Mass Effect (X360) Preview

[RainOfTerror]

Mass Effect is a science-fiction action-RPG created by BioWare, previously known for Jade Empire, KotoR, and Neverwinter Nights. Mass Effect will deliver an immersive story driven gameplay experience with stunning visual fidelity. Here is a snip :

Getting back to the "size and scope" theme of Mass Effect, the galaxy map displays tons of smaller solar systems with stars, planets and moons that can all be explored. We couldn't get any specific numbers, but from what we saw, it appears that Mass Effect will literally be quite massive (pun intended). You can go to any of the available planets, moons or asteroids, land on their surface and start exploring. You even have access to a surface rover that you can use to drive around the new world, and as you progress through the game, you can upgrade this vehicle with more features. While the standard number of completely different and unique planets to explore is already stunning, even more will be available for download through Xbox Live. Check the full Mass Effect preview (http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=34256) over at WorthPlaying.

[LogainAblar]

Thanks for the link; I especially like the part about choosing an emotional response during a dialogue.

[bKangy]

Oh my. I'm pretty excited for this now!

[phantomhitman]

more games to buy, no money, need a thieving monkey.....

edit-this game is looking really good.

[camberiu]

Maybe this will be something like the old Starflight?

[bapenguin]

I had hear this had a pretty good showing at E3. Sounds like it could be pretty good from the preview.

I know the shaky cam vids made it look gorgeous.

[Grimgrock]

I want to know more.

[Eran Hawke]

Wow. Where can I find out more about this game?

[Borys]

We need hi-res videos, it looks absolutely stunning in motion.

(unnanounced yet) 2007 Vista version FTW!

[MrMeatshake]

"it appears that Mass Effect will literally be quite massive (pun intended)." what do they want, a medal?

[Vandenh]

I wanne know how all these planets work? Random generated with random quests? Hand designed? or a mix of both? Anybody any idea??? If partially random than I am VERY excited since my ultimate games dream is to have a totally procedural RPG system.

[GrinR]

If we're lucky, the devs will have played Sundog (http://www3.sympatico.ca/maury/games/space/sundog.html) .

[Captain Awesome]

We need hi-res videos, it looks absolutely stunning in motion.

Indeed it does. Me so horny for this game.

[Vandabo]

Oblivion in space!

I'm not trolling, that is actually what I want. I'm really looking forward to this game, and I hope they deliver on these claims. I definitely feel the need for a good, open ended space adventure.

[Supertongue5000]

Looks retarded. The dialog thing is extremely dumb. WHEEL OF FORTUNE!!! It'll be the friggen persuasion simon-mini-game all over again. Are dialog options really too complex for people these days? God forbid people should actually read.

[thecrazyd]

Looks retarded. The dialog thing is extremely dumb. WHEEL OF FORTUNE!!! It'll be the friggen persuasion simon-mini-game all over again. Are dialog options really too complex for people these days? God forbid people should actually read.
This site doesn't need a new troll. Lay off.

[Jack B]

Maybe this will be something like the old Starflight?

Camberiu,

:D I was thinking the exact same thing and thought, "Yeah, I bet I'm the only one...". That game was out on the PC around 1987 or so... I spent a couple of months with a buddy playing that game exploring planets and talking to aliens every night after work. Probably my favorite game in the 80's.

We were hooked. I'm never forget when we found out what Iridium really was... We looked at each other and said, "opps...". :D

Can't wait for Mass Effect!

[Jack B]

Looks retarded. The dialog thing is extremely dumb. WHEEL OF FORTUNE!!! It'll be the friggen persuasion simon-mini-game all over again. Are dialog options really too complex for people these days? God forbid people should actually read.

Troll. Go away.

It was voted best RPG at E3 by www.gamecriticsawards.com a consensus of 37 media outlets, so get a clue. You're looking like an idiot. :D

[Jack B]

I wanne know how all these planets work? Random generated with random quests? Hand designed? or a mix of both? Anybody any idea??? If partially random than I am VERY excited since my ultimate games dream is to have a totally procedural RPG system.

I wondered the same thing. Could be random, which could be disappointing. Could be like Oblivion.

They do have 110 people working on this, which is supposed to be one of the biggest teams for current 360 titles.

[Jack B]

Wow. Where can I find out more about this game?

www.masseffect.com is the home page.

[laggerific]

This site doesn't need a new troll. Lay off.

As a non-troll, I consider his remarks to be fairly valid...I immediately thought of the persuasion mini-game from Oblivion when I heard of this. Although, the attack on people not reading misses the mark, as I don't see that as necessarily being behind that decision.

As a Fallout fan, Dialogue is very important to me, but more important is the ability to see how the character you created maneuvers through a complex dialogue tree...and what usually affects that is the intelligence and charisma of the character. Is emotion quotient (EQ) a stat in the game? Does the dialogue allow for subtle nuances of character stats to affect the dialogue and the game?

[Mr.Condescension]

Looks like it'll be a great game if KOTOR and Jade are any indication. Screen shots look decent, but what's with the utter lack of anti-aliasing? Talk about attack of the jaggies on the outdoor scenes.

edit: I'm referring in particular to screen shot #8. Hope they add AA in a later build. I know the 360 can do it...lost planet is almost void of jaggies.

[Tel Prydain]

As these are the people who did Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights and Knights of the Old Republic; I would describe my expectation as cautiously optimistic.

I ‘like’ the wheel thing. I get it. I agree that the one in Oblivion was dumb, but this isn’t like that at all – it’s more like the control system for Sam And Max Hit The Road. It’ll be interesting to see if it works.

[inmostlight]

Hmmm....should I hold my breath from some top-down, 2d ship-to-ship ultramelee combat?

Please, BioWare, make me a *happy* *camper*

[dr_wily]

If we're lucky, the devs will have played Sundog (http://www3.sympatico.ca/maury/games/space/sundog.html) .

marry me.

I FUCKING LOVED THAT GAME

As all 8 year olds do; they play the game purely to buy guns and hang out in allys to wait for people to rob you, then you kill them all oregon trail style and steal their drugs and equipment to sell.

Hells yeah thanks for the memories

[Supertongue5000]

It's pretty funny when i make one negative comment about a new game i'm suddenly labeled a "troll." LONG LIVE THE HIVEMIND :rolleyes:

I seriously think this is a step in the wrong direction for BioWare, what with the emphasis on first-person action and trying to make it just like teh movies!!1! The dialogue wheel is just silly, it takes away from the interaction of NPCs. It makes things feel void and lifeless. Instead of just going "Hey, you don't give me that info I'll break your face in two, buddy" you just get "[Emotion: Anger, Intimidation]" and oh boy watch that wheel spin! It's plastic and makes me feel detached from the game world, like I'm just playing a spreadsheet and matching numbers against each other.

That said, as long as they keep this shit on the xbox and away from their future titles on the PC, I'll be cool. Dragon Age looks very nice and I'm actually looking forward to it, the first time I've done so for a Bioware title.

It was voted best RPG at E3 by www.gamecriticsawards.com a consensus of 37 media outlets, so get a clue. You're looking like an idiot.
I can't tell if you're kidding or not, but just remember most of those media outlets also told us that Oblivion was god's gift to RPGs and look how that turned out.

[LogainAblar]

It's pretty funny when i make one negative comment about a new game i'm suddenly labeled a "troll." LONG LIVE THE HIVEMIND :rolleyes:

I seriously think this is a step in the wrong direction for BioWare, what with the emphasis on first-person action and trying to make it just like teh movies!!1! The dialogue wheel is just silly, it takes away from the interaction of NPCs. It makes things feel void and lifeless. Instead of just going "Hey, you don't give me that info I'll break your face in two, buddy" you just get "[Emotion: Anger, Intimidation]" and oh boy watch that wheel spin! It's plastic and makes me feel detached from the game world, like I'm just playing a spreadsheet and matching numbers against each other.

That said, as long as they keep this shit on the xbox and away from their future titles on the PC, I'll be cool. Dragon Age looks very nice and I'm actually looking forward to it, the first time I've done so for a Bioware title.

I can't tell if you're kidding or not, but just remember most of those media outlets also told us that Oblivion was god's gift to RPGs and look how that turned out.

You must have found some source regarding this dialogue "wheel" that I have not seen. Or you're just making assumptions.

Regardless, your first post was clearly aimed at irritating the people who have expressed interest in this game; there's no use denying (though I'm sure you will try to), so you might as well just admit that you're trolling.

Not that it matters. i'm just saying is all.

You'rs also an idiot.

[Jack B]

I can't tell if you're kidding or not, but just remember most of those media outlets also told us that Oblivion was god's gift to RPGs and look how that turned out.

Huh? We have 37 media outlets including IGN, Gamespot, 1up, Gamedaily.com, and another 34 that gave it...

"Best RPG of E3 2006"

They all went to the Mass Effect presentation at E3. Did you? My guess is you've read about 1 article and saw some screen shots. And you can't tell if I'm serious?

Read my lips. I'm serious. That many people didn't all fuck up. It's not finished yet, but given what everyone saw with their own eyes and Biowares reputation, I'll take their word for it over yours.

As for using Oblivion to make a point, I don't get it? Oblivion is one of the best role playing games every made. Yes, it's got bugs, but what the hell is your point about reviewers being wrong about Oblivion.

I really shouldn't feed the troll, but I haven't seen enough of your posts to know if you are serious or just a troll. I suppose I'll find out in due course.

[Supertongue5000]

You must have found some source regarding this dialogue "wheel" that I have not seen. Or you're just making assumptions.
BioWare
Regardless, your first post was clearly aimed at irritating the people who have expressed interest in this game; there's no use denying (though I'm sure you will try to), so you might as well just admit that you're trolling
If I wanted to irritate them i would've went YOU ARE ALL DUMB FOR LIKING THIS GAME LOL SUCK DICK PLZ. Instead I simply wrote that I thought it looked dumb and silly. Big difference. If you can't handle other people's contrary opinions, you should stay off the internets.
You'rs also an idiot.
Troll :rolleyes:
Huh? We have 37 media outlets including IGN, Gamespot, 1up, Gamedaily.com, and another 34 that gave it...

"Best RPG of E3 2006"
Because IGN, 1up, Gamespot, and Gamedaily are sooooo trustworthy...

They all went to the Mass Effect presentation at E3. Did you? My guess is you've read about 1 article and saw some screen shots. And you can't tell if I'm serious?
I've read every article done on it, seen many screenshots, and I know Bio's past track record (I've played every single one of there games including MK2).
As for using Oblivion to make a point, I don't get it? Oblivion is one of the best role playing games every made. Yes, it's got bugs, but what the hell is your point about reviewers being wrong about Oblivion.
I don't want to get into a big oblivion discussion but I bought oblivion based on what Desslock said about in PC gamer, he's usually trust-worthy and knows his rpgs. His review basically said it was god's gift to RPgs and was the high water mark. Of course, he failed to mention the auto-leveling, the repetitive dungeons, the broken radiant AI, the fed-ex main quests, the boring mage and fighter guild quests,and so on. It was a giant hype fest and it sucked. It set no high-water mark. In fact, it fell flat on it's face when it even thought about trying to jump over the marker Fallout and its ilk set nearly 10 years ago.

You may say "oh tatz just 1 reviewer LOL" but every other review except for a select one or two was basically just parroting the same opinion.

I really shouldn't feed the troll, but I haven't seen enough of your posts to know if you are serious or just a troll. I suppose I'll find out in due course.
Apparently around here "troll" means someone with different opinions than the majority.

[LogainAblar]

BioWare

If I wanted to irritate them i would've went YOU ARE ALL DUMB FOR LIKING THIS GAME LOL SUCK DICK PLZ. Instead I simply wrote that I thought it looked dumb and silly. Big difference. If you can't handle other people's contrary opinions, you should stay off the internets.

Troll :rolleyes:

Apparently around here "troll" means someone with different opinions than the majority.

Naturally, you don't provide a link to the quote regarding the wheel. And despite your attempts, you're not nearly as subtle as you think you are. See Mr. Condescension's posts for pointers in how to truly patronize someone.

[Supertongue5000]

Naturally, you don't provide a link to the quote regarding the wheel.
hhurr hurr hurr (http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3150698&did=1)
The dialogue system is a refined, more dynamic version of what you've seen in previous Bioware games. You'll no longer read the lines and select which one you want to say; now you use a dialogue wheel to choose the approach you want to take (bully, bribe, or be nice, for example), and your character takes it from there.

roflcopter (http://xbox.gamespy.com/xbox-360/bioware-rpg-unnanounced/707726p1.html)
Although the game has a ton of promising elements, nothing impressed us as much as the innovative conversation system, which essentially allows characters to carry on discussion with NPCs in real time. You'll be able to interact with any character you meet in the game, but rather than simply selecting a phrase from a standard menu (like you did in Jade Empire and KotOR), you'll be able to use the analog stick to point to any one of several phrases around a wheel. If that sounds confusing, it's because, at first, it's hard to get your head around the concept. However, while previous games made you wait until the other character finished speaking, you'll be able to select your response at any time, allowing you to carry on a full conversation in real time. A moving camera will focus on whichever character is speaking, and you'll actually be able to hear your character's voice and see him talk, which is another departure from BioWare's other games.

Dave Gaider also posted some more info in this thread. (http://www.rpgcodex.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=13135)
And despite your attempts, you're not nearly as subtle as you think you are.
I was trying to be subtle?

[Mr.Condescension]

See Mr. Condescension's posts for pointers in how to truly patronize someone.

Ooooooh. My name in print. :o

[Jack B]

Apparently around here "troll" means someone with different opinions than the majority.

Supertongue5000,

Definition of Internet Troll (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll)

In Internet terminology, a troll is someone who comes into an established community such as an online discussion forum, and posts inflammatory, rude or offensive messages designed intentionally to annoy and antagonize the existing members or disrupt the flow of discussion.

As for why so many of us thought of your post as a troll post, look at
Oblivion's consensus 94% score (http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages4/927345.asp) from 129 different publications. The LOWEST was 80%. Check it out.

If you are not a troll, then you certainly are an Outlier

Definition of Outlier (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlier)

In statistics, an outlier is a single observation "far away" from the rest of the data.

In most samplings of data, some data points will be further away from their expected values than what is deemed reasonable. This can be due to systematic error or faults in the theory that generated the expected values. Outlier points can therefore indicate faulty data, erroneous procedures, or areas where a certain theory might not be valid. However, a small number of outliers is expected in normal distributions.

To put it another way, if you came onto a baseball forum and said, "the New York Yankees have been the worst team in baseball over the last 10 years in my opinion..".

You'd be a troll there too. Even a Boston Red Sox fan wouldn't say that. I'm not a Yankees fan, but a comment like that would be trolling or a definite outlier type comment.

This why your comments come across like a Fan Boy or Troll.

Go ahead come back with something about Oblivion isn't the New York Yankees or something equally goofy.

You don't need to like or even love Oblivion, but to say that it sucks is assinine and troll or Fan Boy worthy. Are the Yankees the best? Up for debate. Are they horrible. Not even up for debate.

Signed,

Member of the Hivemind
(the one you spoke about earlier)

[Supertongue5000]

I didn't want to turn this into an OBlivion discussion but christ. You know what? Yes, I think Oblivion sucks because it fundamentally fails to deliever on any of the promises the developers said during development, it was hyped beyond belief and failed to deliever even a fraction of it, and was said to be the first "truly next-gen" game when in fact, it's still beaten out by games that can't even run natively on windows. It has a plethora of problems, not just bugs and technical issues but gameplay issues hardcoded into the core game that I doubt bethesda isn't going to change anytime soon.
-Stealth system sucks. Completely binary and doesn't offer any helpful information
-Uniform classes. All classes fall into 3 catergories: Sneaker, fighter, mage and all end up doing the same thing: killing stuff
-Stupid auto-leveling system. takes away any challenge or fun to be had in the game. Oh wow I just killed this boss creature at the end of a dungeon and I get some...lockpicks?
-Boring repetivie dungeons
-Linear quests
-Omniscient guards
-goofy, twitchy combat system
-main quest is entirely fed-ex
-lack of dialogue options makes most NPCs just walking wikipedias
-completely broken RADIANT AI that fails to measure up to what Ultima VII did 14 years ago
-Streamlining of skills takes away any chance that you might have a unique character
-No mounted combat

I could go on and on with all the problems but i think you get it.
As for why so many of us thought of your post as a troll post, look at
Oblivion's consensus 94% score from 129 different publications. The LOWEST was 80%. Check it out.
Yeah, and? Do those people speak for me? No, those are just THEIR OPINION, yet somehow it counts more because those douchebags are featured on gamerankings. Wow! look at this! (http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages4/914356.asp) Black and White got a 90 from 41 different outlets! Gosh, it must be a GREAT GAME! But, it wasn't. Same with Dungeon Siege (http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/913965.asp?q=dungeon%20siege) and NWN (http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages4/188666.asp), it was just the hype getting to the reviewers and/or the reviewers being completely aisine.

Also, one should note that GameRankings doesn't take unscored reviews into account, and some of the best reviews I've seen of Oblivion were unscored and mostly on forums. So there you go.

You can't compare Oblivion to the New York Yankees because their quality is in hard, cold data i.e. games won, home runs et cetera. Judging a game is completely subjective and my opinion of the game, in a completely subjective way that is my opinion and no one else's, is that the game sucks. Now stop being a bitch because some big bad meanine insulted your favorite game.

[Jack B]

I didn't want to turn this into an OBlivion discussion but christ. You know what? Yes, I think Oblivion sucks because it fundamentally fails to deliever on any of the promises the developers said during development, it was hyped beyond belief and failed to deliever even a fraction of it, and was said to be the first "truly next-gen" game when in fact, it's still beaten out by games that can't even run natively on windows. It has a plethora of problems, not just bugs and technical issues but gameplay issues hardcoded into the core game that I doubt bethesda isn't going to change anytime soon.
-Stealth system sucks. Completely binary and doesn't offer any helpful information
-Uniform classes. All classes fall into 3 catergories: Sneaker, fighter, mage and all end up doing the same thing: killing stuff
-Stupid auto-leveling system. takes away any challenge or fun to be had in the game. Oh wow I just killed this boss creature at the end of a dungeon and I get some...lockpicks?
-Boring repetivie dungeons
-Linear quests
-Omniscient guards
-goofy, twitchy combat system
-main quest is entirely fed-ex
-lack of dialogue options makes most NPCs just walking wikipedias
-completely broken RADIANT AI that fails to measure up to what Ultima VII did 14 years ago
-Streamlining of skills takes away any chance that you might have a unique character
-No mounted combat

I could go on and on with all the problems but i think you get it.

Yeah, and? Do those people speak for me? No, those are just THEIR OPINION, yet somehow it counts more because those douchebags are featured on gamerankings. Wow! look at this! (http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages4/914356.asp) Black and White got a 90 from 41 different outlets! Gosh, it must be a GREAT GAME! But, it wasn't. Same with Dungeon Siege (http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/913965.asp?q=dungeon%20siege) and NWN (http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages4/188666.asp), it was just the hype getting to the reviewers and/or the reviewers being completely aisine.

Also, one should note that GameRankings doesn't take unscored reviews into account, and some of the best reviews I've seen of Oblivion were unscored and mostly on forums. So there you go.

You can't compare Oblivion to the New York Yankees because their quality is in hard, cold data i.e. games won, home runs et cetera. Judging a game is completely subjective and my opinion of the game, in a completely subjective way that is my opinion and no one else's, is that the game sucks. Now stop being a bitch because some big bad meanine insulted your favorite game.

Supertongue5000,

Thanks. That clears it up. I'd say you are an Outlier (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlier), but at least your passionate. Nothing wrong with that.

Would you agree, by the definition of outlier your are one in the Oblvion and Mass Effect cases? Remember with Oblivion not 1 in 129 gave it less than an 80 or 4 out of 5. And Mass Effect was "RPG of E3 2006".

Since you've said Oblivion "sucks", I'd say you would give it far below the lowest score of 129, which by definition would make you an outlier. What score would you give Oblivion? I assume "sucks" is far less than 80.
I prefer outlier's to trolls, any day of the week. Are you sir an outlier and proud of it?

[Supertongue5000]

Since you've said Oblivion "sucks", I'd say you would give it far below the lowest score of 129, which by definition would make you an outlier.
I AM NOT A NUMBER, I AM A FREE MAN!
What score would you give Oblivion? I assume "sucks" is far less than 80.
I'm not a big fan of scores because they're usually arbitrary but I'd give Oblivion a 50-60ish, which would equate to about "Rather sucky, maybe worth a 20 dollar impulse buy if you're desperate enough for a new game to play that may become somewhat alright if you pump it up with enough mods."

[Jack B]

I AM NOT A NUMBER, I AM A FREE MAN!

I'm not a big fan of scores because they're usually arbitrary but I'd give Oblivion a 50-60ish, which would equate to about "Rather sucky, maybe worth a 20 dollar impulse buy if you're desperate enough for a new game to play that may become somewhat alright if you pump it up with enough mods."

Fair enough.

I don't agree, but I believe it's your sincere opinion.., which I will respect, assuming you did play through a decent amount of the game.

[Supertongue5000]

which I will respect, assuming you did invest a reasonable amount of time in playing the game.
About 30~ 35hours or so. Beat the main quest, and the fighters guild and dark brotherhood quest lines and closed about 7 gates not counting the main quest ones (though once you close one, you've closed them all really heh)

[dr_wily]

jesus you two, get a fucking room and sweat it out horse armour hot dog style.

[Supertongue5000]

Suck a dick and die

[Jack B]

jesus you two, get a fucking room and sweat it out horse armour hot dog style.

What a brilliant and witty comment. :p