Mass Effect was the game of the year... adds to Gamespot inferior reviews...

[QUOTE="mjarantilla"]

[QUOTE="UnknownSniper65"]everytime mjarantilla posts I can't help but laugh..."SMG is for mature gamers" ....like my 8 year old cousin for instance! loldarthzew

Anyone who considers a bad Star Trek wannabe to be "mature" needs to recheck his own sense of judgment. Mass Effect's story is MST3k material.

A) Mass Effect is better than Star Trek, no it isn't as big (yet), but in thirty hours it managed to do what Star Trek did over hte course of years.

B) Anyone who considers a plumber with a gay cop mustache who seeks out stars while avoiding plants, turtles, and moving mushroom men while moving about in his colorfully fun galaxy to be mature needs to recheck his sense of judgement.

It's immature that you think mature games are games like ME.

[QUOTE="Kahuna_1"]I love how you guys are singling out mjarantilla when 2-3 other posters have listed the exact same issues with the game...also AC got a 9 because Ubisoft flashed their wallet.mjarantilla

They're singling me out because I'm voicing an opinion about gaming that has been gaining strength since the last generation, i.e. the rejection of edgy, PR-driven, adrenaline-pumped action movies as the proper direction for the growth of gaming.

There are deeper issues to be discussed, but this is the most obvious and one of the most urgent ones. Games have become an outlet for developers to live out their personal Hollywood fantasy cliches, not to create serious creative works. The problem is, the core gaming audience promotes those kinds of developments, and they are so vocal that many developers have learned to ignore the vast masses who are leaving gaming (as we know it) for newer pastures like the Wii and DS that promise even the slighest hint of something new.

Lol...Don't let the door hit you on the way out

[QUOTE="mjarantilla"]

[QUOTE="UnknownSniper65"]everytime mjarantilla posts I can't help but laugh..."SMG is for mature gamers" ....like my 8 year old cousin for instance! loldarthzew

Anyone who considers a bad Star Trek wannabe to be "mature" needs to recheck his own sense of judgment. Mass Effect's story is MST3k material.

A) Mass Effect is better than Star Trek, no it isn't as big (yet), but in thirty hours it managed to do what Star Trek did over hte course of years.

B) Anyone who considers a plumber with a gay cop mustache who seeks out stars while avoiding plants, turtles, and moving mushroom men while moving about in his colorfully fun galaxy to be mature needs to recheck his sense of judgement.

a) HAH, no. It doesn't even have a story that makes sense. "Why do the Reapers want to attack us anyway?" "I don't know, they just do." Really, when the Warden said that I burst out loud laughing. That's the kind of plot twist you'd see on Flash Gordon. Star Trek is Asimov by comparison.

b) Someone who can't see past what's only skindeep doesn't deserve to participate in discussions about thematic maturity.

it got what it deserved ;)---OkeyDokey---

No, no it didn't. Maybe you can play the game and then say that?

Oh and I never ran into any framerate issues except for a few times when I'd spin around quickly to make a turn I'd get a small stutter occasionally.

[QUOTE="darthzew"][QUOTE="mjarantilla"]

[QUOTE="UnknownSniper65"]everytime mjarantilla posts I can't help but laugh..."SMG is for mature gamers" ....like my 8 year old cousin for instance! lolmjarantilla

Anyone who considers a bad Star Trek wannabe to be "mature" needs to recheck his own sense of judgment. Mass Effect's story is MST3k material.

A) Mass Effect is better than Star Trek, no it isn't as big (yet), but in thirty hours it managed to do what Star Trek did over hte course of years.

B) Anyone who considers a plumber with a gay cop mustache who seeks out stars while avoiding plants, turtles, and moving mushroom men while moving about in his colorfully fun galaxy to be mature needs to recheck his sense of judgement.

a) HAH, no. It doesn't even have a story that makes sense. "Why do the Reapers want to attack us anyway?" "I don't know, they just do." Seriously, that's the kind of plot twist you'd see on Flash Gordon.

b) Someone who can't see past what's only skindeep doesn't deserve to participate in discussions about thematic maturity.

What I really want to know is what type of values do these people get from playing games.
It must be very different from mine.
Seeing as how I PURPOSEFULLY search for new things rather than shooters being rehashed over and over and over again.

Edit: Or games that are all about story that doesn't even deliver efficiently in that department and lack in the actual gameplay sense. (E.g. ME) I'd rather go read an electronic romance novel.

[QUOTE="mjarantilla"]

[QUOTE="UnknownSniper65"]everytime mjarantilla posts I can't help but laugh..."SMG is for mature gamers" ....like my 8 year old cousin for instance! lolUnknownSniper65

Anyone who considers a bad Star Trek wannabe to be "mature" needs to recheck his own sense of judgment. Mass Effect's story is MST3k material.

way to change the subject...SMG isn't a mature game and mass effect has several mature themes to it...a 10 year old could play SMG...10 year oldcouldn't play Mass Effect without a parent or older brother/sister.

ESRB says:

SMG: E

Mass Effect: M

What's the matter, has playing the 360 so deeply atrophied your ability independent thought that you can't even formulate your own analyses and have to rely on a corporate body's arbitrary age assignments?

Mass Effect's story is MST3k material.mjarantilla

You put it with movies such as Godzilla vs. Megalon, Manos: The Hands of Fate, The Brain that Wouldn't Die?

I mean, I'll agree that the delivery in Mass Effect is forced and pretty much crap, but there *is* a story. I mean, come on, you're just flamebaiting.

I will admit that i haven't beat it yet, so I haven't got reasons for some of the basic stuff the game is based on.

[QUOTE="darthzew"][QUOTE="mjarantilla"]

[QUOTE="UnknownSniper65"]everytime mjarantilla posts I can't help but laugh..."SMG is for mature gamers" ....like my 8 year old cousin for instance! lolmjarantilla

Anyone who considers a bad Star Trek wannabe to be "mature" needs to recheck his own sense of judgment. Mass Effect's story is MST3k material.

A) Mass Effect is better than Star Trek, no it isn't as big (yet), but in thirty hours it managed to do what Star Trek did over the course of years.

B) Anyone who considers a plumber with a gay cop mustache who seeks out stars while avoiding plants, turtles, and moving mushroom men while moving about in his colorfully fun galaxy to be mature needs to recheck his sense of judgement.

a) HAH, no. It doesn't even have a story that makes sense. "Why do the Reapers want to attack us anyway?" "I don't know, they just do." Seriously, that's the kind of plot twist you'd see on Flash Gordon.

b) Someone who can't see past what's only skindeep doesn't deserve to participate in discussions about thematic maturity.

I think you missed the allegory there with the reapers. They made the technology and brought up the civilizations but they also want to destroy it. Did you miss the God reference there? God made the world but God will also destroy the world. We don't know why God does this, but he does.

What part of Mario goes beyond skindeep? Seriously.

mjarantilla lost all creditability when called SMG a mature game and then went on to bash violent games...sorry but you're a minority...you can scream tyranty of the majority all you want. The vast majority of people like games that are filled with action. The threat of your characters death only adds to the thrill of these games because you are literally fighting for your character's life.

^thank you darthzew for pointing that out to him...not to mention the full reasoning for the Reapers hasn't been devulged yet...could be in ME2...or their reasoning could simply be beyond that of our own.

[QUOTE="Hoffgod"]Is it a great game? Yes. Is it AAA quality? No. The game suffers from a myriad of techical issues which serve as a significant speedbump between you and the ultimate goal of the game, which seems to be to immerse you into the universe of the game. Plus, several poor design choices gimp the overall experience. The side quests are dull and repetitive, traversing the worlds can be tedious and unnecessarily difficult, and the dialogue system can be gamed quite easily to take the challange out. And in case you don't believe that I've beaten the game, here.UnknownSniper65

...Gamespots reviews are inconsistant because Assassins Creed had all of those exact problems...how could assassins creed get a 9.0 and Mass Effect get an 8.5 when Mass Effect was clearly a better game.

[QUOTE="Hoffgod"]Is it a great game? Yes. Is it AAA quality? No. The game suffers from a myriad of techical issues which serve as a significant speedbump between you and the ultimate goal of the game, which seems to be to immerse you into the universe of the game. Plus, several poor design choices gimp the overall experience. The side quests are dull and repetitive, traversing the worlds can be tedious and unnecessarily difficult, and the dialogue system can be gamed quite easily to take the challange out. And in case you don't believe that I've beaten the game, here.BambooBanger

Myriad ? It suffers from two noticable glitches - loading textures and framerate issues, both of which don't impeade on the actual gameplay and happen infrequently enough to ignore.

[QUOTE="mjarantilla"] Mass Effect's story is MST3k material.Jandurin

You put it with movies such as Godzilla vs. Megalon, Manos: The Hands of Fate, The Brain that Wouldn't Die?

I mean, I'll agree that the delivery in Mass Effect is forced and pretty much crap, but there *is* a story. I mean, come on, you're just flamebaiting.

I will admit that i haven't beat it yet, so I haven't got reasons for some of the basic stuff the game is based on.

To be fair, MST3k ridicules movies for their presentation more than their story. Mass Effect has a wonderful presentation. It just has a piss-poor story. I'm hoping BioWare does a better job ME2/3 and Dragon Age, but ME itself is lacking so much, I would not even say it has a skeleton of a story. The plotlines of the three main quest worlds are little more than random vignettes that have nothing to do with the story at all.

[QUOTE="mjarantilla"][QUOTE="darthzew"][QUOTE="mjarantilla"]

[QUOTE="UnknownSniper65"]everytime mjarantilla posts I can't help but laugh..."SMG is for mature gamers" ....like my 8 year old cousin for instance! loldarthzew

Anyone who considers a bad Star Trek wannabe to be "mature" needs to recheck his own sense of judgment. Mass Effect's story is MST3k material.

A) Mass Effect is better than Star Trek, no it isn't as big (yet), but in thirty hours it managed to do what Star Trek did over the course of years.

B) Anyone who considers a plumber with a gay cop mustache who seeks out stars while avoiding plants, turtles, and moving mushroom men while moving about in his colorfully fun galaxy to be mature needs to recheck his sense of judgement.

a) HAH, no. It doesn't even have a story that makes sense. "Why do the Reapers want to attack us anyway?" "I don't know, they just do." Seriously, that's the kind of plot twist you'd see on Flash Gordon.

b) Someone who can't see past what's only skindeep doesn't deserve to participate in discussions about thematic maturity.

I think you missed the allegory there with the reapers. They made the technology and brought up the civilizations but they also want to destroy it. Did you miss the God reference there? God made the world but God will also destroy the world. We don't know why God does this, but he does.

What part of Mario goes beyond skindeep? Seriously.

a) Contrived Biblical references don't make Mass Effect's story any better considering that its foundation is fundamentally flawed to begin with.

b) Two words: Gameplay design. You know, the very skill around which this entire industry bases its entire existence.

3 main quest worlds? You mean I'm basically done the game :lol:.

I finished noveria feros and artemis tau this weekend. That isn't just the beginning?

3 main quest worlds? You mean I'm basically done the game :lol:.

I finished noveria feros and artemis tau this weekend. That isn't just the beginning?

Jandurin

2 more after that

3 main quest worlds? You mean I'm basically done the game :lol:.

I finished noveria feros and artemis tau this weekend. That isn't just the beginning?

Jandurin

[QUOTE="colmusterd28"]

thanks for your addition to our thread... I know great games when I play one... ME is a great game by any logical standard...

the_h_bomb

I'm sure your buddies in high school we're impressed with the aliens and the "risque" content but those of us who know a thing or two about RPGs and have played good Bioware games tend to think differently.

lol if you read that statement outloud you realize how sad it is

UnknownSniper65

What''s sad is lemmings going on about a flop KOTOR ripoff with technical issues

Its not a flop as it sold over 1m copies...... and its made from the same company as KOTOR so is it a suprise that certainelements are borrowed?

[QUOTE="darthzew"][QUOTE="mjarantilla"][QUOTE="darthzew"][QUOTE="mjarantilla"]

[QUOTE="UnknownSniper65"]everytime mjarantilla posts I can't help but laugh..."SMG is for mature gamers" ....like my 8 year old cousin for instance! lolmjarantilla

Anyone who considers a bad Star Trek wannabe to be "mature" needs to recheck his own sense of judgment. Mass Effect's story is MST3k material.

A) Mass Effect is better than Star Trek, no it isn't as big (yet), but in thirty hours it managed to do what Star Trek did over the course of years.

B) Anyone who considers a plumber with a gay cop mustache who seeks out stars while avoiding plants, turtles, and moving mushroom men while moving about in his colorfully fun galaxy to be mature needs to recheck his sense of judgement.

a) HAH, no. It doesn't even have a story that makes sense. "Why do the Reapers want to attack us anyway?" "I don't know, they just do." Seriously, that's the kind of plot twist you'd see on Flash Gordon.

b) Someone who can't see past what's only skindeep doesn't deserve to participate in discussions about thematic maturity.

I think you missed the allegory there with the reapers. They made the technology and brought up the civilizations but they also want to destroy it. Did you miss the God reference there? God made the world but God will also destroy the world. We don't know why God does this, but he does.

What part of Mario goes beyond skindeep? Seriously.

a) Contrived Biblical references don't make Mass Effect's story any better considering that its foundation is fundamentally flawed to begin with.

b) Two words: Gameplay design. You know, the very skill around which this entire industry bases its entire existence.

A) Sure, but you're dodging the point. You specifically attacked the Reaper plot and I answered for it. Give me another point as to why its plot is bad and I'll answer for that too. Mass Effect has a great plot, just because you don't like the plot doesn't make it any less great.

B) Not everyone plays a game just for a great gameplay mechanic. Gameplay is no longer the only factor in which a game is made great. While yes, gameplay should be the most important factor in determining the quality of a game, it's not the only one. Mass Effect's gameplay isn't revolutionary or outstanding, but it still isn't bad enough to be considered horrible. Anyway, answer my original question, stop dodging me: What part of Mario goes beyond skindeep?

Wow... what a finish... Mass Effect delivered the goods on every conciveable level and ended with an amazing interactive cinematic of sheer genious, never jumping the shark, but concentrated on superior story telling. All in all the game was very easily in the 9's as far as score was concerned. I gave it a 10 because frame rate issues pale in comparrison to the greatness of this game.

The one thing that jaded my thoughts a bit durring the ending though, It kept running through my head how terribly off the review on Gamespot was... Even if you don't enjoy rpg's it's worth playing through this game just so you can see how off the mark gamespot was on this game... It makes you wonder if they even played it at all....

colmusterd28

Agreed. Based on Gamespot's rating system, I'd say that the game deserved at least a 9.5. It was simply the most immersive game I have ever played. I could NOT put down the controller, no matter how hard I tried.

3 main quest worlds? You mean I'm basically done the game :lol:.

I finished noveria feros and artemis tau this weekend. That isn't just the beginning?

Jandurin

You're done with the game. There's just one more world (the last world, forgot the name of it), then you're teleported back to the Citadel for the final showdown after the obligatory final exposition.

Believe me, I was as shocked as you. I finished the main quest in about 17 hours, but if I hadn't spent so many hours doing all the side-quests in the Citadel and the quest worlds, I probably would've come in at only 10 or 12 hours. The exploration side missions are a joke, so I didn't even bother with them.

[QUOTE="darthzew"][QUOTE="mjarantilla"]

[QUOTE="UnknownSniper65"]everytime mjarantilla posts I can't help but laugh..."SMG is for mature gamers" ....like my 8 year old cousin for instance! lolwiretoss

Anyone who considers a bad Star Trek wannabe to be "mature" needs to recheck his own sense of judgment. Mass Effect's story is MST3k material.

A) Mass Effect is better than Star Trek, no it isn't as big (yet), but in thirty hours it managed to do what Star Trek did over hte course of years.

B) Anyone who considers a plumber with a gay cop mustache who seeks out stars while avoiding plants, turtles, and moving mushroom men while moving about in his colorfully fun galaxy to be mature needs to recheck his sense of judgement.

It's immature that you think mature games are games like ME.

ME is a very deep gamein terms of background information,WAY deeper than SMG.

SeriouslyI could play and understand the concept of Mario when I was 7,same can't be said about ME

TC - Did you skip the parts where you had to drive around the tank? Those portions alone meant it deserved getting docked at least an entire point.

Big Rigs + KOTOR = Mass Effect

I had a great time with Mass Effect. It's obvious that it's a divisive game, but really the fun that I had with it is all I'm concerned about.

It just amazes me how people can bash ME's story yet will play the same Mario, Zelda and Metroid stories with changes over and over again.

ME wasn't masterpiece theater, but it was decent. Haters be damned.

Gamers ( I use that term loosely here ) who bemoan the strengths of a title like M.E. on the 360 should be willing to name a pedigree on another "console" that even comes close to delivering the depth of story, dialog, expansiveness and last but not least, the real time combat found in this phenom RPG, RPG, RPG.!

Bioware gave the gamer many, many options on how to play out the combat and that alone is a strength that to my knowledge is unequalled in a cinematic, dialog intense RPG with REAL time squad based combat.

Could it be done better ?

Yes, M.E. 2 will further refine and add to this winning formula !

You know, all IMHO.

TC - Did you skip the parts where you had to drive around the tank? Those portions alone meant it deserved getting docked at least an entire point.

Big Rigs + KOTOR = Mass Effect

Bgrngod

Lol, yeah... the military needs to invent a Mako sometime soon because that thing could climb Everest!

[QUOTE="mjarantilla"][QUOTE="darthzew"][QUOTE="mjarantilla"][QUOTE="darthzew"][QUOTE="mjarantilla"]

[QUOTE="UnknownSniper65"]everytime mjarantilla posts I can't help but laugh..."SMG is for mature gamers" ....like my 8 year old cousin for instance! loldarthzew

Anyone who considers a bad Star Trek wannabe to be "mature" needs to recheck his own sense of judgment. Mass Effect's story is MST3k material.

A) Mass Effect is better than Star Trek, no it isn't as big (yet), but in thirty hours it managed to do what Star Trek did over the course of years.

B) Anyone who considers a plumber with a gay cop mustache who seeks out stars while avoiding plants, turtles, and moving mushroom men while moving about in his colorfully fun galaxy to be mature needs to recheck his sense of judgement.

a) HAH, no. It doesn't even have a story that makes sense. "Why do the Reapers want to attack us anyway?" "I don't know, they just do." Seriously, that's the kind of plot twist you'd see on Flash Gordon.

b) Someone who can't see past what's only skindeep doesn't deserve to participate in discussions about thematic maturity.

I think you missed the allegory there with the reapers. They made the technology and brought up the civilizations but they also want to destroy it. Did you miss the God reference there? God made the world but God will also destroy the world. We don't know why God does this, but he does.

What part of Mario goes beyond skindeep? Seriously.

a) Contrived Biblical references don't make Mass Effect's story any better considering that its foundation is fundamentally flawed to begin with.

b) Two words: Gameplay design. You know, the very skill around which this entire industry bases its entire existence.

A) Sure, but you're dodging the point. You specifically attacked the Reaper plot and I answered for it. Give me another point as to why its plot is bad and I'll answer for that too. Mass Effect has a great plot, just because you don't like the plot doesn't make it any less great.

B) Not everyone plays a game just for a great gameplay mechanic. Gameplay is no longer the only factor in which a game is made great. While yes, gameplay should be the most important factor in determining the quality of a game, it's not the only one. Mass Effect's gameplay isn't revolutionary or outstanding, but it still isn't bad enough to be considered horrible. Anyway, answer my original question, stop dodging me: What part of Mario goes beyond skindeep?

a) I'm not dodging anything. The Reaper plot was lazy and contrived. The writers don't give the slightest hint that the Reapers have a purpose other than total annihilation, and a simplistic theme that has been done to death in other, better works does not redeem creative apathy. I'm sure they'll come up with something for the next game, but apart from that one question that persists unanswered throughout the entire game, there's nothing foreshadowed or hinted in ME that could be carried over to ME2 at all, which would make any kind of "revelation" in ME2 pointless and empty, like most sequels to poorly written stories.

b) Actually, yes, Mass Effect's gameplay IS bad enough to be considered horrible. Numerous posters OTHER than me have repeated our complaints about Mass Effect, while ME supporters like yourself can only ever cite its "presentation" and "cinematic feel." The extent to which they affect the total experience can be chalked up to each individual's personal tolerance for flaws, but they ARE flaws nevertheless.

As for your question, once more, I HAVEN'T dodged it. I've answered it: gameplay design. You're the one dodging points of discussion by rejecting them outright for no good reason. You said yourself gameplay should be the most important factor in determining the quality of a game. Why should anything else be considered, especially when the developers make no pretenses at all about delivering a well-developed storyline or roller-coaster thrills?

Mass Effect seriously disappointed me. I couldn't wait to get my ship and go explore the galaxy, I get there, I see the vast map, I go into a solar system, and I can only land on one of the planets. And that planet happens to be a big grey empty square with some hills.

The gameplay was ok, lots of driving/running and shooting, I liked the conversation system, but the story didn't really grab me. Standard fate-of-the-universe stuff. TBH it feels to me like the Battlestar Galactica of video games (except for the Battlestar Galactica game, which actually is) in that it's telling a ''mature'' story with a gritty feel, critics mostly love it to pieces, but most average people are just like ''yeah, whatever''. BTW I hate BSG with a passion, but I don't hate Mass Effect. Probably because Mass Effect has some good characters wheras BSG has a bunch of unlikable characters with no redeeming features and an incredibly bleak outlook on life.

I had a great time with Mass Effect. It's obvious that it's a divisive game, but really the fun that I had with it is all I'm concerned about.

It just amazes me how people can bash ME's story yet will play the same Mario, Zelda and Metroid stories with changes over and over again.

ME wasn't masterpiece theater, but it was decent. Haters be damned.

heretrix

I can bash ME's story and still play Mario/Zelda/Metroid because I don't play Mario/Zelda/Metroid for their stories. I can tell you that I played KotOR for its story, and KotOR's final plot twist and how it was handled (in particular the build-up to it) was masterful. It's hard to believe that the same team made Mass Effect.

Tech issues hampered the reviewers enjoyment of the game. I'd say that would warrent a 8.5 since those issues appear frequently.jangojay

Slow texture loading is the only frequent issue. That happens in Oblivion ALL the time and no one complains.

[QUOTE="Bgrngod"]

TC - Did you skip the parts where you had to drive around the tank? Those portions alone meant it deserved getting docked at least an entire point.

Big Rigs + KOTOR = Mass Effect

darthzew

Lol, yeah... the military needs to invent a Mako sometime soon because that thing could climb Everest!

There is no oil at the top of Everest. **ZING!!**

Exactly what was wrong with ME's story? Not great but not as bad as you make out eitherflowdee79

First, there is absolutely no good reason for the Reapers to be doing what they were doing. Hell, there's no reason for Sovereign to be doing what it was doing. At least, none that the writers gave any hints for (and that IS part of their job, not ours). Since this is the basis of the entire plot, leaving it hanging without even a slight hint or speculation leaves us with an incomplete story with no foundation.

Second, the entire story structure of the game mimics that of KotOR by having you assemble a galactic puzzle by going to different planets to retrieve the different puzzle pieces (literally). HOWEVER, it lacks what KotOR had: character motivation. In KotOR, the final twist of the game turns the entire story on its head, as well as your relationship with each of the characters. That is a full story: plot events affecting character relationships. In Mass Effect, nothing happens to affect your relationships, other than dialogue choices that have nothing to do with the story itself. As a result, Mass Effect feels empty.

There doesn't appear to be any real reason for the Thorian's existence or for the Rachni's existence other than to provide you with their respective puzzle pieces. They are just arbitrary events that take place because you need a reason to go oafter Saren. Only on Artemis Tau does Mass Effect's emotional resonance approaches that of more complete stories like KotOR and BGII.

a) I'm not dodging anything. The Reaper plot was lazy and contrived. The writers don't give the slightest hint that the Reapers have a purpose other than total annihilation, and a simplistic theme that has been done to death in other, better works does not redeem creative apathy. I'm sure they'll come up with something for the next game, but apart from that one question that persists unanswered throughout the entire game, there's nothing foreshadowed or hinted in ME that could be carried over to ME2 at all, which would make any kind of "revelation" in ME2 pointless and empty, like most sequels to poorly written stories.

b) Actually, yes, Mass Effect's gameplay IS bad enough to be considered horrible. Numerous posters OTHER than me have repeated our complaints about Mass Effect, while ME supporters like yourself can only ever cite its "presentation" and "cinematic feel." The extent to which they affect the total experience can be chalked up to each individual's personal tolerance for flaws, but they ARE flaws nevertheless.

As for your question, once more, I HAVEN'T dodged it. I've answered it: gameplay design. You're the one dodging points of discussion by rejecting them outright for no good reason. You said yourself gameplay should be the most important factor in determining the quality of a game. Why should anything else be considered, especially when the developers make no pretenses at all about delivering a well-developed storyline or roller-coaster thrills?

A) But you can't quote to me one more point that's bad. Let's say that I do agree that the Reaper plot isn't great. Does that mean that the rest of the game isn't great? No. The backstory is incredible. You're also not considering the variations to science fiction that it presents, such as humanity not being the center of the galaxy. Very few games have as much backstory as Mass Effect... just go ask any character in your squad or otherwise and you'll learn something about Mass Effect's truly massive universe.

B) If it was broken, then yes, it's horrible. The only truly bad part was the Mako driving sequences and even those, after you get used to them (like really cold water in a pool), don't seem so bad. But no, the shooting elements were fine and I had a lot of fun with them. Numerous posters OTHER than me have repeated my praises for Mass Effect that it's gameplay isn't bad, but good.

Gameplay design doesn't go beyond skindeep. It's there. That's the point of the game, story is actually deeper than gameplay. A game MUST have gameplay for it to succeed in any shape or form. That's WHY it's the most important principle in a game. But it's what goes beyond that that really defines the game. Your question: "why should anything else be considered?" is foolish at best. You missed the point where I previously said that not everyone plays just for gameplay. Games are a form of art and art comes in many different forms. Add to that, art can be appreciated in many different ways.

[QUOTE="---OkeyDokey---"]it got what it deserved ;)colmusterd28

no it didn't.... It was clearly better than Assassins Creed and on par if not better than Bioshock (for different reasons) I don't believe you played the game... 

[QUOTE="---OkeyDokey---"]it got what it deserved ;)colmusterd28

no it didn't.... It was clearly better than Assassins Creed and on par if not better than Bioshock (for different reasons) I don't believe you played the game...

[QUOTE="flowdee79"]Exactly what was wrong with ME's story? Not great but not as bad as you make out eithermjarantilla

First, there is absolutely no good reason for the Reapers to be doing what they were doing. Hell, there's no reason for Sovereign to be doing what it was doing. At least, none that the writers gave any hints for (and that IS part of their job, not ours). Since this is the basis of the entire plot, leaving it hanging without even a slight hint or speculation leaves us with an incomplete story with no foundation.

Second, the entire story structure of the game mimics that of KotOR by having you assemble a galactic puzzle by going to different planets to retrieve the different puzzle pieces (literally). HOWEVER, it lacks what KotOR had: character motivation. In KotOR, the final twist of the game turns the entire story on its head, as well as your relationship with each of the characters. That is a full story: plot events affecting character relationships. In Mass Effect, nothing happens to affect your relationships, other than dialogue choices that have nothing to do with the story itself. As a result, Mass Effect feels empty.

There doesn't appear to be any real reason for the Thorian's existence or for the Rachni's existence other than to provide you with their respective puzzle pieces. They are just arbitrary events that take place because you need a reason to go oafter Saren. Only on Artemis Tau does Mass Effect's emotional resonance approaches that of more complete stories like KotOR and BGII.

Plot twists are great but I hate having one for the sake of it, and even if it did you would then come on whining "ZOMG, it had a twist at the end just like KOTOR, Bioware sucks now."

(PS in regards to your earlier accusations against me, if you read earlier in the thread I said ME wasn't one of my top 5 RPG's and I listed BG, BG2, Planescape, Morrowind and KOTOR as my top 5)

[QUOTE="jangojay"]Tech issues hampered the reviewers enjoyment of the game. I'd say that would warrent a 8.5 since those issues appear frequently.TMontana1004

Slow texture loading is the only frequent issue. That happens in Oblivion ALL the time and no one complains.

Obviously it was more than that, because it bothered him enough not to rate the game higher.

[QUOTE="BambooBanger"]

[QUOTE="Vortec33"]I am mostly Hermit right now, but I have no doube ME is one of the top 3 or 4 games I have played in 25 years of gaming.mjarantilla

Same here, though I've only been playing games for 20 years, Mass Effect was one of the best and most SATISFYING games I have ever played, it's certainly right up there with the best.

Shame fanboys who haven't even played it are missing out. I almost want Mass Effect to go multi-plat just to shut them up.

I think you're the fanboy who can't see the truth.

Mass Effect is a second rate game with great CINEMATIC production values. Everything else about it stunk. The shooting gameplay was slow and felt weak, the magic system consisted of only a dozen magic spells (Baldur's Gate II had THREE HUNDRED), the story was predictable and poorly thought out, the conversation system was no better than KotOR's, the main character's voice acting consisted of short, single lines with no real substance, and the game teemed with technical issues (not just framerate, but also animation issues).

***SPOILERS***

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The story was NOT predictale. So I guess you knew what the Citadel, Conduit, Protheans, Reapers, the beacons, Sovereign, and what Saren's reason for siding with the geth from the beginning were, right?

First, there is absolutely no good reason for the Reapers to be doing what they were doing. Hell, there's no reason for Sovereign to be doing what it was doing. At least, none that the writers gave any hints for (and that IS part of their job, not ours). Since this is the basis of the entire plot, leaving it hanging without even a slight hint or speculation leaves us with an incomplete story with no foundation.

Second, the entire story structure of the game mimics that of KotOR by having you assemble a galactic puzzle by going to different planets to retrieve the different puzzle pieces (literally). HOWEVER, it lacks what KotOR had: character motivation. In KotOR, the final twist of the game turns the entire story on its head, as well as your relationship with each of the characters. That is a full story: plot events affecting character relationships. In Mass Effect, nothing happens to affect your relationships, other than dialogue choices that have nothing to do with the story itself. As a result, Mass Effect feels empty.

There doesn't appear to be any real reason for the Thorian's existence or for the Rachni's existence other than to provide you with their respective puzzle pieces. They are just arbitrary events that take place because you need a reason to go oafter Saren. Only on Artemis Tau does Mass Effect's emotional resonance approaches that of more complete stories like KotOR and BGII.

mjarantilla

The lack of explanation for the Reaper's motivations is intentionally left unexplained. The mystery surrounding them is the explanation. They just don't know why, but the story deals with the "how" and "what" aspects of the Reaper's actions, not the"why". The sequels will probably get into this more.

The Sovereign's actions are explained in the game. I don't want to explain it here because of *spoilers* and all, but that is explained in the game.

Character Motivation? Saving all life in the galaxy is not enough motivation for the main character to continue on?

it got what it deserved ;)---OkeyDokey---

It deserved a 9.5 or 10/10

Maybe go play the game before talking about it :lol:

[QUOTE="TMontana1004"]

[QUOTE="jangojay"]Tech issues hampered the reviewers enjoyment of the game. I'd say that would warrent a 8.5 since those issues appear frequently.jangojay

Slow texture loading is the only frequent issue. That happens in Oblivion ALL the time and no one complains.

Obviously it was more than that, because it bothered him enough not to rate the game higher.

There is more, but not frequent ones. Sorry to bash Oblivion like this, but it had much more frequent tech issues/bugs than Mass Effect does. Remember what happened when you returned Umbra/kept it after that one daedric quest? Now that is crap.

Character Motivation? Saving all life in the galaxy is not enough motivation for the main character to continue on?

Bgrngod

Thanks for the info jangojay. I appreciate it :)