11/20 Mass Effect (Xbox 360)

[Mazakiel]

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you decide to put points into the dialogue skills, you'll want to pick either intimidate or charm and focus on that pretty exclusively.  Unlike some other games where both can prove useful for one character, the game really isn't geared to do that too well.  For the option to exist, you pretty much have to max it out all the way continuously, and doing that at least on the first playthrough or two relies on you going pretty heavily into paragon or renegade paths. 

[Rasix]

And you really want one conversation line maxed out by Virmiire.

I think the radial menu keeps the action flowing well as I don't like to pause very much.  It was awkward at first, but I got better at it with my infiltrator because that character relied more on power spam and weapon switching.

I would not complain if they removed the Simon sequences from Mass Effect 2.

[Riggswolfe]

And you really want one conversation line maxed out by Virmiire.

1) You don't need it maxed out by Virmire if I am thinking of what you are. A sidequest makes that situation solvable without it.
2) If you're willing to replay the same character 3X you can max it without spending a single point on it. Which I am doing for my infiltrator who will be taken to ME2.

Also, there is a glitch that lets you max out either Paragon or Renegade on Noveria. A conversation tree you can go through again and again which gives you like 20 points each time you do.

[Stormwaltz]

So, I'm on my 7th playthrough and a friend told me about an entire questline on the Citadel I've never even seen that occurs towards the end of the game. It has to do with a politician for that "Humans first!" group.

I got one short quest off of him.  There is a whole line of stuff?  Hmm, interesting.

No, there isn't. Just the short RP encounter.

Unless he's mixed up another plot on the Citadel involving a pro-Earth politician.

[Bunk]

Since you have appeared to answer quest/storyline questions, here's one for you 

This may be mildly spoilerish to some.




I went the Paragon route with the encounter with the Rachnai Queen. It seemed like it was set up to have some impact later in the story, yet it never came up again. Was there anything there?

[Miasma]

The council yells at you, that's about it.

[Riggswolfe]

I went the Paragon route with the encounter with the Rachnai Queen. It seemed like it was set up to have some impact later in the story, yet it never came up again. Was there anything there?

Not that I know of. I'm hoping the game tracks things like that for ME2.

[Phildo]

Tracking to the sequel is about the only way it could.  Inside the game, almost nothing you do effects anything else beyond how much your shipmates like you.

[Khaldun]

Here's two things I was hoping for more on running through the game in Paragon:

1. The Rachnai Queen. I was hoping that she'd somehow show up again in the Big Conclusion. Failing that, I wanted Wrex to bitch about it more: consequences, baby.

2. Wrex and the Krogan genovirus. I searched that whole fucking base on Virmire stem to stern, because I wanted to find the cure and give it to Wrex. Not only could I not find it, I couldn't even promise to try. My guy just says, "sorry, Wrex, we have to fuck up that whole base and you have to help me." It's completely consistent with the Paragon approach to at least offer to find the cure if I could. I saved the damn Rachnai Queen, why the hell am I not going to try and let the Krogans breed all they want? So in ME2, I want to get a chance to hunt down somebody who knows about the research done on Virmire.

[geldonyetich2]

Considering Mass Effect is apparently intended to be in a Trilogy, I wouldn't be surprised to see some of these elements show up later.

I'm curious of the Rachnai can really be trusted or not.  Maybe pull a partial reversal on the Krogan genophage rather than fully enabling their overactive reproductive drives.

[Riggswolfe]

If I had any major disappoints in this game it is that all the commercials talk about choice, but none of your choices really matter. It's something I'm willing to forgive because they made an awesome game world and had to make the engine and stuff from scratch. However, in ME2 I might not be as forgiving since all that stuff is done now.

[AcidCat]

If I had any major disappoints in this game it is that all the commercials talk about choice, but none of your choices really matter. It's something I'm willing to forgive because they made an awesome game world and had to make the engine and stuff from scratch. However, in ME2 I might not be as forgiving since all that stuff is done now.

It's kind of ironic, if you watch the little opening movie the game has, it also suggests you're going to have to make significant choices on who to help. But again it's just a weak illusion, anyone that needs help will be waiting patiently forever, and it will play out the same whenever you get around to that particular quest. The illusion of choice sucks, please, make choices really matter in the next game. So what if I can make a bad choice, I want real consequences. The game as is is fun enough to play multiple times, imagine if you could really change outcomes significantly in the game.

[Sky]

Well, games like Oblivion, ME and Bioshock have all shown that choices are illusory. Not sure if that's because devs don't want gamers to burn their bridges (people of avg IQ aren't smart).

Then a game like the Witcher comes along. Don't talk to me, you dirty elf-lover! Even the Witcher could've done more, but after playing Oblivion and Bioshock, it was very refreshing to have my decisions actually mean something, immediately and later in the game.

I love all of the dev houses that created the games I mentioned, and they're all decent games (well, I'll know if ME is decent when the pc version finally comes out in 2012 ;)). But there is a certain mainstreaming of games evident in the first three I mentioned and the last one I mentioned wasn't designed for the Xbox 360. Just sayin'.

[Riggswolfe]

Yeah, choices like the Witcher's would be fine. Or even if I got some kind of modified cutscene at the end ala Fallout. "So and so died because you didn't help them, this colony was fine, this colony was wiped out because of your lack of action" etc...

I'd also like to see a Baldur's Gate II style summary of what happens to the NPCs. Hell I still remember loving the fate of the drow even as sad as it was.

[Miasma]

While we are on the subject of disappointments, based on all the codex entries with well done details of space battles, countermeasures, unit deployments, tactics and strategy I was really hoping there would be some sort of fleet battle.  I would have settled for a simple "man this turret and shoot" type of thing like in KotOR but I was expecting BioWare to blow me away by going above and beyond the call again with a scaled down RTS fleet VS fleet mini-game.  Didn't get either.  I mean the writing for all those codex entries was intriguing, I think I got teased.  Ah well, maybe there will be a spinoff game.

And I agree the false choices were pretty obvious and aggravating but they were better than nothing.

[Azazel]

Yahtzee
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/2738-Zero-Punctuation-Mass-Effect

[Tebonas]

Well, at least he knew that would be the first review of him I would disagree with.

[Miasma]

Did he say there were going to be six in the series?  I thought it was three...  Six would be far too many.

[geldonyetich2]

He has a point about how dialogue heavy it is, how combat isn't always easily accessible, and how the inventory is heavy on the micromanagemet.  Still, it's a good game, I'd buy the sequel.  I get the feeling he doesn't like RPGs and is more a PewPew type.

[schild]

Some of the weapons are a lot more fun than others. I'm going to log about 4 more hours and do a BiiF. For the most part, I'm enjoying it.

[Bunk]

I hated the sniper rifle on my first try with an Inflitrator. I rerolled a pistol/shotgun Vanguard and played right through with that character and loved it. I've gone back to the Infiltrator, and now I've gained love for the sniper rifle. It's especialy fun that I'm playing this one Renegade, so I don't feel bad ordering my squad to run out from behind cover and draw the enemy out in to my sight lines.

[schild]

It's especialy fun that I'm playing this one Renegade, so I don't feel bad ordering my squad to run out from behind cover and draw the enemy out in to my sight lines.

I'm going "light" side and making the same orders.

Is there something wrong with that?

[Mazakiel]

Of course not.  The fate of the galaxy is at stake, and we must all learn to make sacrifices.  They sacrifice blood, life, and limb.  You sacrifice air to order them to do it.    And you (maybe) feel guilt whenever their valiant charge into a horde of face eating/shooting monstrosities ends badly. 

[Miasma]

They get to rest when they're dead, I only feel bad when I use unity to tear them away from death's sweet embrace so that they can take more bullets for me.

[Bunk]

Yea, generally Unity just gets used to make them stand up long enough to act as a distraction or target dummy for a Geth rocket.