Mass Effect 2 - First Impressions

[Danpascooch]

I would like to know what people's first impressions to Mass Effect 2 are, specifically, things you notably liked or disliked compared to the first game that you noticed in the first four hours of playing the game.

I for one feel that the world seems more "alive". Instead of people just standing facing each other as if mannequins posed in conversation, I hear little snippets of conversations as I walk by. I even turn around and head back if I trigger a conversation as I walk by, so I can hear it. Everything from a chef on the citadel declaring that ramen is a delicacy back on earth, to a concerned mother wondering whether she should get an immunity booster gene modification for her son, trying to decide whether the risk of stunted muscle development on high gravity worlds is worth it. It all just seems so much more like these are real people, and not static models. I am not talking about the scripted conversations that you engage in and respond to, I am talking about little background snippets you hear as you walk around.

EDIT: I also got a laugh from those ads that pull personal information from you, such as: "Shepard, it can be hard waiting for your next paycheck on ERROR: DATE NOT FOUND. Come to *forgot the name* savings and loan, all you need is your civilian ID"

I also enjoyed going to EVERY SINGLE store on the citadel and getting a discount by endorsing it as "my favorite store on the citadel"......I wonder if there are going to be some pissed off shopkeeps later, lol, better buy all I can carry with my endorsement discounts now!

EDITEDIT:

I also always make a point to check on Joker between missions to see his newest argument with the Ship AI, they are always entertaining.

SPACE HAMSTERS FTW! (If you haven't picked up a space hamster from the souvenir shop on the citadel yet, go buy one, you cannot hope to stand up to the collectors without one)

EDITEDITEDIT:

I have to ask, is anyone going to shell out the huge cost of that upgrade to the med bay to get rid of Shepard's scars? The scars are bad ass, I would pay to keep them.

What are your favorite moments so far? Mine has to be:

Spoiler

Reaching archangel and discovering that he was my favorite crew member from ME1, of course, I suspected archangel was Garrus for a while, but it was still really awesome

Lastly, has anyone noticed Miranda's butt-ugly two buck teeth? It's all I see when I talk to her, and all I hear is: "HELP! MY FRONT TEETH ARE TAKING OVER!"

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

yup i completely agree

its so much more alive, and i love the combat changes, makes it above mediocre for combat, bioware just fixed its weaknesses and made the game better than any other rpg i have played to date

i am so glad they decided to use two discs instead of one (for 360 version), i could care less about having to switch discs as long as im getting the game as it should be

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

can't play it on ps3... so unless they release it some months later, with the dlc's just like what their about to do with Mass Effect 1. i can't tell you.

 

[high_castle]

The combat is impressive, though I kind of wish I'd gone infiltrator instead of adept at first. Sniping actually seems like it'd be useful this time around. The citadel was amazing. I loved seeing the return of Refund Guy (even if his voice changed), and the ads were great. They had me in stitches a couple of time. All in all, I'm 10 hours in and first impressions are good. I've had to stop myself from playing so I don't overheat my system. Now I'm sad panda.

 

[rockytheboxer]

Without a doubt, it's the best opening to any game ever. It's a phenomenal way to take the game and turn it on its head to make it feel fresh and familiar all at once. I'm curious how they'll open the third game.

 

[Uilleand]

I blogged a full review here: http://singblueeyes.livejournal.com/3950.html
But, short version:
I'm an RPG player, so it took me some time to love the combat. (I'm old. I don't have reflexes, people...LOL) But, by level 14 I started to feel comfortable...at about 20, I finally felt like I had my badass Shepard back. I love the new vanguard powers - the concussion strike and the blast forward. So. Much. Fun.
LOVE: SPACE HAMSTER!!
The Normandy's engineers - Haggis and poker FTMFW!!
Punching the reporter. Again.
The new paragon/renegade actions
HATE: Scanning for minerals
Some of the romance dialogue is cringeworthy coming from a female Shep
One of the things I loved about ME1 was Shepard's easy, athletic walk and run. Now, for some reason, when she's got her gun in her hand, she moves like my brother in law's German shepard pup. (Heee...Shepard...I totally didn't mean to do that.) Her feet seem to slap on the ground with much akwardness...

 

[Jandau]

The game is awesome in almost every regard!

1. The general gameplay is improved. Your character handles smoother and gunplay is superior to the first game. Party members seem somewhat less stupid and the control tweaks are welcome (easier squad control). Replacing weapon heating with thermal clips works better than I hoped and prevents me from just spraying bullets aimlessly.

2. Classes have been streamlined. Instead of a ton of skill lines offering tiny incremental upgrades you now get half-dozen skill lines with 4 levels each. Every subsequent level costs more points, each skill lets you pick one of two versions for level 4 (usually a choice between an AoE effect or stronger single-target effect). End effect is a smoother character development system with less clutter. Also, Engineers and Sentinels don't suck anymore. Engineers have a selection of offensive powers and an extra party member (Combat Drone/Hacked Mechs), Sentinels are a defensive all-round class.

3. They removed the inventory system and replaced it with a selection of other mechanics. Most notably, you acquire armor in individual pieces (Head, Body, Legs), each piece has its own bonuses, and then you get to pain the damn thing any way you please, so no need to sacrifice looks for functionality. You still find new and better weapons, but you pick your loadout before the mission. There is an further upgrade system that lets you research improvements for individual weapons and other party tools such as bio-amps, omni-tools, armor, etc.

4. Research system in general looks interesting, though acquiring materials for it is a bit tedious. Basically, you gather materials from planet surfaces, but since there's no more Mako this is done through a planet scanning mini-game. Not a bad idea, but a bit tedious. However, once you get the hang of it and upgrade your scanner, it goes by pretty fast. Research lets you upgrade your gear, unlock new weapons, upgrade your ship, get unique upgrades for your party members, etc.

5. Two new weapon types. SMGs (available to everyone) give non-combat classes an alternative to Pistols. SMGs take down shields fast, while Pistols take down health and armor. Second new weapon type are Heavy Weapons which consist of various greande launchers, missile launchers and other big toys. Every class can use them, but you can only bring one with you.

6. Graphics are gorgeous. Great use of lighting, shadows, etc. Much more atmospheric than the previous game. Overall, the game looks better than the first one, but somehow runs better. If your machine could handle ME1, it'll most likely handle ME2.

7. Two new hacking minigames, both far better and more fun than that "penetration" game from ME1.

Basically, I'm hard pressed to find flaws beyond a slightly tedious scanning minigame. Also, I'm taking any questions you might have...

 

[I Stomp on Kittens]

Nothing! All because my dad decided not to pick it up! Go him!

 

[regallmighty]

i have the pre order verson of it with all of the exra content which looks amazing! i say "LOOKS" becasue its my big bros game and he WONT LET ME FUCKING PLAY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Robert0288]

fuuuuu- I wish I can get my hands on it, I pre-ordered it, and then I relized I was stuck in class the entire day and the place closes @ 9pm, which is the same time I'm done class.

 

[Prophetic Heresy]

I had it pre-ordered, but we sent in my xbox to get repaired last saturday. T_T

The manual is very interesting, though....

*cries*

 

[Eri]

*Please wait*

 

[Danpascooch]

I blogged a full review here: http://singblueeyes.livejournal.com/3950.html
But, short version:
I'm an RPG player, so it took me some time to love the combat. (I'm old. I don't have reflexes, people...LOL) But, by level 14 I started to feel comfortable...at about 20, I finally felt like I had my badass Shepard back. I love the new vanguard powers - the concussion strike and the blast forward. So. Much. Fun.
LOVE: SPACE HAMSTER!!
The Normandy's engineers - Haggis and poker FTMFW!!
Punching the reporter. Again.
The new paragon/renegade actions
HATE: Scanning for minerals
Some of the romance dialogue is cringeworthy coming from a female Shep
One of the things I loved about ME1 was Shepard's easy, athletic walk and run. Now, for some reason, when she's got her gun in her hand, she moves like my brother in law's German shepard pup. (Heee...Shepard...I totally didn't mean to do that.) Her feet seem to slap on the ground with much akwardness...

I agree completely with literally every point here

 

[Durxom]

I think the combat has been downgraded from ME1...I mean...you need clips now?? So somehow, our high tech unlimited ammo guns suddenly need ammo now?..and I dunno...the combat seems to flip from extremely fast to sluggish, but I do like how the skills are set up now...except for how health is show now....other than that...I'm finding it to be a great improvement..I think

 

[regallmighty]

I had it pre-ordered, but we sent in my xbox to get repaired last saturday. T_T

The manual is very interesting, though....

*cries*

I feel for you man, but in all fairness, the manual is interesting

 

[Internet Kraken]

The combat is great now. I'm really glad to see how much they improved it. It may have switched over to regenerating health but it still requires you to use tactics to succeed. In general the feedback you get from each attack is much better. Fights are a lot more challenging and satisfying now. I'm amazed by how much they've improved it.

Strangely enough so far I think the weakest part of Mass Effect 2 is actually the story. Don't get me wrong, it's still good but it just seems to reliant on you having played Mass Effect. So much dialogue is a callback to the old game. I think this will result in new players feeling like they've mist a lot. It also bothers me personally since every fucking NPC says "hey Shepard, remember when you helped me with *insert problem*?". Yes I remember you, you don't have to remind me every two seconds.

 

[Geekmaster K]

I had it pre-ordered, but we sent in my xbox to get repaired last saturday. T_T

The manual is very interesting, though....

*cries*

I feel for you man, but in all fairness, the manual is interesting

The same thing happened to me! I got the red ring of death after I pre-ordered it! The only difference is, it's snowing so bad where I live, I haven't had a chance to send my Xbox 360 in yet! I'm planning on sending it in today, but still, 2 to 3 weeks to get it back! Oh well, I have something to tide me over. I went with Steam's "Midweek Madness" deal and downloaded Psychonauts for only $2. Haven't had a chance to play it yet, but I've heard it's pretty awesome.

 

[Crimsane]

Mass Effect 2 is the best goddamn game I've ever played.

Minus the annoying scanning planets for materials bit. But that's not that frequent or annoying really, I've only scanned a few systems and I'm ten hours in with every upgrade I've encountered purchased (even the silly scar thing, because being a handsome badass as opposed to a glowing scarred badass was worth the 50k) and 100k+ leftover of all materials except element zero, which is hovering at 45-50k.

The voice acting is one thing that really catches my attention. Nearly everyone I talk to is a massage for my eardrums, which is a welcome change from the usual sandpaper condom ear canal ravaging. No terrible pseudo-accents like in Dragon Age (Frenchies - err, Orlesians) or Saboteur (everyone) is also a plus.

Not only that, the dialogue is amazingly well crafted for the most part. I'm enjoying the humor especially. (After threatening guard with violence to let me pass, with an NPC unsuccessfully trying to convince him to let her in as well): "You let them through but not me!" "Lady, you don't have a grenade launcher. Gtfo." Bwahaha.

 

[ShotgunSmoke]

This is the best game I've ever played. I knew that right after the opening.

Completed it in 47 hours, completed all sidequests, explored all planets, made every member loyal, bought all the upgrades. Every teammate survived the suicide mission. Of course, there was a certain price to pay for being fully prepared for the mission.

Also, I love the touches by Bioware, like Blasto (ENKINDLE THIS!), the quarian girl complaining about relationships with humans (totally bitchslapped the Talimance community), the game salesman and some aliens freaking out and calling every human "racist!" (specially for Ashley haters).

The dialogues are pure cinema quality.

"When you want a problem shot, ask a turian. When you want a problem talked to death, ask an asari. When you want a new problem, ask a salarian. When you want a problem solved, ask a human."