Mass Effect 2 pre-E3 video hits tomorrow

[BenjaminBirdie]

I'm assuming it's this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19jr8ejNqBY What's Shepherd looking at btw? His eyes are confusing me.

I think the light is hitting his eye weird and the shine is making it look like he's crosseyed.

[syllogism]

Have they said anything about itemization in ME2?

[Lakitu]

Reposted for next page so more can see:

Details from the OXM Issue (Hunter 192 from Mass Effect community):

well there are alot of screen shots of the game, one of them is the interior of the Normandy which looks bigger and different. if anyone has questions i would be glad to answer them

ok yes it is the Normandy, and the special geth is from the first teaser trailer, and lead cinematics animator Parrish Ley thinks people will really connect with him (wut?)

ok you know that wallpaper with the giant blue space station thats the main Cerberus outpost, we also visit an asari planet called Illium which has skyscrapers and whatnot, and also Omega station

As for the asari planet, I believe that the GDC footage showing the flying cars and skyscrapers are the same since there is a screenshot of the same place.

And about Shepard, well according to the magazine we definitely play as Shepard for at least a decent chunk of the game.

New Character:

And as for Thane, he is a possible party member and will be shown in action during an assassination, you'll see how his performance might tempt you to recruit him.

im sorry but that all it said about Shepard, although it said that there are human colonies literally disappearing all around the galaxy, and Shepard's the man or woman for the job,even though Shepard been told its a suicde mission.

it also said that if you were particularly extreme about going Paragon or Renegade in both games, there would be extra-special endings.

as for Shepard OXM stated that part about how much we play as Shepard, Casey Hudson said and i quote "Shepard appears much bigger and more powerful, and he's presented in adarker,grittier style". "This is all part of the game's high-action descent into the darkest, most brutal parts of the Mass Effect universe".

ok here is the article that said that, Sweet, he just confirmed Mass Effect 3! But,um,what about Shepard? BioWare's keeping his exact fate a secret until E3, but we saw a lot of the early portion of Mass Effect 2 in our visit,and you definitely play as Shepard for at least a decent chunk of the game.

well it didnt say much about our old squadmates, but it did mention a few of them though no names were given, also Casey Huson stated that Joker would return in Mass Effect 2 as will a lot of main characters from Mass Efeect 1.

There was also a screenshot of a krogan, who's friends call him Grunt, but everyone else best not call him at all.

also along with Thane, the OXM crew were introduced to another potential new party member,A tough but clever salarian scientist, who's the Clint Eastwood of scientists.

also they were talking about a few weapons from the game, one weapon dissolves an enemy into a pile of dust, while the other which everyone called the "nuke gun" unleashes room-clearing nuclear fire.

Also secondary races like the volus and elcor are no longer stuck in a place,you'll see them moving around levels, which "makes things a little bit more interesting" says Hudson.

Mass Effect 1 DLC

There was a little info about dlc, but nothing major i will quote Casey, "We are definitely working on a substantial new DLC. We're finishing it up and making sure that it's going to be really good, and then we'll announce it, probably pretty. That'll be the last thing between Mass Effect 1 and 2 in terms of content.

Not a lot of info about the drell or Thane,except that they look amphilbious, and that Thane is a smooth,suave character, in one screenshot Thane came up behind a human and broke his neck.

The magazine also showed a male quarian with what looks like medium or heavy armor and looks awesome.

well not a lot of pictures of planets in the magazine, but they did show omega station and the main Cerberus outpost. as for uncharted planets Casey said and i quote, We decided to really improve a lot of the points of interaction throughout that experience. We'll be showing this at E3, but there's more [going on] when you're in orbit ,looking at [a planet], scanning, and ridingdown to the surface. And there's a much stronger focus on really rich, interesting set-piece location.

in a short article they explained what there going to show at E3, 1 whether Shepard is really dead, 2 new transit system, 3 uncharted-worlds exploration, 4 who you ultimately play as, 5 more info on Thane.

the new transit system is replacing the old elevators loading screen.

Pictures description:

one picture has 3 of our newest enemy those assault mechs from the prelude E3 video, the other is the interior of the SSV Normandy what looks like Shepards quarters but its larger and different from ME1, even has a scale model of the Normandy in the room, the next one has Thane sneaking up behind a human and breaking his neck, a pic of Omega station and the main Cerberus outpost, and the last ones are showing Shepard,a krogan called Grunt, and a male quarian.

the Shepard shown in the magazine is indeed the default male Shepard, and he does not appear to be beat-up like the front cover. And Omega Station is set in an astroid field, the station itself the top half is a mined out astroid, while the lower half is a long tube most likley where the docking bays, stores and other stuff is.

Normandy Interior:

I dont know, they only showed one screenshot of the interior, but its indeed much larger than in ME1, from the pic im assuming its Shepards private quarters and its 2 to 3 times larger than his old quarters, it looks really awesome.

they did mention the Mako saying its a different vehicle and moves in a different way which they are revealing later, and no they said nothing about how many party members we will have.

Another Summary

- You WILL play as Shepard, but for how long we don't know - There is a new species called the Drell and Thane is a new character who is an assassin and may join your party - Planets - There will be a Krogan planet, and Illium, an Asari planet, that is like Coruscant from SW. Also there is "Omega" with is like an anti-Citadel in that it's huge and it's the bottom of the barrel whereas the Citadel is the height of civilization. Also a Cerebus mothership will act as a location of significance. - Story - The ultimate story is still civilization fending off the Reapers, but this chapter will deal with this Cerebus corporation and it's enigmatic leader. There are human civilizations disapearing and it's up to Shepard to investigate, it's termed as a "suicide mission" which may lead to the details of the teaser. - New vehicle that controls better than the Mako...a "new" control scheme....motion control maybe? - Totally revamped inventory system! - Elevator system revamped where you will get the sense of scope of where you're at and where you're travelling. - NO MORE TEXTURE POP IN! - Secondary races like Volus and Elcor are much more mobile, giving more depth and makes things more interesting. - Choices are more meaningful and there is a real risk that major support characters (i.e. anyone not Shepard) can and will die. - Also on the story, they're super-hyping the ending, saying that it's much more grand meaningful in ME2. ME1 had one of the most impacting endings ever, how the hell are they gonna pull this off? - More weapons, more species, more/new team members. - returning team members, locations, weapons. All in all, an excellent article. I tried to capture the most important news. It's really a giant tease for E3. Oh, and they say there will be one more DLC for ME1, which should be announced soon!

[Rad Agast]

I think that I'll stay away from all ME 2 related threads now.

[Hellraizer]

Thanks. I'm not so excited about the Shepard chunks. They always made it crystal clear that this is the story of Commander Shepard and I really got attached to the main character that I don't want to play as anyone else. (or at least, I wouldn't be so excited about playing someone else but Shepard)

[MrTroubleMaker]

thanks for the info

[Tim the Wiz]

Also there is "Omega" with is like an anti-Citadel in that it's huge and it's the bottom of the barrel whereas the Citadel is the height of civilization.

Shepard walking into a wretched hive of scum and villainy? Awesome.

I was somewhat disappointed about the scope of Mass Effect, but everything else was exceptional: especially, the combat gameplay. Great to see there's a focus on improving that to another level.

[segarr]

Thanks Lakitu.

Wouldn't be surprised if this is Thane :



If not Thane, than certainly a Drell.

Really glad they are using Omega!

[DeadGzuz]

- NO MORE TEXTURE POP IN!

So did they ditch UE3 or just cut the streaming down with more load screens?

[Skilotonn]

Looks like I didn't have to wait long at all for the details to be posted... :)

They're improving every little qualm I had with the game, and I already thought it was my favorite RPG as well as one of my favorite experiences in a game period - damn.

I didn't highlight any of the spoiler stuff at all, but looks like everything they said will be revealed will be grand - what an E3 it will be this year!

[Chinner]

Sounds great, but I'm a bit iffy on what they're saying about Shepard. I guess we'll find out at E3.

[mujun]

So did they ditch UE3 or just cut the streaming down with more load screens?

i nominate you for stealth troll of the year!

[BeeDog]

I'm slowly getting hyped for this game after the mini-disappointment of ME1. Sounds like it will be a damn nice game.

[Dabanton]

i nominate you for stealth troll of the year!

I just clocked what he said.

Any some good info. Can't wait to see some new video at E3 hopefully.

[Chinner]

Also, I've been calling it for awhile but the DLC will be announced (and possibly downloadable) during E3.

[Jtyettis]

Best Game Ever.

Love the details and I hope I get my copy in today to see the new screens. All that stuff really seems like ME2 is going to be a proper sequel with a much better coat of polish. No texture pop in I want to believe.

[gregor7777]

More Volus and Elcor please!

And more ME1 DLC? Coming to PC?

[Relaxed Muscle]

I loved Mass Effect even with his good amount of little flaws. I just hope they put more work on scope and the main plot, the balance between side quests and main quest it's totally awful, It wouldn't be that bad if most side quest were more than exploring empty and boring planets, and the exact four locations over and over.

Seems at least that their polishing the other flaws, I wish too they could expand more the loot component.

[Kabuki Waq]

i hope they concentrate more on gameplay(combat mechanics) than making a talking sim this time.

[Snaku]

So we only play as Shepard for a portion of the game? He had better be in ME3.

And am I the only one getting a KotOR II vibe here?

[DeadGzuz]

i nominate you for stealth troll of the year!

Because I want to know how they get rid of the pop-in that was horrendous in ME? If they are using the same engine, how are they going to eliminate it?

[Mr.Green]

Because I want to know how they get rid of the pop-in that was horrendous in ME? If they are using the same engine, how are they going to eliminate it?

Mass Effect was an awesome game but this is a valid criticism. Pop in usually refers to actual objects or part of the environment that appears as you get closer, that wasn't the case with ME though. It was texture pop in and it happened only right after loading a level, like all UE3 games for that matter. But still, it was a little distracting and I wouldn't mind getting rid of that.

Far from a deal-breaker, though.

About ME2... They mention what you did in the first will have repercussions on the second one. I wonder how it will work though? Because my latest save is a new game I started for the Bring Down the Sky DLC, and stopped after completing it...

[Relaxed Muscle]

Because I want to know how they get rid of the pop-in that was horrendous in ME? If they are using the same engine, how are they going to eliminate it?

Maybe because they improved the engine? or have a better grasp/acknolege of the engine? I'll wait and see if they really get rid of the texture pop-in, but I don't think that's in entirely impossible.

i hope they concentrate more on gameplay(combat mechanics) than making a talking sim this time.

combat mechanics were ok, for a RPG game, I just hope they manage to put more enemies on screen without the same amount of slowdown, so they can make some fights more epic, that side quest that you had to rescue that alpha team from a colony of rachnis, I was hoping to see dozens of them, like somekind of Starship Troopers homanage, instead I got only 3 or 4 at the same time....

[DMczaf]

I just started Mass Effect for the first time (picked up the 2 disc edition with the free DLC) and wow, I'm so happy with my purchase. It feels like a mix of the new Star Trek (even though it came out 2 years before it ) and Star Wars.

[Hellraizer]

About ME2... They mention what you did in the first will have repercussions on the second one. I wonder how it will work though? Because my latest save is a new game I started for the Bring Down the Sky DLC, and stopped after completing it...

Doesn't matter. You completed a game before with the same character? Then it's saved in the system data.

[mujun]

Because I want to know how they get rid of the pop-in that was horrendous in ME? If they are using the same engine, how are they going to eliminate it?

id like to know too. seemed an awful lot like you were trolling though.

[Rez]

ah crap, I'm starting to get all excited for this even though the first game burned me. must... resist...

[Shrinnan]

I just started Mass Effect for the first time (picked up the 2 disc edition with the free DLC) and wow, I'm so happy with my purchase. It feels like a mix of the new Star Trek (even though it came out 2 years before it ) and Star Wars.

Is the 2 disc edition the platinum edition?

I have Mass Effect already (I'm playing through it right now) but I was looking for the 2 disc edition just to see what was on it but could only find a platinum edition (it was behind a glass door so I couldn't pick it up and look at it).

Anyway, I love the new info from OXM, ME2 is going to be awesome.

[Hellraizer]

Because I want to know how they get rid of the pop-in that was horrendous in ME? If they are using the same engine, how are they going to eliminate it?

New UE3 version, lots of tweaking etc. Just the latest video teaser with the Normandy falling apart is proof to me that they managed to squeeze a bit more juice out of the engine.

[gregor7777]

Because I want to know how they get rid of the pop-in that was horrendous in ME? If they are using the same engine, how are they going to eliminate it?

No, because of your horrendous reputation.

The question is one we'd all like to know. I haven't played the game installed on the 360 though so I don't know if that helps with pop in,

[Hellraizer]

No, because of your horrendous reputation. The question is one we'd all like to know. I haven't played the game installed on the 360 though so I don't know if that helps with pop in,

A little...

[Jtyettis]

Yea at the very least they have to be utilizing the latest engine. It will be interesting to actually see all the improvements in the end result.

[HK-47]

Maybe because they improved the engine? or have a better grasp/acknolege of the engine? I'll wait and see if they really get rid of the texture pop-in, but I don't think that's in entirely impossible. combat mechanics were ok, for a RPG game, I just hope they manage to put more enemies on screen without the same amount of slowdown, so they can make some fights more epic, that side quest that you had to rescue that alpha team from a colony of rachnis, I was hoping to see dozens of them, like somekind of Starship Troopers homanage, instead I got only 3 or 4 at the same time....

Nope. They were pretty crappy for any game.. I'm sick of the RPG excuse for games having crappy combat. The stat allocation and class differences dont make up for it.

[jett]

So did they ditch UE3 or just cut the streaming down with more load screens?

protip: don't buy the inferior console version

[watership]

protip: don't buy the inferior console version

Sigh. Don't listen to this man. A good game is enjoyable on all systems unless it's broken on one. Buy it on whatever platfrom you want. :)

[EatChildren]

I want to know how they're going to handle save file loading with multiple playthroughs.

I've got two 'characters' to really mess with the game, but playthroughs have not been identical. My 'main' character missed a quest or two on my first playthrough, and made a few decisions differently.

How is BioWare going to handle this?

[Killthee]

I want to know how they're going to handle save file loading with multiple playthroughs. I've got two 'characters' to really mess with the game, but playthroughs have not been identical. My 'main' character missed a quest or two on my first playthrough, and made a few decisions differently. How is BioWare going to handle this?

I'm pretty sure they'll treat them as separate characters, only experience points and items transfer over to New Game + characters.

[golem]

I hope they dont pull a Halo 2 on us and make us play a sympathetic geth

[Doodlebug]

How is BioWare going to handle this?

I'm guessing it'll be similar to the way ME1 allows selection of an existing profile when beginning a new game.

[Relaxed Muscle]

Nope. They were pretty crappy for any game.. I'm sick of the RPG excuse for games having crappy combat. The stat allocation and class differences dont make up for it.

Well, maybe I was expecting even worse combat mechanics, but I wouldn't say it was that crappy, actually I enjoyed few of the combats espcially the end game ones, although almost all the ones related to side quest were pretty bland, because of the shitty design and chaotic I.A.

[gregor7777]

Just bought the PC version. Was the inventory system substantially changed from the 360 version?

[Truant]

Just bought the PC version. Was the inventory system substantially changed from the 360 version?

No, not really. It made more sense, especially in a PC context. Neither was particularly good, so I'm glad they re-did it. I liked the inventory from KOTOR.

[Mr.Green]

Doesn't matter. You completed a game before with the same character? Then it's saved in the system data.

Yep. Awesome!

[Alcander]

Thanks Lakitu. Wouldn't be surprised if this is Thane : If not Thane, than certainly a Drell. Really glad they are using Omega!

When I scrolled past this image real fast it looked like her (?) suit is created by Nike (the 'swoosh')...now I can't unsee it!

[Hellraizer]

When I scrolled past this image real fast it looked like her (?) suit is created by Nike (the 'swoosh')...now I can't unsee it!

Well it's a EA property now, so who knows.

[mujun]

protip: don't buy the inferior console version

if you want to play mass effect on console the inferior one is the only option you have.

[Patryn]

What I'm kind of curious about is: what will the default decisions be? They'll have to address at least SOME of the choices you made in ME1 even if you don't load a savefile, after all.

My guesses?

- Wrex will be dead. I really think that you'll need to have a save file for him to be alive.

-I'm also going to guess that council will be alive. I don't think who you pick as ambassador matters (if you pay attention, I'm fairly certain it does the snapshot save before you pick who will be ambassador), so no guess there.

However the real question: Which will be dead: Kaiden or Ashley? I'm guessing Kaiden. I don't know why, I just am...unless they completely avoid the issue.

I think everything else won't be addressed unless you have a save file. Or am I crazy?

[Killthee]

What I'm kind of curious about is: what will the default decisions be? They'll have to address at least SOME of the choices you made in ME1 even if you don't load a savefile, after all. My guesses? - Wrex will be dead. I really think that you'll need to have a save file for him to be alive. -I'm also going to guess that council will be alive. I don't think who you pick as ambassador matters (if you pay attention, I'm fairly certain it does the snapshot save before you pick who will be ambassador), so no guess there. However the real question: Which will be dead: Kaiden or Ashley? I'm guessing Kaiden. I don't know why, I just am...unless they completely avoid the issue. I think everything else won't be addressed unless you have a save file. Or am I crazy?

It'll probably just give you a simple personality test when creating your character and extrapolate your choices from it if you don't have a ME save. Or they'll create scenarios in which your character is asked about the events in the first game allowing you to choose what you want. Or it'll just ask you in plain english if you let so and so die before the events in ME2 just like you're asked in the ME character create for your history (Earthborn, Colonist, Spacer; Sole Survivor, War Hero, Ruthless). Or it'll be a mix of all or some of the different methods I've mention. The one thing I'm pretty sure it won't do is just hand out a default ME character history profile that you're stuck with if you didn't play ME. Doing that would negatively impact gamers who are new to the series and I'm positive they want to avoid that.

[Zen]

What I'm kind of curious about is: what will the default decisions be? They'll have to address at least SOME of the choices you made in ME1 even if you don't load a savefile, after all. My guesses? - Wrex will be dead. I really think that you'll need to have a save file for him to be alive. -I'm also going to guess that council will be alive. I don't think who you pick as ambassador matters (if you pay attention, I'm fairly certain it does the snapshot save before you pick who will be ambassador), so no guess there. However the real question: Which will be dead: Kaiden or Ashley? I'm guessing Kaiden. I don't know why, I just am...unless they completely avoid the issue. I think everything else won't be addressed unless you have a save file. Or am I crazy?

On point number 2

- Shepard, the person you left to die on the planet was actually captured and survived! Rescue him/her!?

I'm super hyped for this game but I think I'll stay on a media blackout... oh god.

[shagg_187]

So i was watching G4, It said about gamespy leaking Mass Effect 2 info. I ran to gamespy and it linked to Evil avatar. Evil avatar linked to VG247. VG247 linked to this post

What a weird GAF> Internet > GAF trip indeed. Surprised G4 didn't say "NeoGAF leaked Mass Effect 2 details" instead of Gamespy.... Jerks.