Mass Effect Comments by Kieron Gillen

Should've marked it down a grade for the DRM. Honestly, I cannot believe you would write a review without writing in big letters that this game has a 3-PC install limit, especially after the Bioshock fiasco. I find it sad that the games press is trying to help EA bury the DRM issue, it's part of the package of this product and should have an effect on the final score.

Dead Rising is pretty much the one game I really wish they'd do for PC, along with Crackdown. It's those two games that most often tempt me to get a 360.

KG: nice you guys adapt it so fast. :)

What about elevators (loadings), shorter or same as xbox?

Is the pop-in from the 360 version gone?

Elevators seem shorter, but it's still an annoying gap which you can't see the reason for.

Didn't honestly mention the DRM because a different DRM was on the review code. Since there' s a while until it's out, I suspect EG will do something else on it.

Re: Pop up. I didn't see any, so I presume it is, or at least minimised.

KG

"Frame-rate is hardly stable"-oh come on Bioware,oops i mean EA.
Why am i not surprised....

Oh, and what about addon. It is free, right? Reviewer forgot about these little things... Not that I'm complaining too much, its still much better review that the first one. I just can't stand Kristan. :P

Mako = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMu8er2yTSY
obviously. They even stole the jumping

What a meandering review, was he forced to write three full pages on an 'identical' conversion...?.

I presume the appearance of '360' controllers is due to the title supporting those out of the box; I hope so cause I value the ability to slouch during an RPG quite highly.

*EDIT* I hear it doesn't. That sucks quite frankly. Score one for the KB&M nazis.

Hm, I've mmmmd and ahhhd about this one, on one hand I've seens some lovely screenshots, then on the other hand I remember trudging through KOTOR waiting for it to finally get "good". Which it never did. So in essence, too much other stuff to play at the moment to give this any time...

Roll on Fallout 3 I say!

Your review was better. Yay.

Definitely getting this, looks great, thankfully shouldn't be marred by the technical issues of the 360 version, and with the mouse and keyboard it should also play perfectly. PC reviews seem to think it's the far better version.

@JediMasterMalik

Read this:

http://www.pcgameshardware.de/aid,645004...

@des

thats benchmark, not 'how will your game run." Max settings + 1280x1024 resolution.

WTF! 8/10 for a game,slighly different genre aknowledged, with better graphics,story,dialogue,gameplay,art design,music and sound to name a few than GTA4!

Inventory management was awful on 360,the main quest ''only'' 20 hours,side missions repetitive,but GTA 4 and Halo 3 were rougher around the edges.

@fawe4
benchmark=how your game will run.
And 1280x1024 with max setting is not really an achievement for pc today,1024x768 was a benchmark in hmm... 1998.
I am not interested in playing Mass Effect on low settings 800x600.

I thought it was absolutely fucking amazing.

And some of the side quests are really good, namely the Cerberus ones (evil bastards!) and the Bring Down the Sky DLC

PC > 360 for this type of game imho - due to mouse and keyboard

@des:

Oh come on.. Dont tell me you can notice the difference at resolutions higher than that?

How far do you sit from the screen? 2 cm?

Hang on, you can't tell the difference between 1024x768 and 1280x1024? How far do you sit away from the screen, two miles?

Got this on the 360 yesterday and turned it off after less than 5 mins.

17" tv it was on just wasn't doing it justice...

Game looks damn sexual

Easily one of my top 3 games of all time. Ab-so-lute-ly fan-tas-tic.
Like someone else said, the final scene and battle of the game is still my true "now that's next gen" moment so far. It could not have been done to sch effect on a previous console. I still get chills thinking about it.

10/10, no matter the flaws.

Mass Effect is awesome. Good to hear BioWare made a good conversion again.

All this talk of the mouse simplifying matters and making the game better makes me think...this is just a shot in the dark, but why don't they design FPS/TPS games around the mouse and keyboard, rather than a pad? Crazy idea, I know, but maybe, just maybe, they could make it work. Perhaps somehow they could even make them work on a console too...

Sorry, couldn't resist it. But really, you're faced with the most versatile and comprehensive control interface yet created and what do you ask? "Does it work with a 360 pad?"...I despair.

Please could EG at least put up some system specs for the machines they use for PC reviews? Comparing how the game runs on a state of the art machine and something more ancient and average would be even better (someone mentioned a machine based on the Valve survey average machine in the AoC p/review thread), but seems unlikely to happen. I want to know whether it'd run on my ancient but remarkably serviceable 6800GTS - probably not, and it's obviously unreasonable to ask them to play on old HW like that, but just having a frame of reference and some idea of what hardware produces the reviewer's experience would be nice.

Who's Tracy Piff?

@lavalant
And you brought up Halo cause....?

The game is amazing. Ginished it on the Xbox 360 though you do get the feeling of boredom but only for a bit cause of some repeatable elements of the game. Visually stunning and the overall is an RPG that any fan of the genre should get his hands on and im serious. Have fun.

I must admit, I am not sure I understand the distinction made by Kieron between a "port" and a "conversion" in this instance. I've heard non-programmers use the terms interchangeably at times, so I'm curious about what it is you think you mean :)

Also as someone who has finished the Xbox 360 version of Mass Effect 5 times AND read the book, I was disappointed by Mass Effect in the following key areas:
- The core aspects of play - specifically the gunplay and the Mako, are both very crudely realised and not much fun
- With side quests and activities not on the critical path, there isn't really much worth doing. The random planet landings are crushingly repetitive and dull.
- The universe described in the book really isn't visible in the game. The Citadel feels like a collection of deserted grey corridors. A wasted opportunity I think.
- The inventory system was very badly broken, in a damn near game-ruining sort of way. Everytime you kill an enemy you automatically receive some loot even if it pushes you over the limit for the inventory. However you won't necessarily be aware of this, so when you DO open a crate and find a great item you'd love to keep... erm you can't. Your only option is to lose the item so almost in your grasp.

@davisorle:

The same reason as i'm going to bring up halo 3..

Halo 3 was touted as one of the 360's best games getting a 10/10 score nearly all round.. Whereas this (which is INFINITELY superior game on all angles gets a 8/10).

Not that scores ever matter.. but it's interesting to note which one got the most advertising...

@Nithron:

"Hang on, you can't tell the difference between 1024x768 and 1280x1024? How far do you sit away from the screen, two miles?"


I was replying to:

"And 1280x1024 with max setting is not really an achievement for pc today"

I.e. him saying 1280x1024 is considered to be a low resolution setting.


I'll agree there's a difference between 1024x768 and 1280x1024 when you're using a PC though (sitting close to the screen), but I wouldnt agree on a television sitting on the sofa (unless your screen is 60+ inches or you live in a box with the sofa less than a foot from the screen)

the most over rated game in ages, even more so the Halo 3, yes the story and GFX are brilliant but the combat is broken, the team mates AI is horrible , most of the time theyre dead right after the combat starts, unless they hang back and do nothing, the healer speced chars dont heal you, all the weapon upgrades look the same, the roleplaying class progressions never seems to directly impact the combat. And finally the mako is hellish

the combat is a chore to just trudge through in order to get to the brilliant story

Thanks for giving us a PC review! I feel like a child of a slightly lesser god now :)

@skillian:
What makes it so friggin' great (for me, at least) was this was the first game I played that actually felt like a movie. There's no "You Found the +19 Hammer of Baltheon!!" box smashing per se, and although there are lots of different types of guns and armors you will settle on which ones you like fairly early (although tracking down some of the ultra-rare equipment is a quest in itself, like trying to find Wrex's special armor . . . but damn if he don't look like a bad ass in his black-and-glowing-red finery!!).
Very, very few games have ever created characters that resonate, that seem real. The video linked at the end of the article . . . "Wrex cinematic". When you get to that point in the game, Wrex has (most likely) become your best friend among your crew. The dramatic Mexican standoff isn't just for show -- there's a very good chance the scene ends with Wrex taking a bullet to the brain. The tension when I hit that the first time was palpable because I completely understood Wrex's opinion as well as the need to tell him to ignore it.
Most RPG-ish games, they try to generate emotion by giving me morality issues like "But lighting the Sacred Fire of Sac'Thloor will prevent the GnuRaldian Elves from regaining their dominance of the Eternal Forest!!", and I just don't give a shit, either about the Sacred Fire or the Elves. In ME I cared . . . it seemed beleivable and real. Moreso than just about any other game I can think of.
It may start slow, but if you're a fan of RPG style games in the truest sense -- playing a role -- then it really is an unbelievable good piece of software, all criticisms included.

And yes, the final climactic cinematic is pretty errect-penis-inducing.

"the most over rated game in ages, even more so the Halo 3"

Now come on.. Are you sure you're not trolling?

I've played both on the 360.. and halo 3 is the biggest pile of overrated mediocrity i've ever played.. but Mass Effect is probs best rpg i've played this generation (and yes i DO think oblivion is overrated mediocrity - which looks pretty too)

Great review. Great analysis.
Now I read it, I don't need to play the game.
That's 20 hours of my life back!

I think Halo 3 exposes the problem with the number ratings. Mass effect was marked down for a lot of things it executes less than perfectly, but that is to be expected seeing how far forward it moves the gaming genre. Halo 3 does absolutely nothing new and sticks to a tried and true formula, but it executes it perfectly, so 10/10.

Just ignore the numbers. Mass effect is one of the most immersive gaming experiences of all times. The niggles exposed in the article are indeed there, but if you are gaming for the sake of escapism and not in order to perfect your 1337 skills, save for GTAIV there is simply nothing out there that compares.

List of stealth halo haters that still cry themselves to sleep:

GregorV.

Halo haters? I just said it executes what it does perfectly, how is that hating the game?

smelly: Better than KotOR (and Obsidian's KotOR 2) then? Or does it feel 'just like another Bioware RPG'?

Why all the Halo hate in a ME review??

H3 and ME were both joys of gaming goodness in their different genres - both on the number one best console ever the 360 of course :)

>"Sorry, couldn't resist it. But really, you're faced with the most versatile and comprehensive control interface yet created and what do you ask? "Does it work with a 360 pad?"...I despair. "

For FPS and RTSs yeah. But try playing a fighter, racer, platformer, some sports games with a keyboard and mouse.

>"but if you are gaming for the sake of escapism and not in order to perfect your 1337 skills, save for GTAIV there is simply nothing out there that compares. "

This IMO sums up both GTA4 & Mass Effect for me. I don't play them as "games" per se, but just a format to extend my imagination. When I play GTA4, I AM niko bellic. And when I play ME, I am commander shephard.

Why all the Halo hate in a ME review??

strange innit, some people seem completely unable to get over the fact that halo3 got a 10/10 score, and have to complain about it whenever they can...

"I went through the main plot in less than twenty hours, with only a minimum of side-tracking, but there's a lot of content I didn't look at. If you're offering a galaxy to explore, you should try and create a plot which at least leaves room to explore."

Entirely the reason I played through twice, once to complete the main story arc, and the second time to do every sidequest.

Mass Effect also has the most complete universe I've ever seen in a game, even including Bioshock, especially after reading through the entire codex, and seeing how they built a history for the galaxy that is so complete and convincing.

I think the issue on score is ME for a lot of people is probably the best 360 game. As such an 8/10 just looks odd against it.

Just what other game comes close to it this generation?

"smelly: Better than KotOR (and Obsidian's KotOR 2) then? Or does it feel 'just like another Bioware RPG'?"

TBH - this is the first (i.e. ONLY) bioware game i've ever played...

I liked it better than oblivion.

IMHO the best thing about an rpg should be it's story... And oblivion's story was arse.

"strange innit, some people seem completely unable to get over the fact that halo3 got a 10/10 score, and have to complain about it whenever they can... "


Nope.. it's not being able to get over the fact that some reviewers obviously take back handers to give something mediocre like halo 3 such high scores.

Whereas a classic (albeit SLIGHTLY flawed) game like this gets a lower score.

Dont s'pose it matters anyhuws.. i'm convinced all most reviewers do when working out a game score is do an internet search and look to see what other sites have given it...

"Dead Rising is pretty much the one game I really wish they'd do for PC, along with Crackdown."

Dead rising rocks.

(but gets repetitive if you play it too much.. play in short doses and it's f-ing brilliant!)

Nope.. it's not being able to get over the fact that some reviewers obviously take back handers to give something mediocre like halo 3 such high scores.

what, so you think it's impossible that someone might have genuinely had a different opinion from you on this game? the only way someone could possibly like it that much is if they'd been paid off? riiiiight.....

makes me wonder why you come back to a site with such low morals if you're that convinced?

@bitesize : I said "some" i didnt say this one did i?

Besides reviewers dont have opinions.. Most of them dont play a game long enough to formulate opinions.. So they just copy other reviewers opinions...

And if you DIDNT think halo 3 was an overrated pile of mediocrity compared to such delights as mass effect.. Then I pity you.