Okay, ME2's been out for over a year now, so a lot of the things I'm going to cover in this have already been said. However, on some crazed hope that my words reach a developer's ears, I've decided to type out my personal thoughts and opinions. Keep in mind that I'm no hardcore gamer and have zero experience in actually making a videogame, but hey, it doesn't hurt to try, right?
Here we go. Dear Bioware Edmonton,
The Mass Effect series is amazing, no doubt, and following its evolution as a trilogy is a fascinating look into the minds of the developers, but there were a few places that made me wonder just what you guys were thinking. Here are some things I, and a whole lot of other people, have been chewing on lately:
-The Galaxy Map. ME1's was virtually perfect (apart from the fact that it didn't tell you which systems you'd already visited, which could get pretty frustrating). Oh man, did this get the little astronomy nerd in me going. It was a beautiful, easy-to-use interface that made me feel like I was actually plotting a course for a starship and checking out alien planets from orbit. Wow. I don't understand why you guys went and changed it in ME2 (props for trying something new, at least), but turning navigation into hokey little mingames that cost me time and money took the fun out of it for me. My ability to zoom around the galaxy at will was suddenly castrated by my Cerberus paycheck. Not only that, but I had to spend time and money buying fuel and mining if I wanted to finish the game without losing half my team. Now, I'm all for realism and careful resource management, but not at the cost of player enjoyment. It wasn't a big deal, no, but bringing back the ME1 galaxy interface will make me squee joyously.
-Squadmate Armor. I have no problem with Jack running around shirtless, but doing so in a blizzard while being shot at is insane, even for her. While I despised ME1's inventory and was glad to see it go, I sort of miss being able to put everyone in Phoenix armor for the lulz. At the very least, give everyone the option of wearing armor in appropriate places. At best, give us the option to customize it (and some folks wouldn't mind the return of light armor for spellcaster-type Shepards as well). Of course, if you don't, I'm not gonna fuss about it. After all, I love your character designs. Best regards to Matt Rhodes, for that man is a BAMF.
-Exploration. The first time I played ME1 and landed on an uncharted world, I was beyond wowed. I remember hopping out of the Mako and walking up a hill, where I was greeted by a blazing sun peeking through a distant cloudbank, with a giant moon looming high above it. It was like I really was the first person to step on that planet, and suddenly I remembered why I dreamed of being an astronaut as a kid. However, the thrill wore off when I realized that pretty much every world looked like that, except with different colors and a merc base in the other corner of the map. Maybe if these landing zones weren't so copy-paste, it wouldn't have recieved as much criticism as it did. However, I think cutting out wide, open spaces like this was a mistake. Improve, Bioware, don't remove!
-Vehicles. I know the Mako recieved a lot of hate, but I think that's not really its fault: the rough and repetitive terrain was to blame. Sure, the Hammerhead was a lot faster and easier to control, but it had crap weapons and zero armor/shields. Maybe the best solution is to combine the two somehow, or perhaps have them both? Other games include multiple vehicles with no problem, so really the only issue here is whether or not we can fit another tank in the cargo hold. We can use the Mako for heavy combat, and switch to the Hammerhead for recon and quick snatch-and-grabs. I dunno, just throwing out my goofy ideas. Really, whether a vehicle's included or not isn't going to be a gamebreaker for me, but like I said with exploration, sometimes it's worth trying to improve something as opposed to cutting it entirely. You've got one more shot at this, Bioware, so do it right!
-Experience. It felt slightly more rewarding when I got XP for everything I did instead of in one lump at the end of a mission. Then again, the new level-up system is a lot more efficient, so it's not a big deal. Just one of those things I'd like to see back. It gave me an excuse to explore more and take all the bad guys out instead of rushing through fights.
-Paragon/Renegade system. Okay, I don't mind the morality system for the most part, and the addition of interrupts was awesome, but I don't see why charm/intimidate was done away with as a skill. This got a bit restrictive as to which decisions I could make. Rescuing a kitten out of a tree doesn't make you more persuasive, and choosing to cooperate with terrorists doesn't necessarily make you more intimidating. Also, the scarring thing was kind of... weird. It's not really a bad thing, but I can't see why it was included, especially since Shepard's implants weren't used as a plot device until Overlord. Perhaps the whole man/machine, Ship-of-Theseus bit will be a bigger deal in ME3.
-Powers. Biotics were overpowered in ME1, to the point where you could beat the game easily enough on any difficulty so long as you had the most expensive gun and someone with Lift. However, nerfing them entirely seemed a bit extreme. I can see physics-based attacks doing less damage on armored enemies or something, but putting on sheilds does not make you immune to a warped gravitational field. Perhaps gradiating biotics' effectiveness based on the amount of protection instead of arbitrarily cutting them off would be a better solution. Or maybe I just haven't adjusted to the steep learning curve that comes with being a spellcaster-type class. Eh, not a big deal, as the power system in ME2 was much better for the most part (global cooldowns were a blessing, thank you very much for including them), but it's worth looking over.
-Shepard's animations. They look so much smoother in ME1, especially facial expressions and the run/walk animations. I really don't know why you guys decided to use the same animation for both male and female Shepards, but it really shows. No, I don't want FemShep to run like a girly-girl, but she looks a touch herp-derp with her arms way out to the side and neck cranked sideways. People will spend most of the game looking at their Shep, so they notice little things like this. Sometimes as simple as adjusting the way FemShep sits, like in Shadow Broker, is all it takes. Don't cut corners.
-DLC armor. I'd like to be able to take the helmets off, please.
-Heat sinks. A shooter that departed from the ammo system was fresh and unique, so while going back to it may have made for balanced and more difficult gameplay, I don't see why you guys went and reversed a mechanic that had the potential to be really interesting. A lot of people have suggested combining the two, where a weapon is prone to overheating without a thermal clip, but it can still be fired. To compensate for this, heat sinks would have to be less abundant. (Of course, if you'd rather not risk it, heat sinks do work.)
-Loyalty missions. I really, really enjoyed them, but I don't want to do the same thing again in ME3. Perhaps something more like the approval system from DA: O would be more appropriate, but simplified into plot-specific checkpoints. For example, say you have to save a colony from being overrun by husks. One of your squadmates happens to be from that colony, so she has a vested interest in protecting it. If the colony falls, you will fail to gain her loyalty, but in talking with her afterwards may be able to convince her that there are things still worth fighting for. This will make her loyal, but she will not be open for romance. Certain missions may require you choose between squadmates, and others may only result in a character feeling so betrayed that they leave (if you handle the situation improperly). This will keep the story plot-focused, but will still allow for very deep character development.
-Weapons. I like the direction ME2 went in, as each gun (apart from DLC) was unique and had a specific niche that it filled. However, just a little more choice would be nice, as two types of SMGs (without DLC) isn't much to choose from, especially if one is obviously superior. I like it better when all guns have their uses, and I hate it when I'm just holding on to the default until I get something "better."
-Skills and squadmates. Again, I like the direction ME2 went in--it was nicely streamlined and forced the player to think more carefully about where to spend squad points. I also liked how each squadmate had a unique set of powers and weapons so that there was minimal overlap and no obviously superior combination. The one thing I could suggest is more opportunities for powers to branch off, instead of just one final evolution for each. As it is, though, it works great.
-Boss fights. I was worried about these (Saren and the HR were a bit lackluster) until Lair of the Shadow Broker came out. You guys nailed it. Keep it up.
-Interaction. The thing I love most about Mass Effect (2) is its wonderful cast of characters. At times I was duped into thinking of them as real people, and thus I made an effort to look after them. However, I was a little disappointed that they didn't really act as a team. They hardly ever talked to one another. Now, it's hell to program unique conversations between all members of the squad when you have so many of them, but the elevator convos (which used an overlapping question-response-reaction formula that allowed for more dialogue with less lines) and loyalty conflicts proved that you can do it. Just a little more of that, enough to make it seem like the team is a team, would be great. Also, more conversations with the team in general would be nice; it really sucked when characters would arbitrarily cut me off because I didn't romance them. Shepard shouldn't have to resort to prostitution for the sake of a friendly chat.
-Level design. Both ME1 and ME2 suffer from the rooms-with-boxes curse. ME1 was a little too bland, while ME2 was too boxed in. This resulted in things getting repetitive after a while. I'd love to see ME1's opennes combined with ME2's intricacy, if possible. Also, multiple paths or ways of solving a problem are good, such as with Noveria and Tali/Zaeed's loyalty missions. Just a touch more of that would be marvelous. No matter what you decide to do, though, variation is key. Make each fight feel fresh, each location feel unique. I know you can do it because I've seen you do it: Mass Effect 1's main quests, ME2's Suicide Mission and DLC, etc. Just stick to it, because when you're at your best, you're awesome. When you're at your wost, though, you're repetitive. Repetition is kind of boring.
-Endgame. Okay, I had to include this section for the sole purpose of letting you guys know how unbelieveably awesome the end levels of ME1 and ME2 were. Everything from Virmire/The Reaper IFF on had my heart pounding, and I (among others) really want to see you guys top this. The Battle of the Citadel was intense, sure, but the stuff you implimented in the Suicide Mission--the idea that everything you had done in the game up to that point could affect the final outcome--was brilliant. I am really hoping to see everything from all three games come together in ME3's final battle, with all important decisions that you made up to that point either helping or hindering your final effort. It will be a serious challenge to top the awesomeness that took place beyond the Omega 4 Relay, but if you do, expect me to send you cookies and love letters.
-One more thing. Just a bit of personal imput here, but whatever you do, don't reduce ME2's entire squad to emails and two-minute cameos. I understand that squadmates are the most labor and resource-intensive thing in a game like this, but putting in the extra effort here would really make a lot of fans happy. I'm not a believer in wussing out on a whole character just because he or she happens to be dead in a small amount of saves. Yeah, they can't have a plot-essential role (since you can't exactly advance the story if you're dead), and I'm perfectly happy with them being non-recruitable so long as their new roles are done well, but you guys have a reputation for going above and beyond people's expectations, especially with content not all players will see.
Mass Effect 1 and 2 are some of the best games I've ever played. The sheer amount of depth and content in each one is mind-numbing, and the love you guys have for what you do really shines through. While I don't expect my opinions to be taken too incredibly seriously, the fact that I have the opportunity to share them is incredible. Seriously, it's not like any Hollywood directors are shouting out to the fans for ways to make their movies better.
Ick, I am such a fanboy.
Anyway, it is going to be a challenge to make ME3 better than the first two, but with the right amount of effort, you guys can do it. There's still a lot of room for you to improve, and I hope I've given you some helpful feedback above.
And, yeah, be proud of yourselves for making me take a video game seriously enough to type up this crap.
-Cheez.
EDIT: Added Joram and Awesomename's input. Additionally, Glorious_Leader has some opinions that should also be checked out below, but this Wall-O-Text is already massive as it is.
EDIT AGAIN: Adding some links and throwing in a few other comments.
OKAY LAST EDIT: A lot of different and well-thought-out opinions are being posted in this thread - specifically, there is a lot of support for heat sinks and a desire for even less power overlap between squadmates (and a whole lot of other nuggets of wisdom worthy of looking into). To get a full picture of what could possibly done about each issue, as well as some things I forgot to mention, take the time to look over other chunks of TL;DR below.
Modifié par AdmiralCheez, 31 janvier 2011 - 04:03 .
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And it's cool seeing constructive criticism like this.
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