189 replies to this topic

[Dave Hudson]

Some thoughts on the Mass Effect 3 demo:

1. They've glammed Ashley up a bit

2. Wait a minute, Earth is getting smashed by the Reapers and you're off helping Wrex get laid? (and how does that work if you let Wrex get killed back in part 1?)

3. Will they really kill that annoying kid off just to give you extra motivation to defeat the Reapers?

Spoiler

4. Yes, they will.

5. Gameplay wise it's nothing new but I guess if it ain't broke...

[brucegray666]

Completed Beyond Good & Evil this evening. Man, that last boss was pretty tough compared to the rest of the game! Overall a fantastic game though. There were some camera issues (From an early 2000s 3d person action game? Shocked? No!) but the game world, the characters and the storytelling made up for it in spades. Really glad I downloaded it!

[Ogul]

2. Wait a minute, Earth is getting smashed by the Reapers and you're off helping Wrex get laid? (and how does that work if you let Wrex get killed back in part 1?)

Didn't they replace Wrex with some other guy in 2 if you got him killed? Presumably his role in his mission is either filled by that other guy, or Grunt, if he's alive. Likewise you could have gotten Mordin killed in 2, so presumably he would be replaced as well. If you notice the loading screen between the first two bits, the second section takes place a good bit into the game from the beginning, to give you an idea of what a leveled character with a developed squad can do. From what they say, it would seem that what you're doing is securing the support of the Krogans in the war. The plot in this one seems a bit like Dragon Age's, in that you'll probably be going from place to place trying to convince everyone else to help you fight. Really, if I have any issues with the plot at the moment, it's that the Reapers seem terribly inefficient at their job, since wiping out all life on Earth should be the work of minutes when you have the capability to send half the asteroid belt crashing into the Earth.

Anyways, I liked the demo, I like the new moves and the branching leveling trees. I went soldier in the demo while my Shepard is an Infiltrator, just to try it out. Not too bad, but I had a hard time of a few of the fights. The combat is very chaotic with enemies flanking all over the place. I liked the Kinect support, you can really do anything via voice, although I'm likely to use it more often to change weapons, ammo, and activate modes rather than to direct attacks or in dialogs. I need to get used to the controls, I kept hitting "B" to dodge or take cover, when the actual command in this game is "A", so I just kept taking swings at the air.

[Chris Fenton]

Played the ME3 demo, it was alright...

[Ben the Obiwomble]

Downloading ME3 demo now, along with the Binary Domain one...

Downloaded The Simpsons demo last night - it's a port of the old arcade game and you know what? Nostalgia sucks. Crude, simplistic - if it proves anything it really shows just how far games have developed over the last 15 or so years.

[Chris Fenton]

Not the one when you had to skateboard? I never passed the first level, I was only little but still it was tough...

[Dave Wallace]

I remember loving the Simpsons arcade game, too. And Bart vs. the Space Mutants. And Krusty's Super-Fun House. And Bart's Nightmare.

They were probably all rubbish - but I loved the Simpsons so I put up with them.

[Peter Singer]

Completed Beyond Good & Evil this evening. Man, that last boss was pretty tough compared to the rest of the game! Overall a fantastic game though. There were some camera issues (From an early 2000s 3d person action game? Shocked? No!) but the game world, the characters and the storytelling made up for it in spades. Really glad I downloaded it!

I've some very fond memories of that one.
Couldn't finish it because of a rare bug, but gave it to a friend who loved it as much as I did.
And then one day when I went over to visit he was in the middle of a rage 'cus of the last boss and then I gave it a try and finished the game there.

[Adam Balson]

I think the ME3 demo was pretty sweet, a little rough around the edges but it did it's job: I'm very excited for an want to buy ME3.

And I finished ME2 on Insanity. God damn did that take some doing. I did everything I possibly could, depleted every planet palent of resources, did all the side missions, all the anomoaly mission, got all the upgrades, bought everything I could and got and completed all the DLC. And no one died on the Suicide Mission as a bonus!
I was in Cerberus colours all game too so as a little F U to Cerberus and as a little tribute to how awesome the armour looks on the ME3 posters/the demo I changed back to a pimped version of the classic N7 armour. Which actually looks tons better than I thought it did.

I'm ready and fully prepared for ME3.

[Chris Fenton]

I think the ME3 demo was pretty sweet, a little rough around the edges but it did it's job: I'm very excited for an want to buy ME3.

And I finished ME2 on Insanity. God damn did that take some doing. I did everything I possibly could, depleted every planet palent of resources, did all the side missions, all the anomoaly mission, got all the upgrades, bought everything I could and got and completed all the DLC. And no one died on the Suicide Mission as a bonus!
I was in Cerberus colours all game too so as a little F U to Cerberus and as a little tribute to how awesome the armour looks on the ME3 posters/the demo I changed back to a pimped version of the classic N7 armour. Which actually looks tons better than I thought it did.

I'm ready and fully prepared for ME3.

Sometimes, just sometimes, I wish I was a student again...

[Martin Smith]

Started playing Saints Row 3 last night. It's fairly entertaining. It's not nearly as clever and cool as it thinks it is, but it's diverting enough. The missions at least. Haven't had any interest in side stuff so far. Well, I did go streaking briefly. Seemed rather pointless. Just like real streaking. (I need help!)

[Chris Fenton]

Just got another e-mail from Warner Brothers, they have offered to replace my Arkham City disc, after all the bitching and whining I've been seeing online (mostly due to the save game issue) I was pleasantly surprised at how good they were. Quick response, friendly e-mail, good advice, overall great service.

[Mikha'il Tegler]

finally got to the ME3 demo last night. mixed bag, i'm still anxious for the real deal, but i feel like the way they structured the demo feels off. the non-linear story is really jarring, and then you're leveled up suddenly with unfamiliar guns. i haven't been too lucky with that energy-blade melee strike either i keep missing the target even though i think i'm right on top of them.

[brucegray666]

Completed Catherine last night. The story is pretty good - it's basically an extended movie. The puzzle gameplay is pretty good once you get to grips with it though the difficulty curve is properly punishing (had to turn the difficulty down to "easy" for the last few levels). All in all I'm glad I took the time to rent it and it made a nice change from the FPS "hard bastard" simulators that I usually pick up.

I've some very fond memories of [Beyond Good & Evil].
Couldn't finish it because of a rare bug, but gave it to a friend who loved it as much as I did.
And then one day when I went over to visit he was in the middle of a rage 'cus of the last boss and then I gave it a try and finished the game there.

Oh man, that last boss kicked my arse for a while. Had to take a note of his attack pattern on a bit of paper before finally beating him.

[Ben the Obiwomble]

A Tale of 2 Demos

Mass Effect 3: First part was a very well-done introduction, the second? Ummm... I generally liked ME2 in spite of the combat, not because of it - it was the rest of the game that made up for it. And all those things I hated about the combat remain here - the camera viewpoint, that you can't tell where enemies are easily, the clunky powers/weapon wheels. I'll probably still get it but likely wait until it falls in price.

Binary Domain: And then there's pile of crap that makes ME3 for all its flaws look like a masterpiece!

I don't know, I'm starting to conclude that, with much reluctance, I ain't cut out for gaming anymore. Though there is still SSX...

[Peter Singer]

Oh man, that last boss kicked my arse for a while. Had to take a note of his attack pattern on a bit of paper before finally beating him.

I hope they'll bring out a sequel sometime in the nearer future, Ancel said Ubisoft would make the development dependent on the success of Rayman Origins. (which looks good btw.)

[brucegray666]

I hope they'll bring out a sequel sometime in the nearer future, Ancel said Ubisoft would make the development dependent on the success of Rayman Origins. (which looks good btw.)

Rayman Origins was my pick for "Game of the Year 2011". I'd be up for more Beyond Good & Evil so long as it stays true to the feel of the original and builds on all the strong elements I mentioned above.

[Chris D]

After an extended break, I finally went back to my ME2 Insanity playthrough. Made it off the Collector's ship and past the Reaper IFF mission (much easier than I expected it to be). Now it's basically just the final mission left to go, which I know is going to be a bit of a pain.

[Adam Balson]

After an extended break, I finally went back to my ME2 Insanity playthrough. Made it off the Collector's ship and past the Reaper IFF mission (much easier than I expected it to be). Now it's basically just the final mission left to go, which I know is going to be a bit of a pain.

Wasn't too bad for me surprisingly, one of the few missions I only died on once. What class are you? Because any class that's better than mine at combat (which is Engineer) should probably be totally fine with it.

[Ogul]

Mass Effect 3: First part was a very well-done introduction, the second? Ummm... I generally liked ME2 in spite of the combat, not because of it - it was the rest of the game that made up for it. And all those things I hated about the combat remain here - the camera viewpoint, that you can't tell where enemies are easily, the clunky powers/weapon wheels. I'll probably still get it but likely wait until it falls in price.

Did anyone try the "just the story" mode for the demo? I imagined that would be like a super-easymode combat for people that just wanted the roleplaying. Would you enjoy that more?