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[Milk Lizard]

Please tell me you're referring to the 360 version? Did they still not include options for AA in ME2 PC? No AA in ME1 is pissing me off.

Sadly talking about PC version. I have also not had any luck forcing it. :/

 

[MisterAnderson]

holy SHIT! Can you just dye your armor in any colour now? I didn't know this yet. Holy SHIT.

Yeah you can apparently. I'm happy and sad at the same time, because I love customizing my colors but I know that I'm going to spend way too much fucking time doing it....WAY. TOO. MUCH. TIME.

 

[derFeef]

Using .cfg files or through the CCC/Nvidia control panel? I thought I tried forcing it through my CCC and I didn't notice any AA... I'll try again.

CCC always worked for me. Be sure to have Catalyst A.I. on normal.

 

[kai3345]

goddamn it fuuuccckkkkkk 8 more agonizing hours for me

 

[Solideliquid]

Search isn't working sorry. For those that have the game, does installing it to the X360 HDD have any benefits?

 

[MisterAnderson]

CCC always worked for me. Be sure to have Catalyst A.I. on normal.

Gotchya, thanks. Hopefully will work for ME2 as well. By the way, in the CCC it gives you a few options for different kinds of AA, which looks the best? Box, Narrow-tent, Wide-tent, or Edge-detect? (I'm guessing it's better in a top to bottom order? The samples multiplier goes up with each one I select, so edge-detect is best?)

 

[erpg]

Argh, Steam! Damn your late release! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

 

[MisterAnderson]

Argh, Steam! Damn your late release! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

I know wtf? I've never dealt with a Steam launch. What is their policy? Is it an extra day or something like with Modern Warfare 2? It says Jan 26 on the store page...

 

[vazel]

Gotchya, thanks. Hopefully will work for ME2 as well. By the way, in the CCC it gives you a few options for different kinds of AA, which looks the best? Box, Narrow-tent, Wide-tent, or Edge-detect? (I'm guessing it's better in a top to bottom order? The samples multiplier goes up with each one I select, so edge-detect is best?)

Edge detect is best but performance hit is heavy. Stick with Box MSAA only form of AA worth more performance hit is SSAA.

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

Eight more hours until steam unlocks it, this is driving me crazy.

 

[Castor Krieg]

Shops in Poland already started selling the game:lol The drawback is that standard edition has only Polish VO (terrible, trust me). Need to wait till Friday then.

 

[Mango Positive]

Eight more hours until steam unlocks it, this is driving me crazy.

I'd never done a Steam "day one" purchase and I experienced great disappointment this morning when I sat down to at least play through the beginning before work.

It should unlock at midnight.

 

[erpg]

Well, Steam unlocks all depend on when the publisher wants it available. So join me in picketing EA's office.

And man, I'm glad I didn't get the Digital Collector's Edition, which apparently unlocks 4 hours after the regular. :\

 

[RS4-]

holy SHIT! Can you just dye your armor in any colour now? I didn't know this yet. Holy SHIT.

There's maybe 15 diff colors and 3 patterns, the blue camo he has is one of them.

 

[foomfoom415]

Having finished the game, the only thing that really annoys me is the ammo. Way to piss all over the lore. They explain it in the game, I think, but it's weak.

It's also weak that Shepard knows about them when the game begins.

Ugh. I agree completely.

It brings nothing to the game, only detracts from it. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the infinite ammo from ME1. They even explained it in a way that totally made sense in terms of the game universe. Now they've inexplicably jumped to an inferior technology in a way that tries to completely rewrite the game history. You've got enemies dropping the "ammo" that have no business carrying it. Hell, it even spawns right in front of you during some of the arena battles.

Some might argue it adds another element of strategy since you have to watch your ammo, but you really don't. It's so rare that you run out of ammo, and when you do, it's such a minor issue to switch to a new gun for 10 seconds till you come across another piece of ammo dropped from a (main bad guys spoiler)

Spoiler

fucking collector

who had no business carrying it in the first place.

Granted overall its a pretty minor issue, but it's such a shame on an otherwise relatively unblemished game. Just a poor, poor decision.

 

[Sir Garbageman]

Argh, Steam! Damn your late release! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

When will we be allowed to finish preloading? Is it 12:01 EST or PST? The hype in this thread is hitting epic levels and I need to start playing ASAP.

 

[Zinga]

Well, Steam unlocks all depend on when the publisher wants it available. So join me in picketing EA's office.

And man, I'm glad I didn't get the Digital Collector's Edition, which apparently unlocks 4 hours after the regular. :\

I think its funny for all of Riccitiello's talk about going digital and expanding their presence with digital distribution they seem to lack complete understanding about how to release their product in a proper and timely manner on a worldwide basis and the expectations of the customers they are supposedly catering towards, its like they are stuck in 20th century retail strategems whilst trying to sell through 21st century distribution.

 

[Dries]

How is the exploring done actually? Can still walk around the Citadel (or other planets) and just talk to people? You know, that good 'ol RPG stuff.

 

[hulot]

Played this yesterday from noon to midnight and couldn't put it down and I've only finished two main story quests (getting two party members) and a few side ones but the atmosphere is second to none.

A few things, especially addressing the 'they've CoD/GoW-ified Mass Effect' crowd:
At first, I missed pausing the menu every few steps to check if the stats on my new loot was marginally better than what I had on and the 'simplified' level up options were worrisome. But was ME1 really that much of a stat-heavy RPG? Miniscule percentage increases in different stats that, for example, took five points to get to 5%, are now combined into one talent and every point used is like the milestones in the first game. And enemies scaled in ME1 so loot didn't really matter, its only use was to keep up, and in that aspect, the research/upgrade system is a much more intuitive and less menu-heavy replacement. Have any of you from this crowd ever min/maxed ME1? It's not that interesting.

Removing weapon talents also diversifies combat options; I find myself using all my weapons more often and the new rock/paper/scissors system lends more strategy to the game than the first could ever achieve. I'm playing as an adept and the universal cooldown means I can't abuse and lock down with biotics like I could before (ME1 vanguard adrenaline boost/biotic spam). The only thing I miss are the weapon/armor slots for different boosts; ammo is now a talent but armor doesn't have a similar counterpart.

And where role-playing actually matters: the story, characters and choices you're allowed to make, the atmosphere, all huge leaps. ME2 capitalizes on all the strengths of the first and smooths out or otherwise removes the weak parts (mostly). That said, I'm not sure where I stand on scanning. Is it better or worse than the Mako segments or even equally tedious? I'm not sure. Mako was fun for the vistas but ultimately boring. Scanning is quicker and more immediate in its rewards but nothing more than a menu minigame...

 

[nelsonroyale]

Gah, The excitement has just hit me like a ten ton truck...

I am in India at the moment, when is this game out over here?

 

[drakesfortune]

I was so on the fence with this game on whether or not to get it day one or not. I enjoyed the first game, but you never know with sequels if they're going to be good or not. Reviews pushed me over the edge last night and got in on that Amazon deal at the last minute. Now I have to wait 10 days or so to get it though.

This sounds like the type of game that would be nominated for a lot of GOTY awards if were released in the last three months of the year, but will most likely get overlooked because it's coming out now.

 

[hulot]

Ugh. I agree completely.

It brings nothing to the game, only detracts from it. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the infinite ammo from ME1. They even explained it in a way that totally made sense in terms of the game universe. Now they've inexplicably jumped to an inferior technology in a way that tries to completely rewrite the game history. You've got enemies dropping the "ammo" that have no business carrying it. Hell, it even spawns right in front of you during some of the arena battles.

Some might argue it adds another element of strategy since you have to watch your ammo, but you really don't. It's so rare that you run out of ammo, and when you do, it's such a minor issue to switch to a new gun for 10 seconds till you come across another piece of ammo dropped from a (main bad guys spoiler)

Spoiler

fucking collector

who had no business carrying it in the first place.

Granted overall its a pretty minor issue, but it's such a shame on an otherwise relatively unblemished game. Just a poor, poor decision.

What's especially amusing about this retcon (read the codex) is that in the first game, with the right weapon mods, one could fire indefinitely :lol

 

[JORMBO]

Picked it up at midnight. Only played for 20 minutes since I have work. Luckily I took off tommorow for a concert at night.

One thing I will say.....the framerate, oh so silky smooth. No more constant stuttering!

 

[Corky]

Has anyone seen the gamespot video review? is it spoilery?

 

[remz]

Mass Effect only had two sets of gun models anyway, the loss of loot is no biggie IMO

 

[Silicon Knight]

This sounds like the type of game that would be nominated for a lot of GOTY awards if were released in the last three months of the year, but will most likely get overlooked because it's coming out now.

ME2 being overlooked at this year's GOTY is not something I can imagine.

 

[Benson]

Just got my shipped conformation in the UK from gameplay for my PC CE, hopefully it arrives before Friday. Exciting!

 

[GuardianE]

For those who have beaten the game, are there any carry over skills like in ME1? Like, how if you received the Barrier achievement, you could give Barrier to whatever next character you created? (Barrier+Immunity=Invincible Soldier)

I'm really upset that everyone's saying the Vanguard's charge is useless. Even if you unlock Barrier, or another defensive skill, is it still useless? I just love the idea of charging from enemy to enemy and shotgunning them to the face. Vanguard Shock Trooper was my ideal class in the last game. It'll make me sad if I have to change.

 

[JudgeN]

Fuck me, i'm going to pick it up on my lunch. GAF hype is a customer whore #1 enemy :lol

Should be able to beat it before Bioshock 2 right? About a 40 hour game (Much much longer then the first one).

 

[Artadius]

The planetary scanning mouse sensitivity is way too low... is there a way to turn it up?

 

[nelsonroyale]

ME2 being overlooked at this year's GOTY is not something I can imagine.

people saying its a lock this early are on some ganja though...there are tons of great games coming out this year...many with as much potential as this game had...Having said that, ME is still my fave rpg this gen, although DA did one up it in some aspects.

 

[StriKeVillain]

Stupid Amazon $10 credit only applies to games shipped until Feb 28th. Was hoping to get BC2 a little cheaper. :/

 

[Solo]

Woohoo, just picked up my copy of Game of the Forever! Probably wont have any real time to sink into it until the weekend though

 

[Sh1ner]

Does anyone know if the major decisions at the end of ME1 carry over if you don't/do have the ME1 savegame?

That would be awesome since It would give me a reason to replay ME1 more than once.

 

[mYm|17|]

I found myself using the real time weapon switching and powers alot to take out enemies which I thought was really cool. Definitely faster than using the wheel, but I still found myself using the wheel alot at times too.

Anyhow, I definitely had to use all my guns because of the hard ass enemies on Insanity.

 

[I should be doing hw]

I did not think they could top game of the generation Mass Effect 1. BUT THEY HAVE!

Arrggghhhh i got 1 more day to wait!

Pretty shit 'game of the generation' for some parts, very awesome template though.

 

[Facism]

The planetary scanning mouse sensitivity is way too low... is there a way to turn it up?

I hope so, it's a fucking chore. I have no idea why they put this shit in the game, all it does it to make resource collection for upgrades slow and frustrating. I bet 1/3 of the time i've been playing is trying to move that fucking cursor.

 

[todahawk]

Caved to the hype! Hadn't planned on buying it but found a CE edition late last night and it looks like it's shipping. I have a long weekend and really looking forward to it.

 

[carpal]

Amazon same day delivery is great, especially since my UPS guy always comes in the morning. Only problem: games get delivered to my office. Now I'm sitting here at my desk staring at the cover of Mass Effect 2 for the next 8 hours.

Pumped!

 

[MacBosse]

Jesus christ ... my hype meter broke ... I'm super hyped.

Thursday can't come soon enough!

 

[Red Blaster]

Does the game let you manually adjust brightness/contrast? I didn't like the set graphics modes that ME1 had.

 

[Manos: The Hans of Fate]

I have to say I'm really liking the game a lot right now. I enjoy not having to pickup every piece of useless crap in the galaxy, however this is still a lot of item hunting (the planet scanning) and buying upgrades.

I have to say I'm surprised no one has commended the excellent satire that appears even early in the game. It blends well with the game, never turning a serious moment into a joke.

The wall ads that read your personal information

Spoiler

in the Citadel

.
The mythologizing of Shepherd in to a quasi-Jesus/George Washington Hero and its discount abilities.

Spoiler

I have a lot of favorite stores at the Citadel

and how eventually the Alliance switched to an alternate looking Shepherd.
The "alternate" news feed that occasional appears in announcements in

Spoiler

Omega

Still, my favorite thing about ME1 and ME2 is that Shepperd is still a normal human being, one of immense talent and perhaps arduous upbringing, but he's not a clone, the reincarnated messiah, but a normal human. It's a nice change of pace from the normal RPG trope (and even Bioware's own games).

Oh has every video review so far showed our favoirte

Spoiler

reporter

getting the crap punched out of her?

The best is the import option and how it really does continue your game and your world that you created. I can't even imagine how much alternate dialogue was recorded to accommodate that. Honestly, I want all games that plan to be trilogys or a series to start doing this.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

My UPS guys comes anytime between 2 and 6. Hurry up fucker. Fed ex guy usually delivers before 11am.

 

[Songbird]

Anyone mind helping me out?
After watching some videos of character creation I've noticed that Bonus Talents have returned, but how are they acquired this time around? One guy's video I saw showed he had finished the ME2 already and people also say that you unlock the talents from squadmembers, so these aren't available at first-import with any achievements?

I just ask because I'd really like my Soldier Shep to keep Neural Shock from the first game after I gave him Medicine as a bonus. Plus I like the concept of a soldier and doctor too.

Ed: Geez, UPS? I'm expecting some RAM to upgrade my lappy with so I can get better performance on Friday and it seems like the UPS guy is trying to stretch out "next day delivery."

 

[erpg]

Question to anyone who's beaten the game: Can you keep playing after the conclusion? And if you can, is it like Dragon Age? (Only DLC areas are accessible for Epilogue play - which sucks).

 

[Truant]

The planetary scanning mouse sensitivity is way too low... is there a way to turn it up?

It's a ship upgrade you can buy later in the game.

 

[Sanchito]

So for the 360 owners out there.. Did any one try pre loading both disks to the HD before they started playing? Can you pre load both?

 

[kinoki]

Not even having been permitted to download this from Steam yet, I'm filled with a questioning niggle. When's the 3rd part supposed to be released in this triolgy? Has BioWare said anything about what window they're planning to release in?

 

[prodystopian]

Not even having been permitted to download this from Steam yet, I'm filled with a questioning niggle. When's the 3rd part supposed to be released in this triolgy? Has BioWare said anything about what window they're planning to release in?

There was a quote in one of these threads that said the wait for ME3 should be shorter than the wait for ME2, but we've heard that before, so...

 

[StuBurns]

I just watched the gametrailers review, holy fuck it looks awesome. I won't be playing it till around late May, but I hope you all enjoy it, you lucky little gits.