I finally finished the last game in the series and I have a lot to say.
The installation alone was an adventure. It took me probably 4 repacks and about 7 installations to get it right. I could go with the first one but I was set on installing ALOT textures and it took awhile to find a repack where they work. But that wasn't the end of my struggle as I realized the ME3 changed the character import system and now my Shephard looked like a potato. I did a pretty good job at facial reconstruction but she ended up looking 10 years younger. Still handsome as fuck though, I made hundreds of screens and I regret nothing.
MOREAll 3 games are good in their own right. They all bring something new, keep you interested, all the while being consistent. There is a popular opinion, however, that the second game is the best and I think I would agree, both in terms of gameplay and the characters. At first, I didn't think so but slowly I discovered more and more flaws. But first I want to talk about the good aspects.
The storyline in the series is quite strong. I mean, it's not entirely original but it's solid and coherent. Looking back to the first game, the plot still holds, which is rare. I think the third game is just as good in term so of wrapping up all the plotlines. The lore is also very impressive. Unlike fantasy genre that somehow all bases on Tolkien, sci-fi has no unified lore and that poses a major challenge. Sure, there are many issues to be found in the game as in any sci-fi universe, but it is better than most movies I've seen. The alien races have distinct history, culture, physiology and diplomacy that you slowly learn over the course of the games.
The RPG immersion is amazing. It's different from Planescape, with many choices having big consequences on other characters and their species rather than the main character. You decide the fate of the whole universe and all its races. Even more than the plot, I love the many moral choices the game presents. You have to make sacrifices at every turn. Sometimes it's just individuals and sometimes it's planets or whole species.
I like the idea of Paragon/Renegade system though it has some drawbacks. It took me some time to figure out how it works but it's interesting. You are a hero by default but you get to decide what kind of hero, and it's a scale. I act on my judgement in most cases. There are times to be merciful and times to be merciless. However, I end up somewhere in between and thus cut off from top power options. You also may easily miss the power options that happen in the middle of long cutscenes.
The characters are many. You like some, hate others but they are all diverse and distinct. ME3 cast felt considerably weaker to me and some characters like James just annoyed the hell out of me. Personally though, I feel like the characters could be a lot more interesting, there's no limitation to what you can do with them. The voiceover is excellent though. In terms of romance, I picked Ashey as my girl and stuck with her but I found her character development pretty lacking in the end. Also, I didn't realize that since that romance was modded, I would not be getting the two bed scenes and that is pretty offensive.
Now for the issues. In the third game, one of the main issues is that there is too much plot, often with several minutes of scenes following one another that you can't control. I get there are many plotlines to deal with but it often feels you can't do anything, merely observing the events. So scenes that happen after major boss battles may happen spontaneously and you may blink and miss an important moment to act.
Another issue is the fact that I failed some quests because I did not realize other events would make them undoable. I know that is how life is, but in game it would be nice to have at least a hint that would tell you you might not be able to return to a place. Because of that Citadel attack I lost Jack and I completely missed that quest with Kasumi.
There are also some glitchy interfaces that make it very hard to use the powers in the middle of important fights and some vaguely formulated and incorrectly displayed quests.
My Shephard is great and the voiceover is simply amazing but I still feel like the female version was an afterthought, it shows through in the dynamics with other characters. Even the way she runs seems like she has heavy nuts in the way. At least making Shephard female added something interesting to the character. The default male is just another badass white male protagonist with a square face.
Then there's of course, the boob factor. The sexualization of most species' females. Most other races have exactly the same body type and boobs. The asari also have perfectly Caucasian faces, lips and lashes and everything. And robots. Much of it is ironic sexism but that's still annoying. The Jeff/EDI romantic subplot made me cringe very hard. It's hard to be a feminist and enjoy literally any piece of media.
One of the 3rd game's main features is uniting the galaxy for the final fight. And I liked that but I didn't really know what the maximum possible score is and how it will determine the outcomes. I only missed a few missions, and apparently I have the extended cut so thankfully I was able to get top score. However, I did not know for sure and the ending choices are fucking tricky as it's absolutely unclear what you need to do to make the choice. So I had no idea what I even signed up for before the end sequence.
The endings left me with very mixed feelings. I mean, the whole catalyst thing was fairly predictable. Meeting a higher being, learning the higher truth and having to make a very hard decision is pretty typical sci-fi. However, the options were less obvious. At first I accidentally chose merging, which is a stupid option that shouldn't even been there at all. It's like the writers just gave up by the end. That kinda ruined it for me. The next day I redid the engame and was able to pick destruction and it felt right. I did cry anyway. I was convinced Shapard died and frankly it felt consistent with the story but the last scene suggested she somehow lived. That bitch is a survivor.
Overall, despite some drawbacks, ME is a very good series with some of the best plots and richest lore out there. However, the ending is what cements your impression and I think the confusion and disappointment at failing to get a good closure ruined it for many players.
@музыка:
Niki Haris - The One
@темы:
Games
