Takahashi apologizes for his Mass Effect bashing

by Dustin Burg { Jan 2nd 2008 at 12:30PM }

Last week Dean Takahashi of The Mercury News gave Mass Effect a written review lashing, going as far as to call it "Mass Defect". Takahashi was steadfast in claiming that his Mass Effect experience was lackluster, the game's mechanics were weak and that there really wasn't all that much to enjoy. Overhyped to no end, get the picture? But after a quick replay over the holiday break (and with the help of a few tips), Takahashi retracted his review apologizing to BioWare saying that they made "a better game than I thought" and that it isn't "as flawed as I thought". Interesting stuff.

So why a change of heart so quickly after the replay? Well, Mr. Takahashi admitted that he only put in eight hours for his review and seemingly forgot to upgrade his character along the way. But after giving the upgrading system a chance he soon experienced RPG bliss and everything came full circle. It was like a re-birth of Mass Effect.

Lesson learned kids. Always navigate a games' menus and be sure to upgrade your character whenever possible. Also, it's okay to admit you're wrong. We all make mistakes. Now group hug.

Tags: bioware, dean-takahashi, mass-effect

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

xenocidic @ Jan 2nd 2008 12:35PM

that would be like going through bioshock without saving/harvesting any little sisters.

what a freaking n00b

DjDATZ @ Jan 2nd 2008 12:55PM

BAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH. lol...i love it. someone actually called him a n00b. xeno FTW.

itsburnsie @ Jan 2nd 2008 1:15PM

Yup, he's a noob.

What I want to know is how someone who is a GAME REVIEWER not only puts 8 hrs into a 20hr game and calls that good... but also misses using A KEY GAME MECHANIC FOR THE ENTIRETY OF THOSE 8 measly hours.

This guy may as well quit now... his reputation is toast. Maybe Gardening?

Oh wait, he'd probably wonder why all of his plants are dying because he forgot to water them.

/ALL MUH PLANTZ R DYIN' DIS JOB IS TEH SUXXORZ!

xenocidic @ Jan 2nd 2008 1:22PM

so you're suggesting he play Viva Pinata?

xenocidic @ Jan 2nd 2008 1:28PM

although he's still a n00b, i do respect that he's publicly admitting his n00bosity and correcting his erroneous review

L4MB @ Jan 2nd 2008 1:55PM

hah, n00bosity, i love it

Boff @ Jan 3rd 2008 6:53AM

Fuck yeah he's a n00b. Or complete twat as we'd say in my part of the world.

8hrs? No upgrading? And he's a fucking game reviewer???

Do your job properly you twat.

Sorry for the rant but that really wound me up!

Josh @ Jan 2nd 2008 12:40PM

I love Mass Effect however the damn glitches (getting stuck on the walls) and framerate problems (pretty choppy during battles) really hinder the gameplay sometimes.

Loban @ Jan 2nd 2008 12:43PM

So he wrote a review of a game after having only played less than half of it and never even touching any of the upgrade system. Yeah, I don't think i'll ever trust a review by this guy, EVER.

Bobicus @ Jan 2nd 2008 12:45PM

this is what seemed to be the problem with most reviews... play the game for yourself then decide, i mean eight hours is hardly off the first part

Larry @ Jan 2nd 2008 12:47PM

Loban,

I agree. I think Dean is more reliable when it comes to hardware for the 360. I wonder what he has to say about the integrated HD-DVD drive. That, unlike his reviews, I would actually pay attention to.

Phocas @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:46PM

Exactly, I think I will stick with Dean's "Inside the XBox" media and stay away from his game reviews!

Tony @ Jan 2nd 2008 12:49PM

I can accept the technical issues the game has as hurting the game, but the rest are clearly pretty goofy. The game tells you how to upgrade your character and every time you go in the menu and have to the section is flashing. I guess he just doesn't read much, although the menus are kind of confusing anyway.

I'm used to reviewers not playing through games and obviously in a lot of ways it is understandable. I can't imagine them all putting 30+ hours into every RPG that appears, for example. Still it gets frustrating... I don't know if anyone played Digital Devil Saga, but there are some comments in Gamespot's review that instantly imply they never got more than 6 hours into it (a voice complaint that is part of the story and is quickly explained and rectified).

That's why stuff like metacritic and gamerankings and gamefly are good things in my life lol.

Big Filth @ Jan 2nd 2008 12:50PM

u can has upgrades in Mass Effect?? SWEET!

Etchasketchist @ Jan 2nd 2008 12:51PM

I saw the defects on my first playthrough. Now that I'm digging through the second (and have plans for third and fourth) I'm really beginning to see the brilliance more than the flaws.

Kamal @ Jan 2nd 2008 12:54PM

RTFM?

I wonder if he did not want to end up Gerstmanated.

DjDATZ @ Jan 2nd 2008 12:58PM

like xeno said. what a n00b.

upgrading your character in ME is basically as important as learning to pull the right trigger.

Grant @ Jan 2nd 2008 1:01PM

jesus, forgot to upgrade his character?
they tell you how to do it while you're playing.
this leads to 3 conclusions:

1. He has NEVER played an RPG before.
2. He can't follow directions, put on the screen that you have to press buttons to skip through.
3. He's an idiot.

I mean even if you had NO clue to upgrade anything, you would probably do it by accident at least once playing with the menus.

BananaBoat @ Jan 2nd 2008 1:07PM

There is no defending Mass Effect in the bugs department. It HAS bugs, that is a fact. I also think parts of the game were pretty broken (playing as just a biotics user for instance, is nearly impossible) and the enemy AI, along with your squad AI, is terrible.

Having said all of that, it's a solid 85/100 or so. Since it doesn't have any sort of multiplayer, I wouldn't buy it (if I already hadn't) but in no way is it as much of a dissapointment as Assassins Creed.

BananaBoat @ Jan 2nd 2008 1:07PM

elmersglue @ Jan 2nd 2008 1:50PM

luckily, even mass effect isn't a huge disappointment to many of us, as you may have noticed. Take me for example, I thought it was great.

BananaBoat @ Jan 2nd 2008 1:09PM

My gaming-tuned keyboard with it's nearly simoltaneous button clicks, has once again f00kered me with a double enter key stroke. Bah

Boyo @ Jan 2nd 2008 1:08PM

Did this guys Controller not have an A button? How the hell do you play an RPG and not Upgrade? Box up your Mass Effect and post it on Ebay for 20 buck you sir do not deserve to play.

NitroFrost @ Jan 2nd 2008 1:33PM

Forgetting to upgrade Shepperd priceless.

ZenGaijin @ Jan 2nd 2008 1:34PM

I do think their are flaws with the game but its by no means a bad game. I completed my playthrough and had a pretty good experience I still say Bioshock & The Orange box were better games but again that is just my opinion.

John Zorich @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:03PM

There is a term that some writer coined and I have loved ever since I read it. He said that there is a class of gamers that are Attention Deficit Gamers. They, the ADG's, blow through games never giving the finer points of the game a try. We saw this with Assasin's Creed, a great game. Now it is Mass Effects turn. Well Mr. Takahashi would appear to be one of these ADG's. Slow down. I know you have a deadline but please. Really play the game.

Evan @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:19PM

Wow. Simply wow. Who reviews games and 'forgets' to upgrade/level up their character in an RPG.

Actually playing the majority of the game would be key too.

Needless to say, if you see this n00bz name at the top of a review, just skip right by it.

ryan @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:23PM

i found my experience lackluster compared to KOTOR.
30 hrs. Half of which was spent riding the damn Mako over Mountains.

Subquests killed this game for me. The 8-10 hours of the main game were good, just needed more.

it is a giant step down from KOTOR.

Mal F4cti0n @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:26PM

Rented this the other day. The story is GREAT! The game is a little slow at first, what with walking aorund the Citadel and not really doing anything for awhile, but that is the needed background for the story.

The fighting starts of hard and frustrating until you start leveling up and, gasp, equiping new weapons.

I wouldn't say the game has BUGS, I would say it has flaws that the hardware forced on it. This game would play so much smoother if it was able to cache to the hard drive, but as it is, it is annoying to have to load levels all the time. Example, on the Normandy, you load as you go on the elevator and then it loads when you start walking to your medical bay area. Ugh, it is not that large an area, I would think, to only be able to load a room at a time on that ship.

It would also pay better (for those of us who don't like to micromanage) if as you pick your two other squadmates for them to simply take the best weapons available at the time and then you can go in and add your upgrades to them. As it stands, it is a pain in the ass to constantly f'ing with your squads equipment, even if you always use the same two players.

Overall, great game!

Strider_J @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:27PM

how shallow of him. he should've gave it more time. personally, its one of my favorite games on the 360.

yeah, I've got COD4, I have Gears, H3, Forza, etc. but Mass Effect is one of a kind. an rpg, in space, with interplanetary travel?? you can't hate.

if he hasn't already, he should write a full blown re-tract article on the greatness that is Mass Effect.

ryan @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:43PM

KOTOR had all of the above dude. It was longer and superior to Mass Effect in all the important RPG places.

Gamer90 @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:46PM

I guess he didn't want to end up like the Gamespot guy lmao.

Corleone @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:48PM

Dean Takeituptheassi

Jayslacks @ Jan 2nd 2008 2:51PM

That's fucking bullshit. He wrote a review before he played a game. I say we go for his head. Or a head. He can choose which one we take.

James @ Jan 2nd 2008 3:24PM

I would love to see a "time spent playing" stat in the vitals of every review:

Title: Mass Effect
Publisher: BioWare
Platform: 360
Release Date: 11/XX/07
Score: 86/100
Time Played: 45 hours (completed)

so we would know who was just ranting like an idiot and who actually gave the game the time it deserved.

It would serve two purposes: for those of us who want to invest X dozen hours in an "epic" title, we can ignore those reviewers who don't put in the time; for those of us who have to make every. single. hour. count (like if we have a 2-year-old or something =-) and can't afford that kind of time, we can notice that the short-timers hate the game and it's only "worth it" after the 30-hour mark.

Who's going to be first to start the trend?

BowserUSC @ Jan 2nd 2008 3:45PM

Has this man ever played a bioware game before. The upgrade system is pretty standard. I mean kotor I and II and jade empire both had a similar type of system, and I'm sure there are a ton of other rpgs that do too.

ogvor @ Jan 2nd 2008 4:13PM

I'd agree that the game is flawed and has many problems, but it is still fun to play. I enjoyed it enough to play through more than once, imperfections and all.

J @ Jan 2nd 2008 4:38PM

I never played KOTOR, but I bought Mass Effect on launch day... made it to the Citadel and was bored out of my skull and haven't been able to bring myself to touch it again.

Is it really worth going back to? I'm playing as a soldier. Is there another character type that is more fun/interesting to play as?

It is awfully "chatty" for my tastes. Does it get better, or at least do the conversations get more interesting?