Mass Effect 2

[Hayashi]

Anyone got this game yet? I'm curious to know - how big is the game universe, compared to the first Mass Effect?

[JrKASperov]

About the same size. But the 'worlds' are smaller, as each mission consists out of a relatively small lineair area. There are a few hubs like the Citadel and Illium but they are really small compared to the Citadel from part 1. This is a good thing if you ask me; ME1 had too much 'dead space'.

[dplax]

Got it last night, downloaded by this morning. Just had a quick play with it, looking good, not really sure about size yet.

[Trogdor]

With the original ME being one of my top 5 games of all time, I had pretty high expectations.

Unfortuantely it doens't have the same feel...
*The combat has improved in some ways, but be "Dumbed down" in others.
*You now have ammo (sort of) which is terrible.
*The conversation system is pretty much the same, however they added little paragon/renegade quicktime events which are actually kinda fun (Punching people mid sentance is awesome)
*World exploration doesn't exist anymore, I think people over reacted to the Mako in the original, and Bioware responded by removing it, so you can no longer fly down to a planet and explore
However they are releasing DLC that will contain a new planet exploring vehicle (Hammerhead)
There are the same ammount planets, but as I said, you can't really explore them so the whole giant space feel is gone.
*The citadel is now one of the smallest places to explore as you can only use the rapid transport and only visit a few select areas.

The rest I will leave to you to find out, as anything I say will probably be spoilerific.

However, so far I am still really loving this game. It's not GOTY in my book, but its pretty damn fun so far, (Plus its got Martin Sheen voice acting which is awesome)

[Sparhawk]

Uhm...upon my first look the world is somewhat larger than ME1 - did you guys purchase additional starmaps to open the rest of the game?

I like the feeling of combat a lot better in this game than in the first one - and the inclusion of clips is brilliant imho...however I seem to constantly be getting renegade points when trying to do the right thing so I am a bit confused as to that part of the game and worse for me is the save function which has cheated me several times.

[SpiritWarrior]

Anyone playing it on PC that can talk about fps and general performance? I intend to play this at some point, of course, after Bioshock 2.

[JrKASperov]

For me it runs better than ME1. The graphics have improved somewhat, but the main difference is less huge environments. That is ofcourse counteracted by the way improved art direction. Areas actually feel designed this time. Mostly. Some combat areas are still boring.

[CerebroDragon]

I just finished ME 1 for the first time this evening and must say that I did find the combat extraordinarily tedious after awhile. Not that it was overly challenging, but because it is plentiful and repetitive. I was mostly slugging it out for the story, by the end. Took me just under 20 hours. (DA took me 80 and Risen - 50). For me, it plays like a Kotor on steroids.

In regards to the sequel, I've read that the shooter aspect of the game is much more enhanced and that some of the rpg elements have been stripped back or 'streamlined'. I wonder if this will effect my enjoyment of it.

ME did have some great tense moments where choices become the central focus but I'll be looking for more of those, especially if I'm to grab ME2 if the combat hasn't improved.

I'd also like to know a little more about the implementation of your save game from the end of the first game. Does it really affect that much in the sequel?

[Kazilan]

Originally Posted by Trogdor Unfortuantely it doens't have the same feel... *The combat has improved in some ways, but be "Dumbed down" in others. *You now have ammo (sort of) which is terrible. *The conversation system is pretty much the same, however they added little paragon/renegade quicktime events which are actually kinda fun (Punching people mid sentance is awesome) *World exploration doesn't exist anymore, I think people over reacted to the Mako in the original, and Bioware responded by removing it, so you can no longer fly down to a planet and explore However they are releasing DLC that will contain a new planet exploring vehicle (Hammerhead) There are the same ammount planets, but as I said, you can't really explore them so the whole giant space feel is gone. *The citadel is now one of the smallest places to explore as you can only use the rapid transport and only visit a few select areas.

This is a very good summation of the game. I played it for about 38 hours and then quit. The combat is overall better than in the first game, which is what kept me going, but the more linear nature of gameplay (small areas that open for one mission only) and the lack of exploration killed its lasting appeal for me. I also find the story really tedious - "Collectors are wiping out colonies, assemble a team". That's it, unless I'm in for some surprises. Pathetic compared to the first game. I'll play it again at some point to finish, but the whole scanning planets for resources thing is horrible. How did we get there from being able to drive around on planets and actually explore???

I know, 38 hours is good for a regular game, but this is Mass Effect! I pre-ordered the collector's edition because I loved the first one so much. Worth it to buy the regular version once the price drops, but not before.

EDIT - to answer Cerebro's last question, they do a good job of including the results of choices from the first game. Kudos for that.

[Kyrvias]

Originally Posted by Kazilan This is a very good summation of the game. I played it for about 38 hours and then quit. The combat is overall better than in the first game, which is what kept me going, but the more linear nature of gameplay (small areas that open for one mission only) and the lack of exploration killed its lasting appeal for me. I also find the story really tedious - "Collectors are wiping out colonies, assemble a team". That's it, unless I'm in for some surprises. Pathetic compared to the first game. I'll play it again at some point to finish, but the whole scanning planets for resources thing is horrible. How did we get there from being able to drive around on planets and actually explore??? I know, 38 hours is good for a regular game, but this is Mass Effect! I pre-ordered the collector's edition because I loved the first one so much. Worth it to buy the regular version once the price drops, but not before. EDIT - to answer Cerebro's last question, they do a good job of including the results of choices from the first game. Kudos for that.

You have to think that Mass Effect is designed to be a trilogy. The first game sets the universe, the second sets the stage for the third, and the third is the explosive finale.

And yes, after finishing this game, there were a few plot twists