First impressions so far.

The Elevators are kind of shitty, but they're alright as a substitute for loading screens. Your characters talk to each other while in so you learn more about them and occasionally you get updates on the state of the galactic union as you're in.

The world is holy shit huge. As well-fleshed out and detailed as Star Wars, perhaps even moreso because Bioware, unlike George Lucas, has no problems creating conflicts between races that don't revolve around pure good and pure evil. Also, nothing remotely retarded about it. The history is deep, rich and immersing. I frequently found myself thrilling at the conversations.

Example: The Elcor are a race that communicate through scents and small movements, and as a result, they are unused to speaking. To communicate with other races, they have to state their objective "Dismissive reply," "rebuking chastisement," "modestly," "humbly," "with sincere enthusiasm," before speaking because their voices are so monotone as to drown out any spoken intent.

How's the combat, you axe?

Pretty fun, actually. Imagine a cross between KotoR and Gears of War. There's apparently melee combat, but I haven't worked too much on it. Shooting is the chief mode of fighting. You take cover, roadie run, crouch, aim, etc. You can throw grenades and shit, too.

I chose a Soldier class, so I've got no tech (healing/hacking) or biotic (telekinesis, barrier) abilities.

Really, the only flaw so far is that the first combat session, landing on a besieged planet, was a bit too short for my tastes. You got a taste of combat, but then got jerked into POLITICS. YES, POLITICS. YOU LISTEN TO PEOPLE TALK FOR HOURS.

Most of it's alright, really, but it can get tiresome. At least it's fairly spicy, since, as a human, no race really likes you at all...except the Elcor. But fuck those guys, fuck the Turians, the Salarians and the Asari, too. FUCK THEM ALL! HUMANITY REIGNS! HUMANITY REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIGNS!

Anyway, if you like a faster-paced KotoR or a slower-paced Gears of War, you'll like the combat. If you like RPGs without shitty Final Fantasy minigames, you'll probably find the information gathering...adequate. If you have any sense of taste or have read a book in the last forty years, you'll probably really like the story.

Hints: Talk to your teammates to unlock conversations about tinfoil miniskirts. Wrex is a badass. Turians are fags.

For those who like Mass Effect but see it's one default.

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The logic train ran off the tracks when Burori said:
Little something you might like

For those who like Mass Effect but see it's one default.

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A) CAD is the dumbest comic out there. The art hasn't changed since it's began, it's every single comic cliche out there and 90% of the time it just steals jokes from Penny-Arcade.

B) Your last sentence makes no sense.

C) Get out.

But seriously. Would you consider this a buy game Parcelan or is this a rental?

Burori fucked around with this message on 11-21-2007 at 12:01 AM.

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Burori stopped staring at Deedlit long enough to write:
Actually I don't recall writing that bottom line. Weird.

But seriously. Would you consider this a buy game Parcelan or is this a rental?

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Depends what you're into. If you like quick-paced action games, this is probably not for you. The combat is a big step forward in the world of traditional pause-click-watch-pause combat-style (think Baldur's Gate or KotoR), but it's not quite as "do or die" as, say, Gears of War.

If you like RPGs at all, though, this is definitely a buy, because you'll get tons of use out of it.

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Mr. Parcelan had this to say about Jimmy Carter:
A) CAD is the dumbest comic out there. The art hasn't changed since it's began, it's every single comic cliche out there and 90% of the time it just steals jokes from Penny-Arcade.

B) Your last sentence makes no sense.

C) Get out.

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A) The Calvin and Hobbes art style didn't change throughout the whole 10ish years it went on, is that a bad thing?

B) True

C) Agreed.

DO YOU HATE CALVIN AND HOBBES?

Gadani fucked around with this message on 11-21-2007 at 12:05 AM.

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Mr. Parcelan impressed everyone with:
If you like RPGs at all, though, this is definitely a buy, because you'll get tons of use out of it.

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Exactly how big of a game are we talking here? Like how long is the main quests without the side ones?

My input is that I can't really give any right now. I'm just learning how to play this and it's really kinda picking at the piece of my brain that says "games are black and white" as in there's a way to do everything and correct paths and whatnot, especially talking to people and such.

I never played much KotoR, so this is all pretty new and cool for me. I really like the combat system. I'd rather have a slow third person shooter than a D20 system any day. I wish I had a widescreen TV so I could read all the little text everywhere without hurting my eyes though.

Mr. Gainsborough fucked around with this message on 11-21-2007 at 01:05 AM.

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Burori obviously shouldn't have said:
Exactly how big of a game are we talking here? Like how long is the main quests without the side ones?

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Some can be long, some require travel to other star systems, and some are annoying. It took me too long to scan all the Keepers in the Citadel...

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So quoth Gadani:
A) The Calvin and Hobbes art style didn't change throughout the whole 10ish years it went on, is that a bad thing?

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Calvin and Hobbes' art style is good, though.

-Visited two houses of ill repute
-Shot up one
-Shot up a bunch of other people
-Threw some grenades
-Uncovered a conspiracy
-Became a black ops
-Fucked shit up, both explosively and diplomatically
-That's right
-I fucked shit up
-DIPLOMATICALLY
-I also got nearly every party member so far: 5/6. I just got a mission to go find the last one. So don't be surprised if you basically get the entire squadron right off the bat.

So far, the fight at Chora's Den was the best.

And here's my favorite line thus far...

Wrex: "You Quarians messed up the galaxy when you lost control of the Geth...so, do you ever talk about it?"
Tali: "Do you Krogan ever talk about starting a foolish war that resulted in the Turians permanently sterilizing your race?"
Wrex: "All the time."

Mr. Parcelan fucked around with this message on 11-21-2007 at 02:06 AM.

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Gadani's fortune cookie read:
A) The Calvin and Hobbes art style didn't change throughout the whole 10ish years it went on, is that a bad thing?

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Calvin and Hobbes was effective on so many levels that the art was really something of an afterthought. Past that, the art was actually good. CAD is just retarded PA rip-offs and crappy "oh ethan you so zany" punchlines.

1) Load times: Yes, these stink. They're substituted by elevators most of the time, which gives you a moment to go to the bathroom and also you can hear chatter between your companions, which is boss.

2) Auto-save: GABE describes this as "punishing," when it's really just rather jarring. You'll be off to save someone when suddenly you get hogslapped by a sudden auto-save time. If you're the kind that gets very into games and then gets shaken when your world is disturbed, this will probably bother you. I just thought of it as an "oh, okay" thing.

3) Lack of tutorial: You get one-time explanations of how stuff works in the beginning and nothing else afterward. It's...not too bad, really. Assuming you have the memory retention of a fourth-grader or higher, you can probably take care of it.

Some of the controls are a little clunky. X draws your weapon, B holsters it. The former is kind of unnecessary since the fire button draws your weapon and you holster it automatically when you need to, say, talk to someone, which is really the only reason to holster it when you're in hostile territory.

The problem is that the left stick controls movement (okay), the back button controls grenades (uh...) and the d-pad controls squad movements. Basically, this means that you can't throw a grenade (which is pretty inaccurate) or issue squad commands unless you're taking cover.

That adds an element of strategy. The AI so far is pretty good. Your characters don't usually go off running into battle and dying, but you can order them to take cover if you're having problems.

Protip: Urdnot Wrex has TWO shields instead of one, wears heavy armor and regenerates health at an astronomic level, so he can take tons more punishment than Garrus, who sits on the ground and pees himself whenever something happens. I may be a little gay for Urdnot Wrex.

URDNOT WREX.

Anyway, Gains asked me if it's cool to scatter talent points about. Being a Soldier, I imagine it's easier to manage than a Vanguard or some other shitty dual-class. But basically, try to unlock all the sub-abilities first (ie: Fitness, Shotguns, etc.) and then focus on what you like.

I'm specializing in Assault Rifles, because they're basically the Soldier-defining item.

This is a badass game, gentlemen.

Mainly because I'm trying to be on my best behavior so I can get some alien poontang.

Also, something kinda : Me and Alaan's characters apparantly have the same birthplace, background, class, gender, hair style and hair color. (A shade off) No communication was made during character creation.

WAISZLING HIVE MIND

Mr. Gainsborough fucked around with this message on 11-21-2007 at 02:47 AM.

Also: The rover/tank thing handles like shit. This was a case where they really needed to rip the fuck off on Halo and use the warthog/tank control scheme. It's not a total game breaker, but it is frustrating taking 20secs to get unstuck off of something.

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Check out the big brain on Gadani!
A) The Calvin and Hobbes art style didn't change throughout the whole 10ish years it went on, is that a bad thing?

B) True

C) Agreed.

DO YOU HATE CALVIN AND HOBBES?

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Look at early Calvin and Hobbes. Look at late Calvin and Hobbes. THE ART IMPROVED.

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Mr. Gainsborough impressed everyone with:
I'm just gonna wing it and if I fuck up whatever. I'm not going all headlong into blowing shit up...

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Good idea. I rushed into it. Had a mission where I had to save a scientist. Then I find out I wasn't prepared to take on that Krogan that came to take her away. So I went back to an older save file and started building up Wrex as I'll need him when I attempt that mission again.

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Tarquinn spewed forth this undeniable truth:
Dammit, announce the PC-version, EA/Bioware. Now.

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Just get a 360. It's worth it.

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Tarquinn stopped beating up furries long enough to write:
Dammit, announce the PC-version, EA/Bioware. Now.

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360 exclusive.

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Mr. Parcelan said:
360 exclusive.

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Gears of War had that on the box too.

Yeah.

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Mortious wrote this then went back to looking for porn:
Gears of War had that on the box too.

Yeah.

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How long ago did the PC version of GoW come out?

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ACES! Another post by Mr. Gainsborough:
Waiting for a PC game to get ported is like waiting for a movie to come out on DVD. Only now they get DVDs out faster.

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Meaning you get it the fastest by pirating it?

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Bloodsage put down Tada! magazine long enough to type:
I contribute nothing, but post from the new iMac I bought Vernal today.

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We have a couple new iMacs here at work. They're really slick. You install Windows on it yet?

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Bent over the coffee table, Karnaj squealed:
We have a couple new iMacs here at work. They're really slick. You install Windows on it yet?

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No, since this one came with Tiger. I have to see if I get a happy fun discount on Leopard. It's a good looking piece of hardware, though.

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Check out the big brain on Bloodsage!
I have to see if I get a happy fun discount on Leopard.

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Here.

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Mr. Parcelan had this to say about Jimmy Carter:
360 exclusive.

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Exactly like Jade Empire.

Edit: Which is the weakest Bioware game by far in my opinion, not counting their mech game.

Tarquinn fucked around with this message on 11-21-2007 at 03:36 PM.

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Bloodsage posted

No, since this one came with Tiger. I have to see if I get a happy fun discount on Leopard. It's a good looking piece of hardware, though.

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Weird, I thought they were throwing the Leopard DVDs in with new systems. Did you buy it online, or at a store?

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When the babel fish was in place, it was apparent Alidane said:
Weird, I thought they were throwing the Leopard DVDs in with new systems. Did you buy it online, or at a store?

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It's pretty simple, if the store stocked up before Leopard came out, it'll come with Tiger. All the computers we order now come with Leopard, but we're slowly selling off our Tiger stock.