Mass Effect 2 Completed Discussions - w/ Spoilers!

[erilar]

Finished the game last night. The length was just about right. I was starting to get a little tired of the combat. The gunplay is good, but sort of too paced and methodical. I had cranked up the difficulty one notch from default, but it still seemed kind of stale in places. Even when I ran into a deliberately tough spot, I was usually dying because a bad guy got a flank on me and I didn't know it, or because I got stuck on (or vaulted over) a piece of terrain accidentally, etc. Not bad though.

So, I lost two crew members. I'd sent Grunt to head up the distraction squad, and he ended up getting killed. Also, inexplicably, Dr. Mordin died in the final combat. This was kind of a head-scratcher, because I the game didn't clue me in as to why he died.

I elected to blow up the Collector base - just don't trust the Illusive Man further than a biotic can Throw him.

I was courting Miranda for part of the game, but when Tali showed interest, I dumped Miranda. Kind of annoying though. After all the set-up/teasing about seeing what was under Tali's mask, the player doesn't even get a peek.

Miranda and Garrus were my go-to team members for most of the game. Used Samara a little bit too, and also Tali. I had no interest whatsoever in hanging out with Grunt, Jack, or Zayeed beyond their loyalty missions - they were all such a-holes. I had Jacob on my team for part of the ending assault, but he just seemed kind of lame. Shotguns are underwhelming in this game, and his biotic powers are pretty lackluster.

I had some interest in playing through the game again as a biotic Savant (my Shepard is a male Soldier), but don't think I will. Now that I know what happens in the story, I don't feel compelled enough to do it again. Plus, ME2 is still worth 1000 pts on Goozex (the equivalent of a brand-new game).

[Jonkga]

Deb and I both finished ME2. I really liked the finish of the game, but she was a bit underwhelmed - she thought it finished too quickly compared to ME1 - which she played immediately prior to ME2.

I didn't lose anyone - but then I followed the "suggestions" from the video on the dashboard. Use Mordin to take the crew back to the ship, use leaders like Garrus or Miranda for the second team, use biotics like Jack or Samara for the shield. Send a tech specialist like Legion or Tali to open the doors.

I didn't romance anyone, so there was a scene of me pining over Ashley's picture before the big battle.

When adventuring I usually used Garrus and Grunt or Garrus and Samara - except during the final push when I used Grunt and Samara. This way my team had assault rifles too.

I will probably play through again in the future some time, but too many other games right now. A happy "problem" to have.

Deb and I both chose to destroy the Collector ship despite the Illusive Man's desires.

As for ME3 - I think based on how Tali's loyalty mission played out that ME3 will have to do with the Quarians getting control of the Geth and waging war on the galaxy. I don't really want that to happen, I just think that'll be the way it goes.

[NukeHavoc]

Heh. My rebel-with-a-cause didn't rescue the ship's crew because I waited until I had all the the Normandy had all of her power-ups before going through the Omega relay. I lost Jack (eaten buy bugs; I was not sad to see her go) and Mordin (who was leading the blocking team for the final assault, and died in the fight; I'll miss him). Naturally I choose to keep the Collector ship intact and turn it over to Cerberus, because you know those damn aliens aren't looking out for humanity's best interests. This is, of course, entirely in keeping with my decision NOT to save the Council in Mass Effect 2.

The medical doctor died trying to get back to the Normandy because I didn't assign her an escort (damn it, I'm a soldier, not a nanny ... and she knew the risks). By the end of the game, my character's eyes were glowing red because of her rebel choices.

I wish there had been a little more beyond the Omega relay; I think they could have added another 2 hours or so of game play to explore the debris field, but then again, I enjoyed the pacing of the final fight. It was nice to be able to push through and get the whole thing done in a single sitting. I wasn't getting board with the fights like Lance was, but they were getting progressively easier as my various enhancements came online. I'll probably play some of the DLC, and then put it aside for a while. I am curious to try the paragon route, and see what happens if you go through the Omega Relay much earlier in the game (I'm guessing that's the option that will get Shepherd killed).

Ultimately I liked the game, but I felt like you spent too much time running around assembling your crew -- I'd rather hit the ground running, and be able to push on to the main story right away instead of having to hunt down this rag-tag band. I'm hoping we'll see that sort of thing in Mass Effect 3.

I'm eager to get back to Dragon Age now and finish up that game.

[erilar]

Ultimately I liked the game, but I felt like you spent too much time running around assembling your crew

Agreed there. Assembling the crew, I don't mind - It's like a good caper movie. Acting as the crew's personal psychiatrist, gopher, big brother, lawyer, and solder-for-hire, however, was wearing very thin.

Interesting re. your strategy and the suggested ones, Jon. I specifically sent Grunt to head up the distraction mission because he was the most "expendable" in my eyes. "Distraction mission" sounded dangerous, so no way was I sending one of my stable of space hotties or my homie Garrus. I was torn between choosing Grunt and Zayeed. Zayeed was, well, a giant cock, and Grunt I didn't view as a completely "real person" to some extent (plus, his homicidal tendencies). Otherwise, I guess I made the choices I did per Bioware's intended "strategy". Still not sure why Mordin died in the final fight though - maybe due to Grunt's lack of good leadership. In hindsight, I should have appointed Zayeed - both experienced and expendable.

While I initially disliked him due to his role in the Genphage, I grew to like Mordin a lot. Plus, he was a hell of a singer. I almost peed myself during that scene.

[NukeHavoc]

I thought the in-game character development in Dragon Age was a lot better than in Mass Effect; while your party occasionally piped up during conversations, they mostly kept quiet. I missed the bickering, one-liners, and general back-and-forth of Dragon Age.

[EvilGenius]

Lets see if I can remember what happened.

I was knocking boots with Miranda. I saved my game and ditched Miranda to get in Tali's envirosuit and was as dissapointed as Lance that we didn't get to even see what they looked like! So I restored my save and stuck with Miranda.

I made it through the endgame without loosing anyone. I saved all of the ship's crew. I sent Jacob (and someone else. Mordin maybe?) to escort them back to the ship. Worked well.

I also destroyed the Collectors place. Give something like that to the Elusive Man? Heeeeeelll no!

During normal adventuring, I rotated the crew quite a bit. I usually chose for weapon combos/biotic abilities. I took Miranda out quite a bit as a general utility character. When I thought another sniper would be useful I took Garrus or the lizard assassin guy. I liked taking Grunt for a heavy hitter. Sometimes I took Jack when I wanted a powerful Biotic but I quickly replaced her when I got the asari justicar (who had a better weapon loadout too, I seem to recall).

I didn't really use Tali or Mordin a whole lot. I found the Tech abilities to be a little underwhelming this time around.

[erilar]

I also destroyed the Collectors place. Give something like that to the Elusive Man? Heeeeeelll no!

Says the guy who made Cthulhu Jr. with Morrigan... j/k

Agreed that tech abilities were kind of lame. Giving Shepard the ability to hack and bypass sort of deprecated the need to bring Tali along, as her combat ability wasn't great. Which kind of stinks, because she has one of the most interesting personalities, IMO.

Anyone toting an assault rifle seemed to be a better choice (although Miranda always seemed to do well too). Samara seems particularly tough for that reason, although by the time I brought her on board, I was already used to Miranda and Garrus' company.

Agreed that Dragon Age's casual NPC dialogue felt so much more natural, and was often thoroughly hilarious! Alistair quips FTW.

[Jonkga]

I disagree on the Tech abilities. I thought they were much more powerful than the biotics. I used Overload a lot more than any of the biotic powers. That's the reason I took Garrus most of the time.

I really enjoyed conversations with Mordin, too. And, talking with the team members didn't bother me. In fact, I liked the gathering of the team and doing there loyalty missions as the best part of the game.

I didn't like taking anyone with a submachine gun, as they seemed underpowered to the shotguns and assault rifles. Until I did the DLC where you get a great new submachine gun. By then, I was used to taking Garrus and Grunt most places, though. And I tried to make in game type decisions about how to bring, also. Like not bringing Genophage starting Mordin to the Krogan homeworld, or not bringing Legion to the Migrant Fleet. Although, I might try those on a second playthrough just to see what happens.

[NukeHavoc]

I liked talking to my crew members, I just wish I didn't have to run all around the ship to do it. At least, not all the time.

I would have loved something like "10-Forward" from Star Trek, where I could have a chance of meeting multiple characters simultaneously (and perhaps even have them jumping into each others conversations a la Dragon Age). Actually, we have those spaces on the Normandy, they're just not used for those purposes.

Heck, it would have been cool to go and visit Miranda only to find Jacob already there. There were a handful of scripted encounters where that happened, but they were mostly stand-alone scenes.

All in all, these are minor annoyances; I really enjoyed the game.

[erilar]

I disagree on the Tech abilities. I thought they were much more powerful than the biotics. I used Overload a lot more than any of the biotic powers. That's the reason I took Garrus most of the time.

Oh yeah, you're right - I forgot about Overload. Always think of that one as a biotic power. Overload is actually one reason I used Miranda and Garrus - they both had it.

Some of the other biotic powers that wouldn't work when the baddies had shields didn't seem particularly useful for me. Probably because I was a Soldier and had maxed out Inferno ammo. If their shields or armor were gone, it only took a burst or two at best to take out an enemy (even manifested Harbinger by the end of the game practically), so no point in pulling up a menu to use biotics.

That's kind of why I wanted to do a playthrough as a biotic. Things like the Pull/Throw combo seemed really keen.

Crap - Jon's comment makes me realize that I totally forgot to turn on Legion - I never met him because the endgame started. Was he particularly cool? I agree with Jon that the Quarians are probably going to try to take over / befriend the Geth, probably to use them against the Reapers. Legion might come in really handy if that's the case. Hmm...

[Jonkga]

Legion was actually one of my favorite characters. I really like what they did with his personality and the way Geth behave/interact - perhaps the most compelling teammate I picked up.

[erilar]

Crap.

[EvilGenius]

Yeah, Legion was cool.