User blog comment:The Milkman/The Next Effect/@comment-26906867-20121127162638/@comment-1440333-20121202132411

I loved exploration.

You still can explore in ME2 and ME3. Granted mainly on just the Galaxy Map but with the War Assets in ME3 it felt almost as rewarding as the treasure collections in ME1.

I loved the many dialogue pieces (at least compared to ME3).

I agree that the dialogue wheel has been greatly reduced in ME3, but that was announced before release as deliberate.

'''You loved going up an elevator for a unnecessary amount of time, and while doing nothing? Sorry, I can't imagine anybody liking that.'''

Actually I preferred the elevators to the Loading screens in ME2 as they didnt take you out of the game. In fact with news stories and party banter they were enjoyable. The ME3 load screens kept the immersion though which I did like.

Hammerhead.

Loved the exploration with the Hammerhead, especially in Overlord, and I really want it back!

'''I think the problem here isn't that the action exists at all, but rather that the role playing and depth has been removed. I'm okay with having both, just like I was OK with Resident Evil 4 blending both horror and action. It wasn't as scary as other horror titles, and the action wasn't as thrilling as pure action titles, but it brought its own unique experience to the table, and at the end of the day, it was damn fun. Then, Resident Evil 6 came along and couldn't do either.'''

Actually Resi6 did a good job of blending the elements, just as ME3 did. Resi5 was the one that went too action, similar to ME2. Althoughthe action has generally been better implemented in Mass than it ever was in Resident Evil.

'''One could say that Mass Effect has progressively leaned towards an action game. I just don't think the RPG elements had to be sacrificed for it. There's plenty of room for both.'''

This was the problem with ME2 in my eyes. Bioware seem to have looked at what was generally disliked in ME1 and simply removed it all outright, rather than improving on it. In fact the return of several features such as greater modification was what made ME3 stand out for me.

'''Yeah, if anyone calls the major battles of ME1 anything other than action, theres a problem. It just wasnt a cover-based shooter before EA.'''

Actually there was cover in ME1, and on higher difficulties it's actually pretty essential, its just that it's so poorly implemented most people didn't bother. It was utilised a lot better in the sequels, and the cover system instantly became more important as the enemies became tougher.