Mass Effect = most ambitious game ever?

[Dioneo]

So far I have been blown away by Mass Effect. The gameplay isn't groundbreaking - a hybrid of Knights of the Old Republic and Gears of War - but the apparent size and scale of the story/universe is bigger than any other game I have ever played. I've spent about 10 hours on the game so far, and it feels like I've just started. I am the type of player who likes to explore every nook & cranny, so my gameplay times are always higher than average.

There are lots of small things to nitpick about. Some load times seem long for a "next gen" game. The combat is obviously inspired by Gears, but doesn't quite get it right. If you are an action/shooter fan and approach the game with that mindset you will likely be disappointed.

The biggest strengths of the game are it's story and production values. The graphics are amazing, the voice acting is top notch and appears to have a huge cast featuring many known actors. The musical score fits the Space Opera theme perfectly. All that combines to give the game a cinematic atmosphere I have never experienced before.

If you are an action/RPG fan buying this game is a no-brainer.

The fact that this is only the first part of a trilogy is even more exciting. With all that Bioware got right this time, and with enough time to clean up the few things that didn't work this time around, I'm already stoked for Mass Effect II.

Lots of reviews here: http://www.metacritic.com/games/plat...360/masseffect

[dunlop]

Seems like a great game. I haven't had a lot of time to invest in it yet, plus I lost about 30 minutes trying to figure out how to get off my ship

[Dioneo]

HA!

My favourite webcomic had a three part "nitpicking" fest based on Mass Effect:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/11/14

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/11/16

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/11/19

I guess your situation would be addressed in part 3

[prufrock]

I finished my first play through in 32 hours. I did (I believe) every planet and every quest.

The game is superb in so many ways and beyond irritating with technical issues. Watching the layers pop in got really annoying, although it was fun guessing when the Normandy sign would appear behind him when exiting from the Galaxy Map.

You also know a game has framerate issues when the credits don't even roll smoothly.

I can't wait to start a renegade character!

[Dioneo]

One thing that has taken up a lot of time for me is a Citadel fetch quest:

Scan the Keepers. I've found 20 out of 21! I'm going to have to walk around the entire complex again to find that 21st one.

I gave up and moved on with the story for now. I'm assuming I will be able to return to the Citadel once my current mission is over.

[entropy05]

Originally Posted by prufrock

The game is superb in so many ways and beyond irritating with technical issues. Watching the layers pop in got really annoying, although it was fun guessing when the Normandy sign would appear behind him when exiting from the Galaxy Map.

I like the 20 second elevator ride from the lower level of the Normandy to the main deck. Wheeeeeee!!!!

So far I am kind of torn on this game. The story is awesome, but the technical roughness (framerate--especially in combat, texture pop-in, getting stuck on geometry--walls, ledges) is really detracting from the overall experience. Also, I keep getting dirty disc errors (unsurprising considering how hard the drive is working--lots of seeking, and quite audibly so), so I have to save every 5 minutes or so. The uncharted planet exploration is also rather bland, and the repetition of the same few environments gets old too (there are 3 designs for buildings, whith minor variation in where crates and boxes are placed).

[dunlop]

I think I am missing something...I am freaking brutal at combat in this game. I have been playing an adept and an infiltrator (I haven't decieded which to complete the game with) and I just constantly get my butt handed to me.

With my infiltrator I am at a boss battle where the mobs have biotic powers and the battle is literaly that I get put in suspended animation and then my party is slaughtered in 30 seconds

Tonight my wife is out with the kidsfor a bit so I will actually have some time to play.....

[Dioneo]

I have just started to use mine (and my team's) special powers during combat. There is one ability (can't remember the name - Dampening?) that stops the enemy from using Biotics for a few seconds. If someone on your team has that - use it!

Also, I am playing as an infiltrator and find that things work better in combat for me when I send my two team-mates ahead of me into battle. Suckers

[dunlop]

Thanks for the tip. I have a couple of hour tonight, hopefully I can make my decision (adept or infiltrator).

[prufrock]

Dioneo, there is a loading glitch that Bioware confirms on their website regarding the keepers. If you use the fast transit to get to the citadel tower, one of the keepers doesn't load properly there. I think there are supposed to be four total up there; I tried with a new character last night using the fast method and there were only three. Take the long elevator ride and see if that changes things for you.

[Dioneo]

Thank you! I don't know how much time you must have saved me. I was going to walk every inch of the Citadel until I found it.

My character is level 20-something now, with +2,000,000 plus credits. Still loving the game, and wasting lots of time doing every side quest and exploring every planet I can land on. I've maxed out Paragon, and just made a decision that gave me Renegade points for the first time. This has to do with the Cerberus sidequest/storyline:

Agreed to sell the files I took from the Cerberus HQ to the Shadow Broker.

To my way of thinking, he might be useful down the road. Better a friend than an enemy and all that.

Interesting in that unlike KoTOR, a choice you make that gives you Paragon vs Renegade points doesn't subtract from the other. I was still at full Paragon, but also had a little bit of Renegade. Maybe if I read the manual it would explain what that means...

[Finnkc]

glad you guys are liking it ... this is just the tip of the iceburg

[Dioneo]

Yes, kudos to you and the whole Bioware team Finnkc!

[dunlop]

Having a lot of fun when I get the chance to play. I ended up choosing and adept as I find it a lot easier to control the combat flow with the mutliple crowd control abilities. I find it just too limiting for how you can control the other members in your party (i.e they are freaking stupid).

I read that they dumbed down the combat and that it was much more tactical before, I'm hoping they bring this back for Mass Effect 2

[douggyd]

Also playing and loving the game. Was blown away yesterday while I was driving around on the moon and had an amazing view of earth, don't know of any other games where you can get that experience. There are a lot of frustrating moments, mainly due to loading, combat and the slowest evelators in the galaxy, but the story keeps pulling me back in...