Mass Effect 2

By Dan Pearson Published 1 September, 2009

Squad core.

I made a bit of an error with Mass Effect. Going for edgy realism, I designed my particular Shepard to resemble the western approach of Kilimanjaro after an improbable collision with an aerial crocodile farm - all rugged escarpments and pockmarked, gnarly-leather skin. He is not what you'd call a looker.

I'm stuck with him now though. Ever since it was revealed that the errant Spectre would be reprising his lead role in the sequel (rather than copping the big one as the early teaser trailer suggested), I've been learning to accept that the last hope for galactic peace would frighten Lisa Riley in a dark room.

Still, for a man who's been kicked about a fair bit by most of the known races in the galaxy, he's a good fit, and my brief playthrough of the scenario available at gamescom only serves to heighten already considerable anticipation at my ugly avatar's return to duty.

As you've no doubt read in Digital Foundry's technical analysis, Mass Effect 2 seems to have done away with many of the graphical issues which marred the original, issues which no doubt lost it a few fans. I won't repeat what Rich wrote, but suffice to say the improvements are obvious during play, even to technically untrained eyes such as my own.

The section available for hands-on play is the assault on a tower block that occurs just before the attempted recruitment of Thane, the Drell assassin seen in another early video. Before anything happens we're told that whilst control feels familiar, a number of key elements have been improved. Firstly, squad control should be easier and more accurate, with mappable d-pad actions giving finer control. Secondly, the radial menus have been improved, with ammo types now selectable here rather than from within the fiddly inventory system.

I'm put in charge of a soldier-class Shepard, meaning that Biotic and Tech support options are limited to those of the squad - activated in much the same way as the first game. There aren't any new powers to see at gamescom, but there is new weapon type in addition to the already-confirmed heat-seeking missiles: the heavy pistol. Work that one out for yourselves. More weapon classes have been confirmed, although specifics are still in the realm of speculation.

'Mass Effect 2' Screenshot 1

Any gun with a radiation warning on the side is bound to pack a punch.

Once through a brief cinematic, during which a few conversation options are offered, Shepard's squad enters the tower, loaded during the new elevator animation - a stylised neon wire-frame which has blessed little of an actual lift journey about it. Once inside, what immediately separates the style of Mass Effect 2 from its predecessor is the action focus - this is a smoother, more refined experience, one which feels much more like a squad shooter than the first game.

BioWare has made clear that this is still an RPG, and all of those elements remain, but it's undeniable that the core experience has shifted toward being more accessible, less dense. Cover is easier to use, and more effective, with a Gears-style touch of the A button snapping Shepard to it. Holding A rushes the Commander out from behind cover and sprints him forward, adding immediacy and poise to storming positions. The new context-specific hit-zones also contribute to this, with enemies no longer flying backwards in a uniform fashion no matter where they're hit, but responding accurately to targeted shots.

The level area itself is a corridor, perhaps understandably given we're storming a well-defended position, and ample cover provides plenty of tactical opportunities. First up I pull out the sniper rifle, a favourite from my first playthrough as an infiltrator class. It's just as satisfying as ever, with a believable lead-time and satisfyingly brutal results - and flicking through a few different ammo types proves that the right choice of munitions is still very important. One new feature is an increase in the wobble of the scope - a high wind blows across the catwalk that we're crossing and it affects the aiming appropriately. BioWare insists this is still under consideration, but as a context-sensitive mechanic it seems to work well.

Other weapon types are fine-tuned as well, fitting more snugly with their tactical roles. The assault rifle is a more effective suppression weapon now, and the shotgun's even better at close-range no-brainer mop-ups. Despite the extra options on offer, however, I still manage to lose my biotic squad member pretty early on. Well, I don't lose him - it's just that I'm unlikely to find all the bits needed to put him back together again, since I've taken the back of his head off with a sniper bullet as he dodged into my line of fire after a pounding from several Asari bodyguards.

The squad AI needs a bit of polish judging by a few similar problems elsewhere, somewhat reducing the sensation that these troops are the very best that the galaxy has to offer, but I'm also suffering from the sniffles at the time of playing, so it's possible that dropping a high-velocity round into an ally is my fault after all. Plus, the game's not out for ages, so they're undoubtedly tweaking things as I type. No great shakes either way - downed squad members are out of the picture for the rest of the engagement, but make a miraculous recovery afterwards.

Popping off a few HE rounds at some troublesome turrets is exhilarating without being overly simplistic, the missiles offer a satisfyingly meaty bang without feeling overpowered. I'm endowed with a much bigger allocation of these than you'd expect in the game proper, but it isn't tempting to use them willy-nilly to dispatch troopers; the range of other weaponry on offer is just too apt and satisfying.

Once I've proved Nassana Dantius' security to be woefully inadequate, Shepard's straight into another cut-scene as my squad storms the office of the assassination target. Knowing that our interviewee is about to get capped by the galaxy's premier dealer of stealthy death adds a certain frisson to the exchange, and offers ample scope for the moralistic aspect of the conversation tree to flourish.

'Mass Effect 2' Screenshot 2

Thane: would have made Macbeth more interesting.

Without spoiling the outcome too much, I'm not sure whether preventing the killing is an option. I certainly didn't bother, remembering the Asari's deceptions in the Citadel. Interestingly though, the new 'interrupt' conversation mechanic crops up very briefly during the conversation in the diplomat's office, with an icon for the left trigger flashing up in the lower left corner of the screen. I wasn't expecting it, and it was a brief appearance indeed, but from what we've learned already these triggers should provide a way to drive conversations forward quickly, with the only example we've had confirmed so far defenestrating a particularly stubborn informant.

The cut-scene, similar to its opposing number at the start of the mission, is beautifully set, incredibly cinematically lit, voiced and shot. There's none of the texture pop-in of the first game either, and general slickness has been ramped up by several factors. Without wishing to dig too deeply into the hyperbole barrel, Mass Effect 2's cut-scenes look to be taking a huge step toward cinema-quality storytelling. Even in the two or thee minutes at gamescom there's a palpable sense of place and narrative drive, a tremendously engaging and immersive pull which drags me straight back into this richly involving universe.

However, all too soon the demo is over and we're kicked back into the harshly lit reality of EA's press area, extremely hungry for more. Sniffles or no, there's a big grin on my face as Digital Foundry's Rich Leadbetter and I head back to the Eurogamer booth - two fans with high hopes for the series' future.

Mass Effect 2 is due out for PC and Xbox 360 next year.

Picture of Dan.

About Dan Pearson

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Comments (91) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • BritishBlue1 #1 2 years ago

    I'm going to have to buy a 360 for this, truly the best series on the 360, far and above Halo or Gears of War in my opinion.

  • Collymilad #2 2 years ago

    Looks amazing. If it's like the first one but refined, then GOTY for me.
    Edited by 1 at 01/09/09 @ 14:06

  • cianchristopher #3 2 years ago

    Wow, if they actually made this as compelling a shooter as it is an adventure - think of how good it will be!

    I mean, if the gunplay is as refined as Gears of War 2, say, but with the whole "massive-adventure-rpg-characterisation-etc." going on as well?

    Well, that'd be 2010 sorted for me, anyway....

  • muscleblade #4 2 years ago

    "I mean, if the gunplay is as refined as Gears of War 2, say, but with the whole "massive-adventure-rpg-characterisation-etc." going on as well?"

    Sounds like Borderlands exept for the fact that Borderlands is an FPS instead of a TPS.

  • cianchristopher #5 2 years ago

    "Sounds like Borderlands exept for the fact that Borderlands is an FPS instead of a TPS."

    Yeah, Borderlands looks great. I'd really like an RPG that has a great engine and smooth, fps-style control and gunplay.

  • miiiguel #6 2 years ago

    "far and above Halo or Gears of War in my opinion. "
    You might also say "far and above Castle Crashers", but that wouldn't make any sense because those have nothing to do with each other. As well.

    Excited about this. Hopes EG take a litle longer to apreciate/play the game this time, because ME1 review was rushed. Sorry to say.

  • curtlikesmeat #7 2 years ago

    Will people who didn't play the first be totally lost here in terms of story?.... like... out of their element man... because that, will not stand.

  • cianchristopher #8 2 years ago

    Will they be like a kid... who wanders into the middle of a movie... and asks what's going on...

  • Danbojones Verified Senior Staff Writer, GamesIndustry.biz #9 2 years ago

    Playing the first would certainly be a good idea, but it should be playable without. S'like watching films out of sequence, really.

  • Razorus #10 2 years ago

    The only concern I have about ME2 right now is about the QTE moments during conversations. Part of me wants to press them every time I see it, just to see what happens, but at the same time, I don't want to throw everybody out of a window. I enjoyed using every conversation option available, particularly the investigative ones as it opened the story more.

  • Demiath #11 2 years ago

    On the subject of captions: Methinks the play Macbeth is fine just as it is, thankyouvermuch...
    Edited by 1 at 01/09/09 @ 14:39

  • B0MBJ4CK #12 2 years ago

    @ Demiath

    AHHHHHH!

    Hot potato, orchestra stalls, Puck will make amends!. Owww!

  • anomagnus #13 2 years ago

    mass effect, for me, remains the best game i ever played.

    to say i cannot wait for this is an understatement, i just wish it was out now.

  • darc #14 2 years ago

    Still have to finish the first one. I found ME1 impressive, but I can't say I had all that much fun playing it. Kept waiting for it to get more interesting, and IMO it never did. Then, after many many hours, I got stuck on an excedingly tiresome timed QTE in some cave. Tried it about 3 times and thought, this is appallingly lazy game design, and shelved the game.

    It was pretty, occasionally engaging, but really uneven. But you know, I can't help wondering what I'm missing.
    Edited by 1 at 01/09/09 @ 15:26

  • Fidjit #15 2 years ago

    Did the first one have QTEs? I finished it, but don't remember doing any...must be senility setting in :/

  • miiiguel #16 2 years ago

    I can't figure out what section darc is refering to. QTE's, as far as I remember, are only used to decrypt lockers.
    Edited by 1 at 01/09/09 @ 15:32

  • cianchristopher #17 2 years ago

    "I can't figure out what section darc is refering to. QTE's, as far as I remember, are only used to decrypt lockers."

    My memory's a little hazy, but that bit on the snowy planet (about 4 hrs into the game) where you're looking for someone (told you it was hazy) - isn't there a QTE to open up an elevator in one of those cut-and-paste bases which needs to be done in order to progress?

  • TeaFiend #18 2 years ago

    There were QTE's for hacking that could be skipped with omni-gel.

  • hiddenranbir #19 2 years ago

    Rebuying for PC so I can continue my story that way.

  • patchbox360 #20 2 years ago

    uncharted 2

  • Vroom #21 2 years ago

    Looking forward to this.

  • Rodriguez #22 2 years ago

    "I can't figure out what section darc is refering to. QTE's, as far as I remember, are only used to decrypt lockers."

    Dunno if this refers to what the guy was talking about, but there was a part where you had to deactivate a bomb in some cave. Was quite tricky if I remember correctly.
    Edited by 1 at 01/09/09 @ 16:19

  • miiiguel #23 2 years ago

    Yes, I cristopher's right, I vaguely remember having to decrypt a lock in order to free Liara. Right ?

  • local_celebrity #24 2 years ago

    No offence, but before GTA IV came out, all the previews made a big hooha about its new and improved Gears of Wars style cover system. Smooth'n'silky, we were told.

    What absolute cack that turned out to be.

  • cianchristopher #25 2 years ago

    "Yes, I cristopher's right, I vaguely remember having to decrypt a lock in order to free Liara. Right ? "

    That's it! Liara was her name (she was beautiful....)

  • DuX1112 #26 2 years ago

    Hmm. Well I played Mass Effect mostly like a shooter... And it wasn't a bad shooter at all. I kinda didn't like the whole biotics thing... I've played tons of RPGs, but somehow these biotics didn't seem to fit into the story for me, they felt kinda surplus. Some powers were basically identical to Jedi powers (i.e. the Push power) etc., and, because I ALWAYS had the choice whether to empty a whole clip in a guy to kill him or meddle with a biotic just to hurt him and then finish him off, I opted for the frantic emptying of firearms into enemies.

    Essentially, for me, the unconditioned 'choice' in the game actally kills any need for using biotics at all. Plus it kinda doesn't fit. Plus you're not obliged to use a single biotic anywhere, plus it doesn't affect the gameplay, story, combat, etc. So I kinda went for the soldier type. So I'd conclude that the biotic powers were really non-defining for the game in general. But that's just me.
    Edited by 1 at 01/09/09 @ 16:29

  • cianchristopher #27 2 years ago

    "No offence, but before GTA IV came out, all the previews made a big hooha about its new and improved Gears of Wars style cover system. Smooth'n'silky, we were told.

    What absolute cack that turned out to be. "

    True! Why can't we get a large open-world adventure game, with the fluid mechanics of a Halo, Call of Duty, Super Mario, etc.?

    I guess it must not be possible on current-gen hardware (though I can't understand why not!). That's the kind of game I'm looking forward to...

  • KreyAtiv #28 2 years ago

    Great that they are using your save game from the previous game, not so if you made him look like he was been hit several times with the ugly stick VERY hard.
    Definitely looking forward to this and from the videos of it that I've seen via Xbox Live certainly looks more detailed. :)

  • AphoticCosmos #29 2 years ago

    Definitely GOTY 2010, probably going to be the defining game of the 360.

  • cianchristopher #30 2 years ago

    "Hmm. Well I played Mass Effect mostly like a shooter... And it wasn't a bad shooter at all."

    Was this on 360? I mean, how could you say it wasn't a bad shooter? Its just.... the stuttering and freezing and all that.... I mean, could you imagine playing Halo, Call of Duty etc. if the game was constantly stuttering and lagging and all that in the single-player campaign?

    I dunno, maybe I'm too sensitive for this shit ;)

  • AgentCool #31 2 years ago

    My Shepard hit every branch on the ugly tree as well. He still managed to score with Ashley though.

  • Gecks #32 2 years ago

    @DuX1112
    with the biotic characters you tended to be a lot weaker and your weapons are limited (pistol if you're adept/sentinel, shotgun if you're vanguard, IIRC), so you pretty much have to use your powers to turn the tide in fights, at least on hard mode (maybe on easy/normal it doesn't really matter as mass effect is piss-easy on these difficulties!).

    my fave class was adept after i'd unlocked shotgun for it. casting singularity in a room and them blasting everyone away with your shotgun was pretty effective!

  • DuX1112 #33 2 years ago

    @ cianchristopher:

    No pal, I've played it on the PC, and it was a good shooter, now I come to think about it. No stuttering, no freezing, I didn't even pause the game to plan the attacks. I mostly used the squad commands (attack, retreat, move, stand ground, cover etc.), which worked just fine for me. Kinda reminds me of SW: Republic Commando with the squad issuing orders.

    Here's an example of what I'm talking: say, in ME, you enter a corridor with enemies in the vicinity, so I point my squad members to take cover on the left side of the corridor, while I take cover to the right. Then I order them to attack from behind the cover, which they do, and then I attack too (sniping, shooting, etc.). Then I order them to move to the enemies while attacking while I cover them from a distance. Occasionally I'd enter the fray head to head with a mellee or a close quarters gunfight. :D It was frantic, and it was tough, dammit. Especially the boss fights. :D Pure action... And I think I didn't use a single offensive biotic... Only Replenish Shield, Restore Powers etc. (can't remmeber their names now).

  • cianchristopher #34 2 years ago

    @DuX1112

    Ah, well on the PC it was a different game entirely. I've had a go of it on pc and its really cool, with a smooth framerate. I think framerate is paramount in any action-type game, whether its a pure shooter or an rpg-shooter hybrid.

  • Scimarad #35 2 years ago

    Despite the technical issues, Mass Effect is by far my favourite 360 game.

  • DuX1112 #36 2 years ago

    @ Gecks:

    Well, you could probably say that, but I played it on normal difficulty. Now, I had started the game two times, once as aaa... how do you call it, the class which is a 50-50 mesh between a soldier and full biotics, but I had a problem with my PC so I had to format it. I WAS pretty curious about the other biotics, but after I saw the character upgrading pallette, I kinda lost interest. I mean, push, ok, and what not... That singularity thing though, sounds kinda cool. Too bad I hadn't tried it.

    Anyways, on my second install, I again chose the 'mesh'-class (semi-soldier-semi-biotic-user) but quickly got tired of the limits on weaponry (my automatic rifle kept overheating and was very imprecise, I couldn't use the sniper's zoom feature (which sucks), I was limited only to a shotgun and a gun...) so gave it all up and chose Soldier class instead. And voila: I had every single weapon and armor in the game available to me. :D
    Edited by 1 at 01/09/09 @ 17:00

  • DuX1112 #37 2 years ago

    @ cianchristopher:

    Yeah, I agree, it's a whole different game on the PC. Haven't played it on the 360 though (I still don't own one), but I loved the game so sorry if I'm butting in on your (360's) turf, I just thought I share my opinion...

    Anyways I hope that ME2 will iron out those gameplay issues you had on the 360.

  • Xerx3s #38 2 years ago

    "Yeah, I agree, it's a whole different game on the PC. Haven't played it on the 360 though"

    Am I missing something here? How can you say that the PC version is a whole different game (from the 360 I presume?) and then say that you didn't bother to play the 360 version.

  • Xerx3s #39 2 years ago

    "Was this on 360? I mean, how could you say it wasn't a bad shooter? Its just.... the stuttering and freezing and all that.... I mean, could you imagine playing Halo, Call of Duty etc. if the game was constantly stuttering and lagging and all that in the single-player campaign? "

    Eh? It had some loading issues here and there (mostly between sections on the citadel) and the elevator had some serious issues but for the rest it was a pretty solid framerate in my experience. :/

  • cianchristopher #40 2 years ago

    ""Yeah, I agree, it's a whole different game on the PC. Haven't played it on the 360 though"

    Am I missing something here? How can you say that the PC version is a whole different game (from the 360 I presume?) and then say that you didn't bother to play the 360 version."

    I think its more like "its a vastly improved game" as opposed to "a different one"! The technical issues with Mass Effect on 360 have been well documented, and these are all absent on PC (a good enough PC, that is)...

  • cianchristopher #41 2 years ago

    "Eh? It had some loading issues here and there (mostly between sections on the citadel) and the elevator had some serious issues but for the rest it was a pretty solid framerate in my experience. :/ "

    Well, everytime I got into a firefight on the 360 version, the framerate jumped all over the place for me. Try to imagine playing a PC game on settings that are just too high for your PC....

    I mean, it was choppy and it chugged like it was simply not optimised for the hardware as well as it could have been.

    Also, this seems to be the only game I've ever played on the 360 that has never recieved even one update through Xbox Live. Not even one, since launch... That's a bit shit, I think! I'm not saying patches are great or anything, but there are bugs in this game and they've never been addressed.

  • DuX1112 #42 2 years ago

    @ Xerx3s:

    It's just a figure of speech, plus my pals here complained that it had some glitches on the 360... And as far as I've read or heard, it's a tad different. At least the UI (I've seen that it's circular on the 360, while on the PC is... more squarish and... well, different).

    Plus, I could say that it was MUCH easier on the PC, because of the simpler and more precise control mechanics. Driving the MAKO was the easiest thing ever, and aiming with a mouse is much, much more convenient than aiming with a controller (I HAVE played games on consoles too, you know).

    So I assume it was just a safe guess, 'a whole different [ball] game' and all that. The point was that it played better on the PC (at least in terms of intense gunfights etc.), as is widely reported, too.

    Plus I see no reason for quarrel in terms of actual user gameplay experience. We all have our own, specific experience with the game. Mine was more oriented toward a TPS action-adventure gaming experience than it was hard-core RPG (which is a good thing, because the game itself allows and encourages this multi-genre freedom). I think there's no point arguing over it. ;)

  • metalangel #43 2 years ago

    @cianchristoper and Rodriguez: I think you're on about the bit in Noveria where you have to play a silly puzzle game (shifting blocks between three columns) to reactive the computer core. Or you can just spend 100 omnigel to skip it. No big deal, you'll have so much equipment you'll never use you can easily just melt it all into omnigel and be done with it.

    There were a few other QTEs - activating the mining laser, deactivating the rogue AI's suicide bomb, mixing the cure - but most were just the stupid hacking/unlocking Simon game.

    My Shepard looked like a slightly aged Miki Berenyi, and given I hated Carth... I mean... 'Kaiden'... I made sure she put the clams together with Liara instead.

  • darc #44 2 years ago

    "Dunno if this refers to what the guy was talking about, but there was a part where you had to deactivate a bomb in some cave. Was quite tricky if I remember correctly."

    I think we're referring to the same bit here. Maybe not QTE's in the strictest sense, but something very similar. You pursue someone down some mine/ cave and there's a bit of dialog (a pretty vague set up as I recall) and then there you have to disarm some kind of bomb in three stages, before time runs out. The timer is not, shall we say, generous, and it's not entirely obvious what's supposed to be going on (at least it wasn't for me, but then I'd been away from the game for quite a while). After several game-overs and loading screens, I decided I probably had something better to play.

    I think maybe I just lost the flow of the game at some point. When I load it up now, I find myself in space with no specific agenda, flying about randomly to near-dead planets. Not fun, but not necessarily the game's fault, I guess. Not entirely anyway.

  • Cannibal #45 2 years ago

    EG giving this 8/10 and a buggy piece of tripe like Fable 2 10/10 was a travesty.

  • metalangel #46 2 years ago

    @darc: It is your fault, as at any given point the planets with story-related quests on them will be highlighted in your starmap and also in your little PDA thingy. You can finish the game without doing any other planets apart from the main ones. Going to each star system to marvel at how - yes - it's yet another rocky planet with yet more crashed probes and pirates is entirely optional.

  • JensonJet #47 2 years ago

    Wow. I'm always surprised to hear people complain about Mass Effect. Sure lift's weren't speedy, and occasionally textures would take a second or two to come in, but seriously, what game is absolutely perfect? I absolutely hate third-person games, but Mass Effect got so much right, and had so much character, with an engaging story, interesting characters, etc, I don't understand how anyone has any complaints at all. Perhaps I just loved the game more than most. Although it has to be said, if I had to play as a boring soldier, as a male Shepard with his poor voice acting (the worst in the game!) I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it so much. As for framerate issues, having played through the game numerous times, I can't say I even remember this being a problem. Perhaps people ought to stick with Halo or Gears of War if they consider these games so 'perfect'!!!

  • AhSoul #48 2 years ago

    "downed squad members are out of the picture for the rest of the engagement, but make a miraculous recovery afterwards."

    This bit seems a bit weird to me. It's an RPG but if your teammates die they come back to life afterwards. now I never played the first one, so I assume there's some sort of cloning guff to explain this? :D

  • JamieR #49 2 years ago

    I loved the massive effect game too i still haven't completed it though gets a bit dull going from planet to planet and the story isnt very good but other than that great game and ill be getting the second one

  • SuperNashwan #50 2 years ago

    The side mission planets certainly get tiresome after a while, the layout's are almost identical and the enemies simply more of the same. (the moon one i recall being particularly dull)

    However, for me this was a minor detail in a game that was genuinely epic and ambitious in its scope. Although not a fan of RPGs i soon got hooked on leveling up, finding the best weapons and so on. As a result I am now stuck into Oblivion and Fallout 3 which i pobably would not be but for ME. Yes the graphics were glitchy etc at times, but they were often stunning, imaginative and the score was suitably epic. Passable/good voice acting for the most as well. maybe its because I'm a sc-fi nut, but i couldnt put it down.

    Finally, I designed Shepard as a very hot woman (or as hot as possible), far easier on the eye and the alien scene love scene thing was er....very 'interesting'. In contrast to Dan, I for one am looking forward my character making as repeat appearance !

  • miiiguel #51 2 years ago

    "It's an RPG but if your teammates die they come back to life afterwards."
    They are not dead (blasphemy!), they are *downed*, and can't help you anymore, when stuff gets quiter they recover. Sheeesh!

    "and the story isnt very good "
    That's simply *fail*.

    The narrative detail is also astounding, big and litle homages to cult movies everywhere.
    Edited by 1 at 01/09/09 @ 19:06

  • DuX1112 #52 2 years ago

    Personally, for me, the story lost a few points as soon as I discovered that the Sovereign was all alone in the galaxy, and that Saren was just his pawn . Anyways, I kinda predicted it. So no full scale invasion of the enemy occured, no epic huge scale wars, not much at stake because the keepers got 'changed', the Reapers couldn't return blah blah blah blah blah... The only thing I regret is not accomplishing the romance quest witha female character, but, I went for the main, "epic" storyline which ended with a one on one duel... I always hate those kinda showdowns. Ruins the universal, giving you the illusion of the "personal". As if Saren or the Sovereign by themselves could actually achieve the whole galaxy's downfall...

    I also regret I didn't get to do more exploration in other star systems and side-quests on the planets, but I thought I could go on completing the other side-quests after I've finished the main quest. Guess what, you can't do that too. You get stuck and it's game over. Commander Sheppard can't get cruising around after he saves the Galaxy. Oh, bother... The story was, in some respect, a let down for me...

  • Alkeno #53 2 years ago

    ammo types now selectable here rather than from within the fiddly inventory system. I am happy now.

  • tachometer #54 2 years ago

    Hands up who liked the final boss?
    It was almost as bad as that Broken Sword game where you had to kill a dragon at the end.

  • darc #55 2 years ago

    Well, if nothing else, now I feel like going and giving this game another shot.

  • miiiguel #56 2 years ago

    @DuX1112 : that is what I particulary liked about Mass Effect, it managed to move away from Hollywood's formula of twists and sometimes infantile surprises. It's a personal story, no twists, no surprises..., just the characters and their stories in an epic quest/scenario. Much more European (kinda Homeric thing) than an American, and that's good for a change.
    Edited by 1 at 01/09/09 @ 21:02

  • The-Bodybuilder #57 2 years ago

    @JamieR
    Dude, you HAVE to finish it. The story isn't very good? Wait till u get to the final few hours, its mind-blowing.

  • Xerx3s #58 2 years ago

    I highly doubt that the pc version will be much different this time. Like they said, the problems weren't so much technical as they where experience problems. The lessons learned where implemented into the pc version. Apart from graphical settings, i doubt that they will have any differences in ME2.

  • DuX1112 #59 2 years ago

    @ miiiguel:

    Sure, but if the story was gonna be personal, why did it promise 'saving the whole galaxy' thing after all? You know? For example, I found the KOTOR stories much more personal because the stories never pretended to be something much above the personal. You're a Jedi, they're Sith, this Sith is particularly dangerous, he's building a whole armada, go hunt him down (he can be stopped, he isn't more powerful than the whole Galaxy).

    Now, at times, in ME I felt that the coming of the Reapers would be absolutely catastrophic. Like Gods, you know. And maybe even a full scale war wouldn't scratch the Reapers at all. But you see, I wanted to face the Reapers, and to destroy them. Not to delay them. Half a game I wondered HOW on Earth was the game gonna deliver on this. And before I knew it, I got to the final missions (I expected the main story line would be longer and more complex), and guess what: sorry, but the Reapers aren't coming, and Saren and his Sovereign are desperately attempting to change that and let the reapers in... So the arch-hoodoo-enemy and the fate of apocalyptic mechanical unstopable Gods hangs on thin threads, depends on a desperate Saren. You could almost feel sorry for the guy.

    It kinda crashed the whole 'shock and awe', apocalyptic feel that I had in the game. They took the fate of the whole Galaxy (billion billions of creatures), and put it in YOUR goddamn hands. Between you and Saren. Which is exactly Hollywood, I'd say. There's no way to defeat the Reapers? Oh wait, we can end the game and defeat the Reapers deus-ex-machina style (kill Saren (twice) and voila). Damn shootout.

    So, my point is: the plot should and WAS personal, and very personal indeed. Sure, I was a Spectre. But the Reapers scare turned out just a show. The Council made fun of you, cities weren't destroyed, planets weren't bombarded, no invasion occurred, because player killed Saren. My main problem with the story is with the lack of imagination in the way they concluded it. Overall, the game had its moments, some of which are not seen in any other game. But somehow, I didn't like the ending. Seemed kinda shallow to me.

    So anyways it's just MY opinion. Maybe when I finished it I had a bad day or something. :)
    Edited by 1 at 01/09/09 @ 22:11

  • DUFFKING #60 2 years ago

    I was very late to the Mass Effect party and had no hype at all, since I'd borrowed it from a friend. Very much enjoyed it, however the side missions were extremely lackluster, the inventory was fiddly and annoying and the non-story planets could be made in about 10 mintues flat using the Unreal Editor terrain creation tool.

    I'll be buying this on release though - better side missions, please Bioware! On my second playthrough I pretty much ignored all the non story missions.

    Also, the exposition scene on the final planet you visit with the prothean AI is one of my favourite bits in a game ever.

  • The-Bodybuilder #61 2 years ago

    @ Dux112
    Err, dude, you DO know ME is a first of a trilogy? THE ENTIRE SERIES IS LEADING UP THE THE RETURN OF THE REAPERS.[/spoilers]

  • Rodriguez #62 2 years ago

    @ DuX1112
    How exactly would one person, Commander Shepard, have defeated the entire army (possibly billions upon billions strong) of Reapers, who were so powerful they were capable of sterilising the entire galaxy? That just wouldn't have been viable to the story of Mass Effect at all and Bioware might as well have not bothered making it. It's like saying you wished the Death Star hadn't been blown up in Star Wars Episode IV, which if it hadn't would have destroyed the Rebel Alliance and dented George Lucas's bank account to boot! The whole point of Shepards mission as it became clear was to *stop the Reapers ever arriving which he/she succeeded in doing, as far as we know, for now.
    Edited by 2 at 01/09/09 @ 22:52

  • AhSoul #63 2 years ago

    me: "It's an RPG but if your teammates die they come back to life afterwards."
    miiguel: They are not dead (blasphemy!), they are *downed*, and can't help you anymore, when stuff gets quiter they recover. Sheeesh!

    -2? I was quoting the article, which said they die.....

    If they're only incapacitated then fine. I got the impression though that while he was playing he blew the guy's head off with a sniper rifle. I'd hardly call that incapacitated :D

  • DuX1112 #64 2 years ago

    Hmm. Nooo! No I didn't know it was planned as a trilogy? =/

    Or, I might have known, but forgotten (some memories do come to mind now that you mention it!). Anyways that isn't the point. Strangely how I hadn't noticed that fact. :/ Well now the kinda partial feeling to how the story ended makes sense, thanks guys! Whew... and I thought they fucked up the plot... :/ Now it all fits...

    Well I'm backing up all those comments on the plot. It's all right.

    On a side note, on Wiki it says its a trilogy, but further down it goes: "Mass Effect was originally conceived as a trilogy, but EA has confirmed that Mass Effect "will be a franchise for [EA] for a very long time" indicating that the franchise may extend beyond the planned trilogy.[38]"

    :)

  • metalangel #65 2 years ago

    "DuX1112: How could you be disappointed? A *single* Reaper (Sovereign) requires a huge fleet to take down in a colossally destructive battle, surely that was incredibly epic and tense enough, not to mention you firstly breathing a sigh of relief that it's just the one, and secondly wanting to rush to ensure that the rest don't arrive.

  • DuX1112 #66 2 years ago

    @ Rodriguez:

    Look here, that's the whole point! I wasn't expecting Shepard to destroy/defeat the Reapers singlehandedly. I was expecting some full-scale fighting, or maybe Shepard discovering some kind of a weapon or a way to counter the threat. Maybe locate the 'sleeping' Reapers into the intergalactic space, and while they're hibernating, destroy them one by one. Just imagine that, the Normandy embarking into the endless intergalactic, freezing voids of space!

    At least that was what I hoped for. :)

    But hey, the thing is a trilogy. That leaves enough space for the Reapers demise, hehehe. :D

    Btw I disagree with your Star Wars analogy, but ok. ;)

  • DuX1112 #67 2 years ago

    @ metalangel:

    Sure, the Sovereign was a might ship, but the armada took him out. It was scary if he could let the other Reapers in, but surely the portion of warships assembled around the Citadel wasn't all the firepower the whole non-reaper Galaxy had in store.

    Anyways, that was before I forgot it was a trilogy... As I mentioned earlier, I've been playing the game for almost 2-3 years with numerous reinstalations and shit, starting all over again, so I've forgotten it's a trilogy....

  • The-Bodybuilder #68 2 years ago

    @Dux112
    Thats just EA being.....EA .But the story arc is all done.

  • DuX1112 #69 2 years ago

    @ The Bodybuilder:

    Sure dude, it is, I agree. Btw a personal thanks to you because you reminded me that it was a trilogy, after all. :)

    Man, now I love the game even more. :p

  • Rodriguez #70 2 years ago

    @ DuX1112
    My Star Wars analogy was based on the notion that had the Empires Death Star destroyed the Rebel Alliance, just as if the Reapers in Mass Effect had arrived and undoubtedly destroyed the unprepared and unsuspecting Citadel nations alliance, the reasons for playing/watching these series would be null and void, even more so in Mass Effect as the galaxy would be sterilised of all intelligent life, to start anew again. I think it is hinted at in Mass Effect that the Reapers were billions or more strong and I doubt the technologies or armies of all the Citadel races combined was powerful enough to defeat these individual behemoths! I could, however, be proved wrong in future Mass Effect games ;)
    I think one thing we can agree on though is that perhaps some sort of major space combat in future Mass Effect games would be very welcome to spruce things up a bit, using the Normandy or another ship to deal out some pain would be quite nice!

  • Rens11 #71 2 years ago

    Hi I'm interested in getting the first mass effect but why is it so good? the combat looks really strange like constantly bringing up menu's and that is it alot better actually playing it as oppsessed to watchin vids? I luv all the final fantasy's and also fallout 3 is it similar? cheers!

  • DuX1112 #72 2 years ago

    @ Rens11:

    You want Mass Effect 1 on the PC or the 360? I recommend it for the PC, but give it a try, whatever your platform is. ;)


    @ Rodriguez:

    Yeah, I'd like space combat too. The analogy is okay I guess, but I hate to remind you that I hadn't known that it's a trilogy when I posted those comments. :) So put yourself in my position, and imagine that ME isn't a trilogy, that it's just one part. And in this part, you're getting plenty of warnings about the coming of the Reapers, etc. The huge threat that they are, etc.

    This being the case, would a complete lack of head to head confrontation with the Reapers satisfy you? That would be like Luke Skywalker tracking down the Death Star's commander, and executing him in a gunfight right after sabotaging the Death Star's main cannon (so the commander of the station would have to fight out of sheer desperate revenge), all the while not engaging a single Imperial soldier (or a Sith, or Vader). Imagine that by firing the Death Star's beam, a huge imperial armada would suddenly spawn in space, and by kicking the commander in the nuts, you effectively stop that. :) Pretty silly I'd say. :) (Luke sniping a torpedo in a tube straight down to the reactor of the Death Star isn't much better, but heck, it was a desperate dogfight. And I was little back then). :D

    Anyways, I like your ideas. You got my imagination working now. :)
    Edited by 1 at 02/09/09 @ 02:29

  • gewy #73 2 years ago

    "Sure, the Sovereign was a might ship, but the armada took him out. It was scary if he could let the other Reapers in, but surely the portion of warships assembled around the Citadel wasn't all the firepower the whole non-reaper Galaxy had in store."

    I got the impression the Citadel fleet was a major portion of the galaxy's firepower since it was sort of their capital. In any event, if the reapers had gained control of Citadel, they also would have had control of the entire hyperspace network, so all the remaining individual systems would have been cut off and isolated. Even if there were a few ships to protect them, they couldn't mount a coordinated defense. The reapers would just pick them off one by one at their leisure as they had countless times before.

  • busboy33 #74 2 years ago

    @Raajaa:

    "I liked the bit in the first one where you can punch the reporter"

    My first playthru was as a Paragon, so I had to just keep grinning while she "interviewed" me. Played it nice and gentleman-y . . . but all I could think was "see you next playthru, darlin'"

    Second was pure Renegade, and I don't think she got a full sentence out before I was drilling the "clock this obnoxious she-dog" option like it was Track&Field. Say goodnight, Gracie!

    Memories is right . . . i gots me a warm fuzzy in my tummy just thinking about it . . .

  • busboy33 #75 2 years ago

    @Dux:

    "no epic huge scale wars,"

    Really? The final battle wasn't epic enough for you? How many ships need to be blasting away to hit "epic"-ness?

    The final boss-fight was meh, unless you talked Saren into blowing his own head off . . . which was pretty awesome IMHO but the space battles were pretty damn hot to me.

  • comissars_handgun #76 2 years ago

    Yeah at the end of the game talking Saren into blowing his head off just made my jaw drop out of how awesome it was. Everything I've heard about the sequel sounds like an improvement, though I'm worried that the trailers haven't had the same great 80s retro sci-fi style music that I loved in the original.
    Edited by 2 at 02/09/09 @ 07:41

  • Fwing #77 2 years ago

    Mass Effect is the quintessential 360 game for me. Yes it has technical flaws but I love it anyway. Just like the 360.

  • Kzin #78 2 years ago

    I thought the story and production values were great, however the gameplay left some to be desired. I thought the combat sucked, the macko bounced around like a ballon (both accelerate and turn with the left stick o__O), and the rpg elements were too shallow.

    On some missions you had the option of killing someone or persuading them to surrender, and the only thing that seemed to determine if you could persuade them were if you had enough skill points on intimidate or persuade. In KOTOR it depended on how you handled the whole conversation, if you told them what they wanted to hear.

    The fact that good option were always up, neutral ones in the middle and evil ones down took much of the fun out of the conversations. There were no need to think about what you were gonna say. I missed reading all the funny things you could have said but didnīt, like in kotor.

    Sidemissions were always "go somewhere and kill someone".

    Still think it the second one will be fun, as long as I play it like an adventure/action game with great story and light rpg elements.

  • RedSparrows #79 2 years ago

    All gripers are peons who grovel in the dirt.

    ME2 shall be thine lord and master.

    etc.

    Kzin, for what it's worth, I think you might have missed what you were looking for at times: sure, some choices were skill dependent (like KOTOR), but others were worked out by the covnersation etc.
    Edited by 2 at 02/09/09 @ 12:27

  • DuX1112 #80 2 years ago

    Well yeah, I did talk Saren into blowing off his head, which was awesome, but as you know, he git back up on his feet and turned into this reaperish Saren-looking creature which I gunned down. Would be more cool if after he blew his head off Shepard could enter the Reaper and face his 'voice', and resist this so called indoctrination. Or something.

    Anyways, what do you think about using the Citadel as a reverse-way jumpgate? I.e. the Normandy or a whole armada of warships hyperspacing into Reaper territory?


    @ busboy33:

    Before asking me such things, you should read what my perspective was while I played the game (forgot it was a trilogy). That way I wouldn't have to write this goddamn essay.

    So, the final battle. Firstly, it wasn't a battle, it was a movie of a battle, and you weren't directly taking part into it (Joker was, with the Normandy). You were busy getting your hands dirty. You had a choice whether to save the Council or not, and regardless of the imminent feeling of panic on the last level, you could slouch yourself for hours in the top levels of the Citadel, talking Saren into this, into that, killing him, losing some more precious moments, then he resurrecting again, killing him again, all the while the battle outside seems pretty much frantic and critical and all that. On those last levels, I half expected a timed mission or some kind of a time-trial (i.e. deal with Saren in less than 2 minutes before the Sovereign succeeds hacking the Citadel and unleashing the Reaper fleet etc.).

    Overall, I felt the last level was kinda too comfortable for the player. Not mentioning the stroll to the Sovereign via the Citadel's walls (and the Sovereign just sits there on the Citadel's tower, and there are no ships attacking it. And you don't get blown to pieces. Hmm. You're sure there's a space war going on?).

    Then, it was ONE battle, on ONE location, involving a huge (and strangely impotent) armada against a single (but strangely powerful) enemy ship (with its Geth drone-ships). All around the shitty Citadel. And while you were emptying clips into the chest of Saren redux, for the umpteenth time in the game, they were out in space haivng fun! (Or something like that, visible only in the cutscenes.) :)

    And don't get me wrong, the battle movie was tense, and yeah, it had a certain 'epic'-ness to it because of the fear factor, but I had expectations about engaging the Reapers head on, or at least, devising a strategy to infiltrate their staging grounds and sabotage/destroy them (from behind their backs). And who knows, maybe this is a direction some of the sequels will take.

    So it's not about whether it was epic enough or not (for me), it's about having different expectations as far as the story goes. Not having any expectations in general is the best thing, but if one's role in the game is to prevent/eliminate a certain threat, one should also try to figure out how to do this, and think of the best way to do it. And in regards to overall dealing with the Reapers, ME part 1 does well enough (and superb in the whole context of ME's universe), but we have yet to see the overall outcome (which I (erroneously) expected to see in ME part 1).

  • SliderNL #81 2 years ago

    To make it clear, I like RPG's but BioWare haven't nailed it for me in some time know, NeverWinter Nights was nothing compared to Baldur's Gate, Jade Empire was seriously flawed and Mass Effect was a gem but way to rough around the edges. Bad inventory, terrible combat system (it felt like an crappy third person shooter). They should have gone for the system that Fallout 3 uses (way better). Don't even begin with the clunky vehicle combat and why aren't there more savepoints in this game?

  • busboy33 #82 2 years ago

    @DuX:

    I suppose that's a fair outlook, alhough it doesn't ring with me.

    As you said, its a trilogy, so invading the Reaper homeworld and launching a Final Solution would leave precious little narrative room for the remaining 2/3rds of the story arc. Unless of course the armada hits the warp gate . . . and we get a "Halo2-esque" cliffhanger, which would have been pure, gold-plated ass. It also would leave no room for buildup in the 2nd and 3rd games, as they'd pretty much have to be armada combat exclusively. Besides, the entire Armada was having trouble taking down one Reaper . . . warping to the 1,000+ strong Reaper battlegroup might fall into the "large balls but small brain" category of tactical decisions.

    Running space combat would be awesome fun, but I don't see how it would fit into the story. First, you'd have to build an entire "space battle" sub game into the software, and that might not be practical. It would be cool to dogfight the Normandy . . . but it's a crewed vessel. Joker is the pilot, not Sheppard. Grabbing the flightstick and dogging around like a remake of X-Wing would have seemed (to me) out of place.
    I suppose they could have handled it like a tac sim (" long range bombers set up position over here, fighters form up into attack position, etc.";), but given the battle took place inside the Citadel, there wasn't exactly tactical space for strategy. The style of the battle ("We're fucked if the Reaper makes it, so everybody do what you can NOW! No time for planning!";) really built the narrative tension for me. This wasn't a battle -- it was a desperate last stand.
    Besides, you're a Spectre . . . not Admiral Akbar. You're the future equivilant of James Bond. Bond doesn't jump on the mic and take command of the battle . . . He focuses on his mission while the battle rages around him.

    Like I said, your opinion is fair and understandable. I really liked how they did it though. The overlapping threads (Sheppard vs. Saren while the Armada vs. Reaper is raging outside) really worked at an emotional level. You're a vital thread to the story, but you are just one thread in a breathing world. The rest of the universe didn't just sit and wait for commands.

  • busboy33 #83 2 years ago

    re: The Mako's guns:

    You could aim up and down, but "down" was limited (since the guns are on top of the Mako, they were blocked by the Mako itself from panning too far in the down axis). If you were too high , you couldn't fire down into your target. But if you parked on a slope facing down, you had alot more flexibility since in relation to the body of the Mako you were panning "up" to sweep your targets.

  • comissars_handgun #84 2 years ago

    They have said that you will have a new vehicle in Mass Effect 2 but I don't think they have given any details about what it is. I'm hoping for a walker.

  • DuX1112 #85 2 years ago

    @ busboy33:

    + 1.

    ;)

  • Wolverfrog #86 2 years ago

    Is Thane a MALE Asari? Revelations said that the Asari were a female only race...

  • E_Goldstein #87 2 years ago

    Having played Mass Effect when it came out, and not since, all this hype is really making me want to give it a good playthrough again. The inclusion of a persistent character is a brilliant bit of marketing that will certainly shift copies of the original again.

    Furthermore, for a generation of consoles with so few decent RPG's I for one can't wait to rub my greasy mits all over shepards face!

  • Grayvern #88 2 years ago

    But next year ill probably be writing my dissertation dam it

  • RedSparrows #89 2 years ago

    Thane's a 'Drell', whatever that is.

  • sirtacos #90 2 years ago

    This preview is reassuring considering how shit KotOR and Dragon Age are looking right now.
    Woop.

  • Benraiben2k #91 2 years ago

    I don't have an Xbox, but play my friends and i loved Mass Effect 1! I hope it isn't too focused on shooting through and that exploration is still a big part.