The Game is Fake, but The Emotion is Real
Mass Effect 3 delivers the final entry of a immersive, player crafted galaxy-wide space opera.
Mass Effect 3 tells the story of a galaxy in despair's attempt to stop an impending "death-by-omnipotent-robo-squid-pocalypse". Or more specifically one man's (or woman's) attempt at preventing this: the great Commander Shepard.
But first, let me get you up to speed on what's been happening in the life of the Commander.
Shepard was warned in the first game of the galaxy's immenent demise by the "vanguard of destruction" and Reaper itself, Sovereign. Shepard and the united council of space species then proceeded to smash his robo-squid ass into cosmic dust. Shepard saves the galaxy.Yet the Council didn't believe Reapers were coming.
Mass Effect 2: You travel to dark space and find tangible evidence that previously vanquished species, the Protheans, were nabbed by reapers and turned into mindless minions. Shepard saves the galaxy again. The Council ignores the claims, and then takes away Shepard's ship claiming him "unfit for duty".
Mass Effect 3: "Bro, Shepard, I know we've dismissed all those crazy 'Reaper' claims, but they apparently just annihilated the moon. Help a brother out?". But unfortunately it is already too late as the Reapers have already been fucking shit up in London for a good week. "Is it too late?" asks a council member. I let out a tremendous facepalm. A Reaper than lands, lets out a howl, and belts out a huge laser beam right at the council... killing them all.
But past cycles didn't have the striking good looks or irresistible charisma of Super Space Marine/ Galactic Jesus, Commander Shepard. And as usual it is up to Shep' to save the day.
Shepard leaves earth behind to go unite the races of the galaxy as one to confront the Reapers. However, the galaxy is currently in absolute disarray, so in many cases, Shepard is marked with the task of bringing them together.
The following hours of the game upon leaving earth are pure gaming nirvana. You'll encounter loads of interesting characters, individual (and captivating) story-lines, and the most beautifully crafted environments I have seen in any game to date. Also, every mission is genuinely fun. Not only do most of them have you reuniting with your old buddies from prior games and DLC's, but the game-play and leveling up system is smooth, and nothing short of genius. The gameplay is fast paced and fun. It feels something like Gears of War if Marcus had full control over what his squad does... and had super powers. This is because Mass Effect 3's combat is squad based. You can pause combat at any time to deliver tactical commands to your squad. You can send them anywhere on the battlefield at any time and command them to attack designated targets with specific attacks.
It should also be noted for any Mass Effect noobie that roughly fifty percent of the Mass Effect games are played in a cut scene. These are the segments of dialogue with other characters as well as scenes that move the story forward, with consistently placed dialogue decisions that affect even the least signifigant scenes. This makes the game feel like a blockbuster movie and contributes immensely to the game's cinematic value.
As usual with any Mass Effect title, the story is littered with extremely difficult decisions. Whether these decide your reputation with a character, whether or not you shoot someone, to even magnitudes of deciding the face of an entire race, the decisions always valid have pros and cons and often end up to be gut wrenching. The echoing effects of Shepard's decisions from prior Mass Effect games even reflect through to the third.
Mass Effect 3 is also one of those rare games that can touch a player emotionally. I know for a fact that I have befriended some of these virtual characters (as strange as it may seem), and have even grown emotionally attached. These colorful characters are what truly drive the player through the three games. You'll want to see your characters progress, what they decide to do, their fate, and even the romantic relationships that blossom (a popular aspect of the Mass Effect series). I will also willingly confess that I have shed some man tears at the deaths of some of my beloved squadmates.
Mass Effect 3 was also the first installment in the trilogy to feature a multiplayer mode. I was extremely skeptical about this after its announcement. I thought it would be Mass Effect's attempt at capitalizing on the success of multiplayer franchises like Call of Duty, Battlefield, Halo, etc, but to my surprise, it was utterly delightful. My indulgence in the multiplayer portion came after my second playthrough of the game (as my female Shepard character) as I realized that this very well could be the end to my time in this spectacular universe. Unable to face such a bitter truth, I started at the multiplayer and was flabbergasted.
The Mass Effect 3 multiplayer fully ties in to events of the game and the overarching theme of the "Galaxy at War". It plays like a co-op shooter, fighting off waves of galactic baddies beside your fellow comrades (all races that you unite in the single player). You earn XP, level up your various characters, and upon successful completion of a mission, you are given credits. Here's my favorite part. The credits buy packs, which merit different equipment, guns, and even characters for your battles. As there are aspects like "rares" and "common" items, it brings back some of the childish awe of tearing open a Pokemon booster back in the day. It even benefits toward the galactic effort in the singleplayer.
Undoubtedly the game has its flaws, but the immense amount of good in the game does so much more than just compensate for it. To most, the ending of the game lessened their respect and love for the game, and admittedly, it is a huge problem with the game. After my first completion of the game, I had many a sleepless night, and maybe cried myself to sleep once or twice. But luckily, BioWare is doing something to compensate for 90% of their devout fans spewing hate in their face, by releasing an "Extended Cut" this summer. Whether you hate the ending or not is really for the player to decide, so I won't tread on it that much, because to me the game itself drowns out the flaw with its deafening awesomeness.
In the end, Mass Effect 3's high points were emotionally charged and character driven like no other game has ever achieved. And the story, which is the one of best I have witnessed in book, movie, and game alike, still captivates me after multiple playthroughs. Mass Effect as a trilogy (I cannot stress enough that you HAVE to play the first two games) is a gaming experience you absolutely cannot miss. I wholeheartedly believe that they are the peak of gaming to this date, and are unmistakably my favorite games. Ever. Play Mass Effect 3, and if you haven't played 1 or 2? Here, I did the work for you:
Mass Effect 1: http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Effect-Xbox-360/dp/B000OLXX86
Mass Effect 2: http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Effect-Platinum-Hits-Xbox-360/dp/B001TORSII/ref=pd_bxgy_vg_img_b
NOTE: IVE HAD THIS ARTICLE WAITING AROUND ON MY BLOGGER ARCHIVES SINCE ROUGHLY TWO WEEKS AFTER ME3's RELEASE. ONLY NOW AM I CLEANING IT UP AND RELEASING IT.
FOR A FULL LIST OF THE DOWNSIDES OF THE GAME, CLICK HERE
IMAGES COURTESY OF EA/BIOWARE
MASS EFFECT 3 REVIEW BY PETER FRANKO
What disappoints me to no end is that there are still people in our day and age who still have a strong disbelief in the legitimacy of video games as a storytelling medium. If anything, video games are the superior way of getting a story across as they can immerse the player into the thick of a story like nothing else can. They are capable of asserting the player as the director of the story, and the Mass Effect series has always been the prime embodiment of this ideal.
What makes Mass Effect's methods so unique is that the game gives you multiple branching options as to ways the situation (and eventually story) will ultimately play out. All done seamlessly within their beautiful cutscene dialogue. Think of it as the beautiful baby of a "choose your own adventure" book and a blockbuster film. The end of Mass Effect 3 is the cultimation of three incredible games, and roughly 100 hours of your unique journey you have crafted along the way.
What makes Mass Effect's methods so unique is that the game gives you multiple branching options as to ways the situation (and eventually story) will ultimately play out. All done seamlessly within their beautiful cutscene dialogue. Think of it as the beautiful baby of a "choose your own adventure" book and a blockbuster film. The end of Mass Effect 3 is the cultimation of three incredible games, and roughly 100 hours of your unique journey you have crafted along the way.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Mass Effect 3 tells the story of a galaxy in despair's attempt to stop an impending "death-by-omnipotent-robo-squid-pocalypse". Or more specifically one man's (or woman's) attempt at preventing this: the great Commander Shepard. But first, let me get you up to speed on what's been happening in the life of the Commander.
Shepard was warned in the first game of the galaxy's immenent demise by the "vanguard of destruction" and Reaper itself, Sovereign. Shepard and the united council of space species then proceeded to smash his robo-squid ass into cosmic dust. Shepard saves the galaxy.Yet the Council didn't believe Reapers were coming.
Mass Effect 2: You travel to dark space and find tangible evidence that previously vanquished species, the Protheans, were nabbed by reapers and turned into mindless minions. Shepard saves the galaxy again. The Council ignores the claims, and then takes away Shepard's ship claiming him "unfit for duty".
Mass Effect 3: "Bro, Shepard, I know we've dismissed all those crazy 'Reaper' claims, but they apparently just annihilated the moon. Help a brother out?". But unfortunately it is already too late as the Reapers have already been fucking shit up in London for a good week. "Is it too late?" asks a council member. I let out a tremendous facepalm. A Reaper than lands, lets out a howl, and belts out a huge laser beam right at the council... killing them all.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Shepard leaves earth behind to go unite the races of the galaxy as one to confront the Reapers. However, the galaxy is currently in absolute disarray, so in many cases, Shepard is marked with the task of bringing them together.
The following hours of the game upon leaving earth are pure gaming nirvana. You'll encounter loads of interesting characters, individual (and captivating) story-lines, and the most beautifully crafted environments I have seen in any game to date. Also, every mission is genuinely fun. Not only do most of them have you reuniting with your old buddies from prior games and DLC's, but the game-play and leveling up system is smooth, and nothing short of genius. The gameplay is fast paced and fun. It feels something like Gears of War if Marcus had full control over what his squad does... and had super powers. This is because Mass Effect 3's combat is squad based. You can pause combat at any time to deliver tactical commands to your squad. You can send them anywhere on the battlefield at any time and command them to attack designated targets with specific attacks.It should also be noted for any Mass Effect noobie that roughly fifty percent of the Mass Effect games are played in a cut scene. These are the segments of dialogue with other characters as well as scenes that move the story forward, with consistently placed dialogue decisions that affect even the least signifigant scenes. This makes the game feel like a blockbuster movie and contributes immensely to the game's cinematic value.
As usual with any Mass Effect title, the story is littered with extremely difficult decisions. Whether these decide your reputation with a character, whether or not you shoot someone, to even magnitudes of deciding the face of an entire race, the decisions always valid have pros and cons and often end up to be gut wrenching. The echoing effects of Shepard's decisions from prior Mass Effect games even reflect through to the third.
Mass Effect 3 is also one of those rare games that can touch a player emotionally. I know for a fact that I have befriended some of these virtual characters (as strange as it may seem), and have even grown emotionally attached. These colorful characters are what truly drive the player through the three games. You'll want to see your characters progress, what they decide to do, their fate, and even the romantic relationships that blossom (a popular aspect of the Mass Effect series). I will also willingly confess that I have shed some man tears at the deaths of some of my beloved squadmates.
Mass Effect 3 was also the first installment in the trilogy to feature a multiplayer mode. I was extremely skeptical about this after its announcement. I thought it would be Mass Effect's attempt at capitalizing on the success of multiplayer franchises like Call of Duty, Battlefield, Halo, etc, but to my surprise, it was utterly delightful. My indulgence in the multiplayer portion came after my second playthrough of the game (as my female Shepard character) as I realized that this very well could be the end to my time in this spectacular universe. Unable to face such a bitter truth, I started at the multiplayer and was flabbergasted.
The Mass Effect 3 multiplayer fully ties in to events of the game and the overarching theme of the "Galaxy at War". It plays like a co-op shooter, fighting off waves of galactic baddies beside your fellow comrades (all races that you unite in the single player). You earn XP, level up your various characters, and upon successful completion of a mission, you are given credits. Here's my favorite part. The credits buy packs, which merit different equipment, guns, and even characters for your battles. As there are aspects like "rares" and "common" items, it brings back some of the childish awe of tearing open a Pokemon booster back in the day. It even benefits toward the galactic effort in the singleplayer.Undoubtedly the game has its flaws, but the immense amount of good in the game does so much more than just compensate for it. To most, the ending of the game lessened their respect and love for the game, and admittedly, it is a huge problem with the game. After my first completion of the game, I had many a sleepless night, and maybe cried myself to sleep once or twice. But luckily, BioWare is doing something to compensate for 90% of their devout fans spewing hate in their face, by releasing an "Extended Cut" this summer. Whether you hate the ending or not is really for the player to decide, so I won't tread on it that much, because to me the game itself drowns out the flaw with its deafening awesomeness.
In the end, Mass Effect 3's high points were emotionally charged and character driven like no other game has ever achieved. And the story, which is the one of best I have witnessed in book, movie, and game alike, still captivates me after multiple playthroughs. Mass Effect as a trilogy (I cannot stress enough that you HAVE to play the first two games) is a gaming experience you absolutely cannot miss. I wholeheartedly believe that they are the peak of gaming to this date, and are unmistakably my favorite games. Ever. Play Mass Effect 3, and if you haven't played 1 or 2? Here, I did the work for you:
Mass Effect 1: http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Effect-Xbox-360/dp/B000OLXX86
Mass Effect 2: http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Effect-Platinum-Hits-Xbox-360/dp/B001TORSII/ref=pd_bxgy_vg_img_b
9.5 / 10
NOTE: IVE HAD THIS ARTICLE WAITING AROUND ON MY BLOGGER ARCHIVES SINCE ROUGHLY TWO WEEKS AFTER ME3's RELEASE. ONLY NOW AM I CLEANING IT UP AND RELEASING IT.
FOR A FULL LIST OF THE DOWNSIDES OF THE GAME, CLICK HERE
IMAGES COURTESY OF EA/BIOWARE
No comments:
Post a Comment