posted
Huh, didn't realize the board auto-censors. At least you know the f-word was there in my heart.
Posts: 4600 | Registered: Mar 2000
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It's an awfully specific auto-filter. So far I can't get another word that is automatically censored.
Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006
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posted
Dragon Age 2 is coming soon. Then next fall we've got Mass Effect 3, Uncharted 3, Gears of War 3, and some other stuff I know I'm not thinking of.
Madness. All sequels, but sequels to great games. I'm okay with that.
Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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It's an awfully specific auto-filter. So far I can't get another word that is automatically censored.
Me neither. At the least, it's the only one of the Carlin's seven dirty words to get censored (except the duplicate substring, of course).
Incidentally, the preview button runs through the auto censor, in case anyone else is curious but doesn't want to post inappropriate language even momentarily.
Posts: 2437 | Registered: Apr 2005
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I am very curious about the new Back to the Future game coming out next Wednesday. They got Christopher Lloys to do the voice of Doc and it happens six months after BTTF 3.
Posts: 1937 | Registered: Nov 2006
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I'm worried that after ME3 I'll have a big letdown. Sometimes when I really love a game, movie or series thereof, I get a huge rush at the end followed by a sort of depression: all the fun is over now! (It also has something to do with the time that I've just sunk down the drain of the game.)
Anyway, that feeling was pretty intense at the end of Mass Effect 1. The worst game for it was Knights of the Old Republic. It also happened when the LOTR movies were over.
Posts: 4600 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
I actually just had the urge to pick up KotOR again today. I usually say the Mass Effect games are my favorite games of all time, but if I think about it, that honor goes to Knights of the Old Republic, because without that game I doubt I would be the lover of RPG's that I am today.
Memory lane aside, I'm trying to decide what game to get myself for Christmas. Fable III is on sale new for $40, but I also could get Dragon Age and Borderlands for cheaper, and throw in Gears II for another $10. I've played Dragon Age (beaten it, but obviously not exhausted it), dabbled in Borderlands (hopefully my wife would play it with me) and loved Gears II, so those are the safe bets. But Fable III is Fable III... it's a tough call. I'm leaning towards the Dragon Age option right now, but I'll have to see what I feel like in a couple days when I go to Gamestop.
It is good to be a gamer. Even a cheap gamer.
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posted
If the choice is between Dragon Age and Fable III, I'd say having played both it's an easy choice for Dragon Age.
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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Blayne Bradley
unregistered
posted
quote:Originally posted by Destineer: Huh, I hadn't heard that. Sounds good!
I'm worried that after ME3 I'll have a big letdown. Sometimes when I really love a game, movie or series thereof, I get a huge rush at the end followed by a sort of depression: all the fun is over now! (It also has something to do with the time that I've just sunk down the drain of the game.)
Anyway, that feeling was pretty intense at the end of Mass Effect 1. The worst game for it was Knights of the Old Republic. It also happened when the LOTR movies were over.
I had this from Watching Angel Beats! and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
quote:Originally posted by Rakeesh: If the choice is between Dragon Age and Fable III, I'd say having played both it's an easy choice for Dragon Age.
Maybe, but the New Vegas bugs were recently fixed and you should be able to find a gently used copy seeing as most people who the bought the game at the drop couldnt play it.
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BSG, how dare they end it so well when we should have the ability to make it live on in discussions about how it could have been better and make half-hearted attempts to force them to renew it for a movie or something. But instead we can only nerdrage about Firefly, they still have Awesomeness Withdrawal Group meetings over that one.
Posts: 2302 | Registered: Aug 2008
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Blayne Bradley
unregistered
posted
Eeeeeh BSG ended alright but it was a bit unfilling, since it was sorta a deus ex machina and left many things unexplained other than sorta confirming that hey, Baltar wasn't crazy.
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posted
I have to admit that I'm a little concerned that Bioware is looking to release ME3 so soon after ME2. I remember Obsidian complaining bitterly that the reason that The Sith Lords was so unfinished was that they only had about eighteen months to get it done and out the door.
But then, that's Obsidian, who seems to be gaining a reputation for inability to get a completely finished and bug-free product out the door under any circumstances... Bioware has a better track record.
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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posted
Also, Bioware has stated that they already had begun pre-production on ME3 by the time ME2 was completed. ME3 won't be as different to ME2 as ME2 was to ME1 (supposedly), so that cuts development time down as well.
Also, the gap between 1 and 2 was, like, what? A little over two years? This is just under two years, so its not that different.
Posts: 450 | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:I remember Obsidian complaining bitterly that the reason that The Sith Lords was so unfinished was that they only had about eighteen months to get it done and out the door.
Excuses! Sith Lords would've been worthless with or without those bugs. The first ten hours of that game literally bored me to death. That's right, you're talking to a ghost.
Posts: 4600 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
Sith Lords is one of two video games I played for over two hours but never completed. Of course, right now, the other game on that list is Deadspace, so my taste isn't necessarily reflective of most people.
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Destineer: The first ten hours of that game literally bored me to death. That's right, you're talking to a ghost.
If the first ten hours bored you to death, the last five would have brought you back in order to kill you again. I swear I could almost hear someone muttering "copy... paste..." in the background of the soundtrack.
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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posted
About how long does it take to beat the first Mass Effect game?
I recently got my first Xbox and I'm trying to catch up on all the good series. So far I've only beaten Assassin's Creed 1 and the Halo series. For now, I just want to play fun games that I can beat them and move on, not long-lasting RPGs. Does Mass Effect fit that description?
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posted
Next year looks crazy. I'd post the lineup if I hadnt already typed in on another forum so i dont feel like it sorry.
Posts: 1407 | Registered: Oct 2008
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posted
Yeah, I ran through it once in about 15 hours, but that was probably my fourth or fifth play through.
Really, the games are amazing (IMO). I would say its worth it to put 50 hours into a really really good game versus putting 10-15 hours into 4 games. But that is me, who enjoys staring at the inventory screen comparing stats.
Oh, and definitely get Assassins Creed II. It's really really good.
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by GaalDornick: So far I've only beaten Assassin's Creed 1 and the Halo series. For now, I just want to play fun games that I can beat them and move on, not long-lasting RPGs. Does Mass Effect fit that description?
posted
The Mass Effect series is good because of the storytelling. You discover things whent he characters do.
I hate RPGs in which they tell you in a cut scene that someone is actually working against you, yet the main characters are oblivious to it. The only surprise is when they are going to betray you.
I want to be wow'd when something happens or when the characters learn something. Wing Commander III is a good example. All throughout Wing Commander II and III, Hobbes is essentially your best friend. Towards the end of the game, you (Well, Mark Hamill really) discovers Hobbes has been a spy the whole time, and you have to go shoot his ship down. It was a pretty emotional scene and mission. I remember saying "No way! Not Hobbes!" I was angry and sad at the same time.
Aside from the last boss of Mass Effect 2 (I mean come on... Really?) the game was amazing.
Posts: 1937 | Registered: Nov 2006
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posted
To be fair, there's at least one other major WTF in Mass Effect 2: that you, if you're playing a hard-core paragon who spent a lot of the side quests in the first game shutting down Cerberus' horrific scientific experiments and pro-human plots, basically accept without question that you're "forced" to work with Cerberus and, even once returned to Citadel space, cannot simply betray the organization immediately and return to working for the Council.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
Whether shepard goes paragon or renegade, any moral option you choose is a different way of approaching the same end: to defend against the reapers. for the sake of the story, it's assumed that shepard sees no option that makes it prudent to walk away from cerberus's provided crew and ship. Especially in a game wherein the original council was sacrificed by Shepard, in which case the new human council won't have anything to do with the reanimated Shepard.
If you saved the original council, you can actually officially rejoin the Spectres, and they basically give you free reign to pursue the investigation on the down-low while working with Spectre.
But with either circumstance, it becomes quickly evident to Shepard that he/she has no choice but to stick with Cerberus' offer if he/she wants any chance of protecting the human colonies. The council has dismissed the reaper claim and will not support you substantially in any effort to pursue the collectors.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:If you saved the original council, you can actually officially rejoin the Spectres...
Eventually. I fully expected, on my first play-through, to show up and say, "Hey, look, this whole Cerberus thing isn't doing it for me. How about you set me back up with a ship and I investigate what killed me the first time?" And the Citadel's response was, "We can't do that. You're working with Cerberus." To which my response would have been, had the game given me the option, "I am only working with Cerberus because you won't work with me because I'm working with Cerberus."
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
The council's response to your investigation shows that they actively consider you deluded. You can't get support from them. You can try to persuade them, but it's obviously useless.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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As a newcomer, would it be recommended to start with Mass Effect? Or would I be fine to play Mass Effect 2.
If the second is significantly better, and it isn't heavily reliant, I may not want to play the first. I'm in grad school, and I don't have much time.
DragonAge, for instance, is a game where you'd WANT to play the first (as the second is really only an expansion pack).
Posts: 688 | Registered: Nov 2008
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posted
Mass Effect 2 can stand on its own and fixes a number of problems with Mass Effect. If I were pressed for time I'd skip the first one.
Posts: 3275 | Registered: May 2007
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quote:I want to be wow'd when something happens or when the characters learn something. Wing Commander III is a good example. All throughout Wing Commander II and III, Hobbes is essentially your best friend. Towards the end of the game, you (Well, Mark Hamill really) discovers Hobbes has been a spy the whole time, and you have to go shoot his ship down. It was a pretty emotional scene and mission. I remember saying "No way! Not Hobbes!" I was angry and sad at the same time.
Great game, great moment. The Wing Commander series will always live in my heart.
posted
Eh, I don't know, I think the first Mass Effect is pretty important. If you're pressed for time, put it on easy mode and just run through the story line missions, maybe throwing a couple Cerberus missions in too. I'd say do this if for no other reason than having a character to import to Mass Effect 2, complete with your storyline decisions (the plot line ones anyways. One of the awesome things about ME2 is that even the small, side mission decisions you make in Mass Effect 1 show up in Mass Effect 2. IIRC, the default is that you were somewhat of a renegade, so if you're interested in being good, playing through the first is essential).
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
I own the first on 360 and the second on the PC, so I couldn't carry over my saved game. Now that ME2 is only $20 I may buy it on the 360 and play through both again.
I played ME1 as a pure Paragon, and was also able to save the alien crew member near the end by talking him down. (Tried to keep that spoiler free) I did lose one crew member, but that is required.
I started ME2 and was kind of let down that they did not give some sort of little test to determine what kind of choices you would have made in the first game. I guess the PS3 version of ME2 is going to have something like this, but it would have been nice for the first release.
Posts: 1937 | Registered: Nov 2006
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quote:Originally posted by MattP: Mass Effect 2 can stand on its own and fixes a number of problems with Mass Effect. If I were pressed for time I'd skip the first one.
I heartily disagree! I think you should absolutely play through mass effect 1 so that the world in 2 is the result of your playthrough in 1, and is filled with the people you know.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
Yeah, its pretty awesome considering that MS2 was only released in January. I think $10.00 or so might become my new maximum price for games (PC games anyways).
posted
Yeah, personally I would say ME1 is a sufficiently outstanding enough game that it's well worth playing through just so you can get the full bang for the buck on ME2, much less ME3.
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
Definitely. ME1 has some game mechanics that don't quite work (particularly the Mako driving segments), but the overall gameplay is quite enjoyable and the story is excellent. Plus it sets up the universe - a very important thing for this series, which has some of the best RPG world-building I've ever seen.
ME2 takes everything great about ME1 and ramps it up a notch. The writing is tighter and funnier, the shooter gameplay is better, the biotic powers are more useful, and the animation is even better (quite a feat considering ME1 is still one of the best-animated dialogue-driven games out there). But ME2 does sort of throw you into the plot, with just barely enough exposition to keep new players semi-aware of what is going on. Considering that ME3 won't be out for another year, that's plenty of time to play through both ME1 and ME2. I'd highly recommend getting both games, and make sure that you import your ME1 character into ME2.
Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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posted
One small thing I have to note regarding ME2.
To be clear, I really enjoyed both games; they're totally worth the time and money, and some of the finest examples of the craft available on the market. Seriously.
But ME2 does have times where it feels a bit "everything looks like a nail", if you get me. The Mako sections in ME1 may not have been everything they could have been, but they did help break things up a bit; without them, you go more or less from conversation to gunfight to conversation to gunfight. It started to get to the point where I went into every conversation thinking, "Okay, how am I going to have to use violence to solve this one?" (And I was playing mostly Paragon.)
The "surveying" fills time, but not in a good way. It feels like a function that ought to be fulfilled with a macro; it rarely makes one feel connected with the experience, aside from a small handful of special encounters discovered that way. Star Control 2 managed to handle a similar function better, and that was almost 2 decades ago.
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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posted
The mako sections were annoying to most who didn't like to play explorer/surveyer, but they were extremely preferable to the probe-launching in ME2.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
It's always baffled me how such a beautiful game like ME2 could include the whole probe sending thing. What genius thought of that idea?!?
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