Ships Ahoy - Mass Effect 2 [Jan 26, 2010, 2:01 pm ET] – Share – Viewing Comments
As noted already, today is the North American launch day for Mass Effect 2, BioWare's sci-fi action/RPG sequel, and the digitally distributed editions on Direct2Drive and Steam have unlocked. Here's the official press release announcing the game's availability, which points to early reviews, saying the 97 rating on Metacritic for the Xbox 360 edition makes it the "second highest rated game for the platform of all time," and that the PC version has earned a 95 on Metacritic (actually 94 as of this moment). Here's the word on the game and the Cerberus Network DLC that's free to those who purchase the game new:
The Mass Effect trilogy is an epic science fiction adventure set in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life and mysterious, uncharted planets. In Mass Effect 2, players will once again step into the role of the heroic Commander Shepard, commanding their crew of some of the most dangerous operatives from across the galaxy on a mission so challenging that it’s potentially suicidal. Featuring intense shooter action, a rich futuristic storyline, space exploration and emotionally engaging character interaction, the game delivers an unparalleled cinematic experience.
Gamers who purchase a new copy of Mass Effect 2 will also be able to activate the ‘Cerberus Network’, an in-game portal in Mass Effect 2 that will keep fans engaged with the Mass Effect universe through downloadable content (DLC) and news at no extra charge. The first piece of DLC is available today, featuring a new mission around the Normandy crash site. For players who do not buy the game new, the ‘Cerberus Network’ can be unlocked through a one-time, in-game purchase of an activation code for 1200 MS points on the Xbox 360 and $15 on the PC.** BioWare will release additional news on future ‘Cerberus Network’ content in the coming weeks.
"Mostly" since their is a metric fuck ton of dialog. It makes Dragon Age look like Diablo in that regard. (For the record though: I like it that way)
You no longer buy and equip weapons or armor, you just merely find the upgrades or materials. Plus, the armor just adds certain bonuses to skills, which makes changing it wholly unnecessary.
You also have significantly less skills it seems, which results in less tactical battles. Combat feels very much like a third person shooter now. In a way, this is nice, since I never really enjoyed the combat in ME1 due to the shitty AI of your teammates, which it seems so far they have done a good job fixing.
Agree with the combat, but I wouldn't say there's more dialog than Dragon Age. A lot of the dialog is non mission critical fluff and doesn't expand ME lore or drive the plot.
And the charm of the Codex is almost lost because so much of it is copy/pasted from ME1. They added a few new technologies and stuff, but overall I think the new aliens are boring and feel rather tacked on. And for some reason they are all humanoid (Sci Fi really bugs me when aliens always end up being so human. The designers have literally a clean slate to design any manner of crazy alien species and they come out with face-painted humans with maybe a couple extra eyes?)
The new characters are all right even if I find myself still frequently using a certain badass Turian...
Steam + PSN: PHJF
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