you listened to 10 separate mass effect podcasts?
― s1ocki, Friday, 23 November 2007 05:54 (sixteen years ago) link
just three or four different video game podcasts with 2-4 people each
― Will M., Sunday, 25 November 2007 02:30 (sixteen years ago) link
Anyway, I am at the point in the game where it really opens up and you can run around exploring the galaxy. It is so fun. It really feels almost like Master of Orion 2, with the wonder of flying around looking at random planets and learning about their old dead cultures, but isnstead of not actually being able to explore thme ,you get this KoTOR-style closeness to the planets. It is really, really fun exploration-y stuff, and THEN on top of that... there's the actual storyline. Also, you can totally do dumb things, like fight guys you're not yet strong enough to fight, which I miss in video games. Too much railroading in games... they should let you get into trouble sometimes.
I really like this game.
― Will M., Sunday, 25 November 2007 02:37 (sixteen years ago) link
i just bought this and the clerk said "good man!" which makes me want to kill myself.
― bnw, Sunday, 25 November 2007 04:31 (sixteen years ago) link
ha ha!
― antexit, Sunday, 25 November 2007 15:57 (sixteen years ago) link
What I'm curious about is how much of the game is conversation? And if the conversation parts hold up to be actually interesting, or is it just a bunch of pseudo-sf jibber-jabber that you wish you could skip through?
― Jeff LeVine, Sunday, 25 November 2007 23:29 (sixteen years ago) link
A huge amount of it is conversation. I really dig it; the world is actually interesting and rich enough that I want to learn more about it. I turned off subtitles after a while, because just listening to it is a lot more immersive. I find the conversation very interesting, but I can't really explain why. I even like flying to the uncharted worlds and surveying for thorium deposits or whatever. I am just very into this game. Once my speakers and etc are set up again (we been painting) I am going ot wear headphones to play, though, because I keep getting interrupted by gf/blenders/cat/other shit that makes me not hear things. It's probably a good thing that I don't live alone though, because I would jsut boot this game up and... not stop playing.
― Will M., Monday, 26 November 2007 15:57 (sixteen years ago) link
i think the conversation is in no way annoying. the characters and voices are all thoroughly interesting! need to log some more hours, though...
― cutty, Monday, 26 November 2007 17:01 (sixteen years ago) link
Ok, I finished it a while ago, and despite its shortcomings, this game was really, really awesome.
― Will M., Monday, 10 December 2007 18:37 (sixteen years ago) link
PC version is out in May with possibly some improvements... according to the press release...
* Optimized controls designed specifically for the PC. * High resolution visuals - Mass Effect for the PC features highly detailed textures, characters and environments. * Fully customizable controls - PC gamers can re-map the control scheme any way they like. * Run & Gun Control - Players can assign biotic powers or skills to 'hot keys' allowing them to play Mass Effect with a heavier focus on action. * New decryption mini-game. * New inventory screen GUI and functionality - The enhanced inventory system makes it easier for players to equip and modify their weapons and armor.
― Jeff LeVine, Tuesday, 12 February 2008 18:09 (sixteen years ago) link
May!? I was hoping it'd be much sooner than that.
― JimD, Tuesday, 12 February 2008 18:46 (sixteen years ago) link
Is this game anything at all like Battlestar Galactica?
― czn, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 10:37 (sixteen years ago) link
I'd say that it's more like Star Trek or Babylon 5 in terms of the back story (a federation of different races, each with their own strengths), and more like Star Wars in the sense that you have powers that are Jedi-like. It has the cool, austere feel of BSG, and with a soundtrack that's reminiscent of Vangelis's work for Blade Runner.
There isn't any (user controlled) space combat, and you don't use the lunar lander's attack capabilities very much.
― polyphonic, Wednesday, 13 February 2008 17:29 (sixteen years ago) link
I bought this last night. I hope I don't regret it. Haven't opened it; waiting to finish Bioshock, which should happen whenever I have time to actually play it again.
― Garrett Martin, Tuesday, 26 February 2008 21:41 (sixteen years ago) link
i used the car thing's attacks all the time. especially the cannon.
― Creeztophair, Wednesday, 27 February 2008 00:58 (sixteen years ago) link
Did you ever struggle to dispatch anyone with it? I really liked the feel of driving around in the lander, but it just seems like that aspect of the game was very underdeveloped.
― polyphonic, Wednesday, 27 February 2008 07:28 (sixteen years ago) link
yes, the driving part is terrible.
― bnw, Wednesday, 27 February 2008 16:18 (sixteen years ago) link
I agree the driving is a bit lame, but apart from that i think it's totally awesome.
I found the game became a lot easier after getting decent a sniper rifle and decent sniper skills
― wilter, Wednesday, 7 May 2008 04:35 (fifteen years ago) link
more like ass effect
― s1ocki, Wednesday, 7 May 2008 06:07 (fifteen years ago) link
You guys hear about that ridiculous DRM they're putting in the PC version? Like, it's bad enough so many of these new games put SecuROM on it (as a freakin' WIndows service that's hard to remove) but now if you pay $50 for the privilege of owning this game, it'll check every 10 days over the internet if your key is legit. If your internet is down, too bad, you wasted your money on a single player game.
The sad thing I was actually considering buying this, but like Bioshock, I guess I'll spend my money elsewhere.
― Nhex, Wednesday, 7 May 2008 07:50 (fifteen years ago) link
Kotaku is hiring!
― David R., Wednesday, 7 May 2008 13:28 (fifteen years ago) link
oh god s1ocki please get a kotaku job, that would be super hilarious awesome
― Will M., Wednesday, 7 May 2008 18:11 (fifteen years ago) link
until the moment i killed myself
― s1ocki, Wednesday, 7 May 2008 18:43 (fifteen years ago) link
this game is the best conversation with aliens simulator ever
― AJ Styles, Wednesday, 7 May 2008 20:54 (fifteen years ago) link
i bet it's not as good as star control 2
― s1ocki, Wednesday, 7 May 2008 22:30 (fifteen years ago) link
Is anything as good as Star Control 2?
― Nhex, Thursday, 8 May 2008 06:12 (fifteen years ago) link
i need to play this fucking star control 2 game
― Will M., Thursday, 8 May 2008 18:20 (fifteen years ago) link
Wow, they actually backpedaled on the 10-day phone home thing got a huge backlash. Surprising. Still, at least they listened.
The 3-times only hardware profile activation thing is still obnoxious (say goodbye to your resale rights or lending out the disc to a friend) and one-time online activation is kind of reasonable, if lame for an offline single player game, but I guess this is the point we're at when it comes to lame PC copy protection.
― Nhex, Saturday, 10 May 2008 13:29 (fifteen years ago) link
I'm not shocked they pulled that. It completely changes the context of the fact that these games are still using the utterly deplorable SecuROM. ad they simply said "we're using SecuROM" people would be like "fuck this shit." Once they said "We are using SecuROM+++" and people said "fuck this" and they said "just kidding secuROM" people were like "oh ok i will buy this then."
I'm still seriously considering not buying Spore because seriously, SecuROM is so broken it's excruciating. I won't lie; I've pirated a lot of PC games. I haven't for a while, though, but one of the last games I bought for my PC was Splinter Cell Chaos Theory (I pertty much stopped playing PC games after this). The SecuROM on that game was so excruciating that I almost pirated it just to avoid that shit. I ended up just playing the game WAY less than I wanted to. I fucking HATE that shit. Would'nt recognize my DVD drive half of the time. ARGH.
― Will M., Monday, 12 May 2008 17:33 (fifteen years ago) link
ugh is there a way to automatically make this less FPSy
― HI DERE, Tuesday, 19 August 2008 21:11 (fifteen years ago) link
My girlfriend was a little stoned watching me play this and the character creation thing BLEW HER MIND (she's not a video game person). "So you just MADE that man... And now he's in the GAME?"
It also blew my mind, but then I'm used to that slight difference between what's clearly you-controlled and everything else.
― Andrew Farrell, Monday, 6 October 2008 12:56 (fifteen years ago) link
I mean, all the subtle tells in other games that I've gotten used to over time actually make me appreciate it more - like (to switch genres wildly) I like the way that in the Lego games you know when to stop beating the crap out of the background when it doesn't look like it's made of Lego any more.
― Andrew Farrell, Monday, 6 October 2008 13:00 (fifteen years ago) link
the benefit of waiting a year is this now costs pennies
― czn (cozwn), Tuesday, 2 December 2008 14:35 (fifteen years ago) link
yeah I'm still intrigued by this too
― Euler, Tuesday, 2 December 2008 15:28 (fifteen years ago) link
i played this for two hours and didn't understand it at all. it seemed so disjointed.
― zappi, Tuesday, 2 December 2008 15:37 (fifteen years ago) link
I started to enjoy it about four hours in. It's a total slog before that, and although it does get better, I don't know if it makes up for those first few hours. And damn, do I really want to take 30 hours to play through an episode of Babylon 5, a show I could never stand for more than a few seconds?
― GM, Tuesday, 2 December 2008 15:57 (fifteen years ago) link
By the end of the game, when you have a variety of special powers that are maxed out and awesome, it's totally worth it.
― polyphonic, Tuesday, 2 December 2008 17:28 (fifteen years ago) link
Playing this now, since my upgraded mobo/system finally is stable enough to not constantly crash during play.
Am in very early parts of came, on the Citadel, and it strikes me that you could very easily use this engine/game to make a Doctor Who title. You already have a hero running around corridors on a space station or various class-M planets, accompanied by one or two companions, hacking into computers, badgering alien races for information, etc.
― The Secret & Shocking Underground World of Streetwalking Gummi Bears (kingfish), Monday, 12 January 2009 05:27 (fifteen years ago) link
even though my character was all special powers - i found them all really upsetting and the controls for choosing them sucked.never beat the game. the main highlight for me this whole game was trying to max my relationship potential with whats her name (the human girl).
― ❤ⓛⓞⓥⓔ❤ (CaptainLorax), Monday, 12 January 2009 05:59 (fifteen years ago) link
Kinda wish there were more voice-actor accents in this than just bog-standard midwestern American.
― The Secret & Shocking Underground World of Streetwalking Gummi Bears (kingfish), Monday, 12 January 2009 06:14 (fifteen years ago) link
dope
― cozwn, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 16:30 (fourteen years ago) link
How far in are you?
― Your heartbeat soun like sasquatch feet (polyphonic), Tuesday, 16 June 2009 16:44 (fourteen years ago) link
only about an hour and a half in, just starting out
the voice acting is pretty great and the story is startlingly undull
― cozwn, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 16:52 (fourteen years ago) link
It gets a LOT better.
― JimD, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 20:19 (fourteen years ago) link
dope indeed. can't wait for the sequel
― sonderangerbot, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 20:43 (fourteen years ago) link
I think i was reading that ur character's traits and shit are carried over into the sequel?
― wilter, Wednesday, 17 June 2009 04:08 (fourteen years ago) link
Yep. Can't remember what traits I had though.
― JimD, Wednesday, 17 June 2009 13:32 (fourteen years ago) link
New character video for ME 2
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/09/27/mass-effect-2s-subject-zero-looks-awfully-unfriendly/
Looks kinda ridiculous. THIS CHICK IS TO THE EXTREME.
― mayor jingleberries, Tuesday, 29 September 2009 15:38 (fourteen years ago) link
On sale on Steam for a mere $10. I'd grab it but my video card is officially below spec :(
― Nhex, Thursday, 5 November 2009 17:43 (fourteen years ago) link
dope― cozwn, Tuesday, June 16, 2009 4:30 PM (7 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
now's as good a time as any for a bump. fuckin hate this game
― I think ur a probotector (cozen), Wednesday, 20 January 2010 00:44 (fourteen years ago) link
Like, what was I thinking putting a tank-born krogan in charge of a squad?
― Martin Landau Ballet (Leee), Thursday, 5 July 2018 17:14 (five years ago) link
It might be rudimentary, but I really liked how the ME2 ending lets you choose different team members to lead different squads or perform a specialized task to create the sense of teamwork (beyond having your two AI squaddies shooting enemies). Hearing my tech specialist tell me that it's getting hot in the pipes definitely immersed me further.
― Sybil Disobedience (Leee), Saturday, 7 July 2018 00:07 (five years ago) link
Started into ME3, I finished the Priority: Tuchanka mission, and omg, Mordin! Right in the heart!
This installment feels like the most fully inhabited in that I actually enjoy the conversations with the characters. The dialogue is generally sharper (even if a lot of Shep's dialogue branches still have that bad habit of paraphrasing the preceding statement) and the characters have more concrete personalities.
Gameplay-wise, I don't enjoy the combat as much as I ended up liking ME2 (of course, that may just be the learning curve), but one thing for certain is that my left hand hurts from holding the L1 button down so much.
The War Asset mechanic thing seems promising in that decisions seem to be a little more consequential, specifically that some decisions invariably involve tradeoffs no matter your paragon/renegade level -- I'm thinking of the Salarian who wanted me to sabotage the genophage cure.
― Sybil Disobedience (Leee), Monday, 9 July 2018 21:53 (five years ago) link
Oh noes I missed the Thane cameo permanently. :(
― Sybil Disobedience (Leee), Tuesday, 10 July 2018 18:26 (five years ago) link
Which was better, ME1 or 2?
― reggae mike love (polyphonic), Tuesday, 10 July 2018 18:40 (five years ago) link
ME2 easily. The writing is generally better (ME1 has too much extraneous detail that made it easy to lose track of what was going on), your squadmates are better developed, and obviously the gameplay is better.
― Sybil Disobedience (Leee), Tuesday, 10 July 2018 18:49 (five years ago) link
Finished the game yesterday! I kind of stopped following the details of the main plot by the middle of ME1, so the plotholes don't bother me so much; the ending(s) don't seem horrible (aside from the possibility that Tali gets stranded on an alien planet after just helping to reclaim Rannoch, that is some cold Exodus-style blue balling) and in fact had some great pathos IMO.
So: loved the character interactions (in other RPGs I have little patience for running around my ship to see if ally dialogue is unlocked, but in ME3 it was a highlight of the game), gameplay not so much (the last level that spams Banshees == no thanks (I finally cheesed it by using tactical cloak to get to the goal)).
― Abercromb Metrion Finchos (Leee), Monday, 16 July 2018 17:14 (five years ago) link
I'm envious of the fact you've been able to play these back to back, odd thing about playing them as they got released meant that through ME3 I was bumping into minor NPCs who were telling me about the outcomes of choices I'd made 5 years earlier, and I had no memory of the characters or of anything they were talking about.
― JimD, Monday, 16 July 2018 17:53 (five years ago) link
lol I don't know about that, I finished a bunch of ME3-specific side quests where Shepard sez "Here's this thing you said you needed" to some NPC and I have no idea when I picked it up or even talked to the NPC.
― Abercromb Metrion Finchos (Leee), Monday, 16 July 2018 18:14 (five years ago) link
Apparently the Citadel DLC is the exact sort of fanservice that I want but $15??? I paid $30 for the whole trilogy!
Are there ever any DLC sales?
― Abercromb Metrion Finchos (Leee), Monday, 16 July 2018 22:29 (five years ago) link
Found a copy of the "Legendary" edition for $10. I will get around to it in ... 2024.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 29 November 2022 20:33 (one year ago) link
https://kotaku.com/playstation-plus-mass-effect-legendary-biomutant-leaks-1847556405
― JimD, Wednesday, 30 November 2022 13:54 (one year ago) link
You're welcome.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 30 November 2022 15:26 (one year ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC2ib_efdRs
https://kotaku.com/mass-effect-teaser-n7-day-andromeda-1850999958
― Kira Nerys Witherspoon (Leee), Tuesday, 7 November 2023 21:39 (five months ago) link
Gonna have to play the original trilogy (for the first time) this winter.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 7 November 2023 23:21 (five months ago) link
Looking forward to you finding out that the people fueling the ME3 ending controversy were screaming babies.
― Kira Nerys Witherspoon (Leee), Wednesday, 8 November 2023 03:02 (five months ago) link
I played ME3 not having played any previous entries so my response to the ending was entirely "???".
― Daniel_Rf, Wednesday, 8 November 2023 10:41 (five months ago) link
I thought the whole deal with the series is that each one builds on the previous, and your decisions matter? Funny you started with ME3.
Don't know anything about a controversial ME3 ending, except that people don't like "Andromeda."
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 8 November 2023 13:08 (five months ago) link
The non spoiler summary of the controversy is that you get presented with the same set of choices at the end no matter what character and story routes you took in all the preceding gameplay, and supposedly contradicted the "choices matter" ethos of the series. As someone who doesn't believe in free will, I didn't much mind.
― Kira Nerys Witherspoon (Leee), Wednesday, 8 November 2023 16:08 (five months ago) link
An illusion of choice is an apt summation of countless video games. It's an aspect of their novelty, that they can produce compelling gameplay even when the typical conclusion (survival! victory!) is preordained.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 8 November 2023 16:14 (five months ago) link