Game News The Many Failures of Mass Effect 2

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Tags: BioWare; Mass Effect 2

Infoaddict analyzes ME2 Design Decisions. Unlike the majority of gaming journalists they <a href="http://www.infoaddict.com/the-many-failures-of-mass-effect-2">spotted shortcomings.</a>
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<p style="margin-left:50px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;border-top-color:#ffffff;padding:5px;border-right-color:#bbbbbb;border-left-color:#ffffff;border-bottom-color:#bbbbbb;">With an average score of 96 on Metacritic, one would be justified in believing Mass Effect 2 has little room for improvement. An overwhelming majority of so-called game critics have weighed-in, predictably showering Bioware’s latest RPG with roses and garlands.
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Bioware is one of a select number of game companies that receives a +3 modifier in review scores. So take an average game that would normally receive a 7, add Bioware’s name to the box, and oila! Instant 10. While this may be great for Bioware’s bottom-line, it’s actually a grave disservice to the company and gamers, not to mention a glowing example of everything that is wrong in game journalism; criticism specifically.
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Having played and finished Mass Effect 2, I can safely say, without reservation or hesitation, that Bioware’s latest RPG is a complete mess, from top-to-bottom and not a product worthy of Bioware’s heritage.</p>
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A complete mess he says. It's a shooter - BioShooter to be precise - by the way, not a RPG.
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<p style="margin-left:50px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;border-top-color:#ffffff;padding:5px;border-right-color:#bbbbbb;border-left-color:#ffffff;border-bottom-color:#bbbbbb;">One of the many aspects of the original Mass Effect I despised was the awful Mako, an ATV the player drove to explore planets. The problem was the physics behind the Mako, which made it feel like a lame arcade game with all of its bouncing around and assorted nonsense. Bioware obviously heard people’s criticism but instead of fixing the issue they simply removed the feature altogether. Unfortunately, their overall solution is to have the player survey planets from the Normandy, a truly boring and repetitive process that involves holding the mouse button down as you scan the surface of a planet for minerals. This is presented in such a boring and uninteresting way that it comes across as a huge speed bump for the game, a necessary evil imposed on the player because you need those resources to create new upgrades.</p>
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Interesting read.
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Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.rpgwatch.com/#14317">The Watch</A>

 

[Volourn]

"Bioware is one of a select number of game companies that receives a +3 modifier in review scores. So take an average game that would normally receive a 7, add Bioware’s name to the box, and oila! Instant 10. While this may be great for Bioware’s bottom-line, it’s actually a grave disservice to the company and gamers, not to mention a glowing example of everything that is wrong in game journalism; criticism specifically.

Having played and finished Mass Effect 2, I can safely say, without reservation or hesitation, that Bioware’s latest RPG is a complete mess, from top-to-bottom and not a product worthy of Bioware’s heritage."

Insta retards which basically contradicts hismelf so therefor worthy of score for hism shittyness like any other reviewer.

If you are gonna fuckin' criticize other reviewers in your review your review better be fuckin' flawless. Fuckin' moron.

 

[Ion Flux]

Insta retards which basically contradicts hismelf so therefor worthy of score for hism shittyness like any other reviewer.

I am confuse.

 

[DemonKing]

Bio have been getting a free pass in the media ever since IGN's infamous "OMFG BEST GAME EVAH! 9.9/10 "exclusive" Jade Emprie review.

Since KOTOR they've basically been reproducing the same basic game.

Don't get me wrong - they're fun enough games for what they are - but they're not particularly innovative.

 

[Mortmal]

waaah! the many failures of mass effect 2, a title that smell sulfur and drama , yummy!

Bleh... the review is kinda disapointing,so scanning is boring ok, its a time filler .Except that i cant really agree with him, i find the interface is top notch. He says the combat requires no strategy, its not exactly true, you need to cover and adapt your ammo to shield , just shooting dont do it, its certainly not chess but then again i dont remember any rpgs requiring much strategy, i played them all, always the same rince and repeat strategies .

The +3 on scorecause its bioware is wrong, reviewers were forced to show a 90% score at least to be able to review dragon age before its release (despite the true quality of the game) , not 93%!.I assume it was the same for mass effect 2.

I think the quality of the game vastly outweight the minor failures, absolutely not major flaws, he point out.I could do the same with any other games and write a book about their failures.

 

[ecliptic]

Haha, it's hilarious how personally some of the moron fanboys are taking it. Several comments of the like "die in a hole" appear after the story. Ah, idiocy.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

He says the combat requires no strategy, its not exactly true, you need to cover and adapt your ammo to shield , just shooting dont do it, its certainly not chess but then again i dont remember any rpgs requiring much strategy, i played them all, always the same rince and repeat strategies .

That's right, ME2 is all about covering behind a chest and shooting. That you have, like, totally change the weapon for shields, that's really a lot of options to consider. Do I cover? Do I use this weapon or rather that weapon? Options. Strategy. Tactics.

its certainly not chess but then again i dont remember any rpgs requiring much strategy, i played them all, always the same rince and repeat strategies .

Yeah it's obvious you played them all.

 

[Phelot]

This reviewer says the same thing someone said here about the combat. That whenever combat is near, you'll see boxes and walls everywhere with enemies emerging from the distance. So the combat sounds like it sucks. There's no surprises and according to this guy, there is no tactics besides shooting an enemy enough times. Since there's only one type of ammo there's apparently no room to have enemies resistant to certain damage, no? What the fuck is good about this game? Is it just the story that's suppose to be good? Please, someone explain.

 

[dipdipdip]

Since there's only one type of ammo there's apparently no room to have enemies resistant to certain damage, no? What the fuck is good about this game? Is it just the story that's suppose to be good? Please, someone explain.

You're fairly misinformed.

While you pick up a universal ammo clip to replenish your rounds, there are different types of ammo, such as incendiary, cryo, armor-piercing rounds, warp, and shredder ammo. Enemies will either be without protection, shielded, armored, have a biotic barrier, or a combination of that lot.

Essentially, armor-piercing and incendiary rounds are effective against armored targets, and incendiary works to stop Krogan and vorcha from regenerating their health. Cryo freezes enemies, who can then be shattered, armor-piercing is self-explanatory, and I've not fucked around with the rest.

I feel the game isn't bad, but it has huge pacing problems. Every quest plays out the same: Go to some facility and shoot everything that moves, and sadly, nearly every battle feels the same, as well. The game tries a little harder than some of the recent action titles I've played to deliver enemy variety, but it still doesn't effectively change things up enough.

 

[Phelot]

Essentially, armor-piercing and incendiary rounds are effective against armored targets, and incendiary works to stop Krogan and vorcha from regenerating their health. Cryo freezes enemies, who can then be shattered, armor-piercing is self-explanatory, and I've not fucked around with the rest.

Thanks for the info. And does this really translate into anything tactical? I mean if you pickup a universal clip then isn't it basically just work to have to switch to a type of ammo just to deal with whatever enemy is in front of you? What's the point of having different ammo type if you can just switch with a click of the mouse rather then finding different types of ammo? Or am I just not getting it still...

I feel the game isn't bad, but it has huge pacing problems. Every quest plays out the same: Go to some facility and shoot everything that moves, and sadly, nearly every battle feels the same, as well. The game tries a little harder than some of the recent action titles I've played to deliver enemy variety, but it still doesn't effectively change things up enough.

Having played it, do you feel the game is over rated? Do you think you'll play it a year from now? A few months from now?

 

[Malachi]

I'm having a decent time on my first playthrough of ME2. It seems to have a similar quality to Bioshock, in that a player might enjoy it for the story or characters, while simultaneously recognizing that the actual gameplay mechanics are sub-par.

The things that bother me about ME2 thus far:
- Scanning planets for resources. It's tedious and cramps my hand very quickly. Seriously, if I try to methodically explore a system, my mouse-hand is a painful twisted claw by the end of it. My biggest complaint, by far.
- Lack of inventory. I know the ME inventory sucked, but getting rid of lewtz entirely takes away a reason to play (and replay) a game. This is especially true for the RPG-types, since grabbing loot from some musty cave or dragon's lair or other is what we live for.
- Lack of variation in weaponry. You get most of your weapons upgraded through skills and research -- and this was probably implemented in this way because you don't have inventory. Still, I really felt the lack of variety here. Heavy weapons were the exception, since you could choose to freeze or zap or explode, etc., and the weapons actually *played* differently.
- Combat. Even accepting it as a shooter with a cover system, that does not mean that it has to be a *boring* shooter with a cover system. Every fight was exactly the same, livened up with the occasional heavy mech. I thought the article was on target with this complaint, only I would add the following -- I often knew when there were enemies ahead ready for me, because the game *would not let me quicksave*. A bit too much hand-holding.

Summing up: No inventory, no real weapon variety, a paucity of skills, and boring combat. And dammit, the hand-cramping, mind-numbing, non-OSHA-approved planet-scanning game. To me, these were serious flaws in gameplay that should have been better addressed by a major game studio. I like the space opera storyline, and I like the characters. I think the writing, while not fantastic, is at least better than the original ME, albeit with the patented Bioware "Fake Choices(tm)" dialog trees intact.

 

[Volourn]

"I think the writing, while not fantastic, is at least better than the original ME"

nO.

Example: In ME1, Ashley was a well rounded character who had different aspects of her character. Hell, they had the ballz to make her a racist yet make her the main love interest. She comes across as intelligent even if a little single minded.

In ME2, she comes across as a waste of space.

 

[sheek]

Lies.

 

[Malachi]

"I think the writing, while not fantastic, is at least better than the original ME"

nO.

Example: In ME1, Ashley was a well rounded character who had different aspects of her character. Hell, they had the ballz to make her a racist yet make her the main love interest. She comes across as intelligent even if a little single minded.

In ME2, she comes across as a waste of space.

I haven't run into Ashley except in the encounter on Horizon, but then again I haven't finished the game yet. I'm not sure your example is a fair one, since Ashley isn't a party member this time around, and so is bound to be less interesting than before for that reason alone.

Honestly, though, my impression that the writing is better this time around is only based on half-remembering that some of the ME writing made me cringe, and nothing in ME2 has made me cringe that same way yet.

EDIT: I should note, though, that the writing for Jack (Subject Zero) may provide the weakest point of my favorable ME2 impression.

 

[Grifthin]

The one thing about reviews that always bugs me is that they complain "all the aliens speak english". They actually tell you a coupla times in either game that everyone uses translators or else interspecies commerce would be impossible. Hanar use light to communicate, Elcor primarily use pheromones etc. There's a good reason for using translators - hell in ME2 if you speak to one party member he calls you something your translator doesn't have a word for and you can still ask him if it's a glitch/what it means.

 

[Occasionally Fatal]

The minigames were so terrible I don't see why they were left in the game. I ended up using a cheat to max out my resources because the surveying planets thing was so tedious. you have to buy upgrades with credits anyways, then i have to go through this bullshit? fuck that.

 

[Felix]

Mass Effect 2's UI fucking sucks.

 

[ecliptic]

This reviewer says the same thing someone said here about the combat. That whenever combat is near, you'll see boxes and walls everywhere with enemies emerging from the distance. So the combat sounds like it sucks. There's no surprises and according to this guy, there is no tactics besides shooting an enemy enough times. Since there's only one type of ammo there's apparently no room to have enemies resistant to certain damage, no? What the fuck is good about this game? Is it just the story that's suppose to be good? Please, someone explain.

I was able to come to the same conclusion after watching two minutes of gameplay on youtube. I thought, hm, this here 14gb game everyone's talking about seems to be loved by all, let's take a gander.

...

That

looks

so

boring

 

[Barrow_Bug]

That guy must love the codex. This place will fucking hate ME2 in a week's time.

Can you say fickle much?

You like it, you like. Who gives a fuck. There is a lot of people saying how much they enjoy it and are standing by it. I'm enjoying it (there is plenty wrong with it). But overall it's fun. Fuck knows I had no intereste in DA whatsoever. Now what looked so tiresome and "grindy". Yeah, ME2 is stripped down as fuck. But it has my fav shit. Characters and mostly well written dialogs.

 

[Tycn]

Bio have been getting a free pass in the media ever since IGN's infamous "OMFG BEST GAME EVAH! 9.9/10 "exclusive" Jade Emprie review.

I just had to look that up.

"Jade Empire
Clear the way for the greatest RPG on Xbox."

TEH IRONIES

 

[Mortmal]

He says the combat requires no strategy, its not exactly true, you need to cover and adapt your ammo to shield , just shooting dont do it, its certainly not chess but then again i dont remember any rpgs requiring much strategy, i played them all, always the same rince and repeat strategies .

That's right, ME2 is all about covering behind a chest and shooting. That you have, like, totally change the weapon for shields, that's really a lot of options to consider. Do I cover? Do I use this weapon or rather that weapon? Options. Strategy. Tactics.

its certainly not chess but then again i dont remember any rpgs requiring much strategy, i played them all, always the same rince and repeat strategies .

Yeah it's obvious you played them all.

well i challenge you to find me an example of rpg that requires a lot of strategy during fights, not a single one requires much brain use.

 

[Phelot]

Well, BG and BG2 required some careful planning and strategy for certain fights

 

[sqeecoo]

Wizardry 8, Betrayal at Krondor, hell, even Baldur's Gate.

 

[Gragt]

More recently Knights of the Chalice.

 

[Deleted Member 10432]

It’s too systematic and immobile, cookie-cutter without deviation. It’s paint-by-numbers. Bioware, you are better than that.

Do these people actually take what Biowhore says about itself above the genuine quality of their games?