[HEADING=1]Games I Actually Beat - MASS EFFECT 2[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]AFTERWARD - moved to first[/HEADING]
I don't know how I feel about numeric ratings. I feel like people have a preconceived idea as to what the numbers mean: anything below 7 is absolute garbage, and anything below 9 isn't worth the time unless it attracts the player personally. To me, 0-2 should be garbage. 3-5 should be playable, 6-8 should be satisfying and enjoyable and 9-10 should be iconic examples of amazing, genre-defining games deserving awards from the AIAS.
So, if a numeric rating is useful at all:
Story: 6.5/10 ; lacks overall coherence with many plot holes, but character specific stories can be interesting
Gameplay: 6/10-8/10 ; depending on class choice, average gameplay to unique, solid experience.
Overall: 6.75/10 ; a game worth playing, enjoyable
Any constructive criticism on the way I reviewed this is greatly appreciated! Pictures would probably help, but I dunno what to add.
[HEADING=2]MYSELF[/HEADING]
I can count the number of single player games I've beaten in the past few years on my two hands. I have started quite a few, but very rarely is my attention held to the end. After I read reviews about Bioshock's gripping, magnificent ending I missed out on (the combat was too repetitive for me), I decided this summer I would quash this particularity and start experiencing the entirety of video games'.
I decided I'd write reviews and critiques(this is my first) because I like reading reviews (often more than actually playing games >.<) and because most reviews I read do not accurately gauge my experience of the game.
[HEADING=2]MASS EFFECT 2 REVIEW[/HEADING]
Mass Effect 2 was my first choice since I'd been dying for some good sci-fi material. I google searched "games with the best stories" and Mass Effect 2 appeared roughly all of the time. As sci-fi has been my favorite genre since I was materialized, I figured practically any story would hook and drag me to finish a single player campaign.
As I mostly chose this game for the sci-fi epicness, I will review the story first, then the gameplay, and then a final overall review as a modus of entertainment.
[HEADING=2]STORY[/HEADING]
The 'backstory' to Mass Effect isn't fantastic; it is a close-to-home coda (150 years in the future) in which humanity is introduced to alien technology on Mars which accelerates their interaction with the other sapient lifeforms in the galaxy. Humanity is still developing a place in the galactic population.
Meanwhile, there's a terrifying alien species (the "Reapers") that no one really knows anything about except that they kill everyone once in awhile and it just so happens time is approaching that critical 'once'.
My first attempt at playing was ended untimely by my sharp disapproval of aliens that are only discernible from humans by a different facial bone structure, color of skin, or number of eyes. I also had trouble listening to (Mr.) Commander Shepard's voice because it sounded as if he was talking to a co-worker he didn't know very well. But I sucked it up and tried again the next day.
I found the actual in-game story of Mass Effect 2 unsatisfying. If Mass Effect 2 was a novel, this would be its table of contents (I don't think there are spoilers, but just in case):
Assume each chapter is roughly the same length and you'll see there's not much of an overarching story: there are 8-10 ministories involving each of your teammates. Commander Shepard ends up as largely the same Commander Shepard she was to begin with - including the minor facial scars that I assumed would eventually heal (I was about 60% paragon by the end). I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Shepard act as a leader during the last mission, it was downright inspiring and I felt like the game was finally engaging. Unfortunately, there was only ~3% (1 hour of 30) of the game remaining.
Despite a lack of relative narrative to the larger backdrop of Mass Effect, some of the characters had interesting stories. Well, at least two of them did: a mentat/Dunesque-Melange-induced alien that lived with other aliens who only communicate by light pulses, and a bipedal AI that didn't show up until near the end. The others were kind of meh, somewhat generic reflections of typical human personalities.
Mass Effect 2 would make a solid Mass Effect 1; the best team the galaxy can offer coalesces and by conquering a daunting, seemingly impossible mission they prove that they may be the saviors of their galaxy's conscious life (à la The Fellowship of the Rings).
Noteworthy is the exploration of the galaxy and the planet mining feature: I enjoyed reading the descriptions of the first half dozen planets I encountered and raped, but I soon discovered they were basically the same 'gas giant, occasionally mined by others' or 'its moon is a hub for pirates'. The garden planets were gems to come across, but even then it only described the life on the planets as "unknown, extinct, possibly by unknown aliens" or "some vegetation". I guess it could be an atmospheric point that the Reapers have killed everything older than the current generation of life, but without more interesting explanations, planet mining is a repetitive and massive chore. With that, onto gameplay.
[HEADING=2]GAMEPLAY[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Combat[/HEADING]
For me, Ms. Shepard's talents were of the sniper/assassin/stealth class and I played the game on normal+1 (veteran) difficulty.
Because the sniper rifle basically owns everything, I didn't have to blend biotic powers to defeat enemies very often. I didn't ever *need* to use the invisibility cloak: I used it a couple times when swarmed by meleeing enemies so that I could sneak off 10 meters back, but if I had died I would've been able to enter the same battle and simply attack from farther away.
Even though the classes' name is "Infiltrator", there was never an opportunity to sneak by anything because (1) the cloak only lasts 6 seconds which is just long enough for you to move out of melee range and (2) you have two non-infiltrators with you who will need to find another method of getting from point A to point B. Not a big deal, I didn't expect to play stealthily, but the class should be named "sniper" or "executioner" instead of "infiltrator".
From the sniper PoV the combat was moderately satisfying and what you'd expect - stay back and shoot people in the head.
I talked with two friends who played it; one played 'a decent game' as a soldier since he 'likes assault rifles', and the other really enjoyed the vanguard since it was a "well implemented unique FPS experience". I started a 2nd playthrough as vanguard and I agreed. I probably would've liked the game's combat more had I played through as such, oh well.
Bottom line on combat: combat ranges from typical/decent to unique/terrific depending on who you are and what role you play as.
[HEADING=3]Non-Combat[/HEADING]
When not in combat, you're either onboard your ship, piloting it, or on a space settlement. Most of time, you will be talking to someone.
Inside the ship you can interact with your crew. You can talk to lesser crewmates who you may do something for to foster a relationship: buy booze, buy food, buy a spaceship part, etc. It's not really a great way to create a relationship with any of the characters: it doesn't unlock any further dialogs with them and it made me feel like their *****. Why can't they purchase their own shit while I'm on a mission and they're docked at the very place they could buy what they needed? Instead, why can't they tell me about themselves, or give me more of their impression of me? You can also dialogue with your teammates who will tell you a little about themselves and eventually propose a personal mission.
Particularly epic-space-adventure-like is piloting your spaceship to distant solar systems and learning about the planets and harvesting their resources, until, as earlier mentioned, it becomes repetitive and mind-numbingly tedious.
When you're on a non-mission space habitat, there are minor characters and vendors you can talk to. That's basically all there is. Vendors (or their vending machines, rather) sell you upgrades that you must buy again on your ship with a second currency before they are usable.
[small]I'm not sure why you have to pay two different kinds of currency to get a +10% weapon damage increase. I suppose you buy schematics (or something, it actually appears as "weapon upgrade" or similar text) from the vendors for $ and then you spend metals on the actual upgrade to your weapon. It's somewhat frustrating since after you spend 3 hours of gameplay credits on a weapon upgrade you have to spend another twenty minutes playing boring planet rape game.[/small]
Last, a large, possibly majority, amount of time in-game is spent talking to someone.
There are usually a few different choices in any given conversation, but despite how it appears, your character does not say what you choose. I would've preferred options like "You think this person is an idiot" that expresses how you want to react, and then Ms. Shepard says, "No, dumbass, that's a terrible idea". But instead you get the choice of "That's wrong" and then she says "We'll do it, but we won't like it".
I've read that people didn't like the dialogue cause they were afraid it would alter what happens in the game. As far as I can tell, that's not the case. The only thing it effected was your Renegade/Paragon score, which enabled actions like "slap person across face if you want to just get to the next part of the game". It was okay for learning about your teammates, but mostly the option I wanted for dialogue wasn't there, and isn't this supposed to emulate letting you choose what you would say in a conversation?
A good example of choice is when you chose your teammates for different tasks in the final mission: it really felt like my choice had an impact on how the game played out.
[HEADING=2]OVERALL[/HEADING]
I kept doing the missions hoping for some bit of relative story, but I just kept getting bogged down and sidetracked by things teammates wanted from me like, "help me save my dad who I don't really like but I should do it cause it gives me something to do". In this game trilogy, Mass Effect 2 is the mostly-filler-to-milk-more-money-game for the developers. I would've liked it to either be a continuation of Mass Effect 1 or have been the first game in the trilogy.
The gameplay would not have personally kept me interested if I wasn't thirsty for a sci-fi story. I kept wanting to yell at the game, "Just give me more story, damnit!". That said, the story still just barely kept me from dying of thirst and quitting the game and reading a book.
If the gameplay was presented in a different way, like a game where the story is based entirely around biotic powers and Mr. Evil is basically the teammate Jack, then I would've explored the classes' and their abilities more. It would've been nice to somehow try out the different classes without having to spend an hour or two of the same intro level given that they all play considerably differently.
Despite practically the entire game focusing on character development, there is only a small woman's handful of characters that I will remember in a few months, and that doesn't include the famous Commander Shepard.
P.S. I forgot to mention all the plot holes. There are several.
Onward to The Witcher!
[HEADING=2]AFTERWARD - moved to first[/HEADING]
I don't know how I feel about numeric ratings. I feel like people have a preconceived idea as to what the numbers mean: anything below 7 is absolute garbage, and anything below 9 isn't worth the time unless it attracts the player personally. To me, 0-2 should be garbage. 3-5 should be playable, 6-8 should be satisfying and enjoyable and 9-10 should be iconic examples of amazing, genre-defining games deserving awards from the AIAS.
So, if a numeric rating is useful at all:
Story: 6.5/10 ; lacks overall coherence with many plot holes, but character specific stories can be interesting
Gameplay: 6/10-8/10 ; depending on class choice, average gameplay to unique, solid experience.
Overall: 6.75/10 ; a game worth playing, enjoyable
Any constructive criticism on the way I reviewed this is greatly appreciated! Pictures would probably help, but I dunno what to add.
[HEADING=2]MYSELF[/HEADING]
I can count the number of single player games I've beaten in the past few years on my two hands. I have started quite a few, but very rarely is my attention held to the end. After I read reviews about Bioshock's gripping, magnificent ending I missed out on (the combat was too repetitive for me), I decided this summer I would quash this particularity and start experiencing the entirety of video games'.
I decided I'd write reviews and critiques(this is my first) because I like reading reviews (often more than actually playing games >.<) and because most reviews I read do not accurately gauge my experience of the game.
[HEADING=2]MASS EFFECT 2 REVIEW[/HEADING]
Mass Effect 2 was my first choice since I'd been dying for some good sci-fi material. I google searched "games with the best stories" and Mass Effect 2 appeared roughly all of the time. As sci-fi has been my favorite genre since I was materialized, I figured practically any story would hook and drag me to finish a single player campaign.
As I mostly chose this game for the sci-fi epicness, I will review the story first, then the gameplay, and then a final overall review as a modus of entertainment.
[HEADING=2]STORY[/HEADING]
The 'backstory' to Mass Effect isn't fantastic; it is a close-to-home coda (150 years in the future) in which humanity is introduced to alien technology on Mars which accelerates their interaction with the other sapient lifeforms in the galaxy. Humanity is still developing a place in the galactic population.
Meanwhile, there's a terrifying alien species (the "Reapers") that no one really knows anything about except that they kill everyone once in awhile and it just so happens time is approaching that critical 'once'.
My first attempt at playing was ended untimely by my sharp disapproval of aliens that are only discernible from humans by a different facial bone structure, color of skin, or number of eyes. I also had trouble listening to (Mr.) Commander Shepard's voice because it sounded as if he was talking to a co-worker he didn't know very well. But I sucked it up and tried again the next day.
I found the actual in-game story of Mass Effect 2 unsatisfying. If Mass Effect 2 was a novel, this would be its table of contents (I don't think there are spoilers, but just in case):
Table of Contents
1: You are _____ Shepard: You are going to kill aliens (that are just pawns of the real alien threat).
2-10: Recruit people to help kill aliens.
11-21: Learn about the people you recruit.
22: Find out how to get to aliens.
23: Complete xenocide and overall have little to no impact on the real alien threat.
1: You are _____ Shepard: You are going to kill aliens (that are just pawns of the real alien threat).
2-10: Recruit people to help kill aliens.
11-21: Learn about the people you recruit.
22: Find out how to get to aliens.
23: Complete xenocide and overall have little to no impact on the real alien threat.
Assume each chapter is roughly the same length and you'll see there's not much of an overarching story: there are 8-10 ministories involving each of your teammates. Commander Shepard ends up as largely the same Commander Shepard she was to begin with - including the minor facial scars that I assumed would eventually heal (I was about 60% paragon by the end). I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Shepard act as a leader during the last mission, it was downright inspiring and I felt like the game was finally engaging. Unfortunately, there was only ~3% (1 hour of 30) of the game remaining.
Despite a lack of relative narrative to the larger backdrop of Mass Effect, some of the characters had interesting stories. Well, at least two of them did: a mentat/Dunesque-Melange-induced alien that lived with other aliens who only communicate by light pulses, and a bipedal AI that didn't show up until near the end. The others were kind of meh, somewhat generic reflections of typical human personalities.
Mass Effect 2 would make a solid Mass Effect 1; the best team the galaxy can offer coalesces and by conquering a daunting, seemingly impossible mission they prove that they may be the saviors of their galaxy's conscious life (à la The Fellowship of the Rings).
Noteworthy is the exploration of the galaxy and the planet mining feature: I enjoyed reading the descriptions of the first half dozen planets I encountered and raped, but I soon discovered they were basically the same 'gas giant, occasionally mined by others' or 'its moon is a hub for pirates'. The garden planets were gems to come across, but even then it only described the life on the planets as "unknown, extinct, possibly by unknown aliens" or "some vegetation". I guess it could be an atmospheric point that the Reapers have killed everything older than the current generation of life, but without more interesting explanations, planet mining is a repetitive and massive chore. With that, onto gameplay.
[HEADING=2]GAMEPLAY[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Combat[/HEADING]
For me, Ms. Shepard's talents were of the sniper/assassin/stealth class and I played the game on normal+1 (veteran) difficulty.
Because the sniper rifle basically owns everything, I didn't have to blend biotic powers to defeat enemies very often. I didn't ever *need* to use the invisibility cloak: I used it a couple times when swarmed by meleeing enemies so that I could sneak off 10 meters back, but if I had died I would've been able to enter the same battle and simply attack from farther away.
Even though the classes' name is "Infiltrator", there was never an opportunity to sneak by anything because (1) the cloak only lasts 6 seconds which is just long enough for you to move out of melee range and (2) you have two non-infiltrators with you who will need to find another method of getting from point A to point B. Not a big deal, I didn't expect to play stealthily, but the class should be named "sniper" or "executioner" instead of "infiltrator".
From the sniper PoV the combat was moderately satisfying and what you'd expect - stay back and shoot people in the head.
I talked with two friends who played it; one played 'a decent game' as a soldier since he 'likes assault rifles', and the other really enjoyed the vanguard since it was a "well implemented unique FPS experience". I started a 2nd playthrough as vanguard and I agreed. I probably would've liked the game's combat more had I played through as such, oh well.
Bottom line on combat: combat ranges from typical/decent to unique/terrific depending on who you are and what role you play as.
[HEADING=3]Non-Combat[/HEADING]
When not in combat, you're either onboard your ship, piloting it, or on a space settlement. Most of time, you will be talking to someone.
Inside the ship you can interact with your crew. You can talk to lesser crewmates who you may do something for to foster a relationship: buy booze, buy food, buy a spaceship part, etc. It's not really a great way to create a relationship with any of the characters: it doesn't unlock any further dialogs with them and it made me feel like their *****. Why can't they purchase their own shit while I'm on a mission and they're docked at the very place they could buy what they needed? Instead, why can't they tell me about themselves, or give me more of their impression of me? You can also dialogue with your teammates who will tell you a little about themselves and eventually propose a personal mission.
Particularly epic-space-adventure-like is piloting your spaceship to distant solar systems and learning about the planets and harvesting their resources, until, as earlier mentioned, it becomes repetitive and mind-numbingly tedious.
When you're on a non-mission space habitat, there are minor characters and vendors you can talk to. That's basically all there is. Vendors (or their vending machines, rather) sell you upgrades that you must buy again on your ship with a second currency before they are usable.
[small]I'm not sure why you have to pay two different kinds of currency to get a +10% weapon damage increase. I suppose you buy schematics (or something, it actually appears as "weapon upgrade" or similar text) from the vendors for $ and then you spend metals on the actual upgrade to your weapon. It's somewhat frustrating since after you spend 3 hours of gameplay credits on a weapon upgrade you have to spend another twenty minutes playing boring planet rape game.[/small]
Last, a large, possibly majority, amount of time in-game is spent talking to someone.
There are usually a few different choices in any given conversation, but despite how it appears, your character does not say what you choose. I would've preferred options like "You think this person is an idiot" that expresses how you want to react, and then Ms. Shepard says, "No, dumbass, that's a terrible idea". But instead you get the choice of "That's wrong" and then she says "We'll do it, but we won't like it".
I've read that people didn't like the dialogue cause they were afraid it would alter what happens in the game. As far as I can tell, that's not the case. The only thing it effected was your Renegade/Paragon score, which enabled actions like "slap person across face if you want to just get to the next part of the game". It was okay for learning about your teammates, but mostly the option I wanted for dialogue wasn't there, and isn't this supposed to emulate letting you choose what you would say in a conversation?
A good example of choice is when you chose your teammates for different tasks in the final mission: it really felt like my choice had an impact on how the game played out.
[HEADING=2]OVERALL[/HEADING]
I kept doing the missions hoping for some bit of relative story, but I just kept getting bogged down and sidetracked by things teammates wanted from me like, "help me save my dad who I don't really like but I should do it cause it gives me something to do". In this game trilogy, Mass Effect 2 is the mostly-filler-to-milk-more-money-game for the developers. I would've liked it to either be a continuation of Mass Effect 1 or have been the first game in the trilogy.
The gameplay would not have personally kept me interested if I wasn't thirsty for a sci-fi story. I kept wanting to yell at the game, "Just give me more story, damnit!". That said, the story still just barely kept me from dying of thirst and quitting the game and reading a book.
If the gameplay was presented in a different way, like a game where the story is based entirely around biotic powers and Mr. Evil is basically the teammate Jack, then I would've explored the classes' and their abilities more. It would've been nice to somehow try out the different classes without having to spend an hour or two of the same intro level given that they all play considerably differently.
Despite practically the entire game focusing on character development, there is only a small woman's handful of characters that I will remember in a few months, and that doesn't include the famous Commander Shepard.
P.S. I forgot to mention all the plot holes. There are several.
Onward to The Witcher!
