What does everyone think? Does it bode well or ill for your expectations of ME3?
Personally I was very impressed by the demo. It really nailed my hopes for the new game.
Pros;
1 - The game seems to be a thematic blend of ME1 and ME2. Music borrows from both breeds of sound track and sound effects (such as when your gun runs out of ammo) are reminiscent of ME1's cyberpunk-y style.
2 - The leveling system for abilities. Yeah, it looks cool - Not TOO streamlined, could probably stand to have a bit more depth but I like it nonetheless. I also like how it seems every class has a grenade power.
3 - The icing on the cake - For example, my favorite class is easily Sentinel, and my favorite power is Tech Armour. I love the way the new Tech Armour looks like the type all the other NPCs use, and I like how you can detonate it.
4 - Weapons. So, now we can use whatever weapons we want, no matter what class we are. Sweet. I understand there are restrictions, since certain classes carry more weapons than others, but I liked being a Sentinel and carrying a shotgun and an assault rifle.
5 - Squad Banter. No one does this like Bioware, and it's getting extra focus in ME3, it seems. The exchange between Garrus and Wrex at the start of the demo's second mission is priceless. Squad-mates seem to be conversing more during missions as well.
6 - Captain Kirrahe. Just... Just Captain Kirrahe
I was so glad to see him. I hope this indicates that the full game will draw from the mythos built up by the last two - There are tons of NPCs I'd really enjoy coming across again throughout the game. I expect another chance to upstage Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani, maybe see what Thane's son Kolyat has made of himself, or hear what trouble Kal'reegar has gotten himself into lately.
Cons;
1 - Well, as soon as James Vega lumbered into the scene and Shep called him by his first name I realized this would be another forced attempt to make me like the token human characters. This guy just seems like Ashley with a Y chromosome, so if there's an equivalent Virmire for me to leave him burning on he'll be finding himself there soon enough.
2 - Some of the facial expressions and stuff were... Just a bit off? And all in all while there's some pretty scenes, the demo didn't show off it's visuals or textures very well. The first level was a series of grey corridors and the second was a series of... Well, beige corridors. Then again, I was playing it on an old SD TV, so benefit of the doubt I guess.
3 - I thought it felt a little action game-y. Especially the first part, where you're running around Earth and things are exploding and it stops every once in a while to show Shepard dive out of the way of an explosion and it just felt a bit jarring.
4 - No indication as to how Armour or Weapon crafting will work, whuuut? I really wanted to see that. Hrm.
5 - The Dialogue choices were, well, negligible. I had hoped for at least a cool Paragon/Renegade interrupt to get, say, new players excited about the whole choice-making mechanic? Then again, that's hardly their agenda when they give you the choice of ignoring the dialogue parts entirely at the start of the game...
All in all, GREAT demo. I loved it, despite the flaws. It actually rejuvenated my faith in ME3. And we haven't seen how Armour or Weapons will work yet, and the Weapon customizing looks cool. So I think ME3 has a lot of potential.
