Mass Effect!

[The Mystic]

So, yeah. This thread is for all Mass Effect related goodness. I got it yesterday and I've played it for a a couple hours. I'm really liking it so far.

I'm having a hard time making a character that I like though, and I'm a little disappointed at the hair options for guys. But other then that it's really cool so far.

[Moon Jump]

The game looks really good. I kinda wish it'd be Star Wars. I liked KOTOR but I'm still not a fan of turned based combat.

The only thing I don't like is how they say the frame rate CHUGS when you play. The review on IGN had a bunch of comments saying that sometimes buttons wouldn't work, the game would lock up and the textures would magically pop up and AI would turn off and they'll run around like idiots, but it's still worth a 9.5...

I don't really trust these review sites anymore. I'll leave it to what the people say. For me, I'm going to look into this game when I'm done with whatever I get for Christmas.

[Solos]

Waiting for superior PC version.
http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/resources/2007/06/frogman.jpg

[coldcut]

Ditto on the waiting. Personally, the cash value of the games that I'm interested in has to be higher than the price of the system before I'll consider buying a new console. Does that make sense? No. Screw you.

[Pinny]

http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=489430&forum=104

6. Will Mass Effect be coming to the PC?

Chris Priestly: Mass Effect is planned as an Xbox 360 exclusive title. This means we are not working on a PC version and have no plans to start making one.

waitings over

[Dr Jack Wolfe]

Hmm, mine was on my doorstop....dare I load it?

[Pinny]

Its not as bad as everyone claims it is

There are a few (keyword: few) minor texture issues, but thats not enough to go APE**** CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! over.

Once again, products of overhype, its not ZOMGWTFBESTGAMEINTHEWORLD so its instant fail for everyone that overhyped it

[Solos]

http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=489430&forum=104

6. Will Mass Effect be coming to the PC?

Chris Priestly: Mass Effect is planned as an Xbox 360 exclusive title. This means we are not working on a PC version and have no plans to start making one.

waitings over

That's their official word at this time. There's been plenty of other developers who have said this and then ported it anyway. Either way i'm not going to buy a 360 just to play it.

Its not as bad as everyone claims it is

There are a few (keyword: few) minor texture issues, but thats not enough to go APE**** CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! over.

Once again, products of overhype, its not ZOMGWTFBESTGAMEINTHEWORLD so its instant fail for everyone that overhyped it

The thing is it's the developers who overhype games so they deserve it if people to call them on it. Don't say that your game can do all these amazing things and people won't be annoyed when it doesn't (see Bioshock (http://youtube.com/watch?v=JPMiqDqkWn8), Crysis (http://youtube.com/watch?v=GNRvYqTKqFY)). From what i've heard people actually think this game is great though so i don't know what you're talking about.

[Kurai Inago]

I've been playing an hour or so, it's pretty fun so far. I'm just looking forward to having another open ended RPG/FPS Hybrid.

[Solos]

I've been playing an hour or so, it's pretty fun so far. I'm just looking forward to having another open ended RPG/FPS Hybrid.

Bioshock was the attempt this time round. Come back in another 3 years.

[coldcut]

http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=489430&forum=104

6. Will Mass Effect be coming to the PC?

Chris Priestly: Mass Effect is planned as an Xbox 360 exclusive title. This means we are not working on a PC version and have no plans to start making one.

waitings over

Supposedly the worst kept secret in the gaming world right now is that this isn't going to be exclusive forever. Bioware almost always ports their games to the Pc.

[iggy880]

Can't just pick it up and play you know but it is full of win, dispite some slight getting into it issues.

On a seperate note, is there a way to switch which member of your team you're playing as or not because I've been trying.

[Kurai Inago]

Bioshock was the attempt this time round. Come back in another 3 years.

But Bioshock wasn't really open ended.... Or much like an RPG. Don't get me wrong, I think the game was fantastic, but I'm Referencing something more along the lines of Oblivion.

[The Mystic]

But Bioshock wasn't really open ended.... Or much like an RPG. Don't get me wrong, I think the game was fantastic, but I'm Referencing something more along the lines of Oblivion.
Yeah, BioShock is completely different from Mass Effect. BioShock is a completely linear shooter with some RPG elements, whereas as Mass Effect is a free-roaming RPG with squad based shooter combat. It was actually my first time doing a squad based thing, giving commands and stuff. I like it though, it's just like being a mastermind. You've got the attack my target, follow me, stay here, and go there commands.

Plus, BioWare is famous for their storylines and plot twists. I can't wait to see what this has coming.

[Vendel]

Penny Arcades did 3 strips in a row about this game. I think they sum it up nicely.

[The Mystic]

Penny Arcades did 3 strips in a row about this game. I think they sum it up nicely.
Haha, yeah the tutorials aren't extremely informing, but I actually read the manual and that filled in a lot of the blanks. But then I also like exploring and figuring out how everything works.

[bpphantom]

Supposedly the worst kept secret in the gaming world right now is that this isn't going to be exclusive forever. Bioware almost always ports their games to the Pc.

Gears of War was an "exclusive" title as well. The PC version is sitting under the tree at my parents place.

[Dr Jack Wolfe]

Gears of War was an "exclusive" title as well. The PC version is sitting under the tree at my parents place.

Or Coal, it could be coal in those presents, never mess with the Claus :)



Exclusive titles usually means "a year after we see how well it sells" these days, all though some stuff like Gears and Metal Gear seems to hold on to exclusive pretty well. Porting to a PC doesn't count for me, Microsoft still gets a piece of that cash.

[bpphantom]

As one of the developers they should. Sony will get some cash from any games ported from PS3... should it ever get games that is.

[iggy880]

So I beat it one way through the other day and it was heaven, I mean I actually cared for the characters, even those I barely took, and it was a great story and ride...now for round 2

[The Mystic]

Haha, yeah my current game I am an Adept that rides the line between Renegade and Paragon. Basically a John McClain, does the right thing but not a big fan of authority and not always polite. Then I plan on playing through as a Vanguard (total Renegade) then an Infiltrator (Paragon).

[Kurai Inago]

I beat it the first time about 4 days ago. Damn good game. Running Through again, first time I went through as a Soldier, this time I'm playing an Adept. I love the fact that Achievements actually unlock bonus stats for your Characters.

[iggy880]

Well I was a stalker(whatever, think its that) and I was almost 100% Paragon but in my second way through I think I may play for the Renegade on the same char or play a soldier(maybe even opposite sex to see how much changes if at all)

[Seadevil]

Just beat it here and enjoyed it immensely the whole way (Assault Rifles ftw). There were some bugs (mostly rendering issues) but i'm betting that'll be worked out. I can't wait for the sequel!

Also, anyone know what song is played during the credits?

[Dr Jack Wolfe]

I've kinda frustrated last night by some map/texture issues. Fighting husks I got backed into a corner I couldn't get out of because a rock blocked my path. Still liking it a lot, although nuking a Geth base from orbit with Normandy needs to be an option sometimes :) Playing Vanguard and a solider in parallel.


Amazes me you guys finish this quick.

[iggy880]

Alright ended up restarting with the same char and all just not sure if it let me up to the unlocked harder difficulty as I wanted, anyways if it didn't after I get the achievements with my good name I'll restart with my chick soldier plan.

Also, for the record the Stalker(or whatever) owns, I love my bad@$$ pistol(took a bit but I can pretty much own in a fight with that) and my rifle as well is amazing and once used to the skills its better.

[bpphantom]

It's not terribly long if you just stick to the main missions. If you wander and explore... well, you can play for months.

[Solos]

For people who have played it how often can you do this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvVu-j81s2c)? Also i heard that the human woman is a racist and always talks about how disgusting the aliens are is this true?

[Kurai Inago]

Yeah, that woman is a Reporter who interviews you randomly when you enter the Citadel. She pretty much spends the entire interview trying to make you look bad because you work with Aliens. It's also REALLY hard to spin it into a positive outcome. And I don't think you see her again after that though.

[Pinny]

For people who have played it how often can you do this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvVu-j81s2c)? Also i heard that the human woman is a racist and always talks about how disgusting the aliens are is this true?


Thats awesome.

I went through the paragon way, she was still a jerk though...maybe next playthrough I'll have to do that:cool:

[iggy880]

Thats awesome.

I went through the paragon way, she was still a jerk though...maybe next playthrough I'll have to do that:cool:

Yeah I did Paragon too but trying renegade this time, at least for achievement but I'm to good(to much CoH maybe) and feel bad about it sometimes, damn you realistic chars. Plus playing through it once nice I really connected to the chars, especially the human soldier/love interest, not to be to guy but the love scene with advances in graphics was worth it, and added to the...care:naughty:

[The Mystic]

For people who have played it how often can you do this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvVu-j81s2c)? Also i heard that the human woman is a racist and always talks about how disgusting the aliens are is this true?
LMAO! Oh my god, I had no idea I could have punched her!:lmao:

It didn't go like that for me, weird. I think I had more of the Intimidate options though. She never really got rude with me.:cool:

[Meltman]

Just finished my first playthrough. I was a Vanguard, and I gotta say the shotgun kicks ass.

Next playthrough I'm doing more side missions though.

Spoiler maybe:
My favorite part was convincing Saren to shoot himself in the head. Hehe.

[The Mystic]

Damn it, I wish I didn't read that spoiler!
Thought I would be safe because I finished the game once, but no.

Suffice to say Meltman, that did not happen in my play through. Damn though, this is why I love Bioware!

[Cloud Runner]

Yeah, great game from what I played so far. I love all the races. It would definately make a nifty MMO.

[The Mystic]

It would definitely make a nifty MMO.
You know that's exactly what I was thinking. Then I remembered BioWare has a new studio in Austin, Texas devoted to a so-far unannounced MMO. What if it's based off the Mass Effect universe?:naughty:

[Krypto]

I thought it was a KOTOR MMO.

[The Mystic]

They haven't officially announced what it is yet. I don't really see them making ANOTHER Star Wars MMO while one is out though. It would split the main fan base making things harder for both games, creating competition with itself. Just doesn't make sense.

[Kinetix]

http://www.threepanelsoul.com/comics/065.jpg

[The Mystic]

So I finished my first through a while ago, but I started my second one last night. Doing a bad-ass Renegade Vanguard chick this time. They did lots of great things with this game, especially to keep you playing it. Also, I love how the achievements actually add to the game. For those who don't know, achievements you get on one playthrough can unlock stuff for later playthroughs. For example I got the Singularity Mastery achievement with my adept the first time, so when I started this time I could choose Singularity as a bonus skill for my Vanguard, when Vanguards don't normally have access to it.

Also, you've got to love that Spectre Elite weaponry. :D

[The Icy One]

I just got the game today, plan on playing it after Midnight.

[Pinny]

Great way to start off the newyear icy :) Mass Effect is great

[The Icy One]

Played 30 minutes in, but I was half alseep and it was still loud in the house.. I got passed the little opening part where he's all floaty and explody. Slightly confused.. control scheme is odd. Shall play more later.. as well as download Rockband DLC for today, if something good comes out.

[Solario]

I would praise it for its ingenuity or something IF IT DIDN'T KEEP ON ****ING CRASH EVERY ****ING TIME I TRY TO LAND ON A NEW PLANET. I got a Disc Unreadable error, every time. I've cleared the cache and cleaned the CD, but it hasn't helped (though the cache did give me about 5 sec. extra.)

[iggy880]

That sucks, you're missing out

[Titomancer]

Hey, you know would be nice to see from Bioware? SOME GORRAMN MULTIPLAYER!

[The Mystic]

BioWare MMO in the works, there's your multiplayer for ya.

edit: But yeah I know what you mean. It's a little hard to incorporate multiplayer into such an involved RPG though.

[Solario]

I got it working and finished it a little while back. A lot of fun. Plan to play it through as an Adept and again with my first, butt ugly, character, so I can reach lvl 60.

[Meltman]

Eh, you can hit lvl 60 with a fresh start. I'm sure I will this session.

[Krypto]

Actually, it caps off at level 50 on the first playthrough. I found that out on my Soldier. :p

[Meltman]

I know. I didn't say the first time through, I said with a fresh start, from level 1.

[The Mystic]

Yeah, it's a great game. I've played through twice (Adept then Vanguard) and almost done with a third (Infiltrator), but I haven't had much time to play. I don't understand those "X Ally" achievements. On my first and second playthrough I basically always had Wrex on my team but I didn't get the Krogan Ally.

[Meltman]

You probably went through the game too fast. I played with nothing but the soldier and the asari the first time and only got the soldier achievement at the very end, but on my 2nd playthrough I got 2 of them before I even went through the Mu Relay. The 2nd time I did alot more sidequests.

[Poison]

I finished it again yesterday, this time with a working savegame. The first time I didn't get any achievements, but this time it worked. Renegade adept, got the ally achievements, made lvl 53... I want to play this again on hardcore now, but I need a little break, heh.

[Meltman]

That sucks about the achievements the first time. At least it unlocked 51-60 apparently. I'm going for Adept on my 4th playthrough after I finish this one.

[Poison]

No, it didn't. I didn't get any achievements, so it didn't unlock 51-60, hardcore mode, any of the skills, etc., etc. So my 2nd playthrough was as if it was my first.
Now I have to do hardcore, then intense. I'll start a new char, paragon soldier, and play him in both playthroughs to get him to 60.

For the ally achievements, make sure you don't do any sidequests before you don't have the allies in the team that you want them for. Make sure you play through the whole game with them in the party and do as many sidequests as possible.

[Meltman]

So how'd you get lvl 53 then?

[The Mystic]

No, it didn't. I didn't get any achievements, so it didn't unlock 51-60, hardcore mode, any of the skills, etc., etc. So my 2nd playthrough was as if it was my first.
Now I have to do hardcore, then intense. I'll start a new char, paragon soldier, and play him in both playthroughs to get him to 60.

For the ally achievements, make sure you don't do any sidequests before you don't have the allies in the team that you want them for. Make sure you play through the whole game with them in the party and do as many sidequests as possible.
What kinds of side quests? All the ones on the random planets? Do the collection ones count or could I skip over those when trying to get the ally achievements?

[Poison]

So how'd you get lvl 53 then?
As soon as I hit 50, I got the achievement and just continued leveling...:look:

And by sidequests I mean everything that appears in the Secondary tab of your journal. Including the collection ones.

**Spoilers**
What I did was do Eden Prime, then do the necessary things on the Citadel (get Wrex, get Garrus, rescue Tali and fight Fist, become a spectre, get Liara from Therum. Then I went to Therum with my chosen team (Ashley and Garrus), did all sidequests and the main quest there, went to Noveria and did the same, then I started doing ALL sidequests. Talk to your NPCs on the Normandy after every major event to get SQs. Get everything you can from the Citadel, visit every galaxy to get more SQs and survey all planets. Don't land! Survey everything first. Then do the VI mission on the moon to get your specialized class. Now start landing on planets and visit all important locations there. I got the soldier and turian ally achievements way before I had finished everything.

[Meltman]

As soon as I hit 50, I got the achievement and just continued leveling...:look:


Well, it must have been unlocked, because the achievement to unlock 51-60 was the one for beating the game. The first time I hit 50 I was just stuck there and stopped getting XP. It must have just been some wonky side effect of your unusual situation.

[Poison]

Just looked it up and you're right. This is so messed up! Too many bugs and glitches for such a good game. I even posted about it on the Bioware forum, but never got a reply.
And although I got everthing in the game, I didn't get the Completionist achievement either...

[Meltman]

Yeah, it could have used a few more months for pollishing, I think.

[The Mystic]

They'll probably do a patch over Live at some point to fix some of the stuff. I found some bugs, but none that made it unplayable.

[The Mystic]

The first Mass Effect downloadable expansion is on its way!

"Bring Down the Sky" (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/marketplace/m/masseffect/bringdownthesky.htm)

[Pinny]

The first Mass Effect downloadable content is on its way!

"Bring Down the Sky" (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/marketplace/m/masseffect/bringdownthesky.htm)


Fix'd

[Seadevil]

Either way, good stuff.

Now make KOTOR 3 you sons of bitches!

[The Mystic]

Fix'd
Whatever. I edited my post to clarify that it's "downloaded."

[Meltman]

Already plan on getting it.

[8 Ball]

FYI, for anyone who doesn't own a XBOX.

Mass Effect has been announced for the PC to come out in May

Link (http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/bioware-rpg/853707p1.html)

Woo!

[TopHat]

FYI, for anyone who doesn't own a XBOX.

Mass Effect has been announced for the PC to come out in May

Link (http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/bioware-rpg/853707p1.html)

Woo!


I saw this a while ago and I'm so very excited :D

[Gold Rush]

Okay, I got to add my name on the list. Played this game while I was away from these forums. Very good game. Finished the first playthrough. Started a second (on HARD for achievement), but it was so damn hard to get the shotgun achievement, so I started a new game set on easy JUST for that.

I played the Mind Adept first (since he is squishy and I wanted Barrier), second play through will go with the Tech guy. Third will be soldier.

Although I really liked the game, Gamespot does hit a few things on the head with their review, namely the Inventory system SUCKS! I really hated scrolling down reams of items just to sell particular things. Also, it was a pain to hit the 150 item mark every-so-often.

Still, I liked the game enough to concentrate on those "blasted darn" achievement points that I am somewhat hooked on but I can twink out if I want, so they don't mean too much. :P

==========================>

Gold Rush

[Jade Djinn]

FYI, for anyone who doesn't own a XBOX.

Mass Effect has been announced for the PC to come out in May

Link (http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/bioware-rpg/853707p1.html)

Woo!
Excellent!
*rubs his hands together diabolically*

Now I know what I want for my B'day. :)

[Solos]

FYI, for anyone who doesn't own a XBOX.

Mass Effect has been announced for the PC to come out in May

Link (http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/bioware-rpg/853707p1.html)

Woo!


Hmm...

http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=489430&forum=104

6. Will Mass Effect be coming to the PC?

Chris Priestly: Mass Effect is planned as an Xbox 360 exclusive title. This means we are not working on a PC version and have no plans to start making one.

waitings over

[Gold Rush]

http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums...9430&forum=104

6. Will Mass Effect be coming to the PC?

Chris Priestly: Mass Effect is planned as an Xbox 360 exclusive title. This means we are not working on a PC version and have no plans to start making one.

waitings over

"Hmmm" indeed.

NOW you see why you should be cautious as to such statement as "We will only release to ONE media/console/etc. ???

I've seen it happen before.

But on the "common sense" side of things, 360 programming is not too far off from PC programming, so a port would be easy as Pie for them.

On the "Wild sense Side" (Why do I feel like a Kellogg Frosted-Wheat?), I want to say, "Hmmm...Do I sense a PS3 version coming?" :)

Of course, given capitalistic gains of multi-platforming, it IS a possibility, albeit a remote one in Bioware's particular case.

======================================>

Gold Rush

[The Mystic]

Those bastards... now I'll probably get it on PC too. I was thinking though, you guys think the downloadable expansion things will be free to download for the PC version?

[TopHat]

Those bastards... now I'll probably get it on PC too. I was thinking though, you guys think the downloadable expansion things will be free to download for the PC version?

Doubtful since it will be done in the form of microtransactions on the Xbox.

[Meltman]

I bet you'll need Live for Windows.

[TopHat]

I bet you'll need Live for Windows.

Ugh, ruin my parade!

[8 Ball]

It just better not be DX10 only...I'd love to get this game but no way in hell am I upgrading to Vista for it.

[Meltman]

So, the "Bring Down the Sky" content was released today. (It's way down at the bottom of the Mass Effect downloads page, under all the videos.) I got it, but I won't be able to play it until after work tomorrow. I'll let you guys know if it's good or not.

[bpphantom]

I bet you'll need Live for Windows.

I did for Gears of War. Still, once I figured out that I had previously made a LiveID during their Beta.

It tracks achievements online and such so the microtransactions would be jsut as easily imp'd.

[iggy880]

I hope its good, I just finished my second go through last week, and just need to get my main Shepard to 60, before I consider this(3 levels away) which should be fun starting again, and will put on hold my new soldier char to get other achievements :)

[Poison]

Ah, almost forgot about it! I've been delaying my 3rd play through the game till I got this. Good thing Dead Rising kept me busy. :D

[Meltman]

You can actually use it in existing games too, don't need to start a new one if you don't want to.

[Meltman]

Ok, so I played through it this morning.

Story: Pretty decent, nice amount of moral choices for the length, I think, plus it was nice to meet a new alien race.
Variety: One surface area with plenty to fight on it (mostly turrets though), and four indoor areas. 3 of the indoor areas are just your basic base that you'll find on most planets, but the final one is a brand new map of pretty decent size.
Length: Took me around 2 and a half hours, but I was being very thorough and releoaded a few times after conversations.
Experience: Went from 53 to almost 55. (Tip: You'll get almost 3x the xp fighting turrets on foot compared to in the Mako, if you didn't know already)
Loot: Standard fare for the most part, but at the end you get a choice of some nice rare stuff. (I got Colossus armor for Tali. Never seen that in the Quarian variety, so definately worth it.)

Is it worth 400 points? It was for me, but your mileage may vary.

[Poison]

Ya, I've heard pretty mixed reactions to this. Obviously there isn't even voiceover or anything to introduce the new storyline?

[Meltman]

There's a short cinema after you select land where the ship talks about what's going on.

[Solos]

I finished the PC version today. It was pretty much KOTOR without a Star Wars license as expected. Overall i really really enjoyed it but htere were some things that annoyed me. The main quest was too short. It was what, 1 talking area and 4 or 5 fighting areas? I would have preferred it if there was more talking areas since the characters were the best bit in my opinion. Also pretty much all the side-quests that weren't on the Citadel involved driving in a straight line across a brown height map then shooting some people in either a warehouse or tunnel. I did 2 or 3 of them then just stopped bothering since i'd seen it all.

The other thing was that the romance plot was terrible. You get to pick between a republican and some nerd's fantasy attractive blue alien geek (everything about that race was the sexual fantasy of one of the writers actually). I ended up picking the republican because i couldn't stand talking to the Twi'Lek and it was laughable. I talk to her one or two times and tell her she's replusive then suddenly she's in Shepard's room reciting poetry. Fox News might have been wrong about the full frontal nudity but Bioware can't claim it was a mature realistic relationship. The only likable female crew member was Tali and for some reason she was in a space suit all the time.

The plot twist when you realised that Saren's ship was the Reaper all along was great though.

EDIT: Also the game was ridiculously easy, even on Hardcore. I'm going to try it on Insanity on my second runthrough but i doubt that will be a problem either seeing how it was balanced around retard controls.

[coldcut]

I finished the PC version today. It was pretty much KOTOR without a Star Wars license as expected. Overall i really really enjoyed it but htere were some things that annoyed me. The main quest was too short. It was what, 1 talking area and 4 or 5 fighting areas? I would have preferred it if there was more talking areas since the characters were the best bit in my opinion. Also pretty much all the side-quests that weren't on the Citadel involved driving in a straight line across a brown height map then shooting some people in either a warehouse or tunnel. I did 2 or 3 of them then just stopped bothering since i'd seen it all.

The other thing was that the romance plot was terrible. You get to pick between a republican and some nerd's fantasy attractive blue alien geek (everything about that race was the sexual fantasy of one of the writers actually). I ended up picking the republican because i couldn't stand talking to the Twi'Lek and it was laughable. I talk to her one or two times and tell her she's replusive then suddenly she's in Shepard's room reciting poetry. Fox News might have been wrong about the full frontal nudity but Bioware can't claim it was a mature realistic relationship. The only likable female crew member was Tali and for some reason she was in a space suit all the time.

The plot twist when you realised that Saren's ship was the Reaper all along was great though.

EDIT: Also the game was ridiculously easy, even on Hardcore. I'm going to try it on Insanity on my second runthrough but i doubt that will be a problem either seeing how it was balanced around retard controls.

I got the PC game recently as well.

I hate romance in any game like this. (Well any game in general.) I don't know what I would want from a game if I wanted romance, but I suspect that it would be substantially more than most games are able to provide. Mass Effect was supposed to be a space opera, so of course you have the all-female sex goddess race. That didn't really bother me--I thought it was kind of funny. As far as Ashley Williams...I think Bioware has the right to produce well done characters whom I do not like. Might have been a bit of random political pandering, but Ashley was arguably the most fully formed character in the game. It helped that her voice over actress was excellent.

People rave about the Bioware characters, but I just haven't been very impressed with them since KOTOR. You see glimpses of characters in Mass Effect, but I was never particularly attached to them. Maybe Wrex. None of them really had a whole lot of impact on the story, besides Shiara. Incidentally, I still have no idea what Wrex was doing with Cdr. Shepard past the initial Citadel scene. Like, "Gee thanks giant lizard with a significant criminal background, that was a great help, especially when you shot the unarmed man right in front of me. We'll, uh, stay in touch or something."

In the KOTOR series and the Neverwinter Nights series, the characters all had their own little story arcs that you get involved in. In that sense you could actually do some interesting work with the characters while the player's avatar did his thing. Ever since Jade Empire, the secondary characters really took a back seat to everything else, which is a development I don't like. So you take Wrex to find his father's armor, learn that he's some sort of toad prince (Also, everyone in this game is somebody else's kid. Could we have one character who didn't have some significant heritage/high family expectations?) who tried to unite all the Krogans to end their disease, and then what? Nothing changes. Sure, it might be real to life, but I enjoy it when I get to go on a side quest to revive the Krogan race.

Speaking (a few paragraphs back) of space opera, I'm not sure why they went the BSG rout and used conventional firearms. If this is space opera, where are the laser pistols?! In fact, the weaponry in this game is straight out of 1992 and Castle Wolfenstein. It's the future. We can't do any better than a pistol, an assault rifle, a shotgun and a mostly useless sniper rifle?

They should have upped the default difficulty for the PC. It was ridiculously easy with mouse/keyboard support. I'm playing on the unlocked difficulty now, and it's actually kind of tough, especially if you get a group of biotics involved. I felt especially invincible in the jumping APC thing. Playing through on a harder level now, I really think this is the one thing that would have helped me enjoy the game more. But like Solos said, it's really short. Without all the planet surveying, you could probably put the script for this game on maybe 20 pages.

All that said, I did like the game. I just don't think it's quite lives up to the reputation.

[Solos]

\Mass Effect\Config\DefaultGame.ini

m_nAchievedCombatDifficultyOverride = 4;

Should unlock insanity for you.