Quick Look: Mass Effect 3

Headshots are apparently not a factor here.

@cbarnes86: i was able to redo the look of my femshep and she looked damn close to my ME1/2 Shepard so for me it was harm no foul.

@blacklab: They are. You do more damage and get more points for headshots.

HAH, man, they weren't kidding about spoilers becoming quickly apparent once they got into the single-player stuff.

Like a third of that screen is HUD. Wow.

Not to be a total nerd, but there are a couple inaccuracies in this quick look. I realize not everyone has played ME1 and ME2 half a dozen times like I have, but they are definitely forgetting some things from those games.

1. A Reaper invasion takes centuries: If the Reapers were simply bombing away entire populations from orbit, it would be significantly faster, but they are harvesting life, not simply exterminating it. This means they have to rely on ground forces (various types of converted husks and indoctrinated slaves serving as infantry), which takes much longer than obliterating everything from orbit. It is stated in both ME1 (Vigil) and ME3 (Liara) that the Protheans lasted centuries. Millions will die or be processed in the few weeks it takes Shepard to rally a force, but Billions on Earth and Trillions all over the Galaxy can still be saved.
2. The N7 Missions in ME2 were worse than they are in ME3: While still an improvement over the copy/paste side quest environments of the first game, the N7 missions were hardly the most compelling pieces of content in ME2. They had no dialogue, and usually lasted no more than 10 minutes, consisted entirely of combat. I agree it feels odd that the N7 missions in ME3 take place on multiplayer maps, but I was actually quite impressed that they all had not only a briefing and debriefing from Hackett, but also unique combat chatter, and character specific in-mission dialogue.

A few closing thoughts: The heavy melee is actually very effective, soldier is the worst class ever, and now that other classes can use assault rifles, there is absolutely ZERO reason to play a soldier. Playing as a power focused class really highlights what makes Mass Effect's combat awesome. As a pure shooter it may be generic, but the addition of powers makes the combat better than most other third person shooters. There are also quite a few excellent side quests in ME3, with cutscenes, dialogue, and everything you'd expect in a story missions. I do agree with Jeff that some of those eavesdropping and scanning side quests are pretty lame, but I've yet to play a 30+ hour game where every single second of content was amazing.

Also, before anyone calls me a "biodrone" or any other stupid name the people that love to hate this game and bioware in general love to throw around, let me state that I am 18 hours into the game so far, and I have yet to decide if I like more or less than past games in the series. There are some aspects of it that I really like, and others that are a bit disappointing., but until I see the game through, I'm not ready to make a final determination on it.

So weird watching the latter part of this QL and not hearing Jennifer Hale. Everything looks pretty much what I'd expect from a Mass Effect game. I'm excited still.

The only thing in this that is actually a spoiler from 54:16 to 55:00. That was probably one of the coolest surprises for me. Other than that this entire quicklook is safe.

Also as someone who doesn't play a lot of horde mode games I find this one pretty fun. Almost all my friends have a PC so maybe it's because this is my first 4 friends actually doing something together, but I thought it was fun as hell.

I am waiting for UPS to bring me my copy of ME3 as I watch this. another hour or so.....

Mass Effect 3: Boning CONFIRMED

Like there wasn't going to be any boning in this game

@Hef: Thankyou VERYMUCH for the specific spoiler timeframe! I actually paused my video at EXACTLY 54:16 to look at the comments and see if there were any spoilers, hahaha i'm really glad I did!

@phrosnite said:

I played 60 hours of the multiplayer co-op on the demo and I'm going to play at least as much on the retail game. It is solid and a lot of fun.

Edit: Melee is super effective. What are you talking about Jeff?

Filmgrain sucked in ME1, Brad. In ME2 filmgrain was better but I turned it off after the first playthrough.

If you play ME3 multiplayer strictly focusing on the guns and treating it like any other TPS, it's not a great experience.

However, if you craft a character that is ability focused, and mainly use the powers, it's one of the most interest horde modes I've ever played. I sunk over a dozen hours into the demo and adored it. I generally like horde modes and thought that this one in particular was exceptional.

The tactical depth available to each class is fantastic. It's a shame to see those elements ignored. With the right levelling up, the close range Vanguard with a shotgun is brutal on hard or normal difficulty and untouchable. Plays so differently from other games.

I don't care about Wrex spoilers because he died way back in the first game for me. It was so weird seeing him in the demo.

@ll_Exile_ll said:

1. A Reaper invasion takes centuries: If the Reapers were simply bombing away entire populations from orbit, it would be significantly faster, but they are harvesting life, not simply exterminating it. This means they have to rely on ground forces (various types of converted husks and indoctrinated slaves serving as infantry), which takes much longer than obliterating everything from orbit. It is stated in both ME1 (Vigil) and ME3 (Liara) that the Protheans lasted centuries. Millions will die or be processed in the few weeks it takes Shepard to rally a force, but Billions on Earth and Trillions all over the Galaxy can still be saved.

Hm... cool, glad you corrected that.

This game has more plot holes, retcons and just sloppy writing in general than I expected even after the demo. It's honestly appalling how much sappy melodramatic bullshit, out-of-character decisions, and complete disregard for consistency and lore in the storytelling there is in Mass Effect 3. My Shepard has basically turned into a cheesy soap opera character, along with everyone else. The first two games honestly may as well not have happened at this time. Almost zero time is dedicated to building on the existing universe either. Seriously, if you thought Mass Effect 2 was a disappointment, you haven't seen anything yet

That said the actual gameplay has improved dramatically. There is a lot more variety in terms of objectives, set-piece moments and so on, and it really makes the action more interesting. But everything else... ugh. BioWare really need to fire their writers, this is just embarrassing. Glad I got a review copy instead of having to pay, otherwise I'd feel pretty cheated.

After watching this, I'm not really excited to play it anymore. :(

Man, this just seems like it's not what I want from Mass Effect at all. And I've been getting the same feeling from the lead up to this that I was in the lead up to Dragon Age 2 (maybe not to the same extent, but still). So I guess I'll pass on it this time around.

I learned all of that information about Turians from Mordin when I went to talk to him about sleeping with Garrus in ME2. Who needs a codex?

Yeah, most of the complaining about side quests from ME3 apply to ME1 and 2. Rouge tinted glasses, maybe?

Finally, Jeff takes cover 40 minutes into the QL. He still never used his medi-gel.

Is it really lackluster? Or did you hype yourself up so much that you couldn't help but be disappointed? And again, maybe you're forgiving a lot of the issues from the previous games because the games are similar. And so, you're not going to look at the good because you've already seen it and instead focus on the bad.

Sorry, the film grain in the first game was horrible. It was there to cover up a lot of jank, as was the motion blurring.

Jeff says early that you never need to use your ammo packs on you because it's always right there in the level. And then he complains about not having any ammo.

30 hours is actually a decent time for a Mass Effect game.

Oh man, some of those load times. Good thing I installed it to the hard drive before starting to play. Also glad they talked about the weirdness that is Shepard doing mundane things while apparently the Reapers are chillaxing on Earth for a couple of weeks.

@cbarnes86 said:

I'm not too far in the game, love it so far, but my BIGGEST quarrel and it may seem dumb, but if you import a ME1 character into 2 and import that ME2 character into 3, the face doesn't import. Not a huge deal, but seriously, it took me slightly out of MY Shepard's story, considering it isn't "him" that I'm playing as now. I made him look similar, but he doesn't compare to my old Shepard at all. You can't even add scars.

Not just me then!

Yeah, bummed I had to remake my Shepard because even though I got close to recreating him it still bugs me that he looks slightly different now.

Femshep came out better.

@rjayb89 said:

HAH, man, they weren't kidding about spoilers becoming quickly apparent once they got into the single-player stuff.

nothing they showed seemed in any way significant to me. since we don't know WHY things are the way they are, there's no issue really.

The one thing I learned here that is awesome is that you can have a VI take care of your fish! Mine always died in ME2, no matter how often I checked on them.

In response to Brad's query about Shep being a robot Jeff is incorrect.

Multiple times at the beginning of the game I had characters distrusting Shepard because he had been rebuilt by Cerberus into something else and might become a Cerberus drone. If you reacquire Chakwa she gives you a physical and comments that the implants have almost completely been integrated into the body.

@Vitor said:

@phrosnite said:

I played 60 hours of the multiplayer co-op on the demo and I'm going to play at least as much on the retail game. It is solid and a lot of fun.

Edit: Melee is super effective. What are you talking about Jeff?

Filmgrain sucked in ME1, Brad. In ME2 filmgrain was better but I turned it off after the first playthrough.

If you play ME3 multiplayer strictly focusing on the guns and treating it like any other TPS, it's not a great experience.

However, if you craft a character that is ability focused, and mainly use the powers, it's one of the most interest horde modes I've ever played. I sunk over a dozen hours into the demo and adored it. I generally like horde modes and thought that this one in particular was exceptional.

The tactical depth available to each class is fantastic. It's a shame to see those elements ignored. With the right levelling up, the close range Vanguard with a shotgun is brutal on hard or normal difficulty and untouchable. Plays so differently from other games.

Sorry guys but most people don't actually know how to play games in any way which has depth.

INSTEAD LET'S JUST DO A SOLDIER CLASS BRO AND BITCH THAT THE GAME PLAYS LIKE A POOR GEARS OF WAR GAME FUCK YEAHHH!

(Super secret vanguard shotgun to the face tactics FTW!)

@DeF said:

@rjayb89 said:

The one thing I learned here that is awesome is that you can have a VI take care of your fish! Mine always died in ME2, no matter how often I checked on them.

Should have made friends with Kelly. She feeds the fish for you.

@BigChief said:

Man, this just seems like it's not what I want from Mass Effect at all. And I've been getting the same feeling from the lead up to this that I was in the lead up to Dragon Age 2 (maybe not to the same extent, but still). So I guess I'll pass on it this time around.

Playing it. Loving it.

Feels like the Mass Effect story continues and there's shooting bits in between.

Not even close to how empty and lazy DA2 was.

@Impossibilium said:

@DeF said:

@rjayb89 said:

The one thing I learned here that is awesome is that you can have a VI take care of your fish! Mine always died in ME2, no matter how often I checked on them.

Should have made friends with Kelly. She feeds the fish for you.

I thought I was cool with Kelly ... maybe she only feeds fish for male Shepards ...

I’m commander Shepard and this is my favorite quick look on the internet!

Oh, wow, Jeff. Was that a firesign theatre reference?  
Awesome haha, I don't know how many people will get that but that so great! I don't see references to that very often- which is a shame. 
 
Anyway, I'm looking forward to playing this. Just thought that was an awesome reference.

That stalker side quest stuff sounds exactly like what they did in Dragon Age 2 and people hated it.  Weird that they did it again.
 
@Vitor: 
I agree with you, all of my best experiences in the MP Demo had nothing to do with shooting my gun.

@Impossibilium said:

In response to Brad's query about Shep being a robot Jeff is incorrect.

Multiple times at the beginning of the game I had characters distrusting Shepard because he had been rebuilt by Cerberus into something else and might become a Cerberus drone. If you reacquire Chakwa she gives you a physical and comments that the implants have almost completely been integrated into the body.

I'm pretty sure Jeff said that it does come up.

Good thing I'm not on the fence about this game. If I was, based on Jeffs attitude, I would avoid this game like the plague. He makes it seem like crap.

@Zithe said:

@Impossibilium said:

In response to Brad's query about Shep being a robot Jeff is incorrect.

Multiple times at the beginning of the game I had characters distrusting Shepard because he had been rebuilt by Cerberus into something else and might become a Cerberus drone. If you reacquire Chakwa she gives you a physical and comments that the implants have almost completely been integrated into the body.

I'm pretty sure Jeff said that it does come up.

Brad asks Jeff if they ignore the fact he's a robot and Jeff says "Uh, yes".

@DeF said:

@Impossibilium said:

@DeF said:

@rjayb89 said:

The one thing I learned here that is awesome is that you can have a VI take care of your fish! Mine always died in ME2, no matter how often I checked on them.

Should have made friends with Kelly. She feeds the fish for you.

I thought I was cool with Kelly ... maybe she only feeds fish for male Shepards ...

I think you had to get to the edge of romance (or dancing in Kelly's case) before she feeds fish. Should work with Femsheps.

@Gimpy said:

Thats it, Im switching to Parchment v1

Glad I'm not the only one who considers v2 a buggy pos.

@Impossibilium: Brad asked if it was referenced OR if it was just ignored, and Jeff replies 'Yes...I'll leave it at that', which says to me he meant that it does come up.

@whitespider said:

Why is jeff never enthusiastic? He has (in my opinion) such a great personality besides that. It might suit other people who share indifference about most things. For me... it kind of gets me down.

I watch some other reviewers, and they are like, yeah - this game got "4/10", it's got some really big faults, but they did this so god damn well. And this was a fantastic idea. And I love how they did this.

I don't think I have ever seen jeff genuinely 'moved' by something in his vocal tone or body language.

You know what I think? I think things do excite him. He just never shows it. - The only problem with that is that it will influence easily influenced fans. And they will mistake jeff's method of speaking with a genuine lack of interest - and skip something based on that.

I will always be a huge fan of giant bomb, and Jeff's one of my favorites on here. It's just that one thing occasionally grates me the wrong way.

If you've been watching Jeff long enough you can tell when he gets excited. Rythm Heaven on the Wii is a good example.

@Impossibilium said:

Brad asks Jeff if they ignore the fact he's a robot and Jeff says "Uh, yes".

He asks if they reference it or if they ignore it and Jeff says yes. I understand how it could be confusing, but he was saying yes to the first part of the question.

@Buzzkill said:

@whitespider said:

Why is jeff never enthusiastic? He has (in my opinion) such a great personality besides that. It might suit other people who share indifference about most things. For me... it kind of gets me down.

I watch some other reviewers, and they are like, yeah - this game got "4/10", it's got some really big faults, but they did this so god damn well. And this was a fantastic idea. And I love how they did this.

I don't think I have ever seen jeff genuinely 'moved' by something in his vocal tone or body language.

You know what I think? I think things do excite him. He just never shows it. - The only problem with that is that it will influence easily influenced fans. And they will mistake jeff's method of speaking with a genuine lack of interest - and skip something based on that.

I will always be a huge fan of giant bomb, and Jeff's one of my favorites on here. It's just that one thing occasionally grates me the wrong way.

If you've been watching Jeff long enough you can tell when he gets excited. Rythm Heaven on the Wii is a good example.

Don't forget about Saints Row 3 and Jurassic the Hunted.

It hasn't come out in Europe yet GAAH can't wait.

And can't watch this yet.

(I will make short specific comments further on. Let's start with one):

• I don't think the shooting is competent.

For me, the shooting is not detachable from the character movement. Movement and shooting are two parts of the same coin. And the movement is and was from the very first game on ... clunky.

Yes, this is not a FPS - it's not CoD or Gears ... or even recent Syndicate! But when you try to compete with these games on this game mechanic level, you should do a better job? Especially, if you have a 3rd chance to do it better? To improve?

I am not dissing the game as a whole or the franchise. It is ONE aspect of the Mass Effect Series, which bugs me from the first game on. Still plenty to like about the games.

@Impossibilium said:

@DeF said:

@Impossibilium said:

@DeF said:

@rjayb89 said:

The one thing I learned here that is awesome is that you can have a VI take care of your fish! Mine always died in ME2, no matter how often I checked on them.

Should have made friends with Kelly. She feeds the fish for you.

I thought I was cool with Kelly ... maybe she only feeds fish for male Shepards ...

I think you had to get to the edge of romance (or dancing in Kelly's case) before she feeds fish. Should work with Femsheps.

By that point many a fish had to be flushed ... :( That's the one true heartbreaking moment in the whole of Mass Effect for me.

17 minutes of menus... sigh...

I was hoping they'd show an early mission or even the Citadel so I'm kind of disappointed in the multiplayer quick look. Looks good though.

Man, Jeff's tone is so fucking depressing this entire Quick Look. I mean, he has to be critical about this stuff, and thus he can't be like "AW SHIT DUDE, MASS EFFECT! CHECK IT OUT, I'M USING SINGULARITY! I LOVE BIOTICS!" But jeez, listening to him in this, you'd think he'd just as easily never want to play this game ever.

I mean he gave it 4 Stars, so he's clearly coming out fairly positive about it. But just listening to this, he sounds so indifferent, or that the game is kinda sorta shitty. And after the time I've spent with it, it's not. It's pretty fucking great. But it's so hard not to get bummed out listening to him.

I mean he makes fine points, absolutely. But I dunno... haven't listened to his thoughts on the podcast yet, so whatevs.

Brad: "WHERE THE FUCK IS KELLY?!"

@ll_Exile_ll: Thank you. There seems to be a piling on spurred on by Jeff that not only forgets story and gameplay aspects in ME1 and ME2, but also in other celebrated video games (like Skyrim) in general. Like picking up missions just by overhearing them. BFD. It's a videogame. Do we need to have mundane conversations about a low level quest? No, just go do it. Or don't. We do it in EVERY OTHER RPG. They are PACKED with low level quests. I feel NOTHING and remember almost nothing about low level quests. They happen. I do them. I like doing them because I'm addicted to 100% completing video games and sometimes I don't want to engage in a story arc. I just want to fly around and explore with minimal purpose. I'm not saying ME3 is beyond reproach- I've found things that I don't like so far- but I wish the Giantbomb staff would make coherent arguments that stand up to videogame history and context.

* I really agree with Brad's complaint of the bowlegged run animation. Really awkward.

@Shaanyboi said:

Man, Jeff's tone is so fucking depressing this entire Quick Look. I mean, he has to be critical about this stuff, and thus he can't be like "AW SHIT DUDE, MASS EFFECT! CHECK IT OUT, I'M USING SINGULARITY! I LOVE BIOTICS!" But jeez, listening to him in this, you'd think he'd just as easily never want to play this game ever.

I mean he gave it 4 Stars, so he's clearly coming out fairly positive about it. But just listening to this, he sounds so indifferent, or that the game is kinda sorta shitty. And after the time I've spent with it, it's not. It's pretty fucking great. But it's so hard not to get bummed out listening to him.

I mean he makes fine points, absolutely. But I dunno... haven't listened to his thoughts on the podcast yet, so whatevs.

He tends to do that from time to time with highly anticipated games and it sticks out more when you're a big fan of the game or franchise. I said the same when he talked about Battlefield 3. The barrage of cranky comments never seemed to stop. But, at the same time, maybe it's because of these sometimes exaggerated anticipations he feels the need to emphasise his negative points... knowing it still wont matter in the end.

@Shaanyboi said:

Man, Jeff's tone is so fucking depressing this entire Quick Look. I mean, he has to be critical about this stuff, and thus he can't be like "AW SHIT DUDE, MASS EFFECT! CHECK IT OUT, I'M USING SINGULARITY! I LOVE BIOTICS!" But jeez, listening to him in this, you'd think he'd just as easily never want to play this game ever.

I mean he gave it 4 Stars, so he's clearly coming out fairly positive about it. But just listening to this, he sounds so indifferent, or that the game is kinda sorta shitty. And after the time I've spent with it, it's not. It's pretty fucking great. But it's so hard not to get bummed out listening to him.

I mean he makes fine points, absolutely. But I dunno... haven't listened to his thoughts on the podcast yet, so whatevs.

This. I like the guy and the site to bits, but yeah....this.

I don't in depth quick look with all these explaining :( 
the ones where they just put in a game and go are far more entertaining and informative for a first impression. 
 
maybe they need to name these something else, this and the SSX quick look were some of the features I stopped watching after 5 -10minutes in.