So I finally bought Mass Effect...

mlindsay215

If you install the game to you're hard drive the dialouge in the elevator should run, then by the time its finished you should only need to wait a few seconds. Good times.

steel_spine

I definitely recommend playing through ME1 before 2. Me1 does drag a bit at the start while you're getting a feel for the game, but stick with it.
I've played ME2 from an ME1 import, and also just started a fresh game in ME2, and being able to import your character just makes it so much better.
And if you don't play ME1, you miss out on Wrex, which is a crime.

Jayd0g

Just finished Mass Effect for the first time Look forward to seeing how the plot is developed further in ME2!

Limerick3

I still have to finish ME1, need to finish it:cool:

keith_d99

Started on Mass Effect 1 ... following advice here. And sure enough first 10 hours were indeed boring enough (confusing even), but then game suddenly takes off - and wow what a game!

Looking forward to rest of this and ME 2.

Mass Effect 1 ... is very glitchy on Xbox by the way (most glitchy game I have experienced) - but it doesn't take away from the enjoyment. Apparently sorted for ME 2.

BlitzKrieg

I f*cking hate the mako.


I enjoyed ME1 enough but yeah the save issue and sheer annoyance of the mako put me off completing it until I had to before trying ME2.

Once past those two issues I pretty much loved everything else and I was thrilled to carry my shephard on into mass effect 2 (he's so badass he looks like niko from GTA 4 in his 50's) and the choices I made. I think those elements made mass effect 2 such an imense joy to play and I look forward to the same effect in mass effect 3.

But stick with mass effect 1 it easily had the better villain of the two games.

tman

BlitzKrieg wrote: »

But stick with mass effect 1 it easily had the better villain of the two games.

I'm assuming you mean Saren there, but I still get goosebumps thinking about your first encounter with

Sovereign

Mass Effect 1 was a damn fine game despite some flaws imo, I definitely wouldn't advise anybody to skip straight to the second game anyway.

RolandIRL

Is it just me but i found ME1 to be very short and honestly a bit boring. now i love a good RPG, but i'd play a game maybe for a few hours some evenings, and other RPGS (KOTOR/Oblivion) have kept me going for a few weeks/months especially with Oblivion when you can continue on after the main quest. but ME1 i had finished in less than a week. i found it too short tbh and that kinda pissed me off. i did a few of the side missions but the main quest was too easy despite being on the hardest difficulty.
there was a load of little things that irked me as well (elevators, saving and the Mako exploration)

Has the second one improved any, like has the main quest become longer?

VALIS

The main quest seems longer yes; I believe there are more story related missions between the recruitment missions and loyalty missions. That said, both games took me approximately 30-32 hours each to complete. Throw on top of that the dlc (one 'episode' of which--Lair of the Shadow Broker--- is in my opinion intrinsic to the goings on in the ME universe) and you might get an additional 6 or so hours. Also, the variety of environments is better and graphics more lustrous in ME2.

Also in ME2 you can continue after the main quest.

Dave_The_Sheep

If I'm honest, I found Mass Effect 1 to be less than compelling. Sure, the story is decent, but the gameplay itself was repetitive and the combat quite poorly imlemented. I got Mass Effect 2 though, when it was on sale and I've heard the combat is much better.

I never finished the first game, I finished the Noveria section and gave up after that. It just wasn't pulling me back, sadly. I'll probably give Mass Effect 2 a go someday, but I'll feel bad for not having finished the first one.

VALIS

Combat in ME1 wasn't too refined as much as I love it, ME2 is much more refined and streamlined--the combat experience is a lot like Gears of War. I think it hits the right note with action and RPG elements.

pwd

I much preferred ME1 personally. I thought ME2 was made far too easy, thanks to the automatic healing, and as far as I remember, the enemy AI was more passive. In ME1 it was good to try to flank the opponents etc. In ME2 the only tactics that seemed necessary was run to cover.

I liked the vehicle segments in ME1, and was surprised they were removed because in ME2 because of unpopularity.

They're both excellent games though.

VALIS

I liked Mako too actually, and would much rather physically explore a planet than scan them from space (then again, probing Uranus was a cheap laugh). There is a substitute for Mako fans utilised in some of the dlc though, even if it's not quite as fun (but it does at points lend itself to some cool platformer style action). And there's

the flying car section in LotSB

I found ME2 about as hard as ME1, or at least death was inevitable every time I came up against those larger mechs. I found that by doing the side missions in 1 before the main missions, between the swag and EXP, you would be more than powerful enough to take on anything; whereas in ME2 leveling up only seemed to subtley enhance your character.

Sisko

If you are going to play these games you have to accept that its not so much an RPG as other bioware games are, a lot of it due to the fact that your character was given a voice actor.

However once you get over this aspect of it (I was initially very disapointed with me1 having played the KOTOR games) the game has one of the best stories I've seen from sci fi in a while, the universe the ip.

But most interesting of all, the game has one of the best characters I've come across in a long time. Commander Shepard, female commander Shepard that is.

To truly get the most from this game you must pick the female lead character. The difference is ridiculous.

Considering it is less of an rpg and more of a interactive movie the lead characters performance is extremely important to the experience.

Commander Shepard is one of the best female protagonists of all time and one of the best video game characters of all time, or would be, if bioware had never put the choice in there and had it as the female lead only. But due to the choice naturally most people will pick male and have a completely diluted experience versus the female character, largly due to the cliche space jock male character and bland voice acting performance.




It's a damn shame.

I only picked the female character by chance, I hated the fact that my character had a voice and his accent and lines made me cringe so I played the female character and generally leaned her towards a lot of the renegade options and the game turned out to be brilliant, bringing her into the sequel really soldified the whole thing as the 1st game while setting everything up was still trying to 'find its place'.

Since then I've always recommended to all my friends or anyone I know picking up the game to choose the female lead and they;ve all agreed it turns the story from a B movie to a tripe A title.


As for the games themselves, gameplay wise ME1 seemed experimental and messy great story but had to push my way through it.

ME2 couldnt be any different , the gameplay is fantastic, the gun fights , the pace , so much more refined. I rushed through ME1 but I savoured ME2 replaying it on insantity. I even see potionel in multiplayer I found the combat so good.

Still while it did remove a lot of the messy aspects of it there was some things they went too far in removing. Like armour for you and your squad, just looks a little odd running around in full armour while some of your squad are in this heavy gun fight with you, wearing normal clothes.

Hopefully ME3 will meet it somewhere in the middle.

DarkJager

Sisko wrote: »

If you are going to play these games you have to accept that its not so much an RPG as other bioware games are, a lot of it due to the fact that your character was given a voice actor.

However once you get over this aspect of it (I was initially very disapointed with me1 having played the KOTOR games) the game has one of the best stories I've seen from sci fi in a while, the universe the ip.

But most interesting of all, the game has one of the best characters I've come across in a long time. Commander Shepard, female commander Shepard that is.

To truly get the most from this game you must pick the female lead character. The difference is ridiculous.

Considering it is less of an rpg and more of a interactive movie the lead characters performance is extremely important to the experience.

Commander Shepard is one of the best female protagonists of all time and one of the best video game characters of all time, or would be, if bioware had never put the choice in there and had it as the female lead only. But due to the choice naturally most people will pick male and have a completely diluted experience versus the female character, largly due to the cliche space jock male character and bland voice acting performance.




It's a damn shame.

I only picked the female character by chance, I hated the fact that my character had a voice and his accent and lines made me cringe so I played the female character and generally leaned her towards a lot of the renegade options and the game turned out to be brilliant, bringing her into the sequel really soldified the whole thing as the 1st game while setting everything up was still trying to 'find its place'.

Since then I've always recommended to all my friends or anyone I know picking up the game to choose the female lead and they;ve all agreed it turns the story from a B movie to a tripe A title.


As for the games themselves, gameplay wise ME1 seemed experimental and messy great story but had to push my way through it.

ME2 couldnt be any different , the gameplay is fantastic, the gun fights , the pace , so much more refined. I rushed through ME1 but I savoured ME2 replaying it on insantity. I even see potionel in multiplayer I found the combat so good.

Still while it did remove a lot of the messy aspects of it there was some things they went too far in removing. Like armour for you and your squad, just looks a little odd running around in full armour while some of your squad are in this heavy gun fight with you, wearing normal clothes.

Hopefully ME3 will meet it somewhere in the middle.

I didn't really notice any difference between male or female Shepard to be honest. They are pretty much the same apart from the character models.

Saying that, I like that it gives the option to choose. I generally don't go near games with female lead characters, simply for the reason I like to be immersed in the character I'm playing as and the character being the opposite sex sort of breaks that for me.

Sisko

I find self immersion into the character when the character has a cheesy american/canadian accent with really bad acting impossible and instead I immerse myself into the story, directing it as I go. More like metal gear solid or dues ex or something.

Self immersion is only possible when your character is not voiced, which I did with dragon age and kotor etc.

ME fails at this, but it succeededs greatly when you approach it from the Dues ex angle.


Also I dunno how you can't see the differene between the two, its staggering. I actually forgot about how bad it was, having avoided all videos of me2 till I beat it, re-watching the epic monologes shepard makes near the end done by the male character on youtube was a shocking and sobering realisation that while so much is down to excellent writing, actors performance needs to hit the nail on the head to sells those lines.

It was like rewatching starwars with someone like robbin williams playing han solo instead of harrison ford , just makes you appriceate how suited ford is for the role and how damaging a miss cast actor can be to the entire story.

VALIS

I've seen the point of 'FemShep's' voice acting being better arise a few times over the internet, and Jennifer Hale is a seasoned voice actress (she's great in the MGS games) but as has been brought up here, being a man, playing as a man helps with the immersion or at least makes the character that bit more identifiable to me. And from the vids I've seen of female Shepard she doesn't seem substantially better/different; Mark Meer does a good self-confidant/arrogant Commander with that neccessary occasional touch of humour and humility.

Sisko

I think the anti female hero attitude a lot of guys have is really narrow minded and spoiling themselves of an experience, why I wish it was simply Jennifer Hales Shepard only in the game so peoples eyes would have been opened to such a thing.

Its rare for female protagonists to be given any justice in games or movies. If Hales shepard was the default shepard I think it would have made a larger impact on the industry as a whole.


Its just a fact that she does a better performance of the role then Meer but people would still pick the male no matter how bad the voice acting due to preconceived notions of how female protagonists act etc.

I had the same such notions till I played it. And the shattering of those stereotypes is one of the things that makes the character far more interesting.

The idea that female shepard is for female players and male for male players is also pretty narrow minded. Its a shame really. Meer was hired more for the sound of his voice then the acting ability it would seem.

VALIS

In my opinion Meer did an exceptional job. As far as anti-female hero sentiment goes I don't know how prevalent that is when some of the most iconic videogame characters are female e.g., Lara Croft, Jill Valentine, Claire Redfield, Lightening of FFXIII and the many other strong female characters throughout the FF games, Sheva Alomar, Heather from SH3, Aya from Parasite Eve... the list goes on.

Actually I personally preferred Jill's campaign over Chris's in Resident Evil, being immersed in the character of such a linear story experience isn't as important to me, but personally, if I'm playing as a character in a deeply non-linear story it helps to play as a guy to get me involved.

Raze_them_all

VALIS wrote: »

In my opinion Meer did an exceptional job. As far as anti-female hero sentiment goes I don't know how prevalent that is when some of the most iconic videogame characters are female e.g., Lara Croft, Jill Valentine, Claire Redfield, Lightening of FFXIII and the many other strong female characters throughout the FF games, Sheva Alomar, Heather from SH3, Aya from Parasite Eve... the list goes on.

Actually I personally preferred Jill's campaign over Chris's in Resident Evil, being immersed in the character of such a linear story experience isn't as important to me, but personally, if I'm playing as a character in a deeply non-linear story it helps to play as a guy to get me involved.

Not a strong lead female character at all tbh

Sisko

VALIS wrote: »

In my opinion Meer did an exceptional job.

Yeah but "My opinion is the one that matters" (3:17 )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tuMrfwQLz4

(spoilers obv)

VALIS

The line delivery is good. She kind of reminds me of Michelle Forbes in Battlestar Galactica in that video, which is no bad thing.

Sisko

Its funny you should say that actually cause in the first one I made for mass effect 1 :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg61i_vcRQ0

I was largely thinking of Admiral Caine from BSG, so much so I put that in the tags and description!

Honestly even if you can stand the male voice actor and have immersion issues with a female lead, I still think your missing out on something special.

But I understand it'd be hard to see having grown attached to what is essentially now, your very own shepard after two games. Even in the voice acting is bad

Sand

Its true, female Shepard >>> male Shepard.

VALIS

I'll give both games another run through well in advance of ME3 (I'd like a renegade run through), so maybe I'll give female Shepard a chance. Fable III will probably be my next obsession in the meantime--must get that next week.

Also hoping for some more dlc for ME2 this year, everything so far has been ace.

Sisko

The shadow broker was really good, I was a little annoyed it wasn't actually in ME2 as its an important part of the story imo. Still, really enjoyed those missions. The banter between shepard and liara is great.


Just to make my final closing point about the two voice actors, well this vid speaks for itself

I saw it after I beat the game and I couldn't believe the difference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka57odVXldw

One stand out example is when jack asks 'Do you think I'm stupid?' If you choose "YES" shepard goes on to make a point implying that yes indeed I do think your stupid.

The line being "This ship is going down in flames, I've got the only way out. I'm offering to take you with me.......and your arguing ." [5:24]

Meer just reads the line flat out like he's making a basic statement rather then implying, yes I do indeed think you are stupid, jack. He just reads his line rather then 'acts' his line if you will.

But in fairness to Meer though, he does to a good job voicing that 'I'm a biotic god' volus. I could smell his greatness there.




I'll get my coat....

pwd

haha you roleplay being girls

Swampy

On a side not, I got second hand Assisins Creed 2 in Xtravision for a tenner. Great game.

Sisko

pwd wrote: »

haha you roleplay being girls

rofl role play is out the window when the character is given a voice, so no its more like that new final fantasy game where the main character is female, or hell ,watching the first Alien movie.


It was interesting that they went back to the proper role play style with Dragon Age, as much as I love mass effect I really don't like the idea of all RPG's giving the main character an actor. It feels more like an interactive movie then a role playing game then.

pwd

Sisko wrote: »

rofl role play is out the window when the character is given a voice, so no its more like that new final fantasy game where the main character is female, or hell ,watching the first Alien movie.


It was interesting that they went back to the proper role play style with Dragon Age, as much as I love mass effect I really don't like the idea of all RPG's giving the main character an actor. It feels more like an interactive movie then a role playing game then.

X) Shepherd looked like me. Duran didn't look like me at all. Plus he eventually became invulnerable to damage. Whereas I bruise easily.

(Silly broken tanks in awakenings.)