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Post by Warlock on Jan 16, 2012 8:49:42 GMT -5
 So I've finally gotten around to playing Mass Effect in earnest- I'm on the PC version, which seems to work pretty well so far. I've only gotten as far as finishing the intro mission, but I've been enjoying it so far... I have to say, while the PC port is better than a lot of ports of 360 games, the control scheme is really obviously designed for a 360 controller... They've taken the standard steps of assigning WASD to movement and the mouse to mouselook, but they've also assigned the arrow keys to giving orders to your squad. This makes perfect sense on a 360 controller, where you've got two thumbsticks and a set of buttons right next to each, but on a PC keyboard you'd need three hands to use it effectively. I'm just hoping that you don't need to use them too often. The port is otherwise really good for a 360 port- usually, games that started on the 360 feel like they're struggling on my (5-year-old) computer, but Mass Effect seems to run pretty smoothly. The intro mission was pretty fun. The combat is twitchier than you usually see in an RPG, but it's fun- in many ways, it's basically basically a modern-era FPS with a cover system; it has more in common with Gears of War than it does with most oldschool RPGs. Has anyone else played the game? - HC |
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Post by Kalisiin Kumaki on Jan 16, 2012 13:23:26 GMT -5
Not yet.
The one and only thing I actually emulate on my computer anymore is RAINE...
and lest I risk hijacking your topic, I'll create another topic to discuss RAINE...if anyone else here is familiar with it, or wants to learn about it and try it.
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Post by shokushuko on Jan 16, 2012 15:36:08 GMT -5
It's not an emulated game, Kalisiin. It's a game made for Xbox 360, but they released a PC version.
Mass Effect is a pretty fun game. I played it on my brother's 360 though. It amuses me that I'm the only one who bothered to play the game. I also played Engineer, the least most favourited class~~ It's got a pretty decent story, and a nice environment. I'm not really a fan of FPS games, but it was RPG enough.
Did you ever play Knights of the Old Republic and the sequel? I thought they worked well on PC.
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Post by Warlock on Jan 16, 2012 15:48:30 GMT -5
I haven't played KOTOR; I know that I really should. In the same general vein, Planescape: Torment is also on my to-finish list. So far I'm playing as the Adept- the FPS combat is fun, but I'm still kind of getting the hang of it. The interface to get one of your allies to use a skill seems a bit wonky, since it looks like Adept techniques are line-of-sight but you don't seem to be able to pop to an ally's view when you use them... I imagine it makes 'trick' targeting tough, and in the tutorial "Order your squadmate to use a psychic attack on the enemy!" bit, I spent a lot of time watching said squadmate launch his attack into a wall and then get killed.  - HC |
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Post by Kalisiin Kumaki on Jan 16, 2012 16:58:17 GMT -5
Did not know that they had released a PC version, I thought it was emulated. Oh, well, like Shuko...I am not a big fan of FPS games.
Not a huge fan of Street-Fighter type games, either, really...with a few exceptions. Dino Wars can be a lot of fun....
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Post by Warlock on Feb 24, 2012 20:01:00 GMT -5
I'm about five or six hours into this game (It's been a busy couple weeks!), and I've been enjoying it so far. Some random observations:
- It seems like the only "class" skills with 'noncombat' applications are the Technician skills Electronics and, to a lesser extent, First Aid. I find myself kind of wishing that I'd gone with either the pure Tech or Tech/Solder class instead of Adept- you have other party members with Electronics, but by default you don't have as much control over how their skill points are distributed. It's really irritating to be exploring a planet only to find a crashed beacon or whatever that you can't access because nobody has high enough Electronics.
- Having experience rewards for finding new codex entries is a great idea, and a teriffic way to encourage players to talk to NPCs and learn about the world instead of just pushing toward the next story mission.
- I'm not a Bioware fan, but I have to say, it feels like the Mass Effect characters aren't as interesting as some of the ones in their previous games. I feel like the characters in Baldur's Gate and Torment were more unique- part of this is because your party members are more chatty in those two, and part of it is because your characters have more immediately-visible 'quirks'. You could argue (and this may eventually prove true) that Mass Effect's party members have more depth whereas the Baldur's Gate folks were caricatures based on having quirky personalities, but still... Planescape: Torment struck a much better balance, I think. I kind of feel like a lot of the party members in Mass Effect just aren't that interesting to interact with. The three 'military' folks (Kaidan, Ashley, and Garrus) suffer from this in particular; Wrex and Tali are better... Liara seems so specifically designed to cater to anime fans that I just find her obnoxious.
- HC
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Post by Kalisiin Kumaki on Mar 7, 2012 8:49:42 GMT -5
I'm about five or six hours into this game (It's been a busy couple weeks!), and I've been enjoying it so far. Some random observations: - It seems like the only "class" skills with 'noncombat' applications are the Technician skills Electronics and, to a lesser extent, First Aid. I find myself kind of wishing that I'd gone with either the pure Tech or Tech/Solder class instead of Adept- you have other party members with Electronics, but by default you don't have as much control over how their skill points are distributed. It's really irritating to be exploring a planet only to find a crashed beacon or whatever that you can't access because nobody has high enough Electronics. - Having experience rewards for finding new codex entries is a great idea, and a teriffic way to encourage players to talk to NPCs and learn about the world instead of just pushing toward the next story mission. - I'm not a Bioware fan, but I have to say, it feels like the Mass Effect characters aren't as interesting as some of the ones in their previous games. I feel like the characters in Baldur's Gate and Torment were more unique- part of this is because your party members are more chatty in those two, and part of it is because your characters have more immediately-visible 'quirks'. You could argue (and this may eventually prove true) that Mass Effect's party members have more depth whereas the Baldur's Gate folks were caricatures based on having quirky personalities, but still... Planescape: Torment struck a much better balance, I think. I kind of feel like a lot of the party members in Mass Effect just aren't that interesting to interact with. The three 'military' folks (Kaidan, Ashley, and Garrus) suffer from this in particular; Wrex and Tali are better... Liara seems so specifically designed to cater to anime fans that I just find her obnoxious. - HC LOL, when I play RPG's I usually pride myself on NEVER talking to useless pain in the ass NPC's. Looks like this game forces you to. |
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Post by Warlock on Mar 8, 2012 12:24:02 GMT -5
Well, I'd say 'encourages' rather than 'forces'.
The codex is kind of the ingame encyclopedia- sometimes when you talk to a character about a certain topic, entries will be added to it. Early on, for example, you're in a big 'town' area where you can talk to a computerized guide- if you ask it about the layout of the area, it will give you a three-sentence summary of what's around you and add a two-paragraph codex entry that you can read at your leisure. I've personally mostly just been skimming the codex entries myself- the information you really need to know is worked into actual dialog; they're largely just background.
The rewards for revealing codex entries are small... Offhand, I think it's something like 25 experience per entry, while killing a low-level enemy is worth around 200 and big enemies are worth something like 1800. I'm not sure how many there are in total, but I doubt that it would really affect you much (if at all) in the long run if you decided that they weren't worth collecting. I think the exp reward, small as it is, is a nice way to encourage people to hunt them down, though.
- HC
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