Who's looking forward to Mass Effect 2 ?
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the cow says moo
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Dang, no midnight release at the gamestop in my town.
kupocake
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Fie upon it. You'll have to experience the game whilst fully awake!
the cow says moo
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Actually, I probably won't open it until friday
hot564231
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no point you can get the sound track online already... you know... through those means :|
unozero
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Gargantou
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QUOTED FOR TRUTH AND EMPHASIS, BOYOS!
Wizard
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I just spent 5 hours playing this game (on Hardcore) and I am thoroughly ****ing impressed. I can already tell this will be one hell of a ride, and I'll be spending many, many months replaying it from start to finish.
Femshep Spacer War Hero Vanguard :3
Femshep Spacer War Hero Vanguard :3
Sedako
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One of the Walmarts near me broke the street date, so I got it for the PC. I've lost track of how long I've been playing it now. Right off the bat there are many changes over the original. It almost feels like an entirely different game aside from the story, characters, and abilities. I chose to play as an adept paragon on the 2nd to highest difficulty. Here are some of the major changes I've noticed, which some of you may already know about (no story spoilers):
From what I've played so far. Mass Effect 2 is much more unified and streamlined than the original. My one major qualm is that the load times are still very long. This is especially apparent when switching between the 4 decks on your ship, as there are now loading screens which seem to take longer than the elevator ride in ME. I find that ME2 is gripping my attention much better than the first, which at times felt like a chore to play. Bioware did a great job refining the series. I just hope it's lengthy.
Level Design
The on-foot areas are much more developed this time around. In ME, you would often come across areas that were simply a series of rooms filled with boxes, control panels, and other immobile props. This was often applied to the small bases you'd find on random planets. Even the story areas felt really empty in places. Not so in ME2; every area I've been to thus far is unique and well-crafted.
Skill System
They've completely changed the skill system too. With every level a character gains 2 squad points, and each character has 3 abilities (called powers) and a class-based stat bar with ranks 1-4. Rank 1 costs 1 squad point, rank 2 costs 2 squad points, etc. More powers can be unlocked later on.
Combat
Health regeneration is in. Medi-gel is now used to revive fallen squad mates or heal them using the "unity" ability, which does have a cooldown. You no longer use it like a medkit in other games. The AI is improved, and combat feels a lot more engaging because of it. You can now wound enemies by targeting limbs or inflict greater damage by scoring a headshot, as with most other 1st and 3rd person shooter games in the past decade. Each character is now limited to using only weapons that fit their class. My Shepard can use pistols, submachine guns, and heavy weapons.
Equipment
The changes to how the equipment works are easily my favorite, as I found ME's system highly flawed. The most obvious change is that you no longer have an inventory. The armor of your squad mates can not be switched, only upgraded. Individual pieces of Shepard's armor can be swapped out and customized in an array of patterns and colors. Weapons for Shepard and your squad are now switched via gun lockers in various hubs, aboard your ship, and at the start of missions. You can find these weapons at shops or during the on-foot sequences, where they are either given to you or discovered. Once a weapon is obtained, it can be equipped on multiple characters at the same time. No more finding dozens of the same weapons and having to sort through them all. I like these changes because they make the on-foot sequences a lot more focused, as you aren't constantly opening your inventory to see if the gear you just found are upgrades. It keeps you in the action.
Upgrades
Rather than equipping your weapons and armor with mods, all upgrades are now researched using 4 different resources you can find or harvest from planets. Your ship can also be upgraded in the same manner. Upgrades, like weapons and armor, are obtained from NPCs or found during on-foot sequences.
Hacking
Shepard can now hack anything by default, as Bioware has done away with point allocation to this skill. The mini-game had been changed as well; there are now two separate timed mini-games depending on what you're attempting to hack. The first is a matching game, where you're shown a circuit board with 8 blue nodes. Upon mouse-over, each node revealed to be one of 4 symbols. There is a pair of each symbol that you must match, and one incorrect match will end the mini-game. In the other mini-game, a 3 box-wide grid of code fragments scrolls from the bottom of the screen to the top. At the top of the screen is a picture of the code fragment that you have to find by moving the cursor from box to box. Once found, a new fragment will be displayed. In this grid are also red colored boxes that you have to avoid moving onto, or the game will end. Find the 3 correct code segments the hack is successful. Though I much prefer these mini-games over the one in ME, I feel that by allowing you to hack into anything by default detracts from how you'll consider which characters to bring with you on a mission.
Galaxy Exploration
The Galaxy Map is still present, but there's an added level of interaction. You now move a small representation of your ship around a 2D plane from an isometric perspective. Move to a planet or station and it will give you the option to orbit. Orbiting a planet lets you use your ship's scanner around it's surface, which is how you harvest the 4 resources needed for upgrades. It's more involved than simply pressing a button this time. You now hold down the right mouse button you activate the scanner, while moving it across the planet's surface. For each resource, there is a meter with a wave-like line that increases as you approach the source. Once you find the source, you can send a probe to instantly collect the resource(s). This can get a little repetitive after a while though. When you're given the option to land on the surface, you now immediately go to an on-foot area. Mako exploration of the surface has been removed.
The on-foot areas are much more developed this time around. In ME, you would often come across areas that were simply a series of rooms filled with boxes, control panels, and other immobile props. This was often applied to the small bases you'd find on random planets. Even the story areas felt really empty in places. Not so in ME2; every area I've been to thus far is unique and well-crafted.
Skill System
They've completely changed the skill system too. With every level a character gains 2 squad points, and each character has 3 abilities (called powers) and a class-based stat bar with ranks 1-4. Rank 1 costs 1 squad point, rank 2 costs 2 squad points, etc. More powers can be unlocked later on.
Combat
Health regeneration is in. Medi-gel is now used to revive fallen squad mates or heal them using the "unity" ability, which does have a cooldown. You no longer use it like a medkit in other games. The AI is improved, and combat feels a lot more engaging because of it. You can now wound enemies by targeting limbs or inflict greater damage by scoring a headshot, as with most other 1st and 3rd person shooter games in the past decade. Each character is now limited to using only weapons that fit their class. My Shepard can use pistols, submachine guns, and heavy weapons.
Equipment
The changes to how the equipment works are easily my favorite, as I found ME's system highly flawed. The most obvious change is that you no longer have an inventory. The armor of your squad mates can not be switched, only upgraded. Individual pieces of Shepard's armor can be swapped out and customized in an array of patterns and colors. Weapons for Shepard and your squad are now switched via gun lockers in various hubs, aboard your ship, and at the start of missions. You can find these weapons at shops or during the on-foot sequences, where they are either given to you or discovered. Once a weapon is obtained, it can be equipped on multiple characters at the same time. No more finding dozens of the same weapons and having to sort through them all. I like these changes because they make the on-foot sequences a lot more focused, as you aren't constantly opening your inventory to see if the gear you just found are upgrades. It keeps you in the action.
Upgrades
Rather than equipping your weapons and armor with mods, all upgrades are now researched using 4 different resources you can find or harvest from planets. Your ship can also be upgraded in the same manner. Upgrades, like weapons and armor, are obtained from NPCs or found during on-foot sequences.
Hacking
Shepard can now hack anything by default, as Bioware has done away with point allocation to this skill. The mini-game had been changed as well; there are now two separate timed mini-games depending on what you're attempting to hack. The first is a matching game, where you're shown a circuit board with 8 blue nodes. Upon mouse-over, each node revealed to be one of 4 symbols. There is a pair of each symbol that you must match, and one incorrect match will end the mini-game. In the other mini-game, a 3 box-wide grid of code fragments scrolls from the bottom of the screen to the top. At the top of the screen is a picture of the code fragment that you have to find by moving the cursor from box to box. Once found, a new fragment will be displayed. In this grid are also red colored boxes that you have to avoid moving onto, or the game will end. Find the 3 correct code segments the hack is successful. Though I much prefer these mini-games over the one in ME, I feel that by allowing you to hack into anything by default detracts from how you'll consider which characters to bring with you on a mission.
Galaxy Exploration
The Galaxy Map is still present, but there's an added level of interaction. You now move a small representation of your ship around a 2D plane from an isometric perspective. Move to a planet or station and it will give you the option to orbit. Orbiting a planet lets you use your ship's scanner around it's surface, which is how you harvest the 4 resources needed for upgrades. It's more involved than simply pressing a button this time. You now hold down the right mouse button you activate the scanner, while moving it across the planet's surface. For each resource, there is a meter with a wave-like line that increases as you approach the source. Once you find the source, you can send a probe to instantly collect the resource(s). This can get a little repetitive after a while though. When you're given the option to land on the surface, you now immediately go to an on-foot area. Mako exploration of the surface has been removed.
From what I've played so far. Mass Effect 2 is much more unified and streamlined than the original. My one major qualm is that the load times are still very long. This is especially apparent when switching between the 4 decks on your ship, as there are now loading screens which seem to take longer than the elevator ride in ME. I find that ME2 is gripping my attention much better than the first, which at times felt like a chore to play. Bioware did a great job refining the series. I just hope it's lengthy.
DEATH eVADER
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At the moment for the least, The Hammerhead (replacement for the MAKO) will be driveable in a later DLC. I'm guessing they are making ground exploration a bit more varied and engaging, rather than simply driving over rocks.
I did like trying to drive over mountains on a 1 in 80 gradient, it felt like I was more superior to all those people who drive 4x4s
Bad^Hat
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Welp a friend basically convinced me to get this, so I'll probably be grabbing it when it comes out here in a couple of days.
Can anyone who's tried importing an ME1 character elaborate on how it works at all? Is there any way to change details about the character, like appearance maybe, before you use them, or is everything locked exactly as it was in your playthrough of the first game?
Also, opinions, should I use my imported character on my first playthrough or a new one? My old char is a femshep (heh) renegade infiltrator, and I went with commando or something late in ME1 to increase her combat capabilities, so she's a beast with pistols. My new char's gonna be a goody-good vanguard dude, since they look awesome now and I didn't get much use out of sniper rifles to be honest.
Can anyone who's tried importing an ME1 character elaborate on how it works at all? Is there any way to change details about the character, like appearance maybe, before you use them, or is everything locked exactly as it was in your playthrough of the first game?
Also, opinions, should I use my imported character on my first playthrough or a new one? My old char is a femshep (heh) renegade infiltrator, and I went with commando or something late in ME1 to increase her combat capabilities, so she's a beast with pistols. My new char's gonna be a goody-good vanguard dude, since they look awesome now and I didn't get much use out of sniper rifles to be honest.
jimbo118
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Wizard
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When importing a character from ME1 into ME2, you will be allowed to change class and appearance, but not gender or background. You will have to wait until the storyline progresses a tiny bit (intro stuffs) before you are given the opportunity to do so.
I am a Vanguard as well, and so far it's fun (if challenging, but I'm sure all classes are challenging on Hardcore).
Wanted Bob
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Thats a great first impression Sedako. Basically described all of the parts I was worried about in the game. The equipement and upgrades sound much better (FINALLY an incentive to look for resources other than money), but I'm sorta dissapointed that complete health regeneration is in the game. I'm concerned as to whether the skill system is too watered down or not, but I guess I'll see for myself when I play.
Bad^Hat
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Awesome. The only problem I have with my old char is she looks a bit... freakish. I didn't notice it until I was quite a way into the first game, but when she's in her plain clothes (out of combat armor), she has a freakishly long neck. :|
Also, I kind of caked on the makeup, but like any good character creator you don't notice these things until you're actually in game...
Edit: Also no more 200 sets of armor/guns to sort through every ****ing mission? Could it really be?
Also, I kind of caked on the makeup, but like any good character creator you don't notice these things until you're actually in game...
Edit: Also no more 200 sets of armor/guns to sort through every ****ing mission? Could it really be?
Acepilotf14
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Getting it after school.
As long as there are no copy paste bases like Sedako said, I'll love it.
As long as there are no copy paste bases like Sedako said, I'll love it.
VictimOfScience
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So if I have ME1 on Steam and ME2 on PC but NOT from Steam will it still know where to look if I can somehow tell it where to look for my old saves? Can anyone confirm??
Kyorisu
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Your google-fu is lacking. It doesn't matter where your saves are located. You can select any directory you want to search for saves. Besides saves from EA games usually wind up in Mydocs so it shouldn't matter whether or not you're using Steam.
VictimOfScience
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True, but I also prefer to ask my "friends" as opposed to anonymous search engines who rarely give the often colorful responses that you get here. :E
That's what I imagined, but wanted to be sure. I couldn't remember where the saves ended up and am not at the gaming PC to check. Thanks!! :thumbs:
TwwIX
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Having to scan dozens of planets is beyond tedious. It's hardly an improvement.
I love the game but i am disappointed that so many RPG elements have been removed from the sequel. Combat has definitely been improved but the lack of squad customization and weapon variety is a bit of a downer for me. You could say that the original was an RPG with shooter elements while this is the opposite. Still, great storyline and characters though.
Wanted Bob
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Well, one way if you REALLY wanted it is to try to set the recording input in a program like audacity to your sound card, then just record it as you play the game.
Worked for me when I want music from other games.
Worked for me when I want music from other games.
stemot
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The scanning of planets is easily better than the Mako, I no longer have to sit around driving around another planet with stupidly large and vehicle unfriendly mountains trying to find a base to fight through that I have seen a hundred times before. The scanning of planets is seamlessly integrated into the galaxy map and can be done pretty quickly. Besides, I haven't had to do it much and have nearly all the items I have on offer researched.
I also like the fact that I don't have deal with shitloads of useless crap picked up from dead bodies or lockers in the hope that maybe some of it could be a slightly improved weapon. They've taken the tediousness from it.
VictimOfScience
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StarBob
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Well I didn't play Mass Effect that long ago (whenever it was on a steam weekend sale last year) and even in that short amount of time, my excitement faded. But, seeing all of these reviews and stuf, the game really looks good and I'm starting to remember why I liked it so much. I dunno if I want to spend all those dollar bills on it just yet....
How does it work then?
Anthraxxx
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Wanted Bob
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Oh man, I used to love that game.
I remember the track too.
I remember the track too.
Wanted Bob
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I know. Still, I never made the connection that the song was in that NFS game, so it brought back good memories of playing it when you posted that video.
unozero
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Cpt Tenacious
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Will be getting in like an hour. Quick question, how do you throw grenades in this one? Pressing back button to throw them feels like they forgot to make a button for it until the last minute.
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