Gamerscore Blog

There is no evolution benefit with having 4 eyes and 4 noses that close to each other.

Well you could say that mutation has been behind it,and carried over to a succesful batarians,but come on Bioware,make better aliens then that...

I think, much like the spiders, multiple eyes could allow them to see incoming threats more quickly.

The same could be said for multiple noses.  Maybe some of the noses are toxic-detection, and some are for pleasure.

It's interesting how story centric games will handle DLC. Do you integrate it into the main story (like Mass Effect), make it a side quest or do it as an epilogue. Heck, it could even be mini-prequel.

While I like new multiplayer maps, I'm hoping that more of the games I like to play will add new chapters. I'd stay up late to download new campaign levels of Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Gears of War (though I did manage to play the PC exclusive Brumac level) and Halo 3.

An Arbiter solo mission would've been a cool add-on.

Definately would like a solo arbiter mission for H3.

I sort of wish the "bring down the sky" bit could be accessed straight from the title screen; I don't think I'll have a save point in the right place.

It's a retarded limitation of the Mass Effect's architecture and it frustrates me to no end. It's not open-ended, even though it should be. Tycho at Penny-Arcade said it best:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/2008/03/12

"BioWare just delivered the first downloadable content for Mass Effect, an encounter with the hated Batarians that clocks in at five bucks and delivers an interactive, movie-length experience. It's the first of a handful of such updates, I'm sure, but I doubt I'll be buying any of them - and I liked Mass Effect.

The trouble with this content is that it can't really be enjoyed by people who have beaten the game. I could go back, certainly, to some previous save, but unless I wanted to move on from there and beat the game again I'd lose anything I had earned in it. It seemed to me when I was playing it that each of the major worlds one went to - and they could often be visited out of order - felt exactly like an episode of Star Trek, Feros especially. I firmly believe that Episodic would have been an incredible opportunity for this content, and I can't imagine why "final saves" aren't eligible for it. Well, I can imagine it - this is most likely content excised from the original retail product, either for sale as downloadable content or because it wasn't complete. In either case, its reintroduction would introduce discontinuities. It seems like a tremendous missed opportunity, though: available from the main menu, these chewy hunks of content could flesh out the universe, laying the groundwork for the sequel. Making the year between games an episodic "season" is a perfect match for their science fiction homage."

I wish Mass Effect would be patched to allow for random exploration after the main story has been completed.

Well, after you've finished the game there's really no reason to go back and explore what you've finished.  Unless you didn't do any side missions.  The way I play Mass Effect, i do all the side missions when they become available so once i'm done with the game, there's nothing to go back and explore, there's no need to, i've been there/done that.

I do however have a save on the Normandy at the point where I would be flying to Ilos to go into the point of no return.  So my character has everything and has explored everything up to that point.  After this point, there are no side quests to do.  So i was able to do this new DLC and that was that.

Now i'm asking myself what do i do now?  There's not really any point in finishing out the game again.  There's nothing to go back and do.  So i pretty much played it just to check it out and get 50 achievement points.

I've started a new game with a brand new character and will hit this asteroid fairly soon to get the extra item choice at the end to make playign through the rest of the game yet to be explored more fun.  But overall if you've already done everything in the game and load up an old save, after playing the DLC there's not anything else to do unless you feel like ending the game and restarting a new one with your new trinket.  But i can't imagine why someone would want to unless they're just a Mass Effect fanatic which... i do have a friend who has played through it 8 times now.

Quez, you're assuming that the planet a 4-eyed creature evolved on are subject to the same basic physical laws as land-dwelling Earthlings...   Oh, ya, and it's a *game*.    

Personally, I normally go through the main quest, then, if I'm still enjoying the game, I'll do the side missions.  This works really well in a game like Oblivion that is a truly open ended world.

From a narrative point of view, I can understand the restriction - I mean why, after learning of what is to come, would a hero bother going around locating lost aliens, when there's a whole universe to save.  Having said that, from a playability point of view, either the world should have been left open for exploration, or the DLC should be accessable from the main menu.

Having said all that, I'm looking forward to a second Mass Effect playthough.

Fickle, aren't I? :P