MASS EFFECT

The Dog Whisperer · Post by **The Dog Whisperer** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 10:30 pm

It wasn't speedy at all, Veck ninja'd me first. >_>

Veck · Post by **Veck** » Sat Feb 05, 2011 10:32 pm

Well, seeing as Kaiden's sort of... well, dead for me, it might be difficult to bring him back. He was an alright guy, but he was just... boring really. I wouldn't have given up Ashley just for him. Jacob's just rubbish though. Believe me, I pursued his romance on my first playthrough, and it is the most emotionless love scene I have ever seen. Going out with Garrus instead was a heavy risk. But the priiize. And the intense and moving nature of the relationship as well. That was a plus.

Arch-Mage Matt · Post by **Arch-Mage Matt** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 4:17 am

The only reason I considered keeping Kaidan alive was in tribute to Carth of KOTOR. (If you didn't know they have the same voice actors) but in the end I couldn't sacrifice Ashley.

They also did say that this last DLC will partly bridge the gap between ME2 and 3. Also, if anyone hasn't noticed, the official description for ME3 as of now is something along the lines of "Unite the galaxy to launch a counter-attack on the Reapers and take back Earth"

The Tourist · Post by **The Tourist** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 6:41 pm

Veck wrote:Jacob's just rubbish though. Believe me, I pursued his romance on my first playthrough, and it is the most emotionless love scene I have ever seen. Going out with Garrus instead was a heavy risk. But the priiize. And the intense and moving nature of the relationship as well. That was a plus.

Not to get overly feminist, but I didn't like the whole objectification of sex in ME or DAO. Origins handles it a little better, as the relationships are persistent and changeable, as opposed to just 'Here's the love scene as a reward for all that "relationship" stuff'. But still, both games don't exactly convince in that department. They're trying, sure, and in ME2 it's particularly well written, yet it still feels simplistic and rather clunky. Similarly, the 'invite Miranda/Garrus/Whoever up' to your cabin is just daft. Wtf's that whole sofa thing about?

Ash Williams is still my favourite though, as a character. I thought the dialogue between she and Shep - especially if you shared a military background - was some of the best in both games. Incredibly naturalistic.

And yeah, you don't need very advanced Spidey sense to know that the last DLC won't be bringing back Ash or Kaiden. One of 'em must be dead for the sake of that bloodsoaked [and very confusing] Altar of Continuity..

Arch-Mage Matt wrote:Also, if anyone hasn't noticed, the official description for ME3 as of now is something along the lines of "Unite the galaxy to launch a counter-attack on the Reapers and take back Earth"

Yeah, I'm getting the impression ME's following the cinematic rule of 3; be it The Matrix or Lord Of The Rings/Fellowship, the first installment is often the most rewarding, simply because it introduces you to the world and its plot, and as such feels very fresh (ditto Transformers 1 to 2). The Matrix trilogy just ended up as an endless mishmash of CGI, and I'd argue so did LOTR. I hope ME3 won't simply get carried away with its grand 'space battle', because its universe is far more interesting than that. More character, less action = better.

Veck · Post by **Veck** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 11:50 pm

Dialogue was lost on a lot of characters in 2 really. You spoke with them a couple of times about their characteristics and history, and then you either pursued a romance after getting them loyal, or you ran out of dialogue. With the exception of Mordin, who brings a smile to my face every time I try and talk to him, a lot of characters felt hollow. In 1, there were loads of dialogue options and paths with all six of the companions. If Ashley was in 2 properly, then she would probably run out of dialogue after a couple of conversations with FemShep. On 1, you can carry on talking to her, and start to build a "jus friends" relationship with her, somethig that isn't possible in dialogue from 2. And you get a similar impression with the other characters. Wrex is the grizzled and haunted warrior, Garrus is the disillusioned and extremist cop, Kaiden is the holier-than-thou all round nice guy, Tali is the reserved young prodigy, and Liara is the ditsy princess. They're all plays on classic archetypes, but they're handled well enough to be original and fun. You don't really see that as much in 2, although some characters are portrayed rather well.

The Dog Whisperer · Post by **The Dog Whisperer** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 11:56 pm

Samara had a hell of a lot of dialogue, I don't think I ever got to a point where she just had nothing to say.
She's probably somewhere in the top 5 of my favourite ME2 squaddies.

And I wasn't talking about bringing back Ash or Kaidan from the dead- Rather bringing the Virmire Survivor back into the action a little bit, basically doing for them what LotSB done for Liara.

Stendarr · Post by **Stendarr** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 11:57 pm

Agreed. I wasn't impressed by how the relationship with Miranda evolved, very shallow. It's like, a couple of blinks and she's in your arms for life. Meh. Haven't tried any other though. But yeah, not all characters were great. I thought Garrus had a nice evolution, Mordin was one of the best, Tali brought up some interesting things about the Migrant Fleet and the Geth, but beyond them, I thought some were really terrible. Grunt was a boring stereotype, Samara was... wut? - in the bad sense, I thought she brought ridiculous elements to ME. Jacob was so-so, Miranda okay. They clearly lacked depth and character development. By the end of ME1, you both learned a lot of things about your squad mates AND the universe, it's not really the case in ME2.

Veck · Post by **Veck** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 12:26 am

I dunno, I thought Samara's almost robotic black and white personality was quite unique in the world of grey shades that Mass Effect normally contains. One thing that annoyed me with it was the fact that Zaeed and Kasumi didn't even have dialogue options on the Normandy. They aren't very good characters anyway, but still.

Stendarr · Post by **Stendarr** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 12:39 am

It's mostly the code thing which I feel is quite ridiculous. I cringed every time there was something about it.

The Tourist · Post by **The Tourist** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 12:56 am

I loved Zaeed, and he became a regular squadmate. Dull at first, but his mission dialogue cut to the chase, and he was always a stand-up fighter; even if the not so I A.I. went a bit HAL he'd more often than not survive. Plus, morally, he could support either Renegade or Goody TwoShoes. I admired that quality, as opposed to the other characters proclivity to whine if you didn't do exactly what they wanted you to do. Samara (though rarely used) I also liked, mainly 'cause her voice actress did a mighty fine job. But I also found she 'ran dry' fairly quickly, and - not being a full romantic potential - didn't really have much more to offer.

All RPG's are going to hit the no-new-dialogue wall sooner or later. There's not a lot the developers can do. If I play through an RPG and feel I haven't explored the other characters fully, I feel like I've missed out. If I DO run 'em dry, I get that slightly empty feeling because you know all you have left is the Big Finale (which I always find slightly disappointing, no matter how big the inevitable explosions are). A good RPG's like a good book or tv series - you don't really want it to end.

ME2 had its fault, but it's still a benchmark. And up until the whole---

Spoiler:

---there was barely a moment I didn't enjoy.

A lot of people on the Skyrim board are repeating the mantra 'I trust Bethesda'. Well, I'm sure Skyrim won't be rubbish, but I'm far more sure that I trust BioWare to do a good job with ME3.

born2beagator · Post by **born2beagator** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 1:59 am

Arch-Mage Matt wrote:The only reason I considered keeping Kaidan alive was in tribute to Carth of KOTOR. (If you didn't know they have the same voice actors) but in the end I couldn't sacrifice Ashley.

Exactly. First thing I noticed in ME1

born2beagator · Post by **born2beagator** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 2:01 am

Stendarr wrote:Agreed. I wasn't impressed by how the relationship with Miranda evolved, very shallow. It's like, a couple of blinks and she's in your arms for life. Meh. Haven't tried any other though. But yeah, not all characters were great. I thought Garrus had a nice evolution, Mordin was one of the best, Tali brought up some interesting things about the Migrant Fleet and the Geth, but beyond them, I thought some were really terrible. Grunt was a boring stereotype, Samara was... wut? - in the bad sense, I thought she brought ridiculous elements to ME. Jacob was so-so, Miranda okay. They clearly lacked depth and character development. By the end of ME1, you both learned a lot of things about your squad mates AND the universe, it's not really the case in ME2.

If you try romancing Morinth you die a horrible, grusome, painful death

RobotNixon · Post by **RobotNixon** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 7:10 am

So, how 'bout that new Alternate Appearance Pack 2?

Arch-Mage Matt · Post by **Arch-Mage Matt** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 11:40 pm

RobotNixon wrote:So, how 'bout that new Alternate Appearance Pack 2?

Looks pretty good, I'll get to downloading it soon. Tali looks the best, but I don't really like anything covering up the person's face. Miranda and previous Thane and Jack, for example.

The Dog Whisperer · Post by **The Dog Whisperer** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 4:19 pm

Bye Jack Wall?
Hello Clint Mansell. :\

Dunno, I like Mansell's stuff, but it is really different.

The Tourist · Post by **The Tourist** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 10:05 pm

Wait, what? Nigel Mansell's scoring ME3?! (who's Clint Mansell?)

ME1 had the best, most distinctive score (more clean '80's synths, less bombastic string sections), but ME2 was no slouch in the music department. I'm clueless, obviously, but is Wall really not working on 3? Seems an odd decision.

Arch-Mage wrote:Tali looks the best, but I don't really like anything covering up the person's face. Miranda and previous Thane and Jack, for example.

Each to their own. Without the virtual 'eye contact', the key dramatic scenes do lose a bit of an edge. But my Shep's pretty much always used a visor (the targetting eye piece, and the DLC, er, orange-y thing.. ). On a side note, the Kestral armours visor/helm is stoopid.

Arch-Mage Matt · Post by **Arch-Mage Matt** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 11:48 pm

Just the idea of wearing a bucket helmet during all those scenes is odd...

born2beagator · Post by **born2beagator** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 1:06 am

The Tourist wrote:Wait, what? Nigel Mansell's scoring ME3?! (who's Clint Mansell?)

ME1 had the best, most distinctive score (more clean '80's synths, less bombastic string sections), but ME2 was no slouch in the music department. I'm clueless, obviously, but is Wall really not working on 3? Seems an odd decision.

Arch-Mage wrote:Tali looks the best, but I don't really like anything covering up the person's face. Miranda and previous Thane and Jack, for example.
Each to their own. Without the virtual 'eye contact', the key dramatic scenes do lose a bit of an edge. But my Shep's pretty much always used a visor (the targetting eye piece, and the DLC, er, orange-y thing.. ). On a side note, the Kestral armours visor/helm is stoopid.

but unfortunatly extremely useful for a soldier

I used it

The Dog Whisperer · Post by **The Dog Whisperer** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 9:40 am

I wanted to use it, it would've helped, but I hate not being able to see my character's face.

On the soundtrack: This isn't where I first heard it, but it's the first link that came with a google search.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6298528.html

I only really know him because he scored a film with Mogwai. linkz

Stendarr · Post by **Stendarr** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 5:29 pm

The Dog Whisperer wrote:Bye Jack Wall?
Hello Clint Mansell. :\

Dunno, I like Mansell's stuff, but it is really different.

Well, you never know what he will come up with. As much as I like Jack Wall, I thought most of ME2's soundtrack was lacklustre, while the one of ME1 was very solid throughout. I guess part of it depends on what the developers want as a soundtrack. Considering the big turn Bioware did with ME2, it isn't surprising. Maybe they want something even more different?

The Dog Whisperer · Post by **The Dog Whisperer** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 7:26 pm

ME1's main menu music is one of those tracks that loops around inside my head all the time.
ME2's.. Was there any main menu music?

deadknight · Post by **deadknight** » Thu May 26, 2011 2:41 pm

I am reviving this thread..... I started playing Mass Effect 2 a few days ago.... had some trouble with the class selection and had to start again.... but now is all fine.... I am new to the game, so i know nothing .... i wont trouble reading the whole thread yet.... i am too lazy now

So, commanders.... lets continue discussing... companions, romance, classes, anything ...

Some tips and advices if you want ... but no spoilers

I have to say that the game is awesome, and the Infiltrator class kick butt

Thats all... for now

I'm sorry for necroposting.... but..... Avron recommended this

Veck · Post by **Veck** » Thu May 26, 2011 3:11 pm

Play Mass Effect 1 first. That's the most solid advice you can get.

born2beagator · Post by **born2beagator** » Thu May 26, 2011 3:29 pm

Veck wrote:Play Mass Effect 1 first. That's the most solid advice you can get.

He is playing ME2 before ME1!? That is a major no no.

deadknight · Post by **deadknight** » Thu May 26, 2011 4:47 pm

born2beagator wrote:
Veck wrote:Play Mass Effect 1 first. That's the most solid advice you can get.
He is playing ME2 before ME1!? That is a major no no.

I know that.... i knew it before buying the game..... its not my fault that Mass Effect 1 its not around here

.....

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