LONG BLOG
Shortblog: Kudos, BioWare
Note: This is not (NOT) a spoiler. Anyone who says it is in the comments will be shot. Trust me, I will be doing the human race a favor.
Dear BioWare,
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for Mass Effect 2. It is, as GlaDOS would say, a "HUGE SUCCESS."
But we all know that. What I want to thank you for is the way you've handled the part after the credits roll.
...Ah, f*** it, let's drop the "thank you letter to BioWare" pretense. That other guy (who I'm not gonna link to 'cause there are maybe spoilers) already did it better, and it's just a tiresome device in general, isn't it? Let's just get on with the part where I say what I want to say.
Okay, so ME2 does something after its credits that I wish all games would do. The first one is pretty self-explanatory: you can start a New Game+ (to go old-school Chrono Trigger with the spacing). This has been mentioned in reviews everywhere AND it's self-explanatory, so I don't feel the need to elaborate further.
However, the way this is presented to the player is pretty interesting, and it allows for a nice segue into the second point. So: you beat the game, credits roll, you break into a Crono-style fist pump or a frowny face, et cetera. Then - and this is the brilliant bit - you're given a choice. The game tells you that you can go back to the main menu and start a New Game+, OR you can continue the game AFTER the credits.
Now, Oblivion, Fable, and the like already do that, and that's great. Hell, maybe those games do this other thing too, but I never completed them, and it's still cool, so shut up.
Anyway, you can continue playing the game with your current save, do any missions you missed, any DLC will work with it, and yada yada yada. Now, that's pretty cool in and of itself, but what's really cool is being able to go up to all of the characters you've grown attached to over the course of the game - that didn't get killed at the end, obviously - and have a little bonus conversation with them about the ending of the game and the Big Decisions you made during said ending.
It's a small thing, I know, but it's still REALLY FRICKIN' COOL, because it feels sort of like an after-credits epilogue. It's as if the characters want to know what's next just as badly as you do.
...
Okay, yeah, I know, it doesn't seem like much, but it really is pretty affecting when you see it. It's just, it's a nice little bonus from your friends at BioWare, and it's much appreciated. Yes, they revert to their pre-credits dialogue after the one conversation, but I still appreciated that little touch. So few games let you talk to everybody you met over the course of the game after the main story is over, and even fewer let you know how your decisions affected them, and...
SHUT UP YOU GUYS IT WAS COOL NO YOU GUYS SUCK CHOKE SOB
Anyway.
Dear BioWare,
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for Mass Effect 2. It is, as GlaDOS would say, a "HUGE SUCCESS."
But we all know that. What I want to thank you for is the way you've handled the part after the credits roll.
...Ah, f*** it, let's drop the "thank you letter to BioWare" pretense. That other guy (who I'm not gonna link to 'cause there are maybe spoilers) already did it better, and it's just a tiresome device in general, isn't it? Let's just get on with the part where I say what I want to say.
Okay, so ME2 does something after its credits that I wish all games would do. The first one is pretty self-explanatory: you can start a New Game+ (to go old-school Chrono Trigger with the spacing). This has been mentioned in reviews everywhere AND it's self-explanatory, so I don't feel the need to elaborate further.
However, the way this is presented to the player is pretty interesting, and it allows for a nice segue into the second point. So: you beat the game, credits roll, you break into a Crono-style fist pump or a frowny face, et cetera. Then - and this is the brilliant bit - you're given a choice. The game tells you that you can go back to the main menu and start a New Game+, OR you can continue the game AFTER the credits.
Now, Oblivion, Fable, and the like already do that, and that's great. Hell, maybe those games do this other thing too, but I never completed them, and it's still cool, so shut up.
Anyway, you can continue playing the game with your current save, do any missions you missed, any DLC will work with it, and yada yada yada. Now, that's pretty cool in and of itself, but what's really cool is being able to go up to all of the characters you've grown attached to over the course of the game - that didn't get killed at the end, obviously - and have a little bonus conversation with them about the ending of the game and the Big Decisions you made during said ending.
It's a small thing, I know, but it's still REALLY FRICKIN' COOL, because it feels sort of like an after-credits epilogue. It's as if the characters want to know what's next just as badly as you do.
...
Okay, yeah, I know, it doesn't seem like much, but it really is pretty affecting when you see it. It's just, it's a nice little bonus from your friends at BioWare, and it's much appreciated. Yes, they revert to their pre-credits dialogue after the one conversation, but I still appreciated that little touch. So few games let you talk to everybody you met over the course of the game after the main story is over, and even fewer let you know how your decisions affected them, and...
SHUT UP YOU GUYS IT WAS COOL NO YOU GUYS SUCK CHOKE SOB
Anyway.
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About Ffordesoonone of us since 9:29 PM on 09.02.2008
No fancy long-winded horseshit here. That's for the blog itself. :P
I'm a writer. I write stuff. Sometimes that means an act of bloggery, other times it means a story, and it occasionally means a long-winded essay about pretentious bullshit. When I blog or write pretentiously about video games, the resultant brain leakage will go here.
Also, I'm fond of cursing. You can decide for yourself whether or not that means this blog is "suggested for mature readers." Me, I don't think it's particularly mature or immature to curse. I think it's simply another mode of expression. I don't like to rely too heavily on it, though, so please do point out excessive cursing in the comments. Tends to dilute the point, you know?
So, you know, read it, don't read it. I don't particularly care.
(But comment if you do read, please! I'm an attention whore, like all writers! ;) )
Cheers.
(Best-of lists and other standard Dtoid accessories forthcoming.)
I'm a writer. I write stuff. Sometimes that means an act of bloggery, other times it means a story, and it occasionally means a long-winded essay about pretentious bullshit. When I blog or write pretentiously about video games, the resultant brain leakage will go here.
Also, I'm fond of cursing. You can decide for yourself whether or not that means this blog is "suggested for mature readers." Me, I don't think it's particularly mature or immature to curse. I think it's simply another mode of expression. I don't like to rely too heavily on it, though, so please do point out excessive cursing in the comments. Tends to dilute the point, you know?
So, you know, read it, don't read it. I don't particularly care.
(But comment if you do read, please! I'm an attention whore, like all writers! ;) )
Cheers.
(Best-of lists and other standard Dtoid accessories forthcoming.)