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[Neo Hex Omega]

I had waited two long years to finally play Mass Effect 2, and after finishing the game it still feels like a bit of a shock that I actually did it. The first game swept me off my feet to such an extent that I never imagined having mixed feelings upon completing the second act... Mass Effect 1 has been called a flawed masterpiece, and I think that is an accurate description, for even the many tedious parts of that game felt like a labor of love.

I think what is giving me the most pause in digesting all of my Mass Effect 2 experience, is the death and resurrection of Shepard. I have no issue with bringing someone back from the dead(this is fiction), but I find myself questioning why Bioware decided to go through with actually killing Shepard, without the player being involved. Maybe I'm just really attached to my characters, because to me watching Shepard die was like seeing a friend die and being powerless to stop it. It's a powerful, gut wrenching scene, and I commend Bioware for being willing to take a risk, but throughout the game I can never shake the feeling of tragedy that pervades Shepard's situation. Maybe it will pass in time, but right  now playing the game(from a story perspective, not the gameplay) makes me actually feel quite sad.

But I do appreciate that the writers recognize Cerberus as a necessary evil, instead of trying to retcon them as some sort of misunderstood group of heroes, along the lines of the Spectres. And it makes sense that the Council would try to downplay Sovereign, because honestly, who really wants to believe that all life as we know it is about to end? Civilization would break down from the panic. And... the Alliance has it's hands so full with suddenly being the galaxy's new policemen(regardless of whether the Council is human or alien), why would they go chasing ghosts? Cooperating with Cerberus is something that I see as a dirty act, but a necessary one given Shepard's extreme situation.

I do echo many other people's concerns over the cameos from ME1 characters, particularly the romantic interests. My first ME2 playthrough was a female Shepard who had romanced Kaidan, and though at first their reunion seemed way too bitter, when I thought about it from his point of view, it made more sense. If I thought a friend had been dead for two years and she suddenly re-appeared alongside people that I knew were bad news, I would be angry too. How does he know Cerberus didn't implant her like Sovereign did to Saren, or that she betrayed the Alliance as Saren did the Council, or any number of other possibilities. Even though my character is hardcore pro-alliance and would never do that, it's still a lot to take in.

My character stayed true to Kaidan, especially after receiving the e-mail from him. My kudos to Bioware for the brief but touching scene before the endgame where Shepard just silently stared at Kaidan's photo on the desk... you could see the expression on her face that cried out "I wish you were here with me".


The only other thing that gives me great pause at the moment is the endgame. It was fun, but I did not come away from that as satisfied as the ending in ME1. ME1's endgame to this day gives me chills. The battle up the tower with Sovereign looming overhead, cross cut with the fleet engagement, the beyond epic music, the unbelievable sound effects, everything about it is so engaging that everytime I finish ME1, I not only feel satisfied as a gamer, I feel quite heroic. But when I finished ME2, I was left scratching my head. ME1 clearly left room open for the sequel, but did a good job of providing some closure. This time, I feel unsatisfied... I don't know, I can't describe it very well, but something feels missing from the equation. Maybe the whole "suicide mission" thing built the endgame up so much that the final product inevitably comes up short? Even Garrus remarks in dialogue that this is not the first suicide mission Shepard has been on.


I have other thoughts on the game, but that was what has been eating me up the most. Mass Effect 2 is a beautiful game and a great accomplishment for Bioware, I just don't feel as satisfied with it as I did with the original.

Modifié par Neo Hex Omega, 28 janvier 2010 - 05:20 .

[Levowitz]

The story doesn't fill in all of the plot holes, and that bugs me. I also don't like that you have to wait for the romance to progressing defined stages; it feels unnatural and disconnected, especially since I was a bit of a completionist and went after every quest I knew about/knew how to do.



When Miranda was finally like "hey, let's do it in the engine room" I seriously considering the "not now" option, what with the world about to end and all.

[Jersey75639]

Overall I enjoyed 2 way more than I did 1. They improved pretty much every aspect of the game, for me. I liked the characters better, didn't feel bored for a minute besides the scanning for minerals, liked the gameplay better, was more impressed with the ending sequence, was impressed with all the cutscenes, etc.



Mass Effect was good, but Mass Effect 2 was better imo. It does leave things very open, as in no closure, but really I don't see how much closure could be expected when we've known all along this is a trilogy and this is only the second 'episode'. ME1 left me waiting for ME2, ME2 left me waiting for ME3, but that's how it should be in a trilogy.



I never really felt attached to *most* of the characters on the first one and their development was really limited, this one did a lot better job with that I think. On ME1 I spent the majority of the game with just 2 party members though and just talked to the others on the ship now and then, maybe that had something to do with it, but this game encouraged you to use all of your party members a lot more than ME1 did so either way it's a direct result of the game being better in that respect.

Also had a lot more difficulty actually beating the game than I had on ME1 (so for me it was more fun), and I haven't even played insanity difficulty yet.

The end battle of ME1 against Saren, it was pretty good setting-wise but not really what you'd expect from a boss battle imo, it wasn't difficult at all for me, nothing that you hadn't been doing for any number of enemies throughout the rest of the game. This (ME2 boss battle) was better even though it wasn't perfect, the best boss fight I've seen from Bioware for a while. Also you see more insight into the reapers during the game, what actually happened to the protheans, etc.



My only thing I think could have been done better is more dialog from party members while you're on a mission or etc, seems like unless it was one they were directly involved in like their loyalty quests, they hardly ever said anything or had an opinion. Maybe I just missed it, or maybe it's expecting too much to have them hyperactive on their missions and have things to chip in on other people's missions too, I don't know.



And yeah the romances progressing in defined stages can be a bit weird, but if they did it like Dragon Age where you could rush through it all at once it would be pretty weird too. Maybe they'll be able to strike some kind of balance sometime in the future, I don't know.



It's all personal opinion/preference though.

Can't wait for 3.

[Neo Hex Omega]

Also would like to point out that ME1 ending with M4 Part II as the ending credits song helped give the game a proper send off... the end of ME2 seems so muted in comparison.

[sliverofamoon]

Overall I have been VERY highly impressed. Most all of the issues that people had in ME1 were addressed.... at least those that were spoken of the most, and were done so in an intelligent manner. The Mako made me want to scream sometimes because it was soooooo annoying. To me, the planet scanning was actually pretty enjoyable in comparison.



And the gameplay... hands-down a 100% improvement, with my only complaint being the gathering of ammunition/heat-sinks. Hate it, hate it, hate it, but that's just a personal opinion, of course. They did give us what we wanted in that regard... instead of planet after planet after planet... which, again, my only complaint is the Mako... we got more fully defined quests that felt much more fleshed out, and involving, complete with cut-scenes, and squad interactions.



That and keeping Tali, and Garrus as squadmates, AND getting to romance them. Icing on the cake IMO!



Anyway, trying to keep this short.... I have considerably few complaints, that I keep to myself because overall, I'm wow'ed, completely! Thank you Bioware!

[Neo Hex Omega]

sliverofamoon wrote...


And the gameplay... hands-down a 100% improvement, with my only complaint being the gathering of ammunition/heat-sinks. Hate it, hate it, hate it, but that's just a personal opinion, of course. They did give us what we wanted in that regard... instead of planet after planet after planet... which, again, my only complaint is the Mako... we got more fully defined quests that felt much more fleshed out, and involving, complete with cut-scenes, and squad interactions.

I agree with the heat sinks, my issue with it being primarily that it seems to take a step backward logically. What do you do with a sink-less gun? Can you recycle heat sinks? How can you keep up with production when you go through so many? And how are they in places like the wreck of the Hugo Gernsback, a ship that crashed eight years before the geth re appeared? Seems like Bioware opened up a huge can of worms just to address a gameplay issue.

I have mixed feelings on the planet exploration. I miss just being able to land on an alien world and explore, I think those worlds just needed more variety. Now we have variety in environments, but very little exploration. And I miss the Mako in all of it's flawed glory. I thought it was awesome having your own personal APC that you can drop onto virtually any world, it just needed better handling and physics in my opinion