Mass Effect II will have 'richer' side quests

by Alexander Sliwinski on Mar 12th 2008 4:00PM

In an interview with MTV's Multiplayer, BioWare General Manager Greg Zerschuk says Mass Effect II's side quests will be "a little bit richer." He says the company is looking into ways to auto-generate content and possibly tie those into the main story. He'd like to make sure that side quests stay to the side, but that there's something "purposeful about them."

Zerschuk explains now that the technological backbone for Mass Effect is there, the sequel should be much better. He uses the company's Baldur's Gate series as an example, explaining that the the first one was a very solid game, but that the sequel allowed things to be taken "to a whole new level."

Source

Tags: bioware, masseffect, Xbox-360, zerschuk

Reader Comments (35)

File Under: Sony PlayStation 3?

I didn't know it was coming to the PS3... anyway... that's great, it's a good game.

But there are two RPG's that I'm looking forward, more than Final Fantasy... Tales of Symphonia for Wii and Tales of Vesperia for PS3. I love that series =)

... Tales of Vesperia for *360

I am really excited for Mass Effect 2. I enjoyed the first one immensely, warts and all. Giving them a year or two to smooth out the graphics and inventory system, as well as improve on the missions, should result in an even better game.

I love Bioware. They alone almost make me proud to be Canadian, haha. That, and Ubisoft Montreal.

- Scott

Bioware is owned by EA now aren't they? I'm surprised we aren't getting a Wii, DS, and PSP version as well.

Did you really think EA bought the developers to continue releasing console exclusive games?

It's EA.

E

A

I'd be surprised if Mass Effect II wasn't watered down for the Wii, spun into a DS/PSP series, released down the road for PC, and had a mobile and iPhone version released.

@ XanthouS:

My guess is that Bioware probably had some stipulation that EA would allow them to remain somewhat autonomous in both creative and executive decision making, while EA would basically be allowed to ride the gravy train in return.

I can't imagine a developer like Bioware just selling themselves out, given EA's reputation, as well as their own rabid following.

- Scott

If it does come out for PS3, let's hope that the port is done properly, unlike The Orange Box. I love Mass Effect, but it's buggy enough as it is.

I also hope that the first one comes out on the PS3 so people that haven't played it can experience the game without being lost in its sequel.

@Scotto
"I can't imagine a developer like Bioware just selling themselves out"
They're owned by EA now, so isn't that too late? ;)

Great news. I appluad them for taking constructive critism well. it fixes the main flaw i had with Mass effect.

The side quests were really repetitive and didn;t have that much of an effect on the story. Better side quests will definitely be awesome.

Where do you see anything about the PS3.

It's tagged/filed as a PlayStation 3 article. Look by the title.

Does it come with free controversy from Fox again?

If it has richer sidequests, then I better ask them for a loan.

Mass Effect 2 could only be as good as the first and just extend the story and I would be happy. I absolutely adore the first one although some tweaks to the combat would be appreciated.

Also I'm not sure why it's filed under PS3, as there is no announcement whatsoever that the second game is PS3 bound, and MS has stated many times that they will do whatever they can to make sure that the trilogy remains a 360 exclusive.

Microsoft hasn't got a say in the matter, its EAs now, they make the decisions. So if they wanted to release the first on PS3 today, its up to them.

Although, being EA and all, its safe to assume for the moment, it will be multiplat.

Well considering MS published the first ME, I'm pretty sure they will have a big say in what ends up happening with ME2, especially considering the bottomless bag of money MS has.

MS certainly has a big pile 'o money. The question is, how much is enough to convince EA not to set up an entire franchise on the PS3. Not only would EA lose out on a significant portion of the market for ME2, but they'd be losing out on every new iteration of the game in the future (even MEXIII on the Xbox2520).

Joystiq is apparently taking it upon itself to confirm Mass Effect 2 for PS3, sans any official word or proof.

Exactly. Not to mention, I read an article in OXM a couple of months ago, where an anonymous employee at Bioware stated his assurances that the game would remain XBOX 360 exclusive.

I cannot imagine that Microsoft wouldn't have been all over the Bioware acquisition, making sure that they retained the Mass Effect franchise for their console. Especially since they published the first one, for crying out loud.

Now to see if this vanishes into the ether.

- Scott

Please take note: We've now filed Mass Effect II under "driving," which means that it's 100% confirmed to be a kart racer.

As you can see, categories are easy to assign and are there for your and our convenience. When it comes to a game from a multiplatform publisher which officially has no target consoles associated with it, is "PlayStation 3" really such an upsetting stretch?

I see your point Ludwig, but I still think it's irresponsible to post it under PS3. By your logic, it really shouldn't be listed under ANY system yet, anyway (if you want to get technical about it). :P

Yeah, now that I've made my point (categories != confirmation), I've gone ahead and changed it based on the last official word we got. I also removed "driving," even though you spend an awful lot of time in the Mako. ;)

Ah man... now I am bummed. I was totally ready to fill that thing with mushrooms and red shells.

That's good to hear. One of the most annoying things about the original (other than the inventory system) was that the sidequests all got to feel very similar. Some more substance to their plots would be nice but I'd settle for, oh say, MORE THAN TWO FLOOR PLANS IN THE ENTIRE FRICKIN' GALAXY!!!

Also, [insert question about filing under PS3 here].

Mass Effect II will have 'richer' side quests; Translation, "Mass Effect II will have phat loot!"

I hope they do a better job at this iteration. While I enjoyed the whole Mass Effect "experience" after I completed it I didn't even consider starting it again so I traded it in. Hopefully the next one will have something that will be bring me bak for more.

Tell me about it, and better DLC, not that they were bad, just could have been honed on a bit more.

I agree. DLC did suck. I still play Jade empire and KOTOR. I just didn't with this game. I don't know why. Im a SCI FI buff but it just didn't click with me. I need a FALLOUT 3!

I can understand completely. I regularly run through Baldur's Gate saga, KOTOR and Jade Empire on a regular basis, but I have a hard time feeling the same way about Mass Effect.

Maybe it was a lack of character development/interaction that I missed from past Bioware games. Sure, the elevator convos were nice, but that was really it for interaction outside of certain quests. If they keep the same crew going into Mass Effect 2, I guess I can overlook character development if we get some more info on the crew as the game progress.

For now, I'm not hyped at all for Mass Effect 2. It's a pity, but I felt like the game took a step backwards to appeal to a larger audience.

I'm pensive about Fallout 3 as well. Since there's not a huge amount of info, I'll continue to watch how it develops.

What are the legalities now that EA are involved regarding the 1st game? Is the whole "only on 360" assurance now moot or does EA have no claim to previous games?

Here's what I hope they fix:
-More variety in side-quests
-graphics bugs
-Inventory Management
-Make planets less mountainous
-And lastly and most importantly
SPEED UP THE F*CKING ELEVATORS

If by "richer" side quests you mean "less Mako suckage," sign me up.

Maybe it's just be, but has no one else associated "richer" to "more sexual"?

I'm happy to read this. My pet peeve that I don't see people complaining about is lack of variety on the buildings. You got your basic T shape floor plan and then there the upstairs with a balcony and that's it.

Richer sidequests, the same technical nightmare of a game and conversation simulator of a game?

Awesome.

Count me out.

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Mass Effect II will have 'richer' side quests

Reader Comments (35)

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