Lydian_Sel

Because I miss Ryan.

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

@akeldama: Not familiar with that one, but I'll look into it. Thanks!

@onemanarmyy: No More Heroes is a great pick, thanks! Don't know how likely I am to track down a copy, but there's probably some lets' plays I can gleam info from.

I've never actually played BioShock 2 but it was suggested to me that the Big Daddy's drill works in a similar fashion in that game, you always have it on you and slowly augment it throughout the game. I guess the lightsabers in KOTOR worked a bit like that too but, if I remember correctly, you ended up buying most of the parts/mods for them at shops or just finding them as loot and that's not really what I'm going for.

Hey Duders! I'm messing around with a prototype and need some reference material. How many games can you think of that have a single core weapon/item/mechanic that can be upgraded throughout the game?

Specifically I'm in the market for games that focus on a particular item that's intended to change over time with some amount of customisation. Usually these seem to be games where the item/mechanic in question is pretty routed into the narrative.

Good examples would be the solar gun from Boktai, the Transistor from Transistor, the Soul Reaver from Soul Reaver, or even the Megabuster from Mega Man.

I'm not looking for games in which all items can be upgraded/customised to some degree, where single upgrades can be swapped or assigned to multiple items, or where the main character has a tech tree of their own that contains some weapon effects in it.

Any help would be appreciated!

The Andromeda footage released so far hasn't done much for me, but a new trailer is coming out tomorrow so maybe that will get me on-board? I'm quite excited by the premise of Andromeda, an opportunity to break free of any baggage from the previous arc, to start something new. Mass Effect is an IP you could tell a thousand stories with, so I hope they challenge our ideas about what a Mass Effect game can be and really make Andromeda feel like its own thing.

This thread actually prompted me to go back and play some ME1, which I don't think I've touched since 2011. The KOTOR influence looms large in ME1, it's something I love about that game, even if it makes for a somewhat clunky game-play experience. From 2017, it stands out quite starkly that ME1 was trying to be an RPG first and a third-person shooter second, while its successors reversed that dynamic. There's nothing wrong with that, ME2/3 are still great games, it just makes ME1 feel very unique as a result.

Right now it's pretty accepted that all shooters have some sort of RPG-like upgrade mechanic in them, so I fear that Mass Effect going further and further down an action/shooter road only makes its appeal more grey. For me, Mass Effect is most exciting when I'm standing at the galaxy map looking at a system of potential experiences rather than racing into cover so I can fight off another wave of cyborgs.

Absolutely loved & adored ME1. That game invested me in the universe & the fiction in a big bad way. I don't know if I've ever felt game-hype like I did in the gulf between ME1 & ME2. Despite some issues, mostly of my own expectations, I enjoyed ME2 & ME3. Sadly each sequel took the series further away from what got me excited in the first place. I now see that I'm just a big fan of ME1 rather than a big fan of the ME franchise.

It's a moot point now, but I wish they had let go of Shepard after the first game. Focusing everything on a single protagonist really made that universe feel small & clockwork to me. For what it's worth, I really hope fans enjoy Andromeda!