From Central California and Northern England, two aspiring writers natter and share a blog. We like to talk about our disparate but oh-so-similar lives, offer opinions on literature and movies... and endlessly reminisce about Bioware RPG's.


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Friday, March 9, 2012

Game Review: Mass Effect 3 - Part 1 - This is How the World Ends

"Take Earth Back! ...Or Don't."

Note: I've tried to keep things as spoiler-free as possible, but there may be indirect allusions to things, if you're worried about stuff like that.

Before we talk about the end, let's go back to the beginning. Let's talk about
Mass Effect here for a moment and what makes it such a special thing 'round these parts.

As always - though I'm threatening redundancy here - I don't think I can overstate just how much of an impact Knights of the Old Republic and subsequent BioWare games have had on my life. It's immeasurable, unquantifiable, tautological. I think of that revelatory moment in KotOR when you discover the "truth" of Darth Revan, and I can't even fathom where my life might have gone otherwise. That was the moment I fell in love with writing, storytelling, literature in general. But that was KotOR. What does this have to do with Mass Effect?

Well, because of KotoR, I became a BioWare fan. I made it my mission to play every single game they released, and Mass Effect naturally came up. I wasn't sure what to think of the game, since it was most certainly not anything close to what I thought it was going to be. Voiced protagonist, a new cast of characters, a universe I practically needed a manual for, and Gears of War-style gameplay. Weird, initially, but I ended up absolutely adoring the universe. The politics, the locations, the alien races, and the history - you just don't get that in a game everyday. I was excited about Mass Effect for a long time.

The sequel was a different story. It played better and it was new, but it felt like a wasted opportunity. I mean, compared to the first game where you traverse the galaxy and fight you a Reaper, the second game had you working with a terrorist organization and acting as Space Counselor to your crew. And let's not forget about the removal of most of the RPG elements in the game, and the "Suicide Mission", which was about as ill-conceived as you can get. I liked the game, but superior to ME1, it was not.

Mass Effect 3. I was worried about this game for a good long time. This is post-Dragon Age 2, after all - one of the worst games I've ever played. It just seemed like BioWare had lost their touch, and with The Old Republic out, making some of that internet money was their highest priority. Based on what I'd seen, what I'd heard, I could've bet you Mass Effect 3 would be a cash-in, straight up. There just seemed no reason for them to step up, because they already had the fanbase and already had a bunch of people (myself included) who pretty much had to buy the game. This was going to be the last of the trilogy. The big send-off.

Even with the game in my hand on launch, I thought the thing was going to be as big, if not a bigger, disappointment than Dragon Age 2.

In so many words: I was fucking wrong, and for that I'm thankful. The BioWare that made me love storytelling has made a comeback.

The Story: "All or Nothing."

"Fighting big ass robots isn't how I imagined spending my twilight years, Shepard."

The Reaper threat. It's a conflict that the series has been building since its opening moments, when Eden Prime was all but leveled by Sovereign. Now, three years later, the war has finally arrived - and, unfortunately, no one has bothered to listen to Shepard's warnings. (Bastards.) As a result, Earth is taken within a matter of minutes, in one of the more exhilarating set pieces of the series.

You're just barely able to get aboard the Normandy with Admiral Anderson, who then proceeds to stay behind and help organize the resistance. This leaves you with the task of organizing a fleet to, as the trailers say, Take Earth Back. Seasoned Mass Effect players will know that this is no easy task, because if the last two games have taught you anything, it's that most of the galactic races can never seem to get along. A tough task, but too bad, you have to make them see the light. In a sense, the bulk of the game boils down to one big diplomatic mission after another: appeasement on a galactic scale.

The game presents you with a myriad of ways to accomplish this. You'll find that you're constantly given the option to just screw things up royally or bend over backwards to ensure that everyone gets along. The choice is up to you. Anderson trusted you enough to leave the unification of the galaxy in your hands. If you'd like, you can show him just how misplaced that trust really was. The difficult choices are back in full swing here.

In your journey to unite the galaxy (or to travel thousands of light years just to piss everyone off), you'll be visiting many, many places throughout the Mass Effect universe. A handful will be familiar, but for the most part you'll be seeing places that the games have alluded to quite frequently. I won't say which worlds, since they might be a bit of a spoiler. I will say that, as per the trend, the Citadel is back. Those of you, like me, who were disappointed by the three or so rooms that you were able to explore in Mass Effect 2 will be delighted to know that there's probably more of the Citadel to see here than in the first two games combined.

As advertised, all of this is leading up to the final encounter between you, whatever army you're able to gather, and the Reaper forces. This final battle, if I can say as much, is definitely one of the most amazing and frenetic sequences I've ever seen in a game - elevated to spectacular heights by the story that's been building behind it across three games for nearly five years now. If you've invested a lot into that story and the characters, you'll definitely feel a sense of urgency there.

For those of you wondering, Assassin's Creed this is not. There's no cliffhanger here, no door left wide open for Mass Effect 4. BioWare have said this is the conclusion of Commander Shepard's story arc, and that is most definitely the case. I'll tell you this: the goodbyes were pretty rough on me. It feels like you're leaving a world behind. The way to the exit was an emotional rollercoaster, and tastefully done - on par with the ending to Dragon Age: Origins.

There's a small little detail about the ending that should be mentioned, not spoiled, but I'll cover that at the end of the review.

That little detail aside, though, this is definitely one of the finest stories BioWare have put together in some time. How it constantly draws upon the finer points of the last two games, how it celebrates all of the memorable moments throughout, and how tons of your decisions from previous games swing back around to either assist you or bite you in the ass... it's a very unique adventure. One of the best.

I won't be forgetting this for quite some time. Only positive memories here.


Gameplay - "Take Cover! Take Cover Everywhere!"

"Chest-high walls are the real hero of this war."

The series has come a long way from its rather cluttered origins. In terms of combat, Mass Effect 3 actually succeeds in playing as fluidly as the Gears of War series has for some time. Shepard moves a bit quicker, traversing obstacles is a bit easier, and the new melee system adds a new "wild card" to the whole process. But even then, it feels only slightly improved over ME2, but it seems to make a difference, however small.

The big thing here is that the RPG elements from the first game have been reinstated, so to speak. Remember how you only had, like, five guns to choose from in ME2? There are a lot more this time around, and each are upgradable. A weapon can be modded by way of attachments or upgraded models - and the attachments can be upgraded as well. So you feel like you have much more control over your weaponry there, and it's pretty satisfying when it makes a noticeable difference in combat. Wow, look at me giving props to something that was in the first game.

But seriously, glad to have it back.

Armor slots have been thrown into the mix, as well (which is actually an improvement over ME1, which just had mod slots). There are a variety of different helmets, chestpieces, gauntlets, greaves, etc. You can also customize your armor's color, tint, pattern, and lighting. In addition to that, you also find Reaper and Prothean tech along the way that can be used to give you bonus attributes.

Lastly, you'll a little more freedom when it comes to your abilities, since they now do a little bit of branching. It's fairly rudimentary (since they only branch in two directions, really), but it's still another level of control. It's certainly not Dragon Age or Skyrim, but it's a breath of fresh air to have these RPG elements back, and to see them optimized and structured more efficiently. The manufacturers and all that are back, but you won't be scratching your head wondering how you have all these items and none of them seem to be an upgrade (which was half the battle of ME1).

When BioWare said they were bringing back those RPG elements, they weren't lying. I hesitate to say they're very deep options or anything you'll spend an overabundance of time analyzing, but it's a thrill to see them make a return. More than just having additional options, it brings back a sense of control, customization, and immersion back into the game where it had been severely lacking in Mass Effect 2. When you suddenly have a choice of how you go into battle, it makes a difference. It separates the series from Gears of War, with which I felt ME2 shared a little too much real estate. It's great to see some heavily defined borders here.

That does it for Part One! Read Part the Second right here!

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