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[Vlightray]

I applaud Bioware Prologue is 10/10 material pure goodness made me
go wow so many times must have said more than
three times to my girlfriend this is awesome:lol.
Just finished Mass Effect 1 yesterday so this is gonna rock!

 

[DKehoe]

In the UK does the Cerberus Network card (and with it the extra character) only come in the CE? I thought it just came with any new copy.

 

[Diebuster]

Just recruited

Spoiler

Tali

.

Spoiler

Was it possible to save the Quarian marine near the end of the mission? After I took down the Colossus he was oddly quiet, so I went to check on him and found him on the ground, lifeless.

Really loved the scene on the Normandy after the mission. Jacob was ice-cold. Tali turning around and just glaring was priceless. :lol

Was disappointed to see that the Inferno Armor is a one-piece set. It looks pretty good, but no-helmet is the way to go.

 

[Vlightray]

Btw should I install or not? worth it?

 

[adamsapple]

Just recruited

Spoiler

Tali

.

Spoiler

Is it possible to save the Quarian marine at the end? After I took down the Colossus he was oddly quiet, so I went to check on him and found him on the ground, lifeless.

.

Yeah it's quite possible .. the paragon interrupt should do that automatically I think but even if you don't do it, if you just kill everything quickly enough it'll be all right.

 

[noisome07]

Btw should I install or not? worth it?

If you have the space, yes.

 

[infinityBCRT]

I don't mind the mining(and the nod to a sci-fi rpg which is supposed to be a classic is nice as well),but it should be faster to rotate the planet. :lol It's just too slow,and therefore it become tedious after doing it 5-6 time.

Give us some upgrade to speed up the process by 60-70% and it will be perfect.

I've seen the galaxy map/space travel now and its looks like Mass Effect 2 takes a page out of Star Control 2 for that as well with the whole fuel thing and directly controlling your ship.

I remember reading on BioWare's forums from one of the devs that Star Control 2 was an influence back in 2007 but I really thought they weren't going to go in that direction as ME was already a complicated game. Now I'm understanding why they are stripping down the RPG stuff. I think at this point its highly likely that Mass Effect 3 will have Space Combat. They've been hinting at it quite a bit, and if ME2 is any indication, they look like they are trying to hit all the gameplay points that Star Control 2 did. That being said, Star Control 2's galaxy map was massive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiSO_gJXNuw#t=01m11s

 

[Killthee]

In the UK does the Cerberus Network card (and with it the extra character) only come in the CE? I thought it just came with any new copy.

Priestly (community manager) said it comes with all new copies, Standard & CE, worldwide.

 

[Barrett2]

First few hours in, this game is rad. The aesthetic and music are top notch.

 

[Arde5643]

My god - the infiltrator's cloak is just too awesome.

A lot of times it feels like I'm playing tag with my enemies, only this time I tag them with sniper or heavy gun shots. :lol

 

[DKehoe]

Priestly (community manager) said it comes with all new copies, Standard & CE, worldwide.

Thats great thanks

 

[neojubei]

I'm starting to like Zaeek even his accent. I have nicknamed Grunt, "Brute" and Zaeek, "force" so when i go to do a mission I use Brute force.

Spoiler

The Normandy Crash site was eeire especially after I just finished mass effect 1 last week for the 5th time it was a little painful seeing the sections of the ship deep in snow and the mako. I hated the mako but it got me around.

Finished the Horizon level with brute force and met a familiar face who was a total witch.


I think I will need a bigger harddrive, I want to install both discs. I'm still using the launch harddrive from 2007.

 

[∀ Narayan]

I'm not even that far into the game and I'm very impressed with the improvements made from the preceding game. BioWare is on the ball, lately. Good show.

Also, I can't get this nHancer shit working. Help?

 

[CrunchinJelly]

UK 360 CE is in stock here: http://www.game.co.uk/Xbox360/Action/Adventure/~r344878/Mass-Effect-2-Collectors-Edition/

Edit: £5 cheaper at GS: http://www.gamestation.co.uk/Games/Xbox-360/Mass-Effect-2-Collectors-Edition/~r418156/

So much for it selling out. :-/

 

[MMaRsu]

Damn I wished this had co-op, it's like Gears of War + RPG elements.

 

[Solo]

Whoever does Mordin's voice acting is fucking exceptional. The way he delivers it, it actually has an alien quality to it. His dialogue is written very well, too. Tons of short, quick, direct statements that all combine to create some detailed insight.

Mordin's voice acting and dialogue fit that bit of Mass Effect lore so well (that Salarians have a very hyperactive metabolism and are able to process thoughts far more quickly than other races). And the voice actor does what he does without making it sound gimmicky, as it could have in a lot of other hands. Good shit.

I find it somewhat amusing, and a bit sad, that the worst major voice actor in the game is the guy who voices male Shepard. I'm using "worst" relatively, there. When he's acting against guys like Mordin, Garrus, or Jacob, who are all tremendously voice acted, he just sounds fake and emotionless. Just reading the lines off. He has his moments, though.

Fully agreed on all this! I love the Salarians. Might be my favorite ME race, both from their look and from their method of talking.

 

[BeeDog]

Goddamnit, I'm starting to get pissed at the CE delay here in Sweden, argh. Maybe I should've gone with the regular edition...

 

[micromagic]

Amazon UK just shipped my £29.99 copy, who knows how long it will take to get here though. Wouldn't usually order through Amazon but the price was too good to pass up. Finished ME1 last night so I'm ready and waiting.

 

[suzu]

Goddamnit, how much Paragon do you need to (Zaeed loyalty mission)

Spoiler

talk some sense into Zaeed if Vido gets away

?

I'm sitting on this and I still can't get that option to show up.

Spoiler

When Zaeed is stuck under the pile of rubble, pick the neutral (middle) option. Then the blue text/paragon option should pop up.

 

[dark10x]

I spent a while playing it last night, and I'm enjoying it, but I feel that Bioware went way too far in reigning everything in. There were many aspects of the original that I enjoyed which are now missing. It seems as if they didn't even attempt to fix the issues with the original, rather, they simply cut everything out. The game looks better, plays better, and runs smoother...but a lot of the details I loved about the original are MIA.

1) I feel as if the game world has been sliced up into compartments for convenience sake at the expense of atmosphere and scale. The citadel, once a massive and interesting environment, has been completely compartmentalized. I was expecting them to expand upon what they they had already created and deliver an even bigger environment. After talking to Anderson for the first time, I could not believe it when I found out that I could no longer leave that meeting room and explore the presidium. I also feel as if many of the new areas are smaller in scale in order to improve performance. Surely they could have delivered a larger environment while maintaining the fast travel stations for the less patient among us.

2) The Mako is another loss for me. Yes, it had issues, but it also had potential and could have been improved. Mixing it up between Mako and on-foot combat created a much greater sense of scale on the planets while delivering more variety in gameplay. I'm sure some associate it with the cookie cutter planets of the original, but I'm thinking more of its usage during actual story missions. Rather than attempting to improve it, they cut it completely. The ice station in the original game, for instance, felt significantly more remote as a result of the Mako sections beforehand.

3) Load screens galore. You know, the elevators WERE a bit too long, but let's not pretend we didn't know what was going on in the background. They were using them to hide loading screens and keep the player in the game world. What did they do here? They break the immersion and replaced those elevators with load screens. Talk about regressing. The loading screens aren't all that much shorter than the elevator rides and they pull you out of the world. The elevators definitely helped the world feel more cohesive despite their length. Prior to Mass 1, I was concerned about how they would present the environment due to the shortcomings of KOTOR (which had load screens around every corner). With the first game, it was clear that immersion was something they were striving for. With Mass 2, however, I feel as if they are returning to their old ways and that's disappointing.

4) The soundtrack is still very good, but I definitely feel as if it has become too epic for its own good. There's less "electronic sci-fi" and more "epic film" in there. Not exactly a huge deal, of course, but it's definitely something that I've noticed (both in the game and the actual OST).

While it certainly isn't as severe, these changes sometimes remind me of Deus Ex Invisible War in that many of the things that were loved about the original were simplified and compartmentalized. Why design a large map when the player can get everything they need in a single room? This line of thinking completely ruins the immersion for me. Still, I do love the game but I feel as if they just cut all of the problems areas out of the game rather than attempting to improve them.

Anyone else with similar feelings?

 

[Castor Krieg]

OK, I need help GAFers and I hope to God someone can help me. Story:

CE in Poland was advertised as having English VO. It doesn't. People already figured out how to make English dialogues, however I still NEED English subtitles and text. In order to do that I need the following file:

BIOGame_INT.tlk from the English version (renaming the file in Polish version gives English VO/Polish text)

Can anyone tell me how big is the file and if there is ANY way someone can upload it for me?

 

[painey]

Am I the only Soldier? Slow mo sniper rifle makes it all too easy, especially with a biotics expert with Pull in the team.

Also, Grunt is an awful, shallow, useless character.

 

[Cetra]

Anyone else with similar feelings?

I agree with every bit of your post. They dialed into shooter WAY too much in my opinion. But, it's still a fantastic game, just very different than what I was expecting.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Am I the only Soldier? Slow mo sniper rifle makes it all too easy, especially with a biotics expert with Pull in the team.

Also, Grunt is an awful, shallow, useless character.

I had 10 people on my Friends list playing ME2 last night, and all of them were Soldiers or Vanguards. I was the only Infiltrator.

Slo-mo sniper rifle is pure joy. Shooting heads has never been so satisfying. I remember shooting heads in Max Payne in slo-mo was pretty good, but this game one-ups Max Payne with a sniper rifle that shoots 3 rounds per trigger pull and when I'm cloaked the enemies all drop aggro and shoot at my team instead of me and I have all the time in the world to line up a face right in the center of my crosshair. That, my friends, is AWESOME. :lol

 

[Darklord]

The PC versions controls are a bit of a pest. 90% it's ok but then there are times when it won't let you mouse select things, it feels very port-ish in those times. The default controls are a bit weird too. E is normally interact and shift is run but now both are spacebar.

 

[sinnergy]

I spent a while playing it last night, and I'm enjoying it, but I feel that Bioware went way too far in reigning everything in. There were many aspects of the original that I enjoyed which are now missing. It seems as if they didn't even attempt to fix the issues with the original, rather, they simply cut everything out. The game looks better, plays better, and runs smoother...but a lot of the details I loved about the original are MIA.

1) I feel as if the game world has been sliced up into compartments for convenience sake at the expense of atmosphere and scale. The citadel, once a massive and interesting environment, has been completely compartmentalized. I was expecting them to expand upon what they they had already created and deliver an even bigger environment. After talking to Anderson for the first time, I could not believe it when I found out that I could no longer leave that meeting room and explore the presidium. I also feel as if many of the new areas are smaller in scale in order to improve performance. Surely they could have delivered a larger environment while maintaining the fast travel stations for the less patient among us.

2) The Mako is another loss for me. Yes, it had issues, but it also had potential and could have been improved. Mixing it up between Mako and on-foot combat created a much greater sense of scale on the planets while delivering more variety in gameplay. I'm sure some associate it with the cookie cutter planets of the original, but I'm thinking more of its usage during actual story missions. Rather than attempting to improve it, they cut it completely. The ice station in the original game, for instance, felt significantly more remote as a result of the Mako sections beforehand.

I also liked the Mako.

3) Load screens galore. You know, the elevators WERE a bit too long, but let's not pretend we didn't know what was going on in the background. They were using them to hide loading screens and keep the player in the game world. What did they do here? They break the immersion and replaced those elevators with load screens. Talk about regressing. The loading screens aren't all that much shorter than the elevator rides and they pull you out of the world. The elevators definitely helped the world feel more cohesive despite their length. Prior to Mass 1, I was concerned about how they would present the environment due to the shortcomings of KOTOR (which had load screens around every corner). With the first game, it was clear that immersion was something they were striving for. With Mass 2, however, I feel as if they are returning to their old ways and that's disappointing.

Blame it on the pathetic internet whiners.. they complained and complained about the elevators and the textures popin. Now we have these TOTALY AWESOME LOADING screens

4) The soundtrack is still very good, but I definitely feel as if it has become too epic for its own good. There's less "electronic sci-fi" and more "epic film" in there. Not exactly a huge deal, of course, but it's definitely something that I've noticed (both in the game and the actual OST).

While it certainly isn't as severe, these changes sometimes remind me of Deus Ex Invisible War in that many of the things that were loved about the original were simplified and compartmentalized. Why design a large map when the player can get everything they need in a single room? This line of thinking completely ruins the immersion for me. Still, I do love the game but I feel as if they just cut all of the problems areas out of the game rather than attempting to improve them.

Anyone else with similar feelings?

Rest is personal opinion. My opinion is that this is in almost every way a better game than 1. It's only that I am more used to things in 1...

2 also has a smoother framerate (x360), no texture popin and improved textures.

 

[MMaRsu]

I spent a while playing it last night, and I'm enjoying it, but I feel that Bioware went way too far in reigning everything in. There were many aspects of the original that I enjoyed which are now missing. It seems as if they didn't even attempt to fix the issues with the original, rather, they simply cut everything out. The game looks better, plays better, and runs smoother...but a lot of the details I loved about the original are MIA.

1) I feel as if the game world has been sliced up into compartments for convenience sake at the expense of atmosphere and scale. The citadel, once a massive and interesting environment, has been completely compartmentalized. I was expecting them to expand upon what they they had already created and deliver an even bigger environment. After talking to Anderson for the first time, I could not believe it when I found out that I could no longer leave that meeting room and explore the presidium. I also feel as if many of the new areas are smaller in scale in order to improve performance. Surely they could have delivered a larger environment while maintaining the fast travel stations for the less patient among us.

2) The Mako is another loss for me. Yes, it had issues, but it also had potential and could have been improved. Mixing it up between Mako and on-foot combat created a much greater sense of scale on the planets while delivering more variety in gameplay. I'm sure some associate it with the cookie cutter planets of the original, but I'm thinking more of its usage during actual story missions. Rather than attempting to improve it, they cut it completely. The ice station in the original game, for instance, felt significantly more remote as a result of the Mako sections beforehand.

3) Load screens galore. You know, the elevators WERE a bit too long, but let's not pretend we didn't know what was going on in the background. They were using them to hide loading screens and keep the player in the game world. What did they do here? They break the immersion and replaced those elevators with load screens. Talk about regressing. The loading screens aren't all that much shorter than the elevator rides and they pull you out of the world. The elevators definitely helped the world feel more cohesive despite their length. Prior to Mass 1, I was concerned about how they would present the environment due to the shortcomings of KOTOR (which had load screens around every corner). With the first game, it was clear that immersion was something they were striving for. With Mass 2, however, I feel as if they are returning to their old ways and that's disappointing.

4) The soundtrack is still very good, but I definitely feel as if it has become too epic for its own good. There's less "electronic sci-fi" and more "epic film" in there. Not exactly a huge deal, of course, but it's definitely something that I've noticed (both in the game and the actual OST).

While it certainly isn't as severe, these changes sometimes remind me of Deus Ex Invisible War in that many of the things that were loved about the original were simplified and compartmentalized. Why design a large map when the player can get everything they need in a single room? This line of thinking completely ruins the immersion for me. Still, I do love the game but I feel as if they just cut all of the problems areas out of the game rather than attempting to improve them.

Anyone else with similar feelings?

Everything you listed I feel the same about. Especially the Mako and the elevator rides. Not to mention everything being compartmentalized. I was very dissapointed I couldn't walk around the presidium, instead we get 4 "floors" of effectivly the same room. And a club where you can't do shit. Where is the casino/club from the first game? So much stuff was cut, and I don't understand it. Aside from catering to the casual fanbase.

Yes the first game had problems, but completly cutting stuff as aside from fixing it is not a good way to make a sequel imo. But what are we going to do about it? Seeing as the game has been getting rave reviews and almost no mentions of these issues in reviews, I doubt Bioware is going to take notice. I also hate the ammo system, because I keep running out of shotgun shells. I mean goddamnit what is the fucking point.

 

[Dries]

So the hate is beginning already?

 

[Solo]

1) I feel as if the game world has been sliced up into compartments for convenience sake at the expense of atmosphere and scale. The citadel, once a massive and interesting environment, has been completely compartmentalized. I was expecting them to expand upon what they they had already created and deliver an even bigger environment. After talking to Anderson for the first time, I could not believe it when I found out that I could no longer leave that meeting room and explore the presidium. I also feel as if many of the new areas are smaller in scale in order to improve performance. Surely they could have delivered a larger environment while maintaining the fast travel stations for the less patient among us.

Granted, Ive barely sunk any time into the game and thus, barely explored shit, but the places Ive been so far (everything up to and including Omega) dont feel that small. In fact Omega itself feels a lot larger than the majority of places in ME1.

 

[MMaRsu]

So the hate is beginning already?

:lol How is this hate man. It's legit complaints. Let's not circle jerk this game

 

[dark10x]

So the hate is beginning already?

Not hate, just disappointment. I still think it's an excellent game, but am disappointed and surprised at how dialed down certain elements have become. The changes seem reactionary rather than evolutionary. It feels like a game in which internet naysayers dictated the changes.

 

[Solo]

Not hate, just disappointment. I still think it's an excellent game, but am disappointed and surprised at how dialed down certain elements have become. The changes seem reactionary rather than evolutionary. It feels like a game in which internet naysayers dictated the changes.

Thats the problem with devs posting at and reading GAF. The worst people you could listen to are the fans. Hideo Kojima did just that and MGS4 is like the worst fanfic imaginable.

 

[Gattsu25]

So the hate is beginning already?

What hate?

How binary is your thought process if you read that post and got anything even close to hate from it?

 

[MMaRsu]

Not hate, just disappointment. I still think it's an excellent game, but am disappointed and surprised at how dialed down certain elements have become. The changes seem reactionary rather than evolutionary. It feels like a game in which internet naysayers dictated the changes.

I think that's pretty much what happened actually. Aka "we listened to the fans".

 

[anddo0]

The PC versions controls are a bit of a pest. 90% it's ok but then there are times when it won't let you mouse select things, it feels very port-ish in those times. The default controls are a bit weird too. E is normally interact and shift is run but now both are spacebar.

It takes some time getting used to the new layout. The squad commands throw me off more than anything, hitting Q/E instead of the arrow keys, or using the cross-hair takes some adjustment.. As for the mouse issues, the mouse is a little over sensitive with the camera, and way too sluggish with the hacking.

 

[dark10x]

Thats the problem with devs posting at and reading GAF. The worst people you could listen to are the fans. Hideo Kojima did just that and MGS4 is like the worst fanfic imaginable.

Yep, I agree. Mass Effect 1 felt like a vision of their own while the sequel feels more commercialized and reactionary to complaints. This isn't uncommon with sequels, unfortunately.

MGS4 definitely had that problem as well.

That's probably one of the reasons why I was a big fan of Halo 2 and Metal Gear Solid 2 back in the day. Both of those games were born completely from the minds of the creators with little attention paid to internet posters and journalists. They created what they wanted to create and it shows (which is why these games receive a lot of hate from certain groups, I believe).

 

[Dries]

I dunno, it seems that a lot of people are nitpicking on the small issues the game (may) have. I mean.. just enjoy the game as a whole man. The total experience outrules al those minor complaints, yes? It just seems al so negative to me :lol

 

[Ducarmel]

Anyone else with similar feelings?

Yeah I wanted them to improve what they did in ME1 not throw it away.

The only thing I liked in this game over the first was improved combat and the personal stories of the crew. The new Normandy was nice to.

 

[Gattsu25]

I dunno, it seems that a lot of people are nitpicking on the small issues the game (may) have. I mean.. just enjoy the game as a whole man. The total experience outrules al those minor complaints, yes? It just seems al so negative to me :lol

I love the game. At the same time, I can understand the criticisms.

I guess you can say that I'm not an 'all-or-nothing' gamer.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

Hearing all this, now when I finally get to play the game I'm just going to be thinking about how much better it would be if Bioware retained (and improved) more of ME1's elements in addition to improving and streamlining others.

And if ME3 has as much changes to 2 as 2 has to 1, then it's gonna be weird when you're finally able to do what Bioware says, and play all three games back-to-back. I can imagine a "ME Trilogy" special edition package coming out for ME3's launch, and people who just started the series or started with 2 being totally confused by the first game having all this stuff like driving around in a tank and big inventories and loot.

 

[Dries]

I love the game. At the same time, I can understand the criticisms.

I guess you can say that I'm not an 'all-or-nothing' gamer.

Yeah, I also understand, but I knew this was gonna happen anyway. It was pretty obvious that it was gonna go maar Gears than RPG and I knew a lot of people we're not gonna like it. I don't mind it personally. I don't play ME for the combat or loot anyway. I just wanna get sucked into the story and the whole ME universe. And ME2 is doing a GREAT job at that. So yeah, I understand some complaints some people have, but ME2 as a whole package is just in-fucking-credible.

 

[dark10x]

Yeah, I also understand, but I knew this was gonna happen anyway. It was pretty obvious that it was gonna go maar Gears than RPG and I knew a lot of people we're not gonna like it. I don't mind it personally. I don't play ME for the combat or loot anyway. I just wanna get sucked into the story and the whole ME universe. And ME2 is doing a GREAT job at that. So yeah, I understand some complaints some people have, but ME2 as a whole package is just in-fucking-credible.

That's exactly where my complaints are being aimed. I don't mind the more action driven design of the game. The changes that were made compromise the atmosphere and world they created in the original.

 

[Skilotonn]

I spent a while playing it last night, and I'm enjoying it, but I feel that Bioware went way too far in reigning everything in. There were many aspects of the original that I enjoyed which are now missing. It seems as if they didn't even attempt to fix the issues with the original, rather, they simply cut everything out. The game looks better, plays better, and runs smoother...but a lot of the details I loved about the original are MIA.

1) I feel as if the game world has been sliced up into compartments for convenience sake at the expense of atmosphere and scale. The citadel, once a massive and interesting environment, has been completely compartmentalized. I was expecting them to expand upon what they they had already created and deliver an even bigger environment. After talking to Anderson for the first time, I could not believe it when I found out that I could no longer leave that meeting room and explore the presidium. I also feel as if many of the new areas are smaller in scale in order to improve performance. Surely they could have delivered a larger environment while maintaining the fast travel stations for the less patient among us.

2) The Mako is another loss for me. Yes, it had issues, but it also had potential and could have been improved. Mixing it up between Mako and on-foot combat created a much greater sense of scale on the planets while delivering more variety in gameplay. I'm sure some associate it with the cookie cutter planets of the original, but I'm thinking more of its usage during actual story missions. Rather than attempting to improve it, they cut it completely. The ice station in the original game, for instance, felt significantly more remote as a result of the Mako sections beforehand.

3) Load screens galore. You know, the elevators WERE a bit too long, but let's not pretend we didn't know what was going on in the background. They were using them to hide loading screens and keep the player in the game world. What did they do here? They break the immersion and replaced those elevators with load screens. Talk about regressing. The loading screens aren't all that much shorter than the elevator rides and they pull you out of the world. The elevators definitely helped the world feel more cohesive despite their length. Prior to Mass 1, I was concerned about how they would present the environment due to the shortcomings of KOTOR (which had load screens around every corner). With the first game, it was clear that immersion was something they were striving for. With Mass 2, however, I feel as if they are returning to their old ways and that's disappointing.

4) The soundtrack is still very good, but I definitely feel as if it has become too epic for its own good. There's less "electronic sci-fi" and more "epic film" in there. Not exactly a huge deal, of course, but it's definitely something that I've noticed (both in the game and the actual OST).

While it certainly isn't as severe, these changes sometimes remind me of Deus Ex Invisible War in that many of the things that were loved about the original were simplified and compartmentalized. Why design a large map when the player can get everything they need in a single room? This line of thinking completely ruins the immersion for me. Still, I do love the game but I feel as if they just cut all of the problems areas out of the game rather than attempting to improve them.

Anyone else with similar feelings?

I can't comment about the Citadel since I haven't seen it yet, but for the rest I agree with you - I hope that like me, you still find the game even more amazing than the first for the excellent optimizations and big and little changes for the better.

I mentioned yesterday how I had a huge post listing the changes and improvements that I loved, but the post got lost due to it not being done in Firefox on my own PC + GAF crashing on me, but I do miss the realtime XP leveling ups, but I love not being addicted to the grind, even though this is only RPG I've ever put time into, I miss the collecting of armor and weapons, but it's so much better and streamlined the way it is now when can customize your armor EXACTLY the way you want it, and upgrade your set weapons instead of having an inventory full of stuff.

I too loved the Mako - and I never agreed with the complaints but yeah - you only hear the people with problems complain because people that are satisfied don't say anything.

Same with the elevators, I loved them as well, especially when listening to the news updates of what I did, and looking at my squad. Most of the loading screens do a good job of showing what your doing or where you're going, but you're still pulled out of the world, yes.

And for the music, it still has the 80's synth in there that made me love the soundtrack to death, is just that the other tracks are as you said - "very, very epic & powerful" - I can't complain, because the ratio of synth tracks to epic tracks seem to be even.

I really do agree with your main point however - it's one good thing to listen to your fans, but don't let it dictate and stray away from your original views - things like the ultra smooth frame rate and zero pop-in, fix that, but don't let them convince you to do things like take out elevators and remove the Mako!

These things do absolutely nothing to change how I love this game though - just as the first one had its minor problems, now here its even less minor, and simply things that you can let slide.

 

[Des0lar]

So I'm about to start this up tomorrow. What's the consensus on the classes?

I played an engineer in ME1, but I'm not sure if I should change to Infliltrator or Sentinel.
No Soldier or Adept for me.

 

[Dries]

Yeah, I also liked the Mako, but I don't really miss it in ME2. And I also would've rather had elevators than loading screens. At least you could rotate the camera in the elevators which made it a little interactive. The only complaint I have is those info pop-ups. They always dissapear too quickly before I read them.. WTF going on there. Just like at the intro, you get the story typed out for you, but when I was half way through reading it the next scene came right away.


But again, these are only MINOR nitpicks and the ONLY complaints I have. Taking a look at the bigger pictures all these gripes are just so dispossable. This game is SO good.

 

[∀ Narayan]

So the hate is beginning already?

Just wait until I find something to complain about. You will never hear the end of it.

 

[EatChildren]

About 6 hours in. Im not happy with some changes but overall its much better than the original Mass Effect.

One thing that has definitely become deeper is the combat. Its not just better feeling and better presented, its deeper. Even on Insansity I never really felt like my abilities in ME1 really mattered. Whatever did a ton of damage was the best; end. Spam whatever move does the most damage.

In this I find myself constantly switching weapons due to the Shield/Armor system, picking the right weapons and ammo types for the right situations. I love switching between cryo and electronic (whatever they're called) rounds as the infiltrator when using pistols, while hitting up cloak with the sniper to pick as many people off from afar.

While squadmates are not perfect, they're a billion times more useful than the original. This just adds even more depth. In the original, on the hardest difficulty, I never really bothered with them. Just let them do whatever and it always worked out. Now I actually feel compelled to switch their weapons and use their powers on the fly, and when successful it really seems like its making an impact in the combat.

I'm still early so I've got much more to go, and I'm not happy with every trim down, but so far a lot of the cutting of fat has made ME2 an overall better game so far. The fact you cant upgrade skills with single points makes levelling up more thought provoking than the original. Do I use my points now, or do I wait awhile to get more to upgrade another?

 

[Livanh]

I spent a while playing it last night, and I'm enjoying it, but I feel that Bioware went way too far in reigning everything in. There were many aspects of the original that I enjoyed which are now missing. It seems as if they didn't even attempt to fix the issues with the original, rather, they simply cut everything out. The game looks better, plays better, and runs smoother...but a lot of the details I loved about the original are MIA.

1) I feel as if the game world has been sliced up into compartments for convenience sake at the expense of atmosphere and scale. The citadel, once a massive and interesting environment, has been completely compartmentalized. I was expecting them to expand upon what they they had already created and deliver an even bigger environment. After talking to Anderson for the first time, I could not believe it when I found out that I could no longer leave that meeting room and explore the presidium. I also feel as if many of the new areas are smaller in scale in order to improve performance. Surely they could have delivered a larger environment while maintaining the fast travel stations for the less patient among us.

2) The Mako is another loss for me. Yes, it had issues, but it also had potential and could have been improved. Mixing it up between Mako and on-foot combat created a much greater sense of scale on the planets while delivering more variety in gameplay. I'm sure some associate it with the cookie cutter planets of the original, but I'm thinking more of its usage during actual story missions. Rather than attempting to improve it, they cut it completely. The ice station in the original game, for instance, felt significantly more remote as a result of the Mako sections beforehand.

3) Load screens galore. You know, the elevators WERE a bit too long, but let's not pretend we didn't know what was going on in the background. They were using them to hide loading screens and keep the player in the game world. What did they do here? They break the immersion and replaced those elevators with load screens. Talk about regressing. The loading screens aren't all that much shorter than the elevator rides and they pull you out of the world. The elevators definitely helped the world feel more cohesive despite their length. Prior to Mass 1, I was concerned about how they would present the environment due to the shortcomings of KOTOR (which had load screens around every corner). With the first game, it was clear that immersion was something they were striving for. With Mass 2, however, I feel as if they are returning to their old ways and that's disappointing.

4) The soundtrack is still very good, but I definitely feel as if it has become too epic for its own good. There's less "electronic sci-fi" and more "epic film" in there. Not exactly a huge deal, of course, but it's definitely something that I've noticed (both in the game and the actual OST).

While it certainly isn't as severe, these changes sometimes remind me of Deus Ex Invisible War in that many of the things that were loved about the original were simplified and compartmentalized. Why design a large map when the player can get everything they need in a single room? This line of thinking completely ruins the immersion for me. Still, I do love the game but I feel as if they just cut all of the problems areas out of the game rather than attempting to improve them.

Anyone else with similar feelings?

i would sign all these points. finally i see some voices here who dont just hype me 2.
curios to see what you will think of the final mission.

 

[orion434]

I didn't like the Mako in ME1 and trying to get all those Ally Achievements made me hate it more. I'm glad it's gone... when I saw it at the Crash Site I said BURN IN HELL!!!

I really like hoe they incoorporated near every decision you made in the previous game... makes it feel like a true continuation of the story.

 

[Wiggum2007]

Is Adept worth sticking with for my class? I'm a bit worried that because of all the enemy defenses you have to strip away to use your biotics effectively, my character may end up a bit useless.