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

[warcrow]

I'm fairly certain I know what spoiler you're talking about (didnt mouse over personally) and it's something that, though important and meaningful, happens fairly early in the game and shouldnt really kill anything for you.

It was something that was immediately spoiled for all of us who got a demonstration at E3, but Casey (Hudson, project lead) assured us there that was just the tip of the iceberg. I wouldnt worry about it too much.

But to answer R Nilla's Q--yes I'm basically on a media blackout. There amount of information, screenshots and videos out there that reveal so much about the game is a pretty big turn off for me. Personally, I would like to see most of that stuff in contexts for the first time.

I did, however, watch one of the gameplay videos that was recently released on the Vanguard (my preferred class) to see how much of it has changed since E3 and, man, its looking really good.

I'm still debating on whether or not I should take a 1/2 day on Tuesday. It's a rediculous notion I know.

 

[Phobic9]

I've been trying to avoid as much "extra" info as possible because I really don't want to spoil any of the game for myself either. I'm trying to do 2 more playthroughs before next week but I don't think I'm going to make it. My renegade infiltrator is lv 49 and should get to 50 easily but my vanguard paragon is only 44. Looks like I won't make it to 60 on either unless I play my PC saves. I'd much rather play on my 55" LCD on the 360 though.

Anyway, I can't wait until next week and hurray for Amazon's release date guarantee delivery.

 

[Qbah]

Thanks for the info I feel a bit better now with the knowledge. Since it's only the tip and imo it is HUGE, can't wait for the whole story to evolve now!! It will be totally awesome... 7 more days for me I won't read or watch anything more about the game until release day !

EDIT: 9 days... 29th is the release date in Denmark, according to the shop

 

[warcrow]

Just to tease (and perhaps make you feel better), depending on how you played the first one, roughly 2-4 hours into the game something really cool happens. It's one of those, "Ok that's so awesome" narrative moments which could be a boon to your gameplay.

 

[R Nilla]

The launch trailer is pretty spectacular.

Is it Mass Effect 2's Day yet?

 

[warcrow]

Most of you probably already know this, but just incase--the Mass Effect 2 soundtrack is available now in iTunes!

Yes, it's much like the first one and is incredibily cool.

 

[R Nilla]

Just caught a live stream of gameplay with a couple BioWare employees--game looks fantastic. They showed off some of the new gameplay mechanics, including hacking and unlocking doors, as well as a bit of the Normandy and navigating around the galaxy. Exciting stuff.

 

[Phobic9]

Just caught a live stream of gameplay with a couple BioWare employees--game looks fantastic. They showed off some of the new gameplay mechanics, including hacking and unlocking doors, as well as a bit of the Normandy and navigating around the galaxy. Exciting stuff.

Do you know if it was the 360 or PC version? I'm probably eventually going to get both but gonna start with the 360 first.

 

[R Nilla]

Do you know if it was the 360 or PC version? I'm probably eventually going to get both but gonna start with the 360 first.

It was PC.

If anyone wants to check it out they have recordings of the stream available:

http://www.xfire.com/cms/xf_xfss_me2/

 

[Beev]

I apologize if this has been discussed, but how does having save data from ME1 work? Do you copy your character over and re-use the same Sheperd?

 

[warcrow]

I'm was not even going to post this because it I figured might not be the most positive news for some of you die hards, but in the end I decided to let you be the judge (if you even want to read it).

So I have some interesting information about the game that comes from be very reliable source who is roughly 5 hours into it. It's mostly small stuff (in my opinion), but some of it might be considered big to you so I'm being safe--it's so tough to tough whats a small or big spoiler these days.

Anyway...



DISCLAIMERS!

Though the information comes from what I consider reliable, you probably should take it with a grain of salt for your own good.

This information is from 4-5 hours into the game so the information could change dramatically since it's not a complete playthrough! Please keep this in mind, who knows what happens in hour 6, 7 or 15.

Again these are spoilers, so if you do not want to know anything about the game then DO NOT CLICK.

I'll create seperate tags for each spoiler to you can stop looking at any time and not have the mess pop-up.

Non-spoiler stuff: The graphics are stong, no texture pop-in, solid frame rate and more detailed.


Here are the gameplay spoiler stuff I've learned:

-

Spoiler

It's really, really an action game--more so than the first. Infact some of the RPG elements in regards to the character leveling up process have been simplified (or so it appears).

-

Spoiler

No more inventory.

-

Spoiler

No more weapon specializations.

-

Spoiler

You level up AFTER each mission.

-

Spoiler

Each character has about 4-5 things they can upgrade. Less than in ME1.

-

Spoiler

There is a fish tank you can purchase for your living quarters. Different fish can be purchased from a vendors around the galaxy to fill the fish tank. Unsure of any real gameplay benefits, but its probably a completionist thing.

That is all--it's not a lot, but it's certainly something and probably significant to some of you.

Now one tiny narrative spoiler that has nothing to do with the overall plot, but it's cool to mention. Again, do not click this if you want to spoil anything ok? Personally I dont think it's that big of a deal, but who the heck knows:

-

Spoiler

At one point in the game you're about to go on a dangerous mission and there is some 18 year old kid behind you who has just signed up. Well, if you hit the paragon hot-button while walking past him you grab his rifle, take out the ammo clip and give it back to him. He gets pissed off, but Shepard tells him that he'll thank him later.

Later on in the night he gets drunk at a bar and sees that a bunch of people have died (in the mission I suppose). He ends up writing you a letter stating you turned his life around.

In essence for those that didnt click the spoiler--the paragon interupts are awesome.

 

[R Nilla]

I apologize if this has been discussed, but how does having save data from ME1 work? Do you copy your character over and re-use the same Sheperd?

IGN has a video that demonstrates what the import interface looks like:
http://pc.ign.com/dor/objects/14235...pc_import_011910.html;jsessionid=md29oqgv6vn2

And there's a lengthy post on the BioWare forums about it:

http://meforums.bioware.com/viewtopic.html?forum=144&topic=714128

At this point we have revealed that the save game import system will carryover all your decisions and plot decisions from ME1 into ME2. Did you save the Council? Who survived Virmire? And how did you handle your most ardent fan? We don’t want to list everything out and spoil the surprises we have in store for you, but rest assured you will be pleased when you see just how much carries over into Mass Effect 2.

Up until now we have only discussed the plot impacts of this feature, however, there are also certain gameplay perks as well. If you finished ME1 as a high level character you will receive greater bonuses than those who finished at lower levels. Ex, if you finished ME1 as a level 35 character, you will receive a bonus, but if you finished ME1 as a level 50 character, your bonus will be larger. That being said these bonuses will not put new playthrough characters at a severe disadvantage. For example, some of these bonuses include a monetary boost at the start of the game, or additional research resources for use at the Normandy’s Tech Lab. Another perk is if you finished the game as a Paragon or Renegade, part of your alignment will carry over making it easier to access certain dialogue options.

Finally, some technical information regarding the feature as well. If players start a New Game + after beating the game they will be able to re-use the same character import file they did for their first playthrough. Yes New Game + is making a return to Mass Effect 2! Additionally as mentioned above, make sure you are playing on your Xbox 360 profile that you completed ME1 on and that the profile and save data is present on the Hard Drive and not a MU. If you want to do a quick check and make sure you are good to go, load up Mass Effect 1 and see if the New Game + option appears. That will let you know your save game is ready for Mass Effect 2.

It doesn't seem to be mentioned in this post but you'll be able to change your class and appearance if you so desire.

 

[R Nilla]

Here are the gameplay spoiler stuff I've learned:

Yeah, most of this stuff was demonstrated by the BioWare devs in their brief xfire live stream I linked above. Hopefully the new mechanics don't water down the experience but it looked pretty good to me. The hacking and unlocking systems they showed looked far more interesting than the simple simon-says mini game from ME1.

 

[warcrow]

It was frogger on the PC.

 

[R Nilla]

Not that it really matters, but the IGN review is up. Erik Brudvig really enjoyed it and gave it a 9.6, citing a few rare technical issues as the only negative aspects he encountered.

Games like Mass Effect 2 don't come around often enough. Look at any aspect and you can be sure it's great. It's incredibly personal while still retaining a sense of epic sweeping scale. The combat and mission design are outstanding. The visuals, voice acting, soundtrack, and direction are miles ahead of the competition. Perhaps most impressively, Mass Effect 2 manages to fulfill its incredible ambition while only suffering from very few technical hiccups. The only real caveat I should mention is that some of the revelations and plot twists won't be quite as powerful if you haven't played Mass Effect 1, but that isn't any reason to skip this fantastic videogame.

This is also good to see:

Generic cut-and-paste side quests and empty planets to explore have been totally ripped out. Pretty much everything that anybody took even the slightest issue with in Mass Effect 1 has been axed or rebuilt entirely.

 

[Kev]

any estimates on length of the game?

 

[A5]

any estimates on length of the game?

Depends on how much you do - the last game was ~30+ hours if you did everything, but only ~8 if you only did the plot missions. From all indications, ME2 is a decent bit longer than that.

 

[R Nilla]

Plowed through Mass Effect Galaxies for the iPhone last night. I can't say I recommend it but now I have a "reward" waiting for me in ME2. Plus I got it for 99 cents. I didn't realize that two of your party members from ME2 are in this game. You play as Jacob and travel around with Miranda who provides all of your mission info.

 

[Qbah]

Plowed through Mass Effect Galaxies for the iPhone last night. I can't say I recommend it but now I have a "reward" waiting for me in ME2. Plus I got it for 99 cents. I didn't realize that two of your party members from ME2 are in this game. You play as Jacob and travel around with Miranda who provides all of your mission info.

I did the same some time ago. The framerate on my 3GS is a joke when you use your abilities or there are a bit more people on screen (drops to <5 FPS...). And it looks like Alien Breed (top down with everything completely flat). You have Jacob autoshooting the whole time you lock on someone and you just have to tilt your iPhone to move him around the environment. The game is an extreme version of ME - you just talk (and avoid some fights if you talk properly) or fight (so the tilting+autoshooting+3 abilities part), nothing else. If it wasn't for the framerate, it would be a nice little "snack". With the framerate drops it was usually frustrating.

 

[KentState]

I'm so conflicted as to buying this for the PC or Xbox 360. I completed the game twice on the 360, but I enjoyed playing it on the pc more. However, I'm not even through the first play through on the pc.

 

[Kev]

I'm so conflicted as to buying this for the PC or Xbox 360. I completed the game twice on the 360, but I enjoyed playing it on the pc more. However, I'm not even through the first play through on the pc.

I re-bought it for PC, currently going through a new playthrough. I think it's better on PC, although I'm a little pissed that it stutters in certain areas even though I have dual radeon 4870's.

 

[Queasy]

I re-bought it for PC, currently going through a new playthrough. I think it's better on PC, although I'm a little pissed that it stutters in certain areas even though I have dual radeon 4870's.

Yeah, the original is better on the PC because it came out a six months after the 360 version and they used that time to fix some issues and make the controls more compatible with the PC.

 

[erwos]

I have ME2 Collector's Edition on pre-order. Shipped and coming Tuesday.

Not reading a damn thing in this thread until I've started playing it.

 

[Rage187]

so excited. The whole import feature was a huge selling point for me.

 

[Raduque]

My preorder is on the way, but I just couldn't stop myself.

The main campaign (with a tiny bit of exploration) took me a little over 30 hours. I'm saving my second play through for when my copy arrives.