Mass Effect’s manual-override minigame – push the highlighted button within a limited amount of time – is insulting. It offers no real challenge and basically the only way to fail is not being concentrated at that moment.
Admittedly it seems like a minor flaw that i subjectively happen to take offense at and i can’t blame you if you’re quick to disregard my opinion. I admit that not feeling challenged by button-in-time-smashing is a right exclusive to the illustrious circle of hardcore gamers – which i believe i’m a member of – but which aren’t necessarily the main target audience for Mass Effect seeing the success amongst casual gamers (hence the default “Casual” difficulty). But like many others I do wonder why a “Simon” (“Senso” in Germany) game exists in Mass Effect and why solving it has the power to open locked containers. Care to elaborate?
I think this should concern all players, casuals included: the manual-override minigame has no foundation or explanation in the game’s world at all. I find this especially neglectful and harmful to enjoyment in a game that took so much care implementing a thriving universe and immensely captivating storytelling.
Additionally, the manual-override and other similar minigames in Mass Effect painfully violate immersion by presenting you on-screen the colored and labeled buttons of the real-world device that is the Xbox360 controller in your hands. Thus it not only fails to challenge, it is also breaking the feel of immersion each time it appears. Remember: Mass Effect is an immersive role-playing game – it says so on the backcover. But maybe that’s just me, and everyone else is seeing these green, red, blue and yellow A, B, X and Y buttons as some sort of container decryption interface?
Bioshock has showed that one can implement a simple yet challenging minigame for “unlocking containers” and they also tied it well to their skill system. Their “Pipe Dreams” minigame is far from being innovative, and has actually been at it’s core a commercial puzzle game about a decade ago. But it blends in perfectly with the game’s world and mechanics. You could even imagine how the protagonist is hacking the systems by reflowing their energy wiring – however you see it, it just makes more sense when put into perspective with the game’s world than Mass Effect’s detached manual-override system. Sure, Bioshock’s minigame may not seem like a big step forward and has also received criticism, mainly for being too repetitive and being simplistic. Oh, wait, what exactly is manual-override then?
Bioshock raised the bar just enough for any future game design to shy away from such uninspired, non-integrated minigames that is Mass Effect’s minigames. I even feel uncomfortable classifying these as “minigames”, they are actually nothing more than uninspiring and repetetive gameplay elements that have no right to be in a triple A roleplaying game.
Simply put: Mass Effect’s minigames are a shame, and insulting because we know (if only by playing Mass Effect) Bioware can do better than that and that other games offer much better “put-my-hacking-skills-to-use” minigames.
UPDATE: see also some of the user’s comments over at the Bioware forums.
Get a life…and maybe a girl as well.
Mass Effect pwns
[...] just in case you want to pick up on my own posts, they were about Mass Effect’s Manual Override, 3rd Person Camera and the dreaded Mako and can be found by clicking on the aforementioned links, [...]
Yeah, that “minigame” is horrible. The funny thing is that people compare it to Senso. But that’s wrong. If it were Senso, it would be at least a litte bit engaging. In Senso, you get a sequence, have to memorize it and replay it. But here, it’s just about reaction.
It feels like a placeholder that was implemented at the beginning of development and was supposed to be replaced with the “real” minigame. But then time ran out and they just kept it.
I’m currently playing Fallout 3 and … wow. What a difference. All minigames reflect perfectly the activity. They are all challenging, well polished and fit perfectly into the world. It’s really interesting to compare the two games. Neither is perfect, each has very severe flaws exactly where the other one succeeds.
I’m enjoying Fallout 3 a lot, too. I couldn’t even say it has flaws that i’m not comfortable with – but then i’m used to the UI and other things from Oblivion already.
I am a bit disappointed about the lockpicking minigame, maybe it’s just something i do wrong but i can’t get locks picked without cancelling the current attempt and trying again a number of times. I wish that while turning the lock i could still rotate the lockpick to counteract the forces but as it is i have to let go of rotating, readjust and if i hit a resistance a second time i have to quit this attempt or else i’ll lose a lockpick.
Oh, and i have Lockpicking at 100% already!
Well yes, there is a lot of trying involved with that lockpick game. I often just eat it and loose a pin. That way, I can take over the knowledge I gained from the failure over to my second try. I think restarting the minigame also randomizes the solution – like in the hacking minigame.
I’m not quite sure how the “Lockpicking” Skill affects the odds. I think it may be only necessary to allow you to start it.
On the other Hand it’s certainly possible to wear out the pin more quickly by handling the controls too crudely, so it’s not pure chance.
It could be better, your suggestion might improve it. But I think we both agree it’s lightyears ahead of Mass Effect.