Mass Effect 2

Arclight · 01-26-10, 04:30 AM

Didn't have a ME2 thread yet, right?

No personal experiences yet (for me anyway), but it's a matter of days; release draws ever closer (I think today is release-day for US). To kick it of, a review:

(SPOILERS AHEAD, obviously)

Quote:

What kind of man (or woman) has intergalactic hero Commander Shepard become after saving the universe from the Reapers in Mass Effect? That's all up to you in BioWare's Mass Effect 2.

Shortly after the events in the original game, Commander Shepard comes down with a serious case of death, but death is only the beginning in Mass Effect 2. Reconstructed by the mysterious Cerberus organization, our hero is tasked with investigating the disappearance of several human colonies, an investigation that will lead him on another star-spanning adventure with an all-new cast of colorful companions by his side.

More than a simple sequel, Mass Effect 2 refines several of the original game's features, most notably the combat system, which now plays more like a third-person shooter than anything seen in the role-playing genre. Are the changes a giant leap in the right direction, or did BioWare make a massive mistake?

For the full article: Mass Effect 2 Review: Once More Unto The Breach

ReFaN · 01-26-10, 06:47 AM

Im playing it as we speak, pretty fun.

dont know why it got sent out too me so early, im in sweden.

Dowly · 01-26-10, 09:30 AM

Cant say I remember how the combat was in ME1, but I love it in ME2. I think you can compare it pretty much to Gears of War's combat. Works very well.

The main story was a bit short (~18hrs on easy, with few sidequest done), but I think ME is best played when ME3 comes out so you can play all the games one after another, ME2 is just one chapter of the book. As much as I wouldnt want to say, ME2 lacked some of the epicness of ME1, not much, but still.

The companions are pretty cool and they certainly are different between.

You even see an old friend from ME1 joining you.

(Tho, this might not be the case if you use ME1 savegame and that character dies in your ME1 game)

Cant really say anything big is wrong with it, hell, it's Mass Effect.

But if I really must pick something then I'd say the new resource thingy is the weakest in it. It goes like this:

You have 4 resources you need to research upgrades to your armor, weapons and ship. The resources can be found during the missions, but only in small quantinies, so you must use the new planet scan thingy to move your cursor around a planet and watch this mineral thingy that spikes when you find a hotspot for one of the minerals. Then you launch a probe that extracts the minerals. Moving the cursor is very sluggish until you get the mineral scanner upgrade to your ship, which ofcourse costs minerals you need first to get.

Anywho, it's a good game and Bioware certainly is the moneymaker these days in the gaming business. Just the sheer size of the series is astounding, everything you do in ME1 affects to ME2 which then affects to ME3, the replayability value is HUGE.

EDIT: Ow forgot one other thing that bugged me in ME2. Again, something I dont remember how it was in ME1, but the good/evil system doesnt seem to have any effect on how your crew looks at you. I might be wrong, but I have pretty evil character atm and nobody seems to care. On top of that the extra discussion options you get from either being evil or good seems to work everytime you use them.

But then again, this might be a clever trick from Bioware to make players either take the easy route (evil, kill the guy if you dont get what you want or insult him/her

) or work for your goals trying to be diplomatic which then affects how ME3 will play out.

/5

Wolfehunter · 01-26-10, 09:59 AM

I'm going to pick mine up today. I've ordered it. YAY...

Dowly · 01-26-10, 10:02 AM

I pulled all my teeth out and put them under my pillow, the toothfairy brought me ME2.

(then I knocked the sorry bitch cold and stole her money.

)

Wolfehunter · 01-26-10, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dowly

I pulled all my teeth out and put them under my pillow, the toothfairy brought me ME2.

(then I knocked the sorry bitch cold and stole her money.

)

Excellent..

Arclight · 01-26-10, 10:42 AM

She had it coming! Invading peoples homes, taking their teeth and leaving a bit of change... I demand good value for my pearly whites!

ReFaN · 01-26-10, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dowly

Cant say I remember how the combat was in ME1, but I love it in ME2. I think you can compare it pretty much to Gears of War's combat. Works very well.

The main story was a bit short (~18hrs on easy, with few sidequest done), but I think ME is best played when ME3 comes out so you can play all the games one after another, ME2 is just one chapter of the book. As much as I wouldnt want to say, ME2 lacked some of the epicness of ME1, not much, but still.

The companions are pretty cool and they certainly are different between.

You even see an old friend from ME1 joining you.

(Tho, this might not be the case if you use ME1 savegame and that character dies in your ME1 game)

Cant really say anything big is wrong with it, hell, it's Mass Effect.

But if I really must pick something then I'd say the new resource thingy is the weakest in it. It goes like this:

You have 4 resources you need to research upgrades to your armor, weapons and ship. The resources can be found during the missions, but only in small quantinies, so you must use the new planet scan thingy to move your cursor around a planet and watch this mineral thingy that spikes when you find a hotspot for one of the minerals. Then you launch a probe that extracts the minerals. Moving the cursor is very sluggish until you get the mineral scanner upgrade to your ship, which ofcourse costs minerals you need first to get.

Anywho, it's a good game and Bioware certainly is the moneymaker these days in the gaming business. Just the sheer size of the series is astounding, everything you do in ME1 affects to ME2 which then affects to ME3, the replayability value is HUGE.

EDIT: Ow forgot one other thing that bugged me in ME2. Again, something I dont remember how it was in ME1, but the good/evil system doesnt seem to have any effect on how your crew looks at you. I might be wrong, but I have pretty evil character atm and nobody seems to care. On top of that the extra discussion options you get from either being evil or good seems to work everytime you use them.

But then again, this might be a clever trick from Bioware to make players either take the easy route (evil, kill the guy if you dont get what you want or insult him/her

) or work for your goals trying to be diplomatic which then affects how ME3 will play out.

/5

on my first playtrough, took me 12 hours, didnt do any side quest, no upgrades etc, dont know why was before i knew i could import saves from ME1, and it ended quite badly for me, and everyone else :P

Dowly · 01-26-10, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arclight

She had it coming! Invading peoples homes, taking their teeth and leaving a bit of change... I demand good value for my pearly whites!

Yeah... but I hadnt planned it to go like that. I was thinking of making sweet sweet love to her for the, oh I dont know, 10 years she'd be locked in my basement, but then I realised that the two sacks dangling about werent teeth pouches.

Arclight · 01-26-10, 11:16 AM

Well, she has been around for a while.

Arclight · 01-28-10, 06:18 AM

Ah, I see my latest waste of time has been delivered. 1 day before release too!

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a galaxy to save.

*this space reserved for rant about fatal errors, gamebreaking bugs or crippling DRM issues*

edit: anyone remember the password I used for my Bioware account?

Me neither.

edit edit: got it. stupid online crap *grumble* *mutter*

Castout · 01-28-10, 07:14 AM

You lucky @@@$#@$#!@#!#@@!@#^%$&* I probably have to wait a few months...oh rot.

Arclight · 01-28-10, 07:31 AM

I waited a few months as well.

Had this pre-ordered since the dawn of time.

So I redeemed the code for this Cerberus crap, and there's a new squad-mate available for download. Great! But it's a 500MB download.

Ah well, it's free, so who am I to complain.

Lionclaw · 01-28-10, 09:21 AM

Just purchased the Digital Deluxe Edition. It's going to be great to continue the story with my character from ME1.

I'm doing a second playthrough with a Renegade character in ME1, then I guess I'll have to do a third playthrough as a neutral character.

Arclight · 01-28-10, 09:32 AM

I like it.

Not really sold on the weapons suddenly being ammo-based, but I haven't run out yet, think it's manageable.

The proloque bit on the Normandy was great, even my neighbors now know I'm playing a game. Bass ftw.

01-26-10, 06:47 AM	#2
ReFaN Grey Wolf Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Sweden Posts: 831 Downloads: 101 Uploads: 0	Im playing it as we speak, pretty fun. dont know why it got sent out too me so early, im in sweden. __________________ Liverpool is my relegion, Anfield is my church. True believers never walk alone.

01-26-10, 09:30 AM	#3
Dowly Lucky Jack Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Finland Posts: 25,052 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	Cant say I remember how the combat was in ME1, but I love it in ME2. I think you can compare it pretty much to Gears of War's combat. Works very well. The main story was a bit short (~18hrs on easy, with few sidequest done), but I think ME is best played when ME3 comes out so you can play all the games one after another, ME2 is just one chapter of the book. As much as I wouldnt want to say, ME2 lacked some of the epicness of ME1, not much, but still. The companions are pretty cool and they certainly are different between. You even see an old friend from ME1 joining you. (Tho, this might not be the case if you use ME1 savegame and that character dies in your ME1 game) Cant really say anything big is wrong with it, hell, it's Mass Effect. But if I really must pick something then I'd say the new resource thingy is the weakest in it. It goes like this: You have 4 resources you need to research upgrades to your armor, weapons and ship. The resources can be found during the missions, but only in small quantinies, so you must use the new planet scan thingy to move your cursor around a planet and watch this mineral thingy that spikes when you find a hotspot for one of the minerals. Then you launch a probe that extracts the minerals. Moving the cursor is very sluggish until you get the mineral scanner upgrade to your ship, which ofcourse costs minerals you need first to get. Anywho, it's a good game and Bioware certainly is the moneymaker these days in the gaming business. Just the sheer size of the series is astounding, everything you do in ME1 affects to ME2 which then affects to ME3, the replayability value is HUGE. EDIT: Ow forgot one other thing that bugged me in ME2. Again, something I dont remember how it was in ME1, but the good/evil system doesnt seem to have any effect on how your crew looks at you. I might be wrong, but I have pretty evil character atm and nobody seems to care. On top of that the extra discussion options you get from either being evil or good seems to work everytime you use them. But then again, this might be a clever trick from Bioware to make players either take the easy route (evil, kill the guy if you dont get what you want or insult him/her ) or work for your goals trying to be diplomatic which then affects how ME3 will play out. /5 Last edited by Dowly; 01-26-10 at 09:47 AM.

01-26-10, 09:59 AM	#4
Wolfehunter Crusty Capt. Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 2,752 Downloads: 40 Uploads: 25	I'm going to pick mine up today. I've ordered it. YAY... __________________

01-26-10, 10:42 AM	#7
Arclight Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Land of windmills, tulips, wooden shoes and cheese. Lots of cheese. Posts: 8,467 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 10	She had it coming! Invading peoples homes, taking their teeth and leaving a bit of change... I demand good value for my pearly whites! __________________ Contritium praecedit superbia.

01-26-10, 11:16 AM	#10
Arclight Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Land of windmills, tulips, wooden shoes and cheese. Lots of cheese. Posts: 8,467 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 10	Well, she has been around for a while. __________________ Contritium praecedit superbia.

01-26-10, 10:02 AM	#5
Dowly Lucky Jack Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Finland Posts: 25,052 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	I pulled all my teeth out and put them under my pillow, the toothfairy brought me ME2. (then I knocked the sorry bitch cold and stole her money. )

01-28-10, 06:18 AM	#11
Arclight Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Land of windmills, tulips, wooden shoes and cheese. Lots of cheese. Posts: 8,467 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 10	Ah, I see my latest waste of time has been delivered. 1 day before release too! Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a galaxy to save. this space reserved for rant about fatal errors, gamebreaking bugs or crippling DRM issues edit: anyone remember the password I used for my Bioware account? Me neither. edit edit: got it. stupid online crap grumble mutter __________________ Contritium praecedit superbia. Last edited by Arclight; 01-28-10 at 07:06 AM.

01-28-10, 07:14 AM	#12
Castout Silent Hunter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Jakarta Posts: 4,794 Downloads: 89 Uploads: 6	You lucky @@@$#@$#!@#!#@@!@#^%$&* I probably have to wait a few months...oh rot. __________________ My blog: http://exposingsingapore.wordpress.com/

01-28-10, 07:31 AM	#13
Arclight Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Land of windmills, tulips, wooden shoes and cheese. Lots of cheese. Posts: 8,467 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 10	I waited a few months as well. Had this pre-ordered since the dawn of time. So I redeemed the code for this Cerberus crap, and there's a new squad-mate available for download. Great! But it's a 500MB download. Ah well, it's free, so who am I to complain. __________________ Contritium praecedit superbia.

01-28-10, 09:21 AM	#14
Lionclaw Ace of the Deep Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 1,006 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	Just purchased the Digital Deluxe Edition. It's going to be great to continue the story with my character from ME1. I'm doing a second playthrough with a Renegade character in ME1, then I guess I'll have to do a third playthrough as a neutral character.

01-28-10, 09:32 AM	#15
Arclight Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Land of windmills, tulips, wooden shoes and cheese. Lots of cheese. Posts: 8,467 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 10	I like it. Not really sold on the weapons suddenly being ammo-based, but I haven't run out yet, think it's manageable. The proloque bit on the Normandy was great, even my neighbors now know I'm playing a game. Bass ftw. __________________ Contritium praecedit superbia.