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Rapstah · May 14, 2012

Rufus said:
Well, it's dilemma for them too. You can't really win with launch DLC. Either it's insubstantial crap you can ignore, which defeats the purpose from a business standpoint, or it is substantial and ends up being a hidden price increase to get the 'complete' version of the game.
I can see ME3 feeling complete without Javik, but he adds so much to the game that it just seems cynical to cut him out for part of the audience.

I read an interesting statistic this morning in a blog post that presented achievement statistics about Giant Bomb's tracking system for achievements:

Marino said:
Only 14% of players who completed Mass Effect 3 did it without picking up Javik.

Now this is only for the 360 version and Giant Bomb's community probably is on the hardcore end of things, but that's surprisingly high. 86% bought From Ashes or the Collector's Edition?

Rufus · May 14, 2012

Bioware's previous DLC must have been good enough to take the risk. Or the overall love for the franchise.

Or the sample is inherently weighted towards the hard core. (Most likely.)

Looking at the article:
"Of the 28,018 who played the 1st Mass Effect, 23.1% never completed Eden Prime (the 1st mission)." - Holy shit.
"Only 18.6% didn't finish the first mission in ME2. That's improvement!" - I'll say!
"Dragon Age Romance - Morrigan 32.77% - Leliana 21.39% - Zevran 19% - Alistair 13.54% - EVERYONE 8.52%." Yup.

PS: GiantBomb's been around for seven years already? Fuck, time flies.

Bisnic · May 14, 2012

The DLC was a fucking Prothean. Of course EA/Bioware knew this would happen and they took advantage of it.

If the DLC was James Vega instead, that 14% would be the other way around probably.

Rufus · May 14, 2012

I'd agree with that, even though it presupposes that most DLC buyers actually knew the implications, aka had played previous Mass Effect games.
James felt more like a DLC character anyway, only topped by Ashley and probably Kaiden, too.

Bisnic · May 14, 2012

Rufus said:
I'd agree with that, even though it presupposes that most DLC buyers actually knew the implications, aka had played previous Mass Effect games.
James felt more like a DLC character anyway, only topped by Ashley and probably Kaiden, too.

He even have more stuff to say on the Normandy after every missions than Liara. Liara!

Rufus · May 14, 2012

Really? Never got that impression. If true it makes sense though, considering he's a link to the past (herp derp derp) he will have a lot more to say just to she light on Protheans, their culture and the last cycle.

Rapstah · May 14, 2012

Rufus said:
Really? Never got that impression. If true it makes sense though, considering he's a link to the past (herp derp derp) he will have a lot more to say just to she light on Protheans, their culture and the last cycle.

He would have made a much better James than James because of the way he doesn't know anything about how this cycle works.

Bisnic · May 14, 2012

Rufus said:
Really? Never got that impression. If true it makes sense though, considering he's a link to the past (herp derp derp) he will have a lot more to say just to she light on Protheans, their culture and the last cycle.

I've done 2 campaign runs, and everytime i completed a mission, Javik had at least 2-3 new things to say. Liara? Maybe 1. 2 if im lucky. Sometimes not even anything new to add other than "Hello Shepard".

At least Garrus, EDI and Joker always had things to say. Hell, even Garrus had more interesting stuff to say in romance than Liara.

Rufus · May 14, 2012

Yeah, absolutely. But then as Bisnic said, nobody would have bought James.

Freeza Under The Shower · May 14, 2012

Rufus said:
Looking at the article:
"Of the 28,018 who played the 1st Mass Effect, 23.1% never completed Eden Prime (the 1st mission)." - Holy shit.
"Only 18.6% didn't finish the first mission in ME2. That's improvement!" - I'll say!

and very likely to be using the full version as a 'demo'.
Aside from simply borrowing or renting the game, of course.

Let's not pretend the average user would never do such a thing.

Rufus · May 14, 2012

Huh, didn't even think of that.

riceandbeans · May 14, 2012

Bisnic said:
The DLC was a fucking Prothean. Of course EA/Bioware knew this would happen and they took advantage of it. If the DLC was James Vega instead, that 14% would be the other way around probably.

And this is why I'd never buy another Bioware game again. It's a scum tactic and a spit in the face to your fans. For two games, they've been building on the mystery of the Protheans and then they go ahead and charge you day 1 DLC in non-CE games for a character that was initially non-DLC. How would Halo fans feel if they had to pay for day one DLC in Halo 4 to access the backstory of the Forerunners?

HP_Wuvcraft · May 14, 2012

Rapstah said:
Dragon Age has far more invasive DLC than that. There's the guy in your camp who has the quest explamation mark over his head and tells a long story about the DLC keep that ends with a dialogue option to buy the DLC... and the two map locations where you get an introduction to DLC and you have to buy the content to continue.

The guy at camp I had no problem with. The locations, however, were foolish.

hateradio · May 14, 2012

I didn't mind the setups to get DLC in that game.

I just wish they released ME2 Ultimate Edition.

Jake Tower · May 14, 2012

I'm a proud member of the 14%.

Galactic Fork · May 15, 2012

Jake Tower said:
I'm a proud member of the 14%.

After getting Javik, I wished I was one of the 14%. That's my biggest regret over no aftergame exploring, I wanted to get him after the game and mock him because his whole civilization is dead and we survived and beat the reapers. But I couldn't. Sad.

UnluckyKate · May 15, 2012

Am I the only sort of missing the mission abord smaller space ship like in ME1 ? I miss that feeling of boarding a lost freighters and see all the shitstorms unfolding

Typographenia · May 15, 2012

UnluckyKate said:
Am I the only sort of missing the mission abord smaller space ship like in ME1 ? I miss that feeling of boarding a lost freighters and see all the shitstorms unfolding

Psh, and miss out on all the hot "do a mission for the elcor by looking at a text box from the galaxy map" missions instead? I THINK NOT.

rozay · May 15, 2012

There are 3 more ME comics coming out, this months's is about Tali and it's written by Patrick Weekes, and next months is about Garrus and it's written by John Dombrow (wrote for Garrus and Javik in ME3). I wonder how they will fare compared to Walters's comics.

DTKT · May 15, 2012

rozay said:
There are 3 more ME comics coming out, this months's is about Tali and it's written by Patrick Weekes, and next months is about Garrus and it's written by John Dombrow (wrote for Garrus and Javik in ME3). I wonder how they will fare compared to Walters.

God damn it. I might have to buy those. Both Garrus and Javik are awesome in ME3.

and Tali. :3

Jake Tower · May 15, 2012

Typographenia said:
Psh, and miss out on all the hot "do a mission for the elcor by looking at a text box from the galaxy map" missions instead? I THINK NOT.

After playing Pac-man on the system map. That's gameplay, right there.

rozay · May 15, 2012

DTKT said:
God damn it. I might have to buy those. Both Garrus and Javik are awesome in ME3.

and Tali. :3

Issue Two

Publication Date: May 30, 2012
Tagline: The galaxy betrayed!
Writers: Patrick Weekes & Jeremy Barlow

Issue Two will focus on Mass Effect 3 squadmate Tali'Zorah.

On a mission to end her peoples generations-long exile, Tali uncovers the treachery of a central Mass Effect figure and finds herself hunted by assassins. Fleeing to the Citadel for help, she instead encounters disgust and discrimination in the most civilized place in the galaxy.

Issue Three

Publication Date: July 25, 2012
Tagline: TBA
Writer: Mac Walters, John Dombrow, Jeremy Barlow

Issue Three will focus on Mass Effect 3 squadmate Garrus Vakarian.

Garrus has fought valiantly alongside Commander Shepard, but his time away from his home planet Palaven has seen crime and corruption take hold there, a contradiction that becomes clearer as he investigates the murder of a turian on Omega. Cutting to the heart of Homeworlds, Garrus must choose between fighting for the galaxy or protecting his home.

Issue Four

Publication Date: August 29, 2012
Tagline: TBA
Writer: Sylvia Feketekuty

Issue Four will focus on Mass Effect 3 squadmate Liara T'Soni.

Now controlling the resources of the Shadow Broker, Liara embarks on a galaxy-spanning mission to find information that can prevent the imminent Reaper attack. Her search turns up deadly secrets and brings her right to the beginning of BioWares latest blockbuster!

1

spekkeh · May 15, 2012

Gui_PT said:
A DLC I didn't even get. Is it any good?

Edit: If anyone has a code but really really hates the game, I'll sacrifice myself and take that code.

What? It was worth a shot

Yes. Actually, I can definitely see why you'd be angry about the ending if you didn't get Javik. And we should be angry on Bioware for keeping it DLC. It was Javik's contemplations on the nature of synthetics (as well as the not-Legion, which was not only poorly handled but makes the game completely different imo), that made me decide that the Geth weren't human and never would be.

spekkeh · May 15, 2012

Rufus said:
Bioware's previous DLC must have been good enough to take the risk. Or the overall love for the franchise.

Or the sample is inherently weighted towards the hard core. (Most likely.)

Looking at the article:
"Of the 28,018 who played the 1st Mass Effect, 23.1% never completed Eden Prime (the 1st mission)." - Holy shit.
"Only 18.6% didn't finish the first mission in ME2. That's improvement!" - I'll say!
"Dragon Age Romance - Morrigan 32.77% - Leliana 21.39% - Zevran 19% - Alistair 13.54% - EVERYONE 8.52%." Yup.

PS: GiantBomb's been around for seven years already? Fuck, time flies.

ME2 probably has the best start of a game ever to me.

Pop-O-Matic · May 15, 2012

Finished ME3 just a hour or two ago, and I can't say that the ending affected me in that badly, mainly because I knew EVERY detail about the ending before seeing it and the ending fiasco was the entire reason I started playing through the trilogy, so I probably got all the rage out of my system ahead of time and was already at the acceptance stage before finishing the game proper. I kinda wish that I managed to avoid the ending spoilers before seeing it, so I could be properly pissed after completing it. I still don't regret any of the 100+ hours I poured into the games and will probably revisit them at some point, probably after the Extended Cut is released. First game was easily the best though, really got a feeling of space exploration and adventure that the other two never really gave me.

Also, I found that this took away some of the sting.

Rufus · May 15, 2012

Pop-O-Matic said:
Also, I found that this took away some of the sting.

Some cringe-worthy shit in there.

"Even the Reapers are maintaining a presence in the network right now. I can feel their thoughts, so vast and timeless, like whales singing to each other in the lightless depths. I'm sorry. I seem to be straying from my prepared remarks."

You can feel the synthetic influence, I guess...

spekkeh · May 15, 2012

Meh, that's exactly the kind of epilogue I would not have liked. Way too much exposition.

Rufus · May 15, 2012

The Dragon Age one wasn't bad. At least I don't remember it being bad.

Plasma · May 15, 2012

Rufus said:
Bioware's previous DLC must have been good enough to take the risk. Or the overall love for the franchise.

Or the sample is inherently weighted towards the hard core. (Most likely.)

Looking at the article:
"Of the 28,018 who played the 1st Mass Effect, 23.1% never completed Eden Prime (the 1st mission)." - Holy shit.
"Only 18.6% didn't finish the first mission in ME2. That's improvement!" - I'll say!"

Does that count people who have completed the game already? I know a couple of times in 1 and 2 I've gone back and started a new game because I didn't like the look of my Shepard.

Rufus · May 15, 2012

I don't think either Microsoft (and subsequently Giantbomb) count achievements twice. I'd assume on their end it works like a flag that is either set or not, depending on whether you got the achievement or not.

Freeza Under The Shower · May 15, 2012

spekkeh said:
ME2 probably has the best start of a game ever to me.

real intro talk: Breakdown > ME2.

firehawk12 · May 16, 2012

I've mostly given up on this game, but I just had to post when I saw that there's this 90 minute video on the Indoctrination Theory.

Fuck, I hope this final DLC clears this shit up once and for all.

- J - D - · May 16, 2012

90 minutes? Someone managed to cobble a bunch of bs together for 90 minutes?

EatChildren · May 16, 2012

firehawk12 said:
Fuck, I hope this final DLC clears this shit up once and for all.

Expect the DLC to include:
- More convoluted reasoning from the Star Child.
- Additional cutscenes that reflect upon your decisions/relationships.
- An epilogue that explains the post-game state and fate of the galaxy more clearly.

BE CYNICAL. NOTHING WILL BE GOOD.

Myomoto · May 16, 2012

EatChildren said:
BE CYNICAL. NOTHING WILL BE GOOD.

Words to live by, kids.

Darkmakaimura · May 16, 2012

EatChildren said:
Expect the DLC to include:
- More convoluted reasoning from the Star Child.
- Additional cutscenes that reflect upon your decisions/relationships.
- An epilogue that explains the post-game state and fate of the galaxy more clearly.

BE CYNICAL. NOTHING WILL BE GOOD.

If they had ever explained it in-game in the first place, it might make sense that the Reapers are not only building Reapers out of human goo, but also taking their souls too. In essence, they would be preserving both the human DNA and their minds as well. It was removed from ME2, but they pretty much explain they are not killing or wiping anyone out, but rather keeping them in a new form. This is mentioned, again in the removed content, that Shepard is the one wasting lives by destroying the Human-Reaper which holds the consciousness of millions of humans.

Blue Ninja · May 16, 2012

Darkmakaimura said:
If they had ever explained it in-game in the first place, it might make sense that the Reapers are not only building Reapers out of human goo, but also taking their souls too. In essence, they would be preserving both the human DNA and their minds as well. It was removed from ME2, but they pretty much explain they are not killing or wiping anyone out, but rather keeping them in a new form. This is mentioned, again in the removed content, that Shepard is the one wasting lives by destroying the Human-Reaper which holds the consciousness of millions of humans.

Man, no wonder the Reapers destroy everything, they're even more bipolar than Charlie Sheen.

Jake Tower · May 16, 2012

Rapstah said:
Dragon Age has far more invasive DLC than that.There's the guy in your camp who has the quest explamation mark over his head and tells a long story about the DLC keep that ends with a dialogue option to buy the DLC... and the two map locations where you get an introduction to DLC and you have to buy the content to continue.

When I met this guy and the purchase XBL Marketplace screen popped up, I shut the game off and never played it again.

Ended up trading it (indirectly) for Mass Effect 2.

Rapstah · May 17, 2012

Jake Tower said:
When I met this guy and the purchase XBL Marketplace screen popped up, I shut the game off and never played it again.

Ended up trading it (indirectly) for Mass Effect 2.

Bizzarely I think Dragon Age 2 probably handled that better, as much as a piece of shit that game was.

televator · May 17, 2012

Darkmakaimura said:
If they had ever explained it in-game in the first place, it might make sense that the Reapers are not only building Reapers out of human goo, but also taking their souls too. In essence, they would be preserving both the human DNA and their minds as well. It was removed from ME2, but they pretty much explain they are not killing or wiping anyone out, but rather keeping them in a new form. This is mentioned, again in the removed content, that Shepard is the one wasting lives by destroying the Human-Reaper which holds the consciousness of millions of humans.

That sounds so stupid. WTF?

hateradio · May 17, 2012

I think the EC is a lost cause. I doubt anyone would care by the time it comes out.

Darkmakaimura · May 17, 2012

televator said:
That sounds so stupid. WTF?

That pretty much was/is the intention. I don't think it gets directly explained in any of the games, but it was mentioned in the removed content of ME2 when Harbinger mentions this. The closest we get to this is when Legion mentions that the Reapers are a nation of millions or billions of uploaded minds. It does make sense that they would take the consciousness of the person as well as their DNA, thus preserving their "essence" in every sense. It's no more stupid than simply just melting their DNA down, after all. So with that, we can assume the Human-Reaper actually consisted of millions of human minds, trapped in its shell.

One can then say the Reapers have a "purpose" in that they're not just killing people. Who knows, maybe the expanded DLC will give us that explanation.

hateradio · May 17, 2012

It's basically the Matrix but within a crustacean's shell.

rozay · May 17, 2012

Darkmakaimura said:
That pretty much was/is the intention. I don't think it gets directly explained in any of the games, but it was mentioned in the removed content of ME2 when Harbinger mentions this. The closest we get to this is when Legion mentions that the Reapers are a nation of millions or billions of uploaded minds. It does make sense that they would take the consciousness of the person as well as their DNA, thus preserving their "essence" in every sense. It's no more stupid than simply just melting their DNA down, after all. So with that, we can assume the Human-Reaper actually consisted of millions of human minds, trapped in its shell.

One can then say the Reapers have a "purpose" in that they're not just killing people. Who knows, maybe the expanded DLC will give us that explanation.

Yeah it's a shame that all got cut out from ME2. Weekes mentioned something related to the cutting at PAX:

-What was up with the Human Reaper in ME2? Why did it look so dumb?

We wanted to use the Suicide Mission to show several steps of the Reaper development process, from human reaper embryo all the way to cuttlefish. But the mission grew too complicated so it was cut for time.

I assume that information would;ve been a part of this.

televator · May 17, 2012

Darkmakaimura said:
That pretty much was/is the intention. I don't think it gets directly explained in any of the games, but it was mentioned in the removed content of ME2 when Harbinger mentions this. The closest we get to this is when Legion mentions that the Reapers are a nation of millions or billions of uploaded minds. It does make sense that they would take the consciousness of the person as well as their DNA, thus preserving their "essence" in every sense. It's no more stupid than simply just melting their DNA down, after all. So with that, we can assume the Human-Reaper actually consisted of millions of human minds, trapped in its shell.

One can then say the Reapers have a "purpose" in that they're not just killing people. Who knows, maybe the expanded DLC will give us that explanation.

Well yes the DNA/human jelly food thing is pretty dumb too, but it doesn't have any other consequences like "preserving conscience on a mass scale" might... It's just odd. If the reaper's characteristic is a result of the collective beings inside it or even if they merely help the reaper, then I think it's plainly obvious that personalities have gone through a massive alteration. Alternatively, if they are simply benign to the reaper what the hell is the point of preserving them only bear witness to their own new abominable form? Maybe they are preserved in a dream state where they live out their daily lives? But I still don't see a point to this...

Blue Ninja · May 17, 2012

televator said:
Well yes the DNA/human jelly food thing is pretty dumb too, but it doesn't have any other consequences like "preserving conscience on a mass scale" might... It's just odd. If the reaper's characteristic is a result of the collective beings inside it or even if they merely help the reaper, then I think it's plainly obvious that personalities have gone through a massive alteration. Alternatively, if they are simply benign to the reaper what the hell is the point of preserving them only bear witness to their own new abominable form? Maybe they are preserved in a dream state where they live out their daily lives? But I still don't see a point to this...

Maybe the Reaper's insides are like that ship filled with virtual consciousnesses that was mentioned in the Cerberus Daily News.

Gazzawa · May 17, 2012

Cleared this shit for the third time today. I chose Red bcuz i dont give a fuck. Also adept is handsdown the best class to play as. With shield drain as a special power u can handle just about anything. awesome.
Will take a few weeks off before I try run all 3 games on Insanity.

alysonwheel · May 17, 2012

On my second playthrough I've got as far as the assault on Cerberus and I've just... given up. I stopped playing it about a week ago and I've stopped keeping up with the iPhone app so my galactic readiness is probably back at 50%.

I just don't care any more.

I used to love this series.

Gazzawa · May 17, 2012

alysonwheel said:
On my second playthrough I've got as far as the assault on Cerberus and I've just... given up. I stopped playing it about a week ago and I've stopped keeping up with the iPhone app so my galactic readiness is probably back at 50%.

I just don't care any more.

I used to love this series.

we'll bang ok?

Doublesith · May 17, 2012

televator said:
Well yes the DNA/human jelly food thing is pretty dumb too, but it doesn't have any other consequences like "preserving conscience on a mass scale" might... It's just odd. If the reaper's characteristic is a result of the collective beings inside it or even if they merely help the reaper, then I think it's plainly obvious that personalities have gone through a massive alteration. Alternatively, if they are simply benign to the reaper what the hell is the point of preserving them only bear witness to their own new abominable form? Maybe they are preserved in a dream state where they live out their daily lives? But I still don't see a point to this...

As I was playing I thought this would be the key - many the collective minds of the Reapers were themselves indoctrinated by Harbinger, others might have joined in on purpose because they truly believed they were the pinnacle of evolution.

In any case, the key to defeating them would have been to break Harby's hold over them, causing some Reapers to self-destruct out of the horror they had become and the rest to turn around and help you against the "evil" ones.

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