Mass Effect 3 - Xbox 360

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS!


Loved:

• Quick save satisfies my obsessive-compulsive streak without a break in the action.
• Heal nearby, downed teammates without medi-gel.
• More guns. With better-than-original-Mass-Effect weapon mods! And easy gun-statistics comparison!! And the Spectre Shooting Range to try everything!!! (The latter two points are essential, and very welcome additions).
  
• Planet scanning in Mass Effect 3 can still be a chore, particularly when searching for similarly named systems/planets to which the story doesn't allow access yet, but it's an improvement over Mass Effect 2.
  
• Removal of Mass Effect 2's hacking and bypass. They aren't missed.
• "Replacement" of Mass Effect 2 heavy weapons with grenade powers.
  
• Significant impact of prior choices. An amazing breadth of characters and decision are reintroduced and revisited.
  
• Multiplayer seems like simple fun, but with reasonably deep customization.
  
• The "Leaving Earth" scene and music broke my heart. The "Mars" score is also great.
• Shepard's armor variants look cool. Ashley Williams and James Vega are especially badass too.
• (SPOILERS!) The unexpected portrayal of the Protheans as belligerent, interstellar despots was a fun, interesting twist.
  

Disliked:

• The impact of Galactic Readiness/War Assets/Effective Military Strength isn't obvious enough. Mass Effect 2 gives the player blatant (if brutal) results for their action (or inaction). (I think this is part of the dissatisfaction some players have with the Mass Effect 3 ending...).
• The Kai Leng confrontations didn't work for me. It felt like Shepard was supposed to have already developed some festering, deep-running loathing for Leng by their second, brief meeting. In my first playthrough, Leng gave a terminally ill friend's death meaning; this was unintentional on Leng's part, but my Shepard just wanted to kill Leng to stop the Illusive Man, not hate him.
  

The ending(s):

What become apparent as (the original) Mass Effect progressed, and more of the Codex was revealed, was that Mass Effect was unlike most console games. It was deep, deliberate science-fiction. When Mass Effect 2 and 3 were progressively faster paced, action-filled romps, I think players forgot (or just weren't aware of) Mass Effect's "hard science fiction" roots.

Loss, sacrifice and dilemma are prominent themes of Mass Effect 3; it shouldn't be a complete shock to see them feature at the finish. I might be more disappointed if the finale was Michael-Bay-flag-waving-nonsense, but I do feel the visuals and the (great) music focus more on the tragedy than the potentially hollow victory.

(SPOILERS!) All three endings seem to lean more toward Renegade than Paragon. Unilaterally decide every sentient should be an organic-synthetic-hybrid to achieve peace-at-any-cost, based on the dubious word of the Citadel-AI that a critically wounded, confused Shepard just met? Renegade. Continue to centrally control all AI, even though that's resulted in mass xenocide every 50,000 years for time immemorial? Renegade. Destroy all AI, including EDI and the Geth, who seem to disprove the Citadel-AI's "endless cycle of chaos" predictions? Renegade. Destroy all Mass Relays no matter what the decision? Renegade.

(SPOILERS!) A trilogy ending that raises more questions than it answers is not a worthy payoff. How do your immediate teammates survive the massacre before Shepard beams to the Citadel? Where in the galaxy do the Normandy crew crash land? What happens to all those left in the Sol system? Does Shepard survive or not? I don't necessarily want the endings changed, but it would be nice to know that those questions will be answered at some point, even if it's in a future game.

The Buzz Aldrin-voiced epilogue is an admirable tribute attempt, but poorly delivered and overly preachy. The ham-fisted "You finished! Now buy more DLC!" message, is also ill conceived.

(SPOILERS!) My suspicion is that this Mass Effect trilogy is to the Mass Effect universe as the The Old Republic is to the Star Wars universe. Trap the Mass Effect allied races in the desperate graveyard that the Sol system has become, so they must work together to solve interstellar travel without the destroyed Mass Relays (and I mean really work together, not just agree to point their guns at the same bad guys at the same time, or follow Ikea instructions in record time).


PS (SPOILERS!) I don't understand why so many players presume Mass Relay self-destruction would have the same results as destroying one by ramming an asteroid into it (as it did in "Arrival"). Google "controlled demolition".


PPS Penny Arcade shared a series of posts (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) and comics (1, 2, 3, 4) on Mass Effect 3 and its endings.

PPPS Posted early draft to BioWare after Dr Ray Muzyka's blog.

Mass Effect 2 - Xbox 360

Warning: Text and pictures contain spoilers.

In spite of its flaws, I thoroughly enjoyed Mass Effect. The sequel was my first pre-order of 2010. I even splashed out for the "Collectors' Edition". (I bet that pun got both grins and grimaces at BioWare...).


The opening task in Mass Effect 2 is to retrieve over 500 MB of DLC including an additional character, missions and equipment. BioWare's recent Dragon Age: Origins featured similar content and this trend is set to continue for purchasers of new copies of EA titles.

Re-using Mass Effect saves is handled well. Veterans are rewarded with additional cash, experience and resources but not anchored to past appearance or class choices.

Mass Effect 2 makes a good first impression. Prettier than its predecessor, it's visual style doesn't seem far from other Unreal Engine 3 titles but if it ain't broke...

Gameplay:

The next revelation is that everything is streamlined. Mass Effect 2's take on RPG is a stark contrast to both its predecessor and the micro-management of Dragon Age. Elements such as leveling up and allocating skill points "intrude" only after discrete missions. All team members get an equal share. No need to worry about who killed what or even whether what was killed at all - completing the objective is paramount, not grinding out XP.

Equipment upgrade and distribution is similarly low-touch and egalitarian, yet still rewarding. Improve one weapon class and the whole team gets a sharper shooter.

Saving is also polished. Autosaves are frequent but not invasive. The most recent mission attempted includes a checkpoint to allow restarts on demand.

Storytelling:

The strong writing continues with NPC-stories and side-quests that are generally darker and more interesting. Needy whiners and inept losers are fewer. In fact, while still unabashedly space opera, the plot feels more mature. There's strong language but, except for one "troubled" recruit, it's used sparingly and the result makes a stronger impact. Physical violence is frequent but rarely graphic (Setting screaming enemy NPCs ablaze during combat doesn't seem to count).

Both humor and gravity are delivered with quality acting. Mordin, The Illusive Man, Engineer Donnelly and Zaeed are some personal favorites.

Shepard's reputation precedes you. NPCs are frequently in awe or in fear of past exploits.

The tale also holds its share of twists and surprises. Major and minor characters from the original re-appear, but they rarely behave as one might expect. The final operation is epic but unfortunately its climactic confrontation feels trite and uninspired.

Gripes:

(May seem nitpicky but two complete playthroughs takes about 100 hours)

• Planet Scanning. It beats Mass Effect's ugly, repetitive side-quests but the novelty wears off quickly and there are dozens (maybe 100+ ?) of areas to explore. It's unfortunate that it's a necessity for upgrades. (It seems like something EDI should be able to do automatically - maybe launch 30 probes for 90% of the available resources?). Also if a planet has been scanned but its resources have been only partially harvested, there's no way to tell other than re-scanning. (An earlier cue for Rich through Depleted would be helpful).
• Care for some ants-in-the-pants or whiplash with your dialogue? Some of the NPCs stand up, wander around, then sit down again every time they answer a question. Others try to look Shepard in the eye while facing in the opposite direction...This tranforms serious conversations, into Benny Hill auditioning for The Exorcist. Characters also still "pop" from one pose to the next far too often.
• Upgrade review menu order. Most things can be upgraded in multiple ways e.g. weapons can use more ammo and deal more physical/shield damage. However names differ for each upgrade so the alphabetical list (which grows long in the later stages) makes it difficult to answer questions such as "How powerful is this weapon class? How good is the ship? How talented are the biotics? How badass is Shepard?". For example:
  • AP Sniper Rifle
  • ...
  • SMG Shield Piercing
  • Sniper Rifle Damage
  • Submachine Gun Damage
  (Weapon codes can be deciphered. It's a cool detail but I didn't see it explicitly explained)
• Talent details. Talent name comes first, followed by text description, then numbers. When descriptions span multiple lines, comparison becomes more difficult than it needs to be. Reversing the description-number order would make this more legible.
• Repeated, idiotic soundbites during battle. This was an issue in the first game and persists in the sequel. It's especially aggravating when a teammate is asked to use a special power and they spout triumphant drivel after ineffectually blasting a wall rather than harming the death-dealing target.
• Using powers from cover. It just doesn't work reliably - again the terrain absorbs the brunt of the firepower. (Maybe biotics and techs just hate the ground?) Intentionally not aiming directly at targets allows projectile powers to curve around obstacles. This helps, but shouldn't it be done automatically? It also means you need to learn two ways of "shooting" and switch constantly between them...
• Ammunition re-fills. If a gun's ammo is depleted at the end of a mission, it starts the next in the same state. An odd inconsistency given the resources ultimately put at Shepard's disposal...(does this also make the game incedibly tough for Soldiers on higher difficulty settings?).
• Inter-NPC banter gone. While lengthy elevator loading is not missed (although I suspect it takes roughly the same time, but looks different), the verbal sparring between teammates is. (Admittedly it's difficult to see where this part of the old experience would fit in the new, denser universe).

Sounds:

The soundtrack by Jack Wall is available. Tracks that stand well on their own include "The Lazarus Project" (very Danny Elfman), "The Normandy Reborn", "Suicide Mission". "Thane" is also worth a spin for those who've "been there, done that". Discopolis from Kris Menace & Lifelike may have graduated from the same school of music. :-)


PS The Firewalker DLC marks a return to vehicle-based exploration and combat, and a new platforming element (??). There are improvements - the Hammerhead is more fun to pilot than the Mako. The level design is more varied than the wastelands of Mass Effect but similarly devoid of features. The Hammerhead is a little fragile so battles (still) devolve into long range shoot-outs against barely visible targets. Both these issues hurt the sense of scale - the Hammerhead seems more toy than a tank. Ultimately the experience is still less rewarding than the standard third-person action and the sparse storyline played out over 5 missions does not compensate. But hey, it's free, so gift, horse, mouth, right? :-)

PPS Evil Val Kilmer? Spaceman Randy Couture?

Mass Effect: Revelation

To paraphrase a friend (who was actually referencing elements of Mass Effect's game plot), Mass Effect: Revelation is a little goofy but ultimately charming.

It's an easy read - about 330 pages of (almost) pulp science fiction. I corral it in that pigeon hole in the most positive sense. Some of the dialog is genuinely funny - there are some great sound-bites. It seems even more like a Hollywood movie script than some of the material I normally peruse.

The book's main selling point was that it was touted as enriching the Mass Effect experience. It delivers in some respects. The novel further justifies humanity's portrayal as the petulant teenager and the Citadel Council's sometime Pontius-Pilate-School-of-Politics attitude. "Infinite" ammo (which never bothered me but was called out by some critics) is explained succinctly (come to think of it, it may also discussed in the game Codex). The batarian race features prominently - they are almost completely absent from the software title.

Where it failed to live up to (my) hopes is in its explanation of Saren's motives. Even after playing the game to completion and reading the book, I still find it difficult to reconcile his (original) goals and actions. Perhaps that's the intent anyway...?

Other issues the book highlights are some of the mild inconsistencies, probably due to technology/design limitations. There simply aren't enough people in the Citadel Wards - the book (and in-game background) describes them as packed. The Normandy is also far too roomy but this can be explained away by its unique nature.

Revelation also contains some spoiler-esque material for one of the chief game plot twists. However it's not that big a deal and the foreshadowing is probably just that much more obvious/enjoyable as a result.

Mass Effect: Ascension, the second book and "sequel" to the game, will allegedly be available in 2008. I think I'll be getting it. :-)

Mass Effect - Xbox 360

Summary: Gears of War + KOTOR == Mass Effect.

[Credit due to Penny Arcade again for giving me a spoiler-free heads-up on some aspects that otherwise might have been rather irritating: 1, 2, 3].

Mass Effect kicks off with the "Western" RPG staple - character creation and customization. The system works reasonably well but only allows for facial configuration (versus something like Saints Row where one can opt to be fat or skinny, slim or muscled or Oblivion where one can choose race). Character sex can also be chosen - this affects how a few NPCs interact with the player.

Before progressing too far, mess with the graphics options. They make a big difference. I disabled "film grain" and was happier with the results. The framerate seemed a little more reliable with "motion blur" off too, but maybe I was imagining things. Anyway, I tweaked the settings to my liking and was very impressed with what I saw.

Give it time. I truly began to be wowed more than ten hours in. (Mass Effect takes an appallingly significant time investment...).

I began playing Mass Effect while I was partway through (and sometimes immediately after) Assassin's Creed. While the cut scenes in Mass Effect are often fantastic, not having camera control during them (as the player does in Ubisoft's title) made them feel very stiff at first...That feeling dissipated after Bioware's product took center stage and by turnabout Assasin's Creed facial animation and static dialog fared worse in comparison.

Combat took a little getting used to. It uses a cover system similar to that in Gears of War and can be similarly unforgiving if you run-and-gun. However when your troupe of high-tech death dealers clears a room of cannon fodder, it can feel badass. You have the option of directing almost every action taken by your teammates but I set them to "Auto" and was satisfied with the results. Some of your fellow combatants can become especially lethal with Sniper Rifles...When someone like that "got your back" it helps (and keeps them out of your line of fire). It's also refreshing to play an RPG where there is (at least some) risk in mosts confrontations - the grinding is not so painful. Having said that, the unarmed enemies introduced in the first mission are repeated too often for my liking. They feel like an easy out on many levels...The "risk" also prompted me to save obsessively.

An unexpected side effect of the combat (and the hours spent playing it) was that my already weak shooter skillz degraded dramatically. Since Mass Effect combat is pseudo stats/dice roll-based one can shoot in the general vicinity of a target and still do quite a lot of damage. Be prepared to have to re-learn how to play Halo 3 etc. after it.

The musical score is apropos solid space opera. (I replayed the opening scenes repeatedly). Unfortunately the music suffers from a broader audio balance problem. It varies from absent, to almost inaudible, to deafening. Dialog suffers even more. Some characters consistently trail off into muffled mumbles. (Kaidan, Garrus - we know you're cool but so are clear, complete sentences!!). I spent too much time trying to adjust settings and each scenario seems to have its own. e.g. I often struggled to hear my teammates' observations (possibly due to spatially sensitive sound) but the panicking (doomed) NPCs down the corridor, spouted repeated gibberish in crystal clear tones.

Unlike KOTOR, all the dialog is spoken. A recognizable cast lends it some extra weight (but I am becoming a little jaded with Keith David). I could have sworn the Codex was read by the same guy who narrated Crackdown but apparently not.

Speaking of the Codex, Bioware built a convincing universe for this title. I peeked in to clarify some confusion on a subplot point and spent about twenty minutes reading up on space combat - it's solid sci-fi. The paperback prequel may be worth considering.

[SPOILER-ish] Ground vehicle driving ranges from fun (on the rolling plains) to uber-frustrating (while trying to reach some areas surrounded by almost impassable cliffs). BTW right bumper fires the cannon! (There are few, if any control prompts in-game - the physical user manual is your best source).

Inventory is far too fiddly. No sorting at all is big omission. In a game that already consumes many hours, spending a large portion of them trying to make sense of lists is not appreciated. Note, red and/or bigger guns shoot better. ;-)

On completion of the game, one has the option to re-start using the same character, levels, skills, any leftover credits and unassigned gear. Some of the achievements also unlock skills for any new characters created using the same Xbox Live GamerTag e.g. 150 assault rifle kills means any new character has the option of using that weapon, even if their class would normally prevent it. Mass Effect must be one of the most difficult Xbox 360 games to earn all the achievements. I guesstimate it at over 100 hours of play (at least 3 times through).

The last level(s) and ending are pretty solid.

I'm grateful that Bioware release "only" one title every couple of years - more often than that, and I would have no life outside the virtual ones they give me.


PS Zero Punctuation shares thoughts (and spoilers).