So here are some observations and feedback. This is going to be pretty long, and some of it is negative, but I hope it is taken as constructive critisism. It is not intended as any form of attack on a game or company I love.
So: General Observation.
Simply getting into the game was extremely frustrating. I couldn't log into the Cerberus Network for days, and the process of trying to log into the Cerberus network can take several minutes during which you get no feedback whatsoever. None. Very, very boring and annoying. So, since I couldn't get into the Cerberus network I didn't get the message about how to import ME 1 characters. I had to hunt it down after trying on my own for several frustrating minutes. Poorly planned out guys. Why the hell didn't the ME 2 config point to the default storage location? All in all getting into the game was a barrier I wouldn't have bothered to hurdle for a lesser company.
The game leaps right into the action, with a pretty good tutorial/background scene. Good stuff.
In no particular order here are some thoughts:
Map - Terrible. Too small, too detailed, shows 3d not at all. Isometric line drawing would be better. Also lack of map in combat inexcusable. We're wearing recording microframes, why they heck aren't they giving us mapping in real time? The poor map was kind of a shock after the excellent one in ME 1. Why the step back?
Why doesn't Garrus start loyal for god's sake? I know the whole point of the game is the building of loyalty, but Garrus? C'mon now. Also speaking of Garrus, what's up with the damage? We can't find another suit of armour for him? Or patch the stuff he's wearing? Heck why does the suit damage carry over to his alternate suit? Makes no sense at all. I've still got a suit of Colossus X for him in my closet, give him a new outfit for god's sake. Also why can I repair Shepard's dermal damage, but not Garrus's? I appreciate the new look emphasises his shift to the badass side of the force, but let the poor man patch the holes in his vac suit for pity's sake.
The only civvy clothing option that doesn't have the cerberus logo makes you look like a gay space cowboy biker. The hell?
Why do I leave missions and suddenyl find my ship in orbit of a completely different planet?
Why doesn't Cerberus spring for ammo? Why can't I put some spare ammo on the goddamm ship? There's enough room in the cargo hold. It was annoying enough in ME 1 when I couldn't restock grenades on the ship, but in ME 2 it makes utterly no sense at all for ammo to carry over from mission to mission in ME 2. We should start every mission with a full ammo load including Heavies. Seriously, Cerberus is willing to put billions of dollars into Shepard and the Normandy 2, but not another $5 into some spare ammo?
Humans had the most experienced bodies to restaff C-sec with? That makes no sense. The Turians out number humanity by orders of magnitude and are basically all cops/military.
How can everyone think humans are taking over, with good signs that they are, and yet the council seems to have ostracized Anderson? One of these things is not like the others.
Refund guy! Make him a Spectre!
Seriously, anyone who would persue a refund for 2 years has the will to be a hell of a Spectre. N7 missions cool. Very cool even. The Normandy crash site was beautiful and touching. The crashed wreck on the cliff edge was nerve wracking. Good stuff.
Ship models cool. I kinda wish you could interact with them or zoom in, but still a nice touch.
Why can't Edi feed the damm fish?
I'm supposed to be Capt and I'm denied access to half the ship? EDI meet Mr Cutting charge. Yeah if I was given command of a Ship and the Ai wouldn't let me in to look at critical systems it would end badly for the AI. So what if the new crewmates aren't there yet? Let me the hell in!
Okay fan service is al well and good but the Butt & boob shots of Mirand and Jack? The hell? What, we might miss the cue that they're romancable? I mean it would be one thing if it was suble, but they were really awkward camera angles for no better reason than to let us oggle fictional digital t&a. yay.
Heh. This one was pretty funny. On the Thane recuitment mission I opened a door and had a long cutscene with some Salarians. All well and good, but there was a badguy present in the whole cutscene running around and shooting Shepard in the back of the head to no effect. I mean, good thing the error catching prevents the damage at least, it would suck to die by dialogue, but it's kind of hilarious to be having a casual conversation while someone keeps unloading a shotgun into the back of your head.
What's with the 'cerberus has changed' dialogue? Okay, Cerberus plays an ambiguous role in this game. Fine. Shepard is mildly beholden to them. Fine. But my 'Sole Survivor' does not think they have changed. He and Corporal Tombs still have some words to share with the Illusive man. There does not need to be this mellowing on Shepards part, or at least make it optional!
Most fascinating character is Grunt! Not expected. A man trying to find his place in a world that has no meaning for him, due to the way he was 'raised'. Interesting stuff.
Miranda switched outfits mid cut scene.
Not enough data available on weapons!!! This drove me nuts. In ME 1 we could know everything about our weapons in great detail. In ME 2 we know nothing about them. It was freaking annoying! Are the upgrades upgrades? How the hell should I know? How much damage was I doing? How much ammo can my Heavy Weapons carry? What's the per clip loadout on my weapons? All this and more should have been in number form at the weapon locker, and wasn't. Poor show guys. RPG players like feedback. Maybe Shooter players can live without it, I don't know or care. It was tooth grindingly pitiful to not be able to find out basic information without going into combat and jotting down notes in scrap paper.
I loved the feedback about earlier missions. The note from Talitha. Shiala and Parasini were good to see. Also the forum references like Jeirt and Blasto cracked me up. Good show.
Terrible load times.
Legion in the AI core? The heck? That is absolutely the last place on the ship he should have been put! It's like keeping your pet rats in the cheese locker! I mean good lord I worried about him hacking EDI so I'll put him in her CORE!?! What genius thought of that?
Scanning. Boring. You've heard it. I was left wondering what the hell I had an AI for if not to do crap like this? Also the probe system was too abstract. What is a probe? How does it mine all this stuff for me? Why does an automated resource mining and extraction device only cost 20 credits? Why was there no buying and selling of raw materials on the market? How the heck am I mining gas giants anyway? The system was too abstract and stand alone. Also, while it may just have been the fact that I kinda ran through my first playthrough without trying to be a completionist, but most of the planets seemed disappointingly boring compared to ME 1 re flavor text. In ME 1 there was often some kind of reference, or story, or fun detail about a planet. This time it seemed like reading a chemistry textbook.
The cover system. Less mandatory? Are you kidding? Being out of cover was instant death even for my Sentinal, and this was not the case in ME 1.
I did like the combat, it was more fluid, although my throw power seemed kinda useless. Warp on the other hand was AWESOME! It was however too common to get flanked, mostly due to the complete lack of peripheral vision. I realize this is a problem with the whole monitor vs VR setup, but still.
Leveling up... I do like the focus on fewer, more useful powers.
Visually everything was beautiful.
Modifié par Andorfiend, 30 janvier 2010 - 08:02 .
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