mass effect is a gift
Feb. 27th, 2014 02:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
naushikaI have a problem. And that problem is.. Mass Effect.
I really love Star Wars. (This may seem like a non sequitor, but stick with me haha.) There are some things that unimpress me about the Star Wars universe, but overall, there was something about the universe that always called to me. Especially in the extended universe. But then I started played Mass Effect, and it was hitting all my Star Wars buttons, all those things about Star Wars that I loved. But.. more.
I don't mean to do a straight comparison between the two universes. Because one is a game + EU and the other is a movie series + EU so I'm not saying one is overall better than the other since they are two drastically different platforms. (And I still love Star Wars a lot.)
But Mass Effect's mythology and universe seems much more planned out and put-together than Star Wars', I will say that. And for me that is leading to a much higher enjoyment level. And here's a couple articles that more eloquently and thoroughly explain my feelings than I could do: What Star Wars Can Learn from Mass Effect and Why Mass Effect is the Most Important Science Fiction Universe of Our Generation.
There are a couple things I love in particular about Mass Effect as a game series above any other game I've played. I'm not finished with the series yet, I'm about halfway through ME3. But I'm feeling particularly emotional about the game right now because I've put in about 75 hours over the past two months on this series and where I am game-wise, I can sense things drawing to a close and I'm like WHAT'S GONNA HAPPENNNNN (no spoilers pleaseeee :D) and I'm reflecting on how I've been playing the game and why I LOVE IT SO MUH-HUH-HUCH.
This entry totally includes a bunch of images I mercilessly swiped from mass effect fuck yeah.
I can play as a fully developed female character.
There are games where I can play as a lady; Fallout 3, Borderlands, Skyrim, Portal, etc. But the thing about all those games is, the character is (largely) mute, personality-less, etc, within the scope of the game. It's always sold as the character is a "blank slate" and you can fill in the blanks yourself to create ~any sort of character. But the more I think about it, the more that just seems like a lazy excuse. Especially after playing ME where when I play as a female Shepard, she is a non-mute, fully voiced and acted character, whose personality still can vary drastically depending on how I play the game, what actions I do, and what dialog options I pick. She's still, to me, a blank slate, because I can mold her how I like.
It has been a very impactful experience for me playing a game with a woman as the main character who has such depth. I'm not sure there's really any other game out there with this level of development for a female main playable character. None that I've played anyway.
Oh and your femshep can look however you want her to look.
The decision-making
In other games, if you even have any sort of alignment at all, you get rather obviously labeled "good" or "evil." In ME, you get "paragon" and "renegade." It's still got a pretty clear association, however, paragon and renegade actions don't just effect how that single event unfolds, but also how people around you feel about you after you take the action.
And beyond that, the decisions you make have far-reaching consequences. You can carry forth your character and decisions from ME1 to ME2 through to ME3. There's a big decision you make in ME1 that fundamentally alters what other characters are around in ME2 and ME3. The games build on each other in a very satisfying way. I truly feel like I am playing a single person's story through, and not some generic person, but my Shepard. The story I am playing right now is unique, in a way. To replicate it exactly, with all the choices and dialog options and relationship decisions I've made would be nearly impossible. If I played it through immediately again afterwards I probably couldn't replicate it exactly.
Speaking of relationships...
YOU CAN HAVE ROMANCES LIKE CRAZYYYYYYYYY. Hahaha. In ME1 you had just a couple options. In ME2 you had some more romantic options. And then in ME3 basically you can romance nearly any character. Some options are available whether you are male or female, and some are available only to one or the other. There are opposite sex and same sex options. There are non-human options. You can have romance or you can just have flings, or you can try for both. There's ways you can have flings and not piss off your romantic interest, though you can also potentially ruin things.
On the surface of it, it sounds a little ridiculous maybe but it's all done in a really nice way. Because in the middle of all this fighting-for-our-lives and end-of-days type stuff, it's still a bunch of people who want to form connections. And Shepard can form connections with many of them - and not just romantic.
Garrus (above) is a fan favorite and for good reason. He is damn awesome. You can romance him but I just love Garrus and Shepard's broship. They bond over their love of shooting things. But you can do anything with the relationships you want to do. Your Shepard and Garrus can be dicks to each other if you want them to, haha.
And there are SO MANY characters to get to know. In between missions, it is extremely recommended you talk to everyone on your ship, and take frequent visits to the space stations in the games. I always make the rounds and talk to EVERYBODY after each mission. It really makes the story that much richer. Also you end up with more side missions, rewards, etc if you do. And of course, that's how you progress any relationship stuff.
You pick the relationships you want to have. For certain characters, you can decide if they even join you on the Normandy, or you can tell them to fuck off and they won't be more than a small part of the game. And you also get to pick who goes on missions with you, in true RPG style. You get to pick who lives and who dies.. sometimes. And sometimes nobody has to die at all. (But if you want to play it that way, more people can die.) It's all very versatile and customizable and I loveeeee it.
The rich settings + cinematography + graphics + cutscenes
ME1 is a bit of an older game now but even though it doesn't have the ~best graphics it still does amazingly well. The entire universe feels very immersive, and thought out, and all of the cut scenes are SO well done. It's like watching a movie. Also, the segue from cut scene to action and back again is very seamless, especially by ME3. All of the games are just a delight to look at.
The secondary characters.
SO MANYYYYYYY. The ones above are just the potential squadmates from ME3 alone. ME1 and ME2 have other squadmates, some of whom carry over into ME3 so you visit their characters/stories again. There's also lots of characters in all the games you don't take on missions with you, but they live/work on your ship, or are on the space stations, or generally have other roles in the game. And there's opportunity to get to know them all pretty well. Your squadmates especially have detailed backstories and histories, and you can get to know them, and they have their own interesting interactions and quirks and even some romances going on between them.
Above are some of the npc Normandy crew. The two at top, Ken and Gabby, remind me of FitzSimmons from AoS a little. (Helped along cause Ken is Scottish haha.) But they have a similar dynamic.. and even thought they never go on missions with you they get their own story. Then there's Cortez whose backstory made me ;_;. And Chakwas the doctor who you can totally get drunk with. And these are just a few of my faves. It's all just very detailed and awesome and I love everybody on this shippppppppp.
ANYWAYYYY enough rambling from me about my ridiculous Mass Effect feels. There are other things I love about the game too, like the AMAZING 80s electronic style soundtrack and the great humor that's present throughout, and how truly awesome the combat system is, but I should just stop talking now haha.
I'm going to cap things off with a trailer for ME3 which I feel really captures the tone of the series.
I really love Star Wars. (This may seem like a non sequitor, but stick with me haha.) There are some things that unimpress me about the Star Wars universe, but overall, there was something about the universe that always called to me. Especially in the extended universe. But then I started played Mass Effect, and it was hitting all my Star Wars buttons, all those things about Star Wars that I loved. But.. more.
I don't mean to do a straight comparison between the two universes. Because one is a game + EU and the other is a movie series + EU so I'm not saying one is overall better than the other since they are two drastically different platforms. (And I still love Star Wars a lot.)
But Mass Effect's mythology and universe seems much more planned out and put-together than Star Wars', I will say that. And for me that is leading to a much higher enjoyment level. And here's a couple articles that more eloquently and thoroughly explain my feelings than I could do: What Star Wars Can Learn from Mass Effect and Why Mass Effect is the Most Important Science Fiction Universe of Our Generation.
There are a couple things I love in particular about Mass Effect as a game series above any other game I've played. I'm not finished with the series yet, I'm about halfway through ME3. But I'm feeling particularly emotional about the game right now because I've put in about 75 hours over the past two months on this series and where I am game-wise, I can sense things drawing to a close and I'm like WHAT'S GONNA HAPPENNNNN (no spoilers pleaseeee :D) and I'm reflecting on how I've been playing the game and why I LOVE IT SO MUH-HUH-HUCH.
This entry totally includes a bunch of images I mercilessly swiped from mass effect fuck yeah.
I can play as a fully developed female character.
There are games where I can play as a lady; Fallout 3, Borderlands, Skyrim, Portal, etc. But the thing about all those games is, the character is (largely) mute, personality-less, etc, within the scope of the game. It's always sold as the character is a "blank slate" and you can fill in the blanks yourself to create ~any sort of character. But the more I think about it, the more that just seems like a lazy excuse. Especially after playing ME where when I play as a female Shepard, she is a non-mute, fully voiced and acted character, whose personality still can vary drastically depending on how I play the game, what actions I do, and what dialog options I pick. She's still, to me, a blank slate, because I can mold her how I like.
It has been a very impactful experience for me playing a game with a woman as the main character who has such depth. I'm not sure there's really any other game out there with this level of development for a female main playable character. None that I've played anyway.
Oh and your femshep can look however you want her to look.
The decision-making
In other games, if you even have any sort of alignment at all, you get rather obviously labeled "good" or "evil." In ME, you get "paragon" and "renegade." It's still got a pretty clear association, however, paragon and renegade actions don't just effect how that single event unfolds, but also how people around you feel about you after you take the action.
And beyond that, the decisions you make have far-reaching consequences. You can carry forth your character and decisions from ME1 to ME2 through to ME3. There's a big decision you make in ME1 that fundamentally alters what other characters are around in ME2 and ME3. The games build on each other in a very satisfying way. I truly feel like I am playing a single person's story through, and not some generic person, but my Shepard. The story I am playing right now is unique, in a way. To replicate it exactly, with all the choices and dialog options and relationship decisions I've made would be nearly impossible. If I played it through immediately again afterwards I probably couldn't replicate it exactly.
Speaking of relationships...
YOU CAN HAVE ROMANCES LIKE CRAZYYYYYYYYY. Hahaha. In ME1 you had just a couple options. In ME2 you had some more romantic options. And then in ME3 basically you can romance nearly any character. Some options are available whether you are male or female, and some are available only to one or the other. There are opposite sex and same sex options. There are non-human options. You can have romance or you can just have flings, or you can try for both. There's ways you can have flings and not piss off your romantic interest, though you can also potentially ruin things.
On the surface of it, it sounds a little ridiculous maybe but it's all done in a really nice way. Because in the middle of all this fighting-for-our-lives and end-of-days type stuff, it's still a bunch of people who want to form connections. And Shepard can form connections with many of them - and not just romantic.
Garrus (above) is a fan favorite and for good reason. He is damn awesome. You can romance him but I just love Garrus and Shepard's broship. They bond over their love of shooting things. But you can do anything with the relationships you want to do. Your Shepard and Garrus can be dicks to each other if you want them to, haha.
And there are SO MANY characters to get to know. In between missions, it is extremely recommended you talk to everyone on your ship, and take frequent visits to the space stations in the games. I always make the rounds and talk to EVERYBODY after each mission. It really makes the story that much richer. Also you end up with more side missions, rewards, etc if you do. And of course, that's how you progress any relationship stuff.
You pick the relationships you want to have. For certain characters, you can decide if they even join you on the Normandy, or you can tell them to fuck off and they won't be more than a small part of the game. And you also get to pick who goes on missions with you, in true RPG style. You get to pick who lives and who dies.. sometimes. And sometimes nobody has to die at all. (But if you want to play it that way, more people can die.) It's all very versatile and customizable and I loveeeee it.
The rich settings + cinematography + graphics + cutscenes
ME1 is a bit of an older game now but even though it doesn't have the ~best graphics it still does amazingly well. The entire universe feels very immersive, and thought out, and all of the cut scenes are SO well done. It's like watching a movie. Also, the segue from cut scene to action and back again is very seamless, especially by ME3. All of the games are just a delight to look at.
The secondary characters.
SO MANYYYYYYY. The ones above are just the potential squadmates from ME3 alone. ME1 and ME2 have other squadmates, some of whom carry over into ME3 so you visit their characters/stories again. There's also lots of characters in all the games you don't take on missions with you, but they live/work on your ship, or are on the space stations, or generally have other roles in the game. And there's opportunity to get to know them all pretty well. Your squadmates especially have detailed backstories and histories, and you can get to know them, and they have their own interesting interactions and quirks and even some romances going on between them.
Above are some of the npc Normandy crew. The two at top, Ken and Gabby, remind me of FitzSimmons from AoS a little. (Helped along cause Ken is Scottish haha.) But they have a similar dynamic.. and even thought they never go on missions with you they get their own story. Then there's Cortez whose backstory made me ;_;. And Chakwas the doctor who you can totally get drunk with. And these are just a few of my faves. It's all just very detailed and awesome and I love everybody on this shippppppppp.
ANYWAYYYY enough rambling from me about my ridiculous Mass Effect feels. There are other things I love about the game too, like the AMAZING 80s electronic style soundtrack and the great humor that's present throughout, and how truly awesome the combat system is, but I should just stop talking now haha.
I'm going to cap things off with a trailer for ME3 which I feel really captures the tone of the series.
