Now there's no excuse (Mass Effect 2)

I LOL'd hard.

Vanguard's are so much fun, especially on Insanity when you actually have to choose your targets and not rush in willy nilly.

Can this game be enjoyed by shitty gamers like me.

Yes. Normal difficulty is pretty straightforward.

I felt like buying this so I hope it's as good as everyone says.

Try and do your first playthrough without any walk throughs or guides. It's been well documented that your entire team, Shepard included, can die endgame if you make the wrong choices, but I'd still advocate doing everything your own way first time through.

Yes, chances are you'll lose half your crew first time around, but it'll feel better than looking at guides online and getting everyone through that way because you've got to live with the fact that your choices have very permanent consequences.

It also gives you more incentive to play through again. And again. And again.

Addendum: while I don't want to sound negative, or critical at all, there are several memorable moments in the game that'll likely mean nothing to you having not played through ME1. Indeed, the prologue, which was, annoyingly, in the demo, took me totally by surprise first time through because I didn't expect it. It was a genuine WTF? moment, and I can count the number of those I've had from games the last twenty odd years on one hand.

Well there's supposed to be some sort of comic included that lets you go through all the major events of the first one, right?

Kaio wrote:

Well there's supposed to be some sort of comic included that lets you go through all the major events of the first one, right?

Yeah, i guess we'll have to wait till someone who played ME1 checks out the comic to see if it oes a sufficient job of covering whats important.

Even if it covers the major events, it won't give the same sense of connection. It'd be like reading the plot synopsis of your favourite film on Wikipedia; all the necessary information, but none of the emotion.

Well, What do you think, Simian?

http://www.eurogamer.net/videos/mass-effect-comic-intro

I'll give that a watch now.

SimianWonder wrote:

Even if it covers the major events, it won't give the same sense of connection. It'd be like reading the plot synopsis of your favourite film on Wikipedia; all the necessary information, but none of the emotion.

Well, I watched DBZ before even reading a synopsis of DB.

Dr. Chakwas or whatever she is called is hot. Oh and I chose the adept class. Having fun so far with singularity + warp combo.

It's as I thought, it covers all of the main plot points (Rachni, Wrex, Virmire, love interest, Council, human ambassador) but doesn't go into the side-quests at all. On the whole it's not a bad experience and will be enough to get the gist of things but it doesn't tell you much about your squads personalities so you might not feel the full impact of some choices.

If you have the option to play ME1 on PC or 360 I advise you to do so before you start this game.

That comic was actually pretty good.

There were a few things it didn't cover, like the mission on the planet Feros, and the scene were Udina and the Council basically betray Shepard by grounding him and locking him up when he wants to go to Ilos... you end up disobeying direct orders (with Anderson laying the smackdown on either Udina or abunch of Turian guards in order to release your ship) to go after Saren, rather than simply "following Saren to Ilos."

So, not perfect, and it didn't give much sense of your team mates' characters, but better than expected.

@ Chou

Singularity and Warp combo is the bread and butter of an Adept. You'll use that combo more than just about anything. It's even better if you keep Miranda in your party (which you should do anyway, she's the best all round team-mate) because you can cast Singularity then use her warp to detonate it.

Just list all the douchebags and I'll keep them in my party together with the hot people.

Character discussion? Alright.

ME1:

Kaidan Alenko
A nice guy, useful powers, but a bit of a whiner. He's voiced by Rafael Sbarge, who also did played Carth in Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. That is, sadly, enough reason to hate Kaidan too. Potential romance for a female Shep.

Ashley Williams
Soldier. Girl. Wears pink armour. She's a potential love interest, but I find her rather unattractive because she's a slightly bigoted overzealous bitch. She's openly a touch preachy about God, and is desperate to prove herself to clear up the black marks over her family name. (Her Grandfather surrendered a station to aliens years and years ago, and everyone is still pissy with her about it)

Urdnot Wrex
Now we're talking. Wrex is a soldier / biotic hybrid and he's a fucking monster. He's your tank, capable of dishing it out and taking it like no one else, Shep included. His race, the Krogan, are basically like reptillian Saiyans; they live to fight, they're rather isolated and they tough as hell. Wrex gets some of the best lines in the game;

Quote :

Security: You want me to arrest you?
Wrex: No, I want you to try.

Sadly, it's difficult to keep him alive. Unlike the comic, you'll need to have basically maxed out your persuasion / intimidate meters to do it, otherwise he dies and plays no part in ME2. He's awesome enough to make it worth the effort though.

Garrus Vakarian
He's basically Shepard-lite, but that does him a bit of a disservice. He's good at just about anything, but he's just not quite as good as Shepard. He's very impressionable, and Shepard's leadership, be it ruthless or more considered, has a more obvious effect on him than anyone else. Still, I like Garrus. He always feels like my second-in-command, even though he's not. More later.

Liara T'soni
The token 'mage', or Adept in ME terms, Liara's very powerful at higher levels, but typically a bit squishy. She's a potential (and my preferred) love interest, and she's a bit shy, a bit nervous. Like all Asari she has the ability to sync with other living people, meaning she can share memories and experiences with them. This includes getting laid.

My personal favourite team are Garrus and Wrex, and they're likely my favoured characters too. Liara and Tali are both a bit one dimensional in ME1, whilst Kaidan and Ashley can go suck a dick.

Tali Zora Nar Rayya
The token tech expert. She's a Quarian on her Pilgramage, which is essentially her rite of passage into adult hood. Some reasonable powers, including insane shields if upgraded correctly, but lacking a bit in firepower terms. Again, she's very curious about anything mechanical and while she seems happy to help and chat with Shepard, it turns out that she's got a bit of a thing for him. More later.

ME2:

Miranda Lawson

Ignoring the fact that her character model's face is a bit weird (Yvonne Strahovski is hot, Miranda... less so), she's been genetically engineered to be the perfect human. A bit like Cell, only Miranda has a cracking arse. She's intially very cold, distrustful of the faith put in Shepard, but if treated right she can come around, even forming a potential love interest. Has an ego, but is a good leader, if perhaps not as good at biotics as she thinks...

In terms of in-game powers, she's the best all rounder by a mile. Her basic abilities increase squad health and damage output, and she can use both Warp and Overload, great for taking down shields and barriers.

Jacob Taylor
His biggest crime is being a normal-ish person in a standout cast. He's the token black guy, and while he's useful early game others will likely quickly replace him. Has Daddy issues. Good team leader though. Also potential love interest for female Shepards.

Mordin Solus
Hyperactive Salarian. Great tech powers, great character. Infamous for his rendition of Gilbert and Sullivan and his distinctive way of saying everything he thinks very quickly.

Archangel

Spoiler:

Sniper, soldier, some tech skills. Character wise, a bit like Shepard only not quite as good, and has some interesting potential character development depending on A) choices in ME1 and B) choices on his Personal Mission in ME2. He's a brother-in-arms through and through though, and is even a romance interest for female Shepards. A good leader, and powerful soldier in his own right though.

Jack / Subject Zero
Allegedly a very powerful biotic, but in-game her powers are a bit rubbish. Character wise, she's a pyscho with a really bad attitude, though if you pursue a genuine romance as a male Shepard you can see just how messed up and vulnerable she is under that shell.

Grunt
ME2's Krogan, and much like Wrex he can withstand and dish out frankly stupid amounts of damage. He doesn't have Wrex's biotic powers though, so he's not quite as good an all rounder. Still, anyone playing a squishy Shepard would be well advised to keep Grunt on the front line to soak up the pain. Depending on various outcomes, he can end up joining the Clan now led by Wrex. Holds the line well.

Samara
A 1000 year old asari matriarch, meaning she's a very powerful biotic. At least, she's meant to be. In-game, much like Jack, she's a bit too weak. She's very dedicated to her Justicar code, and will kill anyone who crosses her. Eventually she'll either promise to kill Shepard herself, or place her trust in him forever.

Zaeed Massani
DLC anti-hero badass bounty hunter. Infamously is often the only one who survives his missions. He's a very strong soldier, with huge damage output and appreciates a Renegade Shepard's "get-the-fuck-on-with-it" approach. Perhaps a bit lacking in variety though, especially if your Shep is also a soldier.

Kasumi Goto
Not the most famous thief in the galaxy but the best all the same. She's a great character, both in game and in-universe, and has a very unique personal mission. Part of the "Stolen-Memory" DLC, she's a tech expert with one of the best movesets in the game.

Legion
Legion's a collective of Geth, the main enemies from ME1, but he's a good guy. You only get him very late in the game, but he's hugely powerful and his unique upgrade gives him a sniper rifle (techincally it's an anti-tank gun!) capable of one shotting just about anything on normal difficulty. Also has a shield boosting power, and can generate a combat drone to distract enemies. He's the consumate Tech Expert, only he packs a huge gun basically. He and Tali don't get on, which might cost you later if you don't deal with it accordingly.

Tali Zora Vas Neema Nar Rayya
*phew* ME's tech expert, having completed her pilgrimage, Tali returns to ME2 with an even longer name. And yes, it's sad that I knew it all without looking it up.. She's gained a level in Badass, and is much more assured and even leads her own teams on two occasions before she joins you. She gets a bit awkward around Shepard, and it turns out she's got the mother of all crushes on him, something a few other team-mates are also savvy to. Ergo, she's a potential love interest to a male Shep, but I can't help but think she's more like a little sister than anything else.

Thane
A rather spiritual assassin belonging to a rare race called the Drell, Thane's a very cool character rather let down by not being that great in-game. He has warp which can be helpful, and he can snipe, but for everything he does well, someone else can do it better.

Liara T'soni
Only available as part of the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC, Liara's not the same girl as in ME. Rather hardened by events, she's much tougher than before, and her moveset is amazing, packing singularity and warp as well as her unique power stasis. You can choose to rekindle a romance if you so choose, and it gives the DLC a very satisfying concluison. She's a much more complex character in ME2 than in ME.

Just bought it and will do the background stuff soon.

Probably gonna go with a female Shepard, because I want the best voice actor available.

This game better have a good tutorial, because EA didn't include a game manual for some reason.

God fucking dammit.

The interactive comic is downloadable content even though it's listed separately from the downloadable bonus content. Luckily for me, my wireless connection is shit and it'll probably take 10+ hours to do a system update and even when that's done I'm very rarely able to login properly.

Thank you EA, for lying to me.

The opening mission, where Shep wakes up in the Lazarus Project HQ is a pretty good tutorial. There's astill a good amount that the game doesn;t show you though; it'll spoon feed you the basics, and you can then experiment to find a playstyle that suits you.

The Comic being DLC is a bit rubbish though; what about the few people who don't have online access period?

So far I've been using Miranda and Garrus. Their overloads have helped me a lot dealing with those Ymir mechs, as my powers/weapons are terrible for taking down their shields, and having a second Warp is useful too.

SimianWonder wrote:

The opening mission, where Shep wakes up in the Lazarus Project HQ is a pretty good tutorial. There's astill a good amount that the game doesn;t show you though; it'll spoon feed you the basics, and you can then experiment to find a playstyle that suits you.

The game manual is actually in the game somewhere in the options menu. It even has page numbers. Why they didn't just print it on paper is beyond me.

Quote :

The Comic being DLC is a bit rubbish though; what about the few people who don't have online access period?

Yeah, when I went online to see where the hell the comic was (there's nothing in the game or its non-existant manual that says where it is), I found a topic by some guy who couldn't afford internet and therefore couldn't download.

I'll probably start the download before I go to bed or something and hope it'll finish downloading during the night without losing connection. Using a cable is also a no-no, as our router or whatever it is, is located at the other end of the house.

EA is at the forefront of douchebaggery in the the video game world. No manual to save money, retarded Voucher instead of just putting that shit on the disc. I hate them. The fact that you can't buy a pre-owned EA game and play online is stupid. The whole online pass is retarded. I wont buy anymore EA products except for Madden ever again.

Its because you can download ME2 off PSN a electric manual would mean you'd get the same content either way.