The Mass Effect Thread

[lightblue]

Picked it up second hand the other day. Excellent game so far, although i am struggling a touch with sandworms as was mentioned earlier, Never been great with "tank" games where the gun moves separately to the rest of the car.

[DrSpike]

Don't worry if Mako combat makes you want to throw your controller at the screen - it's pretty much the same for everyone.

There are a few things you can do to minimise the lameness that ensues. First, there is only one worm you need to fight, when you have the quest to rescue some people. All the others you can avoid by sticking to rocky ground. Secondly, if the foes aren't that strong jump out and fight - it's far less hassle and gets you more XP. Third, if you need the Mako firepower you'll want to master the Mako shuffle (TM). This consists of putting your target 90 degrees to the side and moving forward and back whilst shooting. You'll dodge powerful attacks and eventually you'll find an angle where the Mako guns connect.

[Kuciwalker]

The thresher maws are actually really easy once you figure them out - just run in a big circle, dodging in case it pops up right near you. Just keep wearing it down and you'll be fine.

A nice trick XP wise is to just drive up to the big Geth vehicles and get them to really low XP with the Mako, then hop out and finish it off with a few shots, then jump back in before you can get really hurt. The one-hit-kill from their main guns is incredibly annoying, though.

[DarkCloud]

Ah, don't run in a circle, you might misestimate. The Maws only spawn in 8 different places. Run in, wait for it to emerge and shoot, then run back to the rocks. If you go in a circle you'll probably get slammed at some time.

The maw is probably one of the most tedious parts of the game, but that's saying a lot about just how excellent the rest of the game is

Oh, and don't forget you have TWO weapons on the Mako, a gun and a cannon. It took me a LONG time to realize that, to my embarrassment!

[DrSpike]

I also took some time to realise that (I blame the interface!) so don't worry.

But all of these maneovres being recommended with the Mako are just recipes for disaster. All you need for any Mako combat situation is the Mako shuffle (TM).

[flash9286]

I second the run around in circles approach. A couple hits from the cannon and the maws are dead. Also the mako has a zoom feature making it easier to aim the cannon .

[Asher]

If it's only a couple hits, you must be playing on a low difficulty.

[flash9286]

I was playing on hardcore. I don't remember it taking that many cannon shots to kill them. I only fought two of them though, I usually stayed on rocky ground.

[flash9286]

Literally moments ago, BioWare announced that brand spanking new and flashy Mass Effect downloadable content will be headed to the XBLM on March 10th and boy oh boy is it juicy good.

The Mass Effect Bring Down the Sky DLC pack will cost 400 Microsoft points and expand upon the Mass Effect story by introducing a new world featuring the Batarian race. According to the description, Bring Down the Sky will feature over 90 minutes of additional gameplay where a "Batarian extremist group has hijacked a mobile asteroid station in the Asgard system, setting it on a collision course with the nearby colony world of Terra Nova" and (of course) "only Commander Shepard can save the millions of innocent civilians before the asteroid completes its deadly descent." Intense stuff.

The new DLC will also pack one new achievement worth 50 Gamerscore and is confirmed to be the first of many planned Mass Effect expansion packs. We guess Surfer Girl was right about this one.

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/02/06/mass-effect-gets-bring-down-the-sky-dlc-in-march/

[DrSpike]

I think DLC is generally a rip off, and this doesn't look much different.

[flash9286]

No one makes you buy it. Plus 400 pts is like 5 dollars, seems reasonable to me.

[DrSpike]

Points are more expensive here though. I agree it's still a good thing to have the choice.

In an aside I am unconvinced DLC and Arcade games are priced optimally from a profit maximising perspective.

[Kuciwalker]

DLC

[flash9286]

Originally posted by DrSpike
Points are more expensive here though. I agree it's still a good thing to have the choice.

In an aside I am unconvinced DLC and Arcade games are priced optimally from a profit maximising perspective.

Armchair Economists + Non-American

[Kuciwalker]

IIRC DrSpike is a professional economist.