27 replies to this topic

[WeeRLegion]

So I thought it might be worth it starting a topic for general likes and dislikes about whatever in the game. Classes, weapons, everything.


Like:
+Revenant machine gun. mmmm. It chews stuff up.

+Vanguard: Biotic rush + the mega shotgun makes for some incredibly stylish combat. A bit challenging in certain areas, but it's all the sweeter when you manage to pull it off.

+Mordin Solus: Man, did I laugh my ass off or what when he

Spoiler

offered my She-Shepard advice and equipment for having chafe-free sex with a certain turian.

xD

+Piece by piece armor configuration.

+Pink She-Shepard with baby-blue stripes. <3


Dislike:
-Mineral scanning. What an chore. At least the long service achievement alleviates it a little...

-Sidequests. There aren't enough of them, and what we have lack in depth and choices.

-The new game/import character sequence. I want to be able to create and customize my character before being forced to sit through the intro... fergawdssake.

-Justicars. I bet they just had a bring-your-own-beer-day at the office, and someone said "Hay, we dun hav enuff paladin in this game!".
Then Someone agreed, but reminded him that they can't have paladins in the fricken outer space.
So person #1 then probably went on that "Oh, I kno! We make it a paladin, but NOT a paladin! It'll be a paladin who, like, kills people! And is a ninja-prick at the same time!".
Brilliant.
I just can't see such 'compelled to kill lots of people' people gaining any significant standing in any emancipated society.

-Aria "I-AM-OMEGA!" T'Loak. *Sigh* Why can't I shoot her?

Edited by WeeRLegion, 18 February 2010 - 11:58 AM.

[WeeRLegion]

Personally, I preferred the particle beam you find on Horizon. ^^

That's the only heavy weapon ever find myself using. xP
Nothing else seems to do much against YMIRs and Scions.
Or, well, everything does something, but it's nowhere near as ammo efficient.

And when you're not in a romance with anyone else, he says he insinuates he is not interested in a relationship with you. XD

Yeah, he's made of awesome. xD

Yeah, I've found I prefer the ME1 surveying too, even if the mini game was rather easy on PC - I had nearly 100000 Eezo at the end of the game!

Yeah. I initially thought it was an improvement, since it's less work. But turns out the simplicity is repetitive as hell, and there's nowhere near enough anomalies to investigate to make thorough galaxy-wide scanning worth it for more than 1 playthrough. o_o

I agree whole-heartedly! Another reason why I miss the old surveying, because sometimes you found something during it, even if it was just Turian insignia, or something like that. And since you could land on several planets, it was a bit more varied - I *liked* exploring the maps! >_< Also, even though the landing missions were nicely and varied, as opposed to the standardised dungeons of ME1, they somehow felt lacking. They were also too short. I don't ask for a dungeon from Baldur's Gate where you might sit on your computer for at least an hour. But hey, it should be a bit more than two, or even five minutes.

Yeahh...
I started out liking it, the lack of the MAKO. But I'm starting to miss it. It brought variation to the gameplay.
And pretty much whichever planet you landed on, you could at least find a thresher maw to fool around with or something.
There's just so much less stuff in ME2 than in ME1.
It's technically far superior, and the storyline missions work very smooth and streamlined, and the cinematics, and it's totally awesome. But it needs more content. o_o

And the maps are a bit too performance-optimized (cramped).

Yeah, that can be annoying. Though the intro was good. And it made sense placing the customisation at that point. Still, if I have two Elsha Shepards, and I am not sure which one is the one I want, I would like to see it before I play through the intro.

Precisely!
Sure, it's cinematically sensible, but otherwise all kinds of impractical.

^^

Edited by WeeRLegion, 19 February 2010 - 02:12 AM.

[Tempest]

That's the only heavy weapon ever find myself using. xP
Nothing else seems to do much against YMIRs and Scions.
Or, well, everything does something, but it's nowhere near as ammo efficient.

Odd - I never liked the particle beam much. I favor the Avalanche, perfect for digging enemies out of cover and fires quickly, plus it can quickly incapacitate boss-type enemies. The Firestorm flamethrower is also quite handy, and my weapon of choice for husks, abominations, and scions.

Yeahh...
I started out liking it, the lack of the MAKO. But I'm starting to miss it. It brought variation to the gameplay.
And pretty much whichever planet you landed on, you could at least find a thresher maw to fool around with or something.
There's just so much less stuff in ME2 than in ME1.
It's technically far superior, and the storyline missions work very smooth and streamlined, and the cinematics, and it's totally awesome. But it needs more content. o_o

Hopefully, the Hammerhead will be released soon and alleviate these problems.

[vilkacis]

+Revenant machine gun. mmmm. It chews stuff up.

I reserve my love for the sniper rifles. My poor Adept had been wishing for one of those since... well, ME1.

-Mineral scanning. What an chore.

You mean "what an ore"

*shot*

*but also seconded*

-Sidequests. There aren't enough of them, and what we have lack in depth and choices.

At least they're better than in ME1. "Oh gee, I recognize this building! I wonder if there's a horde of enemies in the next room, ready to fling themselves at me, get stuck in a bottleneck and shot in the face by Wrex?"

-The new game/import character sequence. I want to be able to create and customize my character before being forced to sit through the intro... fergawdssake.

Yeah. Making those scenes skipable after the first time would have... helped.

-Aria "I-AM-OMEGA!" T'Loak. *Sigh* Why can't I shoot her?

Because she's playable in ME3. (You heard it here first!)

Also, she doesn't really do anything to deserve getting shot, I mean, she gives you all the info you're asking for willingly. *shrug*


As for me...

+ Returning squad mates, and more development for them. (Although slightly annoying that they aren't "loyal" after we saved the galaxy together. They certainly didn't have a problem using AP ammo in ME1...)

+ That asari bartender. One of the best NPCs of all time.

+ Actually, most of the characters are well written.

+ The shooting aspect feels tighter and generally more fun than in ME1. It was kind of boring back then. (Then again, having the sniper rifle helps quite a bit.)

+ Kind of funny with all those mechs named after norse mythology.

+ References to what you actually did in ME1, including characters who lived or died because of the player's actions. Even though few of these have any real impact on the story, this is the one most appealing aspect of the game for me.

And speaking of which...

+ "Shepard! My friend!"


- Grunt, as cool as he may be, is not Wrex.

- Conrad Werner thinks I was a big jerk and shoved a gun in his face. His memory is very bad.

- Achievements. "Congratulations, you watched the prologue! Have a completely useless shiny!" So dumb. (Some of them make nice icons, though. *cough*)

- Kind of annoying that those mechs named after norse mythology show up in, like, every mission.

- Removal of statistics and equipment screens. So at what point exactly were you planning on telling me how this new gun "upgrades" the last one? And why the hell can't I switch between them in the middle of a mission? I was carrying the old one with me!

- Thermal clips. Brilliant how they're "universal" but I'm still stuck using the shitty SMG with a million spare clips because I've used up my pistol or rifle clips. Cooldown was less annoying.

- The plot is... barely there. There's what, five missions that aren't recruitment missions? And one of them a tutorial dungeon, at that.

- Girl!Shepard is bisexual. Guy!Shepard is straight. Wow, that's surprising! Because we don't want anyone to catch teh ghey, never mind the space lesbians all over the place.

- GRUNT IS NOT WREX.

[Philiposophy]

Some thoughts just off the top of my head:

Likes:

+ having ammo is less convenient but more challenging as you have to be more careful with your shots.

+ the side missions being more distinct rather than just the same damn thing over and over again. However see below...

+ lots of the characters are well done. Especially Mordin, who was both hilarious and very deep as he struggles to come to terms with what he's done.

+ the soundtrack. Pretty good.

+ no enforced usage of the Mako. The thing handled like a bitch. Good riddance. However see below...

+ customizable armour stuff. I like choosing my own colours.

+ I guess the heavy weapons on the whole are positive. Collector particle beam was the one I typically took along with me. The Cain was powerful was powerful but not exactly efficient.

Dislikes:

- I can't take the helmet off my bonus sets of armour. It just looks ridiculous to walk around with a full helmet. All the time.

- mineral scanning of planets. Dull.

- less side missions than before. However see above...

- when importing a save game you only get to see the summary of what you did after you choose one. I can't tell which is which easily when all I've got are names (which are the same obviously) and levels. Insane.

- no Mako at all. It could be fun at times if you were in the mood. However see above...

[WeeRLegion]

So, um, anyone have any info on this hammerhead thingy? What's it gonna do?
I get that it adds a vechile, but sense dictates that it also needs to add some areas where you can use such an thing.
What is it about?

You mean "what an ore"

... XD

At least they're better than in ME1. "Oh gee, I recognize this building! I wonder if there's a horde of enemies in the next room, ready to fling themselves at me, get stuck in a bottleneck and shot in the face by Wrex?"

Yeah, but in ME1 side-Qs you'd actually meet people, and occasionally actually talk to them, solve stuff with less bullets and more talk. In ME2 side-Qs you just shoot shit up.
It's fun, but c'mon, this game should at least try earning the RPG stamp. o_o

+ That asari bartender. One of the best NPCs of all time.

Definitely a highlight. x]

+ References to what you actually did in ME1, including characters who lived or died because of the player's actions. Even though few of these have any real impact on the story, this is the one most appealing aspect of the game for me.

Mmm. The game occasionally turns into pretty much a meet-and-greet cameo fest of ME1 aquintances if you made the right choices.
I'm just left wondering, who's coming back for ME3? There's by far fewer new characters introduced this time around.

- Kind of annoying that those mechs named after norse mythology show up in, like, every mission.

They could have done with some variation, yeah. o_o

Removal of statistics and equipment screens. So at what point exactly were you planning on telling me how this new gun "upgrades" the last one? And why the hell can't I switch between them in the middle of a mission? I was carrying the old one with me!

Definitely annoying picking up new stuff with no idea of how it compares to your old gear.

- Thermal clips. Brilliant how they're "universal" but I'm still stuck using the shitty SMG with a million spare clips because I've used up my pistol or rifle clips. Cooldown was less annoying.

...
I didn't even think of that, but gawd, now that you say it... Damn, that's retarded. xD

- The plot is... barely there. There's what, five missions that aren't recruitment missions? And one of them a tutorial dungeon, at that.

Mmmm. It's a development I really hope they'll backtrack on for ME3.
A cinematic game experience is great and all, but movie length plots just don't carry that far. o_o



Moar:
+Improved armor system and other gameplay enchancements.

-I would really have wished for more RPG options and crew activity.
There's only 2 real crew conflicts (Miranda/Jack & Legion/Tali), and beyond the obvious personal missions, there isn't much.
In ME1 the whole crew at least bickered a little after story missions. o_o
In ME2 it's just either Miranda being a biotch or Jacob, well, being a biotch too.

-It would make sense to at least let you somehow explore your options of associating with other groups than Cerberus, even if you still would be forced to cooperate in the end.

Mmm. Actually, I just dislike how it's generally moved away from the RPG genre.

[Dark-Mage]

Likes,

+ The Story
+ The 'structure' of said story, with party recruitment being divided into two blocks. This, I feel, gave the game an ordered narrative without making it too linear. I guess I can understand the complaints about not being able to get certain companions first etc, but for me that wasn't an issue.
+ The characters - They are all rather well written in my opinion.
+ The loyalty missions - Again, very well done. Mordin's was probably my favourite. The story, and the music playing over important scenes. Very atmospheric.
+ The improved Side missions, though a few more would have been nice.
+ The Removal of the Inventory system, which was horrid and a complete waste of time.
+ The removal of the Mako - basically, the same as above
+ The new weapons, and the thermal clip system. Just felt better to me. Though I understand, and can see, where all the complaints are coming from.
+ The cutting away of all that unnecessary RPG fat, as one reviewer called it. Despite losing some of my favourite abilities from the original, I think Game play was vastly improved by the stream lining of the classes and abilities. It just feels better now, in my opinion, and goes to show that an RPG's Character development/levelling up mechanic does not have to be overly complicated to be enjoyable. Some people would, and in fact do, disagree with this viewpoint. Each to their own I guess.

Dislikes,

- The lack of credits, which I hope is an issue that will be solved with the Introduction of the Hammerhead and other DLC.
- Not being able to transfer thermal clips, or re-use them. You'd think that once it had cooled down it would be ready to go again... The game kind of portrays them as ammo clips, rather than removable, and universal, heat sinks.
- The complete removal of all internal heat sink weapons. Would have been nice if Bioware kept some of these weapons floating around in game, maybe to compensate for limitless ammo, they could have done less damage or something. Just an idea.
- The short romances. Three LTs just did not feel enough to me, but what is there was pretty good.
- Not being able to remove helmets. To be honest I paid more for the Collector's Edition, primarily for the Cerberus armour and I quickly removed it cause it just made cut screens and NPC conversations look silly. Vanity has a price I guess.

Can't really think of anything else, nothing that hasn't already been covered at least. Oh, and I stuck with the grenade launcher after getting the heavy weapons achievement. Cause I'm boring like that

Edited by Dark-Mage, 19 February 2010 - 10:55 AM.

[Philiposophy]

Another like I didn't mention before:

+ the classes seem to be properly distinct now as you get truly exclusive class powers. Basically it felt much better like this than in ME1, where any ability could be achieved by any other class if you unlocked it.

Edited by Philiposophy, 19 February 2010 - 10:55 AM.

[Dark-Mage]

Another dislike
- Having to buy Star maps, especially for the systems which contain most of the side missions. This just seemed, to me, like an unnecessary money sink in a game that has a pretty poor economy in terms of player wealth.

And another like
+ How I have to nitpick in order to find things to dislike about this game

[WeeRLegion]

+Hardcore difficulty. I almost ran out of ALL ammo on the Collector Ship Ambush mission!
+Beating up armored husks with melee.
+Finally killing the goddamn Praetorian in the Collector ship after double-digit reloads.

-Hardcore difficulty. OMG! Armored husks! OMFG! Near-instant deaths! XD
-Never even NEARLY enough heavy weapon ammo. D:

[Vicen]

Love

-More NPC companions
-More then one romance choice for both genders
-No more mako!

Hate

-Planet scanning is very VERY boring...in the first game at least it may of been boring but was instant
-You cant toggle off the helmet in talk situations
-NO Hanar NPC's...Too my knowledge you do not speak to one hanar in the whole game!

[cmorgan]

Love - every single blasted thing.
Hate - that I never played ME1, and now must scurry forth and find a copy and try to make it work on my system - most of all, the frustration that as a completionist sort of character, I am destined to a. have to play every inch of ME1, b. I am sure to completely tick off Shephard's Love Interest in ME3, because there is no way I am playing through ME2 even once without teaching either Miranda or Kelly the innermost secrets of Shepard's heart, and c. i need more hours in the day so i can play = test = mod + actually work, live, have an outside life, etc.

[Eleima]

Loves:
+ The music. Absolutely perfect (I love you, Mister Jack Wall, you're brilliant!)
+ Having Garrus & Tali in my team again
+ Seeing Kaidan again ()
+ The Paragon/Renagade choices in cutscenes (love being able to save a bystander or finish him off, depending on my current Shepard)
+ Having not only my Shepard, but choices and random minor characters carried over from ME1 to ME2 (makes for a more "real" galaxy, if you ask me)
+ Blasto, the first hanar Spectre (that commercial is just pure awesomeness, I love that they put it in)
+ Mordin, one of the best NPCs ever (when he doesn't have anything new to say, he has a different excuse for you every time! That, and he sings a Gilbert & Sullivan-esque "Scientist salarian". Pure gold.)
+ The giant miniature space hamster I have in my captain's cabin, as well as the miniature ships
+ Customizing my armor

Hates:
- Planet scanning (tedious. 'nuff said)
- My Female Shepard can't dance as well as she could in ME1
- I couldn't kill Aria (no matter how hard I tried)
- Not having enough credits to buy all the upgrades in stores
- Not being able to remove the helmet in the Collector, Cerberus & Blood Dragon armors (*those* are going to collect dust, unfortunately)

That's all I can think of for now! Oh, and I completely agree with you, CMorgan!! If only there were more hours in the day! *sighs*

[Lord Ernie]

I've found not sleeping to be a solution for the 'hours in a day problem'. Also, if you have the 'long service' (or something) achievement and import a Rich character from ME1, there's enough money to buy everything (not that you need to, really, just buy the upgrades that affect Shepard and your regular companions).

Also, Vikacis, while the absence of a gay male option bothered me (more for the fact of its absence than anything else), you can (and I have) perfectly play a lesbian FemShep, by romancing Liara in ME1, ignoring the males in ME2 and going for Kelly Chambers.

Anyway, likes:

• The distinctness of the new classes. Playing an infiltrator now really makes for a completely different game experience from playing a vanguard, which is different again from playing a sentinel. Awesome!
• No more driving the MAKO up mountains, and palette swap planets. Yay!
• Tons and tons of continuity nods.
• The new NPC's. Some of them are surprisingly deep (Grunt, Jack, Mordin)
• The interrupt system
• The new Garrus, while overruling what you pushed him to do in the first game (if you're Paragon) is also a lot deeper.
• Wrex's welcoming moment made me all warm inside.
• Minor, but there: most cutscenes are skippable, which makes replays have much less 'coffee-time' (for the beginning, you can alt-tab out and the movies keep running)
• Tali

Dislikes:

• The planet scanning (Duh)
• Unable to customize the unique armors
• Probably more stuff, but nothing I can think of right now.

Edited by Lord Ernie, 26 February 2010 - 03:52 AM.

[vilkacis]

- I couldn't kill Aria (no matter how hard I tried)

I really don't understand all this Aria hate. At least she never pulls air quotes on you, unlike some people I could mention.

Also, Vikacis, while the absence of a gay male option bothered me (more for the fact of its absence than anything else), you can (and I have) perfectly play a lesbian FemShep, by romancing Liara in ME1, ignoring the males in ME2 and going for Kelly Chambers.

That is exactly the reason why it bothers me.

If both Shepards were straight, it would be one thing, but that "it's icky when boys kiss, but lesbians are totally hot!" attitude is getting really old. Trying to hide it behind excuses like "Liara is not actually female so it doesn't count" only makes it worse. (And now I guess they'll tell us Kelly doesn't count either because apparently you don't get an achievement for boning her. ARGH. Or maybe she's a robot or something. Or OH WAIT I KNOW she's actually a Reaper in human form come to spy on you! Bam, plot of ME3 right there!)

[WeeRLegion]

It does seem like an odd stance to take, what with the females being able to lube it up with Garrus "Swallow-for-the-anaphylactic-shock-and-awe" Vakarian.

[Eleima]

I really don't understand all this Aria hate. At least she never pulls air quotes on you, unlike some people I could mention.

Actually, I don't really *hate* her, per se, it's just that my idealist, Paragon Shepard really wanted to take her down a few pegs. "'I am Omega'? says she. Well, then, how about I start cleaning up the neighborhood by dragging her in for questioning, locking her up and throwing away the key" was the general idea that went through her head... My Renegade male Shepard just wanted to congratulate her on the fine operation she was running, and ask her out for drinks and to exchange, um, trade secrets.

+Beating up armored husks with melee.
-Hardcore difficulty. OMG! Armored husks! OMFG! Near-instant deaths! XD

You should try them with "Insanity" difficulty, it's an absolute nightmare!

[Tempest]

It does seem like an odd stance to take, what with the females being able to lube it up with Garrus "Swallow-for-the-anaphylactic-shock-and-awe" Vakarian.

Some voice acting cut from the release of ME2 indicates that Thane and possibly Tali were originally planned to be bisexual, just like Ashley and Kaidan both were intended to be in the original ME (the VA is still in the game files, IIRC).

Personally, my biggest love of ME2 is also my biggest hate: this is looking to be one hell of an act to follow up on and conclude in ME3. I'm guessing Bioware does have a game plan in mind, especially for the awakened Reaper fleet, but at present, it's looking incredibly messy.

Edited by Tempest, 26 February 2010 - 09:06 AM.

[Eleima]

Some voice acting cut from the release of ME2 indicates that Thane and possibly Tali were originally planned to be bisexual, just like Ashley and Kaidan both were intended to be in the original ME (the VA is still in the game files, IIRC).

In my opinion, trying to write characters with the same romance barely re-worked for both genders is a mistake: you can't write a male trying to woo a female the same way you write a male trying to seduce a female, and a female trying to seduce a male will act differently than a female trying to woo a female, etc, etc. I know it's extra work for the writers, but that's just cutting corners, and messes up character definition. Just my two cents, though.

Personally, my biggest love of ME2 is also my biggest hate: this is looking to be one hell of an act to follow up on and conclude in ME3. I'm guessing Bioware does have a game plan in mind, especially for the awakened Reaper fleet, but at present, it's looking incredibly messy.

I agree wholeheartedly. ME2 ends with a tremendous buildup, leaving you aching for the third installment and the saga's resolution. It's going to be though for them to follow up with ME3, but then again, I didn't think they could top ME1, and yet here we are. We just have to trust that they know what they're doing, and wait and see. (I can barely wait, however!)

I'm going to add another "love" to my list: being able to unceremoniously dump your ME1 love interest (I loathe Ashley with a passion, and drew immense satisfaction from picking all the Renegade option, ie lower half of the conversation wheel, when I caught up with her on Horizon... Yes, I know, that makes me evil. )