The Mass Effect Thread

[Hellraiser]

On 07/06/2021 at 15:35, tristy said:

It gets really fuckin’ old trying to climb mountains in the Mako just to scan a deposit of resources or whatever. Plus it’s kinda buggy in the Legendary edition. I much prefer the vehicle they give you in ME2, and it’s not used even half as much as the Mako was in the original game.

Isn't that vehicle used in just one DLC mission in ME2?

[tristy]

Didn’t even realize that mission was DLC content actually.

[Hellraiser]

Nevermind. I got to that part myself and realized that it was a string of missions instead of just 1.

Also I totally forgot how garbage the Arrival DLC was. And it just shows how badly thought-out the main plot of the game was. The actually threat to the galaxy is delegated to a badly written DLC while you waste the main game with fighting the Collectors who never get brought up again in ME3. In general other than the recruitment and loyalty missions nothing you do in the main plot of ME2 has that much of an impact in ME3. Even all the effort to turn Ceberus into a more morally gray organization is undermined in ME3. ME2 is probably my favorite game of the series, but in retrospect the main plot seems like a gigantic waste of time. 

But back to Arrival. Why do I have to do this mission alone? I get that the real world reason that it was probably too expensive and too difficult to schedule bringing all the voice actors back. But in-universe it makes no sense. Especially if you have done all the loyalty missions before you start the Arrival.

So they found a Reaper artifact that gave them visions of the Reaper attack and told them where the Reapers are going to arrive first. First of all, it is implied that it took Sovereign ages to figure out a way to open a path for the rest of the Reapers. And now they apparently figured out a way to do it on their own? Also why the hell would they leave behind an artifact that could give their enemies a tactical advantage to begin with?

Also if all the personnel on the Project base were indoctrinated, why did they wait for Sheperd and Kenson to arrive to sabotage the mission? Kenson doesn't have to be present for that. And why don't they simply kill Sheperd while he is knocked out for two days? And why doesn't Sheperd try to contact the Batarian colonies again after he is interrupted by Kenson the first time? She didn't jam communication channels, she just interrupted him. He could have easily tried to contact them again, but Sheperd just kinda forgets about that. I'm playing a 100% Paragon Sheperd who would have rather died on that asteroid then let anyone else die. I know it probably wouldn't have made a difference either way since there was not enough time to evacuate 350.000 people, but it still bothers my that I didn't get the chance to try and that everyone (including Sheperd) seems so cool about sacrificing 350.000 Batarians after the mission is done. 

None of the choices you make do actually matter. I assumed the big descision was whether to destroy the relay or save the 350.000 Batarian colonists. But it wasn't a choice. Then I though the choice was whether to warn the colonists or save myself. But that choice turned out to be meaningless. And not even the choice whether to Renegade-kill Kenson or not didn't matter in the end. And the timing of the mission is weird to. They kinda expect you to do it after the main story is over. But they give you the Hackett transmission right away and it would make no sense for Sheperd who has been trying to warn people about the Reaper invasion not to do it immediately. 

Edited June 9, 2021 by Hellraiser

[Your Mom]

Anyone ever scan every planet in ME2? I was trying it and got a couple quests I had never done despite playing the game like 10 times so that was kinda neat but I just can't do it! There are so many planets and it's mostly so fucking boring  

[Bobfoc]

I found planet scanning oddly satisfying. I don't think I scanned them all, though, just enough to get the upgrades I needed.

[Your Mom]

Just finished Overlord which I had never done before apparently. Was an interesting little story. I don't like that it forced me to drive around but there wasn't much of that

[Lint]

On 15/06/2021 at 01:46, Bobfoc said:

I found planet scanning oddly satisfying.

Me playing a ME game

 

[Hellraiser]

So almost 9 years since the extended cut of the ME3 ending was release and the ending is still bad. I thought coming back to that game after not having played it again since finishing the extended cut back in 2012 and coming at it without all the anticipation, the years of theorizing and unrealistic expectations might help me gain a new perspective on the ending. But after having finished it, I'm still just as disappointed as I was 9 years ago. 

The only thing I'm curious about with the new game is which of the 3 choices they decide to make canon in the next game.

Also I could have lived without the knowledge that the Protheans were a bunch of imperialistic slave drivers. I really regret thawing Javik out.

Also both From Ashes as well as Leviathan should have totally been part of the main game and not DLC. The fact that you had to buy a DLC to get the actual backstory of the Reapers is maddening. 

 

Edited June 18, 2021 by Hellraiser

[Your Mom]

Well that's depressing. I am about to start ME3  

[apsham]

Eh. I never got around to finishing Mass Effect 3 before - my life was too caught up with school and the like at the time and then I just never got around to it because I committed myself to beating 1 and 2 again before I went back into it. In the end... I really don't think it's that bad at all, but I didn't have to sit through the original ending. Really not that bothered by what we end up getting here at all.

[Hellraiser]

1 hour ago, Your Mom said:

Well that's depressing. I am about to start ME3  

It's still a great game overall. It really is just the final 30 minutes that suck. 

1 hour ago, apsham said:

Eh. I never got around to finishing Mass Effect 3 before - my life was too caught up with school and the like at the time and then I just never got around to it because I committed myself to beating 1 and 2 again before I went back into it. In the end... I really don't think it's that bad at all, but I didn't have to sit through the original ending. Really not that bothered by what we end up getting here at all.

The extended cut, which is the default ending in the Legendary Edition, was really just an expended version of the original endings. It fixed some issues, the biggest one being with the extended cut we actually get to see the consequences of our choice with the epilogues they added. IIRC, in the original endings we get to see the Crucible fire, the fate of the reapers depending on what choice you make and the scene with your crew leaving the crashed Normandy and then it goes straight to credits. But the big issues that most people had with the ending still persist.

I think the original backlash to the ending was waaaay over the top though. EA has done much worse things than this ending for which they didn't take nearly as much flack as they did for this ending. 

Edited June 18, 2021 by Hellraiser

[Your Mom]

I don't know if I was being cheap or I just don't remember it but it seems like I never played any of the ME3 DLC. Leviathan was totally new to me and now I'm doing Omega and don't remember that either. I was so sure playing through these I would get no "new" content so this is really cool  

[OctoberRaven]

Got the LE for my dad on Father's Day and he's playing it now.

[Hellraiser]

I decided to do another ME:Andromeda run. Why the hell is the font size so damn small? That wasn't a problem with the old games. I have to get up and stand right in front of my wall-mounted TV if I want to read the codex entries or the subtitles. I've noticed that with a lot of current-gen games. Why is that?

[Benji]

Mas Effect 2 Collector ship on Insanity is kicking my ass. Can barely get past the first wave due to the lack of cover.

17 hours ago, Your Mom said:

I don't know if I was being cheap or I just don't remember it but it seems like I never played any of the ME3 DLC. Leviathan was totally new to me and now I'm doing Omega and don't remember that either. I was so sure playing through these I would get no "new" content so this is really cool  

I didn't either, it all came out after most people finished the game, and by that time I think most of us were soured on ME3 as a whole after the disappointment of the original ending.

[VerbalPuke]

So with these on X-Box Game Pass I was thinking of giving these a go.

I played the first one and initially loved it. But I got stuck twice at this one part where a blue alien lady uses magic and you die instantly. I also forgot to save so lost a bunch of progress in the process. So i gave up. If this sounds familiar I think its when you go to a Planet and get the people water and incapacitate some people that are like possessed? Uts the first time I remember driving a big old truck thing. But at some point you go to confront the alien lady.

But maybe I could try 2 or 3? How are those? I liked the first one as I said but are they difficult games? I mean I'm good at Skyrim, Fallout, RDR 2 and such. 

[Your Mom]

1 minute ago, VerbalPuke said:

So with these on X-Box Game Pass I was thinking of giving these a go.

I played the first one and initially loved it. But I got stuck twice at this one part where a blue alien lady uses magic and you die instantly. I also forgot to save so lost a bunch of progress in the process. So i gave up. If this sounds familiar I think its when you go to a Planet and get the people water and incapacitate some people that are like possessed? Uts the first time I remember driving a big old truck thing. But at some point you go to confront the alien lady.

But maybe I could try 2 or 3? How are those? I liked the first one as I said but are they difficult games? I mean I'm good at Skyrim, Fallout, RDR 2 and such. 

You can do like me and play on Casual? I still feel like I'm having fun and being "tested" but I very rarely if ever die  

[VerbalPuke]

6 minutes ago, Your Mom said:

You can do like me and play on Casual? I still feel like I'm having fun and being "tested" but I very rarely if ever die  

Works for me, I have no shame in admitting I pretty much always play on casual/easy/amateur/rookie etc.

[Hellraiser]

People who have a problem with how other people play video games or blow a gasket whenever the topics of easier difficulty settings and accessibility get brought up are assholes. 

Edited June 26, 2021 by Hellraiser

[apsham]

2 hours ago, VerbalPuke said:

Works for me, I have no shame in admitting I pretty much always play on casual/easy/amateur/rookie etc.

Same here. These days there's way too much to play for me to grind out against something, and although I tell myself "I'll play it on hard next time around" I have to be honest with myself and know that unless I REALLY like the game, I'm probably only going to play through it once and I just want to have a good time with it.

There are exceptions and stuff, but in the end I'll play on easy and turn on anything accessibility wise that makes the experience easier on me. If I don't have to mash the hell out of buttons, I'm not going to.