Support NeoGAF

[Iron E Man]

Haha, for real? The only big bug I've had in my entire ME2 playthrough occured during Samara's loyalty quest.

Spoiler

While she was having a crazy fight with her daughter, the sound cut out completely. I had no idea what they were saying to each other (subs off), though it sure looked cool. And then a prompt pops up and asks if I want to kill Samara or her daughter. That's crazy that you can recruit the daughter instead.

Spoiler

same here i did have subs on but still nothing. i also never got a chance to choose it went with samara itself oh well thats who i was going to pick anyways.

 

[Sai]

someone help a girl out ; at the suicidal mission start

Spoiler

So how do I make my people live. i sent garrus and legion at the first team, second, I made Samara come with me for the biotic shield, and Thane for the rest of the capitain...and he died! did I pick the wrong person, if so who should i choose at each path.

Spoiler

Thane's an assassin, he's not used to working in groups. Get somebody with experience in that field, like Miranda or Garrus.

Haha, for real? The only big bug I've had in my entire ME2 playthrough occured during Samara's loyalty quest.

Spoiler

While she was having a crazy fight with her daughter, the sound cut out completely. I had no idea what they were saying to each other (subs off), though it sure looked cool. And then a prompt pops up and asks if I want to kill Samara or her daughter. That's crazy that you can recruit the daughter instead.

Happened to me at numerous points in the game too, worst offender was during

Spoiler

Grunt's loyalty mission, when that keystone thing creates a shockwave. Sound went out almost every time I triggered the thing.

 

[Patryn]

I've been avoiding this thread and all ME2-related info because I've been avoiding spoilers. Seriously, I saw the first trailer and that was it. Now that I've started ME2 though, there are a whole bunch of things that are confusing me a little... so I have a few general questions. Nothing story related!

- They took out the ability to customise your Shepard's individual skills like Health, Pistol proficiency etc, right? Or is that something you get at a higher difficulty? I'm playing on Normal.
- Is there a way to compare weapon stats or armor stats? Seems like when you get a new gun, you have to try it to figure out whether it's better or worse than your old gun. (More often than not the new gun is better, but there was an assault rifle upgrade I hated because it carried far less ammo than the original.)
- I'm not crazy: There is basically no inventory system, right?

I'm not complaining about the game -- I was just really surprised. Coming out of ME1 and not reading any previews that ME2 seemed to be much more of a shooter and less of an RPG (in the nerdy stat sense; not in the story/make-your-own-choices sense), which I didn't expect. So I just wanted to confirm that those things are actually gone and not just hidden at lower difficulty levels!

No weapon skills in this game at all. You can only use weapons you're naturally "proficient" with.

As for the weapons, it's impossible to see any stats. You just have to try them out to get a feel for the differences (ammo amounts, accuracy, clip size, etc...)

In terms of inventory, there are at least 2 choices in each weapon type (you can set which one you'll use at the start of every mission or at any armory), and there are a handful of armor pieces for Shepard only(use Shepard's cabin to set your armor up).

 

[Sean P.]

From a Kotaku article, looks oddly a lot like Jack.

 

[Trickster]

Just finished it, loved the game. Hated the ending.

Spoiler

My major complaint hinders on the fact that there is no chance to retry a loyalty mission if you screw up. I went to do all the loyalty missions but failed Thane's and the Asari woman's. Then, despite doing Jack's, because I chose Miranda over her, she was no longer loyal, fucking me up during the final mission. Also, the game doesn't clarify the risk so I ended up losing my favourite character ever Grunt, who I can't now import into ME3. I get that it was a suicide mission, but it's also a game, allow me to have choice over peoples death instead of being forced into watching a cutscene as they die. Pretty stupid and left a sour taste in my mouth after my 25 hour playthrough. Oh well, I just hope Bioware include an even more badass Krogan in ME3.

Did you try and go into the load menu and use the Restart Mission option?

 

[Metroidvania]

I've been avoiding this thread and all ME2-related info because I've been avoiding spoilers. Seriously, I saw the first trailer and that was it. Now that I've started ME2 though, there are a whole bunch of things that are confusing me a little... so I have a few general questions. Nothing story related!

- They took out the ability to customise your Shepard's individual skills like Health, Pistol proficiency etc, right? Or is that something you get at a higher difficulty? I'm playing on Normal.

You can buy health upgrades, specifically for shepard, and weapon upgrades, which affect all of your crew.

- Is there a way to compare weapon stats or armor stats? Seems like when you get a new gun, you have to try it to figure out whether it's better or worse than your old gun. (More often than not the new gun is better, but there was an assault rifle upgrade I hated because it carried far less ammo than the original.)

Armor stats yes, weapons no. For the armor, you have to go to your cabin on the normandy.

- I'm not crazy: There is basically no inventory system, right?

Nope.

I'm not complaining about the game -- I was just really surprised. Coming out of ME1 and not reading any previews that ME2 seemed to be much more of a shooter and less of an RPG (in the nerdy stat sense; not in the story/make-your-own-choices sense), which I didn't expect. So I just wanted to confirm that those things are actually gone and not just hidden at lower difficulty levels!

Your "seemings" are correct.

 

[The Lamonster]

And this guy looks like the Illusive Man.

 

[Fowler]

No weapon skills in this game at all. You can only use weapons you're naturally "proficient" with.

As for the weapons, it's impossible to see any stats. You just have to try them out to get a feel for the differences (ammo amounts, accuracy, clip size, etc...)

In terms of inventory, there are at least 2 choices in each weapon type, and there are a handful of armor pieces for Shepard only(use Shepard's cabin to set your armor up).

Thanks man! One thing I will complain about is the manual is TERRIBLE, so I had no idea whether these things were genuinely gone or whether I was just missing them. I do love the game itself though

 

[SundaySounds]

Excuse me while I gripe for a second.

Why were there only like, 2 of each weapon in the game? Why did the weapons have no stats? Why couldn't I buy weapons? You could have done the weapons like the armor, let us upgrade each part individually. But then we'd only have 2-3 parts we could choose from for each upgrade, and each one only gave you 3-5% boost. Basically, There should have been a LOT more upgrading with the armor and ESPECIALLY the weapons. I think the lack of weapons in this game was my biggest disappointment. And the lack of parts to choose from with your armor just didn't seem to make much sense. Also, why would you take out the helmet toggle option? Why would you do that?

That being said. Probably gonna be my GOTY. 9.5/10

 

[Borgnine]

If they ever make a Mass Effect movie, I know who would be perfect for Jack. Her name is Belladonna and she's an actress.

 

[The Lamonster]

If you miss an upgrade, does anyone know for sure if you can still miraculously "find" upgrades or missed weapons in the mission report at the end?

If not, that's really, really lame.

anybody?

If they ever make a Mass Effect movie, I know who would be perfect for Jack. Her name is Belladonna and she's an actress.

She's a porn star and looks more like Miranda than Jack.

Spoiler

and she's very talented

 

[Metroidvania]

She's a porn star and looks more like Miranda than Jack.

Spoiler

and she's very talented

Thatsthejoke.jpeg

And for anyone going through the thread (or the minigame one) and seeing naysayers, yeah, there's griping, but that doesn't change the fact that the game is still awesome.

There are, of course, changes that people would like to see, but the overall experience is still a blast.

 

[vitaminwateryum]

Can't believe I just realized this.

=

 

[Mindlog]

Gripe.

So Insanity is actually pretty hard this time. Annoyingly hard sometimes.

but...

Insanity + enemy spawn checkpoints is just... damnit. I am playing on insanity trying to be all tactical and whatnot. Why would I ever want to advance to a point where I have no cover on one side? However, if I don't advance to that point (leaving myself completely vulnerable) the enemies won't stop advancing. counter-intuitive

 

[SundaySounds]

Have you guys tried walking around with Garrus and Tali in the citadel? They have a conversation about the lack of elevators that was pretty funny.

 

[DevelopmentArrested]

Excuse me while I gripe for a second.

Why were there only like, 2 of each weapon in the game? Why did the weapons have no stats? Why couldn't I buy weapons? You could have done the weapons like the armor, let us upgrade each part individually. But then we'd only have 2-3 parts we could choose from for each upgrade, and each one only gave you 3-5% boost. Basically, There should have been a LOT more upgrading with the armor and ESPECIALLY the weapons. I think the lack of weapons in this game was my biggest disappointment. And the lack of parts to choose from with your armor just didn't seem to make much sense. Also, why would you take out the helmet toggle option? Why would you do that?

The only thing I can think of is: A) Ran out of time B) Putting guns as DLC ... or a+b.

Gripe.

So Insanity is actually pretty hard this time. Annoyingly hard sometimes.

but...

Insanity + enemy spawn checkpoints is just... damnit. I am playing on insanity trying to be all tactical and whatnot. Why would I ever want to advance to a point where I have no cover on one side? However, if I don't advance to that point (leaving myself completely vulnerable) the enemies won't stop advancing. counter-intuitive

There aren't enemy closets in this game though (apart from that one mission where you have to closet the gates near the beginning).. there's a set amount of enemies and sometimes on Insanity it's A LOT (aka 6+ Shotgunning Krogans).

 

[Coxswain]

- Is there a way to compare weapon stats or armor stats? Seems like when you get a new gun, you have to try it to figure out whether it's better or worse than your old gun. (More often than not the new gun is better, but there was an assault rifle upgrade I hated because it carried far less ammo than the original.)

The reason there aren't stats is that (despite saying "x weapon upgrades y weapon"), they're mostly not meant to be "better".

Examples: The Hand Cannon pistol you get early on does a good deal more damage than the one you start with, but has a slow firing rate, holds far less ammo, and (I think) is less accurate when you're not in cover. The original pistol is still just as viable later on, and probably preferable if you don't have a better way to strip off Armour. The Viper ("upgraded" Sniper Rifle) is the opposite - it's got a 12-shot clip, and carries 60+ rounds compared to the 1-shot clip and 10 rounds you can carry for the original Mantis Sniper Rifle. But the Viper is a lot weaker on a per-shot basis, and since Infiltrators get up to a 75% damage bonus on the first shot they fire while cloaked, the Mantis can actually be a good deal more useful, depending on your play style. I haven't played a character with Assault Rifles yet, but I'm pretty sure the main difference between the one you start with and the Battle Rifle is just automatic versus burst-fire, and the Geth Assault Rifle you can get later on is stronger against Shields and Barriers, but weaker against Armour. None of them are really meant to be superior as far as I can tell.

Then again, the Tempest SMG is pretty clearly superior to the Shuriken - better accuracy, bigger clip, more damage, etc - and the M98 Widow is just a straight-up improvement on the Mantis. There's some experimentation you need to do, but generally speaking, don't assume that every weapon you pick up is supposed to be an improvement on an earlier one. Most are just different.

 

[MirageDwarf]

http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/02/01/News-Mass-Effect-2-Tidbits.aspx

Game development often lasts for years. And in that stretch of time, studios have their fair share of ups and downs. From humorous game bugs to stress-relieving antics, Game Informer peers behind the curtain of game development. In this Tidbits column, BioWare shares the stories behind the development of Mass Effect 2.

* Boo, the space hamster, is actually voiced by the lead programmer.

* Mass Effect 2 was the first game to use exotic dancers at EA Canada’s motion capture studio in Burnaby, Canada.

* We did eight full HUD revisions during the development phase of Mass Effect 2.

* There have been over 900,000 code and content submissions (so far) during the Mass Effect franchise development.
* 

The Main Menu in Mass Effect 2 was revised three times.
* The final boss was originally called ‘Baby.'
* 
The first breakable object in Mass Effect 2 was an explosive fire extinguisher which is now only used in the Krogan’s acquisition mission.

* There are 52 custom load screens used through out the game.

* Our Scrum Teams were all named after fake action movie names, such as Fighting Fishdogs, Meteor Apocalypse, and, of course, Meteor Apocalyptical Redemption.

* There are over 25,000 lines of conversational dialog in Mass Effect 2.
* 
If you went through each main path of conversations end to end, you would be sitting in your chair for over 25 hours straight.

* The model ships in commander Shepard’s cabin are scaled down versions of the full-sized cinematics ships from Mass Effect 1. They are the most expensive per pixel objects in Mass Effect 2.

* The development team’s final team wide meeting was held at The Palace, a venue usually used for boxing matches.

* Corey Gaspur (combat designer) is the team’s reigning Street Fighter champion.

* Team BioWare came in first place in the Game Industry’s 2008 TFT2 Studio Rumble tournament.
* 
Raylene Deck, a level designer, spent the most amount of time working on a single area of the game (2,161.43 hours)
.
* 
We had more then 10,000 hours of automated testing performed during the debugging phase of Mass Effect 2.

 

[practice02]

This video Sums up my feeling toward this game both excitement and what I like to do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWBmaKk32fE

 

[SundaySounds]

The only thing I can think of is: A) Ran out of time B) Putting guns as DLC ... or a+b.

I was watching the behind the scenes video, and they have this whole schpiel about how they're putting in so many weapons and how awesome the customization is going to be.

 

[DevelopmentArrested]

I was watching the behind the scenes video, and they have this whole schpiel about how they're putting in so many weapons and how awesome the customization is going to be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ytCEuuW2_A

 

[Won]

Started my Insanity playthrough. Quite a jump in difficulty after normal. :lol
Settled on playing as Sentinel. The armor looks fancy, so I hope it's useful!

Do you guys choose squad members to accompany you based on their personalities or their combat abilities?

I planned to choose based on combat but I usually end up taking the two characters who I feel are the most interesting.

Every Shepard in the universe needs a fast talking crazy super scientist at his side. So I always had Mordin with me. Switched the thrid spot around to mix things up.

 

[Snuggles]

Playing as a Renegade is kind of fun, the "THIS STORE DISCRIMINATES AGAINST THE POOR!" dialogue option @ the Citadel was some funny shit, I can't believe Shepard can go that low.

 

[Cep]

Infiltrator, Sentinel, and Soldier are the winners on Insanity (probably in that order, best-to-worst). Engineers, Adepts, and Vanguards make things a bit tougher on you (and again, that's probably best-to-worst right there, although that's an educated guess rather than first-hand experience).

This is correct.

My favorite is the sentinel.

 

[gregor7777]

Playing as a Renegade is kind of fun, the "THIS STORE DISCRIMINATES AGAINST THE POOR!" dialogue option @ the Citadel was some funny shit, I can't believe Shepard can go that low.

:lol

The camera angle when she yells it at the crowd got me laughing.

 

[Dennis]

I thought I'd put my impressions in a pros and con list:

Pros:
+ Arguably the best part of the game for me are the cities, the hubs, they're vibrant and seem to take the best parts of the Citadel from the first one, pinched in with some better pacing. Omega, Illium, Citadel (even though it's smaller than the first unfortunately) and to a lesser degree Tuchanka, felt like living breathing cities. The immersion and atmosphere was fantastic in each of them. I do wish we got to see more of the Citadel though but that's just a small complaint. I must have spent so much time exploring and I thought the mission design was at it's best at these places, where you'd take transport or an elevator to the missions themselves within.

I hope there will be even more cities in Mass Effect 3 or even in Downloadable Content. Hell I'd even like to get some more DLC missions for places like Illium and Omega. I feel like I have unfinished business.

+ Art direction. Almost every place in the game was brimming in visual quality. It felt like I was in a very high quality sci-fi movie, and you can see the fusion of inspiration that the artists. It really added to the immersion of the game.

I have taken the liberty of shortening your post for my quote and bolding the parts I particularily agree with.

Very nice write-up you did there, Lakitu. It is always interesting to hear how others found a game you yourself loved.

 

[AstroLad]

Playing as a Renegade is kind of fun, the "THIS STORE DISCRIMINATES AGAINST THE POOR!" dialogue option @ the Citadel was some funny shit, I can't believe Shepard can go that low.

I was just enjoying that yesterday. Even male Shephard in this scene is great. At a lot of the stands in the Citadel, his Renegade lines make him sound like an angry drunk.

 

[SundaySounds]

One more thing that a lot of developers don't seem to understand. Let's talk about Menu music. The music that plays in the game menu belongs in the game menu and that's it. In ME2, the menu music is played at points of the game that are supposed to be fairly epic, or at least really important. It plays when you first meet the illusive man, and it plays when you travel through the Omega-4 relay, for examples. This completely breaks the immersion. Last Remnant did the same thing. Keep the menu music in the menu.

That is all for now.

 

[The Lamonster]

One more thing that a lot of developers don't seem to understand. Let's talk about Menu music. The music that plays in the game menu belongs in the game menu and that's it. In ME2, the menu music is played at points of the game that are supposed to be fairly epic, or at least really important. It plays when you first meet the illusive man, and it plays when you travel through the Omega-4 relay, for examples. This completely breaks the immersion. Last Remnant did the same thing. Keep the menu music in the menu.

That is all for now.

ME1 did this correctly, btw

 

[DevelopmentArrested]

One more thing that a lot of developers don't seem to understand. Let's talk about Menu music. The music that plays in the game menu belongs in the game menu and that's it. In ME2, the menu music is played at points of the game that are supposed to be fairly epic, or at least really important. It plays when you first meet the illusive man, and it plays when you travel through the Omega-4 relay, for examples. This completely breaks the immersion. Last Remnant did the same thing. Keep the menu music in the menu.

That is all for now.

The soundtrack in this game is just... weird. There are some stand-out tracks for sure but what with the lack of planet songs for example? Remember Noveria, Ilos, Feros, etc tracks? Where the fuck is the music when you're out of cutscenes or epic conversations and just wandering around the world?

 

[Meus Renaissance]

How are you meant to unlock the achievement that no one gets left behind?

Spoiler

The first one to die was Jacob, and Jack left the second team second time round and she died. The only one who survived was the one I chose to lead the Dr back to Normandy

 

[Snuggles]

The track I missed most was the Citadel theme. It made exploring the city feel so grand and epic, I wish they would have brought it back and given themes of similar quality to the new cities like Illium.

 

[Patryn]

How are you meant to unlock the achievement that no one gets left behind?

Spoiler

The first one to die was Jacob, and Jack left the second team second time round and she died. The only one who survived was the one I chose to lead the Dr back to Normandy

Do all the upgrades, get everyone's loyalty, make the right decisions during the mission.

 

[DevelopmentArrested]

How are you meant to unlock the achievement that no one gets left behind?

Spoiler

The first one to die was Jacob, and Jack left the second team second time round and she died. The only one who survived was the one I chose to lead the Dr back to Normandy

Do you have all the ship upgrades?
Are all your squadmates loyal? (Even after doing their loyalty missions?)


Send:

Spoiler

Tali for vents
Grunt for escort
Miranda/Garrus for squads
Jack/Samara for bubble

 

[watership]

Can't believe I just realized this.

=

Most distinctive voice in the game dude

 

[Meus Renaissance]

Do you have all the ship upgrades?
Are all your squadmates loyal? (Even after doing their loyalty missions?)


Send:

Spoiler

Tali for vents
Grunt for escort
Miranda/Garrus for squads
Jack/Samara for bubble

Thanks I'll try that.

 

[Enosh]

* Mass Effect 2 was the first game to use exotic dancers at EA Canada’s motion capture studio in Burnaby, Canada.


:lol

that's what I call dedication

 

[Cep]

The soundtrack in this game is just... weird. There are some stand-out tracks for sure but what with the lack of planet songs for example? Remember Noveria, Ilos, Feros, etc tracks? Where the fuck is the music when you're out of cutscenes or epic conversations and just wandering around the world?

It is weird.

Each track consists of several sections. Each section is meant for a different scenario, mood or scene.

So instead of playing the track out right, they will instead loop the part they need until they reach a point when switching/loop another is needed.

It works from a practical standpoint, but it makes owning the OST really annoying.

 

[The Librarian]

Can't believe I just realized this.

=

You just realized that?

Fail.

 

[SundaySounds]

Thanks I'll try that.

I sent

Spoiler

Legion

through the pipes. That worked too. In fact, the only one of my team who died was

Spoiler

Zaeed (I sent him back to escort the crew)

, and I hated him anyway. Good riddance.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

:lol

that's what I call dedication

That whole Bachelor Party discussion in eclipse was really great.

 

[The Lamonster]

Is there a secret to mining Element Zero? Can it only be found on certain planets? Or is it completely random?

 

[OverHeat]

Do you have all the ship upgrades?
Are all your squadmates loyal? (Even after doing their loyalty missions?)


Send:

Spoiler

Tali for vents
Grunt for escort
Miranda/Garrus for squads
Jack/Samara for bubble

Spoiler

How the hell do you keep Jack loyal if you have Miranda loyal???

 

[SundaySounds]

Is there a secret to mining Element Zero? Can it only be found on certain planets? Or is it completely random?

I found a lot of E0 on the planets that were near the Migrant fleet. Check around there.

 

[selig]

Can't believe I just realized this.

=

Nah, i thought the company president from I robot looked a lot like the illusive man:

 

[Effect]

Sorry if this has been asked before but this thread is huge.

Do the romance options from the first game still carry over and can you further them?

Are the team mates from the first game in ME2 as well?

Thanks

 

[Patryn]

Spoiler

How the hell do you keep Jack loyal if you have Miranda loyal???

Spoiler

If you have high enough paragon or renegade, you can defuse any of the intercrew conflicts without losing any loyalty. In fact, I didn't even realize you could lose loyalty until I read about it having happened to people here.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

Is it possible to do a Renegade playthrough (so I can look like the Terminator :lol ), but still get loyalty for all your crew members and not being a dick to your crew?

 

[Van Owen]

God, I HATE how long it takes to get to the character creator screen. It's so hard trying to make a good looking male Shepard. Sometimes you get weird angles during the actual game that makes me want to go back and tweak things, but you have to sit through the entire intro again.

Really, all player created Shepards look weird since characters like Miranda are face scanned. They default look so much more realistic.

 

[SundaySounds]

Is it possible to do a Renegade playthrough (so I can look like the Terminator :lol ), but still get loyalty for all your crew members and not being a dick to your crew?

That's kinda the point...