Red Blaster
Member
Did someone seriously just say scanning was better than the Mako.
Scanning wasn't even gameplay.
Scanning wasn't even gameplay.
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Mass Effect 3 |OT| Space Jesus Returns (tag all spoilers)
- Thread starter Blue Ninja
- Start date
Dacon
Banned
I won't disagree there, I just think calling them small open worlds is going a bit too far.
Well tbh ME1 was new at the time. When i played that game i didn't know what i was getting into. Characters, races, locations, lore etc were very interesting and was exciting to uncover and explore.
Even tho i didn't like the direction they took with ME2, they at least introduced some new characters and locations and the story had some mysteries to it. So far i'm around 18 hours into ME3 and i didn't see anything i haven't seen before. The highlight of the game to me so far was seeing the consequences of the choices that i made at the last games and running into the old characters. I would have liked to see some new characters and new locations.
To give some examples; when i went to
i was so disappointed that it was another corridor that i had to shoot my way thru. I was really looking forward to explore it as it was one of my favorite locations last game. Also when i first met the
I don't hate the game. I'm glad i played them all. I really like the universe they created and i appreciate that they improved the gameplay and polish at every iteration. I am just sad and disappointed that they chose to take the uncharted route. This game could have been a lot more.
Even tho i didn't like the direction they took with ME2, they at least introduced some new characters and locations and the story had some mysteries to it. So far i'm around 18 hours into ME3 and i didn't see anything i haven't seen before. The highlight of the game to me so far was seeing the consequences of the choices that i made at the last games and running into the old characters. I would have liked to see some new characters and new locations.
To give some examples; when i went to
tuchanka
protean, i was so disappointed that they took this mysterious, wise race that they hyped for two games and turn them into the most cliche and the least interesting race of the universe.
I don't hate the game. I'm glad i played them all. I really like the universe they created and i appreciate that they improved the gameplay and polish at every iteration. I am just sad and disappointed that they chose to take the uncharted route. This game could have been a lot more.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
Some of them give sizeable credit rewards, but I don't know which. Otherwise... I dunno. It just depends what your time is worth to you at that point. I know I redid a mission in order to unlock a Liara power that I'm never going to use. lol
I just think there were more options at that point in terms of exploration and map variety. But the difference is, I don't think they were sure if ME was going to be a TPS or not. Gears had just come out or was about to come out, so there was no real template to borrow from that the rest of the industry would crib.
Maybe ME3 was the game they wanted to make all along back in 2007... but at that point, even the Citadel was bigger and had more space than the cramped linear corridors in the ME3 version of the Citadel.
At the very least, I've come to accept that ME is a TPS with interactive cutscenes... and as a TPS, this map design is perfectly fine. It's Gears of War-lite.
I wasn't sure how to describe it. You go from large spaces that you could drive around in order to find stuff to checking behind desks for a rifle or a weapon mod.
Oh man, 3 hours. I feel for you dude. I try to make a new save every 30 minutes just in case.
I'd take the absense of gameplay over the sheer annoyance of the horrible mako sections. Gotta love that planet loaded with damn near 90 degree hills EVERYWHERE, knowing all that awaits you is the 27th copy-pasted base with 3 hallways to go shoot up.
The problem is, I don't even see the system a quest mentions you just told me it would vanish.
Red Blaster
Member
Well, you're welcome to your wrong opinion. There problem with the Mako was that there was too much of it but if you didn't do sidequests it wasn't that bad. You had to do quite a bit of scanning to get the best ending in ME2.
The angle at which I'm shooting at an enemy doesn't somehow make it more fun. This is just a silly comment.
VanillaCakeIsBurning
Member
I save my game pretty much before I do anything, whether that's opening a door or talking to a person. I also alternate between 5 different save files in case one gets corrupted. Does anyone else do this?
I actually want to replay them again because they were so awesome. For the sake of time though, I'm glad I saved right before I started
the Genophage cure
Not really. Technically you could upload a character from ME1 and if the requirements were met (I think it was getting the resources in 1) you'd have 50000 of each which was enough to get the required ship upgrades for the better ending.
You couldn't get much of the weapon and armor upgrades but meh who gives a shit lol
Wow, thanks for the heads up. My next mission was to finish Tachanka, so I would have missed out.
bigace33
Member
It took me about 5 hours to get acclimated with this new ME. Believe me, it picks up for the better.
Yep, finish any and all sidequests possible before starting Priority missions. I just wasn't sure which ones I could do.
I'm not even sure if I missed an item or if I picked it up because the Journal doesn't FUCKING UPDATE.
YES! I really hate that. The previous games had a running tally of what you completed within each quest, but they took it out of this one for some reason.
It really messes me up when I go back to play the game and want to see what I have and haven't done. It doesn't help that there's no inventory list either to help remind me of what things I've picked up from scanning planets.
FateBreaker
Member
EDIT: Eh, nevermind.
Yeah, though I was actually a little disappointed that they didn't limit the
Eden Prime
Eden Prime
Incidentally, was there any special outcome to the
rescue Turian soldiers
Tuchanka
"We saved everyone"
Riposte
Member
ME3's level design and enemies are crazy better than ME2's. Powers are more interesting and builds on what they introduced in ME2. Insanity is kind of bullshit, in the way Call of Duty's campaigns are. On the bright side it has less checkpoints than CoD, which forces you to try harder and it isn't so easily negated with cover like it was in ME2 (which made for a very dull game). Getting random'd out during conditions you won't be able to perfectly recreate on another attempt is simply annoying. I've also noticed that the game changes how the AI first reacts to you based on if you reload a save vs restart after death (which is the always the same for that method). Also... Engineer turrets lol.
The whole series isn't anything amazing though (in fact it is below average I'd say) and its most unique quality from other third person shooters has been marred by a poorly planned trilogy and deep lack of ambition. The roleplaying in any of the individual games looks real lame compared to Alpha Protocol (among a few other games) and collectively as a series it gives the impression they had no idea what they were doing. The illusion breaks too easy and it makes me not give a fuck about "choices". ME3 seems like it tries harder, but it carries the stink of an unplanned trilogy (with the smell becoming its strongest with the "Arrival" DLC). I feel no real connection to the character called Shepard and wouldn't be interested in anyone if they hadn't made some pretty cool squad members throughout the series.
Aside from the role-playing, I just liked ME2's atmosphere more. It was a setting better suited for the type of game ME is. What they did with Cerberus and the Illusive Man just annoys the hell out of me. ME3 at least has more NPC and NPC interactions, which was something I missed most in ME2 (I would have even taken elevator conversations).
The whole series isn't anything amazing though (in fact it is below average I'd say) and its most unique quality from other third person shooters has been marred by a poorly planned trilogy and deep lack of ambition. The roleplaying in any of the individual games looks real lame compared to Alpha Protocol (among a few other games) and collectively as a series it gives the impression they had no idea what they were doing. The illusion breaks too easy and it makes me not give a fuck about "choices". ME3 seems like it tries harder, but it carries the stink of an unplanned trilogy (with the smell becoming its strongest with the "Arrival" DLC). I feel no real connection to the character called Shepard and wouldn't be interested in anyone if they hadn't made some pretty cool squad members throughout the series.
Aside from the role-playing, I just liked ME2's atmosphere more. It was a setting better suited for the type of game ME is. What they did with Cerberus and the Illusive Man just annoys the hell out of me. ME3 at least has more NPC and NPC interactions, which was something I missed most in ME2 (I would have even taken elevator conversations).
No, but your playing style certainly plays a part. If you're sitting behind cover in a static fashion content to shoot at what's in front of you, that's naturally going to be less fun than running around the map, combining powers, flanking enemies, placing teammates at optimal positions, etc.
It's as fun as you make it for yourself. You don't like repetition? Then vary it up. Bring different squadmates, try different tactics, try different weapons, bring fewer weaps to get a big power bonus, respec your powers to try something new, snag a more interesting bonus power, increase the difficulty, etc. The game isn't going to do everything for you.
canadian crowe
Member
Seriously Bioware, enough with not explaining things.
I'm still early in the game.
Also, while looking up the answer to that my google search might have spoiled the game for me
Is that an end game spoiler?
why is Udina the Counsellor now? I did everything I could to keep Anderson there in the first two games.
I'm still early in the game.
Also, while looking up the answer to that my google search might have spoiled the game for me
it mentioned shooting Udina.
Is that an end game spoiler?
It doesn't matter. They've built up this romantic notion of Mass Effect 1 the space opera RPG in their minds and they're not going to let reality stand in their way.
As I said, I replayed it just recently, and the difference between it and ME2 (and now 3) was as stark as ever.It doesn't matter. They've built up this romantic notion of Mass Effect 1 the space opera RPG in their minds and they're not going to let reality stand in their way.
And it's not a "romantic notion" that the citadel was an actual place and not just a series of elevator stops in ME1. Or that each of the major main story planets actually featured side-quests that had you visiting optional parts of it. Or that the Mako missions, even if there were maybe too many of them, at least made the setting feel like a universe instead of a mining simulator or reapac man. Or that there were quests that didn't involve shooting waves of enemies. (There were a lot fewer rooms with waves of enemies in general. What is it with recent Bioware games and this silly wave-based combat? Wait, don't tell me: tons of "gameplay" minutes for practically no development cost)
Yes it was. The Presidium was a giant dead white empty box with linear corridors and almost no NPCs in it. The Wards were a small dead dark blue box, also with linear corridors and almost no NPCs in it.
Compare Dr. Michele's clinic in ME1 (could you even tell that it was a medical clinic if nobody told you it was?) with the Huerta Memorial Hospital in ME3 (particularly after the game's first act is over). See how many places you can stand in the Presidium Commons without hearing background chatter as though people are actually living there, and compare it to the ME1 Presidium. Or go down to the refugee docks and look at how it's actually legitimately crowded in places, and try to find anything even remotely close to that in ME1.
Your imagination may have filled in the blanks in ME1 and created some living, breathing world in your mind, but that's because it was mostly blank. The Presidium in Mass Effect 1 is one of the most dull and lifeless 'major cities' I've ever seen in an RPG.
The problem with the Mako missions isn't that there were "too many of them" - it's that none of them were even remotely interesting. The combat was bad, the A.I simply terrible, and the buildings made Oblivion's dungeons look like masterpieces of distinctive art and level design. Where was the exploration? The exploration element was a staggering disappointment in ME1.
Would I prefer side quests on various planets? Sure, though absolutely not in the way ME1 did them. Am I content with the scanning? It's complete throwaway as far as I'm concerned. While they should have ideally attempted to build on what ME1 poorly attempted instead of basically starting over, the fact that they didn't doesn't suddenly make what ME1 did meaningful.
The reason I say that people have a romantic notion is because they take the fact that Bioware went in a heavily shooter direction and use that to defend various aspects of what ME1 did. You can defend the notion that Bioware should have tried to build on ME1, but what was actually in the game proper was truly nothing to write home about, and just as inferior if not more than what people deride the later games for.
As an RPG, none of the Mass Effect games are anything truly special. As shooters, ME2 is solid and ME3 is quite good. How many console-focused shooters can you name that are more enjoyable? Can't say I've played many that are. Maybe it's because shooters are effectively my second favorite genre after RPGs (despite this gen's best efforts), but I think ME3 is a good game. If you dislike shooters and truly wanted ME3 the RPG, I can somewhat understand the disappointment, though it's still puzzling because when has Mass Effect ever been a real RPG in the classic sense?
Red Blaster
Member
Regardless of how sparsely populated it was, ME1's Citadel didn't feel like a fucking shopping mall. I think that was the point he was trying to make.
Maybe it helped that the box was big. But that's not all of it, not by a long shot. There may have been fewer (completely irrelevant) NPCs standing around, but there was something far better: I remember a large number of interesting "microquests" that happened in the presidium area, and they were all resolved through conversation or exploration of the area. That's the big thing I'm missing now.
We are having a misunderstanding. I don't really dislike ME3 so far, I'm enjoying it. I just like it a lot less than ME1, and I dislike some parts of it. Anyway, the only console shooter I played is Uncharted (1), to see what the fuzz was about. I don't like playing shooters with a gamepad, and I generally don't like the whole cover "mechanic" trend. (I still don't understand why I need a "mechanic" to get into cover. I also don't get why it has to be on the same button as 15 other entirely distinct actions /grumpyoldgamer)
Pretty much.
Almost done with the game, have been avoiding this thread for spoiler reasons. But I have to comment that this Prejek Paddle Fish thing is bullshit. ME2 spoiler:
Also (minor ME3 spoiler regarding minor character from ME2)
Aside from that, I seriously cannot imagine the DLC character not having been in the core product; I've rolled with them since the very beginning of the game (got them first thing) and they're way too integrated into the game in all of the conversations and cutscenes, way beyond say Zaeed in ME2. Based on that and the script link they were pretty blatantly cut out to be sold separately which is bullshit considering how integral everything about the character is. Almost everyone has fucking GREAT reactions to them. Due to the nature of the character, they've already had a key role in several cutscenes that were totally unique, and have me wondering how the FUCK things would have happened otherwise. This has already probably been discussed to death, but just wanted to say it's super shitty how they handled that, that character should have been included in the main game and obviously was, at least at some point.
To the first part, I think the only place it explains it in-game is in the Codex entry for Anderson you get at the beginning of the game, it explains why.
On the second spoiler no, that references something about halfway through.
Does hooking up with Kelly prevent you from any other romances? I always assume it did so I never did that, and by not doing that I couldn't get to the point where she would feed my fish, so I have no way of carrying this thing into ME3. Apparently even if you rebuy the fish then immediately save it only carries over into 3 if Kelly was taking care of your fish, so you can't just reload your postgame ME2 save, buy the fish and save.
Also (minor ME3 spoiler regarding minor character from ME2)
Related to the above, Kelly's not even in ME3 for me because I didn't get to the point where I had dinner with her, which is super fucking lame. Looking at the wiki, some of the various outcomes for her in 3 are pretty amusing and/or fucked. People who hated Kelly for not feeding their fish finally getting retribution!
Aside from that, I seriously cannot imagine the DLC character not having been in the core product; I've rolled with them since the very beginning of the game (got them first thing) and they're way too integrated into the game in all of the conversations and cutscenes, way beyond say Zaeed in ME2. Based on that and the script link they were pretty blatantly cut out to be sold separately which is bullshit considering how integral everything about the character is. Almost everyone has fucking GREAT reactions to them. Due to the nature of the character, they've already had a key role in several cutscenes that were totally unique, and have me wondering how the FUCK things would have happened otherwise. This has already probably been discussed to death, but just wanted to say it's super shitty how they handled that, that character should have been included in the main game and obviously was, at least at some point.
To the first part, I think the only place it explains it in-game is in the Codex entry for Anderson you get at the beginning of the game, it explains why.
On the second spoiler no, that references something about halfway through.
You know I'll always love you and that snazzy avatar
It's cool. I guess I'm engaged in this convo because Mass Effect is the most disappointing game I've played this generation. I really had huge expectations for it (even after Jade Empire!) and man, it was a blower on almost every level.
I was considerably less disappointed with ME2, and ME3, because I basically re-aligned my expectations completely. It felt to me with ME1 that Bioware wanted to have their cake and eat it too. They wanted to stick in various RPG elements in the combat, but also wanted it to sort of play like a shooter, and it ended up being a very poor version of both.
So when they went more full-on shooter with ME2, it was not only completely unsurprising, but I was generally cool with it because a) I really did not expect the combat to be RPG, and b) it ended up being a quite competent shooter, which made combat far less of a trudge.
Bioware went further in that direction with ME3, while making the combat more tactically enjoyable with such things as the weight system, the aggressive enemy AI, and the larger, more intricate levels. So I enjoyed it even more. Outside of combat, I feel that aspects like characterization have gotten a nice boost, with much funnier, sharper dialogue and neat things like your crew mingling with each other instead of just Shep. It helps to make the relationships between other characters feel much stronger, i.e. Garrus and Liara.
Dialogue both in pre-mission briefings and during the mission itself is also much more significant; in the past, outside of elevator chats (which I always liked), it would be generally be random squad member A chirping up, and maybe squad member B saying something, but they'd be totally unrelated. Now they actually respond to each other, and even argue a couple times. They're small things but they add something to the experience.
I'm not really one to defend Bioware much and it feels strange doing so, and I agree that if you still want great, classic RPG experiences from them, it's truly a shot in the dark. But fuck me if they haven't become a company that makes damn enjoyable shooters.
I'll take ME3 over Gears any day of the week.ViewtifulJC
Banned
Well I beat it
dat ending
DAT ENDING
...wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be.
*shrug*
dat ending
DAT ENDING
...wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be.
*shrug*
Extra Sauce
Member
I think I'm going to stop looking at this thread until I finish the game. Seems pretty obvious what is going to happen based on that information, so I feel like I just got spoiled pretty majorly.
Probably not; I think I see where you might be going with that, but that's not exactly what happens. But it in general terms you generally want to do side quests ASAP; often times you'll get stuff you can't do yet, but as soon as you can do them do so and turn them in.
I also missed most of these side quests, and considered reloading an earlier save; however, a war is going on in the game universe, so not everyone is going to get what they want.
Extra Sauce
Member
Thanks, I am slightly reassured.
Yoshichan
And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
Yup, it's common if you have companion powers on auto!
thetechkid
Member
I want to know this too, the only example I can think of was some ME1 achievements.
It was explained in
Anderson's codex entry
Adam Blade
WWKC
You haven't seen the Roman Polanski threads, have you?
Some Gaffers defend anything.
Reluctant-Hero
Member
How the fuck was ME2 GAF's 2010 GOTY?! So many people in this thread are shiting on the series as a whole. And yes, the ME1 nostalgia/beer goggles are out in full force. /rant
Anyways, I just finished
. I'm playing with an import of my very first ME2 playthrough from 2010 and I totally forgot that I had
And like everyone has said,
Both in terms of story and combat. Also, is it just me, or does
dig Dude-Shep?
Anyways, I just finished
The Salarian homeworld and rescued Eve
destroyed the genophage research, which seemed good since came from a mad scientist, but man Wrex found out and was a little hostile towards me.
And like everyone has said,
Grissom Academy was totally awesome.
Kaiden
Reluctant-Hero
Member
What were you expecting? Did you enjoy ME2 in the slightest? Or are you coming from a tech/graphics standpoint?
Oh, I get it, whoops. Yeah, the game is dark as hell and I was surprised that I had to turn the brightness up in the optind menu by 4 points.
The scene
with the vent kid on Earth
Just finished up
I tell you what, it is just getting better and better for me. The ending is going to have to be pretty damn bad in order to sour my experience. Even the new scanning which I hated at first I have found not to be a big deal at all. Only gripe is long loading times and a few frame drops here and there on the PS3 version. Otherwise, the game is absolutely great.
killing Udina's ass after the Cerberus assault on The Citadel.