HOME | DD
AlicaMoreau β The Final Frontier
Published: 2013-04-14 02:15:23 +0000 UTC; Views: 715; Favourites: 16; Downloads: 9
Redirect to original
Description
A couple of beautiful views from side missions that are often overlooked.Credit to Bioware
Related content
Comments: 24
Annoying as driving the Mako was on some planets, I really liked the atmosphere it gave of exploring the unknown. And there are some beautiful places...
Β
Too bad most of the planets would kill ya if you took off your rebreather
π: 0 β©: 1
And some you could only spend about a minute outside of the Mako due to danger levels
π: 0 β©: 1
Yeah. But then again, those planets are explicitly hellholes anyways.
Β
Of course, if all the planets need rebreathers (only two, one where you had Colony of the Dead and one where you met Corporal Toombs had the helmets not required)... where the hell is everyone else settling? Like, how did Father Kyle's biotics survive, did they stay inside all day or something silly and only a few guys went outside?
Β
TBH, I'd of made a few more worlds more habitable... and a mawsign detector of some sorts so you can tell where the hell thresher maws are when fighting one so it doesn't spawn and auto-kill you... it's so bad that my reaction to ending up near a Maw is basically "lolNOPE" and do a 180 out of town
π: 0 β©: 1
Uhg, I hate maws so much! I literally just sit there rolling back and forth shooting at it, then running as far away as possible when it disappears. But with inhabiting planets without breathable atmospheres, I'm sure they stay inside and have enviro-suits for necessary voyages outside. They were rather outside the law, so it made sense for them to be on as unlikely a planet as possible. It would have been nice to actually have more planets with missions outside rather than driving to some building with the same floor plan constantly.
π: 0 β©: 1
Yeah, I hated maws too. They would not be so bad if they either did not auto-spawn to kill you, or if there was something that would tell you where they were so you had a chance to avoid being rushed by the maw. Either a mawsign detector for your radar which pings you its location, or have it kick up a shitton of dirt like the one in ME2 does when you're in the Rite of Passage with Grunt.
Β
And good point about the fact they were extralegal so they'd want to be further off and uninhabitable is another way to avoid being noticed.
Β
I mean, there certainly were more landing 'missions' in ME1 than ME2 and ME3. Which was nice, I feel, because it left more exploration and such open and some missions transcended planets, like those criminals Helena Blake sends you after or the geth intrusion.
Β
Plus, it would of been nice to land in some settled areas and do some other kinds of missions. Like, land on a small colony and defend it against a batarian pirate attack. You could either employ the Mako, or do it on foot. Both with valid strategies. The Mako, say, is good at stopping cluters, but o foot allows it to be done more surgically (plus the XP thing). All the missions in Me tended to be "land on planet, lootor find resources, kill guards outside of compound, enter comound, kill everyone, grab mission objective, leave". Or some variant like that, with the occasional conversation. ME's landing segments really just needed diversity; it wasn't as bad as some people claim it was. Flatter terrain for the Mako would also make it a lot easier considering that most of it was extremely rough and flat areas tended to scare you because it meant Thresher Maw in quite a few cases.
π: 0 β©: 1
There were actually a lot of side missions in Mass Effect 2, but you had to scan the planets to find them.. The last playthrough I did, I actually scanned every single planet and went through all the side missions. The missions in ME2 were a lot more varied than ME1, and a lot more involved. Then, in ME3, they went back to the whole land, fight, grab objective, leave scenario. In a lot of cases, I have to say that ME2 was my favorite for these reasons.
You're right, different missions like that would have been fun. There was one where you escorted the civilians out of a Cerberus-infested neighborhood, but they couldn't die. It would have been nice if they had health levels, like when you rescued archangel in ME2.
Despite the small things like these, ME will always be my favorite video game, if not only because it was the one to intrigue me into the gaming community. The characters have depth, separate personalities, backstories... The plot was very involved and thought out. Personally, I even liked the ending, especially if you believe in the Indoctrination Theory, which is a whole other conversation in itself.
π: 0 β©: 1
I didn't mind planet scanning to find missions and they definitely were more varied, but I wouldn't of minded having to drive to some of them and having some element of exploration besides scanning. You know, actually driving around a planet. I dunno, I always felt that the Mako mission segments gave a sense of "exploring the unknown", baring mission ones like Ilos and Feros. Like, say for the mission where you go to that Hanhe-Kedar facility. Instead of just landing there, land nearby in an open clearing and take a Mako up, dealing with hacked civilian defense turrets and mechs along the way (and since there's no combat XP, no incentive to fight on foot), and making your way to the facility. Or actually drive the Tomkahs to the Urdnot Proving Grounds/Clan Weyrloc instead of it being a cutscene. I mean, surely the Weyrloc had anti-Tomkah defenses, right?
Β
Yeah, I never noticed about the civviesΒ that but I always play hellbent for covering them. I think the problem with giving them health bars is that they do not hide very well and Mass Effect 3's combat is extremely mobile, in theory. So Cerberus would keep coming up on the flank and killing them off since I doubt their pants have kinetic barriers loaded on. And the Benning map is very easy for those who play mobile because there's so many routes for flanking and such.
Β
Haha, yeah. The endings. Personally, I'm fine with the Extended Cuts and people blow the problems of it way out of proportion. I mean, this is a war that wouldn't be won without sacrifices. I never liked the Indoc Theory myself, but that's a rant for another topic as you said.
π: 0 β©: 1
ME1 definitely had a certain charm with the Mako. It was just.. relaxing. A chance to get away from the excitement and take time to just sit and look at the stars and the moons. That's when a maw sensor would come in handy for sure. You're sitting there, then all of a sudden BAM! a maw attacks. I believe you're right, it is like exploring the unknown, because we've never traipsed along an unknown planet, so it just adds some mystery and awe to the player. There's nothing in the other two games other than the Citadel DLC where you can just relax and not worry
π: 0 β©: 0
Yeah I loved the views on the planets, too. The second one inspired me to this artwork, funny that you obviously liked it, too: [link]
π: 0 β©: 1
If only we could have the adventures with the amazing views with the shuttle. I feel like this would be perfect
And hot dang! That is an amazing artwork
π: 0 β©: 1
Thank you! 
π: 0 β©: 0
I remember grabbing a few screenshots myself when I was first playing through it too. Ah, the memories.
π: 0 β©: 1
This is my second playthrough, so I decided to take some more time off the main missions
π: 0 β©: 0
That's uncanny! Funny we both used the same planet
π: 0 β©: 0
This is what I missed from the rest of the series.
π: 0 β©: 1
I have to say I don't miss the MAKO and rough terrain, but the views and the landscapes... I agree with you. The first game was more of a vacation from real life
π: 0 β©: 1
I hope they bring that back in the new trilogy.
π: 0 β©: 1
I do too. Too many people concentrate solely on getting to the end, but there are those of us who like to enjoy the ride
π: 0 β©: 1
Say what you want about the repetitive map design for the explorable planets in ME1, some of the environments simply left me awestruck by their ambience and beauty.
π: 0 β©: 1
I know! In one of them, when I looked up from the planet's surface, there was a large blue planet, or star, so close beside it that it took up almost the whole screen. Its surface was even moving and swirling, making it look extremely realistic
π: 0 β©: 0
They're two different planets, but I couldn't tell you sadly enough. I did several side missions today, but I can tell you one of them is from the mission Hackett gives to to wipe out four geth bases
π: 0 β©: 0