KamelRed
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So I guess boarding a "dead" Reaper to get the IFF doesn't count as direct interaction? I swear half you storyline QQ'ers cannot comprehend the big picture.
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Mass Effect 2 - thoughts, opinions?
- Thread starter WabeWalker
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So I guess boarding a "dead" Reaper to get the IFF doesn't count as direct interaction? I swear half you storyline QQ'ers cannot comprehend the big picture.
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Parmenides
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I guess I better stop reading this thread until I finish this game. Maybe an endgame spoiler thread?
Excellent game so far! I'm pretty low on sleep so far. Glad they got rod of an inventory. When you think about it, people can't just be carrying a semi-truck stockpile of weapons and armor anywhere they run. The game doesn't really seem consolized, except that the spacebar does three different things.
Anyone know any good tricks to save your wrist while scanning the planets? (yes I have the probe upgrade).
Excellent game so far! I'm pretty low on sleep so far. Glad they got rod of an inventory. When you think about it, people can't just be carrying a semi-truck stockpile of weapons and armor anywhere they run. The game doesn't really seem consolized, except that the spacebar does three different things.
Anyone know any good tricks to save your wrist while scanning the planets? (yes I have the probe upgrade).
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Interaction in terms of what? Story? In terms of story, no, it doesn't count. Because you find Collector technology on it, and you fight Collectors to escape it.
The only thing that makes it a "Reaper" would be if the dialog itself calls it a "Reaper", in any case it feels like you're inside of a ship regardless of what it is. They could have called it a giant frozen space turd and it wouldn't have changed the plotline at all.
The big picture is pretty much what ME2 entirely avoids. The whole Collector plot should have been a side-mission in terms of the rest of what Mass Effect is about. Making the entire game about the Collectors is a mistake.
It's clear to me that BioWare had a great opening for Mass Effect, and (hopefully) a great finale. Their big problem, apparently, is what comes in the middle.
I also don't understand why BioWare took our perfectly capable crew from Mass Effect 1, and killed them off (crew disbanded), to replace them with an entirely new crew. Sure, adding some new members is great, a few new squad quests, but to wipe out the entire team? And then 90% of the focus of ME2 is on gaining a new squad? I already formed a squad once, why do I have to do it again? And why is almost the entire game dedicated to forming a new squad (that's tedious), and why is there no payoff? You form the full squad for one mission, with a few squad choices (Vent, 2nd team defense, biotic shield, etc) that feel forced in terms of game mechanics, and finally end the game with possibly the worst final boss in modern gaming? What is the end of ME2 should have been the middle of ME2. This game lacks a climax.
You can think what you want about the priorities of this game, but you have to at least acknowledge that Mass Effect 1 is in an entirely different league when it comes to story telling.
KamelRed
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That's because you went into the first game knowing jack shit so everything came as a surprise. The whole point of the 2nd game is to supply you info about the Reapers beyond "they're evil & destroy civilizations" and building more bridges to different communities for future support in the upcoming clash. Shooting at a giant terminator for the last boss was no worse then fighting a Sovereign controlled Saren skeleton (which I might add looks to be the same effect as whatever/whoever takes control of the collectors at different times)
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I caught everything you just mentioned, and STILL it didnt reveal anything new. Collectors to me are the same as the keepers on the Citadel, they were enslaved and work for the Reapers, whooptie diddle do...
Point is, there is no continuation of the epic storyline that was in ME1, you just cant argue about that. In terms of quality and feel ME2 was great, quality is top notch, but they burned the fans with a washed out story. It just doesnt have the same sense and feel like ME1.
Was it a bad game? No of course not. Was it vastly different from ME1, yes...Hoping ME3 is ME1+ME2 combined together and a lot more.
I'm finding ME2's "loadout" system a lot more clunky than ME1's inventory.
umm HARBINGER or did you miss that
he trys to kill you how many times? and takes direct control of the some of the Collectors
then there was the dead or not Reaper you take the IFF from
and oh yea the fact there building a human/reaper hybrid
right NO REAPERS AT ALL
are you even playing the same game?
and almost for got that SOVEREIGN corrupted the Geth guess you missed that part too...
I'd have to agree with all of that. Working on my second play thru now, actually.
Well it obviously can't be the "best game ever" since one game that easily springs to mind, Mass Effect 1, is better in so many ways.
There's really nothing about this game that could possibly make it better than Mass Effect 1. And no, removing (yes removing) features such as key RPG elements, does not make Mass Effect 2 "better" by any stretch of the imagination.
And in what ways does Harbinger impact the global story of Mass Effect thus far?
The entire plot of Mass Effect 2 can be summed up in one sentence (Big spoiler warning): The Collectors are working for the Reapers, instructed by Harbinger, to create a Human-Reaper by capturing Human colonists throughout the galaxy. Harbinger could have not existed in ME2 and it wouldn't have changed anything. Think about it. He only exists as a mini-boss who takes control of Collectors one by one. He's yet another new character that truly serves no purpose. I guess you could describe him (as you could with so many things in ME2) with "shallow".
I said ME2 only deals with the Reapers in an indirect manner; Harbinger only takes control of the Collectors, thus indirectly (which is exactly what I said). As far as the story goes, he's merely a voice we hear and a single Collector we shoot at. He literally serves no purpose in extending the storyline, nor adding anything new to the game.
Also...
That sweet piece of plotline belongs to Mass Effect 1.
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Riddleofsteel
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Just finished it. The whole experience felt like an interlude in scope. Definitely worth buying but could have been a lot more. Hopefully ME3 and whatever else is in the series knocks it out of the park. And if a "Better Textures" DLC ever gets made, I'll be the first in line. I should just accept that there will never be another Baldur's Gate 2 and move on, I suppose.
Intel_Hydralisk
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I think the fact that you're telling someone else what their favorite game is, is kind of silly. Clearly people are entitled to like ME2 over ME1. I personally liked ME2 much more than ME1. It's a game, and ME2 was funner. That's pretty much what it boiled down to for me.
KamelRed
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SPOILERS
To show the fact that Sovereign wasn't the only Reaper working in the interstellar neighborhood. That every action the Collectors took was directed and controlled by a Reaper.
To show the fact that Sovereign wasn't the only Reaper working in the interstellar neighborhood. That every action the Collectors took was directed and controlled by a Reaper.
chineseman
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Just beat the game today...sadfase. This was probably the first game I've actually finished in years that wasn't a chore. Seems like Bioware dropped the ball with the story-telling this time around but did a hell of a job polishing up everything else. I hope they can take the best of both worlds for ME3.
On another note; is it just me or are Cryo rounds really friggin useless?
On another note; is it just me or are Cryo rounds really friggin useless?
on harder settings you can use them for CCing stuff
I think you folks need to calm down....it's just a game
You are gravely mistaking...this is a seriously grave real life and death situation GTFO with your "it's just a game" attitude....I may go on a killing spree at work monday morning because of this game!?
Hmmm kind of reminds me of a ....................typical console game, with pretty eye candy extras and keyboard mapping.
Just beat it, loved every part of the game except for the probing and the part where you take a shuttle while everyone on the ship gets taken. that part made no sense. i just finished the geth station and now we're all boarding the shuttle in the middle of nowhere? makes total sense....not
WabeWalker
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For whatever it's worth, Mass Effect 2, based on 28 critical reviews, now has an average score of 95... and look at how many people are being critical of it... just goes to show that it's impossible to please everybody.
I've been playing it all day - awesome game! I'm more than pleased with the updates and changes. I imported my Sentinel from Mass Effect and all worked seamlessly. I enjoy the new hacking games, updated graphics and effects and my team is useful!
Thank you Bioware.
Thank you Bioware.
Love the game with a few minor gripes. It defintely feels a bit consolized. It feels more like a Shooter with RPG elements than an RPG. ME1 was a RPG with shooter elements. Why the reversal ? Disappointed with the way Bioware went with this. Not a big fan of the planet scanning either.
The combat is top notch this time around, I've actually died a lot compared to ME1, this is a good thing. Wish it had more Story, really missing that element of gameplay, is it just me or do the characters not feel nearly as deep ?
It's a good game and it's fun, but I was expecting much more i guess.
The combat is top notch this time around, I've actually died a lot compared to ME1, this is a good thing. Wish it had more Story, really missing that element of gameplay, is it just me or do the characters not feel nearly as deep ?
It's a good game and it's fun, but I was expecting much more i guess.
AdamNesvick
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This got leaked about a week and a half early on the major torrent sites. Again we get shafted for following the rules.
I'm loving the game. Just for the creativity oozing out of every pore. I was at 6 hours on Friday night. As of last night I was at 20 hours! Oh shit, I was supposed to get caught up on work this weekend! I'm really taking my time and doing basically every quest I get, reading everything, etc.
And I gotta say: I LOVE Miranda's ass. Between her and Kelly this is the first video game where I actually wanna bang the characters... FWIW I had a gf named Kelly with short brown hair and green eyes like the Kelly in the game. Miranda's outfit is a little more flattering, but that Kelly... she's a giver.
And I gotta say: I LOVE Miranda's ass. Between her and Kelly this is the first video game where I actually wanna bang the characters... FWIW I had a gf named Kelly with short brown hair and green eyes like the Kelly in the game. Miranda's outfit is a little more flattering, but that Kelly... she's a giver.
Lots of reaper stuff, i dont know why everyone is saying there isnt enough reapers.
Spoiler...
One of the planets i visited had another protheon becon and i had another vision of the reapers killing everyone, not sure what comes of this? but it was there.
Also when you first goto the collector ship you see the reaper appear on your screen in normandy.
Ps you know there is going to be some sort dlc wih reapers coming.
Monkey God
Mangina Full of Sand
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After getting the mouse sensitivity fixed been enjoying the hell out of it. I find the story line, character dialogue all very very good. Probably one of the best games I've played. FOV still sucks and editing the .INI for it causes the game to crash.
Alot of annoyances, esp with weapon loadouts and UI. Nothing show stopping. Some odd plot holes/gripes. Lots of minor fixes to ME1 that were appreciated.
Alot of annoyances, esp with weapon loadouts and UI. Nothing show stopping. Some odd plot holes/gripes. Lots of minor fixes to ME1 that were appreciated.
Who's Kelly?
I liked how the developers created that one specific(so far) screen position during a conversation with Miranda on the ship. The screen focused right on her ass as it waited for your response. Hilarious.
Beat it today and while I ended up liking it, my initial thoughts didn't really change. ME2 was a huge step back in the areas that needed the most improvement and was clearly designed mainly with HaloKiddies in mind. It's no longer an RPG, it's a shooter with dialogue.
The Cons
-Almost no story here. This game could have literally never been made and it wouldn't affect the ME franchise as a whole. Very little was added in ME2 and ME3 would be almost the same if it just continued straight from ME1.
-Taking out all RPG elements was a huge, huge mistake. What they left as far as equipment and leveling is terrible. Killing enemies is much less satisfying because you don't get EXP from them and they don't drop loot.
-Most of the non-plot sidequests don't reward you enough. In ME1 at least you were getting experience for all of the killing but it's enraging to shoot through 50 d00ds in a base and then see that you were "rewarded" with 40exp on the Mission Complete screen.
-The hub worlds are tiny and short compared to ME1 and other Bioware games. By the end of the game, you've done too much shooting and not enough quests.
-The combat all starts to run together by the end. There were a few memorable scenarios, but too many rooms with mercenaries and indestructible crates. The combat engine itself is fine, but most shooters don't last 38 hours and Bioware simply ran out of ideas.
-Some of the party dialogue is ridiculous. As an example, I conscripted someone who really didn't want to join, talked to her in the ship immediately after, and she responded as if she had part of my crew almost the whole time. The party dialogue is a massive step back from Dragon Age.
-The last mission is much shorter and less involved than I would have expected after all the in-game hype.
-The pointless bullshit of ME1 is replaced with more pointless bullshit. Whoever thought it was a good idea to make you mouse all over the planet surface to "scan" it needs to be raped by a sweaty Volus. The side-planets in ME1 were mostly barren and pretty boring, but tooling around in the Mako was fun. Which is another problem with ME2: no vehicle. And just when you thought the ME1 hacking game was annoying and repetitive, it gets replaced with two even worse games.
The Pros
-The combat engine improved quite a bit. I liked a lot of the new powers and the AI is pretty good. Losing the weapon-based powers SUCKS though. Basically you'll come up against a tough enemy and have nothing to throw at him because techs/biotics are almost useless as long as armor/shield/barrier is up. But once those are down the enemy is practically dead. Weapon powers like Carnage, etc would have filled this gap. Oops, I can't seem to stop harping on the poor design decisions even in the pros.
-The random chatter between NPCs is hilarious at times. This is particularly important because the same conversations loop over and over. Return to a planet 10 realtime hours later and that Turian will still be getting friendzoned in the bar.
-The music was a high point of ME1 and it doesn't dissapoint in ME2.
-All of the cookie cutter areas of ME1 are gone. Environmental elements are still reused but it's hidden much, much better. Even though it took around the same time to explore ME1 and ME2, ME2 seemed like it had more content.
-The dialogue and cutscene interrupts are well done. Probably the best QTE implementation I've seen.
-Shepard has a lot of good lines. The renegade lines to get shop discounts were hilarious. I think it's amazing that they manage to give the character such presence even with all the options you have. Most games with dialogue choices end up leaving the main character with no personality at all.
In the end, what we have is a very good Gears of War clone but a bad, bad RPG. Maybe I'm being hard on it because it's overall better than the majority of games that will come out this year, but it's just inexcusable for a sequel to introduce a ton of new problems like this. Like KOTOR 2, it's a good overall game but a huge misstep.
The Cons
-Almost no story here. This game could have literally never been made and it wouldn't affect the ME franchise as a whole. Very little was added in ME2 and ME3 would be almost the same if it just continued straight from ME1.
-Taking out all RPG elements was a huge, huge mistake. What they left as far as equipment and leveling is terrible. Killing enemies is much less satisfying because you don't get EXP from them and they don't drop loot.
-Most of the non-plot sidequests don't reward you enough. In ME1 at least you were getting experience for all of the killing but it's enraging to shoot through 50 d00ds in a base and then see that you were "rewarded" with 40exp on the Mission Complete screen.
-The hub worlds are tiny and short compared to ME1 and other Bioware games. By the end of the game, you've done too much shooting and not enough quests.
-The combat all starts to run together by the end. There were a few memorable scenarios, but too many rooms with mercenaries and indestructible crates. The combat engine itself is fine, but most shooters don't last 38 hours and Bioware simply ran out of ideas.
-Some of the party dialogue is ridiculous. As an example, I conscripted someone who really didn't want to join, talked to her in the ship immediately after, and she responded as if she had part of my crew almost the whole time. The party dialogue is a massive step back from Dragon Age.
-The last mission is much shorter and less involved than I would have expected after all the in-game hype.
-The pointless bullshit of ME1 is replaced with more pointless bullshit. Whoever thought it was a good idea to make you mouse all over the planet surface to "scan" it needs to be raped by a sweaty Volus. The side-planets in ME1 were mostly barren and pretty boring, but tooling around in the Mako was fun. Which is another problem with ME2: no vehicle. And just when you thought the ME1 hacking game was annoying and repetitive, it gets replaced with two even worse games.
The Pros
-The combat engine improved quite a bit. I liked a lot of the new powers and the AI is pretty good. Losing the weapon-based powers SUCKS though. Basically you'll come up against a tough enemy and have nothing to throw at him because techs/biotics are almost useless as long as armor/shield/barrier is up. But once those are down the enemy is practically dead. Weapon powers like Carnage, etc would have filled this gap. Oops, I can't seem to stop harping on the poor design decisions even in the pros.
-The random chatter between NPCs is hilarious at times. This is particularly important because the same conversations loop over and over. Return to a planet 10 realtime hours later and that Turian will still be getting friendzoned in the bar.
-The music was a high point of ME1 and it doesn't dissapoint in ME2.
-All of the cookie cutter areas of ME1 are gone. Environmental elements are still reused but it's hidden much, much better. Even though it took around the same time to explore ME1 and ME2, ME2 seemed like it had more content.
-The dialogue and cutscene interrupts are well done. Probably the best QTE implementation I've seen.
-Shepard has a lot of good lines. The renegade lines to get shop discounts were hilarious. I think it's amazing that they manage to give the character such presence even with all the options you have. Most games with dialogue choices end up leaving the main character with no personality at all.
In the end, what we have is a very good Gears of War clone but a bad, bad RPG. Maybe I'm being hard on it because it's overall better than the majority of games that will come out this year, but it's just inexcusable for a sequel to introduce a ton of new problems like this. Like KOTOR 2, it's a good overall game but a huge misstep.
Alright, I remember her now. The name never stuck because I guess I don't care. She does seem to want it bad from Shepard though.
Has anyone talked with the Scottish engineer down in Engineering? I kept waiting for him to say something like "I'm giving her all she's got!"
Monkey God
Mangina Full of Sand
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Yeah the engineers are a lot of fun, you can wander down there and their random conservations are hilarious.
D
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Friend-zoned Turian is easily the best character in the game.
WabeWalker
Supreme [H]ardness
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Mass Effect 2 was supposed to be released on January 26'th, which is when our copies were available to us. How exactly were we 'shafted'. I don't feel 'shafted' at all.
I liked the Volus a bit better.
"I want something that says I OWN this room. I OWN you."
Monkey God
Mangina Full of Sand
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Is this the guy in the citadel trying to get his freak on with the not interested quarian?
You see, because the folks that acquired their copies through illicit means were able to play them before the release date of Jan 26, we're supposed to feel shafted
IMHO, there's nothing the company could have done to change the fact that pirates got it first, since it's bound to happen with any popular game that's released.Conrad was pretty awesome this time around.
The best character in the game is hands down morbin, he is miles ahead of everyone, even marindas fantastic ass cant touch him.
I'm a biotic GOD! lol that one was awesome to.