BioWare: Mass Effect 3 Is the Best Game We've Ever Made

[RanceJustice]

I don't care how great it is, if it is another locked down, DLC burdened overpriced excuse to slit a hole in my wallet bigger than a medieval cutpurse would have found useful.

Mass Effect 1 (on PC, as far as I am concerned the only platform that matters) was relatively good in this manner - it only had 2 pieces of DLC, 1 of which was free and the other was inexpensive and generally unnecessary to have access to the entire game.

Mass Effect 2 however, brought with it a Collector's Edition/Digital Deluxe necessary to get in-game items (in a single player game), the Cerberus Key ensuring that used gaming was totally useless, and contained a whole host of DLC, including the best armor and some of the best weapons in the game. In addition, there were some helms and armor sets only available for doing things like buying Dragon Age or drinking Dr. Pepper. Large swathes of in-game content required DLC purchase, such as the Lair of the Shadow Broker, Overlord, Firewalker... and you would't have access to certain characters without paid DLC of some sort. Bloody unacceptable, when it all came down to it, especially considering how many of the items that were obviously ready at launch or soon after.

Mass Effect 3 promises another Collector/Digital edition that this time will cost $80, in order to pick up quite a few in-game pieces of content, and will only be sold on Origin so no chancing Steam sales. I have no doubt there will be another "Cerberus Key", just to make sure those who buy it used on consoles have to pay $15 extra, and I don't see any less DLC coming to pass.

I have a Shepard I'd like to take to the conclusion of the story, but Bioware/EA are starting to have the kind of business practices to rival Activision and I cannot financially support it. Hell, look at the proposed $100+ Collector's Edition of SWTOR with LIMITED numbers of digital keys being released, and you end up having to pay the full price out front!

I will not reward this sort of greed, as much as I'd like to enjoy the game itself. If they let me pay $50 for the PC and I got everything included (assuming similar DLC to that available for ME2), I'd buy in a second, but I'm not going to expend well over $150+ to get a complete singleplayer computer game

 

[MiracleOfSound]

I would really love to get behind a more personal story but I felt that it jumped around so often, as soon as I got invested it skipped ahead to the next time period. I was especially pissed off right at the beginning when you chose who you worked with for the first year to get into Kirkwall, I would have loved to actually have played that part, like doing some unsavory work in order for you and your family to survive.

I agree about that part - it would have been nice to have at least seen some of that year go by.

Yeah, the combat was more faster paced in Dragon Age 2 but I felt like the fact I was fighting mostly the same kind of enemies throughout the game meant that my tactics were for the large part the same. (Say what you want about Origins combat, it had a pretty large variety of enemy types, at least in comparison to other modern RPG's) They could have improved that by:

A) Going all out Baldur's Gate tactics style and maybe improve the variety of enemies.

B) Giving me a wider range of movement and combat more out of an action-RPG than a tactical one.

I just don't think BioWare stuck to their guns with DA2. I respect them for their choices with ME2, because at the very least the game knew what it was.

I guess we'll just have to agree to differ on that one. I do take your points into account and to a certain degree I agree with them - but to me it in no way makes DA2 a 'bad' game. It's just a flawed good game IMO.

As for ME2 - I absolutely loved it, far more than I will ever love any Dragon Age game.

 

[ascorbius]

As long as it doesn't take too much from the likes of Gears, I don't get on with Gears of War.

Just give me a decent story with characters I care about and the tools to get the job done and colour me happy.

..that and being able to Biotic people to death with furniture

 

[AlternatePFG]

I guess we'll just have to agree to differ on that one. I do take your points into account and to a certain degree I agree with them - but to me it in no way makes DA2 a 'bad' game. It's just a flawed good game IMO.

As for ME2 - I absolutely loved it, far more than I will ever love any Dragon Age game.

Oh yeah, I don't think Dragon Age 2 is by any means a bad game, but I think it had potential to be much better if BioWare had some more time and decided exactly what kind of game they wanted to make. Mass Effect 2, I have complaints on the RPG parts of the game, but I enjoyed it enough to give it like 3 successive playthroughs when it came out, which is more than I could say for most games. In fact, I don't think I've really done that many playthroughs of a a game in a short time frame, maybe cept for Dragon Age: Origins, and Fallout 3/Fallout: New Vegas.

I feel the same way about Dragon Age 2 that I feel about games like KOTOR 2, if they had more time it could have been so much better. I probably should give DA2 another playthrough maybe when the DLC comes out.

 

[Wolfram23]

Best game BioWare ever made? Yeah, because that's hard to do... Assuming you neglect their earliest works, anyway. ME, ME2, DA:O, DA2... I don't like any of them half as much as RPGs like Risen, The Witcher 2, and Fallout 3/NV.

 

[BloodSquirrel]

The guy actually said that the rpg elements weren't deep enough in ME2.
He agrees with you! Please stop complaining about a game that none of you have played!

The problem is that people don't actually believe anything Bioware says after the pack of lies that was the DAII marketing campaign. Nothing short of Bioware actually putting out a good game again is going to fix that.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Oh yeah, I don't think Dragon Age 2 is by any means a bad game, but I think it had potential to be much better if BioWare had some more time and decided exactly what kind of game they wanted to make. Mass Effect 2, I have complaints on the RPG parts of the game, but I enjoyed it enough to give it like 3 successive playthroughs when it came out, which is more than I could say for most games. In fact, I don't think I've really done that many playthroughs of a a game in a short time frame, maybe cept for Dragon Age: Origins, and Fallout 3/Fallout: New Vegas.

Ok we're in exact agreement here then - and I love Fallout 3 and NV too.

Why were we arguing again?

 

[AlternatePFG]

Oh yeah, I don't think Dragon Age 2 is by any means a bad game, but I think it had potential to be much better if BioWare had some more time and decided exactly what kind of game they wanted to make. Mass Effect 2, I have complaints on the RPG parts of the game, but I enjoyed it enough to give it like 3 successive playthroughs when it came out, which is more than I could say for most games. In fact, I don't think I've really done that many playthroughs of a a game in a short time frame, maybe cept for Dragon Age: Origins, and Fallout 3/Fallout: New Vegas.

Ok we're in exact agreement here then - and I love Fallout 3 and NV too.

Why were we arguing again?

I'd call it a civil discussion. At least in comparison to how these topics turn out anyway. xD

 

[Zydrate]

Didn't they claim they were actually "streamlining" the RPG elements? This is getting a bit contradictory for a game that's coming out in a few months.

 

[sumanoskae]

We've taken inspiration from the best action games, which are Halo, Call of Duty, Gears of War and Assassins Creed.

And the best RPG's which are... well... trust us they're there! ;D

 

[JeanLuc761]

In regards to all the cynicism present int his thread, especially in regards to Bioware analyzing what works in the recent bestsellers...has everyone forgotten that Mass Effect was NEVER supposed to be a full RPG? From the start, it was designed to be a hybrid of a third person shooter and an RPG, and Bioware has never strayed from that (though the balance between the two has shifted).

 

[BrotherRool]

Best game you've ever made? That#s because KotoR sucked compared to the (completed) KotoR 2.

I've got over this, be nice about Mass Effect 3 spell I went through I can keep this up forever.

"What they like about Gears of War, Assassin's Creed, Halo, Call of Duty ..." and that's why

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Sounds good to me. I hope they did find a good balance because I was sad in Mass Effect 2 there were barely any skills--and you could only use one at a time.

Anyone else really happy that he called Mass Effect "Mass Effect" and not "Mass Effect 1"? I'm picky like that, and any time someone calls the first game "Mass Effect 1" I cringe. If I feel like being sarcastic, I'll go, "I've never heard of Mass Effect 1. I've heard of Mass Effect though."

 

[Ian Caronia]

After playing the first two Mass Effect games, I highly doubt it. Unless of course they were to do an even better ripoff of Anachronox, then, it's got a shot. But face it, anything they do won't hold a candle to Baldur's Gate 2.

"Anachronox"? Educated choice, but I'm positive Mass Effect's story is much more a rip-off of "Revelation Space":

"As Sylveste [Main character & archeologist] and the crew of the Nostalgia for Infinity [tech-enhanced humans] approach Cerberus [a planet, not the organization], Sylveste realizes the massive celestial body isn't a planet at all -- but rather, a massive technological beacon, aimed at alerting machine sentience to the appearance of new star-faring cultures. It is this beacon, Sylveste belatedly realizes, that alerted a machine intelligence known as the Inhibitors to the presence of the Amarantin [the protheans in this case], and ultimately caused the demise of that race."
Read more on this evidence here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revelation_Space

As for Mass Effect 3 being the best? Uh No. Not by a long shot. How can I say this without having played Mass Effect 3? Well, for one, unacomn and I just stated the premise and overarching plot is nearly a direct line for line rip-off. I personally stated it ripped-off a hard science novel (series) that Mass Effect's writers have never credited for inspiration.
Secondly: Really? You're gonna question why I and others will say "No" instantly? Why don't you go look up their other works and the depth to them? Then come back and tell your monitor which currently displays my post that, no matter what, Mass Effect 3 can achieve that.
-Unless they mean "best game for the meathead crowd". In which case yes, Mass Effect is more accessible for the meathead crowd, as they have stated time and again by relating it to F**KING CALL OF DUTY, HALO and GEARS OF WAR.
Nothing wrong with a shooter. Something wrong with a game meant to be mainly an RPG/shooter hybrid that's supposed to have a good story being compared to these titles by it's creators.

I like Mass Effect, but how about we wait before we start praising the final game so highly?
...Especially when the plot is a rip-off and we have yet to see how much the large cast of main characters are actually in this thing.

"Some characters can't join your party but will be specific per level."
Oh. Okay, Bioware. Glad to know you made Kingdom Hearts Effct 3.

 

[adrian_exec]

I guess the guys who made Baldur's Gate don't work for Bioware anymore.

 

[The.Bard]

I don't care how great it is, if it is another locked down, DLC burdened overpriced excuse to slit a hole in my wallet bigger than a medieval cutpurse would have found useful.

Mass Effect 1 (on PC, as far as I am concerned the only platform that matters) was relatively good in this manner - it only had 2 pieces of DLC, 1 of which was free and the other was inexpensive and generally unnecessary to have access to the entire game.

Mass Effect 2 however, brought with it a Collector's Edition/Digital Deluxe necessary to get in-game items (in a single player game), the Cerberus Key ensuring that used gaming was totally useless, and contained a whole host of DLC, including the best armor and some of the best weapons in the game. In addition, there were some helms and armor sets only available for doing things like buying Dragon Age or drinking Dr. Pepper. Large swathes of in-game content required DLC purchase, such as the Lair of the Shadow Broker, Overlord, Firewalker... and you would't have access to certain characters without paid DLC of some sort. Bloody unacceptable, when it all came down to it, especially considering how many of the items that were obviously ready at launch or soon after.

Mass Effect 3 promises another Collector/Digital edition that this time will cost $80, in order to pick up quite a few in-game pieces of content, and will only be sold on Origin so no chancing Steam sales. I have no doubt there will be another "Cerberus Key", just to make sure those who buy it used on consoles have to pay $15 extra, and I don't see any less DLC coming to pass.

I have a Shepard I'd like to take to the conclusion of the story, but Bioware/EA are starting to have the kind of business practices to rival Activision and I cannot financially support it. Hell, look at the proposed $100+ Collector's Edition of SWTOR with LIMITED numbers of digital keys being released, and you end up having to pay the full price out front!

I will not reward this sort of greed, as much as I'd like to enjoy the game itself. If they let me pay $50 for the PC and I got everything included (assuming similar DLC to that available for ME2), I'd buy in a second, but I'm not going to expend well over $150+ to get a complete singleplayer computer game

C'mon Shirley, (can I call you Shirley? Tanks!) don't you thinking you're being a tad melodramatic here? With very few exceptions (The Witcher 2 comes to mind), DLC costs moolah. It's gotten much better, much longer, and developing it costs more money. It's great that you want it all for no additional cost, but is that really what you want to hang your entire argument on? Bioware released a very generous chunk of DLC for ME2 for free, so calling them greedy for giving people what they want isn't very fair.

My suggestion is to do what you're doing - fight your fight and don't pay. Just keep in mind that some of us (like me!) think $80 for the CE is worth it, and the price for the DLC is also worth it. I was bummed about how relatively little DLC ME1 had.

When it comes to the "cosmetic stuff" that I didn't feel like paying for - outfits and weapons - I simply didn't. But I'm sure other people think the cost is worthwhile, and I'm happy they have the option. That's the great thing about DLC. It gives us CHOICE. Some of us want to buy this piece, some of us want to buy that piece. Everyone wins.

But that doesn't seem good enough for you. You want to punish all of us with your preference. You don't want the DLC? Awesome. Don't buy it. But since its existence doesn't hurt you - not even a little - I would ask that you take your railing against it and keep it to the inside of your head. I want more story, I want to keep Shepard's story going for as long as I can. The current situation lets BOTH OF US win. Your suggestion doesn't.

If getting everything super cheap is super important for you, wait a year. Game will be $20ish, DLC will probably be $10ish apiece. That's a whopping $50 or so out of pocket for all of it. If you want all of it on day one, well, you're going to have to pay. The good stuff don't come free.

 

[Setsuri21]

Looking at what gamers want, in games that arent rpgs, that explains it. I wish they said more about what rpgs they looked at, they didnt mind listing shit like gears and CoD. This just reinforceces my view they are sellouts who are saying they make rpgs, just to hold on to fanboys while still trying to get the CoD gamers. Also its funny they mention assassins creed. Now I know where they got that bloody stupid blade from.

So it wouldnt supris me if the game was shit, removing customisation from my squad is bad, its fucking stupid and lazy. Not a sign of a good dev, sure I can customze shep but last I checked this wasnt a game where I fight alone.

But they wont get it right. Fanobys will still hail it as perfect, but I visit the biowre forum and am creeped out at times given some people on there, when you have people who go into detail about sex with aliens, its likely they will be so creepily obsessie the game will be perfect anyway. Just throw in the usual fanservice BW games have to be on the safe side.
No it wont be darn near perfect, mainly becuase it plays like gearws of war, which isnt a perfect shooter, never mind an rpg.

This guy wwas the awesome button guy from DA2 iirc, thats enough of a reason for me to ignore him.

Your post is a masterpiece dude. I'm not even a big BioWare fan and even I feel outraged and somehow stupider after reading it.

"Sellouts"? Yeah. Totally. How dare they go for wide market appeal? No, it's me who they should please. ME!!!

Your squad customization complaint is just the biggest nitpick I've ever seen. It's not "fucking stupid and lazy". It's something barely anyone wants in the game and something that would take too much time to implement for zero payoff.

Still, you're a pretty good reviewer. Reviewing games that haven't fucking come out yet based on games they used as inspiration - that's skill.

No it wont be darn near perfect, mainly becuase it plays like gearws of war, which isnt a perfect shooter, never mind an rpg.

Woah. It's not even that anymore. You can actually see into the future. That's awesome.

Wow great start to a post.

Yes they are, last I checked mass effect was an rpg. CoD has enough people catering to it. But hey if you dont mind evry company copying activision ,making the same shit every yeaar aslong as it gets them money thats fine. But I dont enjoy games that all mimic the dull gears/CoD gameplay. yes Bioware are sellouts. Gars is popular, make mass effect 2 like gears, mass effect is popular make DA2 lke mass effect 2. Its nice to see people who want the same shit again and again, becuase we havent got enough shitty cover shooters already.

Uh huh, it seems lazy to me, or it just a way to sell weapon packs and alternate apearance dlc, which just makes them look greedy and lazy. You may call it nitpicking, but customisation is good for rpgs, and it was lacking in mass effect 2 squadmates.

Yeah becuas I was totally wrong when I didnt pre order DA2 thinking would be shit. Its impossible to make a decision before buying tha game... Oh wait its not.
And yes I can make decisisn based on gameplay I have seen and the fact they are looking at assasins creed and CoD when making an rpg. Your sacrasm makes me think your just a twat, im well aware im beinga hypocrite by insulting you for that, but I dont give a shit about that.

If by future you mean gameplay n youtube, then correct, I can see that mas effect 3 looks like a shitty gears clone, with a new coat of paint. Oh and dont forget the omniblade when you press the awesome button. They also added a new feature grenades, and by new they mean "we took it out, now put it back, its new".

You say you dont care about bioware, but you sem like a biodrne to me.

Dude. If you hate every Bioware game since DA:O with such a passion, stop buying their games. The Bioware of today is certainly not the Bioware of years past, and if you don't like it, go find another RPG developer to enjoy. Well, enjoy inasmuch a hard-core RPG fan can. I swear on my life that RPG fans -including myself- are the most dramatic and cynical bunch of gamers ever.

 

[The.Bard]

But Bioware "studied" the game and it plays just like gears for me.

Wait wait wait. I cut out the rest of the gobbledygook you two were slapping each other in the face about. You think Gears of War & Mass Effect play the same?

Really? Like... seriously? You're not just... you know, making a bad joke? Besides controlling a bipedal humanoid and having a cover system, could you go into this a bit? I'm genuinely curious, because I don't see it.