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Mass Effect 3 Demo Available.Follow
Trying to hold out on this game until it no longer requires Origin. **** EA.
◕ ‿‿ ◕
EA has a really odd place in my life. On the one hand, they suck. On the other hand, I'm currently replaying Dragon Age, replaying Mass Effect, playing TOR and playing Kingdoms of Amalur.
The only game I'm regularly playing they didn't produce is Skyrim...
I've given into the inevitable at this point.
The only game I'm regularly playing they didn't produce is Skyrim...
I've given into the inevitable at this point.
IDrownFish wrote:
Anyways, you all are horrible, @#%^ed up people
lolgaxe wrote:
Never underestimate the healing power of a massive dong.
idiggory, King of Bards wrote:
I can see that. Lack of ME1 was the main reason I didn't play on the PS3. I actually had ME2 for the PC (having gotten it for free from buying DA2). But my PC at the time was unable to run it. Was a long time before I upgraded to a new laptop. Debated playing on the PS3, but ultimately new I'd want to play ME1 first.
To give you some context (ME1 stuff):
In Mass Effect 1, your squad was small, and there were only a handful of important characters. You start the game with Kaidan and another guy (Jenkins) who dies off right away. Then you gain Ashley. So all of your earliest time spent playing is with these two squad members, so you have a bunch of scenes that feature them and develop their characters/relationship with Shepard. Kinda makes them important companions for the story.
After Eden Prime, you head to the Citadel, where you'll still be traveling with Ashley/Kaidan. In time, you'll recieve Wrex, Tali, and Garrus. But they all come during quest chains, so definitely not instant. And there are more scenes with Ashley/Kaidan/Shepard in the meantime (one, in particular, has the opposite sex companion comment accidentally on how attractive they find Shepard).
It's a while before you recieve Liara. And the all-human squad is actually very well rounded, regardless of Shepard's class choice, because Kaidan is a Sentinel (Tech/Biotics) and Ashley has high damage as a Soldier, so it's not surprising for at least one of them to be featured in many squad compositions.
Liara, Kaidan, and Ashley are your romances. And since Liara comes later, it's not surprising that people may focus on the humans instead (though you can't initiate the romance before getting Liara).
The end result is that the two of them get focused on a lot. Garrus and Tali get a fair amount of development, but it's all through their side quests, really. Liara gets a lot, because she has a strong tie to the story. Wrex gets more than Garrus or Tali, because of the events on Horizon.
Which brings us to... the events on Horizon. :P If you did the comic on the PS3, you know that only one of the two will survive it. These events are actually after you can initiate the romance, so it's possible that you are forced to choose between someone you are falling in love with, and a close friend. And the actual point where you make the choice is fairly emotional. The death scene particularly so. Ashley, for instance, is fighting to hold off forces from disabling a bomb close by. She ends up getting shot and goes down, but still keeps firing away. She sees the Normandy fly off, and smiles to herself before the bomb explodes.
Afterwards, the survivor (wracked with guilt) confronts you to say you made the wrong choice. The response varies if you are in a relationship or not, and if you were in a relationship with them, which makes it more poignant. But, ultimately, it really adds more to their character development that the others didn't have. Liara, like I said, wasn't as undeveloped as the other characters (who weren't strangers, but not as central).
In this time, they end up opening up to you a lot (if you prompt them to). You actually do begin to feel like they are close friends (or more) because of the kinds of things they reveal. Ashley will talk to you about her father's death, her family, her faith. Kaidan will tell you about the traumas of his childhood, having grown up a biotic, and some of what he says really tells you that he has trouble forming close relationships (as all his earlier ones led to him being abandoned by them).
Later, you end up cementing your relationship by sleeping with them. Throughout the whole game, you are mostly hardcore flirting and making future promises, because of no fraternization regulations. But you pretty much comfort each other after the Alliance grounds your ship (and you escape, which is probably treason), and then end up sleeping together.
Both Ashley/Kaidan are actually very well written, and very human/realistic. And some things, like when Ashley tentatively asks Shepard if her faith is making the commander uncomfortable, are quite real (to me), and Shepard's responses are equally so ("Keep it to yourself/ no proselytizing", "you have every right to believe without fear of judgment, and
I believe in god as well").
Now note that throughout this whole game, you are dealing with Cerberus a lot. Infiltrating their labs, shutting down their experiments, etc. They kidnap people and turn them into monsters, they lure soldiers into Thresher Maw pits to observe the creature's behavior. That kind of stuff.
So when they are freaking out on you for joining up with Cerberus on Horizon, it's not crazy. To them, it would be like telling your significant other that you were joining Al Qaeda (only assume that your other was a soldier who served in the Middle East). If they were in a relationship, they also have the shock of seeing you alive. Which, unsurprisingly, makes them think you've been just hiding from them for 2 years, as they grieved. And I think it's natural that shock alone would keep them from instantly accepting Shepard's explanations (which you won't even necessarily give, depending on your convo choices).
It pissed me off. But it did so in the exact same way I imagine Shepard was feeling, so that's pretty great.
Which is why, in the demo, when Kaidan replied that he "used to" know Shepard, it was so poignant for me. Because it's true. It's been well over 2 years since they last really spoke (I think 3 years in the ME timeline). And the last time, he was furious with her. He still hasn't heard her side of the story. And when they meet again, she's both rushed (unsurprisingly) and probably still angry with him, which makes her curt. Plus, ME defaults to renegade (or it did in the last demo), so it's possible that interaction was influenced in that way.
Still, made me go "KAIDAN <3. You are such an idiot and can't even realize that she still loves you."
To give you some context (ME1 stuff):
In Mass Effect 1, your squad was small, and there were only a handful of important characters. You start the game with Kaidan and another guy (Jenkins) who dies off right away. Then you gain Ashley. So all of your earliest time spent playing is with these two squad members, so you have a bunch of scenes that feature them and develop their characters/relationship with Shepard. Kinda makes them important companions for the story.
After Eden Prime, you head to the Citadel, where you'll still be traveling with Ashley/Kaidan. In time, you'll recieve Wrex, Tali, and Garrus. But they all come during quest chains, so definitely not instant. And there are more scenes with Ashley/Kaidan/Shepard in the meantime (one, in particular, has the opposite sex companion comment accidentally on how attractive they find Shepard).
It's a while before you recieve Liara. And the all-human squad is actually very well rounded, regardless of Shepard's class choice, because Kaidan is a Sentinel (Tech/Biotics) and Ashley has high damage as a Soldier, so it's not surprising for at least one of them to be featured in many squad compositions.
Liara, Kaidan, and Ashley are your romances. And since Liara comes later, it's not surprising that people may focus on the humans instead (though you can't initiate the romance before getting Liara).
The end result is that the two of them get focused on a lot. Garrus and Tali get a fair amount of development, but it's all through their side quests, really. Liara gets a lot, because she has a strong tie to the story. Wrex gets more than Garrus or Tali, because of the events on Horizon.
Which brings us to... the events on Horizon. :P If you did the comic on the PS3, you know that only one of the two will survive it. These events are actually after you can initiate the romance, so it's possible that you are forced to choose between someone you are falling in love with, and a close friend. And the actual point where you make the choice is fairly emotional. The death scene particularly so. Ashley, for instance, is fighting to hold off forces from disabling a bomb close by. She ends up getting shot and goes down, but still keeps firing away. She sees the Normandy fly off, and smiles to herself before the bomb explodes.
Afterwards, the survivor (wracked with guilt) confronts you to say you made the wrong choice. The response varies if you are in a relationship or not, and if you were in a relationship with them, which makes it more poignant. But, ultimately, it really adds more to their character development that the others didn't have. Liara, like I said, wasn't as undeveloped as the other characters (who weren't strangers, but not as central).
In this time, they end up opening up to you a lot (if you prompt them to). You actually do begin to feel like they are close friends (or more) because of the kinds of things they reveal. Ashley will talk to you about her father's death, her family, her faith. Kaidan will tell you about the traumas of his childhood, having grown up a biotic, and some of what he says really tells you that he has trouble forming close relationships (as all his earlier ones led to him being abandoned by them).
Later, you end up cementing your relationship by sleeping with them. Throughout the whole game, you are mostly hardcore flirting and making future promises, because of no fraternization regulations. But you pretty much comfort each other after the Alliance grounds your ship (and you escape, which is probably treason), and then end up sleeping together.
Both Ashley/Kaidan are actually very well written, and very human/realistic. And some things, like when Ashley tentatively asks Shepard if her faith is making the commander uncomfortable, are quite real (to me), and Shepard's responses are equally so ("Keep it to yourself/ no proselytizing", "you have every right to believe without fear of judgment, and
I believe in god as well").
Now note that throughout this whole game, you are dealing with Cerberus a lot. Infiltrating their labs, shutting down their experiments, etc. They kidnap people and turn them into monsters, they lure soldiers into Thresher Maw pits to observe the creature's behavior. That kind of stuff.
So when they are freaking out on you for joining up with Cerberus on Horizon, it's not crazy. To them, it would be like telling your significant other that you were joining Al Qaeda (only assume that your other was a soldier who served in the Middle East). If they were in a relationship, they also have the shock of seeing you alive. Which, unsurprisingly, makes them think you've been just hiding from them for 2 years, as they grieved. And I think it's natural that shock alone would keep them from instantly accepting Shepard's explanations (which you won't even necessarily give, depending on your convo choices).
It pissed me off. But it did so in the exact same way I imagine Shepard was feeling, so that's pretty great.
Which is why, in the demo, when Kaidan replied that he "used to" know Shepard, it was so poignant for me. Because it's true. It's been well over 2 years since they last really spoke (I think 3 years in the ME timeline). And the last time, he was furious with her. He still hasn't heard her side of the story. And when they meet again, she's both rushed (unsurprisingly) and probably still angry with him, which makes her curt. Plus, ME defaults to renegade (or it did in the last demo), so it's possible that interaction was influenced in that way.
Still, made me go "KAIDAN <3. You are such an idiot and can't even realize that she still loves you."
Thanks for the summary. That definitely helps. They really coast over that stuff in the game, even with the comic.
idiggory, King of Bards wrote:
EA has a really odd place in my life. On the one hand, they suck. On the other hand, I'm currently replaying Dragon Age, replaying Mass Effect, playing TOR and playing Kingdoms of Amalur.
The only game I'm regularly playing they didn't produce is Skyrim...
I've given into the inevitable at this point.
The only game I'm regularly playing they didn't produce is Skyrim...
I've given into the inevitable at this point.
You can like the games they publish, but hate how Big Brother they try to get. I see nothing conflicting with that.
IDrownFish of the Seven Seas wrote:
idiggory, King of Bards wrote:
EA has a really odd place in my life. On the one hand, they suck. On the other hand, I'm currently replaying Dragon Age, replaying Mass Effect, playing TOR and playing Kingdoms of Amalur.
The only game I'm regularly playing they didn't produce is Skyrim...
I've given into the inevitable at this point.
The only game I'm regularly playing they didn't produce is Skyrim...
I've given into the inevitable at this point.
You can like the games they publish, but hate how Big Brother they try to get. I see nothing conflicting with that.
Very true. Especially when it comes to the studios. BioWare is a studio I actually respect, partly as a gamer, and partly because of their commitment to making games that are enjoyable across demographics. Very few companies actually produce games where female leads aren't super stereotypical, but FemShep and Fem Hawke both manage to be, well, real people.
IDrownFish wrote:
Anyways, you all are horrible, @#%^ed up people
lolgaxe wrote:
Never underestimate the healing power of a massive dong.
I'd say that's mroe true of the female supporting characters - the leads are both male by default and most of the duialogue is the same, so that would arise simply from content recycling.
Also true/fair. Though I have to say I never felt like they were just recycled. Partly because they aren't biased in favor of male steorotypes either, and partly because they use quality voice actors.
But I agree. They definitely do a good job in avoiding archetypical companions.
But I agree. They definitely do a good job in avoiding archetypical companions.
IDrownFish wrote:
Anyways, you all are horrible, @#%^ed up people
lolgaxe wrote:
Never underestimate the healing power of a massive dong.
Yeah I think it's ok to support the creative team at Bioware while still resenting their corporate overlords at EA. I'm sure they all hate them too.
PSA: Multiplayer demo is now open apparently.
IDrownFish wrote:
Anyways, you all are horrible, @#%^ed up people
lolgaxe wrote:
Never underestimate the healing power of a massive dong.
How is Origin worse than Steam? Genuine question, I don't think I've ever used it.
Personally, I stopped hating EA when they started publishing stuff that wasn't ****. I wouldn't be surprised if they were doing evil, but if they are it isn't impacting me in any noticeable way (which is more than I can say for Steam's DRM).
Personally, I stopped hating EA when they started publishing stuff that wasn't ****. I wouldn't be surprised if they were doing evil, but if they are it isn't impacting me in any noticeable way (which is more than I can say for Steam's DRM).
Their DRM is just as bad, if not worse, than Steam. I'm guessing there, both are about equal. But there are some things about the company that are seriously annoying.
The biggest difference between them has to do with sales. Steam has them--hell, it's practically known for them. I'm having difficulty of thinking of any Origin sales right now. Certainly don't seem to be any sale titles listed in their store. My favorite part is the "special offer" section at the bottom that lists all titles at normal prices...
Honestly, though, Origin isn't really on the map at all for why I don't like EA. I don't like them because they are a company with a history of awful business practices and poor treatment of workers. Not to mention their bad habit of acquiring good studios then shoving their face in and ruining everything that made them good. I'm just not willing to make the small studios suffer for it.
Final big gripe has to do with DLC. DLC is now EA's official way to encourage people buy new games, by including DLC content with the initial purchase. Fine. DA2, for instance, came with Sebastian, and ME2 came with the Cerberus Network.
My issue, however, is that they never reduce the price of DLC. Even as the game price drops, these prices do not. That's obviously not unique to them, at all, but they are definitely a company that makes extensive use of DLC, even including major plot points in optional content. That makes it a more egregious offense than with other companies.
ME2 is a great example. Arrival and Lair of the Shadow Broker are both significant parts of the story, and people who haven't experienced them are going to be lost at the start of ME3. Arrival explains, well, the entire setting at the beginning. LotSB fleshes out Liara's story which, one would assume, will be important. Not to mention the two DLC characters who are seperate. So to actually get all the story for ME3, I'll need to spend $20-30 (depending on if you have Cerberus Network or not). And that's ABSURD when the core game is now $20.
And that's only considering the DLC relevant to ME3 in any kind of meaningful way. There's also the Golems of Am...whatever and Darkspawn Chronicles type stuff, which I have no problem with. Still think it's stupid that the price never goes down, but at the very least it actually feels like ADDITIONAL content, and not stuff that absolutely should have been in the original game.
It's like if I bought a book for the author to later release the last few chapters, but charge the same price for both.
The biggest difference between them has to do with sales. Steam has them--hell, it's practically known for them. I'm having difficulty of thinking of any Origin sales right now. Certainly don't seem to be any sale titles listed in their store. My favorite part is the "special offer" section at the bottom that lists all titles at normal prices...
Honestly, though, Origin isn't really on the map at all for why I don't like EA. I don't like them because they are a company with a history of awful business practices and poor treatment of workers. Not to mention their bad habit of acquiring good studios then shoving their face in and ruining everything that made them good. I'm just not willing to make the small studios suffer for it.
Final big gripe has to do with DLC. DLC is now EA's official way to encourage people buy new games, by including DLC content with the initial purchase. Fine. DA2, for instance, came with Sebastian, and ME2 came with the Cerberus Network.
My issue, however, is that they never reduce the price of DLC. Even as the game price drops, these prices do not. That's obviously not unique to them, at all, but they are definitely a company that makes extensive use of DLC, even including major plot points in optional content. That makes it a more egregious offense than with other companies.
ME2 is a great example. Arrival and Lair of the Shadow Broker are both significant parts of the story, and people who haven't experienced them are going to be lost at the start of ME3. Arrival explains, well, the entire setting at the beginning. LotSB fleshes out Liara's story which, one would assume, will be important. Not to mention the two DLC characters who are seperate. So to actually get all the story for ME3, I'll need to spend $20-30 (depending on if you have Cerberus Network or not). And that's ABSURD when the core game is now $20.
And that's only considering the DLC relevant to ME3 in any kind of meaningful way. There's also the Golems of Am...whatever and Darkspawn Chronicles type stuff, which I have no problem with. Still think it's stupid that the price never goes down, but at the very least it actually feels like ADDITIONAL content, and not stuff that absolutely should have been in the original game.
It's like if I bought a book for the author to later release the last few chapters, but charge the same price for both.
IDrownFish wrote:
Anyways, you all are horrible, @#%^ed up people
lolgaxe wrote:
Never underestimate the healing power of a massive dong.
Punish them! Pirate!
Just kidding. They obviously wouldn't even notice the loss.
Just kidding. They obviously wouldn't even notice the loss.
Yeah chopping off part of the original game content and then later releasing it as DLC after charging full price for the game is pretty common these days. Shady bastiches.
I never played Lair or Arrival and now I want to before ME3. Generally I only buy DLC if it's bundled with a sale price on a complete edition of the game. Like when I bought Fallout 3 GoTY edition and it came with all the DLC for around 15$ on summer sale last year.
I never played Lair or Arrival and now I want to before ME3. Generally I only buy DLC if it's bundled with a sale price on a complete edition of the game. Like when I bought Fallout 3 GoTY edition and it came with all the DLC for around 15$ on summer sale last year.
On a slightly related note no... I am putting it in.
If Harbinger isn't the end boss of Mass Effect 3, I'd be incredibly surprised.
IDrownFish wrote:
Anyways, you all are horrible, @#%^ed up people
lolgaxe wrote:
Never underestimate the healing power of a massive dong.
Apparently, between ME1 and ME2, there are over 1000 variables that will be ported to ME3 to change the universe according to your decisions. <3
IDrownFish wrote:
Anyways, you all are horrible, @#%^ed up people
lolgaxe wrote:
Never underestimate the healing power of a massive dong.
My favorite part about this demo- I don't take cover every time I need to jump over an obstacle.
I'm annoyed that they're still using X for sprint on the PS3, instead of, say, one of the analogs. It means that you can't move the camera while sprinting. That's perhaps deliberate, but it's still frustrating.
Eske Esquire wrote:
I'm annoyed that they're still using X for sprint on the PS3, instead of, say, one of the analogs. It means that you can't move the camera while sprinting. That's perhaps deliberate, but it's still frustrating.
I'm guessing there's no option to remap?
IDrownFish wrote:
Anyways, you all are horrible, @#%^ed up people
lolgaxe wrote:
Never underestimate the healing power of a massive dong.
idiggory, King of Bards wrote:
Eske Esquire wrote:
I'm annoyed that they're still using X for sprint on the PS3, instead of, say, one of the analogs. It means that you can't move the camera while sprinting. That's perhaps deliberate, but it's still frustrating.
I'm guessing there's no option to remap?
Not currently.
Eske Esquire wrote:
I'm annoyed that they're still using X for sprint on the PS3, instead of, say, one of the analogs. It means that you can't move the camera while sprinting. That's perhaps deliberate, but it's still frustrating.
More so, it's sprint, roll, take cover, and activate. It's the most godawful control scheme I've ever seen. The number of times I've lost an ally in multiplayer because, instead of reviving them, my character arbitrarily tries to roll away, is insane. Ditto for suddenly bursting out of cover rather than moving to another location. I have no idea who thought this was a good setup, but they ought to be fired for having no clue how to do their job.
I played the PS3 demo and never felt like it was too awkward, so I can't comment.
IDrownFish wrote:
Anyways, you all are horrible, @#%^ed up people
lolgaxe wrote:
Never underestimate the healing power of a massive dong.
I was gonna play ME1, cause I hadn't, but DL'd the "Genesis" DLC (As well as Lair/Arrival) & am now playing ME2 again with HI DEF textures (initial load time sucks, but then it's worth it).
It's purty.
The way Genesis works is: start a new ME2 game & during the part where Shepard is floating through space, narrated comic book pages pop up & let you make a few choices. You get to pick between:
Romancing Ashley, Kaidan, or Neither.
Letting Kaidan or Ashley die.
Saving or killing Wrex
Saving or Killing the Council
Killing the bug queen or letting her live
And putting the politician or Anderson on the Council.
Odd thing is, I play a femshep, & before Genesis kicked in femKaidan was on the Normandy 1 (I thought Kaidan was supposed to be opposite sex of Shepard regardless). Then during Genesis, it was male Kaidan in the ME1 flashbacks. Whom I let die. So he/she shouldn't have been on the Normandy 1 when Shep "dies" regardless.
Odd.
It's purty.
The way Genesis works is: start a new ME2 game & during the part where Shepard is floating through space, narrated comic book pages pop up & let you make a few choices. You get to pick between:
Romancing Ashley, Kaidan, or Neither.
Letting Kaidan or Ashley die.
Saving or killing Wrex
Saving or Killing the Council
Killing the bug queen or letting her live
And putting the politician or Anderson on the Council.
Odd thing is, I play a femshep, & before Genesis kicked in femKaidan was on the Normandy 1 (I thought Kaidan was supposed to be opposite sex of Shepard regardless). Then during Genesis, it was male Kaidan in the ME1 flashbacks. Whom I let die. So he/she shouldn't have been on the Normandy 1 when Shep "dies" regardless.
Odd.
"The Rich are there to take all of the money & pay none of the taxes, the middle class is there to do all the work and pay all the taxes, and the poor are there to scare the crap out of the middle class." -George Carlin
I feel like that should be spoilered. I know ME1 has been out forever, and seriously, who is going to read this thread that didn't know/didn't want to know yet, but I dunno. Twitchy spoiler finger + Bioware games. 
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