what the hell was jeff playing? cause it sure wasnt mass effect.

[necrosis]

I can't see how jeff disliked mass effect as much as he did.

I think he let the little things distract him from how great the game is. He complained about every little thing that was negligible. I can see where hes coming from with the whole map thing and especially the problem with auto saving not saving often enough.

but one thing i dont understand is how he doesnt like the story. I think the story was the best part of the game. I honestly think that jeff didnt even try to like the game. He said they didnt tell you what a spectre was, and the only way to not know what that is would be to not pay attention to the story at all. I think bioware did an amazing job on creating a universe that is completely unique and interesting. I cant really see where they come from saying its like star wars. just because its set in space doesnt mean its like star wars, and i thought it was completely different from star wars.

well enough ranting, what did everyone else think of Mass Effect?

[eddielee]

As I mentioned in the episode discussion thread.... I loved, LOVED this game. Excluding the vehicle sections and the length, everything about this game is PERFECT.

Maybe next time you should post in the episode discussion.

[mormonrage]

I was really disappointed in it, too--especially the story. It was good, mind you, but it had none of the big plot twists or reveals that KotOR had. It was really straightforward, unsurprising, and simple.

Because the story is so straightforward, and because the game has to end essentially the same to accommodate the sequels, the Paragon/Renegade choices have next to no effect on the outcome. They essentially boil down to a decision between whether you want to be an ass or a kiss-ass.

Similarly, the characters are good--but totally unremarkable. There's not one that holds a candle to Bastila or HK-47 (KotOR again, I know). In fact, there are a couple who I just left on the ship 100% of the time because they were so ****ing bland.

I loved what they did with the combat. That was genius. I love the visuals--even if they're as framey as a flipbook cartoon half the time. The soundtrack and voice acting are amazing. But the whole thing just never coalesces into a total package that's a worthy successor to Jade Empire--let alone KotOR.

[trsjeff]

I honestly think that jeff didnt even try to like the game.


We can agree to disagree about this game, but there is no way you can really believe THIS comment, can you? You really think I didn't want to like Mass Effect? It was my MOST anticipated game of the year. If we had been forced to pick ONLY ONE game to play of the fall, I would have chosen Mass Effect. I was out of my mind for the game - which is why I felt it was such a disappointment. And it is easy to think I hated it - I did not. I think it is a solid 7 - a decent game, but it provides NO WHERE NEAR the experience Oblivion did. And it certainly doesn't deliver on its promise.

I think the story is typical, unnecessarily obtuse sci-fi mumbo-jumbo. I don't understand why we have to get more Halo-esque "Oh the forerunners were here millions of years ago and left a doomsday device". Really? Yawn. And how did I get this story? Hollow-sounding exposition computer tells it to me. Really? Yawn. And the "twists"? Geez. "You know that one arbitrary thing that we told you happened millions of years ago?" "Yeah, turns out it was a different arbitrary thing." Really? Yawn.

You know what has a GREAT story? Uncharted. It is full of action, intrigue, twists, turns, surprises and isn't bogged down by false complexity.

Seriously, I didn't hate this game, but here are a few more issues I didn't have time to get into in the episode:

Decryption is pressing Y B A X? That's the most interesting thing they could come up with? With games like Bioshock and Ratchet and Clank coming out with such interesting mini-games to do the same thing, these guys resort to "push this button"?

Bugs. I got stuck in the environment twice. Had to restart.

Explore planets! Really? Looks like a planet is one linear pathway with an enemy at the end of it.

I am sad more than mad, because maybe if this game didn't have to make Holiday 2007, it could have ruled.

-Jeff

[rlitchfield]

I am amazed that Jeff did not enjoy Mass Effect. (of course everyone is allowed their own opinion...and it is HIS show).

I have played Mass Effect all the way through and thought it was one of the best story telling game I have every played. As a huge fan of Oblivion (finished the main quest, and many of the side quests), I think Mass Effect was far more immersive. The dialog was amazing, and told the story in a very effective way. While the battle sequences might not have been the most polished out there, the fact that it was only 1/3 of the total story, was fine with me.

For the first time, in my opinion, a game was told using the full formula of:
1/3 Visuals
1/3 Dialog
1/3 Action
All wrapped in an interesting story.

I can only hope that more games are produced with this formula and believe they will get better over time as they perfect the formula. Time to get back and play a new character and play a full out Bad Ass.

rlitchfield

[hipnotyq]

personally I think Bioware needs to stick with the traditional RPG's they've been good with in the past, using D&D rules. Jade Empire was 'ok' in my books, hell I even bought it, but the combat system was def waaay too easy and I was having concerns about Bioware being able to pull off the shooter experience. Guess I'm going to have to rent this one too

[patch]

We can agree to disagree about this game, but there is no way you can really believe THIS comment, can you? You really think I didn't want to like Mass Effect?

Yes. I direct you to my thread, The true evils of The Totally Rad Show. (http://revision3.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9032&highlight=true+evils) Its all a part of your evil plan Jeff. You're trying to run down the big names in the gaming world, in your attempts to bring the world to war, eventutally leading its self to become vulnerable enough that Team Awesome LLC will be able to take over and rule us all in an evil dictatorship!!!

[sirurza]

Because he sees Mass Effect for what it is, another Bioware game. Bioware games are very good, very entertaining. But they're ALL, and I mean ALL, 3-6 hours games with a ton of side quests you don't need to do at all to get through the story.

[necrosis]

We can agree to disagree about this game, but there is no way you can really believe THIS comment, can you? You really think I didn't want to like Mass Effect? It was my MOST anticipated game of the year. If we had been forced to pick ONLY ONE game to play of the fall, I would have chosen Mass Effect. I was out of my mind for the game - which is why I felt it was such a disappointment. And it is easy to think I hated it - I did not. I think it is a solid 7 - a decent game, but it provides NO WHERE NEAR the experience Oblivion did. And it certainly doesn't deliver on its promise.

I think the story is typical, unnecessarily obtuse sci-fi mumbo-jumbo. I don't understand why we have to get more Halo-esque "Oh the forerunners were here millions of years ago and left a doomsday device". Really? Yawn. And how did I get this story? Hollow-sounding exposition computer tells it to me. Really? Yawn. And the "twists"? Geez. "You know that one arbitrary thing that we told you happened millions of years ago?" "Yeah, turns out it was a different arbitrary thing." Really? Yawn.

You know what has a GREAT story? Uncharted. It is full of action, intrigue, twists, turns, surprises and isn't bogged down by false complexity.

Seriously, I didn't hate this game, but here are a few more issues I didn't have time to get into in the episode:

Decryption is pressing Y B A X? That's the most interesting thing they could come up with? With games like Bioshock and Ratchet and Clank coming out with such interesting mini-games to do the same thing, these guys resort to "push this button"?

Bugs. I got stuck in the environment twice. Had to restart.

Explore planets! Really? Looks like a planet is one linear pathway with an enemy at the end of it.

I am sad more than mad, because maybe if this game didn't have to make Holiday 2007, it could have ruled.

-Jeff

while i do agree that there are more than a handful of problems with the game, all the great things preponderate all the small ones and becomes trivial.

as for the main plot, i do concur that its been played out before, but is original nonetheless. But I still had an amazing experience with the story (and learning all the lore) that was just enigmatic. I also think that the story was great because you felt like it was happening from the decisions you were making, much more than KOTOR even.

I can understand where youre coming from with the decrpytion, it is a little bland and boring but it doesnt bother me as much for two reasons. 1) the hacking in bioshock felt kinda gimmicky, it was cool at first but started to feel tacky after you've hacked a machine for the 50th time just so you can buy tonics at a reasonable price? I easily mastered it and after a while it just become superfluous. 2) The decryption in mass effect was quick, simple, and got the job done, if i want mini games than i would go play something like wario ware or super mario.

As for bugs, i didnt experience any of them. But how often is it that a game is shipped without bugs? They are a part of video games, and they will happen in just about any game you play.

One of the things that really had me disappointed was the side quests and planet exploration. Riding around in the mako does seem cheesy. Side quests and exploring planets are EXTREMELY generic, and i absolutely hate hate hate it. Ive been trying to do all the side quests which require you to go and explore basically every planet, and about only 1/8th of the planets are actually explorable so you can spend a good 20 hours going to every planet. As for exploring planets, they are all the same and so are the side quests. each planet is basically 1) look at the map. 2) go to the point(s) of interest on the map. 3) Go inside building and clear out all enemies. 4) go to another planet. 5) repeat.

saying that you didnt try to like this game was an exaggeration. coming from the experience i had playing the game its just hard to believe you didnt like it nearly as much as i did.

well jeff, no hard feelings or anything right? I love the show and have been watching since episode 1, keep up the GREAT work, cant wait til next week.

-Jordan

[hipnotyq]

Because he sees Mass Effect for what it is, another Bioware game. Bioware games are very good, very entertaining. But they're ALL, and I mean ALL, 3-6 hours games with a ton of side quests you don't need to do at all to get through the story.

I'd agree with you on KOTOR and Jade Empire but try to play through NWN in 6 hours man... thats a HUUUUGE game. You can't even level up fast enough in six hours to give the final boss a shot

[necrosis]

bioware games are amazing, and certainly longer than 3-6 hours as you state.

my first Kotor run through was like 20-30 hours, and baldurs gate 2 took a really long time.

[zombi]

Honestly I thought Jeff stole my brain this week. For a game thats all about atmosphere it sure doesnt want to keep you in the world very much. You have to menu dig to save every 5 minutes because it doesnt save enough, and you cant skip cut scenes, so you want to make sure that you progress so you save. So you save, go back, battle, save again. Hey Jeff, if you want to prove the point that the game is unplayable with certain classes, which is something Ive been saying at gaf for a while, try playing as a soldier the game becomes much more enjoyable. I liked the game, but the potential really just pours salt on the wound, you know it could have been so much better, seems like every area of the game was cut down at some point in the process. In anycase Jeff, I whole heartedly agree with you man, maybe ME 2 will fix everything, maybe.

[necrosis]

I think mass effect is great, but if they fix all the little things the game would be amazing.

1) they need to fix the saving system, its gets really tedious having to go to the menu and save every 5 minutes when the auto save system should be doing it for
2) An on-screen mini map would be nice, even though the waypoint took away a lot of the switching back and forth jeff was talking about.
3) I loved the weapon upgrades and really noticed a difference (for example, the geth would die much quicker when i used the tungsten upgrade, which increased dmg vs synthetics). But my beef is with the weapons, they are just sad. only have 4 weapons is kind of lame, but they all look the same which is really annoying. In most rpgs by the end of the game you have some kick ass weapons to show for all that youve accomplished, but in mass effect all you have is.. the same weapons you started with but they have better stats and maybe a different color. Bioware needs to add weapons that look different, and maybe even more than 4 weapons.
4) They need to do something about the repetitive side quests. What i think they should do is forgo side quests all together, they are pointless and a waste of time. This would allow them more time to work on the main story and it would make it much longer.
5) They need to do something about the classes. i played through the game my first time with a soldier on veteran, needless to say it was easy, but it was much harder with an adept because no matter what your going to be doing damage with your weapons, and why would i need biotic powers when i can have my squad mates do it for me?
6) they need to make space exploration less tedious, it took me a good 15-20 hours of going from planet to planet til i eventually explored every planet. its boring, its not fun and i have little incentive (other than achievement points) to do it
7) Make decryption a little more than just pressing ABXY, and actually make it tough so it doesnt get tedious. the oblivion lockpicking system was great because it was tough, especially for somebody with a low level of lockpicking.
8) Revamp the renegade/paragon system. I saw no point in this system (other than achievements). In kotor the light/dark side had an adverse affect on the game. If you were dark you could actually see it in the way your character looks, and the side you chose mainly reflected the force powers that you used. The renegade paragon system needs to have some sort of incentive such as different abbilities,weapons, and new dialogue options.
9) They need to have the characters say different things for each dialogue option, which takes away from the feeling that what your saying is truly good, bad, mean, or nice.

If bioware can fix all those things with Mass Effect 2, then it would be totally rad.

[siraim]

I should go to bed.. but I just wanted this weeks episode.. and I can completely see potential for disliking this game. For the record, I loved it. At the same time, I didn't recommend a friend buy it because I knew the issues with the game would bug him to death. That being said.. This ***SPOILER ALERT*** is in effect for the rest of this post..

I think the story is typical, unnecessarily obtuse sci-fi mumbo-jumbo.
I couldn't agree more. I really wanted to love the story but it never really affected me. The lady helping the main bad guy repents and wants to.. oh wait.. the bad guy made her try to kill me. got it. Oh.. the formerly main bad guy wants to repent (cause I talked him off his ledge).. and he decides to save me the trouble by killing himself.. aweso.. oh.. the new bad guy is just going to bring him back and I have to fight anyway? ok. sure. Those aren't "twists", they're lazy 8th grade writing.

You know what has a GREAT story? Uncharted. It is full of action, intrigue, twists, turns, surprises and isn't bogged down by false complexity.
damn being on the road.. between the episode this week and the general buzz about this game.. I can't wait to get home and add it to the collection. Played the demo and loved it..


Decryption is pressing Y B A X? That's the most interesting thing they could come up with? With games like Bioshock and Ratchet and Clank coming out with such interesting mini-games to do the same thing, these guys resort to "push this button"?
Penny Arcade Take on the decryption.. (http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/11/14) I thought of this as soon as I read your comment.


Bugs. I got stuck in the environment twice. Had to restart.
Somewhere along the way, I figured out I could climb onto certain boxes in the environment. Totally Rad. Then while on said box, I noticed a container on another set of boxes out on the warehouse floor. Ok. I managed to make my way to the container. Decypted the container and got my goodies.. and then fell into the geometry when I tried to get down. Thus ended my exploration of "cool things" that I shouldn't try to do.

At the end of the day, I loved this game and am starting a new career to see how the game plays when I'm not an Adept. I enjoyed being a human in a world that wasn't receptive to me. I loved learning about the galaxy along with my character. I took the time to read all of the inane BS that accompanied all of the planets I visited even if there was nothing to do on said planet. I still have NO IDEA why I scanned all the keepers. I know later on that they were pivotal to the plot of the game but my scanning or not scanning them had no effect on anything.

I loved the game and, like the abused gamer I am, I forgive Bioware for the blemishes the game has and the pain it inflicted upon me. And.. the Mako sequences were made more enjoyable with the added mental picture of my three characters bouncing around inside the Mako puking every which way as my rover bounced all over the generic Bryce3D landscapes..

[jinstarwing]

I don't think that its fair to draw a comparison between Oblivion and Mass Effect because of differences between those games. Elder Scroll is a series of games that has been around for years and they had a lot of room to fix their mistakes and there is tons of people that like Morrowind better than Oblivion. Now you look at Mass Effect that is created by a company that did KOTOR and the games have similar attributes but its a first game in the series and it should have room for improvements and changes. If you look at the RPG's that are out there for 360 right now except Oblivion there is nothing else that would be able to grasp my interest in a way that Mass Effect did. I give them a lot of props and I think this is a great holiday buy which has huge amount of room for improvement and I think in a near future we are going to be surprised by a sequel or a game in this same magnitude.
On a lighter note I love your guys show and I think that your reviews are right on point you should decide to do a live taping in NYC that would be uber rad.
Ps. Are you guys going to maybe like a holiday game guide to buy that would be interesting

[neomonk21]

I'm with Dan and Alex on this one. At first I didn't like the combat and had a hard time. I died repeatedly at this one part and it was annoying. After taking a break and coming back something clicked in my mind and it all made sense. I tried a different tactic and actually commanded my squad members (instead of letting the AI do it) and was able to get past the part I was stuck on. This made combat enjoyable.

I also enjoyed the story. Sure a lot of it was predictable but the story was what kept me playing until I finished. I totally saw what was going to happen at the end and still thought it was cool because it happened that way. I am also with Dan on the part where you have to make a big decision. I sat there for minutes trying to figure out what to do because I cared about the characters (and I wanted my character to get busy with one of the ladies).

The side quests were a major let down. After doing two of them I was tired of them. It was the same formula each time. They said you could explore new worlds. In reality it was the same world with a different texture map.

Another complaint I had was that the items felt generic. All the upgrades were just the next number in that particular brand gun/armor. The redeeming factor were the mods. It added some strategy to the game to figure out what you were fighting and modding your guns/armor accordingly. I can name a few battles where I struggled at first but breezed through once I swapped things out.

Overall it was not the best game I've played but it was pretty darn good. It was great entertainment for the 20-some hours it took me to finish.

[darthender]

I have to say that, I actually agree with most of Jeff's beefs, but I still love the game.

The one thing I disagree with is his not liking the combat. GoW that you pause at any time to use wierd powers is awsome. Baldur's Gate and KotOR were basically the same. You could let the combat just go, or you could pause to throw spells/force powers.

But all the other nitpicks are right on. The inventory system is balls. The map is too many button pushes to get to for something you have to look at every 30 seconds.

There actually is planetary exploration, just not on any of the planets the storyline follows. The storyline planets are like linear shooter levels. But if you actually travel to non-story systems, there are planets that are basically just huge square maps you can drive around on looking for minerals and crashed ships and other points of interest. Of course, you have to use the car. The car BLOWS. I have an interstellar spacecraft, couldn't I explore planets in, oh, I dunno, something that FLIES?

While the hacking system is stupid, I can honestly say it didn't bother me much, because it was fast. It actually bugs me more when I have to play a minute and a half minigame to get a drawer open, even if the minigame is good.

[krazyman]

I have been anticipating Mass Effect since it was announced. A few months ago, I bought the book Mass Effect:Revelation, which is a prequel to the game. (It is about Captain Anderson, and his encounter with Saren) I bought the game the day it came out expecting it to be the best RPG of all time. Then I started playing, and was confused. I thought the combat was horrible. I had to play a particular boss encounter (my first one) over 25 times. At this point I was also frustrated because I had failed to adapt to the game's save/continue system. Then I decided I needed to level up by completing some side quests. During this time I learned that you could zoom in with the R trigger, as well as many other basic functions that allowed me to play the game properly. From this point on, I loved every minute of the game. The back story I had gained by reading the book definitely helped to set the scene. I am on my second play through now, playing as a different gender, and as a renegade.

Side notes:
-Played as Vanguard first time through.
-Had a friend that wanted it to be Oblivion, and hated it. He ended up returning it. (He only finished one planet, and he didn't want to play for a few hours to enjoy it. )
-Character design = awesome
-Thought the combat was much better than previous Bioware games
-Soundtrack is amazing
-It seems biotic (magic) based classes are not suited for the primary play through.
-I enjoyed the majority of the side quests.

[reoze]

Because he sees Mass Effect for what it is, another Bioware game. Bioware games are very good, very entertaining. But they're ALL, and I mean ALL, 3-6 hours games with a ton of side quests you don't need to do at all to get through the story.


And if side quests were mandatory then people would whine that you have to go through "needless" crap to complete the story. The game is however long you want it to be, if you enjoy playing it, do the side quests. The only reason NOT to do the side quests is if you're not enjoying the game, and here comes the paradox. The biggest problem with the game is that people didn't think it was long enough.

[krazyman]

You have to menu dig to save every 5 minutes because it doesnt save enough, and you cant skip cut scenes, so you want to make sure that you progress so you save. So you save, go back, battle, save again.

You can skip the majority of the cut scene with "x" although it doesn't work in action sequences...which annoyed me too. I didn't feel like I need to save THAT much, especially once you were a high enough level to take enemies down in 2 or 3 shots. But a better autosave system would have been a godsend during the earlier parts of the game, I literally replayed hours of the game before I learned to save.

[silentsignals]

Just finished the game. I can understand some of Jeff's frustrations with some of the choices ending up with the same result. The handling of the vehicle was just awful. And the side quests got pretty monotonous half way through, especially in the sameness of the bases. But the rest of it was just brilliant. The story was great and the ending was just fantastic and action packed. Can't wait for Mass Effect 2 & hopefully they'll leave the Maco out & just have a shuttle craft drop them off or something.

[frostraven]

I thought Mass Effect was amazing. I read what some of you thought about the story, relating it to Halo and stuff. I mean, really? Did you guys read the prequel book a few months back? There is so much written history, so much that has happened before humans came around and joined the 'galactic community'. I love how full the history and story is, and it was far more interesting than Halo's somewhat simplistic 'space war'. Mass Effect isn't about a particular war or the tension between two separate races, but the relationship between many races and the sort of 'racism' that you can feel as a human in a universe where humans are a minority.

I dunno, everyone's gonna have their opinions and that's cool. Personally, if there's any space story that has become so tiring and drawn out over the years, I feel it's Star Wars - and I'm glad that Bioware's writers are bold enough to come out with some original stuff in a genre that is hard to conquer.

[krazyman]

I thought Mass Effect was amazing. I read what some of you thought about the story, relating it to Halo and stuff. I mean, really? Did you guys read the prequel book a few months back? There is so much written history, so much that has happened before humans came around and joined the 'galactic community'. I love how full the history and story is, and it was far more interesting than Halo's somewhat simplistic 'space war'. Mass Effect isn't about a particular war or the tension between two separate races, but the relationship between many races and the sort of 'racism' that you can feel as a human in a universe where humans are a minority.


I agree, Halo's story is good, but cannot touch Mass Effect. It's similar to the Kotor games, but better. Not being restrained by the Star Wars license allowed them to create everything. I do think that the game would be confusing without reading the prequel. It introduces you more to the Universe, and you can start to understand the tensions between the races, as well as what it means for Shepard to become a Spectre.

[necrosis]

I thought Mass Effect was amazing. I read what some of you thought about the story, relating it to Halo and stuff. I mean, really? Did you guys read the prequel book a few months back? There is so much written history, so much that has happened before humans came around and joined the 'galactic community'. I love how full the history and story is, and it was far more interesting than Halo's somewhat simplistic 'space war'. Mass Effect isn't about a particular war or the tension between two separate races, but the relationship between many races and the sort of 'racism' that you can feel as a human in a universe where humans are a minority.

I dunno, everyone's gonna have their opinions and that's cool. Personally, if there's any space story that has become so tiring and drawn out over the years, I feel it's Star Wars - and I'm glad that Bioware's writers are bold enough to come out with some original stuff in a genre that is hard to conquer.

I totally agree with you. I think there was much more in the story than what jeff interpreted. Yeah sure, you can compare it to halo, but mass effect gave you more story than you got in all the halo's put together. The story isn't just about an ancient race that left a doomsday device, its about Humanity's part in the universe and its coming to be accepted between the other races. Id say my only gripe with the story was that they didnt explain the biotic system very well.

also i kinda liked the mako, i know its cheesy but jeffs analogy was that its like controlling an R/C car, but who doesnt like to play with r/c cars?

[kenshin_elite]

We can agree to disagree about this game, but there is no way you can really believe THIS comment, can you? You really think I didn't want to like Mass Effect? It was my MOST anticipated game of the year. If we had been forced to pick ONLY ONE game to play of the fall, I would have chosen Mass Effect. I was out of my mind for the game - which is why I felt it was such a disappointment. And it is easy to think I hated it - I did not. I think it is a solid 7 - a decent game, but it provides NO WHERE NEAR the experience Oblivion did. And it certainly doesn't deliver on its promise.

I think the story is typical, unnecessarily obtuse sci-fi mumbo-jumbo. I don't understand why we have to get more Halo-esque "Oh the forerunners were here millions of years ago and left a doomsday device". Really? Yawn. And how did I get this story? Hollow-sounding exposition computer tells it to me. Really? Yawn. And the "twists"? Geez. "You know that one arbitrary thing that we told you happened millions of years ago?" "Yeah, turns out it was a different arbitrary thing." Really? Yawn.

You know what has a GREAT story? Uncharted. It is full of action, intrigue, twists, turns, surprises and isn't bogged down by false complexity.

Seriously, I didn't hate this game, but here are a few more issues I didn't have time to get into in the episode:

Decryption is pressing Y B A X? That's the most interesting thing they could come up with? With games like Bioshock and Ratchet and Clank coming out with such interesting mini-games to do the same thing, these guys resort to "push this button"?

Bugs. I got stuck in the environment twice. Had to restart.

Explore planets! Really? Looks like a planet is one linear pathway with an enemy at the end of it.

I am sad more than mad, because maybe if this game didn't have to make Holiday 2007, it could have ruled.

-Jeff

I hated Mass Effect also. I couldn't get into it and was very very bored the entire time. I didn't feel a sense of urgency or that anything that happened in the game would be deep and life changing. I think playing so many RPGs in the past and seeing the same crap used again with glaring mistakes.

The thing that really bothered me was not being able to see your team. You could tell them what to do but couldn't really see them while you fought. They died and I didn't even know they were just standing around being idiots. Even using commands telling them what to do they all seemed excessively retarded no matter what I did.

Maybe its the fact I am burnt out on RPG/leveling up games since I have played WoW for so long and I am not starting to be burnt out again on that game. But the story just doesn't capture me like say CoD4 did. And I loved Kotor and Oblivion but this game just seemed like a waste of time.

[johnhenry]

Well, I was surprised by Jeff's dislike of this game as well as Alex's love of this game. I went into the review thinking they would feel the exact opposite. Anyway, I think the biggest part of the whole dislike was the fact Jeff picked the worst/hardest class to play. I think there would have been a different outcome if he picked soldier or vanguaard.

[darknessgp]

I thought Mass Effect was amazing. I read what some of you thought about the story, relating it to Halo and stuff. I mean, really? Did you guys read the prequel book a few months back? There is so much written history, so much that has happened before humans came around and joined the 'galactic community'. I love how full the history and story is, and it was far more interesting than Halo's somewhat simplistic 'space war'. Mass Effect isn't about a particular war or the tension between two separate races, but the relationship between many races and the sort of 'racism' that you can feel as a human in a universe where humans are a minority.

I dunno, everyone's gonna have their opinions and that's cool. Personally, if there's any space story that has become so tiring and drawn out over the years, I feel it's Star Wars - and I'm glad that Bioware's writers are bold enough to come out with some original stuff in a genre that is hard to conquer.

umm, most people didn't read the prequel book. And it sounds like they should have spent more time and money on the game than writing history that the average player of their game will never read.

I can understand where you are coming from by saying that the "story" isn't like Halo. I use quotes because you are basing your opinion off of reading material that is not included with the game. I believe that the story that the game presents is similar to Halo.

My whole feeling on Mass Effect, is that Bioware made a decent game, it does not live up to the hype. They made a game that isn't great, but good enough to warrant making a sequel and hopefully one that won't get it's development rushed.

[rudolpma]

"I think it is a solid 7 - a decent game, but it provides NO WHERE NEAR the experience Oblivion did. And it certainly doesn't deliver on its promise." - Jeff

Thank you for summing up your feelings on this Jeff. After your stellar recommendation to watch The Shield I am now a fanatic (just starting season 5.) As for Mass Effect I am just starting the game and have fallen in love with it already. However, I knew nothing about the game and added it to my game que in gamefly simply because it was new.

I can tell it will be a rewarding experience. I enjoy the time and craft that is taken to get through each "conflict" as opposed to COD4 which basically gives me a heart attack. At 32 I am still no comfortable with the run n' gun style of FPS. Perhaps Mass Effect will be my consummation into RPGs for many more years.

Agree to disagree, but I always value your opinion the most 1. because you have the best taste out of three and 2. because you articulate your points intelligently.

Keep up the good work.

[the-rafman]

I have been anticipating Mass Effect since it was announced. A few months ago, I bought the book Mass Effect:Revelation, which is a prequel to the game. (It is about Captain Anderson, and his encounter with Saren) I bought the game the day it came out expecting it to be the best RPG of all time. Then I started playing, and was confused. I thought the combat was horrible. I had to play a particular boss encounter (my first one) over 25 times. At this point I was also frustrated because I had failed to adapt to the game's save/continue system. Then I decided I needed to level up by completing some side quests. During this time I learned that you could zoom in with the R trigger, as well as many other basic functions that allowed me to play the game properly. From this point on, I loved every minute of the game. The back story I had gained by reading the book definitely helped to set the scene. I am on my second play through now, playing as a different gender, and as a renegade.

Side notes:
-Played as Vanguard first time through.
-Had a friend that wanted it to be Oblivion, and hated it. He ended up returning it. (He only finished one planet, and he didn't want to play for a few hours to enjoy it. )
-Character design = awesome
-Thought the combat was much better than previous Bioware games
-Soundtrack is amazing
-It seems biotic (magic) based classes are not suited for the primary play through.
-I enjoyed the majority of the side quests.

I totally and completely agree with you. I too started as a Vanguard and got my ass kicked. But as I continued to play I realized I could do so much with my upgrades, weapons, and partners that I felt satisfied and even a little impressed when I did some of these hard missions. I beat the game and am now playing as my same character in the replay mode, (which is awesome in and of itself), but I am also playing as a female renegade solider and to tell you the truth I am kicking way more ass on parts I thought were impossible because I know what I am doing and now I am even finding side missions I knew nothing about before. I know I am going to play through this at least 4 more times to see everything I can do.

[the-rafman]

"I think it is a solid 7 - a decent game, but it provides NO WHERE NEAR the experience Oblivion did. And it certainly doesn't deliver on its promise." - Jeff



I think that Oblivion is great, but I know people didn't like it because it was too massive for them. Mass Effect has the advantage of being massive with out going too overboard in my own opinion.

[stranger_danger]

I think that Oblivion is great, but I know people didn't like it because it was too massive for them. Mass Effect has the advantage of being massive with out going too overboard in my own opinion.

What's massive about it? All the optional exploring you can do?

[reemixx]

I haven't played Mass Effect yet, but I'm really looking forward to it, despite Jeff's conflicting opinion about it as well as some others'. Partly, I want to play it just to see for myself what he was meaning.

I often have a hard time getting through a lot of Bioware's games, but I'll admit they're often very immersive with emphasis on story (which is a good thing!). There's usually something I don't like about them though, whether it's to do with the engine used, camera, etc. Just something that pulls me out of the game a bit. I'm hoping that's not the case with Mass Effect, but I'm willing to stick with it this time around to get to the end. I've a feeling I'm going to like this one though. And it will be interesting playing a Bioware title on the 360. All previous ones I've played on PC.

I'll agree that Oblivion did seem 'massive', just based on the size of the map and the amount of places you could explore. As for quests and stuff, not so much. The main quests were short and not very interesting. Still, it's a fun game just to roam around and explore.

Mass Effect seems a lot more linear in comparison, which I think can be an advantage in a story-based RPG. Of course I'm just assuming, because I haven't played it, but it seems to be the case from what I've read.

[johnnyutah]

I tremendously enjoyed playing the game, but I agree with Jeff that the game feels rushed. The sidequests were totally boring, especially for your side kicks. anytime I strayed from the main path of the story, you could feel the game slowly coming apart. It's a shame, really, because when you read the codex, bioware really put a lot of time and effort into creating a history for this universe, yet the gameplay (and let's admit it, this game is designed for maximum pleasure only when you play as a soldier, blasting your way through the game) just skirts the surface of that depth.