Mass Effect 4
- Thread starter Tinman
- Start date
I pretty much live by that credo. The last time I pre-ordered a game was World of Warcraft DLC: Burning Crusade and it was unneeded because the next day there were PILES of boxes available for any walk-in. Todays distributing models (pretty much all direct downloads) make a pre-order moot. The only reason for a pre-order for me was to "reserve" my copy on time and not have to wait for weeks or months until I can get my hands on the box. The goodies coming with pre-orders today are all so tiny and superficial that I consider a pre-order especially the "deluxe" versions a pure waste of money. Especially as oh so many many AAA games which were highly anticipated and hyped turned out to be mediocre or even failed on release. I could care less for an alpha or beta access spot as I am turned off completely by buggy gameplay and glitches or changing features/mechanics which I just got down.
I like to know what I get for my money and a pre-order will only sell me a vague idea which I then have to "hope" turns out as the game I want (No Mans Sky, Planetary Annihilation). The statement that without pre-orders many games wouldnt exist today sound like a lame excuse to me. Game companies DECADES ago managed to produce a game first THEN sell it successfully and prosper on that. I realize that the pre-order model enables companies to rack in record profits BEFORE they actually deliver but I ve seen too many examples of how this can turn out bad. Release is only a formality anymore because the company has your money already, whats the incentive or motivation to push a qualitative product or follow up with bug-fixes and polishing quickly? RUST is a very good example for a game locked in early access for years now. It has always cost 20 bucks and has AFAIK never participated in a sale. It was the top-selling game on steam for I dont know how long so you can be sure the developers got their costs covered many times over. The result for a record income for an alpha/beta game before its release is that patches and new content come rarely and the devs give a damn about what the community wants (according to the forums). I was following RUST for years now because I was intrigued by it when it was first announced. Everything it has become by now (and its not even released) confirms to me why I should NOT DO pre-orders.
Maybe is my view on computer games in general which is so vastly outdated and oldschool that I live outside todays tech-bubble. If I want to enjoy and play the game I dont need to be the FIRST to get it. Apart from competitive multi-player aspects there is no advantage in getting it first. You will get a raw and bug-ridden version of the game and you will pretty much "beta-test" the release version for folks like me who wait until the more serious issues are fixed. I dont care if I step into a game 1 year after you do. Chances are I will enjoy it by the time you have long stopped playing it and I will probably get all the DLCs in a bundle for the same price you handed out for the base game.
The biggest challenge today is to avoid the hype-train. Last time I fell for that was with Wildstar. Since then I simply dont do pre-orders or get games on their release day. I wait for reviews and gameplay videos in order to make up my mind.
I think I will start new playthrough of all 3 mass effects. Cant get enough of this experience, will try to stay paragon for the first time, was always playing as a ultimate renegade Shepard. I really miss the old crew, cant wait to re do all the loyalty missions... I`m a ME addict.
[video=youtube;txrPOJG5bUc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=88&v=txrPOJG5bUc[/video]
[video=youtube;txrPOJG5bUc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=88&v=txrPOJG5bUc[/video]
I'm quite picky about Early Access games. So far, I've had an OK mix of delivered - development hell. For "tirple A" I don't see a point in preordering either. Unless they hand out something substantial for getting a zero interest loan. But they never do anyway. Best games are those you aren't waiting for.
I am finishing another play-through of ME3, currently doing Citadel DLC before the final push to reclaim Earth (I always do it in this order, shore leave before taking on Cronos Station and then leading the fleets to Earth). After that I will start ME1 again and go through the whole series again. Including MEA as it's still significantly more interesting than many other games to me, despite all its flaws.
The main problem with ME series is that after playing it, if you enjoyed it, of course, all other games pale in comparison. Returning to CIC of Normandy (both SR1 and SR2) always feels like coming back home. I always play with the same character, Jane Shepard, Vanguard, Colonist, Sole Survivor, mostly Paragon. I guess the familiarity factor plays a role here for me. I never, in any computer game, grew so attached to my character and NPCs. Which says a lot about ME trilogy, I guess.
The main problem with ME series is that after playing it, if you enjoyed it, of course, all other games pale in comparison. Returning to CIC of Normandy (both SR1 and SR2) always feels like coming back home. I always play with the same character, Jane Shepard, Vanguard, Colonist, Sole Survivor, mostly Paragon. I guess the familiarity factor plays a role here for me. I never, in any computer game, grew so attached to my character and NPCs. Which says a lot about ME trilogy, I guess.
The Citadel DLC has to be one of the Greatest ever. I play it the same way - a poignant last good time with all your friends.
Serrice Council filed complaint with the UN. The increasing numbers of human males praying for the Goddess to manifest and dreaming of next weeks Fornax' blue beauty had increasingly deleterious effect on productivity of Asari citizens.
I don't think any game in this series was perfect, but to me they were not ed up. Not ME1, not ME2, ME3 nor ME:A. The story lines, however perhaps not that unusual in the Sci-Fi realm, were very decent. That includes even ME:A. I found the whole journey very captivating, unexpectedly so.
I didn't play ME when it originally was released, because few bits of information I randomly encountered about it were focusing on "blue skinned naked alien butts" which to me seemed rather goofy if not childish back then (in 2007 or 2008) - prime example why it's best not to form your opinion about the game based on early reviews. And by the Goddess - none of the reviews I saw back then actually understood what ME is about. They couldn't, without knowing the whole trilogy.
There are things I would change in the whole series, but I wouldn't go as far as to demand any of the titles to be re-written. As for the ME3 ending, I'd prefer to see cutscenes at the end as opposed to stills with narration, but apart from that my ending provided me with a perfect closure for my Shepard. She got the job done.
As for ME:A, my only real issue with it was that characters could certainly be better thought through and developed. And yes, there were a few hickups when it comes to the flow of the story and gameplay mechanics. It also got better with the final patch. Should we get stuff fixed before the release? Absolutely. But this is not a problem of ME:A alone, it's a problem of every AAA title released these days.
I still maintain that ME:A is on par with ME1, with better visuals and far better combat. Overall, my opinion of the franchise (including the latest instalment) is that it's one of the best (if not the best) game series ever created. I can't remember any other game series that would get me so attached to fictional characters and so involved in their bits of the story (this doesn't apply to ME:A though - that's why I mentioned the characters here needed more work).
I get the chills every time I hear that music... It's one of the best sci-fi game music scores ever in ME1.
I don't agree. I feel sorry for the development team that had this thrust upon them, given a project they clearly struggled with, that had a lack of either talent, time or money to pull it off. Bioware's B-Team just weren't up to the task.
A good postmortem review on the ME:A and the many issues that plagued it.
[video=youtube;rv8ACTz2Ego]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv8ACTz2Ego[/video]
To address the video.
1. Change in the underlying idea / re-writing the game. Yeah, bad idea and a shame that happened leaving them much less time than required. Good they didn't make it into No Man's Sky though or that they skipped procedural generation. Because it's doesn't work with cRPG (or any RPG) very well and tends to result in grind-fests. The problem for me is not that they changed the idea, but that they had it in the first place and also that it reduced development time.
2. Exploration being bad...
Let's start with footage of handling the Nomad, which is struggling with some rocks. Sorry, this footage wasn't chosen to show what it feels like to drive that vehicle, it was chosen to show it having problems with some rocks. That is not an issue in the game itself. The vehicle handles very well, certainly much better than MAKO. As opposed to handling Hammerhead (which handled OK), they removed mini-games involving the vehicle. Which was pretty much a platform game - i.e. not belonging to ME2. Driving the NOMAD is where they should get the vehicular exploration back with ME1. It's not tedious and generally it doesn't interfere with the rest of the game. And thanks heaven they dropped out procedural generation. That being said, environments look good and the map layout is pretty good as well. You can also visit the planets multiple times. Something I always wanted to do in previous ME games. Though on every planet you visit your gameplay consists of a.) Find Monoliths b.) activate the Vault c.) shoot everything that moves an is not your squad mate Which leads us to the next point, which is
3. Combat being bad... It's the best combat mechanics ME has seen to date. In terms of your options, adjusting your style, freedom you are given, it's good. For a cRPG, I'm sure there are FPS games which handle this better. I have my reservations about the number of powers you can bind to your keyboard (3, whereas in previous ME games you had 8), I'd rather they didn't reduce that so drastically, but it's not a huge problem.
Badly placed covers? Didn't notice. You can drive your cover in, basically. And then you have the jetpack and dodging, which become your "cover" if you really need it.
There is a lot of combat though. You are being attacked all the time on almost every planet you land on. Bugs, lizards, the remnant the kett, the angara, the exiles... There is too much of that. Especially bugs and lizards. I sort of wish they limited opponents re-spawning to once per landing
4. Storyline and characters. In general, on par with ME1, in my opinion. Does it leave questions? It does. What happened with the other Ark. What happened with one crime-lord to be. What happen with the Jardaan? Which, I understand, would be answered in future games / DLCs. I mean they might never get answered now, but this doesn't mean the answer belonged in ME:A if they planned future games in the franchise.
5. Bugs... Even before that final patch I haven't encountered any bugs I would notice. Maybe I was lucky. I wasn't so lucky with Fallout 4, which was rendered unplayable for me on numerous occasions.
And finally, guy re-uses footage from other videos. Extensively. Where's his gameplay footage? How to review a game in 2017? Well, let's make a review of the reviews...
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I disagree with two points - combat an exploration were fine and the most fun parts of Andromeda. But the pretty bad writing and terrible characters/story just killed it for me halfway through. I remember watching 2h (!) long in depth review/analysis of characters and what is wrong with writing - I pretty much agreed with 90% of things.
I guess it all comes down to having too little time and then pressing to roll out something with the DAI formula but it was in the hands of a studio that had trouble tackling the whole thing. The project lacked a head honcho with a vision. A strict Justicar would have whipped them into shape - and they would have loved it, oh yes.
I was initially on the fence on buying ME:A and I played it on a friend's computer day 1 release. Ended up quitting 2 hours in disgust. Regardless if it's "playable" now, day one shipping of a game in that state for that price tag is unacceptable.
I loved the first 3 but I will take no issue if they never make another Mass Effect game. Let the first 3 rest in peace as the great bit of story telling that they were. Fire the idiots in charge of ME:A, sweep it under the rug and NEVER let them forget the day 1 quality of release. Some one sat there, looked and tested that game and said "yeah, let's slap a $60 price tag of that"
I loved the first 3 but I will take no issue if they never make another Mass Effect game. Let the first 3 rest in peace as the great bit of story telling that they were. Fire the idiots in charge of ME:A, sweep it under the rug and NEVER let them forget the day 1 quality of release. Some one sat there, looked and tested that game and said "yeah, let's slap a $60 price tag of that"
I did buy it when it was on offer at 50% off.
Really wish I hadn't.
If the character had been based on the older Ryder (male or female) I could of dealt with all the other issues as fairly minor. The fact I was playing a near child just kept giving me "Phantom Menace" flashbacks and that's unforgivable
One of the (many) reasons I loved the first 3 was there was a bit of backstory (chosen by the player!) to Sheppard. If there was one for this lot then I never got far enough into it to find it.
Really wish I hadn't.
If the character had been based on the older Ryder (male or female) I could of dealt with all the other issues as fairly minor. The fact I was playing a near child just kept giving me "Phantom Menace" flashbacks and that's unforgivable
One of the (many) reasons I loved the first 3 was there was a bit of backstory (chosen by the player!) to Sheppard. If there was one for this lot then I never got far enough into it to find it.
I still have it on my hard drive, but I can't get the feeling to return and play it, maybe later I will return.
Not the game I was hoping it would be.
I personally didn't finish it got to maybe 80 percent of the way. It wasn't "awful" or broken or any number of the things thrown at it largely unfairly by a motivated media.
What it was well...it was lacklustre and needed the A team treatment for a start. It obviously had polishing issues that were highlighted ad nauseum on media. The story was "ok" but had largely forgettable characters playing out a largely forgettable narrative. It had missed opportunities on the gameplay which overall wasn't awful either but nonetheless missed opportunities.
It wasn't a bad game by any means, it just wasn't a great game.
When I look back and take off the rose tinted glasses the previous 3 games had their shortfalls and being honest to myself Andromeda wasn't far off that quality mark (that's not a whole compliment there to the original trilogy by the way) in virtually every area.
It felt dated to me. It was doing the same things that many games were doing years ago and in this day and age with heavy weights like the Witcher series you can't sit on the past.
What it was well...it was lacklustre and needed the A team treatment for a start. It obviously had polishing issues that were highlighted ad nauseum on media. The story was "ok" but had largely forgettable characters playing out a largely forgettable narrative. It had missed opportunities on the gameplay which overall wasn't awful either but nonetheless missed opportunities.
It wasn't a bad game by any means, it just wasn't a great game.
When I look back and take off the rose tinted glasses the previous 3 games had their shortfalls and being honest to myself Andromeda wasn't far off that quality mark (that's not a whole compliment there to the original trilogy by the way) in virtually every area.
It felt dated to me. It was doing the same things that many games were doing years ago and in this day and age with heavy weights like the Witcher series you can't sit on the past.
The backstory of Shepard wasn't incredibly deep, but it was really nice to see some outcome of it in the game. I'm talking about the side quests in ME1 (in my case Talitha and Toombs). Well, more of conversations than quests, but it was a nice touch, sort of making you understand better what Shepard went through without a wall of text. And then it comes back as background news and conversations in ME2 and 3.
As for MEA, the background is that both of young Ryders are doing something for the Alliance. One is doing Prothean digs, the other is a member of mass relay staff. But you don't choose that, it's just mentioned in conversations.