Mass Effect 3

[dante76]

Just finished on insane as soldier. No complaints.about the ending either as I'm an adult with an iq of above 40

[illdog]

Im a Vangaurd, i was going to go for something different this time round but im so used to those powers and plus the fact i dont really like change.

Played a large amount of multiplayer over the weekend with Sambob. My opinion changed from not really liking it to it being the only thing i wanted to play. Once you level your character up a bit and can start actually defending yourself instead of dying every thirty seconds it becomes a lot more enjoyable. We both were able to get our Galactic Readiness up to 100%, Sam got his character to level 20 and i got mine to 19. Played with some legendary players as well, one guy can basically do it all on his own and we were there just as a convenience.

[Sambob]

NNGGHYYYYRRAAAAARRGGHH, (stop iiiiittt). Wooo im killing these mother fuckers left right and centre, (stop iiiiiitt) bam motherfuckers take that and that (stop iiiiiitt).

WAVE 3

Alrighty look at me go, ive got ten times your score im amazing, smashy smash (stop iiiiitt), oh shit im down, cool that random guy revived me, oop im down again.

WAVE 4

spent that wave on the floor, but back up again now

WAVE 5,6,7,8,9,10

Uh, seem to be getting a bit fucked up now, get to the extraction point, oh im down.

[Craymen Edge]

A couple of things I enjoyed from my last couple of sessions:

Letting the comms woman come up to FemShep's cabin "to play chess" and take a shower (in her bra and pants!), letting her drop blatent come ons while perving on her. Then just for a laugh actually just playing chess.

Drunk Tali

Walking into the forward battery and interrupting Garrus and Tali making out.

[wholehole]

Walking into the forward battery and interrupting Garrus and Tali making out.

Wha... How? Why???

[halfagogo]

having spoilered the ending for myself but not having played the game, a sudden thought occured;

doesnt the common theme of all the endings,with regards to the mass relays be highly conducive to breaking this now established universe into nice little chunks for future games?

obviously you cant top saving the entire galaxy but you can be a hero in your own section of space?

i think thats quite smart of them in many ways as any other sequels/spin offs would just seem too overshadowed by the original games in terms of scale.

and wouldnt it leave it open that there can be a new "larger" game/series where you re-establish a new network?

the ending may have pissed off many to one degree or another but whether conciously decided or not it does leave the mass effect universe as a viable place for future titles for the makers & hopefully for us gamers too.

[radiofloyd]

So this came in the post today. Remind me, what's the story with the online? Necessary or not to get the good ending?

[Hendo]

Nah, you can do all the side quests instead. The online is worth trying though, although it can be quite tough at first until you level up a bit.

[Craymen Edge]

Read this a while back.

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/323/index/9665384

You can maximize your EMS just by collecting War Assets in the single-player game. There is a certain threshhold of these you would need to exceed (I can't get too specific) but I can tell you there are MORE than the required amount that can be gathered in the single-player campaign.

"Galactic Readiness" is a modifier you can improve by playing multiplayer. That is to say, if you play a lot of multiplayer, you will need less War Assets from single-player to fill up your EMS bar (ie it will balance out the requirements to account for you playing in both modes).  Single-player game play does not impact that bar.

EMS = success. EMS can be maximized via collecting war assets alone, even if your Galactic Readiness is 50%.

Not sure what the threshold for the 'best' ending is. I think the value of some war assets might also be altered by what you did in the previous 2 games.

IMO, having the Galactic Readiness as a percentage defaulting to less than 100 if you dont play the co-op was a mistake, as it does make it look compulsory.

Also: the multiplayer is surprisingly good.

[radiofloyd]

Thanks, i don't think i will bother for an extra ten seconds.

Played the first hour last night - it was really cool seeing all the decisions i had made in 1 & 2, brings back good memories.

My imported Shepard was Level 27, what level did you folks start the game at?

The opening hour did play out like a dodgy version of Half-Life 2 but i'm sure the game will come into its stride.

[dante76]

Thanks, i don't think i will bother for an extra ten seconds.

Played the first hour last night - it was really cool seeing all the decisions i had made in 1 & 2, brings back good memories.

My imported Shepard was Level 27, what level did you folks start the game at?

The opening hour did play out like a dodgy version of Half-Life 2 but i'm sure the game will come into its stride.

I imported my character and started out at level 30.... played through on Hardcore first though, so that evened it out alittle.

I think mine was about 30. I managed the good plus ending on a first playthrough without online play, but my import ME1, ME2 Shepherd was very goody two shoes.

[radiofloyd]

Been exploring the Citadel - wow i don't remember the graphics on ME2 looking anywhere near this good. Could be wrong! I know a lot of it is just static backgrounds but still...

Very impressed with the rpg/adventuring elements as well, it feels like a game that comes from the team behind Baldur's Gate and Kotor.

One question. How come i can equip as many weapons as i want but Shepard only seems to be able to switch between two in game?

Edit: Nevermind i have been reminded that Mass Effect has a weapon wheel...

[retroed]

An expanded ending for Mass Effect 3. Additional scenes and an extended epilogue reveal the impact of Shepard's choices on the future of the galaxy.

Extended Cut is now live on Marketplace. 1.85GB.

I only started the game the other night, after having a bit of a break from finishing Mass Effect 2 a little while back. I'm liking it so far, business as usual.

[wholehole]

You have to start playing on the save it creates after you finished the game originally to see all the new bits, which is right back before you assault the Illusive Man's base. That's quite a ways back. I played for just over an hour I think and managed to get to London before the game crashed . Didn't notice anything new until that point except for some subtitles for the whispers in Shepard's dream, from Wrex and Kaiden (who both died in my game), don't remember them being there the first time around.

I'm holding off on reading any reactions on the update until I've had a chance to play through it at least once.

[radiofloyd]

Finished it tonight (the game not the extended ending). Great game, loved the series etc. But a couple of things about the ending irritated me:

LT is paragon action. RT is renegade action. For all 3 games. So forgive me for not pressing RT when the Illusive Man points his gun at me... Had to sit through that long winded speech again.

Also, the three way choice. I really had no idea what the hell i was choosing but i chose control (the left option) because it was blue and on the left hand side and it involved Shepard sacrificing himself so i thought... But alas no. Apparently you are supposed to choose the right-red option in order to get the extra clip of Shepard surviving? Bit irritating.

But mostly i'm annoyed because i succumbed to lumpy Miranda again and didn't get to bonk Diana Allers.

[wholehole]

I'm 50/50 on the extended cut. I quite enjoyed what was added and it fills in most of the gaps left over from the original ending but it ends up feeling like a checklist of things the fans wanted to happen. No imagination has gone into it at all, it feels like the minimum amount of effort possible has gone into it just to tick some boxes.

I think we put far too much stock into endings. I would rather enjoy the main portion of the game and have a "shit" or abrupt ending than have a shit game. Skyrim's main questline ending was less than stellar but I played the game for over 100 hours so to think any less of the game because the two minutes at the end didn't meet expectations is ridiculous. Same goes for Mass Effect, over the course of three games the experience was amazing, an ending with a few plot holes isn't going to tarnish my opinion on that.

[radiofloyd]

Leviathan DLC out now:

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/323/index/13862950

It wasn't due to be released until Thursday but it's up on XBLA and PSN now I believe...

[radiofloyd]

BioWare has announced the Mass Effect Trilogy Edition, a compilation of all three Mass Effect games in one big box.

That means that PlayStation 3 gamers can finally play the original Mass Effect (published, back in the day, by Microsoft), just five years after it originally hit Xbox 360.

Mass Effect Trilogy Edition will launch in North America on "N7 Day" - that's 7th November if you're not BioWare, likely meaning a Friday 9th November in the UK.

There's no word on whether some (or all) of the series' raft of DLC will also be included - or which ending version you'll get.

The original Mass Effect will also be released separately on PlayStation 3 as a digital download. Hopefully this news has Mako your day.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-09-26-mass-effect-trilogy-edition-announced-for-pc-ps3-xbox-360

Picture in link.

[radiofloyd]

BioWare has provided new details about Mass Effect 3's upcoming Omega DLC.

Michael Gamble, producer on the Mass Effect franchise at BioWare, said the single-player content is set for release on Xbox 360 on November 27 for 1200 MS Points (£10.28 / $15).

Described as "double the size of the largest DLC we've done for Mass Effect 3", it will see you playing as Aria and a new female Turian character as they do battle with Cerberus general Petrovsky for control of Omega.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/372808/mass-effect-3-omega-dlc-dated-detailed/

Video in link.

[radiofloyd]

Mass Effect 4 will run on DICE's Frostbite engine, the latest version of which was used in Battlefield 3.

It will also include systems developed by the Dragon Age 3: Inquisition team, BioWare Montreal studio director Yanick Roy has announced via the BioWare blog.

The team at Montreal has now taken control of the Mass Effect ship from fellow studio BioWare Edmonton, who lead development on the original Mass Effect trilogy.

But BioWare Montreal's staff are no strangers to the series. The studio previously worked on Mass Effect 2 DLC and some of that game's secondary N7 missions. The studio then headed up Mass Effect 3's multiplayer mode and made "significant contributions" to the single-player campaign.

The forthcoming Mass Effect 3: Omega DLC was also crafted by their hands.

"While [Mass Effect 4] will be very respectful of the heritage built over the course of the first three games, with the original trilogy now concluded and the switch over to a new engine, we are exploring new directions, both on the gameplay and story fronts," Yanick continued.

"You can still expect the pillars the franchise is known for to be fully intact though, including diverse alien races, a huge galaxy to explore, and of course rich, cinematic storytelling."

Mass Effect franchise boss Casey Hudson - who will remain executive producer for Mass Effect 4 - last week appealed to fans for feedback on future games.

"Great suggestions coming in for the next Mass Effect game," he wrote. "Seems to be lots of interest in playable alien races."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-11-12-mass-effect-4-will-use-dices-battlefield-3-engine