Mass Effect 3

[Nathan]

So who has bought and played this so far?

 

I'm thinking about buying it this weekend as I like #2. Worth the money? I'm sure it is.

[ChuckTesta]

This was my facebook status two days ago...

 

[Nathan]

Haha, was it just released then I guess?

[ChuckTesta]

Yeah, that was right after it was released.

[Nathan]

Is it true you can import you player from Mass Effect 2?

[Siddharth Ramakrishnan]

I am playing this on my pc. And i love this game.

[Nathan]

I am playing this on my pc. And i love this game.

 

Were you able to import you character from Mass Effect 2?

[Siddharth Ramakrishnan]

ahhh! I am new to ME so i am playing with ME3 . It is an different game for me. See the rating and i am playing now!

[ChuckTesta]

Were you able to import you character from Mass Effect 2?

LOL, i have no idea if you can port players from one to another. Would be a cool idea to add! Youtube may have the answer...

[Nathan]

Yeah I heard a rumor that you can, and I played #2 so maybe interesting.

[CHiLL]

I've just recieved my PC copy in the post.

 

You can import a Mass Effect 2 character into Mass Effect 3, just as you could import a Mass Effect 1 character into Mass Effect 2. It's all about your decision making in the earlier games.

 

I loved both the first two games, so I'm really looking forward to this finale.

 

Oh, and ChuckTesta...I feel your pain.

[Jessi]

Yep, you can import from one copy to the next.

 

I doubt there's one out yet for Mass Effect 3, but for ME2, there was a DLC that would let you make all the important decisions from the first game without actually playing it so you could start off with a continuous story in the second. So for anyone who hasn't played the first...or the second at this point....you may want to wait it out until something like that is released before you jump straight into the third one.

[CHiLL]

Yep, you can import from one copy to the next.

 

I doubt there's one out yet for Mass Effect 3, but for ME2, there was a DLC that would let you make all the important decisions from the first game without actually playing it so you could start off with a continuous story in the second. So for anyone who hasn't played the first...or the second at this point....you may want to wait it out until something like that is released before you jump straight into the third one.

Yeah, I believe there was a 'comic book style' version for the PS3, as Mass Effect 1 was never released on that console. So Bioware made this DLC (as a comic) to allow users to not only make the key decisions, but understand why.

[Godric]

Damn I still didn't play it. Plan on finishing it over the summer though. The trailers I saw were excellent. And I don't think I have a saved copy Of #2. Damn.

[SpikeTheLobster]

For the uninitiated, who's never played any of them... what is it?

[Jessi]

For the uninitiated, who's never played any of them... what is it?

 

Lol.

 

It's the third installment in a series of sci-fi action roleplaying video games that have been very popular over the last, uh, 5 years or so? If you've ever seen the name Captain Shepard references, that's from this game.

[SpikeTheLobster]

Jessi, Jessi, Jessi... I know roughly what it is, of course. I'm not a total banana-head. Well, OK, so that's debatable...

 

What I really meant was "What kind of game is it?" so I'd have an idea of whether it'd interest me or be another total pile of poo that gets hyped up the wazoo when really it's just a really long guided video (isn't that what "action RPGs" are?).

[Jessi]

Hey now, you asked what it was and I answered you! It's not my fault you weren't more specific the first time!

 

Do not click play on the video below if you:

• Hate spoilers of any sort, even though it's only the very beginning of the game
  
• Are offended by crude language, crude topics, etc (the narrator is quite, well, crude )
  
• Cannot handle watching a video that's over 30 seconds long (it's 5 minutes.../gasp)
  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biZr1z5DQIg

 

You may want to skip through the first minute to get past the character design stuff, but otherwise, it'll give you a fairly basic idea of what kind of game it is. It kind of -is- a long guided video...and yeah, that's pretty much what action RPGs seem to be half the time, lol. There's a fair bit of action that is your own, though, with a variety of things to kill. If you're not into story-intense/centered games, though, it may not be your style.

[Jessi]

Oh. I forgot to mention....

 

This third version is designed to have 3 different routes/options for you. So you can choose to play on the heavier RPG side (like the first Mass Effect), more as a first person shooter, or a combination of both (more like the second).

[CHiLL]

It's a third person sci-fi epic which uses a mix of game play and narrative to go through the story line. It also uses a complex decision making system, meaning you can either be 'paragon' (good), or 'renegade' (bad). These decisions have massive ramifications throughout the game, and later games.

[SpikeTheLobster]

Hey now, you asked what it was and I answered you! It's not my fault you weren't more specific the first time!

 

Spike is a bananahead +1

 

You may want to skip through the first minute to get past the character design stuff, but otherwise, it'll give you a fairly basic idea of what kind of game it is. It kind of -is- a long guided video...and yeah, that's pretty much what action RPGs seem to be half the time, lol. There's a fair bit of action that is your own, though, with a variety of things to kill. If you're not into story-intense/centered games, though, it may not be your style.

 

OK... apart from the narrator's obvious leanings towards making everything a sexual reference and latent paedophile tendencies (am I the only one who finds him disturbing and not funny?), that was very useful. It looks like the kind of thing I don't mind - Half-Life style. Story's there but the action's a-plenty so you don't feel like you're just following a script (*cough* Splinter Cell *cough*). It probably won't run on my current PC so I'll have to put the new one in... and I assume playing the first two would be a good idea, right?

 

My fear with these things is that they'll either be incredibly constrictive so you feel like you're not actually doing anything except finishing scenes to watch the rest of video or that they'll have a story so paper-thin that it makes me wish they'd just made a basic FPS with no justification needed. Apparently this one sites in the middle reasonably well, though it may be a bit more scripted than I like. Close enough to have a look, anyways!

 

This third version is designed to have 3 different routes/options for you. So you can choose to play on the heavier RPG side (like the first Mass Effect), more as a first person shooter, or a combination of both (more like the second).

 

That's good news. Makes it definitely worth a look!

 

Thanks very much, Jessi - pretty much all the info I needed (though I should probably have watched the vid with the sound turned off to avoid the narrator's latent perversions...).

 

Jessi awesomeness +1

[CHiLL]

I assume playing the first two would be a good idea, right?

I would recommend playing the first two, but they are huge games. It can take anywhere between 20-30 hours to fully complete each game.

 

The Half-Life series (despite it being excellent) is your typical FPS. Shoot first then get the story revealed, and it's very stright. Whereas Mass Effect, you can choose which way you want to advance the story (within a given set of parameters). For example, building your squad, you can do it in what ever order, and the same if for the side quests. The dialogue you have with the NPCs is critical to how the story unfolders (compared to a normal FPS which is the same regardless).

[Jessi]

I would recommend playing the first two, but they are huge games. It can take anywhere between 20-30 hours to fully complete each game.

 

So um, I read that as "20-30 minutes" and was all ready to counter you with "that isn't a long game at all!!"

 

But realistically, the way I see it, if I'm going to pay for a game, I want it to last me longer than a couple days. Sure, I could complete one from start to finish in a couple days of playing several hours each, but if you're not the type who has that kind of time, then at least it means it'll take you a while to get through. That makes it more worth the money.

[SpikeTheLobster]

I would recommend playing the first two, but they are huge games. It can take anywhere between 20-30 hours to fully complete each game.

 

Umm, I may be showing my age here but 20-30 hours ranks as "small" by my standards. I expect to get more than a day or two out of a title but I guess I'm expecting too much these days.

 

Sounds great, though - I shall have a hunt around and see if Play.com are running any specials...

 

Thanks for all the background and stuff: much appreciated. Of course, my work days are going to suffer even more now... and it's all your fault!

[Jessi]

(...) and it's all your fault!

 

Oh phew! I was bracing myself for that blame. I thought for sure after you listened to the vulgar video up there, you'd be so excited to play the game that you'd buy it, waste a bunch of time playing it, not get your other work done, and then say it was my fault. I'm really glad someone else is already taking the fall for that.