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Mass Effect DLC — The Thing That'd Make Our Galaxy Tremble
Unlike some of my heartier staffmates, I’m still not finished with Mass Effect. Twenty hours in, my level-30 soldier — Commander Tor Shepard — is boots-deep in sidequests. And loving them. But I can already tell what I’d love to see in the game’s inevitable downloadable content.
And it’s not new story missions. Though those would be terrific, truly, and please do make those, BioWare. (Please.)
No, I’m thinking of something different. Not new weapons, à la BioShock’s plasmid DLC. Not new avatars, as with Beautiful Katamari DLC. No, I want to see The Randomizer.
Here’s the thing: Mass Effect’s story missions are seriously compelling and varied, but the sidequests are just painfully uniform. Same building floorplans (empty room, enemy room, empty room); same mineshaft setups; same salvageable artifacts; and so on. Once you figure out the pattern, you can do a pre-quest blow-by-blow in your head, and that’s how most of the sidequests will pan out.
But what if BioWare created The Randomizer DLC? I don’t mean Randomizer in the sense you usually hear it, like a random room generator. This Randomizer would promise one thing — to randomly insert small new events into many of the rote sequences you see repeatedly in Mass Effect. So, say, 1-in-30 times, you’d see the following types of things:
* When you go to land on a planet, right after the screen of the Normandy dropping the Mako, the game would cut to the buggy’s interior, with a voiceover from Joker: “Commander, the Mako-expulsion systems just misfired. You’re coming into the planet’s atmosphere too fast. Activate your thrusters immediately, or you’ll crash!” At that point, you could do a button-press game to activate the thrusters and save you and your team.
* When you’re on-foot and click on a mineral to Survey it, an alien-whatever would burst through it and attack you. Viciously. It could be a Thresher Maw, or even something cooler like a tentacled creature that’d snag Shepard, at which point you could use only LB and RB to have the other characters Biotic-power you free.
* When you’re in an elevator (like Paul, I hate those moments with a passion), a timer would suddenly appear. Someone’s set a bomb, and you have 10 seconds to deactivate it! Or, better yet, when you’re in an elevator, you’re suddenly warped somewhere — someone’s snagged you in-transit and transported you…somewhere. Instant sidequest!
Again, these types of events would be relatively rare — I’m not asking BioWare to rewrite the whole game in their DLC, and these inserted moments would be completely unrealistic if they happened too often. But what if they happened just enough that you’d see at least some of them, guaranteed, when you replayed the game? Or, if you hadn’t yet played the game, you’d see some of them, guaranteed, during your first playthrough?
I’d buy that for 10 dollars. Just knowing that kind of unpredictability — the stuff that permeates the main game — would spill over onto the sidequests would open my wallet and make the money pour out. How about you?
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turboej25
December 20, 2007 at 9:02pm
That sounds like a pretty bad Idea. If they released DLC that would insert AutoSaves AFTER the cut scenes, I would have a great deal of dificulty not buying it no matter how many 'points it cost.
jcdenton1723
December 17, 2007 at 12:11am
I don't like the idea of quick timer events in an elevater or when landing in the mako, but the random dungeon idea is sound. I've clocked over a hundred hours on Mass Effect and beat the game four times, so I've seen every room more than a few times.
Spybreak
December 16, 2007 at 8:40pm
Please no, that sounds more aggravating than fun. Seriously a mini game is fine to determine if you open up a crate but not for a life or death situation. Mass Effect DLC has a lot of possibilities, opening up new explorable galaxies or just allowing players to land on more planets and maybe discover a new species. Every time the game tells me there is DLC on the marketplace I get all excited and then when I find out that it's just themes and gamerpics I go ah man come on. Not involving DLC, the next patch should seriously load the next area while you ride the slow ass elevator, come on we're not in the year 2007 here. Also save the game when you get the loading screen mass relay screen. GT: Spybreaker Now you're dead
BIGFRAKINDOGG
December 14, 2007 at 12:22pm
It whould be cool to see a DLC in a upgarde to the MAKO as in to upgrading the Machine Gun,the Cannon and the armor or shild. And Yes it whould be cool to land on Earth and Mars as a DLC.
Axe Argonian
December 14, 2007 at 12:07pm
Exactly jaime. I despise the fact that BioWare tempts us with the Solar System,but then,the Moon is the only landable thing. Comeon BioWare! I would rather land on a REAL planet that hasn't been viewed up close,rather than land on fictional planets that don't exist. And please don't tell me that BioWare doesn't know how the Solar System planets look up close. Use imagination! At least let us land on Earth and Mars. Still,there should be a DLC pack entitled, "The Solar System" that costs $10 for a new achievement-related questline involving the exploration of ALL 9 planets. Let's make it even better: There's a connecting story-line that ends with a big climax involving a bad-heat-proof facility just off the Sun's surface. Then in the facility you face the main villian who's another Rogue Spectre. Just in this case,his story is not LIKE Saren's. (I won't mention Saren's reason for being bad because that would bring the spoiler-ringer in) Oh! Then you have a limited time to beat him because he set a course for the facility to crash into the firy fury that IS the SUN. I would pay $10 for a 12hour-so questline that involves achievements and an adrenaline-pumping climax. Axe Argonian
hellojaime
December 13, 2007 at 10:43pm
being able to land on earth would be pretty cool, the1ej i would like to see that in the dlc
Axe Argonian
December 13, 2007 at 8:10pm
Good idea! You're either smoking some good stuff,or you have a good noggin'. Corey PWNS Dagoth Ur. Wait,everyone does! I am using drugs! LOL!!!
the1ej
December 13, 2007 at 7:00pm
I say forget the Randomizer DLC and consentrate on filling the dead spots. What is the purpose of riding the elevator if all I ever hear is one conversation or one news flash. Why not do it Grand Theft style and have the news going at all times. I have to say that after reading the novel, I thought that I would be able to look out of a veiwport while riding in my ship. There are two empty seats beside Joker. Why cant I sit in one? Why cant I pilot my own ship? I thought they would fix that after KOTOR. "Once upon a time I was walking aroung on my ship, and I found myself in the captains private quarters, and I couldn't help but ask myself, why cant I lay down on my own bed?" I'm on my second play through and im almost at level 60 so all complaints aside, THIS IS THE BEST GAME EVER. For DLC please add more story, more side quests and more planets to explore. Also what is a guy to do when his money is maxed out (999999)? We need some interesting things to buy that doesn't involve armor or weapons. This is my last gripe I promise, Can we land on Earth. Make Earth like the citidel please because I'm from earth so I want to walk on Earth and Mars.
Frankie B
December 13, 2007 at 3:13am
I totally agree and was wondering how Bioware could get away with that sort of flaw and not end up even mentioned in the review or score. This was the same crap that brought the Godfather game's score so low, but Mass Effect skeeted out of that without any bumps. Granted Mass Effect was really fun, it's kind of hard for me to justify 30+ more hours on the game to do the same side missions over to build Shepard back up to rock star status. Oh and that damn elevator! At least give me some cheesy elevator music to laugh at. Is all that time in the Elevator necessary on such a long game? A randomizer would be awesome... along with some more story.
Cherub23
December 12, 2007 at 5:58pm
I would definitively pay 10 dollars for those kinds of updates! It would not only give me thousands more reasons to replay a game I am replaying at the moment but would also give a whole new aspect to the game. In my opinion updates should be just like that, a change in the game that makes it even better than before(which in this case is really hard so good job). Updates that make no difference to gameplay/story content are by far the most lame excuse for milking their loyal gamers...
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