Why I'm Not Playing Mass Effect 2
- Thread starter John Funk
- Start date
I just hate RPGs. Western or Japanese. I like instant gratification, or short term gratification in games. That's why I like shooters and racers. Call me simple, but I'm not going to do work/favors for someone in a game just so 6 hours down the story they can betray me. Fuck that. That happens to me in real life. And "choose your path" games hate it when you're an asshole anyways, even though they make it an option.
If you're on a 3rd playthrough of a game that came out a week ago, I submit that you have free time of the like that I decidedly do not. What fun is playing a game for an hour a week? You'll forget where you were going, never have time to be immersed in the world and the story, and just not get as involved as you would be if you take it in larger chunks.Nimbus said:
I don't want to play a game that I *need* to play for 30+ hours to see to the end.
This is the exact reason I haven't finished GTA 4 too. I also made an impulse purchase of Persona 4, and that got shelved. Hell, I had to practically force myself to finish Twilight Princess and that's not nearly as long as any of these other games. I've been finding myself more and more playing flash games and indie downloads (VVVVVV has been a big part of my time) and when I need big budget production and large scope, it's down to WoW, which can be experienced any way you want.
The biggest thing about World of Warcraft that makes it viable to play these long hours is the fact that you can pick what you want to do. If you don't want to get started on a huge long story line or raid, you don't have to. You can play the market or search for quests or achievements, or just roleplay if you're into that sort of thing. There's no time dedication required and there's nothing you're required to do next, where some big budget games will have a main storyline, and once you've exhausted your other options, you have to follow that line to get anywhere.
The biggest thing about World of Warcraft that makes it viable to play these long hours is the fact that you can pick what you want to do. If you don't want to get started on a huge long story line or raid, you don't have to. You can play the market or search for quests or achievements, or just roleplay if you're into that sort of thing. There's no time dedication required and there's nothing you're required to do next, where some big budget games will have a main storyline, and once you've exhausted your other options, you have to follow that line to get anywhere.
i totally know what you mean...i never got past the first few levels of mass effect, even though i knew if i gave it time and patience it would blow my mind
its like, if you could compress fallout 3 and all of its DLC down to the really interesting areas and quests, even if it was 50% of the size it is now, it would be better....for me anyway, i just dont have the time for sandboxes
its like, if you could compress fallout 3 and all of its DLC down to the really interesting areas and quests, even if it was 50% of the size it is now, it would be better....for me anyway, i just dont have the time for sandboxes
Thoroughly enjoyed that read and I think a lot of people can share your sentiments, whether it be down to work or like me - family life. I've stopped playing WoW for now as I'm awaiting the arrival of another bundle of joy but I agree that it's never felt a waste of time because of the social aspect and just general enjoyment from the game, not the story.
I has no money. can't buy it. Long games are good. It lets you actually keep your attention on it instead of just letting it die and gather dust on your shelf.
I don't get to play
I don't get to play
I don't really have much to add to this.
Except that a video game reviewer not playing Mass Effect 2 is like a music critic that's never listened to Zeppelin.
But at least you have a good reason. I mean, assuming you find the digital version of running on a hamster wheel a good reason.
Except that a video game reviewer not playing Mass Effect 2 is like a music critic that's never listened to Zeppelin.
But at least you have a good reason. I mean, assuming you find the digital version of running on a hamster wheel a good reason.
May be it's the old bastard that I am but honeslty I was waiting for a few epic games like these. I have a full time job, a wife juggling grad school and work, and a 2 year old. . . so if I am going to take time to play a game I want that experience to draw me in. The idea of getting into a little multiplayer mayhem is just a way to pass time for me if I DON'T have a game like Mass effect sitting on my shelf.
Just when it was seeming that the days of Planescape:Torment and Baldur's Gate 2 were behind us, we get these two epic games along and remind me why I love RPGs.
Just when it was seeming that the days of Planescape:Torment and Baldur's Gate 2 were behind us, we get these two epic games along and remind me why I love RPGs.
I understand the sentiment, though I have to say that (in some cases) it's a false dichotomy. The first ME only takes around 20 hours if you stick to the main missions. I haven't played ME2 yet so I have no idea if that's true of the sequel, but I know in every other Bioware game I've played the time-consuming part of it wasn't the main game, it was all the side missions.
Granted, you're missing out on a huge portion of the experience if you opt-out of the optional content, but it's your choice. Developers have been pretty good about keeping to brass tacks in their main campaigns this generation. ME felt like a complete experience even when I insisted on getting right to the point.
I was actually repelled from WoW after a while because there was no definitive ending. I could spend hours, months, even years playing the game and there would still be more to do. I find single-player epics more appealing in the regard that I know no matter how long they are they will end. If I don't complete it, so what? Any time I spend on something I enjoy isn't a waste even if I don't finish it.
Of course, WoW has something no single player RPG ever will, and John touched on it: it's a social experience. If I ever go back that's what'll draw me in. In fact, that's partly why I'm looking forward to The Old Republic. Not only can you conquer beasties and baddies alongside virtual companions, you can create your own stories within a lore-rich world if you so choose. That's a level of freedom no single player experience will ever be able to provide. (Barring advanced AI scripts that would let NPCs develop and react of their own will according to the player's input. Unfortunately that means my PS3 might become Skynet.)
In the end I suppose it's a matter of preference. Both kinds of games have their advantages and you'll end up spending the same amount of time on either of them if you've got it to spare. Unfortunately time is a limited resource so even if you'd like to be an avid player of both you'll probably have to choose.
Granted, you're missing out on a huge portion of the experience if you opt-out of the optional content, but it's your choice. Developers have been pretty good about keeping to brass tacks in their main campaigns this generation. ME felt like a complete experience even when I insisted on getting right to the point.
I was actually repelled from WoW after a while because there was no definitive ending. I could spend hours, months, even years playing the game and there would still be more to do. I find single-player epics more appealing in the regard that I know no matter how long they are they will end. If I don't complete it, so what? Any time I spend on something I enjoy isn't a waste even if I don't finish it.
Of course, WoW has something no single player RPG ever will, and John touched on it: it's a social experience. If I ever go back that's what'll draw me in. In fact, that's partly why I'm looking forward to The Old Republic. Not only can you conquer beasties and baddies alongside virtual companions, you can create your own stories within a lore-rich world if you so choose. That's a level of freedom no single player experience will ever be able to provide. (Barring advanced AI scripts that would let NPCs develop and react of their own will according to the player's input. Unfortunately that means my PS3 might become Skynet.)
In the end I suppose it's a matter of preference. Both kinds of games have their advantages and you'll end up spending the same amount of time on either of them if you've got it to spare. Unfortunately time is a limited resource so even if you'd like to be an avid player of both you'll probably have to choose.
Well if you dont want because its to long then that's fine, that's why there are all sorts of games. I love games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, but i have a hard time with games like WoW and LFD (unless its local co-op)
ME2 aside (I have neither xbox or gaming PC so this one goes under my radar unfortunately) I agree wholeheartedly with this article and I find it quite saddening. A few years ago I was more than able to spend forever on my games but in the last couple of years it's all changed. I still do play my PS3 and if I have the time or inclination I'l happily waste a day on a new game, I blitzed inFamous when I got it a few months ago and had no uni work but (still have yet to finish it) and Arkham Asylum actually got finished over a weekend before that (but that was when I had yet to start back at uni and had no Summer girlfriend...)
I keep looking at games in the stores and thinking ooooh I want it!! Dragon Age is one of these, but for the same reason as in the article I don't want to feel like its wasted if I don't finish it. Bioshock 2's out in a few weeks and I STILL haven't finished the first one! I just keep forgetting! The cases of these unfinished games just stare at me and make me feel guilty now...
I keep looking at games in the stores and thinking ooooh I want it!! Dragon Age is one of these, but for the same reason as in the article I don't want to feel like its wasted if I don't finish it. Bioshock 2's out in a few weeks and I STILL haven't finished the first one! I just keep forgetting! The cases of these unfinished games just stare at me and make me feel guilty now...
And yet you do play others longer. The point I'm trying to make is that, at least to myself, a lot of what your saying is mostly excuses [sub]and not particularly good ones at that[/sub]. If you spent as much time just getting to the end of any of Biowares games as you do playing WoW and L4D2 and justifying doing so, you could have all three (ME, ME2, DA:O) you could be done in a couple of months.John Funk said:
Really? So exactly what genre and storytelling shatteringly well done games have they made since Warcraft 3?Fearzone said:
Gee, I didn't know Led Zeppelin required 30+ hours of commitment to listen to. You have opened my eyesByers said:
And the hamster wheel / treadmill argument has always felt a bit fallacious to me - I think Shamus Young's analogy of an entire health club [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/experienced-points/6110-The-Secret-of-WoW.2], rather than a treadmill, works much better. It just reeks of people who've never actually played the game and are bashing it - and the genre - based on preconceptions and hearsay.
Just a little tidbit: Mass Effect isn't like KOTOR with its pendulum. You have Paragon points, and you have Renegade points, and you can be as much of either as you want to be. The 'bonuses' you receive are pretty much equivalent no matter which way, or how far, you go. If anything, I would tag Mass Effect as being too FAR in the other direction from KOTOR, in that being one or the other doesn't seem to have enough of an impact.factualsquirrel said:
You're missing the point entirely. Yes, I play WoW and L4D2 more than any BioWare games, but it's because I choose to, rather than because I have to. I can play a quick game of TF2, spend 15 minutes in the game, or get into a particularly intense session and play for two hours.KingPiccolOwned said:
In the end, I can plug out of these games without feeling like I 'lost' something by not playing more - I haven't even played TF2 in months - whereas if I spent 30 hours in ME2 I'd feel obligated to play more. It's not the sort of game you can dabble in; you can't log in and do dailies or a random dungeon with your guildies and log out.
And judging by the responses, I'm certainly not alone in this sentiment. At night, I can look at my Steam list and go "Oh, I don't have time for Dragon Age, but I have time for a quick round of L4D2." That time adds up, yes, but it's a psychological thing.
Oh yeah, but that wasn't the reason I was getting pissed, it was because on my first playthroughGeoffrey42 said:
Wrex left my party (or whatever he did, it was ages ago), so I decided I would try and keep him this time. I couldn't because my intimidation wasn't high enough, so I had to start again again, and I already got bored.
