Mass Effect 1 (checkmark) Sean M Puckett 10/5 '14

Well I finished Mass Effect 1 today. One interesting aspect of the game is the character traits paragon and renegade.  You gain renegade points for being an asshole, and paragon points for the opposite. Each of those traits affects a skill, charm and intimidate. I'm sure you can guess which goes with which. The higher those skills are, the more you are able to resolve conflict with dialogue, as opposed to shooting things.

Me being me, I maxxed out Paragon points probably 2/3 of the way through the game, but because of the way the skills tree works I was able to max out my Charm skill much earlier. I figure I talked my way out of at least 10% of the gameplay.  (I am pretty sure you gain a reasonably equivalent number of XP for averting crises vs. burying them, but I dunno.)

Overall I found the main plotline to be enjoyable and full of reasonably diverse environments and situations. Side quests were horribly cookie cutter especially in terms of assets with the same three or four sets used and oh my god how boring the planet surface sets.

The best part and what made it worthwhile was the voice acting, plotting, and dialogue scripting, as I'm sure has been noted by other reviewers. Some really topnotch storytelling work in this game. I could quibble about how linear it is, because it's really linear, but it was nice experience all told.

And yeah, there are romance subplots, but I didn't like any of the options presented. If you choose to be a female lead, you can hook up with the douchey, moody male soldier or the sensitive omnisexual alien. I didn't like either one of 'em. I liked the sassy female commando. But, no, while apparently freaky inter-species sex is totally okay, good ol' ordinary lesbian romance is right out.  

Of course if you choose to be the male lead, you can have the sassy female commando (or the alien). So the dialogue and scripting are already there for all 2 main characters x 3 NPCs to have sexytimes. But not the attitude of the developers; that's not there. (Apparently in the PC version you can hack it so you can achieve those homosexual romances, so it's technically possible. But not socially acceptable.)

It is very nice that in every other aspect of the game, though, male and female genders seemed to be represented with reasonable equality and egalitarianism, and that made me quite happy.  

I don't think I'll bother to play it again. I don't see that there's much variation in playstyle, particularly at the endgame. You're going to be shooting and zapping the boss no matter what, and by then all the guns are basically the same. And I don't want to play the Renegade side because ugh.

But I liked it, and for the seven bucks I paid for it, it was time well spend and well enjoyed.

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10/5 '14 13 Comments
I haven't played Mass Effect, but the more I hear about it, the more I think I'd like to at least play 2 and 3.

I do hope that there continues to be progress in RPG games that have romance storylines, in terms of the types of romances that are written. Dragon Age started down the path a bit in that regard- I hope the next game has the fun writing of the first and the more robust romantic options of the second.
Jenny Hill
I started 2 last night, just getting through the heavily scripted intro encounters and making it to the open world portion. I was really happy that I could import my character, though I was kind of pissed that [spoiler] resulted in the removal the scar through her right eyebrow that I so carefully placed. I don't create my characters to be pretty, I create them to have had a life, which is much more beautiful.
The game mechanics are a little different, swapping out some good and bad things for other bad and good things. It seems good though and I'm looking forward to it.
As for Dragon Age I never got into it. My understanding is that it's basically a rules and dice-based "true RPG" engine where player skill doesn't really factor into combat effectiveness and that leaves me really quite cold. Though I've heard it's a great world and series. If DA:Inquisitor is more in the action RPG genre I'll be quite interested.
Sean M Puckett
That's fairly true, yes. I do gravitate toward those types of games, at least partially because I love storyline more than gameplay and am happy to play a game on easymode if it means enjoying the story at a quicker pace. They are beautiful games, and can definitely be difficult on harder modes, but there's more chance than a harder-core gamer might like.
Jenny Hill
"I do gravitate toward those types of games, at least partially because I love storyline more than gameplay and am happy to play a game on easymode if it means enjoying the story at a quicker pace."

Same. I hardly ever choose any other mode nowadays. (The fact that my hands some days shake like... like something shaky... probably plays into it.)
R. Francis Smith
I infer that you are the kind of player that doesn't "try" for a result, just does what seems appropriate (either for yourself or for a character you've elected to roleplay) and lets the chips fall. I say that because that's how I play, and so I appreciate finding likeminded types. :)

Still haven't gotten far in Mass Effect because the game baffles me.
R. Francis Smith
Yeah, when I play an RPG I prefer to invest myself in a character and play some role or other. Like right now in Mass Effect 2 I am noticing, like in ME1, that all of the romance options are also with characters who are nominally my subordinates. That's *not cool* at all.
The original ME seems like an open world but really it's just one big ass linear quest with a lot of fairly cookie-cutter side quests. If you ignore the Assignments tab and stick to Missions you'll find your way pretty fast. (But you'll also miss out on gear and resources and character development opportunities.)
Sean M Puckett
Likewise. I get guff on MMOs and such because I play... suboptimally? But I do what it seems to me my character would do, however I've determined that. (And indeed, I ignore a lot of Bioware romance subplot stuff because it mostly seems to me like I don't really have time for that in my life, the world is about to end and all.)

Duly noted about ME. To be honest I'm never one to complain about linear games -- true sandboxes tend to result in me feeling overwhelmed and finding something else to do. Ah well.
R. Francis Smith
Interesting. Do you think the omnisexual alien thing represents at least some effort on the part of the game developers to get around retail censorship? Just playing devil's advocate here.
Thomas Boutell
I think it was mostly fanservice.
The alien in question has a winsome human female voice, pleasant human female figure, and looked about as alien as most aliens on Star Trek TNG; basically homo sapiens mk.1 with a latex headpiece.
If you chose male Shepard, you could have the hot female commando or the hot pseudo-female alien, but not the male solider.
Female Shepard had the choice of male solider or hot pseudo-female alien, but not the hot female commando.
Considering the game ignited a shitstorm as it was for having a "sex scene" which is basically some quick cut edited non-nude cuddling, one could argue that for the time (2007) they were taking a big chance even as it was, and if they'd provided a homosexual option the world would have crashed down on EA's head.
But if they wanted to get any credit from me for it, the omnisexual alien would need to look fairly androgynous, or completely non humanoid.
Sean M Puckett
I vote for non humanoid. if you're going to do alien sex, I demand something like a mantis shrimp, or don't bother. Go big or go home.
Lindsay Harris Friel
You'd need some high-grade body armor for that one.
Thomas Boutell
Yes. But some video game designers would claim that's easier to animate than a woman. ;). #notallvideogamedesigners #okmaybesome
Lindsay Harris Friel
#allright12
#they'vebeencensured
Lindsay Harris Friel