Mass Effect 2 honest thoughts and opinions and gaming tips.

[Kingjackl]

Mass Effect 2 is a great standalone game, but if you compare it to ME1 and ME3, it kind of falls short. It does little to advance the plot, the gameplay is much simpler and the whole Cerberus thing was a terrible idea handled poorly. Plus, the classes aren't particularly well balanced: if you're not playing a Soldier or Infiltrator, expect to slog through the first half of the game.

That said, playing it is kind of mandatory to get the best out of 3, so...

 

[votemarvel]

- It's combat is awful, the auto cover system is complete shit and never works properly, the enemies are dumber then bricks and just run forward to get murdered one by one, and the "leveling up your accuracy" thing means you can't hit the broad side of a barn for the first half of the game.

Best combat of the series for me.

The cover system was great. Lightly push against something to enter cover, pull away to exit. You could make use of low cover without being pressed against it. Not once did I ever enter cover when I didn't mean to. How many times in ME2 did your Shepard fling themselves on an exposed wall in the middle of a fire-fight because of the Awesome button?

The only enemies to act like you say are the Husks, they will run straight for you because that is what they are supposed to do. Other enemies did attempt to flank you and would run if they were getting a beating, something that was very annoying on the higher difficulty levels were they would spam Immunity. It'd turn into a horrible version of a Benny Hill chase. Thank the lord for Warp which cut through Immunity.

Personally I loved the levelling. It gave a real sense of progression, not just to powers but to your talent with weapons. Also loved the choice it inflicted on you, want more accuracy on your weapons but you could use that point in another areas. Especially difficult choice to make if you'd given a bonus weapon to a class that normally couldn't train in it, such as an Assault Rifle to an Adept. Plus did you know that firing from cover or crouching while shooting improved your accuracy? Another tip would be to fire in short bursts so that the reticule doesn't grow too large.

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.

A complaint I honestly never understood.

Providing you used the map to plot your route, you could bypass almost all the tough terrain. Were people trying to drive in a straight line everywhere?

 

[Drakmorg]

Mass Effect 2 has Great characters, but frankly shits the bed wherever Cerberus and the Collectors are concerned, which unfortunately includes the entirety of the main story-line. Plus, as has already been partially pointed out, it is almost entirely removed from the over-arching story set-up in Mass Effect 1 and concluded in Mass Effect 3. There's only like one piece of content that actually matters in the grand scheme of the story, and its the last piece of DLC they released, The Arrival, or something I think it's called.

As for gameplay, Sentinal and Vanguard are OP, but Vanguard is the most fun because you get to slam into people like a pissed off truck and then shoot them in the face with shotguns at point blank while they're stunned. Oh, and Charge regens your Barrier, so just use it whenever possible and you will never die, hence OP status granted.
Sentinel also never dies because it has a power that instantly regens Shields too, but is decidedly less fun because you don't slam into people and get the perfect opportunity to shoot them in the face as well.

 

[gunningyoudown]

Biggest thing you should note.
Get all the single player DLC it is some of the better content. Also in ME3 it feels like a good part of the main story. Be warned that You will be playing Mass Effect 1~3 for upwards of 60 hours. So sit down and have fun!

 

[Icehearted]

Talk to Jacob, Garrus, and Tali about Normandy upgrades. You'll be glad you did.

As for the game itself... It was good, very good. In fact, it was so good it kinda blinded everyone to how bad it was. On its own the game is terrific, but it adds absolutely nothing to the overarching plot - It's just faffing about with your crew members. Which itself is pretty cool, but the whole "How do we stop the Reapers" plot gets sidelined in the process. And Mass Effect 3 ends up suffering the consequences.

I got that sense quite a lot myself, and it made the second game feel almost totally unnecessary (especially considering how things played out in ME3). I loved that it was more visually interesting and that new areas felt like more than the same two base designs on big empty planets where we got to tumble and get stuck in a boat on wheels. Ultimately to me it was an average shooter with "RPG" elements sprinkled in to make us forget it's really just an average shooter.

I actually still enjoyed the first one more than the second and vastly more than the third.

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.

A complaint I honestly never understood.

Providing you used the map to plot your route, you could bypass almost all the tough terrain. Were people trying to drive in a straight line everywhere?

Mapping out a path could make sense but in some cases that meant driving in obscure directions and going completely around a large craggy mountain in a big barren area to another barren area just to get through to the next barren area that may have a pass to a barren area that will let you access the barren area where the way to the barren area you wanted to go for those Asari Writings. It was tedious either way and at least playing tumble-tank on a cliff-side was something marginally less tedious than repeatedly hitting hover out of boredom for the 10 minutes it took to figure out and navigate one's way through an array of exciting barren areas.

 

[Glongpre]

Mass Effect 2... Ehh. Where do I begin? Fucking. Thermal. clips.

Mass Effect 1 was an RPG with varied third-person shooty bits, Mass Effect 2 was turned into a generic third-person shooter with minimal RPG bits. They took everything that was good about ME1 and dumbed it down, and instead of smoothing the rough bits, they completely removed them and replaced them with way worse parts.


I loved playing an Infiltrator in ME1, I was a Sniping god. In ME2, given the fact that it's just a corridor after corridor and severely limited ammo supplies, it's neigh impossible to play a sniper. The Infiltrator is reduced to a shitty fireball hurling wizard.

This, also fucking global cooldowns. Completely ruined my awesome adept, and I also enjoyed ME1 combat much more overall.
Also sucked that I couldn't create a hilarious rocket sniper rifle and one shot everything .

 

[O maestre]

I think its the best of the series, while the story did take a bit of hit, it did expand on the universe. The combat was suberb compared to the first game, each class felt very different and very capable.. well perhaps not the adept. they got rid of that horrible inventory from ME1 as well. However planet scanning was pace breaking, and some of the story elements seemed dumb and nonsensical, specifically the main story, side missions were tight and well narrated. The dialogue between companions was emotionally engaging, despite a lot of it being forced upon you.

ME2 made mistakes, but compared to ME3 it did a hell of a lot better.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

Personally, I love the Mass Effect universe. Regardless of its faults, which are many, it still managed to be a ton of fun, and an interesting universe to get into. That said, I for one would get Mass Effect 1, if only to blast through it once and get some of the tie-ins in the later games. It'll make Shepard feel more like your character, and some of the choices end up being rather helpful in the later installments. But, that isn't to say you can't just skip it, or go with the introduction comic which lets you choose some of the outcomes without playing the first game at all.

But, it's a solid third-person shooter series with some really interesting and likable characters, and a good universe to get immersed in.

The second Mass Effect is technically Pokemon, in that you're gathering party-members and increasing their fighting strengths, but not by evolving them into bigger, stronger fighters, but rather to resolve their personal issues.

You just made me think of it like this:

Blood Pack Leader sent out Vorcha Soldier!

Go, Garrus!

Garrus used Boom, Headshot!

It's Super Effective!

Vorcha Soldier Died!

"Scoped and Dropped!".

 

[O maestre]

Mass Effect 2 was a brilliant game that was so incredibly subtle people still don't believe me when I tell them that.
Unfortunately too subtle, it would seem, as Mass Effect 3 ends up delivering the same plot points from the previous game but far more hamfisted since people didn't get it the first time around.
Also the most subtle dick joke that I've ever heard in my entire life is in there, so brilliantly subtle I missed it the first time around.

if you can remember, could you give some example of the stories subtleties?

Mass Effect 2... Ehh. Where do I begin? Fucking. Thermal. clips.

Mass Effect 1 was an RPG with varied third-person shooty bits, Mass Effect 2 was turned into a generic third-person shooter with minimal RPG bits. They took everything that was good about ME1 and dumbed it down, and instead of smoothing the rough bits, they completely removed them and replaced them with way worse parts.


I loved playing an Infiltrator in ME1, I was a Sniping god. In ME2, given the fact that it's just a corridor after corridor and severely limited ammo supplies, it's neigh impossible to play a sniper. The Infiltrator is reduced to a shitty fireball hurling wizard.

I hope I don't sound as too much of a fanboy, believe me ME2 suffers from a lot of generic elements and dumbing down being shoved in, Thermal clips retcon was just retarded beyond belief, likewise in regards to omni gel as a resource. But ME1 had huge gameplay problems in spite of the great story. Side quests could have great and varied story, but playing them often had the same conclusion. The inventory system was horrible a real mess, and power management was shallow, I liked the addition of evolutions, instead of choosing a specialized class. Modding came back in a small way through armour modding, but weapon modding should have been included.

You have to admit that the combat in ME1 was very clunky, and that ME2 had some very smooth and fluid combat. Although ME2 also had some of the most unimaginative level design ever. However if you remember how many times ME1 combat situations happened in prefab space colonies or ships corridors during most of the side missions and a good deal of the main missions you can see that level design is a problem they had from the beginning. Granted some of the main missions like Ilos and Virmire were some of the best levels in the series.

 

[Bocaj2000]

You want my honest thoughts? Oh boy... I apologize in advance for the incoming rant.

Thermal clips are the most representative thing about what ME2 is when compared to the first one. In the first ME, you didn't have to worry about ammo, and instead focused on timing your shots and/or tasteful use of weapon mods. It was a neat addition to the game that helped separate it from the others and added to the unique atmosphere that the game had.

[rant]

ME2 on the other hand took out that mechanic for no reason and replaced it with something more streamlined, and made the game less unique. They did that with many things from ME1. Here's a list of some of the things that were taken out to be more streamlined:

Spoiler: long list

- Mako
- Inventory
Some people complained about it, so instead of fixing it, they removed it.

- Explorable planets
- Open environments
- Being able to wonder outside
Replaced with one way rooms and hallways.

- Infinite ammo
- Being able to survive out of cover
- Weapon stats
- Diplomacy stats
- Weapon modding
- Customizing squad mates' armor
- Modding squad mates' armor
- Modding squad mates' weapons
Simplified the game.

- Different visual settings (cinematic, radiant, intermediate)
- Film grain
- Full control of dialogue
- Neutral dialogue options
- Solving problems using a neutral option
- Solving problems via diplomacy
- Non-combat related missions
- Natural acquisition of characters
- Realistic outcomes of a loyalty stat (Wrex's scenario)
Simplified the mood and tone

As a sequel, it didn't understand what made the first one great and instead chose to play it safe:

In the first game, you are a Spectre, a space cop who isn't bound by rules and regulations. "How do I handle that much power and responsibility?" That theme carries through out the game.

In ME2, you are now working with terrorists who will to what ever it takes to complete a mission. "How do I handle committing acts of terrorism for the greater good?" The only time that theme is only played out ONCE... and it was DLC.

---
But if I were to treat ME2 as a stand alone, I'd call it good. It plays well, looks great, and the story that it provides is good with outstanding characters. In fact it introduced my favorite characters in the series. The moral choices are color coded morality with absolutely no room for interpretation, much like Fabel and KotOR. This isn't bad- just mediocre. The "Loyalty" stat was enjoyable at first, but upon closer look makes no sense. It all comes together as a good game but nothing more, much like other AAA titles. The problem I have is that the sequel of my favorite game of all time should not have settled for just "good".

[/rant]

On a lighter note, ME3 is improves on ME2 in every way possible, and is a damned good game.

 

[Kenbo Slice]

I only played 2 and 3. I played the first one for a bit and it was boring and tedious. So I just got Genesis with 2 so I could get the story of the first game, without actually playing that tripe.

 

[AITH]

what are your honest thoughts and opinions about the game.

Really fantastic game with terrible level and world design. You will soon notice that every single level is basically a winding corridor with locked doors all over (with the rare occasion that it is a closet with ammo in it) and almost never an alternate or flanking path. And this pretty much applies to the non-combat zones like the Citadel as well. Bioshock infinite took a page out of the same book.

I realize it's a lot simpler for devs, but the turd-pushed-through-a-colon style of corridor level design is boring as hell. Half the fun of a shooter is flanking, finding a good spot, or even just exploring the world and it's just...gone...

 

[Dusk108]

ME1 has the better Story, and the strongest RPG elements, The shooter part is a bit weak, but age is partly to blame for that. The main storyline is strong, though a fair bit of the side stuff feels weak in comparison. If you play through it keep in mind its the first game of a new IP, and it is a bit of a pioneer for the type of game that it is.

ME2 has the weakest RPG elements, and the most shooter like combat. The main plot feels pretty weak, and seems to only form a breadcrumb trail to lead to the sidequests and loyalty missions, which are actually for more interesting than the main story line which itself feels like a sidequest for the overarching plot. I haven't played the DLC yet for the second game, (I'm only working on my second play through) though from what I hear it's pretty good.

ME3 is a pretty good blend of RPG and shooter mechanics (in my opinion the strongest gameplay wise), but the story itself feels the weakest. Pretty much everything feels like a sidequest, when much of it really shouldn't be. Some of the storlyines that they wrapped up in 45 minutes or so felt like they could have been their own games (I'm looking at you Quarian/Geth arch).

That being said, Play the first game, it gives a lot of context to the story and characters of the second game. The series really does feel like a trilogy, even if it is a rather disjointed one.

 

[RJ 17]

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.

A complaint I honestly never understood.

Providing you used the map to plot your route, you could bypass almost all the tough terrain. Were people trying to drive in a straight line everywhere?

Evidently: yes.

I never really had a problem with it. Indeed if you just drive around you can find a path that you're CLEARLY supposed to use to get up any mountain. But I think the complainers were the people who wanted to search every inch of every planet so they can make sure they got every single mineral node/crashed probe/what-have-you. Doing that does actually require a pretty fair amount of "off-roading".

 

[madwarper]

You have to admit that the combat in ME1 was very clunky, and that ME2 had some very smooth and fluid combat.

Well, I don't disagree that the shooting aspect of the shooty bits could have used some polish and that accuracy could have been divorced from the weapon skill (though, I actually *liked* the sniper rifle sway), I disagree with your assessment of ME2's smoothness and fluidity.

The scarcity of ammo, despite ammo being unlimited in ME1. The shared power timer, despite them being independent in ME1. The rather unreliable cover button, that would just as likely cause you to dive for cover as well as vault over the cover to die in a hail of bullets. The insistence of suck your thumb in a corner to fully recover your wounds, instead of using Medigels.

Although ME2 also had some of the most unimaginative level design ever. However if you remember how many times ME1 combat situations happened in prefab space colonies or ships corridors during most of the side missions and a good deal of the main missions you can see that level design is a problem they had from the beginning.

But, you also had combat planet side. Where as an Infiltrator I could wipe out an entire legion of Geth, including their heavies, from the next atop the next hill over.

Line up shot. Inhale. Exhale. Bang. One shot, one kill.

 

[omega 616]

Thanks and on the PSN Store, last i checked, its in a bundle (1,2 and 3) but cheaper to get one by one via disk copies on amazon brand new with access codes. Silly I know, I don't know what PSN Store don't lower their prices.

Also trust me I am not put off with the whole "the ending sucked" hyped of it all cause I want to go in with my own views and experience of it and it's turning out great.

Just talk to everybody constantly but as soon as you Hear Garrus say something about calibrating guns 2 or 3 times just stop going to him.

If you want to romance Jack don't boink her at the first opportunity. (she says something crude like "you just have to know where to stick it" and say no to that).

Tali and Garrus are fan favs but I think they're really boring. And the merc dude is a fucking tool.

The DLC is good for 2 & 3.

That's all I got for now.

 

[Radoh]

if you can remember, could you give some example of the stories subtleties?

You mean including or excluding the dick joke?

Spoiler: Mass Effect 2 Spoilers

First and foremost the one that most people miss is the Legion having emotions thing, it gets brought up regularly that Mass Effect 3 crams him full of emotion with no real reason despite the fact that the very first thing in the game is say something that lends itself to emotion.
Him saying 'Shepard Commander' instead of 'Commander Shepard' is interesting since he understands the concept that Titles go before Names, and follows this with everyone else (Creator Tali) but doesn't do that with the Commander, because the Commander part is irrelevant to the Geth as he's the best at killing the old machines.
When inquired as to why he's wearing your N7 armor on his chest his response is "There was a hole" fitting with the robot logic, if there is a problem (hole), make a solution (armor). So to Legion the idea is that he's already solved that issue so it logically can't be a problem. However as we all know he's got that huge gaping hole in his chest still since the armor was not sufficient to cover it, so Shepard probes for further information as to why did he use the N7 armor instead of something more sufficient, which gets the response of "No data is available at this time." as he doesn't understand why he didn't use something else, but the audience is supposed to know, as it's rather obvious that he's a Shepard fanboy, essentially cosplaying as Shepard by using his armor. Hell, he went on a tour of the galaxy following where Shepard went despite knowing where the end was, why not just go straight there instead of touring the galaxy following the footsteps?
That's also not even mentioning the fact that the opposing Geth get referred to as Heretics.
Heretics are those that commit heresy, or the act of perverting the religious doctrine or belief. This is an emotional term prescribed to an emotional event, though the Geth don't understand that because they've never experienced what emotion is.

Now onto Miranda. Right after you escape from the initial Cerberus base you can learn from her that she was actually planning on putting a control chip into Shepard to make them obedient, but the Illusive man did not let her. Given some time and having her warm up to you somewhat later in the story, she tells you about her father and how much he just wants to control her, completely missing the part where she was willing to do the exact same as him. Shepard's too nice to point it out to her that she's just like her father, but since so few people actually got that they made it into an actual plotpoint in ME3 specifically for her telling you that and apologising.

As for the dick joke, if you go to the Flotilla and talk to Admiral Bla de Blah Vas Quib Quib, Tali will tell you not to ask about the Quib Quib. But of course since she told you to not talk about the Quib Quib, Shepard obviously is going to ask about the Quib Quib, so you proceed to ask about the Quib Quib, to which the Admiral goes on this long rant about how names are hard to change on some ships so they end up just keeping weird names on their vessels.
"Sure, I'd like to serve on a more dignified vessel, like the Ichtomy or the Deferens, but I'm proud of the Quib Quib."
Because as the naming conventions of the Quarians go, that would make his name Vas Ichtomy and Vas Deferens. Vasectomy or Vas Deferens. (don't google Vas Deferens, it's a part of the penis)

Man that took a long time to write out, I sure hope you appreciate the effort.

 

[Frankster]

I resented certain narrative choices and the dumbing down of rpg mechanics BUT ultimately i look upon me2 rather fondly mainly due to its finale, really me2 had the best ending mission of the trilogy coupled with the most rocking ost.

You haven't made it to the end yet? Oh you're in for a treat

As for gaming tips i feel this isn't a series where you should need any.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

At lower difficulties, virtually any way you play the game is perfectly viable. On the hardest difficulty, however, you'll have issues with most classes simply because of a woeful lack of ammunition. Playing as an infiltrator, for example, is a chore when you can't even kill a basic enemy with a single shot. As a result you're constantly relying on something other than your signature sniper rifle just because you can't possibly keep the weapon well fed.

- Inventory
Some people complained about it, so instead of fixing it, they removed it.

My problem with the inventory is that there was literally no reason to have it. A shotgun was a shotgun and at any given time there was a best shotgun to use. The ME2 system made the weapons different meaning there was actually a choice.

- Explorable planets
- Open environments
- Being able to wonder outside
Replaced with one way rooms and hallways.

There was virtually nothing to see off the trail of the main quest and what there was required dealing with incredibly tedious Mako sequences.

- Infinite ammo
- Being able to survive out of cover
- Weapon stats

The game was designed as a shooter as a core game mechanic. ME1 wasn't actually a shooter on the slightest. The change produced a game that was actually fairly fun to play moment to moment. Mass Effect 1's combat was simply a tedious chore that separated the juicy bits of story. Mass Effect 2's combat was at least reasonably engaging for a time.

- Diplomacy stats

This was only nominally used outside of a handful of examples in the first game. The system that governed passing those paragon/renegade speech checks remains in Mass Effect 2.

- Customizing squad mates' armor

This is much the same as the issue with weapons - you weren't actually given meaningful choices. Any given character had a best suit of armor.

- Modding squad mates' armor
- Modding squad mates' weapons
Simplified the game.

The weapon mods were examples where there was largely a correct way to build a weapon and diverting from that path was folly. It added no real depth to the game as a result.

Most of the examples of simplification did not actually result in a loss of meaningful choice. The first game gave you lots of opportunities to make a decision but very few of them actually mattered.

- Film grain

While it has been awhile since I played it, I'm fairly certain that setting remains. Moreover, something as minor as an after effect is quite a tiny nitpick.

- Full control of dialogue

You never had full control of dialog.

- Neutral dialogue options

They still exist.

- Solving problems using a neutral option

There were relatively few instances where a neutral option resolved a problem in the first game. Hell, I can't think of an example off hand.

- Solving problems via diplomacy

There were only a handful of these scenarios throughout. Most problems were solved with violence in the first game.

- Non-combat related missions

There were several non combat missions; however given that their depth was little more than a fetch quest, it doesn't really add much. The quest to scan the Keeprs on the Citadel, for example, is an egregious example of padding.

- Natural acquisition of characters

You recruit people in the second game. While there is some convenience to having two old friends show up with the set, the recruitment method makes sense given the context of the game.

- Realistic outcomes of a loyalty stat (Wrex's scenario)

There was precisely one example of this taking place in the first game. In the second, all elven characters have a loyalty stat that can affect the odds of survival of the team. Hell, at least in the second, that Loyalty is based upon risking your life on their behalf I'd say the second offered a far more realistic basis. In the first game, the loyalty check consists of "Did you max persuade/intimidate".

Simplified the mood and tone

I'm not actually sure what you mean by this.

In ME2, you are now working with terrorists who will to what ever it takes to complete a mission. "How do I handle committing acts of terrorism for the greater good?" The only time that theme is only played out ONCE... and it was DLC.

You are never actually required to involve yourself in terrorism is locked behind DLC.

But if I were to treat ME2 as a stand alone, I'd call it good.

I think the only place we really differ is that I don't see the changes implemented as being a bad thing. The Mako sections added no value to the game for me and indeed they were so bad that those sections were sufficient for me to stop doing sidequests the minute it became clear I'd have to drive the damn thing. A dramatic reduction in the number of weapons and armor items likewise does not draw my ire specifically because they were replaced by a set of items that represented a real choice. Do I want a handgun with a long magazine and a high rate of fire or do I want one that does far more damage a shot? Do I want the armor piece that gives me more ammunition or do I want more health?

On a lighter note, ME3 is improves on ME2 in every way possible, and is a damned good game.

I'd agree with this as well. The third game refines the mechanics of the second to the point that it is actually a fairly good Third Person Shooter. So much so that the utterly unnecessary multiplayer element was actually more fun than it had any right to be.