Why I'm Not Playing Mass Effect 2
- Thread starter John Funk
- Start date
Um don't play ME and ME2, those who've played the first hate the second and vice versa. Basically ME2 is a big "fuck you" to any Bioware fan that followed them this far and a big "hey there!" to a new fan base. ME2 is nothing more than a cheap Gears of War rip-off that has only one thing going for it; Bioware still tells a good story.
I understand and respect your opinion. I know people who don't like long, epic games because they're afraid of getting burned out right before the ending.
But, um...did this really need a blog post? Is writing for Escapist a paying job? How much can you make per game you justify not playing?
But, um...did this really need a blog post? Is writing for Escapist a paying job? How much can you make per game you justify not playing?
Lame lame lame lame...play it or not there is no other excuse, put it on easy and you will fly through it as fast as any god of war clone...... which is kind of sad.....that RPGs are now so damn dumbed down....... oh well......
I guess it depends on why you play games. If you play games for a sense of completion and accomplishment, then it makes sense not wanting to play epic-scale games if you only have a few hours a day of gaming at your disposal.
I think I play games mostly to experience the world and the "action" the game has to offer. I'm still into my 100+ hour Oblivion game I started more than a year ago. Sometimes I don't touch it for months, but eventually I return to it, even if it's just for a few hours a day. It doesn't matter how long the "gaming-streak" is. I can always jump in and continue right where I left off.
Actually I have three "epic-scale" games playing right now. Morrowind, Oblivion and Dragon Age. I don't force myself to play them every day until I complete them. What's the point in doing that? Games are for fun. But I always get back to them eventually when I feel like it and finish them at some point.
edit: I guess the secret is not to be afraid of taking on "epic-scale" games, because nobody is forcing you to play them every day. When you get bored, just leave it and return to it later. It's really not that hard to "get back into it" after taking long breaks. Most epic-style games have a journal, quest logs, etc. where you can read up your status when you last quit. A few checks of your inventory and soon you'll be back into it like you just played it yesterday.
I think I play games mostly to experience the world and the "action" the game has to offer. I'm still into my 100+ hour Oblivion game I started more than a year ago. Sometimes I don't touch it for months, but eventually I return to it, even if it's just for a few hours a day. It doesn't matter how long the "gaming-streak" is. I can always jump in and continue right where I left off.
Actually I have three "epic-scale" games playing right now. Morrowind, Oblivion and Dragon Age. I don't force myself to play them every day until I complete them. What's the point in doing that? Games are for fun. But I always get back to them eventually when I feel like it and finish them at some point.
edit: I guess the secret is not to be afraid of taking on "epic-scale" games, because nobody is forcing you to play them every day. When you get bored, just leave it and return to it later. It's really not that hard to "get back into it" after taking long breaks. Most epic-style games have a journal, quest logs, etc. where you can read up your status when you last quit. A few checks of your inventory and soon you'll be back into it like you just played it yesterday.
You're missing out on an amazing game. It may be huge, but it isn't overwhelming. As it happens: some mechanics from the first game were scrapped from the second one because some menus were inconvenient.
But the compelling characters, the epic story, the easy gameplay mechanics, the dilemmas you're facing ... it's all so expertly crafted that you have no other option than to experience this. The continuity between the predecessor and this one is just unbelievable. I can swear you, hands down: after having written more than 100 reviews in the past four years, this is one of the best games I have ever played.
And you should be playing as well instead of blogging about why you're not.
But the compelling characters, the epic story, the easy gameplay mechanics, the dilemmas you're facing ... it's all so expertly crafted that you have no other option than to experience this. The continuity between the predecessor and this one is just unbelievable. I can swear you, hands down: after having written more than 100 reviews in the past four years, this is one of the best games I have ever played.
And you should be playing as well instead of blogging about why you're not.
I agree completely. While I love Bioware RPGs and recently bought ME1 in preparation for ME2, I haven't been able to play it. The short amount of time that I can play each week (about 2 hours) cannot accommodate these games. Instead, I can play MW2 with my friends for 30 minutes at a time, not feel strung out along a story, and not feel like I have to take notes on what I played last week. I just don't like the feeling that I may be wasting my time in order to get to an ending that may or may not interest me. I prefer RPGs like Fallout 3 where I can do things that I want to at the moment instead of trying to get through the game to experience one part of it.
... Huh?Who Dares Wins said:I haven't played ACTUAL games, for what, 8 months now, they LOOK overwhelming, I think it's gonna be great I'm just a tiny bit in all that's happening to the world but a lot of games that I played that made me think like that, actually were pretty disappointing...So now I decided not to play them at all.
And I really thought this article made a lot of sense. It explained how I felt about some games at times.
I haven't played because shooters bore the snot out of me, except for the ones that are SUPPOSED to be funny of course. I have the attention span of a gumdrop & the reflex skills of a venus flytrap. If I'm going to be killed every 2 seconds, I'm going down laughing with bright shiny colors.
The Escapist has spent so much time covering this I shouldn't have to respond to another ill-conceived post like this, but here it is.Teh Blasta said:
If you break any game down to its core elements there's a lot of repetition. It doesn't matter if you're talking about a hack n' slash or an RPG, game design is repetitive by necessity. You couldn't introduce new mechanics every hour of the game without it becoming overwhelming, not to mention every new idea would be more slipshod than the last. Instead what you get is basic mechanics introduced within the first few hours of play mixed with advanced techniques later on. It provides the illusion of variety by building upon what has already been established. WoW does that just like any other game. On top of that, WoW has a greater variety of repetitive tasks than any single-player game will ever have. (Plus the social element; do not underestimate the power of the social element.) If it gets dull you're either not playing it right or it's not your kind of game.
To summarize, if you're going to tell John he's making excuses, the same thing can be said about you regarding the games you knock. You're making excuses. Don't slam them just because you don't know how to play.
Really? I'm a massive Bioware fan, and I loved both ME games, as has every Bioware fan I've talked to. Go figure.Nimzabaat said:
Out of curiosity, what did you dislike about ME1? A surprising amount of things have been changed and/or improved.Miki91 said:
Anyway, I know what you mean. I've been forced to play ME2 in short sessions (the longest being 2 hours, most being much shorter), and I feel my experience is suffering. I still adore the game, but not as much as if I just sat down for 3 10-hour sessions to chug through it. I actually lamented this earlier; I was thinking about this, and it made me wish the game was shorter, because my 11 hours would be enough to get through the story on most games.
um, I don't think this qualifies as a spoiler, so:
I can't speak about ME1 or ME2, but Dragon Age's story is not hard to follow, even if you only play it for, say, 5 hours a week. It's fairly stereotypical, and one quick look at your journal entries and maybe a few codex entries would remind you where you are and what you've been doing last. It's epic, it's huge, but I believe it can still be played in small chunks. I suggest you give it a try
I can't speak about ME1 or ME2, but Dragon Age's story is not hard to follow, even if you only play it for, say, 5 hours a week. It's fairly stereotypical, and one quick look at your journal entries and maybe a few codex entries would remind you where you are and what you've been doing last. It's epic, it's huge, but I believe it can still be played in small chunks. I suggest you give it a try
Pretty much this. The story for Dragon Age is not hard to follow at all, and as has been said, if you have forgotten where you are, you can quickly refresh yourself by looking at the codex entries.Galad said:
i agree with your point(about 50 hour games) but as many people have said mass effect 1 and 2 could take up a week end to complete
Same here. I've played every bioware fame since Baldur's Gate 2 and I love ME2. Certain people just don'tlike when a developer goes in another direction, whether it be streamlined play or shitty hack n slash console ports.( Yes Im talking to you Baldur's Gate.) Same thing happened after Dues Ex 2 came out. Everyone gated it cause it was too "dumbed down".orannis62 said:
Really? So then what was all that praise for both Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2? And where are Diablo III and Starcraft II?Fearzone said:
Anyways as for Funk, I can understand where you're coming from. There's not always the time for games as long as Mass Effect 2 or Dragon Age. Sometimes you just need quick, easy enjoyment. However, I grew up on JRPGs, so I do expect to get some time for my money, especially when a new game is so expensive. If a game is 8 hours long, I shouldn't have to pay the same for a two disc 25-30 hour long game.