Just started ME3, will it get better?

Yes they can because if you apply the same logic many seems reserved just for ME 3 to the other two games. The issues and flaws are just as glaring and problematic.   I'm going to agree with UpUpAway in asking what RPG element was removed? How it was done might have been altered but not the action it self.  And without out a doubt the combat in ME 1 is objectively the worst combat out of the trilogy. Every single combat biased complaint you have about ME 3, ME 1 has it as well only worse. Much much worse. Particularly if you have PS3 because without a certain DLC that PS3 never got you can't even buy new grenades. And if you play NG+ after a while all the enemies drop the same mods. I would get the same handful of mods I already had and didn't want.

The characters have all sorts of interaction based on your choices. There is someone on youtube RedStarBolt I think is the user name who records all possible character interaction on levels in ME 3. Many of those videos run an hour long for a single mission.



ME2's side quests consist of landing on X planet. Killing Y Merc group from one end to the other, collecting Z item or object and end of game. This is no different then ME 1's enter 1 of 2 copy paste base lay outs. Kill X group inside it and collect Y loot. Which is repeated in ME3. They are the exact same thing from every objective point of view possible. How ever at least ME 1 and ME 3's side missions play into over all story. Because just like ME 1 in ME 3 you can collect certain times from side missions and give them to NPC to solve or fix problems in the game's universe.  So if anything ME 2's lack of that makes it objectively the worst side quests because they add nothing to the game or game universe besides increasing Shepard's body count.

It is equally fun to be able to hijack a mech and walk around and punch Cerberus goons to death. It is fun to hack a Cerberus turret and watch it kill the Engineer by it. It is fun to jump around the map causing biotic detonations left and right with my Vanguard. Allowing me even on insanity difficulty to clear out rooms quickly with right squad mates. It is fun not to be hard line restricted to a very specific weapon selection. Allowing more room to create your own specific character.  My current Vanguard is running with only a Venom Shotgun.  I prime target's with Javik's Dark Aura ability, biotic charge in for biotic explosion, fire a fully charged up venom shot point blank with maxed out incendiary ammo and then trigger a fire explosion with Garrus's Overload ability.   The only threats that are generally left standing after that are Banshee's or Atlas with very low health. Particularly if I take out their shield/barrier first.

Yes lack of action just like in ME 1 were characters would not react to your shots fired till the very end. Yet by your own internal logic it isn't that bad. Contradict much? And again blowing arms off YMIR mech is the same as blowing the hatch open and killing pilot. You don't have to do it but it is something you can do for fun if you want to. And the bonus is you can take control of it.

So you said a lot of RPG elements are removed and yet when asked for specifics you can only make generalizations about something. Interesting to say the very least and really weakens your position when specifics are asked for for all these RPG elements removed and you can only name one.



You seem to not understand between the illusion of choice and actual choice. ME 1 gave the illusion of choice in spades. ME 3 the limited choices you get actually mean something. Because that is pretty basic stuff when dealing with games the more choices given the less relevant and important they are. Because they can only have so much an effect. Reduce the number of choices and the effect can be increased by reducing number of possible variations. And while you might not get a dialogue wheel all the time with characters on the Normandy their dialogue changes based on your choices. Garrus's conversation can change based on you saving the Rachni Queen again, Abandoning it, Saving the artificial Queen or abandoning the artificial Queen. Your actions in game are literally the dialogue wheel for them. Between every mission you can stop and wonder about the Normandy and find a new conversations to have with various crew mates based on your action of the mission. And depending on how far along in main story you are new conversations pop up around on the Citadel to listen to or make choices to like convince a group of teens to join the military or create a fund to support the war effort. You claiming there is no talking or lack of choice effects only weakens your ground because it shows how little attention you payed.

The context of ME 2 compared to ME 3 needs to be taken into account. ME 2 they are simply trying to stop the Collectors who are targeting unarmed human colonies. ME 3 it is a galactic wide invasion with will result in the complete destruction of all life as we know it. So it is important to take context of story into consideration when comparing things. Samara's recruitment mission all the talking is done up front and simply done to set the stage for why she is there in the first place. After that it is all guns, rockets and bullets. With Mordin's recruitment the only talking that is done is specifically to find out about him and to get the cure. All other talking is optional and you have to go out of the way to find it. During his loyalty mission the mandatory breaks on combat is there to provide the much needed counter point to the Genophage. As ME 1 we only had Wrex's views why it was bad. Explaining the logic of why the galaxy has kept the Genophage working.

But even then that mission is very much like Arrae:Ex-Cberus Scientists. You land and fight off Cerberus, talk to Jacob (if he survived) and even talk to Dr. Archer if you did Overlord DLC. You go out and kill more Cerberus while getting the AA guns back online. Then back inside to talk some more before starting the evacuation were you hold off Cerberus while the ships leave before yourself being Evaced. So your complaint falls a bit short on an real meaning behind it.

Fetch quest in ME 3 are the same as they are in ME 2. And like nearly all fetch quests they are a bit dull.



I already asked for specific RPG elements that were removed yet you have yet to provide any. So at this point that line of argument from you is pointless. Least until you provide the proof to back up your assertion.

As for combat let me ask you this how many power combinations were possible in ME 2? Because ME 3 has dozens even without taking MP into account. A full list:

masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Power_Combos

Is taking a YMIR's head or arm off required? No. Is killing the pilot in an Atlas required? No. Does taking the head or arms off a YMIR provide a small bonus? Yes. Does killing the pilot of an Atlas and taking control of it give you a small bonus? Yes.

Your skill level doesn't alter how much better one is over the other. Neither are required to do and from any objective stand point gaining control of an Atlas provides a superior bonus to anything a YMIR could offer.







Your going to have to point out the difference and what you are using as your criteria to compare the two for cinematic, animation, etc. Because side to side comparison they are honestly the same. If anything ME 3 is a bit cleaner then ME 2. And by that I mean ME 2 doesn't look like it was created to play in HD (720/1080) while ME 3 actually looks like it was created with HD in mind rather then lower definition that is then upscale to HD if you have HDMI cable and TV capable of running at 720/1080. But the difference are small and only noticeable if you get obsessive over them.



From ME 2



And ME 3

Neither are realistic looking people but ME 3 has more fine details done then ME 2. Hence my statement about ME 3 actually being made for HD while ME 2 not so much.

All the same characters in ME 3 are the same characters in ME 1 and ME 2. Secondary side characters get the same development and one off characters get no better treatment anyways. And in a few cases I would say ME 3 developed characters from ME 2 into much better ones. Aria actually develops a second dimension during Omega DLC. But I must ask if you have any specific characters you want to bring up?

In what ways it s trying to be more like a movie? The attempt to move the scale of the conflict from a small handful of people to the galaxy wide event it actually is?

What scenes with the kid? You talking about the dream sequences? The sequences that are practically vomiting symbolism all over your face as you watch them? Or you talking about the opening bit with the kid. Who's death represents the sum total loss of innocence to Shepard. Being completely incapable of saving one small child and asking how is he suppose to save an entire galaxy. Which ties in later to all the doubt and fear he has about what is happening.

Legion and Mordin are the only two characters who actually have ties to major plot lines in the Trilogy. The Genophage and Quarrian Geth Conflict. All the other new characters created for ME 2 dosn't have any plot relevance outside of their game. And even then their only real plot relevance is based on them simply being bodies existing. That being said even their limited time in the light they still have effects in ME 3. If not directly plot related then indirectly with War Resources. And some of their actions like Thane or Grunt while their over all actions are small in the grand scheme of the game still have rather emotional effects depending on the person. Thane the assassin who is trying to do the right thing in his final days agrees to watch the Virmire Survior under his protection as long as they are in the hosptial. Then later during Cerberus Coup when Shepard needs him despite being severely weakened by his illness still shows up to help Shepard protect the Salarian Ambassador at the cost of his own life. Which of course leads to later on one of the best moments in the game for me and a number of people



Even my most paragon Shepard takes that interruption.

Grunt like wise while fight to leave the Rachni nest you are surrounded by the Reaper Rachnni. And Grunt rushes out emptying his gun before attacking them with his bare hands all in an effort to draw them off so Shepard can escape. And depending on your actions Grunt will either die from his actions or limp out covered in blood and severely wounded but alive.

Others like Jacob, Zaeed or Kasumi who didn't have much going for them in ME 2 either add small ways. Jacob and Katsumi's missions you get a little extra war assets and Zaeed allows an existing mission to get both war assets rather then one or the other from the Volus.

There is actually a very valid reason for why Cerberus troops make such a big part of the game. The entire basis of the Reapers is that they are an unstoppable force in the galaxy. The troops they create from the races of the galaxy allow them to over whelm and ultimatly break each cycle allowing the harvest to happen. How ever since this a game to advance the story line it requires you to kill large number of troops to advance the story. If you were slaughtering the Reapers left and right the threat level they are supose to pose goes out the window. So Cerberus is traded in to allow an enemy were their threat level isn't that high. So killing of thousands of Cerberus Troops doesn't detract from their over all threat because their main threat was never about their military might.

This is the same logic applied to ME 2. How many missions actually have you directly fighting the Collectors? 3 maybe 4 missions. Horizon, Collector Ship and Collector Base. All other missions are generally handled by you taking on some form of Merc group even though Collectors are the main enemy. Ironically the very complaint against ME 3 here can be applied to ME 2.

What is that a game has a giant Mc Guffin and you can collect parts for bonuses for it and your lack of of action resulted in you not getting the optimal endings. Sounds a lot like something an RPG would have. Were you collect resources and those resources effect the game some how. In this case it decides what endings you can pick and the effects of them. AKA Destroy ending with low EMS causes a lot of collateral damage while higher EMS choice reduces it.