TheMightyEthan

Hmm, I saw that was free on Disney+ now and was thinking about watching it this weekend. Is it worth the time?

But if you're not enjoying it...

If you've finished the game why are you bothering looking for the Koroks? I found like 3 of them in that whole game and didn't feel like I was missing out.

Jesus, that's terrifying.

Still Mass Effect 3 I've realized that I never actually got the Omega or Leviathan DLCs back in the day, so those were completely new to me. I had thought that I'd played all the DLC for that game just like I had for the other two, but apparently I only got the Citadel DLC. Both of these were really good, like Lair of the Shadow Broker level good. Omega does exactly what great DLC should, expand on a little bit of the world, and basically be a big ass side question. Leviathan though, they really shouldn't have locked behind DLC. It's super good, but it also puts the whole primary conflict with the Reapers in an entirely different light. I think the main game would have really benefited from this being included, it ties into stuff that happens later, and would have fixed some of the problems people had with it just kind of pulling the ending out of nowhere. Dumb decision then, but since it's included in the LE now all is well. I'm actually really glad I never played these back in the day, because it let me recapture some of the feeling of playing these games for the very first time, and that's a wonderful thing.

It depends on the game, like I'm not going to give a shit if Pokemon Snap's ending doesn't pay off, but if the reason I'm playing the game is the story then a bad ending hits me largely the same way it would in a book or a movie. I mean, for Game of Thrones you could say the same thing, if you enjoyed watching all but the last few episodes then why does the bad ending matter? *Edit - And I'm not saying even the original ending completely ruined the series, or even ruined ME3, I'm just saying that the ending has a disproportionate effect on your overall feelings about the game. So a bad ending will make you feel worse about the game overall than if there was something equally bad in the middle but the ending paid off. If the very last thing I feel about your game is disappointment that's going to color my memories of everything else. Same thing if the very last thing I feel is awe, or even just satisfaction.

Yeah, that's not the kind of thing I'm talking about, though it's nice when it's there. I just mean a cutscene or something that shows a little bit of the aftermath of what happened. Like the scene in ME1 after the final battle where they're digging through the wreckage and find the squad and then you have a short conversation with the council, or the short little conversation with the Illusive Man after the suicide mission in ME2. Just something to show the results of what happened, instead of a hard cut the instant the final confrontation is over, it doesn't have to let you go back out into the world. The original ME3 ending was like if Return of the King just cut to credits as soon as the Ring was destroyed (though RotK has the opposite problem of having way too much epilogue, but that's a whole separate issue). I've heard other people say "if you like the first 95% of the game why does it matter?" and I don't really know how to explain it to someone like that, because that's just such an alien viewpoint to me. Like, in something so story-heavy, the end is the most important part, because it's the part your players are left with. You've gotta stick the landing, otherwise you've undone all the work you did getting players so invested in the first place. You can't just build tension up to its height and then cut it off, that's supremely unsatisfying, you have to have the release. But like I said, they added those little vignettes with the end update for ME3, so I think now that I can play a full playthrough from the beginning with that updated ending already there, and without still having the disappointment of the original jarring hard cut ending fresh in my mind, I'll like it a lot more.

Yeah, those people are tools.

Both, I don't want it to eat Horizon's lunch again, and also I'm extremely excited for both of them and don't want them both dropping on me at the same time. Also, BAN HIM!!!!!!111!!1!!

That's definitely not the only thing people complain about, though I know some people do. The choice thing doesn't even bother me, the end just felt so damned abrupt. Playing it the first time at launch it was like a punch in the gut. It'd be like if ME1 just did a hard cut to credits as soon as Sovereign was destroyed. You need to have that little bit of wrap-up showing the aftermath of what happened. The updated ending adds that, and I was reasonably satisfied with it at the time, but it was soon enough after the initial disappointment that it couldn't really wash that taste out of my mouth. I'm hoping now that there's a good bit of distance I'll just be completely satisfied with it.

Yep, I think Halo 2 got a couple of multiplayer map packs, but nothing story related. From what I understand basically due to development problems Halo 2 ended up only having Acts 1 and 2 of their planned 3-act story, and act 3 got pushed into Halo 3. That's definitely what it feels like.

Mass Effect 3 Legendary Edition Hmm, apparently I forgot to share thoughts on Mass Effect 2 while I was playing.... Oh well. The fact that I basically 100%'d it in 38 hours over only 8 days should tell you all you need to know. I'm about 8 hours into this one and it still seems like I'm right at the beginning. It's so good. Ending aside, I think this is my favorite game of the series. It really feels like there's stakes, and every place you visit feels like it's really being affected by the larger galactic civilization. I especially love how every single sidequest contributes to your galactic readiness, so even the random ass little "help this person" type things feel like they're feeding into your overall goal. It's really amazingly well done. I'll be interested to see how playing with the updated ending and being several years removed from the initial disappointment of the original ending affects my feelings about it.

Yeah, Halo 2 has the worst ending of any game ever. It doesn't so much end as just stop. Can you imagine playing that at launch and not even knowing when Halo 3 was coming out? It was awful.

I just hope BotW2 isn't right on top of it again.

Mass Effect 2: Legendary Edition I want to preface what I'm about to say with the comment that this is a great game, one of the best games of the PS360 generation, and it still holds up today. That said, I've finally figured out why it's my least favorite Mass Effect game, when mechanically and technically it's better than ME1 in every single way: the plot structure. The way ME2 is set up, most of the "main" missions feel like side quests, and there are only like 3-4 missions that truly feel like part of the main plot. The whole dirty dozen set up is cool, and all of the companion missions are great, but the way it's all organized means the game doesn't really have much of an overall flow to the plot. But again, still a fantastic game, and Lair of the Shadow Broker is still probably the best (non-expansion) DLC I've ever played. Arrival is up there too. (Pro-tip: save Arrival for the very last thing you do, it's a perfect segue from 2 to 3). 5/5

At 35 hours I'm assuming you didn't get the platinum?

Oh wow, that's gorgeous.

We tried! ? And yeah, you're right about the remastered graphics being too busy on the alien architecture (especially the doors in Assault on the Control Room), the later games definitely aren't like that. 343 definitely learned their lesson though, because the remastered graphics in H2A are much closer to the original style. I just realized that H1A was released for the 10th anniversary, and this year is the 10th anniversary of the remaster... Maybe they'll remaster it again with a style more true to the original vision. ?

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition This game is just so wonderful, and it holds up surprisingly well. The changes they've made are (for the most part) subtle enough to still feel like you remember, while fixing some of the jankiness of the original. It's obviously an old game, but it doesn't feel as old as I would have expected, and the story is as great as it ever was. I highly recommend it to anyone who already loves Mass Effect, as well as anyone who's interested but never gotten into it. 5/5

Mass Effect Legendary Edition This game is such comfort food. The changes they've made to the first one are subtle enough that it still feels like you remember it, while not being nearly as clunky. I'm super impressed with how well it holds up. I can't wait to get to 2 and 3.

Yeah, I don't normally go for musou either, but I liked Age of Calamity enough that I got P5S too.

I'm breaking these up by company, but I'm still counting points if I get it right, just not in the right presentation (like P5R coming to Xbox being in a Sega presentation rather than the MS one). Sony PS5 sold so great! We're winning the generation! Horizon Zero Dawn - gameplay reveal; release date announcement; release August/September this year God of War - something in-game, possibly actual gameplay, possibly just an in-engine trailer; release date/window announcement; release November/December this year (or Q4 if they just give a window) At least one new IP announcement/tease from the ~12 or so they said they have in development The Last of Us Part 2 PS5 version detailed Something about PSVR2, even if just a mention Something major getting a PC port Microsoft (I'm rolling Bethesda into here even though they said their presentations will be separate) Series S/X sold so great! We're winning the generation! Halo Infinite - gameplay re-reveal; release date announcement; release November 11 or 12 (Thursday or Friday before the 20th anniversary of Xbox/Halo: CE), possibly Monday November 15 (the actual anniversary) Forza Horizon 5 - announcement; in-game trailer; release this fall Something major from Bethesda that we haven't seen, possibly Starfield in-game trailer Some 3rd party AAA game coming to Gamepass day-one later in the year Some 3rd party AAA game (possibly old-ish) coming to Gamepass "today" (the day of the conference), "so go play it now!" A bunch more games getting FPS boost Persona 5 Royal for Xbox Nintendo Breath of the Wild 2 - gameplay/in-game trailer; release date/window; release this fall More Zelda 35th anniversary stuff - WWHD & TPHD Switch ports; Link to the Past remake a la the Link's Awakening one (this is mostly wishful thinking on my part) Switch Pro - announcement; details; 4k when docked (via DLSS); release date; release this fall SMTIV EA Something new from Respawn, possibly Jedi Fallen Order 2 Dragon Age 4 SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORTS! Ubisoft Far Cry 6 - gameplay; release date Details on that f2p Division game Mario vs. Rabbids 2 (more wishful thinking on my part) ActiBlizzion Blah blah, Call of Duty, blah blah, Hearthstone, blah blah, Call of Duty, blah blah, Call of Duty Sega/Atlus Possibly the P5R and SMTIV announcements here instead of MS/Nintendo New Sonic game (possibly Mania 2 or something in that style) Something Total War More Atlus games coming to PC Squenix Avengers roadmap FF16 Capcom REmake 4 General Lots of next-gen upgrades for existing games

With E3 less than a month away, I'd say now's the time to start with our predictions. I have a feeling, not sure why, that this year is going to be a little disrupted compared to normal, so it'll be harder to predict, which should make this a little more fun.

I was thinking I wasn't going to be able to get the platinums in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, because they have trophies for beating them on Insanity, which nothankyou.jpg. But, it turns out they put all of those, plus the paramour ones, in the trophy list for the collection as a whole, so you can still get the individual game plats without doing those.