IncGamers Column: Gaming Just Gets Better And Better...

IncGamers' Belinda Vaughan takes an impromptu break from MMOs to find out what all the fuss is over Mass Effect 2. A snip:

"You know when you go to the cinema and you see a film that takes your breath away, and you're walking out afterwards feeling like you actually took part in the events you just witnessed? Or you've just finished a wonderful book series or sat through a gripping DVD box set – playing this game has left me with the same emotions."

[Maticus]

The game deserves all the rave reviews, honestly. It's stunning.

[PrimordialSoupBase]

Gaming gets simpler and simpler, easier and easier, less and less complex. This is 'better'?

@ Yes, its writing and cinematic ambition are stunning; its game is Not.

[Bigpappy]

Having said that, could you maybe give an example, by naming a game which you believe to be more complex and better than Mass Effect. This is not and attack on you preference. I just need to understand your perspective, and I can't do so by what you said in that statement. I have no idea what you are using as a comparison.

[PrimordialSoupBase]

Mass Effect 2 is so clearly a game made for console owners: The inventory is stripped, stats are nearly irrelevant, and the difficulty level on 'Insane' doesn't even equate to Dragon Age's 'Easy'. The combat has some interesting systems in place to be sure, but it never forces you into thinking about how they function. Aim. Shoot. Compare that with Dragon Age, in which you have to use everything that's at your disposal to pass through battles.

I get their ambition to make it a shooter, but that doesn't have to mean scooping out your brain in the process.

[Bigpappy]

I agree that they removed some of the RPG elements and streamline the game to satisfy the action crowd. But I still see ME2 as a very complex game. The dialog options for example are far more expansive and varied than DA. Because of this you are constantly faced with tough choices. Like should I give this person another chance? she is a new recruit and just made a mistake. Should I kill half a race off just because my friend has a problem with that race? Should I follow the rule here and hand over my weapons? They are plenty of these choices that aren't black and white. Some people just choose the good or bad options to move up a paragon or renegade bar. I don't consider those bars in my discission making. I found it completely emersive and not simple. But I see why you say it is simplified. I believe that simple is exaggerated though.

[Fyzzu]

Good choice of a game to start with if you're stepping away from MMOs, that.

[AndyA]

Still yet to play this properly, can't wait to sink some time into it. High praise from an MMO gamer too.

[Leord]

Yeah, great game.

Interesting piece, thanks for the heads up :)

[Malfurion]

Yup, quite happily handing over cash for all the DLC for mass effect 2 right now. Keep it coming bioware.

[PotNoodle]

Yep, completed it for the second time last night. Going in for my third! :D

Last game i did this on was Metal Gear Solid 4, and that is fairly linear, but you can play through it many different ways.

[Akagi]

Mass Effect 2 is good despite the inconsistent fps on Xbox.

[Bigpappy]

This labeling of Mass Effect does not really matter. Whether you think it is a FPS, an RPG or both, is irrelevant. The fact is when you play this game you will come away knowing you have just experience one of the greatest works ever done by any developer. If you can't accept the game for what it is, that is not the game's fault, it is your refusal to get over what ever hang-ups you or misguided loyalties you harbor. This my friend is simply a great game. Enjoy!

[PotNoodle]

Bigpappy, i'm fairly sure he was talking about the framerate (frames per second/fps).

I've heard the same, with framerate drops on the 360 version. I played it on PC so it was locked at 60fps :D

[Bigpappy]

@ DeathroW22. But he is wrong on that front. I played the 360 version and had 1 technical issue with controlling Shepherd. Had to reboot. Slow frame rate is not a problem on the 360 version. Maybe his PC was not good enough. By the way the person who wrote the article is a PC MMO user, but played it on 360 because she was told by a co-worker that the 360 version was the way to play the game. Sounds like she works in the gaming review business.

[PotNoodle]

Maybe, it was only one review that i read where the FPS was supposedly a problem, so he could be talking about the PC version with his PC not being able to run it correctly.

[Capovin]

Efinitely a great game. But more emotionally involving than the film greats????? I beg to differ and I'd argue that a videogame could never reach that level. The fact that your controlling your character kinda ensures you'll
never get the suspension of disbelief you do in a movie-plus acting isn't near the level of films yet.

[Letros]

It was good, but completely dumbed down from the first, hardly an RPG, not to mention the way they told the story was just dumb, ASSEMBLE A TEAM YO, STOP COLLECTORS. How about creating a story that gives players a gradual progression of the story, opening it up slowly. I couldn't help but feel like assembling the team was just a chore for an epic ending. Previous Bioware games were not like this. I just felt so pseudo-nonlinear.

Regardless of my opinion, It's a great game, I just would like the third to be a bit better at presenting the story.