The Mass Effect Hype Thread

[Manny Calavera]

What is it?
Mass Effect is an Xbox360 exclusive trilogy of sci-fi action RPGs from Bioware and Microsoft Game Studios.



Why should I be hyped for it?
Because it's being made by Bioware, who also made games like "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic", "Jade Empire", "Neverwinter Nights", and "Baldur's Gate", and is a guarenteed 9 or higher. If you like RPGs at all, or even just games, there's an excellent chance that these three games will be in your top ten for this generation.



Is it turn based, real time, or a KotOR-type mixture of both?
The game features a fully real time combat system, that even features your party members reacting in perfectly realistic ways, using squad-tactics and generally not just leaping around attacking what they can ala Jade Empire. With that said, this is an RPG, so you can expect character skill to have just as big an impact on your performance as your own skill, lending you various bonuses (more accurate with certain weapons, less recoil, more damage, etc) depending on how you build your character.



How will the game utilize the Xbox Live service?
Although Mass Effect is entirely a single player RPG (as in, no multiplayer deathmatch guys), the game will use every other aspect of Xbox Live, from the standard acheivements to planned content downloads that contain MUCH more actual content than most. The current plan is for each game to feature an Xbox-Live only "Mass Effect 1.5/2.5" between them to bridge events between the annual release of the three games, with full stories, new characters/voice acting, and basically more than just a few maps and a weapon or two which you've probably come to expect from other games.



What does the game look like?
Thanks to Bioware using a heavily customized version of the Unreal 3.0 engine, it looks like this...

Notice how in that last picture you can actually pick out individual hairs on his head.



I don't believe that's real time!
Well then, feast your eyes on this, the real time, in-game demo shown at the E3 '06 conference to a live audience which wowed all who saw it and led to Mass Effect receiving much praise afterwards. Please note that if you have Xbox Live and a 360, there is a 720p version of this video available there that will probably give you a more accurate representation of the visuals due to it being seen on the same TV that Mass Effect will be played on, rather than a monitor.



Well then how come that looks better than everything I have or ever WILL see on the PS3?
Couldn't tell you. Rumor has it that Microsoft stole some of the magic pixie dust that Sony used to make their magical hardware last gen to give it "hidden power" that Bioware has "unlocked". Didn't hear that from me though.



When can I play these classics?
Bioware staff have, on their forums, hinted at a March/April '07 release for the first game, though that may be pushed back to Summer or even Christmas '07. As far as I know, the plan is to release each game in the trilogy a year after the previous one, with the Xbox Live content will be released inbetween those dates. Bioware has stated that the series will span the entire life cycle of the 360.


Now, get hyped.



EDIT: The Mass Effect FAQ

 

[Axid]

Awsome. Any news on what kind of custom head stuff you can do?

 

[Manny Calavera]

You can customize your character, but that's pretty much the only thing known. No idea if you can pick gender, or if the customization is done like KotOR, where you pick from several presets, or Oblivion, where you do everything your self, or some variation of the two. You're not stuck with the bald guy, that's just the one they're using to show the game, like when they used the Furious Ming character in all the Jade Empire shots.

 

[Axid]

Or like when they show the picture of the guy who didn't get on DOA

 

[Manny Calavera]

You'll be able to adjust the appearance of your character, right down to facial shapes, skin tones, eye colors, and hair styles. And you'll determine your character class and set up your initial abilities. You can be a standard Soldier class, or an Adept (powerful with dark energy attacks), or an Engineer (able to do deadly tech-based attacks). And there will be other classes that combine the abilities of these three.

You'll also be able to do some things that take customization to a new level, like making choices about the kind of experiences you've had before the game started, like where you were born, and the kind of military service you've performed.

And over the course of the game, you'll continue to develop and improve your character – as well as each of the other characters in your squad – by adding new abilities, armor, and weapons that will make your experience in Mass Effect different from everyone else's.

Yup you can choose to play a female. I haven't had a chance to take a look at how much you can customize your character but I'm willing to bet that choosing gender is one of the first steps.

So yeah, you can customize.

 

[Manny Calavera]

Or like when they show the picture of the guy who didn't get on DOA

Oh yeah

 

[Manny Calavera]

Everyone stop invading the damn Sony forum and talk about how awesome this game is

 

[블라스]

This is going to have ballistic weapons, yes?

 

[Manny Calavera]

Yes, but it's also going to have aliens and they will probably have weapons too, so yeah.

 

[WhatsHisFace]

I can't handle the amazing graphics.

 

[블라스]

I saw the gameplay video and loved it.
Plus, it's Bioware.
I just hope they make KOTOR3 and JE2

 

[WhatsHisFace]

JE2 should be outsourced to Day 1 so they can put in a great combat engine and a really crappy story.

KotOR should remain at Obsidian.

 

[Manny Calavera]

They're in preproduction for JE2 right now supposedly, as is Obsidian with KotORIII (Bioware only does their own IPs now, so they won't be doing another star wars game, but Obsidian has pretty much the same employees and talent, so it's ok), so no worries about that. Bioware is also doing an unnamed FPRPG for the 360 and an MMORPG for the PC, in case you were wondering. Also, if you liked KotOR, and it seems that you did, you'll be interested to know that the KotOR team is the one that's doing this one.

 

[블라스]

Sweetah Bananaaa

 

[WhatsHisFace]

Is Dragon Age the crappy MMO? MMOs need to die already.

 

[Manny Calavera]

Dragon Age is the awesome single player RPG for the PC. The MMO is totally unknown aside from the fact that it's being made by the new Bioware Austin studio and that it's an MMO, and on the PC. The FPRPG is pretty much the same, save for it's being made by the original Canadian studio and is on 360. And the MMO won't be crappy, it's Bioware, they don't make crappy games.

 

[Lactophiliac]

It they can get the combat in this game right there will be no stopping it. Bioware rocks and so will this game, the only question is how much.

 

[Manny Calavera]

Biomechanical creatures like this are, as far as anyone outside of Bioware knows, the primary "enemy" in the game, and looming threat you hear about during the demo walkthrough video when the alien talks about the "machines" returning.

I like how even at this distance, you can see blades of grass.

As for the combat, I'm certain they're going to get it right. From what little I saw in the videos, the whole "squad tactics" deal seems to already be well along in development, which should make your party members FAR more valuable in a fight than they are in most other real time RPGs (Jade Empire, the few allies you get at certain times during Oblivion), and the player combat itself looks as well developed as any dedicated 3rd person shooters. I doubt anything will go wrong with the combat

 

[XwolverineX]

Goty '07.

 

[The Last Meatbag]

These graphics are super incredible

Do you know if the combat system is going to be like KOTOR's where it's just choose what attack and hit A, or where you actually run up yourself and press the correct button to perform your attack combinations?

 

[Manny Calavera]

These graphics are super incredible

Do you know if the combat system is going to be like KOTOR's where it's just choose what attack and hit A, or where you actually run up yourself and press the correct button to perform your attack combinations?

100% real time, with squad based tactics available for you to use in conjunction with your party members. It won't be a twitch shooter though, there's still a lot of consideration to give to skills and equipment, like any other good RPG.

 

[WhatsHisFace]

That is the best design I have ever seen.

 

[Lactophiliac]

I’m excited about how the conversations in this game are going to play out. I’ve always hated that I have to pick less then ideal things to say to people in the games. I like to have a character that I sick to, but often times I’m forced into saying or doing things the character wouldn’t do, simply because I have no options that seem right. I hope this eliminates some of that, it’ll certainly make less frustrating for me.

 

[Manny Calavera]

I haven't kept up with that, how's it different from KotOR?

 

[Lactophiliac]

You don’t actually pick what you want to say; you just choose the emotion of what you want to say. If I remember correctly the D pad or one of the analog sticks (something at any rate) is mapped to different emotions or styles of response, I guess, like positive, hostel, negative, and such and you just press the way you’d like to respond. You can even select the way you’d like to respond while the character you are talking to is still talking, which should make it more dynamic.