Mass Effect 3

[Madame Adequate]

Exploration in ME was , but that had nothing to do with the Mako and everything to do with the fact that nowhere was very interesting.

The Mako itself was fine. No idea why people hate it. ME was a better game overall and ME2 certainly lost something in their streamlining efforts.

The Mako added nothing important to ME. In planetary exploration, it was an obnoxious way to get around barren landscapes with nothing to do except climb some damned mountains while you looked for a couple things to click on. When it was used on Therum, Noveria, and Feros it's just a tacked-on segment to drive down a single path which does nothing except give the illusion of size. Combat in the Mako is boring (I always get out to kill enemies for increased exp. gain anyway). All the worst segments of Mass Effect happen in the Mako except, perhaps, the escape from Ilos.

The streamlining efforts in Mass Effect 2 were certainly limiting, but I really don't feel that the game lost much of consequence as a result. I would have appreciated a little more in the way of weapon modification than a few base models and some permanent upgrades, and, as I mentioned, a little more variation in ally commands would have been appreciated as well. At the same time, I liked seeing that my allies were more than just the same classes I could be with a slightly different class name.

Bioware has already announced that they want to bring back a bit more focus on the RPG elements for Mass Effect 3, so likely some of these concerns will be addressed. That said, I think Mass Effect 2 gives a much fuller sense of the universe than Mass Effect. We get to encounter a much greater variety of worlds in both the missions and the assignments. In the original, only the locations involved with the missions get any deal of attention while the assignments all fall to the wayside.

This is fair. I don't take issue with the Mako but that's because I found it enjoyable, so that fact that it was transparent padding wasn't relevant. I do agree that the barren worlds of ME were often fairly dire, though I'm compelled to say that I really felt the Mako section on Ilos, at least, was fairly great.

My main problem with the streamlining was in the removal of customizable weapons and armor. ME certainly had an abominable menu system and an overabundance of too-similar weapons, but I feel that the best solution was somewhere in the middle. ME2 went much too far in the other direction, and I don't think removing the various customization options was a wise decision. Still, I agree with your hopes for ME3!