First I just want to say thank you for even listening to all us fans rant and pine about this and that, and for actually taking our input into consideration. It is this level of interaction between the devs and the fans, as well as a great track record, that makes Bioware my favorite game developers. As I always say- "Bioware doesn't make mistakes, they make standards". I have never had any doubts about the quality of any Bioware games, and my trust in your capabilities and judgement is baffling even to myself. So whatever comes next, I trust you.
... But since you're taking input anyways I might as well put my two cents in. After all, the squeaky wheel gets the oil. So...
The Weapons
They're too uniform and you don't really feel like they're yours. In the first game I relied on specific teammates to have specific weapon-related roles. For example, I knew I didn't need to give Wrex as top-line weapons because he had naturally good health and defenses and biotics to boot, so there was less of a urgency for him to be able to take down enemies quickly to get the job done. In ME2 everyone has the same weapons except for a few people. The feeling of specialization is completely lost and I now have to rely completely on mere weapon availibility and powers. I loved comparing weapon stats between two shotguns and seeing which one best
suited me, but now the weapons feel like objects instead of individual assets. The bottom line: make the weapons more varied between models and/or manufacturers.
The UpgradesI have to say, I shed no tears over the rediculously long list of useless upgrades in ME1, but ME2 is completely devoid of any customization whatsoever. Period. All upgrades are applied to all squad members unless they're specifically designed for that person (like Grunt or Legion). In ME1 I gave Tali's armor upgrades more priority than Wrex's because Tali wasn't as naturally resilliant. In comparison, upgrades in ME2 just feel shallow and cheapened, like they require no thinking at all. Weapons upgrades especially need attention because there's nothing I love more than a beloved sniper in my hands and feeling like she was mine. By over-simplifying upgrades you not only take away valuable customization, but opportunities to make the game feel more personal. Make more varied upgrades and make them more realistic. Plus, in ME1 some upgrades would have slight adverse effect on another of the weapon's stats. It added to the depth and made you think about the pro and cons and the situation or specialization you were tailoring to. Depth is good, no matter where you put it.
The ArmorIt felt more like a fashion statement and less like the thing keeping bullets from ripping through your torso. ME1 had numbers and stats that you could compare and analyze; ME2 has no such thing but offered more micro-customization. While I love being able to change the color of my armor and the type of armor I put where, it just didn't feel real. In ME1 I could also see that one armor was clearly better than the other, whereas here you can have two things do the exact same thing but just look different. It makes the armor an afterthough, which is what I consider a bad thing seeing that this is a shooter and the protectiion you wear determines whether or not that bullet will lodge itself in your leg or riccochet off your rib.
Assigning WeaponsThis ties in with my previous statement of more diverse weapons. There's no need for Grunt, the walking tank, to have an A-ranked AR when Garrus might need it more. Not to mention letting us assign weapons lets us feel like we're actually commanding a team as a leader instead of a player. Like I said, depth is good.
Driving PlotME1 was great because there was an urgency to it. You were tracking, hunting, chasing- there was drive and movement. In ME2 the story is so non-linear, so individually unique that it almost feels too spread out. This game actually had emphisis on not continuing onwards until you were ready, which halts the action and dulls the sense of danger and urgency. There needs to be a constant sense of action and accomplishment or the player will get bored or unexcited. For me personally, I feel like I've accomplished more when I destroy something than when I build something.
After-Game MissionsLet us have them so we have something to do besides
replay the entire game over and over again. Something worth our
attention, not just a pirated ship or something like that.
Let the ENTIRE GALAXY be at our fingertipsWe won't get another chance, why cheat us of it? Let us go to all the homeworlds, especially Palaven, and let both Citadel Space and the Terminus Systems be accessable. We won't get another chance so let us have our closure and satifaction in knowing there's nothing more out there to explore or we will all go crazy with frustration. Let us also revisit old worlds from both games like Feros and Tuchanka. Let us also see the changes in these places since we last visited them in the previous games. Expansions on the Citadel would be nice as well- I don't like being kept out of the Presidium. More hub worlds, or colonies that you can land in would be nice too.
No More MiningPlease don't make resource mining a huge part of the game ever again, or at least let us buy and sell resources. I ended up with over 160,000 Iridium, 100% of the galazxy explored, all side
missions completed and less than 7,000 credits to buy the remaining
upgrades. I think the solution to this problem is fairly obvious.
Make Two-Team MissionsGive us more mission where you must split into teams- you know what I'm
talking about! The ultimate test of team familiarity is knowing the
right man for the job and nothing is more rewarding than having things
go exactly as planned. Pick the wrong person however, and you could
end up changing the outcome of the mission for the worse. Let us feel
like leaders and make us lead!
Bring Back Team BanterI absolutely loved taking Wrex in elevators and now I'm actually starting to miss those slow-ass things. The closest thing I could get to banter was Garrus teasing Tali about the old elevator talks, which was the cutest and most hilarious thing ever. Even better, make us sort out confrontation between the crew more and have the squad interact more on the ship, it makes them seem more alive. Bring back the banter please- it makes the characters so much more lively and the game so much more fun.
Active Squad on ShipLet the squad move around the ship occassionally. I can understand how they like their own areas and all, but is it nessecary all the time? Can you maybe sit down and eat in the mess and Garrus or Miranda will sit down with you to talk and eat? Perhaps after a mission you might occassionally run into one of them in the halls and talk while you walk somewhere. It gets annoying going all the way down two decks to talk to
someone just so they can say, "I'm busy" or "Not right now". And hey,
maybe we can actually see someone sleeping on the Normandy, unless
those beds are just for show. And why is it that no one asks how you feel? You're the one leading the mission and making all the tough desicions. Hell, even your LI just talks about sex. Don't get me wrong, I love
learning more about my crew and their background but if all they do is answer instead of ask you might as well just read about them instead. Have squadmates comment on the side missions as well, especially ones with big decisions like the twin missiles mission. Even more appropriate would be to have members of the shore party comment on it and what they thought.
More Emotional RomancesIt seems like there isn't as much emotional closeness with your LIs as there could be. So you can invite them to your room to snuggle but not to the mess for lunch? What about talking about something other than sex for once and having you and the LIs show closer bonds. Thane and Tali are probably my favorite LIs because they show emotions that tell you that they really care about you and want to be with you. With Garrus
for example, it seemed like it was more of an experiment. Not to mention I don't want to wait until the end of the game for the LI to finally show their affections. Less
flirting, more actual, non-sex interaction please... But keep the innuendos ../../../images/forum/emoticons/tongue.png
Worthy Pets
Space hamsters are adorable, but space fish I'd sooner flush out the nearest airlock than keep in my tanks. The damn things keep dying and all they do is nothing anyways. Let us have a varren or something, and let us interact with our pets more. Hell, let us name them if you feel ambitious. I don't expect you to add a "Summon Animal Companion" skill to our power wheel, but if you're going to give us pets give us some we might actually want to spend credits on.
Old SquadmatesGive us back our old squadmates- ALL of them, from both games assuming they lived. If you want to kill some off between or during games, fine, but the mere thought of Wrex sitting on Tuchanka, alive and well and not recruitable him drove me insane. If you aren't going to make squadmates recruitable then don't have them in-game to taunt us, please, there are too many fond memories to just leave them alone.
AIsThey could still use some work. I can't count the number of times my
shore party has died because they stood out in the open. They
will also try to use powers that don't work on certain enemies or will
charge ahead of me to fight enemies in a different room and I won't
know exactly where they went for a while. It'd also be nice to be able
to flank enemies more easily but I can't really think of how it would
work fluently.
INVISIBLE WALLS!Fix them! There's nothing I hate more than having to
reload the game because I got stuck on top of a crate or in a plant.
Leaping and ClimbingLeaping over cover feels awkward and overly complicated. There should
be a way to climb and jump without having to have your back against the
wall.
More Specialized SquadmatesLegion and Tali were
practically the same thing, as were Zaeed and Grunt. Without weapon or armor upgrades picking
teammates became more and more useless because they become uniform. The only reason I ended up
varying my squads were to get achievements since some squadmates become
obviously more useful than others. I like to feel like each member is
uniquely valueable and ideal for certain situations, that way they have
more value and life to them. Not to mention its fun to play leader and
pick a shore party depending on the situation.
More Big BossesEven at the end of recruit missions the
"bosses" seemed pretty weak. The biggest challenge I had at the end of
a level was on Horizon, and that was just plain annoying. ME1 had
great mission bosses like Benezia and the Thorian, but in ME2 you get a
merc commander and a heavy mech with a side of fries. When I finish a
big mission I want a big enemy to kill; call me a krogan but I want to
feel like I was building up to something, not just leveling out.
Thank you again Bioware for even glancing over this big-ass list, or this whole ginormous thread for that matter ../../../images/forum/emoticons/uncertain.png
Modifié par SnowstarX, 08 février 2010 - 12:32 .