50°

Defining Moments - Mass Effect 3

Continue Play's Oli Zimmerman looks back at Mass Effect 3 and what has come to define the conclusion to Bioware's epic trilogy - its controversial ending.

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continue-play.com
Vantage3564d ago (Edited 3564d ago )

The Mass Effect trilogy is hardly epic. The entire series falls apart after Mass Effect. Mass Effect 2 was more like a spin-off than a sequel, killing the main character so they can reset the story and subvert the previous game. The writers were garbage.

Mithan3564d ago

Disagree. Games were great.

Roccetarius3564d ago

Correction, the first game was great. Both ME2 and ME3 fell apart, while ME2 was the worst offender by being like a spinoff game.

Mithan3564d ago

@Roccetarius

Disagree. I had more fun with the 2nd and third.

linkenski3564d ago

Killing Shepard felt more like a style-over-substance thing than anything to me and I appreciated the refined gun play evven though the removal of proper inventory management was annoying. From a game-design perspective I love Mass Effect 2. ME 3 is where it fell apart for me. The writing was the worst it had been yet. The two major middle sections were good though (but I despise the save the krogans final mission cuz too much contrived shit) but auto dialogue and lack of interactive control over the order of narrative events ruined it for me. Oh and the ending ruined it for everyone who werent one of those dumb fan girls who didn't know what was going on other than "oh my lovely Garrus doesn't get to see my Shepard again??!"

gamer11383564d ago

Well said. I think too many people get caught up in the ending controversy to actually see the faults with the rest of the game. Auto-Dialogue. For 60 hours we have been the ones choosing what Shepard says and then all of a sudden conversations seemed to happen without our "control." People complained about the planet scanning in 2...well how did you feel about mission scanning? Honestly, a lot of the side missions in 3 were go here, scan that, finish. Whereas in 2 it would be scan that planet, there's something down there, let's take a look and then you got a mission. They ruined the Illusive Man. He was so much better when he was shades of grey rather than outrightly the bad guy and he was only that by default because they removed personality from the Reapers. Remember, in 1 and 2, Reapers spoke to you; Sovereign and Harbinger. Then all of a sudden in 3 they are silent. Obviously this was the writers decision because of the star child. I could go on. I was looking forward to Mass Effect 3 so much. I bought into everything they were saying and there was so much potential for a history making game. A game which looked at what you had done in two previous games and tailored it to you. Sadly Bioware's reached exceeded their grasp and ironically we ended up with the worst game of the 3. As for Mass Effect 4. I just can't seem to care.

Menkyo3564d ago

I blame Bioware and EA. Its no coincidence after they were bought out by EA the games became corporate mass appeal crap.

gamer11383564d ago

Mass Effect 2 is my favourite game of all time. I think the biggest problem with Mass Effect 3 is that Bioware promised too much. We were told the decisions we made in 1 and 2 would drastically affect how 3 played out. Hell, Shepard could die at the end of 2 and then it looked like they were setting up Joker as someone to carry on the mission!

Ultimately Bioware realised they could not make a game that honored this great idea and instead tried to tell a story they felt was the right one. And that is why it failed. They gave gamers so much freedom and the possibility of different outcomes that when they turned around and said this is what happens to Shepard, everyone was like; that's not what my shepard would say or do. They encouraged gamers to take control and ownership over the character of Shepard and the outcome of the mission. To then suddenly take that away is why people had such a problem with 3.

linkenski3564d ago

I remember from the very first game play footage I saw my reaction was "really??" to be honest. Reapers everywhere and an all out war? After ME1 and ME2 you knew 3 would be about the reaper invasion but the way they chose to go about it left me feeling anxious from the get go at e3 2011. Kinda how I'm feeling about Arkham Knight now even though I want it to be as good as City.

Roccetarius3564d ago (Edited 3564d ago )

The funny thing is, that's exactly what ME2 was. They pretty much ignored what happened in the first game, and made something seperate entirely. Anything after ME1 was made for a different audience, and it's very obvious.

LeoDDestroyer3564d ago

I agree with me2 being more of a spin off. You could play me1 skip 2 and go to 3 without really losing anything to the main story.

If you think about me2 is the cause of 3 problems because it had to do two games and not just one.

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iRocket3564d ago

*sniff* I miss my crew, Garrus, Thane, Liara, everybody. I can't wait for the next Mass Effect game!

Summons753564d ago

I loved the parts when they reminded me of my choices in ME 1&2 then brought everything and one that died. Rachni, Wrex, Kaiden... Then the ending when took in account NONE of my choices at all.

ME3 was a train wreck which is really a shame.

110°

The 7 Best Western RPGs: Immersive Adventures

RPGs are often huge, sprawling endeavours. With limited playtime, we have to choose wisely, so here's the best western RPGs available today.

SimpleSlave13d ago

"I started playing games yesterday" the List... Meh!

How about a few RPGs that deserve some love instead?
1 - Alpha Protocol - Now on GOG
2 - else Heart.Break()
3 - Shadowrun Trilogy
4 - Wasteland 2
5 - UnderRail
6 - Tyranny
7 - Torment: Tides of Numenera

And for a bonus game that flew under the radar:
8 - Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden

DustMan13d ago

Loved Alpha Protocol in all it's glorious jank. Great game.

SimpleSlave13d ago (Edited 13d ago )

Not only glorious jank, but the idea that the story can completely change depending on what you do, or say, or side with, makes it one of the most forward thinking games ever. The amount of story permutation is the equivalent of a Hitman level but in Story Form. And it wasn't just that the story changed, no, it was that you met completely new characters, or missed them, depending on your choices. Made Mass Effect feel static in comparison.

Alpha Protocol was absolutely glorious, indeed. And it was, and still is, more Next Gen than most anything out there these days. In this regard at least.

Pity.

130°

BioWare Could be Working on More than Just Dragon Age Dreadwolf and Mass Effect 4

Earlier this year, BioWare was hit with layoffs as part of a downsizing of parent company Electronic Arts, but fans have been reassured that the next Mass Effect game hasn’t been impacted. Likewise, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf’s development is still churning along, with BioWare putting it at the forefront of its focus and rumors suggesting that it could launch sometime later this year. Fans might be getting another look at the long-in-development Dragon Age: Dreadwolf at the Summer Game Fest in June.

If the recently posted job offering for a temporary development manager is any indication, BioWare could have yet another surprise up its sleeve for when Mass Effect 4 and Dragon Age: Dreadwolf are nearing completion. This mystery BioWare video game could truly be anything, from another spin-off of its two major properties to something entirely new. All there is to go on at the moment is a vague mention in the job posting, and it might still be some time before BioWare is ready to confirm any new games in its pipeline.

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gamerant.com
just_looken17d ago

So a studio that spent years on anthem then this dragon age thing is now also working on another ip along with mass effect,

You think they would be worried that there brand has been on 3 major screw ups

Dragon age 3 launched broken with the frostbite engine yes its a good game but you can see in the late game how rough it was

anthem......

Mass effect 4 well that dev team was fired so yeah.....

They should make sure this new dragon age is a goat instead of putting more work on the table

bababooiy17d ago

Bioware today is like 150 poeple i dont see how they are seemingly working on all these projects at the same time.

Michiel198917d ago

Inquisition wasn't broken, it just had some flaws and on the contrary it also had some strengths. If you call inquisition a major screw up then idk what to say.

That said with what happened to the study since then and now, I'm not really confident that their next game will be any good.

just_looken16d ago

If you played it fully to get plat like me back in its novemeber launch window you had that castle with empty area's endgame missions not there or working and a mp that was made around loot box grind like the mass effect mp.

Its hard to explain to those that played it years later after they tossed out the dlc/patch's

Michiel198916d ago

entitled much? I played it at launch too. Why you even platted it if it was a "major screw up"?
It was good enough for you to sink 100 hours in but also a complete fuckup at the same time, make up your mind.
So either you like shitty games or you're just talking out of your ass.

RaidenBlack16d ago

Well just wanna say, Archetype Entertainment is the new BioWare, composed of mainly ex-BioWare vets.
And they're developing Exodus (starring Matthew McConaughey), a new sci-fi RPG (spiritual successor to Mass Effect, dare I say?)

CantThinkOfAUsername17d ago

I hope it's a single player game with Anthem's gameplay mechanics.

Becuzisaid17d ago

They're owned by EA. What makes you think that they wouldn't publish for PS5? Shoot, if your fridge could connect to your bank account EA would try to release it for that if they could!

Double_O_Revan17d ago

How about they focus on those games and not over extend themselves? We don't need another Anthem.

Becuzisaid17d ago

Bioware died after Inquisition (some would even argue after ME3). They are no longer the same company.

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220°

EA Hopes to Use Generative AI to Drive Monetization and Make Development 30% More Efficient

Today Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson provided a look into his ideas for the use of generative AI in the company's development processes.

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techraptor.net
thorstein43d ago

I wonder what the next buzz word they'll slap in front of AI to make it sound exciting next? "Generative" as if it's creating its own content. Lol.

Cacabunga42d ago

EA is already dying a painful death..

peppeaccardo42d ago

i have a better idea .. why the whole exec team doesn't get replaced by chat bots ?

just_looken43d ago

Though i agree the ai thing is already in other forms of media there have been ai translations/scripts/voice over and even full ai commercials aired on tv. Ubisoft has created a ai game creator story/vo/music except the building of the game

The new unreal engine has auto terrain creation tools

In the world of greed in which it is winning without any major blow back ai is our future.

everyone want's biden dead on the mic or a criminal instead of a woman and now we are getting ai everything because no one will stop watching/playing ai created media.

GamerRN42d ago

Maybe they should just focus on making good games?

Just a thought...

Kiryu199242d ago

Exactly EA are just pure evil. When they are beating Bank of America to be voted the worst company to work for that’s saying a lot

Good thing I don’t buy their games day one and wait for deep deep sale years after launch (the select few games I am actually interested in)

Gaming is making so much money yet the greed of these companies is never ending

CEO’s and people on board making millions yet cutting jobs to those who are actually making the products

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 42d ago
Knightofelemia43d ago (Edited 43d ago )

EA is still a shady shitty company even with or without the help of Skynet. All they will use AI for is new ways to milk loot boxes and come up with the same sports title with a different year on the label. They are one company I truly do hate with a passion. They single handedly ruined some great franchise with their death touch. ME, Dead Space, Alice Returns, Dante's Inferno.

Stuart575643d ago

EA layoffs followed by 'Generative AI to Drive Monetization'

I knew it. Wonder what AI salary looks like? Nothing.

ChasterMies43d ago

I having a feeling that most of the layoffs in the industry are based on the idea that AI will do the same job for less.

DarXyde42d ago

Very likely, yes.

Made worse by the fact that the execs aren't changing their compensations.

My deepest fear at this point is that we are now in the capitalism endgame.

At this point, we really should just burn AI to the ground. Executives cannot be trusted to do the right thing.
How are those people expected to support families if everything gets automated?

Barlos43d ago (Edited 43d ago )

And take away creativity, and people's jobs as we've been seeing. Got it.

No thanks. I want my games created by people, not AI.

CobraKai43d ago

Exactly. If or when games start becoming more AI than people, im done with gaming. AI and companies like EA can suck donkey d***k.

just_looken43d ago

Though i agree remember this is no ps3/360 era were we got up to 3 games in one generation from on developer like gears/halo/bioware/sony/ms

The people today are pro esg/sweet baby for the most part AAA gaming is imploding right now.

We should be stepping back re evaluate everything as a whole this year xmen 97 written/directed by a woman that is nuts and its also being made by a group reshaping bodies to be less sexual like wtf. A dam famous cartoon from the 90's is being rebuilt with millions spent to be worse in everyway.

Gaming/movies/tv shows made today are worse than what we had 7years ago ai won't change this but that ai is also being made by these groups so either way we are screwed.
https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Eonjay42d ago

Don't be of afraid of women. Sexy characters in games and movies still exist. Got my Stellar Blade on preorder!!! Everything all the time doesn't need to be sexual...that's stupid, childish and dull.

Chocoburger43d ago (Edited 43d ago )

EA doesn't want to lose their title of worst gaming company ever, always trying their best to remain the champs!
What's sad is that they have so much potential to be a decent publisher.

SSX Tricky / SSX 3
Def Jam Vendetta / Fight for New York
NBA Street
NFL Steet
Mirror's Edge
Bad Company
Burnout 3 / 4 / 5

Remember when EA used to be awesome? It's all over with now. Unpolished, if not out-right broken games these days. Endless monetization and gambling in their sports games, and let's not forget wasting hours of your life trying to unlock characters or equipment using "surprise boxes!"

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