Mass Effect for PC?

[igi]

I wouldn't recommend either ME1 or M2 or children, far too violent, and there are some tough decisions in there that a child may find disturbing. For anyone else though, I'd certainly recommend it.

Haha, what a typo!

 

What makes you think it was a typo...?

 

 

 

To stay on topic, what's the average playthrough time of ME3 (plus quest expansions)? I'm not sure I can manage another 40 hour game, for a few months at least.

 

Also on the subject of ME expansions - you can BUY item packs? Or more accurately, do people actually PAY for them? And I see there are item pack DLC for the the Dragon Age series as well. Maybe I'll start selling igi-points and charging 500 of them for iiItems.

[Jarno Mikkola]

What makes you think it was a typo...?

Maybe they were fulled by the tactically removed E between the M & 2 at the second example. :D I was not !

 

To stay on topic, what's the average playthrough time of ME3 (plus quest expansions)? I'm not sure I can manage another 40 hour game, for a few months at least.

Honestly, there's a lots... 40 hours is a good average, but I have spend 700+ hours playing the multiplayer alone...

 

Also on the subject of ME expansions - you can BUY item packs? Or more accurately, do people actually PAY for them? And I see there are item pack DLC for the the Dragon Age series as well. Maybe I'll start selling igi-points and charging 500 of them for iiItems.

I would not recommend that you buy those weapons... they are ... well "easy" to cheat into the PC game, well, all but the exactly one or two of them.

[Twani]

ME3 is going to be another 40 hour game, yeah. But it's a good game! Make sure you get Citadel.

 

Actually on the thought of DLC's... this might be useful for Domi.

 

ME1

+ Bring Down the Sky. A decent self-contained little quest. Not as good as the DLC's for ME2 or ME3, but it's free, so whatever. Ties in to ME3. Non spoilery summary: A call of distress brings you to an asteroid with terrorists taking hostages on it. You go to save them.

+ Pinnacle Station. A bit more eh. It's basically just a giant fighting arena quest after quest, though upon finishing it you get some of the best rewards in the game. After completing it fully once, I've never really had the urge to play it again (though I don't really like replaying ME1, as opposed to ME2/3). But I think it comes for free in the trilogy, so hey.

 

ME2

+ Crash Site. No way to be non-spoilery about this: it's one simple, very quiet mission. Comes for free with the Cerebus network, which you should get free if you buy ME Trilogy new rather then used.

+ Zaeed. Gives you an older, hardened mercenary squadmate. He's useful enough, but he does not have detailed conversations with you the way the other ME2 companions do. Instead, after every story mission, he'll generally just give you an update on what he thought about it. However, having him in ME2 means he shows up (though he doesn't join the party) in ME3, where he is freakin' awesome (especially in Citadel). In practice, I don't know if I would buy him, but he comes free with Cerebus network, so it's like, why not.

+ Citadel Weapon and Armor pack. Let me be honest: none of these weapon packs are worth it, so I'm not even going to list the rest of them. I mean, this comes with a decent shotgun, sure, but there are many mods for the game that add extra weapons if you want them, and the armor is pointless.

+ Appearance Pack. These are useless, too, but if you're going to buy one, you'll probably want the first one. It fixes G's armor and gives J some clothes, and the outfit for T never killed anyone.

+ Firewalker Pack. You drive around in a light vehicle that's far too easily killed to be called a tank, and are vaguely pulled in to a plot that involves scientists and old artifacts. This one barely has a plot holding it together: it's mostly an excuse to drive around in that vehicle and shoot at things. Not a very good DLC, but I think it's free with Cerebus network.

+ Kasumi. Another DLC joinable party member. This one's a Japanese kleptomaniac who's a bit too interested in your love life. Like Zaeed, she doesn't have detailed conversations with you: she just makes comments about story related missions, and she seems to do that even less then Zaeed does. She's useful in a fight and is amusing enough, and like Zaeed, will carry over to ME3/Citadel. On the other side, you have a gazillion possible party members in ME2, and she doesn't really add anything to the story.

+ Overlord. Another opportunity to use that light vehicle, but this one actually has a plot, and it's a pretty good one. Notable, just like in Firewalker, your companions are completely silent here- but the plot is interesting enough to move forward. Has some payoff in ME3. Plot mixes together a crazy AI, geth, random light vehicle that is not a tank, and a scientist too set in his goals in to something interesting. I wouldn't say it's a must buy, but I'd recommend it.

+ Lair of the Shadow Broker. The probable 'must buy' from ME2's DLC. It involves teaming up with a companion from the first game to go after the Lair of the Shadow Broker (as title, apparently). The banter in this is great, the fights are generally interesting- some tough ones, but none that caused me to tear my hair out, the plot is good, completing it opens up some new and interesting options... it won a lot of awards. Problem? The whole thing is dependent on Liara. If you really dislike Liara (which some people do- I'm almost completely indifferent to her, in truth), this whole DLC falls apart a bit as you'll find it hard to actually care about her emotional growth and personal struggle against her nemesis. As a note, not having played through it makes the PC look not the brightest in ME3.

+ Arrival. ...This DLC I am so mixed on. The plot is decent. I don't think it's as good as Overlord's to be honest, but decent. Usually, thus, I'd recommend Overlord instead. The problem is, playing Arrival makes the beginning of ME3 make almost a hundred times more sense. For ME3's opening to be optimal in why you are in the position you are in, you really need to have played Arrival. So... buy Lair of the Shadow Broker, then Arrival if you still have money. Those are the two that are really 'necessary' for ME2. Though I really do like Overlord...

 

ME3:

+ From Ashes. Like Zaeed and Kasumi, this adds a new companion to the game. Unlike Zaeed and Kasumi, Javik is fully integrated in the game. He has long drawn out dialogs with you, befriends and antagonizes (well, mostly antagonizes) the rest of your crew, and generally has all the interaction of every other ME3 squadmember, if not more. This pack also comes with a weapon that can make the game much easier for you if you're not too good at shooters. I definitely recommend getting it, and doing it early, but... it's ten dollars. Owch.

+ Extended Cut. Free DLC that makes the ending make some actual sense. Make sure to download it if you like endings that make sense. It's a winner, there.

+ Levithan. Your character hunts down an ancient being said to be powerful enough to destroy their enemies, dealing with brainwashing and archeology along the way. Unlike the ME2 DLC's, your companions are fully talkative and aware of this DLC, and will comment during them and after them. It's slightly more tied to the main plot then Omega, and it can lead to a sweet few lines from your love interest. Completing it changes the extended cut ending ever slightly, as well as another quest during the game.

+ Omega. Join forces with one of the most powerful women of the galaxy and her ex-girlfriend to go save a planet you hung out on back during ME2. This isn't as tied to the plot as other DLCs, but it's just a fun romp. Gets you quite a bit of War Assets, too. In the order of ME3 DLC's to buy, it probably comes last (I'd buy Citadel, From the Ashes, Levithan, then Omega)- but I'd still say it's worth a buy. Of course, if you're buying all these DLCs, you're paying what, forty dollars or so? That's almost another new game. DLC is crazy.

+ Citadel. The must buy of ME3. This is actually a light-hearted story, with Shepard being attacked while on shore leave by a rather underwhelming mercenary group, but the main pull here is the interaction. Banter between Shepard and her (or his) crew probably doesn't get better then this DLC, and many people like to consider this the true 'end' of ME and completely ignore the actual endings of the game. As a suggestion: do the first half of it as soon as you feel like it, but save the last part until right before the 'you can no longer go back because this is the end game' point of ME3. You'll know when you've gotten to that point, as basically everyone starts warning you that this is where it ends.

[igi]

Can you installed the new ending in the middle of a game? I can't face playing through twice, so I'd probably play through to near the end, save, finish the game, revert to save, install alternative end and finish the game again. Is that a proposal that makes sense, or are the changes interleaved throughout the game?

[Jarno Mikkola]

Can you installed the new ending in the middle of a game? ...so I'd probably play through to near the end, save, finish the game, revert to save, install alternative end and finish the game again.

Yes, and I would recommend this exact thing for the first time players... just so you know, the extended end is about ~1Gb to download, so it's going to take a bit to download.

[InKal]

why?

 

seriously, 1GB is nothing and everything is compatible with everything so just install the damn thing and play ;]

 

also, imo, leviathan and from ashes are absolutely essential. game is incomplete without them imo.

 

omega and citadel are not essential (I mean citadel probably is, if you really like NPC) but they are pure friggin fun to play. funny dialog and great fightan. omega is my favorite, has two fantastic battles, the final showdown is especially great, so punishing if you don't know what you are doing, like... rage inducing haha played as vanguard - it was a blast. just killed them all - warp/incendiary ammo + heavy charge, wraith shotgun. insanity of course. worth every penny.

[Jarno Mikkola]

why?

 

seriously, 1GB is nothing and everything is compatible with everything so just install the damn thing and play ;]

Well for you or me, it's nothing... but don't forget that there are people that don't have 10Mbit/s(1.2Mb/s) - 100Mbit/s connections, like some do... and then there's the fact that there's also the multiplayer DLCs, all of which need to be downloaded also.

[Domi]

Wow, folks, thank you for all the info for SWTOR and DLCs, woah! I am seriously considering SWTOR w/o monthly fee, it might be a good option for playing with the new generation on hand, but ME looks frigging awesome as well. Heh,a brave new world of the DLC!

 

Too bad I can't manage DA (system too old) till we purchase a console (next time I break something?)

 

A KOTOR2 run with a male Sith would have been great too, but I doubt I will be allowed anywhere near the Dark Side

[Twani]

also, imo, leviathan and from ashes are absolutely essential. game is incomplete without them imo.

 

omega and citadel are not essential (I mean citadel probably is, if you really like NPC) but they are pure friggin fun to play. funny dialog and great fightan. omega is my favorite, has two fantastic battles, the final showdown is especially great, so punishing if you don't know what you are doing, like... rage inducing haha played as vanguard - it was a blast. just killed them all - warp/incendiary ammo + heavy charge, wraith shotgun. insanity of course. worth every penny.

 

Honestly, I'd consider all four ME3 DLC's essential. Just... expensive. They're all excellent in their own little ways, and each of them have fun battles (though I think my favorite fight in the series might be Arrival's solo room... and, okay, From the Ashes doesn't have fun battles as much as it has someone that makes battles more fun). Fond of Citadel's last arena match in particular. That's pure chaos on the highest difficulty, but it's awesome chaos, and you can bring whoever the hell you want along.

 

Too bad I can't manage DA (system too old) till we purchase a console (next time I break something?)

 

Aww, that is a shame. There are some really good mods for DA (sadly, not as many for DAII). And they generally all work together nicely, too.

[Domi]

The other thing I need to do is win a lottery and buy Jade Empire (like the whole IP, engine and franchise). That's an awesome universe, and deserves a sequel! Ha-ha. Dunno if I want to replay though. But it is a very cool PG13 option.

[Misza]

Honestly, I felt really ripped off the moment I received my N7 Collector's Edition. I mean, really, EA? The "litography" was nothing but a crappy postcard with trademarks and all that garbage all over it, the comic book was few pages long, the artbook was also beneath my expectations (cool, but the size and quality could be better), and on the top of that, I got some crappy digital content. Only cool thing about it? The metal box, I guess. Now, that I got it out of my system...

 

Like you guys said, the DLCs are essential to the game. I'm reasonably certain that the same is true of ME2. The best part is that when you play the game for the first time, they give you an insolent hint that they're gonna assault your wallet again (e.g. convo at Liara's office on Illium or Purgatory bar on the Citadel). I loved all these DLCs, but couldn't help but feel ripped off. Hadn't I bought them, I would have felt that the trilogy was really half-assed. Right now. it's more like "pay to reveal the biggest secret of the trilogy, pay to meet the second biggest secret of the trilogy, and then pay for what we cut off cos f you, we're the rEApers."

 

What are your thoughts on Mass Effect 4? You guys following news on it?

[Domi]

Sorry, I totally got sucked into SWTOR

[Jarno Mikkola]

What are your thoughts on Mass Effect 4? You guys following news on it?

Well, my thoughts are that we'll have to wait for more than a year on it still... so anything on it we'll need to wait and see.

There hasn't been too many revelations and that's a good thing... the Dragon Age 3 needs their attention for now, after all making a good game in two different styles in one engine... you need the first game to succeed for the other to do as well.

 

The other thing I need to do is win a lottery and buy Jade Empire (like the whole IP, engine and franchise).

And with that you would block the KotOR 3 finally... you crazy biatch ... see the same engine used in KotOR was used in Jade Empire... the duration of the turn in tics(action to frame and AI update rate) was shortened and so the fight seems more fluid and real time, but it's really not.

Now, make sure you laugh and not take the -intentionally wrongly spelled b***h- as an insult.

 

What comes to the DLCs and paying for them, well the makers need to earn money somehow... and it's not just the story, but the art, new mechanics, sounds etc that's around the new locations that need to be payed off. So this way you get more of the good game...

[Misza]

Well, my thoughts are that we'll have to wait for more than a year on it still... so anything on it we'll need to wait and see.

There hasn't been too many revelations and that's a good thing...

I wouldn't be so sure about that. True, there hasn't been any real official statements and such but for all I know ME4 is in playable alpha at the moment. There are some interesting unofficial (meaning "not stated by BioWare") fan findings and rumors.

[Jarno Mikkola]

I wouldn't be so sure about that. True, there hasn't been any real official statements and such but for all I know ME4 is in playable alpha at the moment. There are some interesting unofficial (meaning "not stated by BioWare") fan findings and rumors.

A playable alpha can be so many things... especially with a already compiled engine, and known presets of the machines that need to be able to run it(sony's and microsoft's consoles).

That doesn't mean anything for the plot, nor that any of the rumors that I heard is true, yes the one about the alpha been shown to people at PAX fanmeet...