Today is November 7, which as many of you know is also called N7 Day, which is a lovely day to celebrate one of gaming’s best space opera series, Mass Effect. There’s very little to actually celebrate though. After the dismal performance of the last game in the series, Mass Effect Andromeda, the whole thing is on hiatus.
The game released to largely scathing reception, thanks in part to a number of bugs and other issues that saw the game derided. Here’s the thing though. While the game wasn’t nearly as good as say, the second (and best) game in the original trilogy, it certainly wasn’t terrible. In fact, there are many elements of it that are superior, including the expanded combat that allowed for fun experimentation, the interaction with crew members and some genuinely interesting characters.
“You’ve probably seen some examples of the game’s poor writing and some of its subpar animation by now, and your face is likely tired of it all,” I said then.” It does start off that way, and your character and crew – particularly the human ones – all seem to be plasticine puppets with Parkinson’s disease. While there’s little that can be said to excuse the jarring animation, it does seem to get better or at the very least become less noticeable. It’s all excused within Andromeda’s climax, which delivers just the sort of tense and epic space opera stuff we’ve come to expect from Mass Effect. By the end of it, it felt like I‘d done something important.”
On that note, the game has been polished up nicely, though it won’t be getting any DLC and the series is on the shelf. Now, it’s been polished even more, at least for Xbox One X players. The game’s received a 1.68GB patch that enhances it for Microsoft’s beastly console, letting the game run at an apparently native 4k. How nice.
Last Updated: November 7, 2018
For the Emperor!
November 7, 2018 at 14:48
I still need to finish my first play-through, but the game and characters were so boring! The glitches and bugs were annoying but manageable, it was the boredom that kept me from finishing it! So unless they remaster THAT….
Kromas
November 7, 2018 at 13:18
It was an okay game. Not a good Mass Effect. And that is where the problems lie. Apart from combat everything else was well below Mass effect standards.
And this is coming from a massive fan of the series.
Pariah
November 7, 2018 at 13:23
“massive fan of the series”.
There is where the true problem lies in most franchises and not just in games. Bias gets more prominent the more of a fan you are, and it becomes harder to appease said fans. It’s like they put the game or franchise on a pedestal and it’s incredibly hard to live up to that.
Kromas
November 7, 2018 at 13:42
You can’t have it both ways. Choose 1. “You are a massive fan of fallout so 76 is great because you are looking at it with rose coloured glasses” or “You can’t please Mass Effect fans because they put the game on a higher standard”
Pariah
November 7, 2018 at 13:46
I’m not following? See, my PERSONAL opinion on Fallout is that I hate the franchise, so I’ll never enjoy it. But you know, I made sure to watch the 76 beta to be sure that was still the case. I approached it as a new game, a separate thing. I can see where they’ve used the same engine as before, but it’s quite different in execution. It’s a different thing.
And you can’t please fans of anything, really. Not all of them. Star Bores, comic fans, most games – all have fans that compare too much and hold things to unrealistic ideals, most often built up inside their heads. Nostalgia works the same way.
Admiral Chief
November 7, 2018 at 13:48
You don’t like Fallout?
Oh boy…I sense a fallout with Kromas…
Pariah
November 7, 2018 at 13:50
Lol no I don’t. Most post-apocalyptic games just don’t do it for me.
I tried with Fallout: NV, the most acclaimed in the series to date. Nope. Not for me. Looked at Fallout 4, and while the base building looked rad, everything just… Nope. And again, while some elements of 76 look rad, everything else is just…. Nope.
Dresden
November 7, 2018 at 14:03
Played Fallout 4 (first one I’ve ever tried).
Once I finished the opening scenes, I uninstalled and never looked back.
Ghost In The Rift
November 7, 2018 at 14:20
Weird…i have the exact same problem with the Fallout games but oh boy do i love me some Elder Scrolls…until The Witcher 3 arrived and ruined my gaming experience…now i cant touch any other RPG cause it lacks the depth and story i loved from TW3.
Kromas
November 7, 2018 at 15:53
Why? I don’t like CoD. Does not mean people playing it sucks.
Kromas
November 7, 2018 at 13:50
Yet these days people tend to look at one game 1 way and another the opposite and it is confusing because they are contradicting themselves. Hypocrisy is rife these days.
Pariah
November 7, 2018 at 13:53
You need to provide some actual context here, because right now it’s just pie in the sky. Can you please give me examples so I have something to work with?
Kromas
November 7, 2018 at 14:03
Okay Skillup shitposting Fallout 76 for the exact reason he praises Destiny 2.
Or everyone going bonkers for WoW Classic and WC3 Reforged but went overboard with Diablo mobile (for the wrong reasons).
I am sure I can think of more but I am not really to fussed to go search the web or give it more thought. However I am sure to remember this and get back to you in about a week or so when it happens again.
Pariah
November 7, 2018 at 14:15
Listen I don’t understand the WoW Classic hype. WC3 Reforged does look good. And Diablo Mobile – the problems there aren’t related to the game, but rather the shitty way they announced it, but yeah.
I do see what you mean, and I actually agree. I think again it’s not specific to just games, it’s a problem with society at large, and the visibility of it in gaming is just a symptom.
Matthew Holliday
November 7, 2018 at 13:23
The combat reminded me more of how clunky ME2 felt after playing ME1.
Didnt feel refined at all.
I did like the profile thing though.
But yeah, it didnt feel like Mass Effect.
Admiral Chief
November 7, 2018 at 13:38
I liked ME2 combat the most
Matthew Holliday
November 9, 2018 at 10:16
I thought the streamlining they did to the skill trees was too much at the time, the shooting aspect and the guns themselves werent up to scratch with other shooters that came out around the same time and the change to cooldowns on the powers ruined any kind of flow with combos and cool space wizard stuff.
Although, for all the combat that is in the game, the game always felt like it was telling a story, rather than being a shooter. Which obviously meant they had their priorities right.
Admiral Chief
November 7, 2018 at 13:20
https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/233/553/e73.png
Admiral Chief
November 7, 2018 at 13:20
https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/236/953/94e.jpg
Kromas
November 7, 2018 at 13:46
To be fair the team was small and 40 million went into advertising.
Admiral Chief
November 7, 2018 at 13:23
https://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343335/3199619-5344866782-the-w.jpg
konfab
November 7, 2018 at 13:48
Inquisition’s graphics were pretty decent IMO.
Sera was at least an original character that gave depth to the universe. Can’t say that for many of the characters in ME:A
Admiral Chief
November 7, 2018 at 15:53
Compared to TW3….
Pariah
November 7, 2018 at 18:55
I have no idea how you’ll react to this but here goes:
I spent well over 100 hours in DA:I, across 3 playthroughs. Within 2 hours of TW3 I got bored and I haven’t played since.
Dresden
November 7, 2018 at 19:03
:/
Kromas
November 7, 2018 at 18:59
Played it once. For me it was the worst in the series writing wise. 2 may have had the whole copy paste map controversy but the gameplay was neat. Origins still has the best story and DLC though.
Pariah
November 7, 2018 at 19:01
Origins was good yeah, I enjoyed it a lot. I skipped 2 and went straight to Inquisition, which I also enjoyed a lot.
konfab
November 7, 2018 at 18:59
I can top that.
I have done one 80h playthrough and one 120h playthrough in DA:I.
I haven’t bothered to get TW3 since I haven’t played the first two.
/puts on titanium shielded flamesuit.
Pariah
November 7, 2018 at 19:03
Heh. I played TW2. But even that – I started it 3 times before getting past the first town in Act 1 of the game. I went ahead and finished it because back then I didn’t have 300+ games in my library and dammit I was going to finish this game no matter what. It was painful, but I did it.
Dresden
November 7, 2018 at 19:03
:/
Admiral Chief
November 7, 2018 at 19:14
I’d say play TW3 through at least once, give it a shot, and report back?
Pariah
November 7, 2018 at 19:22
The problem is getting there. I did that with TW2 and I regretted it. I’m not doing it again for 3.
Original Heretic
November 7, 2018 at 13:25
Is this game actually worth playing? I’ve seen it on sale a few times, but have avoided it due to all the kak I’ve read and seen.
Dresden
November 7, 2018 at 13:27
Not playing it. I have neither the time nor the need to spoil my memories of the original series.
Original Heretic
November 7, 2018 at 13:30
Oh that bastard time. Preventing us from doing all the things we feel inclined to do.
“I’m not gonna jam tonight, guys, I got this awesome idea to cure cancer.”
“Fuck you, dude, if ain’t online in 2 minutes, we’re not friends anymore.”
“Well okaaaaaay then….”
Pariah
November 7, 2018 at 13:30
Treat it as a separate game then. Don’t compare. It’s what I do, and I tend to enjoy most things a lot more. I can appreciate them for what they are, and not what they’re expected to be compared to something else.
In many ways, games are interactive artworks. And comparing art is akin to comparing people. Yeah, they may be siblings, but they can be totally different and great, but in their own ways. Holding people to comparisons is how you fuck people up. Same for games.
Original Heretic
November 7, 2018 at 13:31
Well… fucking…said.
Original Heretic
November 7, 2018 at 13:36
Comparing ourselves to others is also what leads to unhappiness. “I wish I had what they have.”
People bankrupt themselves trying to keep up with their neighbours.
Ego and pride, those are two fucked up thing.
Admiral Chief
November 7, 2018 at 13:40
I’ve wanted to play this SOOOOO much, but a lot of bad things were said making the Admiral fearful of good memories being sullied
Dresden
November 7, 2018 at 13:40
What you said is completely true. The point I’m trying to make is that I’m too far behind with my current games to actually buy and make time for this one at the moment.
Pariah
November 7, 2018 at 13:42
And that’s more than fair. I have the same issue – I’m looking at games and if it requires a time investment I’m in a place where I have to give it a skip. I need games that can take an hour of your time, and then a break for a day or 3, and then another hour or 2, and so on.
Admiral Chief
November 7, 2018 at 15:43
This is so true
Kromas
November 7, 2018 at 14:04
DayZ beta finally hit stable branch and it’s clanky animation system looks 100 times better than ME:A 😛
Ghost In The Rift
November 7, 2018 at 14:08
Jeez..lost touch with Bioware after this did not meet my expectations and Anthem not looking that impressive..for me at least…totally forgot today was N7 Day and now i miss Shepard.
schitsophrenic-toothbrush
November 7, 2018 at 14:10
Every now and then it is on sale on the PS store (R130), will pick it up and play it one day.
For the Emperor!
November 7, 2018 at 14:48
I still need to finish my first play-through, but the game and characters were so boring! The glitches and bugs were annoying but manageable, it was the boredom that kept me from finishing it! So unless they remaster THAT….