Mass Effect 3 wishlist

[Jeivar]

Let's list what we hope to see in the third installment of one of the best things ever, shall we?
Here's my list:

*Find some more interesting or less time consuming way to gather resources

*Female Turians and Krogan. C'mon, I want to see what they look like!

*Kids. Of any species. It's just weird to see nothing but adults. Plus, a 5-year old asari has to be just adorable. :smalltongue:

*Spacer Shepard meets Admiral Mom face-to-face.

*The return of Balak (if you didn't shoot him full of holes in Bringing Down the Sky)

*Illusive Man + Wood chipper. Feet first.

*Ashley/Kaidan and Liara back as party members.

*Perhaps a brief mission where you play as one of the NPC's rather than Shepard. Maybe to get Shep out of a jam, or whatever.

*A bigger role for Anderson than in ME2.

*At least a cameo or a mention of whatever ME2 NPC's don't return as party members.

*Please bring back the Asari Matriarch bartender, please! She's awesome! :smallbiggrin:

*A slightly crazy idea: A background cameo by one of the Dragon Age NPC's. No lines or anything, just Leliana playing on a stage, or Alistair standing in line, or whatever.

*More "R&R" moments like the evening of getting drunk with Dr. Chakwas.

[Toastkart]

Bring back inter party banter in some form. Squad mates should have a little bit of dialogue that's context sensitive to where they are, like in ME1.

Squad mates should also have more aboard ship dialogue. It might just be me, but some, like Miranda and Garrus, didn't have much to say that didn't pertain to their loyalty mission.

An honest to goodness hover tank. The hammerhead is cool and all, but when those little cars that you drive from place to place on the Citadel, Illium, and Omega look like they would be more useful when going down to an unexplored planet than your tank, something's not quite right.

This sort of coincides with the above. I'd like a mix of the straightforward side missions of ME2, with the open explorable side missions of ME1, with the exception being that what I'm driving should feel like the ME equivalent of an Apache attack helicopter. Then incorporate that into some portion of some of the main story missions.

More customization of armor options. Actually, what I'd really like is for the armor piece's look to be divorced from the stat boost it gives, instead allow each piece to have a slot for an upgrade of some kind.

Related to the above, turn ammo types back into upgrades for guns. But also keep it sensible. There's no need to go back to ME1's tangled inventory system. I like how ME2 simplified it, but I think if both game's systems met halfway would be even better.

some kind of change to the heat sink system. I understand why it was done, I just think it went too far in the opposite direction, especially for sniper rifles. Maybe some kind of hybrid system would work better.


*Find some more interesting or less time consuming way to gather resources

*Spacer Shepard meets Admiral Mom face-to-face.

*Please bring back the Asari Matriarch bartender, please! She's awesome!

*Female Turians and Krogan. C'mon, I want to see what they look like!

These are great ideas.

I would also add a greater tie in for Shepard's background. At least a quest for each one like ME1.

[Mewtarthio]

Bring back inter party banter in some form. Squad mates should have a little bit of dialogue that's context sensitive to where they are, like in ME1.

Well, there is the Garrus/Tali elevator dialogue Easter egg. :smallwink:

Anyway, I'd like:

More Anderson. Hopefully, they'll even make him a party member (what? They've got implants and power armor and all that to compensate for his age, plus he really seems to hate politics).

At least one scene in which Udina begs you to rescue him from a horde of Reapers. The most Renegade option: "What are you talking about? We've already confirmed that these 'Reapers' are just a propaganda tool employed by Saren. Please don't bother me with any more of this ridiculous nonsense."

The ability to continue romances. Of course, that ties in with...

Bring back past NPC allies. I know they can all potentially die (except Liara), but I'm hoping ME3 assumes survival as default and only erases NPCs who didn't make it. I realize they can't all be in, of course, since that would be a very large number of allies leaving no room for anyone new, but at least a few should carry over.

[xp194]

The option to have the Council (sans Anderson) be under immediate threat from Reapers and have the option to basically say "I told you! I totally called it!" and similar gloating for ever and always.

Seriously. You were right about Saren and the Geth and then the threat of an attack on the Citadel. They really need to get more genre savvy.

[Revlid]

I would like an Elcor Heavy as a team-mate. "Derisive shout: Everyone but Elcor is babies."

Ooh! And an agnostic Hanar biotic.

Tali must return, it is necessary.

NPC (as in, not squad-member) romance would be interesting, too.

A wild consequence for your decision to save/not save the Rachni appears!

Melee weapons of some kind?

A male human squad member who is not as bland as the previous ones.

More consequences for Shepard's Reaper parts, beyond the potential for Terminator-look-a-liking. Indoctrination, mayhaps?

A chance to influence Alliance policy with regard to the potentially-rebuilding Krogan race.

Moar TIM.

Better appearance-customisation. I'm talking Saint's Row 2 level of faces, here.

More customisation options for the appearance of armour and weaponry. Decals and plot-accessories, maybe?

The ability to duel-wield pistol weapons.

A space cowboy squad-member.

Female Turians, and a female Krogan. But no romance option for either.

Another interview.

Introduction of at least one other sapient species with hair. The baldness is beginning to freak me out.

The Shadow Broker is revealed to not actually exist, something unbenowst to anyone involved, being a self-perpetuating system of anonymous information trading, moderated by entirely vanilla V.I.

The chance to meet a religion based around Shephard.

A mission or narrative based on actually colonising a newfound planet. Maybe you discover this habitable planet at the start, call it in for colonisation, and as the game progresses it gets bigger and more extensive, until eventually you have to defend it from Batarians/Heretics/whatever. Call it Sheptown. They have a song...

[Cleverdan22]

I'm hoping for some more tangible bonus for saving your squad from ME2 than the past squad interactions with Ashley/Kaiden and Liara from ME1. Mainly, I hope that if you have everyone with the exception of whoever died from the bomb in ME1, you can have a badass army of friends at your back by the end of the game.

By that token, if you played paragon, I can really see an awesome situation where everyone you've helped comes and helps you. We've got the Rachni, some Turians, a ton of Geth, Wrex's joined clan, and way more. Should be fun.

[Scorpionica]

More Admiral Hackett. His voice was so intoxicating.

[ObadiahtheSlim]

Yeah, we need more Hackett. Also get all your surviving ME1 and ME2 squad mates to rejoin you.

[Cleverdan22]

The volus biotic as a party member from Samara's mission, if you didn't let him die. Yessssss. :smallbiggrin:

[Binks]

The volus biotic as a party member from Samara's mission, if you didn't let him die. Yessssss. :smallbiggrin:

And Blasto, the Hanar Spectre. Those two would be a dream team :P.

[chiasaur11]

And Blasto, the Hanar Spectre. Those two would be a dream team :P.

Really, though, that might be a bad idea.

Players don't like to feel useless, and what else could they feel with Blasto as their team leader?

[Giggling Ghast]

Myself, I'm hoping for ... a happy ending, or at least a chance for one. I have this horrible gnawing sensation in my gut that ME3 ends with the annihilation of sentient life in the galaxy. I don't know you can possibly fight a threat like that, but I hope the developers come up with something good.

Also, more Tali'Zorah.

[Hann]

I asked a dev member if I could talk to him about Mass Effect 3. He told me "Can it wait a bit? I'm in the middle of some calibrations."

[The Rose Dragon]

A more freeform biotics system. After seeing the awesome but brief duel between Samara and Morinth, I kinda wanted to use biotics that way, but all I could do was kinda Throw people around and Slam them to the ground.

Close combat. After watching Thane just kick the asses of four guys at point-blank range with fists and neck-breaking, I kinda wanted to do the same with my close combat button, but all I could do was kinda riflebutt them.

The class to matter more in game. If I'm an Adept, I expect people to react to the fact that I'm a biotic, while I expect my tech expertise to be showed in game if I'm an Engineer. "Bore you with tech", you say? I'm a goddamn engineer! I probably wrote a book on that for my masters thesis!

[Toastkart]

A more freeform biotics system. After seeing the awesome but brief duel between Samara and Morinth, I kinda wanted to use biotics that way, but all I could do was kinda Throw people around and Slam them to the ground.

That reminds me of something else. I don't think it matters as much on lower difficulties, but on higher difficulties, having some abilities be essentially worthless if the target has protection is not something that I like. I understand that it makes combat more tactical, but I always found that by the time I had stripped a target of its protections it wasn't worth using a power on, or it died before I could.




The class to matter more in game. If I'm an Adept, I expect people to react to the fact that I'm a biotic, while I expect my tech expertise to be showed in game if I'm an Engineer. "Bore you with tech", you say? I'm a goddamn engineer! I probably wrote a book on that for my masters thesis!
I really like this idea.


A male human squad member who is not as bland as the previous ones.
I don't think this will ever happen because then he might outshine Shepard.



Introduction of at least one other sapient species with hair. The baldness is beginning to freak me out.
That would be a nice change of pace.


The Shadow Broker is revealed to not actually exist, something unbenowst to anyone involved, being a self-perpetuating system of anonymous information trading, moderated by entirely vanilla V.I.
That would be pretty cool. If they don't go with that, I'd settle for something that's not cliche.



At least one scene in which Udina begs you to rescue him from a horde of Reapers. The most Renegade option: "What are you talking about? We've already confirmed that these 'Reapers' are just a propaganda tool employed by Saren. Please don't bother me with any more of this ridiculous nonsense."

That would be so friggin' awesome!

[Zevox]

Presuming conversation in interrupts return, have some of them be sensitive to your character class. If I'm playing an adept, give me some interrupts where me shooting something is replaced with me using biotics on it. Same thing for tech powers. Hell, if you're playing a Sentinel, have pretty much all interrupts that aren't strictly conversational use either biotics or tech powers - that's your whole shtick is that you have both of those at your disposal, so use 'em already.

Same for some cutscenes, too. I liked how in Dragon Age's expansion they had the cutscene where you kill the final boss be done with magic if you were a mage, unlike the way it worked in the main game where you killed the Archdemon with a sword regardless of your class - just extend that sort of thing into some of the cutscenes for Mass Effect where appropriate.

Zevox

[warty goblin]

I don't think this will ever happen because then he might outshine Shepard.


What are you talking about, Shepard is clearly female.

[Graymayre]

*A slightly crazy idea: A background cameo by one of the Dragon Age NPC's. No lines or anything, just Leliana playing on a stage, or Alistair standing in line, or whatever.


I like this idea, and I like it a lot. Maybe you could even have a robot called the S.H.A.L.E. (personality included of course).

If I could choose something that I want to see in ME3, it would be Mordin Solus. That is all that is necessary to make it a must play to me.

[Derthric]

I'd like to see a modular upgrade system for weapons and armor. For example ahve a sniper rifle with 3 upgrade slots, like the first one but you have to go to mordin's lab to unlock them and you have to select them before your mission and the better the gun the more slots etc. with some being exclusive like you can put in extra rounds per heat sink or a modified type of ammo.

Also a switch to a system with both heat sinks and heat cooldowns. You overheat and can wait for the cooldown or pop the heat sink and keep going.

And lastly I think that since we got to be joker running around to save the ship we should finally be able to fly the Normandy into a fight ourselves too.

[Kzickas]

A mission or narrative based on actually colonising a newfound planet. Maybe you discover this habitable planet at the start, call it in for colonisation, and as the game progresses it gets bigger and more extensive, until eventually you have to defend it from Batarians/Heretics/whatever. Call it Sheptown. They have a song...

I don't know. "the man they call Sheperd" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. "the woman they call Sheperd" even less so

[Emperor Ing]

Multiplayer (NON-NEGOTIABLE!!!)

Female Turians/Krogan

Bigger levels

Make NPC temporary party leader

More landable planets (the MAKO can never die!)

TIM. 'nuf said.

Shepard uses Biotic Charge to destroy Harbinger

Better Biotics power variety

Blasto the Hanar Spectre

Melee Weapons (Biotic Charge + Lightsaber = :smallbiggrin:)

[king.com]

I like this idea, and I like it a lot. Maybe you could even have a robot called the S.H.A.L.E. (personality included of course).

If I could choose something that I want to see in ME3, it would be Mordin Solus. That is all that is necessary to make it a must play to me.


He is the very definition of a scientist salarian.

[Ecks Dee]

Admiral Hackett wastes everything from space.

[Dragor]

- More customisation. This applies to character creation and armour pieces. I freakin' loved the Visor.

- Bring back Jack. That kinda has a ring to it...

- More guns. If there were as many variations to an assault rifle as there were heavy weapons, I'd be happy.

- As aforementioned, a bigger role for Anderson/Udina- hell, the Alliance as a whole. Although with the ending of ME2, it's hard to believe that they won't get involved.

- Seamless travel on the Normandy. It'd make talking to each squad member less of a chore. I know this is more engine limitation than BioWare's fault, but still.

- Being able to choose your freakin' choices from ME1/2 whilst making a new Shepard if you're a veteran player but have started anew in ME3. I don't know if it's different for the PC version (I'm on the 360 :smallfrown: I know you can get custom saves on certain sites) but not being able to choose my romance and choices from 1 was a big let down.

[The Rose Dragon]

- Being able to choose your freakin' choices from ME1/2 whilst making a new Shepard if you're a veteran player but have started anew in ME3. I don't know if it's different for the PC version (I'm on the 360 :smallfrown: I know you can get custom saves on certain sites) but not being able to choose my romance and choices from 1 was a big let down.

You can import your Mass Effect saves to Mass Effect 2, which means you keep most of your important choices (or non-important ones, such as whether you met Conrad three times or not).

[hanzo66]

It'd be interesting to see how your party members play out in the end. For example, if you saved Wrex and had Mordin survive with the Genophage data, I'd like to see how they'd work together. Either that or they get into a conflict due to Mordin's work with the Genophage 2.0 or something that Shepard must choose to resolve or else Wrex crushes Doctor McAwesome like a grape.

Also, It'd be great to see a large war-scene in the end of the Galaxy Vs. The Reapers filled with Former Enemies uniting, like The Migrant Fleet backed by The Geth or Clan Urdnot backed by the STG.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Not playing as Shepard in ME3, and making him an NPC commander/mentor-type.

Okay, so I've been harping on wanting that since ME2, but whatever.

[Philistine]

@Randomizer: Multiplayer? Really? And that's "non-negotiable"? You do realize that's slightly less likely than ME3 being a Tetris clone, right?

@TRD: Yes, but I understood Dragor to mean he was hoping for an option to select those choices for a non-imported character, benefiting a) players new to the franchise, b) c) players who may have lost their old save files for whatever reason, including platform switching, and c) players who don't want to play through the old game a half dozen or more times to get all the different combinations of variables they want for the new game.

@Thanatos: Given that BW have repeatedly stated that the ME trilogy is Shepard's story, you may have to wait for the hinted-at future games set in the IP. So it's likely you'll get your wish - just not in ME3.

[Giggling Ghast]

@Randomizer: Multiplayer? Really? And that's "non-negotiable"? You do realize that's slightly less likely than ME3 being a Tetris clone, right?

I don't use this expression often, but ... LOL.


Not playing as Shepard in ME3, and making him an NPC commander/mentor-type.

What? Why? Shepard is awesome.

Bah. He who leads from the rear takes it in the rear. Besides, violence is one of most fun things to watch.

[Thanatos 51-50]

What? Why? Shepard is awesome.

Bah. He who leads from the rear takes it in the rear. Besides … violence is one of most fun things to watch.

Then make him a squadmate.
Whatever, I'll probably enjoy playing it, anyway. Bioware is awesome.

[chiasaur11]

Then make him a squadmate.
Whatever, I'll probably enjoy playing it, anyway. Bioware is awesome.

Wrong pronoun.

May explain your lack of Shep enthusiasm.

[Dragor]

You can import your Mass Effect saves to Mass Effect 2, which means you keep most of your important choices (or non-important ones, such as whether you met Conrad three times or not).

Oh, yes, I did that. But when you start up an entirely new game on ME2 without importing from 1, it automatically chooses what happens in 1, rather than giving you a set of choices or something similar.

[Mewtarthio]

I think the idea is that new players don't want to spend their first moments of the game picking options that they don't really know anything about. If you've never played ME1 and the game suddenly asks you who died on Virmire, your reaction's going to be "Wait, what? What's Virmire? Who are all these people it's asking me to choose from?" That's a bit of a turn-off, right there.

Now, if they had a way to trade final saves around over X-Box Live like they can do for the PC version, that'd be nice.

[Closak]

I want Udina to suffer.

Morbid humor and bad jokes at Udina's expense please.

Also:




*If you can see Garrus Vakarian, he can see you. If you can't see Garrus Vakarian you may be only seconds away from death.

The Ambassador wouldn't help to note that while he had his front to the door, behind him was a very open, very wide balcony that offered a very nice view of the Presidium. But the view didn't make up for the fact that he didn't see Garrus…

Beware the sniper...BOOM HEADSHOT!
Ah Fanfiction, how i love you...


*Garrus Vakarian once kicked a baby krogan into puberty.

Grunt laughed at this. What poor little whelp had been unfortunate enough to let a turian kick them straight into puberty… Oh, wait, that had been him.


*C-Sec labels anyone attacking Garrus Vakarian as a Code 45-11.... a suicide.

Even before he had left Garrus was something of a rebel in C-Sec. After he left with Shepard that first time people didn't think too much of it. When he came back and left the second time, his reputation had grown a little. When he was back on the Citadel hunting "Fade" people still didn't pay too much heed. Then the list came around from the extranet. People laughed. And paused. Thought about it. "Fade" was found dead a few days later. Everyone knew it had been Garrus. Some say that "GARRUS" had been shot out across "Fade's" forehead. And so C-Sec came to the conclusion that "Fade" had killed himself and tried to frame the former Detective.


*On two-hundred thirty-five planets, harming the face of Garrus Vakarian is a crime worthy of immediate death. And that's why the gunship exploded.

*Garrus chose to get hit by that gunship. He was tired of looking so damn good.

While it is true that on a multitude of laws were passed on many planets throughout Citadel Space, those laws were passed after the phenomena known as the Garrus Vakarian List and Effect came to be. What actually happened on Omega can only be seen if the tape is slowed down to frame by frame. If you look carefully, when Garrus allowed himself to get that small flesh wound, a million fan girls instantly mobbed the gunship destroying it and all mercenaries that Garrus hadn't gotten around to killing yet.

...Why am i laughing so damn much?


*Executor Pallin died from Garrus Vakarian giving him the finger.

The Councilman blinked. Surely this was just extranet garbage made to make people laugh. However the Executor did die suddenly and Garrus had been on the Citadel with Shepard at the time. No, there was no way that could have Garrus killed Pallin by flipping him off. Could he?

...Oh boy...


*They named the bridge he held on Omega after Garrus once he left. They had to rename it later unfortunately, because no one crosses Garrus Vakarian and lives.

It was the strangest thing. There was no one in the building across from the bridge and the victims didn't have any bullet holes in them. They just fell over once they had crossed the bridge.

WHAT HAS JOKER DONE!
Note to self, don't give Joker extranet access, if you do this sort of thing is bound to happen.


"EDI, can you do an extranet search for me?"

"What would you like me to find Jeff?"

"Run a search on Garrus Vakarian, Headshot and Ownage. I want to see if anyone else has made a viral video of him."

"Jeff, the entire extranet has just crashed."

"What? Is that even possible?"

"It appears so." Pause. "What have you just done Jeff?"

"ME?! You're the one that actually made the search!"

First he starts the darn thing, and now this...Damn you Joker, damn you!

[VanBuren]

Wrong pronoun.

May explain your lack of Shep enthusiasm.

I understand how Hale is more believable as a Paragon Shepard, but Sheploo really brings out the beauty of a Renegade Shepard.

That said, all I want is for the council to ask for help in fighting off the Reapers, and have one of my response options be:

"Ah yes, 'Reapers'", with the air quotes.

[king.com]

It'd be interesting to see how your party members play out in the end. For example, if you saved Wrex and had Mordin survive with the Genophage data, I'd like to see how they'd work together. Either that or they get into a conflict due to Mordin's work with the Genophage 2.0 or something that Shepard must choose to resolve or else Wrex crushes Doctor McAwesome like a grape.

Also, It'd be great to see a large war-scene in the end of the Galaxy Vs. The Reapers filled with Former Enemies uniting, like The Migrant Fleet backed by The Geth or Clan Urdnot backed by the STG.

If its repeated homages so far have been anything to count on im guessing thats a certainty, though you may have to go to Zah'ha'dum first..or did that count as the collector base?

[Jeivar]

That said, all I want is for the council to ask for help in fighting off the Reapers, and have one of my response options be:

"Ah yes, 'Reapers'", with the air quotes.

That would be awesome.

[ZeroNumerous]

@Randomizer: Multiplayer? Really? And that's "non-negotiable"? You do realize that's slightly less likely than ME3 being a Tetris clone, right?

Thing is: Pick-up/Put-down multi has been done before. And every potential squadmate has their own unique class, gear and skill distribution. So I don't see why Bioware couldn't simply include some multi where other players take over your squadmates.

[742]

im just hoping they do it well and go for more missions with atmosphere like the "recruit the assassin" mission, i loved that atmosphere as opposed to virmire or the ME2 finish, which kinda felt just slightly corny (still good, but corny). or something like just about any of the major omega missions or the stuff involving aria.

[Avilan the Grey]

Thing is: Pick-up/Put-down multi has been done before. And every potential squadmate has their own unique class, gear and skill distribution. So I don't see why Bioware couldn't simply include some multi where other players take over your squadmates.

No multiplayer. PLEASE no multiplayer. Multiplayer is EVIL. And I don't mean that as a joke.

I second the bartender. She was awesome. I would love to have her as the token Asari character (but don't they dare changing ANY of the other team members from ME2, except for Jacob).

[Dragor]

I think the idea is that new players don't want to spend their first moments of the game picking options that they don't really know anything about. If you've never played ME1 and the game suddenly asks you who died on Virmire, your reaction's going to be "Wait, what? What's Virmire? Who are all these people it's asking me to choose from?" That's a bit of a turn-off, right there.

Oh, agreed. I don't think it should be compulsory; just for veteran players. It'd be quite easy to say "Are you new to Mass Effect? If so, click here. If you're a veteran player but haven't got a save you want to import, click here."


Now, if they had a way to trade final saves around over X-Box Live like they can do for the PC version, that'd be nice.

That would be very, very sweet.

[Dhavaer]

Multiple non-human squadmates of the same species. I'd like to have Liara and Shiala, and/or Tali and Kal'Reegar. Also, a batarian squadmate. They're not all evil.

[The Rose Dragon]

I second the bartender. She was awesome. I would love to have her as the token Asari character (but don't they dare changing ANY of the other team members from ME2, except for Jacob).

Hey, Jacob is my favorite male romance. Mostly because he takes his shirt off, and goddamn does he pack abs.

[Mewtarthio]

I second the bartender. She was awesome. I would love to have her as the token Asari character (but don't they dare changing ANY of the other team members from ME2, except for Jacob).

I can't be the only one who was seriously disappointed upon learning that the Justicar was, well, Samara, instead of working undercover as a certain bartender...

Unfortunately, I don't think they can carry over all the characters from ME2, since there's just so many of them. Besides, you've got team members that would logically not continue serving under you after ME2, like Zaeed who's just a hired gun, or Samara who's oath of loyalty has now expired.

[Comet]

Unfortunately, I don't think they can carry over all the characters from ME2, since there's just so many of them. Besides, you've got team members that would logically not continue serving under you after ME2, like Zaeed who's just a hired gun, or Samara who's oath of loyalty has now expired.

Agreed on Zaeed (though I would certainly like him to stick around with one of my renegade Shepards), but Samara would almost certainly continue to help a paragon Shepard out, thanks to the mutual trust they developed during her loyalty quest.

[Finn Solomon]

Might be a bit too 'Halo', but fighting to defend Earth and the local cluster would be cool. One human destroyed two Reapers, so it makes sense for them to target this upstart little species's homeworld.

Make Shepard feel more like a general rather than a spec ops guy. He's a commander of a small ship, and that's worked fine for two games, but I'd like the ability to direct allies in the final fight. Sort of like choosing which party members to perform the series of missions in the ME2 Suicide Run, but on a much, much grander scale.

More ship to ship combat.

I don't want any more romanceable characters, but a natural progression of the romances that are already available would be nice.

[Jeivar]

(but don't they dare changing ANY of the other team members from ME2, except for Jacob).

Oh, I don't know. The ME2 roster is pretty full as it is, and since you can lose any of them during the suicide mission I think the devs will HAVE to introduce new NPC's in the third one. And bring back Ashley/Kaidan and Liara of course.

Besides:
-Samara has to get back to her duties as a Justicar.
-Jack is crazy and a wanted criminal.
-The DLC characters are just hired guns and will move on to their next job.
-Thane is terminally ill, and has to see to his son.
-Mordin is old for a Salarian, and does have his clinic to run.
-Legion will most likely return to Geth space.
-Grunt may or may not go back to the Krogan homeworld.

That leaves Jacob, Miranda, Garrus, Tali and possibly Grunt as viable party members for ME3. Cameos from the rest would be nice, of course.

[Jeivar]

I don't want any more romanceable characters, but a natural progression of the romances that are already available would be nice.

Agreed!

It might for instance be interesting to explore what kind of future a human has with a Turian or Quarian lover, or the fact that Liara will vastly outlive Shepard.

[megabyter5]

Shepard goes all over the galaxy recruiting forces for a massive army, like in Dragon Age: Origins, but on a much bigger scale. Certain paragon choices should allow other armies (like the Rachni) to be included in this list or some others to be more powerful (like the Geth and the Krogan). Renegade Shepards will have the full support of Cerberus to make up for other weaknesses. Squad members will include:

Ashley/Kaiden (whichever is alive)
Liara
Tali (if alive)
Garrus (if alive)
Mordin (if alive)
Legion (if alive)
Miranda (if alive)
Jacob (if... you get the idea)
Wrex or Grunt (both would be awesome)
A few new ones in case ME2 squad members are dead.

If you had a romance in both games (besides Kelly), and they're both alive, choosing whether to stay or go back should have a paragon/renegade effect like this:

It is renegade to go back to your first romance if your second was Tali, Garrus, or Jacob. It is paragon to go back if your second was Miranda, Jack, or Thane. The former three are more emotional relationships, and they would be heartbroken if you went back (which Ashley/Kaiden would understand, since they broke up with you on Horizon, and Liara would accept since she knew she wouldn't have much time with you anyway). The others aren't really built to be long-term relationships. But what do I know? I'm the least qualified person to discuss relationships on this board.

...Also, we must be allowed to take three party members at a time.

[Finn Solomon]

...Also, we must be allowed to take three party members at a time.

THIS. SO MUCH. Forgot clean about it. Dragon Age had it, so ME3 has to have it. I think it's the top of my list.


Agreed!

It might for instance be interesting to explore what kind of future a human has with a Turian or Quarian lover, or the fact that Liara will vastly outlive Shepard.

Yeah, things like that. Also catfight between Ashley and Miranda, Councillor Anderson looking at Jack and whispering "You're knocking boots with THAT?", Kaidan not finding about FemShep's fling with Thane because he died so fast, the possibilities are endless.

[Avilan the Grey]

Oh, I don't know. The ME2 roster is pretty full as it is, and since you can lose any of them during the suicide mission I think the devs will HAVE to introduce new NPC's in the third one. And bring back Ashley/Kaidan and Liara of course.

Besides:
-Samara has to get back to her duties as a Justicar.
-Jack is crazy and a wanted criminal.
-The DLC characters are just hired guns and will move on to their next job.
-Thane is terminally ill, and has to see to his son.
-Mordin is old for a Salarian, and does have his clinic to run.
-Legion will most likely return to Geth space.
-Grunt may or may not go back to the Krogan homeworld.

That leaves Jacob, Miranda, Garrus, Tali and possibly Grunt as viable party members for ME3. Cameos from the rest would be nice, of course.

I am sure they will find excuses, but the Band Of Brothers feel at the end of ME2 would definitely be wasted if not some of them stayed.

Samara - Gone
Jack - Should stay. At least if your got her loyal.
Thane - dies
Mordrin - Probably dies
Legion - Should stay
Grunt - Should stay

[Dragor]

Oh, an extra wish: I want to see a Quarian other than Tali. I've had my fair share of her (definitely no innuendo intended) and I'm kind of fed up of her. I never understood all the fandom around her, which kind of alienates me from liking her more. I'd like to see other Turians and Quarians- ME2 did a great job with Quarian society, and I really want to see more.

[ZeroNumerous]

No multiplayer. PLEASE no multiplayer. Multiplayer is EVIL. And I don't mean that as a joke.

No, no it's not. Some people, surprisingly, like playing a game with their friends.


I never understood all the fandom around her, which kind of alienates me from liking her more.

Naivety. Tali is as the player is in ME1: New to an alien universe which they have only read about.

[Zevox]

As far as returning characters goes, I'd say that anyone you could romance should and probably will return. The potential for conflict in that area given the possibility of romancing multiple people over the three games and the need to resolve that conflict should it occur all but guarantees it, I'd think. So that'd mean:

Liara
Ashley/Kaiden
Jacob
Miranda
Garrus
Tali
Jack
Thane

...should all be back, assuming they survived ME2. Thane being the only really questionable one, since his whole disease thing was supposed to kill him soon. But that would depend on how far in the future ME3 is set, which will probably mostly depend on how fast that Reaper fleet can reach the galaxy from where they are at the end of ME2. Maybe it'll occur almost immediately after the events of ME2, and Thane's death by disease will occur during or at the end of ME3.

I'd also hope to see Mordin back. He's too awesome not to. Though I suppose they may have one reason or another to keep him off the team, but I'll be disappointed if that's the case. And I'd lay odds that either Grunt or Wrex will be back, as the party Krogan. Though I suppose we could get yet another entirely new Krogan instead. Or maybe both Grunt and Wrex, or them plus a new Krogan, as possibilities, but only one can be recruited?

Don't know about Samara, Morinth and Legion. I'd hope Legion will return, but I suppose he could do fine enough as just an NPC. For Zaeed and Kasumi I'd wager they'll just be cameos, or once again be made DLC.

Zevox

[Philistine]

If you had a romance in both games (besides Kelly), and they're both alive, choosing whether to stay or go back should have a paragon/renegade effect like this:

It is renegade to go back to your first romance if your second was Tali, Garrus, or Jacob. It is paragon to go back if your second was Miranda, Jack, or Thane. The former three are more emotional relationships, and they would be heartbroken if you went back (which Ashley/Kaiden would understand, since they broke up with you on Horizon, and Liara would accept since she knew she wouldn't have much time with you anyway). The others aren't really built to be long-term relationships. But what do I know? I'm the least qualified person to discuss relationships on this board.

Nuts. Far, far better to handle the multiple relationships lime the Hanar Preacher or the Soldier's Body quests from the first game: either decision can be either Paragon or Renegade, depending on how you handle it. If you try to let one or the other down gently and minimize hurt feelings, BOOM! Paragon! If you act like a Rick, hey, cue the Renegade points. As a bonus, this approach avoids the silly suggestion that some of the game's romance paths are Paragon and others Renegade.

[chiasaur11]

Nuts. Far, far better to handle the multiple relationships lime the Hanar Preacher or the Soldier's Body quests from the first game: either decision can be either Paragon or Renegade, depending on how you handle it. If you try to let one or the other down gently and minimize hurt feelings, BOOM! Paragon! If you act like a Rick, hey, cue the Renegade points. As a bonus, this approach avoids the silly suggestion that some of the game's romance paths are Paragon and others Renegade.

Sounds good.

However, the use of the name Rick in a romantic context made me immediately cue up a mental

"I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. "

Which would be an odd speech in this scenario.

[Derthric]

Oh, an extra wish: I want to see a Quarian other than Tali. I've had my fair share of her (definitely no innuendo intended) and I'm kind of fed up of her. I never understood all the fandom around her, which kind of alienates me from liking her more. I'd like to see other Turians and Quarians- ME2 did a great job with Quarian society, and I really want to see more.

I can understand why the high level of fan activity for Tali can put people off but I don't share your dislike of her. That being said however, more Kal'Reegar please.

[Yana]

I can understand why the high level of fan activity for Tali can put people off but I don't share your dislike of her. That being said however, more Kal'Reegar please.

This, many times over. No universe would be complete without Space Casey.

[chiasaur11]

We also could use Nathan Fillion.

And maybe Alan Tudyk. And Ron Glass. And...

[Giggling Ghast]

Hey, Jacob is my favorite male romance. Mostly because he takes his shirt off, and goddamn does he pack abs.

I'll agree with that. I remember watching a Jacob romance video on Youtube and thinking "Yowza, I need to get to the gym more often."

Needs to work on his sexy dialogue, though. "BUT THE PRIZE ..." had me in stitches even before I watched the Love Boat remix. :smalltongue:

As for the Tali fandom (of which I am a part), I agree that it gets a little disturbing at times, but she's a very likeable character.

She has this wonderful mix of snarkiness and nerdiness that's very adorable. And she's surprisingly badass for an engineer. Her design is visually appealing, her voice is the most pleasant of all the female characters (especially that accent mrowr) and there's a bit of mystery about her. What's not to like?

But you know, YMMV.

[warty goblin]

No, no it's not. Some people, surprisingly, like playing a game with their friends.


What are these 'friends' creatures of which you speak?

All kidding aside, I'm absolutely fine with multiplayer in games, but I can't imagine it working very well with the sort of game Mass Effect is, since you'd have to strip it down to a not particularly fantastic third person shooter. At that point you'd be better off with Gears of War.

[Finn Solomon]

We also could use Nathan Fillion.

And maybe Alan Tudyk. And Ron Glass. And...

Summer Glau!

Nathan Fillion as a rip-roaring human admiral. Then I could die a happy man.

[chiasaur11]

Summer Glau!

Nathan Fillion as a rip-roaring human admiral. Then I could die a happy man.

Yeah, sounds like a plan.

He's generally a hoot in gaming roles anywhere you put him. Played Halo ODST? He's one of the leads.

[Finn Solomon]

Yeah, sounds like a plan.

He's generally a hoot in gaming roles anywhere you put him. Played Halo ODST? He's one of the leads.

Ah ODST, the Firefly reunion. Wash playing the pilot, Jayne playing the heavy weapons guy, and Mal as the easily exasperated commander. The fact that Yahtzee Croshaw hates the game because he hates both Halo and Firefly made it doubly fun to play.

[The Rose Dragon]

THIS. SO MUCH. Forgot clean about it. Dragon Age had it, so ME3 has to have it. I think it's the top of my list.

I think it allows only two party members for easier control of them. For example, the keys for commanding them to go to places or attack enemies are assigned to Q and E for my keyboard, which makes it surprisingly easy to command them while on the go.

[Derthric]

Yeah, sounds like a plan.

He's generally a hoot in gaming roles anywhere you put him. Played Halo ODST? He's one of the leads.

And he has done work for Bioware before in Jade Empire. Granted he was a minor villain in that but the fact is he's done it before and should do it again.

[Eldariel]

Mine are purely game-technical:
- If Ammo is modeled, it should be modeled properly, individually by type for each weapon and acquired in some rational manner. Rather none at all though.
- ME1-style skill/tech trees, please.
- PCified controls; the whole wheel menu control, mediocre firearm combat and such is a bunch of console relics that have no reason to exist in the PC release.

[Avilan the Grey]

Mine are purely game-technical:
- If Ammo is modeled, it should be modeled properly, individually by type for each weapon and acquired in some rational manner. Rather none at all though.
- ME1-style skill/tech trees, please.
- PCified controls; the whole wheel menu control, mediocre firearm combat and such is a bunch of console relics that have no reason to exist in the PC release.

Ammo: Since there is no ammo in ME2 I don't get this complaint... Seriously I can understand a wish for no ammo or ammo, but the way the heatsinks work is actually not bad. The fact that a heatsink give you a different number of shots depending on weapon is simple enough: different weapons gives off different amount of heat.

I don't see the need for a skill tree.

What Consolefied controls? I have no problem with the controls, and the fire arm combat is great. At least compared to other RPGs.

[742]

or Samara who's oath of loyalty has now expired.

what, you didnt kill her and take her daughter instead? shes just as good for the last mission and way less lawful stupid

and yes, im of the opinion that every show movie and game should have as many of the actors from firefly in it as possible. if they still did radio shows i would be for that too. alan tudyk used to be the exception to that; then i watched dollhouse.

maybe "universal ammo, you have X shots, sniper rifle uses 10 assault rifle uses 1" rather than running over ammo and having it replenish the currently equipped weapon (or the last one used) i didnt find it a huge problem but it was kinda annoying sometimes; it seemed like a fluff disconnect.

honestly i cant think of anything else to suggest, the second one was so good im kinda out of suggestions. they actually did an RPG with FPS elements right. that they dont ruin it? that the story doesnt go so far that they cant possibly deliver the expected amount of dramatic tension?

[Dhavaer]

what, you didnt kill her and take her daughter instead? shes just as good for the last mission and way less lawful stupid

What? Morinth lacks both Reave and a personality that wasn't bought at Hot Topic.

[Avilan the Grey]

What? Morinth lacks both Reave and a personality that wasn't bought at Hot Topic.

Plus, you know, she is the boring kind of Evil. Jack is fun, better looking*, and can be somewhat redeemed. Morinth is just a creepy white court vampire IN SPACE.

*Yes, she is better looking with a shaved head and all those tats. Not because of, but despite.

[Zen Master]

No, no it's not. Some people, surprisingly, like playing a game with their friends.

Multiplayer brings nothing to a singleplayer game. Singleplayer brings nothing to a multiplayer game. To this day, no game has managed to combine the two - to my knowledge.

[Thanatos 51-50]

As for the Tali fandom (of which I am a part), I agree that it gets a little disturbing at times, but she's a very likeable character.

She has this wonderful mix of snarkiness and nerdiness that's very adorable. And she's surprisingly badass for an engineer. Her design is visually appealing, her voice is the most pleasant of all the female characters (especially that accent mrowr) and there's a bit of mystery about her. What's not to like?

But you know, YMMV.

Plus, her voice actress is hot.

But, yes. I vote for more Kal'Reeger.
And/Or Quarin McPC vas Badass

[The Rose Dragon]

Jack is fun, better looking*, and can be somewhat redeemed.

However, she does not unzip her future space blouse to reveal her black bra, so she kinda loses there.

The fact that she does not wear a future space blouse or, in fact, anything above waist except for a thin strap over the nipples does not change my opinion.

(Yes, in fact, the Cerberus lackeys are my favorite romances. What can I say? I'm a simple man with simple tastes, and that means non-crazy humans.))

EDIT: I just remembered something I want. A Mass Effect 4. I know the story of Shepard will end in Mass Effect 3 (if it didn't already in Mass Effect 2, of course), but I really want to play with another character whose species and origins I can better define. Cause I really like the idea of playing a salarian female commando who defies the social conventions and decides not to become an egg-laying machine (granted, an egg-laying machine with considerable political power, but I still prefer a badass soldier) or an asari of any kind. It would be awesome if we could play an elcor or a volus, but I doubt the game's action would allow them to be viable.

Also, I want distinctly different playthroughs for Mass Effect 3, depending on your choices in the first two games. Not just "oh, you did this major act in this previous game, so here's a throwaway reference to it", but it should change the entire story of the game, possibly including the planets you will have to visit.

[Emperor Ing]

EDIT: I just remembered something I want. A Mass Effect 4. I know the story of Shepard will end in Mass Effect 3 (if it didn't already in Mass Effect 2, of course), but I really want to play with another character whose species and origins I can better define. Cause I really like the idea of playing a salarian female commando who defies the social conventions and decides not to become an egg-laying machine (granted, an egg-laying machine with considerable political power, but I still prefer a badass soldier) or an asari of any kind. It would be awesome if we could play an elcor or a volus, but I doubt the game's action would allow them to be viable.

Blasto the Hanar Spectre

[Avilan the Grey]

However, she does not unzip her future space blouse to reveal her black bra, so she kinda loses there.

The fact that she does not wear a future space blouse or, in fact, anything above waist except for a thin strap over the nipples does not change my opinion.

My romance option favorites are in order:

Tali
Jack
Li'l ms Do Everything (brainlapse, can't remember her name)
Miranda

[ZeroNumerous]

All kidding aside, I'm absolutely fine with multiplayer in games, but I can't imagine it working very well with the sort of game Mass Effect is, since you'd have to strip it down to a not particularly fantastic third person shooter. At that point you'd be better off with Gears of War.

That's a bit of a misnomer, as you can use precisely what already exists within ME and simply allow a second player to control a squadmate during planetary excursions. Granted, you would need something to occupy time during travel and when meandering about the ship, but the chassis for a multiplayer experience is there.


Multiplayer brings nothing to a singleplayer game. Singleplayer brings nothing to a multiplayer game. To this day, no game has managed to combine the two - to my knowledge.

Multiplayer brings sharing the game with your friends.

Singleplayer brings buying the game even when you don't have friends.

I think your point is kind of an opinion rather than a fact and shouldn't be stated as if it were a fact.

Further: The Lego [Franchise] and FF: Crystal Chronicles did Multiplayer / Singleplayer rather well. Particularly with the ability to just jump into the game, play around then jump out when you were bored/done playing.

[The Rose Dragon]

Blasto the Hanar Spectre

You will note that I specified elcor and volus only. I did not want to disrespect the most awesome sapient being in the galaxy by including the hentai tentacle creatures in there.

Also, Yeoman Kelly Chambers "loves" hanar.

[Finn Solomon]

Plus, you know, she is the boring kind of Evil. Jack is fun, better looking*, and can be somewhat redeemed. Morinth is just a creepy white court vampire IN SPACE.

*Yes, she is better looking with a shaved head and all those tats. Not because of, but despite.

I completely agree. She has very nice eyes and those great Angelina Jolie lips. In fact I'll stick my neck out and declare that she's the hottest female human in the game.

Oh, and you get a cookie for the Harry Dresden reference. :smallwink:

[Parra]

EDIT: I just remembered something I want. A Mass Effect 4.
Mass Effect 4: the MMO?

[The Rose Dragon]

Mass Effect 4: the MMO?

If it will not require monthly payments, then maaaaaaaaaybe. However, I would still prefer a single player game where I will feel my achievements in-game will matter.

Just a single player game that won't force me to play a human. Or a member of the Alliance military.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Let's list what we hope to see in the third installment of one of the best things ever, shall we?
Here's my list:

*Find some more interesting or less time consuming way to gather resources

*Female Turians and Krogan. C'mon, I want to see what they look like!

*Kids. Of any species. It's just weird to see nothing but adults. Plus, a 5-year old asari has to be just adorable. :smalltongue:

*Spacer Shepard meets Admiral Mom face-to-face.

*The return of Balak (if you didn't shoot him full of holes in Bringing Down the Sky)

*Illusive Man + Wood chipper. Feet first.

*Ashley/Kaidan and Liara back as party members.

*Perhaps a brief mission where you play as one of the NPC's rather than Shepard. Maybe to get Shep out of a jam, or whatever.

*A bigger role for Anderson than in ME2.

*At least a cameo or a mention of whatever ME2 NPC's don't return as party members.

*Please bring back the Asari Matriarch bartender, please! She's awesome! :smallbiggrin:

*A slightly crazy idea: A background cameo by one of the Dragon Age NPC's. No lines or anything, just Leliana playing on a stage, or Alistair standing in line, or whatever.

*More "R&R" moments like the evening of getting drunk with Dr. Chakwas.

I heartily agree with all of these except the Illusive Man/Woodchipper thing. For some reason I find putting him in his place with an epic speech to be cooler. If I were to kill him, I'd miss out on watching him squirm impotently when he's forced to realize he can't control me and I have most of his organization under my command.

[Zaggab]

My friends and I got the idea that if Shepard dies at the end of ME2, you'd play ME3 as Joker.

It would be so awesome. Or not. I hate Joker. He must die. Which he would if I got to play him.

Other than that, I'd like some more options regarding your equipment.

Aliens of both genders, where applicable.

More interesting villain(s)

Awesome consequences for all your choices so far

More and better crew interactions (more things like Chakwas, and more conversations with squadmates, etc.)

More use of you fantastic, unique and high-tech stealth ship. How many times have the stealth been used sp far in the series? 2 times?

There's more, but it escapes me at the moment.

[Philistine]

You could do ME's combat in multiplayer, yes. The problem is that the ME series isn't about the combat; it's about the "player choice and NPC interactions" stuff. An awful lot of the game is spent in conversation instead of combat, and that doesn't translate well into a multiplayer context at all. Given that, I'd say the balance of probabilities still favors ME3 shipping as a Tetris clone rather than with a multiplayer mode.

If you want to play shooters with your friends, you have a metric crap-ton of games to choose from. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:First-person_shooters) The ME series just isn't one of them - and isn't likely to be. And that's fine: not every game can be, or needs to be, Team Fortress 2.

[Avilan the Grey]

I completely agree. She has very nice eyes and those great Angelina Jolie lips. In fact I'll stick my neck out and declare that she's the hottest female human in the game.

Oh, and you get a cookie for the Harry Dresden reference. :smallwink:

Personally I was going to say something like "...and she has lips that makes Angelina Jolie cry herself to sleep" :smallbiggrin:

[The Rose Dragon]

However, she is also crazy and is likely to be braindead soon due to neural degeneration.

[Avilan the Grey]

However, she is also crazy and is likely to be braindead soon due to neural degeneration.

Not sure about that. It is so far only making her stronger, and I would not be surprised if her powers will somehow be able to act as a replacement of sorts; that she will be able to keep herself alive by sheer willpower.

As for the crazy, she is far less so than you might believe at first, and besides she is one person who's crazy is very justified.

[The Rose Dragon]

Justified crazy is still crazy. Admittedly, everyone except Abmaster 9000 seems to be quirky in their own ways, but Jack is really, really crazy.

Morinth is not crazy, she is legally insane.

[Jeivar]

Morinth is not crazy, she is legally insane.

And the most evil character in the series.

[Giggling Ghast]

Morinth is fully responsible for her actions. She may not have asked to be an adrat-yakshi, but nothing compels her to kill people beyond her addiction.


And the most evil character in the series.

Debatable, given what we know about the Reapers. While their motives are still mysterious, their methods are absolutely vile.

[Mewtarthio]

Debatable, given what we know about the Reapers. While their motives are still mysterious, their methods are absolutely vile.

I'm with Jeivar, actually. The Reapers may cause a lot more raw pain and suffering, but there's something so disturbingly personal about Morinth's evil. Quality over quantity.

[Platinum_Mongoose]

I'd like to see Conrad Verner as a party member. Seriously.

Also, depending on how certain things in ME1 went down, ME2 seemed to be paving the way for a freaking awesome gathering of allies sequence. Potentially, we have the Council and Alliance fleets, the Quarian Flotilla, Legion's Geth faction(s?), the Rachni, Wrex and the united Krogan clans, and probably a good chunk of the Terminus Systems. I imagine the scene will look something like this:
Person 1: Gondor Shepard calls for aid!
Person 2: And Rohan the Galaxy will answer!
Smash cut to awesome.

[Giggling Ghast]

I'd like to see Conrad Verner as a party member. Seriously.

That seems unlikely, considering how most players will probably get Conrad killed through their actions.


Also, depending on how certain things in ME1 went down, ME2 seemed to be paving the way for a freaking awesome gathering of allies sequence. Potentially, we have the Council and Alliance fleets, the Quarian Flotilla, Legion's Geth faction(s?), the Rachni, Wrex and the united Krogan clans, and probably a good chunk of the Terminus Systems.

I kinda wonder about most of those guys. The Council races have their heads up their asses about the Reapers; they probably won't do anything until Harbinger arrives on their doorstep.

The krogan might help in exchange for a genophage cure, but their numbers are awfully small. The quarians aren't a particularly potent force to begin with and are too busy pursuing their own foolish agendas.

The Rachni pledged their support to Shepard and seem to building an army … but consider this: if they fell under the sway of the Reapers once, what's to stop that from happening again?

The geth might help against the Reapers, but the motivations of the geth … are hard to figure out. Are they even threatened by the Reapers? They probably won't aid them, but why would they stick out their necks for the rest of the galaxy?

Personally, I think the whole thing is heading towards a massacre. I hope that Bioware doesn't succumb to the "DARK ENDINGS ARE EDGY AND DRAMATIC" trope, but that's just the feeling I got in my gut.

[Mewtarthio]

Personally, I think the whole thing is heading towards a massacre. I hope that Bioware doesn't succumb to the "DARK ENDINGS ARE EDGY AND DRAMATIC" trope, but that's just the feeling I got in my gut.

Er, protip for you: When the odds are arrayed against our hero and it seems that all hope is lost, that's generally not meant to imply that the world really is going to get destroyed. It's pretty common, actually: They call it "dramatic tension." I know it's kind of disingenuous, but that's just the way stories usually work. :smallamused:

Admit it: When you saw The Wizard of Oz as a kid, you got as far as the flying monkey scene before turning it off and running away so you wouldn't have to watch the Wicked Witch kill Dorothy and take her slippers.

[The Rose Dragon]

Admit it: When you saw The Wizard of Oz as a kid, you got as far as the flying monkey scene before turning it off and running away so you wouldn't have to watch the Wicked Witch kill Dorothy and take her slippers.

I was 16 when I first saw the Wizard of Oz. So, no.

[VanBuren]

The quarians aren't a particularly potent force to begin with and are too busy pursuing their own foolish agendas.

They do have the largest fleet of any race, and the game treats it as though it would be a potent force.


The Rachni pledged their support to Shepard and seem to building an army … but consider this: if they fell under the sway of the Reapers once, what's to stop that from happening again?

For one, the Queen remembers being indoctrinated thanks to her genetic memory, and so knows what to expect. Secondly, the Rachni blame everything that went wrong with that time on the Reapers, so there's a personal motivation and finally, the Rachni are utterly devoted to Shepard--due to the fact that he is the sole reason their species still exists.

Even still, indoctrination has never been shown to work on an immediate timescale. It doesn't seem likely to take hold over the course of a single battle.

I think we can count on the Rachni.


The geth might help against the Reapers, but the motivations of the geth … are hard to figure out. Are they even threatened by the Reapers? They probably won't aid them, but why would they stick out their necks for the rest of the galaxy?

According to Legion, they are. From what Legion shares, the Geth don't fit into the Reapers' vision, and are considered just as inferior as organics. Obviously we don't truly know what the Reapers think of the Geth as a whole, but it seems that the Geth percieve themselves as being threatened by the Reapers.

[Arcanoi]

Huh. I got the exact opposite impression, that the Quarian Fleet was rag-tag, ill-fitted for combat, outdated, and generally too valuable to the Quarians for them to even consider deploying as a military force. All of their civilians are on those ships too, after all.

[Giggling Ghast]

Er, protip for you: When the odds are arrayed against our hero and it seems that all hope is lost, that's generally not meant to imply that the world really is going to get destroyed. It's pretty common, actually: They call it "dramatic tension." I know it's kind of disingenuous, but that's just the way stories usually work.

I'm aware of dramatic conventions, but there are also times where it just gets worse. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ItGotWorse)


Admit it: When you saw The Wizard of Oz as a kid, you got as far as the flying monkey scene before turning it off and running away so you wouldn't have to watch the Wicked Witch kill Dorothy and take her slippers.

What flying monkeys? I stopped watching before that horrible scene when Dorothy's house crashed down and she died instantly. :smallconfused:


Huh. I got the exact opposite impression, that the Quarian Fleet was rag-tag, ill-fitted for combat, outdated, and generally too valuable to the Quarians for them to even consider deploying as a military force.

A little from column A, a little from column B. They're a rag-tag force, but they're still the largest fleet in the galaxy.

[chiasaur11]

Failure's not likely here.

I mean, look at how often Paragon works. Not a fundamentally depressing universe, what I'm saying.

It seems less downbeat than Halo, and that allowed a mostly happy ending.

[Mewtarthio]

Let's face it, if the Mass Effect universe were remotely dark, then the appropriate response to "A race of psychic battleships destroys the galaxy every 50,000 years... and the last time they came was 49,999 years ago!" would be going insane. Shepard's response is "Then I guess the cycle's about to stop!"

Besides, the darkest, grimmest thing BioWare's ever done (outside taking the Path of Blatant Evil, of course) is Dragon Age, and even that has, at worst, a bittersweet ending. They're not suddenly going to go all Franz Kafka on us with their flagship Escapist Space Opera franchise.

[trmptfnfr]

Failure's not likely here.

I mean, look at how often Paragon works. Not a fundamentally depressing universe, what I'm saying.

It seems less downbeat than Halo, and that allowed a mostly happy ending.
Human population was reduced from multiple billions to 200 million, cities were reduced to mere rubble, and the worlds only leaders are military.

It's more of a bittersweet thing really.

[ZeroNumerous]

The ME series just isn't one of them - and isn't likely to be. And that's fine: not every game can be, or needs to be, Team Fortress 2.

No where did I suggest turning it into Team Fortress 2 or anything similiar. For that matter, no where did I even suggest turning it into anything but a cooperative Players-versus-Environment scenario.

I do, however, believe that simply discarding the possibility of multiplayer out of hand is ridiculous.

[Platinum_Mongoose]

That seems unlikely, considering how most players will probably get Conrad killed through their actions.

That's the point! Players who kept the poor bastard alive get him on the Normandy by the end. Like the Baldur's Gate pantaloons. Or something. Sorta.

[Zeful]

What I want from ME3?

ME1's skill system. What's the point in playing an RPG where the only RPG element is "Pick one of four skills, max it out then start on another".

Mechwarrior's heat distribution system. Guns accumulate heat and the player can hit a button for cool down now or waits for them to cool down on their own. However this means that it should be very hard to re-acquire what you're using for the instant cool-down otherwise there's no point to using it. (I'd rather have ME1's gun system back, simply because it makes more sense than ME2's).

[warty goblin]

No where did I suggest turning it into Team Fortress 2 or anything similiar. For that matter, no where did I even suggest turning it into anything but a cooperative Players-versus-Environment scenario.

I do, however, believe that simply discarding the possibility of multiplayer out of hand is ridiculous.

That still sounds really, really boring, or insanely difficult to make.

If you simply tacked another player into the squad, all those conversation bits would be unspeakably dull for the second person. Otherwise you've gotta make an entire co-op mode where both players got to participate in conversation and trade off all the time to avoid the aforementioned boredom. That's an absolute ass-ton of work for a mode I bet under 20% of the potential players care about.

And even if you do all that, all you've got is a talky Gears of War alike with substantially worse gunplay. I'll stick to the chainsaw bayonet thanks

[Jeivar]

This isn't really a "wish", but I started wondering what the devs will do with Shiala in ME3. You know, the asari the Thorian cloned in ME1, and who needs Shep's help on Illium. She makes a pass at Shep before leaving, and I think she has the potential to be an interesting character . . . but will anything come of it? Do you think she'll return as a party member, or a major support character? Will we get a full-fledged romance or just Kelly-type flirting, or just nothing at all?

Personally, I'm not quite sure what I want to see done with her. I wouldn't complain about getting an asari commando on the team, but I can't imagine dumping Ash or Liara for her sake. Besides, we still don't know what they're going to do about the ME3 lineup.

[Zevox]

What I want from ME3?

ME1's skill system. What's the point in playing an RPG where the only RPG element is "Pick one of four skills, max it out then start on another".
Funny, I'd say the opposite. ME1's skill system was dull - each point into it was a mere few percent boost to damage or duration, it practically felt like you were getting nothing out of it most of the time. Whereas with ME2, the benefit of each boost was usually quite noticeable, save for the abilities which gained only in duration (i.e. Pull), and I actually felt compelled to choose between which abilities I wanted to have and how powerful I wanted each to end up, and I especially liked the two different variations you could chose from for the final level of each skill. I'd far rather ME3's skill system resemble ME2's than ME1's.

Zevox

[Wraith]

An ME3 wishlist? Most of mine are nitpicks, but let's give it a try anyway.

* Greater Breadth of Plot
Compared to ME1, I found ME2 just a little bit stunted. Two-thirds of the game seems to be fetching your Allies and then going about making them happy - despite the urgency of the situation, you don't seem to be doing all that much about the Reapers and the Collectors, except for the instance where the Illusive Man forces you to go investigate the 'crippled' ship.
Finding Allies shouldn't be the point of the game - that just makes me feel like ME2 is a stepping stone to ME3 where I'll already have my friends around and will be getting on with the business end of saving the galaxy. ME1 got it right, in that you found allies while undertaking the plot itself, which drove the story onwards and created the sense of good fortune and careful diplomacy, rather than a check-list of little fights before one big one and then the credits.
Recruiting Legion, for example, was the sort of thing I enjoyed. You were undertaking important events, and if you played it right you got a bonus companion out of it to boot (Too bad it was slightly spoiled by the blank 'Dataslate' thing on the Squad Selection screen that made me always know that someone was going to fill it).

* Greater Variety In Weapons
ME1 was, to be honest, a little dull when it came to the weapons you could use. Every class could use the same 5, and functionally one Sniper Rifle was no different to the others apart from the damage/RoF/whatever stats. ME2 did great in mixing this up, and I adore the different types of weapons and how the different models and upgrades apply to different situations.
But for ME3, I want them to really push the boat out. I want Shepherd to be able to use weird and wonderful tech from across the whole galaxy, not just Assault Rifles and Missile Launchers that could be in any old FPS.
I want the flamethrower that the Blood Pack mercenaries would occasionally tote around, I want landmines that I can use to sneakily set traps in doorways, and I want Aliens vs. Predator-style spearguns to staple things to walls with. Give me a reason to care about my weapon upgrades, other than their mechanical damage values!

* Outdoor Combat
I appreciate that the MAKO sections of ME1 were generally disliked by a lot of Players. The physics engine was buggy, and nothing frustrates people more than arbitrary barriers like sheer cliffs to stop you from playing the game.
But I, for one, enjoyed the open freedom of being able to spend as much time as I liked, scouting around a landscape and setting up a perfect vantage point from where I could set up an ambush, and live with the thrill of not knowing what sort of enemies were lurking over every hill. ME2, as very accurately pointed out by Yahtzee, feels like a bunch of linear shooting-galleries with barriers in every direction by comparison.
Make no mistake, a lot of these were REALLY well done - Thane's recruitment mission, with it's Die Hard-style building invasion was a joy from beginning to end - but a little variety would be nice from time to time, too.

With that in mind....

* Landmark Battlefields
The moment that I stepped off the Normandy and onto the Citadel, I thought "Wow, that looks awesome - I hope I get to fight through it at some point". I was even teased by my Squadmates, who made little comments about how the Council Chambers' stairways were both decorative and defensive. Storming the Citadel - from the outside, no less - was one of the most enjoyable sequences of my entire gaming career, with a brilliant climax in the Tower itself.
ME2... Not so much. I don't think there was even a single firefight on the Citadel, unless you include some of he Renegade interrupt sequences. :smallfrown:
What I want is to Dock at Zakera Ward and then fight my way, on foot, up every single level until I reach the Presidium, and then up the Tower again. I want to put on my Helmet and go for a spacewalk along the hull of the Normandy itself, and run from stern-to-bridge fighting enemies before entering the airlock and going all the way back along the inside to Engineering.
I want to feel that the battles I'm fighting are important, and that the damage being done is meaningful - not just a casual run through a cave on some backwater planet, or in a warehouse full of other peoples' stuff that I don't care about.

* Random Encounters
To go with the outdoor combat and to possibly correct one of the flaws found in ME1. Why drive along for 10 minutes and see nothing but rocks, when for the same price you could constantly be on your toes and worrying about where the next pack of Mercs are going to pop up with a road-block or sniper nest?
Tone it down for important missions, of course - no one likes getting raped by a game that throws out cheesy enemies right where they're most inconvinient - but shaking up the routine areas would be fun.

* More Kal'Reevor!
Either as a Soldier Class NPC in the party, or as some kind of consistent go-to if you need anything from your Quarian allies. Gotta love a guy with a rocket launcher and the earnest will to use it at every opportunity.
Heck, I remember there being a little bit of banter between the two, so why not make Kal an NPC romance option for Tali if Shepherd doesn't get her first? Tali's an orphan now after all, maybe she would appreciate a father/mother-figure to give her advice on such things....
...I'm aware that I probably sound just a little bit creepy at this point, so I'll stop there. Let's just call this "More NPC Interaction" and leave it at that.

* A Virtual-Reality Training Suite Aboard the Normandy
Occasionally I just want to shoot something. I don't want to worry about plot, or if I'll trip over any dialogue options that will somehow change the game in a way that I currently don't want to deal with.
Let's have a 'Holodeck' on the Normandy where, like the Metal Gear Solid training levels, I can just run around and practice my combat skills against adjustable levels of enemies. Let me fight when *I* want to fight - and, if possible, with any NPC's in my group instead of following Shepherd all the time. Why not train Garrus as my Second-In-Command, and have him lead Tali and Thane through a combat scenario to see how well it goes?
Give me an achievement for finishing them all, if you must, or bonus skills/equipment if 'Garrus' successfully completes his 'Officer Training' programme.

* A Geth/Human Cyborg Resurrection Mission
Cerberus brought Shepherd back to life. Cool.
What I want to see next, is what happens when it goes wrong. Let's see Kaiden/Ashley return in a mission, part-cloned and part-cyborg from stolen (or just malfunctioning) Reaper technology, and force Shepherd to relive a tragic moment just to give the faint suggestion that what he's doing might not be the best course of action and run with it.
If we have to have an 'Old Yeller' moment at some point, so be it. Double points if you have to euthanise the NPC that you were originally Romancing in ME1......

* Shepherd gets his broken neck fixed.
I don't know if this is just me, but when running around without armour in ME2 I see Shepherd's head lolling around like he's drunk, or staring intently at his feet while he moves.
And it drives me absolutely Jumping-Jesus-On-A-Pogo-Stick crazy. You're a soldier, man! Straighten up and look where you're going!

Heatsink/Overheat issues, what NPCs I'd like to see return, how some plot points and dialogue choices might return, I won't include. Just about all of them have already been discussed by previous posters. :smallsmile:

[Zeful]

* Greater Variety In Weapons
ME1 was, to be honest, a little dull when it came to the weapons you could use. Every class could use the same 5, and functionally one Sniper Rifle was no different to the others apart from the damage/RoF/whatever stats. ME2 did great in mixing this up, and I adore the different types of weapons and how the different models and upgrades apply to different situations.
But for ME3, I want them to really push the boat out. I want Shepherd to be able to use weird and wonderful tech from across the whole galaxy, not just Assault Rifles and Missile Launchers that could be in any old FPS.
I want the flamethrower that the Blood Pack mercenaries would occasionally tote around, I want landmines that I can use to sneakily set traps in doorways, and I want Aliens vs. Predator-style spearguns to staple things to walls with. Give me a reason to care about my weapon upgrades, other than their mechanical damage values!

Very few of those weapons have little reason to exist in the world of personal force-fields, even less reason to be in the hands of Shepard who, by all accounts is very sparsely trained in weapon use.

[trmptfnfr]

Very few of those weapons have little reason to exist in the world of personal force-fields, even less reason to be in the hands of Shepard who, by all accounts is very sparsely trained in weapon use.... What?

Oh yea, I guess you weren't capable of using that rocket launcher, grenade launcher, freezing bazooka, particle beam, Nuke launcher, (Not to forget a flamethrower, some kind of gravity field gun, and a lightning cannon if you count DLC) and several different types of ammo, small arms, explosives, and technological gadgets after all.
My mistake.

[Jeivar]

* A Geth/Human Cyborg Resurrection Mission
Cerberus brought Shepherd back to life. Cool.
What I want to see next, is what happens when it goes wrong. Let's see Kaiden/Ashley return in a mission, part-cloned and part-cyborg from stolen (or just malfunctioning) Reaper technology, and force Shepherd to relive a tragic moment just to give the faint suggestion that what he's doing might not be the best course of action and run with it.
If we have to have an 'Old Yeller' moment at some point, so be it. Double points if you have to euthanise the NPC that you were originally Romancing in ME1......


Huh? Ashley/Kaidan was sitting on ground zero of a nuclear blast. Whoever you left behind got completely vaporized, and no amount of cybernetics is going to fix that.

[Wraith]

Huh? Ashley/Kaidan was sitting on ground zero of a nuclear blast. Whoever you left behind got completely vaporized, and no amount of cybernetics is going to fix that.

Sovereign was in orbit at the time and Saren made good his escape, along with a few others who simply made a run for it into the jungle. It'd be feasible to imagine that Kaiden/Ashely were killed during Shepherd's fight with Saren and their body - or just a sample of DNA - was taken aboard and later cloned with the express intent of using it's memories to hunt down Shepherd.

Okay it's probably not very likely, but that's pretty much how a plot twist works, I suppose :smallsmile:


Very few of those weapons have little reason to exist in the world of personal force-fields, even less reason to be in the hands of Shepard who, by all accounts is very sparsely trained in weapon use.

Sorry, but I don't understand either of your points. The weapons exist to destroy shields, and then armour, in different tactical situations. The comparison is that we no longer use grenades in real life, because it takes effort to use them against a Tank. :smalltongue:

As for Shepherd not being trained in weapons, that really doesn't make sense. The Soldier class has training in every sort of weapon available, be it pistol or miniature tactical nuke, and the other classes can use any one of half a dozen types of weapon plus their class-related abilities. S/He is at least as well trained as any other soldier in the Alliance, probably far more so given the extra stuff S/He has come across as a Spectre and then Cerberus Operative.

[Emperor Ing]

I want the flamethrower that the Blood Pack mercenaries would occasionally tote around,

*coughZaeed'sloyaltymissioncoughcough*

One thing i'd like to see though, slightly less random mercs. I dunno if it's just me, but it seems that by now, the Blue Suns should be all but completely wiped out by the time you finish ME2.

[Toastkart]

I'd like to see more varied enemies. Yeah, we occasionally go up against a vanguard or an engineer, but most are just soldiers. ME1 at least had snipers to fight. I want to go up against all classes and I want them to use their powers intelligently against me. Infiltrators should cloak before trying to snipe. Adepts should throw a singularity to try and trap you. They did pretty well with the vanguard's and engineers.

I also want the enemies to use ammo powers or more varied equipment should they decide to use a system that blends me1 and me2.

Whatever planetside vehicle they end up with in me3, I want to fight other vehicles of similar type. I want to go up against the other types of rovers that were seen in me1 and me2. Heck, I wouldn't even mind fighting a mako or hammerhead.

[Wraith]

*coughZaeed'sloyaltymissioncoughcough*

One thing i'd like to see though, slightly less random mercs. I dunno if it's just me, but it seems that by now, the Blue Suns should be all but completely wiped out by the time you finish ME2.

One weapon, from one mission, that's not included on the disk? I've played MDK2 and KotOR, Bioware can do better than that if they wanted to. :smalltongue:

I agree with you on the mercs, though. I really liked fighting those guys, but if there's not a severe deficit in ME3 after the legions of them that Shepherd has rolled over then clearly the Alliance could learn something about their recruitment methods. :smallbiggrin:


I want to go up against all classes and I want them to use their powers intelligently against me. Infiltrators should cloak before trying to snipe. Adepts should throw a singularity to try and trap you. They did pretty well with the vanguard's and engineers.

I agree. In ME1 I was happily surprised by just how universal various skills were between PCs and NPCs - snipers could actually snipe, Engineers would annihilate my shields and all the biotic powers I had the opponent probably would too.
Yet, I was slightly disappointed that they didn't do the same in ME2 - can hardly remember anyone with a sniper rifle, I don't think enemy Vanguard have access to Biotic Charge for some reason, and only a few Geth had access to the Cloak. :smallconfused:

[Dhavaer]

I don't think enemy Vanguard have access to Biotic Charge for some reason

Charge is apparently a function of the L5v biotic implant, which would only be available to Cerberus.

[Emperor Ing]

In the vibe of the current discussion, i'd say it would be more interesting to see enemies use more varieties of powers. Why is there no enemy pull/lifts? And why does Harbinger, the only character that uses (reskinned) singularity only stuns, and after it stuns once it vanishes.

[warty goblin]

In the vibe of the current discussion, i'd say it would be more interesting to see enemies use more varieties of powers. Why is there no enemy pull/lifts? And why does Harbinger, the only character that uses (reskinned) singularity only stuns, and after it stuns once it vanishes.

Because pull and lift are basically stun locks, something that's been considered really horrible design since, oh, 1995?

[Anteros]

Multiplayer could work just fine in Mass Effect.

Combat starts: Game goes to split screen, and second controller is allowed to take control of one of your existing squad members.

Combat ends: Back to single player.

You should be able to turn this function on or off at any time.

I'm not saying I expect this to be in Mass Effect 3, but it could certainly work.

What I'd personally like to see in ME3 is more hard decisions. ME2 lacked that.

[warty goblin]

Multiplayer could work just fine in Mass Effect.

Combat starts: Game goes to split screen, and second controller is allowed to take control of one of your existing squad members.

Combat ends: Back to single player.

You should be able to turn this function on or off at any time.

I'm not saying I expect this to be in Mass Effect 3, but it could certainly work.

What I'd personally like to see in ME3 is more hard decisions. ME2 lacked that.

Which sounds like a real blast for player #2 for all those times where there's no combat for fifteen plus minutes. I've not played ME2, but I bet I went an hour or more after Eden Prime without shooting anything. For a singleplayer game it was great because I was still doing stuff, but I'd have been bored silly watching somebody else run around talking with every schmuck in the Citadel.

I really don't think grafting co-op into any old game is a good idea. Like any other feature, you've gotta design the rest of the game to work with it, otherwise its basically just tacked on at best, and actively bad at worst. Given the number of systems in ME that are engineered for a singleplayer experience, I suspect it'd end up closer to the latter than the former.

[Wraith]

Multiplayer Mass Effect would probably only work 'properly' in a PvP style arena.
You set up a server that allows X skill points to be spent, and choose a list of equipment that Players can use up to a maximum value of Y. Basically the same way Deus Ex worked, after a fashion.
Problem is, the classes simply aren't balanced for PvP, and doing so would ruin the 1 Player game. It's supposed to be harder if you play a low-level Adept, because you have 1 skill with a really long cool-down and a pistol backing it up! You're not meant to go toe-to-toe with a Soldier and all his toys! :smalltongue:

But anyways, I've remembered what else I would like to see in ME3: What do the Hanar think of the whole situation?

These guys have built their religion and culture around the Enkindlers - the idea that the Protheans' technology is responsible for all galactic culture by way of a very literal Creator Myth.
This, however, patently isn't true. Putting aside some of the things that Shepherd has discovered privately for Cerberus, his private messages reveal that people on the Citadel are starting to work out for themselves - and in public - that the Protheans were just the latest in a line of extinct civilisations which where built upon older technology - that of the Reapers.

Would the Hanar very politely admit to their mistake and throw their lot in with the Reapers; the TRUE Enkindlers? Would they stoically refuse to believe such utter blasphemy? Or would they schism down the middle into two sides, and we get to live with the reality of fighting Conservative Flying Jellyfish alongside our newly-converted Reformed Flying Jellyfish squadmate?

It's a very minor plot point, but none-the-less I think it's one that'd be fun to see addressed.

[Anteros]

Which sounds like a real blast for player #2 for all those times where there's no combat for fifteen plus minutes. I've not played ME2, but I bet I went an hour or more after Eden Prime without shooting anything. For a singleplayer game it was great because I was still doing stuff, but I'd have been bored silly watching somebody else run around talking with every schmuck in the Citadel.


Let me ask you something. Would that hour after Eden Prime have been any less enjoyable for you simply because you didn't have a controller in your hand? The non-combat parts of Mass Effect are a cinematic experience. You don't need the controller in hand to enjoy them.

Personally, I can't count the number of hours I've spent with my friends watching me play a game or vice-versa. It's still enjoyable even when I don't have the controller because...ya'know...I'm spending time with my friends. We discuss what to say, what decisions to make...we share reactions to things that happen during the game, and discuss theories on what's going to happen next.

Co-op would only serve to enhance this, and could synergize quite well with what Mass Effect already offers.

[Dienekes]

Let me ask you something. Would that hour after Eden Prime have been any less enjoyable for you simply because you didn't have a controller in your hand? The non-combat parts of Mass Effect are a cinematic experience. You don't need the controller in hand to enjoy them.


Speaking as someone who had to sit and watch my roommate play through ME1, yes, they tend to be far more interesting when the controller is in your hand, the decisions made are yours, and you feel you're the one controlling the situation not watching someone else go through it all.

[chiasaur11]

Speaking as someone who had to sit and watch my roommate play through ME1, yes, they tend to be far more interesting when the controller is in your hand, the decisions made are yours, and you feel you're the one controlling the situation not watching someone else go through it all.

Totally agreed.

I mean, geeze. That'd be pretty dull.

[Dienekes]

Totally agreed.

I mean, geeze. That'd be pretty dull.

It was watch him play or actually do my work. I really regret the decision now, because I ended up not being as wowed by ME1 as I think I should have been (and the bugger wouldn't let me start my own playthrough until he finished his, since I tend to play faster than him).

[warty goblin]

Let me ask you something. Would that hour after Eden Prime have been any less enjoyable for you simply because you didn't have a controller in your hand? The non-combat parts of Mass Effect are a cinematic experience. You don't need the controller in hand to enjoy them.


I absolutely would find it less enjoyable, substantially so. The noncombat bits of Mass Effect may be cinematic, but they are infinitely less watchable than even a mediocre movie for the simple reason that they're not trying to be watchable. They're trying to be playable, and are enjoyable to play.

But if I'm watching them I get a really horribly edited film. All those bits running from person A to person B are boring enough when I'm playing them, but watching them would be much worse. At least the person playing has to steer, I get what amounts to a five minute loading screen in between the two minute elevator loading screens. And I can't imagine the dialog bits look particularly great either. All those Shatneresque dramatic.

.pauses while somebody else fools around with a menu, the momentum slaying bits of exposition, the slightly wooden gestures and vaguely off lip-syncing do not compelling cinema make. Essentially I'm stuck watching a Sy-Fy special while the guy next to me is having the time of his life. Worse, I can't even laugh at how bad it is, because my buddy thinks it's totally awesome.

Lemme sum it up like this, the last time I was over at a friend's house, him and his roommate were both playing games. He was playing Fallout 3, the roommate was playing Call of Duty. I like FO 3 better than CoD, but guess which one I watched?

[Grumman]

I agree with the others RE: multiplayer.

When I watched the videos of Tali's loyalty mission from ME2, I realised just how annoying it would be to sit there while your friend strip-mines every single part of every single dialogue tree.