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Mass Effect |OT| Alien love in an elevator

P

Psychotext

Member
I know I said I was done with this thread... but I'm waiting eagerly for the reviews! I predict mostly 8s and 9s with a 10 somewhere and a shocking 7 that has people questioning their preorders! 5 days to go for me in the UK!
 
I

IronicallyTwisted

Banned
Sectus said:
You sure about that?

Engineers have several skills which deals some small splash damage, but I'd give the upper hand to Adepts as most of their spells deal damage and stuns enemies for a rather long time. Throw also has the potential to insta-kill enemies if you manage to throw them off a rail or out of the level.
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Most of the Adepts skills are throwing/stunning/sucking in. Where do you get the idea they all do damage? Warp does damage, as does throw, but what else?

Engineers have more damaging abilities, plus they can fuck up everyones guns and turn enemies against eachother. Personally I think Engineers do more damage in most given combat situations.
 
S

Sectus

Member
IronicallyTwisted said:
Most of the Adepts skills are throwing/stunning/sucking in. Where do you get the idea they all do damage? Warp does damage, as does throw, but what else?

Engineers have more damaging abilities, plus they can fuck up everyones guns and turn enemies against eachother. Personally I think Engineers do more damage in most given combat situations.
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When comparing the classes as a whole I think Adepts would be hell lot more dangerous in a combat situations. Both classes can deal some amount of damage via their abilites, but both have access to the pistol which I'm fairly certain deals a lot more damage than any of their skills. So then you can choose between deal some occasional splash damage as the engineer, or occasionally insta-killing one enemy and having 3-5 enemies hovering up in the air which lets you easily finish them off with your pistol. I haven't tried the engineer's 2 exclusive abilities, but I'll be surprised if they make up for the rather weak functionality of the overload, sabotage and damping skills.
 
I

IronicallyTwisted

Banned
Sectus said:
When comparing the classes as a whole I think Adepts would be hell lot more dangerous in a combat situations. Both classes can deal some amount of damage via their abilites, but both have access to the pistol which I'm fairly certain deals a lot more damage than any of their skills. So then you can choose between deal some occasional splash damage as the engineer, or occasionally insta-killing one enemy and having 3-5 enemies hovering up in the air which lets you easily finish them off with your pistol. I haven't tried the engineer's 2 exclusive abilities, but I'll be surprised if they make up for the rather weak functionality of the overload, sabotage and damping skills.
Click to expand...

Most of the engineers abilities do damage. In fact, only hacking doesn't (I think). I would agree adepts are more dangerous at straight up combat, but Engineers are just a more strategic class by default.
 
I

IronicallyTwisted

Banned
biodegradablebean said:
Can you wield an assault rifle as a vanguard?
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You can wield any weapon as any class, you'll just suck with it. Only Soliders can train in assault rifles (the best weapons, really) by default. Achievements can change that, though... :D
 
N

Naeblish

Member
You can, but you don't have a skill for it. Vanguard has the shotgun skill.

edit: beaten. Kinda weird isnt it, that one of the most default weapons in other games (assault rifle), can only be trained by 1 of the 6 classes.
 
B

biodegradablebean

Banned
IronicallyTwisted said:
You can wield any weapon as any class, you'll just suck with it. Only Soliders can train in assault rifles (the best weapons, really) by default. Achievements can change that, though... :D
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Aah ok. But suck in it how? Weapon deals less damage? More recoil? Quicker overheat?

And a vanguard can't specialize in an assault rifle at all? Meaning they will be as bad as an adept with an assault rifle even when they're partly soldier?
 
I

IronicallyTwisted

Banned
biodegradablebean said:
Aah ok. But suck in it how? Weapon deals less damage? More recoil? Quicker overheat?

And a vanguard can't specialize in an assault rifle at all? Meaning they will be as bad as an adept with an assault rifle even when they're partly soldier?
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If you don't train in a weapon it isn't worth your time. You will be as bad as an adept, basically, besides other training areas which boost overall weapon damage. If you pick a Vanguard you are stuck with the shotgun and pistol for your first run. To give you an idea of how much you will suck, you can't even AIM a sniper rifle or assault rifle without putting points into it.
 
S

Sectus

Member
Strategic? I don't like to sound I think the class is the worst class ever (that award goes to sentinel :p), but from what I've played that's not the case at all. The engineer abilities I've tried are all just fire and forget skills, the only variable you have to consider is that the closer the enemies are the better the functionality generally is.

Now compare that to the tactical potential of the adept and it's like the difference of night and day. Adepts can choose one target to basically "not be in the fight" for a fair amount of time. See if there's any obvious target you can instakill with throw. You can combine Lift and Throw to get a better chance of instakilling an enemy. You can move the enemy's cover by using lift, throw or singularity. Both Singularity and Lift are excellent crowd control spells. You could combine Barrier with Throw to survive moving to a risky position but would let you throw an enemy off a rail easier.

Engineers does have 2 ways to stun enemies (but it leaves them on the ground instead of the up in the air, and people in the air is a lot easier to shoot at) and the AI hacking which might have some tactical potential. But the other skills are just skills you randomly use without thinking.
 
N

Naeblish

Member
Bossman said:
Meh, Bioware disappoints again. They promised the game to be like 70 hours long.
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That's bullshit. They always said the mainquest was about 20 hours, and you could get about 40-50 hours out of the game if you did everything. With its awesome replayability options that number gets even higher.
 
I

IronicallyTwisted

Banned
Sectus said:
Strategic? I don't like to sound I think the class is the worst class ever (that award goes to sentinel :p), but from what I've played that's not the case at all. The engineer abilities I've tried are all just fire and forget skills, the only variable you have to consider is that the closer the enemies are the better the functionality generally is.

Now compare that to the tactical potential of the adept and it's like the difference of night and day. Adepts can choose one target to basically "not be in the fight" for a fair amount of time. See if there's any obvious target you can instakill with throw. You can combine Lift and Throw to get a better chance of instakilling an enemy. You can move the enemy's cover by using lift, throw or singularity. Both Singularity and Lift are excellent crowd control spells. You could combine Barrier with Throw to survive moving to a risky position but would let you throw an enemy off a rail easier.

Engineers does have 2 ways to stun enemies (but it leaves them on the ground instead of the up in the air, and people in the air is a lot easier to shoot at) and the AI hacking which might have some tactical potential. But the other skills are just skills you randomly use without thinking.
Click to expand...

The hate is strong with this one...
Engineers have:

-An explosion which silences all abilities.
-An explosion which disables the weapons of all enemies.
-An explosion which disables enemy shield in combat.

Coupled with the Engineers other perks, including opening just about anything, having the best mines in the game, and controlling enemy units, the engineer is a fine class.

Edit: Also, as for the Sentinal class, don't forget their class talent is the best in the game. Reduces all cooldown, increases pistol firepower/accuracy, and gives them an all new ability: marksman.
 
C

Caspel

Business & Marketing Manager @ GungHo
playing as an Adept myself, I can say that I felt godlike with my powers.

In my upcoming review for another publication, I detailed how I quickly disposed of a Krogan warlord.

Here's the quote:

"In one instance, I targeted a Krogan Warlord who was pestering my team with suppressing fire and assaulted him with everything I could. I started with throwing him into the wall, then followed it up with lifting him off the ground to be met with a warp that deteriorated his armor and used singularity to pull all surrounding enemies to him to target them at all once with my marksmen ability to quickly dispose of them. Taking full use of the abilities that players unlock is the best way of making the difficulty easy. For players that don’t like using magic/biotics, then they should still be satisfied with the shooting mechanics in the game."
Click to expand...
 
Â

∀ Narayan

Member
Naeblish said:
That's bullshit. They always said the mainquest was about 20 hours, and you could get about 40-50 hours out of the game if you did everything. With its awesome replayability options that number gets even higher.
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No, they definitely said that the game was over 300-hours long. They also said that the game was so immersive that you would instantly die and transcend into Mass Effect's world.

But the game isn't like that, therefore, Mass Effect is the hugest blemish on humanity's history. The game was obviously rushed, and it shows that BioWare is losing money. They are definitely going out of business, and I am happy that they are. They should have just called this game FINAL FAILURE, much akin to FINAL FANTASY. Except, rather than granting them success, it will grant them HARDCORE FAILURE.
 
S

Skilotonn

xbot xbot xbot xbot xbot
Character Spotlight 1 and 2 is now on the Marketplace as well - good to see that they are throwing these videos up there too now with the release around the corner...

They better sell early tomorrow in Europe damnit... or even today...
 
C

Caspel

Business & Marketing Manager @ GungHo
U K Narayan said:
No, they definitely said that the game was over 300-hours long. They also said that the game was so immersive that you would instantly die and transcend into Mass Effect's world.

But the game isn't like that, therefore, Mass Effect is the hugest blemish on humanity's history. The game was obviously rushed, and it shows that BioWare is losing money. They are definitely going out of business, and I am happy that they are. They should have just called this game FINAL FAILURE, much akin to FINAL FANTASY. Except, rather than granting them success, it will grant them HARDCORE FAILURE.
Click to expand...

My sarcasm radar is going off... I hope it isn't mistaken.
 
R

Raven1907

Member
Eurogamer: 8/10

1up:

Electronic Gaming Monthly: 9, 9, 9.5

"Far from being a ponderous sci-fi exposition, Mass Effect boasts a dynamic, well-constructed story with a broad emotional range."

Gamespot:

IGN: 9.4
"In a year that has seen the Xbox 360 library finally round itself out with a series of quality Japanese RPGs, BioWare has shown just how far ahead of the curve it is with Mass Effect. The cinematic design is nothing short of masterful. This is a game that takes the aspects of film that make cinema so compelling and crosses it with the interactivity of games with unprecedented success. Linear storytelling feels quaint by comparison.

Mass Effect is game that is greater than the sum of its parts. Technical issues abound, but the majority of Mass Effect is so expertly delivered that it can transcend its weaknesses. Applying number ratings to a game like this doesn't do it justice because there is no way you can ignore its technical flaws. Simply put, Mass Effect is a game that must be played. Then it must be played again. Don't pass this one up. "

Gametrailers:

The rest:

Game Informer: 9.8

"It's an adventure that is so captivating that you'll be counting the days for the sequel. It takes interactive storytelling to new heights, and brings the player closer to content than ever before. It's easily one of the year's best titles and one of the most impressive games to date."
 
P

p3tran

Banned
U K Narayan said:
No, they definitely said that the game was over 300-hours long. They also said that the game was so immersive that you would instantly die and transcend into Mass Effect's world.

But the game isn't like that, therefore, Mass Effect is the hugest blemish on humanity's history. The game was obviously rushed, and it shows that BioWare is losing money. They are definitely going out of business, and I am happy that they are. They should have just called this game FINAL FAILURE, much akin to FINAL FANTASY. Except, rather than granting them success, it will grant them HARDCORE FAILURE.
Click to expand...

that might save a page or two of stupid comments :)


p.s.
did bioware at any point say anything about dlc missions etc ?
 
R

Raven1907

Member
Naeblish said:
Eurogamer: 8/10 ... damn :(. I love eurogamers reviews, especially those of Christian Reed, but man, an 8? Gonna read it now.
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he's predominantly bemoaning technical glitches and combat not being enough of a shooter/rpg (it doesn't really pick).
 
B

Bossman

Member
J

JayDubya

Banned
So on the one hand these scores make me incredibly happy I ordered the limited edition before it went out of stock on Amazon.

On the other hand, this makes me incredibly "I HATE ALL LIFE AND WANT TO SKULLFUCK A NUN" that Amazon ships on the streetdate and the thing will not arrive until Friday, leaving me Mass Effectless until Sunday.

:'(

:lol Oh well.

Also, about the length, the general consensus seems to be that if you want to see all content in the game and reach the L50 cap on your first playthrough, you're looking at ~40-50. Maybe less if you're just awesomesauce and blow through everything. A lot less if you put it on Easy mode, of course. More if you put it on Veteran.

It's about KotOR length with more optional side material than KotOR had and more compelling story events (permanent teammate loss) and other such events to make the game more different on subsequent playthroughs.

I'm satisfied with that. I do miss BG2 quality and length, however, but I can only resist the inner graphics whore so much and Mass Effect brings it out in me.
 
D

Dalauz

Member
screw the score. Mass Effect is one of the best games ever, word.
EG review is right on the spot. The performance and unbalance (instant kills for example) are very strong issues.
 
F

Falagard

Member
The three part Penny Arcade nitpicking Mass Effect saga concludes:

20071119.jpg


In case you hadn't seen the other two:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2007/20071114.jpg
http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2007/20071116.jpg
 
B

Basch

Member
p3tran said:
that might save a page or two of stupid comments :)


p.s.
did bioware at any point say anything about dlc missions etc ?
Click to expand...

I am pretty sure that there will be downloadable episodic content that will fill the gaps between Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2: icing on the cake :D . I don't remember where I read it from, but I read it somewhere. Trust me. :lol
 
N

Nif

Member
JayDubya said:
So on the one hand these scores make me incredibly happy I ordered the limited edition before it went out of stock on Amazon.

On the other hand, this makes me incredibly "I HATE ALL LIFE AND WANT TO SKULLFUCK A NUN" that Amazon ships on the streetdate and the thing will not arrive until Friday, leaving me Mass Effectless until Sunday.
Click to expand...

Amazon doesn't ship early? Sucky. I wasn't sure, so I got it through Gamestop. If it doesn't get here tomorrow, I'll be pissed, but at least I'll get the shipping free. It cost me close to $90, though. Not used to spending so much on a game. =(

Boss reviews so far. Anyone know what GT gives and what they say about it? I'm avoiding their review since supposedly the Uncharted one had some spoilers.
 
K

Kestastrophe

Member
Having completed the game and spending over 40 hours in it, I can honestly say that IGN's complaint about controller buttons not working is unfounded. Perhaps they had a buggy controller or something else, but this did not happen to me once.

Also, the game will take much more than 30 hours to complete if you are doing sidequests. I did many of the sidequests and there were still plenty left, and it took me 40 hours. I am willing to bet that IGN reviewer did not get the "completionist achivement", which is awarded when you complete a majority of the game.
 
D

Dyno

Member
Falagard said:
The three part Penny Arcade nitpicking Mass Effect saga concludes:
Click to expand...

I love those guys but they devoted three comics to nitpick Mass Effect, meanwhile Assassin's Creed (who funny enough has a big ad on their site) has thus far got a free pass. The repetition in AC alone is a strip that writes itself.
 
F

FrankT

Member
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=175911

CVG 9.0

But the ultimate yardstick of an RPG is how believable its world is and how fluidly the story flows despite the number-crunching that powers it, and it's this that makes Mass Effect so special. Never before has storytelling been so competently ingrained into a videogame, and never before has a player had so much freedom to dictate the course of a linear storyline. Mass Effect isn't the laser-spewing monolith of a game we expected it to be, but it is far, far, far from a disappointment. Until now, RPGs have thought local; Mass Effect thinks global.
Click to expand...
 
I

itxaka

Defeatist
ndiicm said:
I wish I just let the citadel council die just to see what happened. :lol
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I had 2 million and now with the new game+ I´m at 3 million :lol

how was your conforntation with saren? I left the council die, my ship just cut the communications with them and the Reaper ship/monster die with no problems. Before that Saren was revived as a cyborg (also I forced him to shot himself trough talking, earning an achivement by the way) and was very difficult compared with any other guy on the game.
Did your end went that way? I didn´t save the game before that so i gotta go through the game again to see what happens If you help them.

Did saving them change anything?
 
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