86 réponses à ce sujet

[Mister Mida]

If you go through most of the reviews  of Mass Effect 2 that are spread accross the internet or are found in game magazines you have definately seen all the 10/10, 9.8, 9.5 and 9.3 scores the game has been receiving, making it one of the best rated games of all time. Add to that the fact that on gamer level people are glorifying the game into borderline holyness.

Personnally, however, I don't understand how it manages to get that kind of scores or that kind of response from gamers. Yes, Mass Effect 2 is a good game, let there be no doubt existing on my part about that. I personally would give it a rating somewhere between 8.0 and 9.0, but anywhere above that just stretches what I think is a good rating for this game.

So make me understand. Why is Mass Effect 2 according to you one of the greatest games (if not the greatest game) of all time? Forget the ratings other people gave it and the opinions other people had about it. Just tell me/us/whoever that reads this thread what you - *points at you* - think.

To make things clear, this is not a thread to bash Mass Effect and/or Mass Effect 2, so keep it civil, ladies and gentlemen (goes without saying but some people seem to forget it).
 
And go.

[mattahraw]

Because there's nothing else out there like it.

[piemanz]

I love the ME series not just ME2.For me it's a mix of great story,enjoyable gameplay,exelent characters,a beleivable universe,and the feeling that i'm in control with the decisions i make.Add all these things together and you get the reason ME is my top game series of all time.

[LiquidGrape]

The average video game critic has never been known to be that...critical.
Hype, bias and not a long enough history of critical analysis applied the medium leads to hyperbole and exaggerations.
I would argue that the interactive arts have grown out of its infancy; but sadly not the culture surrounding it.

P.S
And I'd also like to say that numeral scores are useless. Arbitrary calculations based on arbitrary assumptions resulting in arbitrary stamps of alleged quality.
D.S

Modifié par LiquidGrape, 20 juillet 2010 - 11:44 .

[The Uncanny]

It's polished, slick and fun to play. The characters are varied and interesting. Also the art design and music create a rich, atmospheric universe.

[rokeeb]

I like it because it mixes the fun shooting game play of Gears of War with being able to choose what I say and how I act almost perfectly.



I know plenty of people will disagree with this, but then again, I am one of the "crazies" who actually liked the single player of Modern Warfare 2 and Bioshock 2

[LiquidGrape]

Oh, and yeah; I like Mass Effect 2 for its great cast of characters, interesting lore and the opportunity to return to a persona I created in the original.

And the combat is a major improvement.

[mattahraw]

LiquidGrape wrote...

The average video game critic has never been known to be that...critical.
Hype, bias and not a long enough history of critical analysis applied the medium leads to hyperbole and exaggerations.
I would argue that the interactive arts have grown out of its infancy; but sadly not the culture surrounding it.

P.S
And I'd also like to say that numeral scores are useless. Arbitrary calculations based on arbitrary assumptions resulting in arbitrary stamps of alleged quality.
D.S

you gotta remember too, most businesses that review games are dependent on them. If you ****** off a company too much by being really harsh you risk not being given access to future previews, early review copies, etc.

It sucks but that's the way the video game business works, especially with giant sites like IGN and gamespot.

[LiquidGrape]

mattahraw wrote...

you gotta remember too, most businesses that review games are dependent on them. If you ****** off a company too much by being really harsh you risk not being given access to future previews, early review copies, etc.

It sucks but that's the way the video game business works, especially with giant sites like IGN and gamespot.

Yeah, I attempted to cover that in "bias" without pointing fingers. I don't want to assume things, but the major outlets seem awfully easy to please...

[Repellerar]

It's a great game, it speaks for itself doesn't it? What do you classify 'above 9' is?

[catabuca]

Repellerar wrote...

It's a great game, it speaks for itself doesn't it? What do you classify 'above 9' is?

It obviously doesn't speak for itself, otherwise it would never garner any criticism. Remember, it's all subjective. There isn't any objective scale by which every gamer can evaluate a game.

If I was to try to rate the games I play, it would be extremely subjective, because I would use criteria such as how immersive I felt it to be, how emotionally engaging, and the like. That is going to differ from person to person. It's completely different from assessing how well you can aim or take cover.

I"d personally classify Assassin's Creed II as a 9. I'd also class Mass Effect 1 as a 9. Now clearly, these two games are reasonably incomparable in terms of genre, style, game play and even graphics. However, in both I felt immersed, more so in ME1 in fact. Both have amazing stories. I felt more emotionally engaged to a consistent level in ME1 than in ACII. However, ACII's gameplay is smoother, the graphics are amazing, and I never had an 'Uncharted World' moment in the whole game (and I did everything, I reached 100% synchronisation).

ME2, on the other hand, would likely be an 8 or 8.5. It was graphically better, shooting mechanics were improved, talents were fun to use, but it also had its drawbacks. Since, as I've said in another thread today, it's impossible for me to not compare it to ME1 because I played 1 first and 2 was marketed to me as a continuation of that story, it loses points in some of the areas I've mentioned I loved ME1 for above.

As you can see, scoring is a very subjective experience, which takes into consideration my own genre preferences, playstyle, and something that is couched in terms of the games I've played previously. I'd expect professional reviewers have ways to try to be more objective (taking things like bias into consideration, the official line of the magazine, the audience, the company they're reviewing, etc.). This is why there will always be a difference between what ordinary gamers rate a game and what professional reviewers rate it. And why there will always be differences between what gamers themselves rate a game - because we all view it with different glasses on, with the weight of our previous experiences, our expectations, our preferences. We none of us share those things exactly.

[TomasKratky1]

  For me, it't the ability to draw into it's universe, to make you want to be there and to live the story.

  As for the question why was ME2 rated so well - ratings over 9 of 10 should be reserved for games that are not only very good, but inovative somehow, and that's exactly what ME2 is - pollished gameplay, amazing design and on top of that "movieness" and cinematics never seen before in other games (at least as far as I know). In other words, just as Crysis set a new bar for graphics in games, ME2 did the same for cinematics. Thus all the praise is well deserved imo.

[SithLordExarKun]

I liked it because the characters were better and not bland and boring like the first game, that the "sci fi" feel to me is established because of so many different locations that felt alive and that the atmosphere is great.



Thats just my opinion however.

[Rybciek]

Because it's simply a smooth and polished game, easily the most polished game I've ever seen. It nails every single thing needed for a good game; story, intrigue, action, character development, an entire universe to get lost in. Not to mention it's very cinematic and sucks you in just like a movie.



Even if take into account unsatisfying game mechanics and stuff like that, if you're reviewing based on the experience of playing this game alone, then it's a pretty high score, It's the best possible gaming experience out of any game out there. I can't see giving it anything other than an 11/10.

[HarradX]

ME2 is a great game, I did 3 playthroughs so far and always had a good time. But let's be honest, it does have its flaws, e.g. a comparatively weak story line and a number of technical issues. Again, it's a great innovative game, but certainly not perfect. A rating from 8.5-9.0 would feel most appropriate to me.

[Cra5y Pineapple]

Absolutely superb gameplay you can't get tired of; addicting; brilliant characters that you actually feel something for; an amazing soundtrack; the overall drama of the Suicide mission; Shepard's Speeches; all the weapons were different, looked different and acted very different *stares at ME1*; no confusing invenetory or dodgy graphics; good acting; Garrus and Tali returning; etc.

I don't get why ME2 is so hated. In my opinion Gameplay>everything else and that's were it excels.

Modifié par Cra5y Pineapple, 20 juillet 2010 - 12:55 .

[Repellerar]

@catabuca

I admit I wasn't clear. I respectfully agree with everything you said. I'm not a professional game reviewer, but I understand the concept of it. From my point of view I believe ME2 still deserves the well placed scores it got. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but to be honest this topic is pretty pointless.

Modifié par Repellerar, 20 juillet 2010 - 12:55 .

[Elvis_Mazur]

I doubt that anything said here will change your point of view or understand why I consider it the best game I ever played. But, it won't hurt if I write about why I like this game.

First time I saw that it will be possible to export my character to the sequel I was like "wow! That is awesome! I never experienced something similar". It is something that really adds to the feeling of a continuation, that my character that I created will not be lost in just one game. As I played ME1, I grew connected to my Shepard and his friends, better yet was to know that I will see again my former crew (although I was expecting to see them in my ship).

Another point is the movie-feeling. All that cut-scenes and angles made it looks like a movie. The characters reactions and realism added to this feeling too.

While some people complain about story, I praise it. Even when you know that Collectors are ones that are abducting the colonists, it still has a sense of "who are they? What's really beyond the Omega 4 relay? Will I die when I use the relay? What they intend to do with colonists? Why they used certain aliens with certain mutations (this if you read Ascension)? Do they have a homeworld?"

Also, the combat that was just average in Mass Effect 1, was improved to a very good one, almost as good as Gears of War combat, although there are somethings that need to me improved.

Ah, and I can't forget the environments. Places like Omega and Illium speak for themselves.

[catabuca]

Repellerar wrote...

@catabuca

I admit I wasn't clear. I respectfully agree with everything you said. I'm not a professional game reviewer, but I understand the concept of it. From my point of view I believe ME2 still deserves the well placed scores it got. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but to be honest this topic is pretty pointless.

I don't think it's a pointless topic. It's always interesting to find out what others like and dislike about a game. It can sometimes help you appreciate aspects that you'd otherwise dismissed, just as it can sometimes get you to view something you originally thought was flawless in another light.

Now, if we were to rate how 'pointless' all the threads on these forums were on the basis of whether they are just people giving opinions or not, well I think we'd end up with 2% of non-pointless threads

[Orchomene]

The reason of a so high score ? It's because most if not all reviewers are not trying to be objective when giving a score. No matter if you like the game or not, you may agree that the reviews are nothing but strong biases based on the little experience reviewers have in :

- the game itself (most of the reviews are based on less than 10h of gameplay)

- the video game industry (most reviewers, on internet, are young gamers having less than ten years of experience).

Even in video games paper magazines it may be rare to have professional reviewers like you can have for movies or literacy. On internet, it's even worse since anyone can claim being a reviewer and write reviews. At the end, there are sites like metacritic that compile some of the scores (but with high geographical biases that are not seriously taking into account the video game market), do an average and deliver a global score that is just the sum/average of highly subjective scores.

You can be sensible to arguments given in a review if the argument is something that is important for you, but the score is really nothing.

[piemanz]

Cra5y Pineapple wrote...

I don't get why ME2 is so hated. In my opinion Gameplay>everything else and that's were it excels.

ME2 hated? ,i dont think so.Yes theres a very vocal minority present on these forums that dislike it or hate the changes from ME1 but genrally speaking ME2 is one of the most succesful games ever.

[catabuca]

Cra5y Pineapple wrote...

I don't get why ME2 is so hated. In my opinion Gameplay>everything else and that's were it excels.

And I can equally say "I don't get why ME2 is so loved. Story/immersion/rpg>everything else and that's where it failed to excel."

Neither of us is wrong; both of us are correct.

[Barquiel]

I would give ME2 a rating somewhere between 7,5 - 8

I love the Mass Effect universe, but
- the plot is weak
- the characters felt disconnected from the plot. Every squadmate had his/her 15 minutes of fame...that's not character-driven.
- no exploration, no inventory, no party-banter
The ME1 inventory system was flawed, but the removal of the inventory system is not the perfect solution (= 10) for an action RPG.
MAKO: the same
ME1 had elevators (better than nothing), Dragon Age had party banters...ME2? nothing

[catabuca]

I keep cross-posting myself, but I'm on a roll so what the heck

I just posted this as an example of why we see such wildly different views from people who are all fans of ME and Bioware, and why we'll never agree on which is better and why:

I said ...

If what I consider to be most important to me is at the top of the list, and least important at the bottom, I could score how I feel about the games as thus:

Mass Effect 1:

Story-telling/immersion: 10
RPG = story choices: 9
Gameplay = level design: 8
RPG = management of stats/skills: 7
Gameplay = shooter mechanics: 7

Mass Effect 2:

Story-telling/immersion: 6
RPG = story choices: 7
Gameplay = level design: 7
RPG = management of stats/skills: 7
Gameplay = shooter mechanics: 9

In ME1 you can see those things I value most (at the top of the list) score more highly than in ME2, whereas
something like shooting, which I don't really care about at all, scores more highly in ME2. This is why, despite shooting being better in ME2, I still prefer ME1 - because it did the things I care about more better.

Someone else might order their list like this:

ME1:

Gameplay = shooter mechanics: 6
Gameplay = level design: 7
RPG = management of stats/skills: 6
Story-telling/immersion: 8
RPG = story choices: 8

ME2:

Gameplay = shooter mechanics: 9
Gameplay = level design: 8
RPG = management of stats/skills: 8
Story-telling/immersion: 7
RPG = story choices: 7

Again, for them the thing they value most of all - shooter mechanics - is greatly improved in ME2, and so
that holds more weight when they assess the two games side-by-side than storytelling or RPG management.

Neither of these approaches is wrong, both simply reflect what is more important for each individual player. That is why it's always going to be such an explosive debate, because we don't all have the same list in the same order of preference.

Modifié par catabuca, 20 juillet 2010 - 02:22 .

[Darth Drago]

For a game that such high ratings I really have to wonder how the gaming industry standards for excellence have dropped so much. A 9 out of 10 should be a nearly perfect of a game. A game that gets a 10 out of 10 should be absolutely perfect in all aspects that make up that game. In other words, a completely flawless game and very rare to see. In the movie industry a 10 out of 10 would be the equivalent to getting an Oscar.

Let me ask this, was ME2 really this perfect of a game?

Yes, ME2 was pretty good, but I wouldn’t say it deserved anything higher than a 7 or 8 out of 10.  

Modifié par Darth Drago, 20 juillet 2010 - 03:24 .