Mass Effect 2

miir · Post by **miir** » January 29, 2010, 2:19 pm

Fuck you both!

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » January 29, 2010, 2:21 pm

Winnow wrote:
Funkmasterr wrote:[

You most certainly don't need to defend it, however if you make a comment aimed at me stating you don't see what's so hard about the class, don't be surprised when I pull your difficulty bitch card
Noted! I acknowledge your tactical superiority. Furthermore, I wanted to finally profess my profound love for anything and everything Apple. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to come clean.

It's ok, I'm glad we got that out of the way

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » January 29, 2010, 2:47 pm

Am I supposed to shoot things in this game? Whenever there's an encounter, i run around and hide behind things until the bad guys are dead.

Kwonryu DragonFist · Post by **Kwonryu DragonFist** » January 29, 2010, 4:39 pm

Winnow wrote:I admit I'm playing on easy but why so much problems with Vanguard? Surround yourself with the proper team.

Vanguard is EASY on VETERAN!

People are having trouble with Vanguard on Insane.

I use the Charge mostly for Movement/Flanking the enemies, picking off "stragglers" that are away from the main group, taking their cover and flanking the "main" group.

Researching and Upgrading all Shotgun-Tech on Normandy also gives you that added "OOMPH" in close combat, although i wish there was Melee-combat as well, with Vibrating electrical Chainswords and what not.

Yes, i researched all the Melee-dmg upgrades too just in case!

It's a fun class!

I always use Miranda with her maxxed ass/Overload-ability.

Kwonryu DragonFist · Post by **Kwonryu DragonFist** » January 29, 2010, 4:41 pm

Dregor Thule wrote:Anyone have a spare Inferno armor or Dr. Pepper codes laying around?

Wish i could give you my Inferno Armor, i never use it!

Still waiting on extra Dr Brian Pepp-codes myself, when i get some i mail ya.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » January 29, 2010, 4:52 pm

Funkmasterr wrote:No game is the same on easy, so it would be hard for you to relate. I don't understand playing through a game on easy difficulty, it detracts from the experience the developers intend

I'm confused.. The easy difficulty is added by the developers so how can it not be the experience they intended?

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » January 29, 2010, 5:40 pm

Kwonryu DragonFist wrote:[

I always use Miranda with her maxxed ass/Overload-ability.

My most common group includes Miranda and Jack. I'll throw in Tali on occasion and sometimes I'll go Miranda/Samara if I want to assault something with three sub machine guns blazing.

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » January 29, 2010, 7:06 pm

ME2 has already sold over 2 million units! Damn!

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » January 29, 2010, 8:48 pm

Aslanna wrote:
Funkmasterr wrote:No game is the same on easy, so it would be hard for you to relate. I don't understand playing through a game on easy difficulty, it detracts from the experience the developers intend
I'm confused.. The easy difficulty is added by the developers so how can it not be the experience they intended?

I wasn't going to respond in case you were trolling cause this question seems ridiculous to me, but here I go. A lot of the tactic and challenge that they really build into the game kinda goes out the window when you dumb the npc's down so so that little kids, grandparents and winnow can play the game with next to zero challenge.

Play any shooting game on easy, then play on normal or hard, the way you play the game changes fairly drastically... a good example is gears of war, play through it on easy and you almost don't eveb have to use cover because shit dies so quick. Play it on normal and that goes away, play it on insane and you can't poke your head out for more than a second. The weapons you use primarily, the tactic you use, etc all changes.

Anyhow, back on topic

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » January 29, 2010, 9:31 pm

That still doesn't really answer the question. You're experiencing the game. Just because you don't die as quick or it's easier to kill enemies doesn't mean you're not experiencing the game as they intended.

Dregor Thule · Post by **Dregor Thule** » January 30, 2010, 1:12 am

I keep hearing about people using Charge to get to cover, but I can't use the power except if it's targeting an enemy.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » January 30, 2010, 2:13 am

Aslanna wrote:That still doesn't really answer the question. You're experiencing the game. Just because you don't die as quick or it's easier to kill enemies doesn't mean you're not experiencing the game as they intended.

I couldn't disagree more. If the tactic and challenge is taken out of a game it is not the same game, period. It is gimping the experience and IMO there shouldn't even be easy options. There are tons of My Little Pony and Pokemon type games if people want something overly easy to do.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » January 30, 2010, 2:38 am

Funkmasterr wrote:I couldn't disagree more. If the tactic and challenge is taken out of a game it is not the same game, period. It is gimping the experience and IMO there shouldn't even be easy options. There are tons of My Little Pony and Pokemon type games if people want something overly easy to do.

The fact that the developers, not you, added it kinda means they disagree with you as much as I do. If they thought it took away from the 'experience' they wouldn't have added it. So I guess we'll just leave it there with agreeing to disagree.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » January 30, 2010, 3:34 am

Aslanna wrote:
Funkmasterr wrote:I couldn't disagree more. If the tactic and challenge is taken out of a game it is not the same game, period. It is gimping the experience and IMO there shouldn't even be easy options. There are tons of My Little Pony and Pokemon type games if people want something overly easy to do.
The fact that the developers, not you, added it kinda means they disagree with you as much as I do. If they thought it took away from the 'experience' they wouldn't have added it. So I guess we'll just leave it there with agreeing to disagree.

The only thing them adding it means, is that they are smart and marketing their game to as many people as possible for maximum profit. We'll leave it at that if you want, though

Kwonryu DragonFist · Post by **Kwonryu DragonFist** » January 30, 2010, 1:15 pm

Dregor Thule wrote:I keep hearing about people using Charge to get to cover, but I can't use the power except if it's targeting an enemy.

Use it on Mobs that are "stragglers" away from the main group.
Charge him/them, finish them off,use your new cover, flank the "main" group.

Heavy Charge also boosts Shields +100 % and grants you Time Dilation/bullet-time for a short period of time.

Research all Shotgun-Upgrades and get all armor-items boosting shotgun and melee-dmg.

For Damage:
Heavy Charge + Warp Ammo + Krogan Shotgun (headshot up close)

For Survivability
Heavy Barrier + Heavy Charge + Krogan Shotgun (headshot up close)

With such a short cooldown on Charge, you can also use it on Bosses/Mechs, make sure you have some kind of cover close though.
Charge, Blam, Melee, Blam, take cover quick. Charge is already refreshed, rinse and repeat!

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » January 30, 2010, 8:03 pm

Dregor: You still need that Inferno Armor? I have a spare code from Amazon.ca that I don't need.

Kwonryu DragonFist · Post by **Kwonryu DragonFist** » January 30, 2010, 8:42 pm

Bruce Willis?

Shaft?

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » January 31, 2010, 12:19 am

Finished.

The ending did not disappoint.

43 hours (didn't rush and checked out most extra dialog and quests)

There's no way to not lose crew (that I can tell). Gonna have to make some choices!

[Show]: I volunteered Jacob for suicide mission happily! More die though.

Gotta rank this game up there in my top 3-5 all time for sure. I don't like to pick absolute favorites.

Looking forward to replaying it either with same character (keeping credits, relationships, etc) or with Female Shepard on medium difficulaty to hear the completely new voice for all the dialog.

Syenye · Post by **Syenye** » January 31, 2010, 2:19 am

Finished in just under 30h. I did all of the loyalty missions and most of the sidequests. I never figured out what the fake IDs on the Citadel were for though. I played as a solider, because I like assault rifles. I pretty much kept Miranda with me and swapped out Grunt, Archangel, Thane, and Mordin.

I think loyalty plays heavily into the survival for the final mission.

[Show]: I sent Tali into the tube. She got shot in the face. I sent Zaeed back with the crew, and he died. I picked Legion to do something else, and he died too. And Miranda died in the final fight. I failed Zaeed's loyalty mission, and I pissed off Miranda by siding with Jack. I didn't make a choice between Tali and Legion, so maybe they both hated me.

Having played this game, I don't think I could replay ME1. They really fixed a lot of things that were awful, like the inventory system and the fucking Mako. Mining is pretty tedious, but it's nothing like scouring a planet in the Mako looking for minerals and thresher maws.

Dregor Thule · Post by **Dregor Thule** » January 31, 2010, 3:50 am

[Show]: I did all the loyalty stuff, got all the upgrades I could find (some stuff was still 4/5), played as a paragon. Everyone survived I'm happy to say. Had Legion do the tube, Garrus be the 2nd team leader both times, Grunt escorted, and Samara was the biotic. Had Tali and Miranda in my team. I lost almost the entire crew of the Normandy tho, only Chakwas survived. Apparently that one happens if you don't immediately go through the Omega Relay after they're taken.

After beating it and reading some stuff, it appears that loyalty and ship upgrades play the biggest part. Role selection is also big; saw one guy warning not to use Thane as the 2nd team leader, he'd had disastrous results. I think just making sure to talk to everyone a lot, build team cohesion, that's a big part too.

Waiting for the next DLC to start a new game.. supposed to be another team member coming.

oh, and the ID tags...

[Show]: There's 2 Asari on the Citadel, around a corner from C-Sec, that aren't being allowed to leave by customs. Can either give them the tags (renegade) or convince the customs officer to let them go (paragon).

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » January 31, 2010, 6:11 am

[Show]: hmmm interesting on the death theories.

I sent Jacob into the tube and he died (thankfully) but he was loyal.

I sent Garris to escort the crew back. He survived along with part of the crew (I didnt leave right away after they were captured, doing the legion loyalty mission first)

I made Tali the leader of the second team and she was killed (was loyal)

Samara was my biotic and she lived.

In the final scene, I had Jack and Miranda for my final team (both loyal) and both survived.

So Jacob and Tali were only casualties, and maybe Kelly from the crew. I can't tell if she made it out or not. She was alive when we got there but didn't see her get out of the pod or any shots of her after.

The only loyalty quest I failed was Thane's. He was dying but I never bothered to talk to him again about it and he survived so we'll see in ME2

Edit: oh, I completely upgraded my ship as well.

Kwonryu DragonFist · January 31, 2010, 12:02 pm

[Show]: If you skip upgrades etc you can have everyone die, even Shepard! Lol

But if you upgrade everything and everyone is loyal and you put the right person for the right job, you can have everyone surviving without any casualty

Post by **pyrella** » February 1, 2010, 1:03 am

[Show]: http://www.giantbomb.com/mass-effect-2/ ... 35-385092/

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » February 1, 2010, 11:02 am

Bioware made a great action game here. Too bad they had to strip out so many of the RPG elements from it. Enjoying it quite a bit but and I'm not done yet but as it stands, I preferred ME1 to ME2.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » February 1, 2010, 12:05 pm

Animalor wrote:Bioware made a great action game here. Too bad they had to strip out so many of the RPG elements from it. Enjoying it quite a bit but and I'm not done yet but as it stands, I preferred ME1 to ME2.

Which elements do you miss from it? Really the only thing I would prefer to be there is typical rpg weapon/armor upgrade stuff. However this is an element being stripped out of all but the most faithful jrpg's recently, and I'm not sure I get why. They've raped enough of the rpg elements out of games to make them main stream, I don't think they need to take it any further.

That aside, if you tell me you miss driving the fucking mako around for hours on end for no reason at all, I'm going to have to recommend you see a doctor

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » February 1, 2010, 1:52 pm

The Mako stuff that was part of the story in the first was well done. The rest of it was bad. I do miss some of the power and weapon customizations. Those were nice. The characters here all all pre-packaged and a lot of that customization was taken out. Planet scanning for ore is horrible. Whoever thought this up should be sacked.

I also do miss the big city/hubs. None of the locations here have the grandeur feel of the Citadel(even the Citadel).. All the environments feel puny. This feels a lot more like they were designing levels as opposed to locations.

Keep in mind that all of these are very minor gripes. I love the game, I just feel they took a bit too much of the RPG element out in favor of the action genre.

Syenye · Post by **Syenye** » February 1, 2010, 2:05 pm

There is new DLC coming out that is supposed to add a vehicle similar to the Mako.

My main problem is that Shepherd has saved the universe several times but still can't run 5m without getting tired.

Post by **Sylvus** » February 1, 2010, 2:24 pm

Funkmasterr wrote:
Aslanna wrote:
Funkmasterr wrote:No game is the same on easy, so it would be hard for you to relate. I don't understand playing through a game on easy difficulty, it detracts from the experience the developers intend
I'm confused.. The easy difficulty is added by the developers so how can it not be the experience they intended?
I wasn't going to respond in case you were trolling cause this question seems ridiculous to me, but here I go. A lot of the tactic and challenge that they really build into the game kinda goes out the window when you dumb the npc's down so so that little kids, grandparents and winnow can play the game with next to zero challenge.

Play any shooting game on easy, then play on normal or hard, the way you play the game changes fairly drastically... a good example is gears of war, play through it on easy and you almost don't eveb have to use cover because shit dies so quick. Play it on normal and that goes away, play it on insane and you can't poke your head out for more than a second. The weapons you use primarily, the tactic you use, etc all changes.

Anyhow, back on topic

The cover systems that GoW and ME2 use don't really seem like "tactics" to me, as every fight you're basically required to do the same thing. It's not like it takes any amount of skill to know that in every fight you have to pretty much take cover the same way you did the last time and wait until guns are overheating/people are reloading/etc. to pop up and shoot at people.

I haven't played much yet, a few hours and basically did the Scientist and Archangel missions, but the fights are already getting a bit repetitive: hide behind something, pop up and try to headshot the bad guys. I'm on one of the medium difficulties, maybe I need to crank it up or something.

I like the story, graphics, acting, music, everything else, really... the combat in this game just seems to fall short of the mark that every other aspect of the game seems to hit. Hopefully it'll get better as I get more weapons, skills and upgrades.

I'd probably give it a B+ so far.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » February 1, 2010, 2:35 pm

If you think combat is too easy, crank it up a level.

Post by **Sylvus** » February 1, 2010, 2:38 pm

I didn't say easy, I said repetitive (which is more "boring" than "easy").

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » February 1, 2010, 2:55 pm

It's more about the story and cinematics. I found the mobs and environments different enough each time to make them all interesting for me.

If you're more of a shoot'em up player, just put it on insanity, or of course, which is surprising coming from someone who likes SF, try something else out.

Dregor Thule · Post by **Dregor Thule** » February 1, 2010, 7:49 pm

Most of the RPG elements are still there, just hidden and repackaged to trick those who hate RPGs into not realizing it. Sure, there could have been more armor bits, more gun types, but really that's just esthetics to an extreme degree. You're effectively getting a new weapon every time you research something for it. You're getting a new suit of armor whenever you change your combination of pieces, or upgrade shields, or upgrade damage reduction.

The only valid gripe I had was that I hated I couldn't trick out the squad members looks beyond the loyal costumes. I liked that they for the most part meant getting a more unified look going among them (with a few exceptions), but I would have liked to have been able to tweak it more. Still, a very, VERY minor thing.

Kwonryu DragonFist · February 1, 2010, 10:02 pm

Dregor Thule wrote: The only valid gripe I had was that I hated I couldn't trick out the squad members looks beyond the loyal costumes. but I would have liked to have been able to tweak it more.

True, chaps on Miranda wouldn't be half-bad!

Kwonryu DragonFist · Post by **Kwonryu DragonFist** » February 2, 2010, 2:56 pm

Mirandas secondary Outfit in Ass Effect 2

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » February 2, 2010, 3:48 pm

Funny, I had 10 of my friends signed onto xbox the other night with 6 playing ME 2 and 4 playing the original! That hasn't happened since MW2 was released, which had almost my entire friends list online, and all playing the same game.

Kwonryu DragonFist · Post by **Kwonryu DragonFist** » February 2, 2010, 4:20 pm

Huge Romance Spoiler!

[Show]

*~*stragi*~* · Post by ***~*stragi*~*** » February 2, 2010, 6:44 pm

has anyone posted about how crappy the thermal clip system is and how dumb it is that there is no loot because both of those things are dumb and ruin the game

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » February 2, 2010, 6:54 pm

Kwonryu DragonFist wrote:Mirandas secondary Outfit in Ass Effect 2

More like "Ass Effect" amirite?

miir · Post by **miir** » February 2, 2010, 7:10 pm

Fairweather Pure wrote:
Kwonryu DragonFist wrote:Mirandas secondary Outfit in Ass Effect 2

More like "Ass Effect" amirite?

Uh, that's what he said.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » February 2, 2010, 7:13 pm

Has there been a pr0n movie rip off yet off Mass Effect 1 or 2? That would be worth watching for the humor factor.

Jice Virago · Post by **Jice Virago** » February 3, 2010, 2:33 am

Like Animalor, I miss the RPG aspects. I think the fact that the Xbox slowly morphs every franchise into Halo probably had something to do with those choices. The first game was much more tactical. The graphics and story were better in this one and no Moon Patrol, but almost everything else about the game play seemed watered down and like a Haloesque shallow shooter. Also, Adept makes the game retardedly easy, even on Insane, especially with Jack and Miranda both in the group. Go Go Gadget chain crowd control!

I hope Bioware remembers that this is an RPG next time around. I mean, I wanted the inventory cleaned up, not totally fucking erased.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » February 3, 2010, 9:53 am

Jice Virago wrote:Like Animalor, I miss the RPG aspects. I think the fact that the Xbox slowly morphs every franchise into Halo probably had something to do with those choices. The first game was much more tactical. The graphics and story were better in this one and no Moon Patrol, but almost everything else about the game play seemed watered down and like a Haloesque shallow shooter. Also, Adept makes the game retardedly easy, even on Insane, especially with Jack and Miranda both in the group. Go Go Gadget chain crowd control!

I hope Bioware remembers that this is an RPG next time around. I mean, I wanted the inventory cleaned up, not totally fucking erased.

Right, the trend in gaming being easier is the Xbox's fault.. Not the millions of people that whine about games being too complex/hard. I mean I generally agree that they are dumbing games down too much overall, but blaming it on a console is beyond retarded.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » February 3, 2010, 11:30 am

I wonder how much of the over-simplification of the game has to do with EA wanting to sell a massive amount of copies and dictating some aspects of the game.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » February 3, 2010, 11:48 am

Animalor wrote:I wonder how much of the over-simplification of the game has to do with EA wanting to sell a massive amount of copies and dictating some aspects of the game.

I would say most of it. That is why so many of the RPG elements have been taken out of RPG's in general, it's hardly a Mass Effect issue. Damn near every RPG that has came out in the past few years has been over simplified. Even JRPG's have had this problem, and they have historically been the genre that has favored catering to it's core audience over sheer sales.

This happens for the same reason that games get rushed, AI could be considerably better in damn near every game made, etc. It's all because the publishers want to release as many games as fast as they can that the largest possible audience will buy.

It would be nice if a few more publishers/developers would have the nuts to stand out and say "fuck mainstream, we are gonna develop games for our fans", but I'm not holding my breath.

Jice Virago · Post by **Jice Virago** » February 3, 2010, 12:58 pm

Simplification of games is not an XBox issue. Turning everything into a shooter is. Demon Souls was a PS3 game and it was an action RPG. No one is going to call that game simple or easy. Dragon Age is certainly closer to what I would like to see, instead of Fallout For Dummies. This is an ongoing trend in Xbox games because that is the demographic they cultivated, which is bizarre because until Demon Souls came into the picture they were well on their way to dominating the RPG market.

I also had to laugh at the minigames in ME2, especially the security bypass ones. Is the average Xbox gamer so whacked out on Red Bull that that memory game is actually challenging for them? The probe mining thing seemed like an improvement over the whole Moon Patrol thing, but honestly, scrolling a rectical slowly around a planet is a lot less fun than getting stuck on a mountain. I think the developers realized this, because you get stupidly rich on resources in a hurry just by strip mining a couple planets in the beginning, making most of the probing completely unessecary.

That said, the graphics are the best I have seen on the XBox, the story is good, and the voice acting is top notch. I don't see myself replaying this game three times like I did the last one, though. There is just not enough depth in the gameplay.

PS- The Shotgun needed to be toned down. It was stupidly good in the last game.

Siji · Post by **Siji** » February 3, 2010, 1:26 pm

Fairweather Pure wrote:Funny, I had 10 of my friends signed onto xbox the other night with 6 playing ME 2 and 4 playing the original! That hasn't happened since MW2 was released, which had almost my entire friends list online, and all playing the same game.

Funny you post this as I was going to ask.. I've been searching everywhere for what kind if any play there is for this game on Live. I haven't been able to find any information about it. Is it co-op, is there a versus mode, etc?

Also, would it be worth it/better to play ME1 and then come to this or just skip ME1? Am I going to not like ME1 if I play this first?

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » February 3, 2010, 1:32 pm

Siji wrote:
Fairweather Pure wrote:Funny, I had 10 of my friends signed onto xbox the other night with 6 playing ME 2 and 4 playing the original! That hasn't happened since MW2 was released, which had almost my entire friends list online, and all playing the same game.
Funny you post this as I was going to ask.. I've been searching everywhere for what kind if any play there is for this game on Live. I haven't been able to find any information about it. Is it co-op, is there a versus mode, etc?

Also, would it be worth it/better to play ME1 and then come to this or just skip ME1? Am I going to not like ME1 if I play this first?

There is no online component of either the first nor the second game. Just single player.

I personally don't see it as a big deal if you play the first game before this or not. I think playing the second game before you play the third is going to be a much bigger deal, however.

Syenye · Post by **Syenye** » February 3, 2010, 1:57 pm

I would play the first one before the second, mostly because I found the gameplay to be a lot less frustrating in the second. They fixed a lot of things that I didn't know I hated that much. I do miss the long, awkward elevator scenes though.

Kwonryu DragonFist · Post by **Kwonryu DragonFist** » February 3, 2010, 6:32 pm

Vanguard on Insanity!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dSbh5wyjTU

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » February 6, 2010, 5:46 pm

ME2 ruined gaming for me. Dante's Inferno and Bioshock 2 are out and I haven't even bothered to download them.