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Some people have entirely too much time on their hands...

To be fair, some people might say the same of us posting as often as we do on an online message board.

DeadPoolX wrote:To be fair, some people might say the same of us posting as often as we do on an online message board.

No doubt! But for the most part, at least some of the conversation here is (typically!) somewhat intelligent! Some of those edits were... Lack of words, really!

I suppose I can't say too much, as I did make an "Iron Dog" page on Facebook as a joke (using the Iron Man armor and Odin's face... which is painfully similar to that ME2 thread...)

I finally finished Mass Effect 2!

Since I'm a bit of a completionist, I made the mistake of carefully finishing every secondary assignment before proceeding with the main quest. Mistake because these assignments are easily the worst part of the game, largely uninspired and boring. It's because of them that I shelved the game for months, because I was extremely bored and I couldn't find any reason to complete them. Of course, I could have dropped them and go on with the main plot, but I knew that I ould probably play through the game only once and I really wanted to see everything the game had to offer.

Anyway, this past week I fired the game back on and finished off every side-quest. Today, I completed the last portion of the game, informally known as the suicide mission and I'm really glad that I did, because this last segment is easily one of the most epic, engrossing and enthralling sequences I've ever played. It really is breath-taking, and deeply exciting. In the end, I found out that I cared for the characters a lot more than I thought, even Jack (and with only the possible exception of Zaeed), and it was this feeling toward them - Miranda, Garrus, Samara, Joker and EDI in particular - that made the final segment so incredible.

I definitely recommend the game: everything that falls outside of the main plot is entirely forgettable, but the main plot is simply amizing and deserves to be experienced.

PS: Now that I finished it, I have no problem in saying that ME2 is eons better than ME1, but Dragon Age: Origins is still the best of BioWare's two major franchises, at least in my opinion.

I finised Mass Effect 2 (X360) about a month ago. I have one question in particular. One of the Xbox achievements is getting your character to level 30. I did absolutely everything possible in that game and only ended up as a level 28. Were you able to get to 30?

No, I believe that that achievement can be obtained only by restarting the game with the same character, an option you're offered at the end of the main campaign.

I'd think completing all of the side missions would be a good idea. From what I've read, one crew member will die for every missing ship upgrade and loyalty mission during the "suicide mission" so it seems to me that getting everything else done ahead of time makes for a better ending.

Yes, what you heard it's true. However, with secondary missions, I didn't intend loyalty missions and the like (those I counted among the main plot). With secondary missions/N7 assignments I meant largely non-influential quests, totally unrelated to the main campaign, like deliver these two packages to a Salarian fence or explore this planted with an highly unusual climate.

Finished Mass Effect 2! Now I can read this thread!

My personal opinion? More fun than the first one, actually. In fact, this is my favorite Bioware game now. It took me about 30 hours to finish it, and I did go for all the secondary quests and loyalty missions before the end (I kinda figured the Omega 4 relay would be the point-of-no-return.)

Something I noticed about the plot that was very similar to Dragon Age was how it has a strong opening, but then about 80% of the game is wandering around recruiting people - then the plot resumes in the last few hours of gameplay. Although the big difference here is that DA took me 40 hours to recruit 4 factions before the final battles, while ME2 was paced a lot faster, allowing me to recruit multiple team members and even complete the loyalty missions in 30 hours. And I thought the loyalty missions were fun! It would be nice if they had tied into the story at all, but I found if I based certain choices during the end-game on things I learned in the loyalty missions, I could tie the story together myself. ME2 also gave me more incentive to try out the different characters. In DA, I had no reason to put guys like Sten and Zevhran on my team.

I've only just completed the Paragon Soldier run - my first save-game from the first game - where I play as the guy on the case. I always like to try my first run according to how I think the designers imagined it. When I get some time, I'll upload my Jane Shepard save-game and try a renegade run.

A few things about my experiences with the characters:

Zaeed: I didn't even know there was a Zaeed. I should have downloaded the DLC before playing. Oh, well. Next time!
Jacob and Miranda: I figured they were all-right characters. They had better chemistry with each other than with me. Jacob's good sidekick material, and I put him in charge of leading the crew back to the Normandy. Miranda seemed to have too many side-issues for me to consider her a love interest. I might consider her if I ever do a biotic run of the series, but overall, my John Shepard didn't have much chemistry with her.
Mordin: This guy is awesome! I considered him to the first essential character since his inventions come in very handy throughout the game. On top of that, he sings. Although from a story-telling perspective, he really shouldn't be a character who ever leaves the ship to fight. He's more fun in the lab.
Jack: Not much love for Jack on here, but I found her back-story and personality really clashed with my Paragon choices, making her an interesting character to keep around. Not for a love interest, of course - maybe during a renegade run. During the endgame, I put her in charge of the biotic field, and something about watching her be the protector instead of the destroyer seemed very epic. She's my second essential character.
Garrus: My third essential recruit, just because I like having this bad-ass on my team. Shepard can always use a friend.
Grunt: Not an essential recruit, but a fun guy to keep around. I like having him around on secondary missions, just so I can hear him yell "I AM KROGAN!" Also had a fun loyalty mission.
Tali: I love Tali in this game. Her loyalty mission really tightens up the relationship between her and Shepard, which I why I chose her as my love interest this time around. She seemed to be the only one who had any chemistry with him. Also, that combat drone of hers is nothing short of the most useful thing during a fight. I made sure Tali was on every away mission. So she was an essential character for me.
Samara: I'll be honest - I'm not a big fan of Asaris, and Samara's blank cold stare always creeps me out. I did enjoy her loyalty mission, though, but aside from that, she seems like a filler character more than anything. She doesn't have chemistry with anyone.
Thane: I thought this guy would be really awesome since he's right on the start-up screen, but he's seems to be just another Garrus mixed in with a little Hanar. I couldn't find any plot choices down the road that worked to his abilities, so maybe he's just another filler character.
Legion: LEGION IS AWESOME. I was so stoked to have a Geth on my team. He's my fifth essential character. You can learn so much from him!
Joker: They answered my prayers and let me play as Joker. Fantastic. I thought it would always be him vs. Edi - seeing them become friends was way cooler.
Kelly: I like Kelly. If you invite her for dinner, she'll feed your fish. But then Tali came along and I was forced to choose between the cute redhead who feeds my fish, and the mystery girl. I had to go with the mystery girl. Sorry, Kelly. I still love you. Thank you for feeding my fish.
The Illusive Man: Who didn't know he was secretly evil? Come on.

I'll really need to try out the Omega 4 sequence without the upgrades and loyalties next time. My first run at it, everyone lived.

Regarding the opening sequences:

I thought this was a really clever way for them to allow you to re-import your character and change his appearance through facial reconstruction. I didn't see it so much as a chance for you to start at Level 1, but rather let your entire crew move on with their lives, and even start from scratch yourself. I imagine they'll do something similar at the beginning of ME3 or DA2. Not necessarily "kill" and revive the main character, but they'll find some way to logically break continuity so new players can jump right in.

I partially agreew with you, although not about Samara, whom I simply adore. My team was usually Shepard, Garrus (for the same reasons you listed) and Samara/Miranda/Mordin according to the type of mission I was going to embark upon.

Just finished my renegade play-through. Some thoughts on the Samara/Morinth choice:

On renegade mode, this part is very sloppily handled. My favorite part of Samara's missions was the part where you're running around the bar trying to blend in - but just for kicks, I tried doing all the things that weren't supposed to attract Morinth and... she still came after me. No matter what I do, Morinth just keeps chasing after me.

Then came the choice - Samara or Morinth? Naturally, for renegade mode, I choose to kill Samara, but here's where everything fell apart: Shepard had no excuse to do it. He/she simply says "I need Morinth more" and then BLAM - dead Samara. Usually, these games are very good for coming up with reasonable excuses when it comes to executing people, but there was nothing here. Shepard could have at least said something like "Her Justicar code was a danger to the mission" or "I don't trust anyone who would entrust themselves to MY code." Nope - just "I need Morinth more." What does Shepard base that on? That's not renegade - that's a moment of bizarre stupidity.

But what really gets me is how quickly Morinth says that she wants to be on my team. I never said anything about my team; Morinth just magically knew.

Man, such a weird mission! But I really wonder why this choice is even in the game. There's a serial killer on my ship, and all she does is sit there. No additional conversations or anything (besides a lingering death scene.) Hopefully they're going somewhere in Mass Effect 3 with this.

Otherwise, hurray! Two "No Man Left Behind" endings! I didn't even know that I could still earn Tali's loyalty on renegade mode.

Until then, I think I'll replay 1+2 as an Adept for a change. No Paragon or Renegade - just a neutral guy who makes a lot of mistakes and fails to help people. That'll be fun (especially on the suicide mission.)

Datadog wrote: Just finished my renegade play-through. Some thoughts on the Samara/Morinth choice:

Man, such a weird mission! But I really wonder why this choice is even in the game. There's a serial killer on my ship, and all she does is sit there. No additional conversations or anything (besides a lingering death scene.) Hopefully they're going somewhere in Mass Effect 3 with this.

I didn't pick her and never finished my renegade play through (got distracted by who the heck knows what...?)... A bummer they didn't do more with her, especially considering it seems like a pretty big choice...

NOTE: Most of what I write here probably wouldn't be considered a spoiler. The majority of this info you can find within the game (such as powers). The YouTube videos I link to might give away some info, but you don't have to click on them.

I just finished ME2!

The Game: I liked this game a LOT more than the first one. I'm sure it helps that ME2 ran perfectly, whereas ME1 was nothing but problem after problem. That's really weird, isn't it? You'd think ME1, given that it's older, would run smoother than ME2 on my machine (which is now just a little over six years old), but that wasn't the case at all.

My Class: I imported my character from ME1 (who was a Vanguard) and for the sake of role-playing, I kept my class. While I liked Vanguards a lot in ME1, they seemed gimped in ME2. Their special class power, "Biotic Charge," is just about worthless. Oh sure, it can stun the enemy and you can blast through obstacles, but that's about it. The amount of damage you do is negligible at best (when when fully upgraded) and it makes you a sitting duck.

Aside from the disappointment that Biotic Charge was, Shockwave is probably the best power the Vanguard has, with Pull coming in second. Incendiary Ammo is really good, but Cryo Ammo doesn't seem worth it to me.

I took Warp Ammo as my "bonus" power and turned it into "Squad Warp Ammo." That seemed to work well, especially later on in the game. I know Jack could've done that without me taking Warp Ammo myself, but I hate Jack and she's not very good in a fight.

If I were going to play again, I'd probably choose Sentinel. I really like their Tech Armor power, especially since it lasts until it's destroyed, unlike other shielding powers, which have a time limit.

Miranda: She was okay, but had a huge ego and attitude problem. This really shows later on during last mission of the game. Unfortunately, she has some of the best biotic abilities, which means she's important in a lot of situations. One of her powers, Warp, is insanely useful in ME2, whereas it was barely adequate in ME1. Why I didn't get Warp as a Vanguard is beyond me, since that power is incredibly destructive and destruction is what Vanguards are supposed to do best.

Her bonus power, Slam, is very useful. I didn't take it very often, but when I did, it worked really well.

Jacob: Totally useless and lacked personality. I'm sure he's better if you're playing a female character.

I did use his bonus power, Barrier, quite a bit. It was the only power that made Biotic Charge useful at all. Plus, it saved my hide in a few tough spots.

Garrus: Good to have in certain situations and his Armor Piercing Ammo certainly helps. Plus, I like him and I see Garrus and my character as being good friends. Interestingly enough, I was generally more of a "Paragon" Shepard, but when around Garrus, I became for more "Renegade."

I also feel that the mission to acquire Garrus was the toughest in the game. Even the Suicide Mission wasn't as bad.

I didn't bother with AP Ammo, mostly because Incendiary Ammo works well on armor and causes burning and panic.

Tali: My romance character. What can I say about Tali? She's generally upbeat and very nice, which is what attracted me to her. Most of the characters in ME2 (and games in general) are very serious and while Tali was at times too, she was generally just friendlier. I really like the banter between her and Garrus, particularly on the Citadel.

Tali's also one of those characters who's very weak when you get her, but gets much, much better later in the game. She was my best Tech user.

I didn't use Energy Drain, but looking back, that wouldn't have been a bad bonus power. I hated it when enemies were shielded and blocked my biotics.

Mordin: He's hilarious and unintentionally so, but still quite funny. I really liked his personality and I can't even explain why, but I just did. I also liked the sex advice he gives (which is a little disturbing in its own right) and the song he sings.

Neural Shock seemed good, but it only works on organic enemies. Once again, I had Incendiary Ammo for that in addition to the armor damage it does. When using Mordin, however, it came in useful (but nowhere near as much as Incinerate).

Grunt: At first I didn't like him; he seemed devoid of character and just a Wrex knockoff. Later on, however, I came to like him and much more so than Wrex. In an odd way, he was funny, especially how he considered Shepard his "battle master."

If I had been a Soldier, Engineer or Infiltrator, I might've used Fortification. Since I wasn't any of those classes and the biotic upgrades I found worked with Barrier, I used that instead when I needed extra protection.

Thane: I tried to care about him, but I didn't. He was very two dimensional. Nice guy, but not much there.

Shredder Ammo? Seriously? Every attack, with the exception of AI Hacking, does damage to organics.

Jack: Hated her. That's about all, really.

Warp Ammo was the reason I even saved her ass. WA was extremely useful in the later stages of the game, especially if you choose the squad-based variety at level four.

Legion: An odd guy (or should I say, machine?), but I liked him. Normally I don't go for the whole "try-to-understand-what-being-human-is-like" sort of thing, but it worked him, especially when at Omega. I grabbed him right before the Suicide Mission, so I never got a chance to bring him along on other quests, such as Tali's loyalty mission. That would've been amusing.

Like Fortification, I would've used this if I had been a more tech-oriented class.

Oh and if you're patient, he also dances.

Samara: She was very "paladin-like" but fortunately, she wasn't annoying. She was also really calm; sometimes too calm for my liking, but she did have some kick ass powers. Maybe I'm crazy, but it seemed like she hinted at a more-than-friendly relationship at times, but nothing came of it. Not that I would've agreed, but it's still weird that it was just inserted and then dropped.

Reave is an interesting power. The description made it sound absolutely devastating, but in practice, it seemed "okay." Maybe I didn't use it enough or something.

I obviously didn't choose Morinth if Samara was in my party. I didn't like her anyway; she seemed like a real brat to me.

Kasumi: While I thought her mission was really cool, there wasn't much to her after that. Sure, she has some neat gossip, but you couldn't really chat with her on or off the ship after her mission.

I absolutely hated her voice. Maybe it was her speech pattern. Whatever the reason, it's probably good I didn't have to talk to her any more than necessary.

Flashbang? No thanks.

Zaeed: Interesting and far more ruthless than my Shepard on a bad day. I understood his motives and why they were important, but I still had trouble seeing eye-to-eye with him.

Like Kasumi, there wasn't much to say after his mission and his powers weren't too hot.

Inferno grenade? Once again, no thanks.

I don't have the Shadow Broker DLC, so I couldn't take Liara. Just as well, I suppose. She's apparently a temporary party member, so she wouldn't have been any use to him throughout the rest of the game. I wouldn't have used her bonus power, Stasis, at all any way. If I really wanted to hold people in place, I'd use Cryo Ammo; at least that'd be something my teammates could benefit from too.

And finally... here's an something funny that occurs in the game when gathering resources. To make sure this video was legit, I tried the same thing in the game.

Just a few notes:

1. I found Biotic Charge to be extremely useful. Sure the damage wasn't great but the ability to jump right at the enemy was prices and the stun effect was just the icing on the cake.

2. Cryo Ammo is probably my favorite weapon-related talented, because the ability to freeze enemies and then destroy them with a single shot was wonderful (much like the Dragon Age combo Cone of Cold + Stonefist/Crushing Prison)

3. I really liked Miranda, but I'm biased since I adore Yvonne Strahovski in Chuck and I find her voice pretty amazing I agree with you on Garrus, whom I see as Shepard's only true friend. I like their bromance.

Nice write up, DPX.

Been entirely too long since I have (re)played the game... I may have to do so in the bedroom, where I have an additional XBOX360 not linked to XBL... and could just play leisurely.

But that said...

Miranda: I liked her. Admittedly, because she was intentionally designed to be an appealing looking woman (nice hair, nice body, nice voice). And yeah, I was shallow enough to fall for that! I liked her back story as to who she was, and how she came to be, etc.

Jacob: I actually really liked him - because to me, he stood out. He was one of the only characters out of the bunch that didn't have some really bad, dark streak in his life. His only bad thing was - what was it - his father? Other than, this was your do good soldier, who wanted to do the right thing. So to me, this made him stand out above everyone else, who had very questionable pasts. He was essentially a breath of fresh air.

Garrus: I don't know how Bioware does it, but the fact that we all feel the same that Garrus is Sheppard's BFF... I feel the same and was very glad to have him in Mass Effect 2, as he was my favorite NPC from Mass Effect 1.

Tali: Tali was kind of like Jacob. She was this good person... I actually really liked her side story.

Mordin: As DPX said, he was... funny, without being so intentionally. I did like his whole tie in with the Genophage. This however, was my reason for hating him, eventually. Because I like Wrex, Grunt, etc. I get that they were war like and such, and this was a way of curbing their species... but I just got the impression that it wasn't intended to curb their species, but wipe them out. And that should be no one's choice to do.

Grunt: Not too much to the character, but sometimes I like those ruthless, seldom say something type characters, who are there to kick ass.

Thane: I could not bring myself to care about this character. Despite his touching story... I just... couldn't care.

Jack: I don't think I could say the words of hatred I feel for this character, without flagging it unsafe for work.

Legion: They way they introduced him was awesome, how you have to get him is awesome, and he's over all awesome

Samara: Most bland character. Ever.

Morinth: Did a play through to get her specifically. Pretty much a waste of time.

Zaeed: Quick mission. Zero personality, once you do his mission.

Kasumi: Never got this DLC.