Oh, gotta go. Looks like Justin is putting another stink bomb in my lunch box.
Oh, gotta go. Looks like Justin is putting another stink bomb in my lunch box.
Reader Comments (83)
Posted: Jan 29th 2010 3:31PM Saria the Cat said
Dear God, is this Creepy Joystiq Picture Day? Between this one and the Joystiq podcast Chris creepiness, I am almost scared back into lurking.
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Posted: Jan 29th 2010 3:41PM ArtificeDrake formerly known as said
I wondered where you were!!
...not that I stalk you because you're one of the few openly female posters on this site... ... ..
You're going to start lurking again, aren't you...
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...not that I stalk you because you're one of the few openly female posters on this site... ... ..
You're going to start lurking again, aren't you...
Posted: Jan 29th 2010 3:33PM Saria the Cat said
It's okay Richard, the first Mass Effect totally didn't grab me either and now that I've heard all the spoilers by watching my friend start up ME2 I am just skipping ME1 and its crappy battle system and repetitive environments altogether and gunning for ME2. Sometimes sequels really are improvements.
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Posted: Jan 29th 2010 3:42PM AsherR said
The first one is still a fantastic game, but the many positives of the second game really shows the kinks in the ME1.
Depending on how engrossed you want to get in the universe, there is still a lot of interesting quests and small story tidbits from the first one that are still nice.
And as long as you skip most side missions (aside from the character specific ones), ME1 doesn't feel too repetitive and can be powered through in about 25 hours or so.
But playing the second one is the most important thing. :)
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Depending on how engrossed you want to get in the universe, there is still a lot of interesting quests and small story tidbits from the first one that are still nice.
And as long as you skip most side missions (aside from the character specific ones), ME1 doesn't feel too repetitive and can be powered through in about 25 hours or so.
But playing the second one is the most important thing. :)
Posted: Jan 29th 2010 4:11PM arrrgh said
If you REALLY want to play ME2 and enjoy all it has to offer, you need to finish the first game. So many nods to the original, little subtleties one-liners and plot extensions that would be completely lost without the proper back story.
Can you play ME2 and have a great time without beating ME1? Absolutely.
But you're only getting a piece of what the game really offers as part of a larger universe.
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Can you play ME2 and have a great time without beating ME1? Absolutely.
But you're only getting a piece of what the game really offers as part of a larger universe.
Posted: Jan 29th 2010 5:09PM Saria the Cat said
Oh, whatever ME1 fanboys who voted me down. Everyone knows ME1's main weakness was its poor functionality as a shooter.
If I get really into ME2 I may try to go back and play ME1 just to explore more of the universe. I did give ME1 a fair try, I got several hours in. However, ME's universe comes as a bit of a disappointment when you've played Bioware's old school games like Baldur's Gate, which have a MUCH richer atmosphere, lore, and environment. Maybe ME2 will change this opinion.
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If I get really into ME2 I may try to go back and play ME1 just to explore more of the universe. I did give ME1 a fair try, I got several hours in. However, ME's universe comes as a bit of a disappointment when you've played Bioware's old school games like Baldur's Gate, which have a MUCH richer atmosphere, lore, and environment. Maybe ME2 will change this opinion.
Posted: Jan 29th 2010 5:18PM Puertoricarious said
i'd say ME1's main weakness was the tedious mako sidequests. all of the sidequests were exactly the same. if they weren't continued and fleshed out so well in ME2, i'd almost say there's no reason to do them.
as a shooter, i don't think it's as bad as everyone makes it out to be. i think the biggest problem here is ME1 nerfed your weapons so badly in the beginning. for example, sniping when you haven't put any points into it is godawful. but once you power up your weapons and start using biotics/tech effectively, it's pretty fun. there are a lot of actual shooters out there that are far worse than ME1's shooter aspect.
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as a shooter, i don't think it's as bad as everyone makes it out to be. i think the biggest problem here is ME1 nerfed your weapons so badly in the beginning. for example, sniping when you haven't put any points into it is godawful. but once you power up your weapons and start using biotics/tech effectively, it's pretty fun. there are a lot of actual shooters out there that are far worse than ME1's shooter aspect.
Posted: Jan 29th 2010 5:23PM Saria the Cat said
@David: That's true, the sidequests are probably what turned me off from the game the most. I am one of those RPG players who really gets into the world and tries to do every (fun) sidequest as a supplement to the main quest, and if the sidequests are lacking, the game itself feels lacking. The whole point of having a "rich universe" such as ME is to allow you to go off exploring on your own and reward you for that.
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Posted: Jan 29th 2010 6:23PM Saria the Cat said
@AsherR: A game shouldn't require a player to read novellas on screen from a codex to give the world a sense of depth and history. That should be felt naturally through a good narrative and gameplay. BioShock, for example, did an excellent job of creating a substantive atmosphere with a background without jamming text down your throat.
A lot of video game universes contain "rich lore" if you count all the mission longs, codex entries, journal entries, etc. that you can find. Dead Space and Metroid Prime would fall under this. Great games, but you can't argue that their strong points were narrative.
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A lot of video game universes contain "rich lore" if you count all the mission longs, codex entries, journal entries, etc. that you can find. Dead Space and Metroid Prime would fall under this. Great games, but you can't argue that their strong points were narrative.
Posted: Jan 29th 2010 6:58PM fohf said
Saria, to put it simply: you are absolutely wrong about ME1. You want to skip it, that's fine, but you are missing out on one of the best Sci-Fi stories ever.
It doesn't matter what ME2 does better, the story in ME1 is still incredible and playing ME2 without the full story means you... aren't getting the full story.
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It doesn't matter what ME2 does better, the story in ME1 is still incredible and playing ME2 without the full story means you... aren't getting the full story.
Posted: Jan 29th 2010 8:32PM 343 Guilty Fart said
It's such a delight though to listen to those codex entries. I love the guy who does the narration.
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Posted: Jan 29th 2010 9:01PM AsherR said
Well to be honest, I was just being factitious with my statement there. I actually did not listen to hardly any codex entries. (Only a handful) But they are spoken, so think of them like Bioshock's audio logs, just a lot more of them. :P
I personally found the world very engrossing. I really wanted to learn more about everything. I just played through the first again and reminded myself of that.
The shooting aspects aren't as good as ME2, but still it's hardly bad.
But we all have different opinions. It's what makes the world go 'round. :)
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I personally found the world very engrossing. I really wanted to learn more about everything. I just played through the first again and reminded myself of that.
The shooting aspects aren't as good as ME2, but still it's hardly bad.
But we all have different opinions. It's what makes the world go 'round. :)
Posted: Jan 29th 2010 10:05PM s ls said
i have to agree with alot of what you said about ME1, I find it boring and the combat is weak. I hate that I have to look through the codex to get a better understanding of some of the more complex terminology and history in the game. I just got the game recently and it's a pain to play through without anything holding my interest.
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Posted: Jan 30th 2010 12:27AM (Unverified) said
What I like about the ME series is that ME2 doesn't make ME1 totally obsolete. You can go between them as even small choices carry over into two.
I like how each plays differently (one isn't necessarily superior over the other IMO).
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I like how each plays differently (one isn't necessarily superior over the other IMO).
Posted: Jan 29th 2010 3:33PM StormEagle said
You haven't even finished the FIRST one yet?! Fore shame!
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Posted: Jan 29th 2010 3:36PM HighFiveJesus said
in the words of chris tucker. GOD DAYYYUM.
I'm glad it turned out so great. But i simply do not have the time now. I'm not even that far with dragon age.
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I'm glad it turned out so great. But i simply do not have the time now. I'm not even that far with dragon age.
Posted: Jan 29th 2010 4:59PM RogueJedi86 said
I'm hearing the word "GOD DAYUUUM" not in Chris Tucker's voice, but in the voice of your icon, Dave Chapelle's player hater character. Makes it much funnier.
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Posted: Jan 29th 2010 3:36PM blueskyv201 said
This is the first game in my recent memory that really makes me want to buy an Xbox 360.
HEAR THAT?! BIOWARE!?
PS3 owners like crazy alien sex too. Can we get a port, please?
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HEAR THAT?! BIOWARE!?
PS3 owners like crazy alien sex too. Can we get a port, please?
Posted: Jan 29th 2010 3:42PM Ezio Auditore da Firenze said
It'll come over eventually, just be patient.
EA is a pretty big fan of cash.
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EA is a pretty big fan of cash.
Posted: Jan 29th 2010 4:54PM (Unverified) said
False. Both consoles have 512MB of RAM, let's clear that up right now.
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Posted: Jan 29th 2010 3:37PM Marco le Polo said
I have to find someone that's ordered it so I can try it out.
Of course I know it's gonna be good, but still.
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Of course I know it's gonna be good, but still.
Posted: Jan 29th 2010 3:40PM (Unverified) said
I finished the first one, then it RRODed, and i lost my profile.
I'll have to play it again to do be able to play the second one again with my desicions :(
Grats Bioware! hands down my favorite developer :D
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I'll have to play it again to do be able to play the second one again with my desicions :(
Grats Bioware! hands down my favorite developer :D
Posted: Jan 29th 2010 4:11PM Uphillbothways said
Yeah, same here. I kept my HDD and everything worked after the box was fixed.
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Posted: Jan 29th 2010 4:13PM Uncle Jesse said
Yeah, I was going to say, you don't send in you HDD when you get the ring of fire. Do you? I never have and they made a point of telling me to NOT send in the HDD.
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Posted: Jan 29th 2010 4:15PM (Unverified) said
I think the issue arises if you switched HDD's.
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Posted: Jan 29th 2010 4:28PM (Unverified) said
thats the thing brad, I sold my broken box with the HHD >.
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Posted: Jan 29th 2010 4:40PM Uncle Jesse said
Oooooh, you sold it? I thought you were saying that MS did something to it after you sent it in or something. Sorry, my bad.
Actually, wait, you sold your HDD without transferring to your new one?
That's your bad.
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Actually, wait, you sold your HDD without transferring to your new one?
That's your bad.
Posted: Jan 29th 2010 3:41PM (Unverified) said
This is fantastic news. The first one did 3-4 million at least and this one looks on par to far surpass that, as it should since it's a far better game.
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Posted: Jan 29th 2010 3:44PM (Unverified) said
Just picked up my copy a few hours ago.
HELLO ANTISOCIAL WEEKEND!
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HELLO ANTISOCIAL WEEKEND!
Posted: Jan 29th 2010 4:17PM Uncle Jesse said
You may think people are joking when they say that when they're not playing Mass Effect 2, they're wishing they were and that they are completely sucked into the universe and always thinking about it, but be prepared. It is no joke.
I've only got to play this for about 5 hours so far and I hate myself when I'm not able to play more of it. Get ready to be obsessed, my top-heavy friend. This game is awesome.
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I've only got to play this for about 5 hours so far and I hate myself when I'm not able to play more of it. Get ready to be obsessed, my top-heavy friend. This game is awesome.
Posted: Jan 29th 2010 8:23PM JBourne said
It's very addicting. I've put in 25 hours, and feel like I've barely scratched the surface. I can't wait for my second playthrough as a renegade.
Bayonetta and Darksiders will be buried in dust by the time I get around to finishing them. Shame, as I was enjoying them both (especially Bayonetta).
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Bayonetta and Darksiders will be buried in dust by the time I get around to finishing them. Shame, as I was enjoying them both (especially Bayonetta).
Posted: Jan 29th 2010 3:44PM Kleptomaniac said
I assume this is PC and Xbox 360 sales? I wonder if digital sales like steam are counted towards this number. Its a huge achievement to sell this many copies in such a short amount of time! I'll be playing this later on in the year when I finish off my huge backlog of PC games:)
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Posted: Jan 29th 2010 3:44PM (Unverified) said
I've sunk 10 hour into ME2 already and I've loved every minute of it. Great game. Congrats Bioware.
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Posted: Jan 29th 2010 3:58PM Deezul AwT said
I'm not impressed with the extra stuff. That, and I was able to grab the collector's goodies from XBLA when MS screwed up, so even LESS reason. Oh well. I got the LE edition of the first game, so for continuity's sake I had to ge the CE edition of ME2.
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Posted: Jan 29th 2010 4:34PM BananaBoat said
Unless you were really interested in the art book, there isn't a huge reason to go for the collectors edition set. It comes with limited edition armor, but armor is so pointless in the game that it doesn't matter which set you are wearing. I got through the entire game wearing the generic non-LE or pre-order armor, since it's the only one with the exposed character face, and I never felt like I was lacking in the armor department.
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Posted: Jan 29th 2010 3:45PM ArtificeDrake formerly known as said
I feel you, Richard. I haven't had a chance to play the first one either. Its not that I don't WANT to... I just haven't had the time...
Damn the glut of good video games that I want to play and the fact that it takes me forever to play them because I'm an obsessive completionist!!
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Damn the glut of good video games that I want to play and the fact that it takes me forever to play them because I'm an obsessive completionist!!
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