jimmuhpage

Kai Leng was a bona fide evil bad ass in Retribution who Then Deception turned him into the cereal killer that he is today, kicking, stomping and running people left and right while constantly reminding the reader that his legs are still fucked up from Anderson shooting them with a shotgun at the end of Retribution. At the end, TIM promises him some interesting upgrades that will allow for tactical espionage action to happen.

As far as the rumor goes, I hope it's true, but one thing doesn't quite add up. I can't confirm this myself since I never read the leaked script, but there was a thread on the BW forums where some guy went over the differences in the ending in the script and the game. They seemed to be minimal at best. Supposedly, the biggest outcry was over the I didn't read up too much on it since it's a moot point, but after I beat the game, I got a little curious and dug around a bit.

@WaS

Yes it is, for the most part (spoilers only from ME1 and 2):

I wasn't saying you were writing death threats. I was talking about what I've been seeing on other places on the web. Apologies if it seemed targeted at you. I understand how you and a shitload of others are feeling. I think it's just a case of a problem inherent to making something so grand in scale and uniquely personal at the same time. Add to the fact that gaming is constantly becoming more mainstream, the marketing behind this game was almost ludicrous, and the Bioware forums have a ginormous community, you're bound to be left with a huge variety of people who play this game and have easy access to a place where support for any given idea can grow to press-worthy proportions in hours. The ending could have been better. Easily. And while it's almost a given that there would be considerably less people speaking out had they used any of the myriad different endings proposed by gamers, there would still be an outcry. If the ending had been like user13356 on XYZgamingforums suggested, then 80% of the same people who are currently dissatisfied would still be dissatisfied. You can't please everyone. And when you make something that has the scale of all galactic life, and you allow players to shape and customize their stories (even in limited fashion), and give them 5 years to come up with certain expectations for the pre-announced war with the Reapers, you won't even be able to please a large minority. Add all the issues players have had over the years with BioWare due to EA's monetizing schemes and directional nudging, I don't see how BioWare could have stayed paragon in the eyes of their faithful. I don't see how an apology is likely or would make things better. EA has made BioWare a phenomenal cash cow. This trend of worrying more about the money to be made than the critical appraisal of the fans will not slow down. Gamers who take gaming serious (as opposed to fun diversion, like most of the current market) will continue to lose their voice in decisions made by developers as long as they work for publishers whose sole purpose is to make money. An apology would still leave both dissatisfied gamers and developers with a stale taste, even if the outcry diminished. The only solution would be to add a free DLC with a conclusion to the characters. But EA would never give DLC for free. And even if they're paid, BioWare would not have the creative influence to make something that would please the fans because thousands of people have thrashed their morale. They would create the DLC out of spite, because fans demanded it and/or EA ordered them to do it. The only way I see an acceptable DLC conclusion coming out is if there were no backlash, if people had somehow stayed positive while talking about the game and casually but constantly mentioning that the ending was weak. Then, after some time, BioWare would take it upon themselves to work on their own time and release the DLC for the fans, free of charge. With all of this negativity going around, I don't see how any conclusion that comes out will appease the critics. I'm not saying you shouldn't be angry. Hell, I was a bit angry when Deception came out. I was downright pissed when I found out I couldn't import my Shep's face (luckily I used the workaround before it actually came out, so I wasn't pissed for very long). I know the feeling of betrayal through lack of effort from BioWare. I'm just saying I happen to not be angry at the ending because I liked the game's middle content.

I'm normally a very cynic person, and I invested a lot of time and money into this series, but the ending doesn't bother me nearly to the same extent as it does to some others. It could have been better, sure. And the type of ending used I feel is more suited to one-off stories where interpretation can be quite fun. Shadow of the Colossus and Silent Hill 2 come to mind. The ending of an epic trilogy would have made better use of the traditional 15 to 30-minute resolution cutscene. Having the cutscene include bits "unique" to my Shepard would have been a very rewarding and satisfying experience. Still, memories of fantastic sex don't repulse me after a breakup. The amount of fun I've had playing all three games isn't invalidated by the ending. Mass Effect will always hold a special place in my memories, but there will be other games in the future which will grab hold of my attention in the same way the original Mass Effect did. And when it does, I'll immediately start writing rough drafts for the death threats I will send to the developers once they fail to meet my unattainable expectations for the ending that will have been building up for five years. Somewhat unrelated:

I like perks! They're comfy and easy to fondle!

Oh, I thought there were more of them. Well, mostly rules out what I didn't want anyway

Well, In fact, how awesome would it be if you played as an asari or krogan that lived through the Rachni War AND the Krogan Rebellions? Also, @dean:

Hmm I see.

So, I finished it earlier today. Almost 53 hours, but only because I read the Codex entries and the planetary info on places I landed on.

360. I wish it had the triggers from the original Xbox, those required more pressure and had more travel distance. More latency, but they just felt better. I still remember when I first tried the 360 and squeezing the hell out of the triggers until I loosened up my grip a bit. Obviously, the dpad sucks, but I've played with some that are worse than others. I don't have too much trouble with mine. I think the Wiimote's dpad would be awesome on the 360 pad. I don't have trouble with the bumpers unless I'm at a friend's or I use the one that I... dropped... then they just don't work at all. I also like the weight of it. I like heavy things: pens, guitars, watches. For controllers, it all started with the N64 with the rumble pak. Slap a chatpad on a wireless 360 pad and I'm in heaven.

Not actual spoilers. I swear. Should I feel bad for making that connection?

Also possibly worth noting: a couple weeks ago, Chris Priestly, BW forum overlord, made a thread recommending players to first play as default Shepard and then as your custom Shepard so you can appreciate the references more. While it may have merit and some people could conceivably reach the same conclusion, now it just stinks of "we won't have face imports ready day 1, so it would be better if you play as a Shepard that got Wrex killed"

Yeah, I had to replay the demo just now to confirm. But in the demo, even though the option is there, Shepard never has a helmet on, (at least not in "off in conversation" mode). I'll definitely try it out in the full game, but I'd rather not be wearing a helmet while walking around in a space station where no violence at all goes on. From what I've read (haven't confirmed it myself), when you import a face from ME1 into ME2, you don't get a face code. You can try to edit your appearance before starting ME2, but it immediately uses one of the presets instead of the imported face, leaving a face code that doesn't represent your Shepard. Another issue seems to be is that certain features have been removed/changed for ME3. I tried making my Shep in the demo from memory, and I'm fairly certain the nose I used isn't in the character creator. I've seen hairstyles being changed as well. They have examples of these in this thread: http://social.biowar...47811/3#9249327 EDIT: spelling

Where'd you get this info? It doesn't look like anyone in that thread you linked is aware. It seems it was a bit of false hope. Page 43, towards the bottom, has a post from "The PLC" that explains it. Basically, some fansites reported a day 1 patch related to a character creator bug, which got hopes up. Then, other sites, like Joystiq, reported the xbox ME3 cloud save glitch, which may be what is being fixed by the day 1 patch. Since BioWare is not saying anything when asked specifically about a face created in ME1, most people in that thread agree that they just don't want to admit that a feature touted as a selling point for the trilogy is missing because 70% of players play default soldier male Shep anyways. There's still a tiny bit of the smell of the remains of hope. But I'd rather BW come out and tell us now that we can't than let me find out on Tuesday and be disappointed. EDIT: In ME1, (and I feel like such a nerd for doing this) I would toggle helmets on everyone during combat/missions and then toggle them all off in peaceful places. In ME2, I'd try to strike a balance between something that wouldn't cover my entire face since I couldn't toggle them anytime and something that was useful for my character. For my soldier, I used the Kuwashii visor for headshots and for my adept and engineer I used the Archon visor for reduced cooldowns.

The face code actually changed a bit as well. Even importing ME2 faces will possibly change your look a tiny bit, depending on which features your Shep has. I was going to edit my previous post, but might as well just leave it here. Looks like there will be a day 1 patch that will fix the aforementioned issue. Crisis averted?

So, I don't know how many people here will care, but signs point to the fact that any Shep with a face created in ME1 and not modified in ME2 cannot be imported into ME3. http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/323/index/9513640/1 Other than one supposed Bioware dev, in a forum other than BW's own, BW has not said anything about it. They simply repeat that your ME2 face can be imported to ME3 without specifying if that face has to be created in ME2 or not. Also, seems like one space edition owner has been unable to import his ME1-created Shep into ME3. My reaction: I know I won't be able to make a face I'm happy with again. Oh well.

You mean Guardian? I've also heard of people going for the hand that holds their weapon. I stick to the mail slot though. Especially since the Widow shoots right through the shield. Have I mentioned I like the Widow?

Well, some of the minor ones get mentioned in the Galaxy News Network or whatever while running around the Citadel. Overall, it won't make much of a difference. If you did plenty of assignments, I'm sure you'll get enough references to them that one or two extra won't add anything to the experience. I prefer the capacity expansion myself, relies on certainty rather than chance. Also, salarian infiltrator + cloak + Widow + headshots = win. Extra win if you get an asari adept to use stasis beforehand.

Great news. Trying to unlock customization options for a specific alien class was already rare enough considering less than 50% of the unlocks were in the demo.

Seriously. Even when I run out of ammo, I just spam powers inside the circle. Fortunately, I rarely play with randoms. And when I did Gold, our team got a full extraction.

Right, that's what I meant, the Two Steps From Hell song could have been replaced imo. Forgot about the bit in the beginning

As awesome as the trailer music was, I wonder why they didn't have Clint Mansell compose something or use something that's already in use for the game. We all know he can make amazing trailer music. EDIT: In fact, I wonder how long until someone edits Lux Aeterna into the video on youtube.

Dear God. I think I finally understand how Cartman felt. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnPZRRT-ZGw