Mass Effect universe discussion thread

[Oranos]

re: Warden
Yeah. Still, that's my preference.

No, I know what you mean. I felt that Origins wrapped things up quite nicely, and I would have loved for that to be the end of the Warden's story as told by BioWare, but that wasn't the case. Given Awakening, it does feel like they need to do something more with it.

I'd still buy DA2, no doubt about that one, it's just that I'd like to see my Warden again (i.e., continue his story, and since DA2 is about Hawke *who chose that name?*, I wouldn't mind waiting for the 3rd or even 4th game for that continuation).

I'm not sold with all the changes that they plan to introduce. The Darkspawn don't look nearly as good as they did in Origins. And I'm not sure I like the idea of the dialogue wheel either. There's others, too, obviously, so I'm a little concerned.

But then, I remember that this is BioWare. I can't really remember them ever doing anything terrible. And Mass Effect 2 had many differences from the first, and that turned out to be pretty decent.

re: Alpha Protocol
I really enjoyed it. It may not be perfect (I didn't encounter anything game-breaking...I actually can't recall any bugs at the moment), but still quite good. The choices made by Thorton (i.e., the player) have visible effects (killing or not killing, being 'nice' or not, etc.). I've finished it twice and was starting another playthrough, but decided to go back to other games instead.

Yeah, I've heard mixed reviews about, and my own experiences with Obsidian have been all over the place. I've been trying to gather thoughts from as many different places before I make my final decision on whether or not to purchase it. I'm still not completely sure about Alpha Protocol.

[The Mighty 6 platoon]

So continuing my Starcraft 2 love in, which game has the more epic trailer, Mass Effect 2 or Starcraft 2?

I really should start a new thread here. It's an awesome game and Starcraft is an awesome scifi verse.

One thing that Starcraft 2 did that reminded me of Mass Effect was the "quiet scenes." Scenes where it's just two characters talking for a while, something that in the past was rarely done in games. And games now have the facial animation and voice acting talent to make this amazing scenes. As I said the quiet conversations between Jim Raynor and his second in command Matt Horner in Starcraft 2 really reminded how often these bits are among my favourite parts, such as in Mass Effect 2, for all the epic moments, some of the best bits were the conversations with characters like Thane, with nothing but the hum of the ship in the background.

[DigiFluid]

Considering I don't really like Starcraft, my vote is for ME2's trailer

[gotthammer]

hehehe, yeah. I'd also go w/ the ME2 trailer ("2 steps from hell" really does nice trailer music).
would've been better if it had been 'femshep'
(I really couldn't play as 'manshep'...didn't have that problem w/ DA:O. maybe it's the voice? )

as for SC2: hehe. still haven't gotten it. I mean, one of the reasons I wanted to get it was to watch the cinematics...most of which are now on YouTube
other than that, I'd wait until all 3 'chapters' are bundled together (unless I can get the collector's ed. cheap)

@Oranos
re: DA2
yeah. exactly. Bioware has yet to disappoint me, hence why I can state, without hesitation, that I'll be getting DA2 (I just hope the collector's ed. won't be too expensive. I would've gotten Starcraft 2 on release/pre-order had the CE been cheaper...heh, it's 99.99 USD on amazon now, tho ...maybe if it drops to 80 USD)

[Xarn]

Musing about difficulty

Well, since the last time here, I did playthroughs on insanity with different classes and yeah, soldiers are just that easy. (Start adrenaline rush, headshot couple of guys, wait, start adrenaline rush... more or less immortal unless you do something stupid)



Also as far as SC2 goes, the story is decent, difficulty is at playable even if the last time you played rts was shortly after SC1 launch (at hard, which I guess translates into "too easy" for rts fans). Basically bringing SC1 up to speed with modern gaming. I would say that it is going to have quite a looong life. (Although some of the design decisions seem downright retarded)


Ad Alpha Protocol: Well what can I say? It is standard obsidian fare... Pretty good writing, some smart design decisions (featuring the FIRST EVER properly done system of relations with your companions (ill try to think of a better formulation after I get some sleep)), unbalanced gameplay and plethora of bugs.

--edit--
Wait, it just hit me. ANOTHER storyless items only DLC?

[DigiFluid]

--edit--
Wait, it just hit me. ANOTHER storyless items only DLC?

*shrug*

We've already had 4 story DLCs and a 5th is on the way. I'm pretty happy with that; ME1 only had 1 story DLC.

Sidenote: the post-ME2 tie-in novel Mass Effect: Retribution was released a couple weeks ago. Anyone read it?

[Stewart5]

*shrug*

We've already had 4 story DLCs and a 5th is on the way. I'm pretty happy with that; ME1 only had 1 story DLC.

Sidenote: the post-ME2 tie-in novel Mass Effect: Retribution was released a couple weeks ago. Anyone read it?

WHoohoo!!!!
I cannot wait!! I will read it soon

[Ouroboros]

Well, since the last time here, I did playthroughs on insanity with different classes and yeah, soldiers are just that easy. (Start adrenaline rush, headshot couple of guys, wait, start adrenaline rush... more or less immortal unless you do something stupid)

Funny thing is I barely use adrenaline Rush anymore. I took Zaeed's flame grenade as a secondary power this time around and it's actually surprisingly good, even on insanity. I use it mainly to damage enemies behind cover/get them to stand up and move. Combined with that Geth shotgun or new AR that absolutely annihilates any sort of shielding, you can clear rooms stupid fast.

Also as far as SC2 goes, the story is decent, difficulty is at playable even if the last time you played rts was shortly after SC1 launch (at hard, which I guess translates into "too easy" for rts fans). Basically bringing SC1 up to speed with modern gaming. I would say that it is going to have quite a looong life. (Although some of the design decisions seem downright retarded)

The main thing I found really disappointing about SC is not being able to remap any keys at all, specifically my control group keys. I get that they've got hotkeys set for every type of unit but I'll happily shuffle those around to to get the control groups where I want. I also wish there was an easier way to tab through assigned control groups, like say by hitting tab which apparently does nothing.

That way you could just assign and tab through all your production buildings without moving focus around or having to dance your hands all over the keyboard. Would make building up forces while actively fighting a LOT easier.

[Ouroboros]

*shrug*

We've already had 4 story DLCs and a 5th is on the way. I'm pretty happy with that; ME1 only had 1 story DLC.

Zaeed, Katsumi, Overlord and I guess you mean Firewalker. I wouldn't call that a story DLC though, it was just an extra vehicle and a bunch of set pieces to use it in. The only one I regret getting really. Overlord was really good though. If the Liara/shadowbroker one lives up to that standard it should be fantastic to.

Sidenote: the post-ME2 tie-in novel Mass Effect: Retribution was released a couple weeks ago. Anyone read it?

I've never read any of their novels, I heard they were pretty dreadful actually, but I did find a free comic online about why you don't **** with Aria. http://au.comics.ign.com/articles/110/1100605p1.html

I'm calling it now. She'll be a squad mate in ME3, though I suspect her "story scene biotics" will go run away and hide in the same place Jack's did.

"What do you mean you can't even kill that 1 mech by yourself, I watched you obliterate 3 of them in seconds without any weapons!"

[DigiFluid]

Zaeed, Katsumi, Overlord and I guess you mean Firewalker. I wouldn't call that a story DLC though,

Actually I was thinking Normandy, Zaeed, Firewalker and Kasumi. I forgot about Overlord completely.

I really need to get to these DLCs though. I haven't even played most of them LOL

[Xarn]

We've already had 4 story DLCs and a 5th is on the way. I'm pretty happy with that; ME1 only had 1 story DLC.

Yes, but how many DLCs were there that were basically waste of HDD space?


Ouroboros: Tab switches through various unit types (names actually, quite important when mixing mercenary units with standard ones) in the group you have currently selected, so you can just assign your production buildings to group, say 5, and tab through them.
Apparently you can also change every single default hotkey, but you first need to extract GameStrings.txt from one of the game MPQs (*.SC2data actually)? It may be worth checking out.

As for fire grenade, dunno, I prefered ammo "skills" (wtf, why would you need special skills to use special ammo?) and heightened adrenaline rush, which pretty much meant IKing everything through headshots. (Not all bosses obviously, but those usually went in couple of sniper shots anyway)

Also as far as cutscene power fluctuations go, SC2 is quite interesting in that pretty much every single named characted kicks more ass in the actual gameplay than in the cutscenes. Would be funny if Aria was actual teammate and kept the sort of power displayed in the comic, maybe she would be the first teammate that is actually useful in game? O:-)

[Ouroboros]

Yes, but how many DLCs were there that were basically waste of HDD space?

Firewalker, and maybe the appearance package and some of the armour packs. The appearance pack is really only good for getting Garrus with armour that doesn't have a hole shot in it all the time. It almost had a great outfit for Jack to but they ruined it by sticking duct tape over half her face, which is probably the most well executed expressive face in the game.

Firewalker just felt like cut content that didn't make the original release and now feels hopelessly out of context and meaningless, almost like a completely different game.

Ouroboros: Tab switches through various unit types (names actually, quite important when mixing mercenary units with standard ones) in the group you have currently selected, so you can just assign your production buildings to group, say 5, and tab through them.

Oh ok, so that's how it works. I've heard people talking about tabbing through and after trying it myself (assigining different buildings to different control keys) and having it not work I assumed they just meant "clicking on those little green tabs" not actually tabbing through. The way you described works even better than I thought though as it saves a whole bunch of control groups.

Thanks for the tip, it'll be really helpful. I was surprised how totally barren the manual for this game was.

As for fire grenade, dunno, I prefered ammo "skills" (wtf, why would you need special skills to use special ammo?) and heightened adrenaline rush, which pretty much meant IKing everything through headshots. (Not all bosses obviously, but those usually went in couple of sniper shots anyway)

Warp ammo is probably the "best" bonus power in terms of pure performance. Global damage bonus against every defense type except shields, which are really easy to drop with so many different weapons it hardly matters. I've got to think if you maxed that with the Geth shotgun it would be 1 shot kills almost all the time.

I just tried the grenades because I wanted to use something different. It was a pleasant surprise that it turned out to also be really fun and decently powerful.

Also as far as cutscene power fluctuations go, SC2 is quite interesting in that pretty much every single named characted kicks more ass in the actual gameplay than in the cutscenes.

Like Kerrigan killing entire battlecruisers 1 on 1 and resisting multiple Yamato cannon shots in game but failing against a single dark templar in a cutscene.

Yamato cannon shots are a focused nuclear explosions for those not familiar with SC lore...

Would be funny if Aria was actual teammate and kept the sort of power displayed in the comic, maybe she would be the first teammate that is actually useful in game? O:-)

It just occurred to me that being a super ancient Asari and general crafty criminal type, maybe Aria was just able to hold on to her mass effect 1 powers instead of turning them over like everyone else was evidently forced to.

I bet she's even got a whole cache of weapons that don't require thermal clips and never run out of ammo. It's probably how she took over Omega in the first place...sucking everyone in her vicinity into a grotesque flailing ball with singularity, then shooting them with a recoil free infinite ammo assault rifle that never overheats while laughing like a lunatic.

Don't **** with Aria, she will destroy you, even if your enemies are everywhere.

[Starsaber]

Aria isn't bad, but I really want Kal'Reegar as a squadmate in ME3.

“The geth might get me, but I'm not gonna die from an infection in the middle of a battle. That's just insulting!”

Of course part of that is wanting a Miranda/Kal'Reegar/Chuck Sheppard squad

[Ouroboros]

Aria isn't bad, but I really want Kal'Reegar as a squadmate in ME3.

“The geth might get me, but I'm not gonna die from an infection in the middle of a battle. That's just insulting!”

Of course part of that is wanting a Miranda/Kal'Reegar/Chuck Sheppard squad

If I had my pick of any non playable character from 2 it would be the Asari matriarch bartender on Illium, no contest. Of course she'd probably make an even better council member.

She's like the Asari version of Wrex.

[gotthammer]

If I had my pick of any non playable character from 2 it would be the Asari matriarch bartender on Illium, no contest. Of course she'd probably make an even better council member.

She's like the Asari version of Wrex.

Hehehe. Yeah. That bartender was cool. Her or Admiral Xen (die Tali! DIE!!! *I jest. Tali's ok*) would be a nice team member, I think (same voice actress anyway, right?).