RPGmasterBoo

Actually the characters turned out somewhat weird. *minor spoilers* The justicar makes no sense at all, and is possibly the worst character in the game. Jack and Grunt are also shallow stereotypes. Thane is so-so. The ones that are most likely to be boring: Tali, Jacob, Garrus and Miranda come off as quite good. Along with Mordin of course. All of them suffer from emo delivery, and for a such a badass universe all are awfully altruistic. (except Jack and Grunt). Their personal issues are also irritatingly pedestrian (half of them are daddy issues - Tali, Jacob, Miranda - or they are the bad daddy - Justicar, Thane), and their changes of heart (like Garrus) come off as quite forced. Still they have some sort of character, which is better than none - but Bio really needs to break the mold they're using to pop these people out. Mass Effect 2 has the same problem as 1 - too little PC-NPC interaction. 5-6 conversations per NPC in which they cram in their life philosophy, family issues and undying adoration for Shepard. Its too much to swallow and feels ridiculous. Overall I like Legion best. He's got no family issues. *Note on the prevalence of daddy issues - Bio's writers really need a therapist.

And everyone else has had the opportunity to indulge but they skipped on it. What does it matter when, if nuclear weapons were used? The two events belong to two different era's of human history. WWII is still relevant as the currently existing order of things is a result of it. 19th century imperialism is not nearly as relevant, it ceased to be so with the fall of the great empires. The perspectives and ideologies of both eras are fundamentaly different.

Exactly, and that's only because they're trying to build a nuke. So you're contradicting your own argument that they want nukes to defend against the US, since building nukes is just about the only way they'd get attacked. At the very least they want the nuke to have hegemony in the region, at worst the more fanatical among them would actually use it. Edit: Castro, who is more or less rational I believe, wanted to use the nukes in Cuba against the US during the Cuban Missile Crisis, but was overruled by the slightly more rational Russians. Nevertheless, the whole thing came awfully close to the Big Bang. We were just lucky Kruschev was running the USSR and not Stalin, I don't think Stalin would've backed down. Its not a contradiction, its a game with high stakes. They get it > they win. They don't get nukes > they remain a lesser power in the region, at the mercy of nuke possesing states. Pakistan has nukes, China has nukes and so do India and Russia. That leaves Iran in a vulnerable position though the most direct threat is from the US, which will try to bring the regime down regardless of what Iran's nuclear aspirations are. Iran cannot have hegemony of any sort because its surrounded by nuke possessing countries.Thus the Iranis believe they can stall the US and EU long enough to get nukes. Its highly probable that they will succeed. Which is why they're trying so hard get them. @Walsingham. Who's to say you're sensible? You dropped an atomic bomb on two Japanese civilian populated cities, just so your soldiers wouldn't have to die fighting a dedicated enemy and so you could do a weapons test. The US is the only country to use its nuclear arsenal against anyone. That would make it the least sensible of all nuke possesing countries.

That about the biotics is not really correct. I use them a lot and some of them are useful because they go through cover. I never used biotics in ME, there was no need. Mass Effect 2's combat is dumber. But unlike ME, it works - and is nowhere near as broken. There is too little variation in enemies, weapons, powers and tactical options to praise the combat of either Mass Effect.Neither are a great example of video game combat, they are merely functional. On a basic, arcade level. I'm finding the combat much easier as I progress through the game. Upgrading absolutely everything has given me a definite edge. However, being able to pulverize anything is apt to get boring soon. I've done all the loyalty missions, side missions and minor quests. Explored everything. A hairs breath away from level 24. I'm about to assault and move on with the main quest. The great first impression has substantially worn off but overall its still more enjoyable than ME1.

Pity, both suck. Redemption is broken halfway through when you get a sword that seems to insta kill everything. Not to mention grindy gameplay... Its plot is okay and there's a few interesting subplots, but I wouldn't play it again for anything. Drakfall was an average adventure if I remember correctly.

Note: Volo isn't stupid, he's just stubborn without bothering to give exposition. Learn from the mastah. Did you think I chose an avatar of emo Jon for no reason?

Well its been concluded that no one remembers Jade Empire anyway. Now let the game sink into well deserved obscurity.

The pause and click interpretation of DnD was their invention, or they made it relevant at least. Fighting games and shooters have been done by other people before. And done better. It was a step back - that's how it looks in retrospect. Nothing was wrong with real time/pnp, except that it wasnt as attractive and flashy as the things that were in fashion at the time.

I did read the book, but that's unimportant. This game sucks. That is all.

I didn't express myself very well. Its okay, only annoying occasionally. Like when Shepard decides not to go into cover even though you're slamming the space bar, or not being able to dash from cover to cover when you need it. There were a few good kicks when I met weaker enemies and pulverized them with a Rambo action, but most of the time its a routine. Its better than in Jade Empire, KOTOR or ME at any rate - I'm at least watching the screen intently. Having multiple shields on every enemy would be annoying, since it turns the whole thing into attrition.

That's stupid. It just prolongs the fighting and makes it more annoying.

You mean, "your teacher betrays you and becomes big baddie"? Well, it is different.

I thought that was an optimistic approach

There is no RPG side in JE as far as stats are concerned. You practically had a health bar and a mana bar and a combo switcher (if I recall correctly). Nothing kept them from making it a DMC level slaughterhouse. Except that its fairly obvious that Bio doesn't handle pure action well, which is understandable since that isn't their expertise. That's why they should quit this bullsh!t, and revert to the former real time/turn based hybrid that served them so well. And to go back to good, established, IP for god's sake. Like World of Darkness.

Khomeini said let Iran burn, we don't care about Iran so long as it benefits Islam. Others of his ilk have said that it would be worth whatever damage the Islamic world would take if Israel were to be destroyed, since Islamic world would still exist. Religious fanatics are not rational, so it's useless to assign rational motives to them. There's no benefit to the US in attacking a nation of 75 million, especially after the Iraq experience. Religious fanaticism is a tool for impressing the population. Such statements serve to raise the recognition of Iran in the Islam world, but they can hardly be taken seriously. The decadent, spoilt elite tends to value its lives more than abstract religious goals. They're perfectly rational I assure you. As I understand it, the US was and is contemplating air strikes against Iranian nuke facilities, not a full on invasion.

More or less true. Playing on veteran forces me to use skills, and the different armor/health properties to change weapons. Its not tactics though, you simply have to play that way. If you pop out of cover you're shredded in seconds, because the enemies never miss. So you go from cover to cover, headshot, skill, headshot...and that's it. With the bigger enemies you have to change position sometimes, as you might have to with the charge prone ones. Even that is an exercise in frustration because enemies pracically have a never ending stream of fire, and you can rarely pop from cover to cover without dying (on veteran). Most times I died from being shot in the back while retreating. Some of the combat areas are a bit larger with a few more approach points but you're essentially choosing between tunnel 1, tunnel 2 and tunnel 3 - and they all feature the same defenses so you just end up choosing the closest one. I don't know if this sort of constrained gameplay even qualifies the game as a tactical shooter. Its more a pumped up arcade game.

People seem to forget NWN OC when debating Bio's worst RPG. Probably nobody wants to remember it.

Thank you all for the input.

Agreed, it's not much of an upgrade over driving the Mako around. I guess it takes less time overall. Anyone else feel guilty about depleting planets? I just wanted to know if there was the possibility of getting a random encounter or something, or will it all be resource collection?

Well, I'm glad you have a personal connection to the Iranian government, so you know what they want the nukes for. And Iran wouldn't have to worry about any action from the US if they weren't developing nukes and supporting terrorism. Also a couple of nukes wouldn't deter a US attack, they would only make it more likely. Ahmadinejad is known to believe that the Mahdi won't come until he causes an apocalypse. What I wrote was based on the work of US political theorists that I've read, not on my fancy. Nukes are a weapon of deterrence, actually using them is disastrous. If Iran has nuclear weapons that can hit and damage the US principal ally Israel (or US bases in the region)- then US won't attack. That's the basic logic of it. And its correct, because the political cost for the US would be too high. Its a race, because Iran fears a conventional attack and the only way to make sure it doesn't happen is to have an ace up their sleeve. The closer they get to nukes the likelyhood of a conventional attack goes up, but if they can beat the US to it - their future is secure. If they don't build nukes the US will attack anyway, and force a change of regime. Its what I would do, if I was in their position. Stall the UN and other major powers, buy time - and get nukes in sufficient quantities.

Somebody save my soul, is there anything more to planet exploration than resources? Are there random encounters? I've had several, but they werent random, they were quests/missions. Because the planet scanning is annoying the hell out of me.

You're presuming the other side irrational. That's the first step to justifying preemptive action. I can't trust Jack > I'll whack Jack on the head to be sure. No one can afford much irrationality in politics Walsingham. Iran's leaders are well aware of their position. They're not chasing nukes to obliterate Israel (which is what they want their populace to believe), they are chasing them as deterrent to possible US attack. All they want is what leaders everywhere want - tp stay in power. That's the crux of the matter. The US believes its somehow better than everyone else. Its not. Its a country whose policy is pure realpolitik. Just like everyone else. Accepting that would do a world of good to US self perception. No one wants to make you feel ashamed, just because the US does what every country in its position does. The primary motivator of politics isn't an abstract common good, its power. As such US has done everything to enlarge and keep its power, no matter who had to die in the process. If you study history, that's the natural way of things. I just wish they'd drop the pax romana propaganda and admit like most other countries - that its all about staying on top. All this talk about Iran. What is that if not seeing a potential rival and planning to destroy him before his power can increase? Pure realpolitik. Nothing more. Note: Personally I have no love for the muslim world. We have a long, bloody history with them. I couln't care less if all that's left of Iran is a crater.

No offense but you must realize the rest of the world fails to see the difference most of the time. It does have oil, but then again it is their oil. If they want to sit on it and starve (because they have little else to sell) its their choice. Iran will get nukes, but then Israel has its own, as do most of Iran's neighbours. It does use terrorism to advance its interests, but then the US uses unchecked brute force. Both countries use means appropriate to their power. How is Iran a threat more than any other large country? More than say Israel, Russia, China, France, Great Britain... What can they do to the US in the near future that's so terrible?

Now you're going into absurd territory. Both games feature real time combat, the others are turn based. As real time combat goes in their respective genres Jade Empire and Mass Effect were both crap. Have you ever played a dedicated fighting game or shooter? Seriously, its okay to like something but claming that its good when Cadillacs and Dinosaurs from x years ago had more options than Jade Empire (or if you want a more recent example - Oni), or Max Payne and other shooters having more intense and responsive combat than ME. Btw basic combat options (combos in JE, weapons in ME) could be spammed without ever having to bother about anything else. I used the same combo throught the entire JE and only the assault rifle in ME.... That is not balanced combat. I found the whole deal less intense since I'm much better in shooting than at balancing a bunch of stats,pells, weapons etc.

Taiwan is a threat in the sense that its backed by the US. Several US authors have elaborated on the idea of conflict between the US and China over Taiwan, most notably Samuel Huntington.