Review: Mass Effect 2

[CuddlyCombine]

You import your Mass Effect 1 saves from the Configuration tool. You get some extra cash for a leveled character and you'll have had made the decisions for the major plot points from the first. You're still soft-reset as a character and can pick a brand new class and appearance. If you start a new character in Mass Effect 2 the game defaults to -

Spoiler

Council is killed.
Kaiden died.
I haven't confirmed if it defaults a romance, but I think it might be Ashley.

You still get the Earthborn, Ruthless, etc options though on creating a brand new character.

Wow. Those defaults are both the direct opposites to what I'm doing, haha. Thanks for the info, though.

Ahhhh, I see. Well, I can't speak to the PC side of things, only the 360 version. Porting the save over was dead simple. It simply asks you if you want to start a new character or load a previous Shepard. Hit a button, wait a minute or two, and bam, you're ready to go.

That's a relief. PC may find some way to make it difficult, but I'll live to save the universe galaxy.

 

[staplegrecko]

Expecting this game to drop into the mailbox tomorrow and I am very much looking forward to it. I thought the first game was awesome in most ways, and is still one of my favorite games, despite its flaws. Driving the Mako around wasn't all that great, but to me it was not so much because of the Mako and its control scheme as it was the terrain, which was often just a horror to navigate. So scanning to planet from orbit sounds like a cool improvement, at least to my ears.

Tomorrow just can't come soon enough... oh and by the way, I am so getting the space hamster!

 

[WafflesToo]

I just picked up my copy last night, haven't installed it yet but I told myself I'd wait until I finish playthrough #7 (Feros, Virmir, and Ilios are all that's left... and I'd like to finally finish Wrex's assignment).

Two things bother me about the new version; the coolant clips and the omission of the Mako.

The coolant clips totally backtrack against cannon. Nitpick, yes, but I don't like it. Minor point anyway compared to...

More seriously, I can NOT beleive that they dropped the Mako and replaced it with a busywork minigame that not only sounds stupid, unchallenging, and worst of all boring; but UNLIKE the Mako is NOT optional content. I'd say about 75% of the stuff you did with the Mako was optional anyway; you didn't like it you didn't really have to do it all that much (the times you HAD to use the Mako you more or less just followed a fairly clear path anyway). It doesn't sound like this dumb-arsed mining minigame is all that optional; unless you enjoy hamstringing yourself anyway. I'm just totally dumbstruck with that huge, "Bioware, what the frozen fish fries were you THINKING?!"

Sigh, sad thing is I'll still probably play through the sequel a dozen times... or I'll grin like an idiot and start playthrough #8 of the original and remember the happier times.

Hey, did anyone ever get an Armature stuck between the rear wheels of the Mako? Sure made fighting his mate a bit of a challenge.

 

[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!!!

Wat.

System shock 2 a deliciously well thought out yet challenging sci fi RPG in first person, ,Baldur gate a delicious classic RPG on the scale and weight of a 10 pound book.

Halo a well balanced and fun FPS

Doom 3 a watered down corridor shooter in the dark

Fallout 1-2 rich and deep if buggy RPGs

FO3 pissed flavored lulz fest

Bioshock heavily watered down lulz fest.


Classic solid game design>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>watered down>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>piss flavored
SS2/BG,FO1-2...............Halo.............ME...............................D3.......................BS...........ME2.....FO3

Today's game designs SUCK.........

 

[zelda2fanboy]

Hey, Susan's Shepard looks a lot like my Shepard! Mine's named Janet.

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

They have Boo!!! the legendary miniature giant space hamster!!!

 

[sumguitardude]

Good review^^
gad just 1 more day! god i cant wait!!!
i really like how she said might contain spoilers before starting the review^^
Gametrailers never does that, so kudos for doing it^^

 

[JaredXE]

You import your Mass Effect 1 saves from the Configuration tool. You get some extra cash for a leveled character and you'll have had made the decisions for the major plot points from the first. You're still soft-reset as a character and can pick a brand new class and appearance. If you start a new character in Mass Effect 2 the game defaults to -

Spoiler

Council is killed.
Kaiden died.
I haven't confirmed if it defaults a romance, but I think it might be Ashley.

You still get the Earthborn, Ruthless, etc options though on creating a brand new character.

HA! Those defaults were almost exactly what I got on my Paragon character, though I had Liara as a lover because she was just so damn easy to seduce. I really wanted Ashley though.

And Earthborn and Sole-Survivor.

 

[Keesor]

As far as naming your space hamster, I suggest "Captain Squeaky Pants"

 

[Susan Arendt]

Confused.

From what I read elsewhere, you can no longer equip your squadmates, there is no xp for killing, there are mission complete screens, your own armor virtualy does nothing and you cannot compare the stats of weapons, since they have non. Each skill has, what, 5 levels, and that is that. There are few stats that influence combat, and non that influence hitting targets.

I would consider these to be very imporant RPG elements that would detract hugely from the feel of an RPG if they were missing. But I truely value Susan Arendts opinion, so I am loathe to disbelieve her when she claims that nearly no RPG elements has been removed compared to ME1.

I had decided not to buy the game, since a shooter with a story does not an RPG make, but now I am torn yet again.

Ok, let me clarify. The elements are there, but they have definitely been simplified. Each skill requires basically the same amount of upgrading it did before, but rather than break it into 20 blocks, (I'm picking that number at random, I don't know the actual number off the top of my head), it's broken into 5 that require increasing number of skill points. So, level one needs one point, level two needs 2 skill points, and so forth. Different weapons do have different qualities, but those are spelled out in general terms -- "powerful against armor, weak against shields" -- as opposed to +1, +2.

All of that said, however, the RPG elements here weigh most heavily in character interaction as opposed to inventory manipulation. So it's really a question of what you personally enjoy most in an RPG.

Let me ask you, did you play and enjoy the first game?

 

[Laxman9292]

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?

RPG Lite? are you high? The conversation and story building, as well as the level progression and skill advancement was one of the most touted aspects, where as the shooting was the more broken of the two. Remember Yahtzee complaining that there was too much story? Every character is content to throw a novel's worth of information at you with little provocation. Possibly you were thinking of a different game?

 

[Laxman9292]

And it is kind of like a QTE, but it's optional and actually quite cool.

I do not mind that it is optional but if they do it infrequently it is going to bug the crap out of me. If they are going to use QTE or anything like it they should use them regularly so that gamers are ready for the spontaneous reaction that such events require. Otherwise gamers will be caught totally off guard. And i would feel as if I missed out if i did not perform the QTE's.

 

[Laxman9292]

Now all they need to do for the third is add melee weapons and bring back the Mako and I am a happy man.

Why would they add melee weapons? The game's happening in the freaking future, melee weapons would make no sense. Huge robots manned by humans however...

OT: I LOVED this game. Can't wait for the sequel. Must...see...conclusion to romance with Tali.

In the trailer for the assassin character they show him completely tearing people apart with his bare hands. I would have loved to see this represented in another class focused on quick hand to hand attacks and more mobile combat.

 

[nonroker]

Anyone not naming their space hamster boo is a complete sociopath. I named my dog in Dragon Age Boo. And also Oy, which made more sense.

 

[Stylish_Robot]

funnily enough, not a single stupid store in town carries the game, how pathetic is that? Oh sure we have so much crap like Bionic Commando but huge selling titles are just so hard to find. I'll track it down one day, Amazon's pricing right now (Canadian one) is stupidly awful

 

[soultwister]

i'd more likely call this an overview, very vague one too

 

[Plinglebob]

Were you playing the PC or Xbox version as I've found the PC controls to be really annoying and they are sadly putting me off the game.

 

[Wilbot666]

I'm almost positive that someone's already said it but...

"Space Hamster? Where the hell is Minsc when you need him??!!"

Ahh Bioware, how I praise you...

 

[001648]

call him mc hamster, thats what my 'normal' hamster was called.... dam non space hamsters and their short life spans

 

[Quassimodo]

YAY! a Boo reference