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Sad disapointment - Update

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 144 / 197
Date: May 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I pre-ordered this game two months ago, and this is a first-day review for the PC version.

All I can say is, what a profound disappointment, on multiple levels.

First and foremost, despite all the talk from BioWare, from minute one of the game it's clearly a console port. This is most notable in the wonky camera swing that follows the player somewhat haphazardly. And one doesn't even have the option of escaping this by going to a first-person mode (even though the game was promoted as having one up until a few weeks ago.)

Video on my system, which is in the mid - to upper- range for a gaming PC, was choppy and grainy, even using the "ultra High" definition textures. I could honestly barely tell the difference between the very high-end and low-end graphic settings.

The game did install easily, and did not have any issues running on my Vista PC .. to be fair, BioWare changed the DMR scheme prior to realease, and it was a change for the better.

But even that smart move by BioWare didn't make up for what has overall been a real disappointment for me.

UPDATE: [June 4, 2008]
I originally wasn't concerned about the DRM stuff after BioWare changed the periodic 'phone home' plan. HOWEVER - I'VE CHANGED MY MIND.

To me, it is now obvious WHY the DRM stuff matters - even to those of us who were not overly concerned and pre-ordered the game. The BioWare forum currently has *thousands* of posts, less than a week after release, of people w/ game issues. My armchair survey is about 40%-60% are related to activation issues & other bugs with the DRM.

Dealing with the DRM has become the black hole sucking up time & resources from BioWare tech support, leaving people w/ the garden variety issues that most games have on launch (to some extent) to fend for ourselves. Count me as newly joined to the "No DRM now, no DRM ever!" camp.

Rental versus purchase: Beware

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 59 / 73
Date: June 18, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I am not reviewing the content of the game except to say that Bioware has previously never disappointed me with its RPG's, and I expect Mass Effect is no different. I was highly excited to buy this game.

However, I like many others, canceled my pre-order when I discovered that I was not actually going to be buying the game, even though I was going to be spending $50 on it.

The truth is that this game comes with a new generation of digital rights management software called SecuROM. This DRM system does many things.

First, if your gaming computer does not have internet access then you cannot activate and play the game at all. Bioware/EA does not want your business.

Second, Bioware allows you three 'activations' only. Activations are tied to your computer's hardware and operating system configuration. If you ever reinstall windows, or upgrade a videocard, or add a new hard-drive, or even a simple cooling fan, you will need to use up another activation to keep playing mass effect on your computer. Several customers used up all three activations within a couple of weeks of buying the game as they tried reinstalling windows, or upgrading hardware, to overcome technical difficulties. Once you run out of activations and try to play the game again, you get a message informing you that you have no more activations left and that you should buy another copy of the game to get more. If you do some searching, you will find out that EA says that they may provide you more activations, on a case by case basis, if you contact them. They refuse to state what circumstances will be considered acceptable to them before allowing you more activations. At a minimum, you may need to provide a copy of your purchase receipt. You do actually keep your purchase receipts for $50 games right?

Third, SecuROM is a highly controversial piece of software. Its existence is not disclosed on the box, nor do you get notified that it is being installed on your machine. SecuROM installs registry keys that are not deleted when you uninstall the game. And these registry keys use illegal characters to prevent the user from being able to delete them manually. You must use third-party software to do so.

Fourth, SecuROM can include a module that provides 'information' to the game publisher. Bioware claims it is not using that module to do so, but there is no way to verify this.

Fifth, Bioware cancelled the re-validate online every 5-10 days policy that they originally stated the game would have. Expect to see this return in future games.

Lastly, Bioware/EA provides no method to de-activate a computer once it has been activated. Uninstalling the game from one computer does not free up that activation. Therefore, your ability to sell your copy of the game second-hand, guaranteed in the Copyright Act (Doctrine of First Sale) has been violated by Bioware/EA. Expect to see some lawsuits before too much longer.

If you think I'm blowing up the DRM issue out of proportion then, by all means, go ahead and buy this game. While you are able to play it I'm sure you'll be very happy with it. However, do not expect to be able to keep playing it years into the future without paying extra for more activations.

The same DRM system is also intended for use on EA games like Spore, and likely also Dragonage, plus many others.

If you are concerned about this kind of practice becoming the industry standard, then I urge you not to spend your money on this game or any other titles from EA until they abandon this DRM fiasco. There are games publishers who take a different approach (for example, the game Sins of a Solar Empire is DRM free) and who are much more appreciative of your custom.

Too bad I can't enjoy the fun game buried beneath the DRM garbage.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 87 / 134
Date: May 28, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I was craving for a sci-fi RPG, and Mass Effect seemed like a great game... until I learned of the horrible DRM system that it incorporates.

Yes, this single-player game uses a draconian copy protection system where you need to be connected to the internet in order to activate. All you get is 3 activations before having to call EA Tech Support and beg for an extra one. So even though you are paying for it, you don't actually own your copy of the game. This is even worse than StarForce. At least with StarForce I could install and play the game without being connected to the internet.

Basically it means that you can NOT install the game when you want, or where you want. While pirates enjoy a painless gaming experience, all fair usage rights are removed from us paying customers. The whole online activation process is very inconvenient; especially in the future when the activation servers WILL go down, or when you will want to install the game on a computer that's not connected to the internet. I guess this is how EA likes to thank their paying customers.

Oppose this oppression of our fair usage rights (yes it sounds cheesy, but obviously that's exactly what EA's intentions are). Vote with your wallet by avoiding this game. There are plenty of other games (with minimal or no copy protection) to choose from.

I am so ready to love this game, but...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 63 / 91
Date: June 03, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I admit it: I have been eagerly awaiting this game since word of a PC release reached my delicate ears. So, I prepared myself:

* I read the prequel book.
* Watched all the preview videos.
* Devoured all content on the Mass Effect website.
* Scanned all the reviews and accolades.

Needless to say, I was chomping at the bit in anticipation for the game to arrive. Well it did, and I am so disappointed.

No, not with the game itself, but the fact I can't even get it going on my Vista OS. After visiting EA's website and using their work-around methods for Vista, I almost got the game started. Almost. I think the game threw my system resources into overload, and at only 7 months old, it's a fairly decent machine. I suppose I'll have to try the game of my XP laptop, but that would mean using the second of my 3 activations. What a pain!

Disclaimer: Now folks, normally I don't add reviews without actually experiencing a product, and maybe I'll update once I get the game going on another computer, but this game clearly isn't Vista-friendly.

ETA 6/10/08: Okay, I haven't had much much time as I hoped to play ME, but I did get it going (yeah!) and am amazed at the quality of gameplay. Hopefully, I'll have some time to spend a few hours (heck...a whole day) playing.

Avoid Mass Infect and send a message to EA

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 84 / 132
Date: May 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Despite having opened a stickied FAQ thread on the official Bioware forums, representatives of the company have still not provided answers to any of the following questions-

Will there be a revoke tool to reclaim activations?

What changes to hardware will require a re-activation?

Does Securom install anything on the user's system and if so, is it removed once the game is uninstalled?

What information about the user's PC is gathered and how and where will it be stored? Will it be deleted after a certain period of time?

Will the DRM conflict with any other applications? If so, does it require these applications to be shut down, or uninstalled?

What would be the cost of contacting EA by phone to authorise further activations?

These questions, and others, have been asked multiple times and have never been answered despite the game being released in the next day or so. One of the comments from a Bioware QA bod named Stanley Woo is telling-

"We have never promised, and can't and won't promise an ETA for answers, or that your question can or will be answered at all, or that the answers will satisfy you. But we will do what we can to keep the community informed."

When a company either doesn't know details about its own product, or is apparently too embarrassed to answer perfectly legitimate questions on it, I think it's only fair that potential customers give them a wide berth.

Avoid Mass Effect and send EA a message that gamers won't be treated like thieves by default and won't put up with crippleware.

What a Mess Effect!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 40 / 52
Date: June 02, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I purchased this game but have not played this game. It's not that I haven't tried. It just doesn't work. If anyone complains that I have given this game 1 star without playing it, tough s---. It got more then it deserves - way more. Between the DRM which is an awful idea and this, it's over the top.

I'm 6 hours into attempting to install it and it still fails. It's all over the Internet now. The game shipped with a faulty installer. BioWare has provided instructions on how to install it manually from the DVD. Don't get your hopes up. About 20 of the files in the myriad of RAR files come up corrupt as you unpack them. You have to go in and verify and extract them manually. After all of that, NO GO. It launches and stops with a missng file message. It's a MESS EFFECT.

If BioWare and EA had spent as much time on quality control as they spent in implementing DRM, I'm sure everything would have been fine. Thanks a bunch guys. You have managed to piss off a cash paying customer. I won't be purchasing anything else from you again. No wonder the % of games being pirated keeps geting higher. The honest buyer is being screwed royally and is just giving up. As we leave, the % of piracy gets higher. When we are gone, only the pirates will remain and your statistics will be 100%.

There is some good news. Word of mouth on this bad baby has spread fast. It's already being heavilly discounted and it's not even a week old. Just remember, it may be getting cheaper but it's for a reason. Bad is bad!

THE EFFECT OF MASSIVE GREED

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 89 / 146
Date: May 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is an opinion review based on certain core characteristics of this release. I never post reviews before actually using a product first-hand. What urged me to post this warning was the unbelievable information confirmed these past weeks about the PC version of the game. And it was what made me cancel my PreOrder.

At first we were told that there will be WEEKLY ONLINE AUTHENTICATIONS - FOREVER(!) The predictable outrage that followed included questions to the effect of: "What does EA thinks they are selling? NASA's trajectory software?". And they were justified; I recently bought ADOBE's CREATIVE SUIT 3 (a much more expensive software than a PC game mind you) and it required only an initial activation.
What was to happen after an unavoidable format? What about if you were to find ourselves between internet providers for some days or your system crashed? There was no end to the ridiculous problems stemming from such a "security scheme". Were they kidding?
Apparently they were...! The perpetual activation security scheme obviously was nothing more than vapporware and a PR attempt to make the LIMITED INSTALLATIONS issue more palatable - by generating artificial customer relief and all... (Nevertheless, re-authentication will still be required after every patch or update, including the automatic ones).

YES, LIMITED INSTALLS!!! (We only get 3!) Well, we can all thank 2K GAMES & BIOSHOCK for introducing and opening THAT can of worms - but hasn't anyone at EA heard how hard BIOSHOCK's PC sales were hit by that disastrous decision? At what laughable lengths their Customer Community office had to go to explain such hostile measures to their own customers? History does indeed repeat itself as a farce...

For the record, I have games (such as STARCRAFT, PLANESCAPE TORMENT & EMPEROR OF DUNE amongst others) that I have been replaying over and over these past decade. Would that have been possible it their Installations were limited to 3 (or 5)? Who on earth gave the idea that PC games are Kleenex tissues: use once (or thrice) and throw away?!

And, let me guess: in order to enforce the limited installations, exactly like BIOSHOCK, there will be IRREMOVABLE FOLDERS placed in our systems' Root that will effectively revoke our Administrator rights to our own PCs!

Since even excellent games get completely ruined by RIDICULOUS DRM schemes, a 2-star ratting is more than deserving.

In the end it boils down to this: who actually will be owning my copy? Are we to pay $50 only to...RENT this from its publisher - and potentially be pestered with the weekly need to prove our purchase FOREVER? And what makes this even harder to understand: will such extreme measures actually prevent piracy? Of course not! They did not work for BIOSHOCK, why should they start working now?

One has to ask: what is next in store for customers that make the mistake of buying such a product? Chinese water torture? The Iron Maiden? Orwellian rat-masks? Guantanamo?

NO THANKS! No RENT-A-GAME game is worthy of such harassment!
I canceled my PreOrder some days ago. I will give EA the chance and wait to see whether they are willing to fix it. If this idiocy persists however, well, there are a lot of other games in the sea...

3 activations, EA believes paying customers are criminals!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 65 / 102
Date: May 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Securom is used in Mass Effect PC and it limits the number of installs to 3 before you have to call EA and prove you own the game. Who knows if EA will still support his game five or ten years down the road. However, that is not the biggest problem. I understand DRM is meant to curb pirarcy, but the DRM in Mass Effect is counter productive because it encourages people to pirate the game. The reason for this is because the pirate offer a better version compared to Bioware/EA. Until game publishers stop treating paying customers like criminal, do yourself and your fellow gamers a favor and do not buy this game until it is superior to 'other versions'.

Note: I played Mass Effect to death on the 360 and have been a huge fan of KOTOR, but Bioware has crossed the line.

Caveat Emptor

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 57 / 87
Date: May 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

It's highly disappointing to say this about a BioWare game, because they consistently produce some of the best-designed RPGs with the best storylines of any company in the gaming industry, but be aware that because of draconian DRM measures dictated by EA, you're very likely to eventually wind up with a piece of software that will not run, regardless of the fact that you've already paid for it. Additionally, it will install extra monitoring software into your registry that you will not be able to remove without resorting to third-party software, and then only if you have high-functioning knowledge of the guts of your operating system.

I myself canceled my pre-order when I found out about the SecuROM malware included in this software package, and as much as I hate to do so, I must recommend to anyone else considering this title that they do not buy it, or Maxis' SPORE, also to be released later this year, which uses the same DRM scheme.

they're not lying, mass effect will certainly have a mass effect on your computer

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 55 / 84
Date: May 28, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I usually don't review products before I purchase them, but once in a while there is a ridiculous exception that necessitates preemptive action.

The other reviewers have already said all that needs to be said about the effects of installing the game. Honestly, I would LOVE to play this game; but when it comes with the cost of threatening the proper functioning of my system and potentially being monitored by some malware-like program, I will gladly look the other way.

Developers need to come up with better ways of preventing piracy instead of stooping so low. They condemn hackers and other such programmers but now they're behaving like them, how ironic...

Do yourself a favor and stay clear of this one until it's cured of its disease...

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