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[Solo]

Thanks dude, I wasn't thinking.

Who is Zaaed? I don't remember getting this person, and I had all my spaces filled. Did I get someone else instead?

Hes the DLC character you cant converse with who hangs out in the starboard cargo area.

 

[Sir Garbageman]

Also I'm tired of having to restart missions because Shepard randomly pops 1 foot in the air and I can't walk anywhere.

Bleh.

Has happened to me once too, any idea what makes it happen or is it just bad luck?

 

[ColonelColon]

The game needed less squad-mates imo. The game really didn't have much of a core story because of trying to fit too many people in.

Gather squad, get IFF, destroy ship. That's it. There's no intrigue or betrayals or anything.

I could've done without Jack, Grunt, and the justicar. Could've done without Thane too, actually.

Miranda was okay. Garrus was boring.

I really only cared about Jacob, Tali, and Mordin.

I totally agree about the squad mates. I liked that the characters had missions dedicated to backstory, but the focus on many short missions rather than a few long missions had major drawbacks imo. Mass Effect definitely had a more compelling central story structure, with the events of Eden Prime, then the Citadel, Noveria, Feros, Virmire, Illos, etc. I never really felt like I became enthralled in any individual section of Mass Effect 2 nearly as much as I did in Mass Effect, which I mainly attribute to the lack of exploration and constant forward progress. I would have preferred if there were less characters and loyalty missions, and more advancement in the main story of the Reapers. The loyalty missions almost feel like side quests. Really fun, entertaining side quests, but sidequests nonetheless. The main story didn't really go anywhere.

 

[Cuisino]

My only complaint is that they made the Citadel so tiny compared to the first game. I was a little bit disapointed.

Spoiler

And I hope that I will be able to go to the Hanar/Drell homeworld in ME3, Thane was great.

 

[Solo]

Mass Effect definitely had a more compelling central story structure, with the events of Eden Prime, then the Citadel, Noveria, Feros, Virmire, Illos, etc.

Definitely hoping ME3 follows this kind of structure again, because it was perfect.

 

[Oni Jazar]

Is there any melee option for when you get too close to an enemy?

 

[Solo]

Is there any melee option for when you get too close to an enemy?

Hit B if you're playing the 360 version.

 

[LiK]

Is there any melee option for when you get too close to an enemy?

"B"

 

[Patryn]

Is there any melee option for when you get too close to an enemy?

On the 360, hit B. Dunno what melee attack is for the PC.

 

[Requiem]

Just finished mordins loyalty mission and he is definitely my favorite charaacter so far...really enjoyed exploring the genophage....man thiis game has some great writing...these guys need an award or something

 

[Darklord]

On the 360, hit B. Dunno what melee attack is for the PC.

It's F and I keep forgetting about it for some reason.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

Just finished mordins loyalty mission and he is definitely my favorite charaacter so far...really enjoyed exploring the genophage....man thiis game has some great writing...these guys need an award or something

Wait till you see him sing Gilbert and Sullivan.

 

[roxya]

Melee is "F" by default on PC. Does a surprisingly good amount of damage

 

[Pancakes]

Melee is "F" by default on PC. Does a surprisingly good amount of damage

If you wear the armor piece (25% more melee damage) and get the research upgrade, I imagine you could really fuck shit up.

 

[AstroLad]

Also I'm tired of having to restart missions because Shepard randomly pops 1 foot in the air and I can't walk anywhere.

Bleh.

Is this a PC thing? B/c it hasn't happened to my brother but it's happened to me like 15 times probably. Usually not a big deal because the autosaves are pretty frequent but still it's damn annoying. Happens to enemies too occasionally and I have to Pull them to get them out.

 

[Future PhaZe]

I'd like to see more 'loot' in ME3. Just double the amount thats here, as it does feel a bit minimal.

But this 'system' of loot, in that you find upgrades and find weapons, and buy some upgrades, is much superior for this style of game. Loot never felt right in the original Mass Effect, and it rarely feels right in shooter RPGs anyway. Even the best RPG shooters, outside of Borderlands, have had very minimal 'loot'.

Mass Effect did it wrong. They threw loot at you as if it were a traditional fantasy RPG where weapons have a billion different types, styles, and enhancements (magic, enchantments, rare abilities, etc). The best method here is to have guns offer unique, functional abilities and features, which is what they now have. Burst fire pistols, auto submachine guns, semi-auto or single shot snipers, etc. It works better.

Just expand that concept and offer a bit more to find and upgrade and you're set. ME2's loot problem is that it takes a bit too long to actually find anything, even if the upgrade is significant.

Keep the idea, and keep the concept. Keep it the way it is, but add a bit more there for players to find and store.

I agree and would also add this type of logic to a couple of things that they took away from the exploration. If they can add just 3 or 4 unique UCW's that are explorable via Mako/whatever upgraded vehicle they want along with a few larger scaled main missions and more weapons/armor customization albeit with the same system then we are looking at a game that could be close to perfect so long as the story holds up.

 

[Oni Jazar]

awesome. Thanks guys

 

[deathberry]

Somebody please help me!

I've finished the game with the good ending, now I wanna try it going full Renegade with the bad ending. My plan is not to activate

Spoiler

Grunt and Legion

so that's two less people to worry about. Also, I won't be doing any loyalty missions for anyone. So can I do the suicide/final mission with everyone being at 'normal' loyalty?

And is it possible to get the achievement of saving everyone (75G) if I don't activate 2 people in my party? I think for this achievement everyone has to be loyal, but still.

 

[Dennis]

Below are some brief thoughts on the characters.

Tali - everyones favorite Space Muslim. Old friend and companion.

Grunt - Ok, but he is basically just Wrex-lite

Thane - Awesomeness personified. Best new character. Fantastic visual design and great VA.

Miranda - DAT ASS

Jack - Not as bad as I feared, but I am not really into this "emo badass" thing.

Garrus - Good character, cynical old cop type.

Mordin - Splendid VA and very interesting background story. Very colorful character. Mad scientist cliche but very well done.

Jacob - Boring, unispired "normal" human. Token black guy ? He's loyalty quest was great though.

Zaeed - Didn't really feel this character was necessary but he was ok. Liked he's face.

Samara - Hate her visual design. Can't stand to look at her. Really liked her recruitment mission though.

?????? - Don't wan't to spoil the last one.

Special mention: Kelly - Cocktease supreme.

 

[careful]

On the 360, hit B. Dunno what melee attack is for the PC.

It's the F key on PC, which is a step back from ME1 in terms of usability. Left-click would just automatically become melee once the enemy got close enough. Now I have to frantically try to mash the F key between all the other keys I'm already using. But this is only annoying during the missions where you have waves of husks rushing at you.

I'd like to see more 'loot' in ME3. Just double the amount thats here, as it does feel a bit minimal.

But this 'system' of loot, in that you find upgrades and find weapons, and buy some upgrades, is much superior for this style of game. Loot never felt right in the original Mass Effect, and it rarely feels right in shooter RPGs anyway. Even the best RPG shooters, outside of Borderlands, have had very minimal 'loot'.

Mass Effect did it wrong. They threw loot at you as if it were a traditional fantasy RPG where weapons have a billion different types, styles, and enhancements (magic, enchantments, rare abilities, etc). The best method here is to have guns offer unique, functional abilities and features, which is what they now have. Burst fire pistols, auto submachine guns, semi-auto or single shot snipers, etc. It works better.

Just expand that concept and offer a bit more to find and upgrade and you're set. ME2's loot problem is that it takes a bit too long to actually find anything, even if the upgrade is significant.

Keep the idea, and keep the concept. Keep it the way it is, but add a bit more there for players to find and store.

I don't mind the new loot/upgrade system, but I think there should be some kind of stats or graphs shown to distinguish between the different weapons.

 

[Requiem]

What did you guys pick for your additional training? I started with assault but realized my SMG was wayy better evolvd so I chose sniping...

 

[Haunted]

The game needed less squad-mates imo. The game really didn't have much of a core story because of trying to fit too many people in.

Spoiler

Gather squad, get IFF, destroy ship. That's it. There's no intrigue or betrayals or anything.

I could've done without Jack, Grunt, and the justicar. Could've done without Thane too, actually.

Miranda was okay. Garrus was boring.

I really only cared about Jacob, Tali, and Mordin.

Well, gathering your squad basically is the story in this game. As you said, 90% of the missions in this game are gathering and gaining the trust of your team.

 

[Meus Renaissance]

How easy is it to come across side missions? I refuse to scan every damn planet in the game

 

[Inferno313]

Well, gathering your squad is the story in this game.

I don't understand why this is a problem with so many people. Plenty of great stories are Character-driven. Why can't a video game be?

 

[firehawk12]

How easy is it to come across side missions? I refuse to scan every damn planet in the game

You could always look for a list. They're floating around. A few of them do come to you automatically.

 

[Draft]

I think someone described the recruitment as Pokemon, and that's pretty apt. It feels gamey. ME1 had a more believable story structure. It's not perfect but it felt natural how you picked up squadmates and opened up the narrative.

 

[ianp622]

How easy is it to come across side missions? I refuse to scan every damn planet in the game

You don't have to scan it to get the "Anomaly Detected", you just have to Enter Orbit and you'll hear it.

 

[Pancakes]

How easy is it to come across side missions? I refuse to scan every damn planet in the game

When you pick a planet EDI will tell if the planet has a sidequest or not.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

How easy is it to come across side missions? I refuse to scan every damn planet in the game

Then get ready to miss side missions.

I mean, you had to have known your militant anti-scan position would result in some lost game experience, otherwise you wouldn't have had to take such a stance.

When you pick a planet EDI will tell if the planet has a sidequest or not.

It sounds like he didn't even want to check them. I could be reading it wrong though.

 

[EatChildren]

How easy is it to come across side missions? I refuse to scan every damn planet in the game

You only have to click the planet. You don't scan for sidequests unless EDI immediately says, when you click the planet, "Anomoly Detected", then you scan for the landing zone.

If you click a planet, it zooms in, and she doesnt say it then there's no quest.

 

[Darklord]

How easy is it to come across side missions? I refuse to scan every damn planet in the game

http://i48.tinypic.com/1zcmhe9.jpg

List of all side missions, planets and clusters to find them.

 

[kinoki]

The problem with this game is that it's pretty much part of a 2-parter. There is a 1st act and 2nd act just like in Mass Effect 1. But it's clear that they've stopped at the end of act 2 (akin to stopping the first game at Virmire) just after having revealed the main badie. Looking forward to act 3 like crazy.

 

[Future PhaZe]

Am I the only one who felt that Bioware dropped the ball on a possible opportunity to add depth to Shepards story by adding more negatives (or positives depending on how you look at it) to the Lazarus project? Like Shepards dedication to the cause causing him to actually lose parts of his humanity by becoming something closer to a cyborg if the player wanted or trying to stay as natural and human like as possible. Might have made Mirandas character a little more interesting if she were able to team up with Mordin and in a way "continue" the Lazarus program during the entire mission until at the end you're a completely healthy human or looked like more of a badass cyborg type. Would have added yet another layer of customization and perhaps another set of skill upgrades also.

Just something fun to think about. As it stands I felt the Lazarus project was a little too convenient and had few downsides other than the insane amount of money put into it.

 

[Solo]

I think someone described the recruitment as Pokemon, and that's pretty apt. It feels gamey. ME1 had a more believable story structure. It's not perfect but it felt natural how you picked up squadmates and opened up the narrative.

This is pretty much spot on. In ME1, the character pickups melded completely into the narrative in realistic ways, whereas in ME2, the narrative is structured around the squad pickups. Hoping that ME3 goes back the other way again.

 

[LiK]

Ya know, EDI's voice is pretty sexy. "Probe launched"

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

Ya know, EDI's voice is pretty sexy. "Probe launched"

"Probe away."

You can't get more suggestive than that.

:lol

 

[Owzers]

The game needed less squad-mates imo. The game really didn't have much of a core story because of trying to fit too many people in.

Spoiler

Gather squad, get IFF, destroy ship. That's it. There's no intrigue or betrayals or anything.

I could've done without Jack, Grunt, and the justicar. Could've done without Thane too, actually.

Miranda was okay. Garrus was boring.

I really only cared about Jacob, Tali, and Mordin.

Garrus is rather boring but i liked his recruitment mission. I had a bad feeling about the mission structure when i was at around 28 hours doing everything before what turned out to be the last mission. I knew it was going to end quickly but...just not that quickly. Still the game had a lot more gameplay than Mass Effect 1 which only took around 18ish hours for me to finish. I just wish ME 2 was longer in the right places.

 

[Solo]

"Probe away."

You can't get more suggestive than that.

:lol

Launching a probe at Uranus:

"Seriously?"

:lol

 

[JoeBoy101]

CRITICAL: I may be losing my mind, but in the din of battle with my Vanguard (biotic charge FTW!), Tali let loose with one of her combat drones and I thought I heard:

"Go for the optics, Drone!"

Any confirmation?

 

[BobsRevenge]

Jacob - Boring, unispired "normal" human. Token black guy ? He's loyalty quest was great though.

Fuck you. Jacob was my best bud in this game. We had each other's backs. The dude is awesome. We're BFFs.

 

[bryehn]

I don't understand why this is a problem with so many people. Plenty of great stories are Character-driven. Why can't a video game be?

The character development is an excellent part of this game and is right in line with what act 2 of a trilogy should be, IMO. Also does a great job of expanding the knowledge of the ME universe.

 

[JoeBoy101]

Ya know, EDI's voice is pretty sexy. "Probe launched"

Well, considering its Tricia Helfer....

 

[LiK]

Well, considering its Tricia Helfer....

Really? I was in media blackout so I didn't know. Awesome

 

[Draft]

CRITICAL: I may be losing my mind, but in the din of battle with my Vanguard (biotic charge FTW!), Tali let loose with one of her combat drones and I thought I heard:

"Go for the optics, Drone!"

Any confirmation?

Confirmed. I heard it too. But I think she actually names the Drone. (not Boo, though.)

 

[FleckSplat]

Has anyone experienced the "Shepard likes to role play as a typewriter" glitch?

You enter cover (usually by a door) but you are facing the wrong way. When you pop out to shoot it takes a second for the character to get in place, then you let go and the wrong-facing character moves sideways without animation and it's like starting a new line on a typewriter?

Weird.

 

[fastford58]

Ok, complaint 2:

Spoiler

I feel like the game is corralling me into progressing the story at some points. I don't have my team assembled and it is already trying to get me to jump through the Omega 4 gate.

On two occasions I have been forced to do missions that I didn't really want to do at that time. Minor gripe, but it goes along with my other gripe of not seeming to have as much freedom at the Citadel etc.

It is by no means game breaking.

 

[ianp622]

I don't understand why this is a problem with so many people. Plenty of great stories are Character-driven. Why can't a video game be?

I don't think Haunted was saying it's a problem, but I can see others not doing the loyalty missions and thinking they were short-changed.

I think the narrative structure was a great decision, and has made me the most emotionally invested in a video game character I've ever been. Half-way through the loyalty missions I was ready to proclaim this my favorite game of all time (and I still might, but I have to finish it first ).

There are a couple things that made the effect weaker, however:

1. Some of the loyalty missions don't really have the same impact, and they tend to diminish the impact of the good ones.
   
2. The side missions don't really involve much character development, so they tend to feel a little empty, even though they are a big improvement over ME1.
   
3. Trying to talk to squadmates and have them say that they're busy quickly breaks down the illusion of deep character, plus it's annoying. I understand that this is from a lack of content, and that's it's difficult to continue with new conversations, but for some characters it was really apparent. However, I don't need lengthy stories, just a few snippets to make me feel like the character is still alive.
   
   Thane really shines in this department - I don't think he ever had an excuse not to talk to me when I asked, and therefore I feel most connected to him.
   
   Archangel, on the other hand, always seemed busy. I can only remember talking to him about 2 or 3 things. Disappointing, because I always thought he was a cool character.
   
4. It would be nice if your squadmates would come up to talk to you sometimes. This is something I never see in video games, but I don't know why.

I think in Mass Effect 3, I'd like to have a similar structure, but have fewer squadmates with multiple character missions. Also, it might be nice if they could be integrated into a deeper main storyline.

After I finish, I think if I play and only do my favorite loyalty missions and end the game sooner, I might have a better experience.

 

[EatChildren]

Confirmed. I heard it too. But I think she actually names the Drone. (not Boo, though.)

The line is something like; "Go for the optics, Ka'tcheeka! Go for the optics!"

 

[Haunted]

Fuck you. Jacob was my best bud in this game. We had each other's backs. The dude is awesome. We're BFFs.

and that's why a diverse cast is important.

The line is something like; "Go for the optics, Ka'tcheeka! Go for the optics!"

oh snap :lol

 

[Dennis]

I think in Mass Effect 3, I'd like to have a similar structure, but have fewer squadmates with multiple character missions.

Yeah, fewer characters but better fleshed out. In ME2 you got one mission - one - for each character and that seems like too little.

What is the futher story with Thane and his son? Tell me Bioware! That could have spawned an entire string of quests to flesh out Thane.