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[Naltair]

Preface: I don't think I mention spoilers, just a few character names. 

So last night I let my friend play Mass Effect 2, she isn't a gamer; not a serious one and I set the difficulty to Casual because for her just getting the controls down was a challenge.  She likes to button mash in fighting games.  Four hours or so later she was hooked.  She started a new female Shepard, with no import and very minimal knowledge of the ME universe except what I have told her about the last game and some back story.
Meaning she is aware of the Reapers and that Shepard was and is one awesome chick.  Other than that I just sat back and let her play and watched her get into the story and characters.  It was interesting watching her play from a non-gamer perspective without any real preconceptions.

Character Customization

She really liked being able to make her own Shepard, and spent some time, not overly much modeling the face; she didn't like the hair options but overall I think she was pleased with the result.  She really liked being able to customize the armor, she didn't like the armor sets, I have all except the Terminus Assault Armor, and settled into N7 suit with custom paint job.  I told her to go Soldier since it would be the easiest to play and require the "least" amount of buttons to rely upon,

She was really impressed with the Captain's Cabin and is looking forward to getting more models and especially the fish tank.  She really wants to get some fish, though I did warn her that they have a chance to die if they are not properly fed.  Overall she liked this aspect and I think it added to her enjoyment.

Tutorial

This was something that for me was rather useless besides some of the combat changes most of this was very easy to grasp.  But the real value of this section of the game really shined for her; the directions and flow of the game really helped her grasp the basics and introduced her to the story in a dynamic way.  Kudos here BioWare because this section really made my job as a facilitator easier because I could point to the arrows on screen or directions and easily guide her through the initial portion of the game.

This is head and shoulders above the Eden Prime sequence which has little to no direction for the brand new player, especially a non-gamer.  The map pointer that shows the direction to the objective was a life saver for her, since she gets easily lost.  She still does not use powers very often but I think it is a comfort zone issue, she feels fine enough shooting things and that works for me.

Characters

She enjoyed interacting with the characters and currently has recruited everyone from the pre-Horizon section except Grunt.  She really dislikes Miranda, no too surprising given her earlier interactions with that character in the tutorial and on Freedom's Progress.  She likes Joker a great deal and found his humor quite amusing.  She likes Jacob for two main reasons, one he seems like a genuinely nice guy and the second reason because I look like Jacob at least superficially so he feels like she has her friend in game.  I was surprised she wasn't really too interested in Kelly and Mordin just came off as weird to her but not overly annoying.

She likes the engineers especially Kenneth, and found him to be too cute.  She is a Star Trek fan and figured he was a "Scotty" reference even if he was originally inspired by Ewan McGregor.  Jack was a mixed reaction but I think overall she is intrigued by that character.

As an aside I found the flirty dialog between Shepard and Jacob to be hilarious she did too, and found it amusing since it was so over the top.  I think thus far, Jacob and Joker are her favorite characters on the ship.  Oh I nearly forgot Garrus, she really liked him and felt he was amusing and also tough.  The story and characters really seemed to draw her in.

Shepard

I think she really enjoy being a tough chick, she tends to be more renegade then I would be, but she is paragon to those in need and to who she feels are her friends.  She isn't sold on the Hale "tough" vice but she enjoys the portrayal and the humor that the main character has.   She seemed genuinely empowered by taking on Shepard's role and making the decisions.  She really liked the renegade and paragon interrupts and I think it gave hr a sense of control over the narrative.

She really seems to be settling into the conversation aspects and I think is enjoying how the story is portrayed on screen.  Like the stare down with the prison Warden or interacting with her shipmates.  I like it because I am seeing the story from a new perspective and it's like watching a movie for me.  

Final Thoughts

Watching her play and getting her hooked was really fun.  Probably the most fun I have had with ME2 since I beat it and I really liked seeing the game with fresh eyes and listening to her squeal with delight when she finished a mission or did something awesome.  I think she genuinely enjoys the characters and I hope to see her continue and see what the rest of the game will show her.

I think the best compliment I heard from her was, "I can see how this game can be addicting."  This was about 3-4 hours after she started playing.

Edit: I told her about the romances and thus fr she is currently romancing or at least flirting heavily with Jacob.

[Skilled Seeker]

Good to hear. Its mostly the 'elite veteran gamers' that like to talk trash about ME. It is a very enjoyable game and its nice to see she decided to romance Jacob as not many people do. Thanks for sharing your story

[Naltair]

Skilled Seeker wrote...

Good to hear. Its mostly the 'elite veteran gamers' that like to talk trash about ME. It is a very enjoyable game and its nice to see she decided to romance Jacob as not many people do. Thanks for sharing your story

Yeah I like Jacob too, I think the main reason is that he looks like me so it's funny to her.

Hale's flirty delivery is also very amusing as well.

[catabuca]

Great stuff :-)



I wish I could go back and experience ME1 and ME2 in succession not knowing what I know. I expect ME3 to come with a MiB mind wiper so I can experience the trilogy afresh ;-)

[LoweGear]

Nice to hear a detailed observation on how someone not as into games as the rest of us here actually enjoys ME2, enjoyment being the key operative word for any game. It's a shame that many people let their enjoyment of games be obscured by their jaded expectation of what a game should be coupled with their inherent bias. To hear about how someone without such preconceptions enjoys the game is a very nice thing to hear, especially in this forum.

[XfStef]

that is a great story... but applies with genophage numbers on current world population...

be lucky you have such a great girlfriend that enjoys playing action rpgs from time to time



also I have to agree character and story are great in the Mass Effect universe

[Naltair]

Crawling_Chaos wrote...

Cool, I think you should update with further play sessions and when/if she makes it to the end-game.

Yeah I hope so too, she is out of town this weekend but we may play some more this coming week.  As long as my girlfriend isn't playing Bayonetta, I got it for her for Valentine's day.

Modifié par Naltair, 12 février 2010 - 06:04 .

[Naltair]

LoweGear wrote...

Nice to hear a detailed observation on how someone not as into games as the rest of us here actually enjoys ME2, enjoyment being the key operative word for any game. It's a shame that many people let their enjoyment of games be obscured by their jaded expectation of what a game should be coupled with their inherent bias. To hear about how someone without such preconceptions enjoys the game is a very nice thing to hear, especially in this forum.

Yeah I agree I really like the perspective she brings and how even though this isn't her "thing" she really likes the story.

[Aidunno]

Nice refreshing perspective. Wish my wife would get interested... make my life easier..

[WrexKroganKing]

My girlfriend is staying over for valentines this weekend and she cannot wait to play ME2. I can't wait.



Oh, how I love her

[LoweGear]

Naltair wrote...
Yeah I agree I really like the perspective she brings and how even though this isn't her "thing" she really likes the story.

I find that most of the people I know who don't play Mass Effect still like it for the story.

Case in point: My two younger cousins, aged 11 and 14, who I got interested in Mass Effect because they saw a few of the dialogue segments I was playing through. In fact, I actually got them to bust their guts laughing when I selected a renegade response in ME1 that netted the line "We don't have time for this idiot, charge!". And they actually stick around even for the parts with very long conversations, which normally they don't like in movies. ME is a bit too advanced for them gameplay wise, but they enjoy it nonetheless.  

However, my measure of how ME2's story can actually be interesting to a non-player is my younger brother. While not as much a gamer as I am, he's still way better than most others in my family. He's also an avid movie critic who will tear apart and nitpick a movie if he finds fault in it. So I was quite surprised at his words when he watched me go through some of the dialogue sequences in ME2:

"It's better scripted than most movies."

Don't get a more concise opinion that that.

[Spaghetti_Ninja]

You can't be a ''non-gamer'' and play a game. The moment she started up ME2, she engaged in a video game, making her A GAMER.

That's like saying ''the opinion of sex in practice from a virgin''. I'm sorry, but your girlfriend is one of us us now.

Modifié par Spaghetti_Ninja, 12 février 2010 - 06:20 .

[Astranagant]

Spaghetti_Ninja wrote...

You can't be a ''non-gamer'' and play a game. The moment you started up ME2, you engaged in a video game, making you A GAMER.

That's like saying ''the opinion of sex in practice from a virgin''. I'm sorry, but you are one of us now.

That's like saying someone who tries playing Basketball once in an amateur game is, by doing so, a hardcore obsessive pro athlete.

[Naltair]

Spaghetti_Ninja wrote...

You can't be a ''non-gamer'' and play a game. The moment she started up ME2, she engaged in a video game, making her A GAMER.

That's like saying ''the opinion of sex in practice from a virgin''. I'm sorry, but your girlfriend is one of us us now.

One she isn't my girlfriend and two I understand that point but the main idea was the fresh impression and little to no preconceptions of a gamer.

I assume this was in jest.

[RighteousRage]

I'm surprised a girl who's not into games could play this game for that long, frankly

[RighteousRage]

Well for example, even now I can hardly play Baldur's Gate 2, after having played NWN, KotOR, and the Mass Effects. I also find it difficult to stand DA. Some Bioware games just really kill me.

[AtreiyaN7]

Naltair wrote...

Spaghetti_Ninja wrote...

You can't be a ''non-gamer'' and play a game. The moment she started up ME2, she engaged in a video game, making her A GAMER.

That's like saying ''the opinion of sex in practice from a virgin''. I'm sorry, but your girlfriend is one of us us now.

One she isn't my girlfriend and two I understand that point but the main idea was the fresh impression and little to no preconceptions of a gamer.

I assume this was in jest.

I wouldn't take him too seriously, and it was definitely interesting to read about how ME2 was able to draw in a non-gamer  (me, I'm a diehard female gamer myself - hehe).

[Naltair]

XxTaLoNxX wrote...

@Naltair; Two questions.

1) Are you attracted to her?
2) Is she taken?

If yes to 1 and no to 2 then maybe you should do something about it because she sounds like a catch.

Also aside from my criticisms of the game, I do enjoy it. I just want to get that out there. Also I would like to continue to hear how this develops as this is interesting indeed.

Hah, good questions.

1. No she is a friend of mine I don't think my girlfriend would approve of me being attracted to her as more than that.  The woman is not a fan of RPGs, Bayonetta which I got her for V-Day is more her speed.

2. I believe she is single if that helps.

I hop to continue as well, I am interested to see how she likes the rest of the game.