I really liked ME1 but I can see why it would turn some people off. ME2 is one of the best games ever made. I didn't hate ME3 like some but the Citadel dlc on that was so good. I could see some good premium content where Alex plays through all of them with Vinny. That would be awesome.

Only if he plays all 3...

the series really hasn't stood the test of time

Alex doesn't like BioWare games and he's extremely cynical. There's no way he will enjoy it after all the hype.

Nah he should just jump on Andromeda if he is going to jump in at all.

I'm not sure if forcing someone to play a whole game is fair. Mass Effect is amazing, but if Alex doesn't like Bioware games, then why force him to play it? I'd rather watch Vinny play more Castlevania or Alex play more Mega Man.

@gtb08: replayed 1 & 2 in the last 2 month and you know what? I'm w/ you.

on topic: na, don't force someone to play anything.

No. If what Alex said is true, that he doesn't generally like bioware games, then I don't think it'd be enjoyable to have him sit through a style of game he doesn't like.

I think of all the Bioware series and games that Mass Effect 2 is specifically the one he'd enjoy the most. Functional controls, good characters, looks good, a good section in the overarching story of Mass Effect that I'm fairly sure you can just jump into without playing the first game, etc.

He should make him do an endurance run and play all of them, ME2 is the best Mass Effect too.

Yes he should play the game of that generation.

nah, the "hey you don't like this thing I'm going to make you play it" series of videos is getting old. Plus, I think he said he played it for a couple hours and didn't like it, so it's not like he Old Dan'd it and refused to play it at all.

I don't know, I feel like after all the talk and the copies of the game they've received, they should at least float the idea by. Maybe do it for a playdate and if it doesn't grab Alex at all then don't return.

They should do it as a CYOA and then if Alex enjoys the first hour or so, make it a semi-regular series. If he doesn't, then do something else because it wouldn't be fun to watch someone be forced to play a game for content.

Vinny shouldn't force him to....we should. Grab your pitch forks and meet me in New York. Seriously though, I voted yes because I would enjoy that.

After that Deliberations Debacle, I'd say yes, Vinny should make anyone who hasn't played Mass Effect 2 play it, starting with Alex.

Me and my girlfriend played all three games +DLC and had a blast. The first one is really rough to play, but everything else holds up (yes the ending is bad but enought time has passed that I can overlook that).

No.

It's a long game and if Alex isn't into it it will just be a slog. I love watching Alex play bad games as much as anyone, but I don't think watching him play a good game that he doesn't like would be entertaining.

Not everyone has to be into every game or genre. There's plenty of new games to cover. And if we're going to watch Alex go outside his comfort zone I would prefer it be with something weird and interesting, not Mass Effect 2, which has been covered to death.

Forcing people to play games they would enjoy but have no interest in is a recipe for disaster. It's better if he came to the game on his own.

People are saying that Alex dislikes Bioware games, but Mass Effect is atypical of their style. Thematically similar, but the gameplay is quite different.

No. Alex has stated many times that he doesn't like Bioware games. Would you want someone to force you to spend 20 hours doing something you don't like?

As some one who does not enjoy bioware games, no, even if some people think is the best game ever. Although ME2 is the last bioware game I liked. They hit their stride with dragon age origins and it has been a down hill trek since, with the pitch of the hill getting steeper with dragon age inquisition, Fuck that game.

I never saw the fuss with ME2. The only memorable part for me is "I'm commander Shepard, and this is my favorite store on the citadel." because that shit was genuinely hilarious. Overall, ME1 had a much bigger impact on me because it took so many crazy risks with game play and structure. ME2 just made it more like a shooter, got rid of the Mako and (admittedly awful) inventory system and had some marginally better writing. They kept the cheesy sex-reward scenes for "completing" a relationship. Some major content is DLC. And that final boss... I wouldn't force anyone to play it.

And interrupt Blue Bombin'? Dear sir, you've surely gone daft! Have at you!

Only if it's at gunpoint

I'd like to see him jump straight into 3. Maybe watch a catch up video of the others, as both 1 and 2 aren't quite there on the gameplay end. 3 plays really well and is basically a standalone story after two games of build up.

So jumping into the final chapter would be silly but would give him an untainted look at the best game of last gen. 3 is incredible.

No, forcing someone to play that much of a game they probably won't care for sounds like a drag.

@dystopiax: how are "hey you don't like this thing I'm going to make you play it"-videos getting old? Has there ever been one on GB? I genuinely don't know if there has been.

And, frankly, I would love to them on the site.

Have Jeff play Red Dead to completion and same with Alex with Mass Effect 2.

- Because Jeff seemingly hates Red Dead

- Because Alex hates Bioware games

Obviously people can have whatever opinions they like, but knowing that Jeff doesn't like Red Dead without ever having beat it seems more funny that it is informative. If Alex plays Mass Effect 2 and hates it, then thats totally fine and same with Jeff and Red Dead. But they need to play it first to know what they're talking about.

Deadly Premonition and Shenmue were both pretty terrible games, but had a charm to them (well, DP at least...) and provided moments for us to laugh at. Mass Effect 2 is "just" a good game and forcing someone to play that sounds like a bad time for the player and then in turn for the fans in each comment section, when they tell you that Alex is an idiot for not liking the game they like and that they are also playing it wrong, of course.

I also can't really judge anyone for not liking a game even if they haven't beaten it. It always reminds me of Brad telling about whichever Final Fantasy years back and saying something like "the game gets good after the first 10 hours" or so. I wouldn't want to waste my time by sinking that many hours into a game in hopes that it might get better eventually...let alone just to be able to say that "yeah, that game sucked like I expected and now I dislike it even more because I wasted so many hours.".

I think it would be more entertaining if Alex watched Vinny play through ME2 if they're going to do any content at all with the game. I feel like it's a big ask to have Alex play through it considering how involved a play through is for the main campaign alone.

@glots: a valid point about Shenmue and DP.

I just think Mass Effect 2 is narratively focused enough that it will lend itself to entertaining discussions and reactions from a very passionate Vinny and a cynical Alex.

I think Alex will actually end up liking the game, which is why I want him to play it...either on stream or off. Watching someone suffer was not the underlying point behind the question I posed.

As to your second point about having an opinion on a game without having complete it. I could not disagree more with that opinion and its sad to see it popping up now and then from people within the games industry.

A lot of time, money and passion go into even the shittiest of games. If you want to be able to speak about it with the intent of giving it some kind of review (whatever that means), at the very least, as someone reading/listening to you, I would expect you to have beaten the game.

I know its a different medium, but not THAT different: imagine if movie critics just saw the first half of films then reviewed the entire film based upon their first knee-jerk reactions. It wouldn't be very informative to the public. But, this ends up venturing into the subjective perspective on art, and if we get into that I can understand how reviews of anything are largely useless.

Just from my own history though, when I first played Undetale. I hated the gameplay and the opening section. It was frankly difficult for me to get through because the humour and gameplay mechanics were so terrible to me. However, after months of not playing it I gave it a chance and decided to play it for a few hours. Even then, I didn't like it immediately but it slowly grew on me and now I can safely say that Undertale is one of my favourite games of all time, in spite of some of the humour not working and the gameplay being largely shitty. A game is the sum of many things and only partially experiencing it then rendering a complete judgement on it is pretty ridiculous in my estimation.

@patoday: but half the fun is seeing someone play the game who hasn't done so before with someone else who HAS played the game to guide them

Forcing people to play games doesn't create a good payoff. If Alex wants to play it, he'll do it.

I think it would be really cool to have video of a full play through of the Mass Effect series on the site and if its through Alex experiencing the games for the first time that'd be a cool excuse, but also the Mass Effect series, much like the Souls games, have never been the poster child for universal appeal.

I don't think it's entirely necessary. For as much as I love (like?) Mass Effect 2, I don't really need to watch someone play through that game, especially since Alex seems lukewarm on the entire idea. Let's all just be happy they're doing Yakuza next year and take it from there.

I'd like to see Alex try it for a bit, but not the entire thing if it isn't his thing.

Nah. I don't want to see anyone forced through a game they don't like, especially one I adore like Mass Effect 2. If Alex was into it though, absolutely.

Mass Effect would be boring to watch someone play all the way through. Those games have a good story but are otherwise pretty generic. Hell, even the story itself is pretty standard. All of the good videos on this site of full game playthroughs had a game that was very unique in a way which made it funny.

No one should be forced to play something they aren't interested in for 100 hours.

Besides setting up the Bossman to try to force it.

However, we can, like some other posters have said, clamour ceaselessly for it. At the top of our literate lungs :)

But even then, I think there are other games Alex could play, we'd be happy, and so would he.

Mario Party Party and arguably shenmue are both series where staff were forced to play games they disliked. I think Shenmue didn't start that way but by the end and from comments made after it was pretty clear their feelings on it.

That doesn't seem interesting to me at all, it's not like either of those guys haven't given those games a shot and I don't see the comedic value in making them play 30+ hour games that they'd hate the whole time. I'd rather them play both more obscure games (contradiction playthrough for example), or games that haven't gotten a ton of exposure at the time (Deadly Premonition) over games that are beloved classics that most people have at least tried to play.

The best way to get someone to hate something is to force them to experience it

No one should be forced to play anything. (And I would much rather see Vinny, Alex and Dan tackle the Yakuza series together.)

Nope. Not Vinny style anyway. Would it be fun watching Alex experience the game? Would be cool for sure. Duders' choice obviously.