I enjoyed it. Wasn't as good as LotSB, but was still worth it. It was a little light on story for something as big as delaying the Reapers yet again, and I hope Bioware never does a solo mission with Shepard again. Other than that, everything was fine.
I do feel like it was a missed opportunity to include the VS in ME2, and that their presence and dialogue with Shepard would have brought it closer to LotSB quality.
Mass Effect Arrival feedback thread
Débuté par
Chris Priestly
, mars 29 2011 03:21
Retour en haut
#127
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 07:57
Talogrungi
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Hmmmmmmmmmmyeah.
Half and half for me, if I'm honest. I love Bioware for the three things I feel your games always provide; excellent storytelling, outstanding characterisation and replayability via different moral choices.
Nailed #1. Though a little short, the story had an urgency of pace that kept it moving and a solid hook (the imminent return of the Reapers) around which to base Shepard's involvement and justify the actions he/she was forced to take. It served to set up the return of the Reapers and draw the Batarians into the fray, and also provided a tantalising glimpse of Shepard's potential reunification with (or possibly, expulsion from?) the Alliance.
I was a little confused as to why the Reaper artifact felt the need to provide advance warning of the Reaper invasion and the specific manner in which it could be prevented. That felt rather forced.
Characterisation was .. rather weak. On a positive note, we were introduced to Hackett and he was given a face and a personality to go along with the outstanding voice provided by Lance Henriksen. I was disappointed that there was zero squadmate involvement or conversation though. We didn't even get a smartass quip from Joker at the end after blowing up 305,000 batarians.
Regarding moral choices; was there any? .. I thought I would have the option to decide against sacrificing the Batarian colonists, but there didn't appear to be any control given to the player in regards to the "Big" choices.
All in all, a pretty decent combat side-mission (I liked the lone-wolf survival section and the homages to ME1) and a few advancements to the overall story, but my opinion is that it fell short of Lair of the Shadow Broker (the measure against which all DLC is compared) because it didn't advance upon any character relationship dynamics or have the humour that was a welcome addition in LOTSB.
Half and half for me, if I'm honest. I love Bioware for the three things I feel your games always provide; excellent storytelling, outstanding characterisation and replayability via different moral choices.
Nailed #1. Though a little short, the story had an urgency of pace that kept it moving and a solid hook (the imminent return of the Reapers) around which to base Shepard's involvement and justify the actions he/she was forced to take. It served to set up the return of the Reapers and draw the Batarians into the fray, and also provided a tantalising glimpse of Shepard's potential reunification with (or possibly, expulsion from?) the Alliance.
I was a little confused as to why the Reaper artifact felt the need to provide advance warning of the Reaper invasion and the specific manner in which it could be prevented. That felt rather forced.
Characterisation was .. rather weak. On a positive note, we were introduced to Hackett and he was given a face and a personality to go along with the outstanding voice provided by Lance Henriksen. I was disappointed that there was zero squadmate involvement or conversation though. We didn't even get a smartass quip from Joker at the end after blowing up 305,000 batarians.
Regarding moral choices; was there any? .. I thought I would have the option to decide against sacrificing the Batarian colonists, but there didn't appear to be any control given to the player in regards to the "Big" choices.
All in all, a pretty decent combat side-mission (I liked the lone-wolf survival section and the homages to ME1) and a few advancements to the overall story, but my opinion is that it fell short of Lair of the Shadow Broker (the measure against which all DLC is compared) because it didn't advance upon any character relationship dynamics or have the humour that was a welcome addition in LOTSB.
#128
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:02
Uszi
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The Good:
1. I liked the level design as people have pointed out. I would have liked the dead ends to be a little more obvious, since I usually make a point of exploring every nook and crany on a first play through. But in the end, I was satisfied in this department. Pretty much every room had some unnecessary side room with treasure.
2. Stealth aspects. I liked being sneaky sneaky, just as I liked the James Bond aspects of Stolen Memory. I would never advocate making these elements integral to the Mass Effect experience, but boy are they a refreshing change of pace every once in a while.
3. I liked the Object Rho battle. As I was dying, I was a little miffed because I had been outflanked and owned so bad, and I was starting to cook up new strategies. But in the end, I kind of like unwinnable battles that advance the plot with your capture.
4. The music. It was good.
The Bad:
1. I feel like there was a HUGE missed opportunity e to empathize with the Batarians for once. We're on a Batarian colony with plans to nuke the crap out of it, and we're still only treated to blood thirsty gaurds and anti-human speciesism. Why not throw at least a couple of the hard working colonists into the mix, eh? I still felt bad for the colony, but I feel bad for the Batarians in general, and that's because I assume on my own that there are good Batarians out there. The game has given me no reason to believe this.
2. The lack of voice actor support. No where was this most jarring as when I radio'd to joker, and got a line from previously in the series about interference (cleverly disguised), or when Joker says nothing as he flies the Normandy away.
I would rather pay twice as much and wait twice as long for a DLC where you actually bring the voice actors back.
3. It was really annoying for Shepard to keep referring to himself in the plural in fights. "They've spotted us," etc, etc. You already had the actors on to record the other dialogue? Why not redo the couple of canned in combat responses as well?
4. No Paragon/Renegade impact, I saved judiciously so I could replay the imprtant elements over as renegade or paragon, and I'm dissappointed that there was no impact. All the colonists die regardless, and the grenade goes off regardless of whether you do the Renegade interrupt or not. Really? That was very dissappointing.
5. Potentially serious ramifications for ME3. Not everyone buys DLC, and considering that the results of Arrival might have serious impacts on the story of ME3, the complaints of BW holding story hostage for extra payout ring slightly more true. If the events of Arrival have no impact on ME3, other than influencing a few lines of dialogue, then I retract my complaint. But if people are encouraged to pay money for a better experience in ME3, then I think that's a slight abuse of what DLC should be.
6. The project gaurds. Why are they so heavily armed, when they're just supposed to be building a missile out of an asteroid? Why do they look exactly the same as the Batarian Guards. I think this was another missed opportunity. IMO, we should have been swatting away poorly armed scientiests and engineers the whole time, and feeling bad about it.
Overall:
For how cheap it is, I give it an 8/10.
If I were to rate it without consideration of it's price, I would probably rate it lower.
1. I liked the level design as people have pointed out. I would have liked the dead ends to be a little more obvious, since I usually make a point of exploring every nook and crany on a first play through. But in the end, I was satisfied in this department. Pretty much every room had some unnecessary side room with treasure.
2. Stealth aspects. I liked being sneaky sneaky, just as I liked the James Bond aspects of Stolen Memory. I would never advocate making these elements integral to the Mass Effect experience, but boy are they a refreshing change of pace every once in a while.
3. I liked the Object Rho battle. As I was dying, I was a little miffed because I had been outflanked and owned so bad, and I was starting to cook up new strategies. But in the end, I kind of like unwinnable battles that advance the plot with your capture.
4. The music. It was good.
The Bad:
1. I feel like there was a HUGE missed opportunity e to empathize with the Batarians for once. We're on a Batarian colony with plans to nuke the crap out of it, and we're still only treated to blood thirsty gaurds and anti-human speciesism. Why not throw at least a couple of the hard working colonists into the mix, eh? I still felt bad for the colony, but I feel bad for the Batarians in general, and that's because I assume on my own that there are good Batarians out there. The game has given me no reason to believe this.
2. The lack of voice actor support. No where was this most jarring as when I radio'd to joker, and got a line from previously in the series about interference (cleverly disguised), or when Joker says nothing as he flies the Normandy away.
I would rather pay twice as much and wait twice as long for a DLC where you actually bring the voice actors back.
3. It was really annoying for Shepard to keep referring to himself in the plural in fights. "They've spotted us," etc, etc. You already had the actors on to record the other dialogue? Why not redo the couple of canned in combat responses as well?
4. No Paragon/Renegade impact, I saved judiciously so I could replay the imprtant elements over as renegade or paragon, and I'm dissappointed that there was no impact. All the colonists die regardless, and the grenade goes off regardless of whether you do the Renegade interrupt or not. Really? That was very dissappointing.
5. Potentially serious ramifications for ME3. Not everyone buys DLC, and considering that the results of Arrival might have serious impacts on the story of ME3, the complaints of BW holding story hostage for extra payout ring slightly more true. If the events of Arrival have no impact on ME3, other than influencing a few lines of dialogue, then I retract my complaint. But if people are encouraged to pay money for a better experience in ME3, then I think that's a slight abuse of what DLC should be.
6. The project gaurds. Why are they so heavily armed, when they're just supposed to be building a missile out of an asteroid? Why do they look exactly the same as the Batarian Guards. I think this was another missed opportunity. IMO, we should have been swatting away poorly armed scientiests and engineers the whole time, and feeling bad about it.
Overall:
For how cheap it is, I give it an 8/10.
If I were to rate it without consideration of it's price, I would probably rate it lower.
Modifié par Uszi, 29 mars 2011 - 08:12 .
#129
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:03
marshalleck
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I loved the music. LOVED IT!
Please continue in this direction with ME3. I miss the distinctly electronic music of ME1; the music in Arrival felt like a perfect blend of both ambience and pounding action where appropriate, without sounding like a generic Hollywood film score.
Also liked:
- Level design. The station was surprisingly large and sprawling, very reminiscent of the labs on Noveria from ME1. What I especially liked was being able to see various parts of the exterior and interior of the base from different vantage points along all three axes; brilliant! It looks and feels like an actual station where people live and work, rather than a form-follows-function shooting gallery with conveniently placed crates that just happen to be piled up around where the bad guys come out. Also excellent use of blending cover objects in the the environment. Great improvement, I hope to see more of this technique in ME3!
-Object Rho. Scared the crap out of me when it started talking! Seriously, that was the last thing my Shepard needed when he was fighting for his life against waves of indoctrinated soldiers.
-Voice acting. None of the lines felt cheesy or forced. When Shepard saw the Object and how it was just sitting out in the open exposed, he really sounded shocked. Kenson was solid as well; she really sounded anguished and more than a little disturbed as a result of the Reapers getting inside her head.
-Hackett. It's Hackett, what can I say? So nice to have another person back Shepard and not immediately cast doubt on everything Shep does. Also a great VA performance.
Please continue in this direction with ME3. I miss the distinctly electronic music of ME1; the music in Arrival felt like a perfect blend of both ambience and pounding action where appropriate, without sounding like a generic Hollywood film score.
Also liked:
- Level design. The station was surprisingly large and sprawling, very reminiscent of the labs on Noveria from ME1. What I especially liked was being able to see various parts of the exterior and interior of the base from different vantage points along all three axes; brilliant! It looks and feels like an actual station where people live and work, rather than a form-follows-function shooting gallery with conveniently placed crates that just happen to be piled up around where the bad guys come out. Also excellent use of blending cover objects in the the environment. Great improvement, I hope to see more of this technique in ME3!
-Object Rho. Scared the crap out of me when it started talking! Seriously, that was the last thing my Shepard needed when he was fighting for his life against waves of indoctrinated soldiers.
-Voice acting. None of the lines felt cheesy or forced. When Shepard saw the Object and how it was just sitting out in the open exposed, he really sounded shocked. Kenson was solid as well; she really sounded anguished and more than a little disturbed as a result of the Reapers getting inside her head.
-Hackett. It's Hackett, what can I say? So nice to have another person back Shepard and not immediately cast doubt on everything Shep does. Also a great VA performance.
Modifié par marshalleck, 29 mars 2011 - 08:17 .
#130
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:03
Baihu1983
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Pacifien wrote...
And Hackett and Shepard are wondering if there'll be war with the batarians? Shepard just killed 300,000 batarians! That's not if. No one but fringe groups are preparing for the Reapers. Being prepared for the Reapers is not a batarian concern: killing the blasted humans who just destroyed their colony for no good reason is a concern. And Hackett is all "Thanks for the help. Yep, those Reapers are coming. Welp, see ya, Shepard." Oh my god, you're just a miniquest giver? I just started a war for you, man!
I do not like this DLC. If this is the last DLC, congratulations, developers, I am in no hurry to play ME3.
Hacket says theres no real evidence to prove that Shepard did this seeing as everyone else was killed. So unless his report is made public the Batarians wont know who actually pushed the button.
#131
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:05
Uszi
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Also, as we speak my Shepard is staring at the two hour countdown in front of the engine controls. I want to see what happens if I wait until the reapers arrive.
If the reapers don't show up and start screwing things over, I'm adding that to my list of complaints, BW.
If the reapers don't show up and start screwing things over, I'm adding that to my list of complaints, BW.
#132
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:05
chris2365
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Well Bioware couldn't invest too much time in Arrival. Besides, i'd rather have a superb ME3 than a superb ME2 DLC
#133
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:07
The Sapien
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Started it, got bored, will complete some time in the future, but what's the point? I get it, dirty fun with single combat and no story, just a setting, I get it. But this is Mass Effect. I played Shadow Broker, so I know what amazing heights BioWare can achieve. But this? This was just foddle for the fans, and when you do that, in the end, we worship you less. Please, go all the way, or just don't, please. This has got me questioning my love.
#134
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:07
Uszi
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chris2365 wrote...
Well Bioware couldn't invest too much time in Arrival. Besides, i'd rather have a superb ME3 than a superb ME2 DLC
I don't think people from the ME3 development team were making ME2:Arrival, or if they were, then it was not competing with their ME3 responsibilities.
To claim that one would impact the other is to ignore the reality of how these games are developed.
Or at least, what I assume to be the reality. If not, then I shed a tear for the poor overworked designers at BW.
#135
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:07
Baihu1983
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Uszi wrote...
Also, as we speak my Shepard is staring at the two hour countdown in front of the engine controls. I want to see what happens if I wait until the reapers arrive.
If the reapers don't show up and start screwing things over, I'm adding that to my list of complaints, BW.
Carry on playing. At one point the timer will be down to 20 minutes so less wait. What happens has allready been posted.
#136
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:08
Uszi
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Baihu1983 wrote...
Uszi wrote...
Also, as we speak my Shepard is staring at the two hour countdown in front of the engine controls. I want to see what happens if I wait until the reapers arrive.
If the reapers don't show up and start screwing things over, I'm adding that to my list of complaints, BW.
Carry on playing. At one point the timer will be down to 20 minutes so less wait. What happens has allready been posted.
Nay, I will have to find that post. What happens?
#137
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:09
Lee337
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I lliked it, it did what it was meant to do and bridged the gap to ME3.
Was a little short, but dragging it out would have seemed worse to me.
Shame there was no squadmate interaction at all, would have been nice.
Liked going solo, really got the sense of impending doom (as always you still need a little imagination!), the timed ending was a nice touch as well as geting to control a mech and realise how hard to poor little guys have it
Liked the story in general, wished you could break free in the last stand battle and take a slightly different path though
Was a little short, but dragging it out would have seemed worse to me.
Shame there was no squadmate interaction at all, would have been nice.
Liked going solo, really got the sense of impending doom (as always you still need a little imagination!), the timed ending was a nice touch as well as geting to control a mech and realise how hard to poor little guys have it
Liked the story in general, wished you could break free in the last stand battle and take a slightly different path though
#138
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:10
mmmu
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A very intense DLC package. The length of the DLC was a bit short - I felt it could have been extented a bit with various tricks and more moments of slower pace. However, on the plus side of the length it allowed for an extremely intense experience. Concept was interesting and it featured the elements needed to tease for ME3 one final time. Never has the horizon looked so frightening, the Reapers are really coming!
Gameplay was fluid, the enemy packs could use a little variation, but the action was good.
The first mission was nicely executed, I really approved of the "stealth" gameplay, I think that could be used in the future, it creates for nice change of pace.
Finally, the soundtrack - WOW! Absolutely gorgeous music throughout the DLC, fitting the situations perfectly. Very well done! Did I hear Blade Runner inspiration?
Good bang for the buck, can't wait for Mass Effect 3!
(Is it here yet?!)
Positive:
+ Debriefing, taking a call in personal quarters
+ Stealth gameplay
+ Level design (not on par with LotSB though)
+ Elevators
+ Music
+ Scenery
+ Feeling of danger, intensity
+ Reapers
Negative:
- Length (TOO intense, even?)
- Little variation in combat situations
- Short conversations
Gameplay was fluid, the enemy packs could use a little variation, but the action was good.
The first mission was nicely executed, I really approved of the "stealth" gameplay, I think that could be used in the future, it creates for nice change of pace.
Finally, the soundtrack - WOW! Absolutely gorgeous music throughout the DLC, fitting the situations perfectly. Very well done! Did I hear Blade Runner inspiration?
Good bang for the buck, can't wait for Mass Effect 3!
(Is it here yet?!)
Positive:
+ Debriefing, taking a call in personal quarters
+ Stealth gameplay
+ Level design (not on par with LotSB though)
+ Elevators
+ Music
+ Scenery
+ Feeling of danger, intensity
+ Reapers
Negative:
- Length (TOO intense, even?)
- Little variation in combat situations
- Short conversations
Modifié par mmmu, 30 mars 2011 - 09:08 .
#139
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:11
Avatar2312
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For this DLC.
What I liked:
-) It is a good gapfiller, although it still raises many questions (described in dislikes).
-) Solo combat including a fight for your life.
-) Some dramatic
-) Hackett
What I disliked:
-) no indication is given how much time passed between the destruction of the collector base and the arrival (well okay. One indication is given: more than 2 days).
-) No dialogue reaction from anyone of my crew regarding this mission.
-) Hacketts face has similarities with Zaeeds.
-) Plotholes:
a) Why the hell were the Reapers constructing a new one of their kind via the Collectors which was still MONTHS away (at least) from completion, when they are just near the Alpha Relay?
It makes the whole "leaving a vanguard behind" unnecessary (aka Mass Effect 1) as they just could arrive at the fringes and jump to the citadel and do their "deactivate all the mass relays" stuff. Okay it makes sense to leave one behind to assert the state of the galaxy, but it would not be necessary for it to perform any action.
c) In the end of ME2 we see the Reapers activating themselves quite far away from our galaxy. How the hell did they get near so fast? It makes mass relays almost unnecessary for them. In ME1 and ME2 it is implied, that it is almost impossible for them to come back without the use of the citadel. It would only make sense if they had to sacrifice most of them to get into our galaxy (cannibalizing members to speed up e.g.) that fast, thus giving the the races of the galaxy a fighting chance.
What I liked:
-) It is a good gapfiller, although it still raises many questions (described in dislikes).
-) Solo combat including a fight for your life.
-) Some dramatic
-) Hackett
What I disliked:
-) no indication is given how much time passed between the destruction of the collector base and the arrival (well okay. One indication is given: more than 2 days).
-) No dialogue reaction from anyone of my crew regarding this mission.
-) Hacketts face has similarities with Zaeeds.
-) Plotholes:
a) Why the hell were the Reapers constructing a new one of their kind via the Collectors which was still MONTHS away (at least) from completion, when they are just near the Alpha Relay?
It makes the whole "leaving a vanguard behind" unnecessary (aka Mass Effect 1) as they just could arrive at the fringes and jump to the citadel and do their "deactivate all the mass relays" stuff. Okay it makes sense to leave one behind to assert the state of the galaxy, but it would not be necessary for it to perform any action.c) In the end of ME2 we see the Reapers activating themselves quite far away from our galaxy. How the hell did they get near so fast? It makes mass relays almost unnecessary for them. In ME1 and ME2 it is implied, that it is almost impossible for them to come back without the use of the citadel. It would only make sense if they had to sacrifice most of them to get into our galaxy (cannibalizing members to speed up e.g.) that fast, thus giving the the races of the galaxy a fighting chance.
Modifié par Avatar2312, 29 mars 2011 - 08:16 .
#140
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:11
_Somebody
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I have to agree with Pacifien.
I found it to be pretty lame.
I found it to be pretty lame.
#141
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:12
Baihu1983
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Uszi wrote...
Baihu1983 wrote...
Uszi wrote...
Also, as we speak my Shepard is staring at the two hour countdown in front of the engine controls. I want to see what happens if I wait until the reapers arrive.
If the reapers don't show up and start screwing things over, I'm adding that to my list of complaints, BW.
Carry on playing. At one point the timer will be down to 20 minutes so less wait. What happens has allready been posted.
Nay, I will have to find that post. What happens?
#142
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:16
SpiffsGhost
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When I take a step back, the DLC seems a bit like a rushed product. But when I was "in it to win it", it felt very real, providing a sense of urgency that is lacking in most ME2 missions. I think for the price, it is a nice little mission. The brevity is going to be a concern to most people, but again, for the price...
So a quick rundown:
The Good:
- Music was quite nice!
- Seeing/Conversing with Hackett was awesome, although the rehash of the Zaeed skin was a little too obvious, I was hoping for a model of Lance, as you have modelled prominent actors in the past (I'd say he's pretty prominent in the sci-fi world)
- I liked the script overall, with minor exceptions here and there (see The Bad below)
- The stealth mission was an nice example of non-linear combat, and really gave the prison break a unique feel. Getting to listen in on Batarian conversations while sneaking around was great!
- Battle in the vacuum with little to no sound was pretty cool, adding to the realism. Haven't noticed the bugs that others are complaining about once back aboard the Normandy, but hope it's not too pervasive.
- Ending cinematic...wow...just wow. I had no idea the asteroid was going to be that huge! I don't care what the whiners say about "but mass relays are indestructible!", if a rock that big hits anything, it's going down. When Dr. Kenson said "a planet" she meant it! I also like how it looked as though the relay was going to try and send the asteroid off after the Normandy (we see a strand of energy strike it just before impact), talk about your epic fail!
- The map/level design was quite nice, I thought. The battle for Object Rho was intense, and truly intimidating. Not many battles in ME2 provided that feeling.
- Hacking the mech to escape from the med lab was a nice touch! More fun mini-games like that in ME3!
- Fighting alone (while I can see where others find it a "cop out") was actually very fun and challenging. I don't recommend it for multiple missions in ME3, but it's a nice break from the norm. I used a Sentinel, which may be why I survived the entire playthrough (thanks to the tech armor, which definitely exploded more times in the 2 hours it took me than it ever did through an entire ME2 playthrough).
The Bad:
- The final battle on the platform lacked a good boss fight. YMIRs are not bosses, just two regular enemies (soldier/heavy) put together. The YMIR in the battle for Object Rho was a better fight because of close quarters. When there is that much open space, YMIRs are too easy to take down. Perhaps a new mech could've been created (like the Yahg was created for LotSB) for an intense boss fight, providing more urgency against the time until impact. I suppose the least you could've done would have been to put two or three YMIRs on the platform instead of just one.
- The story felt like it was well on its way to something awesome (which the cinematic was), and I thought Shepherds emotions were played out very well throughout, but it didn't peak for me. I suppose the hype behind it set the bar too high. I wanted more from the Reapers (although this is likely your intention). When I saw Harbinger appear on the platform, I thought, "This is epic, another awesome dialogue with the Reapers like with Sovereign on Virmire". As you probably can understand, I was let down. I was hoping for a bit more exposition.
- The dialogue in the prison was not very well done, despite the awesomeness of the action in that mission.
- No major choice elements? C'mon is it that hard to pull a foreign object (which may or may not be one's cranium) out of your cloaca? This mission (which obviously comes with circumstances that we will see in ME3), should have provided more opportunities to make big decisions, considering what is at stake. Despite the fact that my Shepherd hates Batarians (Mindoir born), it would be nice to actually have the chance to save them, somehow. In the end, the "Ultimate Sacrifice" didn't live up to it's name, because there was no choice in the matter.
- Brevity, but that's just because I always want more
The Ugly:
- Dr. Kenson...I was hoping for a hottie doctor that I could save, and then actually feel bad about killing later
So a quick rundown:
The Good:
- Music was quite nice!
- Seeing/Conversing with Hackett was awesome, although the rehash of the Zaeed skin was a little too obvious, I was hoping for a model of Lance, as you have modelled prominent actors in the past (I'd say he's pretty prominent in the sci-fi world)
- I liked the script overall, with minor exceptions here and there (see The Bad below)
- The stealth mission was an nice example of non-linear combat, and really gave the prison break a unique feel. Getting to listen in on Batarian conversations while sneaking around was great!
- Battle in the vacuum with little to no sound was pretty cool, adding to the realism. Haven't noticed the bugs that others are complaining about once back aboard the Normandy, but hope it's not too pervasive.
- Ending cinematic...wow...just wow. I had no idea the asteroid was going to be that huge! I don't care what the whiners say about "but mass relays are indestructible!", if a rock that big hits anything, it's going down. When Dr. Kenson said "a planet" she meant it! I also like how it looked as though the relay was going to try and send the asteroid off after the Normandy (we see a strand of energy strike it just before impact), talk about your epic fail!
- The map/level design was quite nice, I thought. The battle for Object Rho was intense, and truly intimidating. Not many battles in ME2 provided that feeling.
- Hacking the mech to escape from the med lab was a nice touch! More fun mini-games like that in ME3!
- Fighting alone (while I can see where others find it a "cop out") was actually very fun and challenging. I don't recommend it for multiple missions in ME3, but it's a nice break from the norm. I used a Sentinel, which may be why I survived the entire playthrough (thanks to the tech armor, which definitely exploded more times in the 2 hours it took me than it ever did through an entire ME2 playthrough).
The Bad:
- The final battle on the platform lacked a good boss fight. YMIRs are not bosses, just two regular enemies (soldier/heavy) put together. The YMIR in the battle for Object Rho was a better fight because of close quarters. When there is that much open space, YMIRs are too easy to take down. Perhaps a new mech could've been created (like the Yahg was created for LotSB) for an intense boss fight, providing more urgency against the time until impact. I suppose the least you could've done would have been to put two or three YMIRs on the platform instead of just one.
- The story felt like it was well on its way to something awesome (which the cinematic was), and I thought Shepherds emotions were played out very well throughout, but it didn't peak for me. I suppose the hype behind it set the bar too high. I wanted more from the Reapers (although this is likely your intention). When I saw Harbinger appear on the platform, I thought, "This is epic, another awesome dialogue with the Reapers like with Sovereign on Virmire". As you probably can understand, I was let down. I was hoping for a bit more exposition.
- The dialogue in the prison was not very well done, despite the awesomeness of the action in that mission.
- No major choice elements? C'mon is it that hard to pull a foreign object (which may or may not be one's cranium) out of your cloaca? This mission (which obviously comes with circumstances that we will see in ME3), should have provided more opportunities to make big decisions, considering what is at stake. Despite the fact that my Shepherd hates Batarians (Mindoir born), it would be nice to actually have the chance to save them, somehow. In the end, the "Ultimate Sacrifice" didn't live up to it's name, because there was no choice in the matter.
- Brevity, but that's just because I always want more
The Ugly:
- Dr. Kenson...I was hoping for a hottie doctor that I could save, and then actually feel bad about killing later
#143
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:18
uzivatel
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Liked:
- BioWare is trying new things.
- the story was good and the ending was bitter.
- the pace was good.
- some difficult fights.
- good achievements.
Disliked:
- some of the new things dont work that well with the old ME2.
- the plot twist was too obvious once at the base.
- no voices from the crew, again.
- some difficult fights.
- no cabin trophy?
Decent DLC, slightly better than Zaeed, slightly worse than Kasumi.
On par with Overlord, maybe better thanks to the story. As with Overlord, 400MP would be more fitting.
LotSB is obviously way, way better.
On a sidenote - Hackett is a fool to send default warhero soldier Shepard on stealthy mission.
- BioWare is trying new things.
- the story was good and the ending was bitter.
- the pace was good.
- some difficult fights.
- good achievements.
Disliked:
- some of the new things dont work that well with the old ME2.
- the plot twist was too obvious once at the base.
- no voices from the crew, again.
- some difficult fights.
- no cabin trophy?
Decent DLC, slightly better than Zaeed, slightly worse than Kasumi.
On par with Overlord, maybe better thanks to the story. As with Overlord, 400MP would be more fitting.
LotSB is obviously way, way better.
On a sidenote - Hackett is a fool to send default warhero soldier Shepard on stealthy mission.
Modifié par uzivatel, 29 mars 2011 - 08:30 .
#144
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:19
1Man army
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Liked:
Overall: 7,5/10
- Level design
- Object Rho battle. Fight for your life
- Taking control over the mech
- The music
- Ending conversation with Harbinger - always nice with epic conversation (more vigil conversations i ME3 thanks)
- Admiral Hackett
- Choises had no impact on the story
- The sound was a little buggy. Voices and some other things were very low
- The length - too short
- No squad members
Overall: 7,5/10
Modifié par 1Man army, 29 mars 2011 - 08:28 .
#145
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:20
Costello_Anasazi
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What I liked:
Well its Mass Effect so the game play, the graphics, playing Shepard again all very good things.
What I disliked:
First off it was short. I don't think anyone can deny that as value for money goes its not going to win any prizes.
Second it felf far too much like a stand alone adventure. Many reasons for this no interaction what so ever with your crew, all solo play and outside of the reaper threat no real tie ins. Slight throw back to ME1 but very slight and then no real choice.
Third has the doctor had a stroke? The facial animation for the good woman made it look like she couldn't really open her mouth properly.
I would have to rate as a 7 out of 10. Nothing wrong with it but then nothing amazingly right either. As a tie in goes between 2 and 3 it didn't really do the job, while a fun experience if anything it has given me a sence of forboding with ME3. The whole trial situation for doing the right thing smacks of a plot device to explain why you lose your command or whatever. Something you expect to see in a Bernard Cornwell novel. Shepard is placed on trial and found guilty because of evil political manuevering and must go on the run recruiting an army to defeat the evil reaper invasion. Or some such rubbish like that.
So while fun it hasn't made the anticiaption for ME3 it go up any.
Well its Mass Effect so the game play, the graphics, playing Shepard again all very good things.
What I disliked:
First off it was short. I don't think anyone can deny that as value for money goes its not going to win any prizes.
Second it felf far too much like a stand alone adventure. Many reasons for this no interaction what so ever with your crew, all solo play and outside of the reaper threat no real tie ins. Slight throw back to ME1 but very slight and then no real choice.
Third has the doctor had a stroke? The facial animation for the good woman made it look like she couldn't really open her mouth properly.
I would have to rate as a 7 out of 10. Nothing wrong with it but then nothing amazingly right either. As a tie in goes between 2 and 3 it didn't really do the job, while a fun experience if anything it has given me a sence of forboding with ME3. The whole trial situation for doing the right thing smacks of a plot device to explain why you lose your command or whatever. Something you expect to see in a Bernard Cornwell novel. Shepard is placed on trial and found guilty because of evil political manuevering and must go on the run recruiting an army to defeat the evil reaper invasion. Or some such rubbish like that.
So while fun it hasn't made the anticiaption for ME3 it go up any.
#146
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:22
TMA LIVE
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Baihu1983 wrote...
Uszi wrote...
Baihu1983 wrote...
Uszi wrote...
Also, as we speak my Shepard is staring at the two hour countdown in front of the engine controls. I want to see what happens if I wait until the reapers arrive.
If the reapers don't show up and start screwing things over, I'm adding that to my list of complaints, BW.
Carry on playing. At one point the timer will be down to 20 minutes so less wait. What happens has allready been posted.
Nay, I will have to find that post. What happens?
Is that Ash in the group shot in 32?
#147
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:24
Uszi
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Pacifien wrote...
And Hackett and Shepard are wondering if there'll be war with the batarians? Shepard just killed 300,000 batarians! That's not if. No one but fringe groups are preparing for the Reapers. Being prepared for the Reapers is not a batarian concern: killing the blasted humans who just destroyed their colony for no good reason is a concern. And Hackett is all "Thanks for the help. Yep, those Reapers are coming. Welp, see ya, Shepard." Oh my god, you're just a miniquest giver? I just started a war for you, man!
Yeah, this was kind of... meh.
I was hoping that you would have the opportunity to choose to blame it on Cerberus or something, so the Batarians get pissed at them, or blame it on the Alliance.
Also, if you complete this DLC, how the Alliance will not be at war with the Batarians is beyond me. I mean, if they caught the doctor, and they knew she was going to try and blow up the relay, I'm dead certain that they would have notified some important Batarian about it.
That's not the kind of information you keep to yourself. Regardless of what the Batarians do or do not find out, at minimum they know that Human Terrorists blew up the relay and killed 300,000 Batarians.
Which is as good a reason as any to go to war, IMO.
#149
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:27
Drake Averrod
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Personally, I find the DLC unsatifying. While I liked the leveldesign of the batarian colony and the research station as well as the "stealth" gameplay and mech controll scene (they felt quite refreshing), my outright reaction when all was over was: "Meh"!
To me the story felt...boring (may be the wrong word to express my feelings towards it though) and above all forced. My Shepard, most of the time an absolute goody two shoes, agrees without the slightest objection to destroy a hole system!!! The only proof he gets (and needs apparently) is a short vision and some "beeping" by the reaper device which supposedly gets faster. Though the worst thing for me happend during the confrontation with Hacket (admit it Bioware he's Zaeed's twin
) When being asked for his reasons and the necessity of this mass murder, Shepard doesn't even show the slightest bit of remorse. There was a second when I thought he was completely insane and the Turian councillor was actually right "to dismiss these claims".
Furthermore, as many others, I am disappointed about the lack of the VS. While I can understand the (probable) reasoning behind it, I would have gladly paid more to see it happen.
To me the story felt...boring (may be the wrong word to express my feelings towards it though) and above all forced. My Shepard, most of the time an absolute goody two shoes, agrees without the slightest objection to destroy a hole system!!! The only proof he gets (and needs apparently) is a short vision and some "beeping" by the reaper device which supposedly gets faster. Though the worst thing for me happend during the confrontation with Hacket (admit it Bioware he's Zaeed's twin
) When being asked for his reasons and the necessity of this mass murder, Shepard doesn't even show the slightest bit of remorse. There was a second when I thought he was completely insane and the Turian councillor was actually right "to dismiss these claims".Furthermore, as many others, I am disappointed about the lack of the VS. While I can understand the (probable) reasoning behind it, I would have gladly paid more to see it happen.
#150
Posté 29 mars 2011 - 08:27
thetawaves90
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Looks/Sound
The presentation was fantastic, I really enjoyed the levels/environments and the vistas were stunning. I loved the sections around the Alliance station where you were surrounded by windows, allowing you to have a full view of the outside world, also the areas in both the prison and the alliance station seemed far more realistic in that they looked "lived-in". Then again this is ME2, I have yet to find a section of the game where they haven't been. Much the same with sounds, the music tracks were a fitting backing to the situations. I thought it was a nice touch to have everything muffled once you were outside and racing to the comm tower.
Dialogue/Choices/Story
The decisions and dialogue suited the story and pacing of the DLC, it felt as if you were hurried into the rash choices and the short length of the mission only added to this. I think extending it out and having your squad members along would have lessened the impact of single-handedly running around trying to stop a reactor core from wiping out the galaxy's salvation.
I couldn't help but think the twist of "hi guys, we're really gunning for the reapers" was a little clumsy - I always got the impression the process of indoctrination was gradual and varied from individual to individual - yet here I was with the entire human population of a base trying to kill me, with unanimous homicidal fervor, for attempting to save them. Adding a few more prisoners, even if they were ineffectual in their opposition, who were fighting the effects of the indoctrination (maybe like the imprisoned Salarians on Virmire) would have been a nice touch, though I can see the voice-clips scattered around were a means to try get this point across. (having played through again and finding all the voice-clips, I have finally got the point of the Doctor with her good intentions...definitely something I would recommend story-line naysayers revisitting)
Another couple of points:
- I've just taken out a colony of 300,000 sentient individuals and Garrus can only talk about calibrations. Everyone greets me as usual and no one in the galaxy seemed to care less. If only all genocide was this simple...
- My paragon approach in the first game and the former sections of this one have led me to think Shepherd is some liberal paradigm of galactic-species unity, yet the final converastion presents a very human-centric outlook on the upcoming conflicts and strife.
Other than that...
I appreciated the challenge of fighting solo, playing through as both my Vanguard and Infiltrator characters meant an entirely different approach than if I had a squad to rely on. The little mech-control bit was a brilliant touch. Can we control the 500lb one next time?
Both very well done.
Overall I enjoyed the DLC, the sobering speech from Habringer definitely took the edge off the "victorious" mission and I thought the dialogue with Hackett at the end was brilliantly written; a fine balance of congratulatory and horrified. Though Shepherd seemed rather indifferent to the end result of the mission.
Oh, also there seem to be a few bugs with biotic-power kills. I had a section rendered unplayable because some enemies didn't die after falling over an edge (stuck in a running animation mid-air) and occasionally an enemy killed by charging them against a wall would result in the screaming death sound playing over and over...although it made a fitting soundtrack to a hellbent Vanguard killing spree.
Thanks for the many hours I've lost to the Mass Effect series and I greatly look forward to the next release.
The presentation was fantastic, I really enjoyed the levels/environments and the vistas were stunning. I loved the sections around the Alliance station where you were surrounded by windows, allowing you to have a full view of the outside world, also the areas in both the prison and the alliance station seemed far more realistic in that they looked "lived-in". Then again this is ME2, I have yet to find a section of the game where they haven't been. Much the same with sounds, the music tracks were a fitting backing to the situations. I thought it was a nice touch to have everything muffled once you were outside and racing to the comm tower.
Dialogue/Choices/Story
The decisions and dialogue suited the story and pacing of the DLC, it felt as if you were hurried into the rash choices and the short length of the mission only added to this. I think extending it out and having your squad members along would have lessened the impact of single-handedly running around trying to stop a reactor core from wiping out the galaxy's salvation.
I couldn't help but think the twist of "hi guys, we're really gunning for the reapers" was a little clumsy - I always got the impression the process of indoctrination was gradual and varied from individual to individual - yet here I was with the entire human population of a base trying to kill me, with unanimous homicidal fervor, for attempting to save them. Adding a few more prisoners, even if they were ineffectual in their opposition, who were fighting the effects of the indoctrination (maybe like the imprisoned Salarians on Virmire) would have been a nice touch, though I can see the voice-clips scattered around were a means to try get this point across. (having played through again and finding all the voice-clips, I have finally got the point of the Doctor with her good intentions...definitely something I would recommend story-line naysayers revisitting)
Another couple of points:
- I've just taken out a colony of 300,000 sentient individuals and Garrus can only talk about calibrations. Everyone greets me as usual and no one in the galaxy seemed to care less. If only all genocide was this simple...
- My paragon approach in the first game and the former sections of this one have led me to think Shepherd is some liberal paradigm of galactic-species unity, yet the final converastion presents a very human-centric outlook on the upcoming conflicts and strife.
Other than that...
I appreciated the challenge of fighting solo, playing through as both my Vanguard and Infiltrator characters meant an entirely different approach than if I had a squad to rely on. The little mech-control bit was a brilliant touch. Can we control the 500lb one next time?
Both very well done.Overall I enjoyed the DLC, the sobering speech from Habringer definitely took the edge off the "victorious" mission and I thought the dialogue with Hackett at the end was brilliantly written; a fine balance of congratulatory and horrified. Though Shepherd seemed rather indifferent to the end result of the mission.
Oh, also there seem to be a few bugs with biotic-power kills. I had a section rendered unplayable because some enemies didn't die after falling over an edge (stuck in a running animation mid-air) and occasionally an enemy killed by charging them against a wall would result in the screaming death sound playing over and over...although it made a fitting soundtrack to a hellbent Vanguard killing spree.
Thanks for the many hours I've lost to the Mass Effect series and I greatly look forward to the next release.
Modifié par thetawaves90, 29 mars 2011 - 10:22 .
