Quick, before you read any further in this article, load up your copy of Mass Effect 2 on the PS3 and make a second save file. Done? Okay good. Now that that is out of the way we can move forward.

If you think you can guess where this story is going, you are probably right. Mass Effect 2 on the PS3 is having a ton of corrupted data problems. Players are reporting that at various times the game will fail to load properly, and instead of allowing a quick reboot is making the original save file corrupt.

An abundance of gamers on the BioWare forums claim that they have bypassed the corrupted save files situation by saving the game multiple times. While it does provide some solace to know that doing so can circumvent the problem, the issue of save game files in RPGs is called into question. Specifically, how many save files should be necessary?

Sure, saving a game at regular intervals is all well and good, and can often allow the player to prevent these types of headaches. But what does it say about a game that it requires this type of behavior? Primarily an RPG issue, this multiple save behavior is, a lot of times, the saving grace for a game that has technical faults — one that maybe shipped before it was ready.

Personally, there have only been a handful of games in which the idea of saving multiple times came up, and it was usually after having encountered a game-breaking glitch — sort of a fool me once type of deal. At the end of the day, though, this having to constantly cross one’s fingers and save the game at every turn becomes its own game mechanic and takes away from the mechanics that the developer intended to be the main focus.

This is not meant to be a knock against developers themselves, including BioWare. Instead, this is an examination of the multiple file save phenomena I'm sure we have all experienced. It's a unique behavior to say the least, having to constantly keep multiple records of a single play through, but one that is, nonetheless, often necessary.

While gamers, the savvy bunch we are, may never abandon this behavior, hopefully developers will stop relying on it as a failsafe. Gamers should be able to enjoy games worry free.

Have you experienced any problems with your save game files in Mass Effect 2 for PlayStation 3? How many save files do you typically set up when playing a game like an RPG? How would you like to see developers improve the way games are saved in order to prevent hitting a game-breaking glitch?

Source: BioWare Forums