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Hey Nintendo! If your reading this, then could you please do me a big personal favor? DON'T put achievements in your games. Its not that I have any major problem with them. They can add replay value if nothing else. I just hardly ever see my best friend anymore. He's always playing Fallout, or Borderlands, or now Crackdown 2. Whenever I DO head over there, I typically get dragged into helping him get some of the more aggravating ones. I don't want to try for that last missing weapon in EDF anymore, and I swear Dead Rising's Otis is skipping phone calls on purpose now.
Again, just as a personal favor to me.
Love, Me"
Regarding Item management, thats actually sorta what I meant. Between that and the Mako it seems like they spent so much time listening to people complain, they couldn't seem to hear anyone who actually enjoyed them. I for one was looking forward to any number of tweaks to the same basic formula. A more efficient equipment screen setup & maybe some sort of improvement to the Mako; make it faster or more dynamic to control for example. Or just give us stuff to do in it, generally speaking. Instead they just got axed completely, all the while we were hearing about all the "improvements" that had been made.
And the worthless comment was directed to the majority of the game's equipment/loot, not the game itself. Even if you ignored the SPECTRE gear completely, once you figure out each weapon's best "brand" you never have to switch again. A low level "good" weapon was almost always better than/equal to a mid-high level competitor weapon."
I'd think the bigger stumbling block to character development would be less the lack of options than the sheer pointlessness. I mean compare the two from a practical perspective. Sure you get more out of it early on, but those 2 points per level can't be coasted on for very long. In short order you reach a stage where you have no choice but to sit on points waiting till you can afford anything. How is that better than small but continuous upgrades.
Combat-wise I can't say I agree really. There may be less of a learning curve, but the act itself is more dynamic. I sucked hard my first time through ME1, in no small part because I believe I was expecting a shooter. However my later playthroughs didn't make the combat any more engaging. Practically every fight boiled down to the same rote pattern. Take cover, pick a target, shoot until your shield drains or your gun beeps. Repeat. There were variances of course, but that pattern could get you through the majority of the game. And the only outside consideration with any significant effect on combat was your ammo mod. Obviously you'd want your best gun equipped, but the mods were the only real "tactical" concern. Or you could just Sledgehammer everything.
I was actually just thinking about the inventory system switch up the other day. It seems to exemplify the overarching problem. I have the long term memory of a drop of water, so this is something I've been wondering if it actually happened. Am I the only one who remembers reading comments from Bioware about how they were aware of player grievances with certain parts of the first game; i.e. the inventory & Mako? And how they were sure players would be pleased with the changes/overhaul made to these problem areas? If I am then I guess its moot. Just go ahead and ignore me. If it actually happened then I don't really know what to think. Except that perhaps I've been underestimating the creative power of my keyboard "Delete" key. I understand that practically everything in the first game was worthless, but that seems more a fault of either: the random loot generation, the obvious and massive discrepancies between different pieces, or the very existance of SPECTRE gear.
I'm curious now. What about the story bothered you?"
Pretty well summed up right there."
Honestly I feel like its a lot less sinister than you imagine. I feel like its more a matter of Bioware listening to the vocal minority who complained about the original. In the process it just seems like they lost sight of the original's fanbase. Of course, this is just personal opinion. It's also possible that this was a part of the plan from the beginning. Bioware generally seemed to have a plan for the series from the start. That the series was always destined to be more action oriented than we expected is certainly conceivable. In which case there's no real point to arguing about it. (Though that doesn't mean we have to like it!)"
@Christian
Of course that style of game isn't going anywhere. So long as there are people to buy them, someone will make them. However I think Gary's original point was that Bioware's shifting of focus from ME1 to ME2, created a sort of double standard for those of us who actually get enjoyment out of that type of game. Should all future ME1 style RPG's be judged more harshly because they aren't as "pure" as tabletop gamers might like? Did the developers really feel the original's style and flow was so horrible that an overhaul of this level was required?
And sorry, but it seems like you're the one getting caught in the semantics. The origins of the term RPG has nothing to do with anything here. For the simple fact that its so subjective. Playing a role is making choices & experiencing consequences to you. For others it may be being handed said role and told to make the best of it; problems, numbers and all. One view is no better than another. And while tabletop may be the origin, it isn't the be all end all anymore.
I fully agree with your assessment of ME1's gameplay elements. It really was a failed attempt at a shooter. Remind me how that hurt its sales again? It didn't, because the rest of the elements came together in a way to make the whole thing memorable. For 2, it seems like cutting away the "bloat" meant utterly removing anything that got in the way of shooting, talking, or spending the least possible time on the path to either/both. This, at least in my view, is why ME2 is a dedicated TPS with some light squad & RPG elements.
@Jason
You'll take your three person party and you'll bloody well like it, consarnit!"
Honestly, it sounds more like you were just mentally in the mood to be playing something else at the time. I mean its generally a high-intensity action game. So really, what kind of game time were you expecting? And even mentioning the cutscenes? In a Kojima game? At this point isn't that like going swimming then complaining about all the water? I do remember needing a lot of luck at times, but these instances typically felt like my own fault. I'm generally horrible at action games yet tend to set my goals way to high. Seriously, wait a couple years to clear your palette then give it another shot when you're in a more action oriented temperment. It's really not THAT bad. Despite Kojima."
*Mind blanks out. Inexplicable begins hearing all of Cortana's lines being read by Morgan Freeman. Urge to save galaxy: rising.*
Wha? Sorry, must have zoned out there. What were we talking about?"
And for particulars: Yes I did use Biotic/Tech where applicable. I only have 4 complete characters but all 3 main types were accounted for. I'm not commenting on Krogan in general, but that particular "boss"ish krogan. Surrounded by various types of geth. At the early point you can fight him, he always tends to shrug off practically everything I did to him. Especially on the highest difficulty. I can't agree on your argument about the repetition either but I'm not gonna argue your point. And I honestly felt the AI was the game's weakest feature. Didn't you ever direct your party to advance to a certain point only to watch one or both then run across the battlefield to rejoin you for no apparent reason? Or watch as someone stood in the middle of a firefight despite cover being 2 feet away. Lastly, just to clarify, I meant the inventory implementation; not the system itself. You know the whole resetting cursur when you went to clean up the list thing? I really thought "everyone" hated that, which was why they supposedly "fixed' it for the pc.
To close, let me just say that if I really am coming across as unfair or arrogant, I do apologize. It isn't intentional I promise."
For the record, these comics are one of the highlights of my week."