Saving the Integrity of Mass Effect

Point Insertion examines what must be done to preserve the legacy and integrity of one of gaming's most beloved franchises... Is Mass Effect's future about to be one of mediocrity?

[Sly-Lupin]

Legacy?
Integrity?
One of gaming's most beloved franchises?

Wow. It's like the author is from some magical Bizarro-Earth where Mass Effect 3 never happened.

[coolbeans]

I'm pretty sure one can play ME3 and still possibly come away saying things like that, unless a game's quality now lives or dies by its final half-hour.

[Sly-Lupin]

No, you can remove the last hour, the game is still rubbish.

Unless you judge it solely as a FPS, and not as an RPG. Or a Mass Effect game.

[coolbeans]

^I suppose it's agree to disagree, then. I'm not sure why people bring up the RPG part as such a negative. In comparison to ME2 gameplay, it did go a bit more in-depth in that regard.

[LTwriting]

People act like ME3 is some abomination simply because it failed to meet expectations. Did Bioware drop the ball? Sure. At least they semi-fixed the issue with updates. ME3 could have been way better, but it is not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination.

[CorndogBurglar]

Wow, its like the author of this comment is from some magical Bizarro Earth where Mass Effect 1 and 2 never happened.

[TheEroica]

hey Sly, thanks for the input. Sans the last 5 minutes of Mass Effect 3 which aspect of that game didn't do the narrative and organic histories of the characters and mythos respect? It seemed to me through multiple playthroughs that ME3 was a nice balance between what ME1 and ME2 did.

[Sly-Lupin]

The problem is style and theme.

Plenty of Youtube people have explained it better than I can, but basically Mass Effect 3 betrays the core thematic principles of the series (which had always been about triumphing over adversity through cooperation), betrays the core mechanics of the game (gimping the dialog system and essentially removing the innovative interrupt system), and betrays genre conventions by reducing sidequests to offline multiplayer arena battles.

That the main plot is nothing more than a MacGuffin Hunt followed by a Deus ex Machina ending really doesn't matter when the rest of the game, proper, isn't up to snuff.

I'm not saying there aren't some really great moments in ME3--there are--butit's the WHOLE game that matters, and the whole game is rubbish.

[medman]

@slylupin
I enjoyed ME1, ME2, and ME3. It's my favorite trilogy in gaming, and my favorite gaming experience of the ps3/360 generation. And I play alot of games. Millions of other gamers feel just as I do. So Mr. lupin, it is you who exist in the bizarro world. I'd look into that if I were you.

[Canary]

Sorry, pal, but I'm afraid you're in the minority here.

Metacritic user average = 5/10
Amazon.com user average = 6/10

You'll also note how critics are able to articulate a plethora of arguments as to the game's (lack of) quality, whereas those who claim to like the game really only ever say, "Well, I liked it, so clearly it must be a good game."

Fun fact #1: it is entirely possible to enjoy a terrible game! Most people do!
Fun fact #2: you are not, nor will you ever be, able to speak for anyone but yourself.
Fun fact #3: insulting other people never, never, never strengthens your argument.

....

From what I've seen, experienced gamers (IE people who've played enough games over a long enough period of time to develop a "refined taste") tend to dislike ME3 quite a bit, whereas less experienced gamers (or those who simply didn't understand or like the primary gamic elements of the first two games) are more accepting of the games faults (and also more willing to make the mistake of assuming that it's only possible to enjoy a good game, and that their personal enjoyment is the only valid measure for criticism).

....

But that's just me trying to interject some reason into things. Feel free, everyone, to ignore this post and keep on RAGING about whatever the hell you've got a fanboy/hateboy boner for this week.

[3-4-5]

Go back and make more ME games like the First one. The only true gem of the bunch.

[Tdmd]

Mass Effect 3 was a trully great game. It had it's flaws and that ending wasn't as great as the whole experience, but I loved it anyway. Whatever they do with this franchise, my hype won't be contained!

[TheEroica]

I feel pretty close the same way... My fear is cashing in that beautiful rich backdrop in favor of becoming simply "another shooter". I want Bioware to look at the first mass effect and augment the ideas in that game. The openness of it, the interspecies tension, the customization... Bring the mako back! It wasn't a bad idea in any way shape or for, just not perfectly implemented. I don't want another kill one or halo... I want Mass Effect.

[A LIVING LEGEND]

ME2 was a solid game.I had some issues with the 'rpg' elements and the exploration system,or rather lack of one but as a story driven sci-fi shooter it was good.
However,ME3 is really not very good in any area,I'm tired of hearing 'Shepard' every third sentence,the resource gathering/exploration is almost insulting,inconsistent visuals,a confusing new side quest system,combat that begins to feel tedious as it essentially becomes cover-shoot-cover for like 2 entire games...