On March 6th, BioWare released the final chapter in its highly popular Mass Effect trilogy and gamers like myself, who have devoted hours to this amazing experience, couldn’t wait to dive back into the career of Commander Shepard and the ongoing fight against the Reapers. I have personally devoted more than 120 hours to this series so I eagerly dove into this experience with a wide-eyed enthusiasm of a kid at Disneyland. Like having Mickey kick me in the crotch, my innocence was stolen when I started researching the idea of “Galactic Readiness” and how it affects the trilogy’s end.
Why do I feel this way? What could cool my desire to see this story’s conclusion? One word.
You WILL Play With Others Whether You Like It Or Not
Multiplayer. We’ve all experimented with it. Whether it’s a good idea or not, multiplayer has become an expected addition to nearly every game released into today’s market. Developers are buckling under pressure to the extent that games celebrated for their engrossing single player experience feel compelled to tack on multiplayer. Splinter Cell did it with introduction of its spies vs. mercs gameplay. This was followed by Assassin’s Creed and BioShock each throwing in a competitive multiplayer gameplay feature that was largely ignored once initial curiosity died.
These games did not need a multiplayer experience and, as far as I know, gamers weren’t asking for it. Games in these genres are driven by a story built upon believable character development, crisp visuals, and spot-on gameplay. This was the legacy of Mass Effect. Never in my 100+ hours did I ever gaze longingly into the distance with a heartfelt desire to fly the Normandy with a cadre of “real world” friends.
Mass Effect lets you customize your character down to the length of their toenails so you can create your own individual Commander Shepard. Their unique look becomes integral to your experience. This was so true to me that I actually started Mass Effect 3 over when I found that I missed everything that was said in a particular cutscene because my Shepard’s nose was too “hawkish”. It didn’t feel right. I reimported my character and restarted the game, fixed the nose, and all was right with the world. I’m obsessive about this series. I run through the story with several unique characters. One is a male Paragon that makes every possible good guy choice that’s available. He’ll save the orphans, pay his taxes, and smile while doing it. I also have a female Renegade who does the exact opposite. She’ll poop on your baby and shave her initials into your dog all while completely destroying your self-esteem. She also looks like my mother but that is an issue for another day.
What’s my point? I don’t want to play the multiplayer. Let me reiterate that. I DO NOT WANT TO PLAY THE MULTIPLAYER! I have no desire to venture into that arena. Mass Effect is an experience centered on the Shepard I created and I have no interest in playing “Faceless Warrior AA14C” against a horde of indistinguishable foes.
So why don’t I just shut up and stop whining? It all comes down to Galactic Readiness.
You see, in this installment, Earth was caught with its pants down. When these irritable craw dads from outer space attack and give us a planetary wedgie, Commander Shepard embarks on a mission to unite the galaxy to fight this threat. Every decision you make, including the effects of those from the previous games, has a direct impact on what is referred to as your “Galactic Readiness” and will determine the quality of the ending. If you don’t get it high enough, you won’t get the best possible ending and, after all the time I have devoted in exploring every corner of this galaxy, searching every crate, mining every planet, and saving every character, I DESERVE the best ending. Unfortunately, that attention to detail may not be enough with this installment.
BioWare is apparently very proud of the multiplayer they built into the game. So much so they made multiplayer a key part of achieving the most out of your single player journey. “Galactic Readiness” refers to how well prepared you are to engage the Reapers in the final showdown. You start with each of five separate areas at 50% Readiness. You increase this in the single player game through the accumulation of “War Assets” that build towards increasing this percentage. I have read up on this and cannot find a definite answer but, in my own personal experience, playing a near perfect campaign won't cut it. I have gained all assets available with every system explored to 100% and making every Paragon decision and didn't come close to 100% Readiness. Playing the multiplayer, however, would allow me to breach this gap.
Each multiplayer win contributes to your “Galactic Readiness” in the single player so they are, in essence, forcing you to enter this realm of gameplay. To make it worse, you can’t just play a few matches, boost your readiness, and move on. That’d be too easy. BioWare actually designed the system so that any gains you make through multiplayer will actually decrease over time. You either have to periodically play to keep your number up or stop the single player on the verge of the final battle to play a flurry of multiplayer to pad your stats.
This upset me to the point where I hesitated to start the game. I’ve devoted money and hours of my time to this franchise. I deserve to be able to achieve the best possible conclusion without having a multiplayer experience I don’t want, didn’t ask for, and never expected crammed into me like an impromptu prostate exam. My frustration changed when I came across a couple of iPhone/iPad apps that alleviated my concerns.
An Apple A Day Keeps The Reapers Away
Mass Effect Infiltrator and Mass Effect Datapad were both released on the iPhone/iPad this month and both games work with EA’s Origin service to allow you to directly build your Galactic Readiness in Mass Effect 3.
Mass Effect Infiltrator is a third person shooter with visuals surprisingly similar to what is seen in the full console game. You follow a never-before-seen character as he fights to free prisoners from Cerberus, a pro-human organization that you butt heads with repeatedly in the series. Over the course of the game, you gather items that may be converted to “Intel” that can then be sent to your Mass Effect 3 game. While a nice attempt at alleviating gamer frustration with the asinine “Galactic Readiness” system, the game itself is disappointing for a couple of reasons. First, the price tag of $6.99 is very steep for an iPhone game and, second, the controls make movement difficult and frustrating. My limited time in Infiltrator was better left forgotten. I forced my way through aggravating fights where my character would break cover for no apparent reason and immediately get gunned down. The intel was slow to accumulate and I saw no noticeable change to my “Galactic Readiness”.
On the other hand, Mass Effect Datapad is a FREE app that, by itself, is really nothing to get excited about. While it doesn’t have the graphics of Infiltrator, it also doesn’t have the gameplay similar to passing a kidney stone the size of a Volkswagon. It provides a simple interface where you can view Twitter feeds from BioWare to players or read emails from characters you’ve interacted with in the full console game. This is all unimportant filler compared to what makes this app a good buy. In the “Galaxy At War” area, you see an exact replica of the Galactic Map from Mass Effect 3. You start with two fleets that can be dispatched into one of three areas in each of the five divisions of your galaxy. Each area has a different completion time coupled with an appropriate reward. Simply check in every few hours, depending on which area you sent your fleet, to collect your rewards, spend cash on upgrades, and then send your fleets back out to get more goodies. The increase in your “Galactic Readiness” is instantaneous. I logged into Mass Effect 3 on my 360 and saw my numbers had automatically increased to match changes that had just occurred through the Datapad interface. This does require you to be logged into EA’s Origin service.
Sorry, Android users. These apps are only currently available on products running the iOS. Infiltrator is scheduled for a later release on your systems at an as yet unannounced date. No information on whether or not you will ever have access to Datapad is available.
Don’t Fear The Reapers
Mass Effect is arguably one of the best games of this console generation. Fans of the series have anticipated playing through the conclusion of this trilogy since we were first introduced to this universe in November 2007 and the story of this final chapter does not disappoint. (Even those who have expressed loud disapproval of the ending just reinforce the idea of how well BioWare has told this story.) Although the addition of a force fed multiplayer initially stole some of my enthusiasm, the benefit of alternate methods enriched the experience and allowed me to keep my focus on the single player.
Follow my advice, Apple users, and download Datapad. Let it take care of some of the heavy lifting while you get back to simply enjoying Shepard’s war against the Intergalactic Lobsters.
