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[corrosivefrost]

So wait, both endings to ME1 council-wise leave a fully Human-Driven Alliance?

No?
I have no clue how it plays if you change your option there...
But my assumption here is that it would be treated like everything else, choice wise, I did in the first game...

Spoiler

I was with Liara... so she's in the opening cutscene instead of ashley by default. Hooray? And I get a picture of her on my desk in the captain's quarters.

I let Wrex live. So cool, he's head of the Urdnot tribe. What happens if I killed him? Probably some other guy is head of the Urdnot tribe, the sequence has some different dialogue, and I'm still left to pursue the same loyalty quest for Grunt to join the tribe.

Choose to save Ashley? She's on Horizon with the Alliance gun battery.
Choose to save Kaiden? He's probably replaced Ashley on the Horizon mission. Again, with different dialogue of course.

Let the council die? Everyone badmouths humans.
Let the council live? They probably altered the dialogue, but again, it's not like it opens a whole different set of missions and story to me.

What I was getting at is that nothing I did felt like it had a MAJOR impact... so much so that I want to go back, play ME, choose differently, then import and play again to try all the new missions and see how the story unfolds different.

I understand why they DON'T do it... but for the amount of attention people (Bioware/whomever) put on the "your choices mattered!", looking back at my playthrough, I don't feel like much would change if I'd imported a character who had made the opposite choices. I could be dead wrong. But I think I'm mostly correct on all this.

That being said, I didn't want to assume it would be the same between ME2 and ME3, especially after the load screen warning about your choices heavily mattering... sure I could blow it off and figure it won't have much of an impact really, but I still had to think about what to do at the very end of the game for a while...

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

No, if you saved the council they still get to be the love-able assholes that jerked you around all the time.

Okay, then the whole thing about little impact from ME1 doesn't make sense. Having the entire direction of the galaxy under Human control is a MASSIVE HUGE shift from the way the galaxy was for centuries.

 

[BobsRevenge]

I guess I am just more likely to notice shitty ass textures than jaggies. Maybe you just have really weird standards. The PC version of ME2 is several times better than the shitty port of the first game.

You have to pause the game to switch weapons without having to cycle through them. Stuff like that is absolutely horrible. The entire menu system is pretty much based on console controls. At least the first game payed some attention when it put the game on the platform. I never played the 360 version of it, but from what I understand they set up the menus differently. It was less tedious.

I mean, I guess I should consider myself lucky that they removed so many of the RPG elements, or these things might actually matter more. :lol

 

[Zeliard]

No, if you saved the council they still get to be the love-able assholes that jerked you around all the time.

I miss those guys.

These default decisions are pretty lol. It's like a tacit admission by Bioware that the canon Shepard is actually a huge prick.

 

[Lostconfused]

You have to pause the game to switch weapons without having to cycle through them. Stuff like that is absolutely horrible. The entire menu system is pretty much based on console controls. At least the first game payed some attention when it put the game on the platform. I never played the 360 version of it, but from what I understand they set up the menus differently. It was less tedious.

I have no idea what you are talking about. The menus work the same way as they did in the first game.

 

[corrosivefrost]

All strategy has been removed? wat? There was strategy in the first ME?

How far into the game are you? Aside from the first area outside of the opening sequence, the combat is great.

Yes.

The only reason I beat Saren in the first one was because I realized I could use lift on him and then overload on Shepard and Ashley and do massive damage... I also had to carefully manage the rest of my skills in that fight.

This time it's "get a good spot in cover, use adrenaline rush, pop out, fire. rinse repeat", so I can see what he's saying.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

Yes.

The only reason I beat Saren in the first one was because I realized I could use lift on him and then overload on Shepard and Ashley and do massive damage... I also had to carefully manage the rest of my skills in that fight.

This time it's "get a good spot in cover, use adrenaline rush, pop out, fire. rinse repeat", so I can see what he's saying.

I never moved my squad around in the first game. I've moved them in every battle in this one.

 

[Lostconfused]

This time it's "get a good spot in cover, use adrenaline rush, pop out, fire. rinse repeat", so I can see what he's saying.

If you played soldier in the first game it was even easier. Turn on immunity forever, never die.

 

[infinityBCRT]

Yeah, this is what I found so lame. It's like asshole Shepard is supposed to be cannon. I mean if if you let the council die, what person playing ME1 would pick Udina?! Stupid stupid choices.

My end game save was missing for some reason so I had to redo the last fight in ME1 and I picked Anderson. I can't remember if I picked him or Udina originally, but if I did pick Udina it would be because I was thinking "let these dumb politicians be politicians".

As far as the council goes, I didn't save them because I wasn't sure if I could have saved both the council and the citadel, so to me the greater good was to save the citadel.

 

[Zeliard]

The combat in the first game was broken, unbalanced and incredibly easy to take advantage of, turning Insanity into a cakewalk. How anyone can find it superior to ME2's combat is beyond me.

 

[Y2Kev]

I miss those guys.

These default decisions are pretty lol. It's like a tacit admission by Bioware that the canon Shepard is actually a huge prick.

Canon Shepard needs to stop being so one dimensional and stupid. Getting rid of the council and then picking Udina doesn't actually make any sense. Destroying a political body should demonstrate some distaste for politicians-- picking Udina to head up a new one is illogical.

Bioware is basically saying "canon shepard holds down and right on the dpad and mashes X HURRRRR."

 

[Lostconfused]

As far as the council goes, I didn't save them because I wasn't sure if I could have saved both the council and the citadel, so to me the greater good was to save the citadel.

Really the biggest impact of saving the council only comes up in ME2. Because there you are told how many ships and lives were lost trying to save them.

 

[corrosivefrost]

Okay, then the whole thing about little impact from ME1 doesn't make sense. Having the entire direction of the galaxy under Human control is a MASSIVE HUGE shift from the way the galaxy was for centuries.

It doesn't change anything, besides that people say "oh, humans took over the council" instead of whatever "generic response about humans trying to take over the council and become import" here is.

The story/gameplay doesn't fundamentally change because of it. There's no "the council helps you massively and provides support because it's human led" vs. "the council says bugger off, because humans aren't important" to the point where... say, in some major battle, it would be the difference between having troop support vs. flying solo.

In the cannon universe, it changes things drastically. As far as gameplay and story goes, it's still fundamentally the same, regardless of what you do.

Take my kill/save Wrex argument. What impact does Wrex being alive or dead matter? Does it change Grunt's loyalty quest? Do you have to do things differently to get Grunt's loyalty quest. I'm willing to bet the answer is "not really.".

 

[DY_nasty]

Yes.

The only reason I beat Saren in the first one was because I realized I could use lift on him and then overload on Shepard and Ashley and do massive damage... I also had to carefully manage the rest of my skills in that fight.

This time it's "get a good spot in cover, use adrenaline rush, pop out, fire. rinse repeat", so I can see what he's saying.

The perks of being a soldier. smh

If you play a class that isn't supposed to be a tank and all-purpose killing machine, then of course strategy and squad member control is going to be a bigger issue.

 

[BobsRevenge]

The combat in the first game was broken, unbalanced and incredibly easy to take advantage of, turning Insanity into a cakewalk. How anyone can find it superior to ME2's combat is beyond me.

That's pretty much true, but I just don't like that they set it up to be like Gears. The new squad controls are a huge improvement though. It's a lot like Brothers in Arms now.

 

[Ceebs]

No?
I have no clue how it plays if you change your option there...
But my assumption here is that it would be treated like everything else, choice wise, I did in the first game...

Spoiler

I was with Liara... so she's in the opening cutscene instead of ashley by default. Hooray? And I get a picture of her on my desk in the captain's quarters.

I let Wrex live. So cool, he's head of the Urdnot tribe. What happens if I killed him? Probably some other guy is head of the Urdnot tribe, the sequence has some different dialogue, and I'm still left to pursue the same loyalty quest for Grunt to join the tribe.

Choose to save Ashley? She's on Horizon with the Alliance gun battery.
Choose to save Kaiden? He's probably replaced Ashley on the Horizon mission. Again, with different dialogue of course.

Let the council die? Everyone badmouths humans.
Let the council live? They probably altered the dialogue, but again, it's not like it opens a whole different set of missions and story to me.

What I was getting at is that nothing I did felt like it had a MAJOR impact... so much so that I want to go back, play ME, choose differently, then import and play again to try all the new missions and see how the story unfolds different.

I understand why they DON'T do it... but for the amount of attention people (Bioware/whomever) put on the "your choices mattered!", looking back at my playthrough, I don't feel like much would change if I'd imported a character who had made the opposite choices. I could be dead wrong. But I think I'm mostly correct on all this.

That being said, I didn't want to assume it would be the same between ME2 and ME3, especially after the load screen warning about your choices heavily mattering... sure I could blow it off and figure it won't have much of an impact really, but I still had to think about what to do at the very end of the game for a while...

You are 100 percent correct. I have done a no-import and an import playthrough so far. The importing feature amounts to cosmetic changes and some additional side quests. I was honestly underwhelmed after they hyped it up so much. I should have known better though.

 

[corrosivefrost]

I never moved my squad around in the first game. I've moved them in every battle in this one.

The only time I've moved them is to stop them from committing suicide and costing me medi-gel. Or to stop them from firing when I'm attempting to get achievements. And even then, most of it was on insanity, because if you don't, you run out of medi-gel really quick.

 

[Zeliard]

Canon Shepard needs to stop being so one dimensional and stupid. Getting rid of the council and then picking Udina doesn't actually make any sense. Destroying a political body should demonstrate some distaste for politicians-- picking Udina to head up a new one is illogical.

Bioware is basically saying "canon shepard holds down and right on the dpad and mashes X HURRRRR."

Basically. :lol

Really the biggest impact of saving the council only comes up in ME2. Because there you are told how many ships and lives were lost trying to save them.

The Council headed by three different aliens symbolized cooperation between the alien species, and fostered peace as such. It was worth saving them for that reason alone. Some of the alien species, like the Turians, already hate humanity because they feel that they were given too much too quickly, and now they get a Council.

CanonShep sucks.

 

[MMaRsu]

If I let a friend recover my account so he can download the ME2 dlc, will it work on his console once I've recovered my account?

And where can I find new weapons/armor and things like that? I've upgraded some stuff, but where can I upgrade or buy new weapons? And how can I upgrade the ship?

 

[RetroMG]

Snagged a copy from Blockbuster on my gamepass. I'm surprised they had any copies.

Now I just have to finish Mass Effect 1.

 

[mattiewheels]

"I'm Commander Shepherd, and this is my favorite shop on the Citadel."

I've said that for every shop :lol

 

[corrosivefrost]

Canon Shepard needs to stop being so one dimensional and stupid. Getting rid of the council and then picking Udina doesn't actually make any sense. Destroying a political body should demonstrate some distaste for politicians-- picking Udina to head up a new one is illogical.

Bioware is basically saying "canon shepard holds down and right on the dpad and mashes X HURRRRR."

Based on my experience, we don't know what cannon Shepard did regarding the council recommendation until ME3 comes out. In my experience, I've had it change who was the councilor based on my pop quiz...

 

[corrosivefrost]

If I let a friend recover my account so he can download the ME2 dlc, will it work on his console once I've recovered my account?

And where can I find new weapons/armor and things like that? I've upgraded some stuff, but where can I upgrade or buy new weapons? And how can I upgrade the ship?

No. I believe he'd need you to be signed in for it to work... since it was "purchased" on another console.

Your console is the only console that can use that DLC without being connect and signed into LIVE on the "purchasing" ID.

 

[hulot]

The story/gameplay doesn't fundamentally change because of it. There's no "the council helps you massively and provides support because it's human led" vs. "the council says bugger off, because humans aren't important" to the point where... say, in some major battle, it would be the difference between having troop support vs. flying solo.

In the cannon universe, it changes things drastically. As far as gameplay and story goes, it's still fundamentally the same, regardless of what you do.

I can definitely see where you're coming from and I'm sure everyone here had at some point shared the same hope for some real plot changers by importing; but realistically, did I expect it? No. What we have are the small things, a familiar face, some allusions to past deeds and that is already more than what any game out there does. I'm not giving ME a free pass just because it's the first to do it but I also see how enormous of an undertaking it would be to do it in the ideal way.

Spoiler

canon!!

 

[Xamdou]

Where do I buy probes?

 

[Arde5643]

Where do I buy probes?

Fuel Depots.

 

[Swag]

Where do I buy probes?

Fuel Depots.

Just met with the council, I knew I should've killed those fuckers

 

[The Librarian]

How far along do we have to be in the game to get

Spoiler

Legion

?

 

[Micius]

I miss those guys.

These default decisions are pretty lol. It's like a tacit admission by Bioware that the canon Shepard is actually a huge prick.

Not necessarily a huge prick, but flawed and human. Maybe they wanted a "realistic" outcome as the default without an imported save? A lot of the decisions do make a sort of logical sense, choosing to save the opposite sex, potential love interest on Virmire, not being able to convince Wrex to destroy genophage cure research and allowing Udina to do his Machiavellian maneuvering in the council over Anderson who is really too much of a straight arrow to be in politics.

I guess having a somewhat sub-par canon setting also serves the purpose of making people want to go back to the first game and "set things right" (maybe even sell a few more copies of the first game for people who are jumping in). Anyway, I'm just glad I have my full paragon Shepard to import, everything is more or less the way I want it to be...

 

[MMaRsu]

No. I believe he'd need you to be signed in for it to work... since it was "purchased" on another console.

Your console is the only console that can use that DLC without being connect and signed into LIVE on the "purchasing" ID.

Thought so , sorry Skilotonn

 

[Foil]

The combat is so much better in this game it isn't even funny. I don't understand how anyone could say Mass Effect 1 had more depth in that regard. I also think the upgrade/research system in ME2 is much better, though I do wish there could be a few more upgrade levels, but it's still much more enjoyable to me.

I'm 16 hours in and I still have four squadmates to find, and I've only done 1 loyalty mission. Either I just like taking my time or some people here really try and burn through their games as fast as possible.

Oh and

Spoiler

Illium

looks incredible. The major planets are really well designed and visually stunning.

I never moved my squad around in the first game. I've moved them in every battle in this one.

Same. I'm ordering my squad and using their abilities far more in this game. I ended up picking the infiltrator class for this playthrough, maybe that could be why.

 

[CriscoDisco]

Do the downloadable mission where you get the extra squad member and visit the normandy crash site show up on the computer in your personal quarters after you download the? I'm a bit confused about how to get to them?

 

[SlasherJPC]

Just met with the council, I knew I should've killed those fuckers

I was thinking the same thing. I did all that and you shit on me. Fuck you council! FUCK YOU!

 

[MMaRsu]

And where can I find new weapons/armor and things like that? I've upgraded some stuff, but where can I upgrade or buy new weapons? And how can I upgrade the ship?

Quoted for a new page

 

[corrosivefrost]

How far along do we have to be in the game to get

Spoiler

Legion

?

Pretty much at the end.

Spoiler

60-70% done, I'd wager. Unlocks at the second to last mission.

 

[corrosivefrost]

Quoted for a new page

Let's see.
There are no places to buy weapons -- as I've seen it, mostly, the weapons are found at intervals.
You upgrade the weapons classes on the ship.
If you talk to your crew and do invesigate, you'll see an option for [UPGRADE] or [NORMANDY UPGRADE] eventually, if you ask about it, it will add it to the available upgrades list.

 

[Dark Octave]

That's pretty much true, but I just don't like that they set it up to be like Gears. The new squad controls are a huge improvement though. It's a lot like Brothers in Arms now.

I say bring on the Gears controls. It's better than getting sucked into a doorframe when all you wanted to do was get close to the wall or go through the door.

 

[Gass]

I cant wait fot this game, got it preordered from play.com, anyone know what they are like for delivering for day of release? got dispatch email this morning!!

 

[ElectricBlue187]

Seems like after every quest I go back to the normandy to sexually harass my secretary :lol

Isn't that what they're for?!?

 

[Coop]

Did anybody select Udina over Anderson? What happens? I've done some horrible things in these games, I've punched women, I've killed an entire species but I can't pick Udina over Anderson.

 

[hulot]

Quoted for a new page

Acquire upgrades through research. Buy upgrades and armor from stores on the different hub worlds. Find blueprints during missions that you can then research back on Normandy.

Did anybody select Udina over Anderson? What happens? I've done some horrible things in these games, I've punched women, I've killed an entire species but I can't pick Udina over Anderson.

Bros before hoes

Spoiler

and aliens

.

 

[Dyno]

uh.... i started at level 5 with arab money + tons of resources

Yeah seriously. +100,000 credits, a stash of rare ores, and a few extra points is a nice bonus. If you people don't think that's enough and Shepard should be WAY more powerful then just play on easy mode with the rest of the casuals.

 

[ElectricBlue187]

Did anybody select Udina over Anderson? What happens? I've done some horrible things in these games, I've punched women, I've killed an entire species but I can't pick Udina over Anderson.

Me either. I fucking hate Udina and I tried to play ME1 again making polar opposite choices and I still couldn't bring myself to elect that prick

 

[TheFreshPrince]

Just finished recruiting 2 crew members....does the game get anymore complex combat wise?

I've been able to breeze through without really using any abilities, just all guns.

 

[Zeliard]

It doesn't change anything, besides that people say "oh, humans took over the council" instead of whatever "generic response about humans trying to take over the council and become import" here is.

The story/gameplay doesn't fundamentally change because of it. There's no "the council helps you massively and provides support because it's human led" vs. "the council says bugger off, because humans aren't important" to the point where... say, in some major battle, it would be the difference between having troop support vs. flying solo.

In the cannon universe, it changes things drastically. As far as gameplay and story goes, it's still fundamentally the same, regardless of what you do.

Take my kill/save Wrex argument. What impact does Wrex being alive or dead matter? Does it change Grunt's loyalty quest? Do you have to do things differently to get Grunt's loyalty quest. I'm willing to bet the answer is "not really.".

I didn't import since I unfortunately lost my save, and after reading this part of the 1UP review, I was like "well... damn":

The actual details of how that story plays out vary from person to person, and impressively so. I've had fun comparing notes with people who imported a Renegade character from the first game, because they experienced a host of different events in ME2 than my Paragon did. For instance, I chose to spare the Rachni race from genocide, so I saw an event in ME2 that someone who exterminated them would have missed. People I protected in the original game have sent me emails to thank me for my help or to rant at me for teaming up with Cerberus, the shadowy organization whose unethical work I was constantly undermining throughout the course of ME's periphery missions. Minor characters whom I didn't kill in cold, Renegade blood returned for new bit roles, and each of Shepard's former teammates had a part to play as well. Whether as text files, side quests, or asides in key plot scenes, ME2 has done a damn fine job of building on the decisions that Shepard -- my Shepard -- made on her last mission.

That sounds pretty cool even if it's nothing huge.

Not necessarily a huge prick, but flawed and human. Maybe they wanted a "realistic" outcome as the default without an imported save? A lot of the decisions do make a sort of logical sense, choosing to save the opposite sex, potential love interest on Virmire, not being able to convince Wrex to destroy genophage cure research and allowing Udina to do his Machiavellian maneuvering in the council over Anderson who is really too much of a straight arrow to be in politics.

The opposite sex thing with Kaiden/Ashley makes logical sense, due to how romance works in Mass Effect. Shooting Wrex (or getting him shot) when he was both understandably pissed, and when there was a perfectly viable option there to talk him down, makes it a strange default decision given that Shepard even in Renegade-mode is all about his tight-knit crew.

Also, I'm fairly certain that picking Udina for any sort of important job, much less this one, is an act of pure evil.

 

[TheOddOne]

I've put 4 hours into this game already and I can only say: EPIC.

 

[Magik]

I've only played a few hours but so far I really like how I can just search for minerals on planets with probes rather than having to find them on foot.

I think I'm going to be playing ME2 for a LONG, LONG time. I have the urge to go through every class and having both a Paragon and Renegade version for each class for ME3. :lol

 

[Dyno]

Me either. I fucking hate Udina and I tried to play ME1 again making polar opposite choices and I still couldn't bring myself to elect that prick

Anderson will grow into the job, you'll see, I have faith. Besides when Udina's experiments go wrong and he transforms into The Lizard you've have no moral quandry taking him out.

 

[Zzoram]

Just finished recruiting 2 crew members....does the game get anymore complex combat wise?

I've been able to breeze through without really using any abilities, just all guns.

I started on Veteran difficulty because I knew that Normal would be too easy. What class are you? They clearly designed the game so that if you pick Soldier, it would play like a shooter for people who didn't want to use any powers.

 

[Zzoram]

I couldn't bring myself to pick Udina even though my import was Renegade. The problem is, Udina is just impossible to like. I wonder how different things would be if he was a counsellor. Did anyone on GAF pick him?