Mass Effect 2 [thread contains spoilers]

[swphreak]

37 hours for me. I've already imported my soldier again. Going to try again and do things differently. I'm aiming to have my whole squad survive the suicide mission this time.

 

I'll probably play as an adept or sentinel for my 3rd playthrough.

[igyman]

What did you think of the main story - Collectors, their origins and motives and the final boss? I'm asking because I found it rather disappointing. The loyalty missions and other assignments were much more interesting than the main plot, at least to me.

[HK-42]

I am so eager to get it but alas I am snowed in and can't leave the house. So I am going to beat the first again.

 

I think vanguard is the best option for 2 how ever.

[swphreak]

What did you think of the main story - Collectors, their origins and motives and the final boss? I'm asking because I found it rather disappointing. The loyalty missions and other assignments were much more interesting than the main plot, at least to me.

 

The main story was like 5 missions. Plus the 2 missions per squadmate. Then throw in a handful of sidequests you stumble into. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it did take me 37 hours. I did all the loyalty missions and as many sidequests I could on the main planets. I only ran into one anomaly while scanning planets, but then again, I didn't really explore the galaxy.

 

I made the mistake of doing a certain mission before exploring completely. From what I hear, after you do that mission

there's a certain amount of "urgency." Supposidly, if you wait too long to do it, bad things happen during the end game.

 

 

How renegade / paragon were you during your playthrough? I was halfway on my first playthrough, and I'll probably be the same way for this game. It seemed like the P / R dialogue options were all over the place. It made Shepard look like some kind of sociopath. One minute he's petting and cuddling his pet space hamster, and in the next minute, he rips its head off.

 

Even though I was about 40/60 leaning towards Renegade, I was able to solve certain squad problems using paragon or renegade options. The only time I couldn't were during

Tali and Samara's loyalty missions. I couldn't convince the Admirals to not exile Tali. And when I was in Morinth's aparment, my Shepard wasn't able to resist her mind trick thing.

 

 

Regarding the Collectors. (Big spoiler, spoil at your own peril)

I actually spoiled myself about them being Protheans, but it didn't really bother me. It makes sense. Didn't Vigil say that the Reapers indoctrinated and enslaved them? There you go.

 

 

Major endgame spoiler talk. (Seriously, this is major plot stuff)

How about that humanoid baby Reaper. Pretty messed up. Now we know why they harvest organics. It's how they reproduce. Reapers are people!

 

And how about that last scene. Reapers are a comin'. Can't wait for ME3. There's bound to be a huge ass space battle. Perhaps the Rachni and Geth will help.

 

I'm interested to see how the Quarians and Geth turn out. In my game, Tali and Legion were... amicable towards each other. And I think the Fleet was leaning towards war when I left? Could I have changed their mind if I picked that dialogue option during the trial?

 

 

And about Cerberus and endgame:

The Normandy is the only ship that can safely use the Omega-4 relay. So even though I kept the Collector base intact, Cerberus can't get to it unless Shepard gives them a lift. Perhaps there will be a schism within Cerberus? Illusive Man vs Shepard?

 

 

Also, anyone else think Aria is the asari commando Wrex talked about in ME1?

 

Edit: Did anyone use Zaeed? I did his mission, but I didn't feel comfortable using him. He just felt too tacked on to me.

[jrrtoken]

I have... heard that there aren't many consequences that carry over from the original game, and when there are, it's mainly nominal, flavor material; it ties up loose ends, but doesn't have anything to do with the game's overall plot/progression. Confirm/deny?

[igyman]

The main story was like 5 missions. Plus the 2 missions per squadmate. Then throw in a handful of sidequests you stumble into. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it did take me 37 hours. I did all the loyalty missions and as many sidequests I could on the main planets. I only ran into one anomaly while scanning planets, but then again, I didn't really explore the galaxy.

 

I explored every system that was available. I'm thinking that's basically all of them, since I couldn't find any starchart vendor, other than the one on Illium. The N7 missions (anomalies) are OK. The locations are unique for each mission, which I see as a big plus. (Well, the locations of ME2 are generally more visually interesting than those of ME1)

 

I made the mistake of doing a certain mission before exploring completely. From what I hear, after you do that mission

there's a certain amount of "urgency." Supposidly, if you wait too long to do it, bad things happen during the end game.

Yup, that's correct. I've checked it myself.

 

How renegade / paragon were you during your playthrough? I was halfway on my first playthrough, and I'll probably be the same way for this game. It seemed like the P / R dialogue options were all over the place. It made Shepard look like some kind of sociopath. One minute he's petting and cuddling his pet space hamster, and in the next minute, he rips its head off.

 

I was almost completely Paragon. It's basically a pattern for me - I always play the good guy the first time around and that's the version I consider official. I do check out the alternatives.

 

Even though I was about 40/60 leaning towards Renegade, I was able to solve certain squad problems using paragon or renegade options. The only time I couldn't were during

Tali and Samara's loyalty missions. I couldn't convince the Admirals to not exile Tali. And when I was in Morinth's aparment, my Shepard wasn't able to resist her mind trick thing.

 

Yeah,

I managed to convince the Admirals not to exile her with the Paragon option and also resisted Morinth the same way. Tali still officially remained "vas Normandy".

 

 

Regarding the Collectors. (Big spoiler, spoil at your own peril)

I actually spoiled myself about them being Protheans, but it didn't really bother me. It makes sense. Didn't Vigil say that the Reapers indoctrinated and enslaved them? There you go.

 

 

You have a point that it's not a senseless notion, but I was hoping for a more interesting backstory. Learning that the Collectors are mutated indoctrinated Protheans didn't make me think "Wow! Friggin' awesome!", but rather "What? That's it? That's the big reveal? WTF?". To me it comes off as a cheap solution, which is why I found that part of the story disappointing.

 

 

Major endgame spoiler talk. (Seriously, this is major plot stuff)

How about that humanoid baby Reaper. Pretty messed up. Now we know why they harvest organics. It's how they reproduce. Reapers are people!

 

 

Again a disappointment. Not so much the explanation itself, but the fact that I basically had to fight a giant Terminator in the end. And here I hoped for a direct confrontation with the Harbinger-possessed Collector General.

 

 

And how about that last scene. Reapers are a comin'. Can't wait for ME3. There's bound to be a huge ass space battle. Perhaps the Rachni and Geth will help.

 

Yeah, everything after the final boss was well done.

Especially the talk with Martin Sheen, err... the Illusive Man. I just hope they don't decide to copy the plot of Dragon Age: Origins for Mass Effect 3. I'd rather go visit remote locations, or whatever to try to find some kind of an edge over the incoming Reaper fleet. A hidden weakness, connected to their origins or something.

 

 

I'm interested to see how the Quarians and Geth turn out. In my game, Tali and Legion were... amicable towards each other. And I think the Fleet was leaning towards war when I left? Could I have changed their mind if I picked that dialogue option during the trial?

 

 

I'm not sure if just that option definitely changes their mind, but I'd say it has some influence. It doesn't hurt to talk to the admirals again after the trial. If you pick the right options, they might be more peace-inclined than before. At least that's the impression I got.

 

 

And about Cerberus and endgame:

The Normandy is the only ship that can safely use the Omega-4 relay. So even though I kept the Collector base intact, Cerberus can't get to it unless Shepard gives them a lift. Perhaps there will be a schism within Cerberus? Illusive Man vs Shepard?

 

 

I decided to destroy the base. I somehow had the feeling that keeping it would come back to bite me in the ass in ME3. I did, however, see the ending where you keep the base. I'd say the final talk with the Cigarette-smoking m... err Illusive Man is much more satisfying in the Paragon (base destroyed) ending.

 

 

Also, anyone else think Aria is the asari commando Wrex talked about in ME1?

 

Edit: Did anyone use Zaeed? I did his mission, but I didn't feel comfortable using him. He just felt too tacked on to me.

 

Yeah, I've completely missed the reference, but I read about it on the net. She might very well be that commando. I think Wrex mentions the commando's name back in ME1, but I don't remember if the name was Aria.

 

As for Zaeed, he was completely boring as a character. No conversation options, just random comments. As for his usefulness, I took him on a few N7 missions and he was OK in that regard.

 

What did you (and others who got that far)

think of the derelict Reaper mission? I'd say the mission itself was pretty good, but the location of the derelict Reaper had no sense story-wise - Hawking Eta cluster, which we explored in detail in Mass Effect 1 and still somehow managed to miss the enormous mysterious alien hulk in one of its systems. Sounds kind of stupid, doesn't it? It would have made more sense to place the Reaper in one of the more remote clusters, in my opinion.

 

[swphreak]

Yeah,

I managed to convince the Admirals not to exile her with the Paragon option and also resisted Morinth the same way. Tali still officially remained "vas Normandy".

 

How many paragon points did you have during both of those missions?

 

 

Again a disappointment. Not so much the explanation itself, but the fact that I basically had to fight a giant Terminator in the end. And here I hoped for a direct confrontation with the Harbinger-possessed Collector General.

 

 

Yeah, they didn't really explain him very well. Was he a Prothean? Or was he another race in the Reaper hierarchy?

 

 

 

I'm not sure if just that option definitely changes their mind, but I'd say it has some influence. It doesn't hurt to talk to the admirals again after the trial. If you pick the right options, they might be more peace-inclined than before. At least that's the impression I got.

 

I'll have to choose some different dialogue options this time. I'm going to try and have more renegade or paragon points too. Maybe even wear that death mask helmet. That gives a 10% bonus to negotiation or something.

 

 

I decided to destroy the base. I somehow had the feeling that keeping it would come back to bite me in the ass in ME3. I did, however, see the ending where you keep the base. I'd say the final talk with the Cigarette-smoking m... err Illusive Man is much more satisfying in the Paragon (base destroyed) ending.

 

Yeah, I had to really think about it. I was pretty conflicted. I have no way of knowing which way Bioware is going to go storywise.

 

 

What did you (and others who got that far)

think of the derelict Reaper mission? I'd say the mission itself was pretty good, but the location of the derelict Reaper had no sense story-wise - Hawking Eta cluster, which we explored in detail in Mass Effect 1 and still somehow managed to miss the enormous mysterious alien hulk in one of its systems. Sounds kind of stupid, doesn't it? It would have made more sense to place the Reaper in one of the more remote clusters, in my opinion.

 

Wasn't it caught in some planet or sun? I already forgot. It was probably a brainfart at Bioware, or we missed the explanation in game.

[igyman]

How many paragon points did you have during both of those missions?

 

I was pretty far off as a Paragon by that time. For Tali's loyalty mission I was around 80% Paragon (four full bars) and around 30% Renegade (a bar and a half) and for Samara's mission even more than that - a 100% Paragon and 35-40% Renegade.

 

 

Yeah, they didn't really explain him very well. Was he a Prothean? Or was he another race in the Reaper hierarchy?

 

 

Harbinger itself was a Reaper who controlled the Collector General (as a Renegade you should have a codex entry about that after the endgame. Paragons don't have that entry unlocked for some strange reason). As for the Collector General himself, I'm not sure either. I guess he was another Prothean, just with more extreme mutations than the rest.

 

 

Wasn't it caught in some planet or sun? I already forgot. It was probably a brainfart at Bioware, or we missed the explanation in game.

 

If there was an in-game explanation as to why it would be at that particular cluster and how could we not notice it the first time around, I sure didn't see it.

[swphreak]

Harbinger itself was a Reaper who controlled the Collector General (as a Renegade you should have a codex entry about that after the endgame. Paragons don't have that entry unlocked for some strange reason). As for the Collector General himself, I'm not sure either. I guess he was another Prothean, just with more extreme mutations than the rest.

 

 

 

Ah, yes. I didn't know what that picture of a repear meant. I must have missed the General transmitting it before the bomb went off.

 

[DarthParametric]

There are a few choices they made in ME2 that prompt a raised eyebrow, but the most bizarre must be the scars for Renegades. I guess it must be some sort of KOTOR/Star Wars homage? It doesn't make any sense though. I'm pretty sure no matter how many people I punch in the face, shove out windows, or set on fire, my eyes won't start glowing red and I won't get giant wounds cracking open all over my face.

[Tysyacha]

What's the easiest class to play in this game? I'm more interested in the story, BTW.

[DarthParametric]

Well for starters definitely crank down the difficulty to the lowest level. If shooters aren't your thing you'll be in for a whole lot of frustration and reloads otherwise.

 

I'd say in terms of the least "hands-on" micro-management, the Soldier class is probably the way to go. Aside from the occasional weapon swap and ammo power activation, it's pretty much just a case of point and shoot with them.

[swphreak]

Yeah, and with the machine gun, you can just hold the trigger button down and spray death. You don't get Immunity from the first game this time. Instead, you get "Adrenaline Rush," (bullet time) which was useless to me because I kept forgetting to use it. Once I could, I trained Fortitude and pretty much tanked everything.

 

I can't wait to play as an Adept or Sentinel.

[Star Admiral]

I'd say the Infiltrator class isn't bad at all for starters. Tactical Cloak for invisibility + sniper rifle = win against many enemies, especially since the Infiltrator's bullet-time with the sniper rifle is automatic; no need to activate abilities. Most of the fights I had were pretty easy with me sniping everything that moves.

 

@StarWarsPhreak, FYI, when I completed the Samara mission, my Paragon/Renegade scores were about 70%/50%.

 

- Star Admiral

[DarthParametric]

The anti-materiel rifle that either the Soldier or Infiltrator can get about the halfway mark is an interesting option. Makes taking down boss-type opponents a breeze and pretty much one-shots base enemies on the lower difficulty settings, but is offset by being bolt action/single shot and having a low clip size. My preferred tactic is to sit back in a static position sniping dangerous enemies and let the squadmates move forward to take out the peons, but you can't really do that on higher difficulties as you get flanked very quickly.

 

The other advantage Infiltrator has is the Incinerate power. It's probably the single best power in the game as it takes down armour and when "evolved" into the multi-target form it's handy for crowd control. It's why Mordin is pretty much a permanent member of my squad. Miranda is a handy complement with her Overload and Warp powers to take down shields and Barriers.

[Meowster]

How is the game? I've been thinking about getting it (alongside Final Fantasy XIII) but I am not sure if I need the first or not. I didn't like Dragon Age: Origins much, so I'm a bit wary on getting the game but.. it looks really fun.

[DarthParametric]

It's sort of the opposite of DA in a lot of ways. RPG-lite you could say (or "action-RPG" as they like to call them). It's basically a 3rd person shooter with some other stuff tacked on. I take it you never played ME1?

[Meowster]

No.

 

I wish I did, but it is about 20 dollars, and having to theoretically buy ME2, FFXIII, and a new HDTV would cost me a lot.. don't think I would be able to afford it. Watched a stream of the first a little: the UI reminded me of KotOR for some reason (which I like). Maybe, if only, Steam would have that 9 dollar weekend again that I missed.

[DarthParametric]

It was actually $5, not $9, at least during the New Year sale.

 

I'm not sure if you can compare it to KOTOR. It uses completely different mechanics. Probably better to compare it to something like Gears of War.

[Astrotoy7]

I have... heard that there aren't many consequences that carry over from the original game, and when there are, it's mainly nominal, flavor material; it ties up loose ends, but doesn't have anything to do with the game's overall plot/progression. Confirm/deny?

 

When you import your ME1 Shepard the game does a status check for the characters in ME1. I havent proceeded far enough to notice the influence of the ME1 characters other than a quick appearance by Tali. I killed that fat a$$hole Wrex in ME1 so I wont be seeing him again. I hate Krogan SO MUCH. were they deliberately modelled on Dex from Ep2 ?? ugh

 

mtfbwya

[Lord Spitfire]

Damn it, 28 hours is six days and I finally beat it. I can have a life again!

 

To anyone playing, UPGRADE SHIP ARMOUR! It helps

 

Way better than the first, in combat, story, graphics, and VARIETY OF PLANETS.

[Lynk Former]

*walks in*

 

<3 Tali

 

*walks out*

[Ztalker]

*walks in*

 

Doesn't love Liara anymore

 

*walks out*

 

Cheats with Miranda

 

Oh yeah, seriously now:

I have a problem with some of the classes in this game...some seem...SO overpowered. I am currently using a Shepherd (Vanguard with Barrier, Charge, Vanguard on 4), Garrus (sniping, Overload, uber bullets) and Miranda (ehm...she's pretty? But seriously, Warp, slam, overload and Cerberus Officer are good) and I'm pretty much God. I take cover, order Garrus to snipe the hell out of people, then set up a double overload, charge in myself and shoot everything that's floating/moving that has no shields left...

 

I think it's a BIT overpowered. And the Soldier class is just...well...the heavy machine guns aren't THAT good anymore. Every class can use SMG, which does about the same in terms of spraying and killing. And you get crates full of ammo for it.

 

And about the party members:

Superb work.

I personally LOVED the Garrus, Thane and Miranda stories the most, but they have evolved very nicely. These quests don't feel out of place since they fit the characters, their motivations and everything they say. For example,

 

When you recruit Garrus he's alone, despressed and in the side quest you find out why in an epic confrontation.

 

 

And literally EVERY side quest I did in ME1 was referenced. I got messages, quests and more from the people I've met in ME1. The way it uses your saves really goes beyond what I had expected.

 

9/10 so far. It looses the 1/10 because Shepard can have MANY skills and party members a maximum of 4. More RPG wouldn't hurt.

[Quanon]

I'm about 12hrs into the game; just got Samara on the team, now exploring a uncharted world. And just like Ztalker I've encountered a lot of people I've met in ME 1. So much even it's kind of ridiculous to me.

 

Though I must admit it's fun to find out what happened to some of them. I got a few suprises as I forgot what choices I made, some of the encounters where... well suprising as they where pissed off.

l

Did anyone meet Vernon on Illum and then catch the news message about him, hilarious stuff.

 

Other hilarious things are the commercials on the Citadel and the talk around the game kiosk. Asari porn games? what the hell?

Hanar action movies...

 

The randome talk by NPCs is fun to, Turions trying to seduice a Quaren, Krogan talking about fishes in the presidium lakes. A bachelor party with a striptease act... list goes on!

Almost feels like I'm in GTA. Which is a good thing

 

Anyway, I'm a bit sad they've tossed out so much of the armour and gun tweaking you had in the first game. The first game lacked a good overview of your inventory, but... they kicked that out completely... Not that happy about that choice.

 

Also flying about a mini Normandy on the maps... I don't think that was a needed change. And scanning the planets isn't that more much fun then exploring with the Mako.

 

Overall the game has improved. I'm pretty much enjoying all the conversations with each party member. Combat is far more intens IMO, which is good, even if I'm not a shooter fan, causes me to re load sometimes. I don't find it annoying.

 

All by all, it's a decent game. And so far it feels less classical "Bioware".

[DarthParametric]

I'm pretty much God.

Change the difficulty to Insanity. That should pretty much strip you of that feeling.