And I'm sure that Bioware couldn't come up with a better weapon in Mass Effect without Star Wars cliches?
KOTOR made me care about Star Wars. I never knew the difference between any class of alien from SW before KOTOR. I have MANY friends that know far too much about Star Wars just from KOTOR because KOTOR was so well done - I can only wonder what BioWare can do in a space setting without the Star Wars hinderances.
IMO, even if the shooting is TPS based, I feel that BioWare will far surpass what other TPS/RPGs have done. Fallout 3 has already shown to be following a similar line as ME is in terms of real time/paused time combat. I certainly welcome it, because as said, in KOTOR, at some point, the combat became real easy.
I just think having a plasma rifle, hit points, and pausing the game to initiate orders to my RPG PCs is going to be a welcome definitive moment in Western RPG land. Remember, we're talking anything-goes WRPGs here, not JRPGs. There is no standard to what makes a WRPG a WRPG outside of stats, and a good storyline, so meshing shooting elements will be great. As long as I get a long game and good story, and tons of in-depth character customization and skills, I will be happy. And Mass Effect still seems to be putting those things to the forefront.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
