Whats the deal with mass effect?

[Richter Belmount]

Why is it so great?

[cynicalhat]

It pays homage to every sci-fi flick and series out there. You get to explore lots of places and help craft a story and develop a character in your own way.

[swlovinist]

Amazing story, Great detail, wonderful gameplay mechanics. You have a be a fan of these type of Story Driven/Action Sci Fi/Choose your own adventure/ RPGs. Mass Effect is not for everyone, but it is a very solid game and if you have the time, I recommend people to check it out.

[portnoyd]

I wanted to like it but the combat system pretty much ruined it for me.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

What IS the deal with Mass Effect?

WHY is it SO great?

IS Shepard a guy or a girl? What's up with that?

And WHAT about all those ELEVATORS?

[exit]

What IS the deal with Mass Effect?

WHY is it SO great?

IS Shepard a guy or a girl? What's up with that?

And WHAT about all those ELEVATORS?

You Sir get the "L-O-L" of the Day award.

[Graham Mitchell]

Mass effect 1 is buggy and has major gameplay issues which really bugged me. ME2, on the other hand, fixed all the problems and the game ended up being a masterpiece. It's a combination of old space exploration games like Starflight and and Star Control mixed with some great shooter gameplay. It's also got an engrossing story where your decisions actually can affect the outcome of the game.

Give it a shot, it's hard not to like.

[Dobie]

I've had the ME2 forever now, and it looks SO awesome, and I bought the all of the DLC for it around Christmas when it was on massive discount on XBLM, but I feel like I HAVE to play through ME1 first... and I just can't get through it. I've started it 3 times now, but it just doesn't hold my interest. I'm thinking I should just play through ME2 and skip the first one. Is my "gamer" broken or something?

[Graham Mitchell]

I've had the ME2 forever now, and it looks SO awesome, and I bought the all of the DLC for it around Christmas when it was on massive discount on XBLM, but I feel like I HAVE to play through ME1 first... and I just can't get through it. I've started it 3 times now, but it just doesn't hold my interest. I'm thinking I should just play through ME2 and skip the first one. Is my "gamer" broken or something?

Nope, youre normal. There are a lot of folks who don't care for me1, myself included. I just jumped right in to me2 without finishing the first one, and I've been having a great time with it. It helps to have a little background on the story but it won't ruin anything if you don't.

[Robocop2]

I actually enjoyed the combat in ME1 better than ME2 at least the weapons and armor upgrade parts of the system I feel like they just over simplified it in ME2

[ubersaurus]

The only problem with not playing through ME1 first is that they pretty much start you off with all the shitty decisions from the first game.

That said, I largely enjoyed the first game... the driving sequences got tedious when the terrain was so mountainous that it took forever to make any progress, but I really enjoyed the world-building, the overarching story, and the characters. The gameplay was decent, but once you play 2 it's hard to go back.

Like someone said, it's like a throwback in ways to the Starflight games or Star Control II, but a bit more personalized regarding your characters. Like those games, it has a fascinating galaxy with an in-depth history to discover.

[heybtbm]

it has a fascinating galaxy with an in-depth history to discover.

This is pretty much the draw for me too. I found the entire mythology so interesting that I read the three novels and managed to read all of the background info and dialog in-game. I can't even remember another RPG where I didn't start skipping dialog options after a few hours. With Mass Effect I purposely took my time and read every single line and explored every possible character interaction available.

[Edmond Dantes]

It won't make your mass erect

[allyourblood]

I liked Mass Effect 1, but loved Mass Effect 2. It's perhaps near the absolute pinnacle of excellent story-telling and dialogue in a video game, at the very least, in terms of voice acting and movie-caliber performances. It's one of the few games in which I actually cared what most of the characters were saying.

While the weapon and armor upgrade systems from the first game were horrendous, just as Robocop2 was saying, they slaughtered both in the second game, to the point where they're almost pointless. Instead of refining the RPG elements from the original, they pretty much excised them entirely. The second game was also way easier compared to the first, on the same difficulty levels. That said, to me, the second game was a lot more fun to play; a lot of the clunkiness of the first game is gone.

I'm definitely looking forward to Mass Effect 3, but mostly to see the conclusion to the story, more than anything else. Driving the lunar vehicle in the first game, and then mining elements in the second game, were absolutely painful -- pure filler, to my eyes. I'd like to see either a return to the RPG-lite experience of the first game, or some significant improvements to the real time combat, but I'm most eager to see how things end, even if the interactive elements aren't that great.

I think the Mass Effect series deserves to be a big deal, but not for its innovations or refinements to actual video game mechanics. It's a top-notch story with great acting and an amazing score. Definitely play them when you get the chance.

[WCP]

I've tried to play Mass Effect 1 a couple of times now. Both times on the 360. The last time, I got to the first planetside mission, where you first use the Maako, (or whatever it's called), and I got to some installation/facility type place, and I just kept dying over and over. Pretty soon, everytime I thought about playing Mass Effect, I remember that I was stuck at that one section, and I just didn't feel like trying to work thru it.

Now, I own a PC, and I've heard ME1 is even better on PC, and it's one of those games to definitely try on a PC. As soon as I find it for $5 from GamersGate or Steam, I'll buy it. I think I'm going to try playing thru it on easy, just to avoid all the frustrations with the driving sections, etc. I was really enjoying the dialogue system that the game uses.

[YoshiM]

The only problem with not playing through ME1 first is that they pretty much start you off with all the shitty decisions from the first game.

In the PS3 version they did away with that and gave you a "comic book" style choose-your-own-adventure where you would select what you would have done during key moments in ME1. The results would then play out when ME2 started and will all stay together when ME3 arrives.

I'm like others who didn't care for ME1. Felt very clunky IMO. ME2 was a blast to play, even with the mining which was somewhat relaxing for me (kinda like pulling weeds in Animal Crossing). I'm planning on going to a past save to finish gathering my team as I kinda went farther than I should have (those that played through know what I mean).

And yes, my flame-haired Cmdr. Tamara Shepard will command the Normandy again in ME3.