Mass Effect 3

[Shorty]

I'm going to have to give my Femshep a new haircut and colour for ME3, as we all seem to have identical designs :/

 

I did have an asian renegade Femshep with a black pony-tail on ME1 though, but that haircut above really is the only non-sucky one.

[gaggle64]

Screen shots starting to float around now, for your convenience & pleasure -

 

 

 

 

 

And a couple more there and here if you missed them.

[Sméagol]

I just may have to avoid the thread from now on.. Pics look awesome though. I especially love the dude on the right in the second pic .

[Cube]

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/129/index/7294706

 

Q1 2012.

 

Oh well.

 

I CAN'T EFFING WAIT UNTIL THEN! AAARRRGGGHHH!!!

 

I WANT IT NOWWW!!!!! EFFIN' EFF EFF EFF!

 

 

Ahem.

[flameboy]

hmmm I dunno disappointing but we all want it to be perfect right? so I guess I'm alright with it.

[Konfucius]

I always thought that if they release it this year it must be somewhat rushed. There was quite some time between ME and ME2, although I guess they did start working on the third when the second wasn't even finished.

Still I'd rather wait a little longer if this means there's a chance to get a better game.

[gaggle64]

Two more screenies, straight from the horses' mouth, looking hella sharp.

 

 

 

I'm gonna be busting a gut waiting for this to be released, but Bioware have my trust. If it needs a few more calibrations, best just leave 'em to it.

[Serebii]

http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/60131/Follow-Up-On-Mass-Effect-3-Delay-This-Might-Be-Bad

 

...

[James McGeachie]

Fucking raging if this is true. They said they were trying to UP the RPG elements over 2. Don't fucking tell me EA came in and were like "WHOA slow down guys, we have WHAT stats now?"

[Cube]

The shooting/story/conversations have always been the more important parts for me so as long as that isn't affected I'm not to bothered if there are no RPG elements.

[LegoMan1031]

to Mass Effect 3 being delayed. But hope it all works out for the best!

 

I have a super love for Mass Effect at the moment, after completing the first again and going straight into the second i have found it hard to put it down, even with having access to the Gears 3 beta!

[Magnus]

Ugh... I really hope they're not planning on ruining the series. As much as I enjoyed Mass Effect 2 overall, I really wasn't a fan of how they cut out item management, divided quests into missions and simplified everything.

 

Though this seems to be the direction they're going in, so I guess it's not too surprising.

[Aimless]

To be fair, that statement could be read as "we're trying to make it an above-average shooter this time". You appeal to a wider audience by making a game that's fun to play, not by stripping out features.

[ViPeR]

Shitballs.

[Mandalore]

The shooting/story/conversations have always been the more important parts for me so as long as that isn't affected I'm not to bothered if there are no RPG elements.

 

In my opinion those are the RPG elements. Creating and developing your own character, interacting with the world as you choose... Role Playing...

 

Japanese games seem to have blurred the popular definition of an RPG. Stuff like Final Fantasy has a bazillion stats to gawp over and people seem to associate that sort of stuff with RPGs. Football Manager is all about the stats, is that an RPG?

 

As far as I'm concerned, the real RPG elements in both Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 are very strong. I don't have any doubt that the 3rd game will be just as good. That's not to say I wouldn't mind a bit more customisation though, such as weapon upgrades and armour, but those things to me don't make the RPG.

[Babooo]

Despite being delayed, I don't mind, I'm sure Bioware will do an amazing job as usual.

 

I know I'm late to the party, but I only bought Mass Effect 2 a few months ago (for £12!) and I'm absolutely loving it. I played the first when it was released all that time ago but I can't remember enjoying it as much as I am the sequel. It's freakin amazing. I've put about 25 hours into the game and can't get enough! Downloaded the Lair of the Shadow Broker and played through most of it this morning. Blew me away.

 

Don't want ME2 to end!!

[Dan_Dare]

In my opinion those are the RPG elements. Creating and developing your own character, interacting with the world as you choose... Role Playing...

 

Japanese games seem to have blurred the popular definition of an RPG. Stuff like Final Fantasy has a bazillion stats to gawp over and people seem to associate that sort of stuff with RPGs. Football Manager is all about the stats, is that an RPG?

 

As far as I'm concerned, the real RPG elements in both Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 are very strong. I don't have any doubt that the 3rd game will be just as good. That's not to say I wouldn't mind a bit more customisation though, such as weapon upgrades and armour, but those things to me don't make the RPG.

 

 

I agree with this - RPGs aren't about stats and *vomit* item management, they're about doing stuff. Mass Effect is a game about a soldier, so making it an action game makes perfect sense as long as the player is able to effect the world as before.

 

JRPG stat based gaming is a poison. Get rid.

[Agent Gibbs]

In my opinion those are the RPG elements. Creating and developing your own character, interacting with the world as you choose... Role Playing...

 

Japanese games seem to have blurred the popular definition of an RPG. Stuff like Final Fantasy has a bazillion stats to gawp over and people seem to associate that sort of stuff with RPGs. Football Manager is all about the stats, is that an RPG?

 

As far as I'm concerned, the real RPG elements in both Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 are very strong. I don't have any doubt that the 3rd game will be just as good. That's not to say I wouldn't mind a bit more customisation though, such as weapon upgrades and armour, but those things to me don't make the RPG.

 

I agree wholeheartedly

 

I like JRPG's don't get me wrong, but sometimes they can be overly complex for no apparent reason. I like the style of RPG done,its a natural progression of KOTOR's style (wish we'd get a new KOTOR not an MMO)

[James McGeachie]

I agree with this - RPGs aren't about stats and *vomit* item management, they're about doing stuff. Mass Effect is a game about a soldier, so making it an action game makes perfect sense as long as the player is able to effect the world as before.

 

JRPG stat based gaming is a poison. Get rid.

 

The complexity of JRPG's is unnecessary, I agree.

 

But does anyone honestly think the stats and items system in the original was too complex?

 

That it was too difficult to be able to equip specific ammo types to your weapons, as well as weapon specific upgrades, armour upgrades, etc?

 

Now before ANYONE makes the obvious complaint, it would've been perfectly easy to have that and NOT have the nightmare-ish inventory management, which was ridiculously lacking.

 

An important element of RPG's to me in general is customisation. Yes, it's about how you interact with the world around you and choose what to do, but it's also about the level of control you have over your own character. Okay, so we still have plenty in ME2, in terms of character classes and changing your looks, but the greater depth to how much you could customise your weapons, armour and stats in general was appealing to me in the original.

 

I don't think it needed to be any deeper, but I do think it was a bit too shallow in ME2, mainly because it meant that there was fuck all in the way of "loot" to find other than money for the most part and you end up with far more than you could ever need. I would like the perfect middle ground in ME3. I'm just worried EA have delayed it for opposite reasons.

Edited May 12, 2011 by James McGeachie

[Cube]

That it was too difficult to be able to equip specific ammo types to your weapons, as well as weapon specific upgrades, armour upgrades, etc?

 

It took me until my second playthough to understand most of it.

[Magnus]

It took me until my second playthough to understand most of it.

It took me until late in the game, but as James said, that can be blamed on how bad the inventory was in the game. There was really nothing there that would have been overly complex if they hadn't messed up the inventory so badly. It was a breeze in the PC version.

 

 

Arguing over what defines an RPG is pretty pointless, as it means different things to different people. If story and conversations are what make an RPG, then Grim Fandango is an RPG. If it's choice, then The World Ends with You isn't an RPG. If it's about "doing stuff", then every game is an RPG.

 

I really don't think that putting all the blame on JRPGs for people associating stats and inventory management with RPGs is fair, though. If you look at older Western RPGs like Baldur's Gate, they were filled to the brim with stats and items/equipment.

 

And I missed that in Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age II. It was simplified in Mass Effect, but at least many of the gameplay elements I've come to associate with BioWare RPGs were still there. As James said, there was no incentive to explore in Mass Effect 2, because at the most, you'd find some more money that you didn't need. The game was just "enter level, kill bad guys, level finished" (you weren't even allowed to switch out your weapons any time you wanted!). I know we're never going to get another Baldur's Gate 2, but I'm worried that Mass Effect 3 is essentially just going to be a shooter with a great story.

[gaggle64]

This whole discussion reminds me of when I used to play D&D with friends at school. I spent most of the time delegating stats and rules to someone else, rolling blindly and waiting for the DM tell me what just happened. I loved it - playing the characters with friends, engaging in the world as it arose, pushing situations just to see what happened. The stats & numbers and dice rolls were all a means to an end - to tell a story in a dynamic universe that, although couched in the D&D rulebook, was bound by nothing other then our own imaginations. Krakens, spiky metal witches and rock n' roll monks on desert caravans were just a few of the delights on our journey. We stood fast with and openly schemed against each other, D4s and 20s bouncing this way and that. The statistical intricacies and tactical nuances didn't really matter, even to the ones who knew them inside out - they were just there to represent the events.

 

In Mass Effect, all I felt the incremental difference between each skill bar and meaninglessly huge inventory with it's myriad of parts and guns did was get in the way of the story and characters which, looking around at the vast piles of fan art and perverse discussion about Brandon Keneer's (Garrus) sonorous man voice, is clearly what has earned the game it's burgeoning following. I suspect that stat-based turn-based gaming made sense once because video games still weren't able to replicate complex combat and exploration situations. ME2 lets you raise enemies up and then blast them into the abyss at the touch of a button. There will always be games for people who like that sort of strategic stat-based nuance with a story, but those games have been increasingly niche titles for years now and I feel there's a reason for that.

[Sméagol]

Hmm, yeah, after reading some of the views.. I don't know. I don't think I'll care too much.

 

I agree with Magnus above.. RPG == stats. I don't care if there are many or few, there should be some stats that determine how effective you are, and you should be able to develop them. What are RPG videogames based on? Right, the tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons. They use stats, they are turn-based, and luck is a huge factor. I personally don't have experience with those kind of RPG's, it seems if you go really hardcore, there's pen & paper RPG which does away with stats, but I think that most people will, outside of videogames, associate RPGs with things like D&D. That doesn't mean RPG (in videogames) is a static genre, it can develop, not every element typical of an RPG is necesary, and other elements can be introduced. But, if the rumours are true, then I feel ME3 will be even less of an RPG, because it has too few RPG elements, which will surely disappoint me.

 

However. Does that mean I won't enjoy the game? Cube has a point, the story and conversations (I'll throw in atmosphere) are what makes this game great, and I enjoy shooters as well. In ME2, the actual shooting part to me is actually the least interesting part. I guess they should just decide what aspect they want to improve (preferrably both, but..). The point is, if I had to judge ME1 and ME2 solely on gameplay, ME1 wins hands-down. ME1 has the better RPG elements, the shooting is ok, not fantastic, but it's ok, because ME1 is an RPG. ME2 controls better shooter-wise, but the RPG elements are watered down. The shooting is better, but if we're going to compare this with shooters, than it's still not good enough. If it weren't for the story, dialogue, and atmosphere, ME2 would be a major disappointment to me, and I wouldn't rate it as high as I do now, probaby wouldn't even want to play it.

 

So the story carries the game for me, and I love all the characters (well most of them). What should ME3 do in my eyes, is improve the RPG elements again, in which case, I don't care much how the shooting part plays out. But if the rumours are true, we get even less RPG elements, and more / better shooting action, then they have to completely nail the combat for me to enjoy it. If they don't, massive disappointment for me, but I'll live, and enjoy the story. It will be too bad, because the game could be so much more in that case.

[LegoMan1031]

I have now finished Mass Effect 2 again, pretty much doing everything + dlc!

 

So i now have a complete 'Mike Shepard' spanning ME1 through ME2 and ready for ME3

 

Now i just have to wait a year...

[Hero-of-Time]

Kinect Features incoming?

 

Will you be able to play upcoming science fiction role-playing game Mass Effect 3 with motion-sensing add-on Kinect? A new image – discovered on publisher EA's own website – suggests so.

 

The box art, which supposedly popped up on EA's online store before being removed, was first spotted by a forum goer on NeoGAF.

 

"Better with Kinect" it reads.

 

Photoshop job? As Destructoid points out, the image remains on EA's servers.

 

If true, how could Mass Effect 3 work with Kinect?

 

Eurogamer was last month told Microsoft plans to "serve the hardcore" with Kinect-related announcements during its E3 2011 press conference.