Mass Effect 2 Gameplay

[adam_grif]

No, didn't you read Doctor Drunkard's email? The power of positive thinking makes your scars heal and negative thinking makes them reopen and worsen. It makes perfect sense.

[Gramzamber]

No, didn't you read Doctor Drunkard's email? The power of positive thinking makes your scars heal and negative thinking makes them reopen and worsen. It makes perfect sense.

Yeah yeah, "think happy thoughts!". Bleh. I play a balanced renegade. Sort of a badass with a conscience. So I get to about 40% Renegade and 20% Paragon and my Shep already looked liked a terminator who had a bad encounter with a cheese grater to the face.
So in the world according to the developers anything that isn't being a total doormat is clearly EVIL.

[adam_grif]

I KNOW. I was about a 3 : 2 Rengade to Paragon ratio. I saved up to get rid of the face scars ASAP because even early on they were starting to get ridiculous.

[Agent Fisher]

That bachelor party on illium was hilarious.

[adam_grif]

Seconded. And right next to that, the Turian hitting on the Quarian. Also fantastic.

[Agent Fisher]

They did bring something up about the Asari though. Kinda makes you think.

[Xon]

I seem to recall hearing or reading that human genetic diversity is minimal compared to most animal species on Earth due to a fairly recent population bottleneck. If this is true it would fly directly in the face of their "humans are exceptionally genetically variable", unless we're expected to believe that Aliens are even less so.

It is explicitly stated ingame that humans have greater genetic diversity than any alien races.

In the case of the Asari , this isn't actually suprising since they are basicly a race of clones.

[Gramzamber]

Ilium is full of fun stuff from the funny to somewhat touching.
I liked that one conversation with the Salarian and his adopted Asari daughter talking about how he really wants to buy his Asari wife something to remember him by, as he's near the end of the typical Salarian lifespan.

And then that Asari commando from Feros in ME1 totally hit on me.

[adam_grif]

Half the women in the known universe were hitting on Shepard in ME2, so it's not exactly unusual.

EDI cracking a joke near the end was priceless, too. I was thrilled that Joker no-longer burst into a tirade about how his condition doesn't impact his piloting skills with 50% of his dialogue options like it did in ME1.

Apparently Legion can spontaneously break into a robot dance in some areas, but I've never seen it with my own eyes.

[Aaron]

If you:
Spoiler

Kill the Thresher Maw on Tuchanka during Grunts loyalty mission, EDI tells you that Grunt gets x number of mating requests and you get one as well. I found that pretty funny considering the size difference between Shep and the typical Krogan.

[SylasGaunt]

Taking Legion onto Citadel Station: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa-Ont6rOGQ

There is a lot of amusing dialog in this game.. and I to am a fan of the EDI/Joker bickering/teasing.

Also with regards to the ending. Spoiler

I love how it starts building up with something similar to the big 'triumph' music from Mass Effect 1 that played when Sovvy was taken down and when it turned out Shepard had survived only to suddenly cut to the DOOM! chorus as it reveals the Reaper fleet activating.

[adam_grif]

Spoiler

Given that it reportedly took 11 months for the Turians to reverse engineer a largely shattered Reaper main gun, and that Cerberus (in my save at least) now has access to a fully in tact collector base w/ prothean, reaper and miscellaneous tech, I'd say we'll have some interesting toys in time for ME3.

No wait scrap that, since it was an option to not let that happen they'll get nothing that impacts the plot greatly out of it.

The reapers hide out in the middle of galactic voids, so assuming they're in the middle of the closet one (0.77 megaparsecs to Andromeda), they're ~1,255,870 light years away, as of when they started flying back. Human frigates cross about a dozen light-years in a days cruise, and although the Reapers will no doubt be quite a bit faster, the limitation on FTL is drive charge. The harder and faster they're going the worse it gets, they need some place to discharge electricity or else they'll fuckin' explode.

I wonder if this will be addressed at all. Seems highly implausible that they could cross a distance even approaching that without dropping into subluminal speeds and spending a very long time. I suppose it's possible that they were "just outside the galaxy", but lore doesn't really seem to say that. Other than the looming cutscene shot of them approaching, of course. But ME cut-scenes ain't exactly canonical.

[Aaron]

Given that dropships seem to have FTL drives, that can get you from one system to another in a relatively short time frame (I haven't seen anything but seats in that Kodiak), I figure it'll just be ignored.

[adam_grif]

I don't doubt it will be ignored, but FTL isn't suitable for actual long range travel because you need to constantly stop to dump your drive core charge. That's why Relays are used for long distance travel, it's not like the FTL speed of "a dozen lightyears per day" is all that slow to begin with.

Meh, it's pretty low on the list of stupid shit in the ME universe anyway. I won't worry myself with it.

[Xon]

For long distance Mass Effect FTL, the static charge buildup is only dangerous because it builds up on the outer hull and causes a high voltage difference between the inner and outer hulls.

Non-Reaper ME ships dedicate in-excess of 80-90% of thier volume to life support of squishy organics.

[Gramzamber]

Half the women in the known universe were hitting on Shepard in ME2, so it's not exactly unusual.

Yeah well I'm playing femShep so it's rarer.
And the devs say Asari totally aren't women cause, you know, that'd imply evil lesbianism and this game would need Jesus.

On the Reapers.. Spoiler

The Reapers are fucked. The only thing that got them where they are is the element of surprise, which they don't have, and everybody and their mother is reverse-engineering their crap. Plus we now know the "true" Geth are against them too. Though I'll place a bet now that they'll blow up the Citadel while the Council puts their hands over their eyes and pretends they're not there, or at least will if you don't choose to stop them or something.

By the way according to one mission which I presume is going to have an effect in ME3, EDI gets data files that she says will take a year to decode.
Assuming ME2 doesn't take that long (maybe a month or two?) then there's at least some 10 months before ME3 and before Reapers start tearing shit up.

[Xon]

The Reapers are a fleet of thousands of dreadnought sized starships with the keys to the Mass Effect relays. It took an entire fleet pounding on a single Reaper to actually kill the damn thing, and it still wtfpwn most of the fleet.

Even with upgrades, you are talking about an insane numerical disadvantage for the ME forces. The Turians only had less than a few dozen dreadnoughts, they can't built enough in 3 years to make a major difference.

[Gramzamber]

The Reapers are a fleet of thousands of dreadnought sized starships with the keys to the Mass Effect relays. It took an entire fleet pounding on a single Reaper to actually kill the damn thing, and it still wtfpwn most of the fleet.

Even with upgrades, you are talking about an insane numerical disadvantage for the ME forces. The Turians only had less than a few dozen dreadnoughts, they can't built enough in 3 years to make a major difference.

Cerberus already seems to have been doing major research into relays, centered around Omega 4, but still. Wouldn't surprise me if they came up with a countermeasure to lock out the relays.
Also, wasn't the Citadel needed in some way to do this? I forget.
In any case I'm sure it'll be bloody, but we know they aren't going to win. Shepard victoria! And so on.

.... but then I've just realised this means we're going to be fighting a lot more Husks in ME3. Damnit. I hate Husks. I hate them! Damn techno-rage zombies. Praetorians and Scions can kiss my ass too!

[Xon]

Cerberus already seems to have been doing major research into relays, centered around Omega 4, but still. Wouldn't surprise me if they came up with a countermeasure to lock out the relays.

Spoiler

Having the Reaper IIF beacon is a major breakthrough (as it is no the derived Collector stuff) but dangerous as hell. Reaper nanotech can remain viable after 37 million years of inactivity.

Also, wasn't the Citadel needed in some way to do this? I forget.

The Citadel is apparently an extra-galactic relay and the convenient seat of government. So the entire Reaper fleet appearing where all the major records are. There is a reason the cycle of the Reapers wtfpwning everyone has cover for Spoiler

over 37 million years.

In any case I'm sure it'll be bloody, but we know they aren't going to win. Shepard victoria! And so on.

I'm sure there will be the option for Shepard to win but die.

.... but then I've just realised this means we're going to be fighting a lot more Husks in ME3. Damnit. I hate Husks. I hate them! Damn techno-rage zombies. Praetorians and Scions can kiss my ass too!

Saddly true

And they will likely come in more flavours. Maybe mini-Reapers?

[Vendetta]

No, didn't you read Doctor Drunkard's email? The power of positive thinking makes your scars heal and negative thinking makes them reopen and worsen. It makes perfect sense.

Yeah yeah, "think happy thoughts!". Bleh. I play a balanced renegade. Sort of a badass with a conscience. So I get to about 40% Renegade and 20% Paragon and my Shep already looked liked a terminator who had a bad encounter with a cheese grater to the face.
So in the world according to the developers anything that isn't being a total doormat is clearly EVIL.

Personally, I would have liked to keep the terminator eyes, they were cool. The scars had to go though. (I play a pretty much stone cold bitch)

[Netko]

They did bring something up about the Asari though. Kinda makes you think.

All of those little snippets of conversation are great. Loved the two about Asari longevity compared to their mates - both are actually interesting, funny and touching at the same time (there's one between an Asari and her Turian boyfriend, and one between an Asari and her Salarian dad). Pretty much all the species got a lot more detail this time around.

And yeah, Mordin is possibly the best party member this time around - lots of depth on his main issue, while being funny in his side talks. The two best are his impersonations/adaptations of the Major General ditty and of Captain Kirrahe, the Salarian commander who loves rousing speeches who you meet back in ME1 on Virmire.

Tied for that place, for me, is Tali. She's got a great personal mission, her people are interesting, and she gets realistic development continuing from ME1, plus being voiced perfectly. Actually, both her and Garrus' easy camaraderie with Sheppard are very well done.

Bleh - its almost easier to decide on who has a weak showing then between those that are good or great, among party members. The weakest is probably the DLC mercenary Zaeed, while overall weak would be Miranda (her personal issue is OK I guess, but her mission is weak), Jacob (seriously, can he be any more stereotypical in his black sergeant portrayal - and what's with his biotics which almost aren't mentioned?), Legion (aside from general cool Geth revelations, its just not used effectively as a party member - and didn't the trailers hype up this thing as being something that's hunting you down during the entire game?) and Samara (your mileage may vary).

[Agent Fisher]

I'm a biotic powerhouse, so I always have either Garrus and Tali with me, or Garrus and Grunt. But yeah, I'd have to say Mordin is a great character and the first time I stumbled on his singing, I was just dumbfounded. Miranda and Jacob I don't really keep with me. Legion is also a good back up for missions. The rest, meh, don't care about frog assassin man, the warrior Asari, and all the others.

First play through, I played as one of my two imports, a male renegade. Seduced the yeoman. And then second playthrough going right now, is my other import of a female paragon. I'm suprised that for romance, Bioware actually has actual alien romance, not just blue space chick.

EDIT: Oh and on the subject of the Asari on the citadel with her Turian boyfriend.

"Is this the Lifespan Talk? I'm not having the Lifespan talk."

[Gramzamber]

On Legion..
Spoiler

I don't get the hardon Legion (and by extension all "true" Geth) has for Shepard. Granted everyone from Cerberus to the Collectors think Shepard is the shit but Legion is all like "oooh it's Shepard!" and starts helping you right away, sniping Husks for you and stuff. Then there's the N7 armour it has bolted on, though in the artbook they basically admit they did that just because it was something cool to show in the first teaser.

Still Legion is a nice counter to the "All AI is evil!" nonsense from ME1, and it has some fun interactions on the flotilla. Though it gets silly when some Quarians are like "We're going to war with the Geth to take back our homeworld with a brand new weapon they'll never see coming." and the sum total of all original Geth is standing right there.

Also a nice touch that I like, Legion has similar bodily movements to Tali when conversing. Makes sense.

[Ford Prefect]

Actually, both her and Garrus' easy camaraderie with Sheppard are very well done.

Wrex is good as well, he's genuinely happy to see you, and pleasantly trolls Shepard over his untimely death. I really enjoyed Tuchanka; Mordin's loyalty quest is really thought provoking, Grunt's is a lot of fun, and the interupt you can pull on Uvenk when you're talking to the shaman is pretty classy.

[White Haven]

Headbutting a Krogan was fucking hilarious. Sheppard looks a bit dazed after it, and Uvenk just looks confused.