Okay, I'm Sorry but... Just What on Earth is so Great about Mass Effect?!

[bafrali]

Oh great. Now that you mentioned Half Life, people will ***** and moan about it. I hope you are happy OP.

OT: Just because some idiot tried to compare two entirely different series doesn't mean you should act silly about it too. Some like it some don't. OPINIONS. It doesn't get more simple than that

 

[wintercoat]

i thought you were the shy and highly analitical sort of guy

You will be surprised to find that in real life, I in fact suffer from socially crippling shyness.

Also, bug bait is best weapon ever. I giggled like a schoolgirl when I first got it and had my little squad of bugs massacre my enemies for me. When one of my antlions was killed I was all D: but then another one appeared in it's place and I was all . Then the pheropod stopped calling more antlions after the prison and I was a sad panda :`(

 

[ElPatron]

Well, considering when I played them both(last year), and the fact that I have only had an internet connection for the past 5 years, yes, that's exactly how it came off, that the only reason so much praise was heaped on both games was because they were made by Valve. It seemed like all of the praise for them was "OMG VALVE !!!!!" It's like Tarantino's movies. Half the fans of his movies seem to elevate all of his movies to perfect status solely because he made them rather than based on their quality.

I have said this many times: Half Life suffers from the Seinfeld In Unfunny trope.

If you played Half Life 2 in 2008 or later there is a big chance you won't escape the "hype backlash" because almost every FPS took elements from Half-Life. Same thing when a person who already watched a load of TV comedy and hears about how genius Seinfeld was.

I admit that there are a few parts of Seinfeld I don't find funny because I have been spoiled by others copying it.

 

[Able Seacat]

Opinions! People can like and dislike what they want. Some people like Mass Effect for many a reason such as the universe you play in, certain characters or perhaps the combat. Other people may not like it for similar reasons such as yourself or because of the ending to Mass Effect 3.

If you want options, why dont you play Deus Ex? You get options on how you go about completing quests and on how you relate to people. And youre not tied down by an arbitary morality meter that may restrict your options if youre not enough of a saint to help someone or if youre not enough of a douche to punch someone during a conversation.

I'm not sure if you quoted me accidentally or if you read my post wrong as I wrote 'opinions' not 'options' but anywho I haven't played the original but I very much enjoyed Human Revolution so I think your on the money there.

Spoiler: Also...

 

[Klagermeister]

The game presents you with very in-depth and morally challenging stories for some races.

For example, do you cure the Genophage because it was an unjust and absolutely horrendous solution to slaughter, or do you sabotage the cure to win the trust of the salarians, ensuring the current peace will last?

Do you allow the geth to be massacred by the quarians out for revenge once their planet was overtaken, or do you give the normally-violent geth a chance at uncaging themselves and experiencing free will, with the potential for their sentience backlashing?

You connect well with the characters. They leave emotional impacts on you. You fight by their side for three straight games and you see the consequences of your choices affecting them. You're not just some meathead with a crowbar tasked with killing everything in your way.

There's an excellent combination of shooter mechanics and RPG mechanics. Biotics are essentially magic spells, and guns are guns, so it draws fans of both genres in during the gameplay, allowing you to fine-tune your play style to your preferences.

The soundtrack is amazing. It adds emotional impact to everything you do.

My question to you is this: what's the big fucking deal about Half Life?

 

[Chunga the Great]

I've stayed away from 2 and 3 since 1 was a massive, MASSIVE pile of shit, so I have no idea, but I guess people can have their opinions.

 

[Hazy992]

Personal preferences are wonderful things aren't they?

Mass Effect. Better. Than Half Life.
That was the final straw.

It's not an objective fact that Half Life is better than Mass Effect. You prefer the former, others the latter. Who cares?

That is the whole point! Don't you see? If people don't agree that means they are stupid and wrong!

Oh of course! How did I not see that before?!

 

[wintercoat]

Well, considering when I played them both(last year), and the fact that I have only had an internet connection for the past 5 years, yes, that's exactly how it came off, that the only reason so much praise was heaped on both games was because they were made by Valve. It seemed like all of the praise for them was "OMG VALVE !!!!!" It's like Tarantino's movies. Half the fans of his movies seem to elevate all of his movies to perfect status solely because he made them rather than based on their quality.

I have said this many times: Half Life suffers from the Seinfeld In Unfunny trope.

If you played Half Life 2 in 2008 or later there is a big chance you won't escape the "hype backlash" because almost every FPS took elements from Half-Life. Same thing when a person who already watched a load of TV comedy and hears about how genius Seinfeld was.

I admit that there are a few parts of Seinfeld I don't find funny because I have been spoiled by others copying it.

>.> I think Seinfeld is a shitty show, and I watched it when it was new /tropebreaker

 

[Vuliev]

Man, all these intricate analyses and heavy opinions on the two make my take on it seem rather petty, but I'll be damned if it's not one of the most important things about the game.

Half Life and HL2 (and in all honesty, pretty much every Source game until TF2) make me horrendously motion sick after only about thirty minutes to an hour of play. I was only barely able to get through Portal, and even then I had to lie down for a bit because of how motion-sick it made me.

The Mass Effect trilogy didn't make me motion-sick, and contains some of the most immersive storytelling in gaming. The combat and leveling system in the first two weren't nearly bad enough to put me off the game as a whole.

 

[Davroth]

Mass Effect. Better. Than life.

Think about it, can you reliably romance a blue alien or a chick with a purple mask and kinky legs?

I didn't think so.



Also, the dialogue is above average, which translate into "amazing" in today's video game industry.

 

[Destal]

For some time now, pretty much since Mass Effect 2 released, fans haven't been able to shut up about how amazing the Mass Effect series is. This has always confused me, as having played the lengthy demos for both Mass Effect 2 and 3, I have to say that fair graphics, standard gameplay, okayish acting, and Jordan Shephard's glassy eyed mannequin head didn't even come close to impressing me. But I just rolled my eyes and got on with it.
However, in a very recent post on this very forum, a user claimed that Half Life 3 would probably not be worth the wait due to the Mass Effect series having very likely eclipsed Valve's flagship series in the meantime.

Mass Effect. Better. Than Half Life.
That was the final straw.

So I ask you all... What the fuck is the big deal?

For better or worse, at least Mass Effect knows how to finish a trilogy.

 

[MetallicaRulez0]

So I ask you all... What the fuck is the big deal?

Some people like different things. Everyone on this forum is practically blowing Bethesda every time they release a game (especially Skyrim), but I have yet to play one that I thought was more than pure horse shit (especially Skyrim). Opinions, people have them.

 

[Lugbzurg]

Half-Life and Mass Effect. These are both held in high regard for, not only their really good stories, but the method of how they told those stories.

Half-Life told its stories without any cutscenes (aside from that one stretcher cutscene in the first game) and with a large supply of subtleties in the background, whereas Mass Effect told its story by letting you control specific aspects of it like a Choose Your Own Adventure book (only much, MUCH better).

Strangely enough, I like Zapper more than Frogger, as well as Doom more than Duke Nukem.

 

[IamQ]

Mass Effect. Better. Than Half Life.
That was the final straw.

I know, right? I mean Oh. My. God. It's fun to write sentences like this. But you know what's not fun? Other people's opinions. Conflicting. With. Mine.

That's just not okay.

 

[Slayer_2]

To be honest, Mass Effect is "meh" to me, but Half Life even more so. I never completed Half Life 2 (one of few games that bored me to the point I couldn't finish it), at least I beat Mass Effect 1 and 2. Matter of opinion, really.

 

[jklinders]

The hook to Mass Effect is the world building that occurs. To a small extent you can craft your own story within the confines of the overall plot and and craft your own outcomes.

I was bored with Half Life 2 pretty quick. It's an FPS with some physics gimmicks. On a rail. It never really spoke to me. I had no real choice about how to proceed. It was pretty and all but I cared nothing about any of the events I was supposed to and I never finished it.

Mass Effect has it's problems but I prefer the world building and story telling brought to me by Bioware to the cold sterile rail I was placed on in Half Life.

Just my opinion. Nothing to get upset over or anything.

 

[Tayh]

Hey, it's not a crime not to like a game.
It's okay, you are allowed your own opinions and favourites; it's not our job to make you like this game, or otherwise convince you to do something you don't want.

So tell me, why is it wrong to think that Mass Effect is better than half-life, anyway?