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[Sir Garbageman]

Finished my 1st playthrough last night, clocking in at a little over 30 + hours, doing pretty much everything, all side quests, loyalty missions, explored 100% of the galaxy. Epic epic finale, loved the game from start to finish.

maleShep paragon this run, next run going with a very evil femShep.

 

[L0st Id3ntity]

About 20 hours in, clearly a better designed game than ME1 in most aspects, but there are some big disappointments, replacing the Mako with fucking scanning for instance.

Why do they make you buy fuel and probes? They are very cheap, you'll never run out of money to refill, it feels so unnecessary. :/

It's a little disappointing that after many years Bioware still can't top KOTOR, nor did they manage to change this whole -here is a ship collect crew then fight last boss- formula. :lol

 

[Kazuma Kiryu]

About 20 hours in, clearly a better designed game than ME1 in most aspects, but there are some big disappointments, replacing the Mako with fucking scanning for instance.

Why do they make you buy fuel and probes? They are very cheap, you'll never run out of money to refill, it feels so unnecessary. :/

It's a little disappointing that after many years Bioware still can't top KOTOR, nor did they manage to change this whole -here is a ship collect crew then fight last boss- formula. :lol

they just wanted to put this in.:lol

 

[L0st Id3ntity]

:lol :lol :lol

 

[Zeouterlimits]

Illusive Shepard looks pretty good, neat.

Question:
I've finished with a level 24 character, how long will it take me to get it to 30 if I start with that character again?

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

Illusive Shepard looks pretty good, neat.

yeah he does

updated my post, added 6 more clothes

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=19687623&postcount=12338

 

[atxDUTCH]

Ok, I think I'll scratch my current play through (my first) and go back to ME1 so I can get the right decisions to the second one. Killing the council I can manage but apparantely my Shepard

Spoiler

killed Wrex in 1. That I can't agree with.

Though I've already spent 23 hours with this Shepard so it kinda bums me out.... :\

Spoiler

killed him too

found it unavoidable, even though such a cool character.

 

[RavenFox]

I have to say just recently got this for PC and omg...I'm hooked like a day trader on cocaine.
Everything about this game is awesome. Also any widescreen wallpapers of Miranda?

 

[EmCeeGramr]

PC version superior confirmed.

Spoiler

positively surprised by lack of stripper outfit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cx_UwdKX7E

 

[RavenFox]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cx_UwdKX7E

and there goes my eyes :-(

 

[EmCeeGramr]

and there goes my eyes :-(

 

[Psychotext]

Well, there goes my sleep.

 

[Elbrain]

Got the game over the weekend and I am loving it. Since I blitzed the first Mass Effect last week man oh man the graphical improvements!

 

[Haunted]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cx_UwdKX7E

Should've known :/

:lol :lol

 

[jett]

Got this for PC.

Am I crazy or has the option for anti-aliasing been disabled? Do I have to force it now? In ME1 it was right there in the options.

 

[Darklord]

That's what the female Shepard looks like in the German version.

Spoiler

Don't take that too seriously german-gaf, just a joke.

 

[Zeouterlimits]

http://i.imagehost.org/0954/lol2.jpg

*screams*

 

[Haunted]

That's what the female Shepard looks like in the German version.

Spoiler

Don't take that too seriously german-gaf, just a joke.

Oh yeah?

Well, that's how the male Shepard looks like in... in the version of whatever country you're from!

So there.

 

[Weenerz]

I can't make with the sex if I am a renegade, correct?

 

[Confidence Man]

yeah he does

updated my post, added 6 more clothes

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=19687623&postcount=12338

I haven't been keeping up with this, but does there look like there's any hope of swapping out the combat Shepards model?

 

[Anso]

For anyone interested, OverClocked ReMix is holding a Q&A with the Mass Effect 2 composer team. The reason for this is taht OCR staff member and remixer Jimmy Hinson scored part of the soundtrack (together with the big kahuna main composer Jack Wall and associate composers Sam Hulick and David Kates) and they'll all join to answer questions from the community. You can post questions in the thread and they will be considered for the final interview. Personally I'm gonna ask if any real analogue synths were really used or if it's all virtualizations

http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=27640

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

I haven't been keeping up with this, but does there look like there's any hope of swapping out the combat Shepards model?

should be able to, http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=314690

I haven't done it yet, so I can't confirm it works

 

[A Dog Chasing Cars]

Got this for PC.

Am I crazy or has the option for anti-aliasing been disabled? Do I have to force it now? In ME1 it was right there in the options.

Nope, the option wasn't there in the first one either.

 

[Macmanus]

Got this for PC.

Am I crazy or has the option for anti-aliasing been disabled? Do I have to force it now? In ME1 it was right there in the options.

You have to manually force it through nforcer (or whatever the nvidia program is) or CCC for ATI. If you have an ATI card you have to rename the executable file to UT3.EXE, just like the first ME for PC.

 

[Major Williams]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cx_UwdKX7E

Can you get Miranda's outfit on Shepard? If so, AWESOME

 

[jett]

Nope, the option wasn't there in the first one either.

I guess I'm imagining things...

I'll try the UT3.exe thing, thanks.

 

[pmj]

I seem to remember reading a couple of pages back that Adept is hard mode in this game. If so, why is that?

I don't notice much difference between the various classes, it's just Charge vs. Singularity and such. I'm about to start my Insanity run, any reason I shouldn't make it an Adept?

 

[Dan Yo]

Looks like it just adds a few lines if you have Jacob and Miranda when you talk to Ish in Omega.

I see. So elaborate joke it was.

Thanks.

I know that quest in particular has bug that will keep it from showing up as completed or giving you any paragon points if you choose the blue option. I wonder if the reward is just bugged right now. At least I hope so.

 

[wRATH2x]

Can I sex multiple peoples?

 

[Dan Yo]

Plus after two years of thinking you're dead and you suddenly appear with the logo of a human terrorist organization which you had helped stop it's natural that they would be a bit suspicious.

I felt that they seemed almost a little too indifferent towards me when I first met them. You'd think they'd have shown a little more shock or emotion. Perhaps Bioware assumed most people played renegade in the first game.

 

[Jamesfrom818]

I seem to remember reading a couple of pages back that Adept is hard mode in this game. If so, why is that?

I don't notice much difference between the various classes, it's just Charge vs. Singularity and such. I'm about to start my Insanity run, any reason I shouldn't make it an Adept?

Most biotic abilities require shields, armor and barriers to be down. On Insanity, most enemies will have those. As long as you keep characters on your team with abilities that overcome those shortcomings, an Adept should be fine.

 

[atomicgamer]

Most biotic abilities require shields, armor and barriers to be down. On Insanity, most enemies will have those. As long as you keep characters on your team with abilities that overcome those shortcomings, an Adept should be fine.

Yep, and turn off Squad Power Usage and take manual control. You can really stack up the damage if you start using high-level powers in concert.

That being said, if you've got good aim and good shooter experience, there's nothing like going with a Soldier for Insanity - especially if you're a PC gamer. I wish I could get statistics on the number of headshots I got on my Insanity run, but it had to be a hell of a lot - it was just the easiest way to kill things and not get killed myself.

 

[Peff]

I felt that they seemed almost a little too indifferent towards me when I first met them. You'd think they'd have shown a little more shock or emotion. Perhaps Bioware assumed most people played renegade in the first game.

Possibly, because the canon Shepard killed Wrex, the Council and the Rachni :lol

 

[GuardianE]

I'm still not entirely clear on how cooldowns work. People are claiming the cooldown times are universal, do they mean across biotics? I just started, so I don't have more than one Biotic to test it out. :lol

The way I'm interpreting it is, you get a cooldown for Biotics every time you use any Biotic, cooldown for Tech any time you use any Tech, and a cool down for a weapon skill any time you use a weapon skill?

Which means that when I get to grabbing a bonus skill, it'd be best to pick one that does not overlap with my class skill, right?

 

[Coxswain]

I'm still not entirely clear on how cooldowns work. People are claiming the cooldown times are universal, do they mean across biotics? I just started, so I don't have more than one Biotic to test it out. :lol

The way I'm interpreting it is, you get a cooldown for Biotics every time you use any Biotic, cooldown for Tech any time you use any Tech, and a cool down for a weapon skill any time you use a weapon skill?

Which means that when I get to grabbing a bonus skill, it'd be best to pick one that does not overlap with my class skill, right?

Cooldowns are across all skills. If you use a Biotic power, you can't use any tech, biotic, or ammo skills until your cooldown is finished.

It sounds restrictive at first when you're used to ME1, but it lets you use powers a lot more than you could in the early game of ME1, and gives you a pretty gradual curve toward using them a lot more once you hit the later parts of the game, without giving you the ability to insta-win every encounter by tossing every enemy into the sky for more time than it takes to recharge any of those skills.

 

[Hari Seldon]

I started a second play through with a female shep. I wish you could configure what options you did in ME1. Maybe bioware can add a patch to let you do this? (or a mod?)

This game is just too fun to not play through more than once with different classes, so I'd like to play through it with different options from ME1 without having to replay ME1 lol.

 

[Erebus]

I upgraded my PC with the new DirectX hoping that it would fix the stuttering but I still get the same annoying intermittent frame-rate drops. Any ideas? I've tried everything

 

[GuardianE]

Cooldowns are across all skills. If you use a Biotic power, you can't use any tech, biotic, or ammo skills until your cooldown is finished.

It sounds restrictive at first when you're used to ME1, but it lets you use powers a lot more than you could in the early game of ME1, and gives you a pretty gradual curve toward using them a lot more once you hit the later parts of the game, without giving you the ability to insta-win every encounter by tossing every enemy into the sky for more time than it takes to recharge any of those skills.

Oh. Well there goes my strategy of using Fortification, then Biotic Charge.

It really does seem restrictive. How does this allow me to use powers more often in early game? Are cooldown times reduced when compared to ME1?

 

[Patryn]

I started a second play through with a female shep. I wish you could configure what options you did in ME1. Maybe bioware can add a patch to let you do this? (or a mod?)

This game is just too fun to not play through more than once with different classes, so I'd like to play through it with different options from ME1 without having to replay ME1 lol.

I doubt Bioware would ever do this. It'd undermine the whole value of the transfer system. I think they'd rather you just play through ME1 again and make the choices you want to make.

On the other hand you'd be crazy to not expect a mod to do this. Until then, there are save game archives that will offer you Shepards with the various choices.

 

[Hari Seldon]

I doubt Bioware would ever do this. It'd undermine the whole value of the transfer system. I think they'd rather you just play through ME1 again and make the choices you want to make.

On the other hand you'd be crazy to not expect a mod to do this. Until then, there are save game archives that will offer you Shepards with the various choices.

Oh shit great point! I forgot about that. Damn I'm going to have to restart my second play through now haha.

 

[Skilotonn]

The two weirdest UI elements for me are:

1. Mentioned above, the fact that the symbol that shows an ally is in cooldown...doesn't actually give an indication of the remaining time.

2. Not sure why this even happens, but after you die sometimes your squad members switch sides. I map stuff to the dpad all the time, and I usually don't notice this happened until I use the wrong person in a fight.

If you really want to know how close your ally actually is to being able to use his/her powers again, you can hold RB to bring up the wheel, and you can tell from the rising line in each power icon, just like in Mass Effect 1, but know that it doesn't move while you keep the wheel on-screen though, although it is still recharging - you'd have to let go and hold it again to see the progress...

I don't know why the teammates switch though, that is a strange one...

And at first I thought the universal cooldown time was restrictive, but after you leveled up, and done research into reducing cooldown times, the recharge time is next to nothing - I'm talking using individual Pulls while the one you pulled earlier is still in the air...

You need to research and upgrade accordingly to the way you play...

 

[JayDubya]

Eh.

"Default if you don't have a ME save file," isn't really the same as "canon."

 

[Coxswain]

It really does seem restrictive. How does this allow me to use powers more often in early game? Are cooldown times reduced when compared to ME1?

Yes. Powers in ME1 tended to have recharge times on the order of 45-60 seconds, so they were all usable right away, but recharged so slowly that they were available about once per fight (until the end of the game, where you could chain them endlessly and there wasn't a game left because enemies never got to stand on the ground to aim their guns). In ME2, your staple powers recharge in about 6 seconds; particularly powerful ones may take 12 or so seconds, while others like Throw recharge in 3 seconds. Leveling up your class skill also reduces the recharge, as does upgrading your Biotic/Tech abilities once your lab is operational.

It takes some getting used to, but the new system is really a lot better balanced. And curving your Throws and Pulls around corners is badass (aim away from the enemy slightly, so the orange targeting box is still over them, and then let fly).

 

[Meier]

I am hoping my copy comes today.. should be tomorrow at the latest I imagine. I won this online and there have apparently been a number of shipping snafus. I think if I wasn't so hooked on MW2, I would have gone out and bought ME2 or kept my original pre-order in place.

 

[timetokill]

My god, this game is good. For me it's almost shocking how much better than ME1 it is. And I was worried about them cutting out some of the RPG elements :lol


Anyway, playing a female Shepard right now, and I asked Kelly up to dinner, because I heard it wouldn't

Spoiler

ruin the relationship with Liara

. :lol But it just faded out and came back with no dance scene or anything... does that only happen with the male Shepard?

 

[Cipher]

Anyway, playing a female Shepard right now, and I asked Kelly up to dinner, because I heard it wouldn't

Spoiler

ruin the relationship with Liara

. :lol But it just faded out and came back with no dance scene or anything... does that only happen with the male Shepard?

I think you only get the dance scene after you've finished the game.

 

[Darklord]

After starting a new character I kinda wish you could pick if you want to go paragon or renegade for the last games choice. It just automatically makes you full renegade. Thank god my import was a paragon other wise I'd be suck with 2 renegades.

 

[timetokill]

I think you only get the dance scene after you've finished the game.

Ah, really? Okay. Thank you

It's funny, beforehand I was thinking I wouldn't want to play this game more than once (I couldn't do it with ME1... just too much crap to want to do it over again).

But now, man, I think I may do like 3 characters or something :lol

 

[TheFreshPrince]

How do you think they will handle party members in ME3?

At first I thought maybe they would retain the combined cast from 1 and 2...but with some/all of your party members

Spoiler

potentially dying at the end

, it would create a really unbalanced party.

I'd hate to see Thane/Miranda/Grunt/etc all relegated to minimal bits in ME3, but it seems inevitable that they'll have to bring in a whole new cast. While I'm psyched for brand new awesome characters, it sorta sucks to spend the whole game building relationships with the ME2 crew, knowing that they will all be sent off to some planet for one or two dialogue scenes in ME3.

Is there any other way you can see them keeping this crew around, while still bringing in a full 8-10 new party members?

 

[Son of Godzilla]

Anyway, playing a female Shepard right now, and I asked Kelly up to dinner, because I heard it wouldn't

Spoiler

ruin the relationship with Liara

. :lol But it just faded out and came back with no dance scene or anything... does that only happen with the male Shepard?

You are the first person on earth to play as Male Shep, so we don't really have an answer for you.

It's funny, I think the biggest issue I have with this game is how fucked New Game+ is. Not keeping your upgrades or weapons is downright crippling when enemies scale by level. Bumping up the difficulty on a NG+ play is just not enjoyable. Also it would have been *really* appreciated to not have to do the bullshit scanning every playthrough.