I think you'll enjoy the trilogy. There are some very memorable characters, and lots of interesting things going on in the background. It's all a bit more linear than Dragon Age, it's a far tighter experience, but for some reason I've actually found it easier to form a bond with and roleplay my various Shepards than I have my wardens, Hawkes or Inquisitor.
The first Mass Effect was the second game I played after coming back to gaming after a break. It was my second 'new gen' (as it was then) game. (The first was GTAIV.) I fell head over heels in love with it, and it defined how I think about gaming now and how I can interact with it on a personal level. When I got to the end and the credits rolled I was in tears, and as soon as the credits ended I started a new game immediately. ME2 was the low point of the trilogy for me, because it felt far too 'gamey' with its mission complete and loading screens, and the idea of gaining loyalty and consciously picking the 'right' characters to do certain things to achieve the optimal result. It's still a good game though, and it improved on a lot of things even though I'm not its biggest fan. ME3 brought back a lot of what I loved about the original game, and improved on the things I enjoyed from the second. It still wasn't perfect, but I thoroughly enjoyed playing it.
I'm excited to hear they're looking at bringing back some sort of exploration in the fourth game, although I hope they tone it down a bit and don't go as far as DAI has gone -- my biggest gripe about DAI is that the main story feels very watered down and all sense of pacing is lost because of the huge swathes of nothing there is to play through in between -- I appreciate what they were trying to do, and they did some amazing things with this game, but for my taste they went too far in the opposite direction and I don't think the format they chose is the best one for a franchise that tries to tell engaging, immersive stories.
It's interesting you say you came to BioWare because of the negative stuff you heard -- I'm sure all the naysayers will be thrilled to know they converted someone to the company
While BW don't get it right all the time, I can't think of another company I'd rather be loyal to. That's not to say I give them my blind, unthinking loyalty; only that I fully support and applaud their commitment to driving inclusivity in their games, and when they do misstep, while it might hurt all the harder because I don't want my favourite developer to do something like that, I stand behind them as they vow to try better next time.
I met a few very good friends as a result of being a BW fan. I can say, on a personal level, being a BW fan changed my life. That sounds corny and crap and I'd slap myself for it if I wasn't a huge wimp, but it's also honest.
I'm really looking forward to it then!
I like the open world ideal for games however I can sense what you mean in how it affected the narrative flow here. I think they need to keep working with a big world concept but I'd probably argue that they need to beef up the main story and cut down the little missions or "fetch quests" as those bog you down a bit in some areas of the game. I like the diversity of their worlds. It's a plus for me that they try to appeal to lgbt players or attempt to create engaging characters from many backgrounds. I hope that never goes away, really. So yeah the naysayers sold me (probably loads more too).
I've seen the flaws too. I saw a good story in DA II hampered by a lack of ambition in design i.e. "Wow, is this a cave? Sure looks like the last one I was in!" DA:I seems a reaction to that lack of scope and perhaps they threw too much of the kitchen sink in but they'll get the mix right at some point!
Retour en haut
