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fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Ravana posted:

You are a monster if you cannot understand the glorious martyring of the Holy Lady of the Vanguards.

She was a pretty lovely Vanguard, didn't even put enough points into it for full shield regen

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fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Ravana posted:

It is not the layout of a woman's skills that make her great, nor her count of spoken lines, but rather the brightness of her spirit. She rammed a flying car into a metal alien squid god from beyond the galaxy that was tearing down the entire Los Angeles metropolitan area. We can only dream to be half as great.

Honestly, the Reapers were doing us a favor wiping out Los Angeles first. Wong was probably a Lakers fan, which is really just another form of indoctrination. :colbert:

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich
Just got back from a release party that ended up at an IHOP in Folsom, California. I am SO loving HAPPY THE GAME IS FINALLY OUT. My own part in the whole affair is officially over, and I can now talk more freely about it.

For what it's worth, I apologize for my own contribution to overall snark and general unpleasantness regarding ME3. Having worked on the official strategy guide since December has been pure stress, for one. For another, I actually DO like the game, and even if I'd never been picked to help write for the guide, my opinion regarding it would not change. I was never paid to like it or defend it. Just another fanboy here.

I am really convinced that much of the game works a lot better given context with actual gameplay. In a lot of ways, I envy people who went in blind, there's a number of callbacks that will mean more to people if they're surprised by them, in my estimation.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

ShineDog posted:

So whats all this about an NG+ ending then, if you are the man to ask?

As far as I know, there's supposed to be something, but I concentrated almost entirely on multiplayer and 'side missions' (stuff that doesn't move the plot forward, N7 missions, the 'timed' missions). I didn't get to see every ending, nor did I get to see all of the various factors that lead into the different content throughout the game, and neither did the other author who worked on the primary campaign walkthrough. We basically were given a chart that is relatively spoiler free that tells us what readiness levels and total military strength numbers lead to a 'different' ending.

Endings were, in truth, one of the last things to really get finalized with regards to the primary walkthrough portion of the guide. Someone from Bioware might eventually shed some light as to how in-flux endings were.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Schurik posted:

I think the citadel: alien medi gel formula quest is bugged - i can't talk to anyone in the hospital. I already got the stuff, but the person that's supposed to be in the patient lounge isn't there/won't talk to me. Anyone else having this problem?

It's possible you may have advanced far enough into the game that the NPC disappears, but that is literally the only thing that would cause her to go away that isn't a bug.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Schurik posted:

I've done exactly one story mission, the DLC one, nothing else. Hmmm.

Also I got the stuff before getting the quest, maybe that's the problem?

So wait, for the Alien Medigel, you did the N7 Mission to get the things, found the gel, then you did the DLC?

It could be that the DLC 'advances' time for that NPC to disappear, which would still be pretty much a bug. I didn't have DLC available in my first playthrough, but it wouldn't surprise me if that is one of the factors.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Robzilla posted:

I just finished Tuchunka on my paragon run....

:cry:

The Super Extra Renegade Space rear end in a top hat solution for this mission is probably the worst thing ever, and is worth ten or twelve Hitlers at the very least.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

ymgve posted:

Is there any hidden timers in the game, like the IFF mission in ME2? I like dicking around the galaxy and doing sidequests, but I want to know if I will be penalized for it down the line.

There are hidden timers for some side missions, but no timers for endgame status beyond simple progression.

The timers themselves are not complex. For example Tuchanka: Bomb has something like three 'missions' that can be done before you lose the chance to do that. Same thing with Grissom Academy, I believe.

For 'side missions' on the Citadel that disappear, those aren't 'timer' based typically so much as they are 'event based'. Basically, there are three 'states' the Citadel exists in, and you'll know when the first major change hits. The first is basically what you get at the start of the game, up until after Priority: Palaven. Then there's a pretty big event on the Citadel that puts you in the next state. Finally, there's another 'state' that brings the third wave of sidequests, IIRC it's when you are requested to go to Thessia, I think. NPCs vanish between states, which means you'll miss out on those quests if you advance on the main story missions.

Generally, I did everything that wasn't story progression related first before moving on. Those missions are generally labeled 'Priority'.

fivegears4reverse fucked around with this message at 14:55 on Mar 6, 2012

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Jarmel posted:

I love the fact that the game never explains this to you. It blows my mind that nobody caught this.

I figure they would have explained it too, but then again, they never explained how to save Wrex, or never explained how to save everyone in the Suicide Mission with any 'clarity' based on all the stories of people sending Thane into the vents, or the timers in ME2 as a whole.

EDIT: ^^^ The timers are all mission count or story progression.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

ChibiSoma posted:

Mass Effect 3: As directed by this gentleman.

Because people aren't angry enough about the endings as is! There's a reason why they call this man 'Kill 'em all' Tomino. Even so, I applaud and approve of your tastes.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Dolphin Fetus posted:

So everyone floats around in space, naked at the end while singing happy birthday? Saren, Udina, Anderson, Wrex..they're all waiting for Shepard.. :smith:

The ending theme would be amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l24_0SH3VK8

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Xachariah posted:

EDIT: Jesus gently caress how long does this cutscene go on? It's going to play the entire game for me without subtitles arghsdfbhaefbafwbu

Cutscenes in PC games will seem a lot longer if you alt-tab out of the game in question to post about them.

DMBFan23 posted:

I agree completely but I don't think it has anything to do with caring about the player, it's more likely time/resource constraints - the time (and $) to voice act extra pathways, animate cutscenes for extra choices, program how different NPCs handle different choices so it feels like a real narrative, etc.

I really want to hate bioware for railroading me, but I just can't. To have to multiply the number of forks in the story by 2 every time a choice gets made gets out of control REALLY fast. I suppose you can get around it to some extent with good writing, but that's a different discussion.

It really does boil down to the fact that this game is also designed to let people who for whatever reason never played Mass Effect before now be able to play this game alone and not feel like they totally missed out on a whole lot. You can still 'win' even if you don't have experience with ME before now. The real loss now is the fact that you don't get to see why some of these things are as important to others, why these characters even have fans in the first place.

Whether or not that's a good thing is another debate altogether. I think it would have been cool to make them cater primarily to series vets and force less/worse content on new players/non-import Shepards...but at the same time you potentially alienate others.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Wingless posted:

Final Gripe:
There was no actual confrontation with Harbinger at the end, which is odd considering they built him up so much. I think my main problem with the ending is that it had nothing to do with all the characters we had been following and was just about some arbitrary crap that was only introduced at the last minute.

There is a confrontation. It goes about as well as could be expected. Remember the Reaper who descended down closest to the beam as you ran towards it near the very ending, shooting at you the whole way? That's him.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

TheJoker138 posted:

Oh and by the way, the new incidental dialogue is also inconsistent as hell.

Inconsistent dialogue in Mass Effect has been a franchise staple since the first game, but nobody bitched about it back then. If anything, people praised ME1 for having great dialogue...despite the fact that it actually didn't have any really good dialogue at all. Ever. At any point.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Dan Didio posted:

Alright, gently caress's up with the Hanar diplomat quest. Map points me to one spot, but there's no interactive terminal there so I can't even really begin the quest. Stuck right after talking to Jondam Bau.

Did you go to the Spectre Requisitions office? You have to 'activate' the tracking for those terminals to show up as clickable.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Dan Didio posted:

I did.

IIRC, the first is in the Citadel Embassies, near the volus Diplomat who offers another sidequest, the second and third terminals are in the Docks, and you needto go back to the second terminal before you return to the embassies to wrap things up.

It is possible the waypoints are just proper hosed. There were some funny bugs I noticed with things being called out even after I clicked on them.

I dunno what else to tell you :(

Coughing Hobo posted:

"Big, stupid jellyfish."

I stand by my claim :c00lbutt:

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Gadzuko posted:

Spoilered just in case people don't want to know exact numbers, but no plot info:
My total military strength was just over 7,000, you need 10,000 to get the best ending. No way did I miss 3,000 points worth of war assets, having done 100% runs of all three games and almost every correct decision. Unless someone can come up with a savegame to prove me wrong I'm sticking with bullshit.

Who told you that you need 10k + Military Strength? The guide's ending chart (helpfully provided by Bioware) has the various endings max out at 5000. Meaning either you were lied to about this extra special best ending, or I was lied to about the guide I worked on.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

cell posted:

If you don't play Multiplayer you need 10k+ Military Strength, since 50% Galactic Readiness cuts your effective Strength in half.

e:f;b

DERRRRRRRP, this is why posting while tired is a bad idea, reading comprehension goes out the window :sigh:

I thought they were saying there was a special ending for a total effective military strength of 10000

I'm pretty certain you can reach 5k without MP for imported Sheps, but again, it's another one of those things we didn't get to test for ourselves, as we were limited to non-import playthroughs, and they have more limited resources by comparison. I'm going to find out for myself soon enough, I suppose.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

jcp982 posted:

I don't know if it would have been PERFECT. I can't be the only one who finds the Fallout endings a little lacking? I think it would have worked better here because we knew all the characters a lot better, but honestly I think they needed more of a Return of the Jedi ending, where everyone is around the fire celebrating and commemorating the dead.

I like the sudden change in perception of the Fallout endings. Everything about the endings in the Fallout 3 games was basically picked apart mercilessly for a time.

Personally I've always felt that Mass Effect has always been bigger than Shepard and his crew. As soon as you learn of the Reapers in ME1, you're on the road to learning about how this is a thing that has progressed for MILLIONS of years, without end in sight. Everything you're doing in the games is a delaying action at best, and the measures offered (and possibly taken) grow more extreme as the games continue. By ME2's Arrival, the best known defense against Reaper invasion is to sacrifice star systems and the only known method of instantaneous Galactic travel. That's hardly a victory, it's delaying the inevitable. This is one of the biggest themes of Mass Effect as a whole: The end is coming, today or tomorrow, it doesn't make a difference. It's coming. You never had a chance to stop it in the first place. You may be a 'special' human, but you're one person trying to stand against something that has just been the way the galaxy has worked beyond all reckoning.

Paragon and Renegade Shepard always talks a big game about he/she is going to stop the Reapers, about how the galaxy is going to stand up and be ready. Anderson or Udina say they'll be ready. Cerberus said it will be ready. And the truth is that nobody has ever been 'ready' to fight the Reapers. It's silly, in retrospect, how optimistic ME1 tried to make everything sound. "Hooray guys, we'll stop the Reapers with the power of friendship, ya'll!" *faunts.mp3*

Except by the end of ME2, you see a void that is FILLED with Reapers, and for all the talk about how the Reapers were made 'knowable' by ME2, they certainly weren't made to be 'beatable'. One ship clowned the Citadel races until magical plot device saved the day in ME1. How can anyone possibly expect to stand against a fleet of Reapers you can't even properly get the numbers of?

ME3 Spoilers abound:

I think ME3 absolutely nails your helplessness against forces greater than your own. If the Reapers and their technology were neatly swept aside to make room for a happy ending, it would be the ultimate blow to any sense of impending danger they represented.

I don't believe they handled the final sequence of events with the Normandy and your crew well, but I can ignore that. In the end, while the story did follow them, it was bigger than them. Every single galactic culture evolved along the desired paths of the Reapers, there was little good that came of it. Except your space waifu/husbando of the current cycle, if that's your thing.

There's talk about how there can't be more done in the universe because everything sucks without the relays, but I disagree. There's PLENTY that can be done. It's not like every single species up and falls into luddism and renounces all technology. In an optimal ending, you have the Quarians and the Geth IN THE SAME SOLAR SYSTEM. The Salarians! Yoo-manity! Literally some of the best minds in the galaxy, even accounting for combat losses, across every coalition species. People have the imagination to assume that the Normandy crew descends into grimdark cannibalism with no hope of rescue, and everything dies a horrible death, and apparently optimism is 'wrong'.

Despite the very ending itself basically showing that yes, times were rough for a while, but the galaxy moves on. The sacrifice of the Normandy, Shepard, every major sapient species, let the galaxy move beyond a clean sweep every 50,000 years. That's much better than the alternative. I'd say that the fleet that went to Earth DID manage to do something more than curl up and die.


But that's my take on it.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

theCalamity posted:

The game is great up until the end. Then it jumps off a cliff.

Does anyone like the endings? Anyone?

I do. Apparently I've been paid by Bioware to do so, though. I don't mind tragic endings, and I certainly don't mind it happening to this particular cast.

I just don't see how people can imagine every possible terrible thing that MIGHT happen in the aftermath of the best available ending in terms of resources, but can't actually imagine how all of those resources pooled together in one central location could result in a better future.

Especially with the Normandy thing. People keep saying 'THEY ARE STRANDED FOREVER', but the game doesn't even SAY that directly. I prefer to think that they have a rough go at it for a while, but the combined intelligence of the geth, quarians (and their liveships), salarians, turians, asari, and humans, and hell even the krogan, coupled with the gently caress-ton of Reaper salvage left behind, eventually find them. It's not like they just say 'WELP, TIME TO DIE BECAUSE TECHNOLOGY SUCKS GUYS'


I expect my next paycheck in the mail by tomorrow, Bioware!

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

The Aberrant posted:

I'm at nearly an effective 3k (2800 ish I think, although I have to swing by the Citadel to turn in some poo poo) and I'm only just starting Priority: Perseus Veil. 1k more by the Cerebus mission should be doable.

In my non-import playthrough, without any multiplayer, I had close to 3k military strength. Keep in mind you lose out on a nice chunk of points on a non-import playthrough because you flat out just don't get to have certain resources available.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich
Speaking of silly animations:

So, when I first played through the game while writing the guide, the character models would frequently just go into the standard 'ready' standing position, their arms held out to the side at an angle, their legs pointed straight down, facing forward with completely lifeless expressions on their faces (if applicable).

This would happen at random and never got old. This happened during a romance scene and I about died laughing.

Sometimes, the models would just shift position dramatically. Allers kept falling through the world one night, and Garrus was often found calibrating the guns while his head was stuck in the roof. I walked into the hospital to speak with Ashley, and she was floating roughly three feet over her bed, lying down in mid air. When she talked to Shepard, she would turn her head in a full circle to try to face him, but her eyes didn't follow her face, staying pointed straight at the ceiling. It was some horror-movie level stuff.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

ImpAtom posted:

Honestly, more than anything, I don't get why Harbringer vanished. That dude was built up as the 'face' of the threat and you kill multiple reapers over the course of the game and none of them are him. Instead, you repeat Saren with the Illusive Man but without the possessed evil body. He shows up to shoot evil laser at you and then, welp, that's the end of that plotline.

Harby: Is the Reaper that kills off what's left of Hammer and nearly kills you. At least, that Reaper looks a lot like the one you talk to in Arrival.

That doesn't make it much better though. You'd think that he'd be extra thorough, being a Reaper and all, and seeing how basically they are a nightmare to even actually consider fighting on foot, of all things. Personally, I'd almost have preferred it if Shepard was killed, full stop, because what the gently caress, it's a two kilometer tall walking space cuttlefish that fires death lasers. I don't care how awesome people THINK Shepard is, he/she is still more or less just a human, and the Reapers are just SLIGHTLY capable of killing those.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Verloc posted:

Is the $200,000 spectre shotgun worth the purchase price? I wound up rolling with the Scimitar (AKA Michael Flatley's Lord of The Shotguns) pretty much exclusively during my vanguard playthrough but I'm wondering if it's worth saving the big pile of space ducats for it on another playthrough.

An upgraded Disciple shotgun is probably my favorite. Stupidly accurate, lightweight and tends to stagger most regular enemies consistently. It is The Best for Vanguards who like charging things all the time, since the weight benefits your cooldowns the most. That and the thing is a headshot machine with a smart choke.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Rookersh posted:

See, I'm not.

Your point is, the Reapers believe in the longterm that this is the only way, that the only way for organics to survive is if they come and cull everyone every few years.

And you know what, if I wanted to believe Bioware was actually capable of writing intent into forces and not showing it, I'd probably believe that, but I don't so I'm guessing thats a mistake that we see that.

My issue though has nothing to do with the cull itself, or that the Reapers believe it has to be done to save the organics. My issue is that its a very dumb cycle.

One of the major plot points of 1, 2 and a minor plot point in 3 is that the Reapers are the ones who built our tech, and set it up so that we'd grow using this style of tech, so we'd be easier to beat. This is a huge point against the Base in 2, if we use it, we are just using more Reaper tech. But if they built our tech, why didn't they just change it so organics would never develop AI.

Instead, they way the game presents it, since these two plot points are just there, is that the Reapers push organics to build AI, so that the Reapers can cull the organics to protect them from the AI they built. Its extremely circular and doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and thats the biggest issue I have with it.

To use your Cold War example, lets say aliens gave us the tools to make Nukes, and then a few years later, came back and killed every nation but Africa to protect humanity from the danger of Nukes. Its nonsensical.


It's not any more nonsensical than trying to solve the Dark Energy issue by allowing races to propagate it and potentially develop methods to save themselves from being Reaper'd.

Both are full of holes, and the argument for either purpose really just boils down to which form of bullshit you're willing to swallow.

fivegears4reverse fucked around with this message at 23:39 on Mar 9, 2012

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Darke GBF posted:

I was still really unsure of what to do at that point I'm not a Krogan fan like most goons seem to be, so I was seriously considering stopping the cure, since I wanted Salarian support. So I tried to delay him and I got that line, but when it came down to it I picked the option "I won't stop you." So he went up and did his song and, well. *frown*

You can talk Mordin down from curing the Genophage if Eve and Wrex are dead. Given that Wreav is an enormous dickbag with no redeeming values except for HURRDURR KROGUNZ 4 LYFE, and would gladly lead his people to death just to get vengeance on an already war-weary galaxy, in the long term loving over HIS Krogan is probably the best solution.

If Eve's alive, I don't believe you can talk Mordin down, even if Wreav is the leader. In the event you do convince him to not spread the cure, he becomes a War Asset.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Darke GBF posted:

Holy gently caress this is the greatest scene. Spoilers for Krogan plot. I cant stop laughing, the pause and look on the Salarian's face is priceless.

Oh my god someone please gif this salarian

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Lobst posted:

Done.

You're the best humanity has to offer.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich
It's fairly interesting that people's idea of the 'best ending' involves the most renegade outcome possible out of hope of preserving Shepard, at the cost of the geth, EDI, and anything else synthetic. So much for being 'paragon'. If the writers had handled it better, it'd be called a genius piece of meta-commentary about their audience. Of course, they didn't.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Dan Didio posted:

That is an insanely arbitrary distinction to make.

EDIT: Also, it ignores the wealth of books and movies that have had their endings changed post-release with stuff like Director's Cuts, etc. etc.

Dramatic changes to the finales of movies are not as common as people think, but it's not as rare as others think. Many times, the stuff is planned out well in advance, since it's a pretty useful marketing tool for movie distributors looking to get extra mileage out of a film.

Honestly, if this is the way they intended the games to end, then it is what it is. But even as someone who LIKES the general idea of the endings, it'd have been nice if they'd been A) handled better, with greater attention to detail, B) there'd been a lot more options/scenes to enhance the experience long time fans with imported characters for the endings, and C) give the people who wanted a happier ending what they want because I can't think of a time where that has really hurt anyone.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

CaptainCarrot posted:

No, that's completely true. You don't have to do any multiplayer for the ending they think is the best—Synthesis. They just didn't understand that that wasn't the best ending, or rather the least awful ending.

It still weirds me out a bit that people consider the 'least awful ending' is the one with the highest known body count of sentient beings.

Granted, I also understand a lot of the reasoning behind it, but it's just kinda strange.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Crows Turn Off posted:

I never felt overwhelmed, but I think Liara is worse than in previous games. She's always dying, it's so frustrating. Nobody else has died on me once, but Liara has died a number of times. She's just terrible so Javik easily took her place as my biotic companion.

Liara is essentially worthless in a universe where you can take Garrus and Anyone Else Who Isn't The Virmire Survivor in the same squad with Shepard.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Crows Turn Off posted:

Whatever the default is, so "Normal," I guess. The game is easy and nobody else dies except for her.

Yes, it's Garrus and Javik. I used everyone at least once and they're just unstoppable. Hell, even EDI is useful if you want more tech than Garrus provides. But Liara? No way.

EDI is actually one of the best squadmates in the game, since she takes the role of Mordin for TechSpam Bullshitter. Between her, Garrus, and an Infiltrator Shep, the standard difficulty was basically a bunch of enemy screams followed by explosions all the way until the end of the game. It made anything to do with Cerberus a lot funnier than it had any right to be.

"SHEPARD- BLEEEAERERHRGHR!"
"MAN DOWN, WE GOT WOUND- BRRERBELRBELERWRSD!"
"IT'S SHEPARD, STOP- BWAAAAAAAHRGRHRRLRRGLJRG!"

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich
All I really want out of an expansion/DLC ending is that we get more Cerberus dialogue/people to shoot, because it's hilariously satisfying to hear this 'well trained' group of Space Ninja-Stormtrooper hybrids just lose their poo poo within seconds of contact with Shepard and company.

In fact, if they could apply this to the Geth and the Reapers in multiplayer, I might never stop playing it.

"CONSENSUS: WE ARE hosed!"

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Aristobulus posted:

Oh man I'd be all over additional dialogue that made the Reapers and the Geth just completely panic facing Shepard and co. too. There's so much potential there, though I can't see how it'd apply to the Reapers, it definitely could apply to the Geth.

With the Reapers it'd be varying degrees of moans and roars of SHEPARD. Like a comedy version of Nemesis from Resident Evil 3.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

HoveringCheesecake posted:

If you people hate the gunplay so loving much, just play as a biotic on casual.

If only that could fix the everything else that is wrong with ME1.

Probably the best scene across all of the ME games for me is the destruction of the original Normandy. Considering how utterly static and boring 90 percent of the first game was, the opening to ME2 showed off better cutscene direction, better acting from both male and female Shepard, and it oozed atmosphere. Total chaos below decks, Shepard and Liara fighting the fires. Shepard shouting at her to get to the escape pods, staggering up the stairs to the CIC.... and then almost total silence as you look up and see most of the hull has been torn wide open, and the scene is dominated by free floating debris and Shepard's breathing as he walks towards Joker.

Also, I hated the old Normandy. gently caress that ship and its goddamn elevator. I was happy to see it burn, doubly so to find out that it took the Mako with it.

EDIT: ^^^ the worst thing about Al-Jilani is really that they turn her whole getting punched in the face into a sort of 'hilarious' gimmick in Lair of the Shadow Broker. It's not just Shepard that punches her, she survives getting decked by a Krogan if you watch one of the videos.

fivegears4reverse fucked around with this message at 19:13 on Apr 20, 2012

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Dush posted:

Were... were the loading scenes on the Normandy in ME2 really that much better? Really? Sure, the elevator was dull, but I think it gave a better sense of continuity than BIG SWOOSHY LOADING SCREEN. NUMBERS THAT MEAN NOTHING. GREEN FILLS THE ENGINES, THEN LEAVES. That was a bit obnoxious.

On PC, there may as well have been no loading screens during ME2. I was playing on a PC meant to play Crysis maxed out, so I'd see maybe a second of each loading screen. I don't even know what most of the little tips are saying because they tend to be gone too fast for me.

Meanwhile, in ME1, you still had to sit through the elevator scene no matter what, though it did run a bit faster on PC. To me, the old Normandy represented almost everything wrong about the presentation and gameplay of ME1, so seeing it get destroyed was pretty cathartic.

It'd make more sense in terms of ship design that there would be an elevator AND some kind of regular stair or ladder access between decks, because holy gently caress if the elevator is out you kinda trap a lot of people on each deck or you have traffic jams of people trying to use the few emergency access ladders on the Normandy 2.

fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Gammatron 64 posted:

If you want to play Mass Effect for the gameplay, you should probably play a different game.

If that's the case, ME1 should have been rated as harshly as Alpha Protocol was, since they are both story driven with rear end for actual gameplay. Hell, even as an RPG, ME1 comes up short in terms of interactivity with the cast when you compare it to Alpha Protocol. It seems to me that this is a franchise that has managed to get a pass on many of its flaws for all three games, both from fans and 'professional reviewers' alike.

The argument that the 'expectation' of decent gameplay is somehow incorrect ignores the fact that Bioware addressed how awful ME1 was as a game and made improvements in ME2 and 3 that most people actually enjoy. By ME3 they actually made a pretty competent shooter where you have more than just 'shoot gun' available for the majority of the classes, competent enough where they could actually have a multiplayer mode of some kind that people are enjoying a helluva lot more than I expected. Especially from a crowd that went into the game with people dead set on hating multiplayer just because it even existed in 'their' Mass Effect.

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fivegears4reverse
Apr 4, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Dan Didio posted:

Kai Leng constantly stumbles over himself anytime Shepard actually addresses him and gets burnt constantly. He's a thorn in Shepard's side, but anyone who thinks the writing team seriously thought Kai Leng was some sort of super badass, when they've got him blubbering 'sh-shut up!' towards the end of the game is probably deluding themselves.

He did do that ELITE HACKING of Alliance Command's space-Yahoo account. Probably the only thing he ever did correctly (even if it was stupid as hell).

I love Kai Leng. He's literally a self-insert fanfiction badguy who's thrown face first onto an omniblade on purpose. He's every anime/James Bond super-mook wrapped into one convenient package that you eventually punch to death. That anyone takes him seriously, in and out of game, is testament to how goofy Mass Effect really is.

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