At first the game didn't grab me - I spent a good 20-30 minutes trying to create a character that I was happy with. I couldn't, really, but I settled with the best I could do. I played maybe an hour or so more, and I just couldn't get into it. The character you create looks different in-game and in-cutscenes than it does at the character creation. This really took me out of the game - add that to the fact that the combat was confusing and there's no real in-game "tutorial" - I was a bit disappointed.
So I get a bit further, maybe another hour, and start figuring stuff out. I learn the skills - which classes have what - which I like to use - which I like allies to have - how to get allies to use them - and I realize that I need to start over. The first 2 and a half hours of the game were my "tutorial".
I start a new game and instead of using the character creator, I use John Shepard - at least, I use his name and appearance. I picked the class I found interesting (Infiltrator - the tech/soldier hybrid). Immediately the game was different. John Shepard's appearance and animations grabbed me - I could get into the game, as it's an interesting character.
I'm now I think 13 hours into the game and I'm at level 30 or 31. The story is above average, but the writing and voice acting is phenomenal. The dialogue tree is a cool feature, although I dislike how sometimes the text you pick is almost irrelevant to what your character actually says.
Combat is interesting. You die. A lot. I can't think of a single time I got into a big battle right after a cutscene where I didn't die. This actually leads into another issue with the game - the broken save system. You need to save and save often. With the mass amounts of saving, I really wish there was a quicksave button. Having to load the menu and save after every battle/cutscene/doorway takes you out of the experience.
The inventory system is also designed poorly. I don't mind items not "stacking" - because you will inevitably have duplicates (and who needs 7 level 1 pistols, really?) - but what really irks me is the menu system to access, buy, sell, and "break down" items. The cursor moves too slowly - and cannot be sped up - and my biggest gripe is the fact that when you sell an item to a vendor, the cursor goes back to the top of the listing. This is especially annoying when you want to sell a group of items on the bottom of your list, and keep all of the ones on top. This actually doesn't happen when you just view your own item listing and "break down" the item to omni-gel, so I end up just doing that instead. And I don't even use the omni-gel, or really know what it does aside from being able to use it to hack things - which you'll never do since hacking is insanely easy (it's essentially a weak version of DDR for your fingers).
My biggest gripe with the game, though, is the simple fact that it is, almost entirely, KOTOR. It's like KOTOR 1.5. I'm actually wondering if this game was designed to be KOTOR 2, and then when Bioware lost the license they just moved it over to a new IP.
Also, the framerate is pretty bad all-around, but it's playable. There are times in thick battles where I've seen it drop to the single-digits, though. I think the people who notice this more are the ones who played KOTOR on the PC, as that game ran similarly on the original Xbox, but on a decent PC it ran just fine. Side note - I kind of liked the film grain filter, but I noticed a decent frame rate improvement when I turned it off, so I don't use it.
All that being said, it's a good game. The story doesn't have me on the edge of my seat, (though there's still more to go which may change my mind) but the game as a whole has definitely kept me entertained. It's actually a first time in a long time that I'm seriously considering playing a game through a 2nd time.
If you read all of that, kudos. Now some questions for you guys - what team do you use the most? I usually go with Wrex and the blue chick (I forget her name).
Second, what good is the first aid skill for allies? They never use med-packs - or do those bonuses apply when I use a med-pack? As far as I've seen there's no healing abilities - ie "cure" from KOTOR - am I missing something?
Third - after you beat the game and start a new one with your built-up character, can you change their class/appearance/anything? I'd like to start a new game as a biotic-only female, but I don't want to start at level 0.
Lastly, and I know I can find this out on a FAQ or something, but am I getting shafted for going the "middle ground" - not being all-Paragon or all-Renegade? Because I started off Renegade, but got a ton of Paragon points, so now I'm almost equal.
So I get a bit further, maybe another hour, and start figuring stuff out. I learn the skills - which classes have what - which I like to use - which I like allies to have - how to get allies to use them - and I realize that I need to start over. The first 2 and a half hours of the game were my "tutorial".
I start a new game and instead of using the character creator, I use John Shepard - at least, I use his name and appearance. I picked the class I found interesting (Infiltrator - the tech/soldier hybrid). Immediately the game was different. John Shepard's appearance and animations grabbed me - I could get into the game, as it's an interesting character.
I'm now I think 13 hours into the game and I'm at level 30 or 31. The story is above average, but the writing and voice acting is phenomenal. The dialogue tree is a cool feature, although I dislike how sometimes the text you pick is almost irrelevant to what your character actually says.
Combat is interesting. You die. A lot. I can't think of a single time I got into a big battle right after a cutscene where I didn't die. This actually leads into another issue with the game - the broken save system. You need to save and save often. With the mass amounts of saving, I really wish there was a quicksave button. Having to load the menu and save after every battle/cutscene/doorway takes you out of the experience.
The inventory system is also designed poorly. I don't mind items not "stacking" - because you will inevitably have duplicates (and who needs 7 level 1 pistols, really?) - but what really irks me is the menu system to access, buy, sell, and "break down" items. The cursor moves too slowly - and cannot be sped up - and my biggest gripe is the fact that when you sell an item to a vendor, the cursor goes back to the top of the listing. This is especially annoying when you want to sell a group of items on the bottom of your list, and keep all of the ones on top. This actually doesn't happen when you just view your own item listing and "break down" the item to omni-gel, so I end up just doing that instead. And I don't even use the omni-gel, or really know what it does aside from being able to use it to hack things - which you'll never do since hacking is insanely easy (it's essentially a weak version of DDR for your fingers).
My biggest gripe with the game, though, is the simple fact that it is, almost entirely, KOTOR. It's like KOTOR 1.5. I'm actually wondering if this game was designed to be KOTOR 2, and then when Bioware lost the license they just moved it over to a new IP.
Also, the framerate is pretty bad all-around, but it's playable. There are times in thick battles where I've seen it drop to the single-digits, though. I think the people who notice this more are the ones who played KOTOR on the PC, as that game ran similarly on the original Xbox, but on a decent PC it ran just fine. Side note - I kind of liked the film grain filter, but I noticed a decent frame rate improvement when I turned it off, so I don't use it.
All that being said, it's a good game. The story doesn't have me on the edge of my seat, (though there's still more to go which may change my mind) but the game as a whole has definitely kept me entertained. It's actually a first time in a long time that I'm seriously considering playing a game through a 2nd time.
If you read all of that, kudos. Now some questions for you guys - what team do you use the most? I usually go with Wrex and the blue chick (I forget her name).
Second, what good is the first aid skill for allies? They never use med-packs - or do those bonuses apply when I use a med-pack? As far as I've seen there's no healing abilities - ie "cure" from KOTOR - am I missing something?
Third - after you beat the game and start a new one with your built-up character, can you change their class/appearance/anything? I'd like to start a new game as a biotic-only female, but I don't want to start at level 0.
Lastly, and I know I can find this out on a FAQ or something, but am I getting shafted for going the "middle ground" - not being all-Paragon or all-Renegade? Because I started off Renegade, but got a ton of Paragon points, so now I'm almost equal.
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