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The Hammerhead (aka Firewalker pack)
I’ve never hidden the fact that I was (and still am) a Mako fan. Yes, there were problems. The levels got repetitive, there was a lack of anything to do except find minerals on a lot of worlds, etc, etc. Despite all that, I enjoyed the underlying idea behind the Mako: find an uncharted world, explore it, meet interesting characters, and blow s%^t up while doing so. Some of the levels in ME1 displayed the potential behind this design: one in which you respond to a distress signal, land to find a besieged marine base under attack by rachni, and have to help hold off waves of enemies. Bring Down the Sky added variations to vehicle combat (moving turrets) that made vehicle combat fun.
What made the Mako weak were two things: the first were the controls (which I personally didn’t have a problem with, but many did). Even so, I will admit that bouncing around mountains and falling upside-down in ditches to reach a downed space-probe would become irritating. The second major problem with the Mako is that while the idea was sound as a whole, they separated divided it into pieces and scattered them among the different worlds. Landing on a planet, exploring, meeting characters, fighting is a great idea, but each one on its own is boring. During Mass Effect 1 you would land on one planet and there would only be exploring and fighting, on another there would be just exploring and characters, on a third planet it would be just the first two again, then another planet would be the last two. The few planets were all 4 ingredients were combined were when the potential of the Mako would shine.
So, the question with the Hammerhead is: did Bioware “get it”? Sadly, after spending a few rounds with the new tank, I must report that the answer is no. Unfortunately, Bioware fell into the trap of improving the individual aspects of the vehicle gameplay and forgot to address the larger issue: combining the elements into a impressive whole.
Before you stop reading this review: WAIT! All is not lost! Yes, the Firewalker pack is disappointing, but I do not think the Hammerhead should be abandoned. “Why bother?” you may ask? My response is simple: Bioware can still release further DLC missions, and these new missions, if made properly, can be extremely good. Thus, while the maiden voyage of the Hammerhead has crashed and burned, I still think this idea can soar.
Combat
I’ll begin by saying that the Hammerhead controls fine. Moving the vehicle felt completely natural. Additionally, the fire-and-forget missile system works well. But, there is one teeny, weeny issue: the tank feels like its made out of cardboard. So it’s a fast, aggressive, in-your-face vehicle... but you can’t actually get fast, aggressive, or in the enemies’ faces with it. Say what you will about the Mako, the the lil’ bugger was a tough SOB. She could run headfirst into a squad of geth primes, colossi, and come out the other side looking pretty. The Hammerhead feels like it’ll explode if you sneeze too hard. On the first planet with combat, I was shot down in thirty seconds by three geth with assault rifles. I honestly found myself wondering “did they actually test this thing above Easy difficulty?” If someone inside a several-ton battle tank with unlimited missiles meets three ground troops with small arms and the guy in the tank is pissing his pants, something-has-gone-horribly-wrong.
Solutions for future DLC? Easy - give the Hammerhead a pair. Take off the plywood armor and give the tank a chance to survive in a fight. If the idea of the Hammerhead is to make it a faster, more intense Mako, then it needs to be able to engage in faster, more intense battles. Hiding behind rubble and firing over cover from a mile away because you’re afraid of two ground troops is not fun, nor fast, nor intense.
Level Structure & Story
Oh Bio, Bio, Bio. You know, for being the company famous for its deep characters, story, and plot, how could you not get this? Let me restate the problem with the Mako levels in the first game: you would land on a planet and all there would be to do was drive to mineral deposits or probes. You would go an entire cluster without meeting one person, and just picking up probes or minerals. So for the Hammerhead, what did Bioware think was the solution? Make several levels were all you do is run around and pick up minerals, crashed spaceship parts, only now you can fly and there’s a timer on the screen.
Yeah, doesn’t really look that exciting on paper, does it? It’s only somewhat more exciting playing it.
Bioware, you still don’t seem to get that with vehicular combat and the uncharted worlds, we want characters, plot, combat, and exploration simultaneously. Instead, the Firewalker pack is five worlds, each only supporting one of these gameplay types. On their own, they just don’t work. The sum is greater than the whole of its parts. Furthermore, the lack of a cohesive, independent story hurts immersion. I am Commander Shepard, greatest human in history, the galaxy’s biggest hero, fighting for humanity’s survival. Why should I divert my time and efforts into visiting the backwater worlds? Shepard’s story is epic, thus, anything he does has to have an epic or important feeling. When designing a level, you need to ask the question “Is this something the most famous person in history would do?” Does flying through canyons collecting iridium fit that bill? Nuh-uh.
My One Hot-Headed Complaint
I pride myself on being a fair person. I’m not one of those hyperactive, ultrasensitive gamers that thinks the end of the world is coming if something doesn’t live up to my expectations. Sometimes, sometimes, there is one thing that will push me over the edge, some flaw or design choice that makes me loose all hope in humanity. There is one such problem in firewalker: the utter lack of being able to save mid-mission. Remember how I mentioned earlier how the Hammerhead was made out of construction paper, and a well-aimed rock could blow it up? Well, imagine my shock after being blown up for the fifth time, that I saw I would have to restart the mission from the very beginning. There are NO savepoints, and no option to manually save during the mission.
Allow me to express my emotions calmly: I wanted to find the person in charge of the save system, tie them to a chair, and beat them to death with my xbox.
Add saves.
Future DLC
I will restate the key to solid Mass Effect DLC: add missions that combine story, characters, combat, and exploration into one solid mission. I don’t want to play an arcade shooter, or a racing minigame, or prospector with my Commander Shepard, I want to be a hero. When I land on a planet, it should present some type of challenge that makes me feel that I accomplished something extraordinary. There should be fully-voiced characters with difficult decisions in every mission. When I get back to the Normandy after a hard day’s work, I need to feel like the galaxy is a better place with me around.
Allow me to give some examples of DLC that would live up to my expectations.
Sample 1: The Normandy receives a distress signal from a small border colony. Upon arrival, the colonists inform Shepard that thresher maws have been attacking, and they are desperate. Shepard and crew climb into the Hammerhead and fly bravely into the thresher nest, destroying the hive and saving the colony. The people come out with thanks.
Sample 2: Shepard arrives at a backwater world, chasing down a lead regarding a dangerous criminal warlord. He fights his way to the base with the Hammerhead. Once inside, Shepard and company battle mechs to the warlord. There, Shepard must decide whether to accept the warlord’s bribe or kill him.
Sample 3: Shepard arrives at another small, independent colony. The colony is brutal, wild-west type place. There is a brutal gang war occurring. Shepard must side with one of the gangs, or neither. At the end, a brutal shoot-out occurs in the colony center. Shepard must then chase down the fleeing gang members in the Hammerhead.
Every mission should feel like a miniature game in itself. Fully developed plot, people, and action, that fits within the context of exploring the galaxy with Commander Shepard.
I’ve got my fingers crossed for the future.
Modifié par Darth Sithari, 25 mars 2010 - 08:10 .
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Cuz that's how it seemed to me.
