Review: Mass Effect 2

[Tjaeden]

Hey wait a minute... Boo was a space hamster! The universes are linked!

I'm glad someone else notices this - Boo the Space Hamster was Minsc's pet in the original Baldur's Gate - made by Bioware - and one of the best D&D RPG ports ever made.

I'm surprised it wasn't mentioned in the video!

 

[hansari]

If you can't choose to betray Cerberus as a Paragon, then this whole affair is stupid. Even if it's supposed to be "an uneasy choice to tolerate what is essentially Waffen SS IN SPACE for the sake of saving the galaxy from EVIL ALIENS", you should still be able to disobey particulary nasty orders of Illusive Man and sabotage Cerberus' illegal workings.

My goodness...

Spoiler

This is a game that opens up with you DYING. You suffocate slowly and painfully as you spiral endlessly into space...the camera slowly pulling back to artistically show, despite the events of Mass Effect 1, you are mortal and can very easily become powerless.

And then you guys say "why doesn't he flash his badge and go all He-MAN on these people".

FFS

 

[Bagaloo]

I'm getting quite tempted to get this now.
Problem is, I never played the first game, at all.

So, my question to you is twofold; is Mass Effect 2 easy to pick up (controls and gameplay wise) for a beginner, and will missing out on the first one really ruin the experience for me, or just only slightly dampen it?

 

[Simriel]

Call the hamster Reginald.

 

[Nimzar]

To EVERYONE suggesting names for the space hamster that are not "Boo".

PLAY the Baldur's Gate series. (not Dark Alliance though).

For the love all that is good in gaming: Baldur's Gate II is the BEST computer RPG to ever be made. And it is quite possibly the best GAME ever to be made.

I don't make such claims lightly. (The top three of my list of Best games ever are BGII, Portal, and Myst 3: Exile btw).

 

[Chipperz]

My word, Ms. Arendt! You certainly were on the ball with this one. I mean, it came out...three hours from now?

...I'm confused.

She's a time-traveler. That, or PR reps from EA sent us (and every other videogaming-related publication) a review copy of the game so that we could publish in time for release. Pick whichever explanation makes you happiest.

Time traveler. Now that we've settled that the real questions begin. Does she travel Doctor/Bill & Ted style, Marty McFly style, or Star Trek slingshot style.

I can neither confirm nor deny that I am a time traveler. I will however point out, apropos of nothing, that I have a robot dog and a scarf of which I am overly fond.

Spoiler: In that case, I just have one question...

Would you like a Jelly Baby?

 

[Susan Arendt]

I'm getting quite tempted to get this now.
Problem is, I never played the first game, at all.

So, my question to you is twofold; is Mass Effect 2 easy to pick up (controls and gameplay wise) for a beginner, and will missing out on the first one really ruin the experience for me, or just only slightly dampen it?

Very easy to pick up, absolutely. Mucking about with the command wheel takes a wee bit of practice, but honestly, you can quite happily play the game without ever asking your companions to do a single thing.

Missing out on the first one won't ruin the experience, no, but you will absolutely, without question, enjoy the second game more if you play through the first. Besides, the first game is excellent...no reason not to play it.

 

[k-ossuburb]

I think you should call your hamster "Boo" after the Minsc's hamster in Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. Minsc believed that Boo was a "miniature giant space hamster" which is, in turn, a reference to D&D, which I'm sure you love.

 

[jamescorck]

That was a very good review. I have to say, the mining on the first Mass Effect got tedious after the first mineral, but now that it actually serves a purpose I won't mind at all. We are stuck with it, yes, but it's not a waste of time either. My money is itching my pocket now. I need to play this game so badly.

Oh! And you should name the hamster Ron :-3

 

[Knight Templar]

Space hamster?
Miniature giant space hamster prehaps?

Anyway a very good review it didn't ruin anything yet it still informed me about the game. I think the fact you don't talk about the plot in any way is a strong point to this review, now I'll be able to show it to my spoiler fearing brother without much worry. Seems he won't be able to look at the comments however as they seem very spoilery.

I liked the review and came away with a better understanding of the game.

This 'new' clip system sounds exactly like the one from Deus Ex 2. You get one type and different guns use different amounts. I always found that I ran out of ammo and got screwed a lot. I hope it works this time?

I ran out of ammo exactly once, and that was more a function of my own bad shooting than the game's bad design. I think it works quite well.

So as long as I don't burn ammo without reason I should be ok? I still don't like the idea, most likely because of my experances in Deus Ex: IW, which can be summarised as "where was this ammo when I needed it" and "why can't I just buy this stuff".

 

[Chunko]

Review: Mass Effect 2

Want to save the universe? Hope you're ready to get your hands dirty.

Read Full Article

Thanks for the spoiler warning, I'll watch the review after I beat the game.

 

[Susan Arendt]

Space hamster?
Miniature giant space hamster prehaps?

Anyway a very good review it didn't ruin anything yet it still informed me about the game. I think the fact you don't talk about the plot in any way is a strong point to this review, now I'll be able to show it to my spoiler fearing brother without much worry. Seems he won't be able to look at the comments however as they seem very spoilery.

I liked the review and came away with a better understanding of the game.

This 'new' clip system sounds exactly like the one from Deus Ex 2. You get one type and different guns use different amounts. I always found that I ran out of ammo and got screwed a lot. I hope it works this time?

I ran out of ammo exactly once, and that was more a function of my own bad shooting than the game's bad design. I think it works quite well.

So as long as I don't burn ammo without reason I should be ok? I still don't like the idea, most likely because of my experances in Deus Ex: IW, which can be summarised as "where was this ammo when I needed it" and "why can't I just buy this stuff".

I was playing on Normal and leaving thermal clips behind because I was full-up. Seriously, you'll be just fine, don't sweat it.

 

[CloggedDonkey]

damn, these games are coming out faster than I know. it kind of annoying to go and buy assassin's creed 2, and fin out MW2 is out and I never even knew.

 

[DND Judgement]

i'm counting down the days...

 

[dreadedcandiru99]

Anyways, yes, Bioware, regardless of how much "soothing" reviewers attempt to do, has apparently missed the point of the Paragon in ME2. The point of being a Paragon was not spilling blood, working through things the right and respectable way, and definitely not making a deal with and working for the single most dangerous entity and man in existance. (Cerberus and the Illusive Man, if you somehow missed that.)

Really? You don't think a Paragon would make a deal with the devil to save the human race? I disagree completely. Just because you're working with Cerberus doesn't mean you've suddenly gone to the dark side.

I don't even need to play the game to deal you that Collector's attacks on the humans are a pittance compared to what they, and the Reapers, have in store for the entire galaxy.

And remember, you're a SPECTRE - you took an oath defend all life in the galaxy, not just humanity. You're part of something bigger than the Alliance and humanity - working with someone who wants nothing more to than to see all other races bowing to the heels of humanity, or simply crushed in our wake and who only is interested in you because you can do that, is kind of the anti-thesis of what your job is supposed to be.

So, no, a Paragon wouldn't work with Cerberus. Since your still a SPECTRE, you can still can when and where you please - and you could easily continue the hunt for the Collectors under the banner of the Conciul or the Alliance as easily as you could under Cerberus. Hell, I don't even see what advantages Cerberus has over the other two - the other two have just extensive, if not more extensive intelligence networks, massive resources, and you could probably recruit a far superior, and less psychotic band of heroes from the "official" channels than you could from Cerberus's pool.

I dunno about your Paragon Shepard, but mine had the "sole survivor" background--you know, the one where her squad was wiped out after being lured into a thresher maw nest by Cerberus. I can totally see that being an issue, too.

EDIT: Oh, and they killed Kahoku. And tortured Toombs. And turned those people into husks. It's probably a good thing my Shepard won't get to meet the Illusive Man in person, or this would be a really short game.

 

[BloodyThoughts]

HA! make fun of us Americans now, Cause us, and the Canadians get it the 26 witch is today.

TAKE THAT!

Oh and guess what, I am having fun with the the gun that you get for free if you pre-order it and the armor. Ok now I am just being a douchebag.

Oh, and you should name your hampster spacey, the space hamster, he is so cute BD

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

this horrible game is not worth a buy...... they went thew passed bioshock 100 phantoms ago watering it down so much, people stop buying crap already!!!

 

[Varewulf]

Hmmmmmmm... I think you should name the hamster Herbert!

 

[Veldt Falsetto]

I really don't like the ammo idea, I'm an RPG fan who kinda sucks at shooters, if I can't buy enough ammo to simply spam them with bullets, this will seriously alienate me, which would be a problem because I felt that there were gameplay elements in the first one that didn't work.

There best not be any enemies that run up to you, especially Krogan ones, they were a pain "RARGH I'M GONNA GIT YOU" "phew killed him, if he got any closer (gulps)" (two more wander into the room as the one you just killed gets up because for some reason the Krogans suffer from new school FPS syndrome and can heal to full health randomly) "OH FUUUUUU----" (Shepard dies)

(Two or three tries later "phew finally, and we all survived, yay!" (Turns round the next corner) "OH COME ON! AGAIN?"
(Repeat until either finished or you give up)

 

[KingPiccolOwned]

Sounds good. But they toned down the RPG part of combat it seems. And the combat was already RPG Lite to begin with. Now it sounds like just a shooter.

Will I miss too much by having ignored the really boring side quests of ME1 for my ME1 transfer data?

You know you can always just rent it first and then get it if you like it, works for me most the time.