Mass Effect PC

Remus · May 28, 2008

It'll be release on May 28 in NA, some already got the game from local shop (Malaysia) since couple days before though.

I haven't place my order yet, the local version come quite cheap but i heard EA Asia Pacific/SEA apparently only providing black and white manual with the game disk. No extras or news on special edition.

What's in the box for NA version? Impression/reviews?

zakhal · May 28, 2008

Its pretty cheap in europe too. Just 37€ shipping included. Im not planning to get it just yet though.

Hopefully the sales will be okay so this wont be the first and last of the series on pc. Im not planning to buy a 360.

Dhruin · May 28, 2008

It's not out here until June 5th and they aren't offering a digital version, either. I haven't decided when/how/if I'll buy it but I'd like to hear impressions.

Prime Junta · May 29, 2008

I've pre-ordered.

zakhal · May 30, 2008

The game is now cracked - didnt last long.

Prime Junta · May 30, 2008

Yay for copy protection.

txa1265 · May 30, 2008

I got mine from Direct2Drive, it took >24 hours to download! I have never dealt with them before so don't know if it is always that slow. Haven't even started yet

Remus · May 30, 2008

My courier just pick-up the game today, hopefully Mass Effect would be in my hand tomorrow.

JemyM · May 30, 2008

They told me "next week" at the shop. I bought all my bioware/obsidian/blackisle RPG's, so I will probably buy this one as well.

JDR13 · May 30, 2008

Definitely not going to shell out $50 for this game, I know better than that. I'll wait a few weeks to see what the fallout is first, then buy it on sale.

Sergius64 · May 30, 2008

That's strange txa1265, mine was downloading at 1 Megabyte per second from Direct2Drive... maybe it depends on where you live? Also sometimes firewalls slow stuff like that down.

My impressions: after like 1.5-2 hours of gameplay the story seems almost magical and awe inspiring. Dunno what its going to be looking like later. There was bunch of hardware issues though, the game started freezing for me every 5 minutes after I updated video card drivers. Going back to 169's(Nvidea) made the freezing much less frequent(like once per hour, but I'll need to play longer to see if it keeps happening). Some people claim to be freezing with older drivers as well though(and some suggest newer ones help) so it seems like there's a very big range of problems with stability. I don't remember Jade Empire port have any trouble... Could this be the EA effect?

txa1265 · May 31, 2008

Well, I was simultaneously re-downloading Crysis from EA, so that might have done it ...

Remus · May 31, 2008

I got the game an hour ago, installed, then click play and encountered "A problem caused the program to stop working correctly. Windows will close..." error. Some peoples have the same issue (see the technical forum on Bioware board). Luckily in my case after couple trial and error efforts; - disable hardware sound, use Winxp sp 2 compatibility mode, lower in game settings (through configuration menu), and in the end use the default detected settings except disable the Vsync option, finally got me into the game. Will continue poking some more this evening.

Dhruin · May 31, 2008

I've heard other people with Vista are getting UAC errors, which is really disappointing for such a big title - although I'll reserve judgment until I try it myself.

VPeric · May 31, 2008

zakhal said:
The game is now cracked - didnt last long.

Actually, no, it's a bad crack - apparently, it crashes after around an hour of gameplay (when you get your own ship). But yeah, it shouldn't be _too_ long now.

aries100 · May 31, 2008

VPeric said:
Actually, no, it's a bad crack - apparently, it crashes after around an hour of gameplay (when you get your own ship). But yeah, it shouldn't be _too_ long now.

Yes, it may be a bad crack [which I won't download, btw...as I don't support the pirates]. But that is not the point here.

The point is that the game has been cracked (or hacked) within 2-3 days of its release.

What seems interesting to me is that the cracked game apparently crashes about an hour into the gameplay. Could it be that we are dealing with the same kind of copy protection that was used in Titan Quest where the game also crashed about an hour or so into the gameplay if you did not have a legit version of the game? Or is this actually a hint of someone's thoughts about releasing a demo showing off the first hour or so for you to play the game...

It sound logical to me that the a playable could end right about when you get your own ship...

Just to be clear:

I don't support pircay in any, shape or (w)orm form...

Remus · May 31, 2008

The game ran quite well on 1680*1050, and after 2 hours digging around (change settings, build new character) and at last, no more game glitch or the reported the windows stop to response error.

I only finish the Eden Prime tutorial mission; sound and music overall very satisfactory, and graphically almost excellent.

PS: The experience did feel like a Star Wars games. The background stories, alien race histories, etc also are there for you to explore. Below are some screenshots i took:

1) Sub-screen on main menu

2) Nice Looking space scene

3) Dangerous encounter on first mission

4) Waking up in First Aid room after got kicked in the ass too many times

5) Ready to for more adventure and kick somebody else asses...

JDR13 · June 1, 2008

Well I ended up having a change of heart and purchased it already. I snagged a new copy off Ebay for only $33 +$5 shipping.

Should be waiting for me when I get back from Hawaii.

JDR13 · June 1, 2008

Remus said:
The game ran quite well on 1680*1050, and after 2 hours digging around (change settings, build new character) and at last, no more game glitch or the reported the windows stop to response error.

Hey Remus, what are your system specs?

Remus · June 1, 2008

My specs:

Gigabyte P35-DS3
Duo Core 6750
G92 8800gts 512 + ForceWare 175.16 + 22" HP LCD
3GB RAM
Creative X-Fi extreme Gamer

I turn on highest settings and the framerate is very acceptable to me (barely any stuttering). I notice a little screen tearing problem. Probably exaggerated by the nature of LCD in handling refresh rate?

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