ParsonOSX said:
I was wondering for those who have played ME2, what are your honest thoughts and opinions about the game. Also if or any tips and pointers you can give me about the gameplay I would really appreciate it.
Note I havent played ME1 as I haven't gotten a copy of that for my PS3.
Tip #1: Get the first game and play through it. Not only would most agree that the story is superior, but when you import your save file from ME1 to ME2 you start the game with bonus cash, resources, and skill points.
Tip 2: The only Ship upgrades you NEED are the Shields, Armor, and Weapons systems upgrades. Though I would highly suggest getting the one that makes your mineral scanner move faster too. The biggest complaint about ME2 (other than the limited weapon selection) was the planet-scanning necessity for getting resources to get your upgrades. I'm pretty sure they patched it so that the scanner starts out faster than it used to start out, but still getting the upgrade for the scanner definitely helps. I'm pretty sure Miranda is the one who offers it to you.
Tip 3: With regards to the Planet Scanning, you don't have to bother with anything that isn't Rich. If it's not Rich, then it's a waste of time. Even if you don't find all the Rich planets in the galaxy, the ones you do find will give you plenty enough resources so you can leave all the "normal" and "moderate" planets alone.
Tip 4: ME2 is based almost entirely around team dynamic. The trick to making combat easy is to have at least one person who can deal with the various types of protection that enemies have. That means having someone who can use Overload to get rid of Shields, Warp to get rid of Barriers, Warp or Incinerate to tear down Armor, and then pretty much anything hurts'em once they get down to just their health bar. With that in mind, because the Sentinel class has both Overload and Warp, it's arguably the most effective at decimating enemy forces, since there isn't any kind of protection you can't absolutely destroy.
Tip 5: The Viper Sniper Rifle sucks, keep your sniper characters using the Mantis through out the whole game. If you're a sniper, when you're given the chance to pick up a super weapon/add a new weapon choice to your class, get the Widow...it's frickin' awesome.
As for general thoughts: Some things were improved over ME1, other things were downgraded. As I mentioned, a big complaint most had about the games was that planetary exploration had been reduced to scanning planets for resources from space. In ME1, you actually drop down in this big rover/tank to explore planets that you can land on. Most of them have a Space Pirate or Mercenary base or something on them, and those are all connected to side-quests. But even then, there were people who had their complaints about the rover/tank because almost every planet you land on, you'll land in the middle of a giant, jagged mountain range that makes navigating it rather tedious.
The story was solid, but a lot of people also didn't like how they took out a lot of the guns. In the first game, there were actually stores where you went out to buy guns and armor with different stats. In this game each weapon class (pistol, sub-machine gun, assault rifle, and sniper rifle) each has one upgrade (unless you get the DLC, then you get a few more) and one super version. All in all, though, I found the game to be quiet enjoyable, though you really should be playing ME1 first otherwise the full extent of the story won't have as much an effect on you as it should.
