Forum Overview :: Mass Effect :: That's actually the definition of hard sci fi.

[quote name="Lizard_King"]The definition of a hard sci fi <i>fan</i>, however, consists of a person who is consistently able to delude himself into believing the latest mcguffin + foozle combination that he enjoys is original. You can see how the intersection between those two can lead to a great deal of controversy. What ME does is distill a lot of popular science fiction ideas and favorite cliches into one substantial blob of engrossing violence. Originality in this genre is overrated, and has for more to do with the characters and the story developed within the space zombies and the Cantina scenes. In that sense, I think ME excels as a choose your own adventure with enjoyable combat and customization. The combat in particular is a first for Bioware in the last few games, and it has so much obvious room for improvement that I can't help but be optimistic about impending sequels. The story is good, and surprisingly well written, and that will carry a lot of water. The problems arise when these hardcore fans are exposed to something obviously marketed at a broader audience that contains elements of their favorite semi-obscure tv series or book. They have a really tough time time addressing the reality that some OUTSIDER is going to be able to enjoy whatever smidgen of genius was contained within that niche work without paying the entry fee of enduring shitty production values, broken writing and characterization, etc. [/quote]