Mass Effect 2. Overrated?

[Popadoo]

I've bought Mass Effect 2 for PS3 a few weeks ago and I've completed it. Overall, I thought it was a good game, but not worth the amount of praise it's getting. Let me explain why...
Story: The story is very original and very vast, but I find I'll pick up new side-missions without even noticing, and be asked to do something when I have no idea why or what it was about. Take for example near the start of the game. I'm running through what I believe was the Citadel and I look in my Journal to help me complete my task. I see a new side-mission saying I have to either buy a fake fish, or find someone who I don't know and tell him there isn't any fish. What? Where did this come from? Why should I care? Where is the guy I need to talk to? Why does he care about fish?
Gameplay: Pretty dull and repetitive, and I enjoyed the conversations more than the shoot-outs. I couldn't find out how to change my weapons until much later on, so I was using a pistol for about half the game.

Opinions? And I don't want people trolling about how I suck and it's because PS3 suck or that I suck or that I'm an idiot. Just be sensible.

 

[BlastedTheWorm]

I see a new side-mission saying I have to either buy a fake fish, or find someone who I don't know and tell him there isn't any fish. What? Where did this come from? Why should I care? Where is the guy I need to talk to? Why does he care about fish?

You get it from over-hearing a krogan talk about how he wants a fish from the Presidium lakes.

And I liked it. I s'pose it helps if you play ME1 though.

 

[Popadoo]

I see. I think that's a pretty bad idea, picking up missions when you aren't bound to be paying attention to what they are talking about.

 

[MercurySteam]

I find I'll pick up new side-missions without even noticing, and be asked to do something when I have no idea why or what it was about. Take for example near the start of the game. I'm running through what I believe was the Citadel and I look in my Journal to help me complete my task. I see a new side-mission saying I have to either buy a fake fish, or find someone who I don't know and tell him there isn't any fish. What? Where did this come from? Why should I care? Where is the guy I need to talk to? Why does he care about fish?

I used to have this problem. Just pay attention to new Journal entries after conversations and if need be, consult a wiki.

Gameplay: I couldn't find out how to change my weapons until much later on, so I was using a pistol for about half the game.

I'm sorry to say that's not a flaw in the game that's just you being lazy. I mean seriously, it took you that long?

 

[TheAmazingHobo]

Nah, I don´t think the game is overrated (I personally feel it was one of the best games I played in 2010), but I don´t feel that your argument is necessarily "wrong" either (except the "couldn´t find out how toe chance my weapons part", where I suppose you are more at fault the the game itself).

ME2 is brilliantly crafted, but might not appeal to everyone.
Just like all the other threads with a similar topic:
Textbook case of the subjectiveness of games.

 

[Scars Unseen]

You don't suck and the PS3 doesn't suck, but it does suck that you have to do all that planet mining. Personal Computers: because sometimes cheating really is the way to go.

OT: I'm in the middle of another playthrough. Not overrated.

 

[xchurchx]

I see. I think that's a pretty bad idea, picking up missions when you aren't bound to be paying attention to what they are talking about.

well it is up to you if you want to help and the not that hard to do, if your so stuck and it realy is driving you potty just check the ME wiki
I thought it was a great game on the PS3

 

[MercurySteam]

I see. I think that's a pretty bad idea, picking up missions when you aren't bound to be paying attention to what they are talking about.

Wait a minute, what?

I enjoyed the conversations more than the shoot-outs

Huh?

So lemme get this straight; you didn't enjoy the combat and despite the fact that you enjoyed the conversations more than the combat you weren't even listening to the dialogue?

I get the feeling that you don't like the game at all.

 

[Legion]

So because you had difficulty getting to grips with the game (where millions of others didn't) it's overrated?

As for the whole fish side-quest, it isn't all that different from any other RPG's, side-quests are normally little distractions to get you experience and spice things up, they don't need deep, complex reasoning behind them.

As for the pistol thing... that's what gaming manuals are for. That's not a design flaw in the slightest.

 

[GiglameshSoulEater]

Aw, god, another 'why do people like a game I don't' thread.

People have opinions. Opinions differ. Therefore, people will think a game you dislike is solid gold.. and no-one is wrong.

Also, being unable to change weapons? That isn't the fault of the game. If nothing else, just read the manual control scheme.

 

[Popadoo]

I see. I think that's a pretty bad idea, picking up missions when you aren't bound to be paying attention to what they are talking about.

Wait a minute, what?

I enjoyed the conversations more than the shoot-outs

Huh?

So lemme get this straight; you didn't enjoy the combat and despite the fact that you enjoyed the conversations more than the combat you weren't even listening to the dialogue?

I get the feeling that you don't like the game at all.

The conversations I said I liked were the ones where you get to pick you're response.
The ones I said I wasn't bound to listen to were the ones you hear while walking past people, and sometimes that give you missions.

 

[Kalado]

I think it's a great game.
I wouldn't say you did anything wrong (like not paying attention) or whatever, I guess this game just isn't so much for you.
Even the best whore isn't able to please all men.

 

[Alon Shechter]

I didn't even enjoy the game.
I don't get any of the praise for it.

 

[similar.squirrel]

Opinion? It's a matter of personal taste. To say something is overrated is silly. That's subjective.You can say 'I think Mass Effect 2 was overrated', but stating it like a fact makes you seem like an idiot.
I loved it, and the prequel. I know people who did not like either, or only liked one. The game is not good, nor is it bad. Some people love it, some don't.

 

[Scout Tactical]

I see a new side-mission saying I have to either buy a fake fish, or find someone who I don't know and tell him there isn't any fish. What? Where did this come from? Why should I care? Where is the guy I need to talk to? Why does he care about fish?

Opinions? And I don't want people trolling about how I suck and it's because PS3 suck or that I suck or that I'm an idiot. Just be sensible.

You can get missions just by overhearing people chatting. You should be more aware. Really, if you don't tend to pay attention in the social aspects of the game, I wouldn't be surprised if you had trouble with the combat aspects. Both require you to pay attention to your surroundings. Also there's a quest notifier when you overhear stuff like that, so you could just watch for it.


If you thought gameplay was boring, though, it has more to do with you failing to choose Vanguard, easily the most enjoyable class.

 

[samuraipope]

I see a new side-mission saying I have to either buy a fake fish, or find someone who I don't know and tell him there isn't any fish. What? Where did this come from? Why should I care? Where is the guy I need to talk to? Why does he care about fish?

this is a single quest that you get so it's kinda petty to judge the entire game over it (to my knowledge it also the only quest you pick up this way - at most there are like three)

I couldn't find out how to change my weapons until much later on, so I was using a pistol for about half the game.

this i'm afraid is a case of you sucking it VERY clearly instructs you on the first mission how to switch weapons

 

[darth.pixie]

I agree that it was overated. The plot did not seem all that original to me(ME 1 was so much better plot-wise) and in the end I only completed it because it was fun to shoot people with a sniper rifle or charge them.

The majority of characters were either dull or annoying (Mordin was awesome, Grunt was fun, Legion was great...and that's about it). I didn't enjoy many of the others. Some side quests were annoying, but I won't complain much about them as I didn't complete that many.

Overall, it was game I played because I was bored and game-less at the time. I can see why some people like it though.

 

[Scars Unseen]

If you thought gameplay was boring, though, it has more to do with you failing to choose Vanguard, easily the most enjoyable class.

This man speaks the truth. Screw taking pot shots from behind walls. Charging the center and fucking the enemy up with a shotgun and melee is the way to do it.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

I agree that it was overated. The plot did not seem all that original to me(ME 1 was so much better plot-wise) and in the end I only completed it because it was fun to shoot people with a sniper rifle or charge them.

I think it has to do with it being the bridge between 1 and 2. After a great villain in the first (Saren) and you saving the galaxy, ME2's story just felt tame.
OP: It wasn't as good as the first. They got rid of the inventory system, put more emphasis on the renegade/paragon meter (The opposite of what they should have done.), characters had far less dialogue, and the game felt smaller. Being able to explore planets made the galaxy feel big in 1. In 2 you are just running from shooting gallery to shooting gallery. The Citadel in 1 is infinitely superior to the claustrophobic mess that was the Citadel in 2.
I will give it this: they actually made the classes feel unique. I was an Infiltrator and I actually felt like a sniper/assassin.

 

[JeanLuc761]

I think it has to do with it being the bridge between 1 and 2. After a great villain in the first (Saren) and you saving the galaxy, ME2's story just felt tame.
OP: It wasn't as good as the first. They got rid of the inventory system, put more emphasis on the renegade/paragon meter (The opposite of what they should have done.), characters had far less dialogue, and the game felt smaller. Being able to explore planets made the galaxy feel big in 1. In 2 you are just running from shooting gallery to shooting gallery. The Citadel in 1 is infinitely superior to the claustrophobic mess that was the Citadel in 2.

I will agree that the increased emphasis on the morality meter was a pain, and the more "constricted" galaxy was a bummer, but I will disagree on your other two points.

The inventory in Mass Effect 1 was, quite frankly, a mess. As cool as it was to have that gradual improvement in weaponry, everything felt EXACTLY the same and the management of the inventory was grounds for frustration and tedium. At least in ME2, each weapon feels unique and has a defined purpose.

As for "Characters had far less dialogue," I'm pretty sure this one is actually factually false. I played ME1 twice the week before ME2 came out, and I remember being floored by how much more character dialogue there was (I'm pretty sure Mordin alone has more dialogue than anyone else in the series, save for Shepard, obviously). I'll grant that Tali and Garrus were limited if you weren't romancing them, but every character had a ton of dialogue no matter what.

OP: I thought Mass Effect 2 was the best game of last year, and I still do. Whether or not a game is "overrated" is entirely up to opinion, and quite frankly, I wish the term would go away. Just because a lot of people like what you don't does not make it overrated, it simply means it doesn't appeal to you. Mass Effect 2 did not reach a 96% metacritic rating by being "overrated," it reached it by being great.