Mass Effect

[pcgeek86]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by 10k:<BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Do some of the planets you can't land on earlier on allow you to land on them later? Do you have to upgrade the Mako or something?? </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>My understanding is that when you do stuff that triggers a side quest opening up it will sometimes make new systems appear or allow you to land on planets that you couldnt land on before. I dont think you ever upgrade the mako. I'm only about 12hrs or so into the game though. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Yeah, I've got about 13 hours into it, but I avoided the main plot for a while.

 

[Bammer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by 10k:<BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Do some of the planets you can't land on earlier on allow you to land on them later? Do you have to upgrade the Mako or something?? </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>My understanding is that when you do stuff that triggers a side quest opening up it will sometimes make new systems appear or allow you to land on planets that you couldnt land on before. I dont think you ever upgrade the mako. I'm only about 12hrs or so into the game though. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Yes you will unlock more galaxies with more solar systems with more places to land throughout the game. But not enough to double the initial number of systems, I don't think. Every system has at least one planet to land on or ship to explore. And every planet landed on has at least one base on it or point of interest, with a quest that can be completed. The quests that are completed through text are usually part of larger archs. Quicker missions often have more involved interpersonal dialog.<BR><BR>The sidequests are certainly better than an MMO like... well, I was going to say EVE, but really all MMOs. The sidequests are not as good as Baldur's Gate 2 I don't think, but I believe that is because the burden of voice acting/ graphics costs precludes them from throwing in outlandish content willy-nilly. Fortunately, while in American RPGs past the sidequests have been strong and the main story has been a drag, in Mass Effect the sidequests might not be mind blowing but the main storyline is far more fun to play than usual.<BR><BR>I do hope they send some cool additional content in through Live. The additional Live content added to KOTOR was pretty weak (I think it was just a store) but this generation Microsoft has really been pushing the Live.

 

[pcgeek86]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bammer:<BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by 10k:<BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Do some of the planets you can't land on earlier on allow you to land on them later? Do you have to upgrade the Mako or something?? </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>My understanding is that when you do stuff that triggers a side quest opening up it will sometimes make new systems appear or allow you to land on planets that you couldnt land on before. I dont think you ever upgrade the mako. I'm only about 12hrs or so into the game though. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Yes you will unlock more galaxies with more solar systems with more places to land throughout the game. But not enough to double the initial number of systems, I don't think. Every system has at least one planet to land on or ship to explore. And every planet landed on has at least one base on it or point of interest, with a quest that can be completed. The quests that are completed through text are usually part of larger archs. Quicker missions often have more involved interpersonal dialog.<BR><BR>The sidequests are certainly better than an MMO like... well, I was going to say EVE, but really all MMOs. The sidequests are not as good as Baldur's Gate 2 I don't think, but I believe that is because the burden of voice acting/ graphics costs precludes them from throwing in outlandish content willy-nilly. Fortunately, while in American RPGs past the sidequests have been strong and the main story has been a drag, in Mass Effect the sidequests might not be mind blowing but the main storyline is far more fun to play than usual.<BR><BR>I do hope they send some cool additional content in through Live. The additional Live content added to KOTOR was pretty weak (I think it was just a store) but this generation Microsoft has really been pushing the Live. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>See, I wish they would expand the game out more. This is one reason I'm looking forward to Spore pretty heavily, because they did things the smart way ... they are creating additional galaxies, etc, based on other people out there, not relying on themselves to create something, which would require lots of time and effort.<BR><BR>Too much content might take away from the storyline, but they should at least have the framework in place so it's easy to add side quests and such; Those types of things are fun for me.

 

[Bammer]

I thought I had followed the development of Spore pretty closely, but no where had I heard they were implementing user created quests. Or, quests at all.<BR><BR>But I agree with your sentiment. I think it is due to the shift to everything being voice acted. I understand why they did it. So many console kiddos out there would rather die than have to read things. My own father won't see a movie if it's subtitled. But I think it really puts a damper on the ease of quest creation and number of available dialog options.<BR><BR>I am glad they avoided respawning enemies and MMO like grind content. The only thing more unappealing to me than grinding in multiplayer is grinding alone.

 

[Magus`]

<blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bammer:<br>I thought I had followed the development of Spore pretty closely, but no where had I heard they were implementing user created quests. Or, quests at all. </div>
</blockquote>
<br>He didn't say a thing about quests, but your universe will be packed with worlds of other users' created creatures -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif --

 

[The Faceless Rebel]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bammer:<BR><BR>I am glad they avoided respawning enemies and MMO like grind content. The only thing more unappealing to me than grinding in multiplayer is grinding alone. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Ummmm, if the enemies could respawn, it would eliminate a lot of the angst from picking the Paragon non-fighting peaceful shitty-to-no-XP path instead of the Renegade kill-em-all, let God sort em out with lots of XP path. I personally would prefer enemies which could respawn rather than the typical Bioware approach where you get X number of enemies, so if you blow any off, then no XP for you!! No other RPG that I am aware of purposely limits the amount of enemies you get to kill except ones by Bioware. Every Japanese RPG in existence either uses a random encounter mechanic, thus making enemies as endless as you care to hang around, or respawns them when you leave the area and return. Bioware is the exception here, not the rule, in single player RPGs.<BR><BR>This drove me nuts in both KOTOR and Jade Empire. Just give me something to shoot, dammit!

 

[Crumbeast]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by The Faceless Rebel:<BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bammer:<BR><BR>I am glad they avoided respawning enemies and MMO like grind content. The only thing more unappealing to me than grinding in multiplayer is grinding alone. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Ummmm, if the enemies could respawn, it would eliminate a lot of the angst from picking the Paragon non-fighting peaceful shitty-to-no-XP path instead of the Renegade kill-em-all, let God sort em out with lots of XP path. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>This is exactly why so many of us love the Bioware approach.

 

[Watcherq]

Hi all, I'm stuck at the Citadel. I tried several times to no avail.<BR><BR>Ubj qb lbh qrfgebl gur gheergf dhvpxyl? Jerk naq Tneehf arire fheivirq, arvgure qb V.

 

[Zaskar]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Watcherq:<BR>Hi all, I'm stuck at the Citadel. I tried several times to no avail.<BR><BR>Ubj qb lbh qrfgebl gur gheergf dhvpxyl? Jerk naq Tneehf arire fheivirq, arvgure qb V. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Ng gur irel raq bs gur tnzr, jura lbh'er ehaavat ba gur bhgfvqr bs gur gbjre? Hfr q-cnq evtug gb sbphf gur jubyr fdhnq'f sver ba bar gnetrg.

 

[The Faceless Rebel]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Crumbeast:<BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by The Faceless Rebel:<BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bammer:<BR><BR>I am glad they avoided respawning enemies and MMO like grind content. The only thing more unappealing to me than grinding in multiplayer is grinding alone. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Ummmm, if the enemies could respawn, it would eliminate a lot of the angst from picking the Paragon non-fighting peaceful shitty-to-no-XP path instead of the Renegade kill-em-all, let God sort em out with lots of XP path. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>This is exactly why so many of us love the Bioware approach. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Well I think it's horseshit. I, the gamer, should be in charge of how much I care to level or not level up my characters. And certainly the vast majority of RPGs separate plot development and character leveling. That's how it should be. If I want to be insane like Disgaea and go for level 999, I should be able to, or if I want to rush through the main story and finish when I'm level 20, I should be able to. None of the bullshit like in KOTOR where your level cap was at 20 and each planet had about 50 enemies total you could kill and that was it. KOTOR was especially egregious because you could easily hit 20 long before you even reached the final planet, thus making the enemies you kill the whole rest of the game a waste of your time. <BR><BR>At least Mass Effect lets you take your leveled up character and replay with it, an idea borrowed from Square-Enix's RPGs which have "New Game+" Mode such as Final Fantasy X-2. Thus you can go further than before in any Bioware title, but the level cap is still arbitrarily set at 60. Why? I don't understand, just let the player level up to 99 if he wants by playing through the game 4 times in a row. There's no reason for arbitrarily capping player level whatsoever. Hell, the only way to really see the whole game is to play through it at least 3 times, if you realize that you have 6 party members and only 2 can go with you at a time. So if you actually want to see how every character reacts to what you do in the game, you need 3 playthroughs with a unique set of 2 party members each time. This is also the only way to get the Achievements for having each of your 6 party members with you for most of the game. So if you actually do a third playthrough, you'll just be wasting time because you are already level 60 and can't go any higher, so killing anything is just a total nuisance. That's not how RPGs are supposed to work, period.<BR><BR>Then again, Mass Effect is arguably more of a shooter than an RPG in combat situations. I just wish Bioware would give me more things to shoot. There should be a downloadable content where random worlds are generated for you with Geth or Mercenary bases on them you can go inside of and shoot things for more experience, since in the main game nothing respawns. Combine that with removal of the level cap and I could play this game forever, because the killing in this game is actually quite enjoyable with all the fun combinations of powers you can use to abuse your helpless enemies.

 

[Sev]

Quick update, because I need to go back and play <BR><BR>Just bought Mass Effect; it came out in the UK yesterday; and it's fantastic. It's interesting hearing about people's play times - I've compeleted every side-quest in the Citadel I can at this point, and so after 6 hours am just starting on my <I>first</I> spectre quest. From the achievements I've yet to unlock, I have a feeling this might take me a whie

 

[lateralis]

two things I liked:<BR><BR>1) early on there is an encounter with some alien and he asks "what do you want?" and the options are "I want answers!" and "The truth!" I was half expecting his response to be "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!"<BR><BR>2) was major kyle sidequest supposed to be apocalypse now/heart of darkness? because that's what it felt like.<BR><BR>overall, really enjoying it although it took a bit to get to that point. I went to noveria first which may have been a mistake as there seems to have been a MAJOR plot point that came faster than I thought it would and at that point I hadn't really done anything. now I'm focusing on sidequests and exploration before diving back into the main plot.<BR><BR>combat is annoying as is mako driving but not a game breaker for me.<BR><BR>I will say, I do find the game being a little TOO fetch-questy. more so than previous bioware RPGs IMHO. not horribly so but it is noticable.

 

[Daemonic]

<blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by The Faceless Rebel:<br>Well I think it's horseshit. I, the gamer, should be in charge of how much I care to level or not level up my characters. And certainly the vast majority of RPGs separate plot development and character leveling. That's how it should be. If I want to be insane like Disgaea and go for level 999, I should be able to, or if I want to rush through the main story and finish when I'm level 20, I should be able to. None of the bullshit like in KOTOR where your level cap was at 20 and each planet had about 50 enemies total you could kill and that was it. KOTOR was especially egregious because you could easily hit 20 long before you even reached the final planet, thus making the enemies you kill the whole rest of the game a waste of your time. </div>
</blockquote>
<br>You are in charge of leveling up your character as much/little as you want in Mass Effect, so your argument is, ummm... horseshit (?). Do side quests, don't do side quests. It's an RPG, not a shooter. A real RPG, unlike most RPGs, where it doesn't try to beat you to death with goddamn stupid bazillion random encounters and xp only through combat or major quest talking points. I love the fact that combat can be a last resort in this game, which is so rare. I love the exploration xp, the codex is wonderfully done. This is an RPG that actually allows you quite a bit of freedom in how you want to resolve things. I've always considered respawns and random encounters as complete and utter garbage... I realize some people like them, but don't ask for them in the few great RPGs that don't include it. -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_razz.gif --<br><br>And if Bioware ever puts in random encounters ala jRPG, I will personally go there and shoot the designer who made that choice. Leave that shit out of my good RPGs.<br><br><blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">At least Mass Effect lets you take your leveled up character and replay with it, an idea borrowed from Square-Enix's RPGs which have "New Game+" Mode such as Final Fantasy X-2. Thus you can go further than before in any Bioware title, but the level cap is still arbitrarily set at 60. Why? I don't understand, just let the player level up to 99 if he wants by playing through the game 4 times in a row. There's no reason for arbitrarily capping player level whatsoever. Hell, the only way to really see the whole game is to play through it at least 3 times, if you realize that you have 6 party members and only 2 can go with you at a time. So if you actually want to see how every character reacts to what you do in the game, you need 3 playthroughs with a unique set of 2 party members each time. This is also the only way to get the Achievements for having each of your 6 party members with you for most of the game. So if you actually do a third playthrough, you'll just be wasting time because you are already level 60 and can't go any higher, so killing anything is just a total nuisance. That's not how RPGs are supposed to work, period. </div>
</blockquote>
<br><br>Some of the limits are probably there because Mass Effect is supposed to be a trilogy, with the ability to use your character from the first game in later games. And who says you have to do each replay through with the same character? That's seems really silly, since then your missing out on the other gender! Besides, what's the point of leveling to 99 vs 60? They are arbitrary choices, and, by my calculations, at level 60, you should have maxed out all your abilities. What's the point of leveling up after that anyways? They had to leave somewhere to pick up in the next game. You can still play through with your badass character, but is there really any reward in beating stuff that's whimpy compare to you? Well, maybe there is.<br><br><blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Then again, Mass Effect is arguably more of a shooter than an RPG in combat situations. I just wish Bioware would give me more things to shoot. There should be a downloadable content where random worlds are generated for you with Geth or Mercenary bases on them you can go inside of and shoot things for more experience, since in the main game nothing respawns. Combine that with removal of the level cap and I could play this game forever, because the killing in this game is actually quite enjoyable with all the fun combinations of powers you can use to abuse your helpless enemies. </div>
</blockquote>
<br><br>I can't disagree with that. Combat in this game is extremely fun once you get the hang of it. And shotguns rule. I love them. So much.

 

[CannonFodder]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by The Faceless Rebel:<BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bammer:<BR><BR>I am glad they avoided respawning enemies and MMO like grind content. The only thing more unappealing to me than grinding in multiplayer is grinding alone. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Ummmm, if the enemies could respawn, it would eliminate a lot of the angst from picking the Paragon non-fighting peaceful shitty-to-no-XP path instead of the Renegade kill-em-all, let God sort em out with lots of XP path. I personally would prefer enemies which could respawn rather than the typical Bioware approach where you get X number of enemies, so if you blow any off, then no XP for you!! No other RPG that I am aware of purposely limits the amount of enemies you get to kill except ones by Bioware. Every Japanese RPG in existence either uses a random encounter mechanic, thus making enemies as endless as you care to hang around, or respawns them when you leave the area and return. Bioware is the exception here, not the rule, in single player RPGs.<BR><BR>This drove me nuts in both KOTOR and Jade Empire. Just give me something to shoot, dammit! </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Planescape: Torment called. It has a game for you.

 

[Lord_Byron]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by lateralis:<BR>2) was major kyle sidequest supposed to be apocalypse now/heart of darkness? because that's what it felt like.<BR> </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>I was *so* waiting for Kyle to say something like "You're not a soldier. You're an errand boy!"<BR><BR>There were a lot of neat homages in the game, both to movies and to other games. I wish I had thought to start a list while I was playing through.

 

[Agreschn]

Krogans have four testicles.<BR><BR>That is all.

 

[Jonathan Hart]

The lack of customization is kinda annoying me. I wish you could change the colors of the aromor. I remember you couldn't do that in KOTOR or KOTOR 2, but they didn't have pink Jedi robes.

 

[WhiskeyOscar]

Whoo, funny review time now I've finally finished it, twice!<BR><BR>So, to get this clear, I've played through twice, first time as the Renegade, kick-em-in-the-nuts hardcore badass marine with a machinegun and again as the Paragon of all that's friendly, with my lovely pistol and omnitool.<BR><BR>Also, there WILL BE SPOILERS ahead. So stop reading now if you're sensitive about that.<BR><BR>So right off the bat we're introduced with a lovely character maker which is actually rather good and I enjoyed playing about with it to create a gothish harlequin of DEATH. Then I made a look-a-like of Wesley Snipes as Simon Phoenix from Demolition Man - yes, he was the goodie goodie.<BR><BR>So the character models are gorgeous, as you'd expect and the animations too are all wonderful and sweet and even the appropriate intro dialogue that describes your past (as chosen) and introduces you as saviour of the galaxy. Or not, cause I chose 'war hero' and they went ahead to say 'is that the kind of person we want protecting the galaxy?' and I relished getting to watch Udina get punched in the face time and time again, even reloading my save game to see it more than once.<BR><BR>On to the combat then, which seems like a mix of Ghost Recon and... something very much like Ghost Recon, but with magic (cunningly relabelled to Biotics) and some nifty on-the-fly holographic hacking tools. I kept expecing the omnitool to sprout a lightsaber out of Kaiden's ass at any second. At first the shooting is horrible, you get about 2-5 shots on target and then wait 20-40 seconds for the sight to close so you can shoot well again, unless you have a pistol or shotgun, in which case it doesn't matter a jot cause you can just blast away.<BR><BR>I really really wanted to use the sniper rifle a lot too, but more often than not I found that the scope's rediculous swaying makes me want to puke all over that horrible figure of eight it draws constantly. Near the end of the game however, I'd managed to buy a really powerful sniper rifle, and a really powerful stabilising add-on as well as all the sniper rifle talents, which put me in a very good place to use it. Once. I used it once because it shakes and dithers about with every shot the enemy takes, even if they don't land anywhere near you. Not only that, but the enemy seems to want to tie their nonexistant shoelaces every single time I fire at their head, making them dodge the (literal, not proverbial) bullet.<BR><BR>Some of the armour upgrades are useless too but others, which appear useless on first glance actually aren't. There's a series of exoskeleton-whassamacallit upgrades that give you super strength, but in fancier words. Basically, they let you smash enemies in the head with the butt of your gun really really hard. This sounds useless, since it's a tactical shooter mostly, but it's better than it sounds, use cover to stop being shot, and when the enemy comes at you, cave their head in with a well placed smack from your piffling, never upgraded pistol - seriously, that's how I killed Saren at the end, I beat his head in with my pistol.<BR><BR>I've heard complaints about team-mate AI and how much they die, which can be a fair complaint sometimes but having played Kane And Lynch over the course of Saturday night I have to say that the AI in Mass Effect is quite possibly the best thing since sliced bread. I can't fault it for its use of Biotics or tech abilities and more than once I've seen it coordinate an ambush for oncoming Husks or Creepers and just gun them down mercilessly - it's just a shame that it doesn't have the ability to change its own weapons according to situation.<BR><BR>Whatever - I can't fault the AI, so on to something I can fault. Bullets - yes I can complain about bullets. They suck shit. They're that bad. Equip Hammerheads and Incendiary bullets ASAP and you're set to go, it's like firing a spud gun, even with the sniper rifles until you get something that packs a serious punch, like Incendiary IV+ or Hammerhead III+.<BR><BR>By now you're probably thinking where's the funny bit right? Let me tell you, it's in the elevators. I've had almost as much fun making farting sounds while in the slowest elevators this side of Artemis Tau as I have shooting Geth. I mean what's the deal with these things moving one bath tile an hour (Normandy I'm looking at you)? Is it to make the game last longer? To give it time to load the new area? No, I'll tell you what it is, it's to make you appreciate the fact that there's no elevator music, that's what it is.<BR><BR>Where's the content too? There's all this crap about getting romance subplots and side-quests and even hitting level 50 and 60 in the achievements. I finished the game at level 27 having done all the sidequests I found, so where's the romance and where's the questing? I got suspicious when towards the end of the game (a mere half dozen of 'missions') I hadn't had any cause to go to ANY of the clusters not labelled specifically as Noveria, Feros or Whoopdie-Do.<BR><BR>I found a few Probes and various space-crap, presumably from the last Space Odyssey. Strange thing is, apparently my Decryption and/or Electronics skills were usually too low to do anything with them, yet I have enough skill to operate a giant neon holographic SPECULUM on my arm half the time. Where is the justice?<BR><BR>I know where the justice was, it was right where Undina got punched in the face, or the Geth shot down Destiny Ascension, but it wasn't where Shepherd got hit by a Biotic attack that threw her (yes I made a female) in two different directions, thanks to the Matriarch and some Asari Commandos - but Shepherd is some invertebrate super stretchy slim-jim who (when stretched) takes away the use of your start button and all other useful buttons apart from the power off switch. This happened numerous times and I was just about to abandon that save has 'hopelessly glitched' and send it to the abyss of digital purgatory when it was saved by a slice of pizza distracting me and loading it up again, and this time I cowered in a corner while my teammates wiped out the Matriarch with ease and glitch-free.<BR><BR>Time to start wrapping it up, I feel like I've missed a great portion of this game even with two play-throughs and I didn't even get the achievements for using a human and turian squad member FOR THE ENTIRE GAME. Presumably, by the majority of the game it assumes you play the majority of the quests, which sucks cock (the feathery kind) because I never even found them - ANYWHERE.<BR><BR>Needless to say, it's an awesome game and extremely well made for all its (admittedly few) flaws which is an exciting and satisfying experience to play through the main storyline. Now, could someone point me towards the closest mass relay the leads to that massive amount of side-quests that I've somehow taken a wrong turn from and left over the hills and far away (and hills there are, especially on most planets, great big hills that rise into the sky and dwarf your Mako with their unassailable grey heights!)

 

[baseline]

I wholeheartedly agree with those above who appreciate the lack of random encounters/battles. They take away from the story, IMO, and reduce the game to a mindless beat-em-up. Grinding sucks.

 

[sixtyone]

i finally got the game... after a long mix up at the post office (buddy put the wrong tracking code on the package)<BR><BR>i love it so far... i'm taking my time with it... trying to do all the little things... <BR><BR>i like the combat, nothing too fancy...

 

[onkeljonas]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by The Faceless Rebel:<BR>[T]he killing in this game is actually quite enjoyable with all the fun combinations of powers you can use to abuse your helpless enemies. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>I get your point about the level cap and how combat is less rewarding with no XP to gain, but as long as the combat is fun does it really matter?

 

[thatryan]

I just started playing this game and was hoping someone could help me with a few things. How does the omni gel stuff work? Also, electronics/decryption? My guy is soldier class, can I never unlock electronic or decryption abilities? I got to the first door, easy decryption, hit it once to see what it was and got in. The second one, (with electronics locker inside) took me twice, but I messed up first time and then it just said, not enough omni gel. So i reloaded. <BR>My partner guy has rank in decryption, but can you tell them to go decrypt stuff? I got inside and the locker said I dont have enough skill in electronics. I check the squad page and my main guy does not have electronics listed, but the teammate does, only it is blurred out. Im not sure what to do here.<BR><BR>-edit- Nevermind on most of that, so it does not matter if one person, (not shepard) in the group has the skill, then shepard can use it to get into things?

 

[pcgeek86]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I check the squad page and my main guy does not have electronics listed, but the teammate does, only it is blurred out. Im not sure what to do here. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>You have to unlock the Electronics line with the line above it (probably decryption). Until you have this ability, I don't think you'll be able to decrypt very much stuff; It's a useful skill.<BR><BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">How does the omni gel stuff work? </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>You use omni-gel as an alternative to decrypting stuff sometimes. You get it by decomposing things like armor, weapons, and item upgrades.

 

[callaway]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">there's no elevator music, that's what it is. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Some of the elevators do have music.

 

[[maven]]

<blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by WhiskeyOscar:<br>Where's the content too? There's all this crap about getting romance subplots and side-quests and even hitting level 50 and 60 in the achievements. I finished the game at level 27 having done all the sidequests I found, so where's the romance and where's the questing? </div>
</blockquote>
<br><br>I finished the game with all the assignments (fairly confident I got most of them - even the "Collect Minerals" stuff and so on), and I nearly dinged 50 (about 5000XP off). The achievement whore that I am, I started a new game with that character and killed a few Geth to ding 50. -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif --<br><br>I played as Infiltrator (pretty much chaotic neutral, got about 75% of the Paragon and 50% of the Renegade points) and loved every second. Had money / equipment out the wazoo due to having a decent Decryption skill. I'd quite like to try a male Shepard, but I don't really feel like starting from scratch with the crappy abilities and equipment. Also wouldn't know what class to pick; assault rifles seem really inaccurate at the beginning and the biotic class feels like a support class.<br>Maybe another run shortly before the sequel comes out...

 

[Magus`]

<blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by WhiskeyOscar:<br>Where's the content too? There's all this crap about getting romance subplots and side-quests and even hitting level 50 and 60 in the achievements. I finished the game at level 27 having done all the sidequests I found, so where's the romance and where's the questing? I got suspicious when towards the end of the game (a mere half dozen of 'missions') I hadn't had any cause to go to ANY of the clusters not labelled specifically as Noveria, Feros or Whoopdie-Do. </div>
</blockquote>
<br>Uh, you suck at exploring then -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif -- - for starters, a lot of the side quests are picked up in elevators on the citadel, or from things you can read (open terminals/etc), so if you didn't get them, you didn't do much looking around -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif --<br><br>Also, many sidequests are given to you when you travel to a place, so you should've been exploring the galaxy anyway just to poke around -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif --<br><br>As for the romance stuff, you have to talk to your teammates on the ship in between missions.<br><br><blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by [maven]:<br>Also wouldn't know what class to pick; assault rifles seem really inaccurate at the beginning and the biotic class feels like a support class. </div>
</blockquote>
<br>Assault rifles are a bit in-accurate at the start, but if you use shorter bursts it can help a bit with that.<br><br>But later on, dear god they get powerful - I'm taking out a lot of things in 5 shots or less, which I can burst easily without losing any accuracy -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif --

 

[Steggles28]

This game hasnt yet failed to amaze me.. or my friends for that matter. <BR><BR>I have to keep fighting them to get ahold of my 360. What I am more suprised at, is my friend, who usually plays sports game is having a great time playing through it being rude to everyone.<BR><BR>I think this game can offer so much to alot of different players, and I do agree with some of what I have read, sometimes you do want the fighting to finish so you can have conversations.

 

[Deleted member 14629]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by The Faceless Rebel:<BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bammer:<BR><BR>I am glad they avoided respawning enemies and MMO like grind content. The only thing more unappealing to me than grinding in multiplayer is grinding alone. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Ummmm, if the enemies could respawn, it would eliminate a lot of the angst from picking the Paragon non-fighting peaceful shitty-to-no-XP path instead of the Renegade kill-em-all, let God sort em out with lots of XP path. I personally would prefer enemies which could respawn rather than the typical Bioware approach where you get X number of enemies, so if you blow any off, then no XP for you!! No other RPG that I am aware of purposely limits the amount of enemies you get to kill except ones by Bioware. Every Japanese RPG in existence either uses a random encounter mechanic, thus making enemies as endless as you care to hang around, or respawns them when you leave the area and return. Bioware is the exception here, not the rule, in single player RPGs.<BR><BR>This drove me nuts in both KOTOR and Jade Empire. Just give me something to shoot, dammit! </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Guh? I went pure Paragon and still dinged 50 on the last fight. No XP issues here. Plus, considering that I was completely dominating from level 15 on, XP wasn't a big deal.

 

[AdmiralSnackbar]

I just got this game tonight. Can't wait to play it after football. Is it better to play as one of the "dedicated" classes (soldier, etc) or are the split classes (infiltrator, etc) still viable? I think I'm going to start as an infiltrator, though now I know I'm *never* going to finish Oblivion.

 

[Kerii]

<blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Sev:<br>Quick update, because I need to go back and play <br><br>Just bought Mass Effect; it came out in the UK yesterday; and it's fantastic. It's interesting hearing about people's play times - I've compeleted every side-quest in the Citadel I can at this point, and so after 6 hours am just starting on my <i>first</i> spectre quest. From the achievements I've yet to unlock, I have a feeling this might take me a whie </div>
</blockquote>Completed every main-side quest I came across. Some I locked myself out of due to bad dialogue choices, but overall I completed most of them (even the collection quests).<br><br>Ended with 32+ hours on the meter. And an awesome 32+ hours those were.<br><br>Actually... it should probably be closer to 40 hours. Because 8 hours into my first playthrough I restarted because I didn't like how my character looked. Had to redo everything I did earlier but only took an hour or two since I could skip all the speech and exploration. -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_razz.gif --<blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by jwolf:<br>I just got this game tonight. Can't wait to play it after football. Is it better to play as one of the "dedicated" classes (soldier, etc) or are the split classes (infiltrator, etc) still viable? I think I'm going to start as an infiltrator, though now I know I'm *never* going to finish Oblivion. </div>
</blockquote>I wouldn't worry about your first character, it's crippled before you even start your first mission anyway.<br><br>The character you'll want to keep is your NewGame+ character (remake, not continue), which will allow you to add a bonus skill depending on what weapons/skills achievements you have.<br><br>Play around and see which one you like on your first playthrough, then you can lose your hair making your perfect final character after finishing the first playthrough. -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif --

 

[InfiniteNoodles]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Play around and see which one you like on your first playthrough, then you can lose your hair making your perfect final character after finishing the first playthrough. </div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>That's my plan. I think a soldier with singularity will be awesome. I just got the spectre VII shotgun for my vanguard and I'm having a blast. With the right upgrades, you can pretty much fire non-stop and still hit at long distances, plus it's about 1-2 hit kills on most enemies.

 

[pcgeek86]

<blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by InfiniteNoodles:<br><blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Play around and see which one you like on your first playthrough, then you can lose your hair making your perfect final character after finishing the first playthrough. </div>
</blockquote>
<br><br>That's my plan. I think a soldier with singularity will be awesome. I just got the spectre VII shotgun for my vanguard and I'm having a blast. With the right upgrades, you can pretty much fire non-stop and still hit at long distances, plus it's about 1-2 hit kills on most enemies. </div>
</blockquote>
<br>Because I chose a biotic class or something when I started the game, I've been playing primarily with a pistol -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif -- My pistols seriously pwns, but I wish I could let off with a shotgun or an assault rifle -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif -- -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif --<br><br>I have a sweet shotgun on my main character too, but accuracy is terrible unless I'm crouching.

 

[Paul M]

I have about 12 hours on my save, now, with probably a couple more hours lost to reloads from dying.<BR><BR>Just to be clear up front I like the game. It's fun. I don't see how anyone can call this the game of the year, or the best RPG ever, however. There are just too many little things that are frustrating as all hell. <BR><BR>Can stores be any more annoying to use? Why do I have to go through multiple dialog options in order to buy or sell? Why should I have to then exit the store entirely and start up the whole dialog process again in order to buy non-human things? Who could possibly think that this was a good design?<BR><BR>Do we have to have the Tower of Hanoi puzzle in an RPG again? Really? It's to the point now where I see it in a game and don't even bother spending the few minutes to do it, I just look up the button presses. Enough is enough, stop putting it in games. <BR><BR>And hell at least KOTOR put in an out of combat sprint ability for when you have to run back and forth, back and forth across areas. <BR><BR>I'm also a little tired of dying through to game slowdown from multiple enemies using abilities that get all glowy and sparkly. <BR><BR>Party AI seems completely brainless so far, but I'll at least keep trying there. I also don't feel like your party members have quite as much personality as KOTOR (which is the closest type of game, so I think it's a fair comparison.) So far I don't have much opinion of any of them at all. At least in KOTOR I knew I disliked Carth right off the bat, and to me that's a bonus because at least he got a reaction. <BR><BR>The moral of this story is yes it's a good game, yes it's worth playing, just don't buy into the obscene hype that some people are throwing around over it.

 

[Deviation]

I like this game quite a bit but it is very flawed. Everything outside of the story and the dialog system is flawed to one extent or another. Nothing about this game ever feels right and quite a few things get very repetitive and annoying.<BR><BR>And what's with the graphics? I saw so many screen shots for this game and I'm not seeing that quality anywhere. The "plot" planets look okay but anything outside of that just looks like crap. I'm at the point now where I can't stand another single fucking second driving the Mako up another stupid fucking mountain range to get at some mineral survey site or another crashed probe. Every single planet is the same, they just have different 'skins' and orientations. Bah.<BR><BR>It's really love/hate with this game for me. As is typical with a Bioware game, the scales are still tipped towards the positive. But this game does not deserve a single '10' it has received and it looks like it has seven of them right now.<BR><BR>Those side missions have certainly inflated my play time and my level though. I'm something like level 46 right now, I'm about twenty hours into the game and I'm just finishing up the trio of missions (that turns into a quartet) you get once you first leave the citadel. I've cleared maybe a third of the systems in the game and I don't know if I can stand to go to another that isn't part of the main plot. EVERYTHING IS THE SAME.<BR><BR>Still, though it might not sound like it, I'm enjoying the game overall. I just really have to fight to enjoy it.

 

[Kerii]

If you don't feel like going to those minerals or crash sites, then don't. -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_razz.gif --<br><br>They give you nothing except codec entries/money/exp, and you can always start a new game with your existing character/levels/items if you really want the lv50/lv60 achievements.<br><br>On my second playthrough now (new character) and I'm just ignoring all of the collection quests entirely because I already got them the first time around and already have a separate career profile with all the codec entries if I ever wanted to look them up.

 

[Watcherq]

<blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Zaskar:<br><blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Watcherq:<br>Hi all, I'm stuck at the Citadel. I tried several times to no avail.<br><br>Ubj qb lbh qrfgebl gur gheergf dhvpxyl? Jerk naq Tneehf arire fheivirq, arvgure qb V. </div>
</blockquote>
<br><br>Ng gur irel raq bs gur tnzr, jura lbh'er ehaavat ba gur bhgfvqr bs gur gbjre? Hfr q-cnq evtug gb sbphf gur jubyr fdhnq'f sver ba bar gnetrg. </div>
</blockquote>
<br><br>Thanks but I'm not there yet -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif --<br><br>The name is great and gorgeous, but I have some things that I find irritating. My ratings is 9.5/10.<br><br>Firstly, the game feels like a RPG/TPS hybrid rather than a classic RPG. Not a huge point for some, but I am sh*t when it comes to the action shooting. I died a lot of times because I'm not that good a shooter. A lot of holding the bumpers down to pause (but not as easy as the omni-potent Spacebar-of-pausing).<br><br>The elevator is a bit irritating together with the cheesy elevator music -- View image here: https://cdn.arstechnica.net/forum/smilies/biggrin.gif -- . It wasn't as bad as I thought though. The graphics popups was disappointing given that hey, this *is* a top-end, "what ever it takes, not release till it is done" game. That said, from the various comments, it seems to be a common UE3 isssue.<br><br>Pet peeve: It dovetails into the other thread here where male players wants to play female characters. Ok, the face customization was nice (btw, how can I start customizing from the standard "John Shepard" face instead?), but the options a little too few (eg skin tone, can a continuous scale be used?). The worse however was the fact that this tough, take-no-prisoner hero was as skinny as a office paper pusher! The model is scrawny, no butt to speak of, and even the front 'package' was well, looks anatomically incorrect. I'm not looking for Marcus Fenix-style extreme, but a little meat instead of looking like a geeky undergrad would be much sweeter on the eye.<br><br>Also, I agree on the drowning. Look, instead of being the errand boy, especially the early Citadel quests (ie before you go off on your own), have a practise gallery, training ground or whatever. Ok, limit to say <level 10 characters (which was more or less what I have when I left the Citadel the first time) but a least you have some opportunity to finetune your skills.<br><br>But on the whole, I greatly enjoy the game. First in a long time of a good sci-fi RPG. Bioware/EA better not screw this franchise up...

 

[Kerii]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Watcherq:<BR>Also, I agree on the drowning. Look, instead of being the errand boy, especially the early Citadel quests (ie before you go off on your own), have a practise gallery, training ground or whatever. Ok, limit to say <level 10 characters (which was more or less what I have when I left the Citadel the first time) but a least you have some opportunity to finetune your skills. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Would've been nice if they had your backstory as a tutorial. Then you would have some active role in determining your "sole survivor" "war hero" or "ruthless" status instead of just picking it from a list.<BR><BR>Oblivion did a pretty good job of that.<BR><BR>Oh well, can't always have everything.

 

[Zaskar]

<blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Watcherq:<br><blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Zaskar:<br><blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Watcherq:<br>Hi all, I'm stuck at the Citadel. I tried several times to no avail.<br><br>Ubj qb lbh qrfgebl gur gheergf dhvpxyl? Jerk naq Tneehf arire fheivirq, arvgure qb V. </div>
</blockquote>
<br><br>Ng gur irel raq bs gur tnzr, jura lbh'er ehaavat ba gur bhgfvqr bs gur gbjre? Hfr q-cnq evtug gb sbphf gur jubyr fdhnq'f sver ba bar gnetrg. </div>
</blockquote>
<br><br>Thanks but I'm not there yet -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif --<br><br> </div>
</blockquote>
<br><br><br>Then I am very confused as to why you asked?

 

[Watcherq]

<blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Zaskar:<br><blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Watcherq:<br><blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Zaskar:<br><blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Watcherq:<br>Hi all, I'm stuck at the Citadel. I tried several times to no avail.<br><br>Ubj qb lbh qrfgebl gur gheergf dhvpxyl? Jerk naq Tneehf arire fheivirq, arvgure qb V. </div>
</blockquote>
<br><br>Ng gur irel raq bs gur tnzr, jura lbh'er ehaavat ba gur bhgfvqr bs gur gbjre? Hfr q-cnq evtug gb sbphf gur jubyr fdhnq'f sver ba bar gnetrg. </div>
</blockquote>
<br><br>Thanks but I'm not there yet -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif --<br><br> </div>
</blockquote>
<br><br><br>Then I am very confused as to why you asked? </div>
</blockquote>
<br>Vg jnf bar bs gur rneyl dhrfgf ertneqvat gur Svfg naq trggvat Jerk naq Gnyv, jurer lbh unq gb fgbc gubfr yvggyr gheergf.

 

[Agreschn]

<blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Zaskar:<br><blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Watcherq:<br><blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Zaskar:<br><blockquote class="ip-ubbcode-quote">
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div>
<div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Watcherq:<br>Hi all, I'm stuck at the Citadel. I tried several times to no avail.<br><br>Ubj qb lbh qrfgebl gur gheergf dhvpxyl? Jerk naq Tneehf arire fheivirq, arvgure qb V. </div>
</blockquote>
<br><br>Ng gur irel raq bs gur tnzr, jura lbh'er ehaavat ba gur bhgfvqr bs gur gbjre? Hfr q-cnq evtug gb sbphf gur jubyr fdhnq'f sver ba bar gnetrg. </div>
</blockquote>
<br><br>Thanks but I'm not there yet -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif --<br><br> </div>
</blockquote>
<br><br><br>Then I am very confused as to why you asked? </div>
</blockquote>
<br><br>O/p gurer ner gheergf jura lbh svtug Svfg.<br><br>Edit: Ravebomb'd by Watcherq. -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif -- -- View image here: http://episteme.meincmagazine.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_razz.gif --