CK's Assorted Reviews - Today's Review - The Mass Effect Trilogy - Now With 61% More Mass Effect 2!

[Koko.Hekmatyar]

I personally hated the ending because it amounted to the same outcome in the end, Shepard dies to save the universe. This is all well and good but when you take into account that through ME1 and ME2 He was faced with impossible odds and told to complete the task he was given. Which he managed to do (IF you played everything and upgraded everything) and come back alive. YET in ME3 there was NO chance for survival it amounted to Option A: Control the reapers but you die and your mind becomes some bastardized AI, Option B: Destroy the reapers and either die in the explosion or from vacuum exposure when the citadel goes boom, or Option C: Synthesis where every creature becomes a perfect blend of both organic and machine but oh you got to jump into this light and have your body disintegrated for it to work.

 

Three choices same result.

[arrow72]

And when you're left with the illusion of choice for 6 years and get emotionally attached to your character... then the ME3 sendoff was tantamount to trolling.

[ChancellorKremlin]

Wow! I actually read through it all. That is a long and very good review! As always, love your thought on the game. Keep it up for others! 

 

Thanks mate, I'm glad people appreciate it. I realise it quickly developed into more than just your average "review" and I should probably put a disclaimer in there somewhere haha 

 

I personally hated the ending because it amounted to the same outcome in the end, Shepard dies to save the universe. This is all well and good but when you take into account that through ME1 and ME2 He was faced with impossible odds and told to complete the task he was given. Which he managed to do (IF you played everything and upgraded everything) and come back alive. YET in ME3 there was NO chance for survival it amounted to Option A: Control the reapers but you die and your mind becomes some bastardized AI, Option B: Destroy the reapers and either die in the explosion or from vacuum exposure when the citadel goes boom, or Option C: Synthesis where every creature becomes a perfect blend of both organic and machine but oh you got to jump into this light and have your body disintegrated for it to work.

 

Three choices same result.

 

So your issue with the ending is basically that he has to die? Well, you can actually survive, I'm not sure if this is pre-EC or post-EC, but with enough assets and going for the "control" option he survives, because the pile of rubble you wake up isn't on Earth but actually on the citadel, which doesn't blow up like it did in the original, it is just damaged.

 

And while I appreciate that ME1-ME2 allowed you to "beat the odds" and having it any different for ME3 would annoy a given set of people, I find his death far more thematic and in keeping with the series' tone and theme of sacrifice than having him living. And even then, you can have him live.

 

So really, the EC fixes your problem. Or the MEHEM mod.

 

My problem is that I always expected Shepard to die in ME3 (and the entire game heavily hints this will be the case, the final mission especially so) and to me, the "control" choice is not an option, because it requires me to sacrifice and basically back stab both EDI and the Geth, who are my friends and I have fought and sacrificed for, just so I can survive. To me, that is unacceptable, which is why I tend to side with the "Synthesise" option. 

 

Again, my issue isn't exactly the post-EC endings (and strangely, most of the people I hear complaining nearly always refer to the originals) but more so with the leading up to and execution of said endings.

 

And when you're left with the illusion of choice for 6 years and get emotionally attached to your character... then the ME3 sendoff was tantamount to trolling.

 

What do you mean? His death, or just the general endings themselves?

 

If it is his death, see above or my "Review" itself. If it is the endings, your argument makes perfect sense if you're referring to the original, pre-EC endings, which made all your accomplishments throughout the series irrelevant and the three choices themselves indistinguishable.

 

Otherwise, I don't see how that is the case. Everything you achieved in ME1-2-3 still stands, even if the ending itself doesn't necessarily acknowledge it (though the slides kind of do go some way toward that). I'm *still* emotionally attached to Shepard. And Mordin. And Legion. Their deaths didn't change that for me, and that is something I've said in the review and will say again - the end will not take away from me the magic of the journey. With the post-EC endings, I don't even see how it would.

[gregathit]

Nice write up CK.  Lot's of thoughtful insight.

 

Having worn off all my anger via previous posts and in just moving on, my main issue boils down to just what you are saying in your last post.  It is a real tragedy that the death of Mordin, Thane and Legion were so well done, so epic and moving, only to have the central characters end be......just blah.  Is it any wonder folks got angry at such a lackluster death of "their" character?  The only thing I can compare it to is pitching the body out of the back of a pickup whilst rolling down the highway.  Twinkie wrapper indistinguishable from Shepard's cold corpse.

 

The death of Shepard isn't anything to be pissed off about.  It could and SHOULD have been handled in such a way to make a grown man cry like a little girl.  Had that been done, there would never have been any outcry from the community.  Or if there had been, it would have been from the few souls that are never content anyway.

 

Ah well, all we can hope is that DA3 doesn't repeat the same mistakes.

[Kpnut]

Nice review, couldn't read all of it (I got to the end of the synthesis part before my attention span rebelled) but I get the general gist of it (I think.)

 

My major beef with the game is the multiplayer being pretty polished (even if it is just horde mode) in comparison to the original ending (pre-EC) being shit. It's as if Bioware spent more time perfecting the fucking multiplayer then creating a satisfying ending. And as gregathit said, the way Shepard's death is handled (even in the EC) is pretty shit in comparison to Mordin, Thane and Legion when Shepard is the central character.

 

Also Liara pissed me off so much, the fact you HAD to do 4 missions with her is just bullshit, I want more choice when it comes to who I pick for missions I don't want t be forced to take some blue bitch I don't care about.

[windpl]

Blue ending it is not a sacrifice, it is control. Shepard become AI, and it looks like it is canon ending and base for next ME game. Or it was.

[Koko.Hekmatyar]

Don't know how they could use control as the canon for the next ME game. The reapers are the ultimate defense so the prospect of something WORSE then reapers and a true threat is laughable at best.

 

As for the supposed survival if you get enough war assets and choose destroy, all you see is him taking one breath that could be him taking a breath proving he survived or it could be him taking his final breath before dying. That scene is far to ambiguous to make it clear.

 

P.s. That's pre EC, Post EC it shows them not put Shepard's name plate up on the wall of the fallen BUT this also is ambiguous as that could just mean they don't know either way. You don't put a soldier's name that's listed as MIA on a memorial for soldiers who have been listed as KIA.

[Angrybird]

ME3 completly ruined one of the best franchises ever I don't want to play a ME game ever again, what piece of garbage.

[Koko.Hekmatyar]

When or IF the next ME comes out I'm going to wait a month or two this way I can check out reviews and player made videos to get an idea of what it is like and deciding if I want to buy it.

 

Seriously though it's things like this (they botch up ME3 make no apologies about it and roll right into making a new ME game) that makes you want to get the game via pirating first so you are not wasting $60+ on a game you are going to hate and never play again.

[Kpnut]

Thing about the next ME game, it shouldn't even be an idea Bioware said that ME was going to be a trilogy.

[Koko.Hekmatyar]

But they can easily get around that and say it was a trilogy with Shep as the MC where as the new ME will have a new MC. It was the same thing with Assassin's Creed when they killed off Desmond. I thought OK they just killed their cash cow how are they going to make the next game like they claim?

 

P.s. ChancellorKremlin I think you meant you didn't like the Destroy ending cause it meant you have to screw over EDI and the Geth (you said control instead of destroy ) On that I agree I spent a shit load of time making EDI more Human with free will of her own and worked my ass off to end the war with the Geth on a good note. The destroy ending negates all that hard work.

[ChancellorKremlin]

Nice write up CK.  Lot's of thoughtful insight.

 

Having worn off all my anger via previous posts and in just moving on, my main issue boils down to just what you are saying in your last post.  It is a real tragedy that the death of Mordin, Thane and Legion were so well done, so epic and moving, only to have the central characters end be......just blah.  Is it any wonder folks got angry at such a lackluster death of "their" character?  The only thing I can compare it to is pitching the body out of the back of a pickup whilst rolling down the highway.  Twinkie wrapper indistinguishable from Shepard's cold corpse.

 

The death of Shepard isn't anything to be pissed off about.  It could and SHOULD have been handled in such a way to make a grown man cry like a little girl.  Had that been done, there would never have been any outcry from the community.  Or if there had been, it would have been from the few souls that are never content anyway.

 

Ah well, all we can hope is that DA3 doesn't repeat the same mistakes.

 

Hehe yeah, I read most of your posts in the original "ME3" thread. I do agree with you though, pretty much 100%. I shed a small tear when I got in the end, but it wasn't because of Shepard's death, but more-so because the saga had come to an end. I really felt the end should have included at least some of your squadmates, if only to make your own "goodbye" a little more poignant. The EC "Memorial" thing adds closure, but its not the same.

 

I'm going to start playing DA sometime in the next few weeks and see what all the fuss about that is. I hear DA2 is very popular 

 

Nice review, couldn't read all of it (I got to the end of the synthesis part before my attention span rebelled) but I get the general gist of it (I think.)

 

My major beef with the game is the multiplayer being pretty polished (even if it is just horde mode) in comparison to the original ending (pre-EC) being shit. It's as if Bioware spent more time perfecting the fucking multiplayer then creating a satisfying ending. And as gregathit said, the way Shepard's death is handled (even in the EC) is pretty shit in comparison to Mordin, Thane and Legion when Shepard is the central character.

 

Also Liara pissed me off so much, the fact you HAD to do 4 missions with her is just bullshit, I want more choice when it comes to who I pick for missions I don't want t be forced to take some blue bitch I don't care about.

 

Thanks, and I don't blame you. Maybe read it in installments lol? 

 

Yeah, this is a prime example of a game that just doesn't need multiplayer. I don't care how much of their resources they diverted towards it, if it was 0.01% of the original budget, it was 0.01% too much, especially when that effort could have been put elsewhere, like polishing the end. In the end we'll never know, but you are left with that over-hanging feeling of what if they hadn't and so forth.

 

I liked Liara (compared to ME1 at least) but besides Mar and Thessia, what other missions are you referring to? In any case, I would have taken her to Thessia anyway just because it was her planet.  

 

Blue ending it is not a sacrifice, it is control. Shepard become AI, and it looks like it is canon ending and base for next ME game. Or it was.

 

Yeah, I got that mixed up. I don't know about "canon" though, BEAware have stated repeatedly they are "moving on" from Shepard's story arc and I have a feeling they will not canonise any of the endings. If anything, I think they'll do a series either set before or during the current arc. Who knows, maybe you even get to meet Shepard?

 

If they do a "after" Shepard arc, they might just go with the whole save thing and "canonise" whatever end result you chose, meaning it will all be relative to each player's game, which I think is a nice solution. Canonising stuff usually just pisses people off. I for one hope they do a completely new set of characters with a new protagonist, I think Shepard's journey is done.

 

Don't know how they could use control as the canon for the next ME game. The reapers are the ultimate defense so the prospect of something WORSE then reapers and a true threat is laughable at best.

 

As for the supposed survival if you get enough war assets and choose destroy, all you see is him taking one breath that could be him taking a breath proving he survived or it could be him taking his final breath before dying. That scene is far to ambiguous to make it clear.

 

P.s. That's pre EC, Post EC it shows them not put Shepard's name plate up on the wall of the fallen BUT this also is ambiguous as that could just mean they don't know either way. You don't put a soldier's name that's listed as MIA on a memorial for soldiers who have been listed as KIA.

 

I think that was more to please the people who "didn't want him to die" and to really suggest he is in fact, not dead. As for any future games, see my post above.

 

ME3 completly ruined one of the best franchises ever I don't want to play a ME game ever again, what piece of garbage.

 

If that's the way you feel, I feel sorry for you. I just can't see it that way. Sure, they screwed up, but the games up to that point are just so good I'm not going to allow a tiny bit of poison to sour the whole experience. It doesn't have to be so all of nothing as so many people out there make it out to be.

 

It's like going out with this really hot, attractive, hilarious and intelligent gal and then she goes and farts in bed. NO! NEVER AGAIN! You've RUINED EVERYTHING... we're never talking ever again!

 

Or you can get over it. I know which one I'd rather do. 

 

When or IF the next ME comes out I'm going to wait a month or two this way I can check out reviews and player made videos to get an idea of what it is like and deciding if I want to buy it.

 

Seriously though it's things like this (they botch up ME3 make no apologies about it and roll right into making a new ME game) that makes you want to get the game via pirating first so you are not wasting $60+ on a game you are going to hate and never play again.

 

Yeah, they handled the reception to the ending really badly. And the "4th option" to just refuse to listen to the Reapers was really below the belt and unnecessary. I mean... yeah, its probably the most thematically fitting and "realistic" outcome, but even then, there are things that as a developer, you should know better than to do. That was one of them...

 

If they'd at least given you the chance to fight and suceeed or fail, that would have been something.

 

Thing about the next ME game, it shouldn't even be an idea Bioware said that ME was going to be a trilogy.

 

Yeah, but so many developers/film produces say that, I don't ever believe that, anywhere I hear it. To be honest, I'm glad they're making a new series. I just hope they move away from Shepard and his companions and start with something new. To me, Shepard's journey and his story is "done". But I know they can do it, because they did give us the magic that was ME1-2-3 (minus the ending, obviously). If we get to see that magic again, with a new character and new set of companions, I am not complaining.

 

Like I said, I prefer something novel as to just milking the same old cow, and in this scenario, I'd rather the "old cow" be the ME universe rather than Shep and his followers.

 

But they can easily get around that and say it was a trilogy with Shep as the MC where as the new ME will have a new MC. It was the same thing with Assassin's Creed when they killed off Desmond. I thought OK they just killed their cash cow how are they going to make the next game like they claim?

 

P.s. ChancellorKremlin I think you meant you didn't like the Destroy ending cause it meant you have to screw over EDI and the Geth (you said control instead of destroy ) On that I agree I spent a shit load of time making EDI more Human with free will of her own and worked my ass off to end the war with the Geth on a good note. The destroy ending negates all that hard work.

 

Yeah, I did mean the destroy ending. I just can't bring myself to do that, even if I survive in the end. In a way, I like it that you can't have it all, you know? You either survive, but you really have to sacrifice far too much. Or, you save everybody, just not yourself. I like the complexity behind those choices. And for a finale, I think it works.

 

Just... could have been handled better, I think. 

 

In any case, "guarded optimism" is the stance I'm taking for any future ME releases. Given the history, I think it's a good way to look at things 

[Koko.Hekmatyar]

I think you will like DA especially if you mod it. (the Human Female wedding mod is a must)  DA2........don't even get me started on DA2!!! I seriously hope they salvage the DA series with DA3 assuming it ever comes out. However, I think the DA Dev team learned what happens when you rush a game into release from what happened to the ME Dev team.

[Kpnut]

 

Nice review, couldn't read all of it (I got to the end of the synthesis part before my attention span rebelled) but I get the general gist of it (I think.)

 

My major beef with the game is the multiplayer being pretty polished (even if it is just horde mode) in comparison to the original ending (pre-EC) being shit. It's as if Bioware spent more time perfecting the fucking multiplayer then creating a satisfying ending. And as gregathit said, the way Shepard's death is handled (even in the EC) is pretty shit in comparison to Mordin, Thane and Legion when Shepard is the central character.

 

Also Liara pissed me off so much, the fact you HAD to do 4 missions with her is just bullshit, I want more choice when it comes to who I pick for missions I don't want t be forced to take some blue bitch I don't care about.

 

Thanks, and I don't blame you. Maybe read it in installments lol? 

 

Yeah, this is a prime example of a game that just doesn't need multiplayer. I don't care how much of their resources they diverted towards it, if it was 0.01% of the original budget, it was 0.01% too much, especially when that effort could have been put elsewhere, like polishing the end. In the end we'll never know, but you are left with that over-hanging feeling of what if they hadn't and so forth.

 

I liked Liara (compared to ME1 at least) but besides Mar and Thessia, what other missions are you referring to? In any case, I would have taken her to Thessia anyway just because it was her planet. 

 

You're forced to use her in From Ashes and the very first N7 mission, there's also the first part of Menae as well. you're forced to use her for more missions then any other squadmate, I can understand Mars and Thessia (Mars because she knows where the thing you need to find is and Thessia because it's her planet) Tali (who's another character I don't like) is forced on your for two (The Geth Dreadnought and Rannoch) James for two (three if you do From ashes early) Garrus for 1 (this I don't mind, I actually like Garrus) she's a Creator Pet and I don't want that shit in any of my games. The other part about the multiplayer I hated was the fact is was supposed to be optional but in reality it's not, you NEED to do it for 100% readiness.

[Koko.Hekmatyar]

You don't have to take Liara to the monastery on Menae I've only taken her with me once on that mission.

[Kpnut]

You don't have to take Liara to the monastery on Menae I've only taken her with me once on that mission.

Menae's the Turian moon and you have to take her for the first third of it.

[Koko.Hekmatyar]

oops sorry. You can tell I haven't played the game in a while I'm getting planets mixed up.

 

Edit: I do agree that it's annoying being forced to take certain squad members on missions but what is worse is the utter lack on interaction with the characters compared to ME and most especially ME2.

[ChancellorKremlin]

I think you will like DA especially if you mod it. (the Human Female wedding mod is a must)  DA2........don't even get me started on DA2!!! I seriously hope they salvage the DA series with DA3 assuming it ever comes out. However, I think the DA Dev team learned what happens when you rush a game into release from what happened to the ME Dev team.

 

I'll be sure to review it when I do. 

 

You're forced to use her in From Ashes and the very first N7 mission, there's also the first part of Menae as well. you're forced to use her for more missions then any other squadmate, I can understand Mars and Thessia (Mars because she knows where the thing you need to find is and Thessia because it's her planet) Tali (who's another character I don't like) is forced on your for two (The Geth Dreadnought and Rannoch) James for two (three if you do From ashes early) Garrus for 1 (this I don't mind, I actually like Garrus) she's a Creator Pet and I don't want that shit in any of my games. The other part about the multiplayer I hated was the fact is was supposed to be optional but in reality it's not, you NEED to do it for 100% readiness.

 

Well, to be fair, most of the missions you're referencing is because they are the only squadmates you have up to that point. That's not really "forcing" if you have no other choice?

 

Mars she becomes your 2nd squadmate as Ashley is injured. The 1st N7 mission you only have her and James anyway. Again if you do "From Ashes" and only if you do it early. The moon of Pahlaven... again, you only have her and Vega, as I'm not sure you can do "From Ashes" yet at that point, but even then, its really early in the game and it should probably not even be available at that point, and if it is its probably an oversight.

 

And I mean... resenting Tali for Rannoch and the Geth Dreadnought? Her presence there is just as important as Liara's is in Thessia. Its their missions.

 

Really forcing as you're seemingly implying would be to give you a full squad roster and then make you choose one or another, which doesn't happen often. The situations you're describing are down to it being early in the game and you not having more than two squadmates anyway more than anything else.

 

I do agree on the Multiplayer bit though... having to do it to get 100% readiness is just ridiculous. Completely at odds with what the game is supposed to be about, which is my experience, not our experience. If I wanted multiplayer I'd get an MMO.

 

oops sorry. You can tell I haven't played the game in a while I'm getting planets mixed up.

 

Edit: I do agree that it's annoying being forced to take certain squad members on missions but what is worse is the utter lack on interaction with the characters compared to ME and most especially ME2.

I don't know, I found I quite enjoyed the interaction, especially interaction between the characters. You did have more interaction in ME2, but I thought for the most part, ME3's interactions were more in-depth. Unfortunately, some characters were completely left behind here. I'm looking at you, Ashley Williams... 

[Koko.Hekmatyar]

I'm not trying to say you had no interaction with them at all it's just that 3/4 of that interaction was auto dialogue (them talking you listening) unlike in ME and ME2 where you got dialogue options and could respond in your own way. That aspect was lacking in ME3 compared to the other two games.

 

Edit: Not to insult the BF or COD players...But ME3 was clearly designed to draw the attention of these groups as the FPS aspects were emphasized over the RPG aspects of the ME series.

[Victoria K.]

I've read through the whole ME review and while I disagree about almost everything you think concerning the characters, I appreciated nonetheless the insight you provided, also I concur on the most parts.

That's a genuine and non pretentious work, a very detailed overview blessed with some logic coming to life from an amazing experience you felt to share and that's what make the read quite enjoyable.

Nice job!

 

Given how dated the engine was even by the day's standards, I was really quite impressed by the quality of what the game had to offer in the visual department.

 

That was a pretty good graphics quality for the day's standard I think. Except for the textures loading that could take long at times.

 

All in all though, I can now safely say Mass Effect is easily and without a doubt my favourite sci-fi RPG. If anything, I so regret not having played it earlier.

 

Agreed. But you know.. maybe if you did it, now you couldn't love ME3 as you do. That's the case of many, myself included.

What you now define "good", "nice" or "amazing" about ME could have been easily called "epic", "unforgettable", "unique".

People like me wasn't too happy about ME2 either, but in the end it wasn't that bad.

 

I apologize I didn't read the ME3 review but I'm not interested at all, I can't help but ME3 is for me synonym of time wasting.

Looking forward to your ME2 review though, if there will be one. Would be quite interesting to read what you think about it!

 

 

 

[Kpnut]

 

Well, to be fair, most of the missions you're referencing is because they are the only squadmates you have up to that point. That's not really "forcing" if you have no other choice?

 

Mars she becomes your 2nd squadmate as Ashley is injured. The 1st N7 mission you only have her and James anyway. Again if you do "From Ashes" and only if you do it early. The moon of Pahlaven... again, you only have her and Vega, as I'm not sure you can do "From Ashes" yet at that point, but even then, its really early in the game and it should probably not even be available at that point, and if it is its probably an oversight.

 

And I mean... resenting Tali for Rannoch and the Geth Dreadnought? Her presence there is just as important as Liara's is in Thessia. Its their missions.

 

Really forcing as you're seemingly implying would be to give you a full squad roster and then make you choose one or another, which doesn't happen often. The situations you're describing are down to it being early in the game and you not having more than two squadmates anyway more than anything else.

 

I do agree on the Multiplayer bit though... having to do it to get 100% readiness is just ridiculous. Completely at odds with what the game is supposed to be about, which is my experience, not our experience. If I wanted multiplayer I'd get an MMO.

 

From Ashes is available after Mars and regardless of when you do it (be it straight after Mars or just before the assault on the Cerberus base) you HAVE to take Liara with you, Mars I can understand but the way N7 missions are setup wherein you can't leave them until the end or you fail them. I'd rather have Ashley/Kaiden not get injured on Mars so I can have some fucking choice on who I take with me on the first N7 mission and to Menae, as for From Ashes her presence isn't actually necessary as any tech specialist could tell if Javik is alive in his life pod or not but you're forced to take her anyway because she's the "Prothean Expert". I also don't resent Tali for being forced on us for the Geth Dreadnought and Rannoch (for the Dreadnought it's as she said she's better in the field with Shepard then ordering ships around and Rannoch is her mission) I just don't like her full stop. I was fine with her in ME1, in ME2 she got annoying and the fact she was back in ME3 made her even more annoying, I wouldn't have minded having her as a temporary squadmate for the Dreadnought and Rannoch like Wrex is in Citadel especially since she gets added to your group at a point where your main squad is probably already set and like Liara she's a bit too specialised for my tastes. The only game I will ever do multiplayer in is Space Marine and adding it to what is essentially a single player RPG is blasphemy.

[ChancellorKremlin]

I'm not trying to say you had no interaction with them at all it's just that 3/4 of that interaction was auto dialogue (them talking you listening) unlike in ME and ME2 where you got dialogue options and could respond in your own way. That aspect was lacking in ME3 compared to the other two games.

 

Edit: Not to insult the BF or COD players...But ME3 was clearly designed to draw the attention of these groups as the FPS aspects were emphasized over the RPG aspects of the ME series.

 

Oh right, that. Yeah, I noticed that, and while it initially bothered me, I got used to it. Every now and then they'd have a "moment" where you can actually interact with them (the moments I wish I had with Ashley) and if anything, I felt it gave those scenes more depth. The rest was mostly "banter". I did like bumping into them on other decks though. That being said, Diana didn't seem like she socialised much. Her presence was a bit... off on the ship. She only really had anything interesting to say during the end, and obviously during the interviews + possible romantic scene, but other than that... zilch.

 

As for your last point... yeah, ME2 started that. By the time ME3 came along, I don't think you could even call it an "RPG", really. 

 

I've read through the whole ME review and while I disagree about almost everything you think concerning the characters, I appreciated nonetheless the insight you provided, also I concur on the most parts.

 

That's a genuine and non pretentious work, a very detailed overview blessed with some logic coming to life from an amazing experience you felt to share and that's what make the read quite enjoyable.

 

Nice job!

Thank you Victoria, that's really nice of you to say.

 

It's really nice to find people who can still disagree with aspects of something you've written and still find the positives in it. Like I said, I don't really mind if people find fault or think differently, it all makes for more engaging discussion!   

 

But like you said, it was an experience which I felt was quite unique and I definitely wanted to share my feelings on it, so its nice to find people that appreciate the sentiment, especially seeing as I'm so late to the party and most people have probably moved on.

 

In any case, I'd more than like to hear why you disagree with the characters. 

 

That was a pretty good graphics quality for the day's standard I think. Except for the textures loading that could take long at times.

 

Was it? I don't know, maybe looking back colours your perceptions, but I was sure I remember games looking better back then, eve if it was Unreal Tournament 3, which I think uses the same engine. I could be wrong though. 

 

Agreed. But you know.. maybe if you did it, now you couldn't love ME3 as you do. That's the case of many, myself included.

What you now define "good", "nice" or "amazing" about ME could have been easily called "epic", "unforgettable", "unique".

People like me wasn't too happy about ME2 either, but in the end it wasn't that bad.

 

I apologize I didn't read the ME3 review but I'm not interested at all, I can't help but ME3 is for me synonym of time wasting.

Looking forward to your ME2 review though, if there will be one. Would be quite interesting to read what you think about it!

 

You know, I have been giving this some thought, in fact, I pondered about it when I was writing the review(s). If the fact I played the games today and back to back rather than when they came out and having to wait between the franchises has somewhat influenced the way I see them. I reckon in many ways, it does. Having said that, maybe its for the better though - I do feel I've been spared a lot of the disappointment and soul-crushing I see a lot of the fans have felt from it. That and the fact because I played the games late, I didn't "buy into the promises" but then again, I tend to dismiss these anyway. But your probably right.

 

Having said that, I would say that for me at least, the ME series does fall under the categories of "epic", "unforgettable" and "unique". I don't like to overindulge in hyperbole, especially so when writing a review, but it has made a pretty lasting impression. I was actually really sad the week I finished playing it and was penning this review 

 

ME2's will come sometime next week, I want to play it again. I wasn't overly fond of it, and that in itself seems like a "thing" for ME fans - a lot *love* ME2 and hate ME3, and a few are vice-versa. We'll see.

 

In any case, thanks for the time to read it, and I'm glad you liked it. I hope the ME2 one is informative also. 

 

From Ashes is available after Mars and regardless of when you do it (be it straight after Mars or just before the assault on the Cerberus base) you HAVE to take Liara with you, Mars I can understand but the way N7 missions are setup wherein you can't leave them until the end or you fail them. I'd rather have Ashley/Kaiden not get injured on Mars so I can have some fucking choice on who I take with me on the first N7 mission and to Menae, as for From Ashes her presence isn't actually necessary as any tech specialist could tell if Javik is alive in his life pod or not but you're forced to take her anyway because she's the "Prothean Expert". I also don't resent Tali for being forced on us for the Geth Dreadnought and Rannoch (for the Dreadnought it's as she said she's better in the field with Shepard then ordering ships around and Rannoch is her mission) I just don't like her full stop. I was fine with her in ME1, in ME2 she got annoying and the fact she was back in ME3 made her even more annoying, I wouldn't have minded having her as a temporary squadmate for the Dreadnought and Rannoch like Wrex is in Citadel especially since she gets added to your group at a point where your main squad is probably already set and like Liara she's a bit too specialised for my tastes. The only game I will ever do multiplayer in is Space Marine and adding it to what is essentially a single player RPG is blasphemy.

 

I do agree with Liara not really being necessary for From Ashes. As I've said, I would have taken her because it is her "area of expertise" but I understand the lack of options is frustrating for someone that doesn't like her character.

 

I do suppose you're going to run into problems if you don't like a third of your squad, and that third happens to be the squad-mates you start with. I suppose I'd feel the same if I were forced to take on Garrus or Wrex on early missions in ME1 (the characters I was least interested in initially) and even Vega in ME3. But as I've said, if you don't like the characters, you're going to run into problems no matter what way you look at it.

 

Thankfully, I liked both Liara and Tali, so that wasn't a problem for me 

 

Totally agree with you on the multiplayer bit though. What I hate about these aspects too is that, once they get introduced, they're never done away with. If anything, in any future installment, they'll aim to make it bigger, more expansive, more immersive, more intrusive into the main story line... rather than say, you know what, we tried it, didn't like it. Next game will be a purely single player experience... not.

 

 

[Koko.Hekmatyar]

Ah yes....the multiplayer......Hated it from the start especially when I found out I had to play it to get all my war assets into play in the final battle, of course it only pissed me off more when that final battle came and all that work in multiplayer meant jackshit as all it impacted was which of the three options you could get<---Pre EC now it doesn't matter if it's 50% or 100%.

[arrow72]

 

 

And when you're left with the illusion of choice for 6 years and get emotionally attached to your character... then the ME3 sendoff was tantamount to trolling.

 

What do you mean? His death, or just the general endings themselves?

 

If it is his death, see above or my "Review" itself. If it is the endings, your argument makes perfect sense if you're referring to the original, pre-EC endings, which made all your accomplishments throughout the series irrelevant and the three choices themselves indistinguishable.

 

Otherwise, I don't see how that is the case. Everything you achieved in ME1-2-3 still stands, even if the ending itself doesn't necessarily acknowledge it (though the slides kind of do go some way toward that). I'm *still* emotionally attached to Shepard. And Mordin. And Legion. Their deaths didn't change that for me, and that is something I've said in the review and will say again - the end will not take away from me the magic of the journey. With the post-EC endings, I don't even see how it would.

 

 

"His"? Let me guess, you play with defaultShep? 

 

I started writing a very bitter and spiteful reply here, but that would probably be unfair.

 

Suffice to say, I wish I was in your shoes. I really do. Either having started with ME3, or played the series back to back. With 6 years of character investment, I feel MY Shepard deserved so much more. At no point, EVER, in the series did I even think for a second the hero had to die. I imagined it would be an option, but for it to be the only one? Not in a million years.

 

You see, that character actually became much more important to me than Mordin, and definitely Legion "I want to be a real boy!", and Thane. And well everyone else, even the fucking universe. Because Shepard had earned a rest. After everything, I thought there would be hope for a future. 

 

Oh and that breath scene, what a fucking troll. They wanted to kill off Shepard. That breath scene is ambiguous enough that they can hold to that, and let players who desperately wanted Shep to live get the impression of survival. 

 

Yeah, I'm still bitter, and I hate it.

 

I'm happy for you though. The magic of the journey died during the final 20 min of ME3 for me, and not because the journey was bad, but because I have seen 2/3 of that journey countless times before ME3 was released. 

[Kpnut]

From Ashes is available after Mars and regardless of when you do it (be it straight after Mars or just before the assault on the Cerberus base) you HAVE to take Liara with you, Mars I can understand but the way N7 missions are setup wherein you can't leave them until the end or you fail them. I'd rather have Ashley/Kaiden not get injured on Mars so I can have some fucking choice on who I take with me on the first N7 mission and to Menae, as for From Ashes her presence isn't actually necessary as any tech specialist could tell if Javik is alive in his life pod or not but you're forced to take her anyway because she's the "Prothean Expert". I also don't resent Tali for being forced on us for the Geth Dreadnought and Rannoch (for the Dreadnought it's as she said she's better in the field with Shepard then ordering ships around and Rannoch is her mission) I just don't like her full stop. I was fine with her in ME1, in ME2 she got annoying and the fact she was back in ME3 made her even more annoying, I wouldn't have minded having her as a temporary squadmate for the Dreadnought and Rannoch like Wrex is in Citadel especially since she gets added to your group at a point where your main squad is probably already set and like Liara she's a bit too specialised for my tastes. The only game I will ever do multiplayer in is Space Marine and adding it to what is essentially a single player RPG is blasphemy.

 

 

I do agree with Liara not really being necessary for From Ashes. As I've said, I would have taken her because it is her "area of expertise" but I understand the lack of options is frustrating for someone that doesn't like her character.

 

I do suppose you're going to run into problems if you don't like a third of your squad, and that third happens to be the squad-mates you start with. I suppose I'd feel the same if I were forced to take on Garrus or Wrex on early missions in ME1 (the characters I was least interested in initially) and even Vega in ME3. But as I've said, if you don't like the characters, you're going to run into problems no matter what way you look at it.

 

Thankfully, I liked both Liara and Tali, so that wasn't a problem for me 

 

Totally agree with you on the multiplayer bit though. What I hate about these aspects too is that, once they get introduced, they're never done away with. If anything, in any future installment, they'll aim to make it bigger, more expansive, more immersive, more intrusive into the main story line... rather than say, you know what, we tried it, didn't like it. Next game will be a purely single player experience... not.

 

Actually half the reason I hated Liara and most of the reason I hated Tali was for gameplay purposes more then storyline ones (although I hate Liara for being a Creator Pet and Tali actually for entirely gameplay purposes, the AI that controls her is retarded in my game and kept fucking up my sniping) both of their their squad wide boosts are too specialised, Liara ONLY boosts biotics and Tali ONLY boosts tech. Comparing them to Garrus and Javik (who are the closest to them in terms of specialisation, barring EDI who only boosts tech as well iirc) both of whom boost the entire's squads powers regardless of whether they're biotic or tech powers as well as having access to better weapons (assault rifles) and powers (overload, armor piercing ammo, dark channel and pull) the fact I didn't like Tali's personality in the second game didn't help matters. Also forgot to mention I hated the way they dealt with the ME2 romances (bar Garrus and Tali) in ME3, Thane was understandable as he was dying but the rest just make me feel like there was no point sinking that additional time into them.