And now I'll go with a post that I already have flying around twice in these forums.
WARNING: HUGE POST AHEAD!!!
OK, I hope this gets to as many Bioware people who worked on any part of the ME
series as it can: THANK YOU ALL!
Seriously, thank you. You guys made a great, awesome,
compelling story/game. There is seriously not ONE thing in Mass Effect that I
do not like.
I know there are some people who are critics and all, but
I'm just a gamer, and I easily let things slide (and don't hold a grudge). Not
only that, I sometimes like things that others don't like. And that just makes
that I love your game. The only things I DO NOT like, would be things that
are missing, but I know you can't have everything, so I forgive you.
Just so everyone knows for the next part: I first played
Mass Effect 2, then one, then ME2 DLC, then 3 and now I only haven't played ME1
DLC and omega (I will play Omega yet, though)
I am now also doing another full playthrough of the whole trilogy.
Also, this post is taking a few days to write, so sorry if I
repeat myself or stuff like that (like I’m writing this sentence a few days
in). That just means you can read it in a few days. Or not at all. Your choice.
OK, breakdown time: (no, not dancing)
Mass Effect 1:
This game, like the other 2 is awesome. I am not going to
say which game is the best, because I just don't know. They all had their
strong and weak points. But Mass Effect 1 is awesome. Sure, the gameplay isn't
the best, but one: that's cause ME3 gameplay is way better (IMO) and two: they
were starting out and this was their first 'try' in ME and three: it's not the
newest of games anymore (but still rather recent).
Anyway, that's not even totally true, now that I think of
it. It was different. It had tons of RPG elements, and I didn't mind sorting through
all my guns/equipment. I loved all the character upgrades. And although it probably wouldn't happen if it
was real, it was fun to sometimes just shoot up the walls of the citadel.
Another great gameplay thing: the Mako. Yes, the Mako. That
thing is freaking awesome. I'm serious, what's cooler than a space era tank
with thrusters? Sure, it could get anoying sometimes climbing up a steep hill,
but overall it was awesome. I just loved driving across alien planets, either
over the (not steep and annoying) hills, or on flat surfaces and then shooting
the canon at a far away mountain, and satisfyingly seeing the shell impact.
That was great!
Also the story: I don't know which ME story was the best,
but does it really matter? It's 1 whole story, asking which is best is like
asking what's your favorite chapter in a book! But anyway, the story was great.
I can't really remember all the plot twists and how I felt when they happened,
especially since I had already played ME2, but I do know they are still awesome
now. And JEEZ, there is tons to do, so many assignments and missions! Also all
the dialogue and choices you can make… AWESOME! Really good job you guys (no
sarcasm).
All the characters are great too! Not only your friends and
allies, but also mission specific characters and antagonists. Like Benezia: She
first sort of seems dark and evil, but when you fight her, it turns out she
wasn’t too bad. And Saren is sort of the same thing. He might still be an
a**hole, but in the end (if you have enough paragon or renegade) you can make
him see what he has become, and he is sorry for it (the indoctrination part,
I’m not so sure about the racism part)
The game also had some great music, but not the best, and I
can’t really think of anything else to say about it.
Here, another things that others don’t always like that I
did: the elevator rides. Ok, they were sort of long, but have you ever seen a
better loading screen? I haven’t. They were great! You could move the camera
around to get a good look at your crew, but the best part was the crew talk and
news reports via radio. Seriously, what’s the last game that gave you new
missions via loading screen?
That’s about it for ME1, I can’t think of anything else to
praise (yet).
Mass Effect 2:
So, the first game I played… Well obviously it was great if
it got me playing Mass Effect. I actually think the thing that got me to play
ME1 was an IGN article about what big stuff change in ME2 through choices in
ME1. But still, it’s (again) an awesome game.
Gameplay is WAY better than ME1, but again, it’s also a bit
different. I think what I really mean when I say “gameplay” is the shooting
aspect. ME1 had better RPG elements, but a worse shooting aspect. I’m not
saying I don’t like the RPG of ME2. It was easier, and again, different. There
were new hacking minigames (the ones from ME1 were also awesome), that were
nice little pauses between combat.
And like I said about I don’t like it when things are
missing: here’s an example. I found it too bad that there was no more Mako.
But, also like I said, I know you can’t have everything in a game, and the DLC
with the hammerhead, although not the same as the Mako, made up for it (the
hammerhead was also great, btw).
Also another little hated thing: scanning. And by hated, I
mean not by me. I didn,t think it was the best thing in the world, certainly
not as good of an idea as the elevators, but they weren’t bad either. They
could only get a little tedious after a while, but they were still fun.
Again, the story was great. Start off with a bang, then add
some twists and yadayadayada, you got a great story! Again plenty of dialogue
choices, and also REALLY cool how you import your save from the last game. Of
course, you need to play the last game and all, but as I said previously, that
is anything but bad. I remember thinking of the differences between my first
ever playthrough of ME2, and the differences between that and a ME1 imported
character. Of course, imported was way more awesome, and more stuff to do. It
actually took until my 3 ME1 playthrough to do EVERYTHING I could, so the
difference between the stuff to do between my first and third character were
pretty big (If you read this, good job, you’re actually reading my whole post).
Basically, just pure awesomeness. I don’t know about the length and amount of
missions, but I thought there was a nice, big amount. Maybe a bit annoying that
you have to find some side missions yourself, but hey, what else are
walkthroughs for? And finding them is totally worth it. I think one of the coolest
side missions from ME2 was the one on the balancing ship. Sure, no combat, but
it isn’t needed. Also, again, too bad you can’t go riding around on planets,
that gave ME1 a feeling of hugeness that ME2 didn’t have… oh well!
Again, great characters. OK, there are some that I don’t
care too much about (looking at you Jacob), but that’s fine with me. Not
EVERYONE is ALWAYS interesting. Makes it a little more real, you know? And even
then I liked his side mission. And all the other characters were just awesome.
This game had some really great music, but also some just
‘meh!’ music. But all in all, the soundtrack was great. Mostly the music from
the last mission (all the stuff that had to do with the collector base) was my
favorite. But even other than that: good job!
And the DLC? Totally. Freaking. Awesome. Really, the Kasumi
and Zaeed? Interesting, awesome characters. Zaeed is the biggest badass ever.
And the mission-DLC’s? So cool and fun. Great story, and great action… great
EVERYTHING! The hammerhead was awesome, the shadow broker was awesome, the
arrival was awesome, overlord was awesome… you get the point. And the music was
also great! And with great I mean some of the best game music EVER!
That’s all I can think of now, so moving on!
Mass Effect 3:
Seemingly, one of the most hated of the series, but
seriously, what the flippin’ heck, man? I don’t hate it at all! It isn’t my
favorite, but like I said, I don’t have a favorite! But by the time the game
was announced, the ME series as my favorite series, and this was the first game
I actually couldn’t wait until it was out. It was also the first (and to date
only) game I pre-ordered and also the only game I got a special edition of. So
that just shows that I loved (and still do) the series.
This time, I don’t think gameplay is too different compared
to the last game. This time, gameplay is better and only that. But that’s not a
bad thing for ME2. In ME2, I didn’t know it could be this cool, and now it’s
way better. Not only that, there’s MP! I remember not being against MP when I
heard about it. I was going to WAIT until I actually tried it, unlike some
people who judge beforehand. When I finally got the game (I had to wait a bit
after it was released, I ordered it to be delivered to family in the US, while
I’m living in Belgium (that’s a different story (yes I am doing brackets within
brackets, what you’ve never done math before?))), I couldn’t wait to play the
story. So I started playing SP and said to play MP after I finished. But as
time went on, I found out that MP helps war assets, and I thought I might as
well try it out, especially since by then the first free MP DLC was released.
So I try it out and… HOLY MOLY, THIS IS AWESOME! It was so fun, I didn’t play
SP for a while. When I started the game, I kept thinking: OK, time for some
more SP, let’s get on with the story… NAH, multiplayer! Don’t get me wrong, SP
was great too, but MP was just so much better than I expected (and I wasn’t
expecting it to be bad).
Too bad there wasn’t any vehicle exploration, though (next
DLC perhaps?), but there was the atlas, and you had turrets, which were also
fun.
But pretty much everything from Mass Effect 2 gameplay was
improved. Running over cover, rolling, dodging, heavy melee… Also the RPG
stuff: More guns, mods, more powers,…. In general, the gameplay is SO much
better. I’m saying this again, but everyone who worked on it gets a big thumbs
up!
And now for another thing that’s missing: the minigames. Too
bad they aren’t there anymore, but like I said, I can be OK with that.
Story: not at all worse than the previous two games. A
little different way to do it than ME2, but that was also different than ME1. I
don’t get it why people start hating stuff like this. OK, there might have been
some plot holes, but every story does. There’s no point in looking for them and
stressing them if you can just sit back and relax. Also, don’t you think all
the possibilities from importing make it difficult AND more interesting in what
the other results could be? The writers aren’t only writing one story, they
aren’t even writing more than one story. They’re writing multiple stories that
are intertwined that CAN BUT DIDN’T become a big mess. There are also plenty of
moments in the story that make up for anything bad (that in my opinion, wasn’t
there), such as the emotional death scenes. I only wish there were more
conversation options (another ‘missing thing’), but I understand that there
were so many possibilities, and it was meant for a broader audience, so that’s
the reason “neutral” seemed to have disappeared.
And now let’s get to the big story-related controversy: the
endings. OK. I’ll admit it. I didn’t like the original endings. BUT Bioware DID
release the extended cut DLC for free, so those are the new endings, and those
I DO like. They aren’t perfect, but they are great. The only thing that would
make them perfect is a scene of Shepard alive with his friends around him (I
chose destroy btw). But if Bioware didn’t want to make this, that’s their
choice. Anyway, that’s what headcanon is for. Seriously though, what’s the big
deal? I’m going to go over the things I heard the most and why I find them
invalid reasons.
It’s an unhappy ending: Umm, actually it isn’t (really).
Maybe a bit of a sad tone, but still: Your crew is safe, the relays get
repaired, Shepard is still alive (with destroy) and you can add whatever other
headcanon you want (I say EDI and the geth are repairable, the catalyst said
tech could be repaired).
Sudden new character (catalyst): OK, he appears a few moments before the end,
but so what? If the story behind the reapers is like what Bioware says it is,
you would never hear about the catalyst unless you got that far. I don’t care
that you learn about him so late. That’s the whole mystery even. And his logic?
It’s either wrong, or it really is something we can’t really understand. I
don’t see what’s wrong with that.
Deus ex Machima: I find that there isn’t any. The cruicible
is not one, it’s plans were found at the beginning, and its construction
happens throughout the game, not at the end. And the catalyst? How could he be
a Deus ex Machima? He’s just the reason for the reapers, not someone that
solves all the problems.
Your choices don’t matter: OK, maybe they don’t really
matter at the very end, but you see plenty of results DURING all three games.
Why do they have to affect the endings?
And even if people still hate the endings, isn’t the journey
more important than the destination?
Enough about that, on to other things!
Characters: yada yada yada, they were great. Only one I
did’t like that much was James, he was sorta like Jacob. And the other new
character: Kai Leng. If there are people who don’t like him: well, honestly, I
don’t effin get it! He’s an awesome bad guy, one I really hated (especially
after he killed Thane), and I love his death scene. That is seriously THE
coolest human vs human death scene ever (I’m, of course, talking about the one
with the interrupt). And now the DLC character: Javik. I like him as a
character, he’s interesting and all, but I don’t really like him as a person. I
don’t mean you did a bad job in making him. You did great! It’s just, he is a
‘do-things-whatever-the-cost’ kind of guy. Now that I think about it, he seems
sort of on the border between good and bad. In the end, he sort of gets nicer
though (in my opinion). So don’t get me wrong, he is not a bad character. He’s
WAY better than Jacob or James. It’s just my Shepard didn’t like him as a
friend that much.
Now the soundtrack. From what I’m hearing, I guess most
people would agree when I say this is the best one. But again, I can’t just say
it’s the best. The other soundtracks had great music too. I even think my
favorite ME music is from Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC. But the ME3 soundtrack
had the most good songs, so that’s why I say it’s the best. Again, great job
Sam! But like I just said about my favorite song from the ME series, that it
was from DLC, that’s what disappointed me the most in ME3 DLC: the music. I was
hoping for better music, but oh well!
Talking about DLC, I think ME3 DLC is great! Let’s get to
the ‘controversial’ stuff first. Day-one DLC? OK, this is pretty much the only
controversy I can think of, and it’s one I don’t really have an opinion of.
Why? Like I said, I got the collector’s edition, so I got it for free. I know
it must be frustrating to have it appear right away with the game, but as far
as I know, it wasn’t intentional and DLC is made differently than the normal
game. C’mon think of what paragon Shep would do/say. But then again, Javik did
fit in so nicely to the story that I sometimes forgot he was DLC, so they did a
really good job with him… almost TOO good…. The other SP pay-DLC? Also like I
said, I didn’t play Omega yet, and I hope it’ll be worth the money, but with
the way I like ME so far, I think it’ll be great. Leviathan was also awesome.
Some great cutscenes, along with great gameplay and also great story elements.
It shed more light on the beginning of the reapers, which I love. Now for the
last SP DLC (I’m not counting weapon or appearance packs): Extended Cut.
Probably one of the best DLC’s ever, in my opinion. It was free, they made it a
priority when they heard people didn’t like the ending it FIXED the ending (yes
it DID, shut up trolls and haters), and it also had some nice music, even if
some of it was ‘recycled’ ME3 music. But seriously, how many game companies do
you know made a DLC for free for its fans, and made it their priority? When I
played through the EC, I kept on thinking ‘good recovery, Bioware’. I seriously
think that at least SOME people who still hate the ending and hate the EC, are
just stupid people that are still just mad about the ending and still want to
be mad about something. Don’t listen to them, Bioware, you did a GREAT job
(just add a happy ending for Shepard and it would have been perfect).
And the multiplayer DLC? Holy crudbits, awesomeness all
around, and for free! Like I said, I love MP, and DLC just makes it better.
Maybe one note, I still am waiting for a more detailed reason for the return of
the collectors (again, next DLC, perhaps?) But anyway, that DLC is also totally
great, due to: it being free, it being
awesome, it being able to last for a LONG time.
Anyway, enough about the individual games. Now’s time for a
more general praise. One thing I always loved about the series, is that so much
stuff is explained. And not only that, it’s a bit plausible. Look, okay, I love
science as much as the next guy, or even more. And I know it’s impossible and
all, but c’mon. They explain (almost) everything, which no game I’ve played has
ever done so thoroughly, or movie or anything (for example: Star Wars. You have
hyperdrive. How does it work? I’ve never heard an explanation. If you’ve read
one, you can give it to me). And not only is it explained, they give an explanation
that gives it a bit of a realistic feeling. About everything really, the time
when things happen sound about right, how thing work,…. I don’t know about you,
but I can’t wait till the day they actually find REAL alien ruins on a planet
of our solar system.
But here’s the spearpoint of my post, and yet, not the tl;dr (yet): Thank you all at
Bioware, who worked on any part of the ME series. You have started a whole new
universe for me. A universe that is better than any other fictional universe
(in my opinion). This is seriously the best fictional universe EVER, and one of
the best stories of all time. Not only that, but you also explained the
universe, added great music and voice acting, put in great characters and
gameplay, super fun DLC and so forth. I don’t know if it counts for much, but
from one of your bigger fans, I give you best story/RPG/characters/all-round
game of my life! At least, until you make a better game.
To all of the haters reading this: post what you want, it
won’t change my opinion. And if you do post something negative, at least try to
explain or give some constructive criticism to Bioware, instead of the usual
annoying…ness. I know not all people who don’t like the ending are stupid and
don’t have a valid opinion, I’m just saying it seems like a lot of people do.
But still, this is supposed to be a praise-post, so actually, why don’t you
follow the saying: “If you don’t have anything nice to post, don’t post
anything at all.”
And to all of the people who do still like the ME series,
especially if you like the ending: let your voice be heard! Let Bioware know
that they are awesome and deserve the credit! Even if it is a simple thank you
or something, go ahead and post it! If there’s anything I didn’t really talk
about, you post it. I probably just forgot (like biotics, those are awesome but
I didn’t say anything about them. And no, I won’t start now).
That was pretty much it. Congratulations if you actually read
through that. You just read 3621 words (at least, according to Word). So I
don’t blame you if you didn’t read it all.
Okay, now the tl;dr, this is going to be hard:
I love the Mass Effect series and thank all who were part of making it. The
only things I didn’t like were things that were missing (such as hacking mini
games from ME3). Bioware gets a big thumbs up from me for creating my favorite
fictional universe. Well done.
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