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Mass Effect 2 |OT|

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P

Patryn

Member
Ponti said:
Much more basic than I was expecting. I thought they would've at least covered some of the bigger side quests, especially the Cerberus ones.
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But if they covered those, they'd have to deal with the fact that the series has been really schizophrenic in their portrayal of Cerberus. Because in ME1, they were literally a mustache-twirling evil organization as opposed to the "misunderstood" and "well-intentioned" organization it is in ME2.
 
C

Chinner

Banned
firehawk12 said:
God, I have no idea if it's the voice or the writing that is horrible in that comic.
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combination of both. the writing is all over the place. voice actor does't care. hale wouldn''t make it any better.
 
Ponti

Ponti

Member
Patryn said:
But if they covered those, they'd have to deal with the fact that the series has been really schizophrenic in their portrayal of Cerberus. Because in ME1, they were literally a mustache-twirling evil organization as opposed to the "misunderstood" and "well-intentioned" organization it is in ME2.
Click to expand...
True but still, Cerberus IS ME2. The comic doesn't even mention them at all.
 
P

Patryn

Member
Ponti said:
True but still, Cerberus IS ME2. The comic doesn't even mention them at all.
Click to expand...

My point is that the only similarity between the Cerberus of ME1 and the Cerberus of ME2 is the name. They probably figure it's better to not confuse new players and just let them learn about Cerberus from ME2.
 
E

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Patryn said:
But if they covered those, they'd have to deal with the fact that the series has been really schizophrenic in their portrayal of Cerberus. Because in ME1, they were literally a mustache-twirling evil organization as opposed to the "misunderstood" and "well-intentioned" organization it is in ME2.
Click to expand...

They're not really like that in ME2 either though. They act that way from their perspective, but there's still a metric shit ton of dirt on them.
 
G

Glix

Member
Patryn said:
But if they covered those, they'd have to deal with the fact that the series has been really schizophrenic in their portrayal of Cerberus. Because in ME1, they were literally a mustache-twirling evil organization as opposed to the "misunderstood" and "well-intentioned" organization it is in ME2.
Click to expand...

I don't know. They painted them as pretty big dicks in the second one. And you never ever really trust that dude.

EDIT - Yeah, what eatchildren said
 
P

Patryn

Member
EatChildren said:
They're not really like that in ME2 either though. They act that way from their perspective, but there's still a metric shit ton of dirt on them.
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Not even close to the extent they do in ME1.

I mean, they lured a bunch of Alliance Marines to a field to see what would happen when they attacked them with Thresher Maws and then experimented on the surivors.

That's just one thing they did in ME1. Nothing they do in ME2 comes close to that.
 
M

mokeyjoe

Member
Patryn said:
But if they covered those, they'd have to deal with the fact that the series has been really schizophrenic in their portrayal of Cerberus. Because in ME1, they were literally a mustache-twirling evil organization as opposed to the "misunderstood" and "well-intentioned" organization it is in ME2.
Click to expand...

Well that's still how I see Cerberus. Don't trust 'em...

To be honest the Cerberus missions are pretty minor and don't deal with anything I think would be out of character for them in the sequel. It does bring up a bunch of dodgy stuff they do in ME2,
Jack's backstory
for one. I can't help but feel that the Cerberus stuff in ME1 was just a set up for ME2, I mean they knew where the plot was going from the start.
 
A

APZonerunner

Member
Yeah, they were. Cerberus is just as fucked up in ME2, you just see less of it because you're working for them and you're also working on a very specific mission - there's a lot less "help out this science team, Shepard!" missions in ME2.
 
F

firehawk12

Subete no aware
APZonerunner said:
Yeah, they were. Cerberus is just as fucked up in ME2, you just see less of it because you're working for them and you're also working on a very specific mission - there's a lot less "help out this science team, Shepard!" missions in ME2.
Click to expand...

It's interesting because the game at some point references the conspiracy that happens in ME1 (I think it was during the Shadowbroker mission), so it's not like they completely forgot that they murdered an Alliance admiral in the first game... just for whatever reason, it doesn't come up.
 
P

Patryn

Member
mokeyjoe said:
Well that's still how I see Cerberus. Don't trust 'em...

To be honest the Cerberus missions are pretty minor and don't deal with anything I think would be out of character for them in the sequel. It does bring up a bunch of dodgy stuff they do in ME2,
Jack's backstory
for one. I can't help but feel that the Cerberus stuff in ME1 was just a set up for ME2, I mean they knew where the plot was going from the start.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't think they did. They changed lead writer from ME1 to ME2, after all.
 
A

APZonerunner

Member
firehawk12 said:
It's interesting because the game at some point references the conspiracy that happens in ME1 (I think it was during the Shadowbroker mission), so it's not like they completely forgot that they murdered an Alliance admiral in the first game... just for whatever reason, it doesn't come up.
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They reference it a lot. Garrus and Tali both have reactions of "Cerberus, Shepard?" when they first find out who you're with/join your crew. Garrus in particular specifically calls out the stuff with the experiments with the Thorian gas, Husks and Rachni from Kaouku's mission if you did it in his dialogue.
 
F

firehawk12

Subete no aware
APZonerunner said:
They reference it a lot. Garrus and Tali both have reactions of "Cerberus, Shepard?" when they first find out who you're with/join your crew. Garrus in particular specifically calls out the stuff with the experiments with the Thorian gas, Husks and Rachni from Kaouku's mission if you did it in his dialogue.
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Hrm, yeah. But Shepard just dismisses it by saying it's what "s/he has to do" or whatever. At no point does Shepard go, "Yeah, they ARE fucked up... what the hell am I doing?".
 
E

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Patryn said:
Not even close to the extent they do in ME1.

I mean, they lured a bunch of Alliance Marines to a field to see what would happen when they attacked them with Thresher Maws and then experimented on the surivors.

That's just one thing they did in ME1. Nothing they do in ME2 comes close to that.
Click to expand...

Jack's loyalty quest and Overlord say otherwise, and that even does get referenced (as well as others).

The difference here is TIM only ever lets you know what he wants you to know. You're surrounded by Cerberus, so naturally they are painted in the most positive light as most of the information you get comes from them.

Everybody else though speaks ill of them, and you can often take a fairly negative stance against the organisation.
 
L

Lostconfused

Member
firehawk12 said:
Hrm, yeah. But Shepard just dismisses it by saying it's what "s/he has to do" or whatever. At no point does Shepard go, "Yeah, they ARE fucked up... what the hell am I doing?".
Click to expand...
Well you can't really have a whole game based around working for Cerberus if Sheppard isn't working for Cerberus.
 
F

Felix Lighter

Member
It felt like the same Cerberus to me. If something fucked up happened and humans were involved it was a good chance Cerberus had a hand in it. They mention in ME2 that different teams work almost entirely independently of each other, so as long as Shepard was leading this team, obviously it wasn't going to be committing atrocities. From the beginning until the end you have dialog options that let you express your distrust of the organization. As far as my playthroughs go, they definitely are not the "good guys". Shepard and Cerberus just have a common goal in this case and he isn't in a position to refuse their help.
 
F

firehawk12

Subete no aware
Lostconfused said:
Well you can't really have a whole game based around working for Cerberus if Sheppard isn't working for Cerberus.
Click to expand...

Which is strange because at no point does Shepard actually need Cerberus. I mean, you have to go make your own money and mine your own minerals. They only exist to send you emails about party members you need to recruit.
 
F

Felix Lighter

Member
firehawk12 said:
Which is strange because at no point does Shepard actually need Cerberus. I mean, you have to go make your own money and mine your own minerals. They only exist to send you emails about party members you need to recruit.
Click to expand...

It's their ship and their crew. I also don't think they were just going to let him walk away.
 
F

firehawk12

Subete no aware
Felix Lighter said:
It's their ship and their crew. I also don't think they were just going to let him walk away.
Click to expand...
Yet all the people with guns pretty much either freelance or are loyal to you.

I dunno, I feel like they didn't really try to play up the moral ambiguity of Cerberus much at all. At no point do you ever feel like you shouldn't be working for them except at the end, when they force that strange decision on you.
 
A

APZonerunner

Member
firehawk12 said:
Which is strange because at no point does Shepard actually need Cerberus. I mean, you have to go make your own money and mine your own minerals. They only exist to send you emails about party members you need to recruit.
Click to expand...

At a point you have to disconnect from the minerals and stuff - it's a gameplay element.

As for the rest; I think you have to remember that had Shepard gone back to the Alliance/Council, they would've shut him down. Possibly grounded him, buried him - stopped him. They didn't buy into the Reaper or the Collector threat, so he would've got no help.

The Illusive Man does manipulate Shepard and the crew, but in the end he does give him a ship, a crew, equipment and his intal notably points you to Horizon, the Derelict Reaper and such - all things that without which the suicide mission would be dead in the water.
 
P

Punchy4486

Banned
APZonerunner said:
At a point you have to disconnect from the minerals and stuff - it's a gameplay element.

As for the rest; I think you have to remember that had Shepard gone back to the Alliance/Council, they would've shut him down. Possibly grounded him, buried him - stopped him. They didn't buy into the Reaper or the Collector threat, so he would've got no help.

The Illusive Man does manipulate Shepard and the crew, but in the end he does give him a ship, a crew, equipment and his intal notably points you to Horizon, the Derelict Reaper and such - all things that without which the suicide mission would be dead in the water.
Click to expand...

The first thing my Shepard did when he had free reign of the Normandy 2 was head to the Citadel and talk to the Council. I went in saying, here's a new problem, I need your help since I saved your ass last time. I found out they whitewashed the truth behind what happened, despite me being right about everything else in the previous game, felt I was being talked down to, and told them to shove it up their ass. I then used Cerberus' cash to complete my mission, but talked shit about them every chance I got, and told them to screw at the end.

I'd be willing to work with the Council again in the next game, on the condition that they take me at my word, for once. Since nobody really knows what I did in the 2nd game, though (since I destroyed it at the end), except for "working with Cerberus", odds are against that. It'll probably be my team working on its own, again, without the aid of Cerberus or the Council.
 
M

Mr_Zombie

Member
Patryn said:
That's just one thing they did in ME1. Nothing they do in ME2 comes close to that.
Click to expand...

They experimented on kids that they've stolen from parents. Isn't that fucked up enough?

Also, if you romance Miranda at one point you can question her about Cerberus' actions from ME1. Of course Miranda does explain that all of this was either done for the greater good or that it was a separate division and she/TIM didn't know about it at the time.
 
S

sam27368

Banned
I'm having trouble with cerberus network. I'm running on PC and my code worked fine and I logged in through the game.

I've now tried to redeem the code through the BioWare Social Network and it's saying Code Not Recognized?

Also, where on the PC DLC site are the extras such as the Normandy crash site? All I can see are the pay for DLC not the free ones.
 
C

Captain Tuttle

Member
TheYanger said:
Wow that comic....talk about dry and lifeless. It feels so awkward to have all of the events described so quickly and with no emotional attachment, "just the facts" style. If there was ever any doubt that PS3 owners are truly getting shafted that just ended it in my eyes. I don't think it ever even mentioned the word Geth, nor were most of the actions taken explained very well. It almost seems like it would be hard to follow that if I didn't already know the story inside and out.

If you're a PS3 player I'd expect to spend the first chance you get reading every codex entry to understand the universe and characters better, to be honest.
Click to expand...
This is a very good post. Please play ME1 if you plan on playing ME2
 
K

Kurtofan

Member
Patryn said:
Not even close to the extent they do in ME1.

I mean, they lured a bunch of Alliance Marines to a field to see what would happen when they attacked them with Thresher Maws and then experimented on the surivors.

That's just one thing they did in ME1. Nothing they do in ME2 comes close to that.
Click to expand...
Torturing biotic kids isn't horrible?
Also don't forget that Cerberus is divised in cells.
 
M

megalowho

Member
ColonelColon said:
Has this been posted yet? The full interactive comic is on youtube.
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvvAe_KGovs
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRUTDRb0jbI

They even misspelled Kaidan's name, lol.
Click to expand...
Really, BioWare? Couldn't be bothered to put in a little more effort for your flagship series? It does what it has to but doesn't even try to capture the feel of the game, let alone the details.

I guess I was hoping for something like the amazing MGS interactive comic - this is not even close to that but fine for what it is, I suppose.
 
F

firehawk12

Subete no aware
megalowho said:
Really, BioWare? Couldn't be bothered to put in a little more effort for your flagship series? It does what it has to but doesn't even try to capture the feel of the game, let alone the details.

I guess I was hoping for something like the amazing MGS interactive comic - this is not even close to that but fine for what it is, I suppose.
Click to expand...
To be fair, the MGS comic has Ashley Wood and had the benefit of being a graphic novel that was sold in stores before being turned into a "motion comic" and the ME comic has... some guy who probably put it together in a couple of weeks.

APZonerunner said:
At a point you have to disconnect from the minerals and stuff - it's a gameplay element.

As for the rest; I think you have to remember that had Shepard gone back to the Alliance/Council, they would've shut him down. Possibly grounded him, buried him - stopped him. They didn't buy into the Reaper or the Collector threat, so he would've got no help.

The Illusive Man does manipulate Shepard and the crew, but in the end he does give him a ship, a crew, equipment and his intal notably points you to Horizon, the Derelict Reaper and such - all things that without which the suicide mission would be dead in the water.
Click to expand...

At this point it completely depends on your choices, of course, but my Shep became a Spectre again and was allowed free reign. I think the thing that people are forgetting is that from a certain perspective, Shepard sounds like the guy on the street corner with a bible screaming that the devil is coming and that the world is ending. I don't think it's that surprising that the council might choose to ignore you. If only you had a recording of that Prothean exposition machine from the first game!

Of course, the Alliance fleet is completely absent from the game as well - outside of Ashley/Kaiden showing up to scold you before taking off. There's a crappy explanation in the Shadow Broker files as to why the Alliance never shows up, but it doesn't explain why you don't just go back to Earth and ask for a fleet of ships to go wreck some Collectors.
 
D

Darte

Member
Something that kinda has me confused.

I've seen some people use save editors to get access to characters you normally wouldn't at a particular point in time.
case in point (think this was posted earlier as well):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaJ50l70Tzs&feature=related

Yet the characters voice their lines "in character". Did they really record voices for every possible character in every possible scene or is some sort of voice synthesizer at work here?
 
F

firehawk12

Subete no aware
Darte said:
Something that kinda has me confused.

I've seen some people use save editors to get access to characters you normally wouldn't at a particular point in time.
case in point (think this was posted earlier as well):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaJ50l70Tzs&feature=related

Yet the characters voice their lines "in character". Did they really record voices for every possible character in every possible scene or is some sort of voice synthesizer at work here?
Click to expand...
The files are there. At some point they changed the entire flow of the game, but they didn't bother deleting those assets.
 
IoCaster

IoCaster

Member
Darte said:
Something that kinda has me confused.

I've seen some people use save editors to get access to characters you normally wouldn't at a particular point in time.
case in point (think this was posted earlier as well):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaJ50l70Tzs&feature=related

Yet the characters voice their lines "in character". Did they really record voices for every possible character in every possible scene or is some sort of voice synthesizer at work here?
Click to expand...

Yeah, the dialogue exists for the recruitment missions. I've actually had everyone recruited before Horizon a couple of times. Thane, Legion and Samara don't have any dialogue for Horizon though so it'll screw up if you bring them there. I've brought Tali to Horizon and she does have dialogue recorded. I guess at some point they decided to split the recruitment missions pre and post Horizon. Some people have guessed that it had to do with the 2-DVD X360 version.
 
Hydrargyrus

Hydrargyrus

Member
ColonelColon said:
Has this been posted yet? The full interactive comic is on youtube.
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvvAe_KGovs
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRUTDRb0jbI

They even misspelled Kaidan's name, lol.
Click to expand...


wtf_is_this_shit.jpg
 
F

Footos22

Member
Finished on 360 yesterday, only the insanity achievement to get.

Never used any guide.

Took me 40 hours and 6 mins

Had full paragon by about 3/4's of the way through and that can pretty much resolve anything. All conflicts between squad members etc.
once i had full paragon i did start becoming a dick though lol like that merc in tower while searching for thane let him say about 2 words then *shove* was pretty hilarious.

I did a lot of mining right near the beginning cos i didnt really know what i was doing. and I never had to do any for the rest of the game so that worked out quite well in the end.

Everyone survived, It was quite easy to know who to send into the vents etc.
Blew the place to smithereens
Shadow broker was the highlight for me. Best dlc pack i think i have ever played.

Def in my top 5 this gen now
Better crack on with insanity
 
B

Blue Ninja

Member
Yeah, Cerberus' portrayal in ME2 isn't any more flattering than the one in ME1, it's just a lot more fleshed out. We learn there's 'regular people' behind the mustache-twirling xenophobes, people who don't necessarily hate aliens, but got fed up with the way the Alliance operates. Most of the people on the Normandy are of this sort, though I have no doubt the majority of other Cerberus cells have weekly 'Human Power' gettogethers.

Being able to tell The Illusive Man and Cerberus to fuck off at the ending made the entire game that more awesome. I can't wait to see how ME3 handles this.
 
A

APZonerunner

Member
firehawk12 said:
At this point it completely depends on your choices, of course, but my Shep became a Spectre again and was allowed free reign. I think the thing that people are forgetting is that from a certain perspective, Shepard sounds like the guy on the street corner with a bible screaming that the devil is coming and that the world is ending. I don't think it's that surprising that the council might choose to ignore you. If only you had a recording of that Prothean exposition machine from the first game!

Of course, the Alliance fleet is completely absent from the game as well - outside of Ashley/Kaiden showing up to scold you before taking off. There's a crappy explanation in the Shadow Broker files as to why the Alliance never shows up, but it doesn't explain why you don't just go back to Earth and ask for a fleet of ships to go wreck some Collectors.
Click to expand...

Both my Shepards had Spectre status reinstated either by the Council or by Anderson, but in the end the result is the same - they want nothing to do with what you're doing. They offer you token status and token support. They give you the status and ask you to stay out in the Terminus systems. In the end, they're just giving it you to stop you from staying in Citadel space and stirring up more shit.

The same reasoning factors into the Alliance fleet. They're stretched thin now they're the largest council fleet, and you're out in the Terminus systems. They don't go out there. Even when a place is of interest like Horizon, they only send small crews and a few assets. This makes sense to me especially because I sat and read the entire Codex and have read all the ME novels - but if you go back and read the Codex entires specifically about humanity a theme starts to emerge where many of those settling colonies out in the Terminus systems distrust the alliance and are settling outside council space to escape their interferance in their lives. You can see this in the distrusting attitude to Ash or Kaiden on Horizon, even. Of course the fleet's not going to be out there!

As for going back to Earth and asking for a fleet, again - Earth and the Alliance is part of the galactic stage now. They too wouldn't want to upset order on the Citadel and don't (didn't, whatever) believe in the threat Shepard was touting. The people making the decisions - the Udinas of the world - were more interested in furthering their personal causes with the council - so if Shepard had gone back to Earth he'd have just been swept under the rug.

Come the end of ME2 you have concrete proof in the form of the files you obtain from the Collector base, so now they have to listen, at last.
 
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