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Post by Retro on Oct 16, 2011 17:27:38 GMT
DA1 was pretty universally lauded, really.
The only real complaint was from the console crowds over "Why was our version worse?"
Which is a silly complaint, really. It's not that their version was worse, just the PC offered better methods of control and gameplay that the console couldn't do. Bioware would have been daft to not take advantage of it for their PC fanbase, especially given it is their PC fanbase who essentially built them in the first place.
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Post by Lost Mercenary on Dec 11, 2011 20:44:52 GMT
Thresher Maw vs Reaper
Um... There are no words.
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Post by Devo DrakeFox on Dec 12, 2011 10:18:36 GMT
Is it me or have the Reapers shrunk a little since ME1?
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Post by Juliett. Bravo. Alfa. on Dec 12, 2011 13:49:38 GMT
No its just far away.
Or that's a big Albino Humping worm.
Or its a baby reaper.
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Post by Retro on Dec 13, 2011 16:23:22 GMT
There's more than one type of Reaper, as evidenced by how they are made, look at the one at the end of ME2 for instance. The "normal" ones are still around, mostly trampling over London.
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Post by Devo DrakeFox on Dec 14, 2011 0:19:08 GMT
That was a larval form, though. Who's to say the final product wouldn't have been bigger?
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Post by Retro on Dec 14, 2011 0:28:34 GMT
The Reapers are a full civilization, they have man sized forces, stands to reason they'de have forces "small" enough to act as combat titans as well as the behemoths that are too big for tactical combat.
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Post by Lost Mercenary on Feb 11, 2012 8:51:20 GMT
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Post by Juliett. Bravo. Alfa. on Mar 14, 2012 23:00:11 GMT
Rather than post in the other threads just going to post here under a big spoiler banner. Dont highlight, if you dont want to be spoiled. Done? Done. Mass Effect 3: Amazing game. Bad Ending.
But first a general look at the characters and events.
Too many NOOOOOOOOOO! moments. Genuinely teared up at Mordin's, Miranda's and Legion's demises. Grunt's too. But he made it.
Going through the game, you do feel like you are in a giant war, you walk past people crying, trying to forget the war etc. It really sucks you in.
And yet for every moment that makes you sad, you get a happy moment, whether its a joke or a scene or something, it feels almost like a perfect balance in that regard. (EDI and Drunk Tali/Ashley are highlights)
The main missions are amazing. Epic is the word. First game since CoD 4 where they try to make you remember every moment. Was amazed that Genophage cure and The Quarians returning to their home world were in the game. Thought they would be prime contenders for spin offs.
The buddy characters: Garrus - He furthers his role as the "best friend." Awesome character. Ashley - Seemed to be more interested in trusting Shepard than aliens at the start. (was my romance option) Liara - In full "Lair of the Shadow Broker" mode. Completely different from ME1 Tali - I mean who doesn't love Tali? EDI - Best new character (Not too hard really) But a genuinely funny (at times) character. Almost seems to make up for Legion being unlocked so late in ME2. James Vega - I thought Kaiden was boring in ME1, I thought Jacob was boring in ME, So I thought we had a trifecta. Vega, was a great addition, I thought. A good personality, nothing really too surprising about the man. Javik (DLC) - I'm sure Bioware likes doing the whole "They aren't what they seem" thing. Legion was it in ME2 and Javik is it in ME3. A genuinely unlikeable character who is far more woven into the game than the ME2 DLC characters. He is very aggressive towards the other characters. And isn't really anything special.
Gameplay feels a lot better than in ME2. I mean ME2 I had to turn that down to Easy when the Scions appear etc. but in this I can do it on normal. Voice commands mostly work. Which surprises me. It mean that I could heal by screaming First Aid. Armour and Guns are a good mix of ME1 and ME2's systems.
Also its nice to hear the Vigil music from ME1 back in the game.
So the ending. I knew there would be a choice for the ending, but this just feels so out of place. I cant help thinking they cant really build a franchise from these endings anyway, I guess there is going to be a "True Finale".
The trouble with the endings is until you get to the choice the game is amazing. Just amazing.
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Post by Devo DrakeFox on Mar 14, 2012 23:40:22 GMT
Completed it this evening. So, here's a rundown of the career of Commander "Devo" Shepard, my first playthrough of each game. NAME: DEVO SHEPARD GENDER: MALE CHARACTER TYPE: SOLE SURVIVOR CLASS: VANGUARDMASS EFFECT- Spared Rachni Queen on Noveria - Saved Thorian-controlled colonists on Feros - Kept Wrex alive - Sacrificed Kaiden Alenko - Pursued relationship with Ashley - Did not play Bring Down The Sky - Sacrificed the Citadel Council - Fought Saren - Let Udina and Anderson sort out who represents Humanity on the Council MASS EFFECT 2- Recruited all characters except for Kasumi Sato - Earned loyalty of all characters except for Miranda and Zaeed - Pursued no relationship - Destroyed Geth heretics - Killed Morinth - Rescued crew and colonists - Did not play Overlord, Shadow Broker or Arrival - Destroyed Collector base - Lost Miranda, Zaeed and Tali during suicide mission MASS EFFECT 3 - Recruited Ashley, Garrus, James, EDI, Liara and Javik - Rekindled relationship with Ashley - Cured the genophage - Destroyed Legion and wiped out the Geth - Executed Udina before letting him explain himself - Shot the Illusive Man when he held Anderson at gunpoint - Took the middle path on the Citadel and brought about the Synthesis
And there we go. I'll be giving ME3 a rest for now, but when I go back to it I'll start a full Renegade run.
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Post by Retro on Mar 17, 2012 16:32:08 GMT
Never would I have thought Bioware could single handedly ruin their entire franchise in 20 minutes.
ME3 proved me wrong. For every moment of great writing there is something that lets it down so much that the entire thing just starts to show the cracks surprisingly early when you think back.
Then of course, that ending.
Very glad I didn't opt for the special edition.
I'm honestly in a near stupor of "what the hell happened?" ME2 was historic in how much it pushed game stories forward by intertwining with gameplay. Then...this?
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Post by ShayMay on Mar 17, 2012 19:18:25 GMT
I've not played Mass Effect beyond the opening scene of the first so I can't comment, but Mass Effect 3 must have one of the biggest mood whiplashes I've ever seen with regards to its hype -> reaction.
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Post by Badly-Drawn Manchild on Mar 17, 2012 19:52:43 GMT
I've not played Mass Effect beyond the opening scene of the first so I can't comment, but Mass Effect 3 must have one of the biggest mood whiplashes I've ever seen with regards to its hype -> reaction. Most people's issue really is with the ending, and I'm complete agreement with them. It's especially big a shame because the rest of the game is completely damn amazing, and I was all ready to call it my Game of the Year (yes, already) before... that ending.
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Post by Devo DrakeFox on Mar 17, 2012 20:34:01 GMT
That ending could have been SO much more. What also disappointed me other than the brisk, non-explanatory ending was the lack of Harbinger throughout the game. No dialogue, only a brief appearance near the end and that's it. BOOOO! X(
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Post by Warped‽‽‽ on Mar 19, 2012 4:11:11 GMT
Note that I haven't actually played ME3, so this is merely cynical speculation, but I'm betting the ending is probably... a dream sequence, (Some of the indoctrination and/or hallucination theories don't sound too far fetched based on what I know in the first game) to be "fixed" in a DLC package, that you'll pay for, with a little bit of money, and a little bit of soul. One thing I haven't heard so much about since the uproar about the ending began is the quality of the day one DLC. Was it worth it? I have read one comment that it added 30 minutes of gameplay, an extra character and some lore. For full DLC price..? Even for something ultimately owned by EA that's ridiculous, if true.
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Post by Retro on Mar 19, 2012 22:55:38 GMT
The From Ashes isn't so bad. The whole stuff about "taking it out the game to sell it" is complete rubbish if you look into how DLC is actually created. 800 points may be stretching it, but by DLC standards these days it's not bad, especially given the character adds a lot of extra moments into the story throughout it, especially on Thessia if you take him.
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Post by Arch_one_zero_one on Mar 20, 2012 16:45:30 GMT
Finished it last night. Hmmm. I enjoyed most of it, but this definitely felt like a step down from Mass Effect 2. They completely scaled back the journal, which made completing the side missions an absolute chore (especially having to repeatedly check every floor on the map of the Citadel for people's locations). It felt like extra padding now that the time-consuming mineral scanning for upgrades is gone, only more tedious, given the loading times everytime you go to a new area. Most of the missions dont give you any idea of where you're supposed to find the things you need to complete them, either. Also, the combat doesn't feel quite as good either, but I can't quite put my finger on why. The story was generally pretty great, until we get to the notorious final scene. I liked the showdown with the Illusive Man, it was very Saren-esqe, but after that's where it all goes pear-shaped. I have no problem with the final thing you do in the game being to make a choice about what to do with the Reapers. I even didn't mind the whole 'we harvest advanced organics to allow younger races to grow unhindered, while also creating new Reapers in the process' explanation of the Reaper's motivations. Bringing order to chaos, stopping any potential threats to Reaper dominance and 'rewarding' advanced species by allowing them to be immortalised as Reapers while also having the added benefit of replenishing any Reaper losses in the process even makes sense in a warped kind of way. However, adding the bit about organic life wiping themselves out by creating synthetics was unnecessary, I thought. The Quarians survived (losing their home in the process, admittedly) and the Protheans put down their own synthetic uprising, so it didn't really fit with the lore, and marred the explanation a bit. Overall though, the complete lack of closure, and lack of payoff from all the choices that Bioware promised would leave me with a unique payoff based on how I'd played left me disappointed.
Edit: Also, what happened to Harbinger? The codex made him out to be important, being the oldest Reaper and all, but in the end he was barely even in the game.
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Post by Devo DrakeFox on Mar 20, 2012 18:01:40 GMT
Also, what happened to Harbinger? The codex made him out to be important, being the oldest Reaper and all, but in the end he was barely even in the game. That's what I said. Why was he such a no-show this time around? You'd think the supposed leader of the Reapers would have a more active role in the story? Sure, he almost lasered Shepard to death, but he never spoke and he never ASSUMED DIRECT CONTROL of any of his minions. Bioware, you make us sad.
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Post by Retro on Mar 20, 2012 21:48:19 GMT
The more I think about ME3 the more problems I find really that proclaim it as a bit of a rush job. The entire Omega subplot being cut. The masses of relays you can see on the map but just aren't selectable. The singular Hub area in the entire game world. About 75% of the enemy types being cut. No heavy weapons carried about. Resource mining being cut. An ending that probably took five minutes to make and oh, of course, th fact that many of the choices don't matter. Not just in the ending either way the Rachni Queen, allegedly, turns up regardless of whether you killed her or not
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Post by Arch_one_zero_one on Mar 20, 2012 22:48:28 GMT
Rachni Queen - I heard that the only difference it makes if she died on Noveria, is that a Reaper-created one goes through the exact same actions, but will join the Crucible, only to pull out soon after, taking her workers with her, and killing/damaging some of your other assets on the way out. From Ashes was supposed to be in the main game too, wasn't it, before getting cut? Shame really, if they'd been given more time to make the game that they wanted to, I doubt that many people would have objected to waiting/paying a bit more for the complete game.
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Post by Retro on Mar 21, 2012 3:54:19 GMT
From Ashes was not in the main game before being cut. The few lines of dialogue everyone notes from "the guy" during the campaign that are already on the disk are just code to enable him to speak in missions not exclusive to the DLC, because it was developed during the testing process when they could be added safely.
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Post by Arch_one_zero_one on Mar 21, 2012 18:22:50 GMT
Hmm, I'm sure I read an interview with Casey Hudson, where he said that From Ashes was supposed to be part of the main game, but was eventually given to another team to develop as dlc because of time constraints. Maybe he actually meant the Omega bit.
Anyway, it looks like we will be getting a new ending. Or more closure, anyway, whatever that means. Apparently there will be more, detail-wise next month.
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Post by ShayMay on Mar 25, 2012 14:33:50 GMT
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Post by Devo DrakeFox on Mar 25, 2012 17:43:29 GMT
Okay, there's outrage and then there's just plain idiocy. Guess which this is.
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Post by Juliett. Bravo. Alfa. on Mar 25, 2012 17:47:27 GMT
On the flipside its nice that a game has caused as much of an outrage as a Star Wars touching up.
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