Mass Effect 2.

[DeadPoolX]

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.

Okay, but jumping at the enemy was also a very easy way to get yourself killed. That pretty much relegated it to attacking a single enemy AFTER they've already been injured OR using it as an escape/emergency attack.

As I said before, if used in conjunction with Barrier, I can see some use to it. You'll be protected at the end of your Biotic Charge, when both you and the enemy are dazed.

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)

The difference, for me, is that Cone of Cold was far more cost effective. You put one point into it and it was guaranteed to freeze an enemy. Cryo Ammo, on the other hand, requires TEN points to fully level up (which is what you'd want) and even then doesn't always freeze the enemy.

The only way I can see Cryo Ammo being useful is taking it as its Squad version, so that everyone in your party has it. That way they can provide crowd control for you. Except for once or twice, I never needed that.

I figure I'm better off with Incendiary Ammo. It does armor and health damage, plus lights them on fire, which distracts them while continuing to lower their health.

I still say that the best overall ammo is Warp Ammo. It doesn't do anything fancy like freeze or set fire to the enemy, but it works well against organics, synthetics, armor, shields and barriers. In other words, everything you fight in the game.

[Datadog]

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.

Here's a clip for it. Although I think that once you go on the Reaper IFF mission (where you get Legion,) a mission countdown begins which only enables you to visit one other place before the Collectors attack. After that, visiting any other place instead of going on the suicide mission will result in your crew being killed. So you could still take Legion on all the other loyalty missions - at the cost of Kelly and the others.

Also, yes - incendiary ammo for the win. I also like disruptor ammo against the synthetics. And personally, I found Jack's shockwave attack saved me on multiple occasions. Whenever attackers ganged up on me, it was nice to see a freight train of explosives sweep them aside.

[DeadPoolX]

Here's a clip for it. Although I think that once you go on the Reaper IFF mission (where you get Legion,) a mission countdown begins which only enables you to visit one other place before the Collectors attack. After that, visiting any other place instead of going on the suicide mission will result in your crew being killed. So you could still take Legion on all the other loyalty missions - at the cost of Kelly and the others.

That's why I did Legion last. I didn't go on any missions after the Collectors attack; however, I did race the Normandy around the map. I wanted to crash it into a sun, but no dice.

Also, yes - incendiary ammo for the win. I also like disruptor ammo against the synthetics. And personally, I found Jack's shockwave attack saved me on multiple occasions. Whenever attackers ganged up on me, it was nice to see a freight train of explosives sweep them aside.

I think the two best ammo types are Incendiary (especially if you level it up to Inferno) and Warp for reasons I've already described in previous posts. I agree on Shockwave -- that was my favorite biotic power to use as a Vanguard. I refer to it as "biotic bowling."

[DeadPoolX]

You know what I'd like to see implemented in Mass Effect 3?

The ability to level your teammates up on the Normandy itself. In both ME1 and ME2 it's annoying how you have to land/dock somewhere and take that character with you just to level them up.

[DeadPoolX]

Well, I just finished Lair of the Shadow Broker and it was awesome.

It was really nice to see Liara again. Yeah, I know she's there in the main game, but all you can do is talk to her. In LotSB she actually becomes a party member.

The dialogue was great, particularly the banter between Shepard and Liara. Some of their comments during the hover car chase scene and the fight on the Shadow Broker's ship really cracked me up. Too bad that didn't also occur in the main game, but I guess they couldn't do it -- too many variations in team makeup. In LotSB, they knew Liara had to be in your party, so it was easy to script.

The cutscenes were well done. I really liked the scenes between Liara and Vasir. You don't get to see a whole lot of biotic vs biotic combat in the main game (with the exception of Samara and Morinth), so it was neat to watch. Liara's become more ruthless than she ever was in ME1.

Some people really disliked the hover car chase scene, but I enjoyed it. At first I got really pissed off, but that's because I forgot I'd remapped the buttons, so what the game told me to press wasn't right. Once I figured out the controls were different, it became fun.

From what I've read, the developers made LotSB assuming you'd already beaten the main game. I can see why, given the combat difficulty. I didn't die at all, but I mostly attribute that to game play experience and having obtained level 30.

I think I finally got the hang of Biotic Charge. It's a very difficult power to use right, but it can be quite effective in certain situations.

At one point, when we needed to open a door (Liara had planted a device to disable the locks) and I needed to defend her, I decided "the hell with it!" I put away my sniper rifle, armed my shotgun (the Geth Shotgun is awesome), turned on Barrier and ran at the enemies. Between Barrier and Biotic Charge, I wiped the floor with them.

Liara's powers were pretty nice as well. Singularity and Warp work wonders.

Between Liara and me, I was able to chain biotic attacks. In some areas of the game you could toss enemies off into the air or off buildings. Pull and Shockwave were quite useful at those times.

I actually managed to defeat Vasir by accidentally tossing her off the side of the building we were on. I'm not quite sure how I did that, but it worked for me!

Considering Liara and I were both biotics, I figured I needed to bring a tech user with me. Legion's AI Hacking skill was higher than Tali's, so I chose him (plus he uses assault and sniper rifles). I'm glad I brought him as there were numerous tech-oriented enemies. It's too bad that no matter which party member you bring, they're always knocked out before the final battle with the Shadow Broker.

Normally games don't "freak me out" but the Shadow Broker himself was damn creepy. His mouth alone was bad enough (how the hell does he speak through that thing?), but when he stood up to attack us, I was like: "Oh shit!"

The fight against the Shadow Broker was difficult, but not the worst in ME2. I still maintain that the mission to get Garrus was the toughest fight. Beating the Shadow Broker was mostly learning the pattern he used. I think Maia will have an easier time than I did because she's an Infiltrator and has Tactical Cloak.

I was surprised to see Liara become the new Shadow Broker. Like she said, it would be beneficial for Shepard, but it still bothers me a little.

After you've defeated the Shadow Broker, you can visit his ship again to see Liara. That place is amazing. All the info it has on your teammates, while invasive, was incredibly fascinating. Some of it was quite funny -- particularly the info on Legion, Jack and Grunt.

I have to admit that some of the info was a bit depressing. Not that I liked Miranda a whole lot (she wasn't terrible, but just a bit annoying), but the medical report stating she could never have kids was a little sad. Although maybe it's for the best. While not as manipulative or power hungry as Morrigan in DA:O, I can't imagine Miranda's kid(s) having a normal life. Hell, she might even genetically modify them -- like her father did to her -- implant tracking devices or whatever.

Overall, I thought LotSB was the best DLC I've played from BioWare.

[AndreaDraco]

I never played it. In fact, I haven't played any of the ME2 DLCs, outside of the ones that were available on launch day.

A quick question, DPX: does it work à la Return to Ostagar (where the DLC is interwoven in the main game) or à la Witch Hunt, where it's an entirely different mini-campaign?

If it's the second one, I might give it a try!

[DeadPoolX]

I never played it. In fact, I haven't played any of the ME2 DLCs, outside of the ones that were available on launch day.

A quick question, DPX: does it work à la Return to Ostagar (where the DLC is interwoven in the main game) or à la Witch Hunt, where it's an entirely different mini-campaign?

If it's the second one, I might give it a try!

LotSB is more like RtO in that sense. It's part of the main game, but it's completely optional and doesn't affect the game at all. I don't know if that makes sense.

[AndreaDraco]

But to play it, do I have to star another game? If so, I won't play. As much as I liked ME2, I didn't like it that much.

[DeadPoolX]

But to play it, do I have to star another game? If so, I won't play. As much as I liked ME2, I didn't like it that much.

Nope. You can play it with your character even if you've already beaten the game. In fact, the DLC is really made for those who've finished the suicide mission. It doesn't haven to played afterward, but it's made with that assumption in mind.

[Tawmis]

Since I have been without any good games for awhile ... I may do some of these DLCs.

[AndreaDraco]

You can play it with your character even if you've already beaten the game. In fact, the DLC is really made for those who've finished the suicide mission. It doesn't haven to played afterward, but it's made with that assumption in mind.

Then I'll probably play it

[Tawmis]

If you don't have Mass Effect (1 and/or 2) - EA is now having an excellent sale on Mass Effect 1 and 2!

Mass Effect 1 - $13.37
Mass Effect 2 - $13.37

(I imagine this is their sense of humor that they're spelling "leet" with the cost).

[DeadPoolX]

Two new DLC have been released: a new alternate appearance pack (for Tali, Miranda and Grunt) and a mission called Arrival.

I don't know if Arrival is any good (it looks like it might be short judging by the description) so let me know if you guys get it.

[AndreaDraco]

About this...

I never played any ME2 DLCs, apart from the day-one ones. Now, I'm not interested in Kasumi, mainly because there's really no way I'll replay the game, and appearances packs sound pretty silly to me. But what about the story DLCs, like Arrival or Lair of the Shadow Broker? I know you liked this one, DPX, and you already advised me to play it, but my question is: judging from LotSB, do you think these DLCs will be pivotal to understand ME3? Are they required to keep up with the overarching story?

[Tawmis]

I know cpages2 played Arrival and said it was very short. He made mention of it on his FB page.