Mass Effect 3

[Nepenthe]

Oh, I remember fondly the last time I posited a game might not be worth its hype and the amount of PMs flooding my mailbox that time. I'm sure Undecaf has no idea what I'm talking about.

[Bokishi]

Now waiting for the decryption key....

[Maria Caliban]

Best Buy sent me a 'order shipped' message 15 hours ago, but it's still not available to track.

[213374U]

I think it was made fairly clear during the first game that Saren *needed* to be on the inside to hand controls over to Sovereign. This is why they could simply attack the Citadel to begin with. They needed to find the conduit, so that Saren could quickly gain access to Citadel control. Without someone on the inside, there'd be no way for the Reapers to use the Citadel relay, or possibly to assail the Citadel at all - with the Keepers unable to follow the Reapers' commands, there'd be nothing stopping the organic races from closing the Citadel arms and making it fairly impregnable, were the Reapers to attack it.

I didn't remember that. If true, it's even flimsier than I thought. I mean, Sovereign can interface directly, physically, with the Citadel, but still needs a tiny, organic middleman to override its own tech?

 

 

They could have easily kept the reheat mechanics nearly untouched (except for some rebalancing of the values) and added "thermal clips" in quantities comparable to medi-gel and grenades from the first game, so that if you really needed to keep firing in a certain situation you'd have the option to cool down your weapon immediately.

There's a good argument to be made that that was the way they intended for things to work at certain point during development, as the system you describe is just a few .ini switches away. I have my game configured to work that way, and while gameplay doesn't change significantly -you can't just wait overheating out all the time- it's a bit more flexible and way more lore-friendly. For what reason they chose to implement a simpler, more FPS conventional system in the final version of the game, who knows.

 

I've also experimented with making shields no longer effective at blocking powers, and it's a welcome change of pace on Insanity. Especially for Adepts. It does tend to break the game a bit, though. I remember a certain boss fight that became trivial due to the fact that I could simply charge-push said boss over a balcony and win the encounter without firing a single shot...

 

ME2 gameplay, while a general improvement over ME1's, felt kind of clunky, unrefined and unforgiving.

[Gorgon]

One issue I had in ME2 was the whole.. biotics and tech powers wouldn't work against enemies with different types of Shield / Armour. So you pretty much had to shoot down the shields or whatever first.. by which point, its normally just as quick to carry on shooting them rather then try a Power to finish them off..

 

Suddenly I can't target Shockwaves at an enemy because he has shields.... But, if he happens to be stood next to someone without shields, I can target that person..and the Shockwave mysteriously damages and throws the shielded guy as well..

Well that and the fact that you had all these powers to chose from, but you can only use one at a time so you could just as well spam whatever had the smallest recharge time. Combo effects require squad members, not how I wanted to play the game. You might as well just chose a combat class for the extra weapons and take a biotic bonus power.

[Hassat Hunter]

I played ME2 as engineer (as did ME1) so no issues with that, my powers where mainly against armor and shields. And turrets.

 

And yes, there were multiple infinite wave sequences in ME2. The one I remember best is recruiting Tali, when one bad-ass Geth had to be killed, and Geth just kept spawning inbetween those sequences. One of the areas where I needed to reload most, as they came from all directions and you had to push forward.

Later I read in a FAQ it was simpler just to nuke the Geth, and since my heavy weapon was entirely unused in ME2, I suppose I should have done that too. Silly me...

 

Still like ME1 more than ME2. Mostly due to it's plot, and I liked exploration with the MAKO. Better way to spend time than scanning...

And that ME3 trailer does look great. Isn't going to change me getting it cheap though (as I do all my games). Still got plenty of games on GOG and Steam (and in boxes) from X-mas sales that I can't even finish all before that time...

[Oner]

Another place with infinite enemies was Miranda's loyalty mission, I think? Lots of Loki 'bots in a factory or such.

[Nepenthe]

Another place with infinite enemies was Miranda's loyalty mission, I think? Lots of Loki 'bots in a factory or such.

Pretty sure no, just the three mentioned.

 

Of course, we're still pretty far from CoD4, but...

[Oner]

You may be pretty sure, but I'm 100%. Spent 5 minutes in the same spot waiting for them to stop coming.

[BobSmith101]

If you have infinite ammo, unless you have an AI that is determined to remove you from cover you can just hide until you cool down.The way things spawned in ME2 made it rewarding to move forward.

 

And I can't stand level design based on infinite-spawning enemies forcing you to cross some invisible line to advance to the next segment. It's lazy, boring level design that does nothing but aggravate me.

 

It encourages movement over "cover camping" I can't really see how that is a bad thing.

[Nepenthe]

You may be pretty sure, but I'm 100%. Spent 5 minutes in the same spot waiting for them to stop coming.

Well, I guess there was a reason why I never spent five minutes in one spot, then.

[Oblarg]

It encourages movement over "cover camping" I can't really see how that is a bad thing.

 

Because encounter design based on moving forward through enemies is largely less tactical and more reflex-based than encounter design based on defeating a set number of enemies in a certain environment. It's boring and repetitive, and requires no thought. "Cover-camping" isn't a problem in either system if your encounter design isn't ****ty, and I find nothing satisfying about having to run around looking for little red cylinders after every fight.

 

I've also experimented with making shields no longer effective at blocking powers, and it's a welcome change of pace on Insanity. Especially for Adepts. It does tend to break the game a bit, though. I remember a certain boss fight that became trivial due to the fact that I could simply charge-push said boss over a balcony and win the encounter without firing a single shot...

 

ME2 gameplay, while a general improvement over ME1's, felt kind of clunky, unrefined and unforgiving.

 

I agree with pretty much all of this. Biotic powers felt completely neutered due to the combination of shield restrictions and the global cooldown - essentially, for 90% of the game your biotic powers were little more than "press this button to damage this type of shield," and it felt really, really lame. It's frustrating as hell not being able to push an enemy until he's already almost dead; one of the most enjoyable things about playing a biotic in ME1 was being able to open a fight by throwing a group of enemies against a wall. The global cooldown just compounded on this, because it prevented pretty much all the useful combos (e.g. lift+throw) from being executed without two biotics on your team. Powers in general just felt a lot less special and unique in ME2.

Edited March 3, 2012 by Oblarg

[HoonDing]

ME1 > ME2, except the combat.

Well, at least ME1 had a plot. ME2 had much better side missions, though.

 

Combat wise, I'm a bit torn. I slightly prefer ME1; at least you can finish combat very quickly in that one, while in ME2 you'll always be reduced to playing whack-a-mole behind cover no matter how powerful Shepard is supposed to be.

 

Companions wise, ME1 had Wrex... ME2 had Mordin and Legion. So ME2 wins in that regard.

[BobSmith101]

Combat wise, I'm a bit torn. I slightly prefer ME1; at least you can finish combat very quickly in that one, while in ME2 you'll always be reduced to playing whack-a-mole behind cover no matter how powerful Shepard is supposed to be.

 

Companions wise, ME1 had Wrex... ME2 had Mordin and Legion. So ME2 wins in that regard.

 

Ever play a Vanguard ? Once you get a few upgrades cover is optional.

[Oblarg]

Ever play a Vanguard ? Once you get a few upgrades cover is optional.

 

I play a vanguard, and that's not true at all.

[Gorgon]

It occurs to me that ME3 might have benifited from a radial map and some forwarning of enemy positions. It would give you something to sneak up on, a reason to set up an area for defence with mines, turrets, whatnot. A good way to arrange set piece firefights. The problem comes from using the same kind of spawning all the time instead of mixing it up as much as possible.

 

The enemy should show up behind you after you have been camping for too long, that kind of thing.

Edited March 3, 2012 by Gorgon

[Nepenthe]

Ah yes, mass effect 1 combat, HMWA X was the originator of the awesome button... or trigger in that case. "Hold this down indefinitely and everything dies". While ME2 might not be exactly the pinnacle of combat design, it certainly blows ME1 out of the water and the Sol system.

 

Also, major spoiler onslaught at Bioware Social. Kind of a bummer, since I've been writing all day and need to read more insipid video game rambling than this forum can currently provide.

[Oblarg]

Ah yes, mass effect 1 combat, HMWA X was the originator of the awesome button... or trigger in that case. "Hold this down indefinitely and everything dies". While ME2 might not be exactly the pinnacle of combat design, it certainly blows ME1 out of the water and the Sol system.

 

ME1 had balance problems, but I'd argue the base mechanics for powers and ammo were easily superior to those of ME2. ME2 was better in the cover department, no doubt, and in overal fluidity, but a lot of it felt repetetive and underdeveloped.

 

Also, major spoiler onslaught at Bioware Social. Kind of a bummer, since I've been writing all day and need to read more insipid video game rambling than this forum can currently provide.

 

You actually read the bioware boards? That can't be pleasant, if memory serves they give a new meaning to the term "fanboy" over there. Oh, and creepy romance threads...

Edited March 3, 2012 by Oblarg

[Malcador]

The Biodrone spillover into the TOR forums was interesting to note.

[Nepenthe]

You actually read the bioware boards? That can't be pleasant, if memory serves they give a new meaning to the term "fanboy" over there. Oh, and creepy romance threads...

The Bio boards define fanboy like this forum defines hater. While I find both abhorrent, normally I'd prefer mindless adulation over inane bitching. The SNR here is WAY better, though, which is why I come here, even if I feel like don Quijote most of the time.

 

OTOH, if I hadn't gone diving, I wouldn't know that cloud saves break the ME3 import function, and I'd be pretty ****ing p.o.d come thursday midnight.

[Oner]

SNR?

[Malcador]

Signal-to-noise ratio (often abbreviated SNR or S/N) is a measure used in science and engineering that compares the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise. It is defined as the ratio of signal power to the noise power. A ratio higher than 1:1 indicates more signal than noise. While SNR is commonly quoted for electrical signals, it can be applied to any form of signal (such as isotope levels in an ice core or biochemical signaling between cells).

Signal-to-noise ratio is sometimes used informally to refer to the ratio of useful information to false or irrelevant data in a conversation or exchange. For example, in online discussion forums and other online communities, off-topic posts and spam are regarded as "noise" that interferes with the "signal" of appropriate discussion.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal-to-noise_ratio

[Gorgon]

Ah yes, mass effect 1 combat, HMWA X was the originator of the awesome button... or trigger in that case. "Hold this down indefinitely and everything dies". While ME2 might not be exactly the pinnacle of combat design, it certainly blows ME1 out of the water and the Sol system.

 

Also, major spoiler onslaught at Bioware Social. Kind of a bummer, since I've been writing all day and need to read more insipid video game rambling than this forum can currently provide.

No, not Me1 combat. Something better than both. Also what the hell is HMWA X ? Edited March 3, 2012 by Gorgon

[Oner]

...

Ah, okay, thanks. Thought it's something BW related.

[Serrano]

I think the HMWA X was the spectre licenced assault rifle with the highest stats in ME1.

Edited March 3, 2012 by Serrano