Mass Effect 2: A curious look

[SigmondK]

Now I've been looking over at the new pre-E3 video for Mass Effect two and I had a couple questions that I was wondering if anyone else had.

The first one was the robotic enemies. They don't look like the Geth in the slightest. Heck they look like some sort of robotic defense force that the Alliance would make. I could be wrong about this, but did anyone else think they looked a tad too robotic in comparison to the Geth that had that slightly organic feel to them when it came to their overall design?

My second question was having to do with the weapons. From the look of the video they were firing a few rounds then having to do a reload like motion. It makes me wonder if they are doing away with the overheat mechanic from the first one and replacing it with this new system.

Those were my two biggest observations and was just wondering if anyone else noticed them, or if I was the only one.

Granted I could just be crazy and seeing things as well. So many possibilities.

 

[Wordsandstuffwillbenexttothis8465]

They cant really put reloading in for most guns, that would be against the Fluff!!!

 

[SigmondK]

They cant really put reloading in for most guns, that would be against the Fluff!!!

Well all I can say is you see a human pull something on the back of an assault rifle and a robot doing something similar on a pistol. Can't really say more then that since I'm just getting it from the video.

 

[MarsProbe]

With regards to those robot like things we see fighting - well, at first I didn't think they were robots but looking back at the video they do look that way - especially the four legged variants we see running around (I guess they aren't Varren after all!).

As to where they have come from, who knows. The fact that they seem to be shooting down fleeing Salarian types makes me think they aren't Alliance types. Something Cerberus could have cooked up maybe in their own attempts to create a Geth-like force? (Aye, Ninja'ed to that one of course)

As for reloading weapons - I personally don't think that will happen. I didn't have any problems with the overheat mechanism (much) and considering that the first game has already explained why reloading is not a concern in the ME universe, it would seem a bit of a step back to change that...

 

[Cowabungaa]

Reloading works for heavy weapons I guess, or new types of weapons in general. Heck knows what they'll come up with, I hope the guns at least sound better. They didn't feel like they were making much of an impact.

 

[SigmondK]

As to where they have come from, who knows. The fact that they seem to be shooting down fleeing Salarian types makes me think they aren't Alliance types. Something Cerberus could have cooked up maybe in their own attempts to create a Geth-like force? (Aye, Ninja'ed to that one of course)

And since Cerberus was a black op group for the Alliance my observation is partly correct. NWaha! Ahem err sorry.

Though I do have to say that I am a big fan of the cannon on the ME universe and the little reload action in the video could be something else entirely it just seems strange that on two different gun types they are doing a similar action on both of them.

EDIT: I just thought of something. Maybe they are changing the ammo type. My god how wonderful that would be if you could put two ammo types on a gun and switch between them with a push of a button.

 

[MarsProbe]

And since Cerberus was a black op group for the Alliance my observation is partly correct. NWaha! Ahem err sorry.

Good point. Though I'm of the opinion that it's likely that Cerberus will be working more (if not totally) independently from the Alliance. Granted they may effectively have been doing that already and are just exceptionally good at covering their tracks while killing off high ranking Alliance military personnel at the same time.

Thinking about reloading (if that is what they are doing) given that there will be newer races in ME2, perhaps gthere will be other races out there that don't quite have access to the same fancypants technology as you're used to and still have to reload their weapons. though maybe as a trade off they would also be more open to customisation.

I'm partially thinking of the Quarians (okay, not exactly a new race, but perhaps we may meet more than one of them this time?) - given that their ships seem to be more of the "juryrigged" variety, perhaps the same school of design could extend to any weapons they may use.

 

[Nargleblarg]

1. The Geth are basically gone now

2. There are newer more powerul weapons that reload more often

 

[SigmondK]

Yeah I think I figured out my second question which would make sense in the context of what is already laid down in ME. The changing of the ammo types seems more plausible the more I think about it than them having to reload ammo. Well hopefully by the end of E3 I'll have some better info and maybe another bit of video to dissect for more tidbits.

Here is to hoping.

 

[WillSimplyBe]

They cant really put reloading in for most guns, that would be against the Fluff!!!

Well all I can say is you see a human pull something on the back of an assault rifle and a robot doing something similar on a pistol. Can't really say more then that since I'm just getting it from the video.

I actually kind of liked the Overheating system, but then again, i used a Shotgun mainly (vanguard, ftw) So I was always in the mindframe of "One shot, One kill... unless you use Carnage"

 

[RebelRising]

I distinctly remember animations that characters did when installing a "perk"on their weaponry in the first game. Stuff like Assassination or Overkill. I don't think this is anything new.

As for the robots, they look like Alliance (which would be very interesting, story-wise) or they are just built by Cerberus, who don't really have any regard for Council space law anyways.

What I really want to know is whether that driving scene in the city traffic is in-game or not, because either way, those are some amazing visuals.

 

[balimuzz]

And maybe the new enemies are either modified Geth, or Robots created by Cerberus.

I actually think that either of these could be true. In the teaser, it ends with a shot of a Geth armature looking straight at the camera, but the enemies look very robotic. I think that they both may be involved. Also, I think we may all be counting out the possibility of a new organization much like Cerberus to step in and create these things. I doubt that we're going to get the return of the Reapers, but I would put my money on the Geth playing a part, although not as the enemies shown in the pre-E3 video. Cerberus seems unlikely to me, as they had dealt mostly with organics in the first game, although I don't want this to be the end of them. I'd like to see a thresher maw breeding facility in a side quest sometime. All speculation aside, I can't wait for Mass Effect 2 to come out. It looks like more of the same and better, so I'm in.

 

[SigmondK]

I distinctly remember animations that characters did when installing a "perk"on their weaponry in the first game. Stuff like Assassination or Overkill. I don't think this is anything new.

I would love that to be the case so that I could have a diffinative answer on what that little animation signified, but after testing it with ME perks on the assault rifle and the pistol I'm here to report that there is no such animation.

Though on a side note of just pure speculation. Who here would like it if you could modify the Mako. I mean I think that was one of the things I wanted to do throughout the game was to upgrade the cannon, shields, armor, and a few other things. Would be nice to see that in the game, but not holding my breath for that one.

 

[RebelRising]

I distinctly remember animations that characters did when installing a "perk"on their weaponry in the first game. Stuff like Assassination or Overkill. I don't think this is anything new.

I would love that to be the case so that I could have a diffinative answer on what that little animation signified, but after testing it with ME perks on the assault rifle and the pistol I'm here to report that there is no such animation.

Though on a side note of just pure speculation. Who here would like it if you could modify the Mako. I mean I think that was one of the things I wanted to do throughout the game was to upgrade the cannon, shields, armor, and a few other things. Would be nice to see that in the game, but not holding my breath for that one.

For the Mako, it seems like it would just take away from other things they could be improving. I'm personally crossing my fingers for a hover-craft sort of revision of the Mako, so that terrain wouldn't be a problem. Considering how far into the future the second game is set, the Alliance could've turned out an entirely new military model prototype, and we'd be the first to try it out. That would be awesome, but I'm not sure how likely that is. I just saw some concept art in one of the videos.

 

[Knight Templar]

I don't think those are robots in the clip, they look like aliens in armor.

 

[soren7550]

I just hope in ME2, the Mako is a little easier to control and that the shields regenerate faster.

 

[Cowabungaa]

As for the robots, they look like Alliance (which would be very interesting, story-wise) or they are just built by Cerberus, who don't really have any regard for Council space law anyways.

Very interesting indeed, all I know from the first ME is that they're a renegade ex-Alliance black-ops group who experiment for...whatever reason, I can't remember that anything is explained about their motives. But it sounds plausible, that Cerberus would play a major role in ME2. Remember the first teaser, saying Shepard was KIA, wich ended with a strange looking robot hunching over a corpse (I guess from Shepard)? Would that would be a robot of the same group as the one's in the E3 prelude video? They do look different though, the first looks like a Geth, the new one's a lot like Alliance robots. Just look at their arms, is that M7 on them?
Anyway, Shepard destroyed Cerberus' operations, so they do have a reason to go after him. And as I said, their motives for their earlier experiments aren't really explained, so who knows what they're up to.

Anyway, I'm just hoping on one thing: more variation! Mass Effect really suffered from the Gray Hallway Syndrome: the same damned structure over and over again, especially for side missions, and most main missions weren't set in spectacular enviroments either. The same stupid spaceship/structure every damned time, it's boring. I see no reason why every quest should be resolved in the same dull enviroment, don't tell me that there aren't any small settlements out there, or other cities. The game wasn't rewarding exploring the galaxy at all, side-quests were chores, although the way they ended was usually done well, but that has everything to do with the story and nothing to do with the enviroment. Make the game look as thrilling and awesome as the story is.
But especially the planets annoyed me, yes it's ok if some of them are lifeless rocks, those exist as well, but if a planet is described as one with an extremely lush ecosystem with huge insects and stuff, and when I land all I see is mountains with a grass texture, I feel ripped off. Some planets even put in a randomly placed group of wierd animals for no apperant reason (I remember a group of gazelle-like creatures with arms), then I really think: what the hell are you trying to do here? Are you mocking me? If you describe a planet like it's a really awesome place, actually make it look like it's description when you actually go there. If you don't, you're just lying to your players.

Considering how far into the future the second game is set, the Alliance could've turned out an entirely new military model prototype, and we'd be the first to try it out. That would be awesome, but I'm not sure how likely that is. I just saw some concept art in one of the videos.

How far in the future will it be then?

 

[RebelRising]

Considering how far into the future the second game is set, the Alliance could've turned out an entirely new military model prototype, and we'd be the first to try it out. That would be awesome, but I'm not sure how likely that is. I just saw some concept art in one of the videos.

How far in the future will it be then?

What? Oh, no, I was just speculating there...it just would make sense for there to be some new developments in order to assist Shepard in his quest.

But if those robots do end up being Alliance-made, there would definitely be some complications there.

 

[SigmondK]

What? Oh, no, I was just speculating there...it just would make sense for there to be some new developments in order to assist Shepard in his quest.

But if those robots do end up being Alliance-made, there would definitely be some complications there.

Well in the first book the Alliance did less than smart things developing an AI all secretly like. I could defiantly see Cerberus making these using some off shot of that development. Though only time will tell. Kinda wish E3 would hurry up already so that I can get a better sense of the overall plot.