Mass Effect 2 Discussion

[Morgoth]

It is how it is. It was still a cake walk playing as a soldier.

[Purkake]

I'm not saying it was hard, I'm saying that adding ammo was unnecessary. You don't actually need ammo, not having it just takes you out of the action, at least the shooting part.

[Raithe]

Depending on what team you were using, mixing in biotics/tech powers like warp and overload to take down shields and armor was nice. There were times it worked better then just shooting at them to take them down. But when you utilise the powers in the right combat it was a breeze to knock those things down.

 

I mean, the first time you run into a Harbringer manifestation , he was a bit of a pain. But that final sequence he was barely lasting 40 seconds or so each time he manifested with the right use of powers.

[Purkake]

I mean, the first time you run into a Harbringer manifestation , he was a bit of a pain. But that final sequence he was barely lasting 40 seconds or so each time he manifested with the right use of powers.

More like 2 headshots max

[vault_overseer]

Words cannot express how jealous I am of you people.

[Purkake]

It's good, but it's no Diablo 3.

 

No need to be jealous.

[Enoch]

Depending on what team you were using, mixing in biotics/tech powers like warp and overload to take down shields and armor was nice. There were times it worked better then just shooting at them to take them down. But when you utilise the powers in the right combat it was a breeze to knock those things down.

 

I mean, the first time you run into a Harbringer manifestation , he was a bit of a pain. But that final sequence he was barely lasting 40 seconds or so each time he manifested with the right use of powers.

Fun instance of total pwnage: Taking Garrus and Miranda along with my Sentinel on the Tali recruitment mission. 3 people with Override makes any kind of Geth opposition quite trivial. (Really, if the Quarians are the tech masters that we are led to believe they are, how the heck have they not completely trounced the Geth already?)

 

Also fun: Mordin with maximum Incinerate against Krogan. (And not just for when he says "Flammable! Or Inflammable. Forget which; doesn't matter." in the middle of combat.)

[213374U]

Beat it with a soldier. I really wish there was more to combat than just taking cover. It also sucks that unlike in ME1, a tank build no longer works, so extra damage upgrades are the way to go. Even with the -50% damage during adrenaline boost talent and

Legion's extra power

, standing in the open will get you killed FAST.

 

 

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.

Agreed. Great buildup towards a pretty silly "climactic" ending. ME1's was better executed. The game goes from beginning to end without a central villain figure, which is at least an original approach. And then they spoiled the mood for the mandatory final boss fight. Meh.

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

Cool. The game seems to take a bunch of things into consideration when deciding who lives and who dies. I lost only Zaeed, even though I didn't pick him for anything. I suppose it's because I didn't get his loyalty. Everything else went just fine, which makes it a bit... odd. You don't need ALL upgrades, though. I didn't get the expanded probe space, for instance. Only tactical upgrades seem to matter.

 

Edited February 1, 2010 by 213374U

[Purkake]

Oh yeah, I should have said that I was very happy with ME1's end fight. You actually got to use your talky skills against him, how often does that happen these days? Also it did a good job making me feel sorry for poor Saren.

[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.

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

 

Sure, but those 10 shots are all headshot kills for the most part, and it's a slower process. Plus I only use the rifle to pick off the few people off in the distance.

[vault_overseer]

It's good, but it's no Diablo 3.

 

No need to be jealous.

 

 

I'm jealous at people playing, period. I barely have time to play anymore...

[Maria Caliban]

I'm not saying it was hard, I'm saying that adding ammo was unnecessary. You don't actually need ammo, not having it just takes you out of the action, at least the shooting part.

 

There are still people who complain about running out of ammo. I think the ammo is to discourage a certain type of play style.

[Purkake]

It's good, but it's no Diablo 3.

 

No need to be jealous.

 

 

I'm jealous at people playing, period. I barely have time to play anymore...

Good thing you have all that time to surf the web and post on forums, then

[vault_overseer]

It's good, but it's no Diablo 3.

 

No need to be jealous.

 

 

I'm jealous at people playing, period. I barely have time to play anymore...

Good thing you have all that time to surf the web and post on forums, then

 

Yes, I'm lucky to have a job in IT and to be able to multitask.

[Purkake]

Maybe if you train really hard you'll be able to juggle forums, the job and ME2?

[vault_overseer]

BTW, is ME2 soundtrack as awesome as the ME1's?

[Purkake]

There were a few pretty awesome tunes that I recall. Certainly as good as ME1's.

[Raithe]

BTW, is ME2 soundtrack as awesome as the ME1's?

 

It's got some good tunes on it and some of the grand pieces are there.. but some of the sweeping epic orchestral pieces seem to be missing. At least the ones they used for the launch trailer and such..

[vault_overseer]

Just listened to some of it online, seems more orchestral and epic than the first one. That's a shame, first one is one of my favorite soundtracks, right after Mark Morgan's work.

[Calax]

The combat was stripped down yes, but honestly, it kinda needed it. The armor/weapon upgrades in ME1 could be kind of arcane, and this forces you to experiment with different weapons.

 

Seriously, on ME1 I would just go through with a sniper rifle and nothing else. amps and tools were just kinda shield doodahs and the armor was mostly for shields and minor resist upgrades (to me). They simplified the combat, but made it more diverse at the same time.

[Starwars]

I also think the grand ol' "hollywood orchestra" sweeping stuff in the Mass Effects is by far the weakest part of the soundtrack. Some of the eerie, more ambient like stuff in ME2 when you explore some of the more spooky places (likely in ME1 also but can't remember) is really wonderful though.

 

One thing I think Bioware has done a really good job at are the visuals as well as the audio. While I think soundtrack is a mixed bag, the sound design overall is *great*, certainly some of the best I've heard. Playing with headphones, there is a wonderful texture and depth to the sound, especially in the more crowded areas. And they did a great job on the visual design as well, the places feel very varied from one another.

 

Seeing the places and interacting with the characters is a lot of fun in ME2, it's much more in line with what I had expected with ME1 (and was disappointed with). It keeps me playing. On the other hand, the combat filler (of which there is a lot of unfortunately) and exploration/resource gathering are strong points against the game. I also hate that the game forces me into a trap for example, even if you see through it right away because hey, the story must play out that way. I think I'm growing more and more sensitive to this because it's something that often happens in Biowares games. Rather annoying.

 

But I'm enjoying the game far more than I thought I would. It's much better than ME1.

Edited February 1, 2010 by Starwars

[vault_overseer]

Here's Mass Effect's OST, for reference:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=72...st&rclk=pti

[HoonDing]

I finally got around to playing after importing a level 59 Soldier. I don't know whether that Collector's assault rifle is overpowered, but I've been ripping through enemies so far. And I suck at shooters.

 

Party AI also seems decent. Many times they automatically run & take cover without me having to hold their hands.

 

Performance also is great, constant 60 FPS & loading times of 5 seconds at most. Looks like for once I'm lucky with a BioWare game.

Edited February 1, 2010 by virumor

[213374U]

Party AI also seems decent. Many times they automatically run & take cover without me having to hold their hands.

Well, they can also charge valiantly towards certain death on their own. But it's better than ME1.

 

Also, it's infinitely more stable than ME1. I haven't had a SINGLE crash, and I can't remember any bugs, either. BIO really got their act together in this respect.

[Calax]

I have noticed that in two story levels sometimes I'll go up to the second story, and my party will run around on the first floor trying to stay close to me...