The Glade 4.0

They stacked in mine. 100k, plus the 30k from being 50 was 130k, and it was reflected in the mission report.

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Grenade 3 Sports Drink. It's fire in the hole.. Your hole!

8 hours in so far, but it's hard for me to get too far in during the week because of work and school. I hope to put a major dent in this game this weekend.

So far my gripe is that the weapons/armor system in this game sucks. It's not really a gear driven game, which means it's less and less like an RPG. This game is so far off from an RPG when compared to KotOR, it's crazy. At least KotOR kept the basic mechanics of an RPG in tact. This game is basically a level based 3rd person shooter, with a few different gear/ammo options, and a small talent tree. This can be viewed as a good thing too I suppose, so I won't be too critical of it. I really just wish there was a deeper RPG element to the game. Then again, Bioware is known for their stories and unique gameplay, not for sticking to the RPG formula. After all, it's not like ME1 was really much different in design, so I wouldn't expect anything different.

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I really prefer this inventory system. The inventory/gear system from ME1 sucked!!! Always getting filled up with useless junk. I can't tell you how many Pistol XIII's I had that I just had to chunk just to make room to carry new stuff. And you still get new weapons/armor. You just have to research them and/or scan new alien tech to get access to them. Some of the group members can even get unique prototype weapons specifically for them. And the skill system is much better in ME2, because you have a much smaller skill set so it's easier to get really powerful skills. In ME1 some skills didn't even unlock until you get pretty far into a different tree, that you were likely to abandon after that point. Much better use of skill points this way, and the power evolutions make it interesting to have overlapping skills.

BTW, been playing since the end of last week and I just beat the game a little while ago. Fraking. EPIC. I absolutely loved the characters in this game. I found myself unable to choose who to take with me because I didn't want to leave anyone behind. They were all so interesting and entertaining. I don't remember a single crew member's individual mission that was not well done and intriguing. Also, some of the "interactive" Renegade/Paragon cinematic moments were pretty cool, too. I was mostly going for a Paragon play through, but I found myself using a few of the "left-click for Renegade action" moments, just to see what Shepard would do!

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"I Live, I Love, I Slay, and I Am Content."
- Conan the Barbarian

I actually really like the new inventory system...except I still haven't found any new shotguns(aside from a Grunt only shotgun I can research, but I don't use Grunt, I use Tali). Also, I hated the scanning planets for resources...until I got the upgrade that made the scanner way faster.

Also, romance spoiler:



Love the game, way better than the original.

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Los Angeles Kings 2014 Stanley Cup Champions

"I love this **** team right here."
-Jonathan Quick

I ended up with 2 shotgun options, plus the option to research Grunt's. That's about par for all weapons. You get about 2 basic weapon variations for each type. But your upgrades cause really drastic changes. For instance, I got one research upgrade for the sniper rifle that drastically increased dmg against armor, and another that added 50% headshot dmg.

And as for the romance spoiler:

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"I Live, I Love, I Slay, and I Am Content."
- Conan the Barbarian

I picked this up for the 360 yesterday. I am having connection to Xbox live issues which is puzzling since it worked fine over the holidays and I am not sure I made any network changes, but anyway, I cannot seem to port over my ME1 save. The system finds it, but says something about a login name change and resets me. I had to start fresh.

Romance


Starting a new game+ with my ME2 Shepard gave me (IIRC) 250k credits, 25% experience bonus and 50k of every material.

Insane is so tough, I'm getting raped on the first mission.

Can't wait to start this, I picked up my copy for the 360 last night but I was so worn out from a rough day at work I didn't even open the case. Maybe tonight I'll put it in and chase the wife off to the bedroom and the PS3... or whatever's on Tivo in there, I think I saw her recording a bunch of Masterpiece Theater stuff the other day...

The romance plot starts on the first mission? Wow.

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Holy shitsnacks!

I wish the Christmas storm had waited until today. >_>

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Grenade 3 Sports Drink. It's fire in the hole.. Your hole!

The spoilers are pertaining to ME1 in case any has yet to do that:


How would you import a save that had beaten the game? Or what am I doing wrong here?

If you've beaten the game already with that particular save file (check your achievements) then that should be all you need. I think the game just auto saves at the point before the fight so you can reload it, if necessary. As long as you've actually beaten it at one point, the save should import to ME2.

But back to the characters, and all of their interesting personalities. DO NOT miss the opportunity to get Mordin to perform Gilbert and Sullivan for you. It's hilarious!



All of the cast did a fantastic job, but the guy that provided Mordin's voice was just incredible. Such a fascinating character. And he had a pretty good singing voice, too!


EDIT: Found the Youtube clip of Mordin's performance!

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"I Live, I Love, I Slay, and I Am Content."
- Conan the Barbarian

Mordin was definitely one of my favorite characters. Right behind Tali.

He's actually really deep.

Based on my short 8 hour experience with the game, the inventory system seems really dumbed down and streamlined. The rest of the game seems really epic, as you say. I don't know that I'll get over the fact that I don't like the inventory system, but I'll still enjoy the game.

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So, the general consensus is its pretty good? I enjoyed the first one quite a bit and am thinking of picking this one up when I get back home.

Story good?

Yes the story is very good. Maybe not quite as good as the first, but it's pretty close. But the storytelling aspects are improved in this one. The dialog is more "cinematic" feeling. The character's are done much better IMHO. I "connected" with the characters a lot better in this one. Some of their personal side missions are really, really good. Tali and Thane's side missions really stand out, to me.

I loved ME1. Really didn't think they'd be able to top it. But they did. ME2 is really awesome, and it totally sets the stage for ME3. And I can't wait.

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"I Live, I Love, I Slay, and I Am Content."
- Conan the Barbarian

I haven't finished(all have to do is enter the Omega 4 Relay, but I'm trying to hit level 30 by scanning planets for quests...pretty slow going), but I can say that I am enjoying it more than I enjoyed the first one. Which is really saying something. Very few games will I go through them more than two or three times, but I've played the original Mass Effect damn near 25 times and it still doesn't get old. Really looking forward to how this one sets up the third.

_________________
Los Angeles Kings 2014 Stanley Cup Champions

"I love this **** team right here."
-Jonathan Quick

I dont like the clip system. I dont like having to run around looking for ammo between fights (or cloaking to go find ammo) My shields seem like they're made of cellophane, maybe its because its early in the game, but I imagine damage ramps up with shield strength.

I was really bummed when Lenas told me there was no more Mako. Honestly, the planet exploration was one of my most favorite things about the first one. I guess I was in the minority on that one.

I'm still going to play it (probably on Spring break) but I'm way less excited for it.

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The Dude abides.

No more Mako?

Oh **** yeah! Hated driving that twitchy, unintuitive POS.

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Holy shitsnacks!

So far, I mostly like it better than ME1 (paragon Shepard is much cooler this time around) but I loathe the clip system and the dumbed down leveling/character customization....

Dumbed down leveling? You have the same amount of abilities and they require the same amount of points to max. You're also given the ability to retrain your character at any time, and given two opportunities to 1) gain a new weapon skill and 2) gain a new ability.

Don't know what people's problem with the ammo system is. You have to realize that the infinite ammo thing wouldn't work in this game, especially now that enemy bodies have hit recognition. If I wasn't ever at risk of running out of sniper ammo, I'd never take a single point of damage.

It always annoys me how any streamlining, especially of completely idiotic systems, is sneered at as dumbing it down.

_________________


Grenade 3 Sports Drink. It's fire in the hole.. Your hole!

I beat it early this morning. And of course, I was only level 29. God damn you, Jimmy Gibbs Jr.! Was pretty damn epic. Wasn't expecting a lot of the things that were revealed during the game and the last boss was quite impressive(but still pretty easy. There were a lot of normal fights that were more difficult, especially any time a Praetorian was involved).

Ending spoilers:

_________________
Los Angeles Kings 2014 Stanley Cup Champions

"I love this **** team right here."
-Jonathan Quick

There are 2 problems I have with the ammo system. It doesn't make any sense and I get REALLY tired of starting a fight at full ammo, picking my shots carefully, and still having to run around halfway through a fight to scrounge for ammo. Mostly it's the "thermal clips don't make any sense" thing, though.

You still have unlimited ammo, you just have to carry around tins of radiator fluid for your gun so it won't overheat