Mass Effect 2 *spoilers around pg 29/30*

[Stormwaltz]

Giantbomb just put up 20 minutes worth of Arrival video.

[tmp]

I was disappoint seeing guards in batarian prison wear helmets with two eyes, though.

[cironian]

I was disappoint seeing guards in batarian prison wear helmets with two eyes, though.

A Human disguise. The cutting edge of batarian subterfuge.

[Jeff Kelly]

Heads up: The Arrival is now available for download on live. It's just 780 MB though, a lot less than Shadow Broker.

[UnSub]

Only 3 achievements as well, so don't expect anything too deep.

[Shrike]

Downloaded it this morning. It's 560 points, and 800mb. That puts it in the same region as Overlord, at least superficially.

No time to fiddle with it now, but tonight...oh yes. I'd expect about 2-3 hours and hopefully at least a few answers amidst the foreshadowing. 

[TripleDES]

Playing this after a long hiatus made me realize that I don't like the direction ME is taking gameplay wise. Too much zergrushing, more so in this DLC. I hope they increase the RPG content in ME3.

[Jeff Kelly]

Played it and god was this dissappointing. Lazy writing, very short and I didn't once buy that there was no alternative to

Conveniently enough I was unconscious long enough so that everything had to play out as it was supposed to.

Also, seriously I've seen a lot of inane "bad guy won't kill you right away" stuff in my time but
 takes the cake as probably one of the worst cop outs ever.

This is "I want my money back" bad.

[yoh]

After the first dialog I was like "Who are you? You are not my Shepard! What have you done to her?!"
I guess I got my hopes up too high after the Shadowbroker DLC.

[Velorath]

Definitely a step down from Shadow Broker.  I can only assume most of the talent is working on ME3 right now.  As a "bridge" between 2 and 3 this doesn't really add anything.  We know going into this DLC that regardless of what you do, the Reapers are going to be here for ME3, so the stakes here are really just stalling them for an unknown amount of time.

Edit: In fact, I wish they added in the sarcastic responses from DA2 in here.  My response to the basic setup of the DLC, that an operative has found evidence of the Reaper invasion would have been something along the lines of "Really?  People don't believe in the Reapers even after one of them attacked the Citadel.  Somebody managed to find evidence more convincing than that?".

Nothing in this DLC changes the status quo from the end of ME1 let alone ME2.

[Sjofn]

Yeeeeah, that could've been better. Also I hate being by myself. I like bringing friends!


Also, you know what? I'm just gonna say it. Fuck batarians. Fuck 'em! Even my paragons hate those assholes.

[Ingmar]

Little on the short and unexciting side, yeah. And not as bridgey as advertised frankly. It does supposedly change a little if you do it earlier in the storyline than with a finished save, so I guess I will try that out and see how it differs.

[UnSub]

Playing this after a long hiatus made me realize that I don't like the direction ME is taking gameplay wise. Too much zergrushing, more so in this DLC. I hope they increase the RPG content in ME3.

I wouldn't get your hopes up. Expect Gears of War, but with better dialogue.

This is BioWare shooting for the biggest market possible, which is all about downplaying the RPG elements (which BioWare do questionably anyway outside of characterisation) and upgrading the combat engine to be more of a shooter.

Or to steal a line from someone else, the market wants Doom, not Loom.

[Sjofn]

For Mass Effect, I can't say that really bothers me, exactly. I enjoyed the combat in ME2 more than in ME1, although neither really made me go "lol I'm RPGing," soooo maybe that's why? I dunno.

[Velorath]

[TripleDES]

For Mass Effect, I can't say that really bothers me, exactly. I enjoyed the combat in ME2 more than in ME1, although neither really made me go "lol I'm RPGing," soooo maybe that's why? I dunno.

It's the lack of being able to run around randomly, a la ME1 Citadel and the non-shootey puzzle quests.

--edit: Actually, I remember that there were some, but for some reason, I wasn't exactly excited by them, since I forgot about them.

[Ingmar]

So they just need to toss some Towers of Hanoi in ME3 and they're good to go?

[Jeff Kelly]

We already had Towers of Hanoi in 1 but how about some Jenga or a Rubik's cube

[tmp]

Someone spent time making that probing mini-game. It ain't going anywhere until the fat volus sings.

[Azuredream]

that probing mini-game

 

Sorry, carry on.

[Sjofn]

For Mass Effect, I can't say that really bothers me, exactly. I enjoyed the combat in ME2 more than in ME1, although neither really made me go "lol I'm RPGing," soooo maybe that's why? I dunno.

It's the lack of being able to run around randomly, a la ME1 Citadel and the non-shootey puzzle quests.

--edit: Actually, I remember that there were some, but for some reason, I wasn't exactly excited by them, since I forgot about them.

Ah, I understand that better. Although I'm one of those people who is all "fuck me, I hate puzzles. Fuck you, puzzles!" so I totally don't even notice when they've gone missing.  I liked ME2's citadel alright, although it did make the place feel much smaller. Which was probably something they didn't want.

[UnSub]

There was little reason to go to the Citadel though. Do a few missions there, buy all the items / weapons, but it was no more or less special than any other similar location in ME2.

I was disappointed I couldn't get of a conversation going with Anderson though. In ME1, he was a pseudo-mentor and potential friend to the character, but he has absolutely nothing to contribute to ME2 outside of a little backstory. I went back a couple of times to see if he had a comment on what was happening in game, but he never had any new dialogue.

[Lantyssa]

That disappointed me, too.  The entire Citadel experience made it feel like any of the other backwater planets and stations, not the galactic hub of civilization.  I understand it was because you were trying to keep a low profile, but the feel came across wrong.

[Shrike]

Finally got around to tearing through The Arrival. It reminded me most of Overlord, but without the hovertank stuff, which to my mind was an improvement. Overall, I liked it. Like most, I would have preferred more story and foreshadwing, but I think it got its point across quite well. I got to do my two most favorite things--shoot people in the face and blow shit up--in spades. Yeah, on the blow-shit-up scale...definately a 9.5. That's not something you get to do very often in games anymore. Well done, Cmdr. Shepard.


Regardless, I have something like 7 more playthroughs of this to get done over the coming weeks. It's going to be a long six months or so, even with the inevitable parade of trailers that will show up this summer.

[Comstar]

What his reaction?

mod edit: nice quoting.. jeebus.  WAY TO CLOSE THE SPOILER TAG.

[Sjofn]

That disappointed me, too.  The entire Citadel experience made it feel like any of the other backwater planets and stations, not the galactic hub of civilization.  I understand it was because you were trying to keep a low profile, but the feel came across wrong.

Ideally (for me) there would've not been much reason to go there, but the place would've been bigger. Which makes no sense to do from a design standpoint, I am sure. But it would've worked better for me.

Also if Shepard doesn't start ME3 in space jail for what s/he did in Arrival, I will be surprised. It bonuses as a good explanation as to why you have no stuff and no crew.

[Ratman_tf]

Well, I'm getting through the DLC finally. I completed Firewalker and Kasumi. So far, the DLC is... I'm starting to regret spending money on it.

[Sjofn]

I liked Overlord even though it made me hate Cerberus more, and everyone loves Lair of the Shadow Broker!

[Polysorbate80]

Also if Shepard doesn't start ME3 in space jail for what s/he did in Arrival, I will be surprised. It bonuses as a good explanation as to why you have no stuff and no crew.

[jakonovski]

Balancing was poop on Nightmare, I died many times in the beginning but the final battle was a wash. Plot wise, meh. It didn't feel canon at all, and I'm pretty sure it'll be ignored in ME3.

[Shrike]

Well...the way I see it...


I don't have any problems with all this and it'll hopefully be a trip of the "hell yeah" variety down the usual Bioware lane. There are a LOT of things that need addressed from the previous two games and I'm hoping ME3 is truly a huge game. We shall see in the not too distant future.

[Sjofn]

Also if Shepard doesn't start ME3 in space jail for what s/he did in Arrival, I will be surprised. It bonuses as a good explanation as to why you have no stuff and no crew.

[Ingmar]

Kind of striking how ugly the faces in this game seem after coming back to it post-DA2. Hopefully ME3 will be a similar leap forward on that front.

[Sjofn]

They were always ugly. Mass Effect is an ugly universe. But yeah, they seemed to somehow get even uglier. 

[tmp]

And people wonder why aliens get picked over humans