General Gaming Mass Effect 2 is still sooooo good

[Fizzzzle]

I'm replaying the trilogy right now for the first time in almost a decade.

 

I understand why people would like Mass Effect 1 better, I really do. The role playing has a lot more depth. If you're looking more for Baldur's Gate in space, then yeah, ME1 is what you want.

 

However, having just played it for the first time in a long time, the pacing is fucking all over the place. Maybe it felt a lot different when I was discovering the world for the first time, but you start at a fairly blistering pace, only to stop for like 5-6 hours wandering around elevators on the citadel, only to then blast through a few worlds to stop again, etc etc. The pacing never really finds a rhythm. Plus, the game does this thing I hate - if a mission is a "point of no return" mission, TELL THE PLAYER THAT IT'S A POINT OF NO RETURN MISSION. In ME1, when you go to Ilos, that's it - you're locked in for the rest of the game. I knew that since I had played the game like 4 times already, but it occurred to me how stupid it would be if I *didn't* know that. The game doesn't really give you any indication that Ilos is "the last mission."

 

Also the constant inventory management does drag the game down a lot, especially on higher difficulties.

 

 

Contrast that to ME2. The game hits the ground running and never really stops. In my head, I remembered the sections in Omega feeling like they dragged, but on replay, they really don't. Omega is nowhere near the size of the Citadel in ME1, and that's actually a benefit to the gameplay. There's no wandering around aimlessly in a massive space just to see if there might be something new that you can miss. Occasionally going back to the Citadel just to see if something new happened between missions is also a major pacing drain in the first game. ME2 does not have that problem.

 

Also, I hadn't really remembered how thin the character development in ME1 is. For most of the characters , literally like their entire character development happens in one side mission, and then that's it. There isn't any more after that. No new conversation topics, no new insights, it's just "oh you recovered my family's armor, my character is done now."

 

 

Mass Effect 3... we'll talk about that later.

 

Again, I can understand why people might *like* Mass Effect 1 more, if what you want is Baldur's Gate in space. However, I contend that Mass Effect 2 is just a *better* game.

[Brian]

I won’t even acknowledge your weak argument against ME. It is still the best. 
 

Instead let’s celebrate an all time run by BioWare with the following releases:

Baldur’s Gate 1&2

Neverwinter Nights

SW Kotor

Jade Empire

Mass Effect

Dragon Age Origins

Mass Effect 2

[Keyser_Soze]

In before @Bacon

[Fizzzzle]

38 minutes ago, Brian said:

I won’t even acknowledge your weak argument against ME. It is still the best. 
 

Instead let’s celebrate an all time run by BioWare with the following releases:

Baldur’s Gate 1&2

Neverwinter Nights

SW Kotor

Jade Empire

Mass Effect

Dragon Age Origins

Mass Effect 2

No argument here, it is an incredible run of games. 10/10, no skips. Dragon Age Origins might crack my top 10 of all time. It's easily my favorite BioWare game.

 

I just meant to point out that a lot of RPG nerds tend to poo-poo Mass Effect 2 because it dumbs down a lot of the hardcore RPG elements. And I'm like... you know, the the game kind of *is* better for it. ME2 doesn't have such a rigid class structure, so you have different characters that meld together in ways that allows you more fluidity in tackling different scenarios.  It's not about who has biotic powers or tech powers, it's about who is better vs. different types of enemies, regardless of class. 

 

I'm a fairly hardcore RPG nerd. Morrowind is, in my opinion, the best RPG ever made. I just think, in this specific case, stripping down the rigid class structure actually helped the gameplay, not to mention how much more depth the story had in ME2.

[Fizzzzle]

I also realize I kind of just contradicted myself. But I stand by it. ME2 does actually have more role playing depth in certain ways. I understand (and agree with) that the inclusion of "clips" is stupid. But other than that, I think the overwhelming majority of changes from ME1 to ME2 were good changes.

[Fizzzzle]

Also, side note that I meant to mention earlier: I'm playing the Legendary Edition on Steam - Achievements don't work for ME2 or ME3. Apparently it has something to do with how Steam interacts with the EA launcher. There used to be a work around with launching with Origin rather than the EA launcher, but I guess that doesn't work anymore, either.

 

So if achievements matter to you, then know that there are no Steam achievements for ME2 or ME3, even though Steam says there are.

[Jason]

I felt like Bioware overreacted to a lot of the criticism about Mass Effect 1, and just wholesale dumped things people complained about instead of fixing them. A couple of examples I remember off the top of my head:

• Yeah the inventory fucking sucked in the first game, but even just basic fixes like having identical items stack would have gone a very long way toward making it okay.
• People complained about the Mako stuff being boring and tedious but the only problem was that you were mostly just rovering around empty worlds and not getting rewarded for it. Fewer landable planets with a higher density of stuff to find would have fixed the problem. Plus the planet scanning was at least as boring as tedious.

It also just felt lame how on-rails the second game was. Especially, compare walking around the Citadel in the first game in the second game, just absurd how tiny and claustrophobic it felt. The combat was a definite improvement but everything else felt like a step back. And it still feels like a weird in-universe technological regression to go from the heat sink stuff in the first game to just explicitly having ammo.

[Fizzzzle]

1 hour ago, Jason said:

I felt like Bioware overreacted to a lot of the criticism about Mass Effect 1, and just wholesale dumped things people complained about instead of fixing them. A couple of examples I remember off the top of my head:

• Yeah the inventory fucking sucked in the first game, but even just basic fixes like having identical items stack would have gone a very long way toward making it okay.
• People complained about the Mako stuff being boring and tedious but the only problem was that you were mostly just rovering around empty worlds and not getting rewarded for it. Fewer landable planets with a higher density of stuff to find would have fixed the problem. Plus the planet scanning was at least as boring as tedious.

It also just felt lame how on-rails the second game was. Especially, compare walking around the Citadel in the first game in the second game, just absurd how tiny and claustrophobic it felt. The combat was a definite improvement but everything else felt like a step back. And it still feels like a weird in-universe technological regression to go from the heat sink stuff in the first game to just explicitly having ammo.

I agree inventory stacking woul dhave been great

I personally liked the mako stuff, so none of that bothered me at all. I'd personally take that over the planet scanning.

 

I disagree with the game being on rails. In the first game, The Citadel is the only real settlement there is besides Noveria, and there is no reason whatsoever to go back to Noveria after you leave. In Mass Effect 2, Omega, Ilium, and the Citadel all give you reasons to come back. Sure, the Citadel may "feel" smaller than it did in ME1, but it has just as much purpose.

 

And yes, I agree having ammo in ME2 was fucking dumb.

[Bacon]

2 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

In before @Bacon

I got two things to say.

 

1. My thread is  V A S T L Y  S U P E R I O R

2. ME2 is the weakest of the trilogy. It has the least fun gameplay.

 

[unogueen]

MORE KROGANS

[Fizzzzle]

3 hours ago, Bacon said:

I got two things to say.

 

1. My thread is  V A S T L Y  S U P E R I O R

2. ME2 is the weakest of the trilogy. It has the least fun gameplay.

 

I would have just posted in that thread had I remembered and/or checked

[Bacon]

3 minutes ago, Fizzzzle said:

I would have just posted in that thread had I remembered and/or checked

[best3444]

3 minutes ago, Bacon said:

 

That's something Shepard would easily say.

[Bacon]

1 minute ago, best3444 said:

That's something Shepard would easily say.

yes?

Spoiler

 

 

 

[best3444]

1 minute ago, Bacon said:

yes?

Spoiler

  Hide contents

 

 

 

 

Haha. He actually says that?!

[Phaseknox]

5 hours ago, Bacon said:

ME2 is the weakest of the trilogy.

No, that would be Mass Effect 3. I love the first two Mass Effect games, but I couldn’t even finish ME3.

[Bacon]

15 minutes ago, Phaseknox said:

No, that would be Mass Effect 3

Nope, that would be Mass Effect 2. The gameplay is easily the worst. Less abilities, global cooldown, introduced ammo, and practically forces you to play the game like a cover shooter which is a major flaw that can't be over looked. In ME1 and ME3 cover, at least for me, was more often a choice rather than something I was forced to use to stay alive.

 

On top of that, while the character stories are the better than in either 1 or 3, the characters and plot of ME2 are basically irrelevant to the over all plot. It is insignificant in the grand scheme of things. ME3 takes more of ME1 into account than ME2. Everyone can die in ME2 and it doesn't change much. Of course, that isn't the fault of ME2, but it sticks out when playing all three games back to back.

 

ME2 isn't bad. Don't want to give that impression, but it is just the weakest and has the least impact due to all the optional choices.

[Bacon]

Oh and

So, the EA App is now mandatory. :: Mass Effect™ Legendary Edition General Discussions

STEAMCOMMUNITY.COM

---

Up until this evening I've been running MEL from Origin, though when it wanted updating last week I ran it in offline mode and the games ran fine. Now it seems I can't play at all until I install the EA App.

 

that might still work

unsure

[best3444]

STRONG disagree here on ME2 being the worst. All 3 are great BUT part 1 hasn't dated well especially in cinematics. So probably part 1 is the worse. ME2 being the best.

 

[Bacon]

ME1 is the best. Ain't nothin' else like it. Not even close.

[Biggie]

All three are garbage. Please lock thread. Thank you. 

[Phaseknox]

4 hours ago, Bacon said:

Nope, that would be Mass Effect 2. The gameplay is easily the worst. Less abilities, global cooldown, introduced ammo, and practically forces you to play the game like a cover shooter which is a major flaw that can't be over looked. In ME1 and ME3 cover, at least for me, was more often a choice rather than something I was forced to use to stay alive.

 

On top of that, while the character stories are the better than in either 1 or 3, the characters and plot of ME2 are basically irrelevant to the over all plot. It is insignificant in the grand scheme of things. ME3 takes more of ME1 into account than ME2. Everyone can die in ME2 and it doesn't change much. Of course, that isn't the fault of ME2, but it sticks out when playing all three games back to back.

 

ME2 isn't bad. Don't want to give that impression, but it is just the weakest and has the least impact due to all the optional choices.

Mass Effect 3 failed to really pull me in like the first two games did, and I eventually quit playing it. However, I’ve been planning on playing it again. Perhaps I’ll like it more when I do.
 

4 hours ago, Bacon said:

ME1 is the best.

I agree.

[Bacon]

1 minute ago, Phaseknox said:

Mass Effect 3 failed to really pull me in like the first two games did, and I eventually quit playing it

I was the same when it launched. I got 1/3 or a bit more through the game and just stopped. Now, I have come to like it. Of course, there were other, bigger reasons I stopped such as simply not "feeling it" and being unhappy with my Shepard and the choices I made. Anyway, there are still very valid criticisms of the plot of ME3, even when ignoring the endings. However, what those people weren't able to ignore, I was. I wish I could remember the points they made because they weren't wrong. It just personally didn't bother me so I didn't care. For many people ME2 will be #1 in their heart. Ain't nothing wrong with that, unlike those who hold DaS2 as #1 in their heart...

 

I should also mention that ME2 didn't pull me in as much either at first. Despite it being years and having played ME1 and ME2, going from ME1:LE to ME2:LE gave me that same transitional pain that sours the whole experience of ME2 just ever so slightly. For me, ME2 is like walking into your home and finding everything just slightly out of place. At least in terms of the gameplay and mechanics. Voice acting, animations, and the quality of the characters was a major upgrade.