[360] Mass Effect

Still think the flickering shadows is very annoying and frame-rate seems very fluctuating still. Other than that it looks fantastic of course and well pleased it's out in November! Can't wait!

 

LIVE DEMO!!

http://e3.gamespot.com/live.html?tag=event_nav;live#

 

Well I am now sufficiently hyped. The E3 trailer showed an interesting universe along with a decent bad guy. I am so sick of the generic "I am evil therefore my actions explain themselves!" type villains in most games.

Sauron (nice name steal there heh heh) says two interesting quotes in the trailer:
"You can't possibly be aware of what's really going on"
and "your species needs to learn its place". I'm hoping for a genocidal-type story, where humans really aren't the toughest or smartest or most advanced race... they're just another type of creature in a big sci-fi universe, and some other species is vying for top of the food chain.

Anyway, that's it so far. Probably the game I'm most looking forward to... well, maybe equally so along with Bioshock.

Good times to be a gamer or what!

 

That's not all they've been "inspired" by.

Sound familiar?

 

http://uk.gamespot.com/video/930279/6174539/mass-effect-stage-demo-1

Lot of stuff there. Most important thing I saw was the planet map. From what they showed, there are three levels (solar, cluster and galaxy). The solar map looked like it had 5 planets, the cluster map looked like it had around 4 solar systems and the galaxy map had around 20 clusters. If that average held true throughout the entire map, hten that would mean 400(!) planets, and even if we assume a significantly smaller number of planets it is still likely to be over 100... They did say that some planets would simply have you scan them and glean some info or benefit from that, but that is a lot of playable stuff in any case...

 

I am afraid of Shadows...

 

Not sure if this is what you mean, but Necrons? (WH40k)

 

That's the point, there is no singular reference.

 

http://www.gamespot.com/video/930279/6174539/mass-effect-stage-demo-1

F'in ridiculous! You guys have to watch this.

 

Holy CRAP!

When they zoom out on that star map thingy.....

OMG! Its huuuuge

 

Wow. Definitely on my must buy list.

 

I hate doing this, but after watching all the E3 07' trailers for this game...... OMG!!!!

 

great game, nice footage but most irritating interviewer I've ever seen.

 

Haha, I think the interviewer was just a little bit too excited.

 

anunnaki style?

 

lol think so?

 

I didn't pay much attention to the game at first, but now that the premises have been layered, I can't help but feel excited. The game seems so epic and cinematic, ala 80s Sci-Fi movies, that I can barely wait to try it !

 

Just finished reading the prologue book. The writer is the same guy who writes the story of the game. His resume also includes the story of KoToR and another NY Times bestseller StarWars book. The story in the book itself is above average. It begins with nice, fast paced action, then slows down, and then ends with something that you do not expect from the main character. However, it will give you lots of information about the mainbad guy, Saren, in the game, and also, the admiral (Anderson) whom Shepherd was speaking in the beginning of trailer. I also bet that we will see more characters from the book in the game - though a little bit aged..

Although the story is above average, the backdrop world - or should I say galaxy - is excellent. You will understand why they call it "jack Bauer in space". Spectre, of which Shepherd is also a member, is an elite group, whose members are few but kind of above the law. In order to protect the galactic peace, they are allowed to do anything: this includes torture to extract information, setup a team as a bait (it does not matter if they survive or not), even commiting actions that result in loss of thousands of civilians life - if all of these leads to saving of billions of life, that's what a spectre -you- should do. That's why the creators of the game says you will face though choices throughout the game, and reading the type of tasks given to spectres in the book, this is something sure we will see in the game.

After reading the book, I also know think that Bioware creates an excellent setting for themselves. Being a shepherd means you have to take any task that is given from the council, and it does not necessarily mean that it is related to main quest. I think with this in hand, they can easily expand game by adding quests as DLC. Even maybe, we will see some episodic content, who knows...

Anyway, the book is worth reading, at least for getting more familiar with the setting and the characters. I am alot more excited for the game now!

 

I guess I should clarify what I meant. I was referring to the mass extinction of biological life in the galaxy that shows up plenty of times in sci-fi, including Halo, Stargate, even Descent: Freespace to an extent - and they all involve some sort of "ancient civilization" that's all high and mighty.

 

Like the Romans?