Bioware Has Sequel Issues: ME 2 and DA 2

[PatSilverFox]

That's an interesting take on those games, and while I can't comment on Dragon Age 2, I would say that I can agree with you on Mass Effect 2.

I dunno, compared to the first one, Mass Effect 2 didn't feel as.....epic as Mass Effect 1. In the first one, you had a sense that you were part of something bigger. The galaxy was wide and open, you could explore many of the planets in search of resources or sidequests. Sure, it got tedious to use the Mako, but it gave a sense of space to the infinite space. It was tangible, but at the same time gave you an epic feel.

Mass Effect 2 didn't have that. It was restricted, limited in what you could do. There were no vehicle sections to break the monotony, no weapon upgrades or attachments to explore customization, little personalization or customization in your items or equipment, and it was all shooting. Shooting, reloading, shooting, reloading. It was a linear, drastically simplified (not dumbed down) shoot-fest from set piece to set piece. It wasn't epic, it didn't feel open or sprawling, which is ironic since you could explore much more of the galaxy (yet you could never land on any planet that didn't already have a premade design).

This is why I'm nervous for Mass Effect 3, I'm afraid it's going to continue the trend of linearity and di-epicness of the whole thing. Apparently BioWare are adding some things back, like some weapon modification and some skill trees, but I'm still nervous about it. We'll just have to wait and see.

I agree you with you MOSTLY, honestly, no one missed the vehicle sections, the mako handled like Shepard was drunk while driving

*Raises paw*
I missed them :c

 

[Saviordd1]

I agree you with you MOSTLY, honestly, no one missed the vehicle sections, the mako handled like Shepard was drunk while driving

I didn't so much miss the vehicle sections. But I was glad when they put in the hovercraft thing for the DLC. That was fun!

Except for the fact that your hover tank could be felled by a normal mook with an assault rifle.

So your whole battle strategy turned into "Jump around really quickly and hope a bullet doesn't hit you"

 

[Zantos]

I agree you with you MOSTLY, honestly, no one missed the vehicle sections, the mako handled like Shepard was drunk while driving

I didn't so much miss the vehicle sections. But I was glad when they put in the hovercraft thing for the DLC. That was fun!

Except for the fact that your hover tank could be felled by a normal mook with an assault rifle.

So your whole battle strategy turned into "Jump around really quickly and hope a bullet doesn't hit you"

My battle strategy was mostly "Blow shit up". It mostly worked. Was definitely fun.

 

[PatSilverFox]

That's an interesting take on those games, and while I can't comment on Dragon Age 2, I would say that I can agree with you on Mass Effect 2.

I dunno, compared to the first one, Mass Effect 2 didn't feel as.....epic as Mass Effect 1. In the first one, you had a sense that you were part of something bigger. The galaxy was wide and open, you could explore many of the planets in search of resources or sidequests. Sure, it got tedious to use the Mako, but it gave a sense of space to the infinite space. It was tangible, but at the same time gave you an epic feel.

Mass Effect 2 didn't have that. It was restricted, limited in what you could do. There were no vehicle sections to break the monotony, no weapon upgrades or attachments to explore customization, little personalization or customization in your items or equipment, and it was all shooting. Shooting, reloading, shooting, reloading. It was a linear, drastically simplified (not dumbed down) shoot-fest from set piece to set piece. It wasn't epic, it didn't feel open or sprawling, which is ironic since you could explore much more of the galaxy (yet you could never land on any planet that didn't already have a premade design).

This is why I'm nervous for Mass Effect 3, I'm afraid it's going to continue the trend of linearity and di-epicness of the whole thing. Apparently BioWare are adding some things back, like some weapon modification and some skill trees, but I'm still nervous about it. We'll just have to wait and see.

I agree you with you MOSTLY, honestly, no one missed the vehicle sections, the mako handled like Shepard was drunk while driving

Honestly, I missed the vehicle sections, if only for the variety. It's not like BioWare had to completely scrap the idea like they did, they could have easily done some improvements (like make the terrain less bumpy and steep, or make the Mako have boosters worth a fuck).

I think bioware did a good job of keeping both games seperate and different. They didn't improve on the first game, they almost scrapped the system. This was a good thing, because it doesn't make going back and playing a chore.
You can go back to the first game, and it is different enough from the second that you don't feel downgraded.
The differences are good.

 

[alinos]

ME 2 is really more of Part 1 of 2 the way i see it

as for DA2 it just plain sucks

Though aside from these 2 it's awhile since bioware has made a sequel

last one realistically is Baldurs Gate 2

NWN had some expansions but any actual sequels have pretty much been handled by obsidian since then

 

[Saviordd1]

I agree you with you MOSTLY, honestly, no one missed the vehicle sections, the mako handled like Shepard was drunk while driving

I didn't so much miss the vehicle sections. But I was glad when they put in the hovercraft thing for the DLC. That was fun!

Except for the fact that your hover tank could be felled by a normal mook with an assault rifle.

So your whole battle strategy turned into "Jump around really quickly and hope a bullet doesn't hit you"

My battle strategy was mostly "Blow shit up". It mostly worked. Was definitely fun.

I guess it depends on the difficulty level.

That's an interesting take on those games, and while I can't comment on Dragon Age 2, I would say that I can agree with you on Mass Effect 2.

I dunno, compared to the first one, Mass Effect 2 didn't feel as.....epic as Mass Effect 1. In the first one, you had a sense that you were part of something bigger. The galaxy was wide and open, you could explore many of the planets in search of resources or sidequests. Sure, it got tedious to use the Mako, but it gave a sense of space to the infinite space. It was tangible, but at the same time gave you an epic feel.

Mass Effect 2 didn't have that. It was restricted, limited in what you could do. There were no vehicle sections to break the monotony, no weapon upgrades or attachments to explore customization, little personalization or customization in your items or equipment, and it was all shooting. Shooting, reloading, shooting, reloading. It was a linear, drastically simplified (not dumbed down) shoot-fest from set piece to set piece. It wasn't epic, it didn't feel open or sprawling, which is ironic since you could explore much more of the galaxy (yet you could never land on any planet that didn't already have a premade design).

This is why I'm nervous for Mass Effect 3, I'm afraid it's going to continue the trend of linearity and di-epicness of the whole thing. Apparently BioWare are adding some things back, like some weapon modification and some skill trees, but I'm still nervous about it. We'll just have to wait and see.

I agree you with you MOSTLY, honestly, no one missed the vehicle sections, the mako handled like Shepard was drunk while driving

Honestly, I missed the vehicle sections, if only for the variety. It's not like BioWare had to completely scrap the idea like they did, they could have easily done some improvements (like make the terrain less bumpy and steep, or make the Mako have boosters worth a fuck).

I think bioware did a good job of keeping both games seperate and different. They didn't improve on the first game, they almost scrapped the system. This was a good thing, because it doesn't make going back and playing a chore.
You can go back to the first game, and it is different enough from the second that you don't feel downgraded.
The differences are good.

Not true, they did keep a few things, like everyones asshole meter being abnormally high

 

[PatSilverFox]

That's an interesting take on those games, and while I can't comment on Dragon Age 2, I would say that I can agree with you on Mass Effect 2.

I dunno, compared to the first one, Mass Effect 2 didn't feel as.....epic as Mass Effect 1. In the first one, you had a sense that you were part of something bigger. The galaxy was wide and open, you could explore many of the planets in search of resources or sidequests. Sure, it got tedious to use the Mako, but it gave a sense of space to the infinite space. It was tangible, but at the same time gave you an epic feel.

Mass Effect 2 didn't have that. It was restricted, limited in what you could do. There were no vehicle sections to break the monotony, no weapon upgrades or attachments to explore customization, little personalization or customization in your items or equipment, and it was all shooting. Shooting, reloading, shooting, reloading. It was a linear, drastically simplified (not dumbed down) shoot-fest from set piece to set piece. It wasn't epic, it didn't feel open or sprawling, which is ironic since you could explore much more of the galaxy (yet you could never land on any planet that didn't already have a premade design).

This is why I'm nervous for Mass Effect 3, I'm afraid it's going to continue the trend of linearity and di-epicness of the whole thing. Apparently BioWare are adding some things back, like some weapon modification and some skill trees, but I'm still nervous about it. We'll just have to wait and see.

I agree you with you MOSTLY, honestly, no one missed the vehicle sections, the mako handled like Shepard was drunk while driving

Honestly, I missed the vehicle sections, if only for the variety. It's not like BioWare had to completely scrap the idea like they did, they could have easily done some improvements (like make the terrain less bumpy and steep, or make the Mako have boosters worth a fuck).

I think bioware did a good job of keeping both games seperate and different. They didn't improve on the first game, they almost scrapped the system. This was a good thing, because it doesn't make going back and playing a chore.
You can go back to the first game, and it is different enough from the second that you don't feel downgraded.
The differences are good.

Not true, they did keep a few things, like everyones asshole meter being abnormally high

I did say almost scrapped xP
But true, very true. :3

 

[Choppaduel]

-stuff-

I agree you with you MOSTLY, honestly, no one missed the vehicle sections, the mako handled like Shepard was drunk while driving

Honestly, I missed the vehicle sections, if only for the variety. It's not like BioWare had to completely scrap the idea like they did, they could have easily done some improvements (like make the terrain less bumpy and steep, or make the Mako have boosters worth a fuck).

I'm with you. The vehicle breaks up the monotony of TPSing & as Yahtzee mentioned, it helps with the games scale; without it, it wouldn't feel as "epic."

I must be the only one who didn't have trouble driving the Mako around. YAY ME

 

[Zantos]

I guess it depends on the difficulty level.

More on how good you got with the gun. I was getting some sweet long distance. Only thing I had to watch for were the colossi.

 

[PatSilverFox]

-stuff-

I agree you with you MOSTLY, honestly, no one missed the vehicle sections, the mako handled like Shepard was drunk while driving

Honestly, I missed the vehicle sections, if only for the variety. It's not like BioWare had to completely scrap the idea like they did, they could have easily done some improvements (like make the terrain less bumpy and steep, or make the Mako have boosters worth a fuck).

I'm with you. The vehicle breaks up the monotony of TPSing & as Yahtzee mentioned, it helps with the games scale, without it, it wouldn't feel as "epic."

I must be the only one who didn't have trouble driving the Mako around. YAY ME

Yeah, feather the jump button and you can hover
I liked it a lot.

 

[PatSilverFox]

Middle sections of trilogies and the likes are often used as the transport phase, where the characters develop and get ready for the ordeals of the final book/movie/game.
For example, Lord of the rings - Two Towers was pretty sub-par as a stand-alone movie, but together with the other movies, it's a masterpiece.

I have high hopes of Mass Effect 3, both from what I've heard about the combat system, as well as the inventory returning and optimized. Lets just hope that they've found the middle ground between tedious micromanagement of the inventory (ammo/mods/constant minor upgrades) and the non-existant one from ME2, as well as balancing the different playstyles available for all difficulties and the game will be legendary!

So long as they can avoid recycling environments like they did in 60% of DA2's gameplay...

I want them to bring something knew.
They definitely brought something different from the first to the second game.

 

[babinro]

One of the problems is that both of these games are middle section of a larger story. As such, they essentially play the role of filler and come off as lackluster from a story standpoint.

Personally I'd rather see the developers take a Uncharted 2 type stance where the sequel feels like a standalone game that incorporates elements of the first game but is a complete story in and of itself.

 

[The Night Shade]

ME 2 in my opinion is better than ME 1 for various reasons but DA2 was a bad sequel the game has a lot of wasted potential

 

[Dr Snakeman]

I think no one at Bioware wants to take the time to write villain monologues anymore.

That's probably the most reasonable explanation I've ever heard on the matter. That explains why Sovereign was well scripted for that one conversation you have with him whereas Harbinger only had about 4 lines.

Spoiler

In the Arrival DLC, you get to have a bit of a Virmire-style chat with Harbinger.

It's still got nothing on Sovereign's monologue, though. BioWare needs to put a verbal dick-measuring contest like that one in the third game; just Shepard and Harbinger going at it.

Yet another of my unrealistically high standards for ME3.

 

[PatSilverFox]

I think no one at Bioware wants to take the time to write villain monologues anymore.

That's probably the most reasonable explanation I've ever heard on the matter. That explains why Sovereign was well scripted for that one conversation you have with him whereas Harbinger only had about 4 lines.

Spoiler

In the Arrival DLC, you get to have a bit of a Virmire-style chat with Harbinger.

It's still got nothing on Sovereign's monologue, though. BioWare needs to put a verbal dick-measuring contest like that one in the third game; just Shepard and Harbinger going at it.

Just another one of my unrealistically high standards for ME3.

"why are you doing this"
"I would tell you but you couldn't possibly understand"

:I
Yeah... Sometimes I wonder if bioware really knew the whole story from the start.

 

[Rayne870]

Unlike the first one where you see Saren killin dudes and trying to blow you up. The Collector's had no face, you couldn't shake your fist at them and be angry at them. For all you knew, they were trying to gather pretty flowers.

Um, except for the fact that they killed Shepard, destroyed the Normandy, and completely wiped out dozens of human colonies.

And then captured the second Normandy's crew, but whatever.

Granted, ME2 did a better job. However, the collectors were still just a bunch grunts that could very easily be replaced with the LOKI mechs and you wouldn't loose a single thing.

could have replaced saren with a LOKI too. Your logic is fundamentally flawed.

 

[LiquidGrape]

Well, I'd say the Arishok is the greatest antagonist in a BioWare game since Jade Empire's...I'd rather not say for risk of spoiling.
As for the overall intrigue, it's the most morally ambiguous game since Far Cry 2. It has actual socio-political substance, as opposed to most games which aspires to do the same.
Much preferable to and a clear improvement on Origins in my book.

 

[GiantRaven]

"why are you doing this"
"I would tell you but you couldn't possibly understand"

To be fair, if things like the human reaper are standard fare for the reapers, then I'm inclined to agree with Sovereign there.

 

[Nimcha]

I personally do not need a regular, visible antagonist to enjoy a story.