LlamaLAN

I'd heard many good things about Mass Effect but went nowhere near it. Not until it was on sale on Steam for under a fiver and a certain person suggested I consider it. I am thankful for this advice because Mass Effect is a lovingly crafted game with a well developed story arc in a richly detailed galaxy. It sports a truly organic feel to its character development and general flow, you feel like the choices you make from the biggest act to the smallest conversation are shaping your progression and relationships somehow.

And it even has the voice of Lance Henriksen in there.

Mass Effect 2 is out in a few days apparently. If it isn't an abysmal failure they intend to make a third as a complete trilogy (which they'd planned from the first, which you can tell by the way the first game ends.) Till then, I've just discovered that there are two downloadable packs for the first Mass Effect. "Bring Down the Sky" and "Pinnacle Station".

I've not tried any of this yet as I've just found the links. It seems Bring down the Sky is free...

http://masseffect.bioware.com/me1/galac ... ky_pc.html

While EA want us to pay (albeit not very much) for Pinnacle Station from their EAStore. No thanks!

Whoever's played Mass Effect will know how character creation works; you can set his/her psychological profile and even customise their appearance. So to finish off, here's my (non chiselled American) version of Commander "Bruce" Shepard, off on some mission somewhere important!

The only problem I have is driving the damn Mako.
But yes. It's a beautiful game. :3

Have you by any chance read the accompanying books?
They are also very very good. D: Same guy who wrote the stuff for the game did them - Drew Karpyshyn I think is how you spell it...
Well worth checking out.

Well, this is quite cool...

Q: How does the save import work?

• If you played Mass Effect 1, and kept your save game files, you will be able to continue your progress in Mass Effect 2.

Q: So what exactly is carried over from Mass Effect 1? I had a Level 60 with specter gear?

• The decisions, actions, and plot states you created in Mass Effect 1 will persist in Mass Effect 2. Additionally other factors such as your character level will grant you certain bonuses as well. If you acquired a high level of currency you will start Mass Effect 2 with a small boost to your starting income. Additionally if you completed the game as a paragon or renegade, a fraction of that alignment will persist into Mass Effect 2. This is designed to help give players who went the extra mile in Mass Effect 1 a quantitative boost in Mass Effect 2.

From http://masseffect.bioware.com/info/faq/ ... banner/en/

I'd like to begin this post with...

'DAMN YOU YAZOR!'

I am playing Mass Effect 2, ok. Bioware have done the best ever thing for a game franchise. Everything is persistant. I thought it stopped at what was said in the above post, and the summary you are presented with when choosing a character to import to ME2. Every choice I made in the first game, even the little ones I didn't think were too important, has had an effect on this sequel. The persistant character thing (evidently not just my own!!), with the persistancy of the outcomes of my every decision, from how I talk to people to what I choose to do in life/death situations, is now an even bigger issue. I've learned that there's a chance that the romantic interest of Bruce Shepard may reignite in Mass Effect 3 if I do not persue a romantic interest to its finish in Mass Effect 2.

Do you know what this means!? It means I have to actually think like a real person and bear in mind all these people I would consider important if it were real. Except, because of this, I am now actually caring about these people and my decisions as if they WERE real. I'm sitting here and a rather less-than-ideal encounter with a character from the first game, and a subsequent personal message to my captain's personal console, is still going through my mind as a result!

I tell people off for caring too much about people in soap operas because they're all fictional. And here I am, in the same trap...

Bioware have done an amazing thing. I am actually emotionally involved in this story and especially its characters. Darn you all!

There is another way to look at all this of course...

You could revel in that fact you can be a complete and utter git and enjoy it! What's the worst that can happen?

Don't get me wrong - I am loving that a work of fiction has actually managed to grab my attention to the same degree Braid had previously. It fully deserves the praise it gets but I'm not sure this whole persistant personal story has received enough attention from its reviewers! It means you don't only have the option of playing each game through again and make different choices but the entire series. That's quite an achievement.

I do have an 'utter git' character that I started in the first game. I fully intend to take her through this process and see what the outcomes are later!