Since When Does Garrus Suck So Much? (And other games that didn't age well)

[TheLefty]

I'm replaying Mass Effect 1 out of boredom and a wonderful mid term schedule that gives me friday and monday off. And as I'm playing I've been crushed with a revelation. Garrus sucks. I don't remember him being so great either, but now he seems to die every chance I get, it's almost pitiful after how great he was in Mass Effect Two.

[complain]But that's just the start. Mass Effect wasn't an amazing game when I bought it a few years ago, (I bought it along side Fallout 3 two or three years ago) but it wasn't this bad. Maybe it's just an example of a game that didn't age well? Really I'm just replaying it to give myself something different to see in Mass Effect 2 but really I'm not sure if I can do it.[/complain]

Just for a bit of conversation, what game do you know that didn't age well? Maybe something was FANTASTIC and now a bit meh. Or something that was pretty good that's now barely playable (like mass effect).

 

[RatRace123]

Yeah Garrus was the most fragile of all the "combat" squad members, it's because he lacks the insane amount of Shielding that Tali has, the Barriers that Liara and Kaiden have and the natural hardiness that Ash and Wrex have.
I think Mass Effect 1 still holds up well, I prefer it to 2, so that may just be my personal bias at work for that.

On Topic: after playing Assassin's Creed 2 and Brotherhood, Assassin's Creed 1 does not hold up at all, it's clunky and boring compared to its sequels.

 

[DustyDrB]

Yeah, you really have to spend points on Garrus' electronics skill to give him a ton of shields. This is something that people have pointed out since Mass Effect first came out, though.

 

[eclipsed_chemistry]

Yeah, but Assassin's Creed one was a pretty big let-down even when it was released. Mass Effect 1 is still a good game but lacks the polish and the improved gameplay of the second one. I played Mass Effect 1 and 2 for the very first time last week and was amazed at how much smoother the second Mass Effect experience was (for me).

Also OT: I hardly used Garrus in the first game for those exact reasons. Plus, I was already the infiltrator/sniper class so he was completely redundant in my squad.

 

[Casimir_Effect]

I thought ME aged really well. Sure the sequel is better, but only just as the original is better is a few places, such as the level-up system. And the fact that shotguns are actually useful in the original game.
Also, Mass Effect IS NOT AN OLD GAME (damn kids today). It's from 2007 for christs sake.

I guess GTA 3 has aged pretty poorly, just because the whole Silent Protagonist thing looks crap compared to what Vice City and San Andreas did.

I mainly find that games which you truly find to be good (discounting all series/platform/developer bias) never age. I love Plansescape: Torment, Total Annihilation, KOTOR, Black & White (and many other old games) just as much now as I did when they first came out. In fact more so, in some cases, when I realise they contain elements which, for one reason or another, will never be seen again in games.

 

[LaughingAtlas]

Metal Gear Solid 1, I went back into it to play all 4 main games start to finish, thinking it'd be as much fun as it was back on the PS1, came out hoarse from incoherant swearing. Some of the bosses and special encounters (fucking invisible elevator pricks) were adventures in controller-snapping frustration, I having forgotton the proper tactics.

 

[L3m0n_L1m3]

Garrus was good in Mass Effect 2? I loved him as a character, but he spent almost every fight laying face down in the mud.

 

[octafish]

I have no idea what you are talking about. I much prefer Mass Effect to Mass Effect 2. You know what game has aged badly? System Shock, it is virtually unplayable unless you add the mouse look patch.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Garrus sucks for a number of reasons:

The AI is not well suited for survival and does little to actively defend itself. This results in party members being shot a lot.

This is exacerbated by the fact that Garrus can only wear medium armor, and thus has a somewhat lower damage reduction (significantly less in fact by level 60) than a Soldier wearing Heavy Armor. He also tends to have significantly lower shield HP as well.

This is even more problematic given that Garrus has a relatively low HP pool. Low damage reduction and low total HP (shield and health) mean he has a small amount of effective HP (i.e. how much absolute damage he can absorb before falling). Because he lacks any hardening skill, he doesn't even have access to an emergency HP pool.

To be honest however, I found that only Wrex and Ashley were any good at staying alive regularly, thanks in large part to their incredibly high HP pool and better than average damage output. Liara and Tali were adequate at the task of not dying in ever encounter simply because they had access to either enormously boosted shielding systems or a third HP pool (Barrier).

The only reason I kept Garrus is my party was because he offered the best combination of "loot acquiring" skills and firepower. Tali's shotgun was fairly pathetic all things considered and the biotic powers were less spectacular than the game implies they ought to be, especially on the highest difficulty levels and the highest character levels. Garrus was simply the better general purpose party member to have, especially since the party members contributed little in terms of damage.

 

[Frotality]

you think mass effect 1 didnt age well?

.....im not even going to argue that point. n64 games snd rts/rpgs from the early 90s still entertain me better than most modern games. it would be like spock arguing with bones...

it cant be done. we are completely alien minds....we'd get nowhere. so carry on with your... fascinatingly alien concept of old...

 

[Twaddlefish]

Planescape:Torment, as much as I love it, hasn't aged at all well.

I kept Garrus around just because I love his character.

 

[Trolldor]

Garrus is great if you make him sniper-focused. He be wiping out most enemies in one or two shots.

 

[Fr]anc[is]

You payed enough attention to notice that? If you're a soldier just point at stuff until it dies. And I have played on the hardest difficulty, that still holds up. I just brought whoever I felt like at the time.

 

[warm slurm]

The game has been out... what, three years? They don't age in that amount of time, and Mass Effect is superior to Mass Effect 2 in almost every single way.

 

[Ilikemilkshake]

i played through mass effect 1 and 2 again last month, and i actually prefered mass effect 1 in many ways, and i thought it had aged quite well infact.

i was also playing the first assassins creed again not long ago, and i dont think it has aged well, i really miss alot the mechanics from the newer games. fights take forever without a guard break.

 

[Togs]

theres a reason why Me1 hasnt aged well- it wasnt that good to begin with

 

[Kingsnake661]

I'm replaying Mass Effect 1 out of boredom and a wonderful mid term schedule that gives me friday and monday off. And as I'm playing I've been crushed with a revelation. Garrus sucks. I don't remember him being so great either, but now he seems to die every chance I get, it's almost pitiful after how great he was in Mass Effect Two.

[complain]But that's just the start. Mass Effect wasn't an amazing game when I bought it a few years ago, (I bought it along side Fallout 3 two or three years ago) but it wasn't this bad. Maybe it's just an example of a game that didn't age well? Really I'm just replaying it to give myself something different to see in Mass Effect 2 but really I'm not sure if I can do it.[/complain]

Just for a bit of conversation, what game do you know that didn't age well? Maybe something was FANTASTIC and now a bit meh. Or something that was pretty good that's now barely playable (like mass effect).

I was a real late comer to the ME craze. I bought ME1 off steam, on a lark, maybe 10 months ago. It was on sale, I recalled KoToR rockin, and I was waiting on TOR, so when i relised i'd missed a whole game bioware made, and it was only 10 bucks... After one session with ME1, i stopped at my local best buy and picked up ME2, knowing I was hooked.

So i had the rare expearince of playing both games for the first time back to back.

I've played it many times since. MANY MANY TIMES. I'm a bit OCD, and, well, I wanted to try each class..each gender.. to carry over to ME2, I had to have at least 2 single Shepards so i could romance the new love intrests without being a cheating dog... I prolly have at least a dozen different ME2 gamesaves just waiting for ME3.

In all that time i've never really noticed Garrus being "squishy". *shrug* I always am quick to train up his electronics skills so he can hack for me. Mix that with some decent Med Arrmor, and he's tough enough. He's not Wrex or Ash, but who is?

Frankly, once you start putting your squad into Coluses armor, they stop dieing period. Even on Insanity. I've accually had to kill MYSELF whenever i do the Paragon stationg survivle quests because the mobs CAN'T and the sinerio wouldn't end. LOL

 

[OmegaAlucard777]

Wanna know what hasn't aged well? Golden Eye on the N64. Now before I get everyone screaming at me, hear me out. We have all gotten used to 2 analog sticks when playing first person games, however the N64 controller has only 1 analog stick. Which means you have to stop, stand still and aim while holding the Z button on the back of the controller. Go, try it. It is going to feel weird and unnatrual. The game is fun, amazing and one of the best N64 games but it is almost frusterating to play since we have been spoiled by 2 sticks.

 

[Trolldor]

anc[is]You payed enough attention to notice that? If you're a soldier just point at stuff until it dies. And I have played on the hardest difficulty, that still holds up. I just brought whoever I felt like at the time.

I like making them fly around the place to be honest.

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

Yeah, Mass Effect didn't really age that well, especially with there being number two. It feels like a game that's fairly old even for its time.

Doesn't make it bad. Just different. Still like it a lot.

Oh, and, never really used Garrus, but, yeah, he's not that useful.