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Official Mass Effect 2 Thread
(137 posts, started )
Official Mass Effect 2 Thread
The first one was very overrated, IMO. The vehicle sections were dreadful, and they were at least a quarter of the game.

Of course, this is also coming from a PC gaming purist who has been playing FPS games for 10+ years, and one who thinks the over-the-shoulder cam is silly.
Not a fan of the vehicle simulation, but the storytelling is excellent. Easily the best PC RPG I've ever played.
Quote from Forbin :The first one was very overrated, IMO. The vehicle sections were dreadful, and they were at least a quarter of the game.

Of course, this is also coming from a PC gaming purist who has been playing FPS games for 10+ years, and one who thinks the over-the-shoulder cam is silly.

Wow, how wrong!!!!.

The first one was an AMAZING game, probably one of the best games I've ever played, and I've played ALOT of games.

ME was never billed as an FPS, its an action RPG, and as such, I think the 3rd person perspective fits quite well.

As for the driving sections, I personally didn't think they were too bad, alot of people said the vehicle felt too "floaty", HELLO, we're in space!!!!

As for ME2, can't wait, had it on pre-order for a dogs age.
I was pretty excited about this, but then i got demons souls for the PS3, which i can't stop playing at the moment.

Will get this sometime later.
Too many games, not enough time.
#7 - bbman
Got the Collector's Edition coming (pretty pissed that the yanks are getting the good stuff earlier yet again), 2 saves are waiting to be continued with ME2...

Yes the tank was a bit poor, and space really isn't much of an excuse when gravity and handling is always the same - whether you're on the moon or a planet with such pressure you can't be outside for too long... That can't overshadow the great story and the gameplay though... It definitely is one of the best games I've played so far, and I can't wait until I get the next installment...
I guess the naysayers got their wish, no driving in the release version of ME2, apprently there will be a vehicle in future DLC though.
Are there still going to be other planets to explore? And if yes, will they be more detailed than in the first one? This was my only real concern about ME... all planets looked the same (as well as the inside of the buildings/facilities on these planets).
Quote from jibber :Are there still going to be other planets to explore? And if yes, will they be more detailed than in the first one? This was my only real concern about ME... all planets looked the same (as well as the inside of the buildings/facilities on these planets).

Yes and yes, however..........

There are less planets to explore than ME1, no driving and there is a "scan planet for minerals" mini-game that is supposed to be a bit of a PITA.
I have played the first game but not finished it, i got to the part where you get the "god like power upgrade thingy" and gave up on it after a missions after that part but installed it again, so will give it another go sometime soon.
I just completed the campaign with the character I want to port to ME2 and I'll be picking this up on day one. I absolutely love the original. Alright, the Mako control is rubbish and the non-mission planets are a little dull, but that doesn't really take away from the epic story and the level of depth you can uncover if you enjoy poking around as much as I do. It took until my 3rd playthrough (with a spreadsheet to track my progress) before I got the Completionist achievement and I think that's pretty impressive.

Can't wait to pick up the sequel.
The last few missions in Mass Effect were simply epic. Everybody who didn't finish the game missed out on the best parts.
Quote from Dajmin : It took until my 3rd playthrough (with a spreadsheet to track my progress) before I got the Completionist achievement and I think that's pretty impressive.

Can't wait to pick up the sequel.

A spreadsheet?, you do suprise me Dajmin!!!!.

Although I love(d) the first one, I never really felt (or feel with many games) the desire to retread old ground by following on with succesive playthroughs.

I am glad one of my main bugbears (the shocking inventory system) in ME1 has been done away with, although I am not sure the new system (weapons lockers / loadouts) is a better replacement as it sounds a little lite.
Quote from danowat :A spreadsheet?, you do suprise me Dajmin!!!!

Yeah, who'd have thunk it? Turns out I quite like spreadsheets It was the only way I could keep track of which planets I'd scanned for minerals/artifacts, which I'd landed on, the decisions I'd made on the missions, etc.

I'm with you on the "lite" inventory system. The old one was horrible and it was nearly impossible to leave your pockets empty enough that you didn't have to keep clearing it out, but I'm not sure how the new system will work. I guess time will tell.

I said from the start that the Mako was pointless. Who would use a wheeled vehicle to explore uncharted planets? Something that flies would be much more sensible
From GR review

Quote :Mass Effect 2 also completely overhauls equipment and upgrade management, throwing out the paper doll for an almost overly streamlined spreadsheet-based system (woot, Dajmins idea of heaven). You won't find yourself endlessly scrolling through scavenged equipment trying to decide what to equip and what to reduce to omni-gel. You pick your loadout on the ship or at conveniently placed weapons lockers, and you very rarely pick up new weapons on the battlefield. More often, you scan found weapons for upgrade data, which you can then build back on the Normandy. Built upgrades are automatically applied to the weapons of your entire team. This might irk loot-hungry fans who love micromanaging stats and cashing in useless gear at the shops (I found 12 pistols on that mission yay!) and we'll admit we were a little off-put at first. But as we got our head around the new paradigm, we realized that all the tweaks to loot, inventory and upgrades freed us up to focus on the fluidity of the combat and tactical decision making, which was vastly more fun than Mass Effect’s clunky item management anyway.

Quote :There's one atrocious part of Mass Effect 2 that sticks out like a sore thumb. In order to build the upgrades you find scattered throughout the universe, you'll need to gather resources. A small amount of resources are found in crates during the course of missions, but if you want to build the really rockin' stuff you'll have to play the mining minigame.

The mining minigame consists of holding down the left trigger while sweeping the scanner across the surface of the planet. When you've found something, the controller vibrates and the readings on the line graph spike up. That's your cue to fire a probe and collect your resources. Conceptually, it would work if it didn't take so damn long to scan each planet. It just gets more and more irritating every time you're forced to endure it. Want to build that sweet shotgun upgrade you just found? Get ready to piss away half an hour or more sweeping the solar system for platinum. This tedious minigame is a letdown after the masterfully paced combat and story.

From VG.com

Quote :Firstly, let's go through the obvious stuff. The cumbersome inventory system has been streamlined to the point where you don't actually have an inventory at all. Instead, you have a base set of weapons - shared by all party members - that can be upgraded through scientific research in the Normandy tech lab. Then, before embarking on a mission, you're given the opportunity to set your loadout. It's simple and effortless, like yoghurt.

Quote :Perhaps the main gripe with Mass Effect was the lack of a sense of exploration; off the beaten track quests were repetitive and recycled the same structures and environments over and over again. In Mass Effect 2, you certainly feel as if you can explore more of the galaxy, even if the number of planets you can actually land on has been reduced. Now, the wonderful Galaxy Map has been refined to allow you to manually fly the Normandy from system to system, consuming fuel along the way. When you arrive at a planet, you can scan it by moving a reticule slowly around its surface. Not only is this the main resource gathering mechanic - itself a strangely addictive and engrossing mini-game (one that held us in a trance-like state for over ten hours) - but impromptu side missions also reveal themselves here. These side missions are all different in some way, be it in the background to the mission, the building it takes place in, or the enemy you're up against. Some don't even require combat.

Another benefit to this new system is that the Mako Rover - so reviled by fans of the first game - is nowhere to be found. Day one DLC promises driving of some sort, but the truth is that the Mako is gone for good (we're not sorry to see the back of it). Should we have expected a galaxy full of planets on which you could land and explore? Of course not. But until we actually played the game for ourselves, we dared to dream. This is BioWare, after all.

Ah man, this game is 14.3 Gigs large. That's gonna take a long time downloading.
Oh well, seems to be worth it.
Quote from DeadWolfBones :Not a fan of the vehicle simulation, but the storytelling is excellent. Easily the best PC RPG I've ever played.

+1000 !
Can't wait til Friday to try it
The tests I have read are not encouraging.

The game is total crap. The character evolution system is totally shallow ( even compared to mass effect 1), there's basically no real equipement/inventory and the story line is ridiculous.

In the end it is just a shooter and not and especially good one.

The few good things of mass effect 1 have been thrown to the recycle bin.

The trailers are very good tho
Quote from Maelstrom :The tests I have read are not encouraging.

The game is total crap. The character evolution system is totally shallow ( even compared to mass effect 1), there's basically no real equipement/inventory and the story line is ridiculous.

In the end it is just a shooter and not and especially good one.

The few good things of mass effect 1 have been thrown to the recycle bin.

The trailers are very good tho

Complete opposite of everything I've read, from pro reviewers and actual gamers alike. Interesting.
half way through...
It is amazing game, Storyline and gameplay reminds me good old Star wars KOTOR, well perhaps without lightsabers and better graphics. It is absolutely stunning game imo. I think i started with wrong direction: I'll try the first after i've finished secondone .

I think bioshock(almost finished also ) has to wait for some time now...

Quote from Maelstrom :....

would like to see those reviews.
Quote from -NightFly- :half way through...
It is amazing game, Storyline and gameplay reminds me good old Star wars KOTOR, well perhaps without lightsabers and better graphics. It is absolutely stunning game imo. I think i started with wrong direction: I'll try the first after i've finished secondone .

I think bioshock(almost finished also ) has to wait for some time now...


would like to see those reviews.

It is in french

The game is bashed mainly because it goes towards over simplification. It seems that players thought Mass Effect 1 too complicated.

But still the general atmosphere is very good and the actor play wonderful. This is not enough to make a good game tho
Have you played it?
It's been very well recieved by a lot of people, so quite curious now to give it a go.

I was really looking forward to Dragon Age Origins until it actually came out. It seemed Bioware had settled on a very plain looking fantasy setting, not much imagination in the characters. Lost interest.

Mass Effect 2 looks good though. I'm disappointed I didn't play through the first game now because apparently you'll get more out of the second game by doing so.

Quote :one who thinks the over-the-shoulder cam is silly

That's probably what turned me off the original Mass Effect. I couldn't get into Gears of War either... But it works fine in Batman, Arkham Asylum and we seemed to get by fine in those old RPG games with the top down or isometric views.
Quote from danowat :Wow, how wrong!!!!.

The first one was an AMAZING game, probably one of the best games I've ever played, and I've played ALOT of games.

ME was never billed as an FPS, its an action RPG, and as such, I think the 3rd person perspective fits quite well.

As for the driving sections, I personally didn't think they were too bad, alot of people said the vehicle felt too "floaty", HELLO, we're in space!!!!

As for ME2, can't wait, had it on pre-order for a dogs age.

The parts where you actually had to shoot stuff were piss easy. I don't recall ever having any kind intense firefights that I found challenging, nor did I have to reload savegames much, if at all.

The story felt as though the producer's 14 year old son wrote it, so predictable and full of sci-fi cliches as it was.

The over-the-shoulder cam is just another example of the Hollywood-ization of the gaming industry.

FTR, BioShock was also severely overrated. System Shock 2 did it first and did it better.

Official Mass Effect 2 Thread
(137 posts, started )
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