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Mass Effect 3 "Review in Progress" by IGN: (Two New Videos)

BigTnaples

Todd Howard's Secret GAF Account
So they just flew. Then what was the point of Mass Effect 1?

?

It was pretty well spelled out what the purpose of ME1 was, in ME1 itself.

You discovered the Reapers, Slowed them down, and prevented them from cutting off all the civilizations from one another.

Pretty important, and again, explained in ME1 itself.
 
So they just flew. Then what was the point of Mass Effect 1?

Popping out of the Citadel and ripping apart everything before a chance for defenses to be built vs coming in a detectable wave where humans and aliens can stand a fraction of a chance. Not that too many prepared for damn Reapers but whatevers.
 
Showing people a slice of gameplay without spoiling shit...being aware of the audience watching the vid and showing the player pausing to choose their tactics...

IGN is so much better at marketing than Bioware.
 

Foxix Von

Member
I didn't realize FTL was possible without the use of mass relays. Still, a bit unexciting.

IIRC Isn't that why mass effect fields were a huge deal in the first place? They could dramatically lower the mass of a ship by engulfing it in a mass effect field which made FTL travel possible.
 
IIRC Isn't that why mass effect fields were a huge deal in the first place? They could dramatically lower the mass of a ship by engulfing it in a mass effect field which made FTL travel possible.

It's been a while. Idk, guess I thought they only got near-FTL.
 

Green Yoshi

Member
When does the review embargo ends? In the German Gamestar is a review without score (because they are a PC magazine and played the 360 version), they could already finish the whole game.
 

Symphonic

Member
I am hyped. Mass Effect was just such an awesome game for me. Mass Effect 2 wasn't perfect, but dammit I loved the hell out of it just because the Mass Effect universe is wonderful. I will love this one regardless of whether it is bad or not.
 

CorrisD

badchoiceboobies
Don't all the relays lead to a given star system? Figured they did that and then just traveled within a solar system.

There aren't Mass Relays in every star/planetary system, at least from Mass Effect 2 it shows that they are not in every system which requires you to travel using FTL between those that don't.

It was a bit misleading with Mass Effect 1 how you would shoot from Mass Relay to Mass Relay to and from whatever system you wanted, but it seems they decided after changing to letting you control a ship that there would only be one (at least how it seems) Mass Relay per cluster of systems.
But that could just be it being gamey and not actually how it is in the universe, I'm not sure they have actually gone into detail about how many Relays there are and where they all.

And to point out, just because some people don't know and it is always a nice bit of information to have, technically there is only one "Solar System" and that is ours, the Sun in latin is Sol, and Solar means relating to the Sun, hence Solar System.
 

Vire

Member
Taken from Giant Bomb forums, one of the first reviews:

GameStar said:
From gamestar magazine. They reviewed the PS3 version.

-15-20 hour-long main quest

-Around 40 hours playtime in total- side missions are vital to amass enough opposition to the Reaper threat

-90 minutes of cutscenes

-No loose ends or cliffhangers, the game is truly an appropriate end to the trilogy with a very intense and touching finale

-More than 100 scenes, conversations and/or events change depending on our choices- from something small like someone thanking us for completing a mission to bigger repercussions which would be to spoilerous to write down- you are definitely going to feel the consequences, and not always like them

-If and how many of these quests we complete influences how the game ends, and who- individually and globally- survives

-While the game can be enjoyable for newcomers as well, because the game is strong on its own mechanically and story-wise, it is recommended to play the first two entries to make more sense out of the wealth of information that the game builds on

-There's an interesting sequence after the end credits

-The „Role-Play“ mode of the game (In contrast to „Action“ and „Story“) feels very much like ME1

-The game gives you more opportunity to customize your Shepard. Each class has 8 talents with 6 levels each, and up from Level 4 there are two branches to choose from to level up each individual talent differently. Weapon customization is also a factor and noticeable, but the effects (which have both pros and cons) are only marginal

-Balancing isn't optimal

-The game is noticeably more difficult up from „Medium“, which makes using the correct weapon mods and talents integral to survive. Shepard also shoots more accurately in cover.

-The AI, on the other hand, is still not very advanced

-There are multiple turret sections which aren't very well directed

-Despite the shortcomings in level design, which are similar to ME2, the game is constantly thrilling, spectacular and dramatic- largely thanks to the well-presented story and dialogue- and there are lot of small and large choices again to ponder on

-Scanning isn't nearly as repetitive as before, because it works a lot quicker now and incorporates a new mini-game where you have to navigate your ship away from Reaper threat

-The new melee option is fun, but a little overpowered

-Graphically, the low polycount, lack of detail and low texture resolution disappoints- the characters are well animated and modeled however, and the overall look, despite its age, is quite moody

-Great dynamic soundtrack and sound-effects

-Our progress in the war effort is constantly trackable on a terminal on the Normandy

In summary, the game builds on the strengths of ME2 and takes some notes from ME1 to create the most compelling experience in the franchise yet.

Graphics -/10 (waiting to try PC)

Sound 10/10

Balance 9/10

Atmosphere 9/10

Controls -/10 (waiting to try PC)

Complexity 9/10

Quests/Story 10/10

Character system 10/10

Battle system 8/10

Items 9/10
 

Sn4ke_911

If I ever post something in Japanese which I don't understand, please BAN me.
very intense and touching finale?

Thank you based god! No fucking happy ending.
 

cnizzle06

Banned
So I played ME1 on the 360. Then I eventually sold the system and now only have a PS3. So is it worth playing ME2 on the PS3?
 

Moaradin

Member
It's worth playing ME2 period. Not sure about the stability on the PS3 version, but don't they get all the DLC included?
 

MasterShotgun

brazen editing lynx
In summary, the game builds on the strengths of ME2 and takes some notes from ME1 to create the most compelling experience in the franchise yet.

I'll have to see for myself how true this statement is, but just hearing those words gets me hyped. It's exactly what I want out of ME3.
 
very intense and touching finale?

Thank you based god! No fucking happy ending.

Let's not get excited just yet.

'Touching finale' could mean anything from 'bittersweet victory achieved through great losses' to 'inter-galactic party while Shepard and Tali hold hands watching the sun set'.
 

Kyoufu

Member
I'll have to see for myself how true this statement is, but just hearing those words gets me hyped. It's exactly what I want out of ME3.

What notes does it take from ME1? I would like to know that, because so far the planet scanning is still in. I'm guessing combat is a little bit more ME1 flavoured? (haven't seen anything in videos to suggest that though).
 

Moaradin

Member
What notes does it take from ME1? I would like to know that, because so far the planet scanning is still in. I'm guessing combat is a little bit more ME1 flavoured? (haven't seen anything in videos to suggest that though).

Music for sure. A lot of the music sounds like something from ME1.

Character Creation song from the demo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cdZqaf-e6Y

Also Mars combat sample:
http://soundcloud.com/mr-toffee/mass-effect-3-mars-combat

Also will have more RPG mechanics with the larger, more meaningful skill trees, and weapon/armor customization.
 

Anteater

Member
-The „Role-Play“ mode of the game (In contrast to „Action“ and „Story“) feels very much like ME1

Was there something different in ME2? I thought the role play was just the default mode from the past 2 games.
 

Lucius86

Banned
I really want the game to be as awesome as I want it to be.....please be good please be good.

Also not clicking on the vids - don't want any spoilers apart from any new music clips that pop up.
 

Vire

Member
Was there something different in ME2? I thought the role play was just the default mode from the past 2 games.

I think that statement is just to quell some fear that Bioware had abandoned dialogue trees in favor of more action sequences.

I wouldn't put too much weight in the statement.
 

Dennis

Banned
Dat Mars footage.

kf3g7.gif

A galaxy-worth of exotic planets and we have to get Mars.......Dem monochrome graphics....

:mad:
 

Kyoufu

Member
I don't even see why the Mars video is supposed to get me excited.

I am excited, but not because of that video.
 

elcranky

Banned
I got the PS3 version of ME2 so I am not familiar with the importing your character thing. In ME3 the preview says you start your character with all your upgrades and you can go to level 60 or something, so if I import my story I am forced to be the same class and in a way cheat by having my character super powered from the start? I dont want that. I want my choices to continue but I want to start a fresh character.

I think you have your concern backwards. The base assumption is a ME1 > ME2 > ME3 import. That should be the default character and since nothing catastrophic (like dying) happened, Shepard should be at the top of his game. Thus an imported shepard level 27-30 is the baseline. A brand new shepard might be in trouble. That would also seem to explain why shepard seemed so underpowered in the demo. HP and armor were tuned for a higher level. That said, there is probably some sort of scaling mechanism going on in the background for imported vs new characters.
 

Ultimadrago

Member
*watches Mars video*

Damn Vanguards, some voodoo magic here-there and they think they own the place!

Why must they own the place :(
 

Kyoufu

Member
*watches Mars video*

Damn Vanguards, some voodoo magic here-there and they think they own the place!

Why must they own the place :(

Law of the lands. Vanguards in ME1 were amazing too. Nova should be an interesting ability (I haven't played the demo so I don't know how good it is).

I really miss the Carnage power from ME1. I'd love to charge into an enemy and let rip with a Carnage blast.

edit: Does Shepard have access to Carnage again in ME3?!
 
Law of the lands. Vanguards in ME1 were amazing too. Nova should be an interesting ability (I haven't played the demo so I don't know how good it is).

I really miss the Carnage power from ME1. I'd love to charge into an enemy and let rip with a Carnage blast.

edit: Does Shepard have access to Carnage again in ME3?!

You can get Carnage as a bonus power in ME3 :D
 

Vamphuntr

Member
A galaxy-worth of exotic planets and we have to get Mars.......Dem monochrome graphics....

:mad:

Haha, I know you are joking but at least they didn't forget the fact that humanity found important protheans ruins there. It was all mentionned in ME1. The story so far has huge plot holes and continuity issues but this isn't one of them.
 

CorrisD

badchoiceboobies
So I played ME1 on the 360. Then I eventually sold the system and now only have a PS3. So is it worth playing ME2 on the PS3?
So is it technically competent compared to the 360 version?

The PS3 version of ME2 was perfectly fine, playing it after the 360 version I didn't notice anything worse or better, I can't remember coming across any poor performance as seen in the ME3 demo on PS3.

And the Genesis comic covers most of the big decisions as well without worry, the only thing notable about my PS3 run after playing a ME1>ME2 save on the 360 was the lack of Conrad Verner regardless of what options you choose, it seems they just didn't want to include him for some reason, and certain characters that mention something you might have done or some random email.

If I didn't enjoy playing ME1 and doing a run through before ME3 comes out, I personally would have moved over to just the PS3 versions of the series.
It is a pity they didn't let you import a ME1 save at all on PS3 considering how seemingly easy it was for people to build converter programs to move saves between 360 and PC.
 

Vire

Member
The PS3 version of ME2 was perfectly fine, playing it after the 360 version I didn't notice anything worse or better, I can't remember coming across any poor performance as seen in the ME3 demo on PS3.

And the Genesis comic covers most of the big decisions as well without worry, the only thing notable about my PS3 run after playing a ME1>ME2 save on the 360 was the lack of Conrad Verner regardless of what options you choose, it seems they just didn't want to include him for some reason, and certain characters that mention something you might have done or some random email.

If I didn't enjoy playing ME1 and doing a run through before ME3 comes out, I personally would have moved over to just the PS3 versions of the series.
It is a pity they didn't let you import a ME1 save at all on PS3 considering how seemingly easy it was for people to build converter programs to move saves between 360 and PC.

It's not about it being easy or not, it's done because of restrictions for legality sake. Microsoft published ME1.
 

CorrisD

badchoiceboobies
It's not about it being easy or not, it's done because of restrictions for legality sake. Microsoft published ME1.

I know the legal reasons behind it, at least from the Xbox 360 version, but the PC version wasn't touched by Microsoft was it besides being on the Windows platform?
 

Dany

Banned
I know the legal reasons behind it, at least from the Xbox 360 version, but the PC version wasn't touched by Microsoft was it besides being on the Windows platform?

Huh, it looks like EA published it on PC. I guess Microsoft allowed it to happen.
 
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