I sincerely hope that this thread catches BioWare's attention. If a single game designer or writer reads this, I will be content; the time I took to write this will be justified.
I tried to select the most valid points and create a rant-free post.
Disclosure: This thread contains spoilers. I completed the game in twenty eight hours with a Female Shepard Infiltrator who was almost exclusively paragon. Everyone survived the previous suicide mission and all possible supporting characters are alive or in a position to appear in Mass Effect 3.
Anyway, I'd like to start off with the GOOD points first:
I knew what I was getting into even before Mass Effect 3 was announced: the prequel's ending made it very clear. The prologue set the tone and urgency of the situation perfectly. There are three moments which stand out the most for me: Mordin's sacrifice during the release of the genophage cure, Shepard’s failure on Thessia at the hands of Cerberus/Kai Leng, and the final confrontation with the Illusive Man atop the Citadel. I was on the edge of my seat during the latter, and I truly believe it was one of BioWare's finest moments in writing -- the pinnacle of suspense.
An excellent job bringing back all of the surviving squadmates in some form or another. The problem with creating so many new cast members is that the writers will now have to take care of them all: I understand fitting everybody back in was a hard job, but BioWare got it done. Some needed to be retired for specific reasons (Mordin, Thane, and Legion), but they were done so in good faith and for good reasons.
The new characters of Vega and Allers look, sound, and act more human than most in the series: kudos to BioWare on that. However, they do not come without their own respective complaints: Vega was way too generic and forgettable while Allers was an out-of-place modern valley girl.
As far as the ever-so-popular romance side stories go, I feel very satisfied. Shepard romanced Garrus in Mass Effect 2 and continued to do so in the sequel. I have to admit I was surprised (and relieved) that the relationship was referenced throughout the game and not just during the cliche before-the-final-mission sex scene. The last scene with Garrus on Earth before the final push was especially sweet. On a side note, I felt that the addition of homosexual characters were tasteful: Cortez was written the farthest away from the stereotypical flamboyant style. Traynor was a bit more promiscuous (maybe too obvious).
Unfortunately, nothing is perfect. Here's the single BAD point in Mass Effect 3:
My sole reason for working up the will to create this post in the first place. I was onboard for everything: since the first mission on Eden Prime in the original Mass Effect up until the elevator rose to meet the Crucible for the final decision. I loved every second. What I did not love was the ending...
"Not loving the ending" is an understatement. I downright hated the ending. It's bad. Not even good for bad: just bad.. I came into the final minutes of the Mass Effect trilogy thinking about every decision I ever made during the past three games combined: and for what? For a vague explanation of what the endings would entail before I chose one. And even after the fact, all three endings are EXACTLY the same save for a differently colored flash of light during a pre-rendered cutscene. This has to be the most arbitrary choice for a conclusion.
But it's the content which gets me the most, and I'm sure I am not the only one who could agree. After everything we've been through, how does a twenty second cutscene of Joker, EDI, and Garrus exiting the Normandy "wrap things up?" Where's everyone else? Where's the rest of my squad and crew? After curing the genophage for the krogan and liberating Rannoch for the quarians, where's the reward? There's no closure or a hint of such... the cheesy clip of Shepard twitching his/her arm under the rubble before the credits doesn't count. I know BioWare was aiming for a darker, emotional ending, but there are other ways to achieve this. Honestly, it came off as a little spiteful.
I'm on the fence about a proper ending because I'm not expecting one. I'm not wishing for a "happily-ever-after" Disney ending where Tali and the other quarians remove their support masks for the first time in centuries, or where Wrex and Eve have little krogan children running around. Unless BioWare takes the path of Bethesda with Fallout 3 and repairs the ending by opening it back up for exploration and continuing with the story/tying up loose ends with a huge DLC release (expansion pack), I can't see myself purchasing any: it wouldn't make a difference in the end anyhow.
Real idea: I'm not going to tell BioWare what to do and what not to do, but here's my two cents. Instead of working on several small to mid-sized DLC missions, concentrate on one or two big expansion packs which work post-game; big like Dragon Age: Origins Awakening or the Grand Theft Auto IV episodes. Get the main squadmember voice actors back (I'd rather not have moments like we did in Overlord or Lair of the Shadow Broker where my squadmates just stared blankly at me like a deer caught in headlights).
In conclusion (or if you didn't want to read the above): This game was worth sixty dollars. This game was worth waiting in line at Gamestop until midnight. The writing is everything I expected and more up until the ending where I was let down hard.
I'd like to see what other people have to share.
. . .
As a bonus, here's some technical suggestions for BioWare to improve on in their future Mass Effect titles:
* If you're going to use pre-rendered FMV cutscenes, export them at a more appealing resolution and frame rate: I know they are used to mask the loading times. (I'm a PC gamer so I don't have the same troubles that XBOX 360 and Playstation 3 users have with their limited hardware and disc seeking). Use your CGI team (nice trailer) to create some cool looking scenery and characters (minus Shepard, for obvious reasons) for these FMVs. Take a page from Square's book: Final Fantasy VIII, a Playstation game from 1999, has fantastic video cutscenes which look better than their in-game counterparts even by today's standards.
* Provide some more video options for PC players. I know this is a console port, but really: at least let us increase the anti-aliasing sampling rate and texture detail. Some of these textures (Anderson's formal outfit, for example) look downright awful. You don't need to go overboard like Skyrim, but if you're going to ship the game on multiple DVD-ROMs or via digital download there's no reason they can't look better.
* All non-critical characters which don't have a unique head model look out of place (or the other way around). Upgrade the character face generator with more realistic skin tones (and better hair: not every male in the future has a crew cut -- I know I don't).
* In-game DLC management like Dragon Age: Origins had. This is minor. Just thought it would look nicer.
Modifié par HarroSIN, 08 mars 2012 - 08:48 .
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