What are your 2009 Game of the Year Awards.

[Farley4Fan]

Yeah you get a message and good karma.  Some of the first paragon/renegade moments didn't have a huge impact and it was probably done to introduce you to the system.  Maybe in the next mass effect that kid can join your crew if you saved him.  He might go train for combat just to join your crew and be your biggest fan.  In fact you can probably bet on that.

[Cronky]

If you get the esper, it teaches you ultima (the most powerful spell in the game) and the esper can be used to turn enemies into items, sometimes rare ones.

The sword is, well, a sword...but the 2nd most powerful in the game and can be traded for the most powerful later on.

But ultima can also be learned as a spell by getting the Paladin shield, but that requires of 1 1/2 hours of just building up 255 fights...and that's with an emulator on turbo mode.

So hmmm, what to do?

That is a tough choice, but at least it gives you a way to have both (for the most part). Which is a nice touch. The difference between my Mass Effect example and your FF3 example is the fact that there is no way to have your cake and eat it too in Mass Effect.

You choose one, you lose one. You have to make a decision. Then that decision is shown the rest of the game. Making the choice even tougher to make, or at the very least make you think a few seconds longer.

The "No Win" situations need to be used more in video games that let you choose what you do. When you actually have to think about something that's going to affect your gameplay, it makes it all the much more enjoyable when you see the ramifications of your actions.

I really don't get that level of immersion from video games. If I did, I'd start to become emotionally distressed from murdering people, even if they are "the bad guys."

See that's really something else you're using as immersion. I don't know what... Maybe being crazy like you've said before.

The fact is that you don't play a game and feel disconnected the whole time (at least in a good game) because that is what leads to a good story. Bioshock wouldn't have had so much of an impact at it's "Twist" if you didn't feel like you were doing the actions. If you didn't feel like you were being the puppet the whole time the Twist would just being another part of the story. No, even though you didn't control the actions you still feel used because you, yourself did them.


.:|Personal Experience Ahead... Skip if you care not|:.


I'll use my gaming style as an example to explain my thoughts. I play games and tend to try to find the hardest way to play. In games like Infamous/Mass Effect/Fable/Insert Other Morally Driven games it is supposed to (and sometimes touted) that being the nice guy makes the game harder (Bioshock - Less Adam. RPG-ish games - Less Money. Infamous - Less Powerful.). So I play the good guy everytime.

When it comes to beating the game I don't go back and play the bad guy cause I know the ending. I'm immersed the first time through because my actions are my actions. I may have already decided that no matter the outcome; I'm going good in hopes for harder gameplay. But the actions are still mine and the ones I chose to choose.

Then the 2nd time through to do things such as be the "Bad" guy it just feels tedious to me... I don't care about trying to save Trish, I don't care if I push a person out a window instead of threatening them to leave, I don't care if I threaten people to get more gold. It's not that I feel bad about killing NPC's or anything. Just that it is boring and doesn't hold the same grasp on me as the first time when everything was new. That I was specifically not picking an option as to never know what it would entail otherwise.


.:|End Personal Experience|:.


Immersion is games sucking you into their world. Much like a book is supposed to do that with vibrant text styles. Much like a Movie is supposed to do with how it is presented. All of them you know there is start point A and end point B, but it's ride inbetween that you are supposed to focus on. Which is supposed to make you curious, give you a "What If" moment. That when you actually get a choice (in Games) for said moment which would you actually choose.

Yeah you get a message and good karma.  Some of the first paragon/renegade moments didn't have a huge impact and it was probably done to introduce you to the system.  Maybe in the next mass effect that kid can join your crew if you saved him.  He might go train for combat just to join your crew and be your biggest fan.  In fact you can probably bet on that.

That's what kind of got me about ME2. The things you did held seemingly less weight then they did in the first one. That all the extra sidequests amounted to, "Pick a good/bad choice... Get an email... maybe". The only ones that were fleshed out were the character ones. Which is fine because of much less quests, or at least less mind numbing ones... (Go to 3 planets and killed a group of Geth... then go to planet 4 and kill last group).

...Maybe I just miss Admiral Hackett congratulating you over and over again...

[Farley4Fan]

Look for ME3 to bring your comeuppance or your just rewards. 

I also REALLY hope that they do much more DLC stuff for this game.  They already promised it, and I doubt that they'd drop the ball AGAIN, and anymore stuff to do works for me. 

Maybe some new squadmates.  Maybe working with Anderson more (I was dissapointed at his extremely limited role in this game, and the Citadel's for that matter.  I mean, I just saved the citadel from total destruction and all I can get are some discounts at some crummy stores?).  Anderson just repeats the same crap over and over again, even after you defeat the collectors.

The citadel sucked but every other hub-world felt really nice and full though.

[Cronky]

ME3 does indeed have some high (yet reasonably so) standards to live up to.

I really hope that DLC adds added benefits to ME1's DLC. You pay 5 dollars for Pinnacle Station and don't even hear anything about it in 2. Which isn't saying a lot, but is worth at least a passing nod in 2. Like maybe getting your vacation house back or something. Or the outcome of Bring Down the Sky... I let what's his face go on the word that I'd kill Big Boss What's his other face... Then didn't... I think someone would be pissed.

...Or at least more pissed considering Baterians already seem like they all have a stick jammed up their ass.

Zaeed was pretty sweet. End of his mission was a little confusing though. I'll wait to see if you've played it before saying exactly what I thought was weird, but otherwise great addition of a character. Though I think he should have a specific "Upgrade" he can offer like all other squadmates. (Maybe get his Assault Rifle)

As for the Citadel... Yeah, I really didn't like how streamlined they made it. Maybe ME1's Citadel was too stretched out, but ME2 is too confined.

The council though is a perfect example of how I think the Save game Import Decisions were kinda over-hyped and underworked. Granted Bioware had to make the story make sense either way (If you saved them or not) they could have at least made them not such complete douchers. "Thanks, now go F*** yourself... Pshhh... Here's your title back. Specters don't even matter anymore".

[Farley4Fan]

ME3 does indeed have some high (yet reasonably so) standards to live up to.

I really hope that DLC adds added benefits to ME1's DLC. You pay 5 dollars for Pinnacle Station and don't even hear anything about it in 2. Which isn't saying a lot, but is worth at least a passing nod in 2. Like maybe getting your vacation house back or something. Or the outcome of Bring Down the Sky... I let what's his face go on the word that I'd kill Big Boss What's his other face... Then didn't... I think someone would be pissed.

...Or at least more pissed considering Baterians already seem like they all have a stick jammed up their ass.

Zaeed was pretty sweet. End of his mission was a little confusing though. I'll wait to see if you've played it before saying exactly what I thought was weird, but otherwise great addition of a character. Though I think he should have a specific "Upgrade" he can offer like all other squadmates. (Maybe get his Assault Rifle)

As for the Citadel... Yeah, I really didn't like how streamlined they made it. Maybe ME1's Citadel was too stretched out, but ME2 is too confined.

The council though is a perfect example of how I think the Save game Import Decisions were kinda over-hyped and underworked. Granted Bioware had to make the story make sense either way (If you saved them or not) they could have at least made them not such complete douchers. "Thanks, now go F*** yourself... Pshhh... Here's your title back. Specters don't even matter anymore".

The end of Zaeed's mission was a little mysterious.  Makes me wonder what happened to the guy.  Maybe the DLC will bring a little closure to that particular mission.  Maybe we get to assassinate Vido for him. 

And I thought the issues facing the developers of Conviction regarding the story were bad.  What to do with Lambert?  But Bioware has to deal with a near infinite amount of decisions made by the players and even more with ME3.  It makes sense to me that not everything will be fully fleshed out.  Ya know?  I still like being reminded of my past decisions even if the effects are rather small.  At least there are mentions.