Mass Effect Foundation – The Future of the Series?

Twinfinite writes: "Mass Effect fans, eat your hearts out, we’ve heard unconfirmed rumblings that Mass Effect Foundation is meant to set the stage for the next game."

[PablitoPaperito]

Not buyin

[PSVita]

Why, because the 3rds ending? Ill admit it, the way they ended it ruined the series for me at first but then I thought about how much I enjoyed the 1st and 2nd and if they do make a 4th I'm sure they'll bring back that magic that made it one of the most amazing games I've played. btw ill agree vote you because you have a right to your opinion :)

[SideShort]

Still can't believe the last ten minutes ruined all 100+ hours for you, but sure.

[PSVita]

@shideshort- luckily I couldn't care any less about what you believe. :)

[showtimefolks]

no doubt the ending sucked a big one and than some, it wasn't that the ending they delivered was bad, its what they promised and din't deliver

every choice will matter in the end no so much

but overall still

ME1 was the best even with some minor issues like frame rate

ME2 was more of a shooter but delivered no doubt about it

ME3 was more of a mixture of ME1-2 and delivered to a point, with ME series we were told how all our choice would mean and define the story in the end when it didn't

but let's not over look the fact its one of the best gaming series ever created

[PSVita]

@showtimefloks- exactly. Not knocking the series at all but that ending... wow. I don't want to give away any spoiler but they defiantly could have made the endings differ based on choices more.

[Hydralysk]

I'm all for knocking the series, criticizing ME3 is a guilty pleasure of mine. Petty sure, but still fun.

I'll start off by saying I really liked ME1. I read through the entire codex and it felt like they'd done a damn good job of a semi-realistic future. It was also when the Renegade options felt the most pragmatic. In later installments I felt renegade Shepard more and more of a jerk ass.

ME2's main plot sucked, there's just nothing that makes sense about it and it has no bearing on the main Reaper plot, you can go straight from ME1 to ME3 and not miss anything important. I won't go into detail on it's giant plot holes (unless you want me too, just ask!) but the plot was not the good part of the game, and the reviews at the time pointed that out as well. What it did do well was it's characters. It didn't have a good main plot like ME1, but it had a bunch of smaller side mission where we got to interact and learn more about our squadmates. The whole reason we cared about the suicide mission at all wasn't because of the main plot of stopping the collectors from harvesting Earth, it was just the fear of having one of the characters we liked dying.

ME3 was the uncomfortable result of having to resolve the plot of ME1, which meant it had to cram the plot that should've been in ME2 (i.e. finding a way to fight the Reapers) into ME3 as well. It's not just the ending that's bad, the whole game had issues. The crucible coming out off nowhere and us automatically deciding to build it despite having no idea what it does. The fact that the Reapers don't attack the Citadel until the end, despite their whole plot from ME1 consisting of attacking the Citadel to shut down the entire relay network. The fact that Cerberus is somehow able fund and operate an army capable of invading multiple homeworlds of council races, and the FREAKING CITADEL the seat of galatic power. Don't even get me started on Kai Leng.

The game wasn't all bad, it had some pretty good moments, but if you look at the parts people always talk about it was once again the parts that were about the characters. Spending time with Garrus on that overpass, Mordin's heroic sacrifice, Wrex's joy at securing a future for his species. The big problem with the ending, besides the obvious giant plot holes and the choices being boiled down to numbers, was that it left us completely divorced from the characters we'd spent the entire series with. We get to the end, and suddenly you're pretty much alone and forced to deal exclusively with the main plot, which stopped making sense awhile ago. The original ending went so far as to blow up every relay without ever bothering to explain how it won't blow up entire star systems like it did in arrival. We no longer had strong characters to distract us from the nonsensical plot, and the endings themselves focused on the universe as a whole, not what happened to the characters we spent so much time with.

I don't hate the entire Mass Effect series, like I said I still like ME1, but I liked each sequel less and it's a trend I've also seen in Dragon Age. That said, I can see why people would still love the series. It's just that the characters alone aren't enough to make me pardon the rest of it's faults.

[PablitoPaperito]

Exactly.

DOn't wanna play a obvious cash grab after the way we were ripped off by EA/Bioware with no.3

And from the look of things it'll be a even more dumbed down version strait shoot em up a la COD.

With tons of sex scenes tho.

Maybe Shepard can have a multiracial bisexual multi-species orgy this time!! WHOOT yea edgy!!!

Games r mature!!! yea!

Thanks but no thanks.

[PSVita]

@hydra- pretty described nearly every flaw I had with the games lol the biggest though was the cycle. In the second game sovereigns like "it beyond comprehension blah blah blah" yet it was the explain in 2 minute at the last 10 minutes of the game. What a let down.

So organic build synthetics.
They eventually go to war and organics always lose.
So instead of just warning the organics to NOT built synthetics like a sensible little goo child, it decides to capture or kill all organics and enslave them as mindless husk. WTF!!??

And yes the whole crucible part is puke worthy...they just magically find these plans to the Death Star and allocate all their resources towards building it!? Was their any back up plans for Christ sake?

The game just seem rushed and forced. Finished it in two days and didn't have a single reaction until the doctor **** at the top of the building.

With that said; ME4 please.

[Lisica]

I disagree with that, because I have a right to disagree.

[LiarasBoobs]

pirate it! its on tpb :)

[Electric-flamingo]

Go away

[MicDude]

The Mass Effect series we know and love is a trilogy; it is meant to end at 3. That doesn't mean an equally impressive if not better game that branches off cannot be made.

Wow I need to work on my sentence structure lol

[PSVita]

I was amazed at how much depth the universe had. I'd love to see how my choices played out in a next game but even if they scrapped your choices a next gen ME will be on the top of my list for sure.

[Paytaa]

@Hydralysk You say that nothing important happened in Mass Effect 2? What about the amazing character depth that the game offered? I can say that Mass Effect 2 has some of the best character development in a game. Garrus, Mordin, Thane, and the others all felt like real friends and I applaud Bioware for that.

[LeoDDestroyer]

Yeah you can say that but it still was a distraction from the main plot. It really didn't further our understanding of the Reapers or their goals. They could have added the character depth while still maintaining the major plot focus.

[Tatsuya]

As much as I hate the terrible ending, I would still support this if it isn't a prequel. You hear that Bioware, don't do it. I'm waiting to be impress!

[McScroggz]

As long as the ending of Mass Effect 3 isn't made meaningless.

SPOILER!

I was one of the many who disliked the ending. I'd even go so far as to say I had an empty feeling afterwards and it wasn't until they released the original Mass Effect for PSN that I replayed the series again. However, as bad as I think the ending was one thing I always assumed was that Shephard would die, and even though I think they conveyed it in a poor manner I do think ultimately it was the best choice. So, whatever Mass Effect 4 holds I absolutely would not want it to be with Shephard somehow coming back. Mass Effect 2 was fine because it happened for the sake of the opening and not as a conclusion if that makes any sense.

Other than that I'm open to just about anything. I LOVE me some Mass Effect and I hope they take the best parts from each game and try to make a next gen masterpiece.

Also, Tali rocks. That is all.

[jrbeerman11]

Im hoping it isnt a prequel

And also whats a bigger threat than reapers?

[Mythicninja]

Mac Walters as lead writer? No thanks...

[0pie]

lol i stopped reading after unconfirmed.
It just looklike a false rumour to from some unknown website looking for more click.

[Blacklash93]

"but I liked each sequel less and it's a trend I've also seen in Dragon Age."

Kind of hard to call that an applying trend when there's only been one sequel. Get back to me when Inquisition comes out. :P Dragon Age 2 was a very rushed game (development time was roughly a year, after the Origins expansion was done) and hell yes did it show in every way. I'm going to keep an open mind about Inquisition, since they're actually taking their time with it, though I'll keep my expectations safe.

But yeah, Bioware hasn't exactly been the best lately. I really liked ME2 despite the lazy main plot (that ME3 was forced to make up for), as it made up for it in other areas, but since then I've been growing more and more concerned. Dragon Age 2 was a rushed mess, no two ways about it. ME3 had some good moments, but it really didn't feel like it was ready to finish the trilogy. The conclusions of all the storylines, except for one or two I can name, didn't feel nearly fleshed out enough.

I'm sure it's no coincidence this all started around their acquisition by EA, but I don't hate Bioware like a lot of frustrated fanboys do. They've got ambition, they've got a good sense of humor, and make interesting and often beautiful worlds. I hope it turns around for them.

[ThreshStar]

The problem with the Mass Effect franchise is the way it speaks as a metaphor for Bioware itself.

The ending of the third and final Mass Effect game introduced a Deus Ex Machina in a big way that came out of right field - no explanation, no lead-up to the actual event. This threw a lot of gamers (including myself) for a loop because Bioware had been so careful to craft a meticulously detailed narrative that didn't fall into trite and mediocre story elements.

Then we saw Dragon Age 2, Mass Effect 3, and even Star Wars: The Old Republic make decisions that Bioware normally didn't do: quick game turnarounds with the same average gameplay and stories we've seen a thousand times before.

I often wonder if Bioware was crushed by their own achievements...or if their breakthrough game developments (Knights of the old Republic, Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect 1 & 2, etc) made us hold them to impossible expectations.

Either way, Mass Effect 3's development was ripe with issues, major developers leaving, etc. that just smelled of "Generic game developers" issues.

Mass Effect 3 definitely felt like a game made by another company. Unfortunately, that's what Bioware may have become now and we all just have to accept that fact.

[Blacklash93]

Honestly, I thought ME2's twist was just as bad. It was completely predictable and the thing looked stupid to boot, not to mention cheapened the Reapers some as the force they were made out to be. Heck, ME1's final twist was kind of stupid in how the Conduit was nothing more than a portal to an area you've been exploring throughout the entire game. That's just how the story has been.

"same average gameplay"

ME3 was the most solid of the franchise installments gampeplay-wise. I don't know why you're calling that one out for average gameplay. Certainly no worse than ME2, if your issue was with the shooter-focused gameplay.

"This threw a lot of gamers (including myself) for a loop because Bioware had been so careful to craft a meticulously detailed narrative that didn't fall into trite and mediocre story elements."

The lazy storytelling started in ME2. The entire game felt like filler. Not that it made it necessarily bad, just not a good contribution to the trilogy narrative.

"Either way, Mass Effect 3's development was ripe with issues, major developers leaving, etc. that just smelled of "Generic game developers" issues."

Staff and development issues are far from exclusive to "generic" game developers, whatever that means. I can guarantee you one of your favorite games faced big obstacles like that, it's so common.