" Did you see that Shinji "?

SageHonor

Trainee
CRank: 5Score: 43820

Why the concern for Mass Effect 3?

Mass Effect 3 is currently my most anticpated video game to date and it will most likely stand that way until it comes out. I played through the first two in the series multiple times. With that said I am eager to see how my decisons play out. However, when it comes to changes in certain video games there will always be people displeased with what they see. It seems as though Mass Effect's new and improved combat has caused quite a stir with some hardcore bioware fans. Let me address those.

In both Mass Effect 1 and 2, one of the most consistent flaws was the combat system. In the first one it was pretty weak with the constant annoying but humorous one liners such as "ENEMIES EVERYWHERE" and "I WIL DESTROY YOU" being uttered by enemies every 5 seconds. In the second one there was some improvements but the fighting was a little too slow paced and enemies just took cover and shot or we had the occasional bigger enemies walking and shooting straight towards us. Mass Effect 3 addressed all of these problems. Enemy A.I. is intense and much more aggressive than the previous games. Shephard can just vault over objects instead of taking cover first. He can even roll now. I personally think all 3rd person action games is flawed if players can't either crouch or roll. Movement is fluid and the melee system is better than ever. Awkward punches are replaced with new melee kills designed for each class.

Some fans are dissapointed to the point where they automatically compare this to Gears of war. To quote some people, "It's now a hack and slash/shooter instead of an RPG". Just because they improved drastically on all phases of combat doesn't mean they are totally ditching all of the RPG aspects. If people actually payed attention to the Mass Effect 3 demo and interviews, they would've seen the customization and mods that it had to offer. Weapon mods are back and powers can now evolve multiple times.

Dragon Age 2 is something I've seen brought into the Mass Effect 3 arguement on numerous occasions. I've never played Dragon Age 2 but after doing research I noticed 2 different teams worked on both Dragon Age and Mass Effect. These are 2 different development cycles. These are 2 different franchises.

It's starting to get out of hand to the point where people are completely ignoring the good things Mass Effect 3 has to offer. I've seen no acknowledgement of the fact that planet exploration is brought back into the equation and is better than ever with 3 drop zones into the planet instead of only 1 area to explore. I've seen no acknowledgement of the fact that it is still decison making gameplay and our decisions will turn out for the better or worse.

There are some things in the first Mass Effect I feel are being exaggerated just because they aren't in the second game. I've heard people complain about the MAKO being gone. If I'm not mistaken there were more people complaining about the MAKO so I understand why that vehicle is gone.

Anyway I could go on and on but these are just my general thoughts about all the concern. To this day, the only legitimate concerns about Mass Effect 3 is EA's control over Bioware, possible DLC milking, and rumors of multiplayer.

Here is an article explaining some of the RPG elements in depth.

http://www.rpgsite.net/arti...

http://www.neogaf.com/forum...

Christopher4685d ago (Edited 4685d ago )

***Just because they improved drastically on all phases of combat doesn't mean they are totally ditching all of the RPG aspects.***

RPG elements from ME1 that were removed from ME2

- Mob-drop loot
- Tiered loot
- Primarily character skill-based combat system (now all player skill-based)
- World exploration
- Party customization
- Weapon & armor modifications

So far, part of one of those is coming back in ME3...

And this list doesn't explore anything or the storytelling elements.

Edit: And why would you flag my comment as "Off Topic"? Do you not want people to discuss your blog or do you just want people to agree with it only?

SageHonor4685d ago

Some of those things are returning in Mass Effect 3 including storytelling elements. I'm sure as the year goes on we will see more of what will and will not make a return.

Christopher4685d ago

Actually, only one element is returning to ME3 that we know of and has been mentioned. That is Weapon & Armor modifications. We don't even know if these will affect our crew members or just Shephard, which their way of answering these questions seems to focus on them just affecting Shephard.

Absolutely none of the other elements have been mentioned as returning to ME3. So, no, "some of those things" are, at this time, not returning in ME3.

And, the storytelling elements we're talking about aren't going to be revealed until the reviews roll out. Such as why the abandonment of prothean history (except the one DLC), why the major focus on side stories rather than the overarching themes, and how they will be able to focus on "all Reapers" when so far each game to-date has been about a single "Reaper"?

SageHonor4685d ago

Actually these 2 videos address "some of those RPG elements".

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

You get a taste of planet exploration and skill based combat with these videos. Loot isn't something they would broadcast at this time.

Christopher4685d ago (Edited 4685d ago )

You do understand the difference between "character skill" and "player skill" based combat, right?

The new skill is completely reliant on player skill. Head shots do more damage and require you aim and hit the head. Damage is static, and critical hit chances do not exist. Even their AI improvements are putting a lot more focus on "player skill" rather than "character skill".

And, I've seen those videos, and they say you will go to other planets. That doesn't mean actual planetary exploration from ME1 where you could openly explore planets rather than find a "hot spot" and go to that location.

People want an improvement from the first game, where you aren't just filtered down a linear goal with a few rooms off to the side where you can choose to stop and hack/bypass something for creds, but instead are given the freedom to explore areas. Something more akin to ME1 and Dragon Age: Origins.

Everything you're using as an example is actually proving the fact that RPG elements are not being brought back in, but that it's going to be a bigger version of ME2 and not a mixture of ME2 and ME1.

ME2 is a great RPG TPS action game, but ME1 was a great RPG. ME3 will likely be another great RPG TPS action game.

SageHonor4685d ago

Good points..
But the newest thing about Mass Effect 3 is an enhanced focus on combat and that is what they showed.

As the year goes on we may see more of these things. Planet exploration hasn't been talked about much because they don't want to give off spoilers.

Kon4685d ago

Multiplayer will ruin the game. My favorite franchise...

news4geeks4685d ago

Yeah I really don't want multiplayer, the game doesn't need it and is better focusing on SP. Easily put over 100 hours into the mass effect 2 completing it over and over with different choices and outcomes. Multiplayer ain't going to improve any longevity. A deeper and absorbing story with greater exploration will(not that mass effect 2 was lacking in this respect).

mastiffchild4684d ago

SCrew ME MP and screw planet scanning too-nothing in the whole of gaming was worse than planet scanning. You HAD top do a bit and it just made me wonder just what Bioware were thinking putting something so mind numbingly boring in something we were meant to enjoy. Sure, the Mako exploration it replaced was moaned about almost as much as loading in elevators was in ME1 but, still, it was WAY better than the scanning in ME2. I haven't been checking but if they drop the scanning and put more emphasis back on what pre combat choices you make then we're golden.

theonlylolking4685d ago

ME3 will be the greatest RPG this gen.

Blacktric4685d ago

Someone's jelly again. What a surprise.

DARK WITNESS4683d ago

It would have been had Skyrim not showed up..

Sorry, ME3 will just be a good game thats a bit confused about what it wants to be.

funny, when this gen started ME was my most looked forward too new IP, now it's my biggest letdown.

of course this is just my opinion. I am not saying it's going to be rubbish, but it's not the game I had hoped it would turn out to be.

between Human Revolution and skyrim I just don't find any desire for ME anymore.

InfiniteJustice4685d ago

Like a lot of people, I have faith in Bioware that they will not screw up ME3. While the first ME was great, I still feel ME2 was the better game overall. If anything, all ME3 has to do is combine what made both games good and it should please everyone.

There will always be people complaining though, that's just how game sites work these days. That said, if Bioware did manage to somehow ruin the game, their loyal fans will find it hard to forgive them.

Darkfiber4685d ago

This will be my last Bioware game ever. Hopefully they will let me go out on a somewhat high note. I liked Bioware for their RPGs, not their shooters and action games. It's becoming painfully obvious that they can't make a game with an original story any longer, since they have essentially made the same game over and over for decades, so they need to change the style of gameplay their games have to blind people from this fact. If I want to play a shooter, there are 1000 other games out there. I'd much rather play an RPG.

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