Mass Effect 2: More waxing goddamn nostalgic.

[Spacehost]

I am literally only buying the CE because I want a shiny metal box.

[Corporal Flashback]

Ah, the best part of that ('side from the DLC, I have the points anyway) was the soundtrack, but I already fell for the expect CD -> recieve mp3 thing with Arkham City.

Know what would have gotten my purchase instantly? A really comprehensive making-of DVD.

EDIT: The art book is a download too? Fucking hell.

[Spacehost]

I think the "real" CE has physical items, let me check.

[Rudi von Starnberg]

Should clarify - if you get a physical copy of the CE you'll get the soundtrack CD (probably comprising about 50% or less of the music in the game and missing out several of the most interesting tracks, as I've said in the ME3 thread today) and a physical art book. But yeah.

[Corporal Flashback]

Ah, you provide the pic yourself? The possibilities! And ah, right. Cheers!

[Spacehost]

Actually the OST is digital, but you get the hardcover artbook, a copy of the comic, a lithograph and a cloth patch. So hopefully it'll be a full OST rather than selected tracks.

Edit- it even says "special extended soundtrack" on the site so hopefully that means most of the game's music.

[Rudi von Starnberg]

Actually the OST is digital, but you get the hardcover artbook, a copy of the comic, a lithograph and a cloth patch. So hopefully it'll be a full OST rather than selected tracks.

The digital OST that came with the ME2 deluxe edition wasn't a full one. They released a full OST some months after release (and it had all the best bits on it).

[Mallet]

I'm really enjoying playing Mass effect 2 again, Vanguard is brilliant fun once you get a few upgrades so you survive the charge.

Replaying it has hammered home one thing though which is that Bioware are rubbish at creating living, breathing worlds. There are no NPCs walking around the hubs going about their daily routines, all they do is stand in the same spot. Compare this to something like Skyrim or The Witcher 2 and it's really lacking imo.

[Spacehost]

I'll be honest, I like Fallout's "living" characters but I can see why you wouldn't want to put them in every RPG. They spend 8 hours sitting in one place, 8 hours walking along a predefined path, and 8 hours sleeping. I think it's something games don't do well yet and it's fair enough that they left them out.

[JoeK]

Something which I do wonder if the new consoles will be able to do is 'populate' these sort of games better. It's a small niggle, but whenever you are in places like the Citadel you never really feel it's this huge place populated by millions of people. Don't especially want them to 'do' much, but it'd be nice to have them there!

[Spacehost]

Something which I do wonder if the new consoles will be able to do is 'populate' these sort of games better. It's a small niggle, but whenever you are in places like the Citadel you never really feel it's this huge place populated by millions of people. Don't especially want them to 'do' much, but it'd be nice to have them there!

The problem you then get is that they all need to look unique. Which means you need to hire more artists. And then people expect them all to have a name and a story. Which means you need to hire more writers. And then people expect them to talk, which means you need to hire more voice actors, etc etc.

Less than that and you wind up with GTA, where you've got dozens of anonymous, lookalike people who say the same lines of dialogue in one of five different voices.

[R0b]

Scenery crowds could easily be procedurally generated.

[Spacehost]

Yeah, true dat. Still, we've a way to go before believable crowds and I don't think the tech or the content creation processes are there yet, never mind a machine to run it on.

[Corporal Flashback]

I'll be honest, I only ever registered the pre-scripting of NPCs with one bloke: The one trying to get into Afterlife. "C'moooon, let me in. Aria's expecting me." Sod oooooooff.

[Alex W.]

I always leave Shadow Broker until after the main event though - it just seems right and proper.

By this, do you mean I can go back to it after the credits roll, or is it a situation like ME1 where the game ends and you have to load an earlier save to do any overlooked missions?

[Rudi von Starnberg]

You can keep playing after the ending. A couple of the DLC missions actually adapt very slightly to this, and Shadow Broker is one - it makes a bit more narrative sense to do it after the ending.

[Spacehost]

If you want to mainline the key quest and the Loyalty missions it's totally worth leaving some of the clean-up stuff (N7 Assignments and the like) as you can always do them after the event.

[Vaya.]

I don't think I could do some of the missions with out the DLC upgrades though.

The Locust SMG is great against collectors when the damage is upgraded.

[Spacehost]

That's a loyalty mission though, you definitely want to do those before the end of the game.

[Sprite Machine]

You can keep playing after the ending. A couple of the DLC missions actually adapt very slightly to this, and Shadow Broker is one - it makes a bit more narrative sense to do it after the ending.

Oh, that's pretty cool. I've just bought the three DLC packs I was after so I'll be giving them a go shortly.

When I played the

Zaeed recruitment mission

, it was after I'd already done the endgame stuff (stupidly, I ignored all DLC for fear of spoilers, whoops!), but Shepard was still in full-on "we need you for our important mission" mode, which was rather odd by that point! Although I suppose you could say their mission is an ongoing one, even after

stopping the Collectors

.

[Rudi von Starnberg]

When I played the

Zaeed recruitment mission

, it was after I'd already done the endgame stuff (stupidly, I ignored all DLC for fear of spoilers, whoops!), but Shepard was still in full-on "we need you for our important mission" mode, which was rather odd by that point! Although I suppose you could say their mission is an ongoing one, even after

stopping the Collectors

.

This is actually one of the missions that changes!

If you do Zaeed's loyalty mission after you've already done the ending, and you take the paragon path, when Zaeed is trapped under burning debris you can choose to just leave him there because he's 'too crazy' and you don't need a man like that on your ship. Then you fly off in the shuttle while Zaeed curses your name and burns to death horribly.

[Spacehost]

Oh yeah! I forgot about that. Ultimate renegade ending.

[Sprite Machine]

This is actually one of the missions that changes!

If you do Zaeed's loyalty mission after you've already done the ending, and you take the paragon path, when Zaeed is trapped under burning debris you can choose to just leave him there because he's 'too crazy' and you don't need a man like that on your ship. Then you fly off in the shuttle while Zaeed curses your name and burns to death horribly.

Amazing scenes!

[Vaya.]

How easy is it to get level 30 on one play through? I think I got to like 25 last time I completed this (only the first release day DLC was installed)

[Spacehost]

I did it easily, but I did most of the side missions and DLC.

[Vaya.]

Yeah that's happening this time. Everything will be done (sans those two DLCs previously mentioned) before the point of no return.

[Rudi von Starnberg]

You'll definitely hit level 30 if you do everything.

[JoeK]

A small gripe - obviously it's not a huge issue for me as I've finished the game a number of times - but the way they clumsily put in the 'announcements' of both Shadow Broker and Arrival DLC in the game is pretty darn poor. It kind of buggers up the 'surprise' at Ilium, and also far too earlier pre-empts the bloody third game if you ask me.

If for some unfathomable reason you haven't downloaded them yet, I'd really not do so until you've completed the game once.

[MikeJones]

Same one, though I've never used it purely from aesthetics - same reason I never used the Collector Assault Rifle I got.

Yup, it's an ugly thing, but Shep lives safe in the knowledge that no-one who saw her wield it would be in a state to take the piss.

[Down by Law]

Wrapped up ME2 again last night in preperation for ME3 import. Did anyone else

feel really bad for the collector general as he realises he has been a pawn for the reapers, only for seconds later to be engulfed in a horrific firey death?