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Mass Effect 2

  • 24-12-2010 8:57am
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 29,437 ✭✭✭✭Zero-Cool


    Hey lads, I know there are other ME2 threads, notably the big one with 11,000 views but there are a lot of spoilers in there from Xbox & PC users who have cleared the game multiple times. Since this is being released on PS3 in the new year, wanted to make a new thread but still have it open to Xbox/PC lads, hence whey it's in the games section and not PS3 section.

    Anyway, I never played 1 or 2 before but played the demo on the PSN and thought it was well class! I think i'll def have to pick this one up. I heard it uses ME 3 engine and has an interactive comic that you can 'play' and you make choices from the 1st game and load it up for ME2 to continue the story, very clever stuff. Also, this will include all the patches and DLC released so far!

    So, for people who already played through, is this gonna be worth a purchase? and any PS3 guys gonna pick it up?


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Comments



  • If you can and if it's available, go pick up ME1.


  • Registered Users Posts: 29,437 ✭✭✭✭Zero-Cool


    If you can and if it's available, go pick up ME1.

    I was thinking that alright, try and squeeze it in before ME2 and then copy the story I used in the interactive comic to continue on. Just my PC is a donkey so don't know how it will run. How long does it take to clear ME 1 with just doing main story missions?




  • Maybe 15-20 hours, but I'm not sure if that's accurate. Is ME1 not available for the PS3? That's a bit lame.


  • Registered Users Posts: 29,437 ✭✭✭✭Zero-Cool


    Maybe 15-20 hours, but I'm not sure if that's accurate. Is ME1 not available for the PS3? That's a bit lame.

    Thanks man, naw, Microsoft own the rights to ME 1 apparently




  • That doesn't make sense -- the best part of ME2 is importing your character that you spent a lot of time and seeing how it changes the world.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 29,437 ✭✭✭✭Zero-Cool


    Ya, they said the interactive comic will cover the big points from ME1 but I might give ME 1 a go, must be cheap on PC at this stage. At least ME 3 is out later this year so I can jump straight into that then (If I like ME 2 anyway!)


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,067 ✭✭✭Gunmonkey


    I got ME1 for around €7 last year in the Steam sale, and its on sale again until 6pm on Steam for €7.49.

    Heres the system reqs, doesnt look too intensive:
    Supported OS: Microsoft Windows® XP with SP2 or Windows Vista*
    Processor: Intel P4 2.4 Ghz or faster / AMD 2.0 Ghz
    Memory: 1.0 GB RAM or more (2.0 GB for Vista)
    Graphics: DirectX 9.0c compatible, ATI X1300 XT or greater (ATI X1300, X1300 Pro, X1600 Pro, Radeon 2600 HD, and HD 2400 are below minimum system requirements); NVidia GeForce 6800 or greater (7300, 7600 GS, 8500 are below minimum system requirements)
    Hard Drive: 12.0 GB or more free hard drive space
    Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible
    DirectX®: 9.0c


  • Registered Users Posts: 29,437 ✭✭✭✭Zero-Cool


    Ah great price! I have dual core 2.2ghz and geforce 7600gt, just under the specs, hope it is playable anyway.


  • Registered Users Posts: 20,830 ✭✭✭✭Taltos


    Have played both and really preferred ME1.
    For me ME2 was just too linear, too scripted - maybe I am remembering with rose tinted glasses but I really enjoyed the on-world exploration of the first one with the buggy sections.

    Dont get me wrong - go and get ME2 - it will set you up nicely for ME3 - and ME2 for the PS3 is rumoured to have a bit more to account for no ME1 game save - plus - if you need it - for the PS3 it has been built using the ME3 engine - so you will get a preview of what we will soon see with ME3.

    Enjoy - and maybe play a few times - I am lazy and once completed have no interest - but might go back again.
    So far for me the only games worth replaying are Arkham Asylum & the 2 games with Drake, oh and of course Oblivion & Fable 2.


  • Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 22,994 Mod ✭✭✭✭Kiith


    Taltos wrote: »
    maybe I am remembering with rose tinted glasses but I really enjoyed the on-world exploration of the first one with the buggy sections.

    You're definitely remembering it with rose-tinted glasses ;)

    The buggy was awful.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 29,437 ✭✭✭✭Zero-Cool


    Hey lads, I will be getting a new laptop in the new year. The graphics card is a Radeon HD 4500 with dedicated RAM. Can anyone tell me if this will play Mass Effect 1? Getting mixed views online, one guy said he has it and runs fine, another said no chance. Would love to play it on a laptop instead of desktop.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,067 ✭✭✭Gunmonkey


    I would say so, I have a Geforce 8800GTS and runs both ME1 + 2, the Radeon 4500 is around the same class.

    Sure buy it anyways, costs peanuts nowadays.


  • Registered Users Posts: 29,437 ✭✭✭✭Zero-Cool


    Gunmonkey wrote: »
    I would say so, I have a Geforce 8800GTS and runs both ME1 + 2, the Radeon 4500 is around the same class.

    Sure buy it anyways, costs peanuts nowadays.

    Ya, will get it after work, can't really go wrong with the price. Was looking up classes, I don't have a clue whether I want to play as a soldier or mage guy. Don't really like using magic in games and I like shooting guns but heard the soldier is a bad way to play the game.


  • Registered Users Posts: 20,830 ✭✭✭✭Taltos


    Kiith wrote: »
    You're definitely remembering it with rose-tinted glasses ;)

    The buggy was awful.

    I loved that damn buggy - better than the freaking radar detector...

    :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,422 ✭✭✭Josey Wales


    I used to have an Xbox 360 and played the original Mass Effect when it came out. It was my favourite game on the 360. I'm delighted now that the Mass Effect 2 is going out on the PS3. Really looking forward to picking this up in January.

    I hope I can remember all the decisions I made in Mass Effect so I can continue my experience that I started in the first one.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7,352 ✭✭✭funky penguin


    I just completed ME1 on the XBox, and I'm trying to decide whether to get 2 on the xbox or PS2.

    Probably XBox because of price and my save file.

    Is the second a huge improvement? I liked the first, but I thought repetitive level structure made it drag a bit at times (only so many times I could see that colonial structure....). Still, it's much better than Dragon Age! I can't believe I only heard about the series last month!! :eek:


  • Registered Users Posts: 9,893 ✭✭✭Canis Lupus


    I just completed ME1 on the XBox, and I'm trying to decide whether to get 2 on the xbox or PS2.

    Probably XBox because of price and my save file.

    Is the second a huge improvement? I liked the first, but I thought repetitive level structure made it drag a bit at times (only so many times I could see that colonial structure....). Still, it's much better than Dragon Age! I can't believe I only heard about the series last month!! :eek:

    Iiit's a good game and plays very much like the first. I only played through once as... a sentinel I think was the class type and everything is much more simplified but I thought that was a fault rather than a plus. Instead of picking up weapons as you go etc you get them as the game progresses. Stuff like that.

    It's no deal breaker and I'd still highly recommend the game but if you were getting a touch jaded with 1 then I'd say hold off playing it for a bit.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,532 ✭✭✭WolfForager


    Has anyone tried the (PS3)demo?? There's a truckload of screen tearing in it, sort of off putting.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 31,967 ✭✭✭✭Sarky


    I just completed ME1 on the XBox, and I'm trying to decide whether to get 2 on the xbox or PS2.

    Probably XBox because of price and my save file.

    Is the second a huge improvement? I liked the first, but I thought repetitive level structure made it drag a bit at times (only so many times I could see that colonial structure....). Still, it's much better than Dragon Age! I can't believe I only heard about the series last month!! :eek:

    It's much more streamlined in some areas. They went a bit too far in some areas, such as removing the inventory entirely when all they really needed to do was allow that heap of identical items to stack. No vehicle sections either, unless you get some of the DLC (And I thought the Firewalker thing was a bit meh). Speaking as someone who enjoyed the Mako sections despite the dodgy handling, it does take away a bit from the exploration side, all travel now is pretty much cutscene. And the scanning planets can be pretty annoying. On the other hand, I guess it freed up time to work on environments. You won't be as bored looking at scenery in ME2, it's significantly more varied.

    On the other hand, the combat has been streamlined really quite well. You can't use every weapon, and most enemies are very resistant to a certain skill set, so you really have to work your team tactically to get the most out of them. The addition of ammunition after the first was odd, but it works well enough, and needing to conserve shots sometimes makes for extra challenge. Sniping is a lot more interesting in ME2 due to the addition of headshots, invisibility cloaks, and a few seconds of bullet time when you aim.

    XP is streamlined too, you get a set amount for each mission, and the level cap is 20 or 30, can't remember which.

    Dialogue and characters have improved. Being able to cut dialogue short with Renegade/Paragon actions is well-done

    Overall, I miss some aspects of the inventory and weapon mods, but ME2's still an improvement, and well worth getting. Get it on XBox for your save file, it's really satisfying to listen in on news or visit a planet and see what your actions in ME1 caused. The continuity is excellent. Between news and exploring I think most of the choices you make in ME1 are carried over to ME2.


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,245 ✭✭✭✭Fanny Cradock


    sheehy83 wrote: »
    Hey lads, I will be getting a new laptop in the new year. The graphics card is a Radeon HD 4500 with dedicated RAM. Can anyone tell me if this will play Mass Effect 1? Getting mixed views online, one guy said he has it and runs fine, another said no chance. Would love to play it on a laptop instead of desktop.

    You are a little short on details (CPU, RAM) but I would imagine that you will be fine. Run this little program when you get your laptop. It will analyse your system specs and give you an answer.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 17,371 ✭✭✭✭Zillah


    I hope I can remember all the decisions I made in Mass Effect so I can continue my experience that I started in the first one.

    Prepare to be disappointed. At least with the PC version, if you don't have a save then they just give you a default setup and you have no control over it. It's pretty stupid and unforgivable really. There's a point near the very start where you're sitting with someone and she asks you a couple questions about the first game. I think "Ah, that's a clever way to let me tell the game what I did in Mass Effect 1", but then they just tell you what the situation is and move on.

    It would be so easy to have a brief conversation that will configure your primary decisions from the last game, but they didn't bother. Mass Effect 2 is a lot of fun but there's some stuff in there that really annoys me to be honest. Don't get me started on the downsides of starting with no paragon or renegade score.


  • Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 22,994 Mod ✭✭✭✭Kiith


    Zillah wrote: »
    Prepare to be disappointed. At least with the PC version, if you don't have a save then they just give you a default setup and you have no control over it. It's pretty stupid and unforgivable really. There's a point near the very start where you're sitting with someone and she asks you a couple questions about the first game. I think "Ah, that's a clever way to let me tell the game what I did in Mass Effect 1", but then they just tell you what the situation is and move on.

    To be fair, they cover the main 3 choices that happen in the 1st game. Other things like relationships and decisions made with less important characters only come into play with a ME1 save game...which is how it should be done tbh.


  • Registered Users Posts: 17,371 ✭✭✭✭Zillah


    Kiith wrote: »
    To be fair, they cover the main 3 choices that happen in the 1st game.

    Which three and what do you mean "cover"? The council is dead, you let the same sex human die, you killed Wrex, you killed the Rachni queen, you didn't romance anyone. I don't remember there being any option to change any of this.

    There's no reason they couldn't have had
    Miranda run a series of "memory tests" where you can tell her exactly what your decisions were/would have been in those situations. They already started that scene in the shuttle, another two minutes there and you could programme in the majority of your decisions.
    It allows people who have lost their saves to rebuild the world they had and it lets new players flesh out their character and the story they're about to play.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,910 ✭✭✭Sisko


    Zillah wrote: »
    Prepare to be disappointed. At least with the PC version, if you don't have a save then they just give you a default setup and you have no control over it. It's pretty stupid and unforgivable really. There's a point near the very start where you're sitting with someone and she asks you a couple questions about the first game. I think "Ah, that's a clever way to let me tell the game what I did in Mass Effect 1", but then they just tell you what the situation is and move on.

    It would be so easy to have a brief conversation that will configure your primary decisions from the last game, but they didn't bother. Mass Effect 2 is a lot of fun but there's some stuff in there that really annoys me to be honest. Don't get me started on the downsides of starting with no paragon or renegade score.

    You forget your talking about the PC here.

    Theres a save editor mod that allows you to select all the detailed choices you made in me1 and its dlc, and save it onto your ME2 save.

    So you can totally customise it the way you want, even change gender mid game, or class etc etc.

    But its handy if you beat ME1 on a console and play me2 on your pc, apart from importing your me1 face, you can continue on from what you did in me1 if you so wish.


    All hail PC gaming.


  • Registered Users Posts: 17,371 ✭✭✭✭Zillah


    Oh yes, there are third party options. That doesn't say anything about the game design decisions made by the developers though.


  • Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 22,994 Mod ✭✭✭✭Kiith


    Zillah wrote: »
    Which three and what do you mean "cover"? The council is dead, you let the same sex human die, you killed Wrex, you killed the Rachni queen, you didn't romance anyone. I don't remember there being any option to change any of this.

    There's no reason they couldn't have had
    Miranda run a series of "memory tests" where you can tell her exactly what your decisions were/would have been in those situations. They already started that scene in the shuttle, another two minutes there and you could programme in the majority of your decisions.
    It allows people who have lost their saves to rebuild the world they had and it lets new players flesh out their character and the story they're about to play.

    Sorry, when i said 3 main choices, i meant the main decisions that affect the actualy story, not just side missions. Did Ashley or Kaiden die on Virmire, did you kill Wrex, and did you save the Council (iirc). When i started ME2, i was asked if things had happened the way they did in my save game. I said that Ash died, Wrex is alive, and the Council was saved. I had been 'romancing' Ash (so i could bang Miranda after she died :p). I had assumed that if i had said they happened differently, that the outcome would have changed. Maybe i'm wrong though, as i never disagreed with what Miranda asked at the start.

    I agree with you though, that if you didnt have a save that they should have built upon the scene in the shuttle. Having carried over a save game, i actually loved how it was done. Every now and again running into someone you saved, and having them comment on how they've been since it happened.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,910 ✭✭✭Sisko


    I agree that the conversation in the shuttle should have been a way to make your choices from me1, as I assumed thats what it was when I 1st played it, although I didnt need it as I played me1 on pc and kept my saves.


    However when I had a look at the save editor mod out of interest and saw the sheer amount of decisions you could tick from me1 , well they most certainly couldn't have had all that in the shuttle conversation at all.

    Miranda "So shepard , do you remember talking to an annoying guy called Conrad Verner , if so what did you say to him"

    "Do you remember punching a reporter"?

    etc etc etc


  • Registered Users Posts: 17,371 ✭✭✭✭Zillah


    Kiith wrote: »
    Sorry, when i said 3 main choices, i meant the main decisions that affect the actualy story, not just side missions. Did Ashley or Kaiden die on Virmire, did you kill Wrex, and did you save the Council (iirc). When i started ME2, i was asked if things had happened the way they did in my save game. I said that Ash died, Wrex is alive, and the Council was saved. I had been 'romancing' Ash (so i could bang Miranda after she died :p). I had assumed that if i had said they happened differently, that the outcome would have changed. Maybe i'm wrong though, as i never disagreed with what Miranda asked at the start.

    I agree with you though, that if you didnt have a save that they should have built upon the scene in the shuttle. Having carried over a save game, i actually loved how it was done. Every now and again running into someone you saved, and having them comment on how they've been since it happened.

    Yeah, she asks you some questions but your only options are consistent with the story (either that from your savegame or from the 'default' setup), you can't actually change anything. It is a shame, really wish I had my old save. I might start again and see about rebuilding what I remember with the editor.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,910 ✭✭✭Sisko


    tis straight forward enough, ticking boxes of what you did etc. You wouldnt even have to start from the start , you can edit any save so you could load up an early save and edit then and continue on from there.

    You can import faces and stuff too if you wanted to change you characters face.

    (this would mean making a new character making their face, then import exporting the face then importing it to the save of your main character though but its good that its possible)


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7,352 ✭✭✭funky penguin


    Got this yesterday.

    It's really good, a great improvement on the first in terms of combat. Once I got used to the commands, I really see the benefits of them. Once or twice, Jack has ran off into battle and died on me though.. :/

    I like the story so far
    (maybe a little too A-Teamish), but the Cerberus thing is interesting. It is a little Harry Potterish with the whole 'I know Shepherd was right about Saren AND the Reapers, and he saved the Citadel and the the Galaxy, but he just hasn't give me enough reason to believe him'. I'm also sick of telling people I'm not part of Cerberus.
    Really enjoying it anyway!


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