MASS EFFECT TWO: GIVE GARRUS A HUG

[DFM]

YEAH WE'RE STILL PLAYING THIS SHIT

http://na.llnet.bioware.cdn.ea.com/u/f/eagames/bioware/masseffect2/resources/assets/universe/armor/screenshots/umbra_visor-02-o.jpg

HELL FUCKING YEAH WE'RE STILL PLAYING MASS EFFECT 2 IT'S ONLY BEEN OUT A WEEK AND I'VE BANGED SO MANY SPACE ALIENS I DON'T CARE THAT I FAILED THE FINAL MISSION AND EVERYONE DIED GO SPACE ALIEN SEX.


ONE OF THEM MADE ME FEEL LIKE A PEDO THOUGH

http://na.llnet.bioware.cdn.ea.com/u/f/eagames/bioware/masseffect2/resources/assets/universe/characters/screenshots/kaidan-01-o.jpg

PS. YOUR OLD ROMANCES ARE JERKS ABOUT YOU BEING A TERMINATOR WORKING FOR AN EVIL TERRORIST CELL I GUESS THEY DON'T LIKE IT FUCK YOU KAIDEN IF YOU DON'T LIKE ME PALLING AROUND WITH THE EVILEST CUNT IN THE GALAXY YOU CAN GET OUT.

http://na.llnet.bioware.cdn.ea.com/u/f/eagames/bioware/masseffect2/resources/assets/universe/characters/screenshots/joker-01-o.jpg

JOKER YOU'RE MY NEW RIGHT HAND MAN.

http://na.llnet.bioware.cdn.ea.com/u/f/eagames/bioware/masseffect2/resources/assets/universe/armor/screenshots/recon_hood-02-p.jpg

DR. PEPPER POWERS ACTIVATE HELL YOU CAN'T GET THIS SHIT FROM SPRITE.

http://na.llnet.bioware.cdn.ea.com/u/f/eagames/bioware/masseffect2/resources/assets/universe/squad/screenshots/zaeed-02-o.jpg

THAT'S ZAEED, THE FREE DLC CHARACTER. HE'S A BADASS MERCENARY WHO'S A BAZILLION YEARS OLD AND ONE DAY AWAY FROM RETIREMENT I HOPE HE LIVES BUT HONESTLY HAS SOME REALLY GOOD LINES SOME OF THEM ARE KIND OF SAD.

http://na.llnet.bioware.cdn.ea.com/u/f/eagames/bioware/masseffect2/resources/assets/universe/characters/screenshots/liara-01-o.jpg

LIARA KINDA STONEWALLED ME I WAS LITTLE SURPRISED BY THAT SHE GAVE ME A KISS AND THEN LIKE THAT WAS IT NO SPACE SEX I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE BUSY GOD DAMN IT WOMAN SLASH MAN SLASH STEM CELL MACHINE I WANT MORE NAKED BRAIN SEX.


DISCUSSION GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

http://na.llnet.bioware.cdn.ea.com/u/f/eagames/bioware/masseffect2/resources/assets/universe/squad/screenshots/zaeed-03-o.jpg

[Funka Genocide]

you're a dirty bastard DFM

All that alien sex does kind of give a new spin to the phrase "in space, no one can hear you scream" though.

[Azisien]

Yeah I'm 25 hours in right now, though I'm doing pretty much everything. Almost have full loyalty on the crew.

Aaaand still loving it. Favourite crew are Tali, Miranda, Grunt, and Mordin, in that order. Weeeeeeeeee!

[Karrrrrrrrrrrresche]

IF YOU ROMANCED ANYONE THAT IS NOT TALI' ZORAH VAS NORMANDY, I HATE YOU.

IF YOU THINK ANYONE OTHER THAN GARRUS IS THE BEST PERSON TO HAVE AROUND WHEN THE SHIT HITS THE FAN, YOU ARE ALSO ON MY HATRED LIST.

[DFM]

TALI IS THE ONE THAT MADE ME FEEL LIKE A PEDO

IT'S LIKE I KNEW HER WHEN SHE WAS JUST A KID MAN, IT FEELS KINDA MESSED UP

http://www.virginmedia.com/images/sincity2-280x400.jpg

YEAH LIKE THAT

ALSO GARRUS IS MY 1# BEST BRO AND/OR ROMANCE OPTION

HE'S AWESOME, FUNNY AND HIS VOICE MAKES ME WEAK

Edit: PICTURE WORK AGAIN DAMNIT

[Karrrrrrrrrrrresche]

YEAH LIKE THAT

ALSO GARRUS IS MY 1# BEST BRO AND/OR ROMANCE OPTION

HE'S AWESOME, FUNNY AND HIS VOICE MAKES ME WEAK

YEAH.
THE THING WAS THAT I WASN'T REALLY PAYING ATTENTION TO ZAEED WHEN HE EXPLAINED WHAT WE WERE DOING HIS LOYALTY MISSION FOR OR AGAINST WHO.

HAD I KNOWN THAT WE WOULD BE WIPING OUT MORE OF THE BLUE SUN SCUMBAGS THAT HURT GARRUS, I'D HAVE CARPET BOMBED THAT PLANET FROM ORBIT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AFTER LEAVING OMEGA.

[Kerensky287]

ALSO GARRUS IS MY 1# BEST BRO AND/OR ROMANCE OPTION

Would like to advise caution. Warn of chafing.

Seriously though Garrus + Mordin + Vanguard Shep = unstoppable team.

In other news: I was very, VERY disappointed by Legion's moveset. It's identical to Tali's except for a useless shield buff. You'd think that for a geth they could think of some more original abilities, but nooo! Furthermore, this character has proficiencies with better weapons than Tali, which basically means that you have NO reason to use Tali unless they're both in your team at once (which, granted, leads to funny stuff in the Migrant Fleet).

The game came out a whole week ago can I please stop spoilering details about this character can I huh can I

[DFM]

Also I would like to say that renegade options for settling crew disputes on the Normandy are great. Shepard literally walks in on people arguing, yells "Both of you shut THE FUCK UP RIGHT NOW." and leaves and they're like "Shit I guess we'd better shut up."


Tali so has a girl crush on me, too. She's always way grateful and nervous around me I half think she's going to go human and bi.


And Garrus is a mover and a shaker in the bedroom.

"If you were a Turian, I'd compliment your fringe and your waist. So your... hair, is nice. And your waist looks... supportive."

"Look on the bright side, Shepard. Even if this ends up being the saddest, most awkward attempt at interspecies intercourse in galactic history, we can always bump up the suicide mission."


Edit: Seriously though he's pretty sweet.

[greed]

Also I would like to say that renegade options for settling crew disputes on the Normandy are great. Shepard literally walks in on people arguing, yells "Both of you shut THE FUCK UP RIGHT NOW." and leaves and they're like "Shit I guess we'd better shut up."


Tali so has a girl crush on me, too. She's always way grateful and nervous around me I half think she's going to go human and bi.


And Garrus is a mover and a shaker in the bedroom.

"If you were a Turian, I'd compliment your fringe and your waist. So your... hair, is nice. And your waist looks... supportive."

"Look on the bright side, Shepard. Even if this ends up being the saddest, most awkward attempt at interspecies intercourse in galactic history, we can always bump up the suicide mission."


Edit: Seriously though he's pretty sweet.

Best thing bout romancing Garrus though. Mordin's medical advice.
SPOILERED for those who want to encounter it themselves.
To Fem Shepard "Turian body chemicals can create a allergic reaction in humans when ingested so.... don't ah... ingest...."

But yeah liked the cast even more than the first. Also the ads were hilarious.

Also beat the final boss today. HOLY FUCK. MACHINE CTHULU CYBORG TERMINATOR. SO. AWESOME.

[Mirai Gen]

I HAVE A COPY BUT I HAVEN'T GOTTEN INTO IT YET CAUSE I WAS BUSY WORKING MY WAY THROUGH OTHER GAMES

I'M GOING TO PRETTY SOON AND MY ROOMMATE IS WORKING ON HIS GAME, WHEN I SAW THAT GARRUS COMES BACK I WAS SUPER EXCITED CAUSE HE WAS MY FAVORITE TEAMMATE IN THE FIRST ONE

SO YEAH SUPER PUMPED FOR THIS GAME STILL, WISH I HAD TIME

[Dauntasa]

SO, FINALLY MANAGED TO GET ME1 TO NOT CRASH AT THE ENDING. APPARENTLY I NEEDED TO GO BACK TO AN EARLIER SAVE AND DOWNLOAD THE DLC AND FINISH EVERY SIDEQUEST. WHATEVER; I'M NOT GOING TO QUESTION IT.

[Solid Snake]

I'M STILL ON MASS EFFECT ONE SO I REALLY SHOULDN'T BE SPOILING MYSELF BY READING THROUGH THIS TOPIC.

HOWEVER I WILL SAY THAT ON MASS EFFECT ONE I AM ABSOLUTELY OWNING AS AN INFILTRATOR, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE BEST CLASS OF ALL TIME. SERIOUSLY I TRIED AN ADEPT AND A VANGUARD BEFORE AND THEY WERE PUSSIES COMPARED TO INFILTRATOR'S ABILITIES TO SNEAK THAT SHIT. ALSO, I FUCKING LOVE SNIPER RIFLES IN THIS GAME. OWNING ENEMIES BEFORE THEY EVEN KNOW I'M THERE IS THE SOLID SNAKE WAY.

I'M STILL DEBATING WHETHER TO SEDUCE ASHLEY OR LIARA BUT I'VE DECIDED TO GO GOODY-TWO-SHOES WITH MY MALE CHARACTER AND EVENTUALLY I'LL PROBABLY GO RENEGADE FEMALE.

FINALLY I MUST DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO THE MOST AWESOME FACE YOU COULD POSSIBLY USE FOR AN ME2 SHEPARD:

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/387/johnlocke.jpg

HE WILL BLOW UP YOUR MOTHERFUCKING HATCHES.

[Krylo]

IF YOU THINK ANYONE OTHER THAN GARRUS IS THE BEST PERSON TO HAVE AROUND WHEN THE SHIT HITS THE FAN, YOU ARE ALSO ON MY HATRED LIST.

Garrus is alright, but he seems to be either really bad at cover or have really low HP relative to the rest of the crew.

I'm not sure which.

I just know he goes down a lot more often than my other team mates for some reason. Guess it might be my imagination, and he just seems to go down more because I have him alongside soldiery types more often.

[Dauntasa]

Garrus is alright, but he seems to be either really bad at cover or have really low HP relative to the rest of the crew.

I'm not sure which.

I just know he goes down a lot more often than my other team mates for some reason. Guess it might be my imagination, and he just seems to go down more because I have him alongside soldiery types more often.

IN ME1, GARRUS IS A COMPLETE BULLET MAGNET. I USED HIM FOR THE WHOLE GAME 'CAUSE HE'S AWESOME, BUT HE WENT DOWN MORE THAN TWICE AS OFTEN AS KAIDEN, WHO CAN ONLY WEAR LIGHT ARMOUR AND DIDN'T GET ANY POINTS IN BARRIER UNTIL VIRMIRE. IT MIGHT JUST BE THAT ALIEN ARMOUR IS MUCH RARER THAN HUMAN ARMOUR, SO HE'LL GENERALLY END UP BEING AN ARMOUR GRADE OR TWO BELOW ANY HUMANS IF YOU DON'T PAY MUCH ATTENTION AND JUST EQUIP HIM WITH WHATEVER YOU FIND.

[Marc v4.0]

He's a complete cover-ignoring bullet-magnet in my ME2 experience as well, Krylo. He also seems to have this annoying tendancy to get in Melee range to shoot at things with a sniper rifle. Boggles the mind.

[Azisien]

Tali is a surprisingly crazy berserker too. But there's proper AI controls now, so there's no real excuse for that anymore.

[Sifright]

SO YEA I JUST FINISHED THIS GAME VERY FUN BUT SOME WHAT SHORTER THAN ME1 ONLY TOOK ME 12 HOURS THIS INCLUDES RUNNING ALL THE LOYALTY MISSIONS AND A FAIR FEW SIDE QUESTS.

[Marc v4.0]

You people are fucking monsters or machines or something. I'm 45 hours in and just now getting to the IFF.

[Krylo]

SO YEA I JUST FINISHED THIS GAME VERY FUN BUT SOME WHAT SHORTER THAN ME1 ONLY TOOK ME 12 HOURS THIS INCLUDES RUNNING ALL THE LOYALTY MISSIONS AND A FAIR FEW SIDE QUESTS.

Yeah, what?

I did no side quests other than the loyalty ones and my play through ranked in at just about 30 hours even.

[Red Fighter 1073]

I just plowed through the game in 4 days and finally beat it in 25 hours. Gotta say that was one of my favorite games played in awhileee. Last mission was so epic in every way possible so I have no idea how ME3 is going to be able to top that.

As for my ending (seriously, props to Bioware for making it like that, makes every person's gameplay experience pretty unique) HUGE GIGANTIC MASSIVE SPOILERS Everyone survived (woo!). Miranda was grazed by a bullet so I got kinda worried, but all in all it was successful. Playing as Joker was the craziest shit ever and THAT got me extremely worried that my crew was going to die even though they made it. Anyone else recruit Morinth btw? I saved right before the choice and tried recruiting that person, but I felt so damn evil after having done so, I just reloaded a past save.

Also, no Thane love? Well I mean, I was male shepard but you know what I mean. He was actually a pretty cool character, along with almost of all the new cast. The new cast, mostly minus Cerberus, had people who were all interesting in one way or another. Mordin was made of win too. I was going for Miranda at first, and Mordin was warning me about the exchange of human body fluids.

And even though this game is a lot darker in tone, it still managed to be pretty damn funny (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPGo-Em8RmI). I always liked hearing Joker's jackass comments after every recruitment too. Though, Renegade Shepard in ME1 was just as good too (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy-eRfupYbA). Damn you could make him/her the biggest dick ever.

[CABAL49]

If you order him to stay put he will. Same with the other team members.

[Marc v4.0]

See, the problem is, I don't have to micromanage my other team members constantly to make sure they're behind cover and not being morons, only Garrus.

Only Garrus

[DFM]

WHELP PICTURE IS DOWN THAT'S GREAT

http://carnivore.mirror.waffleimages.com/files/7e/7e4aedd59825adfe5128c4d8f686c274e2a3f590.jpg

Edit: I think THIS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHPot-baXFw#t=9m16s) sums up my feelings for Garrus.

[Arcanum]

I don't understand how it takes so many of you so long to beat this game. I beat it in 27-30 hours (I forget the exact number) and I did every loyalty mission, every N7 mission, every side quest I could find, got every upgrade except for 4 of them (two tech damage, a sniper damage, and an assault rifle damage) and explored 100% of the galaxy.

Character-wise, Thane is my favorite, with Mordin coming in a close second. Legion and Grunt were pretty neat too. Gameplay-wise, Mordin is my #1 best pal, followed by Legion then Grunt.

I also don't understand where all the Garrus love is coming from other than that he was in the first ME. Legion is by far the better sniper (woo Material Rifle), and so long as you or your other party member can deal with organics, Legion will fare better against synthetics than Garrus could ever dream for. Also thanks to Legion's shield buff, he doesn't die nearly as often.

I tried playing a bit on Insanity, and damn is that shit hard. The Vanguard feels completely useless at this point, since everyone either has shields or armor. My biotics won't work until their protection is gone, and I can't get in close enough to use my shotgun because I'll die after being exposed for more than 3 seconds, even while using Barrier/Geth Shields. This also renders Charge completely useless.

So I decided to play through again as a Renegade Infiltrator (my first playthrough was Paragon), with hopes that he will fare better on Insanity once I get him to level 30. so far the infiltrator is pretty damn fun too. Cloaking is nice (gotta love massive damage bonuses + headshots), and incinerate is my bestest friend. I also gave him Reave right off the bat (thanks to achievements) to help deal with organics and shields. So far it's been working pretty well.

[greed]

So having trouble replaying because it keeps freezing in the loading screen after the Lazarus Project cutscene. This is very annoying. It's also apparently pretty common. Goddamnit Bioware.


Also funniest thing in the game, Mordin singing Gilbert and Sullivan.

"Oh I am the very model of the modern scientist Salarian."

[EVILNess]

DFM IS CRAAAAZY!!!

Dude, I want some of what you are smoking.

[Mirai Gen]

SO I FINALLY STARTED MY GAME AFTER RAGEQUITTING DARK VOID BECAUSE IT SUCKS HORRIBLY

MASS EFFECT 2 RULES AND I'M REALLY GLAD BIOWARE DECIDED THAT IT SHOULD BE A THIRD PERSON SHOOTER INSTEAD OF A WESTERN RPG BECAUSE HOLY SHIT WAS IT REALLY INDECISIVE IN THE LAST GAME, THAT INVENTORY AND UPGRADING WAS CRAP, IT WAS THE REASON I DIDN'T WANT TO PLAY IT MORE THAN ONCE AND A HALF PLUS THE CLASSES WERE COMPLETELY IDENTICAL PLUS OR MINUS GUNS AND A FEW POWERS

THEY BASICALLY REPLACED THE NONEXISTENT INVENTORY BY COMPLETELY REMOVING THE INVENTORY WHICH IS A PRETTY GREAT UPGRADE IF YOU ASK ME

ALSO GOD MIRANDA'S A BITCH BUT I WANNA SEE HOW YOU GET TO DO THE HORIZONTAL MAMBO WITH HER CAUSE I'MMA TOTALLY CHEAT ON ASHLEY

EDIT: HI ILLUSIVE MAN, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU'RE WILLEM DAFOE OR MARTIN SHEEN BUT YOU CAN GO TO HELL ANYWAY

[Melfice]

Is it just me, or does Zaeed kinda look like old-James Caan?
I mean, his face isn't as full as Caan, but other than that...

I like what they did with the entrance mini-game. Instead of Simon says, at least now it's a somewhat appropriate action. Still way to easy, but appropriate.

[Osterbaum]

FUCK GUESS WHAT, I WAS JUST AT THE VERY END IN ME2 WHEN MY FUCKING HARDDRIVE DIED THE SECOND FUCKING TIME INSIDE LIKE 6 MONTHS! SO YEAH, FUCK THAT SHIT CAUSE NOW I HAVE TO PLAY THROUGH ME1 AGAIN ASWELL. FUCK I AM SO FUCKING PISSED RIGHT NOW.

PS.
GOT TO LOVE GARRUS THOUGH. MY CHARACTER IS MALE BUT GARRUS IS MY BESTEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD AND HE'S THE ONE TO GET YOU THROUGH THE END GAME LIKE TOTALLY.

[Krylo]

I don't understand how it takes so many of you so long to beat this game. I beat it in 27-30 hours (I forget the exact number) and I did every loyalty mission, every N7 mission, every side quest I could find, got every upgrade except for 4 of them (two tech damage, a sniper damage, and an assault rifle damage) and explored 100% of the galaxy.
Did you sprint EVERYWHERE and skip through every single conversation or something?

Edit: Actually looking at times for my play throughs... did you skip a lot of stuff in the first mass effect and/or use a default character? Because I did on my current character and am at about 24 hours and all I have left to do is a few more loyalty missions, the Krogan system, and some shopping to have done all the shit you have done, while I did almost none of that on my last character but was stopped a lot by old quest lines that popped up, particularly on Ilium.

Liara's mission also ate up a lot of time for me last time that wasn't used this time because I knew where all that shit was.


ALSO GOD MIRANDA'S A BITCH BUT I WANNA SEE HOW YOU GET TO DO THE HORIZONTAL MAMBO WITH HER CAUSE I'MMA TOTALLY CHEAT ON ASHLEYShe's not much of a bitch really.

I mean, in the first fifteen minutes of the game or whatever when she quizzes you and what not she is, but if you go talk to her on the ship she's pretty level headed and calm. Doesn't bitch you out about anything, either. Mostly she comes off as pretty affable, really, if slightly cold.

HI ILLUSIVE MAN, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU'RE WILLEM DAFOE OR MARTIN SHEEN BUT YOU CAN GO TO HELL ANYWAY

Martin Sheen.

[Mirai Gen]

MAN GARRUS RULES AND HE WAS ALWAYS MY WINGMAN IT WAS REALLY COOL TO SEE SHEPARD MEET UP WITH HIM AND HAVE THEM BULLSHIT WITH EACH OTHER LIKE "AW MAN YOU WERE ALWAYS UGLY LET'S JUST THROW SOME MAKEUP ON" AND GARRUS WAS ALL "WELL I FIGURED I'D GIVE YOU A CHANCE WITH THE FEMALES"

DOES THAT CHANGE DEPENDING ON YOUR TEAMMATES CAUSE I MET TALI AND WAS ALL "OH, HEY, YOU"

[Osterbaum]

I mean, in the first fifteen minutes of the game or whatever when she quizzes you and what not she is, but if you go talk to her on the ship she's pretty level headed and calm. Doesn't bitch you out about anything, either. Mostly she comes off as pretty affable, really, if slightly cold.
For me she was the only character (besides Zaeed) who's loyalty I didn't have when I went on the last suicide mission.

[DFM]

Miranda has this serious Mary Sue shit going where she's constantly "Being perfect is such a curse." And then angles herself at the camera for an ass shot while making a pouty face.

Mirai, if you're female the conversation goes like:

"Hell, Garrus, you were always ugly. Slap some of that Turian facepaint on there and no one'll ever know."
"Hah. You know some women find scars attractive. Granted, they're mostly Krogan."

[Arcanum]

Did you sprint EVERYWHERE and skip through every single conversation or something?

Edit: Actually looking at times for my play throughs... did you skip a lot of stuff in the first mass effect and/or use a default character? Because I did on my current character and am at about 24 hours and all I have left to do is a few more loyalty missions, the Krogan system, and some shopping to have done all the shit you have done, while I did almost none of that on my last character but was stopped a lot by old quest lines that popped up, particularly on Ilium.

Yeah, whenever I wasn't fighting or talking I was sprinting around as much as possible. As cool as the environments are, I hate it (regardless of what game I'm playing) when I'm just walking from point A to B with nothing to do. But with the conversations, I rarely skipped through. I only skipped a few dialogue lines, and those were mostly Shepard lines as he asked the question I just selected.

As for the first ME, I think that might be it right there. I loaded up my level 60 character, who I only got to level 60 three days before ME2 came out by finishing off the playthrough that I was in. And in that playthrough I stuck mostly to main quests and a few important-looking sidequests. I was mostly trying to hit max level with as little work as possible. I might have to look at my ME1 saves to see if I still have one from when I completed as much as I could, and see if that makes a difference in the number of side quests in ME2.

[Krylo]

Miranda has this serious Mary Sue shit going where she's constantly "Being perfect is such a curse."

Not really, unless you consider, 'Being genetically modified to be perfect IS pretty fucking awesome,' calling it a curse. The whole having an abusive father thing was her 'curse'.

[DFM]

Naw what I was getting from her emo stuff was "I'm genetically engineered to be perfect I'm smart and hot and have biotic powers but everyone expects me to be perfect!"

[CABAL49]

Jacob dies too much. Putting him on the bench. He's boring anyways. Let's all hang out with Jack!

[Red Fighter 1073]

As much as I hate the generic Miranda and Jacob Cerberus operatives, them along with my femshep Sentinel with Warp Ammo make an amazing team on Hardcore. Me and Miranda Warp the shit out of everyone, and Jacob pops in and incapacitates the non-shielded enemies with Pull. Hmm, at least it's worked so far. I just really don't want to have to deal with the inevitable Scion/Husk combo. God, I HATED those enemies especially seeing as Husks used to be so damn easy to kill. They're actually somewhat troublesome now.

[DFM]

Jacob is probably the worst character in ME2. He's so boring even as a female Shepard. At least Carth got some banter and opened up a bit more to a woman and Kaiden was funny, if grounded with an alright backstory.

Jacob's just there.

Although we literally did do bro hugs before the suicide mission so that put him up a bit.

[Red Fighter 1073]

Yeah, in my hype over wanting to play this game, I looked at the ME2 forum at Gamespot and someone created a relevant thread about Bioware has shown that, at least in the Mass Effect series, they are incapable of creating interesting male human partners (case in point, Kaiden and Jacob). People brought up Dragon Age and KOTOR having good partners, but at least from what I've seen in Mass Effect, that seems to hold true. I guess at least Jacob is a little better than Kaiden imo, but not by much.

But yeah I agree that he is def the most uninteresting character in the game.

[Azisien]

Finally finished the game, Paragon ending, completionist approach. Took about 31 hours:

Man that was aweeeeeeeeeeeesome. Understandably a bit cliffhangered since it's the middle child of the trilogy, but still completely awesome. And it spawns so many interesting questions, like what happens if you don't have all those bitchin' upgrades, or your squad isn't loyal, or upgraded to all hell? Or if I had chosen different people to lead the strikes.

Oh yeah, and my buddy hates me because I managed no casualties. He lost Zaeed, Thane, and Jack. Anybody else lose anyone?

Time to cook up a Renegade character from ME1 and play it through...When I have the energy.

AWESOME. 10/10.

[greed]

God, I HATED those enemies especially seeing as Husks used to be so damn easy to kill. They're actually somewhat troublesome now.

Husks get real easy again with Cryo ammo and attacks. They freeze and shatter real easy, even on the higher difficulties. Still have no idea how to beat Scions without going into a battle of attrition though.


I'm replaying using a ME1 game that The Council survived. Rodam Expeditions made me laugh. The Turian there went from bitter and massively bigotted, to pleasant helpful, enthusiastic and Shepard's biggest fanboy.

[Solid Snake]

Hahaha, watch as the guy who's still playing ME1 hijacks the thread to talk about ME1 concerns.
...Such as the fact that I'm actually enjoying playing around with the Mako, despite hearing that it's the devil incarnate. I'm even using the PC, and yes, the Mako can be a bitch to control. There's one sidequest where you're on a planet where you're roasted after leaving the Mako for just a few seconds, and you show up at this beacon and you're ambushed by Geth, and it's just a bitch. Nonetheless, I find myself enjoying the Mako despite its flaws, in large part because I've always wanted to ride a moon buggy with a giant cannon.

As for the rest:
The characters in ME1 are a mixed bag so far. I'm doing a paragon playthrough (finished most the Citadel sidequests and some others, haven't progressed the main storyline beyond becoming a SPECTRE) as a male Shepard and maybe that's colored my experience somewhat. Paragon Shepard is just boring, for one (my efforts to personalize the choices haven't really helped, insofar as I'm the morally righteous, alien-loving type who gravitates towards Paragon choices.) I'm hoping Paragon Shepard's charm options become more interesting in ME2; as is, he's just basically sprouting one-liners and somehow convincing mercenaries to leave innocent civilians alone because "You wouldn't want to destroy people's access to medicine," yeah as if that argument's going to work on a Krogan.

The supporting cast is...well...hmph. I like Garrus, which is unfortunate, because as an Infiltrator I don't really need another Infiltrator clone in my party. Tali and Wrex at this juncture just feel hopelessly underdeveloped. They're cool, but unlike the human characters and Garrus their presence with Shepard isn't really adequately explained. They just sort of show up and say "hey can I join?" and Shepard's like, "Yeah whatevs." It actually feels like something of a step back from KOTOR, to be honest. Both Tali and Wrex are from awesome alien races with intriguing histories but they just feel bland. It's sad that I actually gravitate more towards Kaiden as a character despite the fact that he's voiced by Carth and he whines about migraines. (Then again, I can relate to the migraines.)

Ashley's VA still reminds me of that chick from That 70's Show.

I will say Mass Effect has really grown on me. As an independent sci-fi universe it's, well, probably among the best unique sci-fi universes we've seen this century, with only the reinvented BSG as its competition. Still, I really hate the cliches when they surface. The gentleman's club and the Asari Consort? I don't consider myself a feminist by any stretch but it just rubbed me the wrong way. There was a similar nightclub vibe in KOTOR that just felt out-of-place, like the 20th century seeping into a futuristic setting where the concept of a bar in the middle of space station utopia didn't quite fit. The whole concept of the Cantina in the Lower Wards being unregulated by Citadel Authorities was just strange. Maybe that's just a casualty of the game's inability to truly convey the massive breadth of the Citadel -- seriously, the introductory world in KOTOR seemed larger -- but it just felt like the game was introducing a seedy underbelly for the sake of there being a seedy underbelly.

Okay, enough of my ranting!

EDIT: Okay, not quite enough of my ranting. I'll just briefly add that I'm impressed with the depth of the pseudo-realism Mass Effect attempts to integrate with its technology. ME tries to justify its technologies in ways that actually at least sound sensible, and I really dig it. I'm still not convinced the codec entries are the right way to convey the information -- I can't really spend the time to read them thoroughly, so I feel there's an awful lot of backdrop that I'm missing. But I did read one about FTL travel and how colors shifted and I was like "that is a wickedly awesome explanation as to what FTL travel might feel like."
And I'm still holding out hope that I'll like Tali and Wrex more as things progress. I think I just expected a bit more character development before they seemingly randomly dropped everything to join up. Shepard barely even had to convince 'em. And the entire sequence where Shepard "saves" Tali just felt too quick and forced.

[Kerensky287]

And I'm still holding out hope that I'll like Tali and Wrex more as things progress. I think I just expected a bit more character development before they seemingly randomly dropped everything to join up. Shepard barely even had to convince 'em. And the entire sequence where Shepard "saves" Tali just felt too quick and forced.

Wrex definitely gets more character development if you talk to him between missions, to the point that I regret being unable to use him in ME2. Grunt feels like a huge step down in that respect... he seems to come as close to an angsty teen as a krogan can get. "I'M ANGRY ALL THE TIME AND I DON'T KNOW WHY, THE TANK TRIED TO MAKE ME FEEL LIKE I HAD FAMILY BUT I DIDN'T LIKE THE TANK AND THE TANK TAUGHT ME WEAPON SKILLS THE TANK TANK TANK TANK"

Tali... well, most of her "development" is actually development related to the Quarian species. When you talk to her, she's all "MY PEOPLE DO THIS" and "ON THE MIGRANT FLEET SHIT HAPPENS THIS WAY" and stuff. There are some minor bits of actual backstory in there but I didn't feel like she got interesting until ME2 (and not just because you get to sleep with her, no, her sidequest reveals a lot about her).

[Solid Snake]

Well the thing is, even this relatively early on in the scheme of things, it feels as if Garrus actually does have a personality that goes beyond "stereotypical Turian," whereas Tali and Wrex basically seem to be living stereotypes of their respective races, and as you noted, their conversations revolve almost entirely around Shepard learning tidbits about the species (as opposed to learning eccentric, unique behaviorisms, flaws and virtues of the characters.) I find the Krogan and Quarian histories fascinating, so I can't really complain, but I just feel they're getting relegated to a pure narrative role as characters.

By contrast, Garrus so far has expressed renegade preferences that my paragon-Shepard has taken offense to and I found Garrus' stories about joining Shepard to escape the obsessively bureaucratic nature of CSec intriguing. It's still early, but the moments between Garrus and Shepard at least develop him to such an extent that I don't view him as "The Turian" of the party in the same sense as I view Tali as "the Quarian" or Wrex as "the Krogan." I also assumed that I'd like the human supporting cast least simply because they're boring humans, but the game's done a pretty nice job of fleshing Ashley and Kaiden out to a point where they're far more memorable than many of the aliens.

[Krylo]

Paragon options are MUCH MUCH MUCH more interesting in ME2. A few of them even feel almost renegadish, if not for your reasons--righteous fury. Pro-tip, help the quarian being harassed in the wards.

Also, you talk shit 'bout Wrex again and I will cut a bitch. 'Cause only bitches be bad mouthin' Wrex.

But, seriously, spend some time talking to him and do his side quest. He's a pretty great character. So's Tali.

The only reason Wrex seems to be NOT as fleshed out currently is because he doesn't like to talk about himself, and certainly not to some douchebag human he barely knows. Plus you don't know anything about the Krogan, so you just assume he's what Krogan are like. That is wrong. Wrex is actually very atypical of most Krogan.

Meanwhile, you already basically know what Turians are like because you have a Turian spectre right away in the first mission, Saren is a Turian, there's a Turian council member, there's at least two other Turians besides Garrus whom you talk to on the citadel. Turian turian turian. They are all the fuck over.

This is also why they both seem a bit more fleshed in ME2, despite Wrex never joining your party. You get to visit both Tuchanka and the Flotilla (plus random Quarians and Krogans around the galaxy get more characterization), and there's really no better way to personalize a character than to show the rest of their civilization. Which Garrus basically gets right away because there are Turians fucking everywhere.

The breadth of the Citadel/Wards is shown a bit better in ME2, as well. You're still restricted to a relatively small section of it, however none of the places you can go--human embassy aside--are actually in the first game, and they have a lot more people being people wandering around. Both of which help to get the idea of the size across a little more.

And the seedy underbelly makes sense, really, if for no other reason than there is ALWAYS a seedy underbelly. Utopia doesn't exist and Mass Effect never pretends it does. I'm pretty sure the only reason the wards are even clean is because the keepers keep them that way. Again, some of the dialogue in ME2 helps to get this across more, specifically dealing with


As for the Mako, I liked it at first too, but the mountains get old fast.

[Solid Snake]

I'll concede the high probability that both Tali and Wrex will immensely improve, but I'm sticking to my guns on this much: awesome character development in the latter portion of a game can't refute a poor introduction, and both Tali and Wrex were poorly introduced.

Wrex took all of two minutes of conversation to join the party, and he didn't even have something akin to an introductory sequence to give him a backbone beyond "look at the Krogan arguing with the C-Sec dudes." And Tali just so happened to have secret evidence of Saren's misdeeds which took all of ten minutes to acquire through a rather sloppily done quest with little intrigue. (There was a four-minute counter and I finished the damn mission with two and a half minutes to spare.) Mass Effect clearly has the potential to do some missions quite well -- Eden Prime as a whole was cool, the sidequest I'm doing right now with a Biotic user rebellion or something is sweet -- but convincing the Council that Saren went rogue was a weak point. The mission was too easy, the Council required virtually no proof to be adequately convinced their top agent went rogue, Tali and Wrex required virtually no convincing to join the fun, it was too simple to get from point A to point B in order to save Tali. About the only kickass thing about that entire sequence was Fist, Wrex, and what happens between them.

As for a seedy underbelly, I'd accept its existence on just about any planetary body (or rough equivalent therein) but the Citadel. Maybe I'm just a foolish idealist in that sense. Actually, no, I think it's arguably the opposite of foolish idealism: with C-Sec and the SPECTRES and all Citadel bureaucratic power based there, it doesn't really make any sense to have an organized crime syndicate within arm's reach of everything. Unless the government's just doing an atrocious job, which I suppose is always possible. But it also doesn't really seem as if it's a smart idea for any crime syndicate to hoist shop within easy walking distance from C-Sec headquarters. Flux was a bitchin' nightclub, though.

[Mirai Gen]

Naw what I was getting from her emo stuff was "I'm genetically engineered to be perfect I'm smart and hot and have biotic powers but everyone expects me to be perfect!"

YEAH WHEN I SAID THAT SHE WAS A BITCH THIS WAS MORE OR LESS ANOTHER PROBLEM TOO

Okay I give up on the all caps thing.

But yeah Miranda annoys me cause she's all super hot and I get the feeling the game's like "Eh? Eh? You want to see a half-second of her bare ass? You do, don't you!" but she's so cold and distant while moping about her father and genetic perfection with this dispassionate resignation. I started off trying to boost her self esteem to make her more powerful in combat but I'm forcing myself at this point. I honestly don't give a shit about Miranda anymore, I'm interested to see what friendly contact with an extrapletary outsider I can have since I'm pretty sure Ashley's not going to put out anymore.
Paragon options are MUCH MUCH MUCH more interesting in ME2. A few of them even feel almost renegadish, if not for your reasons--righteous fury. Pro-tip, help the quarian being harassed in the wards.
I really liked the one for the kid in Afterlife, that was totally sweet.

[Krylo]

As for a seedy underbelly, I'd accept its existence on just about any planetary body (or rough equivalent therein) but the Citadel. Maybe I'm just a foolish idealist in that sense. Actually, no, I think it's arguably the opposite of foolish idealism: with C-Sec and the SPECTRES and all Citadel bureaucratic power based there, it doesn't really make any sense to have an organized crime syndicate within arm's reach of everything. Unless the government's just doing an atrocious job, which I suppose is always possible. But it also doesn't really seem as if it's a smart idea for any crime syndicate to hoist shop within easy walking distance from C-Sec headquarters. Flux was a bitchin' nightclub, though.

No, that's foolish Idealism, OR you just didn't look out the windows at the Citadel. The Citadel has a population of over 13 million sentients, which puts it about on par with the urban area of Moscow.

Also, the Spectres mostly work off world and take care of threats to galactic peace. They don't deal with criminal organizations on the citadel.

And as for bureaucratic power of the council? Washington D.C.'s urban area has only 4 million residents, is the seat of the bureaucratic power of the US Congress, Senate, and President, and also has one of the highest murder/crime rates in the country--so that really doesn't mean anything. The Presidium has almost no crime, but the Wards are basically the slums.

They only LOOK nice because the keepers clean everything there.

The only incongruous detail is how close Fist was to the C-Sec headquarters, but it's not like having criminal organizations down the street from police stations doesn't happen in the real world either.

[greed]

So on Mass Effect 3 what do you think will happen. I imagine the endings might have a pretty big difference this time around what with Renegade choice meaning you stick with Cerberus and probably become persona non grata for the Council/Alliance, and the Paragon has a shadowy organisation pissed at you and you back in with the Council(and with ownership of a seriously cool ship).

I also think one of the bonusses of keeping everyone alive in this one is that most of them will be recruitable in 3 or you might even start with a few of them. Unlike 1 either you took the Paragon ending and the ship is totally yours and the crew is completely your decision so no one can break you up, or you're working for TIM and he's not gonna break up your all star team as he definitely seems to be a "don't fuck with what works" kinda guy. So you don't have to worry about outside forces breaking it up. Some of them don't really have anything else to do (Garrus, Jacob) and Legion at least is entirely about stopping the Reapers if they're alive they're not leaving. Samara and Mordin would only leave if there was a big gap between 2 and 3 and they found another mission they needed to do. Jack(at least if you're a fem Shep, I imagine a male Shep might get her to be more attached) and Morinth admittedly seem like they would just bugger off on a whim. Grunt would probably go back to Tuchanka. And Thane would be dead if 3 is set much more than a few weeks or months after 2, due to him you know dying.

Miranda would almost have to stick around in the Paragon ending, what with Cerberus and her dad after her, around Shepard is really the only safe place for her. And Shepard's probably the only person badass enough to protect her sister as well. Don't know what happens with her in the Renegade ending but unless TIM decides she's really needed elsewhere he'd probably keep her with you.

[Karrrrrrrrrrrresche]

http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/1758/1265207670180.jpg


C-Sec is silly.

[Melfice]

Out of context, C-Sec is silly.
Regardless of context... C-Sec is still silly, but then. Would you cross Shepard?

[Marc v4.0]

Geth do not intentionally infiltrate

[DFM]

Geth do not intentionally infiltrate

Yeeeesssssssss


Solid Snake I read the start of your post but then you said you're not a feminist by any stretch and my brain sort of hemorrhaged and disgust blew out of my eyeballs.

I mean I think I can guess what you meant, but god damn son.

[Solid Snake]

Solid Snake I read the start of your post but then you said you're not a feminist by any stretch and my brain sort of hemorrhaged and disgust blew out of my eyeballs.

...Am I missing something there? Because to me saying "I'm not a feminist" means "I'm not a card-carrying member of NOW raging against how men are asinine, corrupted forces of destruction, and women are far more intelligent, far more capable and men should be constantly reminded of their evils."

Mind you, I'm basing this largely off a college experience with a feminism class I took then with a professor who raged against men with such vehement frequency and disdain that it was often difficult to even acknowledge the nuggets of truth masked behind her arguments, but, eh.

Also in the context of the point I was making, I mean, I can't imagine arguing "jeez this Gentleman's Club motif and the concept of the Asari Consort is rather ludicrously sexist" is somehow anti-women's rights.

I mean in closing, you may be referring to an early-20th century definition of feminism that now seems largely outdated (if only insofar as absolutely no sane individual argues against that definition of feminism), but I think sometimes people on the internet like to create artificial conflicts out of statements they almost seem to purposely interpret incorrectly. It should have been fairly obvious that I wasn't referring to the same definition of feminism, at any rate, and the existence of multiple definitions of the concept in modern culture is intrinsically understood.
Reading my statement about being offended at the notion of a futuristic Gentleman's Club as somehow blasting women's rights by concentrating exclusively on the one phrase that can be isolated and misinterpreted seems like the kind of behavior I'd expect from a troll trying to stir up conflict. It just feels like a lowbrow move, the kind of move Fox news would move to strip one of Obama's speeches into a socialist polemic by deliberate misinterpretation or something.

Sorry for the rant.

[Funka Genocide]

I think you're confusing militant feminism with actual feminism. You're assuming definitions which don't actually coincide with your assumptions.

Feminism has a bad rap because of the overstated effect of angry, surly looking nazi-chicks. If you believe in equality between the sexes, you're a feminist. (Since the societal default is male superiority.)

[Krylo]

Also, bring Ashley to said Gentleman's club and talk to her a few times.

[Solid Snake]

Feminism has a bad rap because of the overstated effect of angry, surly looking nazi-chicks. If you believe in equality between the sexes, you're a feminist. (Since the societal default is male superiority.)

I'm positive the societal default in America is now equality between the sexes, as it has been now for several decades. And subsequently, the definition of feminism has shifted along with the societal norms. We don't think of average men and women as feminists for espousing equality: we think of men and women as feminists when they go on angry rants at college campuses about how men are atrocious, ugly, unintelligent beings who repress women in every feasible daily action.

As for my qualms with DFM, I'd be totally cool if he just casually informed me he felt my definition of feminism was off-base, but his "disgusted" reaction to my comments led me to an entirely different impression -- namely that he was actually point-blank accusing me of being anti-women's rights. Whether he did so for grins and giggles or if he was actually accusing me of some repressed bias, it's not an accusation I take lightly, particularly since it seems to ignore the rest of my comments in that same message.

[DFM]

No dude I'm not talking about you being offended, I'm talking about you saying "I'm no feminist, but..."

Because not being a feminist means you don't support gender equality. That's it. It doesn't matter what some crazy cunts said about men being evil, they're not feminists. If you associate feminism with man-hating, then that's you being wrong. It might not be your fault, I mean if I grew up with a bunch of people who said they're socialists when they were really hard line capitalists I'd have a pretty warped definition of what socialism is, but I'd still be wrong. (Wouldn't be my fault, though.)

So no, 'Gender Equality' is not the early twentieth century definition of feminism, it's the definition of fucking feminism. I'm not going to go into second or third wave or any of that crap because it's irrelevant. I'll admit I have a hard time believing you think one gender or sex is naturally superior to the other, and what actually pissed me off was the fact that you said 'I'm no feminist' because it's another sign that there are people out there who've warped this shit so badly people who goddamn want exactly what we want don't want to be associated with it.

It's like saying Hey, I'm no fan of civil rights, but that's racist and the idea of people considering that to be a valid sentiment pisses me fucking off.


I'M ANGRY.

Edit: THEORETICAL EQUALITY AND ACTUAL EQUALITY ARE NOT THE SAME NOW I'M EVEN ANGRIER

[Funka Genocide]

You might be positive, but you're wrong.

Wrong as in incorrect, not right, etc.

basically, this is the internet, and DFM is crazy, but you're wrong and seem to be trying to force the definition of a term to change because you feel it should.

[Solid Snake]

You might be positive, but you're wrong.


Okay, so tell me my definition is wrong, but don't directly accuse me of being sexist?
I mean my incentive here now is pretty much 100% "I don't want to be known as the guy on NPF who's sexist," with a fair dash of indignation over the fact that I've somehow been accused of being sexist in the context of making an argument against an arguably sexist portrayal of women. It's just kind of aggravating when that happens.

So if DFM's disgusted with me for having the wrong interpretation of feminism, tainted by a poor scholar or two during my undergraduate studies, that's legit. But when he phrases it as "I'm disgusted with you, Solid Snake!" the implication sounds a bit like he's offended with me because he thinks I'm sexist, and from my perspective, in the context of my original posts about finding the Gentleman's Club and the Asari Consort ludicrous it's about the last kind of response I expected. To be honest I didn't even think about using the term feminist that much, it was sort of like I want to attack Mass Effect's portrayal of women here, but I don't want to be seen as acting like a militant I-hate-men jerk about it, so I'll just include that disclaimer beforehand.

[Azisien]

SO ANYWAY THOSE MASS EFFECT GAMES, PRETTY GOOD STUFF HUH?

ALSO AFTER MUCH DISCUSSION I HAVE DOWNGRADED IT TO 9.9/10. NOTHING'S PERFECT.

[Raiden]

SO ANYWAY THOSE MASS EFFECT GAMES, PRETTY GOOD STUFF HUH?

ALSO AFTER MUCH DISCUSSION I HAVE DOWNGRADED IT TO 9.9/10. NOTHING'S PERFECT.

NO DAMN YOU, KEEP IT AT A PERFECT 10. YOU KNOW WHY!?

BECAUSE YOU GET TO PUNCH A REPORTER IN THE FACE.

IN
THE
GODDAMN
FACE.

IT'S LIKE GETTING TO BE BRUCE WILLIS, IF HE WERE IN SPACE AND SHOOTING LASERS.

[Krylo]

To be fair, only the one heavy weapon actually shoots lasers.

Edit: Also, Morinth > Samara. AI Hacking for organics. Awesome.

[Funka Genocide]

Bruce Willis did go to space and shoot lasers.

5th Element HELLO?!

[Krylo]

Bruce Willis did go to space and shoot lasers.

5th Element HELLO?!

AND IT WAS AWESOME!

[Melfice]

Goddammit, Raiden.
Now I have to make a Bruce Willis character for another character. Just because I can and it'd be pretty sweet.
Thanks a lot.

Also, the Cain is a pretty cool weapon.
Silly. Impractical, unless you know you'll have time to charge the bloody thing.
But cool nonetheless.

[Krylo]

Thane's loyalty mission as renegade is pretty awesome. "Taking hostages only works if your adversaries care if they live."

[Mirai Gen]

I'm still not sure how I feel about the removal of the equipment. It simplifies the game but almost to a criminal level. Gonna think about this more.
...Am I missing something there? Because to me saying "I'm not a feminist" means "I'm not a card-carrying member of NOW raging against how men are asinine, corrupted forces of destruction, and women are far more intelligent, far more capable and men should be constantly reminded of their evils."
This is an incorrect view of feminism, SS. Feminism is just searching for equal rights. Many of the feminists you're referring to are what make a bad image for the others - it's akin to suggesting that every single animal rights activist be psychotic cow-hugging nutjobs with an obsession on repainting every meat-eating person as a mass-murderer. "I'm not an animal rights activist, but I hate it when animals are treated cruelly," for example.

The sentence probably could have gone like "I'm not normally sensitive or oversensitive to that sort of thing, but it rubbed me the wrong way."

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt here because I've met about four hundred million people who still view feminists this way, and the word you're looking for is 'radicalist.'

[Solid Snake]

"I'm not an animal rights activist, but I hate it when animals are treated cruelly," for example.

You see, maybe I'm really fucking weird, but I'd have no problem whatsoever hearing that and concluding that the speaker wasn't insinuating anything about hating animals, but was simply saying he disapproved of the way animals were treated here despite not being, for example, a card-carrying member of PETA.

(It all depends on how you define feminist, too -- despite considering the sexes equal, it's not as if I can claim I've lobbied extensively over the matter or made gender equality a personal crusade. If you define feminism more on one's actions than one's beliefs, I don't think I'm alone in not fitting the definition.)

Anyway, what's done is done, I feel bad for hijacking the thread over it. I just hate the fact that I have this really strange knack for pissing people off, and it seems to happen too often here, and it's almost never intentional. Maybe I just don't take criticism well, or maybe a few posters here just dislike me.

[Funka Genocide]

You're defending an incorrect position and, consequently, perpetrating an unfair image of an important aspect of modern social philosophy. I guess that's where the ire arises from.

I mean, I'm not an internet troll or anything, but lolumadbro?

[Solid Snake]

You're defending an incorrect position and, consequently, perpetrating an unfair image of an important aspect of modern social philosophy. I guess that's where the ire arises from.

Huh? I haven't mentioned the incorrect usage of the term "feminist" and I'm not trying to defend that. I thought I was pretty clear that my usage of the term in that context was a mistake.
I essentially conceded that a ways back when I noted to DFM that he could have just told me I used the wrong word and I'd have been cool with that. I also noted that I barely even gave the usage of the word "feminist" a thought when I plugged it into my original post. I (obviously incorrectly, based on your responses) simply thought the usage I intended was properly implied and so it wouldn't offend anyone.

I'm arguing against the insinuation that I intentionally did so to piss anyone off, and/or that I'm sexist or have a vendetta against women and that it influenced my decision-making. I don't see that as defending an 'incorrect position.'

[Mirai Gen]

Guys let's just go to PM this thread seriously ran off the rails and now we're all in Canada, except Funka, he's in...Scotland. I already sent one to SS.

[Funka Genocide]

I was just making a joke man. I don't really care one way or the other. I'm just pissed I don't have HOLY FUCK SHIT MASS EFFECT 2 YET!

also, I've never been to Scotland!

[Mirai Gen]

That's why you're there.

[Funka Genocide]

That's why you're there.

You ever read Trainspotting?

[Azisien]

Guys let's just go to PM this thread seriously ran off the rails and now we're all in Canada, except Funka, he's in...Scotland. I already sent one to SS.

...Hey wait what the hell is wrong with that?

[Arcanum]

...Hey wait what the hell is wrong with that?

I think he was just implying that their original rails were in the US, and they got so derailed that they ended up in Canada... and Funka got catapulted into Scotland.

Anywho back to ME2 talk, in regards to the ending I also made it through the end without anyone dying, and other than not having the right upgrades, the only way I can see you getting someone killed is with bad decision making (I have no idea how loyalty affects the end, though I plan to find out with my Renegade Infiltrator who's gonna go in with minimal everything). Seriously, for the first part even though Jacob volunteers, Miranda counters that a tech expert would be best in order to get the doors open quicker. And then when picking a person it says "pick a tech expert." So it's pretty straightforward that you should pick either Tali or Legion (Maybe Mordin? Not sure I'd wanted to risk that though). All of the decisions just require some basic logic.

I remember reading a post on Destructoid where Anthony Burch was griping about how he felt that two of his allies died because he picked the wrong answer in a multiple choice question. However I find it hard to take his complaints seriously when, even though the multiple choice question analogy somewhat fits, you have the answer sheet right next to you. And no I'm not talking about the internet, I mean that the correct choices are so damn obvious that you'd have to have terrible decision making skills in order to get characters killed solely from picking them for a task.

That's enough of end-game spoilers / ranting for now. Hopefully this brings the thread back on track.

[Osterbaum]

I'm actually interested to hear, what happened if you didn't upgrade your armor, shields and guns on the Normandy.

[Mirai Gen]

So been working my way through the game. Spoliers for around the Horizon part of the game.

I really hate that all the women I want to knock army boots with are people I hate. Miranda's getting much much less aggravating through, which is fortunate as I wouldn't touch Jack with a ten foot pole.

I'm not a big fan of the fact that after completing a story-based mission three comrades of mine dump plot with "Can we go do this? Please please pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease Shepard?!" felt plotted, really annoyingly.

Also since I picked Ashley in the last game it was a real disrupting moment to be talking to her and have her be all "Man how can you trust Cerberus?!" and the only options for me were "I'm trying to do the right thing," when I told at least five people at that point I didn't trust Cerberus at all. So she naturally took off leaving Shepard to be all upset while I sat there, beating my fist against a wall, trying to shout that the Illusive Man could go fuck himself but Shepard apparently wasn't interested.

So yeah. Much as I bitch I like the game.

[Red Fighter 1073]

I'm actually interested to hear, what happened if you didn't upgrade your armor, shields and guns on the Normandy.

Basically, I'm pretty sure three of your party members die right off the bat before you even crash land onto the collector base. I think the non-upgraded Normandy hits a few asteroids and gets shot by a few collector ships no matter what and if your ship isn't upgraded then it gets fucked over.

Also, if anyone wanted to see, here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEh4ByEJvqU&feature=related) is part one of the WORST ending possible. The guy speedran through the game with zero upgrades and no loyal members so get ready for it.Literally, EVERYONE dies. I think even the crew dies, but I forget..

[Raiden]

That guy's ending is full of fail. Fail distilled into pure essence of loser.

[Karrrrrrrrrrrresche]

To counterbalance, lets see how well "Staying alive" fits into a Trailer.

http://tubedubber.com/#jLhptv1yYMU:aQwMpHTGEg8:0:100:4:0:false

[Marc v4.0]

On the 360 version it makes you feel really special by doing everything right at the end. From the romance scene right up to the very end it spits achievements at you like candies.

[DFM]

To counterbalance, lets see how well "Staying alive" fits into a Trailer.

http://tubedubber.com/#jLhptv1yYMU:aQwMpHTGEg8:0:100:4:0:false

That's disturbing how well that syncs.

[Arcanum]

Sooo... if you get the total fail ending, does that mean that in ME3 you play as Joker? Because that would be reason enough to do it.

E- And yeah, he rescues the crew, but then gets them killed because he sent them back without an escort. And I love how his "ground team" at the end was just Samara.

[Mirai Gen]

Left trigger to tip hat, right trigger to fly ship, press A to jump (and break legs).

[Melfice]

Left trigger to tip hat, right trigger to fly ship, press A to jump (and break legs).

X to be a wise-ass/crack jokes.

Can't forget that.

[Kerensky287]

After hearing of other peoples' experiences I feel a lot better. I lost Garrus and Zaeed in my ending, and considering that Garrus was one of my favourite characters, it just felt like I had no control at all. It picked him seemingly randomly during one cutscene, and I was just sitting there bewildered at how I was supposed to avoid it.

Now I realize that it was because I had been trying to get MIRANDA killed the whole time. I mean, they asked you to bring along a biotic character, and I was thinking, "Oh, we need a character to stand around and be a gigantic target for a while? Perfect!" I'm pretty sure that ironically enough Garrus died because Miranda sucked too bad to keep him alive.

And Zaeed died because I apparently pissed him off in the loyalty mission. He was never counted as "loyal" for me. TFB, I guess.

[Arcanum]

X to be a wise-ass/crack jokes.

Can't forget that.

Also, B to take pictures.

And Mirai, that had me cracking up. Priceless.


Edit ---


And Zaeed died because I apparently pissed him off in the loyalty mission. He was never counted as "loyal" for me. TFB, I guess.

Was it because you went and saved those people in the refinery? I was tempted to do so, what with being a Paragon and all, but I figured "ehh he's probably right, that the dude's gonna get away. Plus I have plenty of paragon points so who cares."

[Melfice]

No, I saved those people in his loyalty mission.
I figure you need to show him you trust him. (Paragon option when he's stuck under that beam?)

He was loyal to me.

[Kerensky287]

I got him out from under the beam and he was like, "Why did you save me I've been a jerk" and then I was like "BECAUSE FRIENDSHIP IS ALL THAT MATTERS" or something and then he was like, "FUCK YOU YOU WASTED 20 YEARS OF MY LIFE" and then I was like "Paragon charm option OH SHIT I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH POINTS FOR IT DESPITE THE BAR BEING GODDAMN FULL" and so instead I was like "Stop whining" and he was like "k".

Seriously though, why doesn't it let me do the Charm option sometimes when I have full paragon?

[Melfice]

I have no bloody idea.
You're too charming for people to take you seriously?

I really don't know.

[Azisien]

I got him out from under the beam and he was like, "Why did you save me I've been a jerk" and then I was like "BECAUSE FRIENDSHIP IS ALL THAT MATTERS" or something and then he was like, "FUCK YOU YOU WASTED 20 YEARS OF MY LIFE" and then I was like "Paragon charm option OH SHIT I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH POINTS FOR IT DESPITE THE BAR BEING GODDAMN FULL" and so instead I was like "Stop whining" and he was like "k".

Seriously though, why doesn't it let me do the Charm option sometimes when I have full paragon?

You sure? I was able to do it and I didn't have full Paragon at the time.

[Kerensky287]

You sure? I was able to do it and I didn't have full Paragon at the time.

Speculation: Charm/Intimidate requirements scale up like enemies do. Zaeed's loyalty mission was the very last thing I did before the Omega 4 relay.

[Azisien]

Speculation: Charm/Intimidate requirements scale up like enemies do. Zaeed's loyalty mission was the very last thing I did before the Omega 4 relay.

Possible. But why would it be impossible?

That is consistent with my experience though. I did Zaeed first.

[Krylo]

He probably wasn't actually maxed. Just very close to it.

It's extremely hard to max renegade or paragon unless you take the job evolution that gives +100% to it.

[Azisien]

Something I am now wondering: I romanced with Tali. And I figured she would be sick come mission time and possibly die. Which I was prepared to be sad for. But then she was perfectly fine. So will she be sick and die in ME3? That would also make me sad. But on the other hand, I'll be pissed if nothing happens because damn, that's what quarians are all about!

[Raiden]

Possible. But why would it be impossible?

That is consistent with my experience though. I did Zaeed first.

Did you buy up your Class skill with XP? They raise your Conversation scores with Paragon and Renegade.

[Krylo]

You obviously didn't pay attention when she explained how it actually works.

They don't just get sick and die if they're out of their suits. They just have an allergic reaction, more or less. It tends to show itself in basically the same form as a head cold, but CAN be worse sometimes. It is, however, very very rarely fatal unless you've got some kind of open wound being created/infected.

She even talks about how she wished her dad had removed his suit so she could see his face, and taken the week of sick time.

Not to mention it's stated pretty openly that Veetor, in the very beginning, is obviously NOT dying at all from having a broken scrubber on his suit and possible infections. He's just delirious.

[Azisien]

You obviously didn't pay attention when she explained how it actually works.

They don't just get sick and die if they're out of their suits. They just have an allergic reaction, more or less. It tends to show itself in basically the same form as a head cold, but CAN be worse sometimes. It is, however, very very rarely fatal unless you've got some kind of open wound being created/infected.

She even talks about how she wished her dad had removed his suit so she could see his face, and taken the week of sick time.

Not to mention it's stated pretty openly that Veetor, in the very beginning, is obviously NOT dying at all from having a broken scrubber on his suit and possible infections. He's just delirious.

I guess sarcasm doesn't transfer over too well. I was over-emphasizing on the 'get sick and die' thing. But there was nothing. No mention of it. And I know how quarians work. There's lotsa quarians in the second novel. I know my stuff. I'm absolutely expecting a reaction, come ME3.

Besides my Shepard washed his mouth out with anthrax every night for just such an occasion.

I guess it was my one, small let-down with the game. Because the whole romance with Tali was about how it would be difficult and yadda yadda, nothing happens. She coulda at least been sneezing during the final mission.

[Krylo]

Did you talk to her afterward?

Apparently she says she got a little sick but it was worth it, from what I've read.

[Kerensky287]

Yeah, she lists off like 4 different cold/flu-like symptoms, which means that she's probably feeling pretty miserable but she's in no real danger.

[Azisien]

Wha....Bu....The cutscene happens and then you're in the final mission where you talk to like no one. And then the credits roll.

I guess I never loaded up after the credits, if that's what you mean.

[Red Fighter 1073]

Regarding the Zaeed Paragon Option, I've heard it's glitched for some people.. I had max Paragon and it was able to work, but I've heard of some people having the same stats but not being to do it.

[Mirai Gen]

The way Kelly's plot played out was like "That sure was a great night of passionate pants-on hugging!"

[Kerensky287]

The way Kelly's plot played out was like "That sure was a great night of passionate pants-on hugging!"

I wouldn't know because she dissolved in front of me, screaming as her skin flaked off and her insides melted. Bit of a nightmare fuel moment.

[Krylo]

Guess you shouldn't have dicked around so much after the crew gets taken, then.

I actually like the fact that dicking around and side questing too much at the wrong time has permanent consequences, though. The enemy actually does shit while you're farming creds and xp.

[Kerensky287]

Probably not but I liked my squadmates more than my crew members anyway.

[Red Fighter 1073]

The way Kelly's plot played out was like "That sure was a great night of passionate pants-on hugging!"

Try staying abstinent for the whole game, all the while flirting with Kelly constantly, and in the post-game, Kelly becomes (minor post-game character spoilers)a raging exotic dancer whose only purpose is to titillate and tease the hell out of you. Let's watch! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm6KL-v5Umo) Gotta say I don't think I ever would've expected that.

[Mirai Gen]

Gotta say I don't think I ever would've expected that.
Dude. I mean come on.

She was a sexpot wearing a Normandy uniform. Every single person that came on the ship already got her horny, even alien motherfuckers like Thane and Garrus or that psychotic nutjob with a tattoo on every square inch of her body Jack. The fact that she turns into casual sex for the captain was no surprise.

[Karrrrrrrrrrrresche]

Something I don't think has gotten enough attention is the scene where you take control of Joker and are forced to run about the ship watching your crew get their asses kicked with a complete inability to do anything about it.

I really, deeply felt helplessness and anger as I watched unprepared Engineers and navigators and whatever the hell else take on Collectors, and especially the part where you run into that guy who tells you he's going to make sure you'll get where you're going safely, turns a corner and gets bitch slapped by a monster.

More than anything else really, that scene hit me as pretty damn emotional considering it wasn't a cutscene.

[CABAL49]

I hate college. I am at the start of the "mission" but I don't have time right now cause I have to I have to do homework and go to class early tomorrow. Fuck!

[Toastburner B]

Something I don't think has gotten enough attention is the scene where you take control of Joker and are forced to run about the ship watching your crew get their asses kicked with a complete inability to do anything about it.

I really, deeply felt helplessness and anger as I watched unprepared Engineers and navigators and whatever the hell else take on Collectors, and especially the part where you run into that guy who tells you he's going to make sure you'll get where you're going safely, turns a corner and gets bitch slapped by a monster.

More than anything else really, that scene hit me as pretty damn emotional considering it wasn't a cutscene.

This. Very this. I found that running helplessly Kelly as she gets dragged screaming into the elevator by a collector to be quite chilling. And, maybe I missed it, but did they explain why every "team member" got on a shuttle and warped off somewhere long enough for the red shirts to get helplessly slaughtered? I don't remember a explanation of what was going on with that.

[Krylo]

It was Miranda's idea to take everyone on the shuttle and then let Shepard choose who to take with once they hit ground side. Apparently no one took the time to think that might not be the BEST idea.

[DFM]

But could the most dangerous mother fuckers in the galaxy minus two and Shepard take on a collector boarding party for the two minutes it takes Joker to unchain EDI?

HMM?

[Kerensky287]

It was Miranda's idea to take everyone on the shuttle and then let Shepard choose who to take with once they hit ground side. Apparently no one took the time to think that might not be the BEST idea.

Yeah. But for a bit more detail: The Reaper IFF was causing issues in the Normandy's systems, so there was some worry about bringing it too close to a planet. Miranda suggested leaving in the shuttle to avoid that problem - presumably, they would have to leave immediately in order to make good time at all. I don't remember the conversation exactly but even though it was obviously an excuse to get the team off the Normandy, it didn't feel contrived at all.

But yeah, holy crap that was an intense scene. The massive difference between Joker and Shep - hell, Joker can't even RUN - was great for that point in the game. You're supposed to look on helplessly and the fact that you're in the action adds a sense of urgency. As I was playing I was thinking that almost any other character would have a fighting chance, but if Joker fired a gun then the recoil would almost certainly break his shoulder... of course, they turned that on its head at the end of the game, but it doesn't really matter.

Something I noticed: if they have the technology to bring Shep back to life at the start of the game, why can't they give Joker a strengthened exoskeleton or something, Wolverine-style? I'd love if there was a way to bring Joker along on missions, and that's just not going to happen as long as a stiff breeze will incapacitate him. Plus, I heard that a lot of people were begging for him to be a romance option for Femshep, and it'd be just awkward if he ended up with a broken pelvis.

[Krylo]

I'm pretty sure if you left no one there but Jack and Grunt... or hell, even just one of those two, you'd come back to the ship to find the whole place covered in collector corpses... and broken bulkheads.

Edit: Edi suggested the shuttle, and Joker's brittle bones are only in his legs, which is why he can fire an AR. His upper body is normal. Pelvis is... well, I'm not sure.

[Kerensky287]

Edit: Edi suggested the shuttle, and Joker's brittle bones are only in his legs, which is why he can fire an AR. His upper body is normal. Pelvis is... well, I'm not sure.

From the start of the game:

"OWW! Watch the arm!"

From shortly after entering the relay:

"I think I broke a rib.... all of them...."

Both of which imply that all of his bones are brittle, or that at least his upper body is too.

EDIT FOR BELOW, SO AS TO NOT FILL THE THREAD WITH MORE SEMANTICS: Alright, point conceded. It strikes me as odd that Vrolik's Syndrome would be isolated to a single part of the body, though... but at least that would make it easier to Wolverine-ize him. I mean, just give him some kind of lower-body exoskeleton. Or have him lose the lower half of his body and give him a prosthetic. Hell, you could make a mission out of it, or even link it to past player decisions. Decided to sell Legion to Cerberus? Then you can't use his geth technology to turn Joker into a Six Million Dollar Man, and either he dies (prompting a quest to get a new guy) or he just can't get out of the cockpit ever again.

Okay that got away from me and maybe it DID deserve a new post. Even though my idea for execution was entirely stupid.

[Krylo]

Go ask him about his disease in the first game. "I don't fly the ship with my legs, Shepard." "Leave the Normandy in my hands and I'll make her dance for you, just don't ask ME to get up and dance, unless you like the sound of cracking shin bones."

His bones are fine in his upper body, he's just a pussy.

[Karrrrrrrrrrrresche]

At some point or another Mordin claims to have found the cure for Joker's disease.

At the cost of Liver failure.

[Melfice]

At some point or another Mordin claims to have found the cure for Joker's disease.

At the cost of Liver failure.

They brought back Shep.
I'm sure they can clone Jeff's liver. Give him the cure, watch as he squirms in agony while his liver fails and then transplant his new liver.

Unless the cure would continuously attack his liver...

[Kerensky287]

And that's when they give him his prosthetic liver.

[Krylo]

Guys you are over complicating this.

Shepard can get heavy bone weaves. Like 5 of them or some shit.

Just make Joker into a goddamn cyborg and give him the same thing. Problem solved.

[Kerensky287]

Just make Joker into a goddamn cyborg and give him the same thing. Problem solved.

HOLY SHIT HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I SAID THIS NOW

[Krylo]

Zero times.

Exoskeleton is on the OUTSIDE.

That wold be like... some kind of exo-suit mech shit.

Reinforcing his ENDOskeleton would be cyborging him.

But yeah, no, I get what you were saying before. But these other dudes are all like "Cure the bones then give him a fake liver" well why not just skip the middle man and give him fake bones, right, Kerensky?

That's the smart move.

[Kerensky287]

...Or have him lose the lower half of his body and give him a prosthetic...

...turn Joker into a Six Million Dollar Man...

More than zero! And when I originally mentioned Wolverine-izing him I meant coating his bones with adamantium.

But like, they have the technology right? They can rebuild him.

[DFM]

You notice how like Miranda and Zaeed are the only NPCs who actually like... "get" their power at the end of their loyalty mission? Like Miranda uses her new biotic slam on the commando, Zaeed uses his inferno grenade on gasoline man and what not. I don't think anybody has their power shown or explained.

I think they should have all been like that, Bioware. I'M DISGUSTED AT YOUR FAILURE.

[Mr.Bookworm]

Go ask him about his disease in the first game. "I don't fly the ship with my legs, Shepard." "Leave the Normandy in my hands and I'll make her dance for you, just don't ask ME to get up and dance, unless you like the sound of cracking shin bones."

His bones are fine in his upper body, he's just a pussy.

I'm pretty sure it's all of his bones, and it's a matter of weight distribution. When he's standing up, all of his weight is on his legs, which puts lots of stress on his bones, making them much easier to break. The rest of his body doesn't have that much weight on it, especially when he's sitting down.

He also pretty clearly has both exo- and endo- reinforcement. He mentions in the first game that he had a shitload of surgery done to him when he was a kid, or otherwise he wouldn't have survived, and in the second game it looks like he's wearing brace-things on his legs (take a look at those weird little metal kneecap things).

So, anyway, yeah. Beat the game once. The achievements are kind of dick, too, because it let me think that I had fucked up somehow for about five minutes before the one saying that everyone survived popped up.

Also, Jesus Christ I am not looking forward to playing through Mass Effect every time I want to play ME2 with a past of my choosing. Why in the bloody hell did they take out the ability to choose the key decisions when you start a new profile? I hope they'll at least DLC it in the future.

[Melfice]

Guys you are over complicating this.

Shepard can get heavy bone weaves. Like 5 of them or some shit.

Just make Joker into a goddamn cyborg and give him the same thing. Problem solved.

Yeah, sure. If you want to make things simple.

Come on, you're an organization with very little morals about how to do things.
If you can't abuse that to add some suffering to somebody's life just to save or cure him, you're doing something wrong.

No, but okay. You're right.

[Marc v4.0]

I had actually assumed Cerberus had done something to Joker already, as he mentions in the first game that even with his leg braces and crutches, he has trouble getting around, but in ME2 he doesn't seem to be as hindered.

[Mirai Gen]

I have to say that much to my surprise Mordin is one of my favorite characters; his loyalty quest was like the first part where I knew what the Paragon/Renegade option was but I wasn't 100% sure if I agreed with either one.

[Sifright]

I thought it was simple paragon option is always the blue or top right option...

[DFM]

Except in Legion's loyalty mission, for some reason.

[CABAL49]

I don't think Joker would have wanted to be a cyborg in the beginning. He might now, but not at the beginning of the game.

[Azisien]

Joker shouldn't be a cyborg because then we couldn't have that whole helpless scene, again! Seriously that scene was cool. And it had possibly the best line in the game. "I like a human on his knees." *awkward silence* *close-up on EDI* "That was a joke."

[Marc v4.0]

not cyborg, but I keep getting the impression that they might have done something to help him already, gene treatments or something. He seemed more active then we were led to believe by the first game.

They could have just given him better leg braces, even

[Azisien]

Oh yes. I get what you're saying and I agree. I was a little surprised it was not mentioned in passing but whatever, stations were blowing up, Shepard was being resurrected, and colonies were going missing so I guess it got overlooked.

[Toastburner B]

You notice how like Miranda and Zaeed are the only NPCs who actually like... "get" their power at the end of their loyalty mission? Like Miranda uses her new biotic slam on the commando, Zaeed uses his inferno grenade on gasoline man and what not.

At the end of Zaeed's mission, I thought it was a spent thermal-clip that he ejected into the gasoline. In fact, I'll stick by that, because I think it makes that scene cooler if it was an ejected clip, and not an actual grenade.

I have to say that much to my surprise Mordin is one of my favorite characters;

That is not surprising at all because Mordin is awesome. Who else could belt out a Gilbert and Sullivan tune and get away with it?

And as for all the "why doesn't Cerberus fix Joker" stuff, how 'bout this: They spent 4 billion credits to resurrect Sheperd because a dead Sheperd can't do anything. A weak-boned Joker can still fly a ship, and that's all Cerberus needs Joker for, so why would they spend millions/billions of credits to fix up Joker if they just need him to fly a ship?

Though, I must admit, I am curious to see if ME3 will carry over save files from games where Sheperd dies. I mean, let's face it, Joker may be an amusing character, but in the game fiction, if he showed up and said "ZOMG THE REAPERS ARE COMING!", he'd be laughed off the stage. Heck, Sheperd is a freakin' galaxy-wide hero and no one believes him when he says the reapers are still a threat, no way Joker can convince people.

It will be interesting to see what BioWare does with those save files...if anything. Though, from what I've seen, you have to try pretty hard to get it so Sheperd doesn't survive.

[Azisien]

It will be interesting to see what BioWare does with those save files...if anything. Though, from what I've seen, you have to try pretty hard to get it so Sheperd doesn't survive.

I think, considering the ball-bustingly fantastic use of ME1 save games, the ME3 save game use will be good, if not better. But we can only speculate how far they'll take it! This game was clearly modelled heavily on consequences, so I'm eagerly awaiting big things. I'm also curious what other DLCs will pop up.

And Mordin is awesome indeed. From a character point of view (love those sentence fragment salarians), but also a combat point of view. Maxed out inferno grenade is the best ability I came across while playing. Huge organic damage and very fast cooldown.

[CABAL49]

At 28 hours I finished. I lost Tali and that made me sad.

[DFM]

At the end of Zaeed's mission, I thought it was a spent thermal-clip that he ejected into the gasoline. In fact, I'll stick by that, because I think it makes that scene cooler if it was an ejected clip, and not an actual grenade.



Honestly I thought the "grenade" thing in the power title was simplification and his actual ability involved overloading spent clips or something, as that's what the cutscene led me to believe.

[Mirai Gen]

Spoilers for Garrus post-loyalty mission dialog: "We'd often do close-quarters combat before missions, and I went up against a rival of mine. She had reach; I had flexibility. Good way to work off stress. Went nine rounds before judged called it a draw. Later we had a private match in her quarters to decide a victor, and...well...I had reach, she had flexibility. Good way to work off stress." (Quote not perfect)

I love Garrus. I am fucking the hell out of that grey shark-toothed alien when I play as a woman.

[DFM]

He died on my romance.

Renegade femshep is dead inside now.

[Dauntasa]

Spoilers for Garrus post-loyalty mission dialog: "We'd often do close-quarters combat before missions, and I went up against a rival of mine. She had reach; I had flexibility. Good way to work off stress. Went nine rounds before judged called it a draw. Later we had a private match in her quarters to decide a victor, and...well...I had reach, she had flexibility. Good way to work off stress." (Quote not perfect)

I love Garrus. I am fucking the hell out of that grey shark-toothed alien when I play as a woman.

My favorite Garrus quote so far is:
When going into the Krogan hospital on Mordin's loyalty mission.
Garrus: "Hospitals aren't fun to fight through."
Shep: "What is fun to fight through?"
Garrus: "Gardens. Electronics Shops. Antique Stores, but only if they're classy."
It's the way he says it that makes it awesome.

[Aerozord]

just played like the first ten minutes, my reaction, I can make my previous games default shep, suddenly look like morgan freeman. Game wins

[Funka Genocide]

I guess I'm a little late to the party... but guess who just bought ME2?

My computer just had an orgasm, I need to get a mop.

[Mirai Gen]

My favorite Garrus quote so far is:
When going into the Krogan hospital on Mordin's loyalty mission.
Garrus: "Hospitals aren't fun to fight through."
Shep: "What is fun to fight through?"
Garrus: "Gardens. Electronics Shops. Antique Stores, but only if they're classy."
It's the way he says it that makes it awesome.

That was a great one too. Garrus' loyalty mission was pretty awesome as it was one of the moments in video games where you're starting to wonder when the line between game and cutscene lies. The addition of LT = Paragon and RT = Renegade to the wheel-selection adds this very odd sense of small but delicate QTE that's not annoying but keeps you on your toes.

The fact that I didn't do any of the Renegade ones makes me really want to re-play it, aided by the fact that they took out all the micromanagement of the equipment. It means I could experiment with my team without having to spend ten minutes dressing my kids and packing their lunches.

[DFM]

My paragon character suffers from bipolar disorder because I couldn't not hit those prompts.

[Mirai Gen]

I feel your pain - my right finger twitched when I saw I could beat the fuck out of that guy in the interrogation room.

Also; "I hope you can fly." Oh god it physically hurt that I couldn't do that.

Reminded me of that one Dark Side option in KOTOR II I always took even as Light Side: "[Force Persuade] Give me all your credits and jump over the railing."

[DFM]

Guard: I've got nothing to say to you.

*Shove, five minutes of slowly fading screams*

Shepard: How about 'goodbye'?

Jack: Damn, Shepard. I should take notes.

[Mirai Gen]

Eerrggghhhh I physically have to play this again on Renegade.

[greed]

Collector ship on Insanity is a big difficulty spike. That bit with the floating platforms and the scion sniper, is just, ugh. Truly the annoying thing is you can't grind for it because the ship mission just appears and stops you from doing what you want. Might just save the insanity achievement for a new game plus.

[TheWolf13]

Though, I must admit, I am curious to see if ME3 will carry over save files from games where Sheperd dies. I mean, let's face it, Joker may be an amusing character, but in the game fiction, if he showed up and said "ZOMG THE REAPERS ARE COMING!", he'd be laughed off the stage. Heck, Sheperd is a freakin' galaxy-wide hero and no one believes him when he says the reapers are still a threat, no way Joker can convince people.

It will be interesting to see what BioWare does with those save files...if anything. Though, from what I've seen, you have to try pretty hard to get it so Sheperd doesn't survive.

Spoilers in this link so you are warned.

http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/02/05/news-why-you-may-not-be-able-to-import-your-mass-effect-2-save-to-me3.aspx

Hope that answers your question.

[Azisien]

Collector ship on Insanity is a big difficulty spike. That bit with the floating platforms and the scion sniper, is just, ugh. Truly the annoying thing is you can't grind for it because the ship mission just appears and stops you from doing what you want. Might just save the insanity achievement for a new game plus.

Insane difficult is kind of around for new game plus. Doing it with a fresh character is still possible, but slightly masochistic. I found that similar with the first game.

[Dauntasa]

Eerrggghhhh I physically have to play this again on Renegade.

On the PC version, which is what I have, the Renegade button is the Left Mouse Button. It's literally the easiest button to press. And the prompt is a bright, shiny red. They basically made it impossible not to press.

EDIT: And is it supposed to only let me save 50 times or is there something I can do to make it let me save more?

[CABAL49]

I started up my Insanity character yesterday. Krogans are not my friends! I don't know how anyone who wasn't a sentinel would survive.

[Melfice]

On the PC version, which is what I have, the Renegade button is the Left Mouse Button. It's literally the easiest button to press. And the prompt is a bright, shiny red. They basically made it impossible not to press.

EDIT: And is it supposed to only let me save 50 times or is there something I can do to make it let me save more?

You should have more than 50 saves... unless they really messed up the PC version. o___0

[greed]

On the PC version, which is what I have, the Renegade button is the Left Mouse Button. It's literally the easiest button to press. And the prompt is a bright, shiny red. They basically made it impossible not to press.

EDIT: And is it supposed to only let me save 50 times or is there something I can do to make it let me save more?

You mean 50 saves total? Or 50 save slots? Cause the former says you've got a real problem. The latter however is possibly intentional. I know ME1 for the 360 limited your number of save slots per career to about 25 or so.

[Red Fighter 1073]

Yeah 50 saves total in your PC version def spells trouble because I had over 200 saves (and like 20 save slots) on my 360 game.

[Toastburner B]

I would just like to note that it is possible to indulge in a few Renegade interrupts and still max out your Paragon bar by the end of the game.

I did 2-4 of them, and I still managed to max out Paragon by the end of my first play through. Though, honestly, in the cases I did it wasn't quite "evil", it was more of "this is tactically sound, and I don't see why I wouldn't do."

Plus, I didn't want to listen to that krogan give his long speech about conquering the galaxy, destroying the Citadel, and eating salarian children all over again, so I just BBQ'd the second time...they killed me the first time I tried that part.

[Eltargrim]

Yeah, my paragon did a few renegade things, but he was rarely renegade as in a dick. He took the two tactically sound options on the loyalty quests of Mordin and Miranda, but he also turned the guy on the citadel into a bloody pulp for Thane. In the end, however, he decided that the end doesn't justify the means, blowing the Collector station to high hell.

Now I'm replaying ME1 as a Renegade Adept fem-Shep. Made her look like Starbuck. Very fun :)

[Azisien]

Ah, it's not a PC version thing. Sounds awfully similar to your ME1 problems though, for whatever reason.

I had over 100 saves on my PC, and at least 5 slots.

[Dauntasa]

Ah, it's not a PC version thing. Sounds awfully similar to your ME1 problems though, for whatever reason.

I had over 100 saves on my PC, and at least 5 slots.

Not really. My ME1 problem was that it would crash after the final boss. I had no trouble with saving. I'm a bit paranoid about that actually; I had over 400 saves at the end of my first playthrough. Anyway, I've started just moving my ME2 saves to a different folder when it gets full. It's kinda annoying, but no big deal.

[DFM]

Good lord why do you need so many saves.

[CABAL49]

Anyone have a better strategy for Insanity other than spamming overload and reaver everywhere? Also might help if my squad would stop dying. I am doing half the missions by myself because I don't have enough medigel.

[Marc v4.0]

Anyone have a better strategy for Insanity other than spamming overload and reaver everywhere? Also might help if my squad would stop dying. I am doing half the missions by myself because I don't have enough medigel.

I need a little advice on this as well. Insanity seems to turn all my squad members into Garrus

[Red Fighter 1073]

I'm playing as a Sentinel so the Tech Armor and Warp/Overload might skew things a bit..

1. Miranda is actually probably one of the best people to have (because she has both Warp and Overload so she can unshield any enemy) despite her bitchy personality..

2. Someone with Pull also works wonders once shields are gone because it incapacitates an enemy easily long enough for you to plow through it instead of having it shoot at you. Especially against Krogan who like to charge and be up close, Pull is amazing..

3. And then another person with either Warp or Overload or maybe a good Ammo user to help wittle down shields I guess.

So yeah, early game and hell maybe even throughout the whole game Jacob/Miranda combo is really good, although Samara or Jack might be better than Jacob.

[Kerensky287]

I'm playing as a Sentinel so the Tech Armor and Warp/Overload might skew things a bit..

1. Miranda is actually probably one of the best people to have (because she has both Warp and Overload so she can unshield any enemy) despite her bitchy personality..

2. Someone with Pull also works wonders once shields are gone because it incapacitates an enemy easily long enough for you to plow through it instead of having it shoot at you. Especially against Krogan who like to charge and be up close, Pull is amazing..

3. And then another person with either Warp or Overload or maybe a good Ammo user to help wittle down shields I guess.

So yeah, early game and hell maybe even throughout the whole game Jacob/Miranda combo is really good, although Samara or Jack might be better than Jacob.

Thane has Warp, an ammo power, and Throw, which is basically backwards Pull. How can Jacob possibly be better?

[Azisien]

Thane would not stop dying for me. Get up, you bastard frog-thing, even Mordin is still alive!!!

[Marc v4.0]

I'd use their powers but, again, bullet magnets that like to not take any cover and eat face-rockets

[Krylo]

Thane has Warp, an ammo power, and Throw, which is basically backwards Pull. How can Jacob possibly be better?

Throw is NOTHING like Pull.

Throw is a quick hit flinging enemies away, pull levitates enemies for many seconds while they slowly drift toward you.

As for insanity: It's about maximizing your build and the build of your team/team mates.

Miranda is supposedly the best member to bring because of her bonus to squad weapon damage if you level her class. As for bullet eating--you are on insanity now. You micro manage them.

Also you should probably grab your second squad member as someone with a sniper rifle and force them to keep it equipped as well as sticking them behind cover. Garrus or Zaeed work well, I guess.

If you're going to bring biotics to the game, make sure you've got heavy warp somewhere along the way and AP ammo to burn through armor. You should probably have AP ammo anyway.

The easiest class for insanity runs is infiltrator, by the by. The anti-material sniper rifle + tac. cloak + sniper headshot damage + headshot damage visor is the best damage you're going to get and you can use it from range.

[Marc v4.0]

Ugh. Extreme micro-management in a game of this pace is just a pain in the ass. I'll just skip the Insanity run then.

[Sithdarth]

I was unhappy with my previous play through from ME1 so I went back to finish up my other play through from ME1 before going back to ME2. I was rolling Garrus and Wrex but I switched to Liara and Tali for some reason and oh god do I wish I had done that sooner. I'm full combat so it makes for a perfectly balanced team power wise and my god do things die, especially geth. If Tali isn't hacking them into catatonic states Liara is throwing out singularities and stasis like no tomorrow. Between that and me being a beast with like 800 health and 700 shields plus full specter gear and mods so my assault rifle never even heats up everything pretty much dies in about 4 seconds. I sort of just storm in as Tali hacks and shotguns and Liara does the biotic thing and sometimes a few high explosive pistol shots basically using me as moving cover.

Man I can't wait to get back to ME2. Although I haven't decided if this setup will work quite as well when I can't just rubber band the trigger down and run around like a moron.

[Red Fighter 1073]

Yeah I had thought of Thane as a Jacob alternative at first, but Throw is not nearly as good as Pull. Most enemies hide behind some kind of cover and although Throw probably does more damage than Pull, it also lays out an enemy flat on the ground and if they are behind cover (and most likely still alive), you can't do anything against them without running out of your cover.

But with Pull, it incapacitates and usually pulls them out of their cover in which you can unload on them which is why Pull is so much better.

EDIT: Ninja'd by Krylo a few posts ago. Also, as much as I would love playing as a sniper-expert Infiltrator, the very low ammo almost makes me want to stay away even though I love sniping in almost any game.

[Dauntasa]

EDIT: Ninja'd by Krylo a few posts ago. Also, as much as I would love playing as a sniper-expert Infiltrator, the very low ammo almost makes me want to stay away even though I love sniping in almost any game.

If you're really worried about Sniper ammo, use the Viper instead of the Widow. It's got around 60 shots in reserve and 12 per clip, and still does decent damage(Though not nearly as much as the Widow).

[Krylo]

Viper does less damage than the MANTIS, the FIRST sniper rifle you get.

It is basically entirely useless unless you are half blind.

[Dauntasa]

Viper does less damage than the MANTIS, the FIRST sniper rifle you get.

It is basically entirely useless unless you are half blind.

Yes, it does a lot less damage, but it fires much, much faster and has a lot more ammo. I might just like it because I'm an awful shot, though.

[Marc v4.0]

Yeah, running out of ammo on the mantis in an extended fight when you can't rush ahead and look for clips is annoying. It also makes every near miss a huge fucking pain. Any damage I could do in one shot from the Mantis I could do in 2-3 quick shots with the Viper.

[CABAL49]

I can take most opponents by myself. I just know it is going to be a nightmare when I start fighting husks.

[Red Fighter 1073]

How much ammo does the starting sniper get? Because I really want to get/try out a Sniper when I go the derelict Collector ship and get the weapon upgrade with my Sentinel class

[Arcanum]

I can take most opponents by myself. I just know it is going to be a nightmare when I start fighting husks.

Shockwave is your best friend against husks. Unless Insanity Husks have armor, then you're screwed.

[Mirai Gen]

Husks presented real problems for me (adept) through the whole game until I maximized Warp with the damage spec and started peppering them.

Also I love being an adept. Pimped out SMG + Warp/Singularity + Inferno Ammo = everything close range is dead. Laying Singularity traps are completely kickass - I can't wait to see what other classes have.

Finally finished the game. Only got Mordin killed, which saddened me cause I liked Mordin. Gonna see if I can find a way to keep him alive and try it again. Even with all the things removed ME2 is a vast, huge improvement over ME1.

Azis called ME2 at the Dojo this week, and his review looks good, but I'm gonna do it anyway in a month or so.

[Osterbaum]

Husks were a pain in the ass for me. I play(ed) as an inflitrator.

[Krylo]

Yeah, running out of ammo on the mantis in an extended fight when you can't rush ahead and look for clips is annoying. It also makes every near miss a huge fucking pain. Any damage I could do in one shot from the Mantis I could do in 2-3 quick shots with the Viper.

Solution: Don't miss.

Also, looking at game files shows that the Mantis does about 180 damage, while the viper does about 60, as I recall. This means that, yes, you need 3 shots with the viper.

However, they will not be 2-3 QUICK shots, as that if you're aiming properly you're hitting them in the braincap, which makes them stumble requiring you to realign your shot to pull off again.

If you're aiming for body shots and/or missing a lot the viper is better due to the higher ammo capacity and rapid fire capabilities. If, however, you're scoring head shots most of the time, the Mantis is the superior sniper.

Further--if you're infiltrator or soldier you should be making your hit pretty much every time due to infiltrators getting automatic bullet time when you scope, and soldiers being able to turn it on at the tap of a button.

And, not only that but all the damage boosts are percents, so you get ten percent extra damage from the visor + 10 percent from headshot damage boost. For the Viper that's an extra 12 damage per shot. For the Mantis that's an extra 36 damage per shot.

If you grab it on some other class, though, yeah, I can see where viper would be an upgrade for the mantis, but even then--not much of one. It'd make misses less frustrating and allow rapid fire capabilities, but at the cost of heavy burst damage. I can sight down a line with the mantis, and pull an Archangel from a defended position. The same is untrue for the viper due to headshot stumbles.

How much ammo does the starting sniper get? Because I really want to get/try out a Sniper when I go the derelict Collector ship and get the weapon upgrade with my Sentinel class

Mantis gets 1 shot per thermal clip, you can have one clip loaded and nine in storage.

Viper gets 12 shots per clip, you can have one clip loaded and 4 in storage.

Widow gets 1 shot per clip, you can have one clip loaded and 12 in storage.

Shockwave is your best friend against husks. Unless Insanity Husks have armor, then you're screwed.

Husks presented real problems for me (adept) through the whole game until I maximized Warp with the damage spec and started peppering them. Try throw field. You'll love it.

Trust me.

Kill off an entire wave of incoming husks with a single push of the button, and it refreshes so damn fast. When I was in the dead reaper I didn't use anything else for husks. Just tap tap tap.

Heavy warp and AP upgraded pistols are goddamn brutal against scions, though.

Also I love being an adept. Pimped out SMG + Warp/Singularity + Inferno Ammo = everything close range is dead. Laying Singularity traps are completely kickass - I can't wait to see what other classes have. Heavy biotic charge is pretty hilarious.

Not really USEFUL, but fun as hell.

Imagine charging into someone, and then going bullet time JUST long enough to shoot their body, as it flies away from you, in midair. Then it lands about twenty feet away. Dead.

You really have to utilize pause aiming, however, to survive if you use biotic charge a lot. It tends to put you in very difficult positions.

[Mirai Gen]

Roommate went Vanguard and I saw Biotic Charge. Looked sweet but since he was doing that I felt like I should do something else.

I was very happy with Adept.

Playing a Renegade Soldier now. As is usual with these games I have a hard time going evil but I'm enjoying Adrenaline Boost. I might* start over Paragon Female and shag the hell out of Garrus. Next Male character is going after Tali; her dialog was just entirely too cute. "I didn't...I mean, you...it was....it's really hot in here."

*am going to

[Krylo]

Yeah, seriously, though.

For Adept: Throw Field.

Trust me on this, you will LOVE it. Don't get me wrong, Singularity/Warp is still awesome, but nothing is as awesome as throw fielding an entire squad of collector drones off of one of those hive things they like to float on at you.

I did that once just before harbinger grabbed one. "Assuming Control... Releasing control of this body." I doubt such a thing will ever happen to me again, but it was hilarious.

[Mirai Gen]

Next run! I'll remember that though.

[Odjn]

Good lord why do you need so many saves.

I have never had more than 5 saves in any game and those were for seeing multiple endings so yeah. If you have more than 15 saves you are a freak.

[CABAL49]

Despite my complaints I am making steady progress with my Sentinel. I've decided to keep Grunt in my group, since he is the only one I have so far who can take a hit. Besides, Krograns are awesome. The sniper is a good choice, but I am not sure if I should trade Garrus out. At least not until I get Legion.

[Dauntasa]

So, did anyone else think that the whole Justicar philosophy was stupid? Specifically the bit where they have to murder their way out if they get detained by the police.

[Mirai Gen]

So, did anyone else think that the whole Justicar philosophy was stupid? Specifically the bit where they have to murder their way out if they get detained by the police.

Not really; it's the way Spectres work after all, there's just no Council.

Imagine Paladins and you pretty much have Justicars.

[DFM]

So, did anyone else think that the whole Justicar philosophy was stupid? Specifically the bit where they have to murder their way out if they get detained by the police.

Honestly my first playthrough I was pretty sure the paragon thing to do was going to be kill her for being a dangerous sociopath.



I still think the paragon thing to do is kill her for being a dangerous sociopath..

Edit: Mirai I'm pretty sure Paladins don't slaughter a hundred honest city guards for locking them up because they're dangerous sociopaths.

Edit 2: I'm pretty sure you can't be a Paladin if you're a dangerous sociopath.

Edit 3: Samara is a dangerous sociopath.

[Arcanum]

Speaking of Samara, I want to check to see if this happened to anyone else during her loyalty mission. After you hook up with Morinth, go to her apartment, and Samara busts in biotics blazing, there's the part where they both fire a biotic blast, and the two collide in the air. The moment they touched, I lost all sound. No dialogue, no sound effects, nothing. I only got the sound back when I had to choose whether I wanted to kill Samara or Morinth. If it helps, I was playing through as Paragon, explored everything in her apartment, then went with every Paragon-blue option in the dialogue. This same thing happened to a friend of mine, and I'm curious how widespread it may or may not be.

[Krylo]

I generally refer to the 'Justicar' type of paladins as 'scorched earth paladins'. They're not so much dangerous sociopaths as they just believe that their goal is so just that anyone that gets between them and it needs to be cleansed by fire. Kill everything and let your gods sort it out. They're kinda fun to play sometimes, but it really depends on the setting as to whether they come off as righteous crusaders (good) or lawful stupid (bad).

But yes, the Justicar code was more than a little bit too strict with the 'death is the only possible penance for any crime whether it be jay walking or attempting to destroy the universe' thing. I'd say Samara falls more on the lawful stupid side than the righteous crusader side.

[Mirai Gen]

Edit: Mirai I'm pretty sure Paladins don't slaughter a hundred honest city guards for locking them up because they're dangerous sociopaths.
I don't think Samara is herself a good representation of the Justicar code, since she is a dangerous sociopath, like Krylo said. The code is supposed to be interpreted that they follow their law, and if other laws happen to conflict are irrelevant.

Samara's just insane.

[Solid Snake]

So I'm 25 hours into ME1, right?
...And I'm still loving the Mako sequences.
I mean seriously, I've been doing random sidequests instead of actually progressing the plot for the past ten hours or so in large part because I fucking love the Mako sequences.

...I am a very, very strange person.

Also I am incredibly torn as to whether to keep pursuing Ashley or Liara, and the fact that both characters are both pretty cool is only adding to the tension.
Finally, playing ME1 as Infiltrator is awesome. I know ME1 is intended to be less a shooter and more an RPG, but that hasn't stopped me from taking the most pleasure from finding a convenient sniping location outside enemy bases, toggling the Assassination skill and fucking around with the Geth bastards. Kudos to Bioware for making sniper kills in just about any context fun as hell.

Garrus still kicks all kinds of ass. Wrex has gotten a lot more characterization than he had earlier on, and I like him more than I did. I wish I could say the same for Tali. I keep on hearing great things about her, but as of about halfway through ME1 I just find her bland. A great character to have around due to her ability to open all kinds of goody boxes, but still bland.

Kaiden meanwhile is like Carth Onasi if Carth was awesome instead of an incessant whiner. I love how during one of your convos with Kaiden, the character will explicitly mention a desire to not sound as if he's whining while talking about his past. It felt like a deliberate shoutout to criticism of Carth and the VA from KOTOR.
(That being said I still find Kaiden about the least effective character to take along with me in my party. As an Infiltrator, I probably take Liara along the most, and alternate out most the others.)

The only real problem I'm having with the game so far involves the sheer lack of difficulty. So far, I just haven't felt challenged. I've still died plenty of times, usually due to stupid mistakes, but with the Quick Save option (and my kneejerk impulse to hit F6 and Quick Save every three seconds) I don't even feel mildly inconvenienced. And the game has, weirdly, become easier as I've leveled up: I still feel like the end of Eden Prime presented some of the game's most challenging moments so far. My party can clear out mercenaries no problem, and a simple sniping, duck-and-cover strategy outsmarts the AI like no one's business. (The one disadvantage of playing Infiltrator, though? Husks. Damn those Husks.)

[DFM]

I think most the Tali praise is coming from ME2 where she's fleshed out a lot more personality wise.

Anyone ever talk to the Undrot scout with her in your party?

Shepard: I came here expecting a Krogan, not some sniveling little Quarian with a tummy ache. You gonna cry, Quarian? You gonna roll in the mud and cry?
Tali: Right here, Shepard.

[Mirai Gen]

Yeah Tali in the first game was just okay. In the second she's a bit more matured and has a real personality behind her, and finds a way to sound and feel more adolescent, which leads to some hilarious dialog when pursuing her romance. She becomes unbearably cute just because of her teenaged awkwardness. "It's...It's hot in here."
Garrus still kicks all kinds of ass.
And he always will, bless his mushy alien grey heart.

EDIT: Also where the fuck is Zaheed supposed to go? I filled up my entire roster of PCs and I never found him because I didn't know he even existed until I finished the game and went, wait, wasn't there just one more?

EDIT EDIT: Also I wish I had saved the Council. I don't know why I didn't in my first game but I'm not interested in fixing it.

[Dauntasa]

EDIT: Also where the fuck is Zaheed supposed to go? I filled up my entire roster of PCs and I never found him because I didn't know he even existed until I finished the game and went, wait, wasn't there just one more?


You need a free DLC pack to get Zaeed. He's on Omega, literally a couple of feet from where you get off the Normandy.

[Mirai Gen]

....goddamn it, Bioware.

EDIT: Also there weren't class-specific powers back in ME were there? I can't remember and I'm too lazy.

[Krylo]

I think Singularity was Adept only, other than that not really. Every class had a mix of powers, so it wasn't any one power that was class specific, but rather each distinct mix of powers and guns was class specific.

[Yumil]

There's going to be one more dlc char. Im betting she might be in the next dlc release(sometime this month rumored)

[Osterbaum]

You sure it's a she?

[DFM]

Yeah, we're sure it's a she.

Ka... something. Kasume? I don't know, she looks like Visas Mars.

[Funka Genocide]

So I just found out you can punch people like, yesterday (ok Krylo told me).

THAT'S FUCKING AWESOME!

[Dauntasa]

So I just found out you can punch people like, yesterday (ok Krylo told me).

THAT'S FUCKING AWESOME!

Wait, you mean outside of battle? Or are you you just talking about melee attacks?

[Funka Genocide]

I mean melee attacks. I was somewhat frustrated when enemies would come around corners and be all up in my grill, I would just keep shooting them but it didn't really feel like what the real Shepard would do.

The real shepard apparently knocks people the fuck out.

[Ravashak]

I would've put him as a "Shoot them in the face" type of guy, personally xP

[Dauntasa]

I would've put him as a "Shoot them in the face" type of guy, personally xP

Why not both? And I personally love punching YMIR mechs and Scions to death. It just feels awesome, and it actually works surprisingly well.

[Funka Genocide]

"SIR ISAAC NEWTON IS THE DEADLIEST MOTHERFUCKER IN SPACE!"

ha ha ha, oh man that was an awesome little side conversation.

[CABAL49]

Actually I never thought about punching a scion. Do the have an upclose attack?

[Dauntasa]

Remember what Husks did in ME1? Scions'll sometimes do that if you get close.

[Krylo]

It's actually safer to bullcharge scions than to snipe them, though. Their shockwaves are fucking brutal, but their little area explosions are slight knockback and minor damage.

Don't bullcharge two of them, though, or they'll stun lock you, or one will stun you while the other shockwaves you.

[Arcanum]

It's actually safer to bullcharge scions than to snipe them, though. Their shockwaves are fucking brutal, but their little area explosions are slight knockback and minor damage.

Don't bullcharge two of them, though, or they'll stun lock you, or one will stun you while the other shockwaves you.

I found sniping Scions to be rather effective actually. On normal it took like 3-4 headshots from the Widow to kill one, and the Shockwaves don't even hit you if you're ducked behind cover.

[Dauntasa]

I used the Carnifex against Scions. Worked wonders, but went through ammo fast.

[Pip Boy]

My normal group consists of an Adept, Mordin, and Miranda, so I just used Warp, other Warp and Incinerate on Scions until they died.

[Melfice]

While I don't play on Insanity (so far, my "strategy" has only been tested on Normal), I tend to just spray bullets at Scions until it dies.

Now playing on Hardcore, so I have a feeling that'll change into a "Oh, fuck, guys biotic that guy to death while I deal with the husks in the meantime!".

[CABAL49]

On Horizon I just ran around toss in warp then running away. I would have died so many times if it wasn't for Tech Armor.

[Solid Snake]

...Dammit.

I have to choose between Liara and Ashley now.
...I'm pretty sure I just spent the past ten minutes staring blankly at the screen, wondering exactly which choice would work better for the plot in the second and third installments.
DAMN YOU MASS EFFECT! Damn you for writing a trilogy in which every possible decision may have immense consequences!!

But seriously all you ME2 gamers: exactly how does the love interest impact the next game? Does either relationship have any chance of progressing or do both girls essentially give up on Shepard by the time ME2 rolls around? I've been leaning Ashley because I can seduce Liara with a female character in my next playthrough, but Liara seems the better choice for my paragon alien-lovin' character, and I think Liara and Shepard have a better chance at something lasting long-term into ME3.

[Red Fighter 1073]

Solid Snake, unless you want a bit of better explanation albeit a bit more spoiler-ish, let's just say that there is a much bigger focus on romancing the ME2 characters you recruit.

The ME1 romances do have a bit of impact on ME2, but it is very very miniscule so don't worry too much about your decision. However, I have heard that if you cheat on your ME1 love interest in ME2 then that will have consequences in ME3 (but seriously I would cheat anyway because I feel like the ME2 characters are a lot more interesting/fleshed out). Ahhh this cross-game referencing stuff is nuts...

[Solid Snake]

The ME1 romances do have a bit of impact on ME2, but it is very very miniscule so don't worry too much about your decision. However, I have heard that if you cheat on your ME1 love interest in ME2 then that will have consequences in ME3 (but seriously I would cheat anyway because I feel like the ME2 characters are a lot more interesting/fleshed out). Ahhh this cross-game referencing stuff is nuts...

I just have this really strange feeling that Bioware is going to throw one last curveball in ME3 where remaining faithful to Ashley and/or Liara results in the best possible love interest arc, thus forcing everyone to replay ME2 to create a save file where they remained faithful.
That'd be a damn sweet trick for Bioware to pull, particularly given 99.99% of all ME2 gamers now are probably choosing new love interests. It's also great social criticism regarding our collective impatience and our desire to benefit ourselves now at the expense of an undefined future.

EDIT: Also, I hope the creators of the Persona series were taking notes. This is an example of a scene that Persona 4 would have desperately benefited from including.

[Krylo]

All ME1 romances are put on hold but it seems they can be continued/concluded in ME2.

Liara romances piss you off less in ME2, though.

Edit: On scions

I prefer bullrushing to sniping/pistoling (though the latter does work well), because they're never alone. They've almost always got husks with them. Sniping at things while husks are coming at you usually ends in tears or in you being knocked out of cover and being forced to run around. At which point you're attempting to DODGE shockwaves... which also ends in tears.

[Mirai Gen]

I don't know if it counts as cheating considering Ashley pretty much told me off about working with Cerberus, and there's this whole thing about 'moving on.'

EDIT: I mean, dead for two years, come on. I'd like to think I can get Ash back but I think ME3 is going to feature liberal new human/alien vagina for you to conquer.

[Solid Snake]

I don't know if it counts as cheating considering Ashley pretty much told me off about working with Cerberus, and there's this whole thing about 'moving on.'

Well, that's one way to discourage me regarding the Ashley option.
(Though it doesn't sound as if Liara's option goes much better.)

I'm probably overthinking this. It's just a damn shame, as I like both characters. I'll probably go for Ashley with my male-paragon Shepard just because I can pursue Liara in my female-renegade playthrough, though the irony of the alien-lovin' tolerant guy falling for another human while the intolerant alien-hatin' gal apparently makes an exception for Liara is not lost on me.

[Krylo]

If you hit the right dialogue choices you find out Liara is only the way she is because the Shadow Broker fucked her over regarding your body and trying to get it to the collectors (while she helped Cerberus 'cause they said they could bring you back).

Also, Kaiden and Ashley both write you a letter where they state they've kinda started moving on, but now you're back and it kind of threw them for a loop (I believe these are Kaiden's exact words), and express interest in maybe getting together when things calm down.

I would assume the Kaiden/Ashley romance options end up dead in the water if you choose to stick with Cerberus, though.

[Mirai Gen]

Just found out there's a special ending for staying faithful to Ashley.

So, I think I might end up redoing the ending and tell Miranda to go take care of herself.

[Krylo]

Not really a special ending.

You just stare at their picture on your desk and smile instead boning someone else.

[Solid Snake]

Just found out there's a special ending for staying faithful to Ashley.


A special ending in ME3, or in ME2?

...All these endings in Mass Effect make me dizzy. I feel like I'm going to have to play the game dozens of times over in order to experience half of what this has to offer. The only problem is that you'd also have to do the sidequests dozens of times over (or skimp out on them, but I hate skimping out of anything during any playthrough.)

...I'm not sure whether to congratulate Bioware for making one of the most exquisitely detailed, advanced and in-depth RPG Choose Your Own Adventure experiences, or whether to scream obscenities at them for inevitably robbing me of hundreds of hours of my future.

[Mirai Gen]

ME2.

Basically I was under the impression that you and Ashley were over in ME2 because A -working with Cerberus and B - two years. That is apparently not the case.

Since I liked Ashley I want to continue with her on ME3 if they do it, so back to the drawing board with me.

[Solid Snake]

Since I liked Ashley I want to continue with her on ME3 if they do it, so back to the drawing board with me.

My half-joking comments about Bioware screwing over players with love interest options in ME3 aside, I actually think Bioware would probably address this issue by enabling players who did have a relationship with Ashley, Kaiden or Liara in ME1 to patch things up in ME3 if their Shepards ran astray in ME2.

That of course assumes Ashley, Kaiden or Liara even appear in ME3. But I certainly hope they do.

[Krylo]

Also to swing the conversation:

I can not believe how stupid gamers are. I mean even professional reviewers (http://www.destructoid.com/counterpoint-mass-effect-2-161966.phtml) call the suicide options 'dumb luck'.

Seriously guys? Are we, as a group, really THAT FUCKING RETARDED? Really?

Miranda says you need a tech expert, then a screen comes up with all your squad mates. It says at the top "Pick a Tech Expert" then you can scroll through and read their bios. Two of them have "Tech Expert" or "Technical Expertise" right in the bio.

Bioware could not have made it more obvious who to pick if they had put giant flashing bright yellow arrows pointing to the two obvious choices with the text "PICK THESE TO NOT DIE!" next to them.

The same is true of the other choices you have to make, except for the one where it literally doesn't matter who you send so long as they are loyal.

Is our culture really so ridiculous that it can't figure out this kind of stuff and brands it as 'dumb luck'? Really?

Also: "I figured Grunt lived most of his life in tubes. He should be able to figure that shit out pretty quick."

[Mirai Gen]

The same is true of the other choices you have to make, except for the one where it literally doesn't matter who you send so long as they are loyal.
I must have missed the one that was related to Mordin, because I sent Thane back with the team instead of him, and thus he died. I didn't catch onto his clue, maybe the fact that they needed medical attention? I sent Thane back because I figured with a flock of useless non-fighters you needed a combat expert.

The rest were easy. I'm just pissed that it's so utterly stupid as to say "Oh if you didn't pick the person we told you to pick they die," rather than make it a direct correlation to not using them, not leveling them up, not upgrading their equipment, etc. It was harrowing to think my team was in real mortal danger, and it totally undid all of that by saying "Nah you just have to not be an idiot."

I expected a lot more from Bioware.

[Krylo]

Actually that's the one where it doesn't matter who you send back. Sending Mordin or Tali for that, OR having them stay in Shep's group, however, ensures their survival. There's, otherwise, a (seemingly) random factor for them dying. However, as that it was neither Tali nor Mordin he was complaining about in his article...

[Solid Snake]

While I can't really comment on the ending of Mass Effect 2 yet, seeing as I haven't even gotten to the beginning of that game, I will say that laden in the guy's article Krylo linked to is actually a fairly decent point: In games, basing the survival of characters on the amount of effort you put into ensuring the loyalty of said characters is kind of lame, as it strips the narrative of its visceral impact. If the choices as to who lives and who dies relies on obvious prompts, gamers won't feel as emotionally involved.

The irony however is that such a conclusion should have led the author of the article to make the opposite point: if Mass Effect really was basing narrative decisions on multiple choice prompts and completing obvious sidequests, it really is a system that's too easy for gamers to exploit to get the endings they'd prefer, as opposed to one that's too difficult or unfair in its consequences.

To a certain extent there's thus actually a lack of necessary blind luck involved in the process: to maintain a stronger narrative a few characters should frankly die at random even if you take all the necessary precautions. The precautions themselves should only reduce the odds of death, as opposed to outright eliminating the possibility. Alternatively, decisions could exist that guarantee that your favorite supporting character lives...at the expense of risking several others.

[Krylo]

I fully agree with that, Snake--and if he had made THAT argument, that there wasn't actually any real risk to your characters if you did things right and weren't goddamn retarded I could have gotten behind it.

Well, maybe not, because I don't like the idea of being unable to save everyone, though it would have been nice if it required me to actually play well instead of just grind enough.

Point being, however, that WASN'T his argument. His argument was stupid. And it's one that I've seen a lot around the internet with people doing stupid things like throwing Thane or Grunt into the tubes or choosing Jack for a leadership roll, or deciding that someone other than Samara or Jack should do the biotic bubbling, and it makes me more than a little frustrated with the intelligence of the gaming public.

[DFM]

I wish I could have selected myself to make the biotic bubble.

*sits in the same spot for two hours as teammates plink away at Collectors*

[Yumil]

Tomorrow's DLC(12 mountain) is an armor and a shotgun. The armor seems to be like the preorder and collectors stuff in that it's a onepiece, so no mixing dr pepper hats with it.

Well at least they are being fast with some dlc. I was hoping for some story, but they'll probably slowly trickle that out.

Oh yeah, it's free(with Cerberus network...so used game = $15 to get access to it).

[Aerozord]

Getting near the end, and gotta comment a few things.

First off, what the hell is with that nuke gun? I took it on one mission and noticed the 'ammo' was percent charge. I didn't even get to fire the thing.

And while I do like how you can get in a relationship with Tali I always got the impression she was, more of a teenager.

Atleast interaction with members is alot better, and not restricted to love interests. Plus you can talk to Joker more, who now has a straightman to play off of. Mining is some nice grinding but gets annoying when you are looking for a specific material.

Characters are all around good. I LOVE the professor. Just wish I had more reason to use him. Grunt is a great addition too.

One of the few things I'd call a downgrade is the paragon/renegade options. It used to be more of a 'playing by the rules' vs 'doing what has to be done'. Though now its more about, 'helping everyone' vs 'being a prick'. I actually have to work to get my renegade points and go out of my way to be as malicious as possible.

And why do I get renegade just for boning crewmembers?

[Arcanum]

Also to swing the conversation:

I can not believe how stupid gamers are. I mean even professional reviewers (http://www.destructoid.com/counterpoint-mass-effect-2-161966.phtml) call the suicide options 'dumb luck'.

Seriously guys? Are we, as a group, really THAT FUCKING RETARDED? Really?

Miranda says you need a tech expert, then a screen comes up with all your squad mates. It says at the top "Pick a Tech Expert" then you can scroll through and read their bios. Two of them have "Tech Expert" or "Technical Expertise" right in the bio.

...


Haha, I made this same argument about this same thing a while back in this thread. Right here (http://forum.nuklearpower.com/showpost.php?p=1012391&postcount=78) actually. And yeah, it really couldn't be more obvious


In an unrelated note, I have discovered that killing a YMIR mech with a headshot makes it explode with nuclear fury. I actually killed one YMIR, and had the resulting nuclear blast wipe out the other, full health/armor/shield, YMIR near the end of Garrus's loyalty mission. Good times.

And yeah, that new DLC will hopefully make the Vanguard more slightly less useless on higher difficulties, thanks to the longer range shotgun that can pierce armor.


edit -- oh and as for that part in the final mission where you can choose to send someone back with the crew, I sent along Zaeed thinking that a grizzled and experienced merc would be able to guard a few crew members. Turns out he made it back just fine.

[Yumil]

Mining is some nice grinding but gets annoying when you are looking for a specific material.
Actually, if you read their descriptions, you'll find what regions of space and what planetoids/asteroids are best for each type of material. Find the right spots and it becomes easy to fill up whatever you are looking for.

[Mirai Gen]

Actually that's the one where it doesn't matter who you send back. Sending Mordin or Tali for that, OR having them stay in Shep's group, however, ensures their survival. There's, otherwise, a (seemingly) random factor for them dying. However, as that it was neither Tali nor Mordin he was complaining about in his article...

I'm...confused.

Why did my Mordin have to die? Seriously? Maybe that was related to lack of use?

[Dauntasa]

Actually, if you read their descriptions, you'll find what regions of space and what planetoids/asteroids are best for each type of material. Find the right spots and it becomes easy to fill up whatever you are looking for.

It's still boring as hell though. At least with the Mako you might end up running into a Thresher Maw; With this it's just scan scan scan. No danger, no challenge. If they're going to make us gather resources again in ME3, I hope they just rip off Star Control 2's thing. It would work great for this.

[Mirai Gen]

Agreed. The upgrades were great - I did totally dig tooling up all the gear and researching new guns. That was a great way of replacing the inventory.

I just wish mining didn't make me go to sleep.

[Aerozord]

I think its a step in the right direction, problem is even with knowing what types of planets to look for there is really no way to find them besides scanning every square inch of the planet in a search pattern. There is no thought or strategy to it really. Maybe something like autonomous mining probes or something.

[Dauntasa]

I really just want them to use SC2's thing. It really is the best "Land on Planets and get stuff" mechanic ever devised. And the game's freeware now, so there's nothing stopping them.

[Raiden]

Actually that's the one where it doesn't matter who you send back. Sending Mordin or Tali for that, OR having them stay in Shep's group, however, ensures their survival. There's, otherwise, a (seemingly) random factor for them dying. However, as that it was neither Tali nor Mordin he was complaining about in his article...

Actually, when you think about it, it kind of makes sense. SPOILERS AHEAD:

Tali and Mordin are not front-line fighters. They're hit and run specialists. When Tali was with the Migrant Fleet, she was working Special Ops and was surrounded by soldiers who would do most of the fighting and dying for her, and her specialty was to keep her head down and keep the group out of obvious trouble. Mordin was with the Special Task Forces and was used to espionage and the element of surprise in his attacks. So they're two of the best choices for escorting the crew because they're used to leading a small group of people in a dangerous environment while a distraction keeps them down.

However, at the end, they're left with the group to "hold the door". Now that's fine and dandy with your other squadmates since they're Assassins, Mercs, and Soldiers. However, Tali and Mordin don't do too well in that kind of situation where they're held down in one area and told to stay put. They're going to get shot, and they're likely going to die. So deciding who to leave behind to defend the door is also something you actually have to think about, just in "who is best equipped to handle a fight of duration".

Granted, I could just be talking completely out of my ass, but to me it makes sense.

[Krylo]

I'm...confused.

Why did my Mordin have to die? Seriously? Maybe that was related to lack of use?

Maybe he just couldn't deal with some human being the first non-asari to 'turn his crank' as it were. He tried to deny his feelings, I know, but why would he bring it up then? He was lying to himself, that poor salarian.

[krogothwolf]

Grunt seems to die if you send him as the fire team in part 2 regardless of his loyalty or not. It made me sad :( I had to reload and send Jacob just to make sure no one died. I thought it was interesting if you used anyone besides Samara and Jack as the Biotic someone dies, and that happened to be Grunt again! Grunt kept dieing on me :(

I got lucky and Mordin didn't die on me, I didn't even know he could randomly die.

[Krylo]

Yeah, Krogo... Grunt... Grunt's not a leader, man. You shouldn't be putting him in charge of anything, ever.

Seriously, just imagine him leading.

"Commander, we're pinned down! We need a strategy!"
"Shoot at the guys aiming at you. Stupid."

"Shepard! This is Grunt! The battle is GLORIOUS!"

"Should we give them cover fire?"
"No. If they are strong they shall make it. If they are weak it is better they die here in glorious battle."

He is not a strategic person.

Hell, I wouldn't even trust him to escort the survivors. He'd probably try to pick fights with every collector group along the way and call the crew "Weak fleshy things" for dying.