The last of 2007’s fourth quarter blockbusters has landed. Like Assassin’s Creed, BioWare’s Mass Effect was a flawed game filled with promise and intrigue. Mass Effect 2 is a realization of the many ideas put forth in the original, but it is also a sequel which made some of the most dramatic changes from one installment to another. Many of the changes moved the franchise forward. Some were more lateral while a small handful felt like complete degradations. The end result, however, was the most satisfying science fiction experience I’ve ever had.
It’s Super Bowl Sunday 2010. This is the first NFL season which I’ve paid significant attention to, but it’s still superficial compared to the dedicated fans out there. Nevertheless, I do have a preference and want the Indianapolis Colts to achieve victory.
As soon as Electronic Arts acquired BioWare, many folks — including myself — believed Mass Effect and its sequel Mass Effect 2 will eventually end up on the PlayStation 3.
That didn’t happen. Or at least not yet.
Hidden away in the PC version of Mass Effect 2 were references to an unavailable PS3 version of BioWare’s critically acclaimed sci-fi epic.
Some people pointed out that these references could be default Unreal Engine 3.0 code found in games such as the PC version of BioShock. However, those people would be wrong. The Unreal Engine doesn’t use “ParagonRenegade” messages.
I don’t think it’s a matter of “if“ anymore; it’s a matter of “when”. When will Mass Effect 2 come to the PlayStation 3? Will the original Mass Effect make it over as well? Many questions and, of course, EA is mum about it.
I wanted to repurchase Mass Effect for the Xbox 360, but I think I’ll hold off on that until we hear something about the PlayStation 3 versions. Why wait? Well, there could be a remote chance that the PlayStation 3 version will be re-worked and improved over the technically sketchy Xbox 360 build.
Who knows? By that time, I could probably pick up the Xbox 360 version for $10 again. Or maybe even have a new PC which can handle Mass Effect with 1080p resolution and at 60 frames per second.
I also wonder how much EA will charge for a three year old port of Mass Effect.
Writing long detailed reviews has its benefits. For instance, I can look back at my Mass Effect review and get a really detailed look at my thoughts on 2007’s BioWare RPG epic.
Two years later, I still agree with my closing thoughts:
I invested approximately 34 hours into Mass Effect, amassed nearly 1 billion worth of credits (off by just 1 credit) and, according to the achievement, completed a majority of the game. I spent a lot of time with Mass Effect and I wanted to love every second of it. Every time any one of the mentioned faults appeared, I did my best to ignore it and push forward in hopes that the game will get better. In the end, I was left a tad bit disappointed. Perhaps it had to do with my own expectations based on reviews and media hype, but I simply felt Mass Effect’s numerous flaws ruined what was arguably one of the greatest science fiction role playing journeys ever. Regardless of the negativity I expressed, I can honestly say that enjoyed Mass Effect. The conversations, soundtrack and the story of Mass Effect are the highlights which I will take from this game. I want to see this trilogy through until the end, so I hope BioWare fixes most of my complaints in the next instalments. As for my recommendation? There are gamers out there who can push the mentioned faults aside and if you are one of them, Mass Effect is recommended. Otherwise, if you are not one of these tolerant fans, I would give this space epic a weekend rental first.
Mass Effect was one of those games which I can look back to fondly, but couldn’t really enjoy while I played it. However, like the other two 2007 blockbusters Assassin’s Creed and Uncharted, there are a host of improvements coming with Mass Effect 2. Whether or not BioWare will pull through with the sequel remains to be seen.
Okay, if this Mass Effect 2 launch trailer doesn’t tingle the hype senses, then nothing will. It spoils the premise of the game a bit, but who cares! This is one of the best launch trailers yet.
Mass Effect 2 launches January 2010 for Xbox 360 and PC. For more information, visit the official website.
I haven’t gone out of my way to seek out Mass Effect 2 content, so it’s always a nice surprise to see something from BioWare’s upcoming sci-fi RPG on GameTrailers. They’ve released character class trailers and have moved onto the recruitable characters themselves.
While most of them were interesting, like Thane, I can’t say I’m fond of these two broads here.
E3 2009 is over. Thanks to the numerous leaks, not a lot of surprising news came out of it. In fact, thanks to Nintendo’s tight lip and closely guarded secrets, it came away with the most surprising announcements including Super Mario Galaxy 2, New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Metroid: Other M.
As soon as Electronic Arts acquired BioWare, many folks — including myself — believed Mass Effect and its sequel Mass Effect 2 will eventually end up on the PlayStation 3.
