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Post by bigbad on Jun 17, 2017 13:39:32 GMT
I’m not gonna read through a 23 page thread right now. (Maybe later after some Gwent and vodka.) OP, I’m sorry but you cannot tenably say “people need to stop praising ME1” on one hand, but then open your argument stating you “don't get why Mass Effect 1 is praised”. Why do people still love the original Star Wars 40 years on? It’s so old now it’s completely adrift of any contextual style, the dialogue is wooden and shoddy, the special effects are not up to today’s standards, and the main villain is a guy with a bucket helmet on his head. In every aspect (dialogue aside) The Phantom Menace is superior, but it’s panned almost universally. (Panning of which I completely agree with.) I cite first Alec Guinness on receiving the Star Wars script: “The dialogue was pretty ropey, but I had to go on turning the page. That’s an essential in any script, you gotta know what happens next or what’s said next.” Irvin Kershner on being asked to direct Empire Strikes Back: “It (Star Wars) was a phenomenal hit. A second one can only be a second one, it can’t be as good because the first one is the breakthrough.” The above is completely applicable to Mass Effect, and indeed a number of other story franchises with multiple sequels like it. (Particularly the parts I have put in bold.) I still play ME1 today, and indeed while it’s clunky and has problems (some of which can be fixed/improved by mods) it still hasn’t lost that alluring factor. I still want to keep turning the page to see what’s next on the list to do, where next can I go mucking around in the MAKO in that wonderful atmosphere, delivered fantastically by the music, and the feeling of being right on the cusp of the frontier on strange, feral worlds. Some of the most wonderful things can be created completely by accident, or by the most strenuous restriction of resources. You could try again later 1000 times, and never find what it was again you did, all the elements just fell into place that very first time. Maybe we won’t see something quite like ME1 again, even from the ME series itself. MEA just doesn’t quite hit it off, and that feeling for me is magnified given how wasted it’s development cycle turned out to be. Rational or not, fair or not, now I don’t really think so much of what MEA is, but what it could have been, if it were given the full 5 years to actual development. On top of all that, would be well to remember if not for Mass Effect 1, none of this would be here. It's spawned 3 more games and ignited the imagination of sci-fi fans and gamers alike. I think ME1 can safely put itself under the win column. Fuckin' A, man. ME1 is not perfect by any means, but it's a friggin' masterpiece. The opening is one of the most effective atmosphere-setting, attention-grabbing intros to any game I've ever played. And the narrative climax starting on Ilos followed by the Battle of the Citadel is simply one of my most cherished gaming experiences. The character moments don't reach the level of quality we get in ME2-ME3, but ME1 sets a good foundation for what comes later. I still remember my first time playing ME2 and finding out Archangel was Garrus. Man, I was pumped to see him again. That couldn't have happened without ME1. The music. Holy shit. Best OST ever. Most of all, though, ME1 created an amazing and complex sci-fi universe with the potential to be as compelling as some of the other more famous sci-fi settings. I don't think that the realization of that universe has always lived up to its potential, but such is life.
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Post by bigbad on Jun 13, 2017 23:35:32 GMT
To this day, that coup plotline is a real head-scratcher. I mean, I really enjoy playing the mission, but the plot is just so...dumb. I wonder what the original intentions were. Originally, the coup was supposed to happen after Thessia. Basically, Udina tried to get support for humanity but doesn't really get anywhere and gets more and more frustrated with the other races throughout the game. When he realizes that the asari were hiding their beacon all along and when he sees that basically the entire galaxy is now overrun, he panics and decides to try and take over power on the Citadel in order to funnel all those remaining resources towards humanity and the crucible. I am not entirely sure but I think the idea was that at this point TIM contacts him and convinces him that his plans for the crucible are valid (and of course, with the Cerberus troups he offers Udina a chance to really take over power). After Thessia it also makes more sense for Cerberus to want to take over the Citadel since at that point, they have Vendetta and thus know that the Catalyst is the Citadel. I am not sure why exactly the plot was rearranged but IMO, at least in the broad strokes, this older version would have made much more sense if decently executed, both for Cerberus and for Udina. Interesting! That does sound at least a little bit more coherent than what actually made it into the game. Are the original plans for the coup documented somewhere? I missed that whole behind the scenes backstory!
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Post by bigbad on Jun 13, 2017 22:56:46 GMT
I'd love a more Loghain-like villain (or would atagonist be a better word?) in Mass Effect, someone with rather more to them than evil for evil's sake. I've not played every BioWare game but of the one's I have played he was the most interesting hands down. I always felt Udina could have been that if they didn't butcher him during the Citadel coup. He was an obnoxious prick to be sure but until the coup I did get him and I thought he was actually one of the better portrayed politicians in the ME series (not much competition there, I know but still). Unfortunately, be re-arranging some story elements in ME3 very late in development, the Cerberus coup (and thus Udina) made no sense anymore whatsoever. To this day, that coup plotline is a real head-scratcher. I mean, I really enjoy playing the mission, but the plot is just so...dumb. I wonder what the original intentions were.
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Post by bigbad on Jun 11, 2017 17:26:36 GMT
AFAIK, the author of the article in question has an excellent rep and has broken several stories in the past. Outside of BSN, I've never heard anybody complain about him. Well, there was that time he reported that No Man's Sky would get delayed, then like two days later it was officially announced that it was delayed, which prompted a slew of death threats from some irate NMS "fans" (how you can be a fan of something that yet exists I don't know) blaming Jason himself for it being delayed. Heh. Right, I forgot about that. I should have said "justified complaints". Gaming communities sure are fucking weird.
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Post by bigbad on Jun 11, 2017 17:05:52 GMT
So you dont want to believe the article cause it does not reinforce your own opinion? Welcome to the age of social media and internet bubbles. More like welcome to the age of humanity. It's just who we are.
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Post by bigbad on Jun 11, 2017 17:01:10 GMT
Of course, developer, company and staff statements are always facts. Better than article with a bad rep. AFAIK, the author of the article in question has an excellent rep and has broken several stories in the past. Outside of BSN, I've never heard anybody complain about him.
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Post by bigbad on Jun 11, 2017 15:31:14 GMT
You know, the funny part of this is that time will prove the guy right, as it did other times. MEA will have minimal post game content compared to ME3 or ME2 and it will be a long time before the next Mass Effect game. Yet this whole thing will happen again, somewhere with some other game. He will report something that people won't like and they will say he is just lying or wanting hits. I think you're probably right, and it's frustrating to see the amount of "motivated" skepticism toward this story. But it's understandable. We all want more (good) ME content, and the idea that we might see little or no more ME for a half a decade or more is a tough pill to swallow.
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Post by bigbad on Jun 11, 2017 14:50:19 GMT
It's entirely plausible that below average Final Fantasy and Assassin's Creed games sell a lot more copies than below average Mass Effect games.
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Post by bigbad on Jun 11, 2017 14:45:13 GMT
How long after release are the DLCs typically announced?
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Post by bigbad on Jun 11, 2017 14:03:36 GMT
I do not regret buying it, but no, I don't think the game was a particularly good value.
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Post by bigbad on Jun 11, 2017 12:31:02 GMT
The link to reddit in the OP is was broken. Here is the correct link.
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Post by bigbad on Jun 8, 2017 10:18:56 GMT
Before we go too far down the "Mac Walters is a hero who saved the day!" road, let's keep in mind that he himself could be the source for those ideas!
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Post by bigbad on May 26, 2017 11:55:06 GMT
1 > 3 = 2 > A
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Post by bigbad on May 17, 2017 12:45:56 GMT
I too enjoy pizza.
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Post by bigbad on May 17, 2017 12:40:55 GMT
My main takeaway from this thread is that I need to get back to my second TW3 playthrough. The game is amazing.
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Post by bigbad on May 16, 2017 20:29:57 GMT
ME2 is my least favorite game of the original trilogy, at least when it comes to doing replays. It's vastly superior to ME:A, though.
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Post by bigbad on Apr 19, 2017 1:25:31 GMT
Yes! I loved driving around that planet. To me, this was the only part of the game that really lived up to the whole "spiritual successor of the original Mass Effect" notion that was used so frequently. It felt like a planet that I could have visited in ME1, except way better. Lets give MEA a bit more credit then that. I loved the entire Exaltation quest and the combat, outside the '3 skills' crap is awesome. Don't get me wrong - I like ME:A. I just meant that when it comes to realizing the promise of ME1's exploration, this particular planet was much better than all the rest.
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Post by bigbad on Apr 19, 2017 0:15:07 GMT
The shattered planet in Andromeda is amazing. It's the smallest planet you can drive the Mako, but also the most unique. That's the way. Not Karada, not Eos, not the Hintherlands... Yes! I loved driving around that planet. To me, this was the only part of the game that really lived up to the whole "spiritual successor of the original Mass Effect" notion that was used so frequently. It felt like a planet that I could have visited in ME1, except way better.
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Post by bigbad on Apr 18, 2017 18:31:25 GMT
I agree with the article. I very much enjoy well executed open (or semi-open) world games. Bioware has had two attempts now to get the open world template right, and I think they have largely failed both times. There are other aspects of DA:I and ME:A that I enjoy to various extents, but the open world gameplay is simply not good in either game.
I see no reason to think that Bioware will massively improve their open world gameplay and design in future efforts, so I'd much rather see them go in a different direction.
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Post by bigbad on Apr 11, 2017 15:35:05 GMT
I can't help but wonder what Bioware could accomplish if they were focusing on 1-2 games at a time instead of 3-4.
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Post by bigbad on Apr 10, 2017 11:49:27 GMT
I didn't even notice.
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Post by bigbad on Apr 4, 2017 22:53:03 GMT
Keep all the non-humans. I'm on the fence regarding the rest.
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Post by bigbad on Apr 4, 2017 18:48:07 GMT
This seems like a reasonable start to me. Proof will obviously be in the proverbial pudding.
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Post by bigbad on Apr 4, 2017 15:03:07 GMT
Then it's how they made each and every Asari look just like Dr. Lexi. It's atrocious. Yep. This better be one of the things they plan to fix. The Asari clone issue is completely unacceptable.
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Post by bigbad on Apr 4, 2017 15:01:51 GMT
Do non-trolls actually think Sara is ugly? Obviously, her eyes and facial animations are bad, but that's true of virtually all the humans. Apart from the systemic problems, I don't see the reason for focusing on Sara. She is a massive upgrade from Femshep's models in any of the original trilogy, and is quite attractive (or would be without the systemic issues). I wouldn't say shes ugly, I simply find her very bland. They tried way too hard to go with a ''girl next door look'', she looks so extremely average that it already borders on the weird territory. And I can't exactly say why but she looks kind of unhealthy at times. Also, the engine and shadows is very hard on the faces, depending on lighting my male Ryder either looks like a freaking supermodel or a meth user hobo in his final breath. Thats really not that bad: Yes, I think that lighting makes a huge difference (lighting on the Nexus in particular is atrocious and makes everyone and everything look hideous). IMO, Sara looks fantastic and not-at-all bland in that shot.
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