Nein, good sir. (Gaming)

by SonofMacPhisto , Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 14:53 (3931 days ago) @ scarab

Gameplay was just the icing on the cake.

I totally disagree with you. Gameplay is the cake. Mass Effect supports Cody's points more than you know. The conversation system is part of the game, along with the shooty bits, but it's primarily about the conversation bits supporting the shooty bits. I mean, that's what you're doing for a huge part of the experience. While I can leave the shooty bits in ME1, ME2 and ME3 prove they wanted to make a great 3rd person shooter along with everything else. If you think it's just mostly the story (and the writing in all three games had moments of sheer WTF), you miss what makes Mass Effect great.

Example time: Legion and Thane

It'll be a long time before I forget that Collector Base assault where Harbinger ASSUMED CONTROL of a minion right in my face. I ordered Legion to summon a combat drone behind it, just to give my butt an extra second to regroup. Next thing I know, Thane drops its shields with a warp blast and Legion follows with a gorgeous headshot to its smarmy little dome.

That moment was enhanced through all the conversations in ME2 by degrees I can't think to imagine. In my playthroughs, Thane and Legion were clearly in Shepard's inner circle.

Fast forward to ME3, and the resolutions to Thane and Legion's stories. You don't think I'm getting a little emotional here just thinking about them in terms of the story? Naw, the story served the gameplay, and made it better than it could've been otherwise.