Guest hosts Chris & Jen cover the "Mass Effect" series of video games. They talk about the story, what they like and many other things. Enjoy the cast!
Podcast Notes: http://treksinscifi.com/podcast_notes/?p=3439 (http://treksinscifi.com/podcast_notes/?p=3439)
http://www.treksinscifi.com/podcasts/TreksinSciFi_505_Mass_Effect.mp3 (http://www.treksinscifi.com/podcasts/TreksinSciFi_505_Mass_Effect.mp3)
Cool, I never played this but heard good things about it.
What an awesome series, playing these games ranks way up there as one of my favorite experiences of the last generation of video games. Listening now!
Looking forward to listening :)
Great podcast! I need to play this game. It's like a movie.
I am late getting to this one. SHould listen during the commute today.
Really have to pull ME3 off of my pile and play that damned thing.
Fantastic podcast. Great to hear you both chat about a series of games you clearly both enjoy. I've played one of them and it did t quite get me to bite but after hearing the show I might give it another go. Great job
Man, now I really want to play ME3. Guess I've gotta do this: http://www.gamefront.com/mass-effect-3-how-to-transfer-your-me-2-save-from-xbox-360-to-pc/ (http://www.gamefront.com/mass-effect-3-how-to-transfer-your-me-2-save-from-xbox-360-to-pc/)
or suck it up and get the 360 version.
Yeah - great podcast Chris & Jen. Frak - now I have to play these too! :)
Rico skip one and start with two.
I had a copy of the PC version, and had a bit of trouble getting it to run on my old XP box - I have to spend some time on it - it sounds like my kind of game.
Quote from: Jobydrone on October 15, 2014, 09:37:52 AM
Rico skip one and start with two.
Belay that order, Mr. Rico. ALL of them are awesome and worthy of play. Especially since the story builds with every game. Carry on.
Quote from: Bromptonboy on October 15, 2014, 11:10:01 AM
I had a copy of the PC version, and had a bit of trouble getting it to run on my old XP box - I have to spend some time on it - it sounds like my kind of game.
I played them all on XBOX 360. I know not everyone likes consoles, but the only thing that was buggy was the sniper rifle in the first game. It was broken on purpose. I don't think they ever fixed it. As someone who likes to fight from a distance in games, it forced me to play a different type of character... one who was more "run and gun". I enjoyed the challenge.
I would definitely start with the first game to get the full experience.
Loved the podcast so much I am listening a second time through to get more details. I have never had much patience for gaming but this one is really getting Vartok excited to go out and get a state of the art game console, or should I stick with a PC version? Have they ever ported the original game one to later machines? Only the experts know for sure. And what about all that "romancing" :laugh:
Great job you two. Loved your natural repartee.
Now over to iTunes to DL some ME music.
V
Quote from: Jen on October 15, 2014, 02:05:25 PM
It was broken on purpose.
Not that I've ever played this game but, really?
Surely, if they didn't like a game feature thy'd have removed it properly rather than just breaking it and leaving it there. (I guess this report offends the professional software engineer still lurking somewhere inside of me.)
Quote from: Vartok on October 15, 2014, 04:53:03 PM
Loved the podcast so much I am listening a second time through to get more details. I have never had much patience for gaming but this one is really getting Vartok excited to go out and get a state of the art game console, or should I stick with a PC version? Have they ever ported the original game one to later machines? Only the experts know for sure. And what about all that "romancing" :laugh:
Great job you two. Loved your natural repartee.
Now over to iTunes to DL some ME music.
V
Thanks, Vartok. Yes, the music is amazing in all 3 of these games. Lots of stand out tracks. All 3 games can be played on the XBOX 360 or PS#, which have gone down in price since the newer systems are now out. I believe you can get each game for 20 dollars or less, and you'll have many hours of enjoyment.
Same regarding the first game.
We only have a Wii in the house, so I have to do the PC route.
Quote from: Jen on October 15, 2014, 02:03:25 PM
Quote from: Jobydrone on October 15, 2014, 09:37:52 AM
Rico skip one and start with two.
Belay that order, Mr. Rico. ALL of them are awesome and worthy of play. Especially since the story builds with every game. Carry on.
My thinking on that suggestion has nothing to do with the quality of the game (game 1 is truly awesome although I think that compared to 2 & 3 the first game is pretty dated by now) the problem is the time committment. I'm not sure Rico has 60+hours to play all three, and the unskippable Mako missions in game 1 were kind of a drag for me. If there was more variety and interesting rewards for the vehicle based exploration in the first game, I'd say unequivocally to go for it, but I'd estimate about 20% of the game is spent having to drive around the same environments over and over and over again for no discernable reason or reward. You could read a wiki to get the story points for game one, and then jump into ME2 where every element of the game was improved about 1000%.
60 hours! Holy Toledo..
Quote from: Jobydrone on October 16, 2014, 05:21:12 AM
Quote from: Jen on October 15, 2014, 02:03:25 PM
Quote from: Jobydrone on October 15, 2014, 09:37:52 AM
Rico skip one and start with two.
Belay that order, Mr. Rico. ALL of them are awesome and worthy of play. Especially since the story builds with every game. Carry on.
My thinking on that suggestion has nothing to do with the quality of the game (game 1 is truly awesome although I think that compared to 2 & 3 the first game is pretty dated by now) the problem is the time committment. I'm not sure Rico has 60+hours to play all three, and the unskippable Mako missions in game 1 were kind of a drag for me. If there was more variety and interesting rewards for the vehicle based exploration in the first game, I'd say unequivocally to go for it, but I'd estimate about 20% of the game is spent having to drive around the same environments over and over and over again for no discernable reason or reward. You could read a wiki to get the story points for game one, and then jump into ME2 where every element of the game was improved about 1000%.
You can skip the side missions (driving all over the universe is not necessary, just on main missions). Stick to the main mission and the game will be faster...but WHY would anyone want to do that? I'm a completionist and my right eye starts to twitch when you make such suggestions, sir. ;) I just did another play through recently and it holds up well in my opinion. By comparison, I find it difficult to play through Knights of the Old Republic again. I want to, I try, but I can't get all the way through it. Not that I need to, I've played it 9 million times. Maybe it will motivate me to play it for the 9 million and 1th time if we do a game review on The Star Wars Stacks. :D
Quote from: Feathers on October 16, 2014, 01:22:28 AM
Quote from: Jen on October 15, 2014, 02:05:25 PM
It was broken on purpose.
Not that I've ever played this game but, really?
Surely, if they didn't like a game feature thy'd have removed it properly rather than just breaking it and leaving it there. (I guess this report offends the professional software engineer still lurking somewhere inside of me.)
Well, that was in 2007. I don't know if they fixed it or not. But the word on the web was that it was too easy to take out opponents so they "broke it" to make it more challenging. It worked rather well in the other two games.
Quote from: Vartok on October 15, 2014, 04:53:03 PM
Loved the podcast so much I am listening a second time through to get more details. I have never had much patience for gaming but this one is really getting Vartok excited to go out and get a state of the art game console, or should I stick with a PC version? Have they ever ported the original game one to later machines? Only the experts know for sure. And what about all that "romancing" :laugh:
Great job you two. Loved your natural repartee.
Now over to iTunes to DL some ME music.
V
Yeah! I'm glad you liked it, Vartok. Thank you for the complement.
To answer your questions:
It's available for the PC, XBOX and I THINK the PS3.
Which is better? That's a proverbial can of worms. :) That's like asking people if they prefer Chevy or Ford, PC or Mac. I think it depends on where you are the most comfortable, sitting in front of a computer or sitting on the couch/your favorite chair. I prefer lounging when I game, so I lean towards the XBOX, but I've played a number of games on the PC (Halo, KOTOR, SWOR, and many others). Also, I hate using the keyboard to game. The controller is more an extension of me and I've honed my muscle memory playing many games with a controller—it's hard to give it up.
That's where my XBox 360 wired controller comes in, I use it on my PC for tons of stuff.
Nobody skip anything. If you want to play, this game rewards your time investment. The beginning of 2 is SO much better if you've spent countless hours playing "your" Shepard.
No skips. Dems da rules.
So if I get the newest XBOX will game one still be compatible with it? If yes that is the way I will go!
V
Quote from: Vartok on October 16, 2014, 06:45:57 PM
So if I get the newest XBOX will game one still be compatible with it? If yes that is the way I will go!
V
Yes, sir! :) In fact, it is something you can now download on XBOX LIVE...you don't need to buy a physical package.
Chris, I feel like we've become Mass Effect Evangelists. :D Bioware and EA should totally hire us!
Quote from: Jen on October 16, 2014, 07:20:39 PM
Quote from: Vartok on October 16, 2014, 06:45:57 PM
So if I get the newest XBOX will game one still be compatible with it? If yes that is the way I will go!
V
Yes, sir! :) In fact, it is something you can now download on XBOX LIVE...you don't need to buy a physical package.
It's NOT available on Xbox One, just the Xbox 360 and PS3. There are rumored plans for an upgraded remake on the newest systems, but for now you can only play on last gen hardware. There's a trilogy set that packages all three games for the price of one game, maybe the best bargain in gaming. And of course, Mass Effect 4 is slated for an October 2015 release on the current generation hardware.
My bad. Just one more reason NOT to buy an XBOX ONE yet. Too much money and you can't play Mass Effect on it.
Yeah my Xbox One is gathering dust right now. Although I play PS4 all the time...Shadow of Mordor is freaking incredible.
Great podcast, by the way. I found myself yelling into my iPhone when I was listening, there's so much cool stuff to talk about. Call me if you decide to do a follow up!!!