11/20 Mass Effect (Xbox 360)

[geldonyetich2]

It is so delicious and moist.

NewGame+ isn't really listed as such, but you can start a new game and re-use an existing character.  You keep all your gear and stats.  The enemies and loot usually scale to level, so it works.

[Riggswolfe]

Ok, figured I'd post an update about my hardcore playthrough.

So far, it's actually pretty easy. I have a level 57 soldier shepard, ashley, and garrus. Ashley is shotgun hell, and Garrus is now my sniper. We're all using Spectre X weapons, and Colossus X armor. It's...evil how quickly we clear a room. My only weakness is biotics and if something knocks me down it usually gets killed by the other two.

I'm on the last mission before the final planet. After this playthrough I'll probably make a female shepard sentinel who will travel with kaid and wrex. Then play with the soldier on insanity level with tali and liara.

[Baldrake]

I'm really, really hoping there'll be a PC version of this some day.

[Khaldun]

I'm about 7 hours in. I'm doing fine with an Infiltrator except for those annoying fights where the baddies charge in on you. (The fight with the Matriarch was a pain for that reason). Often I just send my guys up to kill what they can until they get killed, I cower behind cover and snipe/overload/sabotage some stuff, then I reanimate people with Unity, repeat.

I agree with some of the criticisms of the game: the total lack of a tutorial, the weakness of the driving game. But a lot of it is RPG-goodness. The voice work, cinematics, etc. are excellent, and the time invested in facial expression often pays off big. I'm a little eh about some of the derivative content, which doesn't seem witty enough to qualify as homage. (For example, the Aliens/Ender's Game recycling in the Matriarch encounter.) I don't always play Bioware stuff back through a second time but this time I'm sure I will--I'd like to see what kinds of subplots open up if you're a total dick renegade.

[Bunk]

I'm about 7 hours in. I'm doing fine with an Infiltrator except for those annoying fights where the baddies charge in on you. (The fight with the Matriarch was a pain for that reason)...

I have to laugh here. At 7 hours I was just leaving the Citadel for the first time.

[Riggswolfe]

I'm about 7 hours in. I'm doing fine with an Infiltrator except for those annoying fights where the baddies charge in on you. (The fight with the Matriarch was a pain for that reason)...

I have to laugh here. At 7 hours I was just leaving the Citadel for the first time.

Same here. I was a decent level before ever leaving the citadel because of all of my side quests.

[MrHat]

Well, can't you do Matriarch last?  That's what I did (The Mainline splits 3 ways right?)

[Lum]

Yeah, and it's best to, otherwise, without developed skills, all those asari commandos turn you into a patch of goo.

[MrHat]

Yeah, and it's best to, otherwise, without developed skills, all those asari commandos turn you into a patch of goo.

Ha.  Ya, I was wondering because I really didn't have a problem with her.  Also, I've been reading way to much planet descriptions, how much cosmology (?) research did they do? I really like the psuedo-science that's being thrown around.

[geldonyetich2]

The Matriarch is probably the hardest fight in the game.  Even the main boss goes down easier.  Still, all challenges can be overcome thanks to the awesome power of the reload function.

[lesion]

'course I trundled off to see her fresh out of Citadel and got my ass stomped about ten times before finally getting it.

[MrHat]

'course I trundled off to see her fresh out of Citadel and got my ass stomped about ten times before finally getting it.

Haha, no pain no gain!

[Khaldun]

Yeah, I went to see her first, because the planet was closest. It was the first thing I did when I was done with many (not all) of the side quests in the Citadel. Whoops! Splatty splat splat! But yeah, I beat it eventually. Now I'm on Feros and it's pretty much cake so far. I'm actually doing what most people say not to do and that's build up some electronics and decryption on my Shepherd Infiltrator and then I just take Ashley and Wrex and let them pound most stuff into wheatena while I one-shot snipe things.

[Rasix]

I'm nearing the end level or I'm currently near the false-end "haha, one more level, not the real end boss" part of the game.  This game feels like the main plot is about 1 or 2 planets/levels short of more recent Bioware RPGs.  Still hard to complain with nearly 30 hours logged. 

I got the "Completionist" achievement without beating the game (only haven't completed a few side quests).  Happened on Ilos about midway through it.  However, I didn't get the "Quarian Ally" or "Krogan Ally" achievements.  I'm guessing I had to have either Tali or Wrex around for every mission, even though I did 90% of the content with them (I switched out Garrus for a specific personal quest, did Feros with Ashley, and Noveria with Liara.    )

And..

Watched the Gamespot Mass Effect video review.  "However, your turret can't move up or down."  Uhh, now, I know I didn't find out you could zoom the Mako until a few missions in, but this is a ridiculous lack of fact checking.  They never mention cover (or show it being used) and they show gameplay video of someone playing like a complete retard.  Constant pausing needed?  Did this jackhole even play the fucking game or did is he just reciting from notes stolen off someone's desk?  Avoiding flat land due to thresher maws? You mean the whole 4 or 5 you encounter in the game (no mention that you can just out run them easily either)?

And nice fucking spoilers in the review.  I had to close it due to it showing end game cinematics near the tail end of it.  If I had to give Mass Effect a score, I would have likely given it something equivalent, but that review was just an atrocity.  I know I'm a fan, but it was a bit unfair and a whole lot inaccurate. I don't think I've seen a video review of theirs that was this bad even if the Crysis and Halo 3 reviews left me scratching my head (for other reasons). 

[Murgos]

The one Mass Effect review I read was pretty off base, I can't recall if it was Gamespot or IGN.  The reviewer was talking about how the AI simply wouldn't activate sometimes and he could just run right up to things and shoot them.

Uh, yeah.  I'm guessing he had a tech or biotic character in his team that hit the mob with one of their CC abilities.

It's certainly the best RPG that I have played in a LONG time.

Got the Assault Rifle Achievement last night and when I looked in my footlocker I found a couple of kick ass assault rifles.  Nice touch that.

[Riggswolfe]

Re: Ally achievement.

You pretty much need to have them in your party for all missions from the moment you get them to get the achievement. The good news is even ally sidequests don't need that particular ally in your party, though it makes at least one of them a little more interesting. (Garrus sidequest.)

I also read a dev comment that says you need to play the game a minimum of 5 times to have a chance to see everything. I'm on my 3rd playthrough and already found something new I missed the first time or two. (I totally missed something on Eden Prime and feel silly about it. I even remember bitching that buying charm on Eden Prime is a waste because you don't get a chance to use it and finding out I was wrong. It helps to you know, explore.)

I'm currently playing a fem Shepard Sentinel. Mostly to see the difference between male and female dialogue. I chose totally different backgrounds and it is amusing how some of the dialogue is very different between "War hero", my first character, and "Ruthless", my current character. I've already had to defend myself a few times as not being a monster.

[Tannhauser]

Done, took 24 hours /played

What a great game, great story, cool characters and universe to roam around in.  The end boss was just the right level of toughness, he was a bitch fo sho.  Graphics were great and I really got to enjoy the combat system finally.

Dings
Pop-in, minor at first was pretty annoying on the last level.  Some textures took up to 3 seconds to load I estimate.
Length was SHORT.  I finished it in 24 hours and really just dinged around a lot. I bet you could play the main storyline between 10-15hours.  That is really kinda shocking.  Fortunately there are tons of side missions to keep you busy, lots of planets to explore and gear to find, artifacts to gather.
Exploration was kinda bland on some planets and you can only land on certain ones so that was a bit disappointing.  But they did give almost each planet a distinct look, color wise.

All in all a great game, another home run for the 360.  As soon as I finish this I am replaying the game, this time gonna focus on side quests and exploring.  Don't know if I'll finish it again but thats ok.

Final Score 96%
-1% Pop-in
-2% Length
-1% Bland exploration in some cases

[MrHat]

I think any game you can classify as having untapped potential should be handicapped at least -5% in any review.

[Rasix]

Beat the game.  Enjoyed the ending.  YAY SEQUEL SET UP!!

Now it's time to punish myself and try hardcore as an infiltrator.  Going to go Ashley (sorry Kaiden, meat for the grinder again) and Wrex to offset my expected fragility.  I don't expect this to be easy, but towards the end I really didn't need much of the soldier's added HP. 

About an hour in and playing a renegade female is pretty fun already (I always go evil with the female chars.. a bit misogynistic of me).  "Hey Manuel.. I got something for you." *right cross* Heh, although it's already looking like this character and Ashley are going to be pissed off at each other the entire time.   There was at least one Eden Prime encounter that I missed the first time around.   Renegade already seems a bit different from light/dark.  You're not exactly a puppy kicker, but you sure are an aggressive asshole.

This will be more difficult, I can already tell.  I'm going to have to make better use of my abilities if I'm going to make it.  Soldier wasn't really much of a challenge on normal past Benezia.

[Khaldun]

I had a bit of trouble with my infiltrator on Feros, mostly because I ran out of medigel while taking out the Thorian--more health would have helped a bit. That was with Ashley and Wrex helping. But I ended up not having to reload, just having to be very very very careful when the plant-men were charging at us given that I had only a sliver of health left.

Is anyone running into a periodic bug where your party stops following you and will only move if you give them a specific waypoint to go to? Happens on occasion during a play session.

I went back to the Citadel after Feros just to see what was going down. Two fun things happened right away: it's definitely worth going back.

[Rasix]

Is anyone running into a periodic bug where your party stops following you and will only move if you give them a specific waypoint to go to? Happens on occasion during a play session.

Yes, I had Wrex get stuck and he wouldn't respond to commands.  Had to back track to him and use the waypoint commands.  Happened once on Ilos and once on Virmiire.

I'd also gotten stuck on geometry a few times with one time having to reload and the others time I managed to click on something that repositioned me automatically.  My party has trapped me a few times, but thank god for being able to waypoint them off.

Could be worse, could crash my XBox like KOTOR 2 did.

And for the Thorian, I ran out of medigel as a damn soldier.  You just kind of have to be careful with you positioning.  Also, shotguns help.  Hooray for the shotgun achievement 

[Khaldun]

Yeah, I've gotten stuck in geometry occasionally. Last night on Feros I knocked one of the colonists into the geometry with a punch, without knocking them out, and that was a pain. Couldn't get them with the anti-thorian gas, couldn't hit them, but I could shoot them if I got to one angle. So much for being Mr. Perfect Paragon: 1 dead colonist beats a reload.

[MrHat]

Gah.

I haven't been back to the Citadel since I left.  Been too busy raping planets of their resources.

[NiX]

So, how do I use my team mates to open locked stuff? This is driving me crazy!

[Tebonas]

Finished, it. Just under 40 hours (39 and some minutes to spare). Splendid finale to a splendid game!

You automatically use your team mates. If you try the minigame the ability to do so is checked against your current parties skill.

[Wolf]

A friend of mine is driving me crazy telling me how this is, performance wise, the worst 360 game ever. He said he's getting constant FPS drops and that "EVERYONE IS HAVING THEM AND YOU JUST DIDIN'T SEE THEM". So, anyone having framrate drops? Like all the time to the point where they ruin the game for you?

[Rasix]

A friend of mine is driving me crazy telling me how this is, performance wise, the worst 360 game ever. He said he's getting constant FPS drops and that "EVERYONE IS HAVING THEM AND YOU JUST DIDIN'T SEE THEM". So, anyone having framrate drops? Like all the time to the point where they ruin the game for you?

No, not really. Nothing I've really noticed anyways.

Citadel can get a little loady, but never in a combat situation from what I've seen.  It's definitely the most drive intensive game I've seen and again, that's mostly in the Citadel.

[Tebonas]

No, the load times weren't that bad either.

Disclaimer: I played The Witcher directly before it, so my perception might be faulty.

[Rasix]

Oh, I'm not talking load times.  Those really are fine and seem to be limited to the longer elevator ride or two, and those are still miles better than the Witcher.  I'm just saying there appears to be a lot of background loading done (drive spinning) while in the Citadel and other larger level areas.  It's barely noticeable, but it's there.

[Riggswolfe]

A friend of mine is driving me crazy telling me how this is, performance wise, the worst 360 game ever. He said he's getting constant FPS drops and that "EVERYONE IS HAVING THEM AND YOU JUST DIDIN'T SEE THEM". So, anyone having framrate drops? Like all the time to the point where they ruin the game for you?

I've had a FPS once or twice during very large fights. But it was quick and didn't effect things. Sounds like his 360 is faulty.

[Riggswolfe]

I'm almost done with my sentinel  playthrough. Wow. The combat difference is amazing. It started out alot harder than the soldier but once my powers were bought up I blow through combats. I have to use the combat wheel a lot to select powers, but it's worth it.

I have had a time or two when using a lift and throw combo where I threw an enemy onto something and they couldn't get down and I couldn't kill them. Oh well. One guy I knocked into this structure which was basically a hollow rectangle with some bits sticking out. He kept yelling "they're everywhere" when I tossed grenades over the top to try to finish him off.

A bioware dev said to hang on to your favorite save because Mass Effect 2 will use your Mass Effect 1 character. That means I need to remake my soldier with throw as a bonus talent. My current level 58 soldier has maxed out charm and intimidate because I used him to try both paragon and renegade paths. Which was stupid of me. That's like 10 wasted talent points.

 I'm also considering seeing how the combat + biotics character plays out. Or making a male sentinel and playing him all the way through. I love the combination of tech and biotics the sentinel gives you.

I also still need to beat the game on insanity.

I don't understand why this game is such digital crack for me. I've never replayed a game like this and been this obsessive about it.

[Wolf]

I also still need to beat the game on insanity.
I don't understand why this game is such digital crack for me. I've never replayed a game like this and been this obsessive about it.

Tell me about it. I had to give the box to a friend to stop playing it :)

[Special J]

After reading the review here and watching all the preview videos I am so, so pumped about playing this.  Except now with Christmas approaching I have a moratorium on game purchases.

I think my are odds good though. My list kind of went like this:

Socks
Other stuff
a game
Mass Effect 
World Peace
Tools

[Bunk]

One thing I'll say on this game is that the combat takes getting used to. My first play attempt was with an Infiltrator and that was a mistake. Trying to figure out the combat system using the sniper rifle is not good. I restarted with a Vanguard after about 7 hours of the first character, and I haven't looked back. Leave the sniping to Ashley.

[Mazakiel]

The combat is definitely wonky at times.  Nothing sucks more than being behind cover and having a teammate's lift grab the crate that is your cover as well as some of the enemies.  Made Benezia more difficult than it could have been. 

I will say, learning to effectively use the grenades makes a HUGE difference.  It's saved my ass a lot.  The sidequest that gets you your specialization would have been a lot more difficult for me without them, as the drones seemed to not want to cooperate with my biotics.