Do you think that the Mass Effect series has lost it's 'touch'?

[Random berk]

snip

Fantastic post, that.

I loved both games. I wouldn't particularly say the second one was better, but it certainly wasn't a disappointment either. At first the weapons system seemed oversimplified to me, but I quickly realised that constantly swapping up to new weapons and gear was a waste of time when I could just pick Mantis sniper rifle, carnifex pistol, (assault rifle name forgotten), whatever useless shotgun I had at the time, and a collector particle beam, and merrily blow off any head stupid enough to pop out of cover that I saw for the rest of the game, with no interruptions.

I missed exploring any planet I was interested in, but thinking back to the Mako controls, and the relative uniformity of those planets, that wasn't such a big loss.

Some characters were uninteresting, but there were a lot more of them, and I still had my two favourite ones, even if one of them had developed a severe addiction to weapons calibrations.

The only thing that really irritated me was the introduction of thermal clips. (Seriously? In the two years that Shepard was gone, technological advancement had allowed guns that could once carry thousands of rounds of ammunition, suddenly have to be reloaded between every enemy?). This and the fact that I preferred working for the council rather than Cerberus. I'm not sure why, but there it is. So as long as they don't decide to turn the final game into Call of Duty in space, I'll play it, and probably love it.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

Personally, I think the exact opposite is happening: Mass Effect is building up steam. After all, the first game was (and please forgive the term) a MINOR major release, if that makes any sense. Yes, Mass Effect was a big thing, but compared to other major game releases of the time, it was overshadowed in the public eye a little, disregarding the Fox News scandal it had. Then it got a fanbase. In fact, if the fanbase had come along a little later, I would've been afraid that it would've went the way of Firefly, being cancelled simply because people took too long to realize that it was like a flawless gem hidden underneath a pile of rocks.

When Mass Effect 2 came out, yes, there were complaints about the changes, but I feel that is when the series really started to pick up (though don't get me wrong, I'm not saying its the better game, it just has more widespread appeal, as far as I know.).

Now, I will admit, I enjoyed Mass Effect 2 more, even though I truly miss the depth the world had in the first game. The galaxy truly felt vast and varied, where some races weren't almost completely one sided, unlike the second games Batarians. Yes, the inventory system was a hassle, and I definitely prefer the second games take on weapons and armor. Each weapon had a different feel, each had pros and cons, while the armor simply wasn't about better stats, but which bonuses suited your style of play best. I missed the Mako, simply because it was occasionally fun, though I feel that the Hammerhead as its spiritual successor, fills the old Makos role nicely. The mining minigame was something of an irritation, but in the end, having all of my squadmates survive? It was worth the work it took to get each and every upgrade.

To add to the wall of text, I am most definitely anticipating Mass Effect 3, and drooling over every tidbit Bioware gives us. I feel that they're continuing the experiments that they made in Mass Effect 2, further improving the combat, and adding more streamlined aspects of the first game, namely in the new weapon mods and the more diverse skill-leveling. Now, I am hoping that they show Talis face in the game (Yes, I am a hardcore Tali fan, but you can't exactly blame me), but I won't exactly complain if they don't, simply because I have one hope for ME:3. Please Bioware, PLEASE extend the romance scenes! They don't have to be overtly sexual, but give our squadmates, particularly the alien ones, more facetime! Pardon the pun.

Otherwise, I am extremely optimistic for the Mass Effect series, since I feel Mass Effect 3 could only improve on its predecessors. The only thing they could do better? Have them one-up The Elder Scrolls, and make an open-world Mass Effect RPG, where you can choose what race you want to be, your origins, and so on. I know they can do it, and while I don't want it to OVERTAKE The Elder Scrolls, it would make a nice, sci-fi contrast to it. And they know fans would jump at the chance to play as their favorite race.

tl;dr - I don't feel that Mass Effect is losing its touch at all. Its just getting better!

 

[etherlance]

Really???

That is the kind of question you ask about a series like "Final Fantasy", a game with over a dozen releases, not a series that has only two games out and plans to end it on the third.


If "YOU" don't like the game anymore then that's your problem not ours.

 

[TheRocketeer]

Pardon me, but the Mass Effect series only has two games out. This is not really enough to discern a pattern, and the topic is identical to asking whether you liked the first or second one better.

Or- and this is where I think it's actually headed- it's intended to include what little we know of the third game, which is a different discussion entirely, and one totally of speculation.

At any rate, I do think the first one was better than the second overall. The sequel's best moments outshine the first game's best moments, but the first was consistently better from a fluff standpoint. From a combat standpoint, the second is inarguably better. But EA should really take care not to make future titles too similar to the sea of chest-high wall dating sims out there.

But that's edging closer to speculation, so I'll cut that out.

 

[RedDeadFred]

Nope. ME 2 was better than the first game on every conceivable level.

I don't give a shit if I lose the ability to carry around eleventy trillion tonnes of arbitrary weapon mods.

Very much so this.
I am not worried about Mass Effect 3 in the slightest.

 

[airrazor7]

I don't think it's been around long enough to establish it's "touch."

This fledgling series is still evolving and so are the developers behind the series (I think one of them leveled up). They have already stated that once the Misadventures of Shepard are finished, they're going to keep working on the Mass Effect universe. In my not so humble opinion, I believe with ME 1, 2 & even 3, Bioware is just getting started.

I'm looking forward to the possible MMO they could create or other single player experiences where we could play a scenario that's about Liara the Shadow Broker and her Asari Commandos or a scenario where the player is Garrus and we get to experience an expanded version of Omega and command his squad against mercenaries, just for example.

 

[airrazor7]

accidental post

 

[Machine Man 1992]

A little,

I thought Mass Effect 2 was the kiddie pool to Mass Effect 1's abyssal trench, but other then that, I liked it so much, I've played through it about a dozen times.

Seriously.

 

[neil1990]

The only thing I want more of are sidequests and companion conversations. I just love talking to my crew members and hearing them chime up when they feel like adding something. Also when you bring specific members along that can have bearings on quests like for example in DA2 bringing one particular person along on a certain journey to prevent something tragic happening. Sidequests we could also do with more of and not tedious ones such find a person and tell him to go back to his friend. I mean branching quests, with a bit more energy to them and possibly not tied in any way to anything in the main quest (although with a Reaper invasion commencing I don't know if serric ice brandys are really worth our time). And I do enjoy going to a multitude of planets not just on main quests

 

[ImprovizoR]

There are only 2 games. And almost completely different. How can they possibly lose their touch? It's not like there's been a new Mass Effect game every year for the last 10 years, is it?

 

[TheKruzdawg]

One of the things that I miss from the transition from 1 to 2 was how much more damage Shepard seemed to withstand before death in 1 as compared to 2. I remember being able to actually stand outside of cover for more than 2 secs and not worry about dying instantly in ME 1 but in ME 2, if you try to actually fight without cover, you're going to lose every time. I hope that ME 3 allows us to actually fight without having to use cover ALL THE TIME.

It really makes some sections seemingly impossible. For ex: I'm at the end of the Horizon colony lvl in Mass Effect where you have to defend the tower controls and fight the scions and husks simultaneously. I'm playing on insanity and finding it extremely frustrating that my party keeps dying and I'm being forced from cover by the husks only to get picked off instantly by the scions once I leave. It's frustrating because there doesn't seem to be anything I can do to stop death once I am forced to leave cover.

OT: I don't think it has lost its touch. There are some things that I wish hadn't changed and some that I'm glad they did. But overall the spirit of the game has remained the same, at least for me.

 

[Felix 'Solomon' Hultgren]

Nope. ME 2 was better than the first game on every conceivable level.

I don't give a shit if I lose the ability to carry around eleventy trillion tonnes of arbitrary weapon mods.

YES! That's exactly what I was thinking! Mass Effect 2 was enjoyable all the way through which is more than one can say about ME1. They made it work and it works terribly well. Why does it matter if it's "not an rpg" in your opinion if the game is still a vast improvement?

 

[natster43]

I don't think so, but I have only played part of 1 and watched my brother play through 2, so I don't think my opinion actually counts.

 

[Dr. wonderful]

Short answer: No.

Longer answer: Hell no.

Answer to your follow-up question: RPG fans are BY FAR the worst, most entitled, most fickle group of people on the planet. Bar none.

Damn straight they are.

Dragon age fans are the WORST.

 

[Zantos]

Short answer: No.

Longer answer: Hell no.

Answer to your follow-up question: RPG fans are BY FAR the worst, most entitled, most fickle group of people on the planet. Bar none.

"It is not exactly how I want it so it is complete filth!"

Seriously RPGers, you know the whole thing about FPS fans are all 14 year old whiney racist morons because even though that only makes up a very small minority they're the ones that stick with you. Well the whole crowd of self superior "I know what's best for the whole industry because it's exactly what I like and anyone who doesn't agree is clearly a complete idiot" is your equivalent. The rational, reasonable fans out there just need to give them a massive slap once in a while so we know they aren't speaking for all of you.

Incidentally, if you don't recognise the type of person I just described above then you are really lucky. Can I come live with you? But if you really must know what I'm talking about then Pro Gamer Gauntlet has it to a tee. I'm not saying watch all of it, I wasn't that big a fan myself, but RPG in that was pretty much exactly what I'm talking about. Except they're worse in real life, at least you can try and derive some uncomfortable humour from the fact it's just parody in PGG.

Wow, that turned into quite a rant. Conservatively I blame my flatmate for being the aforementioned RPG fan.

 

[archvile93]

Nope.

Mass effect 3 is not released yet, is it?

And for the record RPG means ROLE PLAYING GAME, mass effect is an RPG. I challenge anyone out their otherwise.

I can roleplay as Master Chief while playing Halo

Therefore, Halo is an RPG under your definition.

Yeah, when it comes to catagory definitions RPGs got the worst one. Even the name itself could apply to almost any game.

OT: No I don't think it's lost it's touch. There's only been two games in the main series and both were very well made.

 

[2fish]

My only issues between ME1 and 2

I did not like the corridor style of missions as it ruined the reason I loved my sniper. Hard and fast was how I played I would snipe then jump in with tali and garrus to slam the enemy.

I was also hurt by the new way to choose ammo. Since ammo was chosen for the team rather than by person it meant I no longer had a true anti-armor and a true anti-geth since switching ammo left someone screwed.

So while I did not enjoy digging through 10,000 guns it was better than getting stuck with the 2 sniper rifle choices. If I have a choice i will always take more guns rather than fewer. Also the Mako was annoying at times but it also allowed me more exploration and stratigic options.

I hope 3 will make a nice mix of the 2 games, but alas that is a fools hope.

 

[Faux Furry]

Mass Effect is a trilogy. It hasn't gone on long enough nor will it go on long enough to lose its touch. The second entry was different than the first but a sequel changing up some elements from the only other game in the series does not constitute a losing of the series' way since there was only one other game to compare it to.
Also, as pointed out by Mark Flanagan in the link he provided, the third game is going to add even more RPG traits than the other two games in the series had.

The only way that the brief series could have lost its way in the second game is if BioWare completely neglected the plot about the Reapers and focused entirely on someone claiming to be the galaxy's greatest lover trying to save the entire universe through the power of love,sheer manly seductiveness and chest hair.

 

[Tim Mazzola]

Absolutely not. As much as I adore 1, 2 blew 1 out of the water, even in the RP department. I can understand people wanting more customization with their inventory, but hey, 3 seems to be fixing that alright without making a clunky inventory like the first game.

Also, there are 2 games in the series. To say that it has "lost its touch" this early is kind of invalid because it hasn't really developed a "touch" as a series yet XD