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

[The Last Nomad]

But seriously, Mordin and the whole Geneophage plot line carries the series. Everything else is kind of mediocre in my eyes.

While I disagree that Everything else mediocre (to each his own, I won't try to argue with/change your opinion or anything) but I would have to say that Mordin and the Geneophage plot line are better than any character and plotline found in anything I've seen in Half-life (I've only played HL2 if that's any consideration to anyone).

So OP, yes I would say Mass Effect is better than half-life. But I've only played the second installment of each, so perhaps I'm not the most educated on them.

 

[Vigormortis]

The Mass Effect series as whole is better than the Half-Life series. Better story, game play, graphics, VO, environment ect.

But of course this all comes down to, wait for it, opinions! They're a new thing I hear.

I can agree it's all a matter of opinion, but the one thing I have to disagree with you on specifically is voice acting. The Half-Life series has better voice-over work than Mass Effect.

Not that the Mass Effect series has bad voice-over work. Not at all. It's just that it, at times, feels very flat. And though it's obviously scripted, it just tends to feel scripted. If that makes sense. To put it another way, there are often times where the dialog just doesn't feel natural. Like the conversations are forced or the voice actors are sort of "phoning it in".

Now, the Half-Life (and Portal) series are not without these moments, I'll grant you, but they occur a lot less frequently than with Mass Effect.

 

[Twilight_guy]

In return I ask you, what's your problem with people having opinions and liking things at different levels then you do? So some people really like Mass Effect and you don't, its not a reason to get upset.

 

[Vigormortis]

snip

Huh...imagine that. You get angry when someone goes out of their way to say something you like isn't good. Gee, I wonder if that sort of thing has ever come up anywhere else?

Also, you've proven my point. The OP stated his opinion on something as fact. You stated yours in much the same manner. So tell me, how are you any different than the OP? I was simply pointing out the hypocrisy.

(Also, I wasn't "belittling" you for you opinion. The fact that you took it as such shows me that you, like many others, seem to think your opinion is the only one that matters.)

 

[Terminate421]

Huh...imagine that. You get angry when someone goes out of their way to say something you like isn't good. Gee, I wonder if that sort of thing has ever come up anywhere else?

Everywhere else in this site. As was you. I said I hated Half-life, you then responded by saying "Says the guy who likes Halo" This means that because I like Halo, it MUST mean I hate Half-life. I took that as offensive because it is in fact, a typical insult used here.

Also, you've proven my point. The OP stated his opinion on something as fact. You stated yours in much the same manner. So tell me, how are you any different than the OP? I was simply pointing out the hypocrisy.

Hypocracy? We both had different views, and I never once thought my opinion was better at all! I posted how I felt about Half-life and then Mass Effect and walked away, you then took that and said my reason for liking mass effect was wrong because I "Wasn't having conversations"

(Also, I wasn't "belittling" you for you opinion. The fact that you took it as such shows me that you, like many others, seem to think your opinion is the only one that matters.)

Again, the reason I felt it was an insult is stated above

 

[Olas]

It's the first videogame that doesn't need a movie adaptation because it's already an interactive movie. It has better characters, storylines, and writing than Star Wars and most other major sci-fi franchises.

That's just my opinion, but opinions don't come from nowhere.

 

[Vigormortis]

snip

I think in this case we're both guilty of assumptions. Ones perpetuated on this forum by quite a few people.

For the record, I never thought that because you liked Halo you must hate Half-Life. Also, for the record, I actually like Halo. At least, most of the series. (2 and 3, blegh) So my little "jab" at you on it was...empty.

I'll admit, my first quote was designed to elicit a response. It was needlessly controversial, but the intention was to use the response to point out the hypocrisy that often permeates this forum now-a-days. That being, everyone stating opinion as fact and berating and belittling anyone who disagrees. Or, more to the point, saying someone elses opinion is just opinion while their opinion is fact.

Also, I would like to point out that it's much more likely (at least on this forum) for someone who is a fan of Half-Life to be insulted and harassed than it is for someone who is a fan of Halo. (or even Call of Duty) Somewhere along the way, in the past few years, there's been this perpetual movement to hate on Half-Life and it's fan base like it's the "cool, new, hip" thing to do.

I've said it many times before, just about every week we see a "Half-Life sucks" thread. Seriously. Go back through the forum history to at least 2007 and you'll find at least one thread a week on the topic. It's really quite pathetic.

'Course, the OP isn't helping either. Being that he's on the other end of the spectrum.

Sigh....I miss the old Escapist forums.

 

[bullet_sandw1ch]

so this is basically one big complaining session for people that are in some sort of stupor because people like a game? right? because thats what it sounds like.

i do have to wonder: how can you question a series greatness if youve PLAYED A DEMO????? at least play the full product, because that immediately takes away all your credibility. and someone says mass effect is better than half life, whats your issue? its called SUBJECTIVITY, LOOK IT UP!


OT: yeah, its probably eclipsed half life, because while smooth, well built, and well written, half life 2 didnt do anything special. it was amazing, dont get me wrong, but it was more of a how to do it right lesson than a second coming of christ people made it out to be. mass effect was the first sci-fi game to give the players a great story that wasnt campy [probably subjective though], and one that managed to make you care about characters in ONLY ONE GAME!! also lets not forget that it had some of, if not the best side plots in gaming history: the morning war [quarian-geth], and the genophage [krogan-turian+salarian]. and to put the cherry on top, ME2 and ME3 have great, tactical gameplay.

 

[In Search of Username]

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?

The excellent, dramatic, epic storyline with interesting themes, the variety of characters, the completeness of the universe it's set in, and the sheer amount of impact your choices usually have on the rest of the game. And yeah, you're not gonna get all that out of the demo - the actual combat is not what people play it for at all, though it's still alright.

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

What is great about it?

My character had sex with a blue female alien thingy and got his sniper rifle achievement by shooting, point blank, at the floor where 3 enemies were standing with an explosive round. The enemies on the sides nicely flung their lifeless bodies at the walls, the enemy in the middle said "hi" to the ceiling before promptly kissing the floor roughly 3 seconds later.

Oh, and it has a cool story.

 

[sanquin]

HL1 and HL2 were totally awesome for their time. The best in the shooter genres you could get. Mass Effect is more recent. Especially 2 and 3. I personally also see ME 2/3 as better than HL2 and the episode expansions. But that might only be because they are more recent and had better technologies to work with.

As things stand at the moment, Mass Effect does triumph over Half Life 1~2 for me. Though that doesn't say anything about HL3 yet. It might be even better still.

 

[CityofTreez]

The Mass Effect series as whole is better than the Half-Life series. Better story, game play, graphics, VO, environment ect.

But of course this all comes down to, wait for it, opinions! They're a new thing I hear.

I can agree it's all a matter of opinion, but the one thing I have to disagree with you on specifically is voice acting. The Half-Life series has better voice-over work than Mass Effect.

Not that the Mass Effect series has bad voice-over work. Not at all. It's just that it, at times, feels very flat. And though it's obviously scripted, it just tends to feel scripted. If that makes sense. To put it another way, there are often times where the dialog just doesn't feel natural. Like the conversations are forced or the voice actors are sort of "phoning it in".

Now, the Half-Life (and Portal) series are not without these moments, I'll grant you, but they occur a lot less frequently than with Mass Effect.

I don't think either series does a great job on VO. Some good VO's and some bad for btoh series IMO. But you're right HL probably does a better job in this aspect.

 

[bullet_sandw1ch]

Characters are likable, writing is solid and occasionally very good.

As long as they aren't Human members of your crew. Funny thing that. Kaidan, intolerable whiner. Ashley, bigot. Jack, psychotic emo *****. Jacob, Ambien in a Man. Miranda, horrible obnoxious ass creature. Zaeed and Kasumi were tolerable - actually likable, really - but weren't as deeply entwined with the crew as the others and were DLC. Maybe they fix that in ME3, I dunno.

But yeah, Mass Effect is like many series - strong first act, mediocre second act, and a strong beginning to a third act that took a sudden and horrible turn downhill with a side of MacGuffin. If it weren't for the ending horror, the series probably would end up in a similar boat to Jade Empire in a few years, a series fondly remembered but not really remarked upon much.

really? i think mass effect 3 is great until the ending, and after the extended cut even the endings not that bad. and i actually believe that the mass effect series is currently the benchmark for sci-fi games in story and lore, and will be eventually surpassed, but forever remembered by sci-fi devs as the game that set that benchmark.

 

[DioWallachia]

You and your friend are, as always, wrong . Neither Half Life nor Mass Effect are better in the grand history of videogaming, especially compared to the Citizen Kane of games: Tetris, THE SPORT OF GODS!!!!



But in all seriousness, Mass Effect is technically Baldur's Gate IN SPACE!!!! It even had the same archetypes of characters (actually even Dragon Age has them as well) AND the chose-your-ending-you-feel-like-in-the-last-minute as Mass Effect 3.
You may find your RPG experience, however, to be less and less engaging the more you go through the series, mainly because "The-Company-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" decided to make it more like Gears of War

Half Life may be welcomed for having a different way to tell a story without breaking the connection with the avatar even if i find veeeeeeeery weird that the game is handled as a character driven plot even if you cant talk for shit for no reason. I can understand Chell form Portal because her stubbornness in making the choice of not responding EVER to Glados because it fits with the tone of the overall experience, but for a "serious" game like Half Life its hard to believe that a SCIENTIST like Freeman just refuses to talk.

 

[Vigormortis]

The Mass Effect series as whole is better than the Half-Life series. Better story, game play, graphics, VO, environment ect.

But of course this all comes down to, wait for it, opinions! They're a new thing I hear.

I can agree it's all a matter of opinion, but the one thing I have to disagree with you on specifically is voice acting. The Half-Life series has better voice-over work than Mass Effect.

Not that the Mass Effect series has bad voice-over work. Not at all. It's just that it, at times, feels very flat. And though it's obviously scripted, it just tends to feel scripted. If that makes sense. To put it another way, there are often times where the dialog just doesn't feel natural. Like the conversations are forced or the voice actors are sort of "phoning it in".

Now, the Half-Life (and Portal) series are not without these moments, I'll grant you, but they occur a lot less frequently than with Mass Effect.

I don't think either series does a great job on VO. Some good VO's and some bad for btoh series IMO. But you're right HL probably does a better job in this aspect.

Well, I honestly think they both do great jobs on the voice over work. Better than most game series, anyway. So that will likely be one area you and I won't agree on.

I think the primary foible for Mass Effect is they pigeonhole themselves into trying to find the most recognizable screen-actors instead of the best voice-actors to play the roles. I think they're more concerned with having a famous cast of names to put in the credits instead of worrying more about how well they do voice work.

 

[WoahDan]

snip

Also, I would like to point out that it's much more likely (at least on this forum) for someone who is a fan of Half-Life to be insulted and harassed than it is for someone who is a fan of Halo. (or even Call of Duty) Somewhere along the way, in the past few years, there's been this perpetual movement to hate on Half-Life and it's fan base like it's the "cool, new, hip" thing to do.
(

As a fan of both Halo and Half-Life i can tell you that this is really not the case at all. Halo still gets regularly mocked almost universally to an extent its never really deserved, HL2 gets incredible amounts of praise almost everywhere except from some of the hipsters on this site. Its an annoying trend in gaming that its become increasingly popular to hate on popular series irrespective of their actual quality, I blame COD myself.

(also your point about HL's voice acting is off,HL1's voice acting is demonstrably worse than anything in Mass Effect, voice acting is one of the few areas to improve consistently over the past decade so this isn't really a surprise)

 

[Vigormortis]

snip

Also, I would like to point out that it's much more likely (at least on this forum) for someone who is a fan of Half-Life to be insulted and harassed than it is for someone who is a fan of Halo. (or even Call of Duty) Somewhere along the way, in the past few years, there's been this perpetual movement to hate on Half-Life and it's fan base like it's the "cool, new, hip" thing to do.
(

As a fan of both Halo and Half-Life i can tell you that this is really not the case at all. Halo still gets regularly mocked almost universally to an extent its never really deserved, HL2 gets incredible amounts of praise almost everywhere except from some of the hipsters on this site. Its an annoying trend in gaming that its become increasingly popular to hate on popular series irrespective of their actual quality, I blame COD myself.

(also your point about HL's voice acting is off,HL1's voice acting is demonstrably worse than anything in Mass Effect, voice acting is one of the few areas to improve consistently over the past decade so this isn't really a surprise)

Oh, I completely agree about the voice work in Half-Life 1. Compared to today it was horrendous. But remember, it came out in 1998. And, I was referring to the series as a whole in my previous posts. In which case, the VO work in Half-Life 2 and the episodes more than make up for it.

However, I still must say that Halo is practically worshipped compared to the hatred and ire Half-Life seems to garner. At least, in the form of thread topics.

I won't deny that there are still many who will insult someone for saying they like Halo, I've had it happen to me plenty of times, but you rarely if ever see entire threads themed on how "bad" the Halo series is. At least, now-a-days.

 

[Bat Vader]

In the op, you say you've never played the actual games? Try 'em. The first one is pretty cheap now (I think) but in my opinion, that one's the worst... But I liked them because I liked the characters, and the plot was better than the plot of most games, possible all of them if you REALLY liked it.

And Apparentlly I'm one of the only people who didn't hate the ending of the third game, so prehaps I'm just braindead compared to the everyone else, but it's my favourite game series.

I appreciate your level-headedness. Perhaps I will give the first entry a try. Heck it'll help justify buying a 360 (ME1 ain't available on PS3).
Plus a pre-owned copy is cheap as chips.

I would suggest renting Mass Effect 2 instead for the PS3. That way if you don't like the game you can just take it back. If you have a decent gaming PC you could get the first one off Steam for $20.00.

 

[mad825]

In the op, you say you've never played the actual games? Try 'em. The first one is pretty cheap now (I think) but in my opinion, that one's the worst... But I liked them because I liked the characters, and the plot was better than the plot of most games, possible all of them if you REALLY liked it.

And Apparentlly I'm one of the only people who didn't hate the ending of the third game, so prehaps I'm just braindead compared to the everyone else, but it's my favourite game series.

I appreciate your level-headedness. Perhaps I will give the first entry a try. Heck it'll help justify buying a 360 (ME1 ain't available on PS3).
Plus a pre-owned copy is cheap as chips.

I would suggest renting Mass Effect 2 instead for the PS3. That way if you don't like the game you can just take it back. If you have a decent gaming PC you could get the first one off Steam for $20.00.

Or you could just buy it off Amazon.com for $12.90 and use the key for Origin. You don't need Origin to play it but it becomes a place where you can re-download it whenever you want.

[small]Editrice error[/small]

 

[Micromyni]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Mordin Solus and Legion. Those two made me love Mass Effect.