Mass Effect series discussion

Mass Effect
Genre: RPG
ERSB Rating
Platform: Xbox 360
Developer: BioWare
Publisher: Microsoft
MSRP: Most likely $50 or $60


This game is made by the same people who made KOTOR and Jade Empire. I've only played Jade Empire but I loved it and I heard KOTOR was good too so this should be as good if not better.

The game takes place in the 23rd Century when humans have made first contact with civilizations outside the galaxy. In KOTOR and Jade Empire, your actions affected your party members. In Mass Effect, your actions affect the destiny of everyone in the galaxy. The main conflict is organic life vs artificial life and you combat an aggressive alien race that wants to wipe out all organic life in the universe.

Not much else is known but the game is supposed to come out early 2007 (I may even have a 360 by that time). Jade Empire really wowed me and this shouldn't fail.

A teaser trailer can be found here. Unfortunately I can't view it now but if you watch it post your impressions.


Mass Effect 2
Platforms: Xbox 360 and PC
Release Date: 2/1/2010 - Gamestop
Genres: Role-Playing
Developer: Bioware
Publisher: Electronic Arts



Mass Effect 2 is an upcoming action role-playing video game under development by BioWare with assistance from EA Montreal, and set to be published by Electronic Arts. The game is the sequel to Mass Effect, and will be released for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox 360[1] sometime between January and March 2010.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_effect_2

New features

A "Prelude to E3" developer diary was released on May 15, 2009. The developers confirmed that the combat system has been upgraded, with everything from the feel of the combat and the AI being improved, including realistic damage modeling and downed enemies still continuing to crawl and fight. New to the series is a heavy weapons system that will allow you to "kill [somebody] a thousand times" over. The tone of the game is similar to that of the Wild West, featuring warlords and crime gangs. The video also confirmed the existence of new alien races and an attack by one race on Citadel-controlled space, wearing armor with an "M1" logo painted on it and seeming to control similarly armored varren, a race of non-sapient animals similar to dogs.[3]

The characters in Mass Effect 2 will be more detailed not only graphically, but technically. In the original Mass Effect, Commander Shepard only had 20 animations for cover, while in Mass Effect 2, the character has over 200. The world will also be more open-ended in this installment; uncharted worlds the player could only explore for "cheap thrills" will now be more detailed and have more to explore.[4]

The camera positioning for conversations with AI characters has also been improved, the previously static camera now moving around to provide "a much needed cinematic touch."[5]

A new vehicle will be introduced to replace the M35 Mako due to criticism of the Mako's poor gameplay sections in the first game.[6]

Transferring save-files

Casey Hudson, Project Director for BioWare, and Greg Zeschuk, BioWare co-founder, as well as various developers on the official Mass Effect message boards, have said that players should keep their Mass Effect save-files,[7][8] because decisions made by the player in the first game will continue to have influences on their character in the sequel.[9] Players who have not played the first Mass Effect will start a new character in Mass Effect 2, and will be brought up to speed on the story elements that have taken place thus far in the series. Hudson also states that characters from the previous game will come back, provided that they were not killed.[7]

Character death

The first teaser trailer for this game gives the impression that Commander Shepard has been killed in action,[10] but a later trailer shows that Shepard is still alive at the beginning of the game. Players themselves can dictate whether or not Shepard will die based on choices that they make throughout the game.[5] BioWare Executive Producer Casey Hudson explained that "If you do die in the ending of Mass Effect 2, it will not come as a surprise, nor will it be random. It will be pretty obvious that you headed into the final mission knowing that Shepard probably wouldn’t make it out alive." Hudson also confirmed that team members would be affected by the player's decisions during the final mission: "You might have an ending where Shepard’s entire team survives, or where the entire mission is a bloodbath and everyone (including Shepard) is killed, or anything in between."[11] The ending in which Shepard is killed represents a permanent death, rather than one where the player simply reloads from the last saved game, meaning Shepard would not be available for Mass Effect 3 in that scenario.[12]

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_effect_2

Videos

New Demo from GAMESCOM 09:

http://stickskills.com/news/357/mass-effect-2-gameplay-from-gamescom-09/

Squad mate: Subject Zero

http://www.gametrailers.com/user-movie/mass-effect-2-subject-zero/331087?playlist=featured

IGN said:

The main goal behind Mass Effect is to create the ultimate sci-fi adventure. The game's massive story takes place in the 23rd Century and covers many locations, all realistically presented. In this narrative, mankind has begun exploring the galaxy with no real idea of what's really out there. As it reaches new planets and worlds, humans find out there are many other species succeeding quite well, many of which are hostile to humanity.

Two of the game's key themes are organic life vs. artificial life and nature vs. technology. As you and your crew learn, the more advanced artificial life living in distant solar systems have plans for you that are, shall we say, not so pretty. BioWare asks the question, "What would happen if we explored deep into the far reaches of the galaxy and found civilizations that are vastly more advanced than ours? What would they do with us if their intentions weren't all that altruistic?" As the lead character, which you create from the beginning and enhance and alter throughout, you come to the realization that humankind and this other, more advanced AI civilization, cannot co-exist.

Like Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire, Mass Effect is a squad-based RPG, so you'll travel around in a trio, but you'll have command of a space vessel and its crew. You're a military authority, and it's your task to raise humanity to the pinnacle of its galactic civilization. Sounds a little like Star Trek, perhaps a little like Too Human. But the key is how you go about achieving this hefty task. Do you want to achieve it in an evil way, or in an heroic way? A third choice is to take a profiteering approach, which is a wiggly in-between gray area. Somewhat like Fable, the decisions you make have massive effects (get it?) on the world around you.

BioWare emphasizes that the cinematic story is critical to Mass Effect, and the company is using a new means to deliver the tale. First of all, the digital actors will express emotions with sophistication and realism. BioWare is going after conversation innovation by using a different interface than that seen in Jade Empire or KOTOR. "We're tightening the dialog," said the BioWare representative. "Dialog in almost all of today's RPGs is so literal. We're creating real-time banter. Characters will be able to converse by using facial expressions, body movement, and subtle human things we do but are unaware of when talking.

We're combining the great story-elements of KOTOR and implementing the interface of a squad-based shooter, and we're going to deliver innovations on Xbox Live," the BioWare rep said confidently. "You'll fight as a squad of three. You'll have real-time combat. You'll actually aim in real time, but the game will be paced like an RPG. You'll also have the choice of how to upgrade, choosing biotics (which are supernatural abilities) or tech skills, among others."

Since you travel on a ship and will visit many planets and worlds over the course of the game, BioWare thought it would make sense to enable you to explore the vast, dark reaches of the galaxy. You'll visit unchartered worlds, hostile worlds at the very edges of space. These visits aren't part of the main story or even secondary goals, but by wandering around the galaxy you will find rewards for your troubles. You'll also feel a sense of space, freedom, and size.

In another interesting tack, Mass Effect is the first game in a trilogy, which, BioWare says, will cover the lifespan of the Xbox 360's five-plus year cycle. When you finish the first game, BioWare plans to upload content in between games in an episodic fashion, filling in the story between games. Thus, when the second big title arrives, fans who stick with the downloads will know exactly what's going on.

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Sounds great. I loved Jade Empire, which I wish I hadn't sold, and I enjoy these western RPGs far more than Japanese RPGs. The game is still a ways off, probably not going to be released till next Holiday at the earliest. =\

Now THAT'S what I expect when I think of next-gen graphics. That looks incredible.

Holy crap. Amazing... That's like... Wow.

I might actually get a 360 if it's capable of things like this. I'm still a bit stunned.

The trailer really doesn't show much but what it does show made me want more. Basically all the shots Cashed posted is what's shown. The only other things that are shown is a giant worm lunging at a soldier. A thing that looks like the creature that attacked princess girl in Episode II.

Cashed how do you direct link to a website like that?

Very nice. Regarding Sci-Fi it seems somewhat generic, but as a game is sounds very fun, even if the plot isn't exactly something already done before.

I'll probably pick up a 360 once the price drops and I have a job or something. I'm just too poor to be shelling out all that money, especially seeing as live costs money (which I think is horrible, but hey).

The last post in this topic was over a year ago, but the game's looking really good, and it should be coming out sometime this year.

There are two new trailers, here and here.

The game looks really fricking awesome, like a combination of a tactical, squad based first person shooter and a Bioware RPG. I know I'm going to like it.

Mediocre said:

The last post in this topic was over a year ago, but the game's looking really good, and it should be coming out sometime this year.

There are two new trailers, here and here.

The game looks really fricking awesome, like a combination of a tactical, squad based first person shooter and a Bioware RPG. I know I'm going to like it.

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Mediocre, looks like your links are broken
Anyway I would recommend gametrailers instead

E3 2K6 Walk-through Part 1 HD
http://www.gametrailers.com/player.php?id=11790&type=wmv&pl=game

X06 Demo Footage HD
http://www.gametrailers.com/player.php?id=15568&type=wmv&pl=game

Games.MTV.com Exclusive
http://www.gametrailers.com/player.php?id=15083&type=wmv&pl=game

Anyway this game really turned out for the better, when it was first announced I really could care less, but after seeing some gameplay, I became interested in the games concept. Now I can't wait to pick this one up!!

The game is actually projected to come out sometime around April. Should be an outstanding title with hundreds of hours of gameplay. Can't wait.

F8X said:

Mediocre, looks like your links are broken
Anyway I would recommend gametrailers instead

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Well, they're just the first two on IGN right now. For some reason, it's really hard for me to access the gametrailers videos, and if other people have the same problem, they ought to check out the IGN site. Besides the MTV exclusive video (which really doesn't show much new content), the trailers on IGN are the same ones you posted.

Anyway, you can find 'em here.

Aw, crap.

Triple post, ahoy!

I'm really not sure why there isn't more hype about this game. It's a fantastic looking game coming from a developer with a fantastic track record. That means it will probably be fantastic.

Not to mention it's coming out in less than three weeks.

I mean, I realize it's not coming out for Nintendo's console, but aren't there enough people with 360s on this board that we should be seeing at least a bit more interest in this?

EDIT: **** those screen stretching pictures. They make my post look even smaller than it actually is.

I ****ed those screen stretching pictures for you.

Anyways, I'm getting the game for Christmas, it looks incredible, it's nice that it's finally coming out and apparently EA wants to use the dialog system in future titles.

Cashed said:

I ****ed those screen stretching pictures for you.

Anyways, I'm getting the game for Christmas, it looks incredible, it's nice that it's finally coming out and apparently EA wants to use the dialog system in future titles.

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Aw, thanks. That's sweet of you.

I'm not sure whether to buy it as soon as it comes out (because I'll want to play it right away) or to wait till Christmas (in the interest of conserving my limited pool of cash). I'll probably wind up buying either this or Assassin's Creed, and then get the other one for Christmas.

Osco316 said:

Not much else is known but the game is supposed to come out early 2007

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Cashed said:

The game is actually projected to come out sometime around April.

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Mediocre said:

The last post in this topic was over a year ago, but the game's looking really good, and it should be coming out sometime this year.

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(note that this was posted in the beginning of the year)

Well, I can see why the hype has lessened, at least for me. Over two years, there have been at least three false release dates set for this game. I remember following this game around for a time, but gave up as it continued to be delayed. It seemed to me that the developers were just being too ambitious.

I hadn't even known that it was coming out in November until I reread this thread, and wow, I don't know why I stopped tracking this game, it looks ****ing amazing. Supposedly, it's the first of a trilogy too.

The 360 needs this, a new western RPG that will appeal to a broad audience, as Oblivion is done with its updates, and Fable 2 lacks a release date. On top of that, Two Worlds was a huge disappointment.

Come to think of it, Mass Effect, GTA, Fallout 3 and the Gears of War games are the games keeping me from going out to get a Wii or a PS3(though I do have access to both consoles, neither are mine).

I'm so buying this game when it hits the stores. Even though you can't be an evil mastermind in this game like in KotOR, I'm going to play this game for ages. This game has a huge replay value. I'm not expecting ME to be as amazing as Oblivion, but it certainly seems to get close.

drengist said:

I'm so buying this game when it hits the stores. Even though you can't be an evil mastermind in this game like in KotOR, I'm going to play this game for ages. This game has a huge replay value. I'm not expecting ME to be as amazing as Oblivion, but it certainly seems to get close.

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It's a somewhat different sort of RPG, really. Both allow you to make choices, but Oblivion is more focused on almost total freedom, whereas Mass Effect (like other Bioware games) has a much more compelling story and characters, but is more linear.

It's a trade off. Bioware and Elder Scroll games are probably my two favorite types of RPG, because they're just so well executed. Both games will be great, but in different ways.

First review is in from OXM. 10 outta 10.

Honestly, this game is like, pee-in-your-pants awesome. I'm not even kidding. It looks so good. INsdfslfb.

Wow it's out already? 360 owners don't get much time to rest when it comes to big hits do they?

It officially comes out next Tuesday. Some stores (Kmart) sold some copies early though. Assassin's Creed was the big release today.

It's nice that it's getting positive reviews, and I'm definitely going to snap it up. I really enjoyed KotOR and Jade Empire, but I felt that one of the main flaws in each of them was the combat system. In KotOR, I felt somewhat removed from the action because it was essentially a turn-based combat system, while in Jade Empire I thought the combat was oversimplified.

The combat in Mass Effect looks, to me, like it's going to trump the combat in either of those two games. Unless there's some unbalanced ability that just blows everything else out of the water, I think I'm going to really enjoy the fighting in this game, and all the options it offers.

The morality also looks like it's not going to be as simplistic as it has been in previous Bioware games. It doesn't seem like the "good or evil" morality that was present in the other games (although that was fun too). Instead, it seems like it's all about whether the end justifies the means, and whether the player can practically afford to make the nominally "good" choice. That, to me, is a lot more compelling

Of course, I'll love the story and the characters, but I've come to expect that from Bioware games, so I'm not even going to comment on it.

Cashed said:

It officially comes out next Tuesday. Some stores (Kmart) sold some copies early though. Assassin's Creed was the big release today.

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Wasn't AC supposed to come out tomorrow?

I figured it was today even though games usually come out on Tuesdays, there's people posting impressions on Team Xbox's forums. Blog sites like Joystiq and Kotaku usually flip when street date is broken, but probably didn't because it's only a single day.

My question to those looking to get this game: which class do you plan on being? For those who don't know, there are 6 different classes in the game, IGN did a pretty good job of summing them up.

First 3-Soldier, Engineer, and Adept
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/774/774769p1.html

Last 3-Infiltrator, Vanguard, and Sentinel
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/781/781355p1.html

I'm definitely looking forward to playing as the Vanguard, it seems to be a nice balance. Oh yeah, they can use shotguns which is always my weapon of choice(I guess I got that from Gears ).

I'll also add a page of reviews to this post, that way everyone can witness the unanimous conclusion that this game is amazing(the page will be updated when the game comes out of course). http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/930279.asp
Oh, and that's not including the 10 this game received from OXM as Cashed already mentioned.

I probably will go for the infiltrator on my first playthrough, just because that's the type of character I enjoy playing the most. I like to be a sneaky *******, at least in my video games.

I'll almost certainly play as a different character type on my subsequent playthroughs, perhaps the adept, because he has a totally different skill set than the infiltrator.

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to this.

It's hard to take it all in, this game has so many things that are worth mentioning, it's really hard to review it. I'll try to break things down the best I can, but there's a **** load of things that should be said about this game. I'll also try to answer any questions you may have, whether it's obscure or not.

Plot
The plot moves forward through the dialog, you've got some very important decisions to make, some that will affect a family, some that will affect an alien species. You're after Saren, a Spectre(basically, someone who reports to a council of races and gets many privileges(political power, ships, a crew, etc.) who abuses his power in order to reach a greater one. I can't say much more because it would spoil things, but you're basically traveling throughout the galaxy after him(sounds a bit cliché, but it is an awesome story, thanks to the characters the game has).

Dialog
Yes, I am putting the game's dialog into my review, that's how great of a job Bioware did with such an overlooked aspect in many video games. Hell, the fact that Dialog is even being put into a review earns it points for originality. It basically works like this:when you talk to an "important" NPC(one that has to do with the main quest, or offer you a side quest, which is a lot mind you), the game cuts to a 1 on 1 conversation between you and said NPC(as you've probably seen in any trailers).

There are many ways you can handle the conversation, you can try to be the agreeable type(Paragon, the game calls it) and reason with the person. This usually lengthens the conversation, and the person you're talking to will often ask you to do a chore(don't worry, this isn't Animal Crossing) which you can, in turn, accept or deny. Some NPCs will look at you as being "soft", and just shoo you away.

Then there is the forceful way of handling things, there are several moments in the game where you can pull out you're pistol and threaten the person(Renegade, the game calls it). These conversations are a lot more blunt, and will get to the point right away. There's a few possible outcomes for this method, some NPCs are so dedicated to their cause that they will pretty much let you kill them in order to keep their secret(which sucks for you, because you won't benefit from it), some will kiss your *** in order to survive, and others yet will fight you.

All in all, this aspect of the game is brilliant, and should be incorporated into any and all future RPG games, as it is very satisfying to learn about the other characters and does an excellent job of lengthening the games lifespan. Not only that, but some of the characters are unpredictable, and you'll find yourself wondering what would've happened if you had chosen a different path. The facial expressions are amazing too, especially since all of these NPCs have them, and really puts life into the characters. That's my favorite part about this game, that I actually cared enough to regret whether or not I chose to have a baby undergo genetic engineering, whether or not I chose to kill a business partner in order to take his place, whether or not I chose to let a traumatized woman kill herself. No other game does this as well as Mass Effect does, but hopefully other RPGs will take a hint. You'll definitely want to experiment with the system if you choose to go through multiple playthroughs.

Combat
It's real-time skirmishes with organic and/or synthetic enemies, which revolves around you keeping tabs on your allies at all times. Combat all depends on what class you are and who your party members are. It's all about balancing the three major classes of the game: soldier(weapons combat), adepts("magic users", biotics), and engineers(tech specialists). For example, If you're a soldier, you'll probably want to have a tech specialist in your party to hack the AI of synthetic enemies, while having a biotic specialist to lift, throw, and/or warp enemies into your view, whether or not said enemies are organic or synthetic(you don't have to do this though, things can work out perfectly fine without this, it's just what I prefer). There are 6 party members you find throughout the game, and each of them have different strengths and weaknesses. As I said before, everything is fairly balanced, and the game rewards you(through achievements) for playing the game as different classes(or at least using different skills a number of times) and having different party members travel with you for the majority of the game.

That's only half of it though, there are many glitches that can often **** up the experience for you. The AI has something to be desired. There are often times when my crew and I set ourselves up against a wall for cover, and try to be as tactical as possible. I'll order my crew to use their biotics or whatever, and then a suicidal maniac on the opposing side of the wall will just run in on me and try to kill me Gears or War style. This is just ridiculous, why can't the opposition have a leader who orders their troops around with an actual plan in mind? I'm not asking to have Ender on the other side trying to concoct the most unexpected plans to kill me, but this could definitely be improved.

Soundtrack
There are scores in the game that sound like they could very well be from existing sci-fi films, as in they give you a sense of scale, the power that you have on the universe. Then again, these are usually only heard in the main campaign, with bland, repetitive soundtracks playing during sidequests(which in total make up a bigger portion of the game).

Graphics
Have you seen the trailers? Not only that, but the facial expressions are realistic, which does so much more for the game. Just keep the fine grain on.

Faults
This game is near perfection, but there are a few things holding it back. For one, you're forced to travel through the Mako(4-wheeled rover) on almost every side mission. This wouldn't be such a bad thing if the side quests weren't so repetitive. After your first run through of the Citadel, get used to the following steps when it comes to side quests:find anomaly, find another random object that doesn't benefit you in any other way than earning money, then run through a building killing mindless enemies(maybe get to talk to somebody), and that's it. For me, it wasn't so bad, but I'm a patient person, but judging from my experience on Xbox Live, many players aren't. It's just that a lot of people have complained about it, and I can see why. Not only that, but driving the Mako feels like you're a six-legged creature on a trampoline.

Overall
This'll last you a while, probably around 20-30 hours on normal difficulty(unless you're trying to get through this as fast as you can, which can then be from 10-15 hours, but if you want a game that you can get through quickly while getting the most out of it, go buy another shooter). If you're like me though, who wants to get through every single side mission, tie up my personal relationship with crew members, and level up as much as possible, expect a 40-50 hour range(even more if you play through it again). I don't even have to mention the soon-to-be downloadable sidequests in the works for this game to be longer than most.

****, man, this game lives up to the height, and with the way Bioware set everything up in the first game, I can only imagine how much they now have to work with. They've got the characters, time, and most important, planets. They could easily reuse the planets in this game that are used for sidequests, and make said sidequests a more in-depth. Anyway, this is one of the best games I have ever played, and am planning to buy the limited edition as soon as possible. Go buy it, the mixture of gameplay elements in this game will appeal to both RPG fans and most shooting fans(this isn't Rainbow Six when it comes to squad commands, though it doesn't need to be). A friend of mine in real life loved this game(though it took him a while to adjust)

Also, the framerate/loading times are among the worst of 360 games. The only game that I can think of that is worse is Oblivion, though this is not nearly as bad.

It was(I think) 3 a.m. when I wrote this, taking 15 minutes to write it, I wanted to put it up since the game has been out for about a week(I saved it in notepad a few nights ago since my internet was down, just recently got it back up). I might revise this later when I get more time.

I've got the game but still don't have my 360 back. :|

The framerate isn't as bad as Oblivion. That's good, though the only problems I ever had with the Oblivion framerate were when I was exploring the forest and the "loading..." would pop up.

From what I heard, it's building up to be one of the greatest video games ever. It's also one of the few RPGs that could've been a great shooter had the creators choosen to go in more of that direction.

This is one sweet game, I have already played through it once with a male Vanguard doing it by the book, now I'm going as a female Vanguard badass in my second game.

It did take me a little while to get used to the controls but after a couple hours I was having a great time shooting up badguys after throwing then into walls. One of my favorite powers is lift (Vanguard dont get it ****it !) but filling a Geth with lead while they helplessly float around is quite pleasing.

This game is almost convincing me to a buy an xbox 360. 80 hours of game play, incredible graphics. to bad the 360 is SO expensive.

Tom-Sawyer said:

This game is almost convincing me to a buy an xbox 360. 80 hours of game play, incredible graphics. to bad the 360 is SO expensive.

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Dude, the PS3 is worse


But anyway, Mass Effect is SOOOO Worth it!

So I finished my first playthrough of Mass Effect yesterday. It's one of my favorite games of all time. I love sci-fi settings like it offers, and ****, everything has a backstory, everything feels real in the world. I got really lost in the Citadel the first time I was there and couldn't figure out how to leave. As annoying as that was, I ended up getting to know the city very well and now know where everything is.

The story in the game was fantastic, the gameplay was a lot of fun, I started playing through on Normal, but picking Noveria as the first planet was OBVIOUSLY a mistake on my part, it ended up making me bump the difficulty down to Casual, which I really don't regret, as I didn't see the "CRITICAL MISSION FAILURE" screen once after that, whereas I was seeing it much too often on Normal. The game was hard enough just going through Noveria on Normal... then I got to Benezia and dear god, being killed about 30 times in a row in less than 10 seconds nearly had me eating my controller.

Anyways, I still find out new stuff in the game when I play. Upon reaching the final planet I discovered how to add Upgrades to my weapons and armor, would've been great earlier on. :|

I'm currently in my second playthrough, which I don't usually do for games, which shows me how good the game is. Bioshock was great, but I didn't want to play it again after completing it. Mass Effect on the other hand had me starting a new file (well, continuing my current character while starting back at the beginning of the game, which is totally awesome) immediately after the credits finished rolling. The story was just so great. Gameplay so fun. The cutscenes so incredible. The world so immersive.

And plus I banged an alien chick.

Good to see that the people in this thread that did play the game really liked it. I'm sure you're all excited about the dlc and second and third installments as I am . That's only made even better by having the option to carry your character through to the next games. I wonder how the leveling will be dealt with though, as in, whether we'll keep our skills, or only our character model.

Cashed said:

So I finished my first playthrough of Mass Effect yesterday. It's one of my favorite games of all time. I love sci-fi settings like it offers, and ****, everything has a backstory, everything feels real in the world. I got really lost in the Citadel the first time I was there and couldn't figure out how to leave. As annoying as that was, I ended up getting to know the city very well and now know where everything is.

The story in the game was fantastic, the gameplay was a lot of fun, I started playing through on Normal, but picking Noveria as the first planet was OBVIOUSLY a mistake on my part, it ended up making me bump the difficulty down to Casual, which I really don't regret, as I didn't see the "CRITICAL MISSION FAILURE" screen once after that, whereas I was seeing it much too often on Normal. The game was hard enough just going through Noveria on Normal... then I got to Benezia and dear god, being killed about 30 times in a row in less than 10 seconds nearly had me eating my controller.

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Haha, that first paragraph matched my experience the first time I played through the game, I think my first trip to the Citadel clocked in about 3-5 hours just running around in circles doing random missions. I knew there was a map, but it was fun getting lost and talking to people.

And yes, Benezia is a ***** with her cronies, I'm really not looking forward to fighting her on hardcore difficulty, especially when I decided to make a new character. It sucked having her reinforcements run in behind me(during the cut scene where I couldn't move, no less), push me to the ground like I'm some little punk, and then shoot me up while I'm down. I couldn't help but laugh at how brutally I got my *** kicked the first few tries, which was only enhanced by the failure music. It was fun when I got the hang of it though, as I lifted one up, shot the other two, then watch the first one fall face first into the ground from high up in the air.

Cashed said:

Anyways, I still find out new stuff in the game when I play. Upon reaching the final planet I discovered how to add Upgrades to my weapons and armor, would've been great earlier on. :|

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I'm guessing it's because of how intimidating the weapons screen looks at first? I had had no idea of what omni-gel was and wasn't sure at first whether or not it was smarter to sell the leftovers or make them into omni-gel. Soon enough, omni-gel and money were becoming so easy to get that I just took a shot and experimented with it. This was earlier in the game than it was for you, so that must've sucked.

And yeah, Shepard has a thing for those asaris, whether or not the Shepard you're playing as is male or female.

It's a good game, I hope the other installments will be better though and with little to no glitches. I tried so hard to enjoy playing through this game, but for some reason I had a horrible time with glitches and all with my squad getting stuck in the elevator scenes (Which btw take too **** long) , my camera seemed possessed because it kept turning around on it's own, and sometimes my squad wouldn't even respond to my commands. Also I hated the obscene amount of dialogue, which probably is about 90% of the game, that got extremely tedious and annoying. But I agree Benezia was a *****, but for some reason I had more trouble getting to her then actually fighting her, hmm.

There were a few things that weren't too good for me. But it was a great game that the glitches didn't even seem that bad.

The Texture pop ins were annoying at first but I got used to it and after its all done loading the game looks beautiful.. Apart from many of the eyelids being able to see edges and being off.

The inventory could have been done better such as the items being stackable. And being able to see how many items were in the inventory so we don't hit 150 to quickly.

The Mako was a bit difficult to get used to and still to this day.. When it reverses I want to rip someone's face off. When I want it to reverse then it doesn't do it.. And turning around sucks, you stay in place for like 3 seconds before you actually change directions. The planets jagged parts made driving around pretty difficult..

Some Armors could have looked better. Camo armor? I mean camo is good for say.. Earth in the forest. But look at all the **** planets, they are rocky and red or something. Camo gives nothing for us. Armor customization (As far as pattern and color change) would have been awesome to have.

But in the end I loved the story, the combat was awesome.. Maxed out throw is fun to do. The characters were cool: Saren, Nihlus, Anderson. Squadmember's personalities were pretty varied. I don't like Kaiden or Ashley that much, I guess with all the aliens and their interesting backgrounds. To us the normal human storied even spiced up with future/space ideas weren't that great.

I did my first run through at hit level 35 as a Vanguard. Second I hit level 51 as a Soldier. Currently working to get all achievements.

I am looking forward to Mass Effect 2 very much.

And to finish this off... <3 Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya

-Onyx

Finished my second run through a few days ago, hit level 50 right before I went through the conduit.

In the sequel I'd like to be able to visit the major cities on a few planets... I don't want to go to planets just for missions, I want to see the lifestyle of all these species that we've met and had characters explain that their lifestyles are all so different.

The texture pop up was annoying, but like you said, once the textures loaded, the game was so gorgeous I didn't care. Hopefully they use the same engine in Mass Effect 2 and work out the bumps in it like that. I also agree about the elevators. THE FUTURE HAS WAY TOO MANY OF THEM AND THEY'RE SO ****ED SLOW.

I firmly believe that this is the best game I have ever played. I'm such a sucker for a good Sci-Fi story, and holy crap this game delivered with the best story in any single game, ever. I picked a soldier the first time I went through just to make sure I could learn the game mechanics. (it was hard learning that I would not be able to send people flying into the air, but only my squad mates could do it) The first thing I did was explore the menus and figure out how to do all that crazy omnigel and weapon upgrading. I bet I spent a 1/2 hour on the Normandy before every mission giving my squad the best stuff I could find.

I'd just be spitting out more of what you guys have said, so I'll keep it short. The game is not perfect by any means, but adding in everything that the game offers, its faults are far out weighed by the goods. I could compare it to a mouse (the bad) put on a weighted scale with a jet liner (the good). Never before has a game made me care which squad mate should die, and I was greatly disturbed when I couldn't save Wrex the first time. ( I later reloaded and gave all my level up points to being a goody goody and saved his ***) Wrex, Tali, and Ash were all my favorite squad members.

I spent a lot of time just reading over the codex. The world Mass Effect is set in has pretty much every possible question about the universe covered, and yet it is built on in such a great way it makes you wonder how awesome it must have been for the 20+ writers to have created such a world. Reading the backstory of the technology, species, and politics was so much more entertaining that reading a book since you could see how that story effects how the various characters act toward each other. I laughed so hard when Liara mentioned something about the asari being looked down upon males of the different species. :3


I had no idea about the love plots on my first play through. When I got to that point of the game, I nearly lol'd myself to death when my Shepard made mad love to Ash. I was all like XD

Seth Green playing Joker was just so badarse.

Hah I knew about that stuff because I was reading up on the game before I even got it.

The elevator thing.. At some points I accept it as a loading screen. But in the Normandy?

Think about it, its like a quick battle ship. But they had to put a HEAVY elevator in it, stairs are much lighter and better for a battle.

"Oh noes, engine is failing, get down there and help fix it!"
*Runs to elevator, Normandy gets hit and Elevator shuts down*
"****!"

I'm so close to level 60.. Well not really, I think I was level 59 and still have like 10k experience left to go.

Yet again, <3 Tali.

-Onyx

Anybody still playing this? I took a long break after my third playthrough, as this is definetly a game I didn't want to get bored of, and now I'm starting my fourth as a female Shep Adept.

Anybody get the two ME books? I heard they were really good. Also posted in here to say that New Mass Effect DLC has been confirmed to be coming before ME2, but there's no official date.

I recently tried to pick it up again and was getting my *** destroyed on normal. I forgot that Mass Effect should be played with the "save often" mentality. I plowed through the sky bridges on the planet where the people eventually go crazy, go into this small room with a crate, grab the goodies, turn around and see a Geth Juggernaut in the room booting up. God dammit. He annihilated me. I really want to finish a third play through though, I deleted my old saves so I'll need a save to continue my character's story on in ME2 (though recent interviews say that it might not use a previous save, which wouldn't make me the happiest guy. I want all my decisions to carry over!). I just finished GTA IV's story last night (finally), so I'd love to finish ME again, which may end up being my goal now.