introduction of the power of the villain, but they forced it in such a small gap that it didn't feel right at all.
You were just telling me that I wouldn't be able to lay a finger on him because he's a veteran, very respected Specter. Suddenly I come up with a recording and without a second thought or any kind of sound investigation they remove his status?
So, I'd like someone to encourage me to continue playing it because... well, that broke it for me. Guess my friend hyped it up too much for me.
In other words, I understand the game needed to make an introduction of the power of the villain, but they forced it in such a small gap that it didn't feel right at all.
True. Probably my only real complaint with 2 was the alignment system. I like to respond how I would respond, paragon with civilians and crew members, renegade with mercs and other enemies, but in ME2 you had to have max of one stat in order to keep everyone loyal.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
A device that stores memory data. In the quest you help Kasumi retrieve the greybox of Keiji, her former partner and lover. Kasumi wants it because it is a physical, hard copy of all the memories they shared, and Keiji had the greybox heavily encrypted to only respond and unlock to Kasumi's usage.
However, once you get it Kasumi discovers that Keiji has left a message that he wants the greybox deleted, as it contains sensitive information that could seriously implicate the Alliance and damage relationships with the citadel. When he says this, it shows still images of Sovereign, though never elaborates on what, exactly, that information is.
So, at the end of the quest, you're left with the option of keeping the data or deleting it.
You'll either get into the lore, or you wont. If you're willing to quit that early on then pack it up and don't bother, as if little things like that are going to bother you then I cant fathom how you'll get through everything that follows.
blitzcloud
Banned
Yeah, my concern, as I added up:
"In other words, I understand the game needed to make an introduction of the power of the villain, but they forced it in such a small gap that it didn't feel right at all. "
I just want to know if this happens often in the storyline, crammed with almost bipolar situations, making small storylines that go from black to white in short spans.
If from this point on it develops on a big deep storyline, i'll give it a try.
MichaelEM3
Banned
So my character import problem mentioned on the last page fixed itself after I deleted the character and restarted. That was weird.
Dunkelgrau
Member
Does anyone play ME1 with the 360-Pad-Mod on PC?
How can I use Biotic with the Pad? And it seems also not possible to change the weapons for my squad. Damn.
How can I use Biotic with the Pad? And it seems also not possible to change the weapons for my squad. Damn.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
I don't feel it does. The rest of the game is more about exploring the lore and learning the truth behind everything. But it's still sci-fi cheese at the core.
It happens sometimes. In fact, my first ever attempt at playing ME2, at launch, had me go through the tutorial with no eyelashes, and then discover none of my choices had imported. A nice start.
If small questions like that annoy you, how do you even play games?
Kasumi's stolen memories in a brain chip, to be really blunt. That's what the whole DLC is about, recruiting Kasumi to your team. And then stealing a memory chip from a dude that holds her memories (AFAIK, waiting to recruit all members before I do their loyalty missions and rush to beat the game to do the sidequests for level 30)
blitzcloud
Banned
I'm normally not told for years about masterpiece story, to see fundamental mistakes in the few first hours, which mainly consisted in me walking around a station. As I said, it felt like: Okay, they show me this cool alien. Bad dude kills him from behind, all right... he's evil. Hey guys, he's evil... remove his elitist status, he's a baddie. No way they ain't doing that. Oh... okay, then I will have to spend some time trying to show them that he's a baddie. Nope, convenient recording that takes away any credibility he had. When playing it I felt it was so rushed and prominently obvious that it killed the premise of an amazing story.
I just wanted to know if it was like this through the full game, because then it wouldn't be worth to give it another shoot. I can cope with cheesy lines and stuff, but when the pacing feels so abrupt for such a small time of gameplay, it bothers me.
Damn, that blows. Best DLC ever and adds a lot to the story.
LightofRohan
Member
Eh? It's still a game and came out like 5 years ago. Don't judge it like an Oscar film.
And because they didn't run voice analysis means it is not legit? Yeesh. The council has been working with Saren for a long ass time, they know how he talks (shit the Asari recognizes Benezia also...). Even now we use audio recordings as full proof evidence. And who knows, every species has a built in audio translator in their heads - maybe it recognizes vocals and signified it was him. Shit, they are on a giant space station, don't sweat the small details.
And who knows, maybe they listened to it 20 times before you got there? Goddam man!
Thanks for info, quite interesting. What DLC are worthy? I know that Shadow Broker is, Kasumi looks like its worth buying, any others?
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Kasumi's value is directly proportional to how much you use her. Her mission is great, but its very short. You're not just paying for it, but also her usage as a squadmate, so if you don't intend to use her for other quests her value drops.
Overlord is great. The longest of all the DLC, some great set pieces and plenty of variety. A good plot too. It and Shadow Broker are the meatiest of the DLC.
Arrival is a bit poopy.
I always responded the way I'd respond, and ended with enough paragon to keep everyone loyal. Apparently most people just go pure paragon/pure renegade, but I can't imagine playing that way and still enjoying the game. It does kind of suck that key points require a certain paragon/renegade threshold, though; I don't blame people for feeling like they need to mix/max their conversation responses.
(In general, I use paragon responses for most things, neutral responses with people I dislike or in situations I'm unsure about, and renegade responses when someone is rude to me or really annoys me.)
Agreed with this, although Kasumi's loyalty mission is one of my favorites so that goes a bit farther for me in it's value. Overlord's story is really great at the end and it's pretty meaty. Lair of the Shadow Broker is a must play. Arrival you should just read a synopsis or watch a play through on Youtube.
I mostly did too but it came right down to the wire to keep everyone loyal. I was full paragon/a little less than half renegade by the end. I would always make a point of going one or the other though and avoided neutral responses most of the time.
LightofRohan
Member
o.o I didn't even realize there was one. Thanks for the heads up! I'm really grateful EC is keeping a tab on all the script spoiler shit though.
That thread has been around for about a week too and it scares me every time.
I did, and it was a huge mistake.
LightofRohan
Member
I wont leave this thread ever again! *hides*
diamondstar
Member
I bought all quest DLC and I think the tension and end of Arrival was pretty damn solid. Now if you are referring to everything else(which I assume you are) then yea it was dog shit. Playing without squad mates was a horrible decision.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
The last moments of Arrival are definitely the best part, both the intensity and the visual set piece. But I hated the premise. It seemed like really cheap, tacky writing to basically go "oh by the way the Reapers will be here in a couple of days lolol", out of nowhere. The Batarian base was a cool idea, but mechanically dull and uninteresting. It just felt really weak to me, lacking the production values and tight design of the other three DLC missions.
Red Blaster
Member
Just finished up Virmire
Here's my Clint Eastwood lookalike Shep
Here's my Clint Eastwood lookalike Shep
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
I'm tempted to do a new run of ME1 and 2 before 3, but then I remember that I dislike a good portion of ME1.
diamondstar
Member
Yup.. perfect analysis.
Ha.. Difference of opinion for the ME series is crazy. I am the same way but opposite. I can't wait to get done with ME2 so I can go back to my biotics, pistol marksman and shotgun carnage. haha
IdreamofHIME
Member
What's the best set up to play the game as a shooter with some super skills?
I always get confused by the descriptions.
I always get confused by the descriptions.
Yeah, I'm pretty pissed off. Hope I'll be able to get a summary/make choices regarding Liara at the beginning of ME3.
Foliorum Viridum
Banned
Man, Mass Effect has such a strong opener. Really gets the hooks in with the narrative, the Citadel is great and if you go get Liara first like I have then you have all of the squad members before you even touch the real meat of the game. Such a great design. It baffles me why Bioware decided to make 2 just about the squad recruitment.
Also, this is by far one of my favourite cutscenes ever.
Also, this is by far one of my favourite cutscenes ever.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
It was supposed to be a character piece, a story of a group of people and what drives them. I don't really think BioWare succeeded, but that was why it was different. And honestly, as much as I prefer Mass Effect's narrative and pacing by a considerable margin, the actual squadmates were pretty undeveloped in comparison to Mass Effect 2. Characters like Tali and Garrus in particular receive significantly greater exposition and character development. In the first game Tali really wasn't anything more than an information terminal for all things Geth/Quarian, and Garrus was just angsty about everything.
Out of the aliens, Wrex was really the only one who gave proper insight into his species history and how he felt about things.
Admiral Bone to Pick
Banned
I think the problem with making it a character piece was that it completely failed to drive the narrative. It's a lot like Starcraft II's mission structure. It didn't provide a sense of urgency or desperation that would have created a compelling atmosphere. Also, it didn't provide the same sense of satisfaction that missions in the first game did. Completing planets in Mass Effect felt much like chapters in a story (particularly Feros and Noveria), while the character stories in ME2 felt more like tasks.
Foliorum Viridum
Banned
This is true, but I'll take underdeveloped squad mates in a brilliantly told story, rather than fleshed out squad mates in a non-existent story. They dropped the ball so hilariously bad in pushing forward the narrative.
The only right way to play through Mass Effect is with Liara and Wrex. I'll be doing that for the entire game.
As horrible as Ashley is, Kaiden is worse. Killing him is the only right choice! I've never let him live, either.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
I agree with both of these. I've gone over in length how well constructed, thematically and conceptually, I feel Mass Effect's narrative was, and how rushed and poor Mass Effect 2's was. I certainly prefer the better main story arc of Mass Effect over the sequel.
Just playing devil's advocate, because as much as I might prefer that, I do prefer Mass Effect 2's characterisation over the first. The individual stories in the squeal are leagues ahead of what Mass Effect offered, in my opinion, at the unfortunate cost of an overarching narrative.
But I don't feel the two are mutually exclusive, and Mass Effect 2's narrative issues strike me as poor planning. I think you can have the best of both worlds, and that's what I hope Mass Effect 3 delivers; a thematically consistent, engaging and developing core narrative, with strong, developed character writing.
Foliorum Viridum
Banned
If ME3 can combine the both it will be a tremendous game, I just have doubts because Bioware have seemed to have lost focus on what made the story so great originally.
The great thing? ME works well as a standalone story. Every time I play it I get sucked in, involved in the story and feel satisfied as the credits roll. Even if 3 fails to end the story on a a satisfactory note, that will never retroactively ruin the first game for me.
The great thing? ME works well as a standalone story. Every time I play it I get sucked in, involved in the story and feel satisfied as the credits roll. Even if 3 fails to end the story on a a satisfactory note, that will never retroactively ruin the first game for me.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
I like ME2's plot conceptually, even down to what they actually put in there. I think it could have worked very well, especially as a middle game in a trilogy. Had I made the game I would have kept the core premise, but culled three or four of the squad mates, replaced their missions with new core story missions for greater development and extended narrative, and opened up the recruitment to make everyone theoretically available in any order. Mass Effect 2 simply seemed to be lacking that basic, core narrative that tied everything together.
I still think the concept is salvageable. I don't consider Mass Effect isn't some unachievable narrative genius, and think Mass Effect 3 can do the same thing over again as long as it just keeps fucking consistent with its themes and develops the core plot over an entire game, not rushing it all to conclusion towards the end.
It wont work as a stand alone game though, and I think that's the inevitable downside of making any trilogy. Mass Effect does indeed work as a stand alone game, and I think this was very deliberate as, had it completely tanked, BioWare would have been left in a lurch.
I still think the concept is salvageable. I don't consider Mass Effect isn't some unachievable narrative genius, and think Mass Effect 3 can do the same thing over again as long as it just keeps fucking consistent with its themes and develops the core plot over an entire game, not rushing it all to conclusion towards the end.
It wont work as a stand alone game though, and I think that's the inevitable downside of making any trilogy. Mass Effect does indeed work as a stand alone game, and I think this was very deliberate as, had it completely tanked, BioWare would have been left in a lurch.
darkpaladinmfc
Member
I wait for the Turian to be an asshole then I disconnect.
Foliorum Viridum
Banned
This is absolutely true. ME's story is pretty generic sci-fi, but the way the story unfolds and is paced makes the entire game for me. You're constantly being teased with info about the protheans and Repears.
My two favourite moments in the entire game are the conversations with Sovereign and the Prothean AI. Usually exposition in games is so painful, but after such a journey it's great to be rewarded with explanations.
Any mods out there that mark the locations of the N7 side missions right on the galaxy map? Haven't really gone back to ME2 since playing LotSB when that came out, but from what I remember, you only stumbled onto N7 missions by doing planet scanning? That always sounded tedious to me which is why I never bothered with them, but always figured I'd finish out the side mission stuff (along with the rest of the DLC) before ME3 came out. Suppose I can look up a guide for their locations as well, but just was wondering if there was a simpler way than alt-tabbing to the browser to keep looking them up.
Jack could easily be removed. I don't dislike Zaeed, but his presence feels very inconsequential, so cut him. Samara is boring, and there are already several more interesting Asari that play central roles in the story. I haven't played the DLC with Kasumi yet, so I have no idea if she should stay or not.
Mordin, Garrus, Thane, Tali and Legion are the most interesting for me, while Miranda and Jacob seem sort of necessary in terms of starting off the story and fleshing out Cerberus. Grunt is pretty bland, but he's at least useful as a jumping off point for exploring Krogan culture.
Foliorum Viridum
Banned
Grunt would be my first cut. He's not as bad as some of the characters, but every second I spent with him I was hating his guts because he wasn't Wrex.
Haha, was just gonna say. Jacob is just...well, boring. Jack is so terribly executed that I considered not upgrading the Normandy's armour on my last playthrough.
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