New to the Mass Effect series (spoilers)

Monkey · 2012-03-12, 06:00 PM

Hey guys I actually bought Mass Effect the other day (i'm always late to the party) and I just finished the first game just now. It was amazing! I loved the story, and i'm eagerly awaiting Mass Effect 2 coming in the post. I played the game with the default shepard (soldier class, looks etc), and I noticed the game is very much centered around the relationship between different races and individuals. I played the game promoting good race relationships, trying to portray humanity in a good light (especially with the council, I saved them with the fleet in the end battle) but when it comes down to individuals and side quests, I played the game on what I felt like at the time, sometimes choosing to shoot certain characters and choosing some 'renegade options', so it was a mixture in that respect.

I ended up romancing the blue alien chick, though i'm not really sure how it came about as I have never read about this stuff before I played. I'm also restraining myself from reading stuff about ME2 because of spoliers, but heard that your save carries over into it so i'm interested to see how all my relationships/choices carry over. I'm quite excited.

The only downsides I found to ME1
- Some if not all Alliance Command missions when exploring worlds are pretty boring after the first few.
- Combat wasn't the smoothest and most streamlined experience I played
- ELEVATORS. There are just sooo many in this game, i'm surprised there isn't an interment meme or joke about this, it was ridiculous.
- Exploration was pretty dull

But with these in mind everything else was great.

Is ME2 just as good as this game?

NivexQ · 2012-03-12, 06:31 PM

Originally Posted by Monkey

The only downsides I found to ME1
- Some if not all Alliance Command missions when exploring worlds are pretty boring after the first few.
- Combat wasn't the smoothest and most streamlined experience I played
- ELEVATORS. There are just sooo many in this game, i'm surprised there isn't an interment meme or joke about this, it was ridiculous.
- Exploration was pretty dull

But with these in mind everything else was great.

Is ME2 just as good as this game?

1 - Really? I loved exploring worlds. I guess that's just my thing though.

2 - I don't really play Mass Effect for the combat. It's not terrible, but it's not really supposed to be played for the combat imo

3- I thought elevators were/are an excellent way to load the next part of a level. I'd much rather elevators than loading screens.

4 - Again, i love exploration

and yes, mass effect 2 is very very good too

Ragefighter · 2012-03-12, 06:36 PM

Originally Posted by Monkey

Hey guys I actually bought Mass Effect the other day (i'm always late to the party) and I just finished the first game just now. It was amazing! I loved the story, and i'm eagerly awaiting Mass Effect 2 coming in the post. I played the game with the default shepard (soldier class, looks etc), and I noticed the game is very much centered around the relationship between different races and individuals. I played the game promoting good race relationships, trying to portray humanity in a good light (especially with the council, I saved them with the fleet in the end battle) but when it comes down to individuals and side quests, I played the game on what I felt like at the time, sometimes choosing to shoot certain characters and choosing some 'renegade options', so it was a mixture in that respect.

I ended up romancing the blue alien chick, though i'm not really sure how it came about as I have never read about this stuff before I played. I'm also restraining myself from reading stuff about ME2 because of spoliers, but heard that your save carries over into it so i'm interested to see how all my relationships/choices carry over. I'm quite excited.

The only downsides I found to ME1
- Some if not all Alliance Command missions when exploring worlds are pretty boring after the first few.
- Combat wasn't the smoothest and most streamlined experience I played
- ELEVATORS. There are just sooo many in this game, i'm surprised there isn't an interment meme or joke about this, it was ridiculous.
- Exploration was pretty dull

But with these in mind everything else was great.

Is ME2 just as good as this game?

have to keep in mind the game is basically made for Xbox/ps3. thats why there is so many zoning screens IMO

the second 'act' is a little different mechanics-wise. Not going to talk story here.
But for example IIRC ME1 used some kind of ammo or was it overheating or something been a while? ME2/3 use thermal clips, every one of your guns use them so to use a handgun or a sniper rifle you just need 1 ammo that drops very often. ME2 has different outcomes based on your choices in ME2, the stuff that carries over makes the game feel like it's yours but truly has little effect on your gameplay, so you wont feel like you need to start ALL over again to play.

ME2 has a lot of DLC (little upgrades you pay money for like extra missions and different guns/clothing.) you wont need all of them I would stick with the mission packs and skip over the others if you want the full experience.

In ME1 you are pretty much stuck with banging the blue chick! lol especially since I decided that Ashley was gonna blow up. =p And damn Liara is a whiner, really gets annoying in 3. In ME2 you get options to romance several different people, and species. In 3 you get even more options, and can even romance same sex if thats your thing. (I stuck with my ME2 choice).

Overall it is a successful franchise IMO and should be standard play for all gamers. It could have been better but so can a lot of things. This series is very enjoyable.

ME3 netted me about 40hr of play, but I do every side mission there is and spend a lot of time talking to everyone I can to make sure the game is as complete as can be, hate it when I miss something!

KEEP IN MIND

This series is set up in a way that there are Key missions that advance the whole story. it is best to try and finish your side missions before taking on those.
Unless the game specifically states that there will be consequences to taking your time, you essentially have unlimited time! there are some exceptions like if a mission is timed or some missions need you to do things or X will happen. If people die in your save they wont be in ME2/3, not sure if that will change the game, I only assume it will slightly. but I always make it so that everyone lives so...

Combat is different form your typical FPS, since this is TPS (third person shooter). It is more of a cover hopping game in ME2/3 where for the most part your hiding and picking off things. (I played as a soldier so had all the guns at my disposal and used the other team slots as Garrus + a biotic or tech. just liked Garrus lol hes a total badass).

anyway hope you have as much fun as I did. I too came 'late to the party'. I bought ME2 and ME1 at the same time shortly after ME2 came out and played 1 first than popped in 2. only played 1 once but 2 I played 3 or 4 times and just before 3, once more to make sure I had the right save.

also ME2 limits your RPG-y feel of skills and stuff, they did pretty good with it in ME3.

THE END!

Monkey · 2012-03-12, 07:23 PM

Good post!

But for example IIRC ME1 used some kind of ammo or was it overheating or something been a while? ME2/3 use thermal clips, every one of your guns use them so to use a handgun or a sniper rifle you just need 1 ammo that drops very often.

Yeah in ME1 you had a bar just above your health which told you how much heat your guns was generating, every gun had infinite ammo essentially. I just played the game with pretty much with just the assault rifles, with skills and mods you can effectively just shoot non stop, so I was a little bored combat wise come near the end of the game.

ME2 has a lot of DLC (little upgrades you pay money for like extra missions and different guns/clothing.) you wont need all of them I would stick with the mission packs and skip over the others if you want the full experience.

I never downloaded DLC for games in the past, I played Dragon Age: Origins a little while before this but just stuck with modding. Would you say the DLC is any good for ME2?

In ME1 you are pretty much stuck with banging the blue chick! lol especially since I decided that Ashley was gonna blow up. =p And damn Liara is a whiner, really gets annoying in 3. In ME2 you get options to romance several different people, and species. In 3 you get even more options, and can even romance same sex if thats your thing. (I stuck with my ME2 choice).

On the whole romance note, I should have guessed it was in here before playing, having played Origins before. By the time I realised (through character 'wink wink' dialogue), I was kinda rude to ashley because of her constant shouting, self disbelief and general bitchyness to other members on the Normandy so I think I automatically got the other girl. In terms of character, I think Liara was a pretty interesting character at first, being Benzmia's (sp?) daughter and all that, but that dissapeared a few missions on from that. So I can change romance options in 2? I assume that would affect Liara's views on you in 2 and 3?

This series is set up in a way that there are Key missions that advance the whole story. it is best to try and finish your side missions before taking on those.

I usually try to do every side mission as soon as I get them. I Didn't do the last few in the first because they became a bit stale (the ones where you land on planets in the Mako)

(I played as a soldier so had all the guns at my disposal and used the other team slots as Garrus + a biotic or tech. just liked Garrus lol hes a total badass).

Yeah I ran with Garrus and Tali pretty much the whole game. Though I'm pretty sure I killed probably every single enemy myself as the squad mechanics where pretty bad, getting in the way of each other and just being dumbasses in general. Hope it's better in the second.

also ME2 limits your RPG-y feel of skills and stuff, they did pretty good with it in ME3.

You mean the skills tree right? TBH i felt it wasn't the best in the first place, apart from gaining new skills, every other point was a bit pointless. With the right gun and ammo type you could beat the game easily enough I feel.

Still, amazing game and certainly a few lol moments, such as smacking the mad scientist near the beginning of the game.

Ragefighter · 2012-03-12, 08:44 PM

tbh i am unsure if you can actually buy the DLC still, I think I got all of them so can't test it. it might even be included with the game, if there is a deluxe version check if it includes DLC and go with that one.

Lair of the shadow broker was pretty cool
would need the Zaeed and Kasumi DLC, adds a few missions and two new squad members (kasumi was pretty cool to use)
Arrival ties the story into ME3 sorta.
and overlord adds several missions.

The side missions in ME2 are more involved, like you will land on the planet and do stuff either on foot or on the new vehicle.

oh and get used to scanning planets lol, thats how you get resources to upgrade stuff. instead of landing on the planet and finding it with mako (which could be more tedious.)

ME3 has no resource gathering in it like ME2.

also if you had a bunch of money in me1 i think it starts you off with some extra credits and resources in 2. and iirc your levels carry over so if you were like lvl 30 you start off at 30. (or was that when you replayed me2? i forget how it worked).

Dreamcast · 2012-03-12, 11:02 PM

I like Mass effect 1...I loved the exploring and random sidequest that had nothing to do with the main storyline but they were fun.

The exploring of giant world was kind meh since the worlds were kind of big so it took time to find resources but I loved the car and I loved driving to places to do missions.

If you want a game where the their is not alot of sidequest and is pretty much just about the main quest...then Mass effect 3 is for you.

Mass effect 2....If I remember correctly had some few sidequest that had nothing to do with the main storyline but I don't remember much...

I like all the games and the combat is pretty much the same on either.

I wasn't a big fan of PAC MAN Reaper chasing my space ship thru galaxy mini game in Mass effect 3...that was pretty stupid IMO

Rbstr · 2012-03-14, 07:08 PM

Never played ME1 as I didn't have a 360.
I started with ME2 on the computer. And I had the comic-book thingy at the beginning that let me to the ME1 choices.

ME2 is great, loved it...except I maybe spent a bit too much time scanning planets for the ship upgrades. It's fairly light on the RPG elements. Only 4/5 skills per person. Weapons are quite limited in scope as are Upgrades. I let my squaddies do their own thing in combat and it worked out pretty ok. Part of it is that Shepard does way more damage with guns, especially assault rifles, than they do.

ME3 has the same combat, more RPGy options on skills and weapon upgrading. Plus a weight system...so you don't have Soldier Shepard with one of every gun-type on his back like I did.

My advice: Don't let the ME3 ending-hate get in the way of enjoying that game, it's one hell of a ride. Especially for me, the perfect paragon, least-suicidal-suicide mission, everyone lives damnit guy. It creates some real quandaries when making decisions sometimes. And I thought the ending was perfectly ok. The whole game is really the ending. I think some people sort of get the negative/nostalgic feelings of the epic itself ending mixed up with feelings about the epic's ending. If that makes sense. There's a lot of emotional involvement in the universe. (Denial, Anger, Bargaining (where some seem to be at w/ the DLC/childsplay for a new ending), Depression, acceptance)
Penny Arcade has some spoiler-tastic commentary on it that I really agree with.

Monkey · 2012-03-15, 08:08 AM

Yeah I have heard of people hating on the ending, but it's all about the ride before it right? Don't say about the ending though I want to find out for myself

Captain1nsaneo · 2012-03-19, 11:11 AM

Basically in the same boat as you though I just finished off ME2 as well. Picked up both during steam's Christmas sale. Played through both modded with the following custom graphics. I imagine it helped the game feel less dated.
http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/to...ndex/5314761/1

I'm actually a bit annoyed with ME2, I liked the heat mechanics in the first. The second has no upgrade mechanics for your guns beyond a very linear and limited upgrade path that's paid for with mined resources. There's no way to turn excess resources into cash. At the end I was swimming in the 4 resources, heck I probably had enough to never pay for fuel again.

Also character talks go like this: Introduction -> earn loyalty -> sex?. I don't want to romance the matriarch! I want to ask her what she thinks about the genetically engineered killing machine down in the cargo hold!
"Tali! I was talking to Legion and he says that they don't really care about holding your homeworld!"
"Shepard! Let's talk about our feeeelings!"
"Damn it woman!"
I managed to romance Jack totally on accident! I'M NOT KIDDING. You'd also think SOMEONE would care about the whole crew being turned into meatloaf!

Hold on, let me take some deep breaths.

Ok.

That's better.

Both are good games with great plots and characters. ME1 had a far more gameable system where you could effectively ignore the cover mechanics through use of choke points and standing cover. You could also ignore your allies the majority of the time and they would take care of themselves. The vehicle sections in ME1 also were enjoyable as shooting infantry with the main cannon and watching them gain limited flight was good for a laugh. The random terrain and need to sweep the whole of each map to find everything was definitely a pain however.

The rewards for going the extra mile in both games was disappointing. I completed the matriarch writings, resources, signs of battle, clan markings, and Prothean disks with no real fanfare. In addition, the ones you find after completing the requirements actually give you less than they would had you still more to find. Similarly, while in the course of visiting all the planets in ME2 you see some pretty cool side missions (e.g. the giant tilting space ship) there's nothing unlocked when every system hits 100%.

The random Thresher maws in ME1 were awesome. Great for making the player paranoid. Every time I hit one of those large open areas I would always be mentally preparing myself for the screen to shake.

ME2's heavy weapons were pretty fun in concept but the lack of ammo for them made their use rare at best. Would have liked to be able to spend resources to buy ammo for them. Also the Cain's charge time makes it unwieldy and since enemies like to shoot at you while its charging you can't really stay out of cover. And only having 1 shot with it, even with max ammo upgrade, is definitely a turn off. That being said it did take off nearly half of the final boss's hp when I landed the shot into its torso weak point. Probably would have done more due to the splash if I had hit him in the head...

Good games! Go play'm.

(btw, 1 and 5 probes both cost 100 credits, don't buy just 1-4 probes.)