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ME1 vs. ME2


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#1 WeeRLegion

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Posted 16 March 2010 - 02:17 PM

So I just wrapped up a refresher run of ME1, and made some observations as to how it compares to ME2...


1) I loved the MAKO to a start; ANYTHING is more engaging and interesting than planet scanning.
Ended up hating it though. Some of the planet geometries are just such an loud F*YOU to the player.
And thanks to low gravity environments, they always don't even have to be all that obscene to leave that impression. xP


2) In ME1 the galaxy is much better presented; ME2 leaves the planets and places quite empty and cold.
In ME1 you meet new people everywhere, some of who actually are nice and fun, which is something more of a rarity in ME2 (ie. most people you meet are indifferent douchebags, or just bland).
Thnigs are better (in ME1) IMO, because it gives you something more tangible to save the galaxy for.
In ME2, you're kinda just thrown at the quest, and you're expected to be motivated simply because saving humanoid civilizations seems like such an decent thing to do. Except in ME2 those civilizations seem to have fever characteristics worth saving. :[


3) OMG! I didn't realize how far they'd advanced the cutscenes from ME1; M2 camerawork and animations totally own the ME1 equivalents.


4) Bioware could have just killed Shepard at the end of ME1 with a reaper chunk and still pulled off ME2 just as it was. o_o


5) The ME1 shooter system feels like such an relic from the 90s. I knew ME2 was more advanced in that regard, but damn, I didn't realize how big an leap it was.
If they polish things up by as big a difference for ME3, well, that'll be the most legendary game ever. : D


6) ME1 enemies are much better.
In ME2, neither Harbinger nor the collector general, or anyone else for the matter, really becomes on any level an personal enemy.
They're just... villains. Whom you shoot up for doing villainous stuff.
It's like.... you're facing an army of stormtroopers, with no Darth Vader or Palpatine or any kind of an mean wrinkly bastard leading them. Just kinda bleh.


7) ME1 hackery minigames are better. They're occasionally actually challenging, and if not that, then at least they're over faster.


8) ME1 plot is better. In it, you meet an enemy, hunt him, and kill him, and oh, you save the galaxy. ME2 is more like... Well, to stick with the Star Wars comparison, it's like tripping an AT-AT walker. Sure, it's cool, and it blows up nicely, but at the bottom of it, it does little to nothing to advance the main storyline.


9) ME2 Party NPCs seem to have more depth to them. @_@
ALl except Jacob, who is utterly dull, except for the one dialog where you get to bitch about the Shepard gig.
And there is no Wrex.
But generally, it's an improvement (Read: Garrus is better xP).


10) ME2 doesn't get occasional messy noises from it's EAX vs. my soundcard.
Definitely more enjoyable this way. : D




And yeah, this isa pointless post.

Ummm. Say, anyone agree? Disagree? Anything? Anything to add? .p

Edited by WeeRLegion, 16 March 2010 - 02:18 PM.


#2 Solar's Harper

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Posted 16 March 2010 - 05:08 PM

3) OMG! I didn't realize how far they'd advanced the cutscenes from ME1; M2 camerawork and animations totally own the ME1 equivalents.

Well to sound like a broken recorder, as you no doubt know too well there buddy. ;) ME2 Generic animations = what the hell animators?
At least in my opinion, gets less noticeable in ME2's later sections, but ME1 comes out superior in my book, only because its somewhat rigid animation is at least less annoyingly repetitive to see - especially when you can pretty much come up with the phrase: "Talk talk, Bioware face (blank look), walk off screen slow mode to Disneyland. :P

And on that note, I noticed the gender of Shepard really doesn't effect how they move or sit either, might be a few differences here and there for scenes that are quite clearly not meant for the other gender to enjoy, but err yeah, oh and since Shepard's clothes don't really seem to be at all affected by gravity or anything, I'm starting to think they built the clothes on him/her when being resurrected. Take that for what you will, seems rather worrying to me if they have to answer nature's call though - off camera of course.

5) The ME1 shooter system feels like such an relic from the 90s. I knew ME2 was more advanced in that regard, but damn, I didn't realize how big an leap it was.
If they polish things up by as big a difference for ME3, well, that'll be the most legendary game ever. : D

Agreed there, combat is definitely more fluid albeit prolonged at times, and the requirement not to stand out in the open like an idiot making pecking shots is welcome too.

What I find ironic is how shields seem to save characters in-game, yet in cutscenes it's like they suddenly turn them off to get killed like part of some action movie... I mean you'd expect a sniper rifle would make a penetrating shot most of the time, but a handgun?

6) ME1 enemies are much better.
In ME2, neither Harbinger nor the collector general, or anyone else for the matter, really becomes on any level an personal enemy.
They're just... villains. Whom you shoot up for doing villainous stuff.
It's like.... you're facing an army of stormtroopers, with no Darth Vader or Palpatine or any kind of an mean wrinkly bastard leading them. Just kinda bleh.

8) ME1 plot is better. In it, you meet an enemy, hunt him, and kill him, and oh, you save the galaxy. ME2 is more like... Well, to stick with the Star Wars comparison, it's like tripping an AT-AT walker. Sure, it's cool, and it blows up nicely, but at the bottom of it, it does little to nothing to advance the main storyline.

:lol: I don't know, ever look under a stormtrooper's helmet, let alone 50 million of them? I don't know about you but that's a bit worrying to me, what next, zombies have the munchies for the parents?

I personally think Harbinger comes across as a rather shadowy figure, not as much as Sovereign, but certainly with its own flavour. That said the whole idea the "galaxy is at stake" kind of wears off when you get dragged into preforming all the damn loyalty missions and ship upgrade fetching (ie planet mining screen! Only lacking the lemonade of Loading Screen). Good idea, bad execution, possibly a result of time constraints as is usually the case.

Another thing is, the attacks of the Collectors and what-not seem rather predictable, Illusive Man gives you mission, stuff blows up, Shepard goes Rawr!, and EDI inserts classic HAL references following with the saucing of a Scion break-dancing.
In short, plot-point drama with no ounce of surprise about it. If Harbinger is really so interested in Shepard, wouldn't Collectors be actively *hunting* the player whilst harvesting human colonies? And on that note, why are so few colonies getting attack? I thought we were supposed to be saving the human race damnit, not playing resource stockpiling and dramafest 2010!

And while we're on that, you'd think all the mercenaries and criminal outfits you piss off during the game would be more than a little miffed with you and Cereberus at some point. Action and consequence? Please, go here, look badass and shoot up the place, go home for apple pie and maybe a little fishing the Captain's Nest.

Edit: And yeah, I did forget to tsk ME1 on that account as well, overall you can really just argue RPG and shut my argument right up. <_<

Ummm. Say, anyone agree? Disagree? Anything? Anything to add? .p

Probably worth saying that both seem rather tied in terms of getting the feel of xenophobia in the galaxy. Which is good, considering the times, setting, history, and not to mention it's actually initiated rather splendidly in most cases rather than DA's awkward turn of "HELLO YOU ARE RACE NOT MINE! GARRR! Oh s'cuse me, would you like some pepperoni with them elves-err fish?"
Yes I did totally rip that off, apologies. :)
Anywho, enough of me being a jabbermouth, limelight anyone? Fresh mint included but batteries are sold seperately. $_$

Edited by Solar's Harper, 16 March 2010 - 08:35 PM.

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#3 Eleima

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Posted 17 March 2010 - 01:30 AM

I think that you guys are being way too hard, here, so it's up to me to take up the banner and defend the games I love, I guess! Caution: extra long post (sorry, but I had a lot to say). And this post includes spoilers to both ME1 and ME2, that much should be obvious.

1) I loved the MAKO to a start; ANYTHING is more engaging and interesting than planet scanning.

Granted, the Mako is a pain, but there is a way around the aggravation. Just stick the level ground, to the valleys, and stop trying to climb all those mountains. It became a lots less annoying once I stuck to that.

2) In ME1 the galaxy is much better presented; ME2 leaves the planets and places quite empty and cold.

Granted that the universe seems a bit smaller in ME2 than ME1, *but* you have to remember that you're not in the same neighborhood. This is the lawless Terminus systems, rife with deserted planets, perfect for your secluded mercenary base. Citadel Space is far behind now. I will concede, however, that the Citadel was too tiny to my tastes in ME2.

4) Bioware could have just killed Shepard at the end of ME1 with a reaper chunk and still pulled off ME2 just as it was. o_o

Meh, I disagree. You kinda needed the "Normandy attacked by the Collector ship", to add to the storyline, and give the impression that the Collectors, under the influence of Harbinger, have been dogging Shepard all this time, utterly relentless in their pursuit. Also, had Shepard been killed during the Citadel's attack, the Alliance would probably have found his/her body and given him/her a hero's burial, completely with all the pomp he/she deserved. I don't see the Illusive Man coming up to them and saying "say, can I borrow the corpse? We're going to try out this Lazarus Project I've been tinkering with". Nah, Shepard needed to get spaced. Plus, it made for an awesome, gripping opening scene.

6) ME1 enemies are much better. In ME2, neither Harbinger nor the collector general, or anyone else for the matter, really becomes on any level an personal enemy.

I disagree, and here's why: Saren has a sympathetic villain because he was under Sovereign's influence, he couldn't resist the indoctrination process, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself to the contrary. Here, we have an entire race (or the remnants of it, rather), the Protheans, which have been abducted, by the Reapers to carry out their bidding. They have been so twisted by the Reapers, that they're now barely recognizable (I've accepted the theory that the statues on Ilos are an apt description of what the Protheans looked like), and compelled to do the Reapers' horrible dirty work. Every time my Shepard pulls the trigger, she is torn between pity for the members of this once great race and mercy (basically, we're putting them out of their misery). And when she faced scions, she basically has to concentrate on taking it down, so that she doesn't empty her stomach in horror (I mean, seriously, have you *seen* that thing, it's an agglomerate of corpses, it's just... ugh! I'm at a loss for words on how to describe that horrendous thing).

7) ME1 hackery minigames are better. They're occasionally actually challenging, and if not that, then at least they're over faster.

Meh, I think the mini-games are all on par. The ones in ME2 really weren't all *that* long, and at least they were accessible to all classes. (I'm sorry, but you really don't have to be an engineer to solve an alternate version of "Simon".

8) ME1 plot is better. In it, you meet an enemy, hunt him, and kill him, and oh, you save the galaxy. ME2 is more like... Well, to stick with the Star Wars comparison, it's like tripping an AT-AT walker. Sure, it's cool, and it blows up nicely, but at the bottom of it, it does little to nothing to advance the main storyline.

Gaaah, you heretic! Are you kidding me? In ME1, the quest's title was "race against time", but you could take your bloody time doing it, taking tours around the galaxy! Seriously, though, I'm no downplaying ME1's scenario, all I'm saying it's that they're both just as good and in complete continuity. The threat of the Reapers is still looming over us. In ME1, we were just learning how big a threat this is, and in ME2, the threat is still here, backup is taking its sweet time getting here (thanks a lot Alliance & Council!), and in the meantime, colonies keep getting abducted! (I was going to address Solar's Harper's argument regarding the abductions further down, but I may as well tackle it now) If you take some time to go below deck and listen to what your crew talks about, you'll discover that there are more colonies getting hit while you're traipsing about the galaxy. Freedom's Progress and Horizon you know about, because you've been there, but while you're out collecting companions, the colonies of Ferris Fields and New Canton are hit (that we know of). Who knows what havoc the Reapers via the Collectors are wreaking out there?

9) ME2 Party NPCs seem to have more depth to them. @_@ ALL except Jacob, who is utterly dull, except for the one dialog where you get to bitch about the Shepard gig.
And there is no Wrex. But generally, it's an improvement (Read: Garrus is better xP).

Actually, I'm kinda disappointed how they changed Garrus. I worked so hard in ME1 to show him that revenge is not the answer, that criminals should be brought to justice, not gunned down, blah, blah, and and now... To quote Joker, "It's great Garrus took that stick out of his ass, but now he just wants to beat people to death with it". As for Jacob, I disagree, but maybe that's because I played the romance. Maybe that adds more depth to him, I don't know know. *shrug* Also, perhaps you're under the impression that ME2 companions are more defined because there are more of them. I thought characters in ME1 were nicely done, love 'em or hate 'em (I detested Ashely, sorry, can't hide it): each had its own story, its own culture (just talk to Tali about the Migrant Fleet, I thought it was enlightening). And there are about the same number of conversations in ME1 as in ME2 (about 4, depending on the character).

10) ME2 doesn't get occasional messy noises from it's EAX vs. my soundcard.

Hey! Don't blame the game for your hardware's faults! ;)


Well to sound like a broken recorder, as you no doubt know too well there buddy. ;) ME2 Generic animations = what the hell animators?
At least in my opinion, gets less noticeable in ME2's later sections, but ME1 comes out superior in my book, only because its somewhat rigid animation is at least less annoyingly repetitive to see - especially when you can pretty much come up with the phrase: "Talk talk, Bioware face (blank look), walk off screen slow mode to Disneyland. :P

*chuckles* You do have a point though, that blank Bioware face *is* kinda disappointing. It's like they beefed up the graphics, made it look a lot better, but lost a bit on the animations. Too bad. Maybe they'll get it juuuust right in ME3, yes? ^_^

And on that note, I noticed the gender of Shepard really doesn't effect how they move or sit either, might be a few differences here and there for scenes that are quite clearly not meant for the other gender to enjoy, but err yeah, oh and since Shepard's clothes don't really seem to be at all affected by gravity or anything, I'm starting to think they built the clothes on him/her when being resurrected. Take that for what you will, seems rather worrying to me if they have to answer nature's call though - off camera of course.

Call me crazy, but that's actually one of my pet peeves. In ME1, the dance moves for Female Shepard were actually quite different from Male Shepard's (she rocked, and he just kinda stood there hopping from one foot to the other. Kinda like in real life ;) ). As I tried to show off my groove on Afterlife's dance floor, lo and behold, the Lazarus Project had taken it away!! ^_^ (ie, she now dances like a male Shepard) I felt robbed...

What I find ironic is how shields seem to save characters in-game, yet in cutscenes it's like they suddenly turn them off to get killed like part of some action movie... I mean you'd expect a sniper rifle would make a penetrating shot most of the time, but a handgun?

I'm not sure what character you're referring to, but not all characters have shields (ie, the female survivor in Jacob's loyalty mission), and I also have this theory that shields are useless at extremely close combat (in cutscenes an the Mass Effect universe, at least), and that a point blank bullet will zing past it. Of course, that's just me.

I personally think Harbinger comes across as a rather shadowy figure, not as much as Sovereign, but certainly with its own flavour. That said the whole idea the "galaxy is at stake" kind of wears off when you get dragged into preforming all the damn loyalty missions and ship upgrade fetching (ie planet mining screen! Only lacking the lemonade of Loading Screen). Good idea, bad execution, possibly a result of time constraints as is usually the case.
Another thing is, the attacks of the Collectors and what-not seem rather predictable, Illusive Man gives you mission, stuff blows up, Shepard goes Rawr!, and EDI inserts classic HAL references following with the saucing of a Scion break-dancing.
In short, plot-point drama with no ounce of surprise about it. If Harbinger is really so interested in Shepard, wouldn't Collectors be actively *hunting* the player whilst harvesting human colonies? And on that note, why are so few colonies getting attack? I thought we were supposed to be saving the human race damnit, not playing resource stockpiling and dramafest 2010!

See above, but I think that colonies keep getting cleaned out while we're taking our sweet time collecting companions and doing their loyalty missions. I'm also convinced that there is an unavoidable discrepancy between the urgency of our mission and the length of our game. If the mission was extremely urgent, and you had to zap through the game, well, that would make for a very short game, right?? Not much to be done about that. Also, if you're very concerned about saving the galaxy, there has been speculation on the BioWare forums that Earth will be at stake in ME3, so that should fill your quota, yes? ^_^ (again, it's just speculation at this point)

And while we're on that, you'd think all the mercenaries and criminal outfits you piss off during the game would be more than a little miffed with you and Cerberus at some point. Action and consequence? Please, go here, look badass and shoot up the place, go home for apple pie and maybe a little fishing the Captain's Nest.
Edit: And yeah, I did forget to tsk ME1 on that account as well, overall you can really just argue RPG and shut my argument right up. <_<

I'm going to argue "RPG", so there! ;) Seriously though, I'm more convinced that the various mercenary groups don't necessarily know that Cerberus was the group that hit them, or that they didn't have the time to send out a warning. Also, I think they operate in different clusters in different star systems, that all have a local guy/girl in charge, and that all answer to the same higher up's, but that don't necessarily communicate with one other. I know this might fall under the "stretching it" category, but it would account for other mercenaries' ignorance, and that's what I'm going with. :)

Probably worth saying that both seem rather tied in terms of getting the feel of xenophobia in the galaxy. Which is good, considering the times, setting, history, and not to mention it's actually initiated rather splendidly in most cases rather than DA's awkward turn of "HELLO YOU ARE RACE NOT MINE! GARRR! Oh s'cuse me, would you like some pepperoni with them elves-err fish?" Yes I did totally rip that off, apologies. :)

Actually, that was one of DA:O's major failings in my eyes: I'd be an elf, and the characters would vaguely mention it in passing, and then totally disregard it, because I'd walked up and said I was a Grey Warden (what proof did they have?), all the while kicking their elven servant right in front of me. At least ME2 did a wonderful job in creating the delicate times that are the post-Citadel Geth attack, and the reactions to Shepard are vastly different whether or not you decided to save the Council.


Anywho, enough of me being a jabbermouth, limelight anyone? Fresh mint included but batteries are sold seperately. $_$

Gosh, if you were a jabbermouth, I just wrote a whole freakin' book! Posted Image

Edited by Eleima, 17 March 2010 - 01:31 AM.

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#4 Solar's Harper

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Posted 17 March 2010 - 03:10 AM

*chuckles* You do have a point though, that blank Bioware face *is* kinda disappointing. It's like they beefed up the graphics, made it look a lot better, but lost a bit on the animations. Too bad. Maybe they'll get it juuuust right in ME3, yes? ^_^

We can only hope indeed. XD
In all honesty it's probably my favourite flaw, so much fun. Followed closely perhaps by the loading screen, O loading screen, I do :wub: you. For the songs that can be made about it mainly, but still!

I'm not sure what character you're referring to, but not all characters have shields (ie, the female survivor in Jacob's loyalty mission), and I also have this theory that shields are useless at extremely close combat (in cutscenes an the Mass Effect universe, at least), and that a point blank bullet will zing past it. Of course, that's just me.

Hmm, most settings make shields rather useless at very close range, guns and other weapons (speaking of them, I know Shepard's elbow is strong as hell but I swear ME2 took it up a notch, gosh darned cybernetics!). Makes sense in a way, but if I'm not mistaken considering most shots characters can take, the weapon would have to be very close to avoid being caught by the energy net.

Oh well, for all we know ME3 shield designers might've learned how to make such approaches less viable in the future models.
On second thought let's hope not, cliche' or not, it still fits the Action game aspect to a T. ^_^

See above, but I think that colonies keep getting cleaned out while we're taking our sweet time collecting companions and doing their loyalty missions. I'm also convinced that there is an unavoidable discrepancy between the urgency of our mission and the length of our game. If the mission was extremely urgent, and you had to zap through the game, well, that would make for a very short game, right?? Not much to be done about that. Also, if you're very concerned about saving the galaxy, there has been speculation on the BioWare forums that Earth will be at stake in ME3, so that should fill your quota, yes? ^_^ (again, it's just speculation at this point)

Mmm, not really, Earth is really "been there, done that territory" for me, I mean what Sci-fi title involving alien species hasn't tried to make aliens all want to do something to Earth? Not many to note for.

And yeah the crewmen talk about how such and such colony had all their people dragged off by the bug-eyed foreign invaders, but there is a difference between that and actually being able to do *anything* in concerns to it, sure I doubt the player would be able to rush off and save the colony but anything would be better than just utterly ignoring it, heck even the colonies we do get to see get a bit more depth to them other than gossip talk, and they occupy a rough total of five minutes emotional talk. And eventually they'll run out of dialogue for that too so you've got to wonder, what next, giant space-worms gobbling up the Citadel (If only Frank Herbert, if only)?

I'm going to argue "RPG", so there! ;) Seriously though, I'm more convinced that the various mercenary groups don't necessarily know that Cerberus was the group that hit them, or that they didn't have the time to send out a warning. Also, I think they operate in different clusters in different star systems, that all have a local guy/girl in charge, and that all answer to the same higher up's, but that don't necessarily communicate with one other. I know this might fall under the "stretching it" category, but it would account for other mercenaries' ignorance, and that's what I'm going with. :) :ph34r:

Ouch, should've known someone would take that! *insert "grr" @ self.woop-woop-woop PH.D noise* :whistling:

That certainly has credit to it, that said someone would've eventually caught on after the first few incidents, or at the very least a bounty could've been put out on the player (plenty of opportunities for them to get a picture too!) to make things a little more interesting than go to point A to B whilst looking grand-spanking fabulous in these killer shades bought on C-Bay. 8)

My guess is there probably was something in concept to make the consequences of action a little more involving, but alas that's plot-point trademark right there.

Anywho, enough of me being a jabbermouth, limelight anyone? Fresh mint included but batteries are sold seperately. $_$

Gosh, if you were a jabbermouth, I just wrote a whole freakin' book! Posted Image

:lol: Something like that, the word count comparison results (minus smilies or attempted to!) are rather uniformed too. ;)

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#5 WeeRLegion

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Posted 17 March 2010 - 03:49 AM

I think that you guys are being way too hard, here, so it's up to me to take up the banner and defend the games I love, I guess! Caution: extra long post (sorry, but I had a lot to say). And this post includes spoilers to both ME1 and ME2, that much should be obvious.


Oh, I do love the games, both of them, lots. But I'm an negative ass, so I'll rather just focus on the the critique than swooning and whatever a 'fan' might do .p

Granted, the Mako is a pain, but there is a way around the aggravation. Just stick the level ground, to the valleys, and stop trying to climb all those mountains. It became a lots less annoying once I stuck to that.


Yeah but then you'll end up missing out on a few medallions and dilinaga's ramblings and! O_O

Granted that the universe seems a bit smaller in ME2 than ME1, *but* you have to remember that you're not in the same neighborhood. This is the lawless Terminus systems, rife with deserted planets, perfect for your secluded mercenary base. Citadel Space is far behind now. I will concede, however, that the Citadel was too tiny to my tastes in ME2.


Yeah, um, that's the general critique it's received. But I wasn't so much talking abotu the cramped spaces, that's a design choice, and while it did make citadel rather dull, it did work well for the most part.

I was talking more about a lack of interaction with fun and friendly non-party NPCs; in ME1, there's lots and lots of little quests that let you get in touch with the galaxy. Sorta like Mordin's nephew calling; ME2 doesn't motivate you to care about the people or what happens to them.
Say, compare Horizon to Peak 15. In Peak 15 you basically save a fair number of people, some of which are tolerable, and some even likeable. On Horizon, you end up personally interacting with one stupid engineer who hates you and one disgruntled former crewmember. where's the love?

And in the colelctor base, you end up witnessing Lil... something's elevation into a state of primordial soup. And there isn't really any reason to care; it's a character you've never even talked to, and all you've seen of her is her giving headaches to one of your disgruntled former crewmembers.

Meh, I disagree. You kinda needed the "Normandy attacked by the Collector ship", to add to the storyline, and give the impression that the Collectors, under the influence of Harbinger, have been dogging Shepard all this time, utterly relentless in their pursuit. Also, had Shepard been killed during the Citadel's attack, the Alliance would probably have found his/her body and given him/her a hero's burial, completely with all the pomp he/she deserved. I don't see the Illusive Man coming up to them and saying "say, can I borrow the corpse? We're going to try out this Lazarus Project I've been tinkering with". Nah, Shepard needed to get spaced. Plus, it made for an awesome, gripping opening scene.


Sure, it looked cool. But I just realized it playing the games one right after the other; it's just utterly silly to survive an epic boss fight only to get whacked by a flashlight from a flying mountain right after. .p

I disagree, and here's why: Saren has a sympathetic villain because he was under Sovereign's influence, he couldn't resist the indoctrination process, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself to the contrary. Here, we have an entire race (or the remnants of it, rather), the Protheans, which have been abducted, by the Reapers to carry out their bidding. They have been so twisted by the Reapers, that they're now barely recognizable (I've accepted the theory that the statues on Ilos are an apt description of what the Protheans looked like), and compelled to do the Reapers' horrible dirty work. Every time my Shepard pulls the trigger, she is torn between pity for the members of this once great race and mercy (basically, we're putting them out of their misery). And when she faced scions, she basically has to concentrate on taking it down, so that she doesn't empty her stomach in horror (I mean, seriously, have you *seen* that thing, it's an agglomerate of corpses, it's just... ugh! I'm at a loss for words on how to describe that horrendous thing).


The problem isn't the backstory, the look, or the general concept. The problem is how they never jump in your face and become personal enemies. Excepting the fact they are shooting at you, there's never really given any proper motivation for caring about them in any way whatsoever.
With S&S you had them both making villainous speeches at you, and generally acting arrogant and unpleasant.
As creepy as they might look, the collectors never become personal like that, they're just silly little puppets who are abducting numbers from colonies you've never even heard of, even less visited or cared about.
The collectors, besides being mindless drones, are just too alien to relate to. They're not good, they're not evil, they're not menacing, annoying, or anything. They're just mooks. o_o

Meh, I think the mini-games are all on par. The ones in ME2 really weren't all *that* long, and at least they were accessible to all classes. (I'm sorry, but you really don't have to be an engineer to solve an alternate version of "Simon".


Oh yeah, that's an improvement. Being forced to bring along a techie just to open up the crates was limiting to ME1's gameplay. o_o

Gaaah, you heretic! Are you kidding me? In ME1, the quest's title was "race against time", but you could take your bloody time doing it, taking tours around the galaxy! Seriously, though, I'm no downplaying ME1's scenario, all I'm saying it's that they're both just as good and in complete continuity. The threat of the Reapers is still looming over us. In ME1, we were just learning how big a threat this is, and in ME2, the threat is still here...


Yeahh, the threat is out there... Looming... Looming... and... *snore* .p
Yeah, the threat is out there, and you are in here, shooting up mooks who only link to the threat with a holographic console thingy. .p
Sure, you shoot up a reaper, but it's a total WTF turn of the plot.
When did the reapers go from invading and eradicating civilizations to bug-assisted breeding in remote resorts? O-o
What's the point? Why would a human reaper do anyhow a better job than Sovereign? o_O
And, well, just.
"It's a HUMAN reaper!"
"WHAAAT?! XD XD"

Actually, I'm kinda disappointed how they changed Garrus. I worked so hard in ME1 to show him that revenge is not the answer, that criminals should be brought to justice, not gunned down, blah, blah, and and now... To quote Joker, "It's great Garrus took that stick out of his ass, but now he just wants to beat people to death with it". As for Jacob, I disagree, but maybe that's because I played the romance. Maybe that adds more depth to him, I don't know know. *shrug* Also, perhaps you're under the impression that ME2 companions are more defined because there are more of them. I thought characters in ME1 were nicely done, love 'em or hate 'em (I detested Ashely, sorry, can't hide it): each had its own story, its own culture (just talk to Tali about the Migrant Fleet, I thought it was enlightening). And there are about the same number of conversations in ME1 as in ME2 (about 4, depending on the character).


ME2 is a lot about the loyalty missions. I mean, a LOT. And they sort of -well, most of them- paint a picture with more perspective.
And ME1 talks are more about the cultures and history in general, ME2 talks seem to have more to do with the characters.
@_@

Hey! Don't blame the game for your hardware's faults! ;)


Hey! That was me being positive! I thought ME2 did a better job with hardware compatibility! .p


...walk off screen slow mode to Disneyland. :P


...
That's actually pretty much a spot-on analysis of ME1 dialog aniamtions. xD

I'm not sure what character you're referring to, but not all characters have shields (ie, the female survivor in Jacob's loyalty mission), and I also have this theory that shields are useless at extremely close combat (in cutscenes an the Mass Effect universe, at least), and that a point blank bullet will zing past it. Of course, that's just me.


Yeah, I figured something similar. I always laugh my ass off though, when Fai Dan 'refuses to stop me'; by that time, I usually have enough shields to take a minute of continuous fire from his crappy sidearm. xP

But yeah, it's sometimes a bit weird.

See above, but I think that colonies keep getting cleaned out while we're taking our sweet time collecting companions and doing their loyalty missions. I'm also convinced that there is an unavoidable discrepancy between the urgency of our mission and the length of our game. If the mission was extremely urgent, and you had to zap through the game, well, that would make for a very short game, right?? Not much to be done about that. Also, if you're very concerned about saving the galaxy, there has been speculation on the BioWare forums that Earth will be at stake in ME3, so that should fill your quota, yes? ^_^ (again, it's just speculation at this point)


I'll sort of have to fall in between here.
I get that more colonies are getting hit. But what I'd like to get is, is to SEE them getting hit, see the collectors being all mean and wicked, make them worth killing. xP
Also, I'd like to care about said colonies getting hit, meet some people, hear some stories. o_o

Gosh, if you were a jabbermouth, I just wrote a whole freakin' book! Posted Image


Discussion, that's what were here for! the more, the better! : D

Sorry if I've come across as a bit provocative there 'round a few turns of phrase; couldn't resist, I'm dying of boredom here. xP

#6 Eleima

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Posted 17 March 2010 - 09:47 AM

Hmm, most settings make shields rather useless at very close range, guns and other weapons (speaking of them, I know Shepard's elbow is strong as hell but I swear ME2 took it up a notch, gosh darned cybernetics!). Makes sense in a way, but if I'm not mistaken considering most shots characters can take, the weapon would have to be very close to avoid being caught by the energy net. Oh well, for all we know ME3 shield designers might've learned how to make such approaches less viable in the future models. On second thought let's hope not, cliche' or not, it still fits the Action game aspect to a T. ^_^

Also, don't forget that "the slow blade penetrates the shield". ;) Seriously, though, I'm not sure how to account for it, but I guess it's just that little quirk we're going to have to take for granted.

Mmm, not really, Earth is really "been there, done that territory" for me, I mean what Sci-fi title involving alien species hasn't tried to make aliens all want to do something to Earth? Not many to note for.

I agree that it may be a tiny bit cliché, but while storming the Collector ship, one of the members of your squad remarks on the number of pods, and the other says that there would be enough to abduct the entire Earth population... *shrug* Not my favorite theory, but it's hinted at, so...

And yeah the crewmen talk about how such and such colony had all their people dragged off by the bug-eyed foreign invaders, but there is a difference between that and actually being able to do *anything* in concerns to it, sure I doubt the player would be able to rush off and save the colony but anything would be better than just utterly ignoring it, heck even the colonies we do get to see get a bit more depth to them other than gossip talk, and they occupy a rough total of five minutes emotional talk. And eventually they'll run out of dialogue for that too so you've got to wonder, what next, giant space-worms gobbling up the Citadel (If only Frank Herbert, if only)?

Ha! Shai-Hulud gobbling up the Citadel, hilarious!! (but then again, worms aren't really the space faring type, aye? ;) ) I can't argue that the subject is barely touched upon, but you have to admit that we can't pretend the rest of the galaxy is on hold while we complete our mission. You could counter that Mordin should have given his counter measure to other colonies, but then we wouldn't have a ME2 game, so...

That certainly has credit to it, that said someone would've eventually caught on after the first few incidents, or at the very least a bounty could've been put out on the player (plenty of opportunities for them to get a picture too!) to make things a little more interesting than go to point A to B whilst looking grand-spanking fabulous in these killer shades bought on C-Bay. 8) My guess is there probably was something in concept to make the consequences of action a little more involving, but alas that's plot-point trademark right there.

You're, once again, completely right here. I'm just trying to rationalize the wherefore and why of the non-response of the mercenaries, that's all. Then again, maybe Shepard is such a super hero, that he/she zips from one mercenary cluster to the next without them having the time to react, yes? ^_^

Oh, I do love the games, both of them, lots. But I'm an negative ass, so I'll rather just focus on the the critique than swooning and whatever a 'fan' might do .p

Heh, yeah, you're pretty much always gripping, yes? ^_^ (kidding!) Just leave me to my swooning, then! :D

Yeah but then you'll end up missing out on a few medallions and dilinaga's ramblings and! O_O

Not necessarily. I did a ME1 run recently, using the MAKO on every terrain, of every planet, and although he does sometimes take you out of your way, it is possible to snag every reward while avoiding the rougher terrain. Of course, that requires having a map with the goodies on it so you know where you're going, but since I did a few playthroughs before while meticulously canvassing the planets, I don't considering pulling out the maps now cheating.

Yeah, um, that's the general critique it's received. But I wasn't so much talking about the cramped spaces, that's a design choice, and while it did make citadel rather dull, it did work well for the most part.
I was talking more about a lack of interaction with fun and friendly non-party NPCs; in ME1, there's lots and lots of little quests that let you get in touch with the galaxy. Sorta like Mordin's nephew calling; ME2 doesn't motivate you to care about the people or what happens to them.
Say, compare Horizon to Peak 15. In Peak 15 you basically save a fair number of people, some of which are tolerable, and some even likeable. On Horizon, you end up personally interacting with one stupid engineer who hates you and one disgruntled former crewmember. where's the love?

Ah, I see what you mean, now. It's true that they could've thrown in a few extras here or there to beef up that aspect. I remember in particular being disappointed that I couldn't reassure the disgruntled Omega resident that I would drop in on her apartment to make sure it wasn't been looted (when you go get Mordin, there's a woman upset because the turian guard won't let her in, remember?). And I did end up wishing that *someone*, anyone would thank me for saving what little I could of Horizon.

And in the colelctor base, you end up witnessing Lil... something's elevation into a state of primordial soup. And there isn't really any reason to care; it's a character you've never even talked to, and all you've seen of her is her giving headaches to one of your disgruntled former crewmembers.

Well... And here I was thinking that watching a fellow human being, even one you don't know, dissolved by tiny little robots would unsettle anyone. Guess I was wrong. :rolleyes:

Sure, it looked cool. But I just realized it playing the games one right after the other; it's just utterly silly to survive an epic boss fight only to get whacked by a flashlight from a flying mountain right after. .p

Umm... Even a very powerful flashlight? ;)

The problem isn't the backstory, the look, or the general concept. The problem is how they never jump in your face and become personal enemies. Excepting the fact they are shooting at you, there's never really given any proper motivation for caring about them in any way whatsoever. With S&S you had them both making villainous speeches at you, and generally acting arrogant and unpleasant.
As creepy as they might look, the collectors never become personal like that, they're just silly little puppets who are abducting numbers from colonies you've never even heard of, even less visited or cared about. The collectors, besides being mindless drones, are just too alien to relate to. They're not good, they're not evil, they're not menacing, annoying, or anything. They're just mooks. o_o

But that's what makes the Collectors such a tragic figure! They've lost any shred of free will that they might have had as Protheans! I will grant, however, that some form of communication with Harbinger would've been interesting. Maybe we'll get that in ME3? (seriously, though, you're never satisfied, are you? Had we had a speech from Harbinger, you would've complained that it was the clichéd "villain's monologue", no? ;) )

Yeahh, the threat is out there... Looming... Looming... and... *snore* .p Yeah, the threat is out there, and you are in here, shooting up mooks who only link to the threat with a holographic console thingy. .p

I'm getting the feeling you're hard to impress... :D

Sure, you shoot up a reaper, but it's a total WTF turn of the plot. When did the reapers go from invading and eradicating civilizations to bug-assisted breeding in remote resorts? O-o What's the point? Why would a human reaper do anyhow a better job than Sovereign? o_O And, well, just. "It's a HUMAN reaper!" "WHAAAT?! XD XD"

Granted that was a bit... bizarre... I'm waiting for ME3 to give us more answers on that particular point. I still don't really get why they dumped that in there. For the big final boss fight?... <_<

ME2 is a lot about the loyalty missions. I mean, a LOT. And they sort of -well, most of them- paint a picture with more perspective. And ME1 talks are more about the cultures and history in general, ME2 talks seem to have more to do with the characters. @_@

I guess ME1 & ME2 just show things differently, perhaps.

Discussion, that's what were here for! the more, the better! : D

Have you had enough now? ^_^

Sorry if I've come across as a bit provocative there 'round a few turns of phrase; couldn't resist, I'm dying of boredom here. xP

Nah, not provocative, just picky. ^_^ *chuckles*

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#7 WeeRLegion

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Posted 17 March 2010 - 11:05 AM

[quote name]Heh, yeah, you're pretty much always gripping, yes? ^_^ (kidding!) Just leave me to my swooning, then! :D[/quote]

But if I did that, we couldn't have this discussion. .p

[quote]Not necessarily. I did a ME1 run recently, using the MAKO on every terrain, of every planet, and although he does sometimes take you out of your way, it is possible to snag every reward while avoiding the rougher terrain. Of course, that requires having a map with the goodies on it so you know where you're going, but since I did a few playthroughs before while meticulously canvassing the planets, I don't considering pulling out the maps now cheating.[/quote]

Yeah, IDK what to say to that. You actually have maps of ME1 geometry puzzles stored away from the game?
Whow. .p

[quote]Well... And here I was thinking that watching a fellow human being, even one you don't know, dissolved by tiny little robots would unsettle anyone. Guess I was wrong. :rolleyes: /quote]

What? I was supposed to what? Oh. Sorry. Damn. I get so forgetful with this humanitarian etiquette... .p

[quote]Umm... Even a very powerful flashlight? ;)[/quote]

Well, I'll give it that much. It was a powerful flashlight. Probably LED or Halogen or smthn. .p

[quote]But that's what makes the Collectors such a tragic figure! They've lost any shred of free will that they might have had as Protheans! I will grant, however, that some form of communication with Harbinger would've been interesting. Maybe we'll get that in ME3? (seriously, though, you're never satisfied, are you? Had we had a speech from Harbinger, you would've complained that it was the clichéd "villain's monologue", no? ;) )[/quote]

If it had been a clichéd villain's monologue, sure. .p

But it could well enough have been something completely fresh, like [url=http://ghostdancedeluxe.deviantart.com/art/Mass-Effect-Hallucinations-157520321]THIS[/url]. Definitely very personal. ^^

[quote]I'm getting the feeling you're hard to impress... :D[/quote]

You aren't the first to notice. .p

[quote]Granted that was a bit... bizarre... I'm waiting for ME3 to give us more answers on that particular point. I still don't really get why they dumped that in there. For the big final boss fight?... <_< [/quote]

That's pretty much as I figured it too. XP
It's like they painted themselves into a corner by making Sovereign such an invincible giant, and then realized; "But, but. Damn. There really is no way Shepard could plausibly take down Harbinger at the end, is there? Damn. But. Oh! I know! We still haven't used the abducted colonists for anything... ! : D"

[quote]Have you had enough now? ^_^[/quote]

Why exactly would I? .p

#8 Archmage Silver

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Posted 17 March 2010 - 11:36 AM

ME1 vs. ME2

Combat: ME2 has much more streamlined combat, which I can appreciate not only as a player, but as an occasional shooter player.

Exploring: ME1 offers much more interesting exploration (Read: MAKO). Seeing strange creatures in a hidden location on some barren planet - ageless Sci-Fi.

Characters, music, story and others are pretty much even in my opinion, but maybe that's just me. I do tend to ignore things like graphics to a certain extent though.

#9 Solar's Harper

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Posted 17 March 2010 - 01:54 PM

I agree that it may be a tiny bit cliché, but while storming the Collector ship, one of the members of your squad remarks on the number of pods, and the other says that there would be enough to abduct the entire Earth population... *shrug* Not my favorite theory, but it's hinted at, so...

Well what management wouldn't always have a slight excess of space required, I mean with humans churning out babies all the time and them growing up all the while big bad Reaping Reapers come to the galaxy the hard way, planning ahead much? ^_^

And in the colelctor base, you end up witnessing Lil... something's elevation into a state of primordial soup. And there isn't really any reason to care; it's a character you've never even talked to, and all you've seen of her is her giving headaches to one of your disgruntled former crewmembers.

Well... And here I was thinking that watching a fellow human being, even one you don't know, dissolved by tiny little robots would unsettle anyone. Guess I was wrong. :rolleyes:

Unsettle, ehh probably not in this day and age where NPCs can die in more than 5-bit pixel ways (Yes I'm bringing up Sierra adventure games, try and stop me mwhahaha!):devil: , but personally speaking that scene probably is one of the better sides of ME2's mission urgency feel. Just a pity it is directly tied to plot rather than being overly time based. I mean, heck once you know when the counter actually start ticking, you then know roughly who, and how many people are going to be singing "frying tonight" whilst being reverted to goo to be slapped onto the baby reaper, and you don't save many colonists anyway, mostly just the crew who get kidnapped... on that note...

Edit: Forgot to finish a sentence. :whistling:

Sure, you shoot up a reaper, but it's a total WTF turn of the plot. When did the reapers go from invading and eradicating civilizations to bug-assisted breeding in remote resorts? O-o What's the point? Why would a human reaper do anyhow a better job than Sovereign? o_O And, well, just. "It's a HUMAN reaper!" "WHAAAT?! XD XD"

Granted that was a bit... bizarre... I'm waiting for ME3 to give us more answers on that particular point. I still don't really get why they dumped that in there. For the big final boss fight?... <_<

Well there is a theory out there as highlighted by ME2 in particular, that this is how the Reapers reproduce. Since a human killed Sovereign, probably to recoup their losses and "reward" the victor race a place among them? Twisted idea of a reward, but it definitely fits. :devil:

They do consider themselves above all other races after all.

But that's what makes the Collectors such a tragic figure! They've lost any shred of free will that they might have had as Protheans! I will grant, however, that some form of communication with Harbinger would've been interesting. Maybe we'll get that in ME3? (seriously, though, you're never satisfied, are you? Had we had a speech from Harbinger, you would've complained that it was the clichéd "villain's monologue", no? ;) )

Methinks they thought Harbinger's taunts were communication enough this time. Kinda fitting to the name too, although the amount of times his lines can get recycled is a bit off putting. Minor gripe however, at the very least they could've made him appear like Sovereign's big brother/sister (curse you genderless reapers) or something.
That should be enough personal for Legion at least, care to challenge that? :P

Edited by Solar's Harper, 17 March 2010 - 01:56 PM.

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#10 Eleima

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Posted 17 March 2010 - 11:50 PM

Yeah, IDK what to say to that. You actually have maps of ME1 geometry puzzles stored away from the game? Whow. .p

No, no, not really, I just the Game Banshee's maps, they have everything marked on them. Really handy for today's MAKO-driving Spectre! ^_^

If it had been a clichéd villain's monologue, sure. .p
But it could well enough have been something completely fresh, like THIS. Definitely very personal. ^^

:wacko: Oh... My... God... Can't!... Unsee! *chuckles* Yeah, that *would* have been incredibly personal. :rolleyes:


Characters, music, story and others are pretty much even in my opinion, but maybe that's just me. I do tend to ignore things like graphics to a certain extent though.

I'm extremely picky and attentive to detail when it comes to video games' music. I was completely enraptured with ME1's soundtrack (that opening theme when Shepard walks up the Normandy's bridge to get to the cockpit, the Vigil's theme, the Love Theme, Faunts' theme for the credits... it was nearly flawless), so I did have some concern whether or not Jack Wall would be able to repeat the theme. I'm very happy to say that he did: the opening theme is epic, the "Normandy Reborn" theme gave me shivers and made me squeal in delight. Thane's theme is also one of my favorites.


Well what management wouldn't always have a slight excess of space required, I mean with humans churning out babies all the time and them growing up all the while big bad Reaping Reapers come to the galaxy the hard way, planning ahead much? ^_^

Actually, by the time Mass Effect takes place, there are over 11 billion people on Earth alone, not taking into account any of the colonies). Now I didn't count the number of pods they had in there, but still... Makes you think...
And I'd like to see you "churn out" a baby! Not as easy as it looks, I'd wager!! :rolleyes:

Unsettle, ehh probably not in this day and age where NPCs can die in more than 5-bit pixel ways (Yes I'm bringing up Sierra adventure games, try and stop me mwhahaha!):devil: , but personally speaking that scene probably is one of the better sides of ME2's mission urgency feel. Just a pity it is directly tied to plot rather than being overly time based. I mean, heck once you know when the counter actually start ticking, you then know roughly who, and how many people are going to be singing "frying tonight" whilst being reverted to goo to be slapped onto the baby reaper, and you don't save many colonists anyway, mostly just the crew who get kidnapped... on that note...

I won't argue with you regarding Sierra games! In fact, I'll be right there beside you, leading the charge! Heck, I grew up with Sierra games, and in those days, your player character was a frail, fragile little thing, not the invincible juggernaut that Shepard is! ^_^
I agree with you, however, that the urgency really, truly hits once your crew gets abducted, and the game does suffer a bit on that point. Problem is that if you do rush through the game to save the colonists, you'll end up not doing loyalty missions and getting fried by the Collectors or losing most of your squad. And even if you do rush to the Hawking Eta to hit the Omega 4 relay ASAP, I'm not sure that the game would let you save Lilith anyways... All in all, I concede that from a storytelling point of view, there is a tiny chink in that armor. But as Shepard says in conference at one time, "We're not helping anyone by rushing in unprepared".

Well there is a theory out there as highlighted by ME2 in particular, that this is how the Reapers reproduce. Since a human killed Sovereign, probably to recoup their losses and "reward" the victor race a place among them? Twisted idea of a reward, but it definitely fits. :devil: They do consider themselves above all other races after all.

That's actually an interesting theory that I had considered, but it also confused me, since I've always been under the impression that Reapers are synthetics. Guess we'll have to wait for ME3 to give us the answers (it had better be good! ^_^ ).
Addendum: After some delving into the Mass Effect Wiki, it would actually seem that all reapers are made of "techno-organic shells based on an individual species' physical form". That would certainly fit the theory.

Methinks they thought Harbinger's taunts were communication enough this time. Kinda fitting to the name too, although the amount of times his lines can get recycled is a bit off putting. Minor gripe however, at the very least they could've made him appear like Sovereign's big brother/sister (curse you genderless reapers) or something. That should be enough personal for Legion at least, care to challenge that? :P

Well, see, that's something rather interesting, because on Virmire, Sovereign said something about Reapers lacking individuals ("we are legion" said he), so I was always under the impression that there was only one collective consciousness for all Reapers, no individuals. Kinda like the geth. But hey... what do I know. ^_^

By the way, we're bound to be in for a ride in Mass Effect 3. Someone counted the numbers of Reapers visible in the final scene, and there are almost 300. Considering it took the entire Alliance Fleet and the Destiny Ascension, and all the other ships called to defend the Citadel from a single Reaper... Wow. Someone (Shepard, you busy?) better think of something fast! :D

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#11 Solar's Harper

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Posted 18 March 2010 - 12:53 AM

And I'd like to see you "churn out" a baby! Not as easy as it looks, I'd wager!! :rolleyes:

Too true, lacking necessary components for a start. That and I think everyone and everything would be traumatised, it's already distressing enough that Sims do that! :wacko:

But unless the Reapers are insanely fast, there's probably a fair number of years gap between them and the ME galaxy. After all they are vulnerable during hibernation, would be unwise to nest somewhere in space where nearly everybody's going to bump into you, no matter how uber strong your weapons happen to be.

I'm not sure that the game would let you save Lilith anyways...

Most talk I've heard, she goes down no matter what anyway, although whether it's her or the forward assistant... no pun intended :whistling: that is seen mixing into goop is another question.
Least that's what I've heard anyway, don't take it for fact you fact-sheet makers. :)

And yeah, I can see how the timer would screw the idea of "fun" for ME2 if everything was timed right from the get-go, at the very least some creepy red-glowing eye looking child isn't chasing the player while they fight baddies only to get hugged to death if they run out of time on the level... points to anyone who can get that obscure game reference. ^_^

Just feels rather tacky script writing if the player's constantly nagged about being lazy, and then just slap them in the face with a set of predetermined results, lot more variety than most other titles but give us some credit Bioware, we're not all moving at snail speed! Just, somewhat distracted at times... :whistling:
Oh well!
Where the game fails the environmental factor, the fan fiction will most likely pick up methinks. :)

Edited by Solar's Harper, 18 March 2010 - 12:56 AM.

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#12 Philiposophy

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Posted 18 March 2010 - 06:46 AM

Well, see, that's something rather interesting, because on Virmire, Sovereign said something about Reapers lacking individuals ("we are legion" said he), so I was always under the impression that there was only one collective consciousness for all Reapers, no individuals. Kinda like the geth. But hey... what do I know. ^_^

Each individual Reaper is made up of millions/billions of programs, like geth are, but they are also individuals. Sovereign says "we are each a nation", referring to how each Reaper is more than one entity, but they are perfectly unified, as he has the concept of individuality ("I am Sovereign" etc). The geth see them as the pinnacle of AI because they have evolved individualism from plurality, which Legion can only dream of (he says "we" all the time).

#13 Eleima

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Posted 18 March 2010 - 06:59 AM

But unless the Reapers are insanely fast, there's probably a fair number of years gap between them and the ME galaxy. After all they are vulnerable during hibernation, would be unwise to nest somewhere in space where nearly everybody's going to bump into you, no matter how uber strong your weapons happen to be.

Well, actually, who knows what kind of dormant mass relays relays are out there, waiting to be activated at a moment's notice the second the Reapers come in range. Or relays like the Omega-4 relay which let only certain vessels come through. They could be years away, and they could be days away, who knows! (Let us hope that Shepard at least gets a bit of shore leave before saving the galaxy once more, yes? ^_^ )

Most talk I've heard, she goes down no matter what anyway, although whether it's her or the forward assistant... no pun intended :whistling: that is seen mixing into goop is another question.
Least that's what I've heard anyway, don't take it for fact you fact-sheet makers. :)

Actually, that's what I've read and experienced as well. The Horizon colonists are toast (or rather, goo) whatever you do, and you see Chambers getting dissolved instead of Lilith, only if you arrive too late to save your crew. Not much wiggle room, there.

Just feels rather tacky script writing if the player's constantly nagged about being lazy, and then just slap them in the face with a set of predetermined results, lot more variety than most other titles but give us some credit Bioware, we're not all moving at snail speed! Just, somewhat distracted at times... :whistling: Oh well! Where the game fails the environmental factor, the fan fiction will most likely pick up methinks. :)

Hooray for fan fiction!!!! ^_^ But yes, it's though to juggle all the different elements of the story, both the urgency of the situation and the gameplay, I guess.

Each individual Reaper is made up of millions/billions of programs, like geth are, but they are also individuals. Sovereign says "we are each a nation", referring to how each Reaper is more than one entity, but they are perfectly unified, as he has the concept of individuality ("I am Sovereign" etc). The geth see them as the pinnacle of AI because they have evolved individualism from plurality, which Legion can only dream of (he says "we" all the time).

I understand what you're saying, but my mind must be far too accustomed to individualism to wrap myself around the concept... It makes more sense about Sovereign and Harbinger being individuals, though...

Edited by Eleima, 18 March 2010 - 07:01 AM.

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#14 WeeRLegion

WeeRLegion

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Posted 18 March 2010 - 10:24 PM

I'm extremely picky and attentive to detail when it comes to video games' music. I was completely enraptured with ME1's soundtrack (that opening theme when Shepard walks up the Normandy's bridge to get to the cockpit, the Vigil's theme, the Love Theme, Faunts' theme for the credits... it was nearly flawless), so I did have some concern whether or not Jack Wall would be able to repeat the theme. I'm very happy to say that he did: the opening theme is epic, the "Normandy Reborn" theme gave me shivers and made me squeal in delight. Thane's theme is also one of my favorites.


I actually thought ME2 musics were an improvement. While ME1 soudns had their moments, the basic background music just generally seemed more monotone, yet it played constantly.

A personal fav would have to be the 'barrier walk' piece from the collector base.
It's not quite as epic as the Normandy Reborn and other exceptionally epic pieces, but it's just wonderfully old-school adventurous. Luv it. @_@