I didn't buy arrival after finding out it's only about an hour long lol. Just watched it on youtube instead.
Mass Effect Arrival feedback thread
Débuté par
Chris Priestly
, mars 29 2011 03:21
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#777
Posté 16 avril 2011 - 03:08
Moirai
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Bought The Arrival earlier this week and played it through three times, so thought I'd add my own feelings on it.
Generally, I liked it. Whatever the reasons behind making it a solo mission, for me I think it benefited from it and I enjoyed it because of this. Being solo, it not only stood out as refreshingly different from all the other missions, but made it feel far more 'personal' for Shepard. It wasn't just another, 'let's all run in there with guns blazing' type scenario. I felt that it drew the story back to a basic core element, Shepard vs Reapers, and it carried a lot more impact due to this mission setup.
I also felt that it deepened the level of atmosphere, especially given the subject matter, giving it a far more portentous and doom laden feeling than it would if Shepard and traipsed in there with her/his buddies in tow. She/he is very much on their own, right out on a limb, almost on the edge of intergalactic space, facing down the possibility of the Reapers arriving in a matter of days, with no chance of help from anyone else. That in itself fascinated me as a scenario and made the situation feel far more tense than any of the main story missions had ever done.
The final gauntlet run was a great scene, and on insanity had my heart pounding as I desperately fought my way through enemies to reach the comms tower, while all the time the mass relay looming larger and closer in the sky backdrop piled on the pressure, whether that be real or imagined.
Now I know that games and their stories are all things to all people. Some get right into the feel of the situation, others don't, possibly because they don't feel there's anything to actually 'get in' to. That's just the way it is though. You can't please all people. Not possible. But I found this particular scene quite powerful for what it represented. And it's simply this; at the end of the day, no matter what relationships Shepard's had, no matter what places Shepard's visited, or anything that she/he has accomplished, it all comes down to this. It's live or die, lose it or deal with it, alone and with all the odds stacked against her/him, everything hinges on what they do in the next few minutes. And there's no way out except the one they make for themselves.
It's exactly those kind of scenarios which really pull me in emotionally. In fact, to be honest, and as daft as it may sound to some, by the time I got back to the Normandy, after Hackett had been and gone, I found myself feeling a sense of blessed relief on having survived and being back in 'safety', surrounded by crew and friends.
And, for me, it achieved that because of the unrelenting, continual fighting Shepard had to go through to get out. Having she/he held up having discussions along the way at that point would have completely ruined the tension.
Having said that, I agree with the comments wishing for more question based dialogue, but only prior to escaping from the medbay.
I can only hope ME3 can pull off the same sort of feeling of intense 'clock-ticking' desperation as well. The ME2 main story quest never came close to that level for me at any point, other than possibly the escape from the Collector's ship.
Not so good though was the following:
The only thing that spoilt the story for me was the utterly ridiculous start to the mission. I mean, you're dropped off by Normandy's shuttle, directly outside the prison base... Now, unless the Batarians are a complete bunch of idiots, and I've not seen anything that encourages that viewpoint, then you would have alerted pretty much every guard in the facility. It certainly should have shown up on some form of 'radar' as an unidentified craft. After all, it's not the Normandy, replete with high tech stealth systems. It's just a shuttle.
What would have been far more believable, and provided some much needed additional gameplay, as well as atmosphere, would have been an initial drop somewhere further away, leaving Shepard to covertly make her/his way though the rain soaked thunder of the jungle, maybe sneaking past some additional guards, before finally getting to the main prison building. There would have been far more a sense of anticipation and build up for what was to come in doing that, rather than this completely unstealthy and rather unbelievable drop off pretty much on top of the prison.
I'll stop there, because most of my other feelings have already been covered by others. But the above should suffice to get over my general reaction.
Generally, I liked it. Whatever the reasons behind making it a solo mission, for me I think it benefited from it and I enjoyed it because of this. Being solo, it not only stood out as refreshingly different from all the other missions, but made it feel far more 'personal' for Shepard. It wasn't just another, 'let's all run in there with guns blazing' type scenario. I felt that it drew the story back to a basic core element, Shepard vs Reapers, and it carried a lot more impact due to this mission setup.
I also felt that it deepened the level of atmosphere, especially given the subject matter, giving it a far more portentous and doom laden feeling than it would if Shepard and traipsed in there with her/his buddies in tow. She/he is very much on their own, right out on a limb, almost on the edge of intergalactic space, facing down the possibility of the Reapers arriving in a matter of days, with no chance of help from anyone else. That in itself fascinated me as a scenario and made the situation feel far more tense than any of the main story missions had ever done.
The final gauntlet run was a great scene, and on insanity had my heart pounding as I desperately fought my way through enemies to reach the comms tower, while all the time the mass relay looming larger and closer in the sky backdrop piled on the pressure, whether that be real or imagined.
Now I know that games and their stories are all things to all people. Some get right into the feel of the situation, others don't, possibly because they don't feel there's anything to actually 'get in' to. That's just the way it is though. You can't please all people. Not possible. But I found this particular scene quite powerful for what it represented. And it's simply this; at the end of the day, no matter what relationships Shepard's had, no matter what places Shepard's visited, or anything that she/he has accomplished, it all comes down to this. It's live or die, lose it or deal with it, alone and with all the odds stacked against her/him, everything hinges on what they do in the next few minutes. And there's no way out except the one they make for themselves.
It's exactly those kind of scenarios which really pull me in emotionally. In fact, to be honest, and as daft as it may sound to some, by the time I got back to the Normandy, after Hackett had been and gone, I found myself feeling a sense of blessed relief on having survived and being back in 'safety', surrounded by crew and friends.
And, for me, it achieved that because of the unrelenting, continual fighting Shepard had to go through to get out. Having she/he held up having discussions along the way at that point would have completely ruined the tension.
Having said that, I agree with the comments wishing for more question based dialogue, but only prior to escaping from the medbay.
I can only hope ME3 can pull off the same sort of feeling of intense 'clock-ticking' desperation as well. The ME2 main story quest never came close to that level for me at any point, other than possibly the escape from the Collector's ship.
Not so good though was the following:
The only thing that spoilt the story for me was the utterly ridiculous start to the mission. I mean, you're dropped off by Normandy's shuttle, directly outside the prison base... Now, unless the Batarians are a complete bunch of idiots, and I've not seen anything that encourages that viewpoint, then you would have alerted pretty much every guard in the facility. It certainly should have shown up on some form of 'radar' as an unidentified craft. After all, it's not the Normandy, replete with high tech stealth systems. It's just a shuttle.
What would have been far more believable, and provided some much needed additional gameplay, as well as atmosphere, would have been an initial drop somewhere further away, leaving Shepard to covertly make her/his way though the rain soaked thunder of the jungle, maybe sneaking past some additional guards, before finally getting to the main prison building. There would have been far more a sense of anticipation and build up for what was to come in doing that, rather than this completely unstealthy and rather unbelievable drop off pretty much on top of the prison.
I'll stop there, because most of my other feelings have already been covered by others. But the above should suffice to get over my general reaction.
#778
Posté 16 avril 2011 - 05:12
ElectronicFerret
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I'm super-late on the uptake of this thread, but I'm still a ME fan! So I'll write.
Arrival felt like a good concept that was run through the grinder way too quickly. It could have had a lot more substance, a higher cost, a longer wait time, and been way better. I would gladly have waited 3-4 more months on this if it would have helped -- and paid extra cash for it.
The devil is in the details. The batarians were sorely underused and underpromoted. There were some dudes you overheard and some excellent buildup -- but then you get there and they're all wearing armour in a recycled model. You find Dr. Kenson, who looks like Kelly Chakwas in Shepard's casual outfit. You finally get to see Hackett -- who looks suspiciously close to one of Zaeed's relations.
The lack of options re: the 300K batarians you kill off is a big stickler in my book. Mentally, when we got there and the button was in front of me, I thought to myself, "oh ****, time for a big decision". But then Shepard barely hesitated and went for it. I understand if it needs to be inevitable for the setup of the next game, but this could easily have been approached in the way the standoff with Kenson was - maybe it could have /been/ the standoff with Kenson. She runs in at the last minute and blows up there, inexorably setting off the countdown, and Shepard can risk his/her life trying to contact the batarians of the system or just book it for the Normandy (and prior to that, has to fend off a secondary minion/minions that fulfill Kenson's role of stopping engines or whatever it was). If that decision had to be taken away for the sake of the plot, it could have happened much more elegantly.
There could also have been much more building in the lead to discovering what happened to Kenson's team -- just little things like more exploration of the facility or more 'overheard' conversations. Find a hint of evidence or two. That 'twist' I could see coming a mile away.
I will say this -- the part where you wake up after a period of unconsciousness in a medbay, and your first option is to 'assume control'? That scared the bejeezus out of me. Well-done, Bioware. Even if ultimately nothing came of it, it made me nervous through the entire remainder of the mission waiting to see if there would be a kicker. It could even still happen in the next game.
Ultimately the word I'd give Arrival is 'rushed'. It had the core of something good, and there were hints of it here and there, but the framework just wasn't filled out well.
Arrival felt like a good concept that was run through the grinder way too quickly. It could have had a lot more substance, a higher cost, a longer wait time, and been way better. I would gladly have waited 3-4 more months on this if it would have helped -- and paid extra cash for it.
The devil is in the details. The batarians were sorely underused and underpromoted. There were some dudes you overheard and some excellent buildup -- but then you get there and they're all wearing armour in a recycled model. You find Dr. Kenson, who looks like Kelly Chakwas in Shepard's casual outfit. You finally get to see Hackett -- who looks suspiciously close to one of Zaeed's relations.
The lack of options re: the 300K batarians you kill off is a big stickler in my book. Mentally, when we got there and the button was in front of me, I thought to myself, "oh ****, time for a big decision". But then Shepard barely hesitated and went for it. I understand if it needs to be inevitable for the setup of the next game, but this could easily have been approached in the way the standoff with Kenson was - maybe it could have /been/ the standoff with Kenson. She runs in at the last minute and blows up there, inexorably setting off the countdown, and Shepard can risk his/her life trying to contact the batarians of the system or just book it for the Normandy (and prior to that, has to fend off a secondary minion/minions that fulfill Kenson's role of stopping engines or whatever it was). If that decision had to be taken away for the sake of the plot, it could have happened much more elegantly.
There could also have been much more building in the lead to discovering what happened to Kenson's team -- just little things like more exploration of the facility or more 'overheard' conversations. Find a hint of evidence or two. That 'twist' I could see coming a mile away.
I will say this -- the part where you wake up after a period of unconsciousness in a medbay, and your first option is to 'assume control'? That scared the bejeezus out of me. Well-done, Bioware. Even if ultimately nothing came of it, it made me nervous through the entire remainder of the mission waiting to see if there would be a kicker. It could even still happen in the next game.
Ultimately the word I'd give Arrival is 'rushed'. It had the core of something good, and there were hints of it here and there, but the framework just wasn't filled out well.
#779
Posté 16 avril 2011 - 05:31
Moirai
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I'll add this in here while it's on my mind as an additional change I would have made to The Arrival, this time right at the end, and it would unfortunately have required voice talents for Joker and EDI, but there we go...
Scene: Asteroid Exterior - Final fight to get to the Comms Tower.
*Shepard takes down the final enemy, clearing the way and runs to the Comms Tower*
*slow rise of dramatic music building in background*
Shepard (activating comms): "Normandy! This is Shepard! Can you hear me?"
Joker: "Commander! Thank god you're okay! We were getting worried. We're homing in on your signal now. Standby for pickup..."
"Shepard: "No, Joker! Absolutely not! The relay... There's no time! Just get the Normandy out of here! Do it now!"
Joker: (brief stunned pause) "No! No frickin' way, Commander! That is not going to happen! We're not leaving you here. Not now, not ever! I left you behind once before. I am NOT doing it again!"
Shepard: "Joker... Goddamn it...! That's an order!"
Joker: "No, Commander! Just get ready for pickup. We're coming in now..."
*music is now epic, driving and emotional*
Normandy hoves into view, turning in tightly. Shepard bolts for the landing pad, running hard.
[Voice over]
Harbinger: "You are becoming an annoyance, Shepard. You may think that the destruction of this relay, the sacrifice of this star system, has bought you time, a chance to stop us. But you only delay the inevitable. Your species will fall, you will die, and there is nothing you can do to avoid your destiny. Prepare for the arrival."
Normandy decelerates hard, sliding to a stop next to the landing pad, airlock open. Shepard leaps aboard.
(Continue with normal Arrival ending except for:)
*Shepard dashes up to Joker in 'cockpit'*
Shepard: "Joker! Get us the hell out of here!"
Joker: "Already on it, Commander... Hang on!"
(Continue with normal Arrival ending except for:)
*after Hackett has left, Shepard goes to see Joker*
*Joker turns his chair around as Shepard approaches*
Joker: (warily) "Commander..?"
Shepard: (stops in front of him and folds arms) "Joker..."
Joker: "O-kay...alright. You're annoyed with me, aren't you? I can tell. I'm kind of sensitive to these kinds of things, you know. I can tell what people are feeling...sometimes. My mom reckoned I got it from my dad and.."
EDI: "Jeff, you are rambling again..."
Joker: "Hey! I don't ramble. I never ramble. I might get a bit wordy on occasions, But I see that as a positive trait. It's a communication skill. But it's not rambling Nah, I don't do rambling. I..."
*Joker finally notices that Shepard and EDI are quiet and studying him*
Joker: "Er...okay. I'm rambling, aren't I..."
Shepard: "You should have followed my orders, Joker. You know that."
*Joker looks down at lap for a moment before looking back up at Shepard*
Joker: "Yeah...yeah, I guess I should have. I mean, I'm kind of responsible for the crew. I know that."
Shepard: (softly) "Yes, you are."
Joker: (sighs, lifts his hands and drops them to his lap): "I-I couldn't do it... I honestly couldn't goddamn do it, Commander..."
*EDI notices that Joker is showing signs of emotional distress and steps in*
EDI: "For what it is worth, Shepard. I am in agreement with Mr Moreau. We need you. All of us."
Shepard: (turning to EDI) "So you agree with disobeying an direct order from a commanding officer?"
EDI: "Sometimes it is about doing what is right, Shepard."
Shepard: (slightly bemused and raising an eyebrow) "That...didn't answer my question."
EDI: "I know."
Joker: "Look, Commander. If you want to throw me in the brig or something, I'm cool with that. I understand. Really, I do. Even though I'm not sure we actually have a brig..."
*turns to EDI*
Joker: "Do we..?"
EDI: "No, Jeff. We do not."
Joker: "Okay, so the worst is probably a broom cupboard. But, Commander...I... I couldn't leave you there. That's all I can say. I don't know what else to say. I..."
*Joker runs out of words*
Shepard: (softly) "Just promise me one thing, Joker... Don't do it again."
Joker: (sits up straighter) "Yes, Commander. Anything you say..."
Shepard: "And, Joker..."
Joker: "Yes...?"
Shepard: (gentle smile) "Thank you..."
Joker: (shifts uncomfortably) "Er...yeah. Well...you're welcome, Commander."
*Shepard turns to walk away*
Shepard: (small nod) "EDI..."
EDI: "Shepard..."
*Shepard exits the 'cockpit*
Scene: Asteroid Exterior - Final fight to get to the Comms Tower.
*Shepard takes down the final enemy, clearing the way and runs to the Comms Tower*
*slow rise of dramatic music building in background*
Shepard (activating comms): "Normandy! This is Shepard! Can you hear me?"
Joker: "Commander! Thank god you're okay! We were getting worried. We're homing in on your signal now. Standby for pickup..."
"Shepard: "No, Joker! Absolutely not! The relay... There's no time! Just get the Normandy out of here! Do it now!"
Joker: (brief stunned pause) "No! No frickin' way, Commander! That is not going to happen! We're not leaving you here. Not now, not ever! I left you behind once before. I am NOT doing it again!"
Shepard: "Joker... Goddamn it...! That's an order!"
Joker: "No, Commander! Just get ready for pickup. We're coming in now..."
*music is now epic, driving and emotional*
Normandy hoves into view, turning in tightly. Shepard bolts for the landing pad, running hard.
[Voice over]
Harbinger: "You are becoming an annoyance, Shepard. You may think that the destruction of this relay, the sacrifice of this star system, has bought you time, a chance to stop us. But you only delay the inevitable. Your species will fall, you will die, and there is nothing you can do to avoid your destiny. Prepare for the arrival."
Normandy decelerates hard, sliding to a stop next to the landing pad, airlock open. Shepard leaps aboard.
(Continue with normal Arrival ending except for:)
*Shepard dashes up to Joker in 'cockpit'*
Shepard: "Joker! Get us the hell out of here!"
Joker: "Already on it, Commander... Hang on!"
(Continue with normal Arrival ending except for:)
*after Hackett has left, Shepard goes to see Joker*
*Joker turns his chair around as Shepard approaches*
Joker: (warily) "Commander..?"
Shepard: (stops in front of him and folds arms) "Joker..."
Joker: "O-kay...alright. You're annoyed with me, aren't you? I can tell. I'm kind of sensitive to these kinds of things, you know. I can tell what people are feeling...sometimes. My mom reckoned I got it from my dad and.."
EDI: "Jeff, you are rambling again..."
Joker: "Hey! I don't ramble. I never ramble. I might get a bit wordy on occasions, But I see that as a positive trait. It's a communication skill. But it's not rambling Nah, I don't do rambling. I..."
*Joker finally notices that Shepard and EDI are quiet and studying him*
Joker: "Er...okay. I'm rambling, aren't I..."
Shepard: "You should have followed my orders, Joker. You know that."
*Joker looks down at lap for a moment before looking back up at Shepard*
Joker: "Yeah...yeah, I guess I should have. I mean, I'm kind of responsible for the crew. I know that."
Shepard: (softly) "Yes, you are."
Joker: (sighs, lifts his hands and drops them to his lap): "I-I couldn't do it... I honestly couldn't goddamn do it, Commander..."
*EDI notices that Joker is showing signs of emotional distress and steps in*
EDI: "For what it is worth, Shepard. I am in agreement with Mr Moreau. We need you. All of us."
Shepard: (turning to EDI) "So you agree with disobeying an direct order from a commanding officer?"
EDI: "Sometimes it is about doing what is right, Shepard."
Shepard: (slightly bemused and raising an eyebrow) "That...didn't answer my question."
EDI: "I know."
Joker: "Look, Commander. If you want to throw me in the brig or something, I'm cool with that. I understand. Really, I do. Even though I'm not sure we actually have a brig..."
*turns to EDI*
Joker: "Do we..?"
EDI: "No, Jeff. We do not."
Joker: "Okay, so the worst is probably a broom cupboard. But, Commander...I... I couldn't leave you there. That's all I can say. I don't know what else to say. I..."
*Joker runs out of words*
Shepard: (softly) "Just promise me one thing, Joker... Don't do it again."
Joker: (sits up straighter) "Yes, Commander. Anything you say..."
Shepard: "And, Joker..."
Joker: "Yes...?"
Shepard: (gentle smile) "Thank you..."
Joker: (shifts uncomfortably) "Er...yeah. Well...you're welcome, Commander."
*Shepard turns to walk away*
Shepard: (small nod) "EDI..."
EDI: "Shepard..."
*Shepard exits the 'cockpit*
Modifié par Moirai, 16 avril 2011 - 09:30 .
#780
Posté 17 avril 2011 - 02:18
The Flame Knight
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I liked the DLC all right. Not as much as LotSB, but still okay.
The main thing that I was disappointed with was the lack of a solid moral decision. I was really hoping that the Reapers' arrival was going to be a couple years off and that destroying the relay would delay them a couple months or years. That, in my opinion, would have made a far more intriguing decision in the DLC - Destroy the relay and let all those Batarians die in order to give the rest of the galaxy more time to prepare, or don't and spare all those lives, but give less time for the galaxy to prepare.
I enjoyed the stealthy aspect of the prison. Being a fan of Splinter Cell games, I enjoy a little sneaky-sneaky. It might be interesting to see this built into ME3 in some capacity - if for no other purpose than to better get a drop on baddies. I was also fond of taking control of the LOKI, though I think it would have been fun to have been able to take over a YMIR at a later point in the DLC.
The main thing that I was disappointed with was the lack of a solid moral decision. I was really hoping that the Reapers' arrival was going to be a couple years off and that destroying the relay would delay them a couple months or years. That, in my opinion, would have made a far more intriguing decision in the DLC - Destroy the relay and let all those Batarians die in order to give the rest of the galaxy more time to prepare, or don't and spare all those lives, but give less time for the galaxy to prepare.
I enjoyed the stealthy aspect of the prison. Being a fan of Splinter Cell games, I enjoy a little sneaky-sneaky. It might be interesting to see this built into ME3 in some capacity - if for no other purpose than to better get a drop on baddies. I was also fond of taking control of the LOKI, though I think it would have been fun to have been able to take over a YMIR at a later point in the DLC.
#781
Posté 17 avril 2011 - 06:34
Tony_Knightcrawler
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I don't understand how playing the DLC will affect ME3 if there are no choices to be made and the game assumes the events of Arrival happen anyway... Could a staff member explain that?
#782
Posté 17 avril 2011 - 10:34
hugh305
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I enjoyed it and it was a good set up for ME3. Liked the combat, story, and meeting Admiral Hackett.
Minor gripes, why were the Batarians wearing helmets with only 2 eye slots? If the whole system was destroyed, killing everyone... what evidence was there against Shepard?
I liked it more than the Firewalker DLC and about on par with Overlord. LotSB is still the best though.
Minor gripes, why were the Batarians wearing helmets with only 2 eye slots? If the whole system was destroyed, killing everyone... what evidence was there against Shepard?
I liked it more than the Firewalker DLC and about on par with Overlord. LotSB is still the best though.
#783
Posté 17 avril 2011 - 12:26
masseffectexpert94
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i wish there was a way to save the batarians. I didn't aprove of the 2 days till the reapers show up thing, because shepard would need time to sort out the geth control for legions loyalty quest and to cure the krogan fertility desiese with the cure from mordins loyal quest. overall though it is quite good. i did everything on me2 a year ago and only get new quests when new dlc comes out so the new side of arrival was the best part i think. though it was nice to control a mech
Modifié par masseffectexpert94, 18 avril 2011 - 10:22 .
#784
Posté 17 avril 2011 - 12:27
masseffectexpert94
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Tony_Knightcrawler wrote...
I don't understand how playing the DLC will affect ME3 if there are no choices to be made and the game assumes the events of Arrival happen anyway... Could a staff member explain that?
me1 dlc didnt get talked about in me2 unless you imported a save in wich you did it
#785
Posté 17 avril 2011 - 02:54
Black Howling
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I very rarely purchase DLC, but Mass Effect is a fun game - the only title I've ever gotten all DLC missions for. Even so, Arrival was pretty much a let down for me because it had so much room for great things. I always wanted solo missions for Shepard so I didn't have a problem with that aspect.
The opening 'stealth' portion was short and stale - walking past a couple sets of guards and turning off a few gas lines, not exactly thrilling. The twist was obvious from the start for anyone who knows the Reaper basics, though the indoctrination rush on Insanity was pretty fun. Then again, if you're a Vanguard it's glitch city (Harbinger must have had the base constructed of Collector platform materials).
When Shepard awoke and I saw the "Assume Control" option, I figured Harbinger had some Reaper tech installed in him but it didn't go as planned - then I saw it was just to control a mech and not the scientist. That power would have been a great idea both story and replay wise, it also would have made for a nice core power for Shepard in ME:3 - to be able to AC of unshielded enemies.
The escape was also pretty bland, as Shepard got all his equipment back way too soon. He should have started with no armor and a pistol, then fight his way to the armory using mechs and other tricks to take down enemies. I at least figured we'd get some creepy Reaper'fied boss to face at the very end but all we got was another mech... Harbinger coming down to troll was funny, but I wish we could have gotten a bit more conversation options with it - especially since we didn't get to make any real choices in this final addition.
I get that part of this DLC was to show Shepard is a bad ass, but it was done in a way that made it no different from any other mission. It was also to bridge the games, but the only thing that truely does that is the coming trial, which really doesn't feel like much of a bridge to me. This DLC defintely needed a few more months in the oven.
The opening 'stealth' portion was short and stale - walking past a couple sets of guards and turning off a few gas lines, not exactly thrilling. The twist was obvious from the start for anyone who knows the Reaper basics, though the indoctrination rush on Insanity was pretty fun. Then again, if you're a Vanguard it's glitch city (Harbinger must have had the base constructed of Collector platform materials).
When Shepard awoke and I saw the "Assume Control" option, I figured Harbinger had some Reaper tech installed in him but it didn't go as planned - then I saw it was just to control a mech and not the scientist. That power would have been a great idea both story and replay wise, it also would have made for a nice core power for Shepard in ME:3 - to be able to AC of unshielded enemies.
The escape was also pretty bland, as Shepard got all his equipment back way too soon. He should have started with no armor and a pistol, then fight his way to the armory using mechs and other tricks to take down enemies. I at least figured we'd get some creepy Reaper'fied boss to face at the very end but all we got was another mech... Harbinger coming down to troll was funny, but I wish we could have gotten a bit more conversation options with it - especially since we didn't get to make any real choices in this final addition.
I get that part of this DLC was to show Shepard is a bad ass, but it was done in a way that made it no different from any other mission. It was also to bridge the games, but the only thing that truely does that is the coming trial, which really doesn't feel like much of a bridge to me. This DLC defintely needed a few more months in the oven.
Modifié par Black Howling, 17 avril 2011 - 02:55 .
#786
Posté 17 avril 2011 - 05:31
NightAntilli
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Oyeah I forgot to mention one thing I disliked.. Using tactical cloak when doing the sneaking mission will somehow immediately alert your opponents sometimes, making the stealth mission actually harder than not using it..NightAntilli wrote...
Liked
- The action
- Admiral Hackett
- The moral concepts
- The design of the facility
- Doing a mission alone
- The possibility for a "stealth" approach at the beginning
- The scenery where you can see the mass relay getting closer and closer.. That was epic and what stood out the most for me
- The sense of having done something significant to postpone the invasion
Disliked
- The length. It was way too short
- The lack of choices with actual consequences, although I understand that would alienate the ones who don't have the DLC, having a way that would've at least saved that researcher or whatever would've been nice..
- Someone else than Joker radioing you for pick-up and the lack of some classical Joker comments.. You guys probably couldn't get Seth Green to record anything in time or whatever, but, it really felt awkward, not hearing him say anything sarcastic during the pick-up regarding these significant events or Harbinger.
- The lack of information about the reaper artifact
- The possibility of doing the mission way sooner than you should, during your main ME2 playthrough
- No boss battle
- Sound bug. Never had these issues before, but after the DLC sometimes the sound cuts out, or I get this crackling sound randomly which mostly seems to appear during heavy scenes. This is on the X360
#787
Posté 17 avril 2011 - 05:45
Eromenos
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Kronner wrote...
- Shepard FINALLY uses correct weapons in cutscenes (e.g. no AR if you do not have one..bravo BioWare..took you long enough)
My soldier was aiming that hideous and pathetic Shuriken SMG at Dr. Kenson towards the end.
Even if the mad doc hadn't been altered, she'd have good reasons to keep talking down at someone who uses that thing.
Our characters should have the highest-grade weapons we've collected for those slots to use in the cutscenes, regardless of whether we can equip them.
GOOD
-Music
-Project Base visuals
-Soldiering solo (playable and fun, at least)
-Story relevance to the bigger picture
-Infirmary lights dimmed the way they should've always been
-No vehicle! Thank. You.
BAD
-Admiral Hackett chewed the scenery with canned, vague, cardboard, "badass"-sounding lines that failed. This character-reveal was wasted on shallow exposition which random nobodies from the Alliance could've provided.
-Adepting solo (living hell)
-Roleplaying?
-Being forced to solo
-Brevity of the entire DLC
Modifié par Eromenos, 17 avril 2011 - 05:50 .
#788
Posté 17 avril 2011 - 11:31
crimzontearz
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ok......this DLC flat out broke my NG+ import feature. That and worse can happen to anyone and Bioware remains silent........so, until a patch is released fixing the many MANY issues with this I'd suggest people do NOT buy it unless they are done with the game
#789
Posté 18 avril 2011 - 02:08
Exu1a
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A lot of good points made it in this thread so I'll mention the thing that bugged me the most and leave it at that.
Do heroes murder 300,000 for a greater cause? Surely if Shep's willing to make such a harrowing decision then the essence of humanity is dead and the Reapers have already won.
ME leans heavily on narrative from a lot of other IPs, so I don't know why there couldn't have been a 'Captain Kirk moment' where Shep refuses to except the no win scenario and finds another way if that's how you want to play it. I mean after all those rousing speeches he's given through the last 2 games he barely bats an eyelid at condemning an entire system.
I understand the logistics of why they might not have been able to implement such a huge decision and then have to follow it up, but frankly, if you're not going to do it properly then it shouldn't have been done at all. Now I have a hero character who casually causes the death of hundreds of thousands...splendid...
At the end of the day I'm a Mass Effect fan and it's just a game. I'm not exactly foaming at the mouth! It's just a shame my ME2 experience goes out on a bit of wet fart with this DLC.
Do heroes murder 300,000 for a greater cause? Surely if Shep's willing to make such a harrowing decision then the essence of humanity is dead and the Reapers have already won.
ME leans heavily on narrative from a lot of other IPs, so I don't know why there couldn't have been a 'Captain Kirk moment' where Shep refuses to except the no win scenario and finds another way if that's how you want to play it. I mean after all those rousing speeches he's given through the last 2 games he barely bats an eyelid at condemning an entire system.
I understand the logistics of why they might not have been able to implement such a huge decision and then have to follow it up, but frankly, if you're not going to do it properly then it shouldn't have been done at all. Now I have a hero character who casually causes the death of hundreds of thousands...splendid...
At the end of the day I'm a Mass Effect fan and it's just a game. I'm not exactly foaming at the mouth! It's just a shame my ME2 experience goes out on a bit of wet fart with this DLC.
#790
Posté 18 avril 2011 - 05:51
GenObiOne
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Alright. Played it a few times now with different classes - Infiltrator with Mass Dominate Mind (crowd jedi mind trick) really worked well but I still haven't figured out how to get the sneak achievement. The multiiple path thing - not seeing it. I'll have to run it a few more times to find all the alternative routes through the varren tunnels. The crane controls were also a nice touch. Correct weapon in the cutscenes, most of the time. Nice.
I loved the Jedi Knight Dark Forces 2 -style "use the droid" routine (Katarn - Let's see how good I am as an R5). Not original, but fun. Fighting off five waves of bad guys and a heavy mech was challenging. Multiple Jedi Mind Trick very useful here although the Engineer's Drone is almost as good.
Music was excellent. Moving, driving melody. Almost as good as Overlord. But it's all a matter of taste I suppose.
Seeing Hackett was nice. His ME1 voice over the radio was EXACTLY like the wheezy gargling busted up Bishop Droid from Alien 2 and Alien 3. But that was the designers' inention no doubt. Shepherd on trial! As a Spectre! Especially when the Reapers ought to be in the galaxy after that point. Gimme a break!
Too short but at only 560 points I guess you get what you pay for.
Continuity a bit iffy though. Best played after the Collector Base for best story continuation. But the 7/7 105 percent Heavy Weapon upgrade is very useful if you play it before the Collector Base. The Reapers will arrive in the system whether the relay is there or not. The Rho Object's signal indicates this, so when the relay does blow at the last minute it has to take out one hell of a lot of Reapers. Kenson said that without the relay the Reapers would need a few months at FTL speeds to reach the next nearest relay - just in time for ME3.
In short, everybody has already covered the good points and bad points. We all seem to be in agreement on those. When can I pre-order ME3 for PC?
I loved the Jedi Knight Dark Forces 2 -style "use the droid" routine (Katarn - Let's see how good I am as an R5). Not original, but fun. Fighting off five waves of bad guys and a heavy mech was challenging. Multiple Jedi Mind Trick very useful here although the Engineer's Drone is almost as good.
Music was excellent. Moving, driving melody. Almost as good as Overlord. But it's all a matter of taste I suppose.
Seeing Hackett was nice. His ME1 voice over the radio was EXACTLY like the wheezy gargling busted up Bishop Droid from Alien 2 and Alien 3. But that was the designers' inention no doubt. Shepherd on trial! As a Spectre! Especially when the Reapers ought to be in the galaxy after that point. Gimme a break!
Too short but at only 560 points I guess you get what you pay for.
Continuity a bit iffy though. Best played after the Collector Base for best story continuation. But the 7/7 105 percent Heavy Weapon upgrade is very useful if you play it before the Collector Base. The Reapers will arrive in the system whether the relay is there or not. The Rho Object's signal indicates this, so when the relay does blow at the last minute it has to take out one hell of a lot of Reapers. Kenson said that without the relay the Reapers would need a few months at FTL speeds to reach the next nearest relay - just in time for ME3.
In short, everybody has already covered the good points and bad points. We all seem to be in agreement on those. When can I pre-order ME3 for PC?
#791
Posté 19 avril 2011 - 12:45
Obsidian Gryphon
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Thumbs up
End of ME 2; Reapers coming - check. When are they coming? No idea but let's try to prepare - check. Nobody except Cerberus seem aware of their imminent arrival - check. All of a sudden, came the news of Reaper artifact, that the Alliance is aware all along. Who could refuse the mission to gather more information and the proof? The pace ramped up when Kenson was rescued and then a gobsmacked; WTF, 2 hours away? And then the revelation the entire staff at the research base had been indoctrinated. The worse of it; Shepherd was captured. But of course, he/she was duely expected to escape and the fight against time to cool the reactor and get the h*ll out of there was great.
I was not surprised to find there was no dilemma to have a headache over, unlike BDtS. The moment that 2 hours thingy came up, it's already obvious there is only one singular course to take.
Finally get to see Hackett and he looked like a grizened soldier who surely would have interesting stories to tell.
Thumbs down
Too short. The intelligence / clue gathering missions feel irrelevant, just alot of leg work to pick up "papers". The more interesting aspect of it was to hear personal records of the staff. Unfortunately, they were sparse and did not build up a more intense atmosphere.
Given Shepherd's experience / encounters / gathered information with the indoctrinated, I'm surprised she/he tried to get through to the scientist. Saren she definitely wasn't; she did not show any signs of hesitation. Saren did when Shepherd prodded at him to think about what he was doing, his duty to the Council. His uncertainty, fear (for himself, for everyone) was a clear indicator he could be reasoned with. So I feel the dialogue to attempt to "wake"Kenson was just a waste of lines.
The batarains are disappointing in this one. They're just cannon fodder.
End of ME 2; Reapers coming - check. When are they coming? No idea but let's try to prepare - check. Nobody except Cerberus seem aware of their imminent arrival - check. All of a sudden, came the news of Reaper artifact, that the Alliance is aware all along. Who could refuse the mission to gather more information and the proof? The pace ramped up when Kenson was rescued and then a gobsmacked; WTF, 2 hours away? And then the revelation the entire staff at the research base had been indoctrinated. The worse of it; Shepherd was captured. But of course, he/she was duely expected to escape and the fight against time to cool the reactor and get the h*ll out of there was great.
I was not surprised to find there was no dilemma to have a headache over, unlike BDtS. The moment that 2 hours thingy came up, it's already obvious there is only one singular course to take.
Finally get to see Hackett and he looked like a grizened soldier who surely would have interesting stories to tell.
Thumbs down
Too short. The intelligence / clue gathering missions feel irrelevant, just alot of leg work to pick up "papers". The more interesting aspect of it was to hear personal records of the staff. Unfortunately, they were sparse and did not build up a more intense atmosphere.
Given Shepherd's experience / encounters / gathered information with the indoctrinated, I'm surprised she/he tried to get through to the scientist. Saren she definitely wasn't; she did not show any signs of hesitation. Saren did when Shepherd prodded at him to think about what he was doing, his duty to the Council. His uncertainty, fear (for himself, for everyone) was a clear indicator he could be reasoned with. So I feel the dialogue to attempt to "wake"Kenson was just a waste of lines.
The batarains are disappointing in this one. They're just cannon fodder.
Modifié par Obsidian Gryphon, 19 avril 2011 - 12:51 .
#792
Posté 19 avril 2011 - 11:41
TomY90
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Liked
The plot was very well done with the whole hunting for evidence and the plot twists very well conducted and the ending with the trail top notch on that one
The action was very well done felt like a true struggle at parts (mainly when its you with the reaper artefact
The presentation was fantastically done it felt all brand new (which it was) not recycled
Disliked
The rushed feeling you got throughout the story (as if it does not want you to talk just get on with it)
the lack of dialogue
The action felt very much like Gears of War (just pure shooting range) than a mass effect (just aim and shoot no thinking about how to best kill the targets)
The scene with harbringer - felt a bit out of the blue and had a few gaps in the plot for instance where did the projection appear their were no projectors on the docking area (if it appeared on a monitor fair enough)
The plot was very well done with the whole hunting for evidence and the plot twists very well conducted and the ending with the trail top notch on that one
The action was very well done felt like a true struggle at parts (mainly when its you with the reaper artefact
The presentation was fantastically done it felt all brand new (which it was) not recycled
Disliked
The rushed feeling you got throughout the story (as if it does not want you to talk just get on with it)
the lack of dialogue
The action felt very much like Gears of War (just pure shooting range) than a mass effect (just aim and shoot no thinking about how to best kill the targets)
The scene with harbringer - felt a bit out of the blue and had a few gaps in the plot for instance where did the projection appear their were no projectors on the docking area (if it appeared on a monitor fair enough)
#793
Posté 20 avril 2011 - 02:34
Natureguy85
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GenObiOne wrote...
Alright. Played it a few times now with different classes - Infiltrator with Mass Dominate Mind (crowd jedi mind trick) really worked well but I still haven't figured out how to get the sneak achievement. The multiiple path thing - not seeing it. I'll have to run it a few more times to find all the alternative routes through the varren tunnels. The crane controls were also a nice touch. Correct weapon in the cutscenes, most of the time. Nice.
The Varren don't count for the achievement. Just don't let the guards see you and don't attack or use powers on them. You can get surprisingly close to them and have to in a few cases.
Someone else raised a good point; why don't the batarians' helmets have 4 eyeholes or one big visor? They wear human helmets!
#794
Posté 20 avril 2011 - 10:37
freestylez
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Echoing some states in this thread, it seemed dumb that you can choose to destroy the Collector base (with everyone chastising you if you opt to keep it) but your Shepard commits genocide in a blink of an eye.
#795
Posté 21 avril 2011 - 01:04
didymos1120
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freestylez wrote...
Echoing some states in this thread, it seemed dumb that you can choose to destroy the Collector base (with everyone chastising you if you opt to keep it) but your Shepard commits genocide in a blink of an eye.
OK, one, not really genocide, except in the most technical of senses. You weren't killing them specifically. You were destroying a mass relay. Two: the entire point was that there was no choice. Shep either blew up the relay, or let the Reapers use it. Either way, all those people were dead.
#796
Posté 21 avril 2011 - 03:09
CARL_DF90
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With Bioware being the busy bees that they are working overtime for ME3's release later this later, I wonder if they have had the time/opportunity to digest the feedback from the last DLC for ME2. Just thinking out loud so to speak. 
Modifié par CARL_DF90, 21 avril 2011 - 03:17 .
#797
Posté 21 avril 2011 - 05:17
Teecat
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I LOVED the fight to the death - and all in all, it was fun to hear the enemies cry out stuff like "Shepards tearing us apart!" etc. I liked the solo gameplay.
I DISLIKED how when Dr.Kenson initially explains the project, there is not an option: "What, 300k batarians!?!". I know my shepard would never accept the casualties THAT casually... :/ Thank goodness there was at least an option to try and warn the batarians, though realistically, I don't know how much good that would have done - the colonies probably wouldn't have had enough ships/warning time to pack many batarians onto ships. It would've just been shepard calling "btw, you have approx 20 minutes to evacuate the star system...". But it eased my conscience a bit.
Oh, and the vacuum fight was awesome.
However, this left me wondering; will this deed really grant the galaxy additional time? If the reapers pop up despite sacrificing 300k x quad-eyes,
I DISLIKED how when Dr.Kenson initially explains the project, there is not an option: "What, 300k batarians!?!". I know my shepard would never accept the casualties THAT casually... :/ Thank goodness there was at least an option to try and warn the batarians, though realistically, I don't know how much good that would have done - the colonies probably wouldn't have had enough ships/warning time to pack many batarians onto ships. It would've just been shepard calling "btw, you have approx 20 minutes to evacuate the star system...". But it eased my conscience a bit.
Oh, and the vacuum fight was awesome.
However, this left me wondering; will this deed really grant the galaxy additional time? If the reapers pop up despite sacrificing 300k x quad-eyes,
#798
Posté 22 avril 2011 - 04:48
wepeel_
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Liked:
1. How Arrival ups the ante - making a decision that kills 300k batarians is no small thing, even when you have a very good reason. Perhaps even if you're an all-out renegade. It brings about questions like how Shepard will deal with this, if it will change him, and if he will atone for it.
This outcomes also darkens the mood: though I enjoyed playing Arrival, I had a heavy heart upon finishing - not unlike the feeling towards the end of 'The Empire Strikes Back', which I suspect was the kind of feeling that was aimed for.
2. Going solo with Shepard - for one thing it makes sense to go in alone given the parameters of the mission. For another, doing it solo underlines just how lethal and capable a person Shepard has become at this point in the ME storyline.
From a game-mechanical point of view, even in team- or party-based RPGs, it is also nice to get to test the abilities of individual characters instead of always playing a group.
3. Fairly nice setting with a good ending scene at the comm tower platform.
4. Moments that stand out and heighten your immersion/connection to the gameworld, like with the robot-controlling. It only lasted for a minute or so, but it was a nicely added detail.
Disliked:
1. The suddenness of it all. We knew the Reapers were coming, but getting hit on the head and suddenly having less than two hours until they arrive, physically and en masse, did end up feeling rushed. A revelation of this magnitude would seem to merit a longer presentation - thus a longer DLC.
Though, I guess it could also be argued that the extreme urgency was part of the plan, to make Shepard - even if he's a paragon to the extreme - quickly make the decision he did. Still, I felt a bit like I imagine a reader does upon reaching the last page of an up-to-that-point exciting crime novel, only to learn that a lot of facts that hadn't been presented earlier were brought into play, and the story took a quick turn and arrived at a conclusion he'd had no chance of foreseeing.
2. Going solo with Shepard - while nice per se, it brings about the drawback of there not being anyone around to talk to, which made the mission feel oddly quiet. Shepard talking out loud to himself worked fairly well, but that results in rather shallow conversation. With a squad mate present, they could have debated whether it was right or wrong to go ahead with the Project, illuminating the conflict that goes on inside a person faced with such a choice. I guess making Shepard thoughts audible would work too, but that'd be a bit of a new element.
In short, well. As has been said many times in this thread, while it doesn't measure up to the awesomeness that was Lair of the Shadow Broker, Arrival is still a fairly nice DLC, but not as lengthy as it should have been.
1. How Arrival ups the ante - making a decision that kills 300k batarians is no small thing, even when you have a very good reason. Perhaps even if you're an all-out renegade. It brings about questions like how Shepard will deal with this, if it will change him, and if he will atone for it.
This outcomes also darkens the mood: though I enjoyed playing Arrival, I had a heavy heart upon finishing - not unlike the feeling towards the end of 'The Empire Strikes Back', which I suspect was the kind of feeling that was aimed for.
2. Going solo with Shepard - for one thing it makes sense to go in alone given the parameters of the mission. For another, doing it solo underlines just how lethal and capable a person Shepard has become at this point in the ME storyline.
From a game-mechanical point of view, even in team- or party-based RPGs, it is also nice to get to test the abilities of individual characters instead of always playing a group.
3. Fairly nice setting with a good ending scene at the comm tower platform.
4. Moments that stand out and heighten your immersion/connection to the gameworld, like with the robot-controlling. It only lasted for a minute or so, but it was a nicely added detail.
Disliked:
1. The suddenness of it all. We knew the Reapers were coming, but getting hit on the head and suddenly having less than two hours until they arrive, physically and en masse, did end up feeling rushed. A revelation of this magnitude would seem to merit a longer presentation - thus a longer DLC.
Though, I guess it could also be argued that the extreme urgency was part of the plan, to make Shepard - even if he's a paragon to the extreme - quickly make the decision he did. Still, I felt a bit like I imagine a reader does upon reaching the last page of an up-to-that-point exciting crime novel, only to learn that a lot of facts that hadn't been presented earlier were brought into play, and the story took a quick turn and arrived at a conclusion he'd had no chance of foreseeing.
2. Going solo with Shepard - while nice per se, it brings about the drawback of there not being anyone around to talk to, which made the mission feel oddly quiet. Shepard talking out loud to himself worked fairly well, but that results in rather shallow conversation. With a squad mate present, they could have debated whether it was right or wrong to go ahead with the Project, illuminating the conflict that goes on inside a person faced with such a choice. I guess making Shepard thoughts audible would work too, but that'd be a bit of a new element.
In short, well. As has been said many times in this thread, while it doesn't measure up to the awesomeness that was Lair of the Shadow Broker, Arrival is still a fairly nice DLC, but not as lengthy as it should have been.
#799
Posté 22 avril 2011 - 07:21
Angelic.....Not
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MUCH too short! Don't feel I got value for money on this DLC .................. again!
#800
Posté 22 avril 2011 - 07:23
Natureguy85
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The solo nature of this mission made me decide it would be great if each squadmate had an individual mission where you played as that person for just that mission. Obviously Shepard still has to be the main character, but it would let you get into the other character's skin a bit.
