Alternative alternative: Do your friends generally regard you as relatively normal human being, with hopes, dreams and desires, or as a soulless shell, devoid of any emotion or empathy, ticking through life on an inevitable downward spiral, that not even death can end, as you died inside long ago?
If the latter, move along, nothing to see here.
I'm a little upset because you totally just described me...
But Mario Galaxy and Mass Effect will make me feel happiness again.
I went to Toys R Us a few hours ago because I called and they said they had plenty of copies of Mario Galaxy in. I got there and they handed me Mario Galaxy, and I asked if they had Mass Effect. They brought it out of the back and handed it to me.
I get to the Cashier, Mario Galaxy rings up as "Do not sell until 11/12." Mass Effect rings up as "Do not sell until 11/20"
So what do Singularity do? Is it the Dark energy version of the BFG?
Basically creates a tiny black hole that almost all nearby enemies are lifted into the air and forced to orbit around for a few seconds, being completely helpless while they do so. Some enemies, like Krogans or large Geth monstrosities or (very strangely) anything that flies, don't seem to be affected by it. However, maybe my skill level in the thing is too low right now.
Regarding why they did what they did with the achievements, I'd say it was for the following reasons:
1. To make them stand out from other games. Near as I can figure each achievement that's not just a "You got this far in the game" achievement has a specific reward attached to it in addition to gamerpoints.
2. To give you extra customizability with each of your subsequent playthroughs. An Adept who's good with a shotgun, an Infilitrator who can disable enemies by lifting them into the air, a Soldier who can disable all Biotic or Tech abilities in a given radius? Sounds good to me.
So I just put in my first marathon play session yesterday evening (didn't get a chance to play very much at all on Friday) for about 6.5 hours and, well, holy shit.
I don't think any two players are gonna have the exact same story line. Once you get through the Citadel (think of it as the new "Taris" from the first KOTOR - for better or worse), the game LITERALLY just blows up in your face and it's all like "well, hotshot, whattaya gonna do now?"
My face was all like
...and my penis was all like *SHA-WING*
It's both remarkable and a little disconcerting... there is so much to do, so little time.
And I'm starting to feel pretty spiffy about picking the Infiltrator class. I'm also trying to stay Paragon as much as possible although it really is hard to avoid getting a few Renegade points every now and then because someone pisses you off and you're just like "okay, asshole..."
Usually I jump into these Bioware games and I try to be as evil/bad as possible, but I'm taking a different approach this time and saving my "badass" character for seconds.
Also, Accualt's brief list of complaints is pretty much accurate. From a technical standpoint, this game is far from perfect. I'd say the biggest issue is the pop-in. It's like watching the Halo 2 cutscenes, only it's ALL THE TIME.
Don't take that the wrong way, though, it's certain NOT a deal breaker here. Just a slight tarnish on an otherwise GLORIOUS game.
I think he's referring to actual textures and objects just "popping-in" from oblivion. That was the major problem in the halo 2 cutscenes.
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LCDXXA flask of wood and glassTerre Haute, INRegistered User, ClubPAregular
edited November 2007
Yeah, any time you enter a new area or initiate a conversion, you see the raw 3D models first for a brief second and then the various textures load or "pop-in".
If you've played Halo 2 or Oblivion or in some cases Gears of War, you'll know what it is. However, it's much more common here in Mass Effect. But, to be completely honest, when you realize all the stuff that is going on in context, you can kinda shrug it off - its very minor and only affects the presentation.
I swear, I haven't heard my 360 struggle to keep up with a game this much since Oblivion came out. The disc drive sure gets a workout. It's worth it, though - the resulting conversations are pretty wicked and they flow very well with minimal seek/load times. I admit, I couldn't figure out why the conversation system was so hyped in this game for so long - again, I was mostly on a media blackout for a while - but once you see how it works, it's pretty cool how the discussions flow based on your input. And I would LOVE to see Bioware's voice-over budget on paper - it's absolutely insane how much speech was put into this game.
Yeah, any time you enter a new area or initiate a conversion, you see the raw 3D models first for a brief second and then the various textures load or "pop-in".
If you've played Halo 2 or Oblivion or in some cases Gears of War, you'll know what it is. However, it's much more common here in Mass Effect. But, to be completely honest, when you realize all the stuff that is going on in context, you can kinda shrug it off - its very minor and only affects the presentation.
I swear, I haven't heard my 360 struggle to keep up with a game this much since Oblivion came out. The disc drive sure gets a workout. It's worth it, though - the resulting conversations are pretty wicked and they flow very well with minimal seek/load times. I admit, I couldn't figure out why the conversation system was so hyped in this game for so long - again, I was mostly on a media blackout for a while - but once you see how it works, it's pretty cool how the discussions flow based on your input. And I would LOVE to see Bioware's voice-over budget on paper - it's absolutely insane how much speech was put into this game.
So it's not like Oblivion where three or so actors were used for most of the voices? I mean, there's a definite difference across the board?
Drez on
Switch: SW-7690-2320-9238Steam/PSN/Xbox: Drezdar
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Bloods EndBlade of TyshallePunch dimensionRegistered Userregular
edited November 2007
So I guess this game will be alright sorta good kinda maybe.
Bloods End on
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LCDXXA flask of wood and glassTerre Haute, INRegistered User, ClubPAregular
So it's not like Oblivion where three or so actors were used for most of the voices? I mean, there's a definite difference across the board?
Not at all. At least as far as I've gotten. If they are using the same actors over and again, then someone had the common sense to tell them to "act differently". Also, some of the alien discussions are wicked - like the Hanar and the Elcor races - their dialog is fucking cool because they are, well, alien. For example:
The Hanar only use first person narrative with family and loved ones, so when you talk with them, they refer to themselves as objects in 3rd person. It makes the conversations interesting. And the Elcor naturally communicate via scent and obscure gestures - both of which make it difficult to talk with other species and convey any tone or inflection - so every sentence that they speak begins with a description of their emotion first, then the gist of their discussion. Basically, they put a lot of effort into making the alien races culturally unique and diverse and it's just a nice touch that really adds to the experience.
I haven't noticed much repetition in VAs at all. However, I do pick up on some of the "Bioware cast" quite a bit - VAs who performed in previous games like KOTOR and Jade Empire are all over the place, but they play different rolls in terms of personality and such.
So it's not like Oblivion where three or so actors were used for most of the voices? I mean, there's a definite difference across the board?
Not at all. At least as far as I've gotten. If they are using the same actors over and again, then someone had the common sense to tell them to "act differently". Also, some of the alien discussions are wicked - like the Hanar and the Elcor races - their dialog is fucking cool because they are, well, alien. For example:
The Hanar only use first person narrative with family and loved ones, so when you talk with them, they refer to themselves as objects in 3rd person. It makes the conversations interesting. And the Elcor naturally communicate via scent and obscure gestures - both of which make it difficult to talk with other species and convey any tone or inflection - so every sentence that they speak begins with a description of their emotion first, then the gist of their discussion. Basically, they put a lot of effort into making the alien races culturally unique and diverse and it's just a nice touch that really adds to the experience.
So it's not like Oblivion where three or so actors were used for most of the voices? I mean, there's a definite difference across the board?
Not at all. At least as far as I've gotten. If they are using the same actors over and again, then someone had the common sense to tell them to "act differently". Also, some of the alien discussions are wicked - like the Hanar and the Elcor races - their dialog is fucking cool because they are, well, alien. For example:
The Hanar only use first person narrative with family and loved ones, so when you talk with them, they refer to themselves as objects in 3rd person. It makes the conversations interesting. And the Elcor naturally communicate via scent and obscure gestures - both of which make it difficult to talk with other species and convey any tone or inflection - so every sentence that they speak begins with a description of their emotion first, then the gist of their discussion. Basically, they put a lot of effort into making the alien races culturally unique and diverse and it's just a nice touch that really adds to the experience.
Heh.
someones been reading their X-Wing books.
The Gand thing you mean? Yeah one of stackpoles good ideas
arod_77 on
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Bloods EndBlade of TyshallePunch dimensionRegistered Userregular
So it's not like Oblivion where three or so actors were used for most of the voices? I mean, there's a definite difference across the board?
Not at all. At least as far as I've gotten. If they are using the same actors over and again, then someone had the common sense to tell them to "act differently". Also, some of the alien discussions are wicked - like the Hanar and the Elcor races - their dialog is fucking cool because they are, well, alien. For example:
The Hanar only use first person narrative with family and loved ones, so when you talk with them, they refer to themselves as objects in 3rd person. It makes the conversations interesting. And the Elcor naturally communicate via scent and obscure gestures - both of which make it difficult to talk with other species and convey any tone or inflection - so every sentence that they speak begins with a description of their emotion first, then the gist of their discussion. Basically, they put a lot of effort into making the alien races culturally unique and diverse and it's just a nice touch that really adds to the experience.
Heh.
someones been reading their X-Wing books.
The Gand thing you mean? Yeah one of stackpoles good ideas
makes sense though. To do KOTOR would have required going back and reading all those Tales of the Jedi comics, and then the head writer goes and starts writing SW books, and now they're making a big space opera game, they're bound to tweak somethings they pick up that they can use for the game.
makes sense though. To do KOTOR would have required going back and reading all those Tales of the Jedi comics, and then the head writer goes and starts writing SW books, and now they're making a big space Oprah game, they're bound to tweak somethings they pick up that they can use for the game.
makes sense though. To do KOTOR would have required going back and reading all those Tales of the Jedi comics, and then the head writer goes and starts writing SW books, and now they're making a big space Oprah game, they're bound to tweak somethings they pick up that they can use for the game.
You know, if I had anything to do over I would have made sure that my purchase of the game yesterday wasn't announced until every single one of you fuckers was able to pick up a game early.
I feel sort of guilty for having the game now...
Apologies. I don't remember posting this.
1) Watch as my best friend's band's first performance is shut down by the cops as they play "I fought the law"
2) participate in a beer pong tournament, following said performance
3) Watch in amazement as my 5 foot tall, 100lb girlfriend does shots of Everclear and is still coherent
4) Realize that I'm 30 and shouldn't be participating in such stuff but still do.
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Indie Winterdie KräheRudi Hurzlmeier (German, b. 1952)Registered Userregular
edited November 2007
So, secret classes. Anyone found out what they are yet?
Indie Winter on
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LCDXXA flask of wood and glassTerre Haute, INRegistered User, ClubPAregular
edited November 2007
No idea about secret classes, but I have been to and moved on from the Citadel. Yes it's massive. But depending on your anticipation for action VS exploration, it can be either REALLY interesting with quests or REALLY boring without any BANG BANG BANG action.
It really reminded me a lot of Taris from the first KOTOR. On one hand it's a great big place to get lost in and do some side questing and lots of exploration and tons of backstory information on the universe and whatnot.
On the other hand, after the first little bit of action in the game, it feels kinda... well, not so exciting.
It's also worth noting that, having read ME: Revelation, I had a totally different mental image of what the Citadel looked like in my head. Bioware pretty much curb-stomped that mental image - the Citadel nothing at all like I expected. It's Citadeler.
So, secret classes. Anyone found out what they are yet?
Are the secret classes the specializations? As you level up, you'll eventually get an option to choose a specialization class. Basically, it just adds another talent to your list of talents that you can put points into. For a Soldier, I had the choice between Shock Trooper or Commando.
Shock Trooper is even more of a tank. Putting points into the Shock Trooper talent gives you more health and gives you improved Adrenaline Rush and Immunity skills, which just makes those two recharge faster. Adrenaline Rush recharges all skills, while Immunity increases your damage protection for a time. So in other words, you'll be able to quickly use all your skills quite a bit faster than waiting for them to recharge slowly.
Commando was described as more of a precision specialization. The Commando talent increases damage with all your weapons, but it gives you improved Marksman and Assassination skills, which are sniper weapon skills. So if you like the sniper rifle, it may be good to go with the Commando specialization.
Dashui on
Xbox Live, PSN & Origin: Vacorsis 3DS: 2638-0037-166
No idea about secret classes, but I have been to and moved on from the Citadel. Yes it's massive. But depending on your anticipation for action VS exploration, it can be either REALLY interesting with quests or REALLY boring without any BANG BANG BANG action.
It really reminded me a lot of Taris from the first KOTOR. On one hand it's a great big place to get lost in and do some side questing and lots of exploration and tons of backstory information on the universe and whatnot.
On the other hand, after the first little bit of action in the game, it feels kinda... well, not so exciting.
It's also worth noting that, having read ME: Revelation, I had a totally different mental image of what the Citadel looked like in my head. Bioware pretty much curb-stomped that mental image - the Citadel nothing at all like I expected. It's Citadeler.
I felt the same way... I knew they could never have it live to my expectations.
So, secret classes. Anyone found out what they are yet?
Are the secret classes the specializations? As you level up, you'll eventually get an option to choose a specialization class. Basically, it just adds another talent to your list of talents that you can put points into. For a Soldier, I had the choice between Shock Trooper or Commando.
Shock Trooper is even more of a tank. Putting points into the Shock Trooper talent gives you more health and gives you improved Adrenaline Rush and Immunity skills, which just makes those two recharge faster. Adrenaline Rush recharges all skills, while Immunity increases your damage protection for a time. So in other words, you'll be able to quickly use all your skills quite a bit faster than waiting for them to recharge slowly.
Commando was described as more of a precision specialization. The Commando talent increases damage with all your weapons, but it gives you improved Marksman and Assassination skills, which are sniper weapon skills. So if you like the sniper rifle, it may be good to go with the Commando specialization.
What about the Vanguard class? That's the one I wanted to start with the most, but the lack of Assault Rifle just seemed to spoil the whole thing.
So, secret classes. Anyone found out what they are yet?
Are the secret classes the specializations? As you level up, you'll eventually get an option to choose a specialization class. Basically, it just adds another talent to your list of talents that you can put points into. For a Soldier, I had the choice between Shock Trooper or Commando.
Shock Trooper is even more of a tank. Putting points into the Shock Trooper talent gives you more health and gives you improved Adrenaline Rush and Immunity skills, which just makes those two recharge faster. Adrenaline Rush recharges all skills, while Immunity increases your damage protection for a time. So in other words, you'll be able to quickly use all your skills quite a bit faster than waiting for them to recharge slowly.
Commando was described as more of a precision specialization. The Commando talent increases damage with all your weapons, but it gives you improved Marksman and Assassination skills, which are sniper weapon skills. So if you like the sniper rifle, it may be good to go with the Commando specialization.
What about the Vanguard class? That's the one I wanted to start with the most, but the lack of Assault Rifle just seemed to spoil the whole thing.
Vanguard has taken me some time to get used to...
You lack the assault rifle but you do get to specialize in the shotgun, which is badass. The problem I have with it so far is that most of your abilities are close range, however, it seems sort of counterintuitive to let things get that close to you.
Tw4win on
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Indie Winterdie KräheRudi Hurzlmeier (German, b. 1952)Registered Userregular
So, secret classes. Anyone found out what they are yet?
Are the secret classes the specializations? As you level up, you'll eventually get an option to choose a specialization class. Basically, it just adds another talent to your list of talents that you can put points into. For a Soldier, I had the choice between Shock Trooper or Commando.
Shock Trooper is even more of a tank. Putting points into the Shock Trooper talent gives you more health and gives you improved Adrenaline Rush and Immunity skills, which just makes those two recharge faster. Adrenaline Rush recharges all skills, while Immunity increases your damage protection for a time. So in other words, you'll be able to quickly use all your skills quite a bit faster than waiting for them to recharge slowly.
Commando was described as more of a precision specialization. The Commando talent increases damage with all your weapons, but it gives you improved Marksman and Assassination skills, which are sniper weapon skills. So if you like the sniper rifle, it may be good to go with the Commando specialization.
What about the Vanguard class? That's the one I wanted to start with the most, but the lack of Assault Rifle just seemed to spoil the whole thing.
Vanguard has taken me some time to get used to...
You lack the assault rifle but you do get to specialize in the shotgun, which is badass. The problem I have with it so far is that most of your abilities are close range, however, it seems sort of counterintuitive to let things get that close to you.
Which is why I'll probably go with a Soldier Shock Trooper when I get the game.
Posts
Are you sure they're both very different and totally different?
Either way, Mass Effect is always the right choice.
That's when you fucking run.
And leave $110 on the counter.
The Sixth Annual Triwizard Drinking Tournament Part 1 |
Pokecrawl Episode 4: The Power Of One!
Portalflip
Pokemon X: Atlus | 3539-8807-3813
Does the class custimization ability
You can start over at any time.
twitch.tv/Taramoor
@TaramoorPlays
Taramoor on Youtube
Regarding why they did what they did with the achievements, I'd say it was for the following reasons:
1. To make them stand out from other games. Near as I can figure each achievement that's not just a "You got this far in the game" achievement has a specific reward attached to it in addition to gamerpoints.
2. To give you extra customizability with each of your subsequent playthroughs. An Adept who's good with a shotgun, an Infilitrator who can disable enemies by lifting them into the air, a Soldier who can disable all Biotic or Tech abilities in a given radius? Sounds good to me.
3. Because it's awesome.
twitch.tv/Taramoor
@TaramoorPlays
Taramoor on Youtube
Also, Accualt's brief list of complaints is pretty much accurate. From a technical standpoint, this game is far from perfect. I'd say the biggest issue is the pop-in. It's like watching the Halo 2 cutscenes, only it's ALL THE TIME.
Don't take that the wrong way, though, it's certain NOT a deal breaker here. Just a slight tarnish on an otherwise GLORIOUS game.
I'm assuming it's some kind of swooping camera shit when some kind of conversation script triggers.
But then again I don't have the game so I dunno.
If you've played Halo 2 or Oblivion or in some cases Gears of War, you'll know what it is. However, it's much more common here in Mass Effect. But, to be completely honest, when you realize all the stuff that is going on in context, you can kinda shrug it off - its very minor and only affects the presentation.
I swear, I haven't heard my 360 struggle to keep up with a game this much since Oblivion came out. The disc drive sure gets a workout. It's worth it, though - the resulting conversations are pretty wicked and they flow very well with minimal seek/load times. I admit, I couldn't figure out why the conversation system was so hyped in this game for so long - again, I was mostly on a media blackout for a while - but once you see how it works, it's pretty cool how the discussions flow based on your input. And I would LOVE to see Bioware's voice-over budget on paper - it's absolutely insane how much speech was put into this game.
So it's not like Oblivion where three or so actors were used for most of the voices? I mean, there's a definite difference across the board?
Not at all. At least as far as I've gotten. If they are using the same actors over and again, then someone had the common sense to tell them to "act differently". Also, some of the alien discussions are wicked - like the Hanar and the Elcor races - their dialog is fucking cool because they are, well, alien. For example:
I haven't noticed much repetition in VAs at all. However, I do pick up on some of the "Bioware cast" quite a bit - VAs who performed in previous games like KOTOR and Jade Empire are all over the place, but they play different rolls in terms of personality and such.
Heh.
someones been reading their X-Wing books.
The Gand thing you mean? Yeah one of stackpoles good ideas
makes sense though. To do KOTOR would have required going back and reading all those Tales of the Jedi comics, and then the head writer goes and starts writing SW books, and now they're making a big space opera game, they're bound to tweak somethings they pick up that they can use for the game.
Final Fantasy XI -> Carbuncle - Samash
DAMN YOU FIREFOX SPELL CHECK
Battle.net: Fireflash#1425
Steam Friend code: 45386507
Apologies. I don't remember posting this.
1) Watch as my best friend's band's first performance is shut down by the cops as they play "I fought the law"
2) participate in a beer pong tournament, following said performance
3) Watch in amazement as my 5 foot tall, 100lb girlfriend does shots of Everclear and is still coherent
4) Realize that I'm 30 and shouldn't be participating in such stuff but still do.
It really reminded me a lot of Taris from the first KOTOR. On one hand it's a great big place to get lost in and do some side questing and lots of exploration and tons of backstory information on the universe and whatnot.
On the other hand, after the first little bit of action in the game, it feels kinda... well, not so exciting.
It's also worth noting that, having read ME: Revelation, I had a totally different mental image of what the Citadel looked like in my head. Bioware pretty much curb-stomped that mental image - the Citadel nothing at all like I expected. It's Citadeler.
Are the secret classes the specializations? As you level up, you'll eventually get an option to choose a specialization class. Basically, it just adds another talent to your list of talents that you can put points into. For a Soldier, I had the choice between Shock Trooper or Commando.
Shock Trooper is even more of a tank. Putting points into the Shock Trooper talent gives you more health and gives you improved Adrenaline Rush and Immunity skills, which just makes those two recharge faster. Adrenaline Rush recharges all skills, while Immunity increases your damage protection for a time. So in other words, you'll be able to quickly use all your skills quite a bit faster than waiting for them to recharge slowly.
Commando was described as more of a precision specialization. The Commando talent increases damage with all your weapons, but it gives you improved Marksman and Assassination skills, which are sniper weapon skills. So if you like the sniper rifle, it may be good to go with the Commando specialization.
I felt the same way... I knew they could never have it live to my expectations.
What about the Vanguard class? That's the one I wanted to start with the most, but the lack of Assault Rifle just seemed to spoil the whole thing.
Vanguard has taken me some time to get used to...
You lack the assault rifle but you do get to specialize in the shotgun, which is badass. The problem I have with it so far is that most of your abilities are close range, however, it seems sort of counterintuitive to let things get that close to you.
Which is why I'll probably go with a Soldier Shock Trooper when I get the game.