Soooo....Mass Effect 3

[Jester]

If you were a big fan of Mass Effect 2, does it not trouble your argument that it was entirely produced on EA's watch?

I enjoyed Mass Effect 2, don't get me wrong, but it was pretty easy to see the influence of EA on the game. A lot of the customizability that Bioware has normally included was gone, and it felt more like Gears of War than it did the first Mass Effect. EA also has the tendency to milk/bleed as much out of its customers as possible, evidenced by the absurd DLC prices. If you look at Bioware games before EA and after EA, you'll see a steep decrease in overall quality.

So, yes, I enjoyed Mass Effect 2 despite the fact that it could have been so much more had EA not been involved.

I think you're assuming causes that aren't necessarily the case. You've constructed a counter-factual out of wishful thinking - that somehow, there was a better, Bioware-driven ME2, that was messed up by EA's influence. I don't think you have any cause to believe that, except by the bluntest of reasoning. Do you actually know what impact EA has had at Bioware? Or are you just guessing, based on what you think about EA?

When I go back to ME1 and 2 (and I've finished both games more than once in the last two months), the thing that drives me craziest is the inventory in ME1. The customization is worth almost nothing in terms of gameplay, but takes enormous amounts of time. How much omni-gel do I need, exactly? Why do I need eight choices of manufacturer, distinguished only by a sliding bar of stats? A couple of choices of weapons plus ammo powers is a much more sensible way to approach the problem.

The shooter aspects play so much better in ME2, it's almost comical - if the way in which Mass Effect distinguishes itself from Gears of War is by having crappier shooting mechanics, then that's a terrible thing. And that's coming from someone who hates Gears of War, and loves Mass Effect.

I don't think you do see a steep decrease in overall quality. I think you see one low point - DA2 - and business as usual otherwise.

-Jester