Doc Reviews Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2: Review
Ah, a sequel, will it live up to its predecessor or will it have no effect on the masses?
The first Mass Effect introduced you to Commander Shepard who is a part of the alliance. You fight off Saren and the Geth where decisions will affect most of the universe of Mass Effect 2.
Spoilers above.
In Mass Effect 2 you leave off where Mass Effect 1 did and then two years later you leave off where Mass Effect 2 started. Confusing? Well when you play the game you will come to understand this.
Beginning:
The game starts off strong with an interesting premise that leaves you floating in space for answers. Bioware comes up with a very creative way to create your new Shepard or continue your adventure with your previous Shepard from the first game. You are then led through a rudimentary tutorial showing you the basics such as shooting, taking cover, using teammate abilities as well as your own, and vaulting over cover.
You will be working for Cerberus this time around and not with the Alliance or conversing with the Council. The Illusive Man will be your boss and you will be searching for the mysterious Collectors that are snatching up human colonists and taking them through the Omega 4 relay.
You will be tasked to go through the Omega 4 relay. Some believe it to be a suicide mission, but Shepard does. Not. Give. A. Fuck!
Graphics/Design:
The first thing you will notice when you start playing this game is the beauty of this game. It truly is stunning to see the vibrant colors in cities or within characters. This game has a much darker tone than the first game and the graphics reflect that very well. Weapons are much more detailed as well as your armor. Characters look better in this game, but they still have that clay unnatural look that surrounds them.
Other than that the characters are very well detailed and look more human than pieces of cardboard talking to you. Characters show their emotions very well when conversing such as looks of puzzlement, sadness, or happiness.
Exploration/Research:
Planet exploring is much more simplified this time around. You will not be driving the M35 Mako on planets anymore. Instead you will be probing planets and building resources which let you research your weapon, biotic, and tech damage as well as upgrading the Normandy for your suicide mission. So now collecting minerals actually has a useful outcome.
This is a much better turn of events that provide a fresh take on the Mass Effect universe. Instead of doing this:
Exploring the planets in the first game was fun and exciting because it was new, but in Mass Effect 2 it would have gotten old, extremely fast. Although probing planets isn’t as exciting or exhilarating especially during your second play through. It’s a sacrifice that Bioware made, but it keeps things fresh.
You will find anomalies throughout the game and you will take a shuttle down to the planet to explore said anomaly. You get in, do what you have to, and get out. It’s quick and simple.
You revisit old areas such as the Citadel, but you don’t get to explore through the Presidium again. This is a great thing as we already explored it extensively in the first game and going through that same area would’ve been repetitive. Instead you explore three new levels of the Citadel that are much smaller in scope compared to the first game (possibly to prevent you from staying in the Citadel for hours like in the first game). There are stores located around here as well as a bar so you can purchase weapons, fish, hamster, and drinks or dance.
You will have new planets to explore this time around and they all have their own specific side missions, stores, and personality.
Dialogue/Decisions, AI/Combat, Animations:
The dialogue in this game is very similar to the first one. You have the dialogue trees that give you the option of paragon, renegade, or neutral response. Bioware introduced a new “disrupt” action that allows you to cut short the dialogue in a few key areas. When the paragon symbol shows up you press the left trigger to initiate a paragon interruption such as “please stop talking” or you press the right trigger to initiate a renegade interruption such as “kicking a guy out of a window”. Playing as a full fledged Renegade is still a ton of fun. Besides, you can make your Shephard look like the Termintor.
The decisions you made in the first game will have an impact on how the game is presented to you in the second game. And the decisions you make in this game will carry over to the third one. The final decision you make may or may not have dire consequences in the third game.
The AI in this game can be smart, relentless, and annoying at times. It’s all about cover and biotic powers, the AI will use these. You will have to wear down enemies’ shields, then armor, then health. This isn’t for all enemies mind you; it’s mainly for the tougher enemies such as Krogan. There shields and armor do not recharge though, so it’s a matter of dwindling them down while you sit in cover. Which you will do, a lot, especially on harder difficulties.
The animations for the characters are pretty much the same as the first. You will see familiar animations from the first game in this one. There are plenty new ones however which help make the dialogue much more interesting. Characters will constantly pace, stand up, or sit down while you are talking to them. The camera angles that are between two characters while they are conversing are that of a Peter Jackson film.
Oh, but getting back to those same old animations that I was talking about. I like to call this lean mean:
Be prepared to see that one 3-4 times throughout the game as well as a few other such as when they wobble up after falling to the ground or dusting off their otherwise clean hands. These are very minor though compared to the other wonderfully new animations you will see.
Main Missions/Urgency:
Throughout this game your time will mostly be spent recruiting members for your squad that will aid you in your suicide mission to take on the Collectors. You can choose which members to go after first and their missions are interesting. After you go to Horizon you will begin recruiting a few more members and doing loyalty missions.
Loyalty missions are my favorite missions because it helps you get to know your squad members. You get to see why they want to help you and what has happened to them. These are wonderful missions because the missions are designed perfectly for the powers that your squad member possesses.
This game does well in showing you the urgency of going through your missions in order to take out the Collector’s because of the fact that side missions are quick and easy. As I said before you take a shuttle to a planet and do what you gotta do, then leave. In Mass Effect 1 you spent a good amount of time exploring planets and it took you out of the experience of the urgency of stopping Saren and the Geth. In ME2 the same thing can be said for probing planets, but you only need 150,000 total for each resource (except Element Zero, you need 50,000 or not even that).
Inventory/Leveling up:
The inventory is much more simplistic as well as the leveling up system. You will no longer be collecting ammo, weapons, armor, grenades. Your weapons will be much more limited this time around, which is not a bad thing at all. You will find stronger weapons as you progress throughout the story and the ammo, such as incendiary, is now activated through the use of your power abilities. Grenades are nonexistent and you will be wearing one type of armor. You can upgrade your weapon damage as well as your shields for your armor. You won’t be selling anything throughout this game which is nice since selling weapons wasn’t all that worth it in the first game.
Leveling up is simple. You now level up after each mission that is completed (if you have enough EXP at the time) and the level cap is now at 30. Your powers level up like so 1, 2, 3, 4. It takes 10 points to max out one power and then you get to choose between two variations of said power.
Normandy:
You will be in control of the Normandy once again and you now feel that it’s your ship. You can upgrade the ship which will help to combat the Collectors as well as explore your private quarters where you can buy fish for your fish tank, a pet hamster, and collectible ship models. Exploring the ship and conversing with the crew still plays a major factor in the game that gives you more insight on your crew members.
The galaxy map on the Normandy is much more interactive this time around. You essentially fly a scaled down Normandy from one area to the next which can become quite entertaining when flying through a sun or planet. In order to explore a main galaxy sub-galaxies, you will have to acquire a resource in the future known only as “fuel”. As you explore the sub-galaxy your fuel will burn and if you run out while exploring you will start burning your resources that you have collected.
It’s not a bad thing though as the fuel is very inexpensive and it is always available to you.
Cut scenes/Music/Voice Acting:
The cut scenes in this game and the music are wonderfully done. Cut scenes look beautiful and the final cut scenes will get you heart racing especially with the epic music playing in the background. The sound for this game is wonderful and it will put your bass through its paces.
The voice acting in this game is superb just like in the previous game. All characters sound believable and provide a great experience all around.
Final Thoughts:
This is a wonderful game to play even if you haven’t played the first one and you will definitely spend 30+ hours going through this game, even if you rush through it. The controls have changed, but they are very easy to get used to and being able to control your squadmates one at a time is a major help. You can order one squadmate to go to one piece of cover while the other goes to a different one by the use of your D-pad. Using their powers are simple as you “hot key” one of their powers to the D-pad. You can also “hot key” your powers to the RB, LB, and Y buttons.
Bioware created a sequel that felt fresh and not too similar to the first game. They changed most of the mechanics of the game for the better, while taking risks to make the game feel different from the first that didn’t quite work well, such as planet probing.
Overall the Pros definitely outweigh the Cons and this game will be a welcome addition to your game collection. I highly recommend this game as it will provide a great experience for you. The story is wonderfully told with great pacing!
Recommendations:
Play through the game as any class EXCEPT the Soldier class. The soldier class is all about weapons and not about powers. I made the mistake as playing as a Soldier on my first play through and I regret it. The game was fun for a few hours, but then it got extremely boring because you have no powers to toy around with. It just feels like a mindless third person run and gun game rather than a tactical game.
Any of the other classes are extremely fun to play as because you can mix powers together with your squad to create devastating effects that can send an enemy hurtling over the ledge to his death. Using the charge power in the Vanguard class is extremely fun as you slam into the enemy head on and send him flying across the room.
Play on Normal your first time through and then move it up to Insanity for your next play through that way you know what to expect.
Rating (out of 10):
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/9...everdict18.png
Mass Effect 3 Wishlist
-Ship to ship battles:
-Simon Pegg as a crew member:
-Online Multiplayer
I hope you enjoy this review! I plan to write more if it pleases the masses!
Oh and enjoy this video featuring one of the funniest moments in ME2, don’t worry there’s no spoilers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCtmbmssKHw
*Pictures 1, 2, 5, 8, and 9 were photo-shopped by me. The video was edited and captured by me as well.
Re: Doc Reviews Mass Effect 2
Ship battles and multiplayer would both require very different systems and different engine mechanics taking up a lot of memory. If those were to become reality the world size would be approximately half of what we know for ME2 w/o DLC. And we don't really need another GoW rip off for a TPS which it most likely would come down to.
But it was a decent review my main gripe is that the game has been out for how long now?
And I wish they would bring back the old weapon/armor system, I enjoyed hunting down parts to create a strong gun that never overheats.... I hat the thermal clips especially since they give you so little ammo. and the shield system feels like it doesn't get any stronger no matter what you do to it, even using barrier when you have full shields seems like it does nothing.
Re: Doc Reviews Mass Effect 2
Multiplayer in Mass Effect? I could only seem Bioware fucking it up. Keep it as it is, KEVIN!
Other than that, I enjoyed the write up. I now need to write my own write up on this game, to counter the witty wrong writings of yourself with more readily, righteous, writings of regretful ridiculousness.
Re: Doc Reviews Mass Effect 2
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Fiery Grave
Ship battles and multiplayer would both require very different systems and different engine mechanics taking up a lot of memory. If those were to become reality the world size would be approximately half of what we know for ME2 w/o DLC. And we don't really need another GoW rip off for a TPS which it most likely would come down to.
But it was a decent review my main gripe is that the game has been out for how long now?
And I wish they would bring back the old weapon/armor system, I enjoyed hunting down parts to create a strong gun that never overheats.... I hat the thermal clips especially since they give you so little ammo. and the shield system feels like it doesn't get any stronger no matter what you do to it, even using barrier when you have full shields seems like it does nothing.
The MP part was a joke. I thought the picture along with the caption made that obvious enough. I'll add "this is a joke, look at picture" next time.
The thermal clips make more sense than the overheating did in ME1. The thermal clips prevent the weapon from overheating allowing you to eject the clip and continuing firing at a faster rate. Yadayadaotherstuff.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Yehsus
Multiplayer in Mass Effect? I could only seem Bioware fucking it up. Keep it as it is, KEVIN!
Other than that, I enjoyed the write up. I now need to write my own write up on this game, to counter the witty wrong writings of yourself with more readily, righteous, writings of regretful ridiculousness.
You? Write? HAHAHAHAAH! Your cute. =P
Next review will be "Halo: Reach."
Re: Doc Reviews Mass Effect 2
if the picture was the only picture that wasn't serious in the article it may have been an obvious joke... but with the other pictures that were not serious made it seem like you actually wanted it
Re: Doc Reviews Mass Effect 2
Quote:
Originally Posted by
zZ Dr K Zz
You? Write? HAHAHAHAAH! Your cute. =P
I'll fist fight you.
Re: Doc Reviews Mass Effect 2
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Yehsus
I'll fist fight you.
Pointless. I'll end up hugging you and never letting go.
Re: Doc Reviews Mass Effect 2
I'm just about finished my insanity play through, my write up will include detailed analysis on DLC missions that were released up to my review.
Re: Doc Reviews Mass Effect 2
Re: Doc Reviews Mass Effect 2
<3 Super Bumps.
Also, I just got a Gunmetal Mass Effect Commander Shepard N7 Hoodie. You're jealous.
Re: Doc Reviews Mass Effect 2
Re: Doc Reviews Mass Effect 2
Amazing review!
This guy really knows his shit!
Re: Doc Reviews Mass Effect 2
this is a great game have played it many times
