**Official Mass Effect 2 Thread** - The Thread of Unique Planets, New Species and Amazing Scores

[warcrow]

06-10-09

My impressions of a hands-off demo from E3 has been posted on my blog. Here is a snipet:

A new option has been added to the conversation system that appears to allow physical interaction with someone. It was basically a prompt--lasting only a few seconds--in the lower left-hand side of the screen to press the left trigger. When used in the demo, Shepard threw a guy out a window! I don?t know if this new prompt is always going to be an aggressive act of violence, but I'm very interested in finding out where they're going to take this addition. The oringal game did something similar in several instances of the game but it was interpreted through the conversation wheel?it just appears that now those instances have been defined elsewhere.

I moved on to--perhaps the biggest gripe amongst us fans--the optional planetary visits and side quests. He smiled and assured me that every planet will be unique in design which quickly forced me to stopped him and press ?every planet??. Responding with another smile, ?yes every planet.? In end of the demo they wrapped things up with a short video showing one off of the new planets and it was the exact opposite of what we're use to seeing in ME1. It was a lush green planet with a massive forest and rolling hills--it was exciting!

http://eat-games.blogspot.com/...ons-mass-effect-2.html




03-23-09

It appears that Amazon has leaked some details of the game:

The second chapter in the Mass Effect trilogy takes you to the darkest reaches of space, where you must uncover the mystery behind the disappearance of humans across many worlds. Prepare yourself for a suicide mission to save mankind. Travel the galaxy to assemble a team of soldiers and combat specialists, and launch an all-out assault on the heart of enemy territory.

Mass Effect 2 at Amazon




03-17-09

BIOWARE ANNOUNCES MASS EFFECT 2

The Dark Second Chapter to the Epic Science-Fiction Trilogy
Coming Early 2010 for Windows PC and Xbox 360


Edmonton, Alberta, Canada ? March 17th, 2009 ? Leading video game developer BioWare?, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today officially announced Mass Effect? 2, the highly anticipated sequel to the multi award-winning 2007 hit, Mass Effect. The Mass Effect trilogy is a masterful science fiction adventure set in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life forms and mysterious uncharted planets. In this dark second chapter, Saren?s evil army of Geth soldiers has just been defeated, and humans, who are still struggling to make their mark on the galactic stage, are now faced with an even greater peril?

?We?re going to surpass the extraordinary gaming experience we brought our fans in Mass Effect by delivering intensified combat and expanded weapon options as well as increased depth of planet exploration, all while delivering a powerful, emotionally engaging story,? said Dr. Ray Muzyka, General Manager and CEO, BioWare and General Manager and Vice President, EA. ?Mass Effect 2 is shaping up to be an unforgettable RPG-shooter experience, taking players on a non-stop roller-coaster ride filled with stunning plot twists and no-holds-barred action.?

Mass Effect 2 is coming to PC and the Xbox 360 video game system in Early 2010. To see the exclusive new Mass Effect 2 teaser trailer check out the website here: www.masseffect.com.
# # #

I'm so excited for this game. Easily one of my most anticipated titles period.

I'm a little surprised at no announcement for the (inital) launch support for the PS3. But more importantly, I hope that it does indeed come out for the PC the same day it's released for the 360.

 

[tatteredpotato]

I hope they refine the engine a little bit. ME was great, however it ran kinda hick-upy.

 

[R Nilla]

Can't wait! Barring some unforeseen development disaster, I will purchase this day one.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I'm happy to see the PC version announced at the same time and presumably for the same release data, instead of it just being rumored.

If the 360 exclusive for ME 1 is permanent I could see EA not bothering with ME 2 for PS3.

 

[nakedfrog]

Pleeeaaaase fix the inventory system!

 

[vi edit]

Less (or hopefully no) Mako use would be appreciated. It felt tacked on for the sake of adding extra length to the game. It was boring, annoying, and buggy. Really my only major gripe about the original outside of some frame rate choppiness in places.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: vi edit
Less (or hopefully no) Mako use would be appreciated. It felt tacked on for the sake of adding extra length to the game. It was boring, annoying, and buggy. Really my only major gripe about the original outside of some frame rate choppiness in places.

I liked some of it, but agree it could definitely use an overhaul.

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: vi edit
Less (or hopefully no) Mako use would be appreciated. It felt tacked on for the sake of adding extra length to the game. It was boring, annoying, and buggy. Really my only major gripe about the original outside of some frame rate choppiness in places.

I liked some of it, but agree it could definitely use an overhaul.

The planet excursions could be much more flavorful overall.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
I'm happy to see the PC version announced at the same time and presumably for the same release data, instead of it just being rumored.

If the 360 exclusive for ME 1 is permanent I could see EA not bothering with ME 2 for PS3.

I'd be surprised if it came out the same day. Seems like common sense that theyre staggering the dates due to the high potential for piracy on the PC.

Sucks for PC gamers (and I'm one of them), but if I were them, I'd stick with that policy.

 

[BD2003]

And if there's 40 second long elevator rides in this game, I'm going to stab it. I'll find a way.

 

[venkman]

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
I'm happy to see the PC version announced at the same time and presumably for the same release data, instead of it just being rumored.

If the 360 exclusive for ME 1 is permanent I could see EA not bothering with ME 2 for PS3.

I'd be surprised if it came out the same day. Seems like common sense that theyre staggering the dates due to the high potential for piracy on the PC.

Sucks for PC gamers (and I'm one of them), but if I were them, I'd stick with that policy.

Mass Effect PC was far superior to the 360 just like KOTOR/KOTOR2 PC were far superior to their Xbox counterparts. Waiting 2-6 months for a Bioware title to hit PC is certainly worth it assuming you have the horse power to run it.

 

[Blurry]

Superior?

I haven't forgotten what Garius' face looked like even on High Settings...

and how long did it take for them to fix that?

 

[warcrow]

**POSSIBLE SPOILERS**


It appears that Amazon has leaked some details of the game:

The second chapter in the Mass Effect trilogy takes you to the darkest reaches of space, where you must uncover the mystery behind the disappearance of humans across many worlds. Prepare yourself for a suicide mission to save mankind. Travel the galaxy to assemble a team of soldiers and combat specialists, and launch an all-out assault on the heart of enemy territory.

Mass Effect 2 at Amazon

 

[R Nilla]

Interesting summary on Giant Bomb of the BioWare GDC session about the level design process of ME2 vs. ME1.

Here's a snip:

In Mass Effect 2, BioWare is using a linear, phased approach to level design that builds the levels step by step, starting with only the most important parts. This method has a couple of primary requirements: from the very outset, always keep your levels playable, and always keep them at target performance. The designers should only do the minimum of necessary work to answer the important questions about each level, most of which amount to "Can you still see how this will be fun when it's finished?"

Each design team starts with the simple narrative overview, then immediately moves to a barebones playable version of that framework with boxy geometry, no texture maps, placeholder set pieces, and fake dialogue. Each successive phase layers in more and more polish, such as final voiceover and surface effects. The BioWare rep giving the talk commented that he wished he could show footage from a finished section of the game, but the team hasn't reached the final phase of polish on any levels yet.

During the presentation BioWare showed a brief production video from Mass Effect 2, which I would be remiss in failing to describe to you. There was a cutscene which took place inside a flying car traveling in the airborne traffic lanes of the Citadel. The conversation here involved an Asari character named Seryna--whose speech was just a little less formal than Liara's was in the first game--and an unnamed male Spectre wearing the trademark N7 armor. Granted, you could make your character look however you wanted in the original game, but this character looked nothing like the male Shepard with the shaved head from the first game. So maybe he really is dead? I don't know what to believe anymore.

 

[R Nilla]

Now with video! Here are some clips from the GDC presentation, complete with early alpha gameplay and cut scene footage:

Combat

Cut scene

 

[biggestmuff]

I bought the Platinum Hits version of ME last month and finally finished it last weekend. I really enjoyed it. ME2 will be great.

 

[Queasy]

Mass Effect 2 shown on GametrailersTV.

 

[Illusio]

Originally posted by: rivan

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: vi edit
Less (or hopefully no) Mako use would be appreciated. It felt tacked on for the sake of adding extra length to the game. It was boring, annoying, and buggy. Really my only major gripe about the original outside of some frame rate choppiness in places.

I liked some of it, but agree it could definitely use an overhaul.

The planet excursions could be much more flavorful overall.

Yea, driving the Mako-Pogo-Stick on Bryce 3d landscapes brought the game down a few notches for me. I eventually stopped doing the side quests and just beat the game because I couldn't take driving the make over mountains anymore.

 

[Queasy]

Elevator loading gone?

When I spoke to BioWare?s Ray Muzyka about the things they?re fixing in ?Mass Effect 2,? he had said that the developers were ?reducing the elevator speed times.? We think he meant reducing load times; those elevator rides in ?Mass Effect? couldn?t get any longer.

To clarify, we followed up with BioWare, and Casey Hudson, executive director of ?Mass Effect 2? said this to MTV Multiplayer:

?We have a completely new system to handle transitions between areas that speeds the load times and turns the loads themselves into part of the game experience. It?s one of many points of feedback we?ve heard and directly responded to in enhancing the gameplay in ?Mass Effect 2.??

Guess that means no more small talk or awkward silences.

They should do a joke in one part of ME2 and have you get on an elevator with The Girl From Ipanema muzak version playing.

 

[R Nilla]

Originally posted by: Queasy
Elevator loading gone?

They should do a joke in one part of ME2 and have you get on an elevator with The Girl From Ipanema muzak version playing.

Yeah, I'm also hoping there will be a part in ME2 where you have to use an elevator and they somehow poke fun at the ME elevator loading.

 

[VashHT]

Originally posted by: Blurry
Superior?

I haven't forgotten what Garius' face looked like even on High Settings...

and how long did it take for them to fix that?

I'd agree the PC version had a lot more bugs (his face texture being one of them), but if you have a decent PC you could run the game at better settings with better frame-rate than the 360, ntm they totally overhauled the crappy inventory system from the 360 version.

 

[venkman]

Originally posted by: VashHT

Originally posted by: Blurry
Superior?

I haven't forgotten what Garius' face looked like even on High Settings...

and how long did it take for them to fix that?

I'd agree the PC version had a lot more bugs (his face texture being one of them), but if you have a decent PC you could run the game at better settings with better frame-rate than the 360, ntm they totally overhauled the crappy inventory system from the 360 version.

I didn't get around to playing the PC version until fairly recently so I got to play the fixed version. yay for delay!

 

[Queasy]

Link - Click on the last item in the menu on the left (videos). Select the video with the guy in the picture.

Looking very :thumbsup:

edit: Joystiq has the video more directly.

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: BD2003
And if there's 40 second long elevator rides in this game, I'm going to stab it. I'll find a way.

HAHAHA, indeed.

The least they could do is put a "loading" icon on the screen so you at least think SOMETHING is going on.

 

[Pheran]

I hope this game is as awesome as the first. I'm just about done with my third Mass Effect play through and I'm planning to start a fourth. If they keep the quality of the story up and clean up the minor issues from the first game, it will be incredible.