I decided to take a break from doing side quests and do one of the main plot worlds. I decided to go to Noveria and learned very quickly that my status as a Spectre may allow me to operate outside the law if needed, it does jack all when it comes to corporate red tape.
Shepard is sent to Noveria to investigate the geth. Upon arriving, she learns that Liara's mother, Matriarch Benezia is there, doing something for Saren. It is immediately clear what needs to be done. Find and confront Benezia, but there is one problem. The corporate bureaucrats won't allow Shepard to leave the station he/she lands at. To get out of the station and proceed with the mission, Shepard must perform a few tasks at the station to earn a pass to the garage where he/she can then get the MAKO and continue chasing Benezia.
While you are on Noveria to investigate geth sightings, the main foe on Noveria are the Rachni. It turns out, Saren had hired one of teh corporations that had labs on the planet to carry out research on a Rachni egg that he found in a hulk. It turned out that the egg was a Queen and still viable. They then hatched the queen and used her to create an army of Rachni. However, the Rachni got out of control and escaped the lab. It becomes Shepard's job to clean up the mess.
After clearing out various rooms full off rachni, you enter a secure lab. In here, you find Benezia and the Rachni queen. After dispatching her commandos, Benezia reveals what has happened to her and what she was doing on Noveria. This dialogue may only occur if Liara is in the group, which for me she was. After Benezia is defeated, the Rachni queen uses one of the dying Asari to speak to you. In the end you are given the option of killing or freeing her.
Noveria gives the player some interesting choices. From the beginning, the player must decide if they want to have Liara around for the confrontation with Benezia. There are also choices to be made in regards to how you obtain the garage pass. Finally, you have the choice with how to deal with the queen.
Playing through this area made me realize how bland and generic the side quests and the planets they occur on are. Most planets are mountain and valley type surfaces that you drive around the MAKO on and search for anomalies, resource deposits and debris. There is usually also a location that is the objective of a side quest as well. The side quest locations use one of a few different layouts depending on the type of facility they are supposed to represent. But all of them end up being the same. Clear out turrets and other above ground defenses using the MAKO, enter building and clear out hostiles. Find objective and use, talk to or kill depending on the mission. Maybe there is a short cut scene with a minor decision that affects your paragon/renegade guages.
After Noveria, I set out to do more of the side quests that I have but realized just how generic they are compared to the story quests. While I know more effort is put into the main quest line, it would be nice if in a game like this that has dozens of side quests, the side quests were more varied and had more thought put into them. They just seem copy/pasted with different flavor text.
All in all, I am finding my interest waning. Maybe I should just abandon the side quests and finish the main story. But I want to do them, if only for the story and bits of lore that they add. Maybe I just need to step back and play another game for a few hours, either by bumping Mass Effect for another PC game for a bit, or going back to Radiant Historia. The third option would be to add something to my now playing from my Wii or PS1.
I have recently acquired quite a few games due to steam sales, the new humble bundle and a gift from my mother. In all, I acquired Borderlands GOTY, Trine, Shadowgrounds, Shadowgrounds: Survivor, Audiosurf and Lego Star Wars III. I have fired up Borderlands and Trine to take a peak, and since Audiosurf is Null, my rules don't apply. Maybe I should start my humble bundle project and play one of those games for 6 hours before returning to Mass Effect. I think a break is needed. We'll see.
No comments:
Post a Comment