PC Gamer Mass Effect 2 review

[Merlutz]

May or may not be legit.

just got my hands on the february issue of PC Gamer (UK edition).

I'll put their verdict up first for the people who dont want the minutiae of the review.

"Faster paced action and difficult ethical decisions make Mass Effec 2 even more immersive than the excellent original."
*90* (also received editor's choice).

it was played on Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz, 2GB RAM, Geforce 8800GT/Radeon 4850.




BEWARE SPOILERS WARNING




"you no longer have an inventory. its been replaced by a more abstract system, similar to a pure action game. Instead of loot drops abd containers full of equipable gear, you find technology pickups that can be researched on your ship to unlock new weapons."

"Also gone are equipment mods, replaced by castable abilities.... The miserably clunky inventory system of ME1 is no longer a problem, although the new weapon load-out and research interfaces aren't great either."

"character development(skills) has also been culled down to six or seven upgradeable skills for shepard and just four for companions. Has ME2 been dumbed down? Yeah abit, but these changes don't make it a worse game than its predecessor; it just haas some different priorities this time around,"

"Where Mass Effect 2 completely won me over was in the amazing climacitc mission, easily one of the best game endings i've played in recent years."

http://meforums.bioware.com/viewtopic.h ... &forum=144

In before "posted in the wrong section"

 

[DraQ]

I remember how much of an improvement was introducing inventory to FPS games.

 

[Black]

coudlnt realyl except less from the creators of dragons age

 

[entertainer]

Now tell me this isn't a console shooter...

oh wait its rpgcodex so it is an rpg

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

I predict ME3 will have such a streamlined character system that there's only one skill left: pwning. That's logical - because say you have pwning 80, you obviously pwn better than with pwning 40, get it?

 

[Gay-Lussac]

I predict ME3 will have such a streamlined character system that there's only one skill left: pwning. That's logical - because say you have pwning 80, you obviously pwn better than with pwning 40, get it?

By pwning you mean EXTREME colar grabbing right?

 

[Emotional Vampire]

good for what it is

 

[GarfunkeL]

Not really a surprise.

 

[DraQ]

good for what it is

Good for banal, shit, boring?

 

[Emotional Vampire]

good for what it is

Good for banal, shit, boring?

Three in one, baby

[picture of a furry with three cocks if I weren't lazy]

 

[Kaanyrvhok]

Did not expect Bioware to be the first to dump the inventory.

 

[Trash]

Bah, to think I had hope for this franchise.

It even gets worse.

" The charm and intimidation skills that unlocked special conversation options in the first game have been melded into the Paragon/Renegade system, which now unlocks options based on how much of a swell guy or jerk you've been. "

" The way Paragon and Renegade points are handed out could have been better, however. Often you're dealing with an issue so ambiguous that either path could be seen as good or bad, and when I'm trying to be a good guy it awards me Renegade points without telling me what it was that I did to earn them. "

" The levels are attractive, but a bit blocky and workman like. Some have inexplicable waist-high barriers that pop out of the ground when combat begins to provide cover. It's so contrived it feels like an in-joke for cover-based shooter players. "

" But each has two character specific missions : one to recruit them and one optional personal that exposes their backstory and unlocks a special skill and new outfit. "

 

[Joghurt]

" The levels are attractive, but a bit blocky and workman like. Some have inexplicable waist-high barriers that pop out of the ground when combat begins to provide cover. It's so contrived it feels like an in-joke for cover-based shooter players. "

What the fuck ? ? ?

 

[entertainer]

i can imagine how revolutionary that might be for consoletards: you dont even have to move - a cover pops out of ground for you so you can aimlock and push the button without any effor

 

[DraQ]

Re: Bah, to think I had hope for this franchise.

" Some have inexplicable waist-high barriers that pop out of the ground when combat begins to provide cover. "

 

[Merlutz]

Re: Bah, to think I had hope for this franchise.

" The charm and intimidation skills that unlocked special conversation options in the first game have been melded into the Paragon/Renegade system, which now unlocks options based on how much of a swell guy or jerk you've been. "

This actually seemed like the only potentially positive point to me (the second part at least). I think it'd be much better to have some mechanics in place that keep the PC acting in a consistent manner as long as you're still able to decide which manner.

I'd definitely find it preferable to ME1 which allowed you to mix n' match Paragon/Renegade options and then still get the choice at the end that could be totally incongruous with your character's path. I don't think gameplay should be linearised and reduced to these two paths, but it would be nice to not be able to solve everything because of your previous actions.

But in light of every other point, and knowing Bioware, the implementation of this is probably going to be atrocious (think ME1 but Charm/Intimidate is greyed out depending on your Paragon/Renegade level).

 

[Joghurt]

I honestly don't give a fuck about absence of inventory or removal of skills because it's a shooter (plus inventory in ME1 was shit and charm and intimidation skills didn't do anything), but popping cover is just too much retardation.

 

[MetalCraze]

So is it month until release already?

Wow Mass Effect 2 might be better than I thought!

 

[Black]

So is it month until release already?

Wow Mass Effect 2 might be better than I thought!

omg shut up skywai you havent plaid it yet so how do you kno i t sucks!! its noty even out yet you just heta evertyhing

 

[DraQ]

So is it month until release already?

Wow Mass Effect 2 might be better than I thought!

omg shut up skywai you havent plaid it yet so how do you kno i t sucks!! its noty even out yet you just heta evertyhing

Gah! For a moment I thought I stumbled into pre-release Fallout 3 forum. :shock:

 

[Sovy Kurosei]

The inventory in Mass Effect was atrocious so this is likely a step in the right direction in addressing that problem. On the other hand the inventory system in Dragon Age was even worse if only for the fact that there were more equipment slots and an extra NPC to look after so who knows if Bioware is continuing the .

 

[DraQ]

The inventory in Mass Effect was atrocious so this is likely a step in the right direction in addressing that problem. On the other hand the inventory system in Dragon Age was even worse if only for the fact that there were more equipment slots and an extra NPC to look after so who knows if Bioware is continuing the .

Well, hello there, nice to see you drop by.

 

[Bluebottle]

This had to be a troll, surely. Either a forum troll, or ME2 is the most expensive elaborate exercise in trolling there has even been.

Unlock a new outfit? Pop up cover? Jesus fucking Christ.

Also, removing a feature doesn't count as fixing; that's just giving up.

 

[DraQ]

Also, removing a feature doesn't count as fixing; that's just giving up.

(With possible exception of things like quest compass or level scaling)

 

[Overweight Manatee]

But guys, it has faster paced action (enemies die easier and there are more of them), along with difficult ethical decisions (shoot the bad guy or not? lawl), which leads to a more immersive game. GOTY 2010.