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The Mass Effect Community Thread
- Thread starter shinobi602
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SerAardvark
Member
I've read some of his criticisms and generally agree with them, though I'd disagree about how he considers it a masterpiece (heresy, I know!).
ME2 is a fun game and the characters are its strong suit (though I think they're a tad overrated and some come across as little more than redundancies introduced to avoid Suicide Mission failures, even if I like them) but the main plot really doesn't fit well as the midpoint of a trilogy (the high points being the Geth/Quarian and Krogan arcs, same as ME3) and there's a lot of characterization and other inconsistencies that bug me during a full trilogy playthrough (not the least of which is the way Cerberus basically exists to be whatever the plot needs it to be) - I still have fun playing ME2, but I wish it'd been a side story involving someone other than Shepard, especially since it left ME3 with way too much to resolve in too little time.
Looking forward, I'm hoping we finally get some detailed information/background on Liam and Cora beyond the handful of screenshots and snippets of info we've gotten.
ME2 is a fun game and the characters are its strong suit (though I think they're a tad overrated and some come across as little more than redundancies introduced to avoid Suicide Mission failures, even if I like them) but the main plot really doesn't fit well as the midpoint of a trilogy (the high points being the Geth/Quarian and Krogan arcs, same as ME3) and there's a lot of characterization and other inconsistencies that bug me during a full trilogy playthrough (not the least of which is the way Cerberus basically exists to be whatever the plot needs it to be) - I still have fun playing ME2, but I wish it'd been a side story involving someone other than Shepard, especially since it left ME3 with way too much to resolve in too little time.
Looking forward, I'm hoping we finally get some detailed information/background on Liam and Cora beyond the handful of screenshots and snippets of info we've gotten.
WTF D: He was pretty devastated by ME2 as it annihilated all the details-first world-building of the first game.
SerAardvark
Member
Sorry, I must be remembering a different review with the masterpiece line or something (or maybe misread his review or something).
He does talk about the character work being "Bioware's best work", which I don't really agree with (some of them, sure - Mordin, Legion, Tali...others not so much), but his criticisms about how it turned its back on a lot of what worked in ME1 is something I totally agree with. I also think he hit the nail on the head with:
For me, ME2 is fun but largely forgettable apart from a handful of characters. I find myself more annoyed with the main plot than enjoying it and I really really disliked how some of my favorite characters were treated/set up to be written in ME3. I also feel like ME3 gets a lot of unfair blame for plot holes/problems that were created by ME2 - even the limited appearances by ME2 cast members is basically ME2's fault for introducing way too many new characters, largely just to ensure you could complete the Suicide Mission and don't necessarily add a ton to the game's story.
I do Overlord before the IFF mission. I feel that mission doesn't make sense after you kind of break with the Illusive Man and Cerberus in the Suicide Mission.
Shadow Broker I do right after the Suicide Mission, but before Arrival.
So basically I do both towards the end of the game.
As for the conversation about ME2, my opinion has basically solidified as this: As a game in isolation, on its own, it's pretty fantastic. Viewed in the context of the trilogy, it's terrible and a giant wasted opportunity.
It's how it can both be in my Top 10 Games of All Time list, but also stand as my biggest disappointment in gaming.
DeadlyParasite
Member
I've been crucified for saying this before but I still think 2 is my least favourite of the 3 games (which really doesn't mean much because I still love all 3 games deeply and considering them my favourite games of all time). I don't even agree that it has good character development because I felt a greater interest in both interacting and talking to characters in both 1 and 3.
DevilDog
Member
I would have been okay with ME2's plot being just forgettable.
As in, it works but noone really cares about it.
But it doesn't even work, on the contrary it gets out of its way to make things worse for the trilogy. I don't understand what the story guys where thinking when they made it. Did someone hate ME1 or logic in general? Truly the most bizzare thing to come out of Bioware, at least with the ME3 ending they kind of tried.
I do love ME2 though, despite its flaws, the ME games have so many good things about them that can carry.
As in, it works but noone really cares about it.
But it doesn't even work, on the contrary it gets out of its way to make things worse for the trilogy. I don't understand what the story guys where thinking when they made it. Did someone hate ME1 or logic in general? Truly the most bizzare thing to come out of Bioware, at least with the ME3 ending they kind of tried.
I do love ME2 though, despite its flaws, the ME games have so many good things about them that can carry.
Really not sure where you have been crucified for that opinion. On gaf there's a very vocal group who loathe ME2 and think it ruined the entire series and the brilliance of ME1. It's usually the opposite here, those of us who think ME2 the best game are heavily outnumbered in the threads... ;-)
Inspired by Shamus, list of story/lore problems of ME2:
- Elevates Shepard to Space Jesus status
- Completely retcons the status quo at end of ME1
- Puts humanity at full forefront including human Reaper
- Major personality changes for ex-squadmates
- Cerberus makeover from fringe clowns to hypercompetent
- Does not advance Reaper saga for ME3, leaves additional burden in Human Reaper
- Collectors as Reaper mooks not well-integrated into ME universe lore
- Focuses on teammates but gives them little to no relation to the overall plot
- Little world-building outside of Omega, no reason to care about Terminus colonies
- Shepard has little agency, following TIM orders
- Harbinger lowering himself to taunting foot soldier, ruining Reaper's Space Cthulhu mystique
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Mass Effect 2 is a really odd game for me because its highs are immensely satisfying, making its lows oddly frustrating. I remember that distinct feeling, that of frustration combined with elation, when I first finished it.
I feel its strengths lie in the individual character stories and arcs, most of which superbly well produced and together result in a lot of planet hopping that gives a great sense of location diversity and adventure. They're like a bunch of mini-stories throughout the Milky Way, emphasising character development. To me that's a major accomplishment, for BioWare to build this startlingly large and memorable ensemble cast backed by an equally impressive quantity of individual missions and adventures that all seem neatly hand tailored. By the end of Mass Effect 2 I felt I had done a lot of things, been many places with a great range of aesthetic and themes, met many new and old faces, experienced a bunch of stories, and that all of these had been produced with a very impressive standard of visual, audio, and design production for a narrative driven action RPG.
But on the other hand the poorly structured main arc really let me down. I didn't mind much of Cerberus at the time, and I love the Collectors, yet it all lacked that importance substance to tie the recruit-a-suicide-squad arc together. BioWare put so much effort into these individual stories that the core arc came at a cost. It needed an extra couple of missions involving the Collectors and bringing some key pieces together to really feel like that main arc wasn't just this weird, borderline irrelevant end game state trigger you'd push through to when you finally had enough with everything else.
I was also disappointed with a number of changes they made to the game design. Not everything; I'm still in the camp that a lot of Mass Effect 1's "role playing" fluff is just that, fluff, and needed to be redesigned for the kind of series Mass Effect is. But with Mass Effect 2 it was abundantly clear BioWare doubled down something chronic on the more extreme end of the spectrum, gutting legacy features entirely with seemingly zero interest in finding a balance between original concept / accessibility / depth. I didn't need Mass Effect 1's loot system, but Mass Effect 2 had borderline nothing, and its collect-the-guns/armour treasure hunt was terribly unsatisfying and badly implemented. Losing larger, vehicle based exploration was a massive kick in the guts. I liked Mass Effect's Mako planets more than most, but they made no effort to even try and improve the idea. And even then, Mass Effect's Mako usage wasn't just those big empty nothingness planets, it was also sometimes integrated into the main missions too, as a means of evoking travel, distance, and scale. Mass Effect 2 neglecting that (the Hammerhead was fucking shit and not an acceptable substitute) while also heavily compartmentalising rigid mission structure felt heavy handed and the antithesis to a design consistency and coherency of game systems. At times Mass Effect 2 really did feel like I was booting up "level 4: omega" or some shit and totally lacked that organic mission arc structure of the first game.
So yeah. I think it's a triumphant, superb game in many respects. But I also feel it's got a multitude of weaknesses that are, more than anything, highlighted by the accomplishments of its predecessor.
EDIT: I will agree that Mass Effect 2 was absolutely the major catalyst for spearheading some of the series most absolute dumbest shit related to characters, science fiction, villains, etc that it never really recovered from.
I feel its strengths lie in the individual character stories and arcs, most of which superbly well produced and together result in a lot of planet hopping that gives a great sense of location diversity and adventure. They're like a bunch of mini-stories throughout the Milky Way, emphasising character development. To me that's a major accomplishment, for BioWare to build this startlingly large and memorable ensemble cast backed by an equally impressive quantity of individual missions and adventures that all seem neatly hand tailored. By the end of Mass Effect 2 I felt I had done a lot of things, been many places with a great range of aesthetic and themes, met many new and old faces, experienced a bunch of stories, and that all of these had been produced with a very impressive standard of visual, audio, and design production for a narrative driven action RPG.
But on the other hand the poorly structured main arc really let me down. I didn't mind much of Cerberus at the time, and I love the Collectors, yet it all lacked that importance substance to tie the recruit-a-suicide-squad arc together. BioWare put so much effort into these individual stories that the core arc came at a cost. It needed an extra couple of missions involving the Collectors and bringing some key pieces together to really feel like that main arc wasn't just this weird, borderline irrelevant end game state trigger you'd push through to when you finally had enough with everything else.
I was also disappointed with a number of changes they made to the game design. Not everything; I'm still in the camp that a lot of Mass Effect 1's "role playing" fluff is just that, fluff, and needed to be redesigned for the kind of series Mass Effect is. But with Mass Effect 2 it was abundantly clear BioWare doubled down something chronic on the more extreme end of the spectrum, gutting legacy features entirely with seemingly zero interest in finding a balance between original concept / accessibility / depth. I didn't need Mass Effect 1's loot system, but Mass Effect 2 had borderline nothing, and its collect-the-guns/armour treasure hunt was terribly unsatisfying and badly implemented. Losing larger, vehicle based exploration was a massive kick in the guts. I liked Mass Effect's Mako planets more than most, but they made no effort to even try and improve the idea. And even then, Mass Effect's Mako usage wasn't just those big empty nothingness planets, it was also sometimes integrated into the main missions too, as a means of evoking travel, distance, and scale. Mass Effect 2 neglecting that (the Hammerhead was fucking shit and not an acceptable substitute) while also heavily compartmentalising rigid mission structure felt heavy handed and the antithesis to a design consistency and coherency of game systems. At times Mass Effect 2 really did feel like I was booting up "level 4: omega" or some shit and totally lacked that organic mission arc structure of the first game.
So yeah. I think it's a triumphant, superb game in many respects. But I also feel it's got a multitude of weaknesses that are, more than anything, highlighted by the accomplishments of its predecessor.
EDIT: I will agree that Mass Effect 2 was absolutely the major catalyst for spearheading some of the series most absolute dumbest shit related to characters, science fiction, villains, etc that it never really recovered from.
DevilDog
Member
And then the leader of those narrative changes becomes the director of Andromeda.
Not going to go through the whole lost bit by bit, but Shepherd *starts* as Space Jesus. Literally from the first mission in ME1 you are repeatedly told you are the best humanity has to offer, you are the first human spectre, you touch the beacon etc etc. Anyone claiming that aspect started in ME2 is just trying to justify disliking the second game more than the first, because that element has been present in mass effect since the very first section of the first game.
I think "Space Jesus" is more about him dying and coming back to life in his post?
DevilDog
Member
You can do better than that.
This feels like I'm talking to a person from the regular threads.
Huh? That's not exactly a useful response, and doesn't address my point - Mass Effect has always been about the player character being the one destined saviour of the universe, around whom everything and everyone revolves. That didn't change between games, it's an element that's always been present, and it feels (like several things on that list) like someone clutching at straws to try and 'objectively prove' Mass Effect 2 was worse than Mass Effect 1. Which is silly, because it's a personal preference thing and you don't need to make up stuff about one game in order to justify liking another more,
I also don't think you gain much by looking down on people who post in the general threads. If you want Mass Effect as a series to do well and survive it needs to appeal beyond the hardcore crowd who love it already.
Poodlestrike
Banned
Oh, hey, we shittalking ME2?
The game's biggest problems for me are definitely structural, in light of the overall series progression. The plot more or less holds up to a simple logical breakdown when taken on its own, but as the second act of a trilogy it's a disaster; the bad guy's plot isn't advanced one bit, all of the (admittedly great) characters it introduces and develops have to be made to be disposable, and none of its cool new locations (that last past the end of the game) get much screen time besides Omega. Just a mess.
(Still overall better than ME1 tho)
The game's biggest problems for me are definitely structural, in light of the overall series progression. The plot more or less holds up to a simple logical breakdown when taken on its own, but as the second act of a trilogy it's a disaster; the bad guy's plot isn't advanced one bit, all of the (admittedly great) characters it introduces and develops have to be made to be disposable, and none of its cool new locations (that last past the end of the game) get much screen time besides Omega. Just a mess.
(Still overall better than ME1 tho)
I do think a big part of why ME2 has issues as the middle part of the trilogy were also due to me3 as well, and only became apparent in hindsight. Whilst the baby reaper wasn't that great, the overall narrative race of ME2 worked in its game and as a sequel to ME1. The reapers weren't able to enter the galaxy thanks to your actions in ME1, so they needed a different way. They used their agents to attack and kidnap humans because they couldn't launch an all out assault anymore, and because humanity had done something no-one else had done and beaten them and disrupted the cycle.
So it makes sense within that content. It just falls completely apart when it's then revealed the reapers can attack all out anyway (regardless of the events of Arrival, which is another head scratcher) and events play out as they did. ME2 works in a series where the reapers can't attack the galaxy all out, as a back up plan and covert assault. It utterly fails though when it becomes apparent the reapers don't need the back up and can attack anyways a couple of years later.
So it makes sense within that content. It just falls completely apart when it's then revealed the reapers can attack all out anyway (regardless of the events of Arrival, which is another head scratcher) and events play out as they did. ME2 works in a series where the reapers can't attack the galaxy all out, as a back up plan and covert assault. It utterly fails though when it becomes apparent the reapers don't need the back up and can attack anyways a couple of years later.
Poodlestrike
Banned
But there was never any reason to think that the Reapers couldn't attack all out. They were in Dark Space, not locked in some parallel universe or something. They just had to come back the slow way.
TC McQueen
Member
Yeah, but the whole use of the Dark Space relay implied that it would take them decades, centuries, or millennia to get back, not 2-3 years.
The slow way is (at best estimates) hundreds if not thousands of years away or more. Without the relays they don't go anywhere near fast enough to get into the galaxy based on their location. Not just a few years away.
I'd always assumed this was how the trilogy was going because they built the reapers up so much in the first game to be this unbeatable cosmic horror, I never thought they would actually put us at war with them because of the disparity.
Heckler456
Banned
Oh great, another turd of a thread on the front page about why Bioware is the worst developer in the entire world. Starting 2017 off strong.
I can understand a degree of apprehension based on what has (and hasn't) been shown, but threads like that thrive on hyperbole, you'd think they killed their first born. Every game of theirs has flaws, some more obvious than others and there is a discussion to be had. Not everyone in that thread is like the above, but yeah, BioWare as a whole on both the ME and DA end of things are 5000% aware of their own shortcomings, it's been years at this point lol.
Especially the posts about how now that The Witcher 3 came out, BioWare is average at best and what they make is unacceptable. Like, I love The Witcher series so much, there are absolutely things I hope they implement into their games for DA4 and even ME:A, but to say it will suck with basically no evidence save for a few 2-5 minute videos (and not all of them with gameplay) is a bit unfair. Besides, TW3 has its weak points too (i.e. I liked DA:I's combat and movement more). Add to the fact that ME has been in development for such a long time that it is more likely we will see more directly-comparable Witcher 3 design implementations in a DA4 scenario.
Anyways, part of the fault for people feeling this way is EA's, moreso than BioWare because that's not really their bag, in how they are rolling out information. At the same time, I was just as disappointed in ME3's ending and DA:I's overload of fetch quests as the next person, but it's kind of lame to play armchair game dev when the game isn't even out.
Especially the posts about how now that The Witcher 3 came out, BioWare is average at best and what they make is unacceptable. Like, I love The Witcher series so much, there are absolutely things I hope they implement into their games for DA4 and even ME:A, but to say it will suck with basically no evidence save for a few 2-5 minute videos (and not all of them with gameplay) is a bit unfair. Besides, TW3 has its weak points too (i.e. I liked DA:I's combat and movement more). Add to the fact that ME has been in development for such a long time that it is more likely we will see more directly-comparable Witcher 3 design implementations in a DA4 scenario.
Anyways, part of the fault for people feeling this way is EA's, moreso than BioWare because that's not really their bag, in how they are rolling out information. At the same time, I was just as disappointed in ME3's ending and DA:I's overload of fetch quests as the next person, but it's kind of lame to play armchair game dev when the game isn't even out.
JeffG
Member
I think it is the best thing ever when you judge a game based on 1/10 sec of animation
Did you see her face?
lol
Poodlestrike
Banned
Why? They're not that far past the galactic rim (you know, by astronomical standards), and they've got bigger and better FTL drives than anybody else. Andromeda is 600 years away at full FTL speeds, and that's using our primitive ass tech. Hanging out 3 years outside the galaxy isn't remotely farfetched.
But why tho. They never actually state that it'd take that long. The reason Soverign took his sweet time was because securing the Citadel provides them the massive strategic asset that comes with being able to deny the younger races access to the Mass Relay network.
DarkChronic
Member
Oh wow. OH WOW.
Doing my replay of the series (started at 1, now wrapping up 3) and I just did the Citadel DLC for the first time last night.
I...holy crap. Some amazing moments in that thing, you guys weren't kidding. Three favorite "encounters" on the strip:
1. Traynor - those cuts, omggg
2. Grunt - the flashbacks
3. Joker - I absolutely lost it when he said
Tears out of my eyes.
What a DLC package.
Doing my replay of the series (started at 1, now wrapping up 3) and I just did the Citadel DLC for the first time last night.
I...holy crap. Some amazing moments in that thing, you guys weren't kidding. Three favorite "encounters" on the strip:
1. Traynor - those cuts, omggg
2. Grunt - the flashbacks
3. Joker - I absolutely lost it when he said
It's joking time.
What a DLC package.
Don't forget to go back to the bar after Joker. Wrex can be there, and the poor guy is having trouble with all the females wanting his babies lol.
Poodlestrike
Banned
I know Soverign was inside the galaxy the whole time, I was referring to the gap between when he first tried to activate the Citadel and the Reapers waking up and starting to move.
The point of Arrival is that the relay in that system was special; it could project to any relay, anywhere. Most of them are paired with only the closest relays. Thus the Project's original plan, before they got indoctrinated.
Citadel is the GOAT piece of Mass Effect.
DevilDog
Member
Obviously someone can't 100% prove something like this.
The best we can do, and the best things to discuss are the ones that come as near as possible to that objectivity.
If you want to be that guy who says, "Nothing can be proven 100% so I'm just going to call this invalid", fine, why are you even having discussions in the first place?
And believe me, I've seen things in regular threads outside of neogaf that make me want to tear my hair out.
I don't want to plough through shitpost after shitpost hating on irrelevant things in order to find that good one, like I'm looking at goddamned youtube comments.
And I genuinely feel sorry for the devs for having to do that, and then hear the hate again after they reacted to their demands.
By the end of ME2, seeing the reapers approaching the milky way was a dead giveaway that they were coming in ME3, especially when the devs said that this was designed as a trilogy.
ME2 fell flat on its face and it didn't need help from ME3.
Best DLC ever. Best played after you've completed ME3. The perfect goodbye.
Yeah Citadel is my favorite DLC and it has some of my favorites Mass Effect moments. It was pure joy. ME3 would be my favorite game ever if the ending had been satisfying and if the DLC took really place after.
So I'm going to be replaying ME3 here for the first time since release. Extended cut, the DLC, etc. will all be new to me, I just have one question -
Is the Omega DLC worth it? I hear so much mixed about it and just want some more opinions on it. I'm sold on all other DLC this one. Sell me on it (or why I shouldn't bother)
Is the Omega DLC worth it? I hear so much mixed about it and just want some more opinions on it. I'm sold on all other DLC this one. Sell me on it (or why I shouldn't bother)
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Citadel is super kitschy but so great because of it. They just stopped giving a fuck and put out a full fan service send off. Best they could do without changing the ending. I've always thought if I do a replay of ME3 (and I really should sometime soon) that Citadel, despite conflicting with the canon, should be played "last". It might not work canonically but it's clearly supposed to be the last experience for the fan.
I think Omega is excellent. Flawed, but excellent. Much of the mixed response to me comes from the hype leading up to it and some muddied expectations. Omega felt like a missing link in the main game, and that combined with content leaks implied DLC would come eventually. BioWare started talking about there being a new hub, side quests, etc. "Biggest DLC to date". Then it turned out to be pretty linear, the hub was an assy single room, and it doesn't have the crazy location diversity or post mission content of something like Lair of the Shadow Broker (arguably the then gold standard).
So it's very much...more of the same. But in my opinion it's a superb rendition of that "same". Montreal did a bang up job with the encounter design, so much so I feel it has some of the funnest fights in the entire ME3 arc. There's an attention to the combat pacing that feels more akin to a third person shooter in the sense it's less travel down corridors->enter arena->arena wave fight->repeat, and instead has a lot more mini encounters that pace the game better.
Nyreen is really cool and her combined with Aria give the DLC a nice tangent vibe as you're not tethered to your existing crew. It's quite lengthy all things considered too, and it's fun to revisit some ME2 locals. Handful of name drops and nods towards ME2 too.
Personally I think it's really strong and worth playing if you want more Mass Effect.
I think Omega is excellent. Flawed, but excellent. Much of the mixed response to me comes from the hype leading up to it and some muddied expectations. Omega felt like a missing link in the main game, and that combined with content leaks implied DLC would come eventually. BioWare started talking about there being a new hub, side quests, etc. "Biggest DLC to date". Then it turned out to be pretty linear, the hub was an assy single room, and it doesn't have the crazy location diversity or post mission content of something like Lair of the Shadow Broker (arguably the then gold standard).
So it's very much...more of the same. But in my opinion it's a superb rendition of that "same". Montreal did a bang up job with the encounter design, so much so I feel it has some of the funnest fights in the entire ME3 arc. There's an attention to the combat pacing that feels more akin to a third person shooter in the sense it's less travel down corridors->enter arena->arena wave fight->repeat, and instead has a lot more mini encounters that pace the game better.
Nyreen is really cool and her combined with Aria give the DLC a nice tangent vibe as you're not tethered to your existing crew. It's quite lengthy all things considered too, and it's fun to revisit some ME2 locals. Handful of name drops and nods towards ME2 too.
Personally I think it's really strong and worth playing if you want more Mass Effect.
In ME1 he starts as a Spectre candidate, basically a tryout. Gaining the job title makes him a space James Bond, not Jesus.
I'm still slightly salty about the Beacon thing because it got retconned in ME2 as well.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Ideally humanity wouldn't be put on a pedestal. I prefer my storytelling taking a different direction, and I would have loved for more balanced politics. But I can handle Shepard being a centrepiece since she/he was from the start, and that's just the pulpy story BioWare chose to tell.
What was supremely lame in respect to that was choosing to put humanity on a pedestal right down to a genetic level. Like okay, if we're going to tell a story about humanity "proving themselves" on the political/galactic stage and romanticise how organised and efficient they are; fine. Have your humanity-saves-the-day-Shepard-is-so-great stuff. But Mass Effect 2 and 3 pushing the utterly bizarre genetic diversity (and ergo superiority) angle is so fucking creepy and weird. Like a totally unnecessary speciest power fantasy that contributes nothing to the overall lore.
What was supremely lame in respect to that was choosing to put humanity on a pedestal right down to a genetic level. Like okay, if we're going to tell a story about humanity "proving themselves" on the political/galactic stage and romanticise how organised and efficient they are; fine. Have your humanity-saves-the-day-Shepard-is-so-great stuff. But Mass Effect 2 and 3 pushing the utterly bizarre genetic diversity (and ergo superiority) angle is so fucking creepy and weird. Like a totally unnecessary speciest power fantasy that contributes nothing to the overall lore.
ThoseDeafMutes
Member
It came in the same game that had the wonderful geth lore though. It was a really mixed bag and you could tell there were a lot of cooks in the kitchen and the ones in charge overall weren't the best on the team.
ThoseDeafMutes
Member
huh?
Chris L'Etoile and his ME2 tell all posts, I feel every discussion leads either there or to Trilogy ranking posts.
There's no reason to be surprised anymore. BioWare discussion already hit rock bottom-level discourse in Jan 2015.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Mind numbing.Could be worse (second top comment on the gameplay trailer on YouTube):
Actually getting to the point where my disdain for ME1 is growing. Every time I here some loaded 'RPG features' diatribe my eyes roll backwards and it's quite uncomfortable.
Nothing says 'Special Agent' like rummaging through crates and finding some valuable garbage.
Could be worse (second top comment on the gameplay trailer on YouTube):
lol I remember reading this comment.
At least, it's so incredibly insane that it made me laugh.
Most of the comments in the last Andromeda thread are not funny, in any regard. Aarryn Flynn is there to discuss and they don't even notice, it's crazy.
And this fucking gif posted on every page...
DeadlyParasite
Member
It's got to be demoralizing to be a BioWare dev and read Mass Effect and Dragon Age related topics on NeoGAF. I get a much more postive vibe on r/masseffect than I ever have here, and usually reddit is known for having notoriously awful communities. It's certainly an eye opening experience on just how brutal a gaming enthusiast forum can be.
I'm really hoping Andromeda is good so that this deep seeded pessimism might finally be eradicated or at least diminished to the point where it no longer derails threads.
BrassDragon
Member
Word.
I just want them to hit an unqualified home run.
No need for excuses, no 'it's okay if you stay on the critical path', no 'it's much better with DLC', no 'yeah, that character is grating but you don't have to take her', no 'combat is less boring if you pick this class', no 'it makes more sense if you read the comics/novels', no 'The Witcher III isn't perfect either', no 'they still have time to polish before release', no 'I like the story beats on paper but the execution is a bit flat'... none of that.
Would be good if the fandom could get off the defensive along with BioWare itself.
Just be good, Andromeda.
And sort out your marketing, EA.
DevilDog
Member
The best thing about it all is that it's moving away from the OT, maybe people will leave it all behiiiiiiiiiind and start fresh.
I really don't know why the ME series gathers so much hate. Like why do people feel justified to go around and say "Bioware sucks" or something like that? What did they even do to them?
I mean if a game is bad, people usually forget about it, bring up some memes and move on. But ME haters feel the need to stick around and spew hate and misinformation all the time.
I can't remember who said it (fairly sure Blizard did at one point), but one of the main reasons Bioware gets such shit is because people become so invested in your series. Whilst people hating it is bad, at least they still care - what's far worse is when people play your game, go 'meh' and instantly forget about it. Hate is the opposite side of the coin to love and all.
I'm very passionate about mass effect, despite loathing the ending to Me3 and thinking ME1 is vastly overrated and extremely janky, because despite that the trilogy as a whole still provided me with some of the most emotional and substantive experiences I've had in my life of gaming. Thane, Samara, Morden, Kaiden, Garrus and most of the rest of the crew had an impact that goes well beyond any other single game I can name.
Thats actually my biggest concern about the new Me - it's not a trilogy and they aren't building it as one. I think in retrospect, for all the flaws it caused, that was also one of the original trilogies strongest points and removing it worries me a lot. I hate how they do things in Dragon Age and worry it will be the same in mass effect now.
I think it's pretty much apparent with anything on the internet really. We just notice it more since we are in such a concentrated place of people who think they know what they are talking about and also the fact that we like the games they put out for the most part so we actively search for information related to it. There are always going to be people who have to voice their opinion on how they aren't going to play the game or whatever because apparently everyone was dying to know??? lol. Add to the fact that it was quite the controversy for a while and the series isn't niche so there are a lot of voices in that space.
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