Poll: Mass Effect 1 or 2?

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

ME. It had better (ME2 had practically none) exploration and a far better plot. Also, ME2 rubbed me the wrong way. Instead of trying to fix things, they just cut them out. Mako? Gone with planet exploration. Elevators? Gone, replaced with static loading screens. Inventory system? Gone.
Edit: And how the fuck is finite ammo an improvement over infinite ammo?

 

[Konatacalypse]

Mass Effect 1 was fun and intriguing.

Mass Effect 2 was ugly and boring.

 

[mikeli4194]

Mass Effect 1, because it felt much more epic than the second one. It had more of a sense of exploring the galaxy, discovering interesting people and places, and plus, the story was miles better than the second one. Also, I can't think of a single person who would take loading screens over elevator rides (at least they made the world, even the Normandy, feel big, and the funny conversations your party had made them worth it). Plus, the second lacked major, holy-shit, jaw-droppingly awesome moments, like the Battle of the Citadel. Hell, the whole last mission of Mass Effect 1 was amazing.) Saren is a way better antagonist than the Collectors. Also, the leveling system, and it had less obvious black-or-white moral choices than the second one (although the action choices were pretty cool.)

Don't get me wrong, I'm not ripping on the second one at all. It is still amazing and one of my favorite games ever.

-Better combat
-Better graphics (slightly better animation)
-Way better character development
-WAYYYYY better DLC (especially Shadow Broker)
-Funnier
-Better paced

 

[Rapamaha]

ME1, it had more of the sci-fi atmosphere in it than ME2

 

[lumenadducere]

I think the first one's pacing, mood/atmosphere, and story far outdo the second. And while there was incredible redundancy with the items, they went way too far in the other direction with ME2 and got rid of almost all items from the game.

Fortunately, that seems to have been rectified in the third one, and if everything they're promising pans out that one will outdo the other two. But for the first two I definitely think the first is better.

 

[DarksideFlame]

I love both games but pretty much in every way except plot Mass Effect 2 is better but KOTOR 1 beats both of them

Reasons for why ME2 is better gameplay-wise:

You do not have to switch equipment for every 5 minutes
Exploring random worlds in the Mako in ME1 quickly became boring since they were overall pretty similar
No overheating if you fire weapons for too long
Your squadmates voices sounds better

And theres probably other reasons too but these are the ones I remember right now

 

[frehls]

hue

 

[Joos]

I actually thought the skill system in ME1 was better than ME2.
I thought the Mako sections in ME1 was preferable to planet scanning. I got to explore epic vistas which felt awesome, while mining in Me2 was as much fun as MS Excel.

On the whole though, the plot, script and combat improvments in ME2, made ME2 a slightly better game for me.

 

[Android2137]

...Where is the "I like them both" option? Because I felt the missions were much more cohesive in ME1. Each one was nice and lengthy and doing things felt like making progress. And the worlds felt large and expansive, though the Mako rides left something to be desired. But I didn't like the fact that my least favorite characters were the only romanceable ones. Kaiden, Liara, and Ashley are so boring when I compare them with Garrus and Tali. I wanted to hit on Garrus so bad... Then ME2 rolled around. The missions felt very short in comparison and a little more scatter shot. The worlds felt more narrow and constricted (Bioware, why wouldn't you let me revisit various places of the Citadel?). I also didn't like the fact that I was forced into joining Cerberus and couldn't confront them all about Kahoku and Toombs. Then there was the fact that there was so much more fanservice (for some reason, the grandma warrior space nun offended me more than the Australian terrorist bond girl and the practically nudist punk rocker psychopath). But I liked finally being able to romance Garrus (and Tali). And then there's Legion. How can you not love Legion? It/They are adorable! And I enjoyed the specialty attacks. Charge is SO much fun! I just wish they left out the heat sinks. I liked having infinite ammo.

 

[Xanadu84]

I sincerely wanted to prefer the first. I don't like thermal clips, and character customization was severely, severely stunted in the second. Overall, I wanted more RPG, and while Mass Effect felt like an RPG with heavy shooter elements, ME2 felt like a shooter with heavy RPG elements. So its a testament to the power of both iteration and Bioware that I liked the second game a good deal more. They did what I didn't want them to do, but they did it well.

 

[DanielDeFig]

Basically, I played ME 1, and had a blast exploring the early areas. But the moment I got control of the ship, and I repeatedly lost the same fight in a minor side mission, due to failing AI (Enemies kept rushing me). I stopped playing after that.

My brother got more into it than me and finished it (While I got more into Dragon Age than him, and finished it. I still haven't finished ME 1, while he still haven't finished DA:Origins ). When he excitedly got himself ME2, he immediately recommended it to me, and admitted a big problem with ME1 was the combat, while it was the main source of fun in ME2 (While still maintaining the excellence of story-driven gameplay).

I've played much more of ME2 (admittedly I haven't actually gotten around to playing it until recently. I took advantage of the "ppl who bought DA2, can get ME2 for free" deal), and I'm enjoying it much more than the first one. Like my brother said, the story and RPG stuff is still excellent (Bioware, yay!), but the combat is actually fun, mainly due to a competent AI, that doesn't try to rush you in a gunfight.

Strangely enough, I would have to say that the first Dragon Age game also had a problem with combat (but obviously, it didn't turn me off as much as the ME1 combat), and the sequel also directly addressed that by making it the most entertaining part of the game.

 

[Dr_Komeil]

ME1 was more interesting, but ME2 was better.

In ME1, there is a huge galaxy to explore, you get returns for your exploration, the content relies on your desire to see the worlds. The inventory system, however infuriating, gave a greater sense of self within your Shepard, you were outfitting the character just as much as you were playing them. Seeing the universe was brilliant in the first game, but in order to do it, you had to slog through convoluted systems of stats and equipment that rendered much of the game frustrating. (As a side note, I liked the Mako, except when there were areas wherein you could get an instant death by mis-driving the damned thing).

In ME2, the game system was much more streamlined, allowing for easier, funner play. With less stressful play came the improved ability to immerse yourself, to feel like you were actually a bad-ass space hero and not a person driving one around from the back.

 

[-Dragmire-]

I voted Me1

I enjoy it overall as a game.

In ME2, the joy of romancable Tali was countered by a retarded antagonist and final boss. It was a good game for everything except the plot.

edit: I also prefer clicking survey on a planet rather than probing them.

edit2:I also liked all the things in ME1 that your squadmates would comment on, ME2 had something like it too but I prefer a conversation over a monologue.

does anyone remember if there were hanar or elcor in ME2? They were the only peoples who weren't humanlike not counting keepers or rachni.

 

[HHammond]

1. Definitely 1. It had deeper gameplay and characters. The story is exceptionally well paced, even if it is a bit cliched, it was still engaging and I really wanted to take Saren down! The cast was really tight, every world was interesting and the mako made the universe feel big, even if it did control badly and using it began to feel repetitive.

2 was still a great game, don't get me wrong, but it didn't feel as tight as 1. There was too many squad members and I only really liked about 50% of them compared to how I liked all of the characters from 1, even if it was at varying degress. My dislike for Kaidan is FAR outweighed by how much I hate Jacob! GOD HE'S SO BORING! And the lack of RPG elements and the fact it turned into a corridor infested cover based shooter wasn't great. Also, it wasn't as tightly paced as 1. "HOLY CRAP! THIS SHOCKING REVELATION WE HAVE JUST DISCOVERED IS SO INTERESTING! I WANT TO FIND OUT ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW right after you do x amount of missions...

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I think Mass Effect had a better story than Mass Effect 2. Also, there weren't too many characters (something I think Mass Effect 2 suffers from) so I got time to know them all, and I could actually use them all without going, "Well, I haven't used so-in-so, guess I should." Finally, Mass Effect let me take on entire legions of enemies by myself if the situation called for it. By that, I mean I could use more than one power at a time.

 

[butteforce]

I played the two games for the first time back to back. I told a friend that I thought the intro to ME2 was better than the entire first game. I'm glad I played the first game because of the references back to it, but it just never grabbed me. The inventory was a nightmare of bullshit. The skill system wasn't good. It's not really a choice when you have skills that are either "you will definitely put a bunch of points here" or "you will never use this ever". It's not depth because there are more points.

If I could play through the first game with the mechanics of the second, I might be more on board with it. The story might not be overshadowed by how clunky half the mechanics were.

I would rather have had a couple more options for weapons, some mods might have been okay, and the apparently originally planned hybrid ammo system would have been better. Supposedly, you were going to have the overheating thing, but you'd be able to use a thermal clip to reduce the heat instantly. Managing overheating was a more interesting mechanic than the more standard reload that lead to you running out of ammo for specific weapons in ME2 on harder difficulty.

ME2 I've replayed a couple times; the first one isn't even installed.

 

[DustyDrB]

Anyone who dislikes the second game while hailing the first game for its RPG elements...your opinion doesn't count. Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 are my 3rd and 1st respectively on my all-time favorites list, but neither is a good RPG.

I'd actually say the second is better because it offers more meaningful choice with your armor and weapons. If you had two sets of (same tier. So Explorer VI vs Scorpion VI, for instance) it was always clear-cut which one was the better choice. The only exception was Predator L/M/H armor (more shields and biotic/tech protection) vs Colossus armor (more Damage Resistance). This is even more true for the guns. So you have a cluttered inventory that gives you no meaningful choice.

The leveling systems are on the opposite end of the spectrum (ME: way too incremental; ME2: Not incremental enough). I would say I prefer the second game again in this because once you fully level any power, you're given a choice of how you want to evolve the power.

If you prefer the first game for its story, characters, missions, or the feel of the combat, then all right. That's understandable, even if I don't agree with all of those. But to prefer the first game because you think its a better RPG is just way off in my book.

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

I prefer ME2 for the gameplay and how they fleshed out the characters in actual combat/episodic story arcs in lieu of just idle chatter on the Normandy. The main plot was primarily wasted potential or otherwise simply rubbish.It was remarkable how many inconsistencies within the narrative existed. The utter lack of continuality from ME was equally annoying to boot.

Regardless, I have thoroughly enjoyed both.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

ME2, for these reasons:

1. Characters. Legion, Jack, Mordin were 3 of my favorite NPC's in this universe (Garrus and Tali not counted due to crossover) whereas I found Liara, Kaiden and most of the others (except Wrex) forgettable to the point of not missing them in the sequel. Also Miranda was decent. Also Joker felt much more fleshed out and less like a "Look Seth Green Cameo" scenario.

2. Epic beginning. ME1 took a while to take off for me, whereas ME2 put you in the drama seat from the get go.

3. Sidequests. ME1 was bogged down with sidequests that sometimes get derailed by actions you don't even realize you're doing. ME2's sidequests were more self-contained.

4. Inventory and sub-screens for customizing/stats/upgrading. ME2 streamlined an otherwise annoying process of "what weapon is bettar with what ammo/upgrade slot" same for armor. Granted being able to change all NPC's armor without unlocks or DLC was nice, but not a selling point to me.

5. No Mako. This was the biggest time sink (tho resource gathering in ME2 came close) that I'm glad they did away with. Only in certain missions was it even something I enjoyed. Hammerhead was MUCH cooler.

6. Citadel. Less confusing map scheme (I got lost in ME1's citadel, yes it was pretty but felt like a waste of time running around there).

7. Combat. Less clunky, more responsive (though I'm still not a cover-based combat fan).

 

[Ben Simon]

I liked the RPG elements of 1 before they were dumbed down, but everything else was better in 2.