Mass Effect 3 Single Player demo feedback. What did you think?
#2151
Posté 27 février 2012 - 03:26
#2152
Posté 27 février 2012 - 05:00
But that is at least changeable in the full game.
As a sidenote, some chars just easily rape the Atlas on insanity, while other classes struggle very hard.
#2153
Posté 27 février 2012 - 07:40
#2154
Posté 27 février 2012 - 09:23
Eain wrote...
I'll make this a more reserved reply than I made my earlier thread (which got closed due to overeager moderation).
There are a few things in this demo that absolutely did not work for me. Most notably the section on Earth for a series of reasons:
1) Conversation is wooden. I didn't understand why the Council was asking Shepard what to do. The answer Shepard gave were uninspired one-liners that resolved nothing. Why is the council in despair when it should be ordering a planet into defense? Why does that guy ask Shepard what they should do, when the answer "fight" is so obvious it does not even deserve to be asked? Why is there no real leadup? I didn't feel any urgency in this section.
2) Everything moved from setpiece to setpiece, which made it a stale affair. I am not saying this to be bothersome. I'm saying this because I feared for poor writing in ME3 after what happened to DA2, and this demo has confirmed some of my fears. First there is the "oh my god the reapers are here" part with the council, but since its not the citadel council the players are robbed of any chance to feel vindicated for their treatment in ME1 and 2. We don't know who these councilmen are, why we should care about their fear, or why they're so horribly inept. We don't even know what they're going to be doing. Wasn't this supposed to be a trial? If not, then what was the purpose of this? The hallways walls still read Courtroom Access, so as a player I have no clue whether I was talking to judges or councilmen or anyone.
Then comes the part where the Reapers land. They start destroying a nondescript city that we are given no description of. Where is it? I'm serious, I have no connection to this city. All I see are sterile white buildings being destroyed by giant alien robots. Any chance for the player to feel awed or saddened is lost, because we never get pulled into the action. It's a background setpiece that does not involve the player, and we are not given sufficient reason to care. The trailer was good because we saw the Big Ben and the Eye of London. The beginning of ME3 is bad because prefab skyscrapers in a generic future city without a name incite no feelings.
The same is true for the bit with the child later on. Who is this child? An opportunity is wasted when Shepard first sees him playing with his airplane to give the kid a family. Why doesn't he have one? Why is this one lone kid running around without any supervision? Why doesn't he have a name? Who cares about "Child". Why not call him Eric, and why not have Eric at least play in that little garden under the supervision of his mother? And then why not add that mother to the bit where Eric dies, leaving her standing amidst the rubble? Who cares about Child. Child is as alien to me as the city he lives in. Any attempts at evoking sympathy from the audience fall flat, because the audience is not fooled into believe that this is a human being. For all we know, he's an extremely advanced japanese robot. I don't know.
Then there's the part where the Reaper shows up and destroys the refugee pods. Why not the Normandy? This Reaper must be the dumbest Reaper ever, because it does not act on the information that must surely be in the collective Reaper database about the Normandy and how often it has thwarted Reaper plans. Instead, it kills Child the Japanese Robot.
In the meanwhile Shepard watches the war evolve like she's a spectator in a theatre. Refugee transports get blown up RIGHT NEXT to the Normandy, but Shepard just looks pained, shrugs and walks in. Really? No urgency? No commanding Joker to make it fast? Instead, Shepard spends forever in some strained dialog with Anderson that really couldn't have been held at a more ridiculous location. Why there? Why not earlier? Why did Anderson not communicate during the earlier bit in the building where they climbed past a chasm? Instead he went on about "oh my god people are dying." You know that there's a classic adiago in writing: show it, don't tell it. If thousands of people are dying, I need some proof. Anderson talking about it in a setpiece building demonstrates as little to me as Anon Kid dying or as this sterile looking city getting destroyed. I have seen not one person die when Anderson says this, despite his claims.
The demo gets better in the later section with the Krogan Female, because you get into typical ME gameplay which redeems the game. But I am under no illusion that the writing throughout ME3 is going to be any better than what the opening tutorial sequence has shown us. It turned out exactly as I feared.
I'm in the same boat. It smells like fish.
Since you pretty much nailed every point I would have made, I'll add some other things I couldn't help but notice.
Assuming this is the beginning of the game, we're lead to assume that Shephard and Vega already have a relationship. With a line or so, the muscle-tee manitee inserts himself into the narrative and spends the rest of the demo in the shadows (literally), following Shephard and contributing nothing. I'm already upset that Vega is involved to begin with, and his flat presentation only serves to bolster my dislike of the character. However, a good deal of this might be repaired if the demo is not, in fact, the beginning of the game.
Then there's this one thing that I cannot stand. It could just be me, and hopefully it is, but I can't stomach the in-game running animations. Everyone runs around, skirting the ground like ghosts, without so much as a single shoulder-bob and their legs flopping back and forth like wet spaghetti. Part of me wants to say that they're soldiers, and soldiers want their guns to be steady, but damn it all I think it looks awkward and strange. As Pennywise the Clown says, "They all float."
Also, if you play as a Soldier, you can breeze through the demo (on normal, mind you) without paying cover any heed. Sure, there were one or two close-calls, but I barely realized this after many battles of easy-pickens. One time, when I watched my friend play through the demo, he even managed to roll around in the open until his shields returned. Whatever decisive gameplay was left in ME 2 didn't quite show up, here. In regards to ME 1, it feels like a far cry away.
Lastly, why do Adepts have grenades, and biotic grenades at that? It seems bizarre for a non-combat oriented class. I suppose I should really be asking what happened to ME1's modifiable zero-g sticky grenades that detonate on command? Returning to frags seems like a step back in technology.
As far as I can remember, that's all I have for now. Criticisms aside, there were a few things I did like. The skill system is a definite improvement over ME 2's (though still not as intricate or satisfying as ME 1's). Also, close to the end of the demo, when Mordin asks you to secure the Female Krogan before more Cerberus arrive, if you wait too long, more Cerberus soldiers actually arrive.
Modifié par Blind Mind, 27 février 2012 - 09:40 .
#2155
Posté 27 février 2012 - 09:43
I did like the branching skill trees. I'm sure I'll play this game repeatedly and this could add replayablity to the same class.
#2156
Posté 27 février 2012 - 11:05
Besides that I think the game looks great. The voices and animation look smooth and crisp and the characters seem so vibrant.
I miss the hacking minigame, but it does make the missions go buy alot faster.
The introductory level on Earth looked great, Seeing and hearing the Reapers invade the Planet just looked amazing.
With this being just the demo, I can't wait for when the full game comes out.
#2157
Posté 27 février 2012 - 11:55
#2158
Posté 27 février 2012 - 11:57
JMSLionheart wrote...
My only hope is that this is not the real Intro (the worst in the saga). Both Mass Effect 1 and 2 had much more better Intros!!
And not only that, you really need to take note of Uncharted 3 (or even Uncharted 1) and Nathan Drake's animations. Because Shepard and Anderson facial and movement animations are too bad.
According to MrPriestly it is.
That's a game made ground up for the PS3.
#2159
Posté 27 février 2012 - 11:58
galland wrote...
Demo excellent............but...How the hell do you save????? ( or am I being thick?)
Its a demo you don't save
#2160
Posté 27 février 2012 - 01:30
#2161
Posté 27 février 2012 - 02:39
Anyway, my impression was:
Visuals & Sound:
-) When you try to create a male Shepard, his nose always looks big and his face strange looking! Why!? ME2's character creator looked much better in my opinion. Not only that, actually most of the models ingame have uber big noses!?
-) Not sure if it's my video card, but there were many places where the textures seemed 16-bitish?
-) Anderson's face was extremely strange? Sorry to say it, but I liked the ME2 one better.
-) I don't know why, but the shadows looked unrealistic as well?
-) People don't run like Shepard and Anderson did? Their hands were very, and I mean very awkward.
-/+) I like the background music but am I the only one who thinks it doesn't quite suit the gameplay? I'd expect some heavy heroics when such music plays, but all I did was run from the Reaper or kill Cerberus' smallfries. Maybe if it's around the end?
+) Weapons sound better than before.
+) Shepard sliding is a pleasure to the eye.
+) The new special abilities' effects look great
+) The old special abilities look even greater
+) Overall graphic improvements
Storytelling:
-) Are we supposed to know Vega? Seriously, I didn't really know who he is until I read the forum.
-) Why did Shepard "got a little soft around the edges" exactly? He does know that the Reapers are coming and an invasion is at hand? I got the impression that he's the sort of a guy who makes sure things go right from the previous games.
-) Why is Shepard such a jerk? He never properly greated neither Kaiden nor Ashley, except for saying their names. Also, it looked as if he's smirking when he walks by them. If Kaiden survived, he should probably do a handshake at least? After all, he did to Vega? What gives? And what about Ashley? If she's Shepard's love interest, I'd say this is one very awkward expression of affection.
-) I got the impression that the council had something important to say, but all they did was to say "we are doomed"!?
-) I didn't know the story takes place on Earth, until they mentioned that the Moon was invaded (and again, it's just a guess). Someone should probably get things clear from the start?
-) "We fight or we die"... Thank you for the explanation. We couldn't have gussed without you, captain Obvious. The council did read Shepard's report, right?
-) I really missed Joker's funny phrases.
-) I didn't sense the characters' emotions through their voice as I did in ME1 and ME2.
-) The dialogs were very, very short. Reapers are threatening to destroy all lifeforms! The characters should have more to say to each other.
-) Wrex should be much more impulsive/agressive, in my opinion.
-) Mordin, say something to Shepard! Shepard, say something to Mordin! You both eradicated the Reaper's base at the end of ME2, remember?
-) Exactly why is that we have to meet Mordin and the female Krogan at the next checkpoint? Why not free her right now?
-) Where did all the Salarians, save for one, go all of a sudden?
+) Destroying Earth (?) gives the player enough motivation to eradicate every single Reaper.
+) I really liked the complete chaos the game promises - Salarians having hold of the female Krogan and all.
Gameplay: /I played Vanguard and Adept/
-) Aren't people supposed to get tired when they run? Doesn't seem to be the case in the demo.
-) The biotic charge's slowmotion is slow as hell. I liked the ME2's one much better. I'm cool without one as well. I have plenty of time to react in the multiplayer, for example.
-) Very often, when I flanked the last enemy and started to shoot at him, he didn't react at first. (Insanity)
-) I die from one grenade only? What's the barrier doing anyway? Even Liara doesn't die from one grenade, although she has weaker barrier and health? (Insanity)
-) Sorry but I didn't like the new health system. The one from ME2 feels much more smoother. (not to mention it nerfes the vanguard's ability to rush to great extent)
-) Singularity's cooldown is almost the same as pull!? Why would I need pull then? They have pretty much identical trees as well.
-) Pulls, throws, etc tend to miss quite a lot? Why?
-) When you fight against the turret, you can't take cover behind one of the walls, although your squadmates can?
-) If you send your squadmates as a decoy behind a cover, you can actually be ignored by both the robot and Cerberus' troops?
-) Mordin's voice was different, but I guess it can't be helped? Anyway, he should probably at least speak faster, like the original did. That's what most of us liked about him.
-/+) If you don't rush a bit, Cerberus' troops come again, but if you try to free the female, nobody comes for quite a while. The timings were a bit off in my opinion, but I liked the idea.
-/+) The mission's level design was good, but it needs some polishing, in my opinion. Especially the turret part.
-/+) Aren't squadmates a bit too detached from Shepard when he takes the lead outside of battle? They also seem to holster their weapons, although everyone should be hurrying?
-/+) Mordin's voice is urging me to go faster, but I think he urges you way too frequently. The idea's nice though.
+) I liked the training mission overall.
+) The new biotic punch looks and feels great when you get to use it.
+) Insanity feels much more challenging.
+) Squadmates don't die as much.
+) The new cover system really gets things going.
+) The battle system looks very promising.
+) Enemies throwing grenades gets you moving.
Modifié par Iryoku, 27 février 2012 - 02:45 .
#2162
Posté 27 février 2012 - 02:57
* Scene with boy was very well done. Visuals and audio combined perfectly to create an impressively impactful scene.
* Weapon sounds were impressive, sounding like they pack more of a punch and sounding less like toy guns. Your working with DICE paid of handsomely.
* Leveling system is nice. I like how we have different routes we can take and that we were given plenty of points in the second half to try it out.
* I REALLY like the way the camera often smoothy transitions from gameplay to cutscene (like zooming over Shepard's shoulder). Nice touch!
* I like how Shepard's currently equipped weapon is the one that is shown in (most) cutscenes.
Disliked:
* High contrast in scenes leading up to Reaper landing. Whites too bright, blacks too dark, various colours lost in-between (like some eye & hair colours).
* Some weird camera angles, e.g. when Shepard addresses the Defense Committee. Shepard's teeth and frown look bizarre to the point I was reminded of the evil bunny from the Bill & Ted sequel.
* The abruptness of entering/exiting the running animation is jarring. There should be some element of de/acceleration.
* Liara's walk in the shuttle cutscene looks very awkward and simplistic. You expect better from a company like BioWare.
* Melee attack can be difficult to judge.
* The 'Trial Scene' wasn't actually a trial. Shepard didn't answer for the events of 'The Arrival'. The wiping out of an entire Bartarian system isn't even mentioned. This feels like a cop-out.
* I hope that Salarian mission isn't the only one that has Modin/Wrex/Kirrahe because you don't get to (really) fight alongside any of them during the mission.
* Final Human Husk that comes over ledge is able to see my Shepard when using Tactical Cloak. I think I noticed Cannibal's later on were shooting at me when I was cloaked as well.
* NO RED/GINGER HAIR IN THE CREATOR! The new FemShep has it but the colour is not available to custom sheps. My Shepard from ME2 now imports with dirty blonde hair and the closest alternatives are a light brown or a variety of fake reds.
* Inability to remove pilot from Atlas and take over the vehicle.
* No worktables to try out upgrades (despite presence of several upgrades throughout demo).
* Don't like/get the power cooldowns. I was playing sentinel and cryo'd someone then wanted to throw them but couldn't! Where is the fun in that? And some of these powers said 20+ secs to cooldown! I can't use any power for 20 secs after I use it?! What the hell?!
* Linearity of levels. Hopefully this doesn't represent overall level design. Although I guess it's par for the series, but still...
* The new FemShep reminded me of Chucky from 'Child's Play'. Seriously hideous. No chance in hell I'll be using that in a playthrough.
Modifié par kyg_20X6, 27 février 2012 - 03:07 .
#2163
Posté 27 février 2012 - 03:52
Iryoku wrote...
Sorry to say it, but I didn't like many things in the demo. Hope they'll be polished before the final version gets out and I look forward to it. Overall, I'm sure BioWare are still holding their trump cards. If they do fix some of the existing problems, ME3 promises to become even more epic than the first two games, I think.
Storytelling:
-) Are we supposed to know Vega? Seriously, I didn't really know who he is until I read the forum.
-) Why did Shepard "got a little soft around the edges" exactly? He does know that the Reapers are coming and an invasion is at hand? I got the impression that he's the sort of a guy who makes sure things go right from the previous games.
-) Why is Shepard such a jerk? He never properly greated neither Kaiden nor Ashley, except for saying their names. Also, it looked as if he's smirking when he walks by them. If Kaiden survived, he should probably do a handshake at least? After all, he did to Vega? What gives? And what about Ashley? If she's Shepard's love interest, I'd say this is one very awkward expression of affection.
-) I got the impression that the council had something important to say, but all they did was to say "we are doomed"!?
-) I didn't know the story takes place on Earth, until they mentioned that the Moon was invaded (and again, it's just a guess). Someone should probably get things clear from the start?
-) "We fight or we die"... Thank you for the explanation. We couldn't have gussed without you, captain Obvious. The council did read Shepard's report, right?
-) I really missed Joker's funny phrases.
-) I didn't sense the characters' emotions through their voice as I did in ME1 and ME2.
-) The dialogs were very, very short. Reapers are threatening to destroy all lifeforms! The characters should have more to say to each other.
-) Wrex should be much more impulsive/agressive, in my opinion.
-) Mordin, say something to Shepard! Shepard, say something to Mordin! You both eradicated the Reaper's base at the end of ME2, remember?
-) Exactly why is that we have to meet Mordin and the female Krogan at the next checkpoint? Why not free her right now?
-) Where did all the Salarians, save for one, go all of a sudden?
+) Destroying Earth (?) gives the player enough motivation to eradicate every single Reaper.
+) I really liked the complete chaos the game promises - Salarians having hold of the female Krogan and all.
Youre not the only one with those concerns.
#2164
Posté 27 février 2012 - 05:05
It's too late now, at least for release time, to make all our expressed bugs gone. We just have to wait for the final product to evaluate all the things we like and don't like.
I think the demo was just an old version of the great final game, which awaits us in the next few days.
Origin is a sinewy system, especially for people with slow internet connection. The game itself will hopefully be better than it's distribution platform. In tense expectation of the upcoming Mass Effect chapter, let's just face all the new screenshots and trailers out there and awaiting the upcoming evaluations of game magazines and websites out there.
Mass Effect as a whole has the potential for so much more. It's not as kitschy and excluded from it's origins like the Star Wars franchise is nowadays. I hope the future of Mass Effect will be as authentic and special as the last releases were, not getting too execessive but being reliable at the same time.
Modifié par Plejadenwolf, 27 février 2012 - 05:34 .
#2165
Posté 27 février 2012 - 05:58
#2166
Posté 27 février 2012 - 07:02
#2167
Posté 27 février 2012 - 07:06
Take the Tempest, 50 Rounds in, 350 in reserve, so that makes 8 Hetasinks all together, but ad the SMG Magazine upgrade to the Tempest, lets go with 100 %, you will than get 100 Rounds in the tempest, but still 350 in reserve, Instead of 700, if you go with 8 heatsinks.
I know its a small detail, but still, it sometimes just jumps out to me, and remainds me how somethings just don't match with Mass effect Canon.
#2168
Guest_Apocaleepse_*
Posté 27 février 2012 - 10:21
Guest_Apocaleepse_*
The graphics are definitely an improvement. ME2's graphics were quite good so I wasn't expecting such a dramatic improvement, especially since Mass Effect games are quite huge in terms of game content and the game world (or worlds, in ME's case). I'm just hoping that the shinier graphics didn't take away from what made the previous 2 games great.
Now there are two things which bother me: When I first got to a locked door, I was expecting either the same mini game from ME2 or a different one. I got neither, what happened was the door just unlocked after a few seconds of just standing there. Now I'm all for making things easier for people who are new to the game, but I don't really see the point in locked doors if there isn't actually going to be some way of bypassing them.
The second thing is levelling up. You still need so many points to "buy" a certain perk or ability, something which annoyed me in ME2. The reason why it annoyed me is because I was ALWAYS left with 1 or 2 points left to spend on each character, but I would not be able to do anything with them since the remaining abilities left needed like 3 points or something.
#2169
Posté 27 février 2012 - 11:21
One thing that was disconcerting is that out of combat Shep seemed to glide. You got the feeling of moving a cardboard cut-out through the world. I can only assume this is a demo thing or something for people with motion sickness. Still, i hope it is not there in the final release.
#2170
Posté 28 février 2012 - 12:43
I don't like where mass effect series are going but I'm sure run and gun GoW fans will love it.
#2171
Posté 28 février 2012 - 12:53
I enjoyed the demo, but as with most people the load-out for the second mission was a bit much for me. I would have liked to have had some control over what I was carrying, as an Infiltrator without a sniper rifle just seems plain wrong to me.
FemShep seemed to move the exact same way as Shepard as well, which may just have been do to the file cut-down so that it would meet the limitations of a demo.
There are ways to figure out what's going on with characters like Vega for those who don't know what the hell's going on, but it requires some research. It makes more sense when put into context.
Finally, based on videos I've seen and common sense, the levels offered in the demo obviously aren't complete. Going from a landing pad to the end of the mission usually isn't what happens, except in those extra-short side mission in ME2 (Planet full of mechs and cargo anyone?)
Overall the demo provides much needed playtime for those of us who have been asking a millions questions a minute and it was fairly decent, though hopefully the concerns it has brought up will be addressed by release or shortly thereafter.
Modifié par The Palmer, 28 février 2012 - 12:54 .
#2172
Posté 28 février 2012 - 07:23
#2173
Posté 28 février 2012 - 11:57
And not only that but I found a large amount of textures LOW-RES. I hope it is because is just a demo. But I know it will look like this in the final product, because always happens that way... Only Skyrim and The Witcher 2 surprised me, because Bethesda and CD Projekt listen to the fans... but you Bioware don't seem to care about your fans feedback and that's too bad.
#2174
Posté 28 février 2012 - 12:42
Iryoku wrote...
Sorry to say it, but I didn't like many things in the demo. Hope they'll be polished before the final version gets out and I look forward to it. Overall, I'm sure BioWare are still holding their trump cards. If they do fix some of the existing problems, ME3 promises to become even more epic than the first two games, I think.
Storytelling:
-) Are we supposed to know Vega? Seriously, I didn't really know who he is until I read the forum.
-) Why did Shepard "got a little soft around the edges" exactly? He does know that the Reapers are coming and an invasion is at hand? I got the impression that he's the sort of a guy who makes sure things go right from the previous games.
-) Why is Shepard such a jerk? He never properly greated neither Kaiden nor Ashley, except for saying their names. Also, it looked as if he's smirking when he walks by them. If Kaiden survived, he should probably do a handshake at least? After all, he did to Vega? What gives? And what about Ashley? If she's Shepard's love interest, I'd say this is one very awkward expression of affection.
-) I got the impression that the council had something important to say, but all they did was to say "we are doomed"!?
-) I didn't know the story takes place on Earth, until they mentioned that the Moon was invaded (and again, it's just a guess). Someone should probably get things clear from the start?
-) "We fight or we die"... Thank you for the explanation. We couldn't have gussed without you, captain Obvious. The council did read Shepard's report, right?
-) I really missed Joker's funny phrases.
-) I didn't sense the characters' emotions through their voice as I did in ME1 and ME2.
-) The dialogs were very, very short. Reapers are threatening to destroy all lifeforms! The characters should have more to say to each other.
-) Wrex should be much more impulsive/agressive, in my opinion.
-) Mordin, say something to Shepard! Shepard, say something to Mordin! You both eradicated the Reaper's base at the end of ME2, remember?
-) Exactly why is that we have to meet Mordin and the female Krogan at the next checkpoint? Why not free her right now?
-) Where did all the Salarians, save for one, go all of a sudden?
+) Destroying Earth (?) gives the player enough motivation to eradicate every single Reaper.
+) I really liked the complete chaos the game promises - Salarians having hold of the female Krogan and all.
Thank god there are players that are real fans and not fanboys
The Demo was fun but very dissapointing, the story so far doesnt have too much creative. I really miss the EPICnes of the story in first Mass Effect D:
#2175
Posté 28 février 2012 - 02:36
In short, this was very poorly handled, and when playing through the demo it felt anticlimactic.. like a waste of what could have been a really epic and dramatic moment of the ME trilogy. In comparison, the ME1 introduction was much better done, and Normandy+Eden Prime a much more solid and player-driven intro than the very brief sequence on Earth where you mostly just follow Anderson around and do what you're told.
So, I really, really hope this was an unpolished start of the game that will have been expanded upon in the final version.
2. Wacky/poor animations and several poor textures. Anderson running, Shepard running, etc. I hope this is only due to it being a demo.
3. If ME1 was blue and ME2 was orange, ME3 seems to be "CoD dirt spatter" for some kind of gritty realism feel. Not sure if this fits well for an ME game.
4. The UI seems poorly adapted for larger displays. At 1920×1080 the conversation wheel seems way too small. I hope this is only due to it being a demo.
Modifié par wepeel_, 28 février 2012 - 02:37 .





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