The Mako fromMass Effectis one of the most notorious vehicles in video games. Notoriously difficult to handle, the Mako would be mocked in-game throughoutMass Effect’s characters in its sequels, and by its players for years to come.Mass Effect 2attempted to fix it with a replacement vehicle, the M-44 Hammerhead, which wasn’t entirely successful, whileMass Effect 3abandoned the idea of a player-controlled vehicle entirely.
Mass Effect: Andromedaintroduced the Nomad, which was well-received by fans as it drove well, had intuitive controls, and could be upgraded. It suffered one additional problem though, in that it exposed a fundamental problem ofMass Effect: Andromeda’s empty, open worlds. Rather than massive open worlds,Mass Effect 4should abandon a vehicle to traverse vast distances, and instead have players travel smaller distances on foot for a more interactive and engaging experience, where they interact with the world in a more meaningful way, which would also negate the need for something like the Mako.
The Problem with BioWare’s Open Worlds in Dragon Age and Mass Effect
Mass Effect 4may want to follow inMass Effect 3’s footsteps and abandon efforts toredeem the Mako. WhileMass Effect: Andromeda’s Nomad was a far better vehicle, especially once fully upgraded, needing one in the first place meant that the game took place in a very large open world. BioWare has shown several times that it’s better at creating more hands-on games, with smaller, more handcrafted, and intentional than sprawling, massive worlds.
BioWare’s games with larger open worlds, such asDragon Age: InquisitionandMass Effect: Andromedawere both largely empty. Despite being story-driven, single-player games, the side quests that were found in these environments were akin to MMO-esque fetch quests, rather than the interesting, character-driven stories that BioWare built its name on.
Bringing Back Discovery in Mass Effect 4
One of the driving forces behind creating an explorable space game likeMass Effectwas to capture the wonder of discovering alien environments and new worlds. The technology that existed when the firstMass Effectgame was developed in 2007 simply didn’t exist then to achieve that goal, but it does now. While, arguably, it could require creating open worlds andneeding a vehicle like the Makoto traverse them, smaller pockets of explorable environments to traverse on foot would remove the need for it completely.
Dragon Age: The Veilguardwas not open world, instead, it featured smaller areas that were entirely explorable on foot. It featured several gorgeous locations that were outside the scope of what is considered normal, such as Arlathan Forest both during the day and at night, and in different lighting conditions. Instead of smaller corridors that are only accessible during active missions, as inMass Effect 2andMass Effect 3, these environments unlock as the story progresses, althoughMass Effect 4could change this and instead limit exploration through leveling.
Removing the Mako or any other vehicle would makeMass Effect 4’s environments more dynamic, rich, and, overall, more interesting. Instead of speeding past vast swathes of empty land to get to the next point, the world itself becomes a part of the story, which makes exploration and immersion that much more engaging. This also removes any struggles to make the Mako a viable vehicle that’s fun to use, rather than a chore.
Mass Effect Trilogy
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