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[Arjen]

Tali's not my favourite character, so that whole thing just didn't go well for me. Deliberately failing it again so the lack of loyalty somehow causes her to die.


It's nothing personal Tali fans. I just don't like prostitutes dressed as Darth Vader on my ship.

Don't say this on the Bioware forums, they will hunt you down and make you taste their sweat

 

[ScreenSplitter]

For a Tali-less ME3, it's a risk I'm willing to take.

"WAAAH we created an AI and then tried to kill it cos it was smart, then it stole our home planet, WAAH".

 

[kitzkozan]

I've been thinking about the ME1/ME2 discrepancy for a while now, especially playing the firs two games consecutively.

The fact was, ME1's shooter gameplay was pretty bad. Unintuitive cover system, annoying "Overheat" system, and no reward for accuracy/aim. ME2 was just a development of that, making the shooter gameplay a lot better. Noticeably the powers are much more streamlined and "fun" to use too.

This was coupled with the removal of the open planet exploration. Personally this wasn't an issue for me, as roughly 75% of planets in ME1 couldn't be explored anyway, and the "planet" was usually a cookie cutter barren landscape that looked suspiciously similar to the last planet you visited. Scattered around this barren landscape were a few minerals to scan, or a probe to salvage, and then usually your main objective.

Looking retrospectively, ME1 gave the illusion of free roaming, without actually making it that rewarding. In short, ME2 streamlined and cut away the parts of ME1 that were less interesting and relevant. The sidequests are still all there; and relate more to the most important aspect of ME2, your team. The game is also still very much an RPG, but in a less conventional sense. In ME1 you got XP for everything, which didn't make a whole lot of sense. Simply looking out the Citadel window, for example.

Many people lament the loss of ME1's inventory and squad upgrade system, but I myself found these very cluttered and confusing to someone trying to access the series. There were simply far too many things to upgrade; it was overwhelming. Likewise, with the inventory, There were a multitude of armour sets, weapons, and biotic amps, with confusingly similar named (i.e. Scorpion I-X) items. More user friendly does not = dumbed down. The ME2 system of upgrading your powers, switching your weapons, and leaving armour customisation to Shepard alone is infinitely preferable, I find.

And, at it's key, Mass Effect is clearly a game about the story. And ME2 doesn't dissapoint. You can find fault with the squadmates, their stories/loyalty, and the overall format of the suicide mission, but for a game about great stakes and the potential destruction of the galaxy, I thought the chaos and the preparations you had to make to ensure your teammates didn't die was a complete success. And particularly in that part of the game, the voice acting/scriptwork/soundtrack made my hair stand on end. Incredible.

I love both games, but if you think ME2 is anything but a development of what was already there, I think you're playing the wrong series/looking at the original with rose tinted glasses.

I mostly agree with you, but I still think they overdid it with party customisation options. There simply ain't enough in ME2 imo, especially with only 4 attributes to upgrade which make it braindead. It seems ME3 hit a sweet spot between 1 & 3. :] Mass Effect could be incredible if it were remade and they could polish up the weak part, especially the dull planet exploration and awful Mako combat.

 

[Sai]

I really hope the Turian Councilor's reaction to the Reapers' attack, and Shepard's [Renegade]response to said reaction is as funny as I hope it to be.

Don't let me down, Bioware.

 

[MrDaravon]

I replayed ME1 late last year 3 times to get Level 60 male and female Shepards to import into 3 (and get all the achievements). I finished femshep's run of the full game and all DLC/achievements, and am currently going through on my male Shepard (Soldier) to max him out and get the last two difficulty-related achievements I'm missing. I still hate a lot of the things they did with ME2 such as how you manage your inventory/armor/weapons (or lack thereof) and the lack of exploration (instead of making the Mako sections not suck, they just largely got rid of them outside some DLC). Also having read the spoilers for 3 and everything pointing to the fact that they were accurate super bums me out about anything story-related for 3.

That said though, replaying 2 does make me appreciate little moments of dialogue and characters that has me looking forward to 3 solely because I believe they will still probably deliver on that, even if everything else is a clusterfuck. It still make me laugh every time Shepard headbutts the Krogan, or the Volus on Illium tells the Asari that her stock is falling like it is in a high-gravity environment.

 

[Blue Ninja]

I really hope the Turian Councilor's reaction to the Reapers' attack, and Shepard's [Renegade]response to said reaction is as funny as I hope it to be.

Don't let me down, Bioware.

I can see it now. The Turian councilor is actually the weapon the Protheans left behind for us to use against the Reapers. He'll defiantly stare down Harbinger at the Citadel, say something heroic like "I dismiss your claim", and they'll magically cease to exist that very instant.

 

[Arjen]

For a Tali-less ME3, it's a risk I'm willing to take.

"WAAAH we created an AI and then tried to kill it cos it was smart, then it stole our home planet, WAAH".

I think you're my favorite junior so far.

 

[ScreenSplitter]

I really hope the Turian Councilor's reaction to the Reapers' attack, and Shepard's [Renegade]response to said reaction is as funny as I hope it to be.

Don't let me down, Bioware.

I'm pretty much hoping for a recreation of this scene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMzfrod7hcE

In other news, reached Illium. I love Mass Effect 2, but the boss fights are so frustrating at times.

 

[The Librarian]

I've been thinking about the ME1/ME2 discrepancy for a while now, especially playing the firs two games consecutively.

The fact was, ME1's shooter gameplay was pretty bad. Unintuitive cover system, annoying "Overheat" system, and no reward for accuracy/aim. ME2 was just a development of that, making the shooter gameplay a lot better. Noticeably the powers are much more streamlined and "fun" to use too.

This was coupled with the removal of the open planet exploration. Personally this wasn't an issue for me, as roughly 75% of planets in ME1 couldn't be explored anyway, and the "planet" was usually a cookie cutter barren landscape that looked suspiciously similar to the last planet you visited. Scattered around this barren landscape were a few minerals to scan, or a probe to salvage, and then usually your main objective.

Looking retrospectively, ME1 gave the illusion of free roaming, without actually making it that rewarding. In short, ME2 streamlined and cut away the parts of ME1 that were less interesting and relevant. The sidequests are still all there; and relate more to the most important aspect of ME2, your team. The game is also still very much an RPG, but in a less conventional sense. In ME1 you got XP for everything, which didn't make a whole lot of sense. Simply looking out the Citadel window, for example.

Many people lament the loss of ME1's inventory and squad upgrade system, but I myself found these very cluttered and confusing to someone trying to access the series. There were simply far too many things to upgrade; it was overwhelming. Likewise, with the inventory, There were a multitude of armour sets, weapons, and biotic amps, with confusingly similar named (i.e. Scorpion I-X) items. More user friendly does not = dumbed down. The ME2 system of upgrading your powers, switching your weapons, and leaving armour customisation to Shepard alone is infinitely preferable, I find.

And, at it's key, Mass Effect is clearly a game about the story. And ME2 doesn't dissapoint. You can find fault with the squadmates, their stories/loyalty, and the overall format of the suicide mission, but for a game about great stakes and the potential destruction of the galaxy, I thought the chaos and the preparations you had to make to ensure your teammates didn't die was a complete success. And particularly in that part of the game, the voice acting/scriptwork/soundtrack made my hair stand on end. Incredible.

I love both games, but if you think ME2 is anything but a development of what was already there, I think you're playing the wrong series/looking at the original with rose tinted glasses.

I think it's just in large part due to the fact that nothing in ME2 comes close to the fantastically awesome final hours of ME1. Everything Illos onward; perhaps Virmire too.

 

[TheSeks]

Okay, so the resolution is she's exiled because she didn't want her fathers reputation stained for a mistake he made in not letting the board know. Good going, Tali, in keeping my mouth shut.

At least I got the achievement so I'm going to reload and give them the evidence. Fuck her feelings, she can die in the suicide mission for all I care but I have the smoking gun that proves she's innocent and by god and country, I shall use it.

Spoiler

I don't have enough Paragon/Renegade points (despite being like in the 4th bar of each) to do the charm options. Damn it. :/ Any youtubes for these?

 

[x-Lundz-x]

I think it's just in large part due to the fact that nothing in ME2 comes close to the fantastically awesome final hours of ME1. Everything Illos onward; perhaps Virmire too.

I guess people are just different, I loved the ending of ME1 just as you have stated. However, the ending of ME2 blew me away with how intense it was.

 

[ScreenSplitter]

I think it's just in large part due to the fact that nothing in ME2 comes close to the fantastically awesome final hours of ME1. Everything Illos onward; perhaps Virmire too.

I think both the climaxes are fantastic. What ME1 did better was it didn't really mention the stakes, it only hinted at them. When your Romantic Interest was all "I'm not sure if we'll comeback". ME2 hammered it home a little too often. "Remember! We could all die!" was said every half an hour of play.

But in terms of fantastic final hours, I'm pretty certain ME3 won't dissapoint.

 

[EatChildren]

The brief moment of sympathy as Saren realises his faults, apologises, and blows his brains out, followed by a climatic battle against his animated, Sovereign controlled corpse ("I am Sovereign, and this station...is mine!"), as the game cuts to sequences of alliance vessel ripping up Sovereign's shit.

Sovereign explodes, sending material flying all over the citadel, a gigantic piece crashing through the council chambers. Rescue crew arrive to find your squad mates, Shepard nowhere to be found, finally emerging from the back as this plays.

Council/Alliance confrontation, a threat promising greater things to come, seamlessly blending into credits backed by M4 Part II.

Mass Effect's ending is unmatched.

 

[ScreenSplitter]

The brief moment of sympathy as Saren realises his faults, apologises, and blows his brains out, followed by a climatic battle against his animated, Sovereign controlled corpse ("I am Sovereign, and this station...is mine!"), as the game cuts to sequences of alliance vessel ripping up Sovereign's shit.

Sovereign explodes, sending material flying all over the citadel, a gigantic piece crashing through the council chambers. Rescue crew arrive to find your squad mates, Shepard nowhere to be found, finally emerging from the back as this plays.

Council/Alliance confrontation, a threat promising greater things to come, seamlessly blending into credits backed by M4 Part II.

Mass Effect's ending is unmatched.

Actually yeah, I recently finished ME1, and you're absolutely right. It was perfect.

And I only got a high enough Paragon score on my latest playthrough to get to the Saren suicide. Made me see him in a whole different light. "It's too late for me Shepard. Sorry."

One thing about ME2 I have to say is a lot better is NPC dialogue. Just as you're walking through Illium, hearing all the comings & goings of the various merchants/citizens, even if they're not part of side-missions.

 

[Sai]

Spoiler

I don't have enough Paragon/Renegade points (despite being like in the 4th bar of each) to do the charm options. Damn it. :/ Any youtubes for these?

ME2 won't let you make big Morality choices like that if you're spread pretty even.

 

[The Librarian]

I guess people are just different, I loved the ending of ME1 just as you have stated. However, the ending of ME2 blew me away with how intense it was.

What puts ME1's ending over ME2's for me is that critical sense of exploration and pursuit of knowledge. It's that moment on Illos where all the threads about the universe you've been introduced to come together in your conversation with Vigil. The tone, the music, the atmosphere.... How the Prothean scientists, only a dozen left because of power constraints, faced with the knowledge that their species is going extinct, worked tirelessly for decades to stop the process from repeating itself. The most poignant moment I've ever experienced in a videogame.

Not to mention that hold-on-to-your-hats space battle with Sovereign.

 

[TheSeks]

ME2 won't let you make big Morality choices like that if you're spread pretty even.

I'm a Shepard that gets the job done with any means necessary, but I also stop to help kittens out of space trees, damn it! I know that trial was a sham! I have the options but they're grey! WHY BIOWARE!?

 

[Mr_Zombie]

The brief moment of sympathy as Saren realises his faults, apologises, and blows his brains out, followed by a climatic battle against his animated, Sovereign controlled corpse ("I am Sovereign, and this station...is mine!"), as the game cuts to sequences of alliance vessel ripping up Sovereign's shit.

Don't forget about running down the elevator shaft while there is war outside.
That was the great start of the epic ending.

 

[Rtas]

Okay, so the resolution is she's exiled because she didn't want her fathers reputation stained for a mistake he made in not letting the board know. Good going, Tali, in keeping my mouth shut.

At least I got the achievement so I'm going to reload and give them the evidence. Fuck her feelings, she can die in the suicide mission for all I care but I have the smoking gun that proves she's innocent and by god and country, I shall use it.

Spoiler

I don't have enough Paragon/Renegade points (despite being like in the 4th bar of each) to do the charm options. Damn it. :/ Any youtubes for these?

If you saved both Veetor and Kal Reegar you can rally the crowd to her defense, and it doesn't need either paragon or renegade to be a certain level. Thats how I did it, I was playing full renegade at that point but still didn't have enough to get her off using the renegade option.

To be honest though, while I like Tali as a character, I properly hate her feelings toward the geth, her race made them, and refused to accept responsibility when they gained sentience, and the quarians wonder why they're treated like shit across the galaxy

 

[ScreenSplitter]

What puts ME1's ending over ME2's for me is that critical sense of exploration and pursuit of knowledge. It's that moment on Illos where all the threads about the universe you've been introduced to come together in your conversation with Vigil. The tone, the music, the atmosphere.... How the Prothean scientists, only a dozen left because of power constraints, faced with the knowledge that their species is going extinct, worked tirelessly for decades to stop the process from repeating itself. The most poignant moment I've ever experienced in a videogame.

Not to mention that hold-on-to-your-hats space battle with Sovereign.

I loved the part where you just drive through the motherfucking Conduit. Like "Hi, my name's Commander Shepard, Garrus put your foot down, WE GOIN' TO WAR!"

"To be honest though, while I like Tali as a character, I properly hate her feelings toward the geth, her race made them, and refused to accept responsibility when they gained sentience, and the quarians wonder why they're treated like shit across the galaxy"

Yeah this is exactly it. They're pretty much irresponsible Gods, choosing to crush the life they created. The thing for me is that the Quarians attacked first. I have a great dislike for the "They would have fired if we didn't" outlook. They had no idea what would occur. I've said this before, but I really hope there's an option for Geth/Quarian peace treaty in ME3.

 

[Kinyou]

The answer is pretty obvious: ME 1 ending - ME 2 ending

ME 3 better have a licensed song.

 

[ScreenSplitter]

What puts ME1's ending over ME2's for me is that critical sense of exploration and pursuit of knowledge. It's that moment on Illos where all the threads about the universe you've been introduced to come together in your conversation with Vigil. The tone, the music, the atmosphere.... How the Prothean scientists, only a dozen left because of power constraints, faced with the knowledge that their species is going extinct, worked tirelessly for decades to stop the process from repeating itself. The most poignant moment I've ever experienced in a videogame.

Not to mention that hold-on-to-your-hats space battle with Sovereign.

The answer is pretty obvious: ME 1 ending - ME 2 ending

ME 3 better have a licensed song.

Call me easily pliable, but the ME2 soundtrack gives me goosebumps. Love a bit of epic orchestrated music I do.

 

[BabeSlayer]

Yeah this is exactly it. They're pretty much irresponsible Gods, choosing to crush the life they created. The thing for me is that the Quarians attacked first. I have a great dislike for the "They would have fired if we didn't" outlook. They had no idea what would occur. I've said this before, but I really hope there's an option for Geth/Quarian peace treaty in ME3.

There is something to be said about the reapers and Geth relationship. Sure the Quarians may have pulled the trigger a bit early, but not knowing the "back story" of the reapers I'm going to side on the error of ya...if it aint organic intelligence it needs to go bye bye. At least that is how I viewed it through my Shepard.

 

[Rtas]

There is something to be said about the reapers and Geth relationship. Sure the Quarians may have pulled the trigger a bit early, but not knowing the "back story" of the reapers I'm going to side on the error of ya...if it aint organic intelligence it needs to go bye bye. At least that is how I viewed it through my Shepard.

Well as we've learned from Legion, The Geth are firm supporters of self determination, this is augmented by the fact that their "creators" the Quarians tried to determine their fate by attempting to kill them all. Its one of the reasons why deleting or rewriting the heretics was such a difficult decision. Self Determination is the Geth's core value, they want to build their own future, just like any other sentient race.


This is in direct contrast to the Reaper's who wish to determine the fate of all life ever to evolve, which is why they leave the mass relays behind, to make all future races, evolve along a path controlled by the Reaper's

 

[TheSeks]

Jack: You're weird. That kinda gets me off.

Hahaha, I think I'm going to love this romance option before I break it off with her right before going through the relay after getting the romance achievement. Shepard has to have a bunch of patience of be a complete moron to go through her walls to get her. :lol

Going to mine some Element Zero to get upgrades now before going for the IFF. Nearly done.

Question: "Agent" can be gotten after beating the game, yes?

 

[Kinyou]

Call me easily pliable, but the ME2 soundtrack gives me goosebumps. Love a bit of epic orchestrated music I do.

It's just that when the credits start rolling I want to hear something I've never heard before during the game. The music during the ME2 credits sounds pretty similar to the main menu theme so I probably heard it a 100 times before.

 

[EatChildren]

Question: "Agent" can be gotten after beating the game, yes?

"Agent"?

 

[Rtas]

"Agent"?

An achievement I think

 

[Patryn]

I guess people are just different, I loved the ending of ME1 just as you have stated. However, the ending of ME2 blew me away with how intense it was.

I'm quite happy to hear that you enjoyed it. It may be because I didn't lose anybody during the Suicide Mission, but I felt almost bored by it, and the final boss made me actually laugh out loud.

Really, the only emotion I felt was seeing Kelly be liquidated, and then that became annoyance when I discovered that it was due to me doing some sidequests after the IFF mission than anything else.

 

[boundedseven]

It's just that when the credits start rolling I want to hear something I've never heard before during the game. The music during the ME2 credits sounds pretty similar to the main menu theme so I probably heard it a 100 times before.

I remember the goosebumps on the ME1 credits lost in a daze of what I had just experienced.

 

[Patryn]

I remember the goosebumps on the ME1 credits lost in a daze of what I had just experienced.

Yeah, I think M4, Part 2 really helped cement the feeling that you had just done something really bad-ass.

There's also the impact of seeing The Citadel, the most peaceful place in the entire game, being torn apart by war. Combine this with the triumphant emerging of Shepard from the wreckage of Sovereign, and compare to her just getting some nods from her crewmates at the end of ME2.

 

[SteeloDMZ]

What's everyone's favorite Mass Effect song?

For me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSZ5ZEL3SEI

I knew I was playing something special when I first head it.

 

[Samara]

Okay, so the resolution is she's exiled because she didn't want her fathers reputation stained for a mistake he made in not letting the board know. Good going, Tali, in keeping my mouth shut.

At least I got the achievement so I'm going to reload and give them the evidence. Fuck her feelings, she can die in the suicide mission for all I care but I have the smoking gun that proves she's innocent and by god and country, I shall use it.

Spoiler

I don't have enough Paragon/Renegade points (despite being like in the 4th bar of each) to do the charm options. Damn it. :/ Any youtubes for these?

Why didn't you just choose the middle option? Shepard doesn't even say anything, Kalrreegar and the crazy quarian take care of it, no P/R needed.

 

[Bisnic]

What's everyone's favorite Mass Effect song?

For me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSZ5ZEL3SEI

I knew I was playing something special when I first head it.

There's too many, but i like the ME1 musics of the Citadel, barren planets in general for the "alone on a mysterious planet" feeling and the galaxy map.

 

[TheSeks]

Why didn't you just choose the middle option? Shepard doesn't even say anything, Kalrreegar and the crazy quarian take care of it, no P/R needed.

There was a middle option? All I saw was two options. Charm Paragon/Renegade. Give the evidence, or stay silent.

Note: The one dude on Tali's initial mission to recruit her DIED on my playthrough in action while I attempted to get close to the mech because I was a level 12 Adept that needed him to distract to get close on Insanity. Hence, if the middle option is "rally the crowd" I didn't have it because he died.

"Agent"?

An achievement, sorry. "Complete 5 missions discovered by scanning unexplored worlds." I have the missions, but want to beat the game before I do them for the extra experience to jump toward 30.

 

[BabeSlayer]

Well as we've learned from Legion, The Geth are firm supporters of self determination, this is augmented by the fact that their "creators" the Quarians tried to determine their fate by attempting to kill them all. Its one of the reasons why deleting or rewriting the heretics was such a difficult decision. Self Determination is the Geth's core value, they want to build their own future, just like any other sentient race.


This is in direct contrast to the Reaper's who wish to determine the fate of all life ever to evolve, which is why they leave the mass relays behind, to make all future races, evolve along a path controlled by the Reaper's

See that is my point though, perhaps the reapers were also once like the Geth but the inevitable conclusion for all non organic sentient life is that organics are a threat and or only around for their use/abuse/betterment etc. Not knowing the Reapers back story (where they came from and who created them) makes me think siding on the side of lets not run the risk of creating another reaper race is a better option.

I'm sure whomever created the reapers agrees....assuming they were created.....

Which brings up something else i've been thinking about the future of the ME series:
Say you were an organic race much like the Protheans that for all intents and purposes dominated your entire galaxy...sure there were some minor races but nothing anywhere near your level of technological advancement and sophistication. Mind you this would have been many many eons ago. Anyway so there is this master race in our Milky-Way Galaxy. We will call them the Gaba (kudos if you know what that is from) for the sake of argument. So the Gaba having explored and all of this Galaxy decide to venture out of it (through dark space to a new galaxy) for exploration purposes etc etc. However what they find is not a friendly little playground like our Galaxy but a Galaxy embroiled in war with 2 other Galaxies and far superior to the Gaba, the "new" galaxy decides it would rather not have to deal with a 3rd enemy so it creates a race of machines lovingly called the reapers to be the "reapers" of the new galaxy to reap it every 50 or so thousand years, they are given autonomy to do it however they please and to keep that task up until further instructions are given. I'm sure you see where this is going, and I obviously just typing this up in a quick synopsis before my next meeting but possibilities like this really intrigue me. Would love to see the series go in a direction kind of like this.

 

[EatChildren]

An achievement, sorry. "Complete 5 missions discovered by scanning unexplored worlds." I have the missions, but want to beat the game before I do them for the extra experience to jump toward 30.

Oh, yeah, absolutely. I don't see why it wouldn't tick over.

 

[Rtas]

See that is my point though, perhaps the reapers were also once like the Geth but the inevitable conclusion for all non organic sentient life is that organics are a threat and or only around for their use/abuse/betterment etc. Not knowing the Reapers back story (where they came from and who created them) makes me think siding on the side of lets not run the risk of creating another reaper race is a better option.

I'm sure whomever created the reapers agrees....assuming they were created.....

Which brings up something else i've been thinking about the future of the ME series:
Say you were an organic race much like the Protheans that for all intents and purposes dominated your entire galaxy...sure there were some minor races but nothing anywhere near your level of technological advancement and sophistication. Mind you this would have been many many eons ago. Anyway so there is this master race in our Milky-Way Galaxy. We will call them the Gaba (kudos if you know what that is from) for the sake of argument. So the Gaba having explored and all of this Galaxy decide to venture out of it (through dark space to a new galaxy) for exploration purposes etc etc. However what they find is not a friendly little playground like our Galaxy but a Galaxy embroiled in war with 2 other Galaxies and far superior to the Gaba, the "new" galaxy decides it would rather not have to deal with a 3rd enemy so it creates a race of machines lovingly called the reapers to be the "reapers" of the new galaxy to reap it every 50 or so thousand years, they are given autonomy to do it however they please and to keep that task up until further instructions are given. I'm sure you see where this is going, and I obviously just typing this up in a quick synopsis before my next meeting but possibilities like this really intrigue me. Would love to see the series go in a direction kind of like this.

That really makes no sense when applied to the Geth, if their future was only obtainable through conflict with the other races of the galaxy, why wait it out beyond the perseus veil, considering they already have the ships and numbers needed to at least take control of a large chunk of the galaxy, they would still be abandoning their core values something which for all intents and purposes forms their "soul"


As for your theory on the Reapers, it doesn't make sense given what we know of the Reapers, they exist to kull all organic life, they don't make distinctions, they kull and harvest and keep those they need to initiate the next cycle.

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

I can't believe the first three times I played Mass Effect I got Liara after taking out Benezia.

What a great level <3 You have to free the Rachni, as well. I really hope that plays a part in 3.

 

[BabeSlayer]

That really makes no sense when applied to the Geth, if their future was only obtainable through conflict with the other races of the galaxy, why wait it out beyond the perseus veil, considering they already have the ships and numbers needed to at least take control of a large chunk of the galaxy, they would still be abandoning their core values something which for all intents and purposes forms their "soul"


As for your theory on the Reapers, it doesn't make sense given what we know of the Reapers, they exist to kull all organic life, they don't make distinctions, they kull and harvest and keep those they need to initiate the next cycle.

First your Geth thing I get were you are coming from, and I understand it simply isn't the logic I choose to follow call me racist against non organic sentient life...i just don't like it

As for the reapers sure that is what they do to "our" galaxy but where did they come from why just our galaxy do they do it to others as well? Have other galaxies stopped them before if that is the case. I'm just thinking out loud here about the future of the series.

 

[bengraven]

You know something I really love about the Mass Effect universe?

It's human society set in our universe, just a few hundred years in the future. There's tons of aliens and such, but humans are just humans for the most part and it's grounded in our reality.

What I'm trying to say is this:

I don't have to make up some bizarre fantasy name for my character.

Ben Shepard.

That's it. Not Drinomma, not Vixtrex, not Farfalwankin.

Just Ben.

 

[Lime]

I just realized: despite this thread being specifically about both ME1 and ME2, there isn't any (or abundance of) drive-by trolling, trivial comparison between the two games, interracial sex jokes, and superficial analysis. Unlike the usual Bioware thread du jour.

Quite surprising actually.

Spoiler

Not that Bioware or the ME games do not deserve derogatory statements, but rather that every single Bioware thread devolved into the same thing again and again and again

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

Just lost an hour of progress on ME because I forgot to manually save and I died.

FUCKKKKKKKKKKK.

Completely my fault for forgetting, an idiotic mistake on my behalf, but also retarded fucking game design. The worst aspect of ME, by far.

Urgh.

 

[Wiggum2007]

Yup ME3 info however minor shall be spoiler-tagged from now on, sorry dudes.

I thought the chaos and the preparations you had to make to ensure your teammates didn't die was a complete success. And particularly in that part of the game, the voice acting/scriptwork/soundtrack made my hair stand on end. Incredible.

I thought it was way too simple to make the right decisions and get everyone out alive. It took away any intensity from it. The only one that 'got' me was having a soft squad member in the hold the line segment at the end could result in their death. Didn't help that the paragraph descriptions for each member made their role blatantly obvious. The mission itself was incredibly disappointing too after ME1's end run. Basically 3 fairly short combat scenarios strung together, and only the biotic bubble one offered anything different from other Collector missions in the game. Then you get to the big reveal and... "Oh they're making a human reaper? Ok. Weird." Compare that to the whole buildup with the Ilos/Vigil reveal of the relays and fate of the scientists, followed by the race to the conduit, and the fight up the elevator interspersed with the massive fleet battle, and the final standoff with Saren. So good.

The whole logic behind the Suicide Mission and how they structured that plot point just makes my head hurt, too. So, like up until the Normandy entered the Omega-4 relay, they knew absolutely nothing about what was on the other side. Hell, they were operating under the assumption that the Collector homeworld was on the other side. Yet everyone knew that assembling a small strike team and single starship was the best plan of action. Was the plan up to that point for this one small spacecraft and a dozen mercenaries to single-handedly assault the planet directly? Drop off the team in the capital city and kidnap the Collector president? It's convenient that it ended up being a single remote space station with few defenses and an almost complete lack of interior security monitoring, making it a perfect choice for a small strike team which they so happened to know would be the best course of action to begin with.

All that said, I don't mean to make it sound like I hate ME2, it's quite a good game. I'm optimistic for ME3 as well, I'm just not getting my hopes too high for the story.

 

[The Librarian]

You know something I really love about the Mass Effect universe?

It's human society set in our universe, just a few hundred years in the future. There's tons of aliens and such, but humans are just humans for the most part and it's grounded in our reality.

What I'm trying to say is this:

I don't have to make up some bizarre fantasy name for my character.

Ben Shepard.

That's it. Not Drinomma, not Vixtrex, not Farfalwankin.

Just Ben.

That's true for a lot of contemporary sci-fi. At least when it comes to movies, television, and games.

 

[Wiggum2007]

I can see it now. The Turian councilor is actually the weapon the Protheans left behind for us to use against the Reapers. He'll defiantly stare down Harbinger at the Citadel, say something heroic like "I dismiss your claim", and they'll magically cease to exist that very instant.

Soooo you are saying I shouldn't have let him die in the first game. Shit.

 

[TheSeks]

Got the reaper IFF.

I'm going to do Legion's loyalty mission before going to the end game. Who should I put (since Tali will be unloyal) on which sections for everyone to survive if I want to take Garrus and Grunt with me?

 

[ScreenSplitter]

Got the reaper IFF.

I'm going to do Legion's loyalty mission before going to the end game. Who should I put (since Tali will be unloyal) on which sections for everyone to survive if I want to take Garrus and Grunt with me?

Legion in the vents.
Jack for biotic shield.
Jacob/Miranda for 1st & 2nd Fire Squad teams
Mordin as Chakwas/Chambers escort


On my playthrough, possibly my favourite part.

"I am a biotic GOD!"

 

[pedr0theli0n]

cant decide if I want to try and play both games first, or just replay the second one. I can't remember, what are the default choices it makes for you if you start the second one without a save game from the first? Do you guys think its worth it to play both games again?

 

[ScreenSplitter]

cant decide if I want to try and play both games first, or just replay the second one. I can't remember, what are the default choices it makes for you if you start the second one without a save game from the first? Do you guys think its worth it to play both games again?

From what I remember...

-Virmire companion of same sex dies (i.e. if you're a FemShep, Ashley dies)
-Wrex dies
-Udina is the Councillor
-Left Council to die
-No romance from first game
-Rachni killed

It's basically a pretty crap scenario, as an incentive to buy ME1 (or Genesis). It's definetely worth it to play both games again, as I'm doing now, and if you're not that keen on ME1, it took me literally 12 hours to blow through it yesterday, and that was with a few sidequests (ones that carried over into ME2).