I finally finished Mass Effect. Wow.

[rocketpig]

twesterm said:

rocketpig said:

twesterm said:

Mr Puggsly said:
Mass Effect is arguably one of the best games this gen. Being a great RPG is an understatment, its just an amazing game period.

I rarely pay full price for a game, but I'm probably going to give in and buy Mass Effect 2 soon.

That's kind of funny because Mass Effect 2 is barely an RPG (or what we generally think of as an RPG).

Dunno if you saw the other thread where I go 'round and 'round with some guy about that but I will argue that Mass Effect 2 is MORE of an RPG than any other game in history, it just shed some of the things we traditionally associate with that genre because previous to this generation, the technology wasn't there to break the mold as BioWare did with this game.

I didn't see that thread but in the sense of calling it a Role Playing Game I couldn't agree with you more, in the sense of calling it an RPG I don't agree with you.

The RPG may have started as Role Playing Game, but like you said, the things we associate with the RPG genre are now screwing with stats and all that.  Mass Effect 2 has much more in common with a common shooter than the common RPG.

Don't get me wrong, Mass Effect 2 has those stat things and RPG elements but with what's generally called a RPG today, Mass Effect 2 doesn't have a lot in common with it.

Which should make us question why we consider loot, inventory, and combat XP to signify "RPG", not whether Mass Effect IS an RPG.

It's like some are trying to punish the game for taking a technological leap forward and eschewing components that have stuck around since the NES generation for no apparent reason past a lack of imagination on the part of developers.

The funniest thing about ME2 is how every pen-and-paper traditionalist I know is absolutely raving about just how "RPG-ish" the game really is compared to most other offerings, ESPECIALLY JRPGs.