Mass Effect 3 has been out barely two weeks and has already caused three seperate outrages among the gaming community. Good going?
Not to say that the game is bad. In fact, overall it’s fantastic. Check out our Review here.
Cracking Ace gives it a four out of five. The main reason for the lower score being the controversies surrounding it (and a couple of other minor niggles).
Here’s a look at what those three controversies are and how we feel about them…
Online Pass
This is something that is becoming increasingly common in gaming lately. Production companies, in order to secure themselves more revenue, are holding back sections of game for new buyers only.
In this case, the multiplayer part of the game is only accessible through the online store purchased using a code which comes in new copies of the game or for the lions share of £10.
I remember a time long ago, that when games were on shop shelves, they were a complete product. There were no post-release patches to fix bugs that were glossed over to meet a deadline. There were no missing sections intended to be brought out later on in special editions and most importantly, everyone who bought the game were entitled to the same product.
Many gamers enjoy buying games, finishing them and then selling them on or trading them in to help fund their next purchase. With these online passes that now becomes -not impossible, but a much less desirable thing to do. Essentially, a person who buys a new game from a retailer gets a complete package: the game and the online content included via code. The person that they sell it on to only gets the game.
This does not happen in any other type of media. If you buy a book and sell it on, you don’t tear out a few chapters. If you buy a DVD and sell it, you don’t delete the audio commentary. If you buy a house and sell it, you don’t demolish the garden!
The decision by game producers to include online passes is simply destroying the second-hand market. This market exists because people may not be able to afford the £40 – £50 pricetag placed on brand new games or they may just be smart enough to save a few pennies and wait til they can get it cheaper.
We live in what is meant to be a free market. This means that we should be able to buy things for what we think they are worth. The companies ask £50 and we say ‘no, we’d rather spend £20. We’re on minimum wage and can’t afford that insane price’.
The online pass tactic tends to force people who would otherwise be waiting a year or so before buying for £20 to pay an extra £10 to get the complete product. It’s corporate greed and shows a lack of care for the customer.
The other side of the blade is that some gamers do not actually have their consoles linked to the internet. This may come as a shock in this age of technology, but it is true.
In these cases, they may well have bought a fresh new copy on the day of release but are not allowed access to certain features simply because their home set-up is not adequate.
Granted, in the case of Mass Effect 3, the missing component is the online multiplayer mode, so not having internet access will be a hindrance either way, but it is not always the way with all games. Remember Arkham City? Where the Catwoman sections were only available with an online pass? No internet connection is needed for a one player game!
These online passes only serve as a punishment to those who are unwilling to part with large amounts of money to play a game that may only last a week or so or otherwise those who simply can not use them for one reason or another.
The other headache caused by online passes are the inevitable batch of codes that are faulty. You may buy a new game and attempt to redeem the included code, only to be told that the code is invalid or has already been used. This then requires you to get online to try and find a contact email or phone number of the game company (harder than it sounds) and try to get your message through while countless others do the same.
If you do get your message through, you may be left waiting before you get a response, which in some cases is a ‘no’ or a request for more hassle on your part in having to take photos of your game, your reciepts and your invalid code, uploading them and sending them on. At which point you will have to wait again for a response.
At this stage the lucky ones get a code and are able to begin playing the game they bought a few days back. The unlucky ones will either still be refused OR get another invalid code, meaning the cycle must start again.
In short… online passes need to be stopped. And stopped right now.
Day One DLC
I’m not talking about the patch that was released on Day One to fix some overseen bugs. Though that is a mild pain and yet another sign of the the producers rushing a game so it can meet a deadline, the main problem was something else.
A note on that. Gamers don’t usually mind a release date being postponed a little if it means that the game they can buy will actually work!
Again, releasing an incomplete product means that those who have no internet access are stuck with a half finished game.
The controversy however is the ‘From Ashes’ DLC that came with the Collectors Edition of the game or is available in the online network stores.
Similar to the online pass problems, this is an extra part of the game that is not included as standard and requires gamers to fork out more cash to get.
The rub is, the ‘From Ashes’ section was made alongside the main game (evidenced by being released at the same time!) and was quite probably originally intended to be a part of the main game.
The DLC includes two missions and a bonus Prothean squad mate. Normally I would say that mentioning the Prothean squad mate might be a spoiler, but since it is all over the advertising I’m fairly certain people are aware of it. Another nice move there, revealing a huge surprise that a member of an extinct race is still alive and willing to join you in the war against the Reapers! All they needed to say was you get a surprise bonus squadmate. That would have been enough.
Besides this, the DLC is advertised as offering two missions. This is something of a cheat. It actually gives only you one mission that has a small sub-mission within it. The sub-mission involves simply looking at three computer terminals. Hardly worth the extra few pounds.
Open this spoiler section to see why I think ‘From Ashes’ was likely a part of the main game and not originally intended as DLC.
Regarding DLC and Online Passes, Nintendo agree. Top dogs at the company Reggie Fils-Aime and Satoru Iwata have both made comments on this type of thing:
“We’re unwilling to sell is a piece of game upfront and, if you will, force a consumer to buy more later. That’s what they don’t want to do, and I completely agree. I think the consumer wants to get, for their money, a complete experience, and then we have opportunities to provide more on top of that.”
Reggie
“In terms of that priority (DLC), we cannot, and should not, ask our consumers to embrace the situation where they are required to make excessive payments. Doing such things might be goof for short-term profit, but it will not serve our mid-term and long-term business developments.”
Iwata
If the ‘From Ashes’ DLC wasn’t enough, bonus DLC is available with the series action figures. With each figure bought you get some bonus gear for your multiplayer game.
The pattern was seen with the Guitar Hero franchise. Early days were great. Complete games with full tracklists were released. Later on however, the games required players buy more and more to get the full enjoyment. More instruments and more songs meant more money gone.
Eventually, this was it’s downfall. People want their moneys worth, they do not want to keep paying out to get something that they paid for to begin with.
As far as DLC goes, especially with its pricetag, game companies are simply not giving enough any more.
Before the days of online network stores, games did have Expansion Packs. These were worthwhile. Usually they came out a year or so later than the original game and added a substantial amount to the gameplay, sometimes even doubling the size of the game.
Recent DLC packs that offer a half hour of extra play are just a rip off.
And costume packs? For money? Is that a joke? That’s the sort of thing that should be unlocked by completing a challenging level!
So… let’s see an end to overpriced DLC as well. Not least because of all the space on my crowded hard drive it takes up.
The Ending
The ending is probably the one that has bothered the most people. A large number of gamers have even started a petition to try and convince Bioware to create a new one!
In response, to be fair, Bioware intend to create more content which will hopefully address the issue of the ending.
The likelihood though is that they will ask gamers to pay more to get hold of it…
The basic gist of the problem is that the ending did not seem to deliver what Mass Effect fans had been waiting for. The series is renowned for rewarding or punishing choices made. The ending should have been the biggest payoff.
It simply wasn’t.
It seemed no matter what you did throughout the three game series, everyone got the same finale… with minor differences.
The game was advertised with 16 possible endings. It really was closer to one ending, with 16 tiny tweaks.
For what I think about the ending have a look inside this spoiler section.
The game has been accused of suffering from poor writing because of this. I think this is unfair. The entirety of the rest of the game is fantastic. It keeps you playing to the end. The disappointing end.
But the rest of the ride is great. The entire rest of the game does what it is meant to do. It gives you options and lets the consequences play out.
It just seems so out of place that the big finale is nothing like the greatness of the series.
It is possible that the ending suffered again due to being rushed out for release. If that’s the case, then again I say, I would rather wait for a complete product than get it before it’s ready.
There are far too many questions left open that need to be answered. Sure, I was disappointed that we never saw a Quarians face, but I realise that keeping a bit of mystery makes it more interesting. But this ending where nothing is explained, leaves too much to the imagination.
Bonus Controversy: Casey Hudson Quotes
Director and Executive Producer of Mass Effect 3 Casey Hudson has made some statements in response to the various controversies.
“I didn’t want the game to be forgettable. Even right down to the sort of polarizing reaction that the ends have had with people – debating what the endings mean and what’s going to happen next, and what situation are the characters left in.”
We understand that you didn’t want it to be forgettable. That’s a good thing. But ‘polarizing’ means that some people love it, some people hate it. What we have here, is most people hating it and the rest grudgingly accepting that there isn’t anything they can do about it.
“That to me is part of what’s exciting about this story. There has always been a little bit of mystery there and a little bit of interpretation, and it’s a story that people can talk about after the fact.”
As I said earlier, a bit of mystery is good. The Quarians faces, the Illusive Mans indoctrination and so on. But we want answers to questions like, ‘What happened to our crew?’, ‘Is the galaxy safe now?’ and ‘Could someone give me a straight answer about why the Reapers were trying to wipe us out?’.
Regarding ‘From Ashes’ DLC:
“I think a lot of the common sense is prevailing. Initially, it was spun in a direction that suggested that we had taken the lore out of Mass Effect 3 and were holding it inside the DLC only, which now the people who actually have played Mass Effect 3 and the DLC they know that that’s not true. So that fear was set aside and, ultimately, I think people get it now.”
I don’t know where he gets this idea from. I completely agree that the ‘lore’ has been taken out and should have been included as standard.
“So where do we go from here? Throughout the next year, we will support Mass Effect 3 by working on new content. And we’ll keep listening, because your insights and constructive feedback will help determine what that content should be.”
Support Mass Effect 3? You made it in the first place. I just don’t understand why in a series of games based on choices and consequences, that the ending would not follow suit.
“After much deliberation, the CAT mission (or rather, the Prothean mission) had to be removed from the set of tasks. The missions would later be completed as post-release content.”
Oops. I didn’t have to figure out that the Prothean mission was meant to be included to begin with. He’s just gone admitted it.
“In truth, the final bits of dialogue were debated right up until the end of 2011. Martin Sheen’s voice-over session for The Illusive Man, originally scheduled for August, was delayed until mid-November so the writers would have more time to finesse the ending.
And even in November, the gameplay team was still experimenting with an end-game sequence where players would suddenly lose control of Shepard’s movement and fall under full Reaper control. (This sequence was dropped because the gameplay mechanic proved too troublesome to implement alongside dialogue choices).”
And there’s my proof that the game was rushed to meet a release deadline…
