Mass Effect 2 Discussion

[Tagaziel]

Has the gaming collective decayed so far that gamers don't read classic novellas?

No, yes, and learn to spot a joke.

 

There is no sarcasm on the Internet

[Purkake]

So, yay, I finished it as well.

 

 

Everything leading up to the end was awesome, the sweet dogfight in space, the part where you get to employ your team members in useful ways, Miranda shutting the Illusive Man off, people dieing.

 

What I didn't like was the end boss. A giant human Reaper? Really? And don't give me any of that crap about the Reapers "using their enemies' DNA". What possible advantage could having a ridiculous human body give to a giant space-faring race? That was just plain stupid.

 

Speaking of which, a boss fight where you have to hit the boss' weak spot(which was actually labeled that for extra hilarity). Really Bioware? I thought you were better than that. That last fight was straight out of a PS1 game.

 

Also, I didn't quite get who/what Harbinger actually was. Was he the human Reaper? The Collector general? Another Reaper?

 

One more thing, the Kelly(yeoman) romance was a total disappointment, if you can't be bothered to do it right don't put it in the game at all.

 

 

Sorry about the rant.

Edited February 1, 2010 by Purkake

[Chrisimo]

So, yay, I finished it as well.

 

 

Everything leading up to the end was awesome, the sweet dogfight in space, the part where you get to employ your team members in useful ways, Miranda shutting the Illusive Man off, people dieing.

 

What I didn't like was the end boss. A giant human Reaper? Really? And don't give me any of that crap about the Reapers "using their enemies' DNA". What possible advantage could having a ridiculous human body give to a giant space-faring race? That was just plain stupid.

 

Speaking of which, a boss fight where you have to hit the boss' weak spot(which was actually labeled that for extra hilarity). Really Bioware? I thought you were better than that. That last fight was straight out of a PS1 game.

 

Also, I didn't quite get who/what Harbinger actually was. Was he the human Reaper? The Collector general? Another Reaper?

 

One more thing, the Kelly(yeoman) romance was a total disappointment, you can't be bothered to do it correctly don't put it in the game at all.

 

 

Sorry about the rant.

 

 

Human Reaper:

 

Please remember that we are in space. The shape doesn't really matter. I agree it seems strange, but you are assuming that Reapers think like humans. The fight against it didn't seem to have a purpose, though. It didn't even do anything to me...

 

 

Harbinger

 

 

is the Reaper you can see talking to the Collector general soon before the station explodes. He can be seen on the datapad in the last scene on the Normandy, as well.

.

Edited February 1, 2010 by Chrisimo

[Purkake]

 

I was speaking more from Bioware's point of view. The thing looked ridiculous and from what I can understand the only reason it served was to explain why the Collectors were abduction humans. I'm sure they could have come up with another, less ridiculous reason for that.

 

As for Harbinger, so he was another Reaper hiding around a corner(or a planet), controlling the Collector general? Why didn't he help them out against Shepard or the Normandy? Also, I thought that Sovereign was the only Reaper who wasn't sleeping, how many are there? Couldn't they just kill everyone now, why wait for the others?

 

Edited February 1, 2010 by Purkake

[Hell Kitty]

Just completed it. Lost two people.

Tali was the obvious choice for the tech job, and I had Miranda lead the other team. Samara provided the biotic shield from the swarm, and I had Zaeed lead the others but he died. Legion lead the crew back to the Normandy, I took Miranda and Garrus with me to the end, and of the others I lost Mordin. I assume Zaeed died because he was the "wrong" choice to lead that segment, but I have no idea what I was supposed to do to keep Mordin alive. I had the loyalty of everyone on the team.

 

 

When I saw the

human Reaper

I immediately thought of Neon Genesis Evangelion.

[Killian Kalthorne]

There is no sarcasm on the Internet

 

Only Zuul.

[Enoch]

@Chrisimo: You left a pretty important term un-'spoilered' there.

[Purkake]

When I saw the

human Reaper

I immediately thought of Neon Genesis Evangelion.

I'm sure that's what Bioware was aiming for

[Chrisimo]

I was speaking more from Bioware's point of view. The thing looked ridiculous and from what I can understand the only reason it served was to explain why the Collectors were abduction humans. I'm sure they could have come up with another, less ridiculous reason for that.

 

As for Harbinger, so he was another Reaper hiding around a corner(or a planet), controlling the Collector general? Why didn't he help them out against Shepard or the Normandy? Also, I thought that Sovereign was the only Reaper who wasn't sleeping, how many are there? Couldn't they just kill everyone now, why wait for the others?

 

 

I'm not really sure that the Reapers are actually sleeping. Or maybe not completely. Harbinger seems to be among the Reaper fleet that is seen in the last scene. He probably tried to get another Reaper built to let the others through the Mass Relay.

 

The reason the Reapers are using human DNA is that they want to procreate and they are cyborgs and need part DNA. It seems very hard for them to find DNA, though, and the species have to be fairly advanded, too. That's the reason they let all those species evolve until they are fit for harvesting. And after they've done their harvesting they wipe out all those that are incompatible and start new. For some Reason the Reapers take the form of the species they are built from. Not because of the DNA but by choice of the creation. So they could choose another look if they wanted to. That's it in a nutshell as far as I understand it.

 

 

 

@Chrisimo: You left a pretty important term un-'spoilered' there.

 

 

Oh, yes, just realized that. I'm sorry, will try to be more careful next time..I have also edited my post...

Edited February 1, 2010 by Chrisimo

[Nepenthe]

 

As for Harbinger, so he was another Reaper hiding around a corner(or a planet), controlling the Collector general? Why didn't he help them out against Shepard or the Normandy? Also, I thought that Sovereign was the only Reaper who wasn't sleeping, how many are there? Couldn't they just kill everyone now, why wait for the others?

 

 

Probably not around a corner but with the other Reapers further away. And he did help out, repeatedly possessing individual Protheans through their implants like Sovereign possessed Saren in the end. Aaand, as it's explained now, the aim of the Reapers isn't to simply wipe everybody out, but to harvest the genetic material of the dominant species as a part of their reproductive system.

 

[Purkake]

I'm not really sure that the Reapers are actually sleeping. Or maybe not completely. Harbinger seems to be among the Reaper fleet that is seen in the last scene. He probably tried to get another Reaper built to let the others through the Mass Relay.

 

The reason the Reapers are using human DNA is that they want to procreate and they are cyborgs and need part DNA. It seems very hard for them to find DNA, though, and the species have to be fairly advanded, too. That's the reason they let all those species evolve until they are fit for harvesting. And after they've done their harvesting they wipe out all those that are incompatible and start new. For some Reason the Reapers take the form of the species they are built from. Not because of the DNA but by choice of the creation. So they could choose another look if they wanted to. That's it in a nutshell as far as I understand it.

 

I guess that makes sense.

 

That still doesn't excuse the

horrible boss fight design, though

.

[Chrisimo]

I'm not really sure that the Reapers are actually sleeping. Or maybe not completely. Harbinger seems to be among the Reaper fleet that is seen in the last scene. He probably tried to get another Reaper built to let the others through the Mass Relay.

 

The reason the Reapers are using human DNA is that they want to procreate and they are cyborgs and need part DNA. It seems very hard for them to find DNA, though, and the species have to be fairly advanded, too. That's the reason they let all those species evolve until they are fit for harvesting. And after they've done their harvesting they wipe out all those that are incompatible and start new. For some Reason the Reapers take the form of the species they are built from. Not because of the DNA but by choice of the creation. So they could choose another look if they wanted to. That's it in a nutshell as far as I understand it.

 

I guess that makes sense.

 

That still doesn't excuse the

horrible boss fight design, though

.

 

Yeah, I hate those most of the time.

The fight against Sovereign/Saren was ok, though.

 

 

For those who want to know it: Here is what I found out regarding the last mission and how to make it through:

 

 

 

The mission is split into three parts. Survival depends on selecting the right person for the job and whether that person is loyal to you

 

1st part:

Only the tech-specialist can die at that point. wrong/not loyal tech-specialist=death. wrong leader of the 2nd team=death. Maybe illoyal leader=death (not confirmed).

 

2st part:

biotic-specialist always lives, though choosing the wrong one (or one that isn't loyal) leads to the death of a member of your squad at that time). If you choose the wrong leader of the 2nd team or he/she is not loyal, the leader will die. You can choose anyone to escort the crew back to Normandy that is loyal.

 

3rd part:

You depart with two squadmembers to fight the final boss. Any squadmember of those two that is not loyal will die. The rest of the team stays back to defend the doors. One of them can die for various reasons. I haven't figured them all out yet. Sometimes it happens if one person already has died before.

 

For everyone to survive, you need to have them all loyal, have all Normandy upgrades and choose the right specialist and teamleader. The crew will be dead if you didn't go after them immediately after they were captured.

 

 

 

[Volourn]

"Apart from not having any weapon skills, the combat mechanics have been anything but stripped down from ME1"

 

I agree. It's not stripped down. It's dumbed down. HUGE difference.

[jaguars4ever]

"Apart from not having any weapon skills, the combat mechanics have been anything but stripped down from ME1"

 

I agree. It's not stripped down. It's dumbed down. HUGE difference.

Semantics.

 

I'm using them interchangeably. I'll change my mind if you find a h4wt tenured professor to pole-dance at my bachelor party. Say...what's Darque doing these days?

[Raithe]

"Apart from not having any weapon skills, the combat mechanics have been anything but stripped down from ME1"

 

I agree. It's not stripped down. It's dumbed down. HUGE difference.

 

The stripped down is that they've removed the ability to select skills to improve weapon aim. Certain skills do provide bonuses to weapon damage...

 

All aiming is now twitch-based. If you don't aim right (with whatever controller you enjoy) you'll miss. No "point in the general direction and hold down trigger" times.

 

The changes in cover mechanics is a little better, although the multipurpose control is annoying. Sometimes you jump over cover, sometimes you mean to run and end up diving into cover (on the wrong side of it) all because of that multipurpose button.

 

The enemy AI is muchly improved.. (although whether you can classify that as a strictly combat mechanic is point-of-view).

 

It's much more streamlined, but I think it comes down to personal perception of whether removing skill "bonuses" to hit counts as dumbing down or not.

[Hurlshort]

I love the new combat so far, but the biggest change is the fact that I actually use my entire arsenal. I think that might have as much to do with the lack of ammo though, my hand cannon runs out like crazy.

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

I love the new combat so far, but the biggest change is the fact that I actually use my entire arsenal. I think that might have as much to do with the lack of ammo though, my hand cannon runs out like crazy.

Bah, if you think you run out of hand cannon ammo fast... try the sniper. You get 10 shots before you run out.

[Morgoth]

ME2's combat is a big improvement over ME1's combat. Call it dumbed down or not, but at least ME2 doesn't try to shoehorn some half-assed "Action with RPG elements" into the game, like ME1 did. ME2 is now a competent 3rd-person action game. There's a cool story, too.

[Volourn]

"ME2's combat is a big improvement over ME1's combat."

 

No, it isn't. How can it be when the best strategy is to allt he npcs to do 90% of the work. they can stand out in the open for minutes and not take a hit while you have to rehide after 10 seconds if not less. LMAO There's also the fact that all the classes play the same as biotics are just useless. There is no difference as the gun is simplym morem effective. Biotics only work on enemy health so you absically have to sue guns to break down barriers/shields and whyn bother using biotics when another 2-3 shots from your gun will kill the enemy then anyways? Useless. Omnigel is not as cool or useful as it used to be. Armour is garbage. Weapons are cool but basically the same as ME1.

 

Can't beleive people actually prefer dumbed down combat.

[Purkake]

Having location based damage/effects is a big step forward IMO.

 

I like ME2's combat more than ME1's, but the ammo thing was unnecessary and annoying.

[Morgoth]

I like ME2's combat more than ME1's, but the ammo thing was unnecessary and annoying.

No it wasn't. It actually forced you to drag your ass out of cover to get some ammo.

 

That's deep tactics, dude.

[Purkake]

Yes and all my weapons had like 10 shots each.

 

Collecting ammo was meaningless when your companions have infinite ammo and everyone has infinite biotics/tech abilities.

Edited February 1, 2010 by Purkake

[Morgoth]

Yes and all my weapons had like 10 shots each.

Only heavy weapons. Otherwise, you have done something wrong. I always found plenty of ammo.

[Volourn]

No problem with ammo. I actually wish there were more ammo types, and you could buy them at stores. Right now ammo feels like an articial way to limit shooting because you know full well that unless youan re playing purposefully dumb, exactly enough ammo will drop. For instance, everytime I was running low on ammo andother clip would be readily available so I've never been worried about lack of ammo. Tsk, tsk.

[Purkake]

I always had ammo for the particle beam, but the Widowmaker held like ~13 shots and the Hand Cannon had like 25 WITH the extra ammo arm-thing. The SMG had plenty of ammo but just sprayed all over the place.