Mass Effect

[Zyx]

You could always play Dragon Age 2, where both the female romances allow for same sex romance... you sad, sad man. (2 male romances also allow for same sex romance, if you'd rather have that.)

Thanks, but I'm not that into dragons. Blue aliens, on the on other hand...

[Scythe]

Go read Fornax magazine then.

Tali romance is my favorite anyway, but isn't same sex either.

[Zyx]

Go read Fornax magazine then.

I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favorite magazine on the Citadel.

Tali romance is my favorite anyway, but isn't same sex either.

I just find her annoying. In ME2, Tali certainly shows sexual intrest in female Shepard as well. Either that or it's just laziness in dialogue/content separation between genders.

The last set of DLC missions, The Arrival, for ME2 are coming by the end of the month. They're supposed to bridge the end of ME2 to ME3.Considering that these missions are supposed the be played after the end of normal ME2 missions, I'm just wondering how you're supposed the play it if you managed to kill your character.

By the way, it has been really difficult to explain ME2 to others. My friend was really baffled when I told the game begins with the death of the player and then in the end you can manage to kill yourself again.

[Zyx]

I'm so addicted to this game. I got the Arrival expasion, and also the Overlord mission.

I'm not that into scary things and I think I pooped couple of times in my pants when playing the Overlord thingie. The end boss wasn't quite difficult, though, because I had already completed the game and got the nuclear gun - which is kinda one-kill wonder.

Haven't tried out Arrival yet. Need to wash pants first.

[Scythe]

Overlord was decent, the VI shouting garbled stuff at you was cool. Arrival is not so good, but of course essential for the full experience. Lair of the Shadow Broker was absolutely best, especially for all the goodies you get on subsequent visits.

Looking very much forward to ME3.

[Zyx]

Overlord was decent, the VI shouting garbled stuff at you was cool. Arrival is not so good, but of course essential for the full experience. Lair of the Shadow Broker was absolutely best, especially for all the goodies you get on subsequent visits.

The garbling and slowly evolving green face in the screens...

I've heard the same thing that Arrival isn't that good, but, storywise, is essential. LotSB was great, the final boss was much more enjoyable than even in the main game. I did like the Firewalker's Hammerhead missions, so getting to ride that thing in Overlord was nice. The geth gun segment was also a nice change of pace - easy, short, but challenging. I think both Overlord and Kasumi's missions were interesting in a way that they were totally different from the missions in the main game. Some may like them, and some may not, and they're not essential to the main story, but I liked the variety they brought.

The background information you gain in Shadow Broker's Lair is just awesome. Grunt's search logs were funny as hell. As were Miranda's internet dating chats (even though they were overshadowed by the dark secret).

Looking very much forward to ME3.

Same here, I hope the story arc is well designed. Because that way it's easy to forgive ME2's story as "just" Act 2.

[Zyx]

I just completed The Arrival and I have to say that whoever claims that it "bridges" ME2 to ME3 is a bit full of crap. Like the other DLC, there's a small twist to the missions (you go in alone), but this one is story-wise just fluff between ME2 and ME3.

In other news, if you like dragons and love between men and elves and if you happen to own Dragon Age 2, you get Mass Effect 2 for free. I've heard that the code can be given to a friend if you already happen to own ME2 or whatever.

[Scythe]

Installing the ME2 from the digital download is a complete nightmare.

[Pager]

I am FINALLY back up to speed here...at least closer, I haven't downloaded the DLC missions for ME2, but I have completed it, and only managed to lose Dr. Mordin during the finale. Not a big problem...I rarely talked to him or used him for missions...I will need to buy some Microsoft points before downloading the DLC, but from reading to concensus, I gather that Lair of the Shadow Broker is a definite must, correct? Anything I should stay away from?

[Zyx]

Losing Dr. Mordin isn't a big problem? Losing the scientist who could have changed the course of Krogan genophage not a big deal? =)

But yeah, the Shadow Broker is a must. The others are a bit of hit-or-miss, but only Arrival was a disappointment.

[Scythe]

How can you not moan the loss of your personal hamster on coke?

Lair of the Shadow Broker is the only really good DLC, but even though you can get from it what you need, it's really better to have during the game. I've definitely been very happy with Shadow Broker on second+ playthroughs. The other DLC don't hold up very well after the first time you try them.

[Pager]

Losing Dr. Mordin isn't a big problem? Losing the scientist who could have changed the course of Krogan genophage not a big deal? =)

Key term is, could have...

[Chroelle]

I went and found this thread to read it over again now after I started playing Mass Effect. The thread does warp into being about the downloadable content and the sequel but still it sums up a lot of my experience with the first one so far. I am hanging around in the citadel doing all the possible tasks I can do, and hoping to see as much of this game as possible. I am thinking that perhaps the game isn't really started yet, but already I am tired with the way weaponry, items etc are handled. Also I would love some sort of index, from which I could tab into map,missions, equipment, squad updates etc, because remembering which of 5 keys brings me to which of 5 information and interactive areas makes me want to hit the power button whenever I hit the wrong one.
I love the Shephard character, and love how the story unfolds, but I detest that I have to go read journal info every 5 minutes because I might want to know how some very weird insignificant (at the moment) race fares itself in the wast areas of space...
Overall loving it though, and I am considering firing away at people in the Citadel, just to see if I can get some form of GTA-like situation forced from it whenever the game gets to information heavy.
I tend to play the game in bursts of 1 to 2 hours, as my life currently allows me. And most of the time it is after the girls have gone to bed. So actually I might consider firing it up now...

[Scythe]

Only about a week to ME3.

Sounds like ME1 was actually better laid out on the consoles. Of course it was developed for the X360, so that would make sense. You're very free to ignore the journal backgrounds, they're fluff and you won't get lost by ignoring them. The gear thing is a bit annoying in the first game, but overly simplified in the second one. You might want to get out there in the galaxy soonish and start hating the MAKO. Especially if you're going to be completionist like I was in my first game.

You're going to be disappointed with your planned Citadel massacre though.

[Chroelle]

Oh no I have to go and start shooting in the citadel just to see what kind of disappointment awaits..
Should I just follow the tower/council storyline to get to space?
(I am gonna go start it up now so perhaps I will find out myself)

[Chroelle]

Got to be a Spectre just before I got the call from the kindergarten to come pick up Molly. (Part of her intro to the place is that they call me when they think she has been there for a good amount of time to get used to it, and not have a bad experience. )

[Pager]

This is funny. Knowing that ME3 is coming out next week, and knowing that I probably won't be able to buy it for a few months later, and remembering that I was unhappy with my Shepherd character from the end of ME2, I started playing ME1 again around the same day you started playing Chroelle.

I just finished rescuing Tali, so now I am touring around the galaxy surveying planets and driving around in the MAKO. I knid of miss the MAKO in ME2, for some reason I just like driving the thing and shooting the big gun off...not really at anything, just shooting it off in the air. Probably a good thing I never joined the military.

But I agree with the controls, I've only ever played this on 360, but could imagine what a pain it would be on PC. It is kind of a pain on 360 too, especially after playing ME2.

[Chroelle]

Well I actually saved out last game-session just as I entered the MAKO. I am going to find that Tali chick or whatever her name is now, and I haven't visited the other two locations I got suggested before leaving, so I am on my way to my first planetary exploration. I am having mixed feelings about it because of wht people said in here, so I am finding it hard to see how I can get disappointed.
I hope I can get some gametime today, as Molly is home sick (that was to be expected after just starting at the nursery/kindergarten/thingy - lots of new germs) so I dont know if she will be sleeping all day, or needing me all day, but it is most probably gonna be one of the two...

[Pager]

sleeping, sleeping, sleeping...

I haven't played since the other night either. Haven't been able to play in the last few days because I have been working o/t. But as far as I know I had just gotten the MAKO stuck in a valley somewhere...I guess I could always just go back to the Normandy, but since I am trying to find everything, I'd rather drive back and forward trying to get out of a hole than go through a series of loading screens.

[Chroelle]

I got some MAKO time done yesterday, and I see what you mean about annoying controls. It seems everything is suffering from low gravity, bumpiness and gun-too-high-placed-ness.
I however had a blast going through some levels, though I found out that you cannot save during combat, and you cannot skip a cutscene...which means that if you die in the middle of a battle where you just saw a cuscene of about 30 secs length, then you are bound t see that more than just once or twice... I spend close to 10 mins yesterday watching the same cutscene, just before you find Tali, and some huge battle-droid thingy lands on the ground with some snipers and rocketdrones...9 out of 10 times I was killed within the first 3 seconds after the cutscene, and then it was back to square one, watching the scene again. I finally found a way, and conquered everyone and then forgot to save afterwards, and got killed by the Krogan that tries to grab Tali.... LUCKILY I got the battle over in 1 try after the cutscene on this go. Otherwise I might have taken a break on a couple of days from ME.