Mass Effect 1 & 2: News, Walkthrough, and Screenshots

Which is better Mass Effect for the PC or Mass Effect for the Xbox 360?
The answer to this question of course depends on each gamers personal preferences but I will share what I think.

In the PC version, the game’s controls are laid out more logically and are therefore easier to use, the graphics were better (if you have good hardware), many of the 360 bugs were fixed, and it costs about $10 less.

If you do not have a PC or an Xbox 360 and are trying to decide which one to get you may want to consider that the prices of a PC and an Xbox 360 are very close to each other (unless you are building a super high end gaming system) and there is so much more that you can do with a PC.

The bottom line is that a PC gives you a better overall gaming experience.

Looking farward to hearing what you the reader thinks about this.

Enjoy Mass Effect? Discuss this topic, along with anything Mass Effect related, with hundreds of other fans at the unofficial Mass Effect Forums.

Retailer Amazon.com has just cut the price of action title Mass Effect for Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 to under $20 in a new video game sale.

Mass Effect now carries a sale price of $19.49, 33% below the $29.99 MSRP.

Additionally, Amazon cut the price of Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto IV
to $29.99, a 50% drop from the $59.99 MSRP.

Amazon has also began holding a new accessories sale that offers discounted Xbox Live products.

NPD Group Inc. in Dec. reported that the 360 sold 836,000 units in Nov. U.S. sales.

Microsoft in Dec. said that the Xbox 360 hardware outsold Sony Corp.’s Playstation 3 by 3-to-1 on Black Friday, according to internal retail data sales figures.

Additionally, the company said 360 sales were 25 percent ahead of Black Friday sales figures from 2007.

This holiday, Microsoft released sequel game titles to headline year-end sales, including Gears of War 2 and Fable II.

Microsoft on Nov. 19 launched the New Xbox Experience, a dashboard overhaul that adds new channels and community services to Xbox Live.

Microsoft on Sept. 5 discounted all Xbox 360 hardware in the U.S. between $50 to $80 to spur sales.

Enjoy Mass Effect? Discuss this topic, along with anything Mass Effect related, with hundreds of other fans at the unofficial Mass Effect Forums.

There is currently no official 2009 release date for Mass Effect 2 as of yet and we are not even sure if the game will be released in 2009. However, there is a very big chance that it will see the light of day before 2009 is over, if it does, it will most likely be one of the biggest games of 09.

I loved pretty much everything about the first game and I can’t wait what Commander Sheppard and his crew will be up against next. With BioWare behind the wheel, we can all be sure that we will be treated to another great installment in this rumored trilogy of games.

We did this same post idea a few months ago. Mass Effect has one of the best storylines of any video game, and with a great story line comes instant quotes. Dialog that you’ll remember long after you stop playing. Below are a couple of the quotes. Feel free to add any in the comments.

Gianna Parasini: “You have a right to remain silent. I wish to god you’d exercise it.”

Garrus: “Krogan testicles can sell for up a 10,000 apiece. That’s 40,000 for full set.”

Helena Blake: “I have no intention of going to jail; I would most certainly kill before going to jail.”

Wrex: “Anyone who takes us on is either stupid, or on Sarens payroll. Killing the latter is business, killing the former is a favor to the galaxy”

Shepard: “Her secret stays buried. Or I bury you.”

Currently in Mass Effect, you are only allowed 2 squadmates, not including Shepard. Some fans are calling for the addition of one or two more squadmates in Mass Effect 2.

One solid reason against the addition of more squadmates is the Mako design. Currently the Mako only has 3 seats. If Bioware were to add more companions, they would be to develop a new Mako to accommodate them. That may be more work Bioware isn’t looking for.

By adding companions though, it would give us a much more tactical 2-2 formations.

What’s your take on the topic? Do you like the current set up, or should Bioware add more companions?

Virmire is a lush frontier world, ideal for colonization by carbon-based species. Its vast seas and orbital position on the inner life zone have created a wide equatorial band of humid, tropical terrain. It can be accessed after two key worlds have been completed.

On Virmire, Shepard is faced with a choice: save Ashley or save Kaidan (one is at the AA tower, the other is arming the nuke). Once the decision has been made Shepard heads to the position, fighting off geth… only to be faced with Saren himself.

In the video below, Shepard fends off Saren, helps Ashley, and escapes from Virmire before the area is nuked. Check it out:

Over the last few weeks there has been a lot of speculation about when we might see Mass Effect 2. I remember years ago, we went through the same thing when trying to guess when the original Mass Effect would be released, and then Bioware moved the release date several times.

A moderator over at the official Bioware forums had this to say about the topic.

All I can say is over the years I was on the forum… a great many people including myself attempted to predict when the first Mass Effect would be released… and the vast, vast majority of us got it completely wrong .

To be fair ME:2 is a different case, for the first time since Baldurs Gate 2 BioWare are working with a rule set/combat system, user controls and interfaces, not to mention the game engine (kind of a biggie ). And of course they already have plot, world/IP backgrounds and stuff all sorted… basically they are creating content (not to diminish the importance or time consuming nature of that task).

Back in the last generation, the length of time it took Obsidian to turn out KOTOR 2 (a large complex western RPG) was about 18 months… and that arguably wasn’t finished. I find it hard to believe even with the development team sizes that Bio now use, that given the complexity of next gen games, Bio will manage to finish ME:2 in less than 18 months, personally I think it could end up being quite a bit longer. I am however sure that we will read plenty about ME:2 in previews and at games shows etc well in advance of release.

One of the major questions that comes up is why can’t we re-spec our skill points in Mass Effect?

Here’s a question I found online:

Why do we not have the ability to re-spec our points??? It is very irritating to know that once I put my skills, I will never be able to change them. To offset this re-specing, we could just pay a certain amount of “bounty” or omni-gel. I honestly don’t understand why we can’t re-spec…

And here are a couple of responses:

Kinda unrealistic, isn’t it? I mean, it’s a bit tricky to ‘unlearn’ or even forget something on demand (especially something that’s been drilled into you by Army NCOs, and under fire, and I ought to know about that). I mean the points allocation system is very abstract in the first place, but this is probably going too far. Plus, I see no need to make the game even easier for power-gamers.

re-allocating skill points is akin to randomly reassigning the neurons in your own brain, and about as realistic and/or possible.

What do you think about re-specing?

I just read a blog post from Gamepro. The writer compares Mass Effect to Star Wars. Here’s what he said:

Mass Effect isn’t exactly hardcore in either aspect of the games raw gameplay or typical RPG inventory usage. Instead, Mass Effect is built on dialogue, story, imaginitive characters and the games most impressive feature of all, it’s enviornments, which might I add, are some of the best I’ve seen in any game for any system. You’ll notice a ton of influence from Star Wars but the guys at BioWare found a way to take a little/lot and make the most out of it. Intrguing is an understatement to describe Mass Effect. Once you start the game you’ll become engulfed in the scenery and the society of various extraterrestrial characters. It truly is a game that lets you escape into a whole new world. Mass Effect has opened my eyes to RPG’s and for that, I am thankful.

What do you make of the Star Wars comparisons. The Star Wars universe is so much more expansive and evolved. But is it possible that over the coming years, Mass Effect will be developed into somehting much larger. If they continue to make ME games, and movies… do I dare say it could have a similar following to that of Star Wars?

SPOILER ALERT!

I saw this question proposed on a Mass Effect Forum and I thought it would be fun to see what the readers here think.

If, at the end of the game after the galaxy had been saved, the Normandy was going down flames, there was just one 2-man lifeboat left, and Shepard and all remaining squad mates were standing at the door, who’d get inside? Would it be Shepard plus one? Or would the skipper go down with his ship and the other people that he’d just condemned? Who’s lives would you save and who’s would you end?

Please post a comment and let me know!