Geekshow

http://pc.ign.com/articles/963…..387p1.html

March 17, 2009 – BioWare and EA have formally announced Mass Effect 2 for Xbox 360 and PC, both versions set to come in early 2010. With the announcement, we've also received the first bit of details on what the story will be for the sequel. According to the press release, the second chapter will be dark and, “Saren's evil army of Geth soldiers has just been defeated, and humans, who are still struggling to make their mark on the galactic stage, are now faced with an even greater peril…”

http://xbox360.ign.com/article…..506p1.html

That was a take from IGN on the game. Sounds promising, since the recognize a lot of my main problems with the first game. Still given the short turn around time from the first game, I'm being cautiously optimistic about this one.

My problem with the first game had nothing to do with the story, so I doubt that will be an issue this time around either. Bioware is good at telling a good story. Now, did I think that the story was up to the level as KOTOR? Not at all. But it was solid. One thing to consider is that they didn't just recently decide to do a sequel. This was originally planned as a three part story. So the second game could even be better than the first one, and I actually expect it probably will be. I consider it to be in the same vein as Lost. The first season/game is just the back story to get us to the real meat of the setting.

My problem with the first game was that the story was solid, and the style/theme was oozing out, and yet the world still felt really shallow. Walking around this HUGE citadel was empty feeling. You went to a new world, and it felt like the 6 worlds you had seen before. In KOTOR, when you went to a new world, they all felt different. Granted, ME had more worlds, and it's hard to make them all unique. But it was almost as if they didn't try. That article lays out a good reason as to why that may have been the case. If everyone was isolated from other groups, then it would have been hard to work together to ensure a unique experience.

The other big issue I had was with the technical flaws of the game. The inventory management was absolutely the worst I have ever seen in a game, and there is no hyperbole in that statement. It was atrocious. It made it very hard to determine what would work best for your party. And you got so many worthless copies of each piece of armor/weapon/etc. Then there was the popping, which didn't bother me too much. But the elevator issue has to be fixed. I think I'd rather have a loading screen. At least then, you get to relax while the loading screen occurs. With the elevator, I always felt like it was just a tremendously boring section of the game. 

Finally, they have to make the Mako more interesting if they are going to continue using it. I didn't terribly mind it, it just made things feel detatched from the main game again. It almost felt like I was playing an NES or SNES game again. It should have had a more RPG feel to it at least. Maybe it could have evolved through the game, for instance. Also, I despise the camera angle they used for it. I'd prefer a first person perspective for it, personally.

But anyway, I had a lot of problems with the first game. However, they are all problems that could easily be fixed with a little attention. And I'm remaining confident that they have done just that.

The Inventory was definitely atrocious. You are far more forgiving than most people that played it. The system was immediately changed for the PC version, so even Take Two realized how bad it was. The Mako issue is just a matter of perspective, so I can see it going either way depending on how you look at it.

The Citadel was empty comparitively speaking. Yeah, there was a lot there. But the thing was a freaking entire city in a building. When you look at it that way, it was rather boring. I find it funny though that you love that the elevator keeps you in game, but like the idea of fast-traveling. Nothing breaks the flow of the game more than that for me. But still, I did it, and it didn't help a whole lot.

I read several of the Encyclopedia entries, and some were interesting. But it's still just text. Don't get me wrong. Lost Odyssey did an absolutely fantastic job of mixing the text with the story and great gameplay. But text alone doesn't make up for the lack of something else, IMO.

I definitely liked ME, but it's far from a favorite game this gen for me. It's not even in my top 5. It's probably one of the 5 best looking games, but that alone doesn't do it for me. But I will be right up there with you if they fix a good number of my problems with the first one.

the elevator rides were actually entertaining for me, you could hear either your companions talking or learn of new missions and listen to completed ones.

as for the mako i belive it should have the option to be either first person or the camera angle they went with, the driving did get tedious quickly. that was just my two cents thanks for reading.