Mass Effect
one of my all time favourite gaming franchises.
No really, I have played the first two more times than I can count, I’ve got every achievement, i've seen every ending, I have a Tali'zorah Vas Normandy figure sitting on my desk and I knew how to spell Tali's full name off the the top of my head, so believe me when I say I’m a Mass Effect fan boy.
In just under 2 weeks the 3rd and final part of the Mass Effect trilogy will be released here in the UK, this should be a cause for nothing but celebration, but sadly, this happy event has been tainted to such a degree that a lot of people are planning to boycott the game. In this post, i'm going to attempt to tell you why.
Warning, Spoilers for the mass effect universe will follow. You have been warned.
As with most games of this type, Mass Effect 3 will have a collectors edition (known as the N7 edition) this collectors edition will feature the normal collectors edition stuff. A nice shiny metal game box, an art book, a fabric patch and other cool little things for the serious mass effect fan.
It also includes some in game content. A pack of guns, some alternate outfits for the characters in the game, a robotic dog and most importantly a DLC mission known as “From Ashes”
Its this DLC mission that has sparked this out rage and threats to boycott, because it includes a new squad member, a Prothean.
Now to you uninformed mass effect virgins let me give you a little back story, in the Mass Effect universe the Protheans were extinct alien race, created with some of the most important and far reaching implications in the game world, they are credited with creating the mass relays, the very thing that make interstellar travel possible and its also assumed they built the Citadel, the major seat of power in the entire universe.
In the first mass effect, events are put into motion when Commander Shepard (the main character) got some of a Prothean database downloaded into his/her mind. This event is what makes commander Shepard special in the Mass Effect universe, and is the very reason she/he is the main character.
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| All that remains of the Protheans |
However the Protheans have been extinct for 50 thousand years, and none remain to tell what happened to them, how they came to invent the things they invented, or anything else for that matter.
So the fact that you will not only get to meet a living breathing Prothean, but recruit them to your party is a MAJOR deal, a game changing major deal.
When the information on From Ashes was leaked, I was very excited, I have pre-ordered the N7 edition, and so will get to play From Ashes from day one. The problem comes from the fact that the normal edition of the game, does not come with From Ashes, instead it will be available to buy for about £7 on day one.
To most of the fans of Mass Effect, me included, this is simply wrong. Such a major part of the game should either be in the game already, or possibly included as a free DLC with new copy’s of the game, like Zaeed a character included with new copy's of Mass Effect 2. it should not be held out of the game to force people to pay extra to get it.
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| Zaeed |
I pre-ordered the collectors edition before knowing what the DLC pack contained, and I’m glad I’m getting it included. But if I hadn’t, I would have ended up buying it on day one, and to me that seems like nothing but a “Fan Tax” by EA, holding a major story element hostage unless people pay for it.
I can understand why games come with “online passes” they are annoying as hell to people who rent, or buy pre-owned, but they serve a purpose, game developers make no money from pre-owned sales of games, it all goes to the retailer, so they add it in so people who buy second hand still end up paying the developer something, and I had no problem with the way the Cerberus network was handled in the last game, even if I did end up having to pay for it as me and my brother went in half each on the game.
Unfortunately I’m too much of a fan (read fanatic) to join the boycott, but to my fellow Mass Effect fans making a stand against this kind of behaviour, I salute you, your better people than me.
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| Old art, reused. updated slightly, |
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