Nepenthe

It was so over the top in ME3 (and happened several times), I automatically chalked it up to self irony. Certainly wouldn't be the only example in the game. Btw. anyone else ever notice how that famous ass-shot scene pulls the camera back if you loop the dialogue? I'm almost positive it was a camera bug (ie. supposed to be there, but not so blatantly).

Probably work including spotting signs of PTSD into military training, especially in the case of an (essentially) occupying army.

It's not just the Shockwave doesn't work on shields, it has a range now. So if they're not within about 10 meters of you it won't work. In fact, one of the power options you get at around rank 5 is to extend it to 15 meters or so. One thought that did crop up about the endings.. Actually, I have to say two moments actually had me feeling kind of angry at characters in the game.. And both pretty much came about because of the Thessia mission. Agreed, until the end, the Thessia mission (and its ending, including the post-mission situation) were my major (and possibly only) beef with the game. Somebody referred to people complaining about there not really being a "happy" ending. I think this is a bit unfair, and I'd like to explain my viewpoint. Computer games are a different medium from books and movies. The amount of identification the gamer feels towards his character is by default greater than that one feels towards the hero of a book or a movie. Personally, I consider a flippant "bad" or "bittersweet" ending in a movie or a book already a great challenge to the authors; generally, people will be a lot more likely to reject such an ending than a happy one based on its quality. Ie. most people will be ok with a mediocrely executed happy ending. A poorly executed "bad" ending is almost guaranteed to piss everybody off. Add to this phenomenon the enhanced identification the game medium brings and you are in a situation where a bad ending, no matter how well done, will already cause a ****storm in the fans, but when you do it poorly, it's a disaster of biblical proportions. And that's what happened here. It's absurd. I think they're going to be under even more pressure to un**** things in some way than Bethesda ever was with FO3. Now remains to be seen if they remain convinced of their infallibility, or if they still have the story-telling chops to get themselves out of the mess they've created by completely failing to appreciate the risk they were taking, and then failing.

Which has been repeatedly established over the past few years. So I'm gonna share with you the advise given to me in the Skyrim thread: just **** off. Kind of agree with you here. Some key moments were important in ME2, but overall... not so much.

They already are dealing with a ****storm, and IIRC the FO3 ending rework was pretty well received overall. Well, it was of course Beth, who gets a pass for everything, but still. I think some type of major story change at a fairly late point is given, but I can't believe Karpyshyn leaving had a lot to do with it (or vice versa). The man's been a fairly successful novel author for some time now (though based on the ME novels, I can't see how), and chose to become a "real" writer instead of a game one. Besides he exited the ME2 production at a relatively early stage, and this type of major plot points aren't up to the lead writer alone, anyway (certainly not in this franchise, where nothing happens unless Casey Hudson sez so). And I think here you just hit the nail on why there has to be end game changing DLC. With that ending, nobody will care about going back to save some random part of the galaxy.

AFAIK it's not just hard, but impossible without multiplayer/future DLC assets. I think you can get to about 7000 total (so a bit over 3500 effective) without MP. There's a rumor about post-ending DLC, but considering the ****storm going on, it's more likely to be wishful thinking. That said, something needs to be done about the end, and this time even people who were happy with DA2 (like me) have pretty much joined the people wanting a change.

Not as big a deal for me. I couldn't get ME1 or ME2 to work with my normal gamepads anyways. I downloaded a program instead which let me correspond keys on the keyboard to my gamepad and played both games that way via the PC...or I just used the keyboard, depending on my mood (program had to be started everytime I played to use the gamepad and sometimes just didn't start up the program). Yeah, I just consider it a nice extra bit of customer service, maintaining that option for PC versions. I do all my gaming from the sofa these days*, so I don't want to balance a keyboard on my lap and a mouse on the armrest if I don't have to. *I spend way too much time hunched in front of a computer to do it on my free time any longer. Too bad, since, say, BG1-2 are unplayable on my setup.

I'm not sure what's been up with the PC versions of ME2 and 3. They are clear console ports but they've just randomly chosen to remove pad support from them (not so random though, apparently the games-for-windows-xbox-pad-license thing is a percentage of the profit). On a personal level I consider this obstinate refusal to give players options (which they did partially do away with, since the helmet toggle is in) to be Bios biggest design philosophy issue in comparison to, say, Eidos Montreal.

I did that yesterday. Clean a room or something, the guilt will go away. Then you can triumphantly declare you stayed home to clean up and organize. Don't spend more than 20 minutes on it, though, no need to go overboard. That sounds similar to when I try to convince myself that masturbation is a form exercise and I cannot be out of shape, because I exercise regularly. That depends on if you stretch beforehand. It's a part of the process.

I was disappointed by that issue being still around (after they managed to do class-specific cutscenes in DA2), but it's just the old ME2 issue recurring. (In me1 you'd be using the weapons you carried, even if they were of a type that you couldn't use properly). Edit: Interesting point Lexx, I hadn't considered it.

I think that mission arc carried me through a lot of less inspired parts of the game, possibly the best thing I've ever seen in a game, amywhere. I'm also glad to notice that some of you picked up on the fact that this decade is still kind of new.

Just need to get them once, I missed out on a lot of higher level mods, among other things.

Sure guys, don't use spoiler tags. Nepreview: Positives: - The core gameplay has been greatly improved (imo, again), with the new rolls etc. changing the combat into a lot more kinetic experience from the ME2 whack a mole. Also feels more genuinely 3d than before - hadn't noticed it before, but the new movement options have allowed them to make better levels. -The rhythm is more varied, ME2 consisted of those identically sized chunks. While I like that too (makes it easy to play when you know how much time it's going to take), this one keeps you guessing a bit more. In fact, I'd say that the best part of this game over other recent Bioware games is that it pushed me a bit out of my comfort zone. I didn't have the feeling that I'm on control of the train riding the Bioware rails. Good job on that. - there's a lot more talky, mellower bits of the game. As I think I said earlier, it (along with the above removal of the comfort zone of post BG2 Bio games) really called back to the best moments of Bg1 and 2 for me. I wish I could get this kind of enjoyment from open world games. -Up until the very ending, the story (and writing) do a really good job of tying together the previous two games, with more than enough consequences and homages. Too bad it comes unglued. Negatives: -the endings, especially them being handled in the deus ex button of doom style -thew new combined journal/codex is mind-bogglingly bad. -not getting the Locust until very late. -no Mako! Summary: Goes from Game of the Decade to merely "very good" at the final moments. Bioware need more competition to keep them sharp, hopefully Obsidian and Eidos Montreal have good projects to come, and somebody else will break into the market as well. Going to be interesting to see how Witcher 2 does on the microsoft console.

Well, the kid is clearly an allegorical representation (either by the writers directly or by "Shepard's subconscious") of the plight of the human race on Earth while he's hanging out at Purgatory with asari chix. To keep this spoiler free, the dream thing does get repeated in the game when Certain People buy it. btw. I'm (un)impressed by Bioware's ability to make piss-poor demos of their games. The ME2 PS3 demo was technically utter ****, DA2 demo showed the worst parts of the game, and the ME3 demo had about 80 % of the dialogue cut away from it - because it's the "new character" mode where the story is slowly filled in later on instead of going DAO/ME1 style exposition overload from the start. Frankly, think they shouldn't do these since a lot of people are happy to assume it's reflective of the finished product.

I'm 19 hours into the game so far and feel like it's still relatively early. Mostly still on disc 1, but had to swap into 2 for one mission. Kind of glad they didn't force it as heavily as they did with ME2, where they castrated the game to minimise disc swapping. Having a strange reaction to this game. These days most games I play are frenetic one-sitting-with-maybe-some-sleep-in-between affairs where I sprint through the story (me2 and deus ex: hr are representative of these games that I enjoyed tremendously). This time I actually enjoy walking around, listening to what's going on (and having Shepard contribute to them as well). I can't remember any other game but Baldur's Gate 2 giving me this kind of mellow sense of enjoyment ever before. Let's hope it lasts until the end. The kinetic barriers don't stop slower-speed object like swords (which is why melee has ignored them since ME1). Modern body armor does very little to stop even knives (cops hate crossbows, bolts go through their vests). So you're basically left with just the problem of having bought a knife into a gun fight.

Well, in about 11 hours, I'll be playing ME3 (midnight launch). Taking the day off tomorrow due to being pretty damn efficient all week and (mostly) due to my office being renovated for thu-fri. Let's see if I still have the strength for an all-nighter

Wasn't the ME2 tie-in iOs game crap? Yes. But anything with JC/Paul Denton in it is better than anything without him.

S'yeah, glad to see you guys back in form. EA also released a Mass Effect game (Infiltrator) for ios last night. I bought it. "Because you're a Bioware fanboy!" I hear you saying. But you're wrong. It's because the protagonist is voiced by Jay ****ING Anthony Franke! \m/

I couldn't get the metadata on the wavs to show, but apparently Clint Mansell is credited as the sole author of one (1) track and co-author of another (with Sam Hulick). So either they are saving all his stuff, he's the most overhyped thing ever, or third option, what I've been thinking for a while, he either failed to deliver an actual score or it was rejected (one of the interviews mentions that the rest of the composing team was contacted in November)...

Can't edit so, double post. Call me gullible etc., but this makes sense to me and I'm happy to pay for it, too.

Probably a sign of how fragile my mental state is, but I find this hilarious. :D

If you're meaning the one that was on Tuchanka that seemed to spawn those "fire-bugs" in Grunt's loyalty test, that was a Harvester. Also seen in the background during a cutscene of landing on a planet during one of the.. N7 missions I think it was. He means the fire-bugs themselves. Not Rachni. They could've handled that a bit better. Also, I'm less than 1/5 into the soundtrack, but IT'S ****ING AWESOME.

Well, my digital deluxe soundtrack just unlocked on Bioware Social, so gonna download that and then stay up all night listening to it, probably.

Oooh... interesting idea you've got there. Can I convert to Waukeen? :D Now we just need somebody to figure out quick if Waukeen was dead at this particular phase of FR history or not... I know I keep forgetting.

It might not be perfect, it might not live up to the (absurd) standards some people have set up for Bioware that they have consistently failed to meet since BG2, but I find it highly unlikely there's going to be a better game released in the next few weeks