Forum > Gaming Discussion > Mass Effect 2: Impressions
Mass Effect 2: Impressions
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Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:02:42
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After bringing peace back to Ferelden...for a while at least, I dived head-first into Bioware's second installment of Mass Effect, one of my personal favorites and my most beloved franchise this generation. A couple days into it, and with 10 hours already under my belt, I am more than happy with the way this sequel was handled.

Story kicks off to a magnificent start, all guns blazing, from the very beginning of the game. Within the very first hours of progression, you go from one "WTF?" moment to another, bumping into familiar faces and meeting new ones. The way new characters are introduced is very entertaining.

Gameplay has been refined in favor of a more streamlined approach to combat, thanks to the functions assigned to the face and shoulder buttons, which allow you to map special powers for immediate usage and go back to previous weapons instead of opening the radial menus with the triggers. Couple that with in-context tactical actions mapped to the D-pad, and skirmishes are more fluid and satisfying.

Most of the criticism to certain aspects of the previous game has been adressed with satisfactory results. Mako driving has been dropped off altogether, and now planet descents are being handled via a shuttle. The reason is explained in-game. I loved Mako driving in the first game, but I realized it was a tedious process and understood how it would be a drag for most people, especially considering that you would only wander around huge chunks of nothingness in search of useless stuff (in a practical sense), or looking for the next boringly designed facility to advance in a mission. Now you get shuttled in directly to the landing locations, which BTW, are much improved from  a design standpoint.

Mineral mining is still here, but with a more practical approach. Instead of jumping from planet to planet looking for the next useless rock, you enter a planet's orbit, and scan its surface from your ship, using a sensor that detects a number of elements that you can gather via probes, and that you store for further use in your research facility, to upgrade weapons, armor, ship parts and implants. Whenever an anomaly is detected on a planet, you can pinpoint it, launch a probe and land on it to investigate.

You navigate your galaxy map in a number of levels: galaxy, cluster, system and planet. On the galactic level, you need to travel using mass relays, to choose your next cluster, once in it, you control your ship like in asteroids, to travel between systems, minding your fuel and resupplying it and probes in facilities near mass relay stations. When you've entered a system, you can move freely between planets and choose which one you want to enter its orbit, to scan or land.

The ship design is much improved as well, larger and with a research facility, armory and medical installations, as well as your own personal room, where you can chill out and listen to music, collect furniture (I shit you not, GG, lol) and other stuff, choose and modify your armor appearance and casual clothing and even have pets.

I am happy.
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Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:30:58
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Yeah they did an absolutely fantastic job making this sequel. Personally I didn't have any real issues with the first game myself but Bioware certainly took some of the fan's critisms to heart and made the appropriate changes. They also did a marvelous job integrating all the decisions one made in the first game and reflecting it in ME2. Man ME3 should be mind-boggling in this regard.

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Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:44:40
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SteelAttack said:

The ship design is much improved as well, larger and with a research facility, armory and medical installations, as well as your own personal room, where you can chill out and listen to music, collect furniture (I shit you not, GG, lol) and other stuff, choose and modify your armor appearance and casual clothing and even have pets.

I am happy.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt?

OMG

What pets. WHAT PETS!

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Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:46:12
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Archangel3371 said:

Yeah they did an absolutely fantastic job making this sequel. Personally I didn't have any real issues with the first game myself but Bioware certainly took some of the fan's critisms to heart and made the appropriate changes. They also did a marvelous job integrating all the decisions one made in the first game and reflecting it in ME2. Man ME3 should be mind-boggling in this regard.

Does the story continue on directly from the first? And if so does this mean that the first game ended on like a cliffhanger or something?

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Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:27:47
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Cool game.
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Listen to Iced Earth and play Doom

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Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:32:59
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gamingeek said:

SteelAttack said:

The ship design is much improved as well, larger and with a research facility, armory and medical installations, as well as your own personal room, where you can chill out and listen to music, collect furniture (I shit you not, GG, lol) and other stuff, choose and modify your armor appearance and casual clothing and even have pets.

I am happy.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt?

OMG

What pets. WHAT PETS!

LOL So far I have no idea, but I'm going with what the manual said regarding pets and furniture. In my room there's an empty fish tank, so probably fish. You can also collect scale models of alien spaceships and hang them.

Archie knows BC he finished it in every available difficulty.

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Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:18:11
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Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it's not exactly 'furniture'. You can collect ship models to put in your trophy case. I can't remember how many but I think it's about 8 or 10. There were 3 types of fish I found to put in the fish tank. There is also a space hamster you can get.

Yes the story continues directly from the first game. The ending of the first isn't what you would call a cliffhangar. It does end satisfyingly but clearly shows that it isn't over yet.

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Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:41:27
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Archangel3371 said:

Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it's not exactly 'furniture'. You can collect ship models to put in your trophy case. I can't remember how many but I think it's about 8 or 10. There were 3 types of fish I found to put in the fish tank. There is also a space hamster you can get.

Yes the story continues directly from the first game. The ending of the first isn't what you would call a cliffhangar. It does end satisfyingly but clearly shows that it isn't over yet.

A frigging space hamster!!!!

Why was this not on the adverts?

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Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:46:10
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gamingeek said:


Archangel3371 said:


Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it's not exactly 'furniture'. You can collect ship models to put in your trophy case. I can't remember how many but I think it's about 8 or 10. There were 3 types of fish I found to put in the fish tank. There is also a space hamster you can get.

Yes the story continues directly from the first game. The ending of the first isn't what you would call a cliffhangar. It does end satisfyingly but clearly shows that it isn't over yet.

A frigging space hamster!!!!



Why was this not on the adverts?

 

LOL Who knows. I did mention the space hamster before though but does anyone listen to me. Noooooooo. Nyaa

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Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:02:39
LOL Archie is the VGPress' unsung hero.
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Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:04:14

154wo0h.jpg

Is this scene in the game?

Is this the end boss?

I WILL BUY MASS EFFECT 2 IF THIS SCENE IS IN THE GAME.

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Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:06:25
LOL
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Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:19:31

LOL No but he could very well be in ME3. The ground work has already been laid in ME2.

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Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:24:03
If Space Hamster is in ME3, then I will buy ME3 day one. Grinning

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Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:29:57

Archangel3371 said:

LOL No but he could very well be in ME3. The ground work has already been laid in ME2.

Sonofa...##

Don't tease me. Would there be anything more EPIC than having that boss fight?

I THINK NOT

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Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:49:38

gamingeek said:

154wo0h.jpg

Is this scene in the game?

Is this the end boss?

I WILL BUY MASS EFFECT 2 IF THIS SCENE IS IN THE GAME.

LOL

I still have the first one, sealed from launch.  I'll never get around to this series.  Hell, I still have to play through the KOTORs.

Steel, what made you play it? Was it out of appreciation for Bioware after DA?

Edited: Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:50:19

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Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:09:52

Archangel3371 said:

 

LOL Who knows. I did mention the space hamster before though but does anyone listen to me. Noooooooo. Nyaa

 Or you could have made this thread yourself when you were playing the game and you would be the hero among hobo's. But do you ever make threads?! Nooooooooo

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Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:00:00

I want this game to be released on the PS3 with the original included as a bonus on the bluray ... with enhanced visuals and bonus content.

i'd buy it full price

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Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:34:37

bugsonglass said:

I want this game to be released on the PS3 with the original included as a bonus on the bluray ... with enhanced visuals and bonus content.

i'd buy it full price

Why did I hear that in the RE4 weapons dealer voice? LOL

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Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:37:56

gamingeek said:

bugsonglass said:

I want this game to be released on the PS3 with the original included as a bonus on the bluray ... with enhanced visuals and bonus content.

i'd buy it full price

Why did I hear that in the RE4 weapons dealer voice? LOL

 you know i thought the same thing after i wrote that, and i even thought of changing it to "high" price

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