Mass Effect 2

[Kerrigan]

Duuude, 3 and a half more hours or so until the midnight release! It's going to be so epic! Anyone else wanna show good ol' ME2 some love on the eve of its release? What are some of the major things you're looking forward to?

[Rocky]

I still have to get my soldier to level 60, three more to go FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK. Other then that, I can't wait to see how the storyline continues with the Reapers and stuff, I was quite compelled by the story and the gameplay in the first one. I'm not liking how the soldier class potentially got nerfed as now all the classes have more weapon specialties and such, but oh well. I'll have to edit this post once I put some hours into the game tomorrow.

[Jin]

I'm not going for the midnight release (there's a bloody blizzard going on outside anyways), but I'll definitely be picking this up tomorrow. From what I hear, a lot of my quibbles with the first game have been addressed, but now I still have one problem. I don't have a save data for every character type that I want to continue with. That's bullocks. Twice the work load to see every event.

[Tiffany]

We're going to pick it up today (preordered it!) can't wait!

[Josh_R]

I will not be picking it up for a couple days. We got a huge snoqwstorm that is still going. So even though I pre-ordered it I will have to wait till at least Saturday before I get to go and get. Damnit I am pissed off now...

[smurphy]

I really want to play this game but its not out here til Friday. I cant wait to be a badass again in this game, always going for the red option in the speech wheel.

[Rocky]

Well I just sucked it up and imported my level 50 Sentinel instead, I liked his background better anyways (Wrex/Ashley killed, babymaking with the Asari, the Council is dead, had Captain Anderson take over and lead the new Human Council.)

So far I'm level 6 playing on the Insanity difficulty, it's probably not as bad as ME1's insanity difficulty tbh, but some situations make it tough. In the first one it seemed like even though yoiu might be against the strongest enemies on the highest level, it was more of a shoot shoot shoot gun jammed cooldown etc long battle, because it took so goddamned long to kill anything. In ME2, it seems more tactical. I had to fully utilize all of my skills (and my companions as well) to get through some of the gunfights. Even the small skirmishes can mess you up quickly if you try to rambo through the opposition. The ammo on the guns makes it more tactical as well. Although there always seems like there is enough ammo clips lying around, you will use all of it up no problem, and some of the ammo is in spots that make you go out in the open to get them. The Krogan warriors are beastly, if they start chasing after you, get their armor out and try to freeze them otherwise get ready to reload from your last save lol. There is also a new race that has like super health regeneration powers as well, and some of them come with flamethrowers, so keep your distance. I spent like 20 reloads but I finally got up to recruiting the Salarian scientist. I was pretty pumped for this, ever since playing the first one I wanted a salarian on the team, and let's just say that this guy doesn't dissapoint. After school/work tomorrow I'm gonna spend some time doing the Archangel arc.

[Tiffany]

Didn't get very far into it yesterday. We're just at the Persidium (sp?) and taking a look around. LOVE the lines in it!!! The scottish dude talking about getting kicked in the "daddy bags" just about did me in!

[Wolf]

I just finished the first mass effect not to long ago just to get ready for mass effect 2. I probably won't get the game for a couple days since I'm busy with work and school. I'm pretty psyched up for it. Probably going to do my first game as a soldier just like i did for the first one.

I'm kind of curious about the vanguard class too. I might do my 2nd play through as that.

[Kerrigan]

I've got everyone recruited and now doing they're personal missions. I must say... I don't really know of ANY other game that has it improved itself THIS much with its second installment. Everything about ME2 feels more epic. It's way more polished, gorgeous, smooth, etc. etc than the first. The only franchise that comes close to revolutionizing itself this much in its 2nd installment, in my opinion, is Uncharted. Way to go BioWare!

[Rocky]

id be there right now but im not playong on ez mode im on insantiy rofl

[Jin]

Miranda makes my loins warm.

[Tiffany]

Miranda makes my loins warm.

You and my guy both! When she first sashayed on the screen P was like "Woooooooow, she's STACKED..."

[Jin]

Paradoxically, it's the imperfections that make her jerk worthy.

What's really amazing about this game is the cast. Michael Hogan and Tricia Helfer, it's like a Battlestar Galactica reunion. And of course Martin Sheen.

[Rocky]

idk what you guys are talking about, Jack is way hotter than Maranda by quite a margin imo if only I didnt have to spend 20 reloads or so to get through the prison outbreak scene today lol.

[Jin]

I think if Jack had hair, she'd look kind of like Keira Knightley. But with tattoos instead of a shirt.

[Rocky]

I think if Jack had hair, she'd look kind of like Keira Knightley. But with tattoos instead of a shirt.

I was more thinking along the lines of Natalie Portman, at least with the shaved head look from V for Vendetta. Though the movie Domino made me think of Knightley as well.

Also, is it just me or do all of the characters seem like total badasses in everything? Yeah the black dude isnt that cool imo, but Maranda is hot and kicks ass, and she also sounds like Johanna Dark, which is a plus. Mordin is a cool doctor who also was former STG and can kill people if he wants. Garrus isn't the wimpy bitch yesman from the first game, thats for sure lol, and Jack is just... Jack.

[Tiffany]

Mordin reminds me of a cross between Spock and William Shatner for some reason.

[Sean]

Mordin reminds me of a cross between Spock and William Shatner for some reason.

Thought the same thing, actually.


Anyways, I was bummed to hell my save wouldn't transfer, since I had started a New Game + and my old save file got overwritten. They retconned my story, I had chosen Ashley dies, Council dies, Udina takes over council, but the defaults if you didn't have an ME1 import was Kaiden dies, Council dies, Udina takes over, which isn't ALL bad, since it was 1/3 off, and I'm glad I don't have to deal with Ashley *shudder*

Anyways, I'm enjoying it so far, though I'm a bit peeved my "bonus armor" for preordering is crap. Well, the stats are nice for just starting out, but inability to remove helmet makes me feel like a ****ed up Boba Fett when running around Citadel or Omega talking to people for quests.

"OMG SHEPHERD IS THAT UUU!!??" seems absurd when I'm completely encased in armor that hides my face.

[Tiffany]

Paradoxically, it's the imperfections that make her jerk worthy.

I also had no idea that Yvonne Strahovski was the model for her, also her voice talent. My boyfriend was positive it was her, she plays "Sarah" in the TV series Chuck (which is friggin awesome, btw). Aaaand, he said the same thing about "Sarah", that it's the little imperfections that make her so bang-worthy... in his opinion.



Now that we figured it out, I have no idea how I didn't realize it was her.

[Kerrigan]

On my second playthrough as Renegade... not sure I'm too fond of the whole "If you're evil, you're scarred" bit... even with the ability to "fix" yourself. I also noticed theres no Facial Scar option in the game... which makes me a lil peeved because I like imperfect characters and I want my eyebrow/chin scar combo back.... regardless of whether or not Cerberus fixed me :-/

[Maridia]

So I just beat it last night. It took about 42 hours. I was very thorough on getting as much extra stuff as I could and roaming the galaxy to get any extra weapons or planets for experience.

The thought of knowing anyone could die made me very cautious indeed. I did the loyalty missions for everyone and still had some mishaps.

In the end I was sad to say that I still had 2 casualties. Urdnot Grunt died when I picked him for one of the jobs. And at the end they say everyones on board and they showed Mordin Solus laying on the ground. It sucks cause Grunt and Garrus are my 2 boys I always use. For the final fight I was debating Thane or Jack. But Jacks biotics are nasty and since I was an infiltrator and Garrus is my middle of the road guy I needed someone with extra kick if they got close. Since I lost my tank (Grunt) I used Jack. Biotics and a shotgun keep them at a distance.

The games absolutely amazing overall. The mining people hated but I did it for overall 3 hours? And before much of the story picked up so I wasn't scraping what I could together all through the game.

In the first ME Garrus and Wrex were on my team. What was funny is I don't know if it's my teams AI or a weird glitch. But a couple times when I came close to dying Garrus would literally back me in a corner while shooting at the enemies, like to cover me and keep me alive. So since he was my right hand man in that one he was the first guy I went to get. Well by luck.
In this one I usually assigned him the sniper rifle just like I used but wrex would be damage control for anyone who got close. Once again he did great but gave great cover fire and saved me in a couple tight spots. My only complaint with him was I felt there wasn't alot of dialogue open compared to the other characters on the ship. Other than the loyalty he rarely had much to say.

Still overall I can't wait for the third. And am curious how the hell they'll do it. It's gotta be on the next set of consoles though cause they even pushed the 360 to the limits on 2 discs.

Anyone who likes Super Metroid will appreciate I made Shepard have the Varia and Gravity suit.

[Sean]

Beat it tonight.

- Searching for mats wasn't bad, like Maridia said I spent maybe 3 hours total doing it through my play.

- I lost Jack and Grunt, made me sad. =(

- The game seemed awfully lacking in things to do this time. Literally the ONLY things you do this time are recruit people, do their loyalty missions, and do the 5-6 main storyline missions, with maybe a handful of side assignments.

- I screwed up on the downloadable Zaheed loyalty mission. I didn't really think choosing the paragon option to save the people would make me not gain his loyalty, lost 15 points there. =\ I never used him, so I don't really care that I didn't gain his loyalty in the first place.

- Lack of customizations to gear is frustrating. There's only what, 3 space ports? You can only buy gear upgrades in Citadel, Omega, and Illium. The battle rifle I picked up in the main storyline mission onboard the Collector ship was used from there to the end of the game, which frustrated me. I liked the fact I didn't keep picking up useless crap this time, but still.... I would've liked some variety in my weapons choices, and the second battle rifle I picked up ran out of ammo so often that it just became highly frustrating, coupled with the second pistol having shit for ammo, I found myself just taking cover and using my ONE damage ability until I found more clips.

- It was an overall enjoyable experience, but I wound up changing my difficulty up/down all the time just to save on ammo, and some of the missions were just creepy.

- I really enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to drive around on planets surfaces all the freakin' time for missions.

[Arch]

ive nevere played mass effect is it good? and did it come out for ps3 too?

[Jin]

and did it come out for ps3 too?

Totally. Go to any Gamestop and ask for Mass Effect on PS3. They'll get it for you.

[Arch]

Totally. Go to any Gamestop and ask for Mass Effect on PS3. They'll get it for you.

Your being sarcsstic arent you >.>

[Tiffany]

Beat it tonight.

- Searching for mats wasn't bad, like Maridia said I spent maybe 3 hours total doing it through my play.

- I lost Jack and Grunt, made me sad. =(

- The game seemed awfully lacking in things to do this time. Literally the ONLY things you do this time are recruit people, do their loyalty missions, and do the 5-6 main storyline missions, with maybe a handful of side assignments.

- I screwed up on the downloadable Zaheed loyalty mission. I didn't really think choosing the paragon option to save the people would make me not gain his loyalty, lost 15 points there. =\ I never used him, so I don't really care that I didn't gain his loyalty in the first place.

- Lack of customizations to gear is frustrating. There's only what, 3 space ports? You can only buy gear upgrades in Citadel, Omega, and Illium. The battle rifle I picked up in the main storyline mission onboard the Collector ship was used from there to the end of the game, which frustrated me. I liked the fact I didn't keep picking up useless crap this time, but still.... I would've liked some variety in my weapons choices, and the second battle rifle I picked up ran out of ammo so often that it just became highly frustrating, coupled with the second pistol having shit for ammo, I found myself just taking cover and using my ONE damage ability until I found more clips.

- It was an overall enjoyable experience, but I wound up changing my difficulty up/down all the time just to save on ammo, and some of the missions were just creepy.

- I really enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to drive around on planets surfaces all the freakin' time for missions.

Really? I chose the Paragon option as well for Zaieed's mission and I still unlocked his loyalty, as well as his 2nd outfit.

How high was your Paragon status? Mine was almost 100% by the time I got around to his loyalty mission (I don't use him either, so couldn't be bothered to do it sooner). I had a blue Paragon option and chose that, and he ended up agreeing with me.

I did lose Miranda's loyalty for a bit. After I did Jack's loyalty mission it automatically went to the cutscene where they were duking it out, biotic style. I didn't have enough Paragon points (or renegade points) to use those options, so I lost out on Miranda's loyalty and she refused to update me on anything to do with the ship status. Once I gained full Paragon I was able to chose the "be the bigger person" option and have her loyalty back.

[Tiffany]

Okay! Just beat the game!

Not by frigging choice though... I had no idea that if you go to land somewhere after getting the Reaper IFF that it'd automatically bring you to the end of the game. FFS! I hadn't even done Legion's loyalty quest! I decided to wing it, and I'd tie up the loose ends that I missed this playthrough on my next one. Here's how it played out:

• Sent Legion in the tubes. He was my only casualty. Got smoked by a missile once we got through the doors.

• Had Miranda lead the first squad.

• Had Garrus lead the 2nd squad.

• Had Jack escort the crew survivors back to the ship.

• Had Samara do the biotic barrier.

Not sure if I'm missing anything. My team was Grunt and Thane. Although its strange, my BF was further ahead of me with having stuff completed... and he had such a different (worse) outcome than I did.

He sent Garrus into the tube, Garrus died.

He had Miranda lead the first squad.

He had Grunt lead the second squad, Grunt died.

He also had Jacob escort the crew survivors back to the Normandy.

Then during a cutscene it showed Mordin laying on the ground... but we aren't sure why. Anyone know?

[Rocky]

Damn, actually only losing Legion isn't too bad at all to be honest, nice job!

I'm going to attempt to beat it tonight probably. After about 60 or so reloads, I got past the IFF mission intact. As for me trying to keep everyone alive, that's going to be one big LOL. I've already spiked my controller on the ground a few times from the Insanity difficulty, so as long as I can get that achievement, I'll be alright. I'm trying get all the achievements so I'll obviously have to replay the game at least one more time to get them all.

Seriously, this game seems a lot more glitchy then the first mass effect. I've gotten stuck in the ceiling a couple of times, which has caused me to reload the game a couple of times now. It seems like the AI is really glitchy as well. I've died a couple of times due to Grunt being stuck in a certain place not shooting anything. Frustrating as hell , especially on Tali's loyalty mission, where grunt stood back and watched me die to the shotgun-wielding geth about a dozen times. It was worth it though, the renegade dialogue choice at the trial was probably one of the coolest Shepard scenes in the game. Besides punching the female reporter in the eye. that had me on the ground laughing.

Also, unlike the first game where everyone had their specific traits that made them useful, my party really hasn't varied too much in game. Grunt has been my supertank, and the only one that I can trust not to die in more than three seconds. Miranda is my support as well, the Heavy Pistol weapon lets her pack a decent punch, but I really like her passive ability that gives extra health to Shepard/Grunt, it's saved the team many times. Plus, her Biotic abilites put down the geth/machines veery quickly, even in insanity mode. Everyone else seems really limited in their usefulness, (Jacob), too squishy (Jack, Tali,), or just can't cut it compared to Grunt/Miranda (virtually everyone else).

And who else besides Grunt should use shotguns?! There's a reason he has 600 health people. I dont even Jack has that much in her barrier/health put together lol.

EDIT: I heard that exact same thing about Mordin as well. I think the game got glitchy at that part too, but he ends up dying sometimes or surviving sometimes, though what triggers it is unknown at the time. =/ People are still trying to figure out what works and what doesnt during that part as of right now, so only time will tell.

EDIT2: After doing some looking up on some websites, some guy was able to keep everyone alive using the following combo.

Legion went to the vents.

Garrus was the 2nd team leader.

Samara in the bubble.

Thane was the escort.

Jacob was on the second #2 team.

He also kept Mordin in the party, which kept him alive. I will probably try this combination tonight and see what kind of results I get. (he had everyone loyal on his team too btw)

[Jin]

The trick is as follows:

1) Loyalty for all. I don't know if this is 100% mandatory, but it doesn't hurt.

2)Research everyone's special tech contributions. Same as point 1 - I don't know if it's mandatory, but it doesn't hurt.

3) To get Legion's loyalty in time, talk to him directly after you get him and do his loyalty quest immediately. Your crew won't be abducted until after the quest so long as it's the absolute first thing you do.

4) After your crew is taken, go find them immediately. You can save most of them if you're quick.

5) Choose Tali to be the tech specialist.

6) Choose Garrus to lead squad 2.

7) Choose anyone loyal to escort your crew back to the ship.

8) Choose Jack as the biotic specialist that creates the shield around your party.

9) Once again, choose Garrus to lead squad 2.

There are other workable combinations, but this is what I used to get a "No One Left Behind" ending.