Mass effect 3 - Page 2

That does sound promising. I think the simplest form of my list for ME3 would be:

-More ME1
-Less ME2

After playing ME2 there is almost nothing I would want from ME1. Maybe slightly more depth to the weapons, and the ability to take off the helmet during cut scenes. Everything else in ME2 was an improvement over ME1 in some cases the changes are drastically better.

i preferred ME1 almost universally... the perfect ME3 is 85% ME1 and 15% ME2

I would keep the improved graphics and movement in combat. I'd also keep the armor customization, but expand it to have a lot more options you can find - part of the whole loot thing with ME1

Holiday 2011.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/vg...ment_head_text

If your Shepard died at the end of part 2, you play as Conrad in part 3.

Cool! I guess I should go finish ME2 then.

Nah, go scan a few planets first...

That's why Mass Effect 2 was so GOOD! I rarely play RPGs, except for Fallout 3.

Hopefully, Mass Effect 3 will still be shooter-centric.

I loved both games, ME3 will be a first day buy for me. I would love to see some of the weapon and armor customization come back for #3, but I understand why they got rid of it. It was a big silly mess in the first game. Hopefully they find a happy medium.

One thing I'd really like to see is a 3rd option added to the renegade/paragon dynamic. Some sort of middle of the road pragmatist option. It's pretty easy to get a high paragon or renegade score and unlock the dialogue options that come with each. But with one of my characters I make choices the way I actually would, and end up with mostly paragon score that isn't high enough to unlock the paragon options. Something to reward a middle of the road approach would be cool.

jeff

Ha! Yeah... I think I spent more time doing that than anything else in ME2.

Enjoyed both games, looking forward to more. As someone else posted, with the huge success the ME2 was right out of the gate, odds are slim they are headed back towards ME1.

I have a few complaints, but overall love the series. There is too much boring "collect minerals" stuff with the first two games, as well as the big focus on side missions and the relatively short "main quest" campaign.

For example, in both ME1 and ME2, there is supposed to be this sense of urgency to stopping the Reapers (and Collectors), but you spend about 90% of the time doing side quests. That's all fine and good, but would rather see more main-mission quests that cement the sense of urgency. A more 50-50 or 60-40 split would be nice.

That and give me back the option to have some girl-on-girl relationships like the first game had

Agreed. One of my first thoughts about ME3 is what inventive way they will force me to waste time going down to or scanning planets for minerals or other useless time waster.

Well said, guys. +1

I would agree with that as well - add more meat to the main story, take a bit away from the side quests. They do it they way they have so as to make it seem more non-linear and shaped to your experience, but it wouldn't hurt if they were a bit more mainstreamed into the story. Elder Scrolls, GTA, and many others do the same thing....not sure why it took off as a gameplay staple.

I also agree with a bit more grey conversation options. It seemed to me that in part 1, the renegade options on average were more forceful or mean - it would be nice to have some depth to how pissed and/or smart mouthed you wanted to be.

As far as mine collecting and leveling up, those are key parts of RPG, which ME essentially is. I liked the greater customization in leveling up in ME1, and the numerous armor/weapon customization, it was just presented poorly in a terrible UI. They started to strip out more RPG elements in ME2 to water it down for the masses.


One feature I NEED in ME3 is a story recap, similar to what Alan Wake did. With several hundred decisions over dozens of gameplay hours, spread over several years in real time, I've forgotten what the hell I did throughout my gameplay. Especially for people who have done multiple play throughs. The story is so great that I actually care what I did in the past, and what those decisions mean for the characters currently.

I agree with others about the boring nature of mineral retrieval in ME1 and 2. My idea for this is to bring back the Mako and combine surface mining with mini-side quests, not all of which would have to involve shooting. For example, one mission might involve searching ancient ruins requiring puzzle solving to get to the minerals. Another option could involve shooting (via the Mako, on foot, or both) to relieve pirates of minerals or other loot. A third idea might involve unintelligent-yet potent-native creatures surrounding the minerals where shooting may or may not be the best solution. The trick would be to have the right number of these "mineral missions". Enough to force the player to work for sufficient minerals to support upgrades, but not so much that it becomes onerous or detracts from the main story. Perhaps 5-7 of these missions within the first quarter to third of the game?

I think a lot of good points have been made by others already but I'll chime in with my two cents FWIW:

A New Normandy-If you biffed over the Illusive Man at end of ME2 by blowing up the Collector base as I did most of the time, it would be logical to conclude that Shep won't command the SR2. My idea-and of course it's just that-is that the Spectres are a more potent organization than generally known. Thus, they have the clout to build their own Normandy have have been developing it in secret since late in ME1. Of course, it will be bigger and badder than the SR2.

Space Combat-This worked as a nice departure in Halo Reach and would be equally fun in ME3. This should be a side quest or two, not the main modus operendi for the game.

A Hot Female Chief Engineer-This is all too rare in Sci-Fi in general and would simply make for a nice change of pace. I envision someone smart, funny, assertive (it's her ship and she allows others to use it on occasion), perhaps Irish as a nostalgic link to Stark Trek? Should Shepard have a shot at her? What do you think?

A Substantial Side Mission for Kasumi-Though I think Kasumi's DLC was OK, her character didn't get close to sufficient examination. I envision a side mission on Earth (pre-Reaper arrival) where she and Shep visit her family in Tokyo (the visuals for this would be worth it alone). Her family (parents in particular) are honorable and conservative which will make for some very interesting dinner talk given Kasumi's line of work. . As it turns out, her family is at risk due to retaliation from one of Kasumi's past escapades so she and Shep have to deal with the threat... By the way, just as we all want to see what Tali looks like we also want to see what Kasumi looks like too.

A Visit To The Hanar Homeworld (Plus Hanar Squadmate?)-It would just be cool to get more insight into this fascinating race. If the logistics could be worked out (height on the Normandy), it would be hip for Shep to have a Hanar teammate. I envision armor, a compact-strap on back beam weapon, and one of the meanest melee attacks on the team (Hint: Their tentacles aren't just for standing...).

Teammates and Re-acquaintances: At minimum, Tali, Garrus, and Joker must return as Shep's de-facto road crew. Beyond the Hanar I previously suggested, EDI should return in hot corporeal form (either huminoid robtic or light contained within a mass effect field (something like Cortana from Halo). She'll be Joker's love interest and his greatest defender. Joker could be put in jeopardy during the game and we get to watch as EDI applies a major beat down on the threat. Though optional, I think I'd like to see Kasumi back as a teammate where her pilfering skills can be put to good use (stealing Reaper tech perhaps?). Also optional-but probably not recommended-would be Liara only because one would think she would be more effective against the Reapers elsewhere (intentionally vague-Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC-highly recommend if you haven't played it). None of the other ME2 temmates should return as such in ME3. However, I think it would be nice to visit them for status and continuity purposes. These shouldn't be time consuming or even necessarily in person. As for new teammates beyond those previously mentioned, there are many options: A female Turian soldier, an Asari Spectre with integrity (no explanation by design), a Yahg (just kidding but a "domesticated" one would be pretty formidable though...), or someone from a new species.

More Weapons and Armor Options: I'm sure there are plenty options I can't think of right now, but three are the return of grenades (with optional "warheads"), and a concussive rifle/pistol that fires Xplosive rounds that not only do damage but push the target back with each impact-effectively preventing the target from taking any retaliatory action. The third idea is a one-person mech (sized like the loader from Aliens 2) with crew-sized weapons and decent armor that Shep or other teammates can use when appropriate. It would be dropped and picked up by the Normandy at low altitude and speed.

More RPG, Less Shooting: Make no mistake, I enjoyed the shooting in ME1 and 2 and want more of the same in ME3, but I do think relationships and politics should play a greater role in ME3 than it did in ME2. I think the basic premise of ME3-rallying various races to fight the Reapers-will require this change in RPG/shoot balance. To the credit of ME1 and 2, both games required decision making that should make a RPG-bias easy to implement. For example, the amount of persuasion Shep will need with Rachni will differ greatly depending on how you handled the fate of their queen in ME1, not to mention your decision about the Geth heretics in ME2...

Regardless of what ME3 ultimately does or does not include, I'm really looking forward to it!

A lot of time was spent fleshing out the characters on your team in ME2, yet because the developers allowed the opportunity for all of them to be killed, one would have to think that their roles in part 3 - assuming you kept them alive - would have to be minimal. Wrex didn't have much of a role in part 2, as his life was optional from part 1. The only character that stays alive across all options is Liara.

Perhaps it's just me, but I'd imagine the player will naturally want to retain their crew from previous games, especially those who helped in both games like Garrus and Tali. It would almost seem a bit silly to recruit a whole new team when the universe is under its greatest attack. Bioware is crafty though....this will be one of the aspects of the game I am most interested in seeing how they handle.

Upon reflection, perhaps the best way for Bioware to handle it is to give players a choice. Shep can ask all of the ME2 temmates to stay, but by default most will leave if you don't ask. If your teammates were loyal in ME2 they should stay if you ask but realistically, I could see many of them moving on if you don't. For example, based on Lair of the Shadow Broker (LotSB), I could see Samara wanting to reunite with her daughters. Jack isn't exactly a team player and would likely want to pursue her own agenda notwithstanding the Reapers. Depending on how much time elapses between ME2 and 3, Thane may not be physically capable of participating. The Krogan are going to want their rock star Grunt on Tuchanka, if nothing else, to help grow the Krogan population. For Miranda and Jacob, I think staying or going may depend on your decision on the Collector base at the end of ME2. If you destroyed it and pissed off the IM, I don't think he would want any of his subordinates to continue working with Shepard. Conversely, if he saved the base I would think the IM would want Miranda and Jacob to continue working with Shep on the SR2. I also wouldn't be surprised if Kaiden/Ashley is given the opportunity to reunite with Shep in ME3 which would be cool for nostalgia if nothing else.

This next comment is pure speculation on my part. I wouldn't be surprised given Wrex's circumstances on Tuchanka if he is killed off by a rival clan via slow poison (no clan would risk confronting him by force), and a side mission will involve Grunt and Shep working together to find out who did it then.... Grunt will ultimately lead the Krogan and rally them to unite and fight with Shep against the Reapers.

Regardless of what Bioware ultimately delivers, I do think there will be new teammates and at least the option of a new Normandy. Bioware deliberately made these changes between ME1 and 2 and I can't imagine them not doing likewise between ME2 and 3.

But let's say 50% of players had one or more team members die during the course of ME2 - it could have been any member or combination of members - why would Bioware spend the time programming, developing a story around, and making a usable character out of members in ME3 who may potentially be dead for a lot of players? That seems like a poor use of resources. That's why Wrex wasn't part of your team in part 2, a lot of players didn't keep him alive, so Bioware didn't put much time or thought into him.

I know Bioware passively tracks all sorts of data from players over Xbox Live when you are playing ME2, so they know what the percentages are for which members are alive or dead. If there are a few leading candidates who most players kept alive (I think I read that Miranda's loyalty mission was the least completed and Grunt's was the most on Xbox 360), then it will probably make sense for them to take the risk and include them in part 3, even if some percentage of players killed them in part 2 and will never see the fruits of Bioware's labor.

I'm not strongly opposed to or in favor of doing it either way, I am just interested to see what they do. I personally kept everyone alive and can't imagine not doing the loyalty missions, but that's me. I'd have to imagine Tali and Garrus stick around.

You make valid points and I think it makes perfect sense for Bioware to write for legacy characters based on live/die data from Xbox Live. Though it would be nice to give players the option to play legacy ME2 characters in ME3, I don't think it would be required for a great experience in ME3.

I played ME2 several times and lost teammates in some cases and saved them all in others. Personally, I'd prefer new teammates for ME3 but like you will look forward to whatever Bioware comes up with for characters.

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/117/1172082p1.html

Here's a preview of ME3. The combat sounds like it has improved a great deal. Can't wait for this game -- too bad it was pushed back to 2012.

Kinect in Mass Effect 3



It's a rumor, but it seems plausible.

Mass Effect is definitely the best gaming series on the 360 and the second best gaming series I have played period IMO.

Oh yeah. Mass Effect 3 Kinect support is happening.