Mass Effect 3

[HoonDing]

Any DLC involving the slaughter of Batarians is okay in my book.

[entrerix]

i would rather have an insanely fun and well made side mission than a continuation of the story. save that stuff for the sequels

[Tale]

Fun?

 

If the major plot arc is the only thing of value in an RPG, something has gone very wrong. In several places.

Fair enough. My point was more that DLC having impact on the main story is a good thing, instead of being just a bunch of axed sidemissions finished and released later. Not that even that's necessarily a bad thing, *cough* bring down the sky *cough*

And I disagree. I don't see it as a good thing. Sticking with just the major components should feel like a complete experience.

 

Mass Effect 1 should lead to Mass Effect 2, which should lead to Mass Effect 3. Having to make miscellany sidetrips into DLC, comic book tie ins, novels, and the web original live action series just so you can understand why major changes happened to the main character between installments is going to leave people who don't follow the extras feeling frustrated. They're more likely to drop it since it stops making sense for what they follow.

 

I thought the 90s comic book crossover obsession illustrated this rather well. "How did the X-men get to the moon between issues 128 and 129!? What do you mean it was in Cable #13? I hate Cable. F this!"

Edited May 6, 2011 by Tale

[entrerix]

I thought the 90s comic book crossover obsession illustrated this rather well. "How did the X-men get to the moon between issues 128 and 129!? What do you mean it was in Cable #13? I hate Cable. F this!"

 

this x1000

 

do not put main plot stuff in side content. it is a BAD idea. almost always.

[Orogun01]

I thought the 90s comic book crossover obsession illustrated this rather well. "How did the X-men get to the moon between issues 128 and 129!? What do you mean it was in Cable #13? I hate Cable. F this!"

 

this x1000

 

do not put main plot stuff in side content. it is a BAD idea. almost always.

But then how would they get you to buy their DLC/spin offs?

[Enoch]

So, what is the least-bad outcome: Having a huge defining event in the protagonist's life happen between games in a series, and covering them only via cutscene outside player control (see: ME2 opening cinematic), or covering them only via optional for-pay DLC (see: ME2 Arrival)?

[Tale]

So, what is the least-bad outcome: Having a huge defining event in the protagonist's life happen between games in a series, and covering them only via cutscene outside player control (see: ME2 opening cinematic), or covering them only via optional for-pay DLC (see: ME2 Arrival)?

Why pretend these are the only two options? You said "outcome" so maybe I'm misunderstanding the question. I don't see either as an outcome as they both already happened.

Edited May 6, 2011 by Tale

[Volourn]

"C'mon Volourn you are being intentionally obtuse. It is not optional in the (very clearly made) sense of - this is not a side story this is the canonical story. To play the core ME experience it is no longer enough to simply buy the games. You have to buy the DLC."

 

It is totally optional. I totally opted not to buy the DLC, and I feel fine. I never felt obligated to purchase it nor do I intend to anytime soon or ever. I don't feel like I lost out. It's 100% optional. If you feel 'forced' into doing so, it means you got hoodwinked by creative amrketing and hence EA/BIO did a heck of a job since that's what they're supposed to do - make it so you feel that you just 'have' to have it.

 

They are winnin'.

 

So am I.

[Nepenthe]

*shrug*, "story bridging DLC" seemed to be one of the most popular requests between ME2 (since they'd basically promised it for ME1, and failed), and Bio delivered. Obviously I don't care one way or the other, but looks like both alternatives have their supporters.

[entrerix]

But then how would they get you to buy their DLC/spin offs?

 

 

making something fun is the ticket to my heart.

 

the best dlc for fallout 3 was the pitt and point lookout. they both were fun and added content without having anything to do with the plot (not that fallout 3 had a plot...)

[Tale]

Naturally it's going to be supported by people looking to buy DLC. But it hurts those who either do not or don't buy the collected edition later on. That's where my concern lies. We'll just have to see how much it hurts them and whether or not it hurts them enough to impact future sales. I suspect it might not be significant negative impact, at least in this instance.

 

I didn't hear much outcry against Revenge of the Sith's opening which was preceded by the season finale of Clone Wars season 2, so maybe it's not as bad as I think. But I'm still bitter about those comic book crossovers. And I have read complaints about Blizzard putting so much of their plot content in the tie-in novels without enough being in-game.

Edited May 6, 2011 by Tale

[HoonDing]

I'm surprised BioWare hasn't made a DLC about the pre-story of ME2 about Liara and Feron questing for Shepard's corpse, rather than relegating it to a second-grade Dark Horse comic.

Edited May 6, 2011 by virumor

[MrBrown]

Legal reasons, probably.

 

They made more ME comics, didn't they? I guess they weren't dissatisfied with it.

[Hurlshort]

I don't know how the Dragon Age expansion, Awakenings, even make sense if you don't read the book first. So I guess I'm comfortable with this whole approach of using different formats to move story forward.

[Orogun01]

I don't know how the Dragon Age expansion, Awakenings, even make sense if you don't read the book first. So I guess I'm comfortable with this whole approach of using different formats to move story forward.

Why wouldn't it make sense?

[Tale]

I don't know how the Dragon Age expansion, Awakenings, even make sense if you don't read the book first. So I guess I'm comfortable with this whole approach of using different formats to move story forward.

 

While The Architect does appear in the books, Awakening actually felt better for me having not read them. He appears as a mysterious figure for a while. Then he explains who and what he is, and his motives.

 

If I'd read the books, the suspense would have been lost and the reveal would have been redundant.

 

Compared to WoW: Cataclysm where Thrall and Garrosh's changes are a big "what did I miss" moment.

Edited May 6, 2011 by Tale

[Hurlshort]

I don't know how the Dragon Age expansion, Awakenings, even make sense if you don't read the book first. So I guess I'm comfortable with this whole approach of using different formats to move story forward.

 

While The Architect does appear in the books, Awakening actually felt better for me having not read them. He appears as a mysterious figure for a while. Then he explains who and what he is, and his motives.

 

If I'd read the books, the suspense would have been lost and the reveal would have been redundant.

 

Compared to WoW: Cataclysm where Thrall and Garrosh's changes are a big "what did I miss" moment.

 

Do they ever explain why there is a dwarf mute following him around in the game?

[Sannom]

I don't know how the Dragon Age expansion, Awakenings, even make sense if you don't read the book first. So I guess I'm comfortable with this whole approach of using different formats to move story forward.

 

I wonder if one of the games will use the Man of Light from the comics. With the

Mage/Templar war

going on, he will probably try to take a leading role in it. I must say he sparked my interest a little bit.

Edited May 6, 2011 by Sannom

[Tale]

Do they ever explain why there is a dwarf mute following him around in the game?

No. It's heavily implied that she's a (former) Warden. Given what he says, the fact that she's a Warden, and the fact that we see another ghoulish character pledge to join him, the implications become somewhat obvious.

 

Even without all those things... it's a ghoul hanging out with a Darkspawn. Seems somewhat normal.

Edited May 6, 2011 by Tale

[Hassat Hunter]

Can't say I am thrilled either with plot-critical DLC packs.

 

But we'll have to wait how ME3 explains Sheppard being on trial (especially Shephards like mine who killed the council. Who the hell puts us on trial?) before saying it's bad, or saving me from what I hear, 2 hours of boredome...

[Orogun01]

Do they ever explain why there is a dwarf mute following him around in the game?

No. It's heavily implied that she's a (former) Warden. Given what he says, the fact that she's a Warden, and the fact that we see another ghoulish character pledge to join him, the implications become somewhat obvious.

 

Even without all those things... it's a ghoul hanging out with a Darkspawn. Seems somewhat normal.

Correction it's two girl ghouls hanging out with a Darkspawn. The architect be pimpin' it on the tunnels, respect.

[Hell Kitty]

I don't think the comic book crossover comparison really works, this is an add-on for a game you already own, not a separate game in a different series. "Look out for the exciting conclusion to Mass Effect: First Contact War in the upcoming Dead Space: The Delimbening!"

 

I see it no differently than If I paid fifteen bucks for a movie only to find out months later that the real ending was gonna cost me an extra $2.50.

The problem with this is that the DLC doesn't contain the "real ending" to ME2, in fact it's more like "telling a short story in the gameworld". Both LotSB and Arrival are side stories that aren't connected to the main story of ME2. Arrival is more of a prologue to ME3 than an epilogue to ME2.

 

I guess I'm seeing it more as them taking what would be a "time montage / cinema opening sequence" to ME3, and then breaking it down to a short-form dlc you can actually play if you wanted to get that "insider" feel to it.

That's kinda how I see it. Considering Shepard is on trial for the events of the Arrival DLC, it's not like they are going to skip over important details and assume you already know what happened.

 

I think Lair of the Shadow Broker is actually a bigger issue for the I-don't-buy-DLC crowd as far as canon is concerned. "Okay gang, let's go pick up

Liara

who, by the way, is the

Shadow Broker

.

 

Anyway, Bio is apparently doing something similar to the PS3 ME2 motion comic for ME3 that tells you the story so far and lets you make decisions if you are not importing a save game.

Edited May 7, 2011 by Hell Kitty

[Volourn]

"I don't know how the Dragon Age expansion, Awakenings, even make sense if you don't read the book first. So I guess I'm comfortable with this whole approach of using different formats to move story forward. "

 

I never read the books, and the expansion made sense. Did I know all the background stuff? No. Nor did I need to.

[Nepenthe]

(especially Shephards like mine who killed the council. Who the hell puts us on trial?)

Umm.... The council gets replaced by ME2 already, never mind ME3.

 

 

Besides, it's the Alliance.

 

[WorstUsernameEver]

NeoGAF has some details from a PC Gamer preview (no link to the original source since it has scans and I'm too lazy to search it myself anyway):

 

-Tali is a confirmed squadmate

"Garrus, Liara, Kaidan, Ashley and (newly confirmed) Tali are all full

time members of your team if they survived the previous games."

 

-Wrex?

"I asked point blank about Wrex and got as close to a 'no' as I think Bioware will come at this early stage: exceutive producer Casey Hudson simply re-emphasised that such characters canplay a role and fight alongside you without necessarily being permanent squad members."

 

-No new Romance in ME3

 

-Biotics are more potent in combat

"Biotics can use their Pull ability to rip a shield out of someone's hands"

 

-Multi Layered combat areas

"The games combat spaces have graduated from the often-familiar open areas dotted with low walls. They're now multi layed encouraging you to seek high ground for a better vantage point...[the rest is about Cerberus rocket boot dudes using this to their advantage]

 

-class Specific Melee attacks

Engineer: Omni-tool fire lash attack

Adept: Melee (biotic) attack that knocks everyone near them away and stuns

 

-Powers Evolve more than once

"In ME3 this is just the start. A Vanguard player can customise their devastating Charge move first to slam people harder, then do more damage, then to reduce the cooldown.

 

-Powers combine

Example given with Soldier: "Soldier still has an arcing attack called Concussive Shot, but it now behaves differently depending on the ammo ugrade he/she is using. Cryo ammo lets you use that same trajectory to deliver a blast of ice that canfreeze every enemy in the area."

 

-Story is more like ME1 than ME2

 

-Places being visited (at least what the Magazine reports):

[...]mission takes you to the Salarian homeworld, the Quarian homeworld, the Asari homeworld, and the human homeworld - Earth. You'll even go to Mars [...]

 

-Every major character you have met will play a role in the last game

 

-Why is Cerberus after Shepard?

They are working with the Reapers

"If your wondering why we were fighting Cerberus, having worked closely with this shadowy organisation in Mass Effect 2, the answer just raises further questions.

They are wokring with the Reapers

"

 

-Reaperized enemies include Asari, Krogan, Rachni

"In Mass Effect 3 we'll fight the Reapers other experiments, with other species.

One is a hideously bloated pregnant Asari, her gums stripped away and a robot skeleton showing through her rotting flesh"

 

"The Reapers take on the Rachni, who were already viscious insect monsters,are covered with bulging savs of lesser creatures. Rather than hitting their weak spot for massive damage, you want to avoid it like the plague: bursting any of these sacs before the creature is dead wit will unleash a swarm of horrible mini-rachni that crawl all over your body"

 

"The Reaperised Krogan wears heavy armor plates that can shear off with enough focused fire. Once you do the creature changes its behaviour to be more defensive clutching its lurid blue intestines to its stomach as its lumbers towards you"

 

"One Reaper creature draws life force from anything that dies near it.

The time-honoured strategy of taking out the easy enemies first ends up

being counter-productive: you make the creature stronger than it would

have been with its allies alive."

 

Casey Hudson summarizing ME3 (This is an article quote):

"Casey sums up Mass Effect 3 as being about victory through sacrifice, the scale of that sacrifice has been increasing with each new chapter" [Rest is authors speculation about saving(or not saving) Wrex and Rachni consequences

 

Here are a few more quotes from the article about combat.

 

"To deal with the last few elites, Shepard [using the freezing concussion shot] freezes them solid to hold them still, then lines up sniper shots exactly through the eye-slits in their shields."

 

"Put a shield in front of an enemy, and suddenly the ability of the engineer class to place a combat drone behind someone and blow it up gains a new significance. Namely, knocking a guy on his face and shooting him in the head."

 

"Shepard commando-rolls out of the elite's way - a new move, by the way - and sneaks behind a partition running alongside the main corridor. Liara springs out of cover and pins the elite with a biotic singularity, while Garrus snipes him from cover. Neither kills the elite, but now Shepard is behind him. Rather than fire, he lashes out with his omni-tool, which emits a blade of flame that cuts through the elite's exposed back. He drops."

 

Leaving aside the fact that I think the overarching plot of Mass Effect has always been pretty worthless and got worse with every iteration, I think this could be good. Not expecting a "full-blooded RPG", but it really sounds like they nailed the combat and judging by ME2, characterization and individual plot arcs could also be pretty good.

 

Sorry if it's already been posted.