Mass Effect 2 *spoilers around pg 29/30*

[tmp]

Wrex....

The guy has four testicles; anything else including his backstory is really secondary.

edit: okay i lie. Suspect my fondness for him comes from character being pretty much a copy of Black Whirlwind from Jade Empire.

[Velorath]

ME is a real shooter (though you can pause to give orders) as in you have to aim and you can dodge projectiles so it's not like the BioWare fantasy RPGs in that regard.

And it looks like ME2 goes further down that path with the way the classes have been changed.  The combat actually looks pretty fun judging by each of the class videos.

[Ratman_tf]

Well, I've played up to Vimire so far.

[stray]

This may sound odd, but I never played Mass Effect because I didn't care much Jade Empire (I don't know why, it just left me cold). I thought I didn't care for Bioware rpgs anymore until I played DA:O. Now I plan on buying ME 1 and 2, but before I do I wanted to ask teh internets: while I realize ME is in a different setting, is it fair to say it's a BG/DA style game, or is it something completely different?

I would say the characters and story from DA:O are presented better than both JE and ME, but JE and ME kick in after awhile,and have much better gameplay. You should give em a shot.

[schild]

JE is a goddamn mess I could not finish. ME I have finished 3 times. DA I finished once and will probably not play until the large expansion.

[MrHat]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS75LNeKbvc

Such a great trailer.

[Stormwaltz]

Hey, the artists remembered to put guns on the Normandy this time. Cool.

[Tarami]

Needs more Elves.

[eldaec]

This may sound odd, but I never played Mass Effect because I didn't care much Jade Empire (I don't know why, it just left me cold). I thought I didn't care for Bioware rpgs anymore until I played DA:O. Now I plan on buying ME 1 and 2, but before I do I wanted to ask teh internets: while I realize ME is in a different setting, is it fair to say it's a BG/DA style game, or is it something completely different?

I would say the characters and story from DA:O are presented better than both JE and ME, but JE and ME kick in after awhile,and have much better gameplay. You should give em a shot.

I actually think the biggest problem with the characters in ME is that aside from Ashley and Bao-Dur II they have no reason at all to join you. You wander about citadel and they're all like 'oh hey a random human just asked me a simple question about where he can find some guy I WILL FOLLOW YOU FOREVER MY SPECTRE LEIGE'.

Then they have no reason to spout their life story. And then you have no reason except xp to be doing their trivial bullshit side-quests. The writing is probably no better or worse than DA:O, but it lacks any motivation for them to do what you say or for you to dream up the arbitrary dialogue choices.

Not being able to micromanage them in combat probably doesn't help with the bonding process either.

EDIT : btw, ME is good and if you haven't already done so you should play it, not least because it is practically being given away in cereal boxes in order to promote ME2. My suspicion is that the phoned in parts came out that way because the effort was redirected into building the shooty gameplay model (that and consoles, everything is always somehow the fault of  consoles). Hopefully ME2 will build on that and not have the same issues.

[Trippy]

Not being able to micromanage them in combat probably doesn't help with the bonding process either.

You can micro them on the PC version.

[eldaec]

Do you just mean by pressing space?

When I play a normal Bioware RPGs I'm the pause-every-0.7-seconds-to-adjust-someone's-footing type of micromanager.

DA in particular I rarely let it run for a full second at a time.

ME space-bar tactics feel like playing Shepard and shouting vague instructions, rather than acting as a godlike puppet master holding the very soul of each party member in my vice like grip.

But better than nothing ofc.

[Ingmar]

There's a continuum in the NPCs and their reason to follow you. Wrex's continuing presence never made a ton of sense to me, but I think Garrus's presence and motivation is pretty clear, for example.

[NiX]

EA continues its record of having their games leak well before release.

[Sjofn]

You know, I'm with you on Bao-dur, he's like a walking yawn, but I remember seeing a many many pages long thread on the KOTOR2 forums that consisted mostly of female gamers swooning about how hot he and/or his character and/or his voice were. So maybe he just wasn't for us.

His voice was hot, but his character was boring as shit. Considering the other dude was Creepy Mc I-Killed-Her-Because-I-Loved-Her, I'm not surprised the ladies prefered Bao-dur.

[tmp]

Do you just mean by pressing space?

When I play a normal Bioware RPGs I'm the pause-every-0.7-seconds-to-adjust-someone's-footing type of micromanager.

DA in particular I rarely let it run for a full second at a time.

I'm pretty much the same but the ME spacebar micromanagement felt fine to me. The NPCs could be bit stupid when it came to decide just how exactly they'd try to take cover in designated spot, but otherwise executing their powers and such worked well enough.

[tmp]

EA continues its record of having their games leak well before release.

Seems to be equal opportunity leak, too?

Well, that Cerberus network thing better be free blowjobs and kittens, this is going to be a long week to suffer through

[Ratman_tf]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS75LNeKbvc

Such a great trailer.

I love the review numbers. They should start giving games like 10000000000 out of 1-5 stars.

[Engels]

Was the narrator the actor that plays John Locke in Lost? That's gonna be wierd.

[Trippy]

Narrator is Martin Sheen.

[Engels]

Hah, ya, it clicked after a second viewing.

I was sorta hoping for new weapons and such, but it looks like they ported over most of the artwork from the original ME. Now to convince the SO to play ME before ME2. She's on her 3rd playthrough of DA:O. That damned Alister.

[Fordel]

Have they released the PC Sys Req Specs yet? I'm looking at the game site, but I am apparently blind and/or retarded and can't find them.

[Riggswolfe]

Narrator is Martin Sheen.

Considering ole Martin Sheen plays a major character in the sequel it's not that surprising.

[Velorath]

Have they released the PC Sys Req Specs yet? I'm looking at the game site, but I am apparently blind and/or retarded and can't find them.

Check Steam, I know they're listed there.

[Fordel]

Have they released the PC Sys Req Specs yet? I'm looking at the game site, but I am apparently blind and/or retarded and can't find them.

Check Steam, I know they're listed there.

Of course! Steam, is there any problem you can't solve? 


I think my 7900 GS will muddle through still. Well, I hope.

[stray]

There's a continuum in the NPCs and their reason to follow you. Wrex's continuing presence never made a ton of sense to me, but I think Garrus's presence and motivation is pretty clear, for example.

I agree about Garrus, but I hear what eldaec is saying about the others too. It doesn't strike me as the same kind of character game their others have been. That said, still worth a play.

[01101010]

There's a continuum in the NPCs and their reason to follow you. Wrex's continuing presence never made a ton of sense to me, but I think Garrus's presence and motivation is pretty clear, for example.

I always got the feeling Wrex was still under the shadow broker's influence and killing Saren was the ultimate goal with the best pay out... and it didn't hurt that he was a Turian. Tali was there for some self-fulfillment though I suspect something else was going on in her Flotilla. The rest are pretty self explanatory.  

[stray]

It isn't that they don't get into the character motivations.. It's just that like eldaec said, it's written poorly where they just instantly start sucking your dick right away.

[AutomaticZen]

I was sorta hoping for new weapons and such, but it looks like they ported over most of the artwork from the original ME.

New weapons (even a new weapon class - Heavy Weapons), and new models for the weapons. 

But they've established their world already, and assault rifle is still going to look like an assault rifle.

[Hoax]

It isn't that they don't get into the character motivations.. It's just that like eldaec said, it's written poorly where they just instantly start sucking your dick right away.

This really pissed me off but then I just treated them as expendable and never interacted with them or listened to them and it all worked perfectly.

[Goreschach]

I was sorta hoping for new weapons and such, but it looks like they ported over most of the artwork from the original ME.

New weapons (even a new weapon class - Heavy Weapons), and new models for the weapons. 

But they've established their world already, and assault rifle is still going to look like an assault rifle.

They didn't have sub-machineguns in ME1, did they? I don't recall them offhand, although they seem like they're just going to be a replacement for the soldier-restricted assault rifle.

[NiX]

Warning (unless this gets patched out): Avoid going up to the counter in the clinic on Omega. There's a clipping bug that will get you stuck in the ceiling.

[Tarami]

Replaying ME1, I got reminded how much I squirm when listening to the dialogue. I don't really know why, it's not that it's atrociously acted or anything, there's just this feeling of slight embarrassment and discomfort that comes over me. It's like the uncanny valley of spoken dialogue, I guess.

[eldaec]

Something else in ME that always confused me....

You're on an uncharted planet, bouncing around in the party bus having a great time, but you decide to head back up the Normandy to get on with your important space police shit. You press N and.....


HOW THE FUCK DID THE BUS GET BACK UP TO ORBITAL ALTITUDE?

I can only assume it can fly, but if so, why can't I fly my flying space bus directly to wherever I need to be for all my planetary side quest antics?

[ajax34i]

It doesn't fly; Normandy lands and you drive into the cargo bay.  They just don't show the cutscene. 

I suppose when Normandy drops off the Mako on a planet, it doesn't always have to toss it out midflight - it could actually land and let the Mako gently drive out of the cargo bay, but my guess is they didn't want to have two cutscenes for the same result.

[Righ]

I suppose that I should try installing the original game again and find out if I can make it stable enough that I can play for more than half an hour without becoming frustrated. If I have any installs left. That 'game' was one of the worst uses of $50 ever.