Mass Effect 3

[RyuRoots]

I think I'd enjoy a smaller-scale story, especially with how the large-scale one ended up. [insert requisite whining about DA2 here].

[STR]

I have a feeling Bioware will not, nor anyone else, be doing a big-ass trilogy like ME1-3 for a LONG time. ME3 was 4 months late, and it was still rushed, which is why the original ending didn't make a whole lot of sense, and a lot of the little things (like the magic pistol that shows up every cutscene even when you didn't pack it) weren't to the same level of polish as previous games.

I personally expect a one-shot story, probably a prequel, though I'd personally find continuing the story further into the future a lot better. Just do what Deus Ex 2 did and mix elements from all of the endings. Just fit in Grunt, he was hilarious and I didn't get nearly enough of him in ME3.

[Jeff O'Connor]

Yeah, I hear that.

Well, either way I'll be happy, honestly. For now I'm just eagerly awaiting DLC news. I'm excited that Leviathan has been confirmed, I'm looking forward to Aria's LOTSB-inspired almost-obligatory Retake Omega mission, and I'd be delighted with most anything else they throw at me, if it maintains ME2's level of DLC prowess.

Firewalker and Arrival weren't all that spectacular, though, but I wouldn't trade my experiences with them each file to get my money back or anything.

[Reverend]

^Especially considering Firewalker was free.

[Jeff O'Connor]

Huh, I forgot about that. Well, in that case I wouldn't even have mentioned it. It's like saying "oh, Normandy Crash Site didn't have a memorable boss battle." Well, it was free!

...and it was kinda cool, anyway.

[John Clark]

I'll probably finish ME3 with my second Shepard this week. Currently, I'm heading towards Sanctuary with about 1350 on the EMS.

While it hasn't been a massacre play through, things are going to get messy

[STR]

Jeff O'Connor wrote:

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Firewalker and Arrival weren't all that spectacular, though, but I wouldn't trade my experiences with them each file to get my money back or anything.

Arrival was kind of awesome. It was interesting trying to stealth your way through the prison and beating the 5 waves of troops was probably the single craziest challenge in all of ME's 3 games (at least on Hardcore, my personal setting). Killing what's-her-face with the renegade interrupt was deeply satisfying, as was blowing up the relay.

Not as good as LotSB (I'm not sure any DLC is as good as that ep), or Overlord (easily the most shocking moment in the series, possibly aside from the things you can do to Mordin and Wrex in ME3), but a solid segue piece.

IMO: Shadow Broker > Overlord > Arrival > Kasumi

Looking forward to Leviathan and Omega DLC's. Should be solid installments.

[Reverend]

Jeff O'Connor wrote:

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Huh, I forgot about that. Well, in that case I wouldn't even have mentioned it. It's like saying "oh, Normandy Crash Site didn't have a memorable boss battle." Well, it was free!

...and it was kinda cool, anyway.

Would you believe I actually heard that complaint about the crash site DLC? I forget where I read the comment, but I saw someone saying they were disappointed that there wasn't any combat, like he expected to have to fight off waves of pirates amidst the wreckage. I think he missed the point.

STR wrote:

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Arrival was kind of awesome. It was interesting trying to stealth your way through the prison and beating the 5 waves of troops was probably the single craziest challenge in all of ME's 3 games (at least on Hardcore, my personal setting). Killing what's-her-face with the renegade interrupt was deeply satisfying, as was blowing up the relay.

Not as good as LotSB (I'm not sure any DLC is as good as that ep), or Overlord (easily the most shocking moment in the series, possibly aside from the things you can do to Mordin and Wrex in ME3), but a solid segue piece.

IMO: Shadow Broker > Overlord > Arrival > Kasumi

Looking forward to Leviathan and Omega DLC's. Should be solid installments.

Agreed. I just hope they don't revert back to the standards of the ME1 DLC...I mean, did anyone actually buy Pinnacle Station? I'm shocked that they're still charging money for it.

[PsychoPere]

I don't remember buying it, but I do have it so I must have...

I've only ever completed the scenarios on one character, though, and have never even visited the station on any other characters.

[Jeff O'Connor]

Pinnacle Station was really lame, but I'm such a Mass Effect nerd I enjoy having a bit more graphical representation of the Mass Effect world at relative peacetime. When I replayed ME1 again recently, it was nice walking around that... er, OK, like, two-room space station and seeing that pretty space scene on the screen and whatnot. I felt like I was on some Babylon 5-esque star cruiser.

The gameplay itself though... yeah, really not worth the price. And the less said on the "story" the better there. "I'm a bully! A big turian bully! Shepard, you ain't nothing! Hah! Oh, you did well. Uh. Well still, screw you!" The end.

I'd love to know what that turian jackass is thinking post-ME3 if he survived the war. "Uh. Well. Uh. Yeah well. The human got lucky, that's all."

Anyway, my beef with Arrival is its subpar storyline by Mass Effect standards. At least, that's how I feel. Some complain about the level of auto-dialogue in ME3, but for the most part I think it works for the big climax. You still get plenty more input than most games. With Arrival, though, I really felt like Shepard was being much more idiotic than any other noteworthy event in the trilogy.

I mean, I know time was of the essence, but once Shepard learned of the artifact, I really would have expected him/her to take a few more precautions. When Kenson's like, "I assure you, Commander, we gravy, we gravy", Shepard just sorta begrudgingly goes along with that, despite their history with indoctrination.

The whole story from thereon out just feels really, really predictable and goofy to me, but I do like the Shepard/Harbinger confrontation at the end. That's my one and only real complaint about ME3 -- I think they missed a trick by relegating Harbinger to silent endgame party crasher. I like what they did with Cerberus, unlike many... but I think they could have juggled the Reapers and Cerberus a bit better.

Still, making the Reapers more of a "force of nature"-style antagonist during the war is sensible enough, and Shep did have that one (albeit somewhat brief) conversation with the Rannoch Destroyer.

Normandy Crash Site complaints, Reverend... man, if I didn't know the Mass Effect fandom so well, I'd have a hard time believing it. Well, actually... no I wouldn't. I know fandoms in general. XD

Also, shallow point: Kenson is the second most hideous human in the series. Ethan Jeong from ME1 is the worst offender, for the record.

[Jeff O'Connor]

Oh, and I would say ME1's other DLC, Bring Down The Sky, was pretty cool. Really did the best it could with ME1's gameplay, spicing things up with those mines and that shootout in the compound at the end. Really fun stuff. Also, batarians with depth. <3

[Hartzilla2007]

Jeff O'Connor wrote:

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Also, batarians with depth. <3

Heck having Batarians in Mass Effect 1 at all is a plus.

I have a question about Mass Effect 3 exactly what do I need to get the final renegade/paragon conversation options for the final talk with the Illusive Man In the Citadel control room thingy?

Because I don't think its a higher EMS score because I had enough to get all 3 final choices and the Shepard breath scene at the end.

[STR]

Hartzilla2007 wrote:

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Heck having Batarians in Mass Effect 1 at all is a plus.

I have a question about Mass Effect 3 exactly what do I need to get the final renegade/paragon conversation options for the final talk with the Illusive Man In the Citadel control room thingy?

Because I don't think its a higher EMS score because I had enough to get all 3 final choices and the Shepard breath scene at the end.

I think you need a high enough paragon/renegade score. A single playthrough isn't enough, you have to import an ME2 or ME3 character (or hack the savegame). Even with an ME2 import, you will only be able to get one of the options. The only playthrough I could get both options was a ME3 import of a ME2 import. You might also have had to pick paragon/renegade responses in each of the 3 other times you talk to illusive man.

[ATimson]

Hartzilla2007 wrote:

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I have a question about Mass Effect 3 exactly what do I need to get the final renegade/paragon conversation options for the final talk with the Illusive Man In the Citadel control room thingy?

My understanding is that it's not stats related; it's tied to your dialogue choices with the IM throughout the entire game. You need to always pick the renegade option, or always take the paragon option, during the earlier dialogues.

[Hartzilla2007]

ATimson wrote:

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My understanding is that it's not stats related; it's tied to your dialogue choices with the IM throughout the entire game. You need to always pick the renegade option, or always take the paragon option, during the earlier dialogues.

Oh okay I used the renegade conversation option on Mars so that may have had something to do with it.

Well the renegade interupt still worked so that was good enough for that playthrough