Yes, they're still "out there" but without the Citadel's relay they're really not a threat. Yeah, they can eventually get back to us, but it'll take centuries - which is why your character at the end says something like "And when they come, we'll be ready for them."

True, unless they find some other way to reach us. I'm pretty sure they will since the Reaper story arc will have to be concluded in ME3.

Jerykk wrote on Dec 28, 2009, 23:40:
Um, you destroyed one Reaper/Reaver. Out of like, hundreds. The ending is basically "Hey, good job! Now go out and kill the rest plz kthx." There was also the whole Cerberus sidestory which I'm assuming will be concluded in ME2.

Except that, since they are on the other side of the universe, they needed the Citadel to get to us. Now that the Mass Relay part of the Citadel has been destroyed/disabled, the Reapers can't get to us.

Yes, they're still "out there" but without the Citadel's relay they're really not a threat. Yeah, they can eventually get back to us, but it'll take centuries - which is why your character at the end says something like "And when they come, we'll be ready for them."

ME was planned as a trilogy so the ending didn't conclude the main story arc (reaper threat as a whole) but that is a valid way to tell a story. You complaining about the ending is like complaining that LOTR Movie 1 didn't conclude the story... until movie 3 ;p

That's kinda the point I'm making. While I like the idea that there are long-term consequences for your actions throughout the series, I don't like it when games are planned as a series since it results in unsatisfying endings until the final game. I'd much prefer that a game be fully self-contained like Dragon Age, as it guarantees a satisfying conclusion.

One of the dangers of planning games as a series (though it's unlikely to happen with ME) is that the planned sequels never get made and you never get proper closure. Dreamfall is a perfect example. The ending concluded only one of several story arcs and left the rest open with cliffhangers. No sequel in sight. If ME1 had sold disappointingly (like Jade Empire), there wouldn't be ME2 or 3 and we'd be stuck with the unsatisfying ending.

As for DA2, you're right, there are far too many significant variables for them to be carried over to a sequel. That said, there are still many things you could draw upon in the sequel. It would be pretty damn awesome if they somehow managed to account for all the choices you made in the first game, though. Most epic RPG series ever.

Dragon Age however is not something that could continue as "dragon age 2" unless they actually take into account that the player *could* be king etc or the gazillion different variations of solving a quest. Basically they will have to use a cheap trope (instead of dieing after 7yrs you loose all abilities/knowledge/memories etc.) to even be able to continue the story. (Dragon Age 1 is literally a dead-end) so yes, it was very conclusive ^^

ME was planned as a trilogy so the ending didn't conclude the main story arc (reaper threat as a whole) but that is a valid way to tell a story. You complaining about the ending is like complaining that LOTR Movie 1 didn't conclude the story... until movie 3 ;p

But you do have a point, that until ME3 is out the story is not satisfyingly conclusive.

Considering that Reapers are an ancient evil force with technology beyond mortal comprehension, I don't think being on the other side of the universe removes them from being a threat. The ending to ME was basically "You killed a Reaper. Well done. Now you just have to kill all the rest."

Dragon Age had a much more conclusive (and satisfying) ending.

That reaper fleet isn't on this side of the universe, there was 1 reaper whose goal was to reopen the citadel relay so they could attack... with it gone, so is the threat of attack, and Saren was the helper for the Reaper, Saren collected a Geth fleet just so that the Reaper could open the relay. Sounds like a conclusion to me.

It didn't conclude anything? Did you even see the ending? What didn't it conclude?

*SPOILERS*

Um, you destroyed one Reaper/Reaver. Out of like, hundreds. The ending is basically "Hey, good job! Now go out and kill the rest plz kthx." There was also the whole Cerberus sidestory which I'm assuming will be concluded in ME2.

It didn't conclude anything? Did you even see the ending? What didn't it conclude?

Did you feel that ME1 didn't end properly or something?

I thought ME1 had a terrible ending. It didn't really conclude anything and wasn't really satisfying at all. DA had a much, much better ending(s).

What I always wondered is why some RPG type games don't use a sort of checklist at the beginning, did you kill or join forces with so and so. This way they could still tell their story, offer many more alternative plots points and not worry about conflicting pasted Saves, whom might have modded and broken compatibility.

I remember playing a game a while back that did this. I just can't remember what the heck it was now. I'm gonna have to do some searching to see if I can find it.

The problem is that these choices wouldn't make....

True but it could be like a custom character screen, where you pick and choose, it seems a possibly neat way to keep previous content building on itself.

Also it would make for much more user friendly choices, why should a player have to replay the entire ME 1, just because he decided he wanted to let so and so live/die? This way you can mix and match your ME 2 and ME 3 experience without replaying 40 hours for each sequel.

Didn't know that. I didn't use any DLC in my playthrough.

Sorry, I should have been more clear, that's not really a choice which is a spoiler but more my interpretation of a possibly. Nothing like that is actually said in game. I was trying and trying not to spoiler it, just saying it might not be written in stone, in the future.

Jerykk wrote on Dec 27, 2009, 22:56:

I hate it when a sequel to a game/movie is mentioned before it's even released, it makes it feel a bit inconsequential.

I'm generally inclined to agree. I much prefer that every game be fully self-contained and that the developers don't hold anything back for potential sequels. That said, I really like the idea of long-term consequences. Hopefully ME2 can live up to the promise.

Mass Effect was ALWAYS announced as a trilogy, right from the very first day they mentioned it. Did you feel that ME1 didn't end properly or something? Why would ME2 be any different?

I love this whole carry-over thing.

Creston

PropheT wrote on Dec 28, 2009, 00:34:

Eh...?

New Game+ lets you start a new game with a character you already completed the game with once. In the first ME it let you keep your levels, gear, skills, etc., so I'd assume they're doing the same thing here.

Ahh OK. I never heard that term before.

Speaking of Tali, i hope in ME2 we see her face ! Yeah, thats random eh? And while at it, the migrant fleet too.

I have nay doubt that ME2 will completely and utterly rock. Even on PC...

What I always wondered is why some RPG type games don't use a sort of checklist at the beginning, did you kill or join forces with so and so. This way they could still tell their story, offer many more alternative plots points and not worry about conflicting pasted Saves, whom might have modded and broken compatibility.

The problem is that these choices wouldn't make any sense unless the player played through the first game. It would also cheapen the choices you made in the first game, since you could change them right off the bat in the sequel. That said, if new players could skip the initial choices and returning players were honest, this system could work.

Oh and you know the age limit about Warden's could be broken, depending on if you got Warden's Keep and showed mercy to a certain NPC who actually starts working for you on this very thing.

Didn't know that. I didn't use any DLC in my playthrough.

Oh damn I didn't know ME2 console was lead, too bad. The thing about an editor is it gives so much more life and sales to a game. I bet DA will out sell and out last ME becasue of the editor. Very cool stuff coming out an Adopted mod (allows you to play any class with any Origin), Polygamey (all relationships, with out confrontation and threesomes/foursomes), Open Lock Spells, Bash Locks and obviously nudes.

True finding out about your party does make a positive difference, back when NWN2 tried that ending then tried to kill everyone off at the start of Mask of the Betrayer it was pretty disappointing.


True, there were several scenes that were teary to belly laughs in DA.

Yeah, that would be tough all the choices to allow continuation in DA, I wonder if they could/would use the Epilogue as a template.

What I always wondered is why some RPG type games don't use a sort of checklist at the beginning, did you kill or join forces with so and so. This way they could still tell their story, offer many more alternative plots points and not worry about conflicting pasted Saves, whom might have modded and broken compatibility.

Oh and you know the age limit about Warden's could be broken, depending on if you got Warden's Keep and showed mercy to a certain NPC who actually starts working for you on this very thing.

Dragon Age had a great ending. Got me all teary-eyed. If DA2 ever gets made and they also carry over your choices from the first game, that would be awesome (especially considering the significant impact many of your choices have on the game world).

That said, I'm not sure how they could even do persistent saves with DA2. Given the epilogue of the first game, DA2 would have to take place at least 10 years later and Grey Wardens have short lifespans. You most likely wouldn't play as your original character either, even if you managed to survive all the way through the first game.

This comment was edited on Dec 28, 2009, 02:41.

Well Tali is in the second game. But what will be interesting is if the other crew member you didn't sacrifice in the first game is in the second at all.

What I really did like in Dragon's Age is even at the end of the game the people you didn't take with you in your party still had a purpose.

Just hope they can clean up the console issues that crippled the PC release. Worst of all the lack of editor which can normally be used to fix broken open world games, even DA has benefited greatly.

I wouldn't expect to see any modding tools for ME2. 360 is the lead SKU.

They would have been much better off offering Turn based or with Spacebar as in KotOR style combat for PC at least.

I don't think turn-based gameplay would have really worked. ME was a shooter first and foremost, even if the combat wasn't all that great. It was a very easy shooter too and you really didn't need your squadmates. Bioware has claimed that the combat is much improved in ME2 but we shall see.

The concept just seems odd, why kill off/lose your whole crew, if the carrying over from a previous Save, when you could just add new NPCs to choose from?

Yeah, it does seem kind of weird that you can't (apparently) use any of the companions from the first game in the sequel. I think it would have been better to carry over most of them (depending on the choices you made in the first game), then let you replace/supplement them with new companions. That said, we don't really know how big a part your previous allies will play in the sequel. Their presence could be entirely superficial or it might significantly impact your experience.

Just hope they can clean up the console issues that crippled the PC release. Worst of all the lack of editor which can normally be used to fix broken open world games, even DA has benefited greatly.

As an example it was so odd (ok it sucked) not even being able to see your whole team, well we could use FOV in the command window, then of course the camera broke on cutscenes.

They would have been much better off offering Turn based or with Spacebar as in KotOR style combat for PC at least. Their combat came across as weak while in freeform compared to PC shooters.

What seems odd is, the idea of continuing from a Save in a sequel, has as many negatives as story based loss of powers to start over as a weakling. Hopefully they will add something new to the mix to make it interesting.

The concept just seems odd, why kill off/lose your whole crew, if the carrying over from a previous Save, when you could just add new NPCs to choose from? Then you could expand stories of already developed personalities and add new choices.