I have never been more torn over a game than I am over Mass Effect.
On the plus side, its conversation system was apparently designed by God.
The main character is engaged by an NPC – always a good start. Notice how you quickly and easily direct the tone of the conversation rather than choosing specific dialogue. I love that – those short phrases are much easier to parse on the fly, which keeps the conversation flowing in a natural fashion. It’s not in this video, but you can also do things like cut people off if they’re annoying you by quickly choosing a hostile response.
And then we’ve got the best dynamic acting I’ve ever seen on a video game character. It’s not just the real-time lipsynching, either. Notice how Wrex looks conspiratorially to the side when he says “Now I hear you’re going after Saren” and shakes his head a little when he says, “I’m not in this for the money.” Good voice acting makes it even better. Frankly, any RPG fan that doesn’t feel funny in the pants after watching this video isn’t really an RPG fan.
So what could possibly ruin this game for me? What could possibly make it so that I don’t know if I want to play it?
Try insipid real-time squad-based combat. With Force Powers thrown in.
Ew. Ew, ew, ew. If that doesn’t look a whole lot better when the game ships…
…okay, I’ll still buy it. But it seems like such a shame to come this close to making the ultimate sci-fi RPG and then trip at the finish line.
Everyone’s definition of winning the race is going vary. Some will enjoy that aspect. Other’s may not.
I don’t see much wrong with the combat. What about it doesn’t appeal to you? Is it that it is real-time-ish instead of turn-based?
The game looks amazing, though. I may have to get a 360 in the coming year…
I’ve been waiting on getting a 360 for the cooler 65nm chips. Also waiting to have enough money. Luckily, it seems like those things might coincide nicely with the release of Mass Effect.
Hmmm…well, for one thing, there have just been so many of them released in the last couple of years. Yeah, those were all either set in World War 2 or the modern era, where this is futuristic, but still.
Second…I HATE CONTROLLING AN AIM POINT WITH A THUMBSTICK. IT’S STUPID STUPID STUPID AND JUST MAKES ME WISH I HAD A MOUSE. It’s the reason I couldn’t get through Halo and also why I gave up on Resident Evil 4 in frustration. Shots that would be dirt-simple on a PC become practically impossible because of the inherent oversteer of using a thumbstick. If a console game has shooting and doesn’t have lock-on, IT SUCKS.
But that’s just my opinion.
I thought the same thing until I got a 360. Best. Console. Controller. Ever. I’ve been playing all my FPS games on it lately. (BIG thumbs up for The Darkness, btw.)
As to the combat system, looks ripped straight from KOTOR, which worked very well, IMHO. Personally, I can’t WAIT for this game.
Yeah, looks really cool to me.
Hmmm…guess I should play KOTOR at some point.
And you are absolutely right about the 360 having the best controller ever. Though I doubt it will make me change my position about shooters on consoles.
Wynne: I asked a coworker about Mass Effect, and he mentioned I should look into The Darkness. I looked at some gameplay footage, but maybe I didn’t see what was so interesting about it.
Same developer as “Riddick: Escape From Butcher’s Bay,” which was also fantastic. (Never saw either movie, btw.) It’s the same style: FPS with some RPG elements (like side quests) thrown in, but Darkness gives you a bucn of bad-ass demonic powers to use that are amazingly fun. (Just don’t play it around the kids. It’s extremely gory, and pretty scary, to boot!)
Re: “360 best console controller ever”.. well, for a ‘classic’ controler, maybe =)