Mass Effect 2 Thread

[Ichirou]

WHY THE FUCK DID I EVER LET THAT BITCH LIVE

There's a lot of chicks you have the option to kill/let die in ME1 so I'm sincerely not sure who you're talking about.

[Beezy]

Who else but the queen bitch Ashley? I'd rather have a dozen dumb jrpg blondes than her.

[demi]

lol. incoming hmuro and his defense of xenophobic christians

[Beezy]

What? There's no defending her dumbass. She's the first character to ever piss me off in two different games. I was hoping for a renegade interruption so bad.

If ME3 lets me kill her, it will dethrone Mirror's Edge as my GOTG.

[Ichirou]

I let her live 'cuz I wanted to hatefuck her, but apparently I chose the wrong option along the way and ended up sexing that alien asari slut.

[rodi]

I also chose the alien in the first ME for the lack of a better alternative. It was either her or that weirdo, Kaiden.

[demi]

OLD

[demi]

Cause I dont care for that shit

[pilonv1]

I really enjoy this game, but fuck me the level design and game structure is repetitive as hell.

[Stoney Mason]

I really enjoy this game, but fuck me the level design and game structure is repetitive as hell.

Its not ideal but then it's about a 1000X times improvement over the original so I can deal. The very differing looks of things made it feel a lot less repetitive than the original.

[Ichirou]

I also chose the alien in the first ME for the lack of a better alternative. It was either her or that weirdo, Kaiden.

I let Kaidan die, that biotic freak.

[pilonv1]

I really enjoy this game, but fuck me the level design and game structure is repetitive as hell.

Its not ideal but then it's about a 1000X times improvement over the original so I can deal. The very differing looks of things made it feel a lot less repetitive than the original.

Yeah the fact it's not just some generic planet again is good. Plus the one planet where you can't stand in the sun was something different. But the fact it's talk/cover/talk/cover/talk/cover/talk/finish becomes really apparently and very boring quickly.

[Ichirou]

Jacob is such a fucking dumbass.  Worst character in the game.

"Hey, we got the coordinates to the reaper ship, who gives a fuck about preparing the crew and getting ready for the mission! Let's go, the sooner the better!"

I wanna punch him.

[The Sceneman]

what are you talking about? hes amazing, he want you to trust him so bad lol.

Wheres the new DLC at?

[The Sceneman]

ps. have you finished Miles Edgeworth adventures yet. I will post Edgeworth cosplay pics. Crap I just realised that It was technically cosplay, and I did it  :'(

[pilonv1]

Jacob is the new Kaiden. Seems like they have to have a complete douche no matter what

[Ichirou]

Jacob is the new Kaiden. Seems like they have to have a complete douche no matter what

"I'm a hero! I saved the Citadel in an iPhone game!  It's not my fault the Council decided to keep it a secret!"

Worst character in the game.  And I noticed that they went so far as to give him acne when you look at his face close-up, lol

Scenester, I am on episode 4 of Miles Edgeworth.  I'll probably finish it by next week and send it out to you.

[Stoney Mason]

Jacob is the new Kaiden. Seems like they have to have a complete douche no matter what

Hmmm...  I didn't get that impression at all but everybody is different. Jacob might be considered boring to some but he has none of the bad attitude or bad intentions of some of the other characters. And certainly not like Ashley or Kaiden.


Miranda is more of a douche if we want to get technical about it based on her morals.

[Stoney Mason]

This is a very cool presentation on why BioWare changed Mass Effect for the better:
http://prezi.com/6xe1ucvy8egf/where-did-my-inventory-go/

At the Game Developers Conference last week, speaking at a panel devoted solely to “Refining Gameplay in Mass Effect 2,” Christina Norman, the game’s lead gameplay designer, dived into the internal workings and discussed the major changes made to the sci-fi sequel.

Going into development on Mass Effect 2, BioWare knew one of the main goals to improve over the first game was to bring “more satisfying combat” while giving the sequel an “intense feel” that Mass Effect lacked. Norman admitted to the fact that the first game looked like a shooter but did not play like one.

“BioWare is strong on RPG and story,” yet “not so strong on shooter combat.” Those changes were implemented, based in part on the BioWare community feedback, and received high marks with both gamers and critics; yet more adjustments are still needed for the next installment of the trilogy.

As with previous games, BioWare continues to embrace the gaming community by actively listening to their fans - and detractors - by using community feedback as a driving factor for development on Mass Effect 3. Norman even pointed out a couple of forum threads in her panel to highlight the disappointment of some fans, saying that the third game will have “richer RPG features,” more “combat options,” and probably less of the planet mining because that was something “nobody liked.”

Bioware 

[Ichirou]

Jacob is the new Kaiden. Seems like they have to have a complete douche no matter what

Hmmm...  I didn't get that impression at all but everybody is different. Jacob might be considered boring to some but he has none of the bad attitude or bad intentions of some of the other characters. And certainly not like Ashley or Kaiden.


Miranda is more of a douche if we want to get technical about it based on her morals.

I don't like Jacob because he takes such pains to say what a good guy he is, which makes him come off as a dick, IMO.  "I SAVED THE CITADEL! I'M A SECRET HERO!"  Kaidan was actually more interesting, IMO, because of his backstory about his biotics training.  With Jacob, it seems they were trying to make a heroic black character but ended up making the guy act like a complete pussy.

With Miranda, her character is more interesting because she's psychologically damaged. First, she was used by her father, then she let herself be used by Cerberus.  She seems to only consider herself to be worth anything because of the genetic enhancements that were made to her.  So while she puts up this arrogant front, in reality she has no confidence in herself because she believes her abilities are only there because of what her dad did to her.

[GilloD]

Mining idea: Get those Space Ore Miner iPhone guys on board. Problem solved.

[Stoney Mason]

I don't like Jacob because he takes such pains to say what a good guy he is, which makes him come off as a dick, IMO.  "I SAVED THE CITADEL! I'M A SECRET HERO!"  Kaidan was actually more interesting, IMO, because of his backstory about his biotics training.  With Jacob, it seems they were trying to make a heroic black character but ended up making the guy act like a complete pussy.

With Miranda, her character is more interesting because she's psychologically damaged. First, she was used by her father, then she let herself be used by Cerberus.  She seems to only consider herself to be worth anything because of the genetic enhancements that were made to her.  So while she puts up this arrogant front, in reality she has no confidence in herself because she believes her abilities are only there because of what her dad did to her.

I disagree about the heroic black character bit. I don't think his race matters. If that was a white dude no one would say anything about his race in that instance. Like I say different strokes for different folks. My impression of Jacob was that he was a guy trying to do the right thing. At least his character is redeemed by being somewhat conflicted about cerberus.  A little boring perhaps but nothing particularly offensive. Miranda was a good enough character. But she was also a douche who blindly followed.

[Ichirou]

I don't think his race matters in that he'd have been a terrible character if he were white, but I suspect he was written this way because the game's writers wanted to be inclusive and include a heroic black character, which they already had with Captain Anderson.  And at least Anderson has Keith David voicing him so he sounds like a fucking badass.

[Stoney Mason]

Did anyone else feel like the characters were way more disturbed by the events in Jacob's loyalty mission than you were?

I felt like it wasn't a clear black and white issue. There were many potential gray areas that weren't explored at all. For example, if there is only a limited supply of food that doesn't cause a loss of higher brain function, it makes sense to ration that food out to the leadership so that someone would still be functional enough to call for help and run things.

The other alternative would be to let everyone lose their brain functionality, which would probably result in everyone on that planet dying in short order.

The initial rationing decision isn't the problem. Even Jacob understands that. It's everything that happened afterwards.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Ronald served as First Officer on the Hugo Gernsback, which crashed into 2175 Aeia in 2175. Captain Harris Fairchild was killed in the crash, and following emergency protocols, Ronald was promoted to acting Captain.

Upon assessment of the ship, however, the distress beacon was discovered to be damaged, and would take some time to repair---far longer than the time it would take for the surviving crew members to survive on the ship's food supplies. An analysis of the local flora revealed that the food on the planet was toxic, and could cause neural decay if ingested. Initially, Ronald Taylor decided to save the ship's food stores for himself and the remaining officers, implementing harsh but necessary rules in order to ensure that at least someone would remain in full control of their faculties for the beacon to be repaired. As the days went by, however, Ronald began to get used to life on the planet, living like a king, going so far as to assign the women to himself and his officers as pets. Thus, when the beacon was finally repaired around a year after the crash, Ronald, unwilling to answer for his actions, refused to activate it, believing that it was best that they disappear off the face of the galaxy.

When one of his officers started feeling remorse for their actions, Ronald turned his security mechs on him. Either from paranoia or in self-defense, Ronald eventually killed all the other officers within the same week, leaving him the only one with food from the ship's stores and in full control of the security mechs. Ronald exiled or killed most of the men after the decay lowered inhibitions, making them resistant to Taylor's authority and increasingly violent. Over the next seven years, Ronald streched out the food supplies by dining for one, with all the power and comfort he could want.

That all changed when the exiled men returned. These hunters, as they were now called, adapted to the planet and eventually became feral. They began waging war with Ronald's mechs, stealing guns and killing any of the surviving women who left Ronald's camp. As the war with the hunters began putting pressure on Ronald's security, Ronald realized the only way out alive was to be rescued. He set off the beacon remotely and thought up a weak story to absolve himself of guilt.

In 2185, the Normandy SR-2 came to investigate the distress beacon from the Gernsback. When Jacob confronted his father, who was shocked to see him, he questioned his decisions, and accused him of doing unspeakable things to his crew so he could live in a "juvenile fantasy." Ronald's fate is up to Shepard. He can be turned over to the Alliance courts, left to the mercy of his degenerated crew on Aeia, or given a pistol to kill himself. In any event, Jacob realizes that Ronald is no longer the father he knew.

[close]

http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Ronald_Taylor

[demi]

More like, SD gamers need to get out of the ghetto, you are the reason the Wii exists

[Ichirou]

Jacob's father is way more awesome than Jacob.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Making the female crew his sex slaves.

[close]

They should have included him as a crew member instead of his namby-pamby kid.

[rodi]

I haven't even noticed Jacob.

[bork]

I'm thinking of buying an HDTV, but it doesn't make sense if I'm only going to be here for 9 more months. I guess I could try to find a used one and then sell it to someone else at the end of my contract.

What about buying a cheap PC monitor?  Does South Korea have recycle shops like Japan?  I got a really nice little monitor for like $90 years ago.  Gave it to the in-laws when I left the country.

[Ichirou]

That's what I bought for my 360.  Works like a charm.

[Ichirou]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I just made Jacob's dad commit suicide.

[close]

[Raban]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I just made Jacob's dad commit suicide.

[close]

[pilonv1]

I'm so doing that

[tiesto]

I really enjoy this game, but fuck me the level design and game structure is repetitive as hell.

Its not ideal but then it's about a 1000X times improvement over the original so I can deal. The very differing looks of things made it feel a lot less repetitive than the original.

I thought that at first, but there are a few loyalty and N7 missions that mix things up somewhat. But I don't think the main missions were nearly as interesting and with depth like Feros/Noveria/Virmire from the first game. I greatly appreciate the N7 missions this time around, nice bite-sized missions with different settings. I just wish there were more, and you got more interesting rewards than 125 exp and 7500 credits.

Another thing, I wish there were a bit more "organic" areas - seems a lot of time we're spent in ships or bases with crates everywhere.

[Tieno]

Almost everything in this game is superior to the previous game, except the main story progression.

I also don't like how the stats are all hidden, I want to see a more detailed overview of my stat progression, especially on the weapon side. It also feels more confined than the previous one, sometimes this is good but other times it makes it feel small compared to the first one. They've cut a lot of fat and the 36 hours I spent playing were much better than in ME1, but at times they've cut too much fat. I'd like more depth regarding resources, credits and weapons.

Squad members are real good, felt more unique, which ties into the combat. Combat is so good, I can imagine a spin-off TPS being something I'd really love. Also most beautiful game I've played on the 360.

All in all I think the ME trilogy is and will be my favorite game series this generation. I enjoy the way I react (with my gut) to the situation and context in this game, the wheel still makes it enjoyable and exciting to watch.

[Ichirou]

You react with your gut?  I take the paragon options almost all the time, except when the renegade interrupts come up, I can never resist doing those.

I think if I reacted with my gut, I'd end up with 60% Paragon/40% Renegade so I wouldn't be able to resolve impossible situations with Paragon choices because my Paragon bar wouldn't be high enough...

[demi]

I reacted by gut too, until I found out you need almost max Paragon/Renegade to get past the crew arguments without them becoming disloyal. Then I went all Paragon

[Raban]

You react with your gut?  I take the paragon options almost all the time, except when the renegade interrupts come up, I can never resist doing those.

I think if I reacted with my gut, I'd end up with 60% Paragon/40% Renegade so I wouldn't be able to resolve impossible situations with Paragon choices because my Paragon bar wouldn't be high enough...

I went with my gut and got something like 80% Paragon/20% Renegade and I got to Paragon bitches into respectin' me.

[Ichirou]

I have 5/5 Paragon bars filled and 1/5 Renegade bars.

There have been some times I regretted not choosing the renegade option.  For example, during the Samara recruitment mission...

spoiler (click to show/hide)

There was an Eclipse asari mercenary hiding in a room and cowering and claiming she'd just joined thinking she was going to be a badass hero,not realizing she was going to be a drug dealer and stuff, so I let her go without using the renegade interrupt to kill her.  Later on in the same mission I found an audio log of her boasting about her first kill.  I felt so mad about letting her go, ffffuuuu...so I just decided that Shepard must have a soft spot for asari chicks since I had him bang two different ones in the first game (consort and Liara), so he always lets asari off the hook.  Shepard's such a horndog. 

I learned from my mistakes, though.  During the Thane recruitment mission, I had Shepard do a paragon interrupt and push the Eclipse merc off the roof of the tower, and I got paragon AND renegade points for it!

[close]

[Ichirou]

EA/Bioware and Dr. Pepper recently teamed up for a Mass Effect 2 promotion that provides drinkers of the soda the chance to win three DLC items for use in the new game. Those living outside the United States are sadly ineligible for the promotion, and players who just don’t drink the stuff may simply be out of luck.

As it turns out, I have good news. The keys provided in the promotion are completely static and reusable.

The codes are as follows:

CBEEAAA41NWH
CBEEAAAE4L9N
CBEEAAAFQG9J
CBEEAAAE98ZV

To apply these codes to your EA account and redeem the Mass Effect 2 DLC items, simply create an account on Dr Pepper’s Promotion website, fill in whatever fake details you please and simply use an @mailinator.com address for the e-mail field. The site will never ask you to confirm your e-mail address. Once you’ve logged in, simply enter the promotional code and pick “No Purchase” for each of the three fields.

When you’re done, just hit the button to redeem the DLC and log in with your real EA account details, select Mass Effect 2 from the list of games, and finalize your selection.

To redeem the remaining two items, simply repeat the process with a different code and e-mail address for your new DrPepper account, always logging back into your real EA account at the end to claim your item.

Didn't know this, going to try it when I get home.

[Ichirou]

No one left behind.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Fuck you, Illusive Man.  I blew up the Collector Base.  I've seen what happens when Cerberus gets its hand on alien technology or organisms - people die, and it's usually humans.

[close]

[tiesto]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I let them keep the Collector base... postgame, all my teammates are pretty unhappy with me, even Miranda. Not sure whether or not I should go back and redo the end of the game and destroy the base. Oh well, enough of this game, 48 hours is enough. Now to devote all my time to FF13

[close]

[Raban]

No one left behind.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Fuck you, Illusive Man.  I blew up the Collector Base.  I've seen what happens when Cerberus gets its hand on alien technology or organisms - people die, and it's usually humans.

[close]

I'm still pretty up in the air on this decision. It seems either one will make for a good continuation in ME3.

[Ichirou]

I really, really didn't want to save the base for several reasons:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

1. Every time Cerberus got their hands on ANYthing that had to do with an alien culture, they tried to turn it into a weapon - husks, rachni, thorian creepers.  This usually backfired on them and ended up with all their researchers dead.

2. Cerberus is also not above experimenting on humans (Jack, setting a fake distress signal to see how marines would fight a thresher maw).  They are sick fucks.

3.  Every time in ME2 you find some Cerberus atrocity, Miranda tells you the Illusive Man must not have known about it.  When you unlock EDI's memory blocks, however, she tells you the Illusive Man is the ONLY person who knows everything about every Cerberus operation.

4. Most of your teammates make it a strong point to tell you they are NOT working for Cerberus, they are working for you, and some of them even go so far as to tell you they hope you're working undercover to take Cerberus down from the inside.

5. The Illusive Man presents the whole mission from the beginning as "taking down the Collectors", but suddenly when you're successful in doing that, he gets greedy and changes the mission parameters to "acquire the Collector base"? Hmmm...

6.  You only find this out if you have the Sole Survivor background, but Cerberus was the group in charge of the thresher maw massacre on Akuze and they took a surviving marine out of there and experimented on him injecting him with thresher maw acid and other sick crap.

[close]

[Beezy]

"I had reach, she had flexibility."
*Shepherd cheese grin*

I swear, Garrus is so much better in ME2. I hardly used him in the first game, now I don't like going into missions without him.

[MCD]

laugh it up garrus.

[Ichirou]

They better give him some decent armor in ME2.  I didn't like taking him on missions with his armor all fucked up like that.  Garrus deserves better!

[pilonv1]

I dont like any of the characters this time besides Garrus. Mordin is interesting but I find him pretty useless in fights

[demi]

Jack is my waifu

Grunt is my bro

[Ichirou]

All characters rock.

Thane rox.  Awesome vertical eyelids and assassin.

Tali rox.  She is good with machines and has chicken feet.

Miranda rox.  She has strong jawline and nice ass.

Legion rox.  He has a hole in his chest where his heart should be.

Garrus rox.  He has awesome facial scarring and is good with weapons.

Jack rox.  She is bald, rude, and tattooed.

Mordin rox.  He is a mad scientist with a heart of gold.

Grunt rox.  He is pure krogan; you should be in awe.

Samara rox.  She is filled with justice and biotic power.

Zaeed rox.  He will not let the screams of dying innocents get in the way of his revenge.

Even Jacob rox.  His dad had a harem full of sex slaves.

[Beezy]

I'm gaining everyone's loyalty right now. When do I get Legion in my crew? No spoilers if possible.

Thane is my favorite of the new members so far. I haven't used Grunt enough yet. I'll wait until after i do his loyalty mission. Also, I didn't know you could lose the loyalty of certain members later on. I'm at about 60% with both Paragon and Renegade. A bit more with Paragon.

[MCD]

I'm gaining everyone's loyalty right now. When do I get Legion in my crew? No spoilers if possible.

very late story mission.

[Green Shinobi]

The Paragon/Renegade shit is fucking stupid. I hate having to play a certain type of character just to be able to keep my characters arbitrarily "loyal" and not lose them in a final battle. What if I want to play a sensitive guy who also shoots people in the kneecaps? I can't do that here, or later on I won't be able to resolve some stupid PMS argument between Jack and Miranda. Fucking weak.

They should have kept the Charm/Intimidate skill categories from the first game.

[The Fake Shemp]

Uh, Charm and Intimidate are still there.

[Green Shinobi]

No, I mean that they should have kept it as a skill that you put points into instead of making it entirely contingent on your decisions.

[demi]

What if I want to play a sensitive guy who also shoots people in the kneecaps?

You can

[Green Shinobi]

What if I want to play a sensitive guy who also shoots people in the kneecaps?

You can

But if almost all of your choices have to go the same way in order to have enough points to defuse an argument late in the game, and if not having enough points means that you lose a crew member's loyalty, and if losing loyalty means this character will die, and if one of the achievements is "keep everyone alive," then the game kinda forces your hand.

[Ichirou]

What if I want to play a sensitive guy who also shoots people in the kneecaps?

You can

But if almost all of your choices have to go the same way in order to have enough points to defuse an argument late in the game, and if not having enough points means that you lose a crew member's loyalty, and if losing loyalty means this character will die, and if one of the achievements is "keep everyone alive," then the game kinda forces your hand.

All your actions have consequences.  You want to be a wishy-washy emo kid who shoots people, the end result is...people die.

[demi]

The moral of the story is - stand your convictions. Wishy washy two sided bitches dont get happy endings

[Ichirou]

The moral of the story is - stand your convictions. Wishy washy two sided bitches dont get happy endings

Nailed it.

[The Fake Shemp]

Yeah, I don't get the point. So you couldn't do everything you wanted and get a happy ending?