Multiplat Mass Effect 2

[melbournemartin]

I honestly find the extended conversations sometimes more interesting than the action...

...and I love the action!

 

[melbournemartin]

On another note, that sucks for PS3 users if they release ME2 and not ME1.

The game would be a hollow experience. It'd still be fun but you wouldn't appreciate it. It's really like Empire Strikes Back in that sense.

 

[Valentino Dmitri]

they'll be fine

mass effect 1, much like star wars 4 (and indeed 1-3,6) is a bit rubbish. Ooh Kaiden Alenko,..zzzzzzzzzzz

absolute pants , hot blue-looking Liara with her secret leg-opening activity Ftw

 

[placebo]

BTW, ps3 owners should be stoked. Such an awesome game

I've already masturbated multiple times.

 

[melbournemartin]

they'll be fine

mass effect 1, much like star wars 4 (and indeed 1-3,6) is a bit rubbish. Ooh Kaiden Alenko,..zzzzzzzzzzz

absolute pants , hot blue-looking Liara with her secret leg-opening activity Ftw

I can't take anyone seriously when they say A New Hope and Return of the Jedi are rubbish.

Mass Effect 1 is brilliant. Yeah, the side missions are pretty boring and repetitive but just don't do them then. The core gameplay is more than enough.

 

[Noppo]

Mass Effect 1 is brilliant. Yeah, the side missions are pretty boring and repetitive but just don't do them then. The core gameplay is more than enough.

Did you ever get all the minerals and tags for those side quests? I think I must've done it at least 3 times haha. That's what happens when I'm bored .

 

[Noppo]

Enter Mass Effect 2's 'Lair of the Shadowbroker' on September 7

An announcement from BioWare reveals that you'll be let in on September 7, when the new "Lair of the Shadowbroker" DLC is released on PC and Xbox 360. It'll cost 800 Microsoft Points or 800 BioWare Points (USD$10).

The announcement mentions five new achievements, new research, and the Shadow Broker intel center -- but here's where it gets interesting. The new DLC will "give fans from Mass Effect 1 the chance to continue a relationship with Liara."

Gotta get myself a few more MS points, can't wait for this.

 

[Ant_]

Did you ever get all the minerals and tags for those side quests? I think I must've done it at least 3 times haha. That's what happens when I'm bored .

ME1 had a awesome story, let down by the side quests and the inventory.

 

[Ant_]

Enter Mass Effect 2's 'Lair of the Shadowbroker' on September 7


Gotta get myself a few more MS points, can't wait for this.

I ditched Liara, guess she isn't going to be happy I've been sleeping around

 

[Chops18]

ME1 had a awesome story, let down by the side quests and the inventory.

Agreed. I didnt really like having to drive the Mako around on planets for the side quests ME2 had its side quests set up beautifully.

 

[Noppo]

ME1 had a awesome story, let down by the side quests and the inventory.

Bored in the sense that I always do the exploring and side missions before the main quest so I'm dragged into completing it. Never would've finished ME1 multiple times if the story wasn't awesome .

 

[Hopping Mad]

Agreed. I didnt really like having to drive the Mako around on planets for the side quests ME2 had its side quests set up beautifully.

The Mako sections were indeed very sloppy and mostly boring, but I still enjoyed them more than scanning planets in ME2. At least with the Mako you actually felt like you were exploring, however barren the planets may have been. With some touching up, I think they could revive it in ME3. All they need to do is make the planets a little more lively. Plants, bodies of water & more enemy bases are all that's needed.

 

[Chops18]

The Mako sections were indeed very sloppy and mostly boring, but I still enjoyed them more than scanning planets in ME2. At least with the Mako you actually felt like you were exploring, however barren the planets may have been. With some touching up, I think they could revive it in ME3. All they need to do is make the planets a little more lively. Plants, bodies of water & more enemy bases are all that's needed.

Good point. I never really scanned the planets unless i was in dire need of minerals to do research. Having EDI let you know about anomalies was very helpful though cut down the time of searching planets for side quests.

Couldn't agree anymore with your last two sentences that would definitely keep me playing for longer.

 

[melbournemartin]

I find the breast cancer mini game kind of addictive. It's quicker than those boring repetitive Mako missions.

Well I was with Liara in ME1 (couldn't stand that redneck Ashley, it was very easy for me to let Kaiden live). I'm just about to shack up with Miranda though (Jack's a bit wild for me). Not sure if the relationship means romantic or just one in general.

I've just purchased Overlord and Kasumi's Memory Almost completed my squad. I wish Wrex could do more because he was one of my favourites but I guess they can't write too many lines for someone who could possibly be dead.

 

[Noppo]

Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC Trailer
[YOUTUBE]meTTM8X-Zy4[/YOUTUBE]

That hovercar scene looks awesome!

 

[Drax]

Is the DLC > Overlord good? And how many hours gameplay does it give you?

 

[Noppo]

Is the DLC > Overlord good? And how many hours gameplay does it give you?

I loved Overlord. It's got a great story to it that gets really creepy by the end. I say it gives you a couple of hours depending on how quick you blast through it. I took my time so it took me 2+ hours I'd say.

Lair of the Shadowbroker was released today, but if you're on PC they've got a few issues with it so they took it down for now until they can fix it. Hopefully it won't be too long.

And here's some stats that Bioware has been keeping from our games to try and improve ME3.

 

[Drax]

wow, interesting stats.. Ive playedthrough twice now, and used Soldier both times.
Both playthroughs got me 32 and 34 hours.

Have you tried any other classes to play as? Any stand out as being really good?

 

[Mancey]

I'd suggest playing through as a adept, or at least a vanguard, at least once. Using biotic powers are the best thing about me2 imo

 

[RequiemBlade]

Just played the Lair of the Shadow Broker. Some thought:

Spoiler

On the whole I thought it was good, the 'car' chase could have been longer but I still enjoyed it. Seemed a bit strange to introduce a new alien species as the shadow broker but it was a good twist that he wasn't the original one and maybe they get 'replaced' every so often by other beings who want his/her power.

After you finish, hang around and check out the stuff that the shadow broker has to offer. He has cameras/info on everything, you can even watch your crew work out on the Normandy SR-2. With Liara becoming the new shadow broker it seems like its building up again to the final battle with the reapers.

P.S. From reading Miranda's dossier/archives it seems like she can't have children. Seeing as how she is my Sheppard's love interest I wonder if this means we'll have to adopt

I'd give it a 7-7.5/10

 

[kaysee]

Just played the Lair of the Shadow Broker. Some thought:

Spoiler

On the whole I thought it was good, the 'car' chase could have been longer but I still enjoyed it. Seemed a bit strange to introduce a new alien species as the shadow broker but it was a good twist that he wasn't the original one and maybe they get 'replaced' every so often by other beings who want his/her power.

After you finish, hang around and check out the stuff that the shadow broker has to offer. He has cameras/info on everything, you can even watch your crew work out on the Normandy SR-2. With Liara becoming the new shadow broker it seems like its building up again to the final battle with the reapers.

P.S. From reading Miranda's dossier/archives it seems like she can't have children. Seeing as how she is my Sheppard's love interest I wonder if this means we'll have to adopt

I'd give it a 7-7.5/10

Yep... I download and played through it last night. Took me a couple of hours to actually play through the SB main mission. Looks like there are some side things to do afterwards which provide an extra hour or 2 of things to do.

Spoiler

Yeah I really liked the car chase... breaks up the game and seems really different from anything else the ME universe has provided so far. I felt like I was in the car chase scene from SW:Attack of the Clones. Took me a few attempts to get use to the controls, but once I did... yeah it was over pretty quickly.

Overall, I thought the SB plot was a bit light on. It was pretty obvious that Asari spectre was dodgy and it didn't take much play time to figure that out. Although I really liked the 1st boss fight against her... moreso than against the SB himself (see below). BTW that build explosion ROCKED... like something out of Die Hard or T2.

Really liked the SB hideout location and "outside" mission. Brought back memories of ME and fighting along the hull.

As for the SB himself... I was a bit disappointed. Sure the new alien looked awesome and huge... but he just seemed misplaced as the SB. Always imagined the SB being a bit like the illusive man (without having to be a human)... and someone of calm and controlled demeanour... not as someone who basic reverts to a huge shield carrying brute. Really... again I was disappointed. Would have seemed more suitable if he was the SB's body guard or similar. I found the SB fight also a bit basic TBH. Plenty of cover and a slow moving target... although the "old style" melee was a cool addition... pity it wasn't expanded to use more melee options instead of just "hit b" once. I found the earlier Asari Spectre fight a lot more engaging and tougher to negotiate. She was a fast moving and hard hitting target... which caught me out a few times and made the fight more drawn out giving it value. The SB fight however was over pretty easily/quickly in comparison.

My other gripe about ME2 and moreso this addition is the interactive Paragon/Renegade options during cut scenes... don't get me wrong I like them, but I wish they gave you some sort of warning as to when the option is coming. 2 or 3 times during the SB missions I was sitting back watching the cut-scenes not really holding the controller every moment... when all of a sudden a Paragon option would flash. By the time I grabbed the controller again the option was gone and I missed it.

It was cool checking out the SB lair afterwards though and it looks like the lair (and the new SB) are going to play a bigger part in ME3. Perhaps a number of missions will become available via the SB.

It was also cool hooking back up with Liara since she was my ME love interest. Now she is back on my arm I can kick that scrag Miranda to the curb.

PS... this shouldn't be a spoiler... but you will have Liara as part of your team... DON'T FORGET to allocate her skill points. You should have 25-30 points to spend on her skills. I got half way through the missions and realised I forgot to assign her skills.

Got some more exploring to do tonight.

Overall... for 800 points or for $14.50 is rather steep for say 2-3 hours of direct entertainment... I give it about 4/10 for "bang for your buck" (note NOT 4/10 for quality).

 

[Drax]

Finished both DLC's, i thought they were great.. one thing i was impressed with, was some of the visuals in both of them.. Background detail was superb. ME3 is gunna have absolutly sensational visuals.

 

[Chezzalenko Reborn]

Re-bought the game after trading it in a while back. To much delight I realized the copy I re-bought was the original I traded in (I left distinct marking on the book)

 

[HBK619]

Interactive comic will help bridge the gap between Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2.

Source: http://au.ps3.ign.com/articles/113/1132898p1.html

Since Mass Effect 1 will remain an Xbox 360 exclusive, PlayStation 3 owners will have the option of playing an interactive comic included with Mass Effect 2 to help bridge the gap between the two titles.

"While I can't release all the details about this yet, what I can tell you is that we want to create a stunning visual experience that not only tells the core story elements of Mass Effect 1, but also is fully interactive allowing you to be faced with some of the major choices which will have consequences your [sic] Mass Effect universe," Houston said.

 

[Ant_]

Good to see for the PS3 players get something. Not having the back story and the decisions you made would make ME2 a lesser experience.