And So It Begins...
I picked up and started Mass Effect 3 last night, which seems to have led to some strange dreams.
The game: I've only just barely gotten to the point of controlling the Normandy after the set prologue levels, as I didn't have it in me to stay up late even to play more. As I worried in the demo, the intro sets a shadow of pacing over everything even though the game sort of seems to want you to explore. There's no particularly justification this time for being able to choose a new look/build for an imported character - function over form. I've already been reunited with several figures from previous installments, which is one of the great charms of the series. I've had several previous exploits referenced and the plot of "Arrival" wasn't shoved down my throat. Most of the repercussions from the past seem to only have subtle effect so far, but the game does definitely make me feel like it remembers what I've done even if the impact isn't obviously huge at this point.
The one possible exception to that is the relationship with Liara. She was my romance option in ME1, but cool and sort of distant in ME2. Plus ME2 made Tali an available romance option. Now, starting ME3, there have been some scenes where a lingering attraction from Liara is definitely clear as she feels out whether my Shepard prefers her or Tali. Meanwhile, I'm left wondering where Tali'Zorah vas Normandy got off to in the intervening time (presumably back to the Flotilla again).
So we'll see how the pacing works in the long-term. My only actual complaint at this point is that the "manual" is in-game, and the game does a poor job of explaining some new gameplay concepts like weapon weight, war assets, galactic readiness, and exploring non-mission systems.
The dream: Which somehow led into Mass Effecty dreams from a viewpoint of a player, more or less. It was on the Citadel. I was wondering where Tali was. And some strange alien wearing her suit (sans helmet) showed up, causing some confusion. "Wait, that... can't be Tali," I thought. "Sure, we've never seen a quarian's face revealed on-screen, but this thing has four eyes and a head that could barely fit in one of those helmets if at all." And in the midst of this, the real Tali'Zorah shows up, without a quarian environmental suit, giving some reason for the deception to throw someone else off her trail while I was wondering how she was surviving... and I think there was more to it, but that's all that stayed with me.
The game: I've only just barely gotten to the point of controlling the Normandy after the set prologue levels, as I didn't have it in me to stay up late even to play more. As I worried in the demo, the intro sets a shadow of pacing over everything even though the game sort of seems to want you to explore. There's no particularly justification this time for being able to choose a new look/build for an imported character - function over form. I've already been reunited with several figures from previous installments, which is one of the great charms of the series. I've had several previous exploits referenced and the plot of "Arrival" wasn't shoved down my throat. Most of the repercussions from the past seem to only have subtle effect so far, but the game does definitely make me feel like it remembers what I've done even if the impact isn't obviously huge at this point.
The one possible exception to that is the relationship with Liara. She was my romance option in ME1, but cool and sort of distant in ME2. Plus ME2 made Tali an available romance option. Now, starting ME3, there have been some scenes where a lingering attraction from Liara is definitely clear as she feels out whether my Shepard prefers her or Tali. Meanwhile, I'm left wondering where Tali'Zorah vas Normandy got off to in the intervening time (presumably back to the Flotilla again).
So we'll see how the pacing works in the long-term. My only actual complaint at this point is that the "manual" is in-game, and the game does a poor job of explaining some new gameplay concepts like weapon weight, war assets, galactic readiness, and exploring non-mission systems.
The dream: Which somehow led into Mass Effecty dreams from a viewpoint of a player, more or less. It was on the Citadel. I was wondering where Tali was. And some strange alien wearing her suit (sans helmet) showed up, causing some confusion. "Wait, that... can't be Tali," I thought. "Sure, we've never seen a quarian's face revealed on-screen, but this thing has four eyes and a head that could barely fit in one of those helmets if at all." And in the midst of this, the real Tali'Zorah shows up, without a quarian environmental suit, giving some reason for the deception to throw someone else off her trail while I was wondering how she was surviving... and I think there was more to it, but that's all that stayed with me.