Mass Effect 2

[15357]

Spoiler

I liked the prologue too except for the whole explosive decompression thing on the Normandy. Shepard probably would've died instantly. Funny too that there's an entry in the codex in part 1 that mentions explosive decompression is a fallacy.

Spoiler

What do you mean? Seeing as how:

#1. Exposure to hard vacuum does not entail sudden death.

#2. Shepard had a environmental suit.

Also, which explosive decompression? The ones on the Normandy, or on the suit?

But I do agree that it was epic.

 

[Dr.Demento]

Spoiler

What do you mean? Seeing as how:

#1. Exposure to hard vacuum does not entail sudden death.

#2. Shepard had a environmental suit.

Also, which explosive decompression? The ones on the Normandy, or on the suit?

But I do agree that it was epic.

Spoiler

Your probably right about the environmental suit thing. Isn't sci-fi great in that you can use things like futuristic spacesuits as a plot device? I couldn't remember whether or not he was wearing his helmet at the time either too though. Also, wouldn't the force of the vacuum pretty much tear everything to shreds? Not sure if explosive decompression is the same in space as it is at high altitudes on a plane.

 

[15357]

Spoiler

Yeah. Lol. But its the Normandy, a piece of gay military hardware 200 years into the future. Its structural integrity is infinite.

Also, yeah, he was wearing his helmet. And I dunno, but I'd imagine it'd be worse in space.

 

[AJ Rimmer]

Explosive decompression is, like exposure to vacuum, something which has been exaggarated by films and television. That said, I always found it a bit iffy how the mothereffin' huge explosion didn't kill her.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Kinetic barrier. Same way you survive direct rocket hits in game.

 

[Dr.Demento]

Kinetic barrier. Same way you survive direct rocket hits in game.

Spoiler

That's what I assumed too. After restarting from the prologue again, I noticed the Mass Effect field shielding Joker from space.

Another question. I heard that any exposure to space would cause blood to boil. I wonder if that's true and why? Solar winds?

 

[AJ Rimmer]

Spoiler

That's what I assumed too. After restarting from the prologue again, I noticed the Mass Effect field shielding Joker from space.

Another question. I heard that any exposure to space would cause blood to boil. I wonder if that's true and why? Solar winds?

It's not. It's probably based on the idea that the huge difference in pressure makes liquids boild at much lower temperatures. Again, many don't realize that one atmosphere worth of pressure isn't all that much. A diver experiences higher changes in pressure that that.

 

[Dr.Demento]

Still playing Mass Effect 2, and I have to say, I'm enjoying the story. Some have complained about the story moving away from the Citadel Counsel and the Alliance and towards Cerberus, but I have to disagree.

Spoiler

It was obvious from the beginning of Mass Effect 1 that the counsel would be a problem in solving the Reaper issue, so Cerberus comes along to take a more direct approach to the solution using ethically questionable methods that goes under the political approach to the problem. The darker mood to the game and the whole secret society thing is akin to Deus-Ex, the Illuminati, and MJ-12. I for one think it's a genius plot twist.

Also, the whole thing surrounding the Illusive Man and the Normandy SR-2 is just plain creepy. Your made to believe that your in complete control of your new ship, and yet there are 'restricted' sections of the ship that even Shepard as commanding officer cannot access. Not only that but the A.I. that was installed has an unknown function that nobody but the higher ups of Cerberus knows about. A fail-safe perhaps in case Shepard decides to go rogue? Even the loading screens give an uneasy feeling, as though your being 'watched'. The atmosphere is just so eerie.

 

[Nabobalis]

Still playing Mass Effect 2, and I have to say, I'm enjoying the story. Some have complained about the story moving away from the Citadel Counsel and the Alliance and towards Cerberus, but I have to disagree.

Spoiler

It was obvious from the beginning of Mass Effect 1 that the counsel would be a problem in solving the Reaper issue, so Cerberus comes along to take a more direct approach to the solution using ethically questionable methods that goes under the political approach to the problem. The darker mood to the game and the whole secret society thing is akin to Deus-Ex, the Illuminati, and MJ-12. I for one think it's a genius plot twist.

Also, the whole thing surrounding the Illusive Man and the Normandy SR-2 is just plain creepy. Your made to believe that your in complete control of your new ship, and yet there are 'restricted' sections of the ship that even Shepard as commanding officer cannot access. Not only that but the A.I. that was installed has an unknown function that nobody but the higher ups of Cerberus knows about. A fail-safe perhaps in case Shepard decides to go rogue? Even the loading screens give an uneasy feeling, as though your being 'watched'. The atmosphere is just so eerie.

The rooms you can't access is due to the lack of companions you have.

 

[Tagaziel]

Holy shit ME2 is epic. My character from ME 1 looks alot like Bruce Willis and now even more so in ME2 because the civilian outfit you get reminds me of the one he wears Fifth Element. :3

Spoiler

I liked the prologue too except for the whole explosive decompression thing on the Normandy. Shepard probably would've died instantly. Funny too that there's an entry in the codex in part 1 that mentions explosive decompression is a fallacy.

What

Spoiler

explosive decompression? The only thing exploding is the Normandy after it was torn appart by the particle beam.

 

[Dr.Demento]

What

Spoiler

explosive decompression? The only thing exploding is the Normandy after it was torn appart by the particle beam.

The hull on the upper floor is ripped completely off before the Normandy blows. (just before you rescue Joker) That's how I came to that conclusion.

Besides, it's only sci-fi. Where only one's imagination is the limit! It's not there's any hard evidence on the subject from NASA's past mistakes.

The rooms you can't access is due to the lack of companions you have.

No! I won't listen! Quit trying to ruin my experience!!

/me holds hands over ears ~La la laaaa la la laaa I can't hear you!~

 

[StarBob]

I wish I knew why there are bathrooms on the new normandy but nowhere else in the galaxy. Three bathrooms at that....

 

[Remus]

I've never been a fan of RPGs, and never played the first game, but after seeing a few gameplay videos of this game I decided to give it a shot and I'm glad I did.

I just finished it and overall it's a very good game. It really does make you feel like you're inside a sci-fi tv show.

However the gunplay is this game's weak point, the weapons are standard fare and just uninteresting, but the story and characters make up for any shortcomings.

So should I try the first game? Is it better or worse?

 

[Deleted member 56031]

I prefer the second personally but the first is still a really good game. It does have more RPG qualities than its successor tho i would say whereas ME2 mixed them to a nice proportion

 

[Dr.Demento]

I wish I knew why there are bathrooms on the new normandy but nowhere else in the galaxy. Three bathrooms at that....

Maybe because most aliens species simply piss out of their mouths or something and thus only sinks are needed in most places to wash and rinse?

 

[Tony]

I wouldn't feel safe entering a bathroom on Omega anyways :|

 

[Rizzo]

There is a bathroom at the club on the citadel. You puke there if you drink to much.

 

[AJ Rimmer]

The hull on the upper floor is ripped completely off before the Normandy blows. (just before you rescue Joker) That's how I came to that conclusion.

Besides, it's only sci-fi. Where only one's imagination is the limit!

Also science.

 

[Dr.Demento]

Also science.

Inside of my imagination, science is futile.

 

[Krynn72]

I've never been a fan of RPGs, and never played the first game, but after seeing a few gameplay videos of this game I decided to give it a shot and I'm glad I did.

I just finished it and overall it's a very good game. It really does make you feel like you're inside a sci-fi tv show.

However the gunplay is this game's weak point, the weapons are standard fare and just uninteresting, but the story and characters make up for any shortcomings.

So should I try the first game? Is it better or worse?

No. After playing the second, I went back to the first, and its very tedious. Just read a summary of the story and be glad you don't have to deal with the gameplay.

 

[Dr.Demento]

No. After playing the second, I went back to the first, and its very tedious. Just read a summary of the story and be glad you don't have to deal with the gameplay.

I have to agree here. ME 2's gameplay is superior in almost every way. The only reason why I played through part 1 is because I'm a sci-fi nerd and also because I wanted to transfer my character over to part 2. ITT, I loved how the biotic and tech abilities were tweaked so you could combo them together. For example, 'throw' was replaced with 'charge', which imo gives the action a much more epic feel. Pull and charge is my personal favorite combo.

 

[Krynn72]

Pull and slam is my favorite. Hit someone with three pulls, and then slam them down from 30 feet up. Oh yes.

 

[Dr.Demento]

Pull and slam is my favorite. Hit someone with three pulls, and then slam them down from 30 feet up. Oh yes.

Who learns slam?

 

[Krynn72]

Miranda.

 

[Dr.Demento]

Miranda.

I take it's a skill you have to gain her loyalty first to learn or is it one that branches off from another?

Also, am I the only one who thinks that Salarian guy (Mordin?) is almost too powerful? His area of effect attacks like cryo blast and incinerate are extremely powerful.

 

[Deleted member 56031]

No. After playing the second, I went back to the first, and its very tedious. Just read a summary of the story and be glad you don't have to deal with the gameplay.

yeah just finished replaying ME1 last night and going to do ME2 and yeah the combat is a BIG step up in ME2

 

[<RJMC>]

I hope the mako is back in me3

 

[StardogChampion]

The combat in ME2 seemed worse to me. What's better about it?

 

[<RJMC>]

I find it rather similiar but whit better enemy ai also the diferent enemyes like the rocket launchers and such

but disliked that the weapons have ammo now

 

[Tony]

ME1's side quests were superior to ME2's IMO. Not only did they give you the Mako and challenged you to find all the hidden anomalies on a planet, but Shepard was sometimes forced to resolve a situation with carefully chosen words. In ME2, both Shepard and his squad were completely silent as they went to blow up a mercenary base for the billionth time.

 

[Dr.Demento]

ME1's side quests were superior to ME2's IMO. Not only did they give you the Mako and challenged you to find all the hidden anomalies on a planet, but Shepard was sometimes forced to resolve a situation with carefully chosen words. In ME2, both Shepard and his squad were completely silent as they went to blow up a mercenary base for the billionth time.

the lack of dialogue in sidequests may be true, but I don't really miss the mako exploration. It was just too tedious imo.

Maybe if there were planets that were actually populated and much more detailed I would like it better, but as it stands, devs still lack the technology and development costs/time to make every single garden world planet with trees, rivers, densely populated colonies, flora, and fauna. Plus different vehicles and weapons would've been nice too. Maybe even mechs a.l.a RF Guerrilla style.

What we need is a new way to develop believable worlds with little effort and time. Devs have to handcraft every single planet, you know how much time that probably takes?

 

[StarBob]

I didn't think there were too few sidequests... they were just often insignificant and the galaxy is much more densely packed with planets and such so it seems like there are fewer. There is a brutal lack of dialogue though... which is strange for a Bioware game.

 

[Krynn72]

The combat in ME2 seemed worse to me. What's better about it?

The powers were much, much better. The fact that you could fling certain ones, like pull, added a whole new level of interaction. The fact that you didn't have to level up weapon skills was a welcome change for me.

 

[Bad^Hat]

I look at it this way: ME1 was an RPG with shooter mechanics tacked on. ME2 was a shooter with RPG mechanics tacked on. The real difference, however, is that both aspects were shit in ME1. The shooting was floaty, controlled horribly (on console, at least), had no sense of impact, and was completely secondary to the "under the hood" nature of most RPGs. Which might have been okay, except the RPG elements were bloated and unoptimised, and at the end of the day really didn't add anything deeper than you got in ME2 since half of your powers just went unused.

I agree the side quests in ME2 were a bit blander in plot terms, but I infinitely preferred them to ME1's purely because of the lack of planet exploration. Still, without the overworld aspect, it was amusing to see how small some of the missions really were. I recall a few side quests literally just being 3 average sized rooms.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

The powers were much, much better. The fact that you could fling certain ones, like pull, added a whole new level of interaction. The fact that you didn't have to level up weapon skills was a welcome change for me.

I wish games would get rid of weapon damage levels, least it be a change of ammo or increased muzzle velocity via part upgrade but it's really retarded to simply go on a "skill" screen and increase the "weapon damage" stat.

 

[Remus]

There is a brutal lack of dialogue though... which is strange for a Bioware game.

That kind of bothered me too. There's way too little dialog with the members of your crew, it's always: the ship, the mission, Cerberus, or ask about their background (which the game interprets as you trying to get in their pants...). There should also be banter during missions, but no, they all go mute...

 

[Dynasty]

There is banter, but only between main missions. I did find it was a case of serious repetition; mission, fly there, complete mission, back to ship, run around and talk to everyone possible, get bored at the lift loading screens, delete emails, fly to next mission, rinse and repeat.

The only reason time I did the side missions was really when it meant doing the favours for team mates so I could get their 2nd skins and bonuses.

Im sure Mass Effect 3 will be better. I felt a little disappointed with the choice of missions in ME2, there was no real reason (again) to explore.

And the story missions were a bit..meh. I dunno, was just expecting a bit more.

 

[Remus]

^^ I was talking about the second one. Never played the first.

 

[Tony]

What we need is a new way to develop believable worlds with little effort and time.

Sadly, that day seems far off. They would need some sort of ultra AI Director to make awesome worlds on the go.

I felt a little disappointed with the choice of missions in ME2, there was no real reason (again) to explore.

The raw materials and weapon upgrades compelled me to search every corner of a map. But the maps themselves were extremely linear and once you completed it, anything you missed was lost forever.

 

[StarBob]

Sadly, that day seems far off. They would need some sort of ultra AI Director to make awesome worlds on the go.




The raw materials and weapon upgrades compelled me to search every corner of a map. But the maps themselves were extremely linear and once you completed it, anything you missed was lost forever.

Somewhere in the sands of time the use of AI random generation was lost. It used to be the big thing though it was fairly weak... but it had a lot of potential. Now you rarely see it. I mean Left 4 Dead 2 kind of tried to bring it back, but there are like a dozen minor variations to each map. I think if people had been working on randomly generated maps for a longer period of time there would be a lot better replayablility these days. Not only in single and multiplayer PVE, but also in multiplayer PVP. I mean this might blow your mind but... imagine your favorite multiplayer shoot'em up (think TF2, MW2, BFBC2 (so many 2s)) with maps that are randomly generated/altered significantly before the game starts. It would make me want to play games more knowing that you're not always going to hit the same choke points and camping spots everytime.

Just a thought... and I doubt anyone will work on it any time soon because my ideas are always abandoned. Maybe they'll do something like it in Diablo 3... even though we're already used to it and it wasn't anything amazing in Diablo 2. Of course, think of how boring it would have been if you kept running the same exact dungeons every time. A game that I really wish had it was Borderlands.