Mass Effect Comments by Kristan Reed

I was expecting a 9...

This generation has been a disappointment from the get-go. We need the Japanese to make a solid comeback dammit! Western developers have disappointed us this year, with the exception of Naughty Dog perhaps.

This still spanks the entire Wii Xmas line-up.

I preordered this a long time ago. Can't wait to dive in.... all the people on my friends list seem to be playing this (damn Ozzies and Yanks). 8? I think this time EG is on the low side of the review score probably. Never mind.. kick ass game.

Hah, so I did. Easy mistake to make.

/leave me alone :(

As far as the game goes, looks like another Gears as far as scoring goes, high scores almost everywhere else, with an EG 8. Make of that what you will.

I loved Jade Empire, all of it. This has my name on it.

While it's really a shame Bioshock and Halo 3 got tens, I still trust EG's reviews. Most others publications and websites are sellout .. NTSC-UK while being a low profile website also features some decent reviewers.

There's a simple answer to that, NickyJD - I was tasked with reviewing this, therefore CoD4's multiplayer review can wait a little bit. I think we all already realise CoD 4 has wonderful multiplayer anyway. Sorry you hated Sega Rally, but plenty of people loved it, you just had to get further into it to really get the most out of it, like a lot of games. Like this one, in fact.

It's shame Eurogamer review everything from a FPS perspective.They hated the Witcher,Assassins creed and now they diss MassEffect.Run and Gun seems the only way to get high scores here.

I do have to laugh... If it isn't 9/10 or 10/10, the game is meh/shit/crap (insert word here). We are a demanding lot...

"The main story is incredibly short for a BioWare game - having finished the main strand and faffed around a fair bit elsewhere, the game clock said 17 hrs 30 mins. On a speed run, you could easily do it in under 10."

I really fail to understand why someone would have the need to "speed run" a game.
I like to explore every bit.

They can fuck right off with shonky frame-rates and tearing.
It's just not good enough, it wasn't good enough back in the day with KOTOR and Jade Empire and it's not now.

Damn you EG... your review may cause me to lose a bet on the metacritic score this one ends up with! =) Other reviews for anyone interested:

EGM - 9, 9.5, 9
GameInformer - 9.75
OXM US - 10/10
OXM Australia - 10/10
Xbox World 360 - 90%
IGN - 9.4
Game Trailers - 9.6
TeamXbox - 9.6
CVG - 9.0

How come you gave this an 8? Did Bioware threaten to pop a cap in yo ass?

/Puts mass effect purchase into the Probably Not Then' category with assasins creed.

Speed running an FPS is one thing... Speed run a RPG? lol

this and Creed, both lower than expected can it be that eurogamer is loosing it's touch? oh well i just got mario on my lowly wii, i'll stick with my favourite plumber for now and see what the internet says about this one...

@miiiguel

Achievment whores I am afraid...

Ok, so it's like:

In "speed run-mode" 8/10
In "proper-mode" 9/10

Miiguel, you might be amused to note that speed running it will go a long way to getting all the achievement points, which is something you love doing after all...

EGM - 9, 9.5, 9
GameInformer - 9.75
OXM US - 10/10
OXM Australia - 10/10
Xbox World 360 - 90%
IGN - 9.4
Game Trailers - 9.6
TeamXbox - 9.6
CVG - 9.0

That list doesn't contain Edge or GamesTM! :P

But wait... The combat and AI in Oblivion was ACES!!!

errrr ummm no it wasn't...

@Pulsar_t: We know that the list wont be truly complete until SDF have reviewed it!

This generation has been a disappointment from the get-go. We need the Japanese to make a solid comeback dammit! Western developers have disappointed us this year, with the exception of Naughty Dog perhaps.

The Japaneese's "current" generation is still of the PS2/Wii ilk.

Sounds like this might be one that's worth waiting for the PC version - if that sorts out the frame rate, v-syncing and pop-up issues, that's one less minus point right there.

And I for one think a good 17 hour game is far preferable to the all-too-common 40+ hour RPGs I never seem to have time to finish (or get bored of before the end).

/still hasn't completed Oblivion

We know that the list wont be truly complete until SDF have reviewed it!

Well we all know EGM are Microsoft fanboys, and OXM gave ME a 10 STOP THE PRESS!

Did I fill your quota? Or do I have to use my joke accounts. :D

@krud - What are the side-quests like? The 1up show didn't seem enthusiastic about them.

@Nattattack:

My point is one could argue immersion will not be affected by tearing as long as the narrative is strong enough. Yours is?

Side quests aren't much to write home about. Drive around, pick up artefacts, shoot stuff. I didn't do all of them, but none of them linger in the memory. Just a good way of levelling up as far as I can tell, with some minor narrative benefits.

NickyJD - "no offence but I don't trust your reviews"

So why do you come here?

krudster: I never "speed run" a game, and yes I like to do Achievements, but that's because they give me an incentive to play it "properly"
I have fewer game than most, but I must have played more than 40h each. I could have more - fortunatly I can afford - but I just like to play them fully, never ever "speed run".
Then again, not judging.

Please don't ostracize me for the Achievements, it's a personal hobby, not a "competitive thing".

Not as good as Uncharted?

/waits for inevitable PC release

@Steroyd: I'd like a couple of joke account posts please! =)

(at least here you don't have that sneaky avatar!)

@speedofthepuma - If that's your point, then it's quite silly. How could tearing and framerate issues, NOT effect immersion. This is a videogame after all, and not a book.

@krudster... Mass Effect vs Oblivion?

@Vin "This still spanks the entire Wii Xmas line-up."

Errrr, no it doesn't.

Thanks Krud, doesn't sound as bad as they made it out to be, while being a bit pointless.

Oblivion, by a country mile.

This site seems to have been invaded by some complete and utter morons of late (I blame the COD4 beta)- Since when was 8 a bad score?

@ JMM. My point is it is in no way crucial. We assume because it is part of the medium that graphical glitches are ruinous. They are not.

Thanks!

After reading the review, the thing that stuck out for me was the reviewer didnt seem to acknowledge that the game is an RPG first. The reviewer seemed to want a fast paced shooter. Otherwise, why would aspects like "dialogue-heavy" and "slow paced" be treated as negatives?

There are enough shooters out there as it is, not every game should be reviewed from the perspective that it should get marked down as shooters might get bored with it.

Most RPG fans wont be bothered too much about the combat. I much prefer to concentrate on the story, characters, decisions, plot etc. I loved KOTOR and Neverwinter Nights, and the combat wasnt the reason.

Sorry if that isnt the case, but its what I got from the review.

In any case, I got an xbox with this game in mind, and nothing I have read changes my mind that this will be a game I will love.

No, not as full-on entertaining as Uncharted. No chance, but you're comparing two games so utterly different as to make any meaningful comparsion redundant.

You shoot stuff, in third person, but that's about the only similarity.

tonynibbles - fuck off with the fanboy war bullshit...

"/Puts mass effect purchase into the Probably Not Then' category with assasins creed."

So if a game doesnt get 9 or 10/10 you're not interested? You'are missing out big time!!

I'll be interested to see what Edge and gamesTM give this. After gTM's nine for KotOR 2, I expect a nine for this, and probably an eight or maybe a seven from Edge.

Also wonder what they will score Assassin's Creed.

"this and Creed, both lower than expected can it be that eurogamer is loosing it's touch?"

Could it be that those games had been overhyped? Could it be that because a reviewers opinion does not match your expectations of a game, you start talking bollocks? Could it be 8/10 isn't actually a bad score?


p.s it's LOSING not LOOSING

The thing is...the game puts the action front and centre. *Every single mission* is a third person action romp, so the game has to be judged as an action game first, with role playing elements playing a less significant part.

Mass Effect is no more an RPG than something like Devil May Cry. Kills level up the weapons. Mass Effect just happens to have a heavy narrative element, which I liked a lot. If you know my tastes at all, you'll know that I have nothing against slow-paced games with a large story element.

Getting it, no matter what.

Nevertheless, I was hoping you would talk more about RPG factors, like your opinion about the story (good, bad, excellent, common, whichever), how the exploration of the world was, etc. You seemed to talk more about the action part than actually the part that mattered (RPG part :/).


Edit: Robsabbaggio, +1

The review's 2,500 words long as it is. The story is excellent, but that's all you need to know, or you get into the realms of spoiler. Exploration isn't much of a key factor in the game, therefore it wasn't mentioned.

""Ok, so it's like:

In "speed run-mode" 8/10
In "proper-mode" 9/10""

Desperation. I like it.

8 isn't bad. Just not as good as 9. :)

'Oblivion, by a country mile.'

Ah good, that almost makes me more certain i'll like Mass Effect, either that or i'm going to hate it. To me Oblivion was pretty much the antithesis of what i love about RPG's.

Which isn't to say i think it's a bad game, just a highly flawed game and one that doesn't appeal much to my personal tastes.

I did however love Morrowind.