[360] Mass Effect

[RobertR1]

Stolen from gaf:

Scores summary:

OXM US: 10/10
OXM Australia: 10/10
GameSpy: 5/5
GamerTV: 5/5
Xbox Evolved: 9.8/10
Game Informer: 9.75/10
GameTrailers: 9.6/10
TeamXbox: 9.6
IGN: 9.4/10
EGM: 9/10, 9.5/10, 9/10
CVG: 9/10
Gamesmaster: 90%
Video Game Talk: 4.5/5
Xbox World 360: 90%
Eurogamer: 8/10

 

[DuckThor Evil]

I'm glad everyone is saying that the story and storytelling rocks, as that's the thing I have mostly looked for in this title since the beginning. Only few more days...

 

[scooby_dooby]

Eurogamer review:

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=87875 8/10

Meh, Eurogamer is starting to lose major credibility with their apparent need to be different than everyone else.

I might understand if they were more consistent, but they give Gears of War a 9?? and then Mass Effect an 8?? That's laughable.

Gametrailers has really emerged as my favourtie review site. They are extremely consistent, and don't feel the need to be anti-hype, or gushing praise, they simply review the game on it's merits, relative to it's own genre, and seem to be very fair and down to earth.

They also offer full 10 minute video reviews, that are much more in-depth and comprehensive than most of the written reviews out there.

Game Trailers video review: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/27704.html - 9.6

 

[Mintmaster]

Meh, Eurogamer is starting to lose major credibility with their apparent need to be different than everyone else.

I might understand if they were more consistent, but they give Gears of War a 9?? and then Mass Effect an 8?? That's laughable.

Well, it looks like you have to play the game to see all the issues that made them bring down the score. It's a shame that BioWare couldn't iron them out, because it looks like everything else is amazing.

 

[scooby_dooby]

Well, it looks like you have to play the game to see all the issues that made them bring down the score. It's a shame that BioWare couldn't iron them out, because it looks like everything else is amazing.

Well, I can se already I share nothing with this reviewer.

He complains for 3 parapgraphs about too much conversation, and then spends all of one sentance on the huge variety of side missions and exploration. I don't even understand that. You have this huge galaxy, with tons of unique sidequests...and you give it nothing more than a passing mention?? That's just a complete miss for me.

It's just a poor review imo, and I'm not talking about the score, obviously he's a shooter guy who wasn't thrilled with the shooting, fair enough. But when i compare it to Gametrailers where they analyze every aspect of the game in depth, this is just extremely shallow.

It doesn't tell me anything about the game other than the shooting is not on par with GRAW or GOW, well I knew that already. And honestly, if I want a good shoooter that is 6 hour long, a completely linear experience, with a shoestring story, well there is plenty of options out there for me...Mass Effect offers something completely different from any of those titles, so it's unfortunate he decided to ignore most of what it brings to the table and instead review it as an action game.

 

[Johnny Awesome]

Yeah. That's like complaining that FFX battles were not real-time when everyone knows going in that it's a turn-based RPG. Mass Effect is not a tactical squad shooter.

 

[Acert93]

Yeah. That's like complaining that FFX battles were not real-time when everyone knows going in that it's a turn-based RPG. Mass Effect is not a tactical squad shooter.

That is what I don't get. I can see not liking a game because it isn't an action game, but complaining in a review about a genre loved/appreciated/desired by fans with its own intricate rules and design seems odd. I hate turn based RPGs, what is the point comparing such to an action game like PoP? Or even comparing KotOR to PoP? Sure, you can compare the combat -- and wish more RPGs went the route of true action combat -- but after the action game is done the RPG has a lot more heft to the experience. It takes years to develop finely tuned, scripted, and focused gameplay for any developer. Toss in all the RPG elements and you have 2 games. The fact we are evolving away from the old methods is pretty progressive--but the gotcha is you then get compared to the more progressive elements in the action genres, which current RPGs have no chance. Too Human will face this fate.

 

[scooby_dooby]

Lookign at the comments I think this guy is just not big on storytelling.

He says that he prefers oblivion over mass effect "by a country mile".

That says it all, Oblivion was a fun experience, and very open, but it was also completely soul-less, and the story was horrible. There was no variety to the sidequests, and no real rewards for exploration, not to mention the combat was brutal. ME does all these things better, yet he prefers Oblivion?

He also makes comments like this: "Mass Effect is no more an RPG than something like Devil May Cry."
http://www.eurogamer.net/article_discussion.php?article_id=87875&comment_start=100

To each his own

 

[PARANOiA]

Interesting.. but there's no need to target and single out the lowest review score as if it's the benchmark. Looks like fairly silly complaints regarding the genre, but there's so many other top-shelf reviews the keep me excited.

Mine's in the mail!

 

[Arwin]

I'll be looking forward to your impressions. Like Bioshock, the (in this case squad based) aspects of this game currently seem to put me off the most. The environment and the story is both more (story) and less (environment) appealing to me. I'm looking forward to taking to an epic game like this one, and I dig the galaxy and planets and lots of side-quests, and even the talking. Let me know what you guys think and hopefully you'll change my mind.

 

[AlNom]

Mine's in the mail!

Mine should be too! Are you getting the limited collector's edition?

 

[PARANOiA]

Mine should be too! Are you getting the limited collector's edition?

They don't have the CE in Australia... but there's apparently a "free pre-order disc" that was announced after my pre-order, so I'm hoping that's in it too.

Did anyone else replay KOTOR in preparation? I jumped into the sequel briefly, but stopped fairly early on, due to the overall broken feeling of the rushed sequel.

 

[scooby_dooby]

Shacknews has posted a very good review, not pulling any punches, but also giving the game credit where it's due.

Mass Effect is a decidedly strange beast. The combat can be downright depressing, but I always knew that just beyond that last barricade was another brilliantly orchestrated exchange--or, at the very least, some guy I could shoot in the back. While the core gameplay is nothing new--sometimes disappointingly so--Mass Effect represents a generational jump in storytelling artistry. It succeeds in spite of its faults, and by the end, I was left excited with the idea of an improved sequel. For that reason, it's a game that every RPG fan should play.

http://www.shacknews.com/featuredarticle.x?id=681&page=2

 

[RobertR1]

Just saw the Gametrailers review. No spoilers that I could see so feel free to check it out. The game looks beautiful btw.

 

[infinity4]

Just found out that this game supports letterboxing at 1280x1024, I am definitely buying this now. :smile:

 

[ShootMyMonkey]

Meh, Eurogamer is starting to lose major credibility with their apparent need to be different than everyone else.

I might understand if they were more consistent, but they give Gears of War a 9?? and then Mass Effect an 8?? That's laughable.

I don't know about that. They certainly seem a lot more consistent than others on this particular game. Seeing as how they noted running into a lot more problems (particularly a few that affect you during gameplay) than Gametrailers, it seems only normal that their score would be lower. It's certainly a far cry from IGN's review which harped on the flaws more than anyone else and even mentioned a few bugs they ran into which, if discovered during TCR review would definitely have constituted a failure, but somehow they still gave the game a 9.4.

Gametrailers has really emerged as my favourtie review site. They are extremely consistent, and don't feel the need to be anti-hype, or gushing praise, they simply review the game on it's merits, relative to it's own genre, and seem to be very fair and down to earth.

I wouldn't agree with that at all, but then again... I wouldn't be able to say that about any game review source whatsoever. Gametrailers seems to fall victim to these vices too (maybe not as horrifyingly bad as some others). I've seen so many reviews where they come into it with inflated expectations because of the hype on a game. I've also seen all too many cases where they fault one game for a flaw (quite validly so), but do not fault other games for the same shortcomings. Maybe you could say their reviews make some sense on an individual review level, but I can't say there's consistency across the entire field of reviews they have. Granted, this is a fault that's universal to media outlets in general, so it seems more like the best you can say is that some sites have the thinnest of silver linings.

 

[Deepak]

Yeah they still gave 9 to graphics and gameplay despite finding many serious flaws.

 

[Asher]

Yeah they still gave 9 to graphics and gameplay despite finding many serious flaws.

I think you need to define "serious flaw". It's clearly not that serious if it doesn't get in the way of some serious entertainment.

From all of the footage I've seen and the reviews I've read, I'm not aware of any serious flaws. Please elaborate.

Every review I've seen concedes to some minor complaints (bugginess [can be fixed via autopatches, not inherent to game], occasionally sluggish framerate, etc) that don't even come close to outweighing the ravings (the gameplay, the story, the graphics in general, the presentation, etc). Thus the high scores.

 

[Deepak]

Oops I should have not written serious there. But still they say "slowdown is rampant"/"glitches/poor AI" etc. BTW, Game Spot review is up.

 

[PARANOiA]

An 8.5 from Gamespot. I wonder, since both GS and EG have deviated from the usual review scores by a point or more over the last few big-ticket games. Normally they're my most trusted reviews, so I'll need to see if this game is another KOTOR.

I'll definitely be posting my thoughts when the games hits my hot little hands.