Jean de Valette wrote...
Seraphael wrote...
This Canadian "Neville Chamberlain" is a powerhouse and have with this series evolved the genre in a new and exciting direction. Dinosaurs should step aside or me overrun by progress.
True. ME2 is a good game and I'm not denying that.
But I didn't realize there were so many people here who a) either never played the BG series or Interplay and Troika games or 
really hated the aforementioned.
Played them all. Loved them all. Still consider ME3 equal to or better than all.
The OP claims this is the best RPG he's ever played. Either he hasn't played a cRPG (in all variants) in his life or he's a family member of someone in Bioware's staff.
...or more likely, he is more concerned about what makes a game good rather than what makes a game an RPG.
Bioware is indeed the Chamberlain of our time. They've sacrificed Silesia (the PC RPG gamer) so that Great Britain (console gamer) can rest easy. Why? Because Britain is where the interest (read money) lies. Do I blame Bioware? No, they're just another company looking to make a buck. But I reacted to the OP's rediculous claims. Bioware isn't interested in making RPGs, they're interested in making money. And these days that means appeasing console players.
Obviously you are blaming Bioware when you liken them to the, with hindsight, rather spineless but at the time popular British prime minister at the onset of WW2. If Bioware is Neville Chamberlain, what are McDonald's? The Adolf Hitler of fastfood, ever conquering with aggressive pricing and marketing? Bioware is indeed a company out to make a buck. Their way of achieving that is to make extremely solid roleplaying games. Their reputation for thus is stellar and well deserved.
I resented Bioware for initially going console with the Mass Effect. Once I finally got over my preconceptions and bought the game, I found that I was only partially right in my negative onlook. I felt much of ME1 felt extremely generic and the actual roleplaying value questionable. The RPG elements such as inventory/loot and experience/levels I found outright annoying. I felt such elements were implemented at the expense of actual roleplaying, some of them even counterproductive to roleplaying. When these element also diminished gameplay, it became apparent to me that Bioware should continue the evolution with the next installment.
In my view, and I have experience with old time greats such as the original Fallout, Planescape Torment and Baldur's Gate, Bioware succeeded superbly with ME2. Certainly there are room for improvement in areas like exploration, the abstracted micromanagement through mining isn't fun at all (but still much preferrable to the non-abstracted endless mako rides in ME1). A little more variety in weaponry (with vital statistics included) would also be good. Rewarding neutral answers and not only Paragon/Renegade options is another improvement that can be made (the reward system as is enforces stereotypical gameplay).
How? Making sure "action" is fast passed and as few buttons are involved. That's means dumbing down folks, which you appologize as "streamlining" and "getting with the programe".
Fast paced combat is realistic, immersive and fun. You had more buttons in ME1, but used just as few and the combat was much more straight forward. "Dumbing down" is a rather dumb stereotype of shooter elements, succeeding in the new shooter environment requires more tactical awareness and thinking on your feet than the slow paced combat of yesteryear. How is that dumbing things down?
But I've done enough "whining" for tonight. I count my blessings that I've played real cRPG games back in the day made by Bioware. Ignorence is bliss, as Alistair would say citing the Chantry. And yes I'll keep enjoying ME2 for what it is: a 3rd person shooter with adventure elements.
Well, consider this then: ME2 has much, much, much better story, interesting characters, interaction and roleplaying than games that goes for RPGs without anyone lifting an eyebrow. Call it a shooter with actual roleplaying better than the vast majority of RPGs if you like. I don't care what you or anyone else wants to pigeonhole it as;
it is still a great game with great roleplaying.
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