Mass Effect - convince me or dissuade me

I keep seeing this game for 20 bucks used, and today was the final straw - I saw it for 20 bucks brand new.

Here’s my deal - I’m interested in playing it, just because no one I’ve ever talked to has said that the game sucks. On the other hand, I didn’t like KOTOR very much. I can’t put my finger on what it was exactly, but I worry that it’ll basically just be KOTOR without being Star Wars. I even heard someone say that the plot was basically the same as KOTOR, which I have no idea if that’s true or not.

So, I want you to either tell me, based on what I’ve said in the previous paragraphs about my personal aesthetic, whether or not I’ll like the game. OR! For bonus points, you can tell me why, in spite of my personal aesethetic, why I’ll like/dislike the game anyways. Gogogo

I didn’t enjoy it very much. I gave it a good try, but in the end I just found it to be too boring for me - cool in a lot of ways, the character building, driving the mako, some of the fire fights, but the fights never really got my blood pumping. The story didnt draw me in, which stunk because I heard that was sort of a high point.

I was dissapointed, but I didn’t like KOTOR either. Right now I’m playing Oblivion and I’m enjoying it much more than Mass Effect.

You’ll like it cause I said so.

I mean, I haven’t played it, but my buddy says it’s great, and his taste is nothing to scoff at.

It’s $20 man. That’s half what most people will pay for shit like Madden.

This is maybe not the response you were looking for, but I say you have nothing to lose. You can buy Mass Effect or go to Subway like, twice. Your decision.

Even if you hate it, you should buy it because I enjoy your negative reviews a lot more than the positive ones.

Lol, thanks! I think in a way, my negative reviews are cathartic - they’re kind of like my way of rewarding myself for finishing a game that I hate, cos I get to talk a bunch of shit about it afterwards :stuck_out_tongue:

Keep the responses coming, I dig it!

I just got it recently and I like it so far. I like how the game allows you to choose the main character’s personality through multiple dialogue choices. The battle system is a pretty good shooter, but that isn’t really the focus of the game. The focus of the game is the story and how you can influence it. Still, if you didn’t like KOTOR, then, you might not like this. Personally, I liked Jade Empire more than KOTOR because I really liked Jade Empire’s battle system so if you disliked KOTOR for its battle system, then, you might end up liking this game.

From what I have played so far, I’ve noticed some nice improvements from KOTOR.

  1. The graphics are better. This is a given but better graphics help draw me into the story better.
  2. The main character is voice acted. In KOTOR, you just clicked on what you wanted to say and then whoever you were talking to responded. In Mass Effect, you are given short possible answers like “We aren’t going to abandon them” and then you’ll see the main character say “I’m not going to just let them die. We are going after them.” This helps give the game a more movie quality. On top of that, the main character doesn’t just say out loud what option you clicked on, he says a more detailed answer.
  3. You pick your character’s past at the beginning of the game. Where your character grew up and what major event shaped him (he may have been the only one to survive some incident) will affect how people react to him. I don’t know how much of an effect this has though.
  4. As you play, you learn a lot about the universe the game has created. A section of your main menu stores information on many races, new inventions and more. I personally find learning about a new universe more interesting than revisiting the Star Wars universe.

Unfortunately, if you didn’t like KOTOR, then, you probably won’t like Mass Effect unless the thing you disliked about KOTOR was the battle system. Mass Effect has improved KOTOR’s style of gameplay, but only the battle system has been completely changed.

I haven’t played it very much, mind, but I found it mostly enjoyable. For twenty bucks, it’s definitely worth a try. If nothing else, you can ogle the blue-skinned space babes. :stuck_out_tongue:

It’s not the best RPG out there but for $20 it’s better value than most. The characters are well-rounded and the story definitely appealed to a sci-fi nerd like myself. I don’t regret laying out my £40 for it.

Its an FPS where you have force like powers with a leveling tree. Its science fiction, its space and space ships without being Star Wars. The story is not like KotoR’s at all but it gives you freedom to choose how you develop your character and where you want to go when you want to go like KotoR. The story is excellent, the voice acting is great and the gameplay is fun (though roaming around planets in your rover gets old).

This made me lol because it’s so true

It’s still kind of a flawed argument, even if it is funny. :stuck_out_tongue:

I just started this game two days ago. My first impressions are that a) the story is extremely well-done and robust, based on the amount of backstory that’s presented in a useful and non-overwhelming way and b) the combat proceeds quickly and is neither frenzied or mechanically clunky. KOTOR turned me off right away when I got to the first city and saw that there was so much to do and that I’d have to do it painfully slowly. Mass Effect’s first city (where I am) actually interests me and keeps wandering around for side-matters to a reasonable level.