Review: Mass Effect 2

Plinglebob

Team Stupid-Face
Nov 11, 2008
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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

New member
Aug 21, 2009
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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

"I am ze Übermensch"
Nov 6, 2007
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call him mc hamster, thats what my 'normal' hamster was called.... dam non space hamsters and their short life spans
 

Susan Arendt

Nerd Queen
Jan 9, 2007
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Laxman9292 said:
Susan Arendt said:
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.
Well, catching you off guard is kind of the point. Just like real conversation.
 

Therumancer

Citation Needed
Nov 28, 2007
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The Space Hamster thing was pushing it, it's a spelljammer referance (even in Baldur's Gate 2, where it was a "minature giant space hamster").

Truthfully I can't figure out what Bioware was thinking here. I think people didn't like the inventory system because they were either shooter fanatics, or really didn't care for the fact that there were only a comparitively few items being updated in numerical value, so once you figured out which "brand/name" was best for a given class everything else became kind of pointless.

As many said they should have gone with an inventory/equipment system like Knights Of The Old Republic, and that approach to itemization. Scrapping the inventory system pretty much removed a lot of the RPG aspects and turned this into a customizable shooter, which I don't think was a good idea.

While a decent game, I think more reviewers should be critical of the fact that this is being called an RPG, and really on those grounds it fails because even as an action RPG there really aren't that many items or stats.

I think games like this and Bordelands should be called "customizable shooters" (which is not nessicarly bad) more than trying to hit the "RPG" buzzword.

I doubt that many people will agree with me, but such are my thoughts. Still a game I like a lot but a lot of the changes they made were pretty much in a direction I don't care for. It feels like they virtually gave up on trying to balance it as a hybrid.

I will also say that the Mako sequences weren't terrible, but they really needed to add more stuff to the planets and so on for you to do in the Mako. Running around looking for rocks and artifacts was kind of boring especially since you'd wind up driving up these steep mountais and such. I'm somewhat disappointed that instead of adding more content to make it more exciting, they pretty much scrapped it.

Also I'll be honest (for those who read this far) in saying that as a veteran of games like "Starflight" where you did the same basic thing, the Mako planetary exploration was actually pretty good. It sort of reminded me of Starflight/Sentinel Worlds/Hard Nova with modern technology. I hate to see such unrealized potential go to waste.

Not very far into ME 2 (on the first colony) but these are my thoughts so far based on my experiences and what people are saying.
 

WafflesToo

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Sep 19, 2007
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Therumancer said:
Also I'll be honest (for those who read this far) in saying that as a veteran of games like "Starflight" where you did the same basic thing, the Mako planetary exploration was actually pretty good. It sort of reminded me of Starflight/Sentinel Worlds/Hard Nova with modern technology. I hate to see such unrealized potential go to waste.
\m/ ^_^ \m/ Starflight FTW!

I think you nailed it; Bioware scrapped everything we had a complaint about rather than improving on it. The inventory system they adopted in the first one sucked eggs and the Mako handled like it was undersprung, massless, and in dire need of new shocks (LOL). While I'm certain I'll play the heck out of the new game I find it a shame that they stripped out so many of the components of the previous game rather than fixing them.

...and coolant clips?! Serisously!? I am never getting over this.
 

k-ossuburb

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Jul 31, 2009
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Mr.Tea said:
k-ossuburb said:
I think you should call your hamster "Boo" after the Minsc's hamster in Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn. 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.
Please tell me you don't really consider Dark Alliance before the real Baldur's Gate games.
Firstly: who edited my post? I didn't put Baldurs Gate 2 in there.

Secondly, I was talking about the hamster, not the games. The hamster is in a game setting, it's in a fantasy game (which I'm pretty sure Susan is fond of) and it's got connections to D&D (which I'm sure Susan is also fond of) I wasn't commenting on the game at all, jeez, why do I always end up offending someone through the most innocent posts?
 

AvsJoe

Elite Member
May 28, 2009
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I know I should want to play this game but for some reason I just don't. It's like I'm hardwired to want to pass up anything that other people salivate over en masse.
 

Laus

New member
Jul 31, 2009
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Extremely sad you mentioned the space hamster and did not recognize the reference to Boo from Baldur's Gate.

My insides are crying and cursing profusely...
 

Darmort

New member
Mar 16, 2009
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Laus said:
Extremely sad you mentioned the space hamster and did not recognize the reference to Boo from Baldur's Gate.

My insides are crying and cursing profusely...
Best first post I've ever seen.

As to your review, I can pretty much agree with you Susan. Good job on it. And name your hamster Boo.
 

Doug

New member
Apr 23, 2008
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Oh god...so good...playing too much.... eyeballs bleeding. Need to resist....failing...
 

Doug

New member
Apr 23, 2008
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Ok. I've finished my first play through.

Verdict -

Story - Excellent. Very strong, flexible based on the your choices, darker and yet lighter in some places. Excellent ending, won't spoil any of it.

Gameplay - Combat, very improved, conversations improved, PC interface...slightly backwards.

Environments - They seem abit smaller than ME 1 and yet...well, much more alive.

Overall, very high marks, but I need ME 3 now!
 

Slycne

Tank Ninja
Feb 19, 2006
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Therumancer said:
While a decent game, I think more reviewers should be critical of the fact that this is being called an RPG, and really on those grounds it fails because even as an action RPG there really aren't that many items or stats.
See I would have to disagree with you there. I think Mass Effect is far more deserving of it's RPG titling than a lot of other games in the genre.

In my opinion, an RPG is ideally about identifying as your character versus merely taking on the role given to you, and also being able to make choices, preferably lasting and game altering decisions. Identifying as your character is an individual experience - thus making that hard to nail down for anyone but the person playing, but the game has certainly allowed for much more freedom and lasting consequences in the choices aspect than say a Diablo or a Final Fantasy.

Video game RPGs are constrained due to their technical restrictions. They are often faced with either forcing linear story and sacrificing freedom or sacrificing story telling and allowing freedom. I feel so far Mass Effect has done a fine job of riding the line between the two, delivering a story it wants to tell but while allowing the player to effect the world the story takes place in. And this, for me, makes the experience more inline with what I think an RPG is, which is more than just a level system, items and stats.
 

Red Albatross

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Jun 11, 2009
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Kollega said:
Susan Arendt said:
There's more to it than just that. It's not as black and white as you seem to believe it is.
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.
The Council is burying their heads in the sand and refusing to believe that the Reapers are real. Udina and Anderson believe, but their hands are tied. The Alliance Navy's hands are tied. When you go back to the Citadel for the first time, and talk to Anderson or Udina, they make this clear to you. Cerberus is the only organization willing to commit its vast resources to stopping the Collectors and the Reapers. Desperate times call for desperate measures; working with Cerberus is a desperate measure. People keep mentioning Nazis in this discussion...well, the Allies in WWII fought with Russia for a common goal. Then, all of those countries went right back to decrying communism. Stalin was no angel, either, but turning down help when the fate of the world or the galaxy is at stake is just plain stupid. Standing on principle is fine and dandy when it's only your own life at stake, but we're talking the destruction of all sentient life.

As far as being a Paragon, the Paragon options for conversations with the Illusive Man, or with people asking about Cerberus, make it pointedly clear that you're not working FOR Cerberus. You're working with them and tolerating it, for only as long as your goals are the same. Illusive Man never orders you to do anything, and tells you more than once that you're free to turn your back, because he knows how fragile the alliance is. Instead, he gives you reasoned arguments about why you should help him. You don't have to trust him to agree with logic.

Personally, I think it adds a lot to the story, showing just how desperate everyone is. Sheperd is willing to work with a detestable organization because it's his or her only option, and Cerberus is willing to give Sheperd free reign because it's their only option.
 

WafflesToo

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Sep 19, 2007
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Finally loaded and started playing through the game. As promised, the coolant clips aren't all that bad and they SORT of make sense the way they are presented. I do still wish they'd allowed weapons to cool off naturally rather than treating it as an absolute ammunition limit, but it's tolerable. I guess (lol).

Cerberus Group, yes they're major jerks, yes they did terrible things to Toombs (and possibly you too), but you have to trust Bioware. It does work, there are horrible consequences, and it just makes sense. Have some faith in them, it's not like they're directing prequels to some of your most beloved childhood memories. It will be okay. -_^

Am I the only one that misses the elevators? The first game immersed you, and never ever let go. ME2 drags you into its world and then dumps you back out of it with a splash screen every few minutes, then you have to spend a few seconds reimmersing yourself. I suppose I'm in the minority though, but I still enjoyed listening in on the news reports and the crew chatting. Nice way to pick up a bit more on the world without having to dig through the codex.

Finally, yes they dumbed it down quite a bit. Probably for the Halo tards and the GoW fanboys. I find it obnoxious, but not that bad I suppose. I suppose it allows you to dive in faster, but I miss that elitist feeling I'd get as I mastered the existing system to greater degrees and started pulling off some awesome, jaw dropping stuff. The radial menu still pauses the game which I consider a good thing, but they eliminated squad move ordering from it which I consider a bad thing; now I'm forced to rely on thier hotkey system which ties up bindings that I would really rather use for something else entirely.

I have to admit though, I DON'T miss the old inventory system one iota.