I don’t think this is knowable until release day (plus however many hours it takes for people to make it through the game). I wouldn’t put much stock into anything they say about it in previews. Well, for normal gamers. Mass Effect addicts will love whatever they toss in.
Is it legal to bitch slap Bioware employees if I do it at a convention dressed as a Krogan?
I’m anal enough that I decided to replay through both ME1 and ME2 to have my personal “canon” to take into ME3. My wife actually did the same, too…
rei
1644
Bah. Looks like the Arrival DLC strips Shepard of his/her party.
Quitch
1645
After the high of Lair of the Shadow Broker, The Arrival was some weak sauce. Why take Shepherd to your hideout if you don’t want him to stop you? How exactly have the Reapers made it here already when removing their jump to the Citadel was supposed to be a crippling blow? Why did I never even ask that question?
Definitely the weakest DLC. It didn’t do anything new in gameplay mechanics, it didn’t do anything particularly interesting in story. It even stripped you of your team to ensure your combat options were severely reduced. I really don’t understand the thinking behind this one.
And if someone replies, keep this ME3 knowledge free, I’m desperately trying to avoid knowledge of the next game :)
I think they stripped you of your team to keep voice acting costs down, myself.
Quitch
1647
Well, they didn’t add new lines to the team in the other DLCs (exposing the big weakness of DLC in RPGs).
I’m guessing it was to simplify things like the captive situation. Still, really made the combat far less interesting.
I liked the music of Mass Effect, but it was sometimes Vangelis-esque to the point of being kind of soundalike. I actually get the credits music from Blade Runner mixed up in my head with one of the ME1 combat tracks.
EDIT: Ok, just in checking back through the tracks I recall that I in fact love the music of ME. But Clint Mansell is pretty hard to argue with.
Otagan
1649
This is actually the part I’m most anticipating the hand-wave for.
Removing their jump to the Citadel kept them from immediately warping in and starting the massacre. Without it, they had to hoof it from wherever they were. No one knew how long that would take, though. Is there something I’m missing from that?
I thought the point was that let them start the invasion by teleporting into the galaxy’s nerve centre and shutting down the relay network, besides allowing them to warp right from their extra-galactic lair instantaneously?
Are they supposed to be hundreds of light years away trapped at sublight speeds now? If so that was pretty stupid of them.
Case
1652
When you have a near-infinite lifespan, what’s a few thousand years of transit time?
Given their Evil Plans it’s a lot of unnecessary lead time to give their sentient lunch meat if something goes awry.
At any rate, the plot circa ME1 gave me the impression they might come home “slow” because they weren’t all that stranded, or “fast” via plot developments if they were very stranded. So if it turns out they were just 3-4 years from the gate system at .9c, that doesn’t strike me as a handwave as such - just maybe the duller / less satisfying way to handle things.
Quitch
1654
They’re supposed to be far enough away that no one will stumble across them because they’re incredibly vulnerable during their sleep. I expected at least a throwaway line addressing the “Two years? That’s it? That’s all the time we bought?” question. It was odd that Shepherd just accepted it.
If they’re THAT close, then what was the point of the ME2 plan? It would never come to fruition before the full fleet arrived.
rei
1655
Renegade FemShep being a bitch
Oh man, I watched that months ago but still lolled on review. “I’ll relinquish one bullet. Where do you want it?”
Now that makes me want to play again.
The default responses are also satisfyingly curt. She doesn’t have time for a lot of bullshit.
If I have to … Do I have to?
Some of the bigger action sequences that result are pretty damned satisfying.
I especially like when Shepard engages, and then the squadmates follow right in.
The game just begs you to do the “interrupt pompous enemy monologue with mass destruction” ones.
