Mass Effect 3...I think that people are overreacting
- Thread starter Erttheking
- Start date
I was going to say (in agreement with the OP) that I also find the pre-emptive anger against ME3 (or indeed any other UNRELEASED game/film/novel) to be mystifying, bordering on surreal. After all, how often, have people been right about something entirely on the basis of its initial, pre-release promotional material? Didn't Global Geekdom drool over the Star Wars Episode I trailers only to find out the, unsurprising truth, that you can project a lot on to a trailer (good or bad)that turns out not to meet with your experience of the actual product. Hasn't every beloved nerdy thing (from "A Game of Thrones" to the "Lord of the Rings films") been greeted with cries of 'they're ruining it/I can't BELIEVE they've cast a natural brunette/have you seen their DESPERATELY impoverished vision of Storm Warden's Castle/Cat/Skin-tight Leather Jump suit/accent....
Anyway. That was the kind of thing that I was -going- to say. But then I had a minor epiphany. Skimming down the responses, as is my wont, I started to think: but, seriously would I really want things to be any different? I mean, imagine if people -didn't- complain about unreleased games (or whatever) based solely on the promotional material, injudicious applications of their imagination and some dim memories of whenever they were last disappointed enough to consider making another video in which Hitler rants out their rage in false subtitles. I mean, if we didn't do things like this, would this really be the forum of a gaming website anymore?
If we DIDN'T howl with horror at the imminent (if mostly imaginary) desecration of What-used-to-be-our-favourite-things-but-probably-isn't-now-that-they're-about-to-fuck-it-up would we really be exhibiting that sense of proportion for which "gamers" and geek culture aficionados generally are so renowned?
If we didn't take these opportunities to showcase our sobriety, wouldn't we be in danger of a massive drop in nerdy street cred? And if -that- happened, what would be the consequences?!?
Wouldn't it be the beginning of the end? Wouldn't we wake to a world taken over by football players and surfer dudes?
Where would someone go, if they wanted to imply that no lover of Planescape: Torment could ever love Planescape: torment as deeply, madly and truly as s/he did. Where would we (not to mention -I-) go to procrastinate in a way that makes other kinds of procrastination seem assiduous? Can't we just take a deep breath, put our arms around each other and say: "people, dear, dear, people. We're all nerds here. If we weren't we wouldn't be posting, let alone posting about posting like I am right now.
And isn't that a reason for solidarity, even (cough) love? Can't we then say that as nerds, each and everyone of us cares about various pop cultural products to a degree to which all kinds of other people will (for good or bad reasons) find absolutely incomprehensible And isn't one of our ways of dealing with this -- our most sacred ritual -- to reserve the right to enter into endless arguments with each other about whether something that purports to be a continuation of something which we once loved will be either a) even better than the last time -- an amazing escape from the otherwise ineluctable law of Diminishing Returns or B) a stab in the back, a Judas-like betrayal in which precious dreams are spat upon before they are shattered.
Put differently: whichever side we choose in this kind of non-argument: doesn't the fact of choosing a side mean -- wait for it! -- that we're all on the same side in the end?
Nerd Power, people!
Tears and hopefully hugs.
Love,
M.
Anyway. That was the kind of thing that I was -going- to say. But then I had a minor epiphany. Skimming down the responses, as is my wont, I started to think: but, seriously would I really want things to be any different? I mean, imagine if people -didn't- complain about unreleased games (or whatever) based solely on the promotional material, injudicious applications of their imagination and some dim memories of whenever they were last disappointed enough to consider making another video in which Hitler rants out their rage in false subtitles. I mean, if we didn't do things like this, would this really be the forum of a gaming website anymore?
If we DIDN'T howl with horror at the imminent (if mostly imaginary) desecration of What-used-to-be-our-favourite-things-but-probably-isn't-now-that-they're-about-to-fuck-it-up would we really be exhibiting that sense of proportion for which "gamers" and geek culture aficionados generally are so renowned?
If we didn't take these opportunities to showcase our sobriety, wouldn't we be in danger of a massive drop in nerdy street cred? And if -that- happened, what would be the consequences?!?
Wouldn't it be the beginning of the end? Wouldn't we wake to a world taken over by football players and surfer dudes?
Where would someone go, if they wanted to imply that no lover of Planescape: Torment could ever love Planescape: torment as deeply, madly and truly as s/he did. Where would we (not to mention -I-) go to procrastinate in a way that makes other kinds of procrastination seem assiduous? Can't we just take a deep breath, put our arms around each other and say: "people, dear, dear, people. We're all nerds here. If we weren't we wouldn't be posting, let alone posting about posting like I am right now.
And isn't that a reason for solidarity, even (cough) love? Can't we then say that as nerds, each and everyone of us cares about various pop cultural products to a degree to which all kinds of other people will (for good or bad reasons) find absolutely incomprehensible And isn't one of our ways of dealing with this -- our most sacred ritual -- to reserve the right to enter into endless arguments with each other about whether something that purports to be a continuation of something which we once loved will be either a) even better than the last time -- an amazing escape from the otherwise ineluctable law of Diminishing Returns or B) a stab in the back, a Judas-like betrayal in which precious dreams are spat upon before they are shattered.
Put differently: whichever side we choose in this kind of non-argument: doesn't the fact of choosing a side mean -- wait for it! -- that we're all on the same side in the end?
Nerd Power, people!
Tears and hopefully hugs.
Love,
M.
I...you...but...right...yet wrong...but...tolerance...AGHHHHHHMaladjusted said:
just....just...just
http://www.kidsstoppress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/contests-win1.jpg
I guess I just let my frustration get the better of me.
The complaints about Origin I can understand, because that's bullshit. Everything else people are complaining about is stupid. Every time there is a Mass Effect 3 article on this site, the comments section is filled with people who didn't read the article and complain. The hate got old a month after Dragon Age 2 came out... now it's just annoying white noise.
I hardly come to this site anymore because of how bad the community has gotten. The drama queens are falling from the freaking sky! Eventually it gets to the point where people take things a little too seriously.
All I want is to be entertained, and from what little I've allowed myself see of Mass Effect 3, it looks just as entertaining as the first two games. I won't know for sure until I play it for myself of course.
I hardly come to this site anymore because of how bad the community has gotten. The drama queens are falling from the freaking sky! Eventually it gets to the point where people take things a little too seriously.
All I want is to be entertained, and from what little I've allowed myself see of Mass Effect 3, it looks just as entertaining as the first two games. I won't know for sure until I play it for myself of course.
Shepard can roll now?!
Mass Effect is RUINED FOREVER!
The soldier squad mate is buff?!
RUINED FOREVER!
Freddie Prinz Jr?!
zOMG Bioware appealing to the tweens! RUINED FOREVER!
Ashley looks different?!
RUINED FOREVER!
Different modes?!
RUINED FOREVER!
The conversation wheel remains unchanged?!
RUINED FOREVER! ... However, neutral options are apparently not as heavily penalized in this game as previous ones, but since I'm unreasonable, it's RUINED FOREVER!
Optional co-op multiplayer that doesn't really impact single player but can if you want it to?!
RUINED FOREVER!
Greater enemy variety and enemy tactics?!
RUINED FOREVER!
Chest high walls?! ME1 never had cover mechanics!!!11!1
RUINED FOREVER!
Shepard defeats the Reapers?!
RUINED FOREVER! (I wanted everyone to get eaten, much more realistic)
Tali's face is revealed?!
IT'S NOT HOW I IMAGINED IT! RUINED FOREVER!
The interior of the new Normandy is too dark and too blue?!
RUINED FOREVER!
Meh, it's the internet.
Objectivity and open mindedness don't exist here. Sort of like how logic doesn't exist in most Resident Evil games.
Mass Effect is RUINED FOREVER!
The soldier squad mate is buff?!
RUINED FOREVER!
Freddie Prinz Jr?!
zOMG Bioware appealing to the tweens! RUINED FOREVER!
Ashley looks different?!
RUINED FOREVER!
Different modes?!
RUINED FOREVER!
The conversation wheel remains unchanged?!
RUINED FOREVER! ... However, neutral options are apparently not as heavily penalized in this game as previous ones, but since I'm unreasonable, it's RUINED FOREVER!
Optional co-op multiplayer that doesn't really impact single player but can if you want it to?!
RUINED FOREVER!
Greater enemy variety and enemy tactics?!
RUINED FOREVER!
Chest high walls?! ME1 never had cover mechanics!!!11!1
RUINED FOREVER!
Shepard defeats the Reapers?!
RUINED FOREVER! (I wanted everyone to get eaten, much more realistic)
Tali's face is revealed?!
IT'S NOT HOW I IMAGINED IT! RUINED FOREVER!
The interior of the new Normandy is too dark and too blue?!
RUINED FOREVER!
Meh, it's the internet.
Objectivity and open mindedness don't exist here. Sort of like how logic doesn't exist in most Resident Evil games.
I think most of the people who complain about where the ME series is headed - myself included - are simply disappointed that a universe that showed so much promise and steady direction in the first game has gradually lost its way, becoming a jumbled caricature of what it used to be.
What are my problems then? Increasingly sloppy writing, including plot holes and dissatisfying overall plots (ME2 suffered of this to an extent, but Arrival gets the prize for the worst writing yet); deconstruction of the commendably mature approach to sex in the first game, and its replacement with an over-emphasis on romances and nonsensical oversexualization of characters, something only a prepubescent boy would consider "mature". Most of all, the "streamlining" of most elements - gameplay and story - to "appeal to a broader audience."
I won't yet judge ME3 because I'm still avoiding any spoilers, but from everything that's been shown, it's not looking very promising. I'm sure I'll still be able to enjoy it on a certain level, yet I can't help but wonder what the series could have become if Bioware had continued keeping the style, tone and quality consistent with the first game. It also helps to have your expectations pretty low, so any pleasant surprise will feel like a relief.
I know that there are people who aren't at all bothered by any of the changes and are just happy to see more stuff as long as it's got the Mass Effect title slapped on, but I'd be happy if they tried to understand the other side instead of just dismissing our critical comments as "bitching".
What are my problems then? Increasingly sloppy writing, including plot holes and dissatisfying overall plots (ME2 suffered of this to an extent, but Arrival gets the prize for the worst writing yet); deconstruction of the commendably mature approach to sex in the first game, and its replacement with an over-emphasis on romances and nonsensical oversexualization of characters, something only a prepubescent boy would consider "mature". Most of all, the "streamlining" of most elements - gameplay and story - to "appeal to a broader audience."
I won't yet judge ME3 because I'm still avoiding any spoilers, but from everything that's been shown, it's not looking very promising. I'm sure I'll still be able to enjoy it on a certain level, yet I can't help but wonder what the series could have become if Bioware had continued keeping the style, tone and quality consistent with the first game. It also helps to have your expectations pretty low, so any pleasant surprise will feel like a relief.
I know that there are people who aren't at all bothered by any of the changes and are just happy to see more stuff as long as it's got the Mass Effect title slapped on, but I'd be happy if they tried to understand the other side instead of just dismissing our critical comments as "bitching".
While I have no problem with people who just plain don't like the games, I am downright puzzled by people who suggest that the series is going downhill.Ares Gandhi said:
-"Increasingly sloppy writing, including plot holes and dissatisfying overall plots."
This doesn't hold water for me because ME1 was completely built on a giant plot hole. Saren and Sovereign spend the entire game searching for the conduit which they have absolutely no need for. I cannot speak for "dissatisfying", as that is a wholly subjective notion. Lastly, I will happily agree that Arrival was terribly written.
-"Over-emphasis on romances and nonsensical oversexualization of characters."
The whole romance business was not emphasized any more in the second game than the first. There were just more characters. You can still play through the game without having anything to do with it. If by "nonsensical over-sexualization" you mean the visual design of female characters, then sure, I agree.
-"Most of all, the "streamlining" of ... gameplay and story."
This one especially puzzles me. The story in the first game was not particularly complex, certainly no more so than in the second. Given the increased emphasis on character arcs and the inclusion of 'loyalty missions' in the second game it had a lot more going on, although it was admittedly less focussed.
Same goes for this notion of "streamlined" gameplay. ME1 did not have complex gameplay. It had unpolished cover-based shooting, terrible AI and simple RPG elements with a clumsy inventory interface. I say this a lot, but the skills and equipment were simply a matter of making numbers get bigger. Adding +2 to decryption, swapping a shotgun with 110 damage for one with 130 damage, swapping a heat sink II for a heat sink III. In ME2, for all its simplification, at least you had to choose between a warp ability that affected more targets or one that did more damage and between a powerful slow-firing pistol with scarce ammo or a weaker one with plentiful ammo.
Bioware fanboyism? Really?SurfinTaxt said:
I thought I was just joking around with how much everyone seems to complain about the minor tidbits that Bioware seems to throw out every now and again.
I mean, when Vega was revealed practically everyone whined about how he had a mohawk and tattoos and muscles and was so obviously appealing to the dreaded, mouth-breathing, sub-human CoD crowd.
And now we know that Jessica Chobot voices a minor character in the game. No big deal, right? I mean, she's probably just Kelly 2.0 at best.
But no! People act like Bioware, EA and IGN have formed some unholy triumvirate of pure evil to completely ruin the ME franchise, and gaming in general!
So yeah, people overreact. And it probably doesn't matter what Bioware do since someone's going to inevitably complain about something, and then that person will have their views affirmed by a bunch of other people agreeing with them, which in turn makes them more hardened in their own opinions, which will then cause sparks to fly when their opinion isn't shared by others.
*Deep breath*
Anyways, I'd rather the game be judged objectively when it's released rather than be subject to the crazy, pre-release speculation train.
But since some people hated ME2, they'd rather Bioware crash and burn because ME3 isn't specifically tailored for their tastes or something.
Not that complaining is really gonna change much since the game's pretty much done already anyway. I mean, what's the point? Some people are going to buy it day one. Some won't. And some may or may not buy it later after reading reviews and whatnot. Hell, some people may just snap purchase it without doing the research simply based on the box art and the blurb on the back.
If people really cared about Bioware straying from its roots or whatever, you'd think an open letter, or a petition, or a boycott, or simply not buying the game would be a better option than slinging hate filled spew at developers that no longer meet one's tastes and expectations.
I have the sneaking suspicion that some people would prefer a clumsy RPG rather than a shooter with RPG elements, even if the latter worked better and was more fun/challenging, so that they can jump on the 'everything's now a shooter BAWWWW' train.Zhukov said:
Yea, I don't defend a games awesomeness by the amount of "sexiness" it has in it. I don't play games for its porn points.
I like Mass Effect and I do believe I will love Mass Effect 3. For the same reasons I liked the others. Mass Effect has one of the most advanced story arcs I've ever experienced. Its truly defined by player input making it original every time. Biowares story is intricate and many of the characters are very attachable. I have never truly cared about a character dying like I care about the ones in Mass Effect.
I like Mass Effect and I do believe I will love Mass Effect 3. For the same reasons I liked the others. Mass Effect has one of the most advanced story arcs I've ever experienced. Its truly defined by player input making it original every time. Biowares story is intricate and many of the characters are very attachable. I have never truly cared about a character dying like I care about the ones in Mass Effect.
Care to back that up with some reasoning or examples there sir?SurfinTaxt said:
Exactly what about ME2 put story in the back seat? Exactly what took it from "intelligent space opera built around a glaring plot hole" to "stab an alien in the face with a friend"?