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Mass Effect is coming in the mail, what should I expect?

I enjoyed it but was ultimately disappointed with it. Lots of technical issues and a bad menu interface (I assume most of this was improved for the PC version). It's definitely worth a play through - but didn't live up to the hype for me. Very excited about future installments though!
 
wmat said:
I killed that fucker without thinking twice.
Yes, that is a spoiler. Don't look.
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I tried to save him, but that bitch Ashley walked up behind him and blew his head off. It's ok though I got my revenge when I fucked her then left her to die.
 
Don't expect any of the big choices you make to have any effect on the way the game pans out. This was the expectation I had, and I was crushingly disappointed when the game was over. You'll make all your biggest choices in the last two missions. I figure this is just so they didn't have to figure out how to implement them into the story. I also suspect for ME2 something will happen at the beginning to render all the big choices relatively meaningless from a gameplay point of view. But that's probably just pessimism driven by my disappointment in how it was all handled in this game.

Anyway, forget about the choices being big and cool. They're almost completely meaningless. Maybe if you go in with this expectation it won't be as disappointing.

Also, unless you really, really wring the content out of it, don't expect the length to be nearly as high as some of the numbers being thrown around in this thread. I went through maybe half of the side missions, visited almost every accessible planet and I'm not sure my game clock was as high as 17 hours.
 
chicken_ramen said:
Don't expect any of the big choices you make to have any effect on the way the game pans out. This was the expectation I had, and I was crushingly disappointed when the game was over. You'll make all your biggest choices in the last two missions.
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:(
 
JBuccCP said:
I tried to save him, but that bitch Ashley walked up behind him and blew his head off. It's ok though I got my revenge when I fucked her then left her to die.
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That scene when
one of them dies
was so fucking sad, I think it was the first time I've cried since Butterfree left Ash.
 
I'm on my first fucking playthrough and I think I'm towards the end, my save is at a boss battle and my guns overheat and dont go down. WTF I cant even continue the game.

edit: after googling it seems when most people complain about this people acuse them of using pirate versions, mine is 100% legit.
 
JBuccCP said:
I tried to save him, but that bitch Ashley walked up behind him and blew his head off. It's ok though I got my revenge when I fucked her then left her to die.
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A wise course of action. I for one condone virtual revenge.
 
This may be a bit of a vague question, but how immersive is the whole sci-fi setting? Is it all well done, or does it feel kinda lifeless/empty? Its been awhile since I've played a good sci-fi game.
 
to answer OP title

you can expect all kinds of awesomeness and then some

yes side quests are boring but whatever, you will find yourself playing through them just for the hell of it

when you get to virmire... it ends up being one of the best sci fi games ever

and the story kicks all kinds of ass

goty 2007... well ok, after mario galaxy i mean

p.s.
the item management is a BITCH
 
game begins->awesome->awesome->awesome->awesome->awesome->game ends.
Mass Effect in a nutshell.
I didn't do the sidequests except the one with the computer by the way.
 
Concept17 said:
This may be a bit of a vague question, but how immersive is the whole sci-fi setting? Is it all well done, or does it feel kinda lifeless/empty? Its been awhile since I've played a good sci-fi game.
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It will suck you in so much that you'll find yourself wondering why they didn't do more...before you realize that what you're asking for has never been done in a game before.
 
StarEye said:
What about the characters where there are no skill points in any weapon? Like Kaiden? Are the equally bad on all the weapons, and should I just give him the weapon I want him to use?
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IIRC, pistols don't give a penalty to a character without any skill points in them but other weapons do.
 
One thing I forgot: German localization sucks ass.

Sorry, voice actors / translators, but honestly, no surprise there. Haven't had a decently localized title for friggin AGES.
 
Best game this gen! Yes, and that surpasses MGS 4, Bioshock, Halo 3, Half Life 2: Orange Box (though that comes close).

I can understand peoples frustrations though, it can be buggy at times (like on the DLC package, it wouldn't let me finish a side mission even though I did everything), the texture pop in is annoying and the screen tearing. I still don't understand why Bioware didn't utilize the HD to sort these problems out. Oh well. And then there's of course the side quests, very repetitive and cumbersome. But the main reason that I stick with them is because of the excellent art design of those unhabited planets and the sense of exploration. They are very varied and I just love exploring them, taking in the gorgeous views. However, I hope they sort out the side missions for the next one.

But other than those flaws, the game is truly amazing. Lots of stuff to do, people to talk to, the combat is great (much better than I expected), great story, art design and sets up the 2nd one perfectly. By far my favourite game this gen and I want the 2nd one now! Or unless some DLC to tide me over... come on Bioware.

I haven't had much time to play this lately... what with constant work, visitors and my holiday this weekend. When things die down a little, I'm going to definitely get back into it and play it.
 
I wish I never bought it. Boring characters (except Ashley) and boring story (and I wasn't even bothering with side missions). Combat isn't as bad as people make it to be though.
I played it for about 10 hours and haven't touched it since.
 
Dax01 said:
Expect the last three or so hours to be the most epic game you have ever played.
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yeah, it gets really good :)

JBuccCP said:
I tried to save him, but that bitch Ashley walked up behind him and blew his head off. It's ok though I got my revenge when I fucked her then left her to die.
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:lol
 
First play through i got to the Citadel bit, then CoD multiplayer came along.

I'm gonna start over when the update comes.

All the engineer/soldier/medic pretty much went over my head. I'm sure i felt really underpowered when in shootouts too.

When it came to choosing the class characters i didn't really have a clue who to take. Is there a recommended set to take?
 
Avoid the sidequests on the first playthrough, play through the main quest only (it's about 10 hours or so), and you'll be blown away!

Don't water down the game by taking all the shitty side missions, save that for the second playthrough :)
 
Dax01 said:
Expect the last three or so hours to be the most epic game you have ever played.
Click to expand...

There is truth in this. Not to overhype it (I hate overhype), but I'd advise doing all of the sidequests and whatnot BEFORE going to Virmire. Why? Because if you start with Virmire and play the game straight through until the end, it will most likely be your favorite gaming experience this gen. Arguably my favorite last few hours of a game ever.

qcf x2 said:
It will suck you in so much that you'll find yourself wondering why they didn't do more...before you realize that what you're asking for has never been done in a game before.
Click to expand...

.......... you know, that was profoundly enlightening. Most other games aim FAR lower than Mass Effect. Its really trying to pull off things that have NEVER been done in gaming. And, for THE FIRST TIME AROUND, they did spectacularly. But the amazing part is that there are clear areas that can be improved and, if they do this in the next 2 games, they should win GotY for their respective years. Yeah, ME is that close.
 
Mass Effect is coming in the mail, what should I expect?
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...a package! :D

No, to be serious, expect:

-Spending forever on the character customization screen, only to say "fuck it" and go with the default;
-Another few minutes wasted on figuring out what class you want to be;
-Pretty graphics;
-LOTS OF TALKING;
-Falling asleep
 
Expect an incredibly immersive sci-fi adventure. It was great from start to finish. The only thing I didn't like were how shallow the side-missions were. Other than that, goes under one of my best games list.
 
35 hours and I didn't even come close to finishing everything. The music and atmosphere of the game is incredible.

Fabulous game. Fabulous.
 
Just started up another playthrough after having not touched it since November.

Game has a lot of ups and downs. Mostly downs until you get to the last 3/4ths. I remember being really let down by the sidequests and the planets. At first you think you're going to have a huge world to explore, and then you start selecting stuff and my heart sank big time.

Hope you enjoy it nonetheless.
 
Oh, and the DLC pretty much ended up being a letdown. They talked of big things for DLC, only to deliver something small and similar to the other sidequests except for a new building! Ooooooh!
 
Mostly underwhelmed, because:

a) Gunplay and skills was uninspired
b) Bland plotline, little meaningful character development
c) Too easy
 
Concept17 said:
This may be a bit of a vague question, but how immersive is the whole sci-fi setting? Is it all well done, or does it feel kinda lifeless/empty? Its been awhile since I've played a good sci-fi game.
Click to expand...

I thought it was really well done. All of the different races feel and act like different races, with different values and what not. The only thing I thought kind of brought down the setting and immersion were the open planet roaming area's, kind of made each planet feel lifeless, but the moment you actually get into a mine or building, etc, it was absolutely amazing.

I couldn't change a thing about the game though. Loved it.
 
The game had its moments and ended very strong. The last couple battles are truely epic. If you're a lover of 'hard' sci-fi then this game is a must for the appendix containing all of their backstory and techology explanations.

It's obvious that Bioware LOVES their sci-fi and were eager to create their own I.P.

The coolest thing that happened in my game:

I was at the very end, moving through the outside of the Citadel with the Sovereign floating overhead, killing all of the Geth. One of the bigger models was charging at me and I (Soldier) unload my rifle only to run only to overheat! I had no shields and knew he would kill me on contact. The asari scientist was beside me and had just use biotics on Geth behind the charger. I see her yank out her pistol and hit the Geth a few times. She had cyro bullets and the charging Geth froze solid! As I had already seen once something dies on that level is kind of floats around in the zero gee. I stepped out of the way and watched the ice cubed Geth float right pass me. I was like 'whoa' as it sailed behind us and then had to bring my attention back to the battle. An amazing unscripted scene.
 
It's worth a single run-through, however on my second attempt I found that it was really a C+ game underneath the sick production values. As some have said, it's a cool "adventure" with shallow and dull gameplay.
 
soldat7 said:
35 hours and I didn't even come close to finishing everything. The music and atmosphere of the game is incredible.

Fabulous game. Fabulous.
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How did you do that? I took 25 hours for my first playthrough even though I read every bit of dialogue, completed every sidequest and even picked up all mineral deposits on all planets.
 
I recently bought this on PC, but I thought the battles really lacked something. Most of the gun fights seem like pure luck at times.

When I get someone near death, he runs up to me a melees me in one hit. Even after sprinting across to the other side of the room, he's right behind me and hits me as soon as I stop running.

It seems more like a game of chance. The cover system seems a bit silly too, as the enemies just walk around it and shoot you at point blank range. They pretty much kill you instantly while you're left shooting at them for 5 minutes just "waiting" for them to die.

I really... really... hope I'm missing something, because the game is beautiful and fun aside from that.

Any tips?
 
Dyno said:
The game had its moments and ended very strong. The last couple battles are truely epic. If you're a lover of 'hard' sci-fi then this game is a must for the appendix containing all of their backstory and techology explanations.

It's obvious that Bioware LOVES their sci-fi and were eager to create their own I.P.

The coolest thing that happened in my game:

I was at the very end, moving through the outside of the Citadel with the Sovereign floating overhead, killing all of the Geth. One of the bigger models was charging at me and I (Soldier) unload my rifle only to run only to overheat! I had no shields and knew he would kill me on contact. The asari scientist was beside me and had just use biotics on Geth behind the charger. I see her yank out her pistol and hit the Geth a few times. She had cyro bullets and the charging Geth froze solid! As I had already seen once something dies on that level is kind of floats around in the zero gee. I stepped out of the way and watched the ice cubed Geth float right pass me. I was like 'whoa' as it sailed behind us and then had to bring my attention back to the battle. An amazing unscripted scene.
Click to expand...

That sounds really sweet. I didn't use the cryo rounds much. The gameplay is very dynamic, so YMMV but I had a ton of fun with it once I finally figured out how the battles really work.
 
proposition said:
You haven't played many games, have you?
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The last 20-30 minutes of the game can easily AT LEAST stand on par with other awesome endings. Besides MGS4 it was the craziest "end ride" I have seen and played in this gen so far.

Any tips?
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Skills is the way to go. Use all the powers and abilities from your comrades you can. Power up every time you can. Also, some sidequests at the beginning can be a little hard if you are not leveld-up high enough.
 
JBuccCP said:
I tried to save him, but that bitch Ashley walked up behind him and blew his head off. It's ok though I got my revenge when I fucked her then left her to die.
Click to expand...
I saved Wrex, because he was a fucking badass. I really liked Ashley, and Kaiden too, but because of my emotional attachment to Ashley after fucking her, I had to let Kaiden die.
 
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