I agree. To me, Sovreign's "beyond your comprehension" line didn't do much for me the first time and had me rolling my eyes and going "sure, buddy, whatever you say" each time I heard it afterwards. The notion that the Reapers are designed to think this way so as not to question whether it's right to do what they do occurred to me after ME3 and I think it's fascinating in its own way. I don't think it diminishes how scary they are because what made them scary is not being unknowable, it's a being an ancient and innumerable horde of nigh-unstoppable abominations that can turn even the most strong-willed individuals into gibbering puppets or nightmarish monstrosities and that unfailingly and regularly commit genocide on a scale which is in and of itself barely fathomable to the human mind. Finding out more about them in ME2 made them more frightening to me, not less so.lumenadducere said:I can't be the only one that wasn't thrilled with the "unknowable, beyond your comprehension" thing. To me that's just bad writing. Maybe I'm optimistic about the capability of the human mind to understand things, but anything unknown to me is just something that needs to be discovered and studied in order to be understood. Saying "we're so above you you could never comprehend us" just sounds like the Reapers are hipsters to me. And I find hipsters to be far less scary than robo space squid with a defined origin.
But then, I've never really found Cthulhu or any of the Lovecraftian mythos to be particularly scary, either. The whole "unknowable" thing has never done it for me and I don't get why others find it creepy at all. It's kinda like particle physics, in a way - you can explain it in layman's terms to someone who doesn't know anything about physics. Yes, it won't really be entirely accurate and it'll be extremely simplified, but it's still understandable. Everything has an origin, everything has a motivation, and if need be we can understand in the most basic, dumbed down terms...but it's still a form of understanding.
Plus, it wasn't ME3 that killed the notion of the Reapers as being Cthulhu-esque, it was the end of the first game. Sovereign's death immediately destroys the whole "we're so far beyond you" mystique and lets you know that they're mortal and can die just like anything else. Yes, it requires overwhelming firepower beyond what most civilizations can muster, but it's still doable. That end sequence immediately sets them on an understandable and conquerable level, regardless of how overwhelming the odds.
So how much do you care? Is it a lot?Gennadios said:I could care less.
Shut... the fuck... up...Elmoth said:These screenshots just confirm what I already agree with.
"Mass Effect is changing (Has changed by now) its target audience, and I'm not in it. What started out as a thoughtful sci-fi setting with music designed to carry the Blade Runner vibe and dialogue that Picard could've spoken now became a goddamn Power Rangers episode full of space ninjas, space marines, anime and cringeworthy oneliners.
Enjoy selling to the 12-18 year old male demographic, Bioware. You are doubtlessly shifting your focus to this easily exploitable market because of your boundless artistic integrity."
So maybe don't buy the DLC.oconneki said:No, No, No, No Bioware! When you have an Eldritch lovecraftian Character you DO NOT explain what they are or where they came from. You merely dance around it or give cryptic or unreliable hints as to their nature.
"Rudimentary creature of Blood and Flesh, you touch my mind, Fumbling in ignorance INCAPABLE of understanding." -Sovereign
To gaze upon the visage of Cthulhu is to court madness. If you gaze upon Cthulhu's tentacley awesomeness and understand it then Cthulhu's not that scary a character. The Reapers were terrifying because they were unknown (perhaps unknowable). If we learn too much about them or their motivations then they become normal, relatable, and mundane.
"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown" -H.P. Lovecraft
I WANT THE CTHULHU-BORG TO REMAIN THE CTHULHU-BORG! I don't want them to just be those rouge octopus A.I.
...Rant done. I guess I shouldn't care very much any more since Bioware already screwed the pooch on the Reapers (among other things) with the ending, E.C. or not, but it's easier to head-canon one screw up than it is two.
EDIT: On an unrelated note, I'm almost out of Space on my Xbox and can't handle many more DLC's... so... uhh... Boo
Sure. With multiplayer content (mostly a ploy for microtransactions). I guess one good thing I can say is that at least they're not making you charge an arm and a nose for that SP weapon pack, considering most of the content is already in MP (and can even be unlocked without the pack by editing a file in the game folder).Still Life said:I really like that Bioware have supported the crap out of this game post-release.
You accuse me of editing your post? That's low.Elmoth said:You edit my post and accuse me of childishness? Pretending like I can't count, that's low.ChrisRedfield92 said:Please learn how to count before you dish out moronic childishness...Elmoth said:Rage, strike one, no arguments, strike three, talking down to the forums, strike three and you're out!ChrisRedfield92 said:Shut... the fuck... up...Elmoth said:These screenshots just confirm what I already agree with.
"Mass Effect is changing (Has changed by now) its target audience, and I'm not in it. What started out as a thoughtful sci-fi setting with music designed to carry the Blade Runner vibe and dialogue that Picard could've spoken now became a goddamn Power Rangers episode full of space ninjas, space marines, anime and cringeworthy oneliners.
Enjoy selling to the 12-18 year old male demographic, Bioware. You are doubtlessly shifting your focus to this easily exploitable market because of your boundless artistic integrity."
If I accidentally read one more montage of stupid moronic statements...
You know what, fuck this site...
I was stupid to think that the people here had anything remotely resembling intelligence and thought.
You guys are just the Youtube comment section without the 500 character limitations.
Fuck You, and good day.
Because the 12-18 year old male demographic is somehow lesser than you? Because the demographic that you sit under is just so much better then those lesser ones. Maybe that's not what you meant by that, maybe you think it's ok to infer that you are better then the "unwashed masses." Regardless I don't much care you sounded arrogant, and I don't like arrogance.Elmoth said:These screenshots just confirm what I already agree with.
"Mass Effect is changing (Has changed by now) its target audience, and I'm not in it. What started out as a thoughtful sci-fi setting with music designed to carry the Blade Runner vibe and dialogue that Picard could've spoken now became a goddamn Power Rangers episode full of space ninjas, space marines, anime and cringeworthy oneliners.
Enjoy selling to the 12-18 year old male demographic, Bioware. You are doubtlessly shifting your focus to this easily exploitable market because of your boundless artistic integrity."
Not quite, I'd like to see what more stupidity I can extract, I've extracted plenty and there's plenty more to come I'm sure.Elmoth said:Ah duuuur no youuu. Yeah I'd like to continue this but I've had my fun (what little I could) now are you going or not?ChrisRedfield92 said:You accuse me of editing your post? That's low.Elmoth said:You edit my post and accuse me of childishness? Pretending like I can't count, that's low.ChrisRedfield92 said:Please learn how to count before you dish out moronic childishness...Elmoth said:Rage, strike one, no arguments, strike three, talking down to the forums, strike three and you're out!ChrisRedfield92 said:Shut... the fuck... up...Elmoth said:These screenshots just confirm what I already agree with.
"Mass Effect is changing (Has changed by now) its target audience, and I'm not in it. What started out as a thoughtful sci-fi setting with music designed to carry the Blade Runner vibe and dialogue that Picard could've spoken now became a goddamn Power Rangers episode full of space ninjas, space marines, anime and cringeworthy oneliners.
Enjoy selling to the 12-18 year old male demographic, Bioware. You are doubtlessly shifting your focus to this easily exploitable market because of your boundless artistic integrity."
If I accidentally read one more montage of stupid moronic statements...
You know what, fuck this site...
I was stupid to think that the people here had anything remotely resembling intelligence and thought.
You guys are just the Youtube comment section without the 500 character limitations.
Fuck You, and good day.
Changing a game's target demographic is not a bad thing in and of itself, but EA makes it a habit, to the point of it being their defining characteristic.Eddie the head said:Because the 12-18 year old male demographic is somehow lesser than you? Because the demographic that you sit under is just so much better then those lesser ones. Maybe that's not what you meant by that, maybe you think it's ok to infer that you are better then the "unwashed masses." Regardless I don't much care you sounded arrogant, and I don't like arrogance.
crazyrabbits said:I don't care how 'RPG' it is, it seems retarded that a member of an elite special forces unit like Shepard is somehow incapable of holding or aiming a gun properly for about a third of the game.Eddie the head said:Mass Effect (became a glorified third-person shooter with some RPG elements that was intended for new players - the difference between the first and third games are quite surprising)
I really liked ME1, it was a great game. Still is, but the combat is often frustrating because its cover and shoot mechanic was wonky. Perhaps what they need to do is stop calling it an RPG, and just call it what so many people seem to think it is: a Sci-fi action, 3rd Person Shooter. Nothing wrong with that, and I wish more games would emulate the formula of great characters, thrilling set pieces, wonderful romance and interesting universe design.