Mass Effect 3 Demo

[SolitonMan]

So I downloaded the ME3 demo on Xbox 360 and played through it last night. It took about an hour or so to play through, and gave a decent taste of the gameplay and storyline.

I loved Mass Effect and hated Mass Effect 2, so I was completely ambivalent about the latest offering. But I did enjoy the demo - not enough to actually pre-order the game, which is something I just don't do anymore due to major disappointments in the past. I may pick up ME3 a few months after release, depending on how much more I learn about it.

I don't want to spoil any story elements, so I'll focus on my impression of the gameplay. I found the controls mostly ok, my problems (sticking to cover and rolling from cover to cover when I was trying to stand up and run, mostly) were due in some part to the amount of Skyrim I've been playing, and trying to do things based on the actions in that game (which is a problem I have a lot - anybody else ever experience that when playing one game excessively then switching over to something completely different?).

In starting the demo, I got a request to sign in to my EA account to enable online features. I have not done the tiniest bit of research into anything about ME3 (Bioware lost me after ME2), so I haven't heard about anything online or multiplayer. If that's your thing, seems like they've got something there. I chose the "Do Not Accept" option, and was able to move in to the demo and try it out anyway.

The demo consisted of two chunks, the first an introduction to the story and the second a single mission from some point down the line. A party consists of Shepard and two companions as in the previous releases. You can select detailed advancement for each character, or use auto level features to let the game stat them up. I didn't see any minigames like lockpicking or hacking. It seemed from the interactions I had with locked doors or terminals that you just focused on the item to be able to select it, then it simply took some amount of time to complete the task to open it without any direct intervention on my part.

There were three gameplay settings I found interesting (which were also options when starting the demo) that determined the relative tone of the experience. You could chose something action heavy, something which balanced action and story, and something focused on story. I don't think that the demo was long enough to get a true sense of how these options impact the overall experience, but at one point I switched to the story-focused mode and it was obvious that my enemies were dying much more easily than they had been.

The game uses ammo for weapons, a change I personally disliked immensely in the switch from ME1 to ME2. I thought the overheat mechanic in the first game was great, and instead of ditching it for ME2 I would have preferred to see a gameplay option to set the overheating rate to the user's taste. I've never been a fan of scrambling around for ammo, and I did find myself running short in the demo. Which could easily be due to my lack of skill, so YMMV.

Overall, I enjoyed the demo, but I do still have a critical eye on this title. But from what I could see, people who have been eagerly awaiting this will not be disappointed.

 

[ahayford]

If you don't mind me asking....what did you hate about ME2? I found it an infinitely more refined experience then ME 1....with the exception of the change to "mining"

 

[Kzach]

If you don't mind me asking....what did you hate about ME2? I found it an infinitely more refined experience then ME 1....with the exception of the change to "mining"

Yeah, same for me but add in that Bioware should NEVER do vehicles.

 

[SolitonMan]

I don't mind. It was the mining that was the primary factor. For me it was beyond boring, it was insulting. It was lazy. Bioware could have easily implemented a system that actually added fun to the game. Instead they copped out and padded the time it takes to complete the game with mindless drudgery.

What would have impressed me would have been if they had implemented the mining such that you arrive at a potential planet, get a gross scan to determine overall resources, then have a choice to "Begin Mining Operations". This would launch a team to start recovering resources, and you fly off and do whatever. Occasionally thereafter you'll get email updating you when a cache is ready for pickup. Or when the site finds something interesting, some ruins maybe. Or when slavers attack and try to take the team. Or a thresher maw finds the place.

Anything that would have added a bit of serendipity to the game would have been fine. As it was, the experience of mining kept me from playing the game more than once (so I never did get any DLC, as I recall).

I also didn't like the change to using ammo. That didn't make the game unplayable for me, but it did make it less fun personally.

There were little things. I remember one fight where I used my invisibility power and the enemy completely ignored me, so I snuck up to a new spot to flank them and took cover out of their line of sight. Yet as soon as my power wore off, they started shooting at me, behind cover and they couldn't see me.

I didn't like the overall story either. I found the final boss to be completely ridiculous. The maps for me were basically useless. Garrus having busted armor for the whole story bugged me. I didn't get much use out of the system that let you pick a path in the cut scenes (can't remember what it's called) - I have a habit of setting my controller down to grab a drink or something when they come on, so more often than not I just completely missed them.

Overall, I just was left with an unsatisfied feeling. I thought the original was close to brilliant and should have had just a bit more polish. The changes from ME to ME2 were just too drastic to suit my tastes. Maybe hate is a strong word, but sitting here typing this and thinking about all these reasons is getting me worked up all over again!

Yeah, I'm pretty ridiculous most of the time.

That said I've been a fan of Bioware's work for a while, I'm always willing to at least take a look at what they have (well, not The Old Republic, I just don't do MMOs), and from my experience with the demo I expect that some day I'll try out ME 3. Which, BTW, was the complete opposite of my experience with the demo for Dragon Age 2 - which lead to me returning my order without opening it.

 

[ahayford]

Thats a shame about DA2. I know it gets a lot of hate, and it certainly has its issues....But it also has, in my opinion, some of the best characters Bioware has ever created.

 

[Kzach]

The mining in ME2 was definitely a sore spot but it was such a minor requirement in the game that you only really needed to tap a few planets here and there and you could get all your upgrades so it never bothered me that much.

The Mako in ME1, however, was an integral and major part of the game and it sucked so hard I thought I'd get hickies just from playing it. The repetitiveness of the missions also wore on me after awhile and constantly being shot in the back by my team wasn't exactly fun either.

The AI for your teammates in ME2 was significantly improved, and I felt the combat was much more dynamic with far more interesting and varied locations. Each mission had it's own little story and objective with multiple layers to it which made them far more interactive than in ME1.

Missing out on the cut-scene renegade/paragon options also meant you missed out on some of the best moments in the game. In fact, pretty much all of the best moments are through the interrupts. There's even a series of paragon interrupts with Liara (if she was your love interest) that is very dramatic and romantic and builds up to the two getting back together (in the DLC).

Also, the DLC is some of the best Bioware has ever done, regardless of game.

As for DA2, though, I totally agree and didn't buy it based on the demo either. I did end up picking it up later on when I got it as a $10 download and it was better than I expected and I consider it to be better than DA1, but still not good enough for me to want to finish the game.

I don't know what ahayford's talking about, because most of the characters are irritating twats and very few of them synergise well in terms of having a good team AND having similar morale (or whatever the like/dislike system is called) options. It becomes tedious when no matter what dialogue option you pick, you end up pissing off someone in your group.

The worst thing about DA2, though, was the forced choices. I built my entire group around the character's sister, for instance, and built clever character macros to take advantage of her abilities and then... *poof* she's gone, so 20 or so levels of gaming suddenly made pointless and redundant. Thanks Bioware.

Oh, and as for the Garrus armor thing, you can swap his armor for non bashed in armor once you do his loyalty mission.

 

[ahayford]

I liked them to each their own I suppose.

 

[Mallus]

But it also has, in my opinion, some of the best characters Bioware has ever created.

You are not alone in that opinion... though I thought ME2 had its' share of stellar --pun intended-- characters.

Me, I'm skipping the ME3 demo. It would be a waste of bandwidth, since I *know* I'm buying the game on release.

I can't wait to play my Shepard again (an unholy mash-up of Jean-Luc Picard and Jack Bauer, toting a giant sniper rifle).

 

[SolitonMan]

The mining in ME2 was definitely a sore spot but it was such a minor requirement in the game that you only really needed to tap a few planets here and there and you could get all your upgrades so it never bothered me that much.

Fair enough - but don't you think, in as much as possible, all elements of a game should provide a pleasurable experience, instead of an onerous one? I don't think it's a good sign when the best that can be said of a feature is that it sucks but you only have to do it a little.

The Mako in ME1, however, was an integral and major part of the game and it sucked so hard I thought I'd get hickies just from playing it.

I'm probably one of the few who didn't mind it at all. Sure, I occasionally got stuck by trying to drive up an inaccessible mountainside, but what really got me to enjoy it was the first time I encountered a thresher maw. I'm driving along, homing in on a signal, and all of a sudden this monstrous beast erupts from the ground! I was like, "AAAaahhhhh!" and scrambling to get away from it. From that point on, every time I drove across a wide open space in the Mako I was extremely nervous. (It wasn't until later that I learned thresher maws are punks best fought by running around 'em in a circle on foot). Nothing in ME2 even came close to providing that level of tension for me.

Love the hickey comment, BTW.

Oh, and as for the Garrus armor thing, you can swap his armor for non bashed in armor once you do his loyalty mission.

Wasn't his mission tracking down some guy who betrayed him? Maybe they gave new armor as an option in a patch I didn't get, because I didn't see any options to do anything with Garrus' armor at any point.

But I appreciate your points. ME2 just wasn't my cup of tea. Maybe in a few months I'll check out ME3. It's not like I don't have enough to keep me busy until then! (I'm looking at YOU, Skyrim mods!!).

 

[Kzach]

Wasn't his mission tracking down some guy who betrayed him? Maybe they gave new armor as an option in a patch I didn't get, because I didn't see any options to do anything with Garrus' armor at any point.

Every NPC teammate had a secondary armour look that could be switched to after completing their loyalty mission. It's easily missed though as it's just an extra button option that appears at their selection screen that you have to click before selecting them as a squad member.

Miranda looks even sluttier in hers and almost all of the new looks are better than the default ones, especially Jack's who manages to get more than just a thin strip of leather over her torso.