craig5320

Mass Effect 2 Review
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As Mass Effect 2 begins we take the role of John Shepard, commander of the Normandy in the year 2183. During this initial sequence the ship is attacked and takes heavy damage, forcing most of the crew to evacuate.

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BlueMak

One of the finest reviews I have ever read.
The game is on my to buy list, hopefully during the next couple of weeks.

EDIT: I have a question regarding the limited ammo of this sequel. How much does it affect gameplay? Is ammo easily found during battles? Did they try to explain how come weapons now require ammo?

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

press

The game is awesome!

MythicaL

It affects the gameplay in the sense that the game feels more like a shooter than the first ME. The ammo is found scattered across encounter areas in actual magazines that you can pick up; you will see these magazines primarily as a result of killing enemies. There are also special ammo types (i.e. heavy weapon ammo) to be found while progressing through each mission.

I haven't seen BioWare's explanation as to why the weapons require ammo, but I'm guessing they wanted to separate the RPG and FPS elements out a little more.

I don't really like how ME2 dumped the health system from the first and implemented the, "if you don't get shot for a few seconds, you regenerate health" system.

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Always knew I didn't belong in this world. I wasn't made for this. But I'll never forget those who betrayed me, and those who never failed my trust.

Veridian3

HI, thanks for the feedback... in terms of the ammo, i cant say its really that limited. The choice of weapons (you can carry several) and the fact each character has special moves means that as long as you dont just sit with your finger on fire all the time you never really run out.

I'd say in the whole time I had playing it there wasnt a single occasion where I paid any attention to how much ammo I had... certainly not once the game really got going anyway.

Veridian3

It seems to be becomming the norm now (sadly). The first 3 games I have played this year all used that mechanic for the health. Not sure why, it basically makes people invincible... not like the old days

The only benefit I can see is that there have been times in the past when playing games that it has become impossible to beat a section due to the last save point stats. E.g. Your health was low and between that and a tough point in the game there was no way to get a health pack... thats not an issue with the cover to regen mode.

MythicaL

True. But I think I'd rather see a dynamic difficulty mode --in addition to the other difficulties-- where if the game sees that you're doing very poorly (or very good!), the challenge is re-balanced for you.

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Always knew I didn't belong in this world. I wasn't made for this. But I'll never forget those who betrayed me, and those who never failed my trust.

comp_ali

I think regenerated health are made to make the game easier (especially for the console players) , I hate that system , it make any game less challenging and less entertaining . I remember playing FarCry (1) on the hardest difficulty was some kind of suicide , however in some games like Crysis were you wear a special suit this system become more logical .

At least developers could let the gamer choose between realistic mode and regenerating health.

Veridian3

That would be my preference too.

orion_star

As Veridian said you hardly notice it, the only time you will is with weapons like the sniper rifle, heavy pistol or shotgun. And generally in areas with heavy fighting especially if you have to 'hold out' for a bit the heat exchangers spawn at the beginning of every wave. The only weapon you may have ammo issues with is your heavy weapon, and that comes down to how you use it.

As for the explanation, I don't remember it precisely but it has to do with gun technology outpacing the heat exchangers. Basically the weapons generate so much heat that the heat exchangers are the bottleneck if you will.

As for the regen thing, I'll admit it does make it easier, though I still die to those geth rushes and if I am caught in a bad spot and need run. However it does seem to me your shields drop faster in ME2 than they did in ME1.

I am currently on the final mission, and so far the game has been great. I do miss the Mako though.

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BlueMak

What? No vehicle "levels"? That's sad. I like them a lot on MS. I like the exploring unknown worlds part. Even when they all seem alike.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

orion_star

Now you probe planets from orbit for resources and landing areas. I probed very few planets but from those that I did the only time you landed on a planet was if you had a quest there. Maybe there were planets you could find a landing spot on without a quest.

I was actually under the impression that you would have some vehicle 'levels' and that the mako had been modified to be a hovering tank of sorts. I always had fun hitting creatures/enemies with the mako and watching them fly, or trying to get to places that you were not meant to.

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BlueMak

Too bad, some of the more memorable moments were with the vehicle.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

orion_star

Man after having watched the ending I don't know how Bioware is going to finish this with one more game. Also I get the feeling that your choice at the end of the game might have some real repercussions in the next game than your choice regarding the council did from ME1 to ME2.

Having played through it on veteran it is definitely easy, I had more trouble with Saren in ME1 than I did with the final boss portion of ME2. I am going to have to replay it on hardcore or whatever the highest is.

In terms of improvements, I hope they bring back the weapon mods in ME3, I liked being able to customize my weapons more. Maybe mix the two systems. Also allowing for the trade of resources into currency and the other way around would be nice. I found so much Palladium it would have been nice to convert it into one of the other 3.

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Veridian3

They are adding a hover tank via downloadable content soon... the Mako didnt make it into the game because a lot of people disliked it in the first.

BlueMak

The control of the Mako in the 360 version was horrible IMO. I much preferred the PC version, but still, too bad it was cut off.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

Dark Lord

i hated the mako parts in the original ME. i couldnt stand the planet exploration after about the 10th planet i landed on.

the original ME i was kind of "meh" about, but this one i fully enjoyed.

im playing through it a second time right now on insane. its kind of insane, actually.

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orion_star

That's good to hear, it wasn't that much of a challenge on veteran, though maybe my expectations of difficulty were wrong.

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mkk

Initial reaction is I love the characters and the story seems good. Gameplay is a bit watered down though and the shooter part is decidedly poor even considering its console outset. Audio is a bit wierd at times but overall good, with what problems there are likely stemming from the licensed game engine. Graphics are good for a consoler, meaning nice effects but lots of washed out details. Regardless, the story and characters certainly makes it a good game.

If anyone stumble over a method for widening the FOV just slightly then I'd be glad to hear. Getting headaches. Since "having" to stare so much at the back of the hero I'm sure glad there's a female lead character option.

Zelig

Well, ME1 essentially got the same health system if you maxed out your shields.

That was by far my least favorite part of ME1, I'm pretty sure I spent about half my total playtime driving the Mako around.

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crowTrobot

Some of the driving levels were fun but some where tedious and really boring, but I think it was more because of the level design. Some of the planets looked amazing while you had to drive through a snow storm with the locations on each corner of the map on some :/ Also, I got stuck on some impossibly crazy mountain terrain.

How are grenades in ME2? It was hard to aim them and judge the distance on ME1 and I had to throw most hoping that the enemy comes close to it.

OmegaRED

I like it so far though not sure why the game crashes a lot for me (ditto for ME1 so it must be by PC) but I've soldering on. It's too good to stop playing. I'm still on the fence regarding the changes to combat and health regeneration. I find most of the weapons handle too much like Gears of War or other console shooters, the shotgun especially feels "off".

Anyone going to post their ME2 character pics? I tried like hell to make mine look like Natalie Portman but they always end up resembling Jennifer Garner.

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BlueMak

Jennifer Garner is way hotter.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

orion_star

There are no grenades in ME2, well unless you count Zaeed's loyalty 'skill'.

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BlueMak

I don't have the game yet (going to buy it next month), but so far I read about several small changes and I don't think I like them. It sounds more like the (at least battles related) game has been nerfed, and let's face it, ME1 wasn't exactly the most complex RPG ever.
I hope I am wrong.

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The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

crowTrobot

lol mine always ended up looking like that actress who played Jill Valentine in Resident Evil 2 the movie.

@/2ct!<

I just got the game, and I think its pretty cool even though I thought it was going to be nerfed too. I must be the only one that liked the mako(on 360!) and I miss that it is gone entirely. I do like that so far there are no repated levels though, ie the tunnels or standard merc bases on planets. Also, the hacking mini games are better(still easy, but at least resemble some sort of hacking idea rather that button timing).

I was at first annoyed that they essentially swithced infinite ammo with infinite health, but I like this system better because in the first one I just used regen armor anyway and this just means I don't wait around as much. (medi gel is still used for unity though). Codex explains that the ammo packs are geth technology because they allow faster continuos shooting than waiting for weapon cooldowns.->more dps (Which is true because, if you have clips, reloading is about 1 sec for smalll arms, but with my sniper it seems slower because it reloads every shot) Also, the main function for clips seems to be that it forces you to switch guns every now and then because, even though pickups are universal, actual use is not and once you run out for a gun you have more for others. Also pickups are passive walk over, I thought you were going to have to search bodies, not true.

I have mixed feelings on powers. You have less overall selection and thus less flexibiliy on what you can build your character to be. Still, the class differentiation seems so much better with the unique skills than in 1. Something I did not notice mentioned before was power cooldown time. It seems pretty standard 6s to start(my char anyway) which is faster that 1, but any active power starts the cooldown (I hack ai, have to wait 6s to use hack OR any other power again)

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Dark Lord

you can get those cool down tmes to just about about nothing in the end.

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OmegaRED

Not in this lifetime

Anyway, here's my character. I've never used a male character in ME or ME2, does it open up a wider range of features (by features I mean "getting it on")?

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nicnik

I've started a male character; so far by the looks of things you can get "close" any of the female crew members

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