Mass Effect

[stingerhs]

well, i completed my first playthrough a couple days ago, and i can honestly say that Mass Effect is a great game. there are a couple of feature issues that i didn't like (the upgrade system was too confusing at first), and the fact that some firefights are extremely difficult to handle at lower character levels with the available (and rather crappy) weapons.

 

then, conversely, the game gets almost ridiculously easy once you hit the 45+ level range combined with the top notch weaponry. after i hit level 46 or so, no firefight was too difficult, and in fact, i rarely had to make use of my medi-gel since my shields could take about as much damage as the Mako but recharge at a much higher rate. the final boss fight was a breeze (especially with Charm maxed out, hehe), and the sequence to get there, as incredible as it was, took little effort to breeze through.

 

i was expecting combat to be more on the lines of Gears of War given how the cover system was hyped, and it is useful during the first 20 levels or so. however, given how much damage you can take (and dish out) towards the final levels, it quickly loses its usefulness, and not to mention that the cover system isn't nearly as intuitive as Gears.

 

my other complaint is that aside from when you're onboard the Normandy, there's not much in the way of interaction with your squadmates. there is some, but most of it is all story related. there's no option to get the backstory conversations and whatnot unless your on the Normandy. its not that big of an issue; its just that it was something i was expecting after the Kotor games and Neverwinter Nights 2.

 

i actually like the little scroll wheel during dialog. its a great innovation in my book since you can just go with your gut feeling instead of having to read through the choices to give the appropriate responses. and since the wheel is small and unobtrusive, it doesn't detract from the great camera shots during the dialog moments (except for one moment when the camera was inside of Wrex's head ).

 

the story, though, is really what takes the cake with this game. its an excellent story with a very different take on what is truly evil, and the game never stops reminding you that the end result is always paramount no matter which route you take. as with any great RPG, the story is all about the leadup to a grand finale, and that is exactly what you get with Mass Effect.

 

the side missions were mostly interesting, and there wasn't a whole lot of "retrieve and return" missions which seems to be the norm with most RPG's. the exploration wasn't exactly what i expected, but it was fun none the less mostly due to you having to make use of the Mako. driving up almost vertical cliffs just never gets old.

 

my biggest complaint with the game was with the graphics. for the most part, the graphics are some of the best with any Xbox 360 game to date. the biggest issue is on the technical side with the textures. for some reason, Bioware used a system that uses a variety of texture sizes depending on how close the camera is to an object. in theory, my guess is that its supposed to load higher resolution textures the closer you are to an object in order to conserve memory. the problem is that it doesn't work every time. i don't think i could count the number of times a cutscene started with the characters all using the low-res textures and suddenly switch to the high-res textures. its a bit distracting, but it doesn't affect the gameplay.

 

all in all, its a great game with a great story. i'm looking forward to a PC version as well as a sequel. hopefully both with come to fruition. 9/10

[Ctrl Alt Del]

Frankly, the only thing I found flawed on the game was the exploration.

 

The Mako is cool. Driving and shooting with it never get's old. But I couldn't help but notice that, outside the main-planets, the ones you get to play on the main storyline, there aren't towns and not many people to interact with. They just follow a tedious route:

 

Mako => Getting into the base/settlement/Colony => Rid of hostiles on the first few rooms. => "Meet" your objective.

 

There are few variations to that formula (like assaulting a transport vessel), but they're basically all the same. That gets boring after a while.

[JoeDoe 2.0]

^ Blasting space monkeys is NEVER boring

[mimartin]

^ Blasting space monkeys is NEVER boring

And those Thresher Maws will keep you on your toes.

[Ctrl Alt Del]

And those Thresher Maws will keep you on your toes.

Maws are easily avoidable. I don't even find them difficulty. Everytime you're passing on a strangely flat terrain be sure that one will fall from the sky.

[mimartin]

Maws are easily avoidable. I don't even find them difficulty. Everytime you're passing on a strangely flat terrain be sure that one will fall from the sky.

Avoidable? Avoid the Maws, no, no, no! I must destroy all Thresher Maws. I seek them out whereever they may hide and destroy them with extreme prejudice. If you were the sole survivor of Akuze you would understand my personal hatred of the Thresher Maws.

 

They were easy, but at lower levels on Hardcore I seem not to be getting any warning at all before I’m dead…smelly beast.

[Uilleand]

Avoidable? Avoid the Maws, no, no, no! I must destroy all Thresher Maws. I seek them out whereever they may hide and destroy them with extreme prejudice. If you were the sole survivor of Akuze you would understand my personal hatred of the Thresher Maws.

 

*nods in agreement* On my hitlist second only to bastard Alliance scientists... grrrrr

[HerbieZ]

Threshers are pretty cool when you see em up close. I think they should have a bigger part in the sequel.

[mimartin]

Threshers are pretty cool when you see em up close. I think they should have a bigger part in the sequel.

I just hope your not wanting to build shelving unit with them and add another chapter to your autobiography.

[GeneralPloKoon]

Well I got Mass Effect for Christmas, and its the best game I have ever played. Period.

[Uilleand]

Holy Hannah...you finished it that fast???

[Ctrl Alt Del]

^ Well, I swear he was level 19 this a few hours ago, now he's 24? WTF?

[Nedak]

How does the game compare to KOTOR?

[mimartin]

How does the game compare to KOTOR?

See post 253 and 254 as this question already came up before. I'm on my 5th playthrough in a row now, something I did not do with KOTOR or TSL. #253

[Nedak]

See post 253 and 254 as this question already came up before. I'm on my 5th playthrough in a row now, something I did not do with KOTOR or TSL. #253

Ah thank you.

[John Galt]

I just got mass effect, and I must say the sheer badassery is overwhelming.

 

It reminds me of KotOR in a lot of ways, with its multiple alien races and well-thought out back story. I also like how it realistically represents humans as the junior partners in the citadel alliance.

 

The entire "captain of a small warship" thing is how I wanted KotOR III to be, so I think this will be the perfect game to tide me over K3 comes out.

[Commander Obi-Wan]

Yes, the game was phenomenal. I'm enjoying every bit of it.

 

Now, let me resume playing it...

 

[Cygnus Q'ol]

Finally, a game which stumps my vocabulary. Can't think of enough adjectives.

 

I was afraid my 2nd and 3rd playthroughs were gonna be diminished, a constant fear with me, but I'm glad to say that I was wrong.

 

The more I play, the more I think about "The Force Unleashed", due out next year. I love this story and the creative way they introduced what turns out to be very similar to force powers. Element Zero and all of that.

 

Would've like to have gotten more involved with my squadmates though, a far cry from wooing Bastilla. Although Bastila didn't offer me half of what Ashley did.

 

Loved the weapons, shottie's my favorite. Still, I often wondered how my tactics would have changed had I had a lightsaber.

 

@Commander Obi-wan. Nice Gamerscore. You've been busy, I see.

Too bad you don't play a little College Football or TigerWoods. It would be a pleasure to challenge your skills.

 

I'll keep my eye out for you. I go by the same name as here.

[Da_Man_2423]

Yeah, this game rocks as you've all mentioned . I really liked the conversation system and how it works. Pure genius.

[Ctrl Alt Del]

Anyone find the shifty cow?

Haha, I had no idea of what you were talking about back then, but I just stumbled on this cow today and it

 

Robbed me. I killed it. Did you find anything useful to do with it?

 

[mimartin]

No, it is just a funny Easter Egg. I did not even know you could do what you did with it.

[Ctrl Alt Del]

Oh, well'p, I still haven't found somewhere to land on that isn't shown on the radar aside from ships. And I'm not talking about asteroids. Are there any hidder planets or the like?

[mimartin]

No hidden planets I know of, some are leveled so you only can find them at a certain level. Sometimes you have to backtrack if you have been exploring systematically.

 

You’ll just have to party with kangaroo looking cows and space monkeys. Pretty much everyone else you meet does not want to party, just put a bullet in your brain. Of course you could always party with the Treshers, it sounds like HerbieZ wants to party with them.

 

Other than the main story line planets there isn’t any settlements, I guess that why they are call uncharted worlds. A few science outposts, mining tunnels, hideouts and derelict ships and that is about it. Not everything appears on your radar, somethings can only be found visually. Although it is usually only an abandoned shelter with a Tresher Maw living next door.

 

Another Easter Egg is a Krayt Dragon skull. I’m pretty sure it does show up on radar. I wouldn't have known it was a Krayt, but one of the dev posted a reply on the BioWare forum.

[HerbieZ]

I found that skull this morning. Did'nt look like a Krayts thats for sure. I'm on my third playthrough of ME now and i can't stop. The more i play this game, the more i want to play it after i've put the controller down.

 

The worst thing is, i have started to eye up furniture ingame and tried to find real life equivalents in catalogues. I'm also developing a Shatner complex with Liara. But the most important thing i realized after designing my female character is that i love my redhead. That sweaty look she gets under the lights when talking to Alenko does it for me everytime.

 

I love it when that line between real life and gaming gets fuzzy.

[John Galt]

Just beat mass effect. The last two or three hours were mind-blowing.