Five Things BioWare Fixed for Mass Effect 2

[LTK_70]

First they make futuristic guns with magnetic acceleration and infinite ammo. Then they realized they had to put some limitation on them, and added overheating, even though magnetic acceleration = no combustion = no overheating. Then they wanted to add the ability to reload, but because you have infinite ammo, you swap the heat sinks. Yeah, real smooth, Bioware. I would have preferred the tried-and-true ammo clips, to be honest.

But that's a trivial complaint, really, because everything else about this game looks absolutely bitchin'. When I first saw the trailer I had the impression they fixed every flaw that the first game had, and it looks like I got the right idea. Mass Effect 2 is right at the top of my DO WANT list of games.

 

[Susan Arendt]

I'm just really glad I'm not the only one excited about the fish. It's a silly thing, I realize, but in between bouts of saving the universe and prepping for a suicide mission, I think collecting space fishies would be very appealing.

 

[johnman]

THe mass effect combat really did suck ass, "Equip Sniper rifle and pick them off while they rush, equip shotgun with explosive rounds for any that get close"
And I Used no Biotics at all, I really didn't see the point when I could just gun them down with an assault rifle in less time.

 

[LTK_70]

From what I've read in the article, they haven't made planetary exploration any better. They just put in some minigames.


I really hope they have improved it more than that. My problems with planetary exploration was not that surveying minerals was nothing more than Simon-says, it was that almost all of the planets were massive and dull. Doing side quests was incredibly boring because it always took so long to get where you needed to go, and along the way the only things you saw were massive chunks of identical rock. It felt like a chore. Even the occasional Thresher Maw attack was dull. I know that's what exploring alien planets would be like in reality (minus the giant worms), but it doesn't make for an exciting game. Adding minigames to this sounds like it will only become even more tedious.

Yep, there's still a lot I want to know about the exploration, too. I wish I had gotten to see any of it. But it sounds like they are aware that it's broken, at least, which gives me hope that it'll be improved in some way.

See this developer interview, point three:

http://kotaku.com/5311555/lots-of-new-mass-effect-2-footage

 

[Lord Krunk]

Just wondering... do you ever get to go on the Extranet?

I was always wondering what the galactic internet would look like, (I pictured something like Futurama's internet) but I could guess that trolls this time would be actual trolls.

Anyway, this is great. I've never had any qualms with the combat (it's the best I've seen in a Bioware game), but seeing them improve it to an even larger extent would be a great idea.

 

[Yog Sothoth]

What about the wonky Mako physics? Is there even a Mako or equivalent in ME2...?

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

I kinda liked the elevators...

 

[duckfi8]

So they fixed the elevators being a room of death?
So when I walk into an elevator I won't just freeze there anymore?

 

[Yog Sothoth]

I kinda liked the elevators...

What's wrong with you...?

 

[Geamo]

I recently just finished Mass Effect, and it is a great game. According to this, hopefully, they'll have made the combat better in a sense. I just used an assault rifle to mow everything down.

I was also fairly annoyed that my other characters in my party(i'm looking at you, Garrus) couldn't hack a terminal for me. I must have spent an hour trying to get it open.

Oh, and a good thing that they're improving the Mako's steering. God, that was annoying.

 

[Fayathon]

I've been looking forward to ME2 for a while, if BioWare's putting even half as much effort into fixing the things that didn't feel quite right in the first game for the second then this should be a stellar game. (Pun not intended.)

 

[lockeslylcrit]

I want them to fix the Mako's drunk driving.

 

[ma55ter_fett]

I know the title, "Five Things BioWare Fixed for Mass Effect 2" sounds more impressive than, "Three Things BioWare Fixed for Mass Effect 2" but if you say "five" you have to give us five examples. You didn't though, you gave us three. The fourth felt very weak (it?s a fish tank... twilight princess had one too so it's not exactly innovative.) and the fifth point was just a couple of sentences thrown together, though it did contain two questions that would have done nicely for points 4 and 5.

"Does that mean the Mako sequences will be less excruciating? Or the inventory system less aneurysm-inducing?"

But, I suppose fish tanks make better news than actual game mechanic improvements.

 

[Souplex]

The real question is are they going to let you be a melee focused character? Shotguns are allright, but they can't match the satisfaction and personal feeling of melee combat.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no NO! What are you thinking Bioware? The Normandy was a military vessel, it was SUPPOSED to be sterile and cold. Anyone who complained about that is obviously either unfamiliar with anything military or is just stupid. ...or both. I'm going with stupid.

 

[Kojiro ftt]

Sounds good!

Personally, I didn't think the combat was so bad in the first game. Granted, I did a lot of peeking around corners with the sniper rifle, even getting off the truck to snipe some defenses before ramming the gates. So maybe my approach made it more interesting.

 

[TotallyFake]

First they make futuristic guns with magnetic acceleration and infinite ammo. Then they realized they had to put some limitation on them, and added overheating, even though magnetic acceleration = no combustion = no overheating. Then they wanted to add the ability to reload, but because you have infinite ammo, you swap the heat sinks. Yeah, real smooth, Bioware. I would have preferred the tried-and-true ammo clips, to be honest.

And mass effect fields and magnetic acceleration generate no heat because....?

My computer has no combustion, it gets damn hot. Electronics can overheat as well you know.

THe mass effect combat really did suck ass, "Equip Sniper rifle and pick them off while they rush, equip shotgun with explosive rounds for any that get close"
And I Used no Biotics at all, I really didn't see the point when I could just gun them down with an assault rifle in less time.

What difficulty were you playing on? Even on normal you're still going to need the crowd control from biotics. What about the Krogan battlemaster on Telos? The hordes of rocket drones on the moon? No way you could do that without techs/biotics.

That said, assault rifle was absurdly powerful. I took down Saren at the half-way fight with one round of Overkill. 3 people with assault rifles would completely obliterate most of the challenge.

Huh? People didn't like the combat in the first game? Sure, it was a pain in the ass to play a sniper, just ended up using a pistol almost all the time and sure, using cover just meant you would be in some awkward place when the enemy npc came running

Sniper rifles were awesome in the late game. I was practically one-shotting Krogan Battlemasters at the end. I cleared out all the moon turrets with my rifles. Then again I was a Soldier, so had maxed out armour, maxed out battle rifle to fall back on, and maxed out adrenaline burst so I could churn out Master Assassination at an absurd rate.

For a game that was more RPG than shooter I thought the combat and cover mechanics were excellent. Mass Effect gets a lot of criticism for it's combat, but whilst I was playing Bioshock or Fallout 3 I was constantly yearning for the control that ME gave.

 

[open trap]

I absolutly loved Mass Effect and i Cherished the combat even through my 6th or so play through. If that can make it any better than thats a +10 on the awsome scale for Bioware. this is why i belive they are the best company around, espically because they dont seem to milk there products.