Wait a second, @rusty_shackleford doesn't even have a Mass Effect badge.
How are we supposed to believe he played it at all?
We have a Steam curator now. You should be following it. https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44994899-RPGHQ/
Do you consider Mass Effect to be an RPG?
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Bertram_Tung
- Posts: 2257
- Joined: Jan 2, '24
- Location: SunCo Gasoline Facility
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Geolocation
Adventurer's Guild
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TheEmptyRoad
- Posts: 385
- Joined: Feb 29, '24
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Adventurer's Guild
Mass Effect 1: Yes, an ARPG, not CRPG though
2 and 3: Eh, not really, more like 3rd person shooters with choose-your-story elements sprinkled in.
2 and 3: Eh, not really, more like 3rd person shooters with choose-your-story elements sprinkled in.
Skyrim Belongs to the Nords.
Geek the Mage first.
There is no virtue in extending mercy to those who want you dead.
Justice will prevail, you say? But of course it will! Whoever wins this war becomes justice!
Geek the Mage first.
There is no virtue in extending mercy to those who want you dead.
Justice will prevail, you say? But of course it will! Whoever wins this war becomes justice!
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BosanskiSeljak
- Posts: 134
- Joined: May 7, '23
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Geolocation
ME1 is a CRPG in almost every sense, just not technically impressive.
Character building was brought up and, while true there's not real 'character building' because it's just raising stats, that's due to the class system not because it's not a crpg. If you kept leveling exactly the same but removed the classes there would actually be 'character building' in that game.
Intro -> Citadel -> 'okay go do what you want'
ME2 and ME3 can at best be called Action RPGs.
Character building was brought up and, while true there's not real 'character building' because it's just raising stats, that's due to the class system not because it's not a crpg. If you kept leveling exactly the same but removed the classes there would actually be 'character building' in that game.
Intro -> Citadel -> 'okay go do what you want'
ME2 and ME3 can at best be called Action RPGs.
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Brother Michael
- Posts: 901
- Joined: Mar 11, '24
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Geolocation
It meets my vague standards for an RPG because there are a sufficient number of ways to develop a character through player choice. Shepard is not a blank slate, but you can make him into a distinct character between different playthroughs beyond the game's binary labeling of choices as democrat or republican. Does Shepard believe in God? How does he treat each species? Does he use his Specter status to advance human interests? Even when choices are inconsequential to the world state they still hold value in shaping a character. Agency in your methods of completing objectives is a welcome feature but is more a trait of immersive sims than RPGs.
This system becomes weaker as the trilogy progresses, making the series drift further away from role playing. There are fewer opportunities to express opinions and dialogue options become primarily opportunities for gaining light side and dark side points. I still love those games, but the direction Bioware took on them also retroactively weighs on ME1. Mass Effect players will talk about doing "full paragon/renegade" playthroughs, picking just one corner to click and trigger to pull the whole series. You don't hear about this kind of thing with RPGs like Baldur's Gate. People will say "I'm playing an evil character," which requires some degree of judgement on their part. Imagine hearing someone say "I'm only going to choose option 2 in dialogue." It can be entertaining as a challenge run or a way to see new interactions in Mass Effect, but the frequency with which I've seen players talk about "full renegade" makes me believe that they feel this is how the game is meant to be played, and they're arguably correct.
Mass Effect 1 on its own remains an RPG despite Bioware's design choices, chiefly the intersection of the dialogue wheel and the morality system. ME2 and ME3's departure from role playing was the effect of them leaning into these signature features of the series.
This system becomes weaker as the trilogy progresses, making the series drift further away from role playing. There are fewer opportunities to express opinions and dialogue options become primarily opportunities for gaining light side and dark side points. I still love those games, but the direction Bioware took on them also retroactively weighs on ME1. Mass Effect players will talk about doing "full paragon/renegade" playthroughs, picking just one corner to click and trigger to pull the whole series. You don't hear about this kind of thing with RPGs like Baldur's Gate. People will say "I'm playing an evil character," which requires some degree of judgement on their part. Imagine hearing someone say "I'm only going to choose option 2 in dialogue." It can be entertaining as a challenge run or a way to see new interactions in Mass Effect, but the frequency with which I've seen players talk about "full renegade" makes me believe that they feel this is how the game is meant to be played, and they're arguably correct.
Mass Effect 1 on its own remains an RPG despite Bioware's design choices, chiefly the intersection of the dialogue wheel and the morality system. ME2 and ME3's departure from role playing was the effect of them leaning into these signature features of the series.