Mass Effect

[Illumiatus]

Mass Effect looks amazing. Despite all the other amazing games coming out, ME is the game I've looked forward to this season. From what I've heard about the game its looking to be GOTY material. Check out the latest trailer.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/27725.html

Discuss.

[VioletSkye]

I know a guy who already bought his because the clerks at K-Mart weren't paying attention. 9 days early is pretty good http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

[Illumiatus]

On 2007-11-11 21:41, VioletSkye wrote:
I know a guy who already bought his because the clerks at K-Mart weren't paying attention. 9 days early is pretty good http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif



Yeah, I heard about the K-mart selling them early. I'm almost inclined to call my local store but...I think I can wait.XP

[amtalx]

I asploded and I don't even have a copy yet. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif Seriously though, I've been waiting 2 years for this. I hope it lives up to the hype.

[DizzyDi]

Been waiting for this game forever. I talk about this game to my friends everytime a video game discussion comes up. I'm fricken stoked.
I'm getting a 360 just for this game.

[Saner]

I agree this game has potential above all others to be GOTY to me, it'll definitely be refreshing having a new sleek and original sci-fi story and galaxy to explore
(I prefer clean futuristic worlds like Xenosaga, instead of ghetto and filthy futuristic world like Blade Runner)!

This is gonna be 100 times better than any KOTOR sequel. Star Wars has been recycled for too long anyways. it's much harder and more rewarding making a whole new sci-fi franchise.

[DarthFomar]

The customization and sheer rpg magnitude is what has me. Seems like a really massive game.; probably along the lines of Oblivion even. Can't wait to get this tomorrow! WOOHOOOO!!! http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_yes.gif




On 2007-11-12 08:05, Saner wrote:
This is gonna be 100 times better than any KOTOR sequel. Star Wars has been recycled for too long anyways. it's much harder and more rewarding making a whole new sci-fi franchise.

True. But I still can't freakin' WAIT till they announce KOTOR III! http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif




<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: DarthFomar on 2007-11-19 17:37 ]</font>

[Nyreal]

I can't wait for this as well. This game is the reason that I want a 360. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_eek.gif

[Saner]

well it won't be as big and free like Oblivion, but it will still have a massive feel to it with its patches of places you can scan or explore in different parts of the galaxy.

plus ya the conversation system and storytelling are really said to be done better than other games.

but ya, it's finally coming tommorrow! maybe I'll sleep earlier today to get ready to wake up tommorrow and get it as soon as possible. Those stores better already have it in stock.

[Darkly]

I have to wait until friday as usual with us uk gamers.

The ign review is up aswell, 9.4 the main criticism was the technical issues it had - slowdown, clipping and texture loading, they also said the battle system is good but not perfect.

they were the only real negatives, it seems it really is GOTY material. the wait is going to kill me as it does seeing the u.s have it 3 days early. ohwells...

[omegapirate2k]

So far, it seems to be living up to the hype, review wise.

[ABDUR101]

Considering the reviews I've read and how up-beat they are, the game is definitely 'Win' material. There's going to be issues with pretty much any game as massive as Mass Effect is supposed to be, and we have to remember that it all has to fit on the disc and keep up a steady clip to play. Considering the screenshots we've seen of the game, I can deal with afew technical issues.(I've certainly played games that had game-breaking issues before, so minor hiccups and clipping are the least of my worries).

[NPCMook]

On 2007-11-19 18:55, ABDUR101 wrote:
Considering the reviews I've read and how up-beat they are, the game is definitely 'Win' material. There's going to be issues with pretty much any game as massive as Mass Effect is supposed to be, and we have to remember that it all has to fit on the disc and keep up a steady clip to play. Considering the screenshots we've seen of the game, I can deal with afew technical issues.(I've certainly played games that had game-breaking issues before, so minor hiccups and clipping are the least of my worries).

Two Worlds??

Anyways on topic: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/11/14
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/11/16
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic (Expect this one to change, so I'll update it later)
http://ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php (and this one)

[McLaughlin]

That drowning one is priceless.

[Saner]

for once, Penny Arcade makes a funny one, with the pool.
the CAD one is great too.

[NPCMook]

So... I got home this morning at 3:00 AM CST, threw in this game telling myself I would only play for maybe 2 hours(yeah right...) here I am at 15 minutes to 10 AM, finally putting the game down.

I can understand why people complained about the elevators in this game, they are indeed slow, but realistically about the same speed a normal elevator would take. They offer 6 classes, 3 being all out in 1 specific area of combat and gameplay, and they other 3 being hybrid variations using 2 of the first 3, each having its own advantages and disadvantages. My only complaint about this is you kind of get screwed over on playing with different weapons unless you go with a soldier, or variant of soldier...

When creating your own personal character in the game you get to choose his/her growing up enviorment, and then how they are portrayed through out the game, NPC's constantly make refrences to your supposed feat. Characte growth doesn't go beyond much except, these are the skill points you get to spend, end of story! No stats, you just gain HP as you go, and usually get 2-3 skill points to earn per level(personally I maxed out Charm as to get some of the fun dialogue/Merchant Discounds)

Weapons are interesting looking to say the least, depending on what you are proficient with, you get a special skill or ability with the weapon. Only complaint is most of the weapons just seem to look the same even though a different company made them. Armor looks virtually the same, with minor changes depending on the maker. Weapons have unlimited ammo, but can overheat, you can also add upgrades to weapons and armor... Coming across Omni-gel is easy, Medi-gel(No heal biotics only Medi-gel) on the other hand is a little more difficult to come across = Also armor is Race specific, so if it says, "Light Armor - Human" don't expect one of the other races to be tossing it on

I know most people were complaing that the game doesn't teach you how to play, but it does give you a fairly good explination on how to preform the actions it is talking about. Once you get to the first actual area you are allowed to roam in, you will find yourself preforming a multitude of quests to earn some cash

Using Abilities can be slightly clunky till you get used to them, Holding the Right Bumper to pull up the menu, to choose one, and you can shortcut ONE ability, and then you can't even really tell when you can use it again unless you look at the meter for it by holding down the bumper(doing so pauses the game, so no split decisions)

Overall, I enjoy the mood of the game, most of the alien races are a little racist towards humans(till shown that not ALL humans are ass holes), and other various races

Expect to die a few times, I have already >.> then again I'm playing on "Veteran" difficulty which is the hardest one I can use atm

[ABDUR101]

I've been playing since lunchtime yesterday. I checked Kmart, two of the stores never even heard of the game; despite other Kmarts having sold the game WAY early. Walmart had the little price sticker ready, and at first they looked entirely sold out but when asked, they said they did'nt even get it in yet. So I haphazardly stumbled into Gamestop, and I was really sure it was going to be a wasted effort; a major game release, usually they get so many pre-orders that their entire shipments are divied out or held for all the pre-order people, but when asked the guy said "Yeah, we've got some that aren't reserved", and after I did a double take, bought it.

At first I had a gripe playing WITH subtitles, it really takes you out of the cinematic atmosphere of the game when you have text on-screen; so I turned it off and it was much better. However, I realised a personal fault I have; I have a hard time following what people are actually SAYING to me. I'm used to reading and listening to background jabber, so it took abit for me to concentrate on what was being said.(It's easy to pick out "target", "location", "action" when I read it, than when I hear it.) I was further compounded that my 12 year old nephew was setting next to me, intently watching me play, and he was constantly talking while I was trying to listen to what was being said in-game(no text means I could'nt concentrate on what I was reading and tune him out, so he was effectively drowning out all my ingame conversations for the first four or five hours of the game). *being told quest information--nephews cuts in "Don't you wish you could just start shooting everyone in the room?" What? Why? "So you have something to do." I'm playing the game you little jackass, I HAVE been doing things, despite having to re-check quest logs every five minutes due to you talking. >=|

So yeah, the first bit of the game was just abit to get used to; I kept getting pulled out of the game due to my little 'observer'. However, once he left, I really started to have fun. But then thats just me, I get really pissed when I'm doing something; trying to get into a game or movie and someone walks by and makes comments at random. I don't care how good the atmosphere is in a game, when you have someone pulling you back into your own room to say something stupid or snide, experience is ruined.

And hows that for a tangeant eh? Anyway; my only issue I'm having, is that there are some things I can't open, it will tell me "Decryption is too low" so I figured oh ok, well I'll just get a squadmate who has alot dumped into the tech abilities and skills. But I can't figure out how you have them open things and so on. As a Vanguard, I don't have any tech ability, so am I just fucked when it comes to some containers or items of interest then? (Edit- ok, I figured that out. Just did'nt have enough points pumped into it for a squadmate, now that I've got it maxed I'm not having an issue. Excellent.)

Also, I have to say; the galaxy exploration is fucking win. Exploring, surveying and even just reading the information on the different planets and their history is damn neat; and they all look really breathtakingly beautiful from orbit. There have been qualms about the planets when you land on them, too sparse, etc. But I don't so much mind, I mean considering how large and far the view distance is, I don't think they could really have you slamming down in jungles and so on. I think they could have added some more land features, rock formations, they could have definitely added something more to the planets I have been on, but I can't say it's a really big issue.

Also, I like that they offered Graphics settings; you can alter it to have a cinematic 'grain' effect, and an overall setting for radiance/contrast; whether you want a cinematic look, or a nice toned down feel. They all tend to look good, and I have to give some serious props to the character detail levels.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: ABDUR101 on 2007-11-21 13:05 ]</font>

[omegapirate2k]

I'm rolling infiltrator.

Infiltrator ftw.

[NPCMook]

Anyone else notice that Captain Anderson sounds a lot like Colonel Johnson?

[RuneLateralus]

On 2007-11-21 16:43, NPCMook wrote:
Anyone else notice that Captain Anderson sounds a lot like Colonel Johnson?



No. They don't. Not at all. But Keith David, who did the voice of Captain Anderson, did the voice of the Arbiter in both Halo 2 and 3.

He also did Spawn in the animated series. And Goliath from Disney's Gargoyles.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: RuneLateralus on 2007-11-21 22:32 ]</font>

[Scrub]

THE ARBITER AND GOLIATH ARE THE SAME PERSON?

No wonder I found the arbiter so goddamn sexy.

[ABDUR101]

Dood, if you guys don't know who Keith David is, you need to GTFO. He's an Emmy award winning actor, he played Childs from John Carpenter's "The Thing", does voice-overs for US Army commercials, he's done a helluva lot all around(acting, voice acting, etc). I'm surprised no one said "Hey it's the Arbiter!" or "Hey, it's the dood from the Army commercials!".

Seth Green also does the voice of Joker. I gotta say, I really enjoy it when games get voice-overs from actors I know and enjoy. Really helps enrich the whole experience.

[NPCMook]

On 2007-11-21 22:29, RuneLateralus wrote:

On 2007-11-21 16:43, NPCMook wrote:
Anyone else notice that Captain Anderson sounds a lot like Colonel Johnson?



No. They don't. Not at all. But Keith David, who did the voice of Captain Anderson, did the voice of the Arbiter in both Halo 2 and 3.

He also did Spawn in the animated series. And Goliath from Disney's Gargoyles.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: RuneLateralus on 2007-11-21 22:32 ]</font>
Truthfully I wasn't sure, when I first heard him speak I thought he sounded like Colonel Johnson, but later on I thought he sounded like the Arbiter

[Saner]

Mass Effect is the greatest game/RPG/story ever.

but to be fair, it's one of the greatest games/RPG/stories ever (but it has the advantage cause it's a completely original franchise/universe),
cause of course the replay value can only last so long before you wanna move on. it isn't endless and multiplayer like PSU online, or massively upgradeable like AOI expansion.
but like Xenogears and other top games out there, it's still a must have and must play.

but yeah it doesn't revolutionize character interaction and many other things. yeah there are some technical rough edges but overall it's very playable and very fun. it's experience is something no movie can ever hope to match. and it's even longer, more free and epic than a trilogy of movies! (well most RPGs are anyway) http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

but now after getting the best good ending I got from Mass Effect, I'll put it aside for now cause there's something that's even more addicting..... PSU AOI!!!!!!!!!! XD XD XD http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/anime1.gif

[omegapirate2k]

On 2007-11-21 22:29, RuneLateralus wrote:
But Keith David, who did the voice of Captain Anderson, did the voice of the Arbiter in both Halo 2 and 3.


THATS WHERE HE'S FROM! I was wondering where I'd heard his voice before!

[mizukage]

Mass Effect.. If that game was released on the ps2, I would buy it. Otherwise, gave me a few years time to decide. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif

[spoiler-box]
Is it just me or does this look like one of those guys from Dragonball Z decades ago?? Looks amphibian..
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k117/PullTheTricker/Mass%20Effect/MassEffect5.jpg
[/spoiler-box]

I heard this game is an action-rpg like PSU, but from what I had seen from screenshots, this game looks like another shooter game. Anybody who actually played it confirm it?

[NPCMook]

Its more of a Third Person Shooter with RPG elements

Also yeah, he's amphibian

[omegapirate2k]

On 2007-11-22 19:13, mizukage wrote:
I heard this game is an action-rpg like PSU, but from what I had seen from screenshots, this game looks like another shooter game. Anybody who actually played it confirm it?


It's sort of like gears and PSU and KOTOR all mixed into one crazy package.

[Darkly]

so in have played it a few hours, but its learning curve kind of drops you in the deep end. I'm having a lot of fun just reading all about this universe actually - combat is ok yet obviously not as good as gears and i expect the rpg element to be good but not quite as good as KOTOR.

[RLoge21]

I love this game, my problem with it is the way that many of the sidequests are insanely repetitive.

[amtalx]

ARGGGHH!!

SERIOUS spoiler below, you were warned...

[spoiler-box]I can't beleive they made me choose between Kaiden and Ashley! I really wasn't expecting that...[/spoiler-box]

[PIT]

maybe it's just my opinion, maybe it's truth, but...

this game has beed HISTORICALLY screwed by it's lenght... it ended when i thought i was just getting started. planning on making a trillogy wasn't good for players. i hope the sequels will be longer

[Sekani]

Longer main quest and fewer overly-repetitive side quests? That would work for me.

[ABDUR101]

I've mostly been doing the side quest and exploring the galaxy, then did two of the primary missions and got the "75% Completed" achievement, and it was then that I went "..What..the...fuck..".

I've still got Virmire to do yet, and have been playing CoD4 so haven't really been touching ME. Sadly I can't say the game has really had me gripping the edge of my seat, expecially when I realised that, as PIT said, the game is extremely short. 30-some odd hours in and I hadn't even really touched any of the main storyline, I was figuring on having atleast 20-30 hours of main storyline to go through. You know, finish a main storyline quest, have it branch off into another;(or finish the first three and then you get a new line of them) but no, sadly that hasn't been the case at all.

It's a fun game, but it's not nearly as deep as they portrayed it as. Sure, plenty to do on the side, but it's really just alot of fluff to fill you up because the main story is short.

Game has awesome execution, very nice graphics and every conversation I can feel engrossed in; but yikes to the short main story. I actually had a fear that it would be far too short.

[omegapirate2k]

Yep, my only disappointment with the game was the very short main quest.