Mass Effect 2 (aka. BioWare, how could you do so much wrong?)
#1
Posté 19 février 2010 - 04:43
suggests, it has failed to live up to my expectations. This surprises and disappoints
me, as my expectations were not high and amounted to BioWare remaking Mass
Effect with some good additions. Instead BioWare appear to have done their best
to strip away any and all of the RPG elements they could find. It’s a miracle the
Mass Effect story is still intact. The third person cover based system from
Mass Effect hasn’t changed, but it used to be cleverly hidden behind the free
roaming and abundance of weapons, armour, upgrades and side quests that make a
good RPG. What I feel like I’ve received with Mass Effect 2 is Gears of War in
space. The feeling is not a good one.
Mass Effect was a fantastic game. Mass Effect 2 is only barely a good one. It
has a good storyline with enough depth to be interesting and, like its prequel,
contains the background information which allowed me to immerse myself in the
Mass Effect universe. I enjoyed the new enemies on display and the third person
style gameplay that helped make Mass Effect so engaging. The new no-inventory
system was an excellent simplification of the game which allowed me to focus on
my objectives and improved the feel of the game (I doubt a special operative
like Spectre Shepard would feel the need to gather every weapon they see lying
around). I loved the new clip-based ammo system, which gave the combat a more
realistic feel while not becoming a hindrance to the fluid no-reload combat from
Mass Effect. The simple progression of events that allowed me to get the most
of the gameplay and the universe was very nice and I even enjoyed the group
cool down that I found so frustrating when I first started my adept (though I’m
not sure why the cool down of your biotic abilities is linked to that of your
medigel).
Unfortunately the fantastic additions made to the game were,
in my opinion, overshadowed by the removal of aspects that made Mass Effect one
of the greatest games I have ever played. I love RPG’s. It is by far my
favourite genre of games. The best games I have ever played are Final Fantasy X
(250+ hours, 2 playthroughs), Fallout 3 (70+ hours, 1 playthorough not yet finished)
and Mass Effect (200+ hours, 4 Shepards with 11 playthroughs). These games are
made great by; a storyline that usually progresses in a logical and well explained
manner, a wide variety of weapons, items and side quests and a good free roam
that allows the player to gain experience, money and items.
When I purchased Mass Effect 2 I expected a game that delivered on these aspects,
just as Mass Effect did so well. It was with great disappointment that I
discovered the Mass Effect 2 only attempts to deliver on a good storyline,
something that I have come to expect from Bioware anyway.
What I love most about the games listed above is the freedom. I can, and have,
spent tens, even hundreds, of hours in these games moving around the universe,
fighting enemies, finding strange or powerful items, improving my characters
and loving every minute of it. To me, there are few things better than
exploring the farthest corners of Omega Dungeon, walking to the most inconvenient
corners of the map to fight a small band of Super Mutants or trying to drive my
Mako up an impossibly steep slope to get to that illusive heavy metal deposit
for credits I don’t really need. And the thing I enjoyed the most was doing
these things despite the knowledge that it was COMPLETELY unnecessary.
The enjoyment I derived from the free roaming in Mass Effect
has been replaced in Mass Effect 2 by an agonisingly tedious planet scanning
system. I love the idea that I need to collect additional resources to upgrade
my weapons. It is a fantastic opportunity to allow the player to explore the
universe beyond the story planets. Unfortunately Bioware couldn’t have made the
resource gathering much worse. I was forced to scan planets, from orbit, with a
scanner that, even when upgraded, doesn’t move anywhere near fast enough using
probes that can’t be held in great enough quantities to mine half of most
systems without certain upgrades, and even then I usually needed to make a trip
back to the fuel depot. If they had replaced the ‘find metal on random planets
for credits’ that I enjoyed so much with an almost identical ‘find resources on
random planets for upgrades’, I would have been very happy indeed, as this
would have provided me with even better reasons to go exploring (beyond the
experience, credits and compulsion to explore). What I got was a system that
made me shudder every time I ran out of resources.
Another critical failing of Mass Effect 2 is the complete
lack of variety of weapons and armour. The heavy weapons were a good addition
to the game that could have added a new dynamic to the combat had there not
been such a limit on other weapons. The ability to customise individual weapons
in Mass Effect was great, however the simplification offered by the new weapon upgrade
system makes up for the lack of customisation and the introduction of a clip
based weapon system has removed my desire to create the most heat efficient gun
possible, so while it is very different I don’t see an overall detraction in
Mass Effect 2 by changing it. There is, however, an alarmingly small pool of guns
from which I may select my arms.
Ignoring the fact that, once again, I found no
discernable use for the shotgun (a very minor issue in the original Mass
Effect) 4 assault rifles, 4 shotguns, 3 snipers, 2 SMG’s, and 2 pistols is a
pathetic range of weapons to put in a RPG, especially given the only way to
gain access to most of these weapons is to play as a soldier. Not only is there
an incredible shortage of different guns, the weapon on offer don’t have stats.
I like variety in my weapons. Sure, blowing drones away with the Widow anti-material
rifle is fun the first dozen time you do it, but it being the only sniper in
the game I would even consider using once acquired, and having my SMG choices
restricted to one (the Tempest) that I found useful at short range and one (the
Shuriken) that I didn’t enjoy using at any range meant that the game got very
repetitive on the weapons front very quickly.
Given the horrendous lack of
weapons, no stats isn’t really an issue, as it became clear from a short usage
that there was one weapon that felt infinitely better to use than any other in its
class, except the pistols that were both good with different advantages, but
which I never felt the need to use. The armour suffers from a similar problem,
with there being only the barest level of customisation (I found roughly 3
different pieces of each armour throughout the game) and no real advantage from
changing anyway (there is little difference between +10% health and +10%
shield, so what’s the point?).
I haven’t mentioned the new experience system here, which
doesn’t reward you for completing each task (like hacking) or fighting each
enemy, only finishing missions and assignments, but suffice to say, I hated it.
The severe restrictions in Mass Effect 2, from the limited experience due to the
new system and no free roam to the lack of weapons and armour, significantly
reduced the enjoyment I derived from playing, on the harder difficulties it
also caused me to be overwhelmed by the same intense feelings of hatred and
anger that I often feel after being killed for the tenth consecutive time on Veteran
difficulty in Call of Duty. In other RPG’s, including Mass Effect, this is not
a problem. If I am stuck I can keep trying or I have the option of levelling up
my character using side quests and areas I can explore. In this way I am free
to make the game as challenging or as easy as I like.
Along with a good story, I like my RPG’s to be about
freedom. Freedom to do what is right or to kill the shopkeeper for his credits.
The freedom to use and upgrade my weapons and abilities to suit my playing
style. The freedom to gain experience wandering aimlessly across the universe
for hours without any progression of the main storyline.
Mass Effect 2 fails to deliver on all of these freedoms. My recommendation would
be, if you are looking for a good expansion of the story from Mass Effect, hire
this game for a few days and play it through a couple of times. If you want a
great RPG that is as engaging and enjoyable as Mass Effect was, try Knights of
the Old Republic or stick with Mass Effect. If you're looking for a good third person shooter, Mass Effect 2 is a good choice.
This was only an overview of a few aspects of Mass
Effect 2. While there were other issues I didn’t like, such as an even more
poorly defined paragon/renegade system than ME (threatening to break someone’s
legs is paragon?), a lack of banter between characters, no mini game (scanning
planets is NOT a mini game)etc., these issues are tiny compared to the crippling
issues above.
#2
Posté 19 février 2010 - 04:46
It is unfortunate the path it took is one you don't like, but at least they kept a few of the more important RPG factors (choices, relatively non-linear gameplay, interacting with squad members, etc.)
#3
Posté 19 février 2010 - 04:48
#4
Posté 19 février 2010 - 04:49
#5
Posté 19 février 2010 - 04:50
#6
Posté 19 février 2010 - 04:51
#7
Posté 19 février 2010 - 04:51
#8
Guest_Randy_Mac_*
Posté 19 février 2010 - 04:52
Guest_Randy_Mac_*
Noranon wrote...
I purchased Mass Effect 2 a few weeks ago and as the title
suggests, it has failed to live up to my expectations. This surprises and disappoints
me, as my expectations were not high and amounted to BioWare remaking Mass
Effect with some good additions. Instead BioWare appear to have done their best
to strip away any and all of the RPG elements they could find. It’s a miracle the
Mass Effect story is still intact. The third person cover based system from
Mass Effect hasn’t changed, but it used to be cleverly hidden behind the free
roaming and abundance of weapons, armour, upgrades and side quests that make a
good RPG. What I feel like I’ve received with Mass Effect 2 is Gears of War in
space. The feeling is not a good one.
Mass Effect was a fantastic game. Mass Effect 2 is only barely a good one. It
has a good storyline with enough depth to be interesting and, like its prequel,
contains the background information which allowed me to immerse myself in the
Mass Effect universe. I enjoyed the new enemies on display and the third person
style gameplay that helped make Mass Effect so engaging. The new no-inventory
system was an excellent simplification of the game which allowed me to focus on
my objectives and improved the feel of the game (I doubt a special operative
like Spectre Shepard would feel the need to gather every weapon they see lying
around). I loved the new clip-based ammo system, which gave the combat a more
realistic feel while not becoming a hindrance to the fluid no-reload combat from
Mass Effect. The simple progression of events that allowed me to get the most
of the gameplay and the universe was very nice and I even enjoyed the group
cool down that I found so frustrating when I first started my adept (though I’m
not sure why the cool down of your biotic abilities is linked to that of your
medigel).
Unfortunately the fantastic additions made to the game were,
in my opinion, overshadowed by the removal of aspects that made Mass Effect one
of the greatest games I have ever played. I love RPG’s. It is by far my
favourite genre of games. The best games I have ever played are Final Fantasy X
(250+ hours, 2 playthroughs), Fallout 3 (70+ hours, 1 playthorough not yet finished)
and Mass Effect (200+ hours, 4 Shepards with 11 playthroughs). These games are
made great by; a storyline that usually progresses in a logical and well explained
manner, a wide variety of weapons, items and side quests and a good free roam
that allows the player to gain experience, money and items.
When I purchased Mass Effect 2 I expected a game that delivered on these aspects,
just as Mass Effect did so well. It was with great disappointment that I
discovered the Mass Effect 2 only attempts to deliver on a good storyline,
something that I have come to expect from Bioware anyway.
What I love most about the games listed above is the freedom. I can, and have,
spent tens, even hundreds, of hours in these games moving around the universe,
fighting enemies, finding strange or powerful items, improving my characters
and loving every minute of it. To me, there are few things better than
exploring the farthest corners of Omega Dungeon, walking to the most inconvenient
corners of the map to fight a small band of Super Mutants or trying to drive my
Mako up an impossibly steep slope to get to that illusive heavy metal deposit
for credits I don’t really need. And the thing I enjoyed the most was doing
these things despite the knowledge that it was COMPLETELY unnecessary.
The enjoyment I derived from the free roaming in Mass Effect
has been replaced in Mass Effect 2 by an agonisingly tedious planet scanning
system. I love the idea that I need to collect additional resources to upgrade
my weapons. It is a fantastic opportunity to allow the player to explore the
universe beyond the story planets. Unfortunately Bioware couldn’t have made the
resource gathering much worse. I was forced to scan planets, from orbit, with a
scanner that, even when upgraded, doesn’t move anywhere near fast enough using
probes that can’t be held in great enough quantities to mine half of most
systems without certain upgrades, and even then I usually needed to make a trip
back to the fuel depot. If they had replaced the ‘find metal on random planets
for credits’ that I enjoyed so much with an almost identical ‘find resources on
random planets for upgrades’, I would have been very happy indeed, as this
would have provided me with even better reasons to go exploring (beyond the
experience, credits and compulsion to explore). What I got was a system that
made me shudder every time I ran out of resources.
Another critical failing of Mass Effect 2 is the complete
lack of variety of weapons and armour. The heavy weapons were a good addition
to the game that could have added a new dynamic to the combat had there not
been such a limit on other weapons. The ability to customise individual weapons
in Mass Effect was great, however the simplification offered by the new weapon upgrade
system makes up for the lack of customisation and the introduction of a clip
based weapon system has removed my desire to create the most heat efficient gun
possible, so while it is very different I don’t see an overall detraction in
Mass Effect 2 by changing it. There is, however, an alarmingly small pool of guns
from which I may select my arms.
Ignoring the fact that, once again, I found no
discernable use for the shotgun (a very minor issue in the original Mass
Effect) 4 assault rifles, 4 shotguns, 3 snipers, 2 SMG’s, and 2 pistols is a
pathetic range of weapons to put in a RPG, especially given the only way to
gain access to most of these weapons is to play as a soldier. Not only is there
an incredible shortage of different guns, the weapon on offer don’t have stats.
I like variety in my weapons. Sure, blowing drones away with the Widow anti-material
rifle is fun the first dozen time you do it, but it being the only sniper in
the game I would even consider using once acquired, and having my SMG choices
restricted to one (the Tempest) that I found useful at short range and one (the
Shuriken) that I didn’t enjoy using at any range meant that the game got very
repetitive on the weapons front very quickly.
Given the horrendous lack of
weapons, no stats isn’t really an issue, as it became clear from a short usage
that there was one weapon that felt infinitely better to use than any other in its
class, except the pistols that were both good with different advantages, but
which I never felt the need to use. The armour suffers from a similar problem,
with there being only the barest level of customisation (I found roughly 3
different pieces of each armour throughout the game) and no real advantage from
changing anyway (there is little difference between +10% health and +10%
shield, so what’s the point?).
I haven’t mentioned the new experience system here, which
doesn’t reward you for completing each task (like hacking) or fighting each
enemy, only finishing missions and assignments, but suffice to say, I hated it.
The severe restrictions in Mass Effect 2, from the limited experience due to the
new system and no free roam to the lack of weapons and armour, significantly
reduced the enjoyment I derived from playing, on the harder difficulties it
also caused me to be overwhelmed by the same intense feelings of hatred and
anger that I often feel after being killed for the tenth consecutive time on Veteran
difficulty in Call of Duty. In other RPG’s, including Mass Effect, this is not
a problem. If I am stuck I can keep trying or I have the option of levelling up
my character using side quests and areas I can explore. In this way I am free
to make the game as challenging or as easy as I like.
Along with a good story, I like my RPG’s to be about
freedom. Freedom to do what is right or to kill the shopkeeper for his credits.
The freedom to use and upgrade my weapons and abilities to suit my playing
style. The freedom to gain experience wandering aimlessly across the universe
for hours without any progression of the main storyline.
Mass Effect 2 fails to deliver on all of these freedoms. My recommendation would
be, if you are looking for a good expansion of the story from Mass Effect, hire
this game for a few days and play it through a couple of times. If you want a
great RPG that is as engaging and enjoyable as Mass Effect was, try Knights of
the Old Republic or stick with Mass Effect. If you're looking for a good third person shooter, Mass Effect 2 is a good choice.
This was only an overview of a few aspects of Mass
Effect 2. While there were other issues I didn’t like, such as an even more
poorly defined paragon/renegade system than ME (threatening to break someone’s
legs is paragon?), a lack of banter between characters, no mini game (scanning
planets is NOT a mini game)etc., these issues are tiny compared to the crippling
issues above.
You're a good storyteller.
Modifié par Randy_Mac, 19 février 2010 - 04:52 .
#9
Posté 19 février 2010 - 04:53
#10
Posté 19 février 2010 - 04:54
#11
Posté 19 février 2010 - 04:54
The game is by no means bad, or even decent. The game is bloody brilliant, and a large majority of critical industry reviews agree with this opinion most strongly. Just because the game is different in no way NEGATES the game being amazingly well done.
There are no "crippling" issues in this game. There are not even "horribly bad" issues with this game. There are bland and minor issues that people continue to completely explode out of proportion with hyperbolic speech that absolutely astounds me.
#12
Posté 19 février 2010 - 04:54
You should add some to this thread: http://social.biowar...5/index/1297441
I have a feeling you might have something substntial to contribute =)
#13
Posté 19 février 2010 - 04:54
Either way, I figure the Hammerhead DLC will be massive. The reason that all of these are free is because they didn't have time to finish putting them in the game, so they removed things until they were finished completely. Once all of the free DLC is out, then that would have been ME2s actual release date, if they hadn't pushed for a January release.
#14
Posté 19 février 2010 - 04:55
huh?
and you like running around in every corner and spending 3 minutes getting the mako up a hill for no reason at all..
ok.
gotcha thanks for the input.
#15
Posté 19 février 2010 - 04:59
This is why I hope they take as much time as they possibly can with ME3. I want the final game in the trilogy to be as close to perfect as possible.StowyMcStowstow wrote...
The glass being half full doesn't mean ignore problems. All that means is "at least they didn't f up the story." Mass Effect 2 could have done several things better if Bioware had been given the time to think through and fully realize and finish their game. Not to say it isn't amazing, but it could be more amazing.
At the same time, I can't wait for ME3 to come out.
#16
Posté 19 février 2010 - 05:00
Lothial wrote...
You like the new no inventory system, but you want an inventory system?
huh?
and you like running around in every corner and spending 3 minutes getting the mako up a hill for no reason at all..
ok.
gotcha thanks for the input.
I'm often curious why stupid people spent 3 minute trying to climb a cliff when all they had to do was drive around. And he said the new system is "ok" but there aren't enough options. Pay attention.
Oh and thanks for the lack of useful input.
#17
Posté 19 février 2010 - 05:03
ZennExile wrote...
Lothial wrote...
You like the new no inventory system, but you want an inventory system?
huh?
and you like running around in every corner and spending 3 minutes getting the mako up a hill for no reason at all..
ok.
gotcha thanks for the input.
I'm often curious why stupid people spent 3 minute trying to climb a cliff when all they had to do was drive around. And he said the new system is "ok" but there aren't enough options. Pay attention.
Oh and thanks for the lack of useful input.
"The new no-inventory
system was an excellent simplification of the game which allowed me to focus on
my objectives and improved the feel of the game"
Want to try again slick?
#18
Posté 19 février 2010 - 05:04
This, of course, assuming that the object that you seek can be obtained by driving around the obstacle that you are attempting to climb. I'm often curious as to why stupid people assume that avoiding an obstacle in your path by driving around will inevitably lead you to the object that you seek.ZennExile wrote...
Lothial wrote...
You like the new no inventory system, but you want an inventory system?
huh?
and you like running around in every corner and spending 3 minutes getting the mako up a hill for no reason at all..
ok.
gotcha thanks for the input.
I'm often curious why stupid people spent 3 minute trying to climb a cliff when all they had to do was drive around.
#19
Posté 19 février 2010 - 05:04
Mako up an impossibly steep slope to get to that illusive heavy metal deposit"
and 0 for 2
sleep now
#20
Posté 19 février 2010 - 05:04
Lothial wrote...
ZennExile wrote...
Lothial wrote...
You like the new no inventory system, but you want an inventory system?
huh?
and you like running around in every corner and spending 3 minutes getting the mako up a hill for no reason at all..
ok.
gotcha thanks for the input.
I'm often curious why stupid people spent 3 minute trying to climb a cliff when all they had to do was drive around. And he said the new system is "ok" but there aren't enough options. Pay attention.
Oh and thanks for the lack of useful input.
"The new no-inventory
system was an excellent simplification of the game which allowed me to focus on
my objectives and improved the feel of the game"
Want to try again slick?
I want you to look up context for me and then in your own words tell me what you've learned. Until then everything you say is useless.
#21
Posté 19 février 2010 - 05:08
Chained_Creator wrote...
This, of course, assuming that the object that you seek can be obtained by driving around the obstacle that you are attempting to climb. I'm often curious as to why stupid people assume that avoiding an obstacle in your path by driving around will inevitably lead you to the object that you seek.ZennExile wrote...
Lothial wrote...
You like the new no inventory system, but you want an inventory system?
huh?
and you like running around in every corner and spending 3 minutes getting the mako up a hill for no reason at all..
ok.
gotcha thanks for the input.
I'm often curious why stupid people spent 3 minute trying to climb a cliff when all they had to do was drive around.
Because there was always a path? I'm a completionist and I never had to climb a cliff. Sure there are plenty of points where you are like..."hmmm how the fak do I get up there" but there was not a single resource or anomoly you couldn;t reach by simply driving around.
it actually used to bug me that there was always this neat little path cut into the terrain.
But yeah thanks for the stupid comment.
#22
Posté 19 février 2010 - 05:08
okZennExile wrote...
I want you to look up context for me and then in your own words tell me what you've learned. Until then everything you say is useless.
" The new no-inventory
system was an excellent simplification of the game which allowed me to focus on
my objectives and improved the feel of the game (I doubt a special operative
like Spectre Shepard would feel the need to gather every weapon they see lying
around). I loved the new clip-based ammo system, which gave the combat a more
realistic feel while not becoming a hindrance to the fluid no-reload combat from
Mass Effect. The simple progression of events that allowed me to get the most
of the gameplay and the universe was very nice and I even enjoyed the group
cool down that I found so frustrating when I first started my adept (though I’m
not sure why the cool down of your biotic abilities is linked to that of your
medigel)."
So where did he say it was just ok?
#23
Posté 19 février 2010 - 05:09
Mass Effect 3 better deliver HARD CORE because i have my hopes higher for ME3 than any other game I've ever been excited about. They COULD make ME3 the best game ever made, or they could make it another ME2. I'm willing to wait to 2012 if they make it the best damn game I've ever played.
Items you buy at stores need to change and replenish. You walk into best buy and buy a computer, chances are if you revisit that store a bit later they'll have a different computer or at least have restocked the old one.
#24
Posté 19 février 2010 - 05:10
#25
Posté 19 février 2010 - 05:12
ZennExile wrote...
I want you to look up context for me and then in your own words tell me what you've learned. Until then everything you say is useless.
Your post is pointless. What are you doing besides being an ass? He called you and you apparently had no comeback other than an arrogant remark.
And before you call me on it, I'm aware this post isn't adding to the topic. I'll await your insult, probably containing the word "racist" or "retard" or "ftard." If that last one is a word anyway. Heck, maybe you'll move up in the world and actually have the decency to write out full words instead of insulting everyone's intelligence with...well, whatever you call that language you speak.
Modifié par Gar_Logan, 19 février 2010 - 05:22 .





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