It's like running a marathon and just as you're about to cross the finish line you fly off into space.

This is it. All week I’ve been trying to prepare you for this. The end of Mass Effect 3 after the jump.

Do I even need to say that there are spoilers incoming?

Orange and Blue - Opposites Attract

Style. That organic, enigmatic thing. Style is easy to see, easy to feel, but difficult to describe. Anyone can tell you that the last two Harry Potter movies are much darker than the rest, but when you press for specifics, it becomes difficult to describe. Certainly more characters die. More bad things happen. The film certainly has less colorfulness, that is to say there is less difference between each color and grey (not a bad thing when used well, as in this case). The music contains more minor keys and tones. However it comes about, it is a darker set of films than the rest.

What do the Harry Potter movies have to do with Mass Effect? Find out after the break.

Warning! Spoilers ahead! Read at your own risk!

Left Hook or Right?

Decisions. Choices. Options. Staple of the Western RPG, the ability to make decisions for your main character has been both praised and criticized. Some see it as the ultimate destination of video game narrative; the ability for a player to tell the story they want, to interact with it. Others see it as a weakness. An obstacle towards crafting a cohesive story. Personally I think both styles have their advantages, and it really depends on what kind of game is being made, and how good the writers involved are.

For better or worse, the Mass Effect series, and Bioware games in general, utilize a decision based dialogue system. The story is told through character interactions and the player is allowed to choose what their avatar says or does from a set of given options. Personally, I think it’s a great fit for the series, but it’s also a major contributing factor to the disappointment I, and others, have for the ending.

Why is decision making important to Mass Effect’s story? How does it enhance the game’s narrative? Let’s discuss, after the jump.

Warning! Once again, the rest of the article is filled with major spoilers! You have been warned!

I Am The Very Model...

 Edit: Having problems with Blogger, should be fixed shortly.
Edit2: Fixed, kinda...

Continuing our discussion on Mass Effect 3, I would like to transition from talking about the active game elements (i.e. combat), to the passive. In this case I would like to talk about the characters. This is not going to be a detailed list of all the characters, and what was done well or poorly with them (though if there is interest I wouldn’t mind a project like that in the future), instead I just want to give something more akin to an appetizer, a taste of how the characterization and character interactions have changed over the course of the Mass Effect series.

Warning! Massive Spoilers ahead, including one of the best scenes in Mass Effect 3. Continue at your own risk!

The Lazarus Project: Spoilers Edition

Wow. I can't believe it's been over a year since I last made a post. It really does take something monumental for me to make my opinions known it seems. Well that, or I took a year off for personal reasons, but there's no way that's true. Right? If you follow anything even remotely video game related, you've no doubt heard something about the controversy over Mass Effect 3's ending. Going into the game, I expected all of the internet rage to be hyperbolic, as the internet does favor extremely strong opinions. In the end, however, I found I agreed with what I'd heard online, even if I didn't share their reaction.

While much of internet appears angry, even furious over the ending, I find myself more confused and disappointed than anything else. I sincerely doubt that I'll be treading new ground here, as by now the internet has probably discussed this issue to death (I did my best to avoid spoilers until I had finished Mass Effect 3 myself). Still, I would like to explain my feelings, if only to get them out of my system. I will not, however, be jumping right into discussion on the ending, as I know I have some followers who have not, or will not play the game, and I think it's important to understand the rest of the game in order to truly 'get' how disappointing the ending is. Thus, I declare this week to be Mass Effect week for A Curious Tale. Here's a rough schedule of what I have planned for this week's discussion:

Monday: Combat

Tuesday: Characters

Wednesday: Decisions

Thursday: Style

Friday: The End

I will attempt to limit spoilers, but I am going to be discussing the end of the game, as well as some of the best scenes in detail, so take heed. In addition to this influx of content, I shall be making my (hopefully) glorious return to twitter, where I can be found at Corynrags. Let's start things off then, shall we?

Combat is, hands-down, the best part of Mass Effect 3. I loved the combat in Mass Effect 2, and the 3rd has made nothing but improvements since then. Leveling has been extended, as have the number of powers each class has, greatly increasing the player's options in combat, while not sacrificing the balance that Mass Effect 2 added (global cooldowns and limited ammo in particular). The enemy forces, while fewer in factions, have much more diversity; to the point of forcing the player to change their tactics based not only on which faction they're fighting, but also based on what enemies happen to be around at that exact moment. The enemy A.I. is much more aggressive, and will attempt to flank your position, even on the easier difficulties, which, combined with some of the new enemy types, results in a much better flow to the combat. You are forced to find new cover periodically, rather than just hang out at an entryway and poke the bad guys to death (unless you choose to play as a vanguard, in which case, CHAAARGE!). All of these things contribute to make combat more fun, but it's the restoration of Shepard being able to use all weapon types, regardless of class, from ME1, and the associated weight system that really gels the combat together.

In ME3, you are given a weight limit, and each weapon has an associated weight, as your weight goes above the limit, so do the cooldowns on your abilities, and vice-versa. This creates a situation where an adept, who was forced to use only pistols and smg's in Mass Effect 2, will likely choose to do so in 3, as the lowered cooldowns are more powerful for that class than the benefit of the heavier guns. Yet, an adept is not forced to such a situation, and if someone wants to be a sniper rifle wielding adept, or sentinel, they are free to do so. Power gamers have more fun, as they can game the system for maximum combat potential, Role-player's can have fun, using the weapons they feel their Shepard would, even casual gamers find themselves rewarded, no longer having the confusion over why they can't use that awesome assault rifle they just picked up. This change is a wonderful one, and works beautifully in conjunction with the weapons themselves.

Mass Effect 1 had boring weapons. All the shotguns were shotguns, all the assault rifles were assault rifles, etc… The only difference between weapons were damage, accuracy, firing rate, and how many shots you could fire before they would overheat, and almost all categories increased as you bought the higher level weapons. The weapon mod system helped alleviate some of the boredom, but most of the choices came down to more damage. Mass Effect 2 mixed things up, guns were now much more individualized, having special properties, and really felt like different guns, but there were still usually optimal choices, and without the weapon mod system, most people ended up using the same weapons. Mass Effect 3 brought back the weapon mod system, but modified it to make it more engaging. Now I can choose to have a shotgun with an extended barrel that does more damage, or a blade on the end for more melee damage, or a larger clip, or a scope, or more accuracy. All meaningful, visual changes, as opposed to ME1's. Personally, I'd rather choose between a scope and being able to shoot targets through cover, rather than between extra poison or fire damage.

The Best Pistol

 And then there's the new guns. ME2 may have introduced guns that felt different, but ME3 really makes each gun unique. From pistols that fire miniature sticky bombs that explode into miniature biotic black holes, to sniper rifles that fire laser beams after charging for a second or two. The guns really feel unique, each having its own distinct 'personality', bringing back fond memories of Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. Even melee attacks have been buffed. Not only are there gun mods and skill trees that help improve melee damage, but there's also a new three-hit combo for standard melee attacks, a new heavy melee attack, and a new storm-melee attack, some of these even change depending on your class. As a player, you have a vast array of techniques and weapons for taking out your opponents, which leads to more fun.

ME3's combat is such an improvement over it's predecessor's, that its multiplayer mode, which is reminiscent of a slightly (and only slightly) toned down single-player, is as fun and addicting as some of the more recent Call of Duty games. I find myself receiving the same endorphin rush for killing an opponent in multiplayer as I do in Call of Duty: Black Ops, a game well noted for tapping into that sensation. They did a great job with the visual and audio rewards. It's incredibly satisfying charging at a Guardian and as he flails about trying to regain his balance making his head explode with a blast from my tricked out shotgun.

To be honest, I never understood the relatively large mass-market appeal of the Mass Effect series. A sci-fi RPG seems precisely like the kind of game that would be relegated to the niche market of hardcore gamers and nerds (which while large, and larger than it used to be, is still niche in the grand scheme of things). Instead, it seems to have found a home in the same crowd that sits down with some beers for a night of Halo or Call of Duty. Certainly, the first game's combat was clunky enough for me to have this disconnect. With ME3, there's no disconnect. Halo had fun combat. Call of Duty had fun combat. Mass Effect 3 has fun combat.

At the end of the day, I have only three real complaints about Mass Effect 3's combat, and they really are minor. First, all of the enemies that can instant kill you are annoying. It's not fun in multiplayer, and it's pure bullshit in single player. At least give player's some kind of animation to look out for, or some way to know how to avoid the attack besides 'don't close to melee distance with certain enemies'. This is especially annoying for vanguards, as for them, the strategy with anything problematic is to charge right at it. Second, I really hope they release all the extra weapons that the collector's edition, or certain pre-orders received as DLC. I wouldn't mind paying a few dollars for a gun I didn't get because I decided not to preorder with Gamestop. That's fine. Just give me the option (though I do understand that this is unlikely due to contracts and all that jazz). Really, I just like playing with all the guns, and wouldn't mind some more. Third, new game+ lets you keep all of your guns and weapon mods. This is great, as some guns are unavailable until the last few missions of the game, and you barely get to play with them. So why am I complaining? The ending. The bad part of the end is short, maybe five or ten minutes, but it's completely unfun. It actually detracts from my experience, from my enjoyment. I just don't want to force myself through it just to get to the new game+.

My final consensus? Mass Effect 3's combat is a hell of a lot of fun. I could honestly play it for hours, and while I was surprised by it's inclusion, I am grateful for the developers spending the time to make the multiplayer mode as solid as it is so that I can enjoy it whenever I want.

I cannot stress this enough, but if you have anything to say, positive or negative, please do so. You can leave a comment here, contact me through Twitter (@Corynrags), or even my e-mail. I like discussing much more than I like preaching, and I would love to hear some other people's thoughts.

Edit: I apologize for the formatting, blogger is... problematic at times.

Playing A Story

Every day movies rely more and more on digital animation and effects, meanwhile video games gain access to higher quality voice-actors and get ever closer to building a bridge over the uncanny valley. As this gap between video games and movies closes, interactivity grows more and more important as a dividing line between the two media. Perhaps my favorite methods of interaction is the player’s ability to alter the story.

As far as I’m aware, player interaction within a game’s story first appeared in PC games, specifically RPG’s. Most notable of these were the D&D based games, such as Baldur’s Gate or Planescape: Torment. These games allowed the player to decide exactly what it was that the main character said. The vast majority of these “dialogue choices” were nothing more than fluff, meaning that they had no impact on quest lines, romances, or the overall game story. However, some choices were meaningful, and capable of changing even the ending a player received. A good example can be found in the Blade Runner video game. As the movie had different endings depending on which cut you saw; the game had multiple endings based upon the choices the player made during the game. These choices never altered the final scene of the game, but they did change whether the main character was actually a robot, or if they even knew what they were.

As the years have passed, developers and writers have honed their craft. Where it was once blindingly obvious what choices would change the story, it has become much more difficult to tell with recent titles (at least on the first time through). Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Dragon Age 2 have taken an interesting turn with letting the player choose the main character’s dialogue (especially for such a formula based developer). Rather than showing you exactly what the character will say, and leaving him unvoiced, in these games the main character has voiced lines, and the player can choose from not only vastly reduced lines (down to 3 on average from 6 or so), but what the player is shown on screen is only an approximation of what the character will actually say. These semi-hidden options work with the voiced dialogue to move the player from being the main character, to being the main character’s director. You can’t choose what your actor will say exactly, but you can guide him along the path you want in order to tell the story you want to tell. In this position the game becomes less about a specific story, and more about the player telling the kind of story they want (which is why I find it so enjoyable with Bioware’s action-hero narratives). It’s a very neat effect, and is something I’ve personally wanted to see happen ever since I was a little kid at the movie theater.

Not all games that offer story interactivity allow control over a character’s dialogue. It is, in fact, more common (among games that let the player change the story) for the player to have only a few chances for this interaction. Nier is one of these games. You can never choose what the main character will say, and for most of the game you have no control over the story. A few times the game gives you a choice as to do something or not, but these are tricks. Known as “but thou must”, these options only allow you to pick one choice. Choosing anything else results in someone saying something similar to, “but though must!” and placing you back at the initial choice. Well hated among video game players, because of the false depth they provide, in certain, very emotional places (the end of Metal Gear Solid 3 comes to mind), they can help enhance a player’s emotional state. Sadly this, proper use, of these false choices is very rare. The power of Nier’s story comes mostly from extremely strong writing, but the few choices it allows within the story, even its “but though must”’s add just the proper amount of player involvement to take complete control of your emotions. By letting you, the player, make these extremely important decisions, it makes their results entirely your own.

These two examples are very different in the amount of control you have in the story, but they are both success stories. Where a video game’s story fails, is when they don’t allow player involvement. The worst thing a game can do is have the player think, “Why can’t I do that?” A good, well-designed game never breaks a player’s sense of freedom and immersion. This is not to say that players should be able to do everything, not even Rockstar (developers of the Grand Theft Auto games) has been able to do that. But if you’re going to block a player’s path, or kill off a character, you have to make it seem like there is no way that they could save them (or get through that path). In the end, video games have less in common with movies and books than you’d think, and more in common with storytelling. A good storyteller adapts their tale to the audience at hand, and a good game conforms to its audience’s expectations.

I always appreciate comments, and criticism. Especially criticism. So please, let me know if there's anything I can do better, or that you want to hear about. Leave a comment here, contact me by e-mail, or send a tweet @Corynrags.