Mass Effect 2: More waxing goddamn nostalgic.

[Wiper]

Which did have the downside (not made entirely clear, I don't think) of damaging the contents - if you wanted all of the best stuff, you still needed lockpicking skill, as bashing things open destroyed portions of their contents (which makes sense). But yes, bashing lockers open and cutting through doors was always fun

(once you got a lightsaber or plasma torch at least. Sitting around waiting for your character to smash/shoot open a door got tedious quickly)

[Massive Invisible Dog]

Why don't these games just let you pick whether you're good, neutral or bad at the start and take care of the rest for you? It'd make things a lot easier, it'd just be weird and totally inconsistant to go from one extreme to the other in your decisions so you might as well just make one decision at the start and be done with it.

[Rudi von Starnberg]

Rock Paper Shotgun's John Walker reviews ME2

Unsurprisingly, he loved it.

[Wiper]

Actually, that talk of KOTOR reminds me of the one element of Bioware games that I always enjoy, when they put it in [see KOTOR, Dragon Age], that's been left out of the Mass Effect games so far - the bit where the main character is somehow trapped () and you get to pick a character/characters from your team to attempt a rescue, always with their own approaches according to their personalities. I'd love to see (ME2 character spoilers)

Legion sneaking in pretending to be a personal robot assistant, Miranda flirting her way through, Thane taking to the vents or Grunt/Jack/Zaeed blasting their way through

. Ah well, maybe in the third game

(Mordin would obviously just create a virus lethal to everyone but him and Shepard, then distribute it throughout the place in which Shepard was trapped)

[Space Renegade Ulala]

Shepard's like the goddamn Batman, Wiper. She's never trapped and always has a plan. Even if said plan mostly consists of shoot that shit, yo.

[CandyBob]

Plus it's not like the game didn't build complexity in other sections to compensate for some of the streamlining. The Armour system, for example, is much more complex than the first game, the orders you can give to squadmates and the general commands you can do without pausing have been expanded, travelling and exploring the galaxy and scanning planets have been fleshed out more, and the dialogue system has expanded due to the separation of interacting through chatting or through acting. I mean, compare Wrex's loyalty quest to

Grunts

.

Claiming "the game r dumb now" is ridiculously reductive.

For me the exploration side of things certainly doesn't feel fleshed out. I for one really enjoyed going down on to some of the planets to explore them and I don't feel slowly scanning one for resources a suitable replacement. The decision to remove the Mako was big for me.

Last night I also found myself wandering the Normandy twiddling my thumbs. I never recall this happening in ME. While some people seem to be finding the interaction with the crew fleshed out, I just haven't found this so far. The chat options in the Normandy are exhausted very quickly and unlike DA, there is little dialogue on the ground outside of main mission stuff.

There is little involvement with equipment also aside from the odd visit to the research computer. When you are there it is then a simple matter of deciding whether to spend your resources or not. Everything else is automatic.

I think I have possibly come into this game with the wrong attitude. I don't think it is dumbed down, but it is a lot more focused and the things that kept me occupied in ME are just not as interesting in ME2. I should be playing it as an action game with some RPG elements whereas I'm probably doing the opposite.

[Rudi von Starnberg]

Why don't these games just let you pick whether you're good, neutral or bad at the start and take care of the rest for you? It'd make things a lot easier, it'd just be weird and totally inconsistant to go from one extreme to the other in your decisions so you might as well just make one decision at the start and be done with it.

Well this game isn't a case of good or bad. It's mostly a case of how pragmatic you are, or how determined you are to get jobs done at any cost. Full renegade Shepard is still a hero, just the kind of hero who isn't above sacrificing a few innocents or allying with scum to save the galaxy. And is occasionally a dick to passers-by.

[Wiper]

Shepard's like the goddamn Batman, Wiper. She's never trapped and always has a plan. Even if said plan mostly consists of shoot that shit, yo.

Except that one time

she went on a mission with every squad member for no apparent reason

, yeah?

[Meka]

I, for one, welcome our new dumbing down overlords.

... btw, anyone else think the Vorcha have just wondered into Mass Effect by mistake? - it feels like the belong in a different game.

[Space Renegade Ulala]

Except that one time

she went on a mission with every squad member for no apparent reason

, yeah?

Please! She was OBVIOUSLY doing that to lure the Collectors out.

Um. Yeah.

Look, just shush, you!

[revlob]

For me the exploration side of things certainly doesn't feel fleshed out. I for one really enjoyed going down on to some of the planets to explore them and I don't feel slowly scanning one for resources a suitable replacement. The decision to remove the Mako was big for me.

See now, when I originally heard they'd taken free-roaming planetside exploration out of the game, my sentiments were along the same lines. But think about it, and I mean really think. What did we encounter while in the Mako?

Some minerals

Mummified Salarians

Crashed Probes

About three Thresher Maws

That's about it. The mineral scanning in ME2 isn't really a "replacement" for the Mako. They took something out which was incredibly repetitive, often frustrating, and largely boring. Instead we are given a series of sidequests all set in very different environments, often with very different goals. Scanning planets is boring, yes, but you don't actually have to do it that much, especially once you realise you don't have to deplete every planet you come across (something that took me a good dozen or so to establish).

[CandyBob]

See now, when I originally heard they'd taken free-roaming planetside exploration out of the game, my sentiments were along the same lines. But think about it, and I mean really think. What did we encounter while in the Mako?

Some minerals

Mummified Salarians

Crashed Probes

About three Thresher Maws

That's about it. The mineral scanning in ME2 isn't really a "replacement" for the Mako. They took something out which was incredibly repetitive, often frustrating, and largely boring. Instead we are given a series of sidequests all set in very different environments, often with very different goals. Scanning planets is boring, yes, but you don't actually have to do it that much, especially once you realise you don't have to deplete every planet you come across (something that took me a good dozen or so to establish).

But I liked that.

I can't really explain it in any way other than to say that when I landed on a planet, even though I knew what I was probably going to find, there was a real sense of anticipation. When I get to a new planet now, there's none.

[Corleth the Fey]

So you weren't excited by the prospect of finding another one of those many cool little side missions? You're weird.

[Wiper]

Nah, I can understand that. I find that the side-missions are much, much better now, but their framing-by-scanning is much less satisfying that plonking down on new worlds was.

[CandyBob]

So you weren't excited by the prospect of finding another one of those many cool little side missions? You're weird.

Of course, but then I enjoyed my little excursions in the Mako, whatever I found.

[Rudi von Starnberg]

Nah, I can understand that. I find that the side-missions are much, much better now, but their framing-by-scanning is much less satisfying that plonking down on new worlds was.

Don't forget that a large number of worlds in ME1 were just the planet seen from orbit with the text blurb. Not every planet (not even every terrestrial planet, as opposed to gas giants) was one you could land on and explore.

[Uzi]

But I liked that.

I can't really explain it in any way other than to say that when I landed on a planet, even though I knew what I was probably going to find, there was a real sense of anticipation. When I get to a new planet now, there's none.

Why is there none? Sometimes you get a pretty unique side quest on them. ME1 planets were predictable in gameplay- every single one was near the exact same. Go find minerals/salvage stuff, find base or underground thingy with the exact same layout and structure, shoot stuff, leave. No varation whatsoever except that actual terrain and sky.

On ME2 various planets hold totally varying and unique sidequests. For me I got pretty excited clicking on each one as EDI might come out and say "Anomaly detected". Then it was game time- they were all surprisingly different and some even link together, have you done them yet?

[Wiper]

Rudi: Indeed, but that made coming across the land-able planets (one per solar system, no?) really exciting.

(In fact, the fact that /every/ planet is scannable puts me off scanning even more - it's daunting, and it means I just hammer through to the scan section for every planet immediately to check if they're Rich or not, without reading the blurb, whereas in ME1 any planet that had nowt to do on automatically got its description read)

[CandyBob]

Why is there none? Sometimes you get a pretty unique side quest on them. ME1 planets were predictable in gameplay- every single one was near the exact same. Go find minerals/salvage stuff, find base or underground thingy with the exact same layout and structure, shoot stuff, leave. No varation whatsoever except that actual terrain and sky.

On ME2 various planets hold totally varying and unique sidequests. For me I got pretty excited clicking on each one as EDI might come out and say "Anomaly detected". Then it was game time- they were all surprisingly different and some even link together, have you done them yet?

I haven't found them yet and this would certainly make a difference. I've scanned a fair amount and tbh, the only anomalies seem to be related to the main or loyalty quests.

[Uzi]

I haven't found them yet and this would certainly make a difference. I've scanned a fair amount and tbh, the only anomalies seem to be related to the main or loyalty quests.

Ah wait- I think they only become available after a cerain point in the game- when they do, it makes exploring the galaxy pretty exciting. As you explore each planet its quite tense to hear whether EDI will announce theres more to see than just the scanning. I'd hold off looking around except for essential minerals until then.

[Wiper]

Ah, worth noting that if you're just after anomalies, you don't have to scan. Just click on the planet and EDI will instantly announce if it's got an anomaly on it.

I think they're available from the off, though - just not every solar system has them (as a general rule, 'main quest/hub' solar systems never do)

Edit: indeed, on my second playthrough I've been happily jumping in on them having only completed the first two ally hiring missions on Omega.

[Uzi]

Ah, worth noting that if you're just after anomalies, you don't have to scan. Just click on the planet and EDI will instantly announce if it's got an anomaly on it.

Yep

[CandyBob]

Ah wait- I think they only become available after a cerain point in the game- when they do, it makes exploring the galaxy pretty exciting. As you explore each planet its quite tense to hear whether EDI will announce theres more to see than just the scanning. I'd hold off looking around except for essential minerals until then.

Righto thanks for that.

[Snowman]

I, for one, welcome our new dumbing down overlords.

... btw, anyone else think the Vorcha have just wondered into Mass Effect by mistake? - it feels like the belong in a different game.

I thought they were very Farscape-esque, as were the grimier environments in which they were found. The "I am literally going to eat you alive" look on

Morinth

's face was also straight out of Farscape. Not a bad thing in my view as I liked that series a lot.

[Uzi]

Ah, worth noting that if you're just after anomalies, you don't have to scan. Just click on the planet and EDI will instantly announce if it's got an anomaly on it.

I think they're available from the off, though - just not every solar system has them (as a general rule, 'main quest/hub' solar systems never do)

Edit: indeed, on my second playthrough I've been happily jumping in on them before having even completed the first ally-hiring quests.

Ah cool. Make sure to buy the star maps on

Illium

too

[Rudi von Starnberg]

Yeah, and only then do you have to scan for it.

There are around 20 unique side missions/anomalies to be found, some of which are linked for a chain of related missions. Something like one anomaly for every two systems, on average. Not counting loyalty missions and other mandated anomalies.

I got them all in the post-ending bit, as I hadn't really bothered much with scanning, just enough to get upgrades and you don't need to do much for that. My post-ending bit of the game was spent mucking around on the Normandy, reading descriptions of planets, and scanning for the occasional anomaly. Really enjoyed it actually.

[FuzzyDunlop]

I, for one, welcome our new dumbing down overlords.

... btw, anyone else think the Vorcha have just wondered into Mass Effect by mistake? - it feels like the belong in a different game.

I want to know why there are no talking jellyfish in ME2 I'm sure you got to talk to hanar in the first.

[Takizawa]

You'd best get it out again. The DLC is now available. I thought it was just a shotgun but there's a suit of armour to go with it.

I feel dirty wearing it!

[Uzi]

The Hanar? Now that you mention it, I don't think I spoke to any but there are some standing around in places but they can't be interacted with

[Wiper]

I want to know why there are no talking jellyfish in ME2 I'm sure you got to talk to hanar in the first.

Because they're too busy terrorising the galaxy in a rage over the punishment wrought by the enkindlers being ignored, a gun in every tentacle.