Just a question. Is anyone else like me and not anticipating this game?
Now hear me out.
I loved Mass Effect and I couldn't praise it more, finally a sci-fi RPG that was awesome (I know there have been others KOTOR, Chrono Cross ect, but this was the first on the ground soldier type I can recall right now). It got a lot of things right, customizable weapons, armor, abilities, and modifiers were what I craved. The missions were good, I liked the mako (it was fun to me) and he story was awesome. After playing it I couldn’t wait for more.
Then Mass Effect 2 came out.
I beat the game but I didn’t enjoy it. The story was good but that's all I can say in its praise. The game-play was no longer like that of Mass Effect it was closer to a shooter. The RPG elements were dumb-ed down and stripped out, and the exploration missions were all but gone in the main campaign. In the place of all this we got a shooter that I can only surmise was prompted because of the success of Call of Duty and similar games. The shooting became a main aspect of game play, constantly ammo starved and ducking behind cover. What happened to the old system of heat that allowed careful management, but never left you wanting for ammo? Was there some ban on weapons that don’t need constant heat sink exchange between the first and the second game? Also if they are just heat sinks, not clips, why can’t I pop off a few rounds when I’m out and just over heat a lot faster? The powers global cool downs, while short, made me feel under powered compared to the last game. The grenade system as well, I miss the old disc grenades; it was a viable tactical move to blow it just over cover. Also the hunt for minerals was the most tedious thing I have ever experienced in a video game, to constantly scan all the planets just to scrape enough mineral together to get your upgrades. I much preferred the on planet sections where I would have to scout terrain to find what I needed. The weapons, while looking cool we disappointing. I wanted to be able to find multiple types of weapons and make that age old RPG choice DMG over ACC but that was not in the cards. The same for armor, a few choices you get the best DEF and you are done. No bullet types (not counting powers) no sights, no cool downs, nothing to make a gun uniquely mine. This also affected my companions I loved developing all their add ons, attachments, and armor to suit what i needed them for in a fight, now it’s just skins.
I want to be excited for Mass Effect 3 but what they changed in Mass Effect 2 soured the whole series. I still play and love Mass Effect. I recently saw a story about how Bioware noted that some people missed the RPG elements that I talked about, and to appease them offered some weapon customization. A nice gesture but I can see it as being no more than chose from 3 stocks, 3 barrels, and 3 sights all with a slight effect.
A lot of this was getting it off my chest, I am not the only one in my group of friends that feels this way, however I know some that feel the reverse. That Mass Effect 1 sucked and Mass Effect 2 got it right. I am not the judge to tell anyone else what they should like and this all comes down to my preferences. However I think that with Mass Effect Bioware started out on a great thing and chose to make the money grab and killed it. They did the same with Dragons Age 2, after Dragons Age Origins was a success they thought they knew better and set it further from a RPG and closer to an action game with RPG elements. It’s like going from Oblivion to God of War. Or in the case of Mass Effect from Fallout to Brink.
Thanks for your time.
s 
