on Mass Effect

[xparrot]

For years now, whenever I complained about the lack of space opera on TV (which is every other month or so - and right now is more just "why are there no shows in space at all, argh?!" - but glorious sprawling epic multi-world culture-clashing space opera is my joy) my brother's answer has always been, "PLAY MASS EFFECT!"

So last month I finally did. And now I'm a couple hours away from beating the third game, and. Yeah. This is where the space opera has gone, and it is amazing. (Doesn't hurt that of all ME's influences - which range from Star Wars to Niven's Known Space - the strongest might be my beloved Babylon 5.) Being a game, it has elements in common with both visual and literary scifi - while it has the cinematics like TV and movies, it also has a ton of background text that fleshes out the universe, explaining details of aliens and technology in a way TV can only do in tie-in books. And yes, I'm one of those geeks who has to read the entire Codex.

And it's worth it! The alien species are fascinating, and not just in the character designs - though those are great, being a video game they aren't limited to humans in makeup. (Actually the aliens look better than the humans, who tend to live in that point in the uncanny valley where their fixed-plastic features don't quiiiiiiite ruin the dramatic scenes, but it's close.) All the species have distinct, complex cultures, and the story manages that difficult trick of having alien characters who are representative of their species, and yet are also unique individuals - their personalities are shaped by the societies they were raised in, but not determined by them. So Garrus is very obviously a turian in how he thinks and acts, and yet as he admits himself he's not a very good turian. (Turians tend to be about law and order; Garrus has the "order" part down great but gets really impatient with the "law", when it's so much faster to just shoot the bad guys...)(To the surprise of no one who has ever met me, read my stuff, or been in the same city as me, Garrus is one of my favorite characters - which I knew would be true before I even played the games - but when it comes to morality I agree with him pretty much never.) And the krogan deserve special mention for being possibly the most interesting "warrior race" I've seen in any space opera - I'm usually bored by that trope, but the krogan were not what I was expecting. (I'd heard of them a little because Urdnot Wrex is the brother's favorite character; he laments the lack of a romance option. I can't blame him, I'd love to see how that would play out!) (Though I'm maybe the only ME fan whose favorite species ended up being the salarians. I don't know, I just love them, with their fast chatter and adorable salamander eyes. Also, Mordin! Mordin is an amazing character, an ethics-obsessed mad scientist pushes buttons I didn't even know I had.)

It's also an neat exploration of using a game as a storytelling medium. The advantage of storytelling with games is that they're so immersive; by the nature of game-playing you identify with the protagonists more than just about any other medium. Mass Effect uses this, among other things, to explore questions of morality - you're not just watching characters struggle with ethical decisions, but are making them yourself, personally. And the writers are very skilled at setting up complicated situations without clear right or wrong answers. Sometimes the game will give you a 'hero' type option that you can save everything - but for a lot of the big stuff there isn't any easy solution. (The brother and I spent a good couple of hours arguing about the whole krogan genophage situation...)

Conversely, Mass Effect wouldn't really work as a movie or TV show - or at least would be a significantly different experience. Not the least of which because Shepard, the protagonist, is so dependent on how you play them. Shepard is definitely not me; the character has an innate core however they're played (primarily, that they don't understand the concept of "fear". Even in abstract. Shepard's default reaction to facing civilization-destroying godlike monsters is to grab the nearest firearm and run straight toward them until close enough to do damage). But my Shepard, this hawk-nosed hard-ass heroine (I've been playing like 99% paragon, not intentionally, it's just how I go), isn't quite like anyone else's. (I don't know yet if I'll be able to read ME fic, because while the other chars are consistent and I really like a lot of them, the different Shepards might trip me up.)

And yeah, a ton's already been written about the gender dynamics in Mass Effect and the intentional and unintentional effects of making the hero's gender irrelevant to most of the story, I've got nothing to bring to that discussion - but I gotta say, it's really satisfying to see a woman saving the galaxy, no questions asked. That Shepard is a human, yeah, that raises a few intragalactic eyebrows; but the only time Shepard's sex matters in the story is in the choice of romantic partners.

(Mass Effect isn't perfect on the equality front. It's definitely trying, and even some things like the asari, who are obviously someone's blue alien women fetish, are handled a lot better than they could be. But on the other hand there's annoying stuff like how you never actually see a female turian (except apparently in the downloadable content) - even though the codex and some dialogue makes it clear that female turians serve in the military same as the males, and it's implied that they're a mostly egalitarian society. At least with the krogan and the salarians there are biological reasons why you only meet a couple of females.)

Now I just gotta do the final missions (and yeah, I've been warned about the end...which I'm already pre-emptively frustrated by, because otherwise ME3 has been my favorite of the series, the gameplay's the most streamlined but more importantly there is just SO MUCH awesome character stuff. I love all your crew talking to each other, gaaah so funny and sweet! And also a lot of the little side conversations that you keep hearing in passing have been sucking me in, I've spent a lot of time running around the Citadel going back and forth to make sure I get the whole story...)

Comments

[sheliana.livejournal.com]

Do you have the Extended Cut DLC that's supposed to be free of charge? It does make the endings more palatable, though some of the frustration still remains.

Also, THE CITADEL DLC! The best, most enjoyable piece of gaming I've ever seen, full of Team goodness, humor, action, memes, and fanservice in the best sense of the word.

If you never feel like penning fic in this universe, I will die happy. Just saying.:)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

The brother refuses to get the extended cut DLC until after I've beaten the game once - he insists I have to endure the pain of the ending just as he did! :P (actually he's been saying that there is a point near the end that he will tell me to turn the game off and just imagine my own ending, as it'll be better than what I'll see. But he knows I won't. Will probably be doing that tonight...)

And I've been eying the Citadel DLC anyway but eeeee if it's got Team-ness, must haaaaaaaave!

...was that "never feel" or "ever feel"? Either way, I have to see how the end goes, I definitely can 'hear' these characters...(warning that if I did, I'd be writing Garrus. I am so predictable sometimes XD)

[sheliana.livejournal.com]

Your brother is cruel!:)

I'd say the Citadel DLC, along with the Extended Cut, Lair of the Shadow Broker, and From the Ashes, is an absolute must-have. It's basically a huge love letter to ME fans. The other DLCs are also good, but these four are essential (and From the Ashes should have been part of the original game, given how much it does to enhance the main story).

Garrus is my favorite, so seeing one of my favorite fic writers' take on him would be so awesome! (and that was definitely 'ever feel', LOL!)

You should try the Dragon Age series next(if you haven't already played it, that is)! It's made by the same developing company, and it's just as rich a universe as ME, just as full of complex moral dilemmas. And the characters are amazing!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Ahhhhh so the question is, should I get these DLC now (provided I can convince the bro to get them...he's the one with the account and all. Given how he loves these games, I don't suspect it will be very hard. And he's been curious about From Ashes and the Citadel DLC (and the Omega one because he loves Aria)) - but if I get them, should I play them before I play the end, or play the end and then go back...hmmmmm...

I haven't played DA yet, but my sister loves those as much as ME and has been pushing me to play, soooo...we'll see! (I actually might know more about DA because Gnine has talked about them quite a bit...she's something of a Fenris/Anders shipper, so...!)

[sheliana.livejournal.com]

The DLCs are so good that I'd say play them now (but then again, if you play them after the end of the game, they might ameliorate the frustration somewhat, so...) Continuity-wise, they should all be played before the end, of course. Citadel should be played once you've gathered all your team and met all the important characters from your previous teams, otherwise you'll miss out on some very fun stuff (so basically, it's better to play it after Horizon/assault on the Cerberus base). Some fans play it after the endings and say they pretend that Citadel is the *real* ending.:)

I think From Ashes is actually a really necessary addition to the game, and many fans are rightfully pissed this was released as a DLC (seriously, the amount of important story/characterization bits it includes is *huge*, and it provides a unique perspective on the story as a whole, destroying many assumptions and shedding light on many mysteries). Also, I forgot to mention it, but the Leviathan DLC is also pretty important story-wise, and I'd very much recommend it as well.

DA is amazing, especially the last game in the series. The world-building, the characters, the humor... And Fenris/Anders, heh! You could not find a more explosive combination!

[doctorskuld.livejournal.com]

I'm really, really glad that you enjoyed/are enjoying Mass Effect. I agree with the chorus that says the ending is horrible, but OH MAN, the journey to get there was fantastic. I was really satisfied with how it unfolded by and large, and I love how it didn't really do that much that was new but was simply an excellent synthesis of all the space opera influences on our culture so far.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Heh - I admit, one of the things that made me want to play the games was because every gamer I know was utterly disappointed by the ending - and yet everyone still says the games are worth playing. Which, yeah, they are, I have absolutely been loving them (am dragging my heels playing the end, tbh, I want to know and yet I don't...)

And yes! The games are clearly by people who love space opera, the whole thing is an ode to so many great sources. I love how the universe feels familiar, and yet it's not a direct rip-off of anything. (I also have to admit, the one thing it did that I haven't seen before, that I didn't see coming and really enjoyed - in the first game, the reveal that it was the Reapers, not the Protheans, who built the Mass Relays and the Citadel, and you realize, IT'S A TRAP - that was so clever, because ancient technology from a bygone advanced species is such a staple of the genre that it never occurred to me to question it. But then it makes so much more sense, why the Citadel would've survived intact for so long...brilliant playing on expectations there!

[sheron]

So basically what you're saying is I should play this game. XD

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

If you like video games and/or space opera, yes, yes you should! There's a reason why it's considered one of the best of the genre (of either RPGs or space opera). Due warning that it is a trilogy, and each game is something like 25-35 hours long, so it's as much a commitment as getting into a 5-season TV show...

[sheron]

I love RPGs. I've played and really enjoyed DA, which I think is the same company? The only reason I haven't played Mass Effect is because the description states it's a "shooter" and I'm not into that... However if it's more of an RPG (space opera \o/ ) then I would definitely give it a chance.

[gnine.livejournal.com]

Just jumping in here, but if you've played DA (especially the second and third ones) they are by the same company and the combat is quite similar, so if you had no problem with DA, you should adapt pretty quickly to ME. And it is so soooo worth it! So so good! Especially if you have any interest in space opera in the slightest, it's kind of a must! ^^

[sheron]

Thanks! Yes, I love all three DA games (although I play a mage, and not sure how that would translate to guns...?) so I will try it. All three ME games were on sale for $14 so I, uh, bought them last night. :-)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I haven't played DA (yet) but Gnine says that if you play a biotic in ME, it works pretty much just like mages do in DA (biotics in ME attack with telekinetic blasts and things. In the first game using the powers is a bit awkward but by the third game I was playing all-biotics and some fights I hardly fired my gun at all...!)

But either way the combat in ME is maaaaybe 50% of the game, the rest is running around talking to people - it's very much an RPG that uses the shooter style as the combat (unlike Halo or something). And speaking as someone who is not very good with shooters, it's very playable (among other things, you can change the difficulty of the combat at any time - I do it mid-battle on occasion, usually I play on Normal but lower it if I start getting annoyed with dying; and the later games have a "Narrative" combat setting if you really don't care about the shooting and just want the story...) Hope you enjoy it as much as I am! :D

[pink-dragon22.livejournal.com]

Uh, hi! New 'friend' of yours, hope you don't mind me commenting! I was wondering if you'd finished Mass Effect yet, and what your thoughts on the ending were? I swear I could talk about ME all day. All the alien races fascinate me, and I totally understand the loving of salarians.

I also will throw in my recommendation for the Citadel DLC. Honestly the most fun I've ever had playing a game, and if you like the banter in ME3 you will LOVE the Citadel banter :)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Heeeee I started playing the Citadel DLC last night and it is amazing~~ OMG, having your entire team on a mission, why can't it be like that all the time? With all of them snarking at each other, that was beautiful...I'm going to need to play it again just to catch all the dialogue flying back and forth.

I did finish the game as well - actually got the extended ending by accident, so was not nearly as disappointed as expected (actually what makes me most disappointed by the ending is that it pretty much rules out making a sequel game, unless they just choose one ending to go with, since they're all so different.) I should write up a post on it...

(and I don't mind the comment at all - I don't post as much on my lj as I mean to but I love comment conversations when I do!)

[sheliana.livejournal.com]

They're making a 4th game in the series right now! I have no idea whether it's going to be a direct continuation of the first trilogy,though. But I do know it won't be about Shepard.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

From what my brother has heard, ME4 is going to be set concurrent with the main trilogy? So it may sidestep the issue of the ending. I'm dying for more of the universe, I admit, but at the same time, Shepard! my crew! waaaah I miss them already!

[julii-wolfe.livejournal.com]

THANK YOU FOR THE REC.

I've played 1 & 2 a few times, but I haven't rolled my way all the way through 3 yet. Partially because I was afraid I'd be disappointed by the story and partially because of life.

YOU WILL BE MY INSPIRATION TO GO BACK INTO GAME PLAY.

(I looooovveeeee space soap operas!)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Hee, you're welcome! :D

I just put up a looooong post on this - which you may want to avoid as it's got spoilers for all the games - but short version is, while I do think the end is weak compared to the rest of the games, the extended cut makes it just that, weak, instead of outrageously frustrating; and the rest of the game is so worth it! (and if you like the characters at all you owe it to yourself to get the Citadel DLC, it is 5+ hours of outrageous crew antics!)