Mass Effect 2 nine years later

Mechanically I think ME2 is, generally, superior for the first game. The writing as far as main plot and depth of morality has taken a bit of a hit in my opinion. The characters are great though. I loved the expanded visual design, though it did become excessive and overreach in some cases. Ultimately I prefer the first game but I could concede that ME2 is the superior product if only because it did a pretty good job of appealing to more hardcore fans (and sci fi fans) while also having greater general appeal.

It has aged pretty well as I think games from 2010 or so had already hit the current plateau as far as graphics are concerned. Games are getting more detailed but the upgrade is more subtle.

IMO, the only real drawback to ME2 was the mechanism used for scanning for resources and the amount of resources required to max out all the upgrades.  It was a grindy activity that slowed down a game that was decidedly not a standard grindy RPG.  I found the story superior to ME1 in a lot of ways.  I generally consider the quality of ME1's story to be way overrated.  ME2's story was based on an Oscar winning formula (The Dirty Dozen just set in space).  Within itself, it's tighter and more consistent.  The start, however, is very cheesy (even by game standards, which is saying a lot) and, IMO, totally unnecessary.  They could have booted Shepard out of the Alliance merely for stealing the Normandy in ME1 and had him/her just become so disillusioned with the Alliance as a result that he/she winds up joining Cerberus. The structure of the suicide mission was, IMO, pure genius and adds an almost infinite level of replay-ability to the game.  ME3 is the game where all the morality comes to the forefront... Without ME3, ME1's moral decisions are completely irrelevant.  ME2 bears that out because so few of those ME1 decisions were even worth a mention inside ME2.

For me the game has gone even more down from the first disappointment it gave when I played it through... still not a bad game. Just not a good ME game

Yeah and its not like it takes that long to replenish resources. Doing a couple planets in between missions usually keeps my resources up.

Ah yes, planet scanning. I've dismissed that claim. I've completed playthroughs without scanning for them with all characters surviving the game. Usually there's enough resources I get from a save import and from completing missions that give me enough for whatever weapon I'm using and to get the ship upgrades.

At first I thought this thread would be to discuss Raycevick's Mass Effect 2 retrospective.



Mass Effect 1 is still the superior gaming experience in my opinion, but there's no denying the Mass Effect 2 had the best cast and the best use of the dialogue wheel. Jack is a favourite of mine and Mordin is one of BioWare's best characters. While the dialogue wheel in ME1 gave the player plenty of freedom (most of time), it also had a fair bit of fake choices. Mass Effect 2 perfected it. Dialogue often wasn't too dissimilar but choices where subtlety altered depending on Paragon/Renegade/Neutral.

Anyway, I recently started my first playthrough of ME2 in years. Laughing like a mad idiot blasting the Praetorian on the Collector Ship with the Revenant. Reminiscing about how I gave up during that encounter on my first Insanity run using the Sentinel on New Game Plus. I kinda wanna see if I still have that save. Revenge is best served 9 years later!

This might sound small in comparison, but I like how the flavor text for each power changed as you upgraded it.

Especially the class passive, with each "specialization" getting a neat little blurb; my favorites being Champion and Guardian.

"Your staying power lets you survive marathons of combat..."
"You excel under stress..."

It really sells it rather than just: "+10% recharge speed". It connects the game mechanics to the story/experience.

My response wasn't directed at your post, but to the posts mentioning planet scanning in general.

I also think the classes are very well designed, you have a semi-designated role but you aren't completely forced into it.
You have incredible strengths but a few weaknesses:
Vanguard - close-quarters-champion but lacking range or synthetic counters
Sentinel - perform well in any situation but not necessarily amazing
Infiltrator - long-range-legend but lacking crowd control and barriers are a problem
Soldier - master of firearms but not all firearms are equal
Engineer - tech is your domain but there's a lot outside it
Adept - no one is beyond your reach, but you need to get there first

Plus the weapons are punchy and effective.

Even if you play a class that only uses a pistol/SMG, you never feel like your guns are useless.
Whereas if you start with a Shotgun, Sniper Rifle, or Assault Rifle you have a variety of ways to use said firearm (ammo powers, class ability, etc.)

I dont mind it but I like ME3's better. It can be frustrating but not as boring as ME2's version.

Yeah ME2 had a initial buy in issue. Too much space magic with the resurrection stuff and joining Cerberus was too forced. Heck have the collectors capture you and you never die you are experimented on and it’s Cerberus that frees you before you got transferred through the whatever relay.

As for joining Cerberus they could have made it more palatable if you had been given time to choose and then upon contacting the alliance or the council they suggest you join as it’s the perfect opportunity to infiltrate them. Make the choice of really joining vs undercover joining more interesting by the character finding out that the alliance knew where you were but never attempted a rescue. So you’d still really have no choice in joining or not but your reasons are more believable for a range of characters. And they wouldn’t have to change dialogue based on your choice as you are either undercover so no one knows or legit joined them.

Once you get past the beginning it’s a fun story even if a bit off point from stopping the reapers.