Mass Effect 2...explain?

[yuppiejr]

I thought ME2, Dragon Age: Origins are just rehashes of the same basic concepts of ME1... I played it, beat it... just wasn't my favorite game. It was fun... critics and gaming fans seem to herald it as a masterpiece but I really see it as just a rehash of the same stuff Bioware has been churninig out for the last few years complete with pretty CGI. They know the genre and know how to keep people coming back to the trough for sure.

Wander around the universe (world) building your "team" and learning their backstory, maybe hook up with an alien/elf/etc.. on the way, one big battle at the end... boom, done. The balance of RPG/shooter-turn based RPG elements and gameplay particulars vary between games but the basic premise is the same. The writing and voice acting are generally a cut above other games but a majority of it is paper thin B-grade Sci-Fi fluff.

 

[Red Hawk]

Actually I thought that while ME1 and DA: O were standard examples of BioWare's story formula, ME2 did a lot to shake that formula up, and DAII did too. Such a shakeup of a reliable formula was bound to ruffle the feathers of some fans -- DAII got the worst of it, perhaps rightfully so.

 

[Modeps]

Slight tangent, but don't want to make a new thread:

I just started a new game of Mass Effect. I didn't even realize the Bring down the Sky DLC was free.

For anybody who's gotten it:

Is it worth it, and can I use a Steam key to register with Bioware?

Would I have to start over?

I dug Bring Down the Sky. It was one of the better bits of DLC for Mass Effect.

 

[ikachu]

Yeah Bring Down the Sky is pretty good; some decent action and morality choices. Plus it did a good job of introducing a race that you end up encountering quite a bit in ME2 and helps add some nuance to them and make them more than just generic villains.

 

[gorcorps]

I thought ME2, Dragon Age: Origins are just rehashes of the same basic concepts of ME1... I played it, beat it... just wasn't my favorite game. It was fun... critics and gaming fans seem to herald it as a masterpiece but I really see it as just a rehash of the same stuff Bioware has been churninig out for the last few years complete with pretty CGI. They know the genre and know how to keep people coming back to the trough for sure.

Wander around the universe (world) building your "team" and learning their backstory, maybe hook up with an alien/elf/etc.. on the way, one big battle at the end... boom, done. The balance of RPG/shooter-turn based RPG elements and gameplay particulars vary between games but the basic premise is the same. The writing and voice acting are generally a cut above other games but a majority of it is paper thin B-grade Sci-Fi fluff.

IMO the character based story is what made the 2nd one good. The thing about Mass Effect 1 and 2 that I love compared to other games is that it keeps me involved enough that I commit to memory all of the different races, characters, and their connections. It's rare that years after the fact I remember each character's name and their whole backstory. Everything in Mass Effect 2 was pretty vivid and memorable, so I remember who my team is and how I got them. That's not the case with a lot of other games.