• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Mass Effect 2 |OT2| The Den Of Xenophiles

EatChildren said:
I know all this, and Legion still likens the homeworld to a graveyard, and does mention something along the lines of not having a truly definitive reason for sticking around.

Same goes for the war. They know why the war started, but from their perspective its pointless. They were just defending themselves. The Quarian's aggression, to them, was misguided.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA99YLSHtb4 everyone should just watch this video and come to their own conclusions.
 
EatChildren said:
<3 Legion.
Yeah he is great, honestly I just wanted to link it because we were both giving our own interpretations rather than what the game actually gives you.

Edit: The Geth also have their own logical reasons as to why they decided to serve the reapers.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
The Heretics do, yeah. It was one of the few instances where the Geth collective couldn't come to a conclusion, and instead splintered.

Its a shame he came so late in the game. Lore wise, he's one of the most valuable members.
 
EatChildren said:
The Heretics do, yeah. It was one of the few instances where the Geth collective couldn't come to a conclusion, and instead splintered.

Its a shame he came so late in the game. Lore wise, he's one of the most valuable members.
I agree, pretty much one of the main reasons I don't think ME2 is complete waste plot wise.

I was looking for the explanation of heretics http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_l0Rd2szYU&feature=related

but the disagreement is rather simple

Heretics: we are all going to end up in the same place so we might as well get there now.
Geth: But the journey it self is important.
 

IoCaster

Member
EatChildren said:
The Heretics do, yeah. It was one of the few instances where the Geth collective couldn't come to a conclusion, and instead splintered.

Its a shame he came so late in the game. Lore wise, he's one of the most valuable members.

legion-tali.png


If you've got the PC version it's something that's easily rectified. He and Tali have got some dialogue for all of the recruitment missions. He doesn't have any for Horizon, but Tali does. As you can see I recruited both and did some loyalty missions before I picked up Garrus, Grunt or Jack. It's fun to play the game missions out of sequence. :)
 

Sai

Member
Lostconfused said:
Pretty sure its vas Normandy now.
*whoosh*

So I just found out how to use a save editor for the 360 version. Imma give my Soldier both AP and Shredder Ammo next time I play.
 
Salaadin said:
Not Tali. Talis sweet.
<3 Tali'Zorah nar Rayya vas Salaadin <3

Ok Im done.

Are you a spaceship, mister?
Tali <3



IoCaster said:
legion-tali.png


If you've got the PC version it's something that's easily rectified. He and Tali have got some dialogue for all of the recruitment missions. He doesn't have any for Horizon, but Tali does. As you can see I recruited both and did some loyalty missions before I picked up Garrus, Grunt or Jack. It's fun to play the game missions out of sequence. :)

Tutorial. This. Now.
Thank you very much!
 
Sai said:
*whoosh*

So I just found out how to use a save editor for the 360 version. Imma give my Soldier both AP and Shredder Ammo next time I play.
Inferno Ammo makes both of those kind of redundant.
 

Salaadin

Member
SpacePirate Ridley said:
Are you a spaceship, mister?
Tali <3

No, but she can board me anytime she wants!

On a more serious note, Im about 9 hours in and loving it. I initially thought Id be let down after reading some posts on gaf about the changes but I havent felt that way at all. Overall, its a very solid game.

Only complaints: Jack. What a disgusting creature. Seriously, whoever invented her needs to be shot. I did her loyalty mission last night and
she still hates me because I didnt taker her side in the argument with Miranda.
I cant even look at her. She just sits down there all alone. I so sometimes peek around the corner in hopes that she died but shes always there :(
 
Salaadin said:
No, but she can board me anytime she wants!

On a more serious note, Im about 9 hours in and loving it. I initially thought Id be let down after reading some posts on gaf about the changes but I havent felt that way at all. Overall, its a very solid game.

Only complaints: Jack. What a disgusting creature. Seriously, whoever invented her needs to be shot. I did her loyalty mission last night and
she still hates me because I didnt taker her side in the argument with Miranda.
I cant even look at her. She just sits down there all alone. I so sometimes peek around the corner in hopes that she died but shes always there :(

All this post.
I wanna be your friend :)
 

sam27368

Banned
Salaadin said:
No, but she can board me anytime she wants!

On a more serious note, Im about 9 hours in and loving it. I initially thought Id be let down after reading some posts on gaf about the changes but I havent felt that way at all. Overall, its a very solid game.

Only complaints: Jack. What a disgusting creature. Seriously, whoever invented her needs to be shot. I did her loyalty mission last night and
she still hates me because I didnt taker her side in the argument with Miranda.
I cant even look at her. She just sits down there all alone. I so sometimes peek around the corner in hopes that she died but shes always there :(

Haha it's true, Zaeed is just as bad.

I agree with a lot of the negative comments on GAF but they can be a little bit over the top in their execution at times. I mean it still made it to GOTY on here.
 
Just finished the game.

30 hours in. All loyal mission done. Missed Zaeed's one though.

I had a blast with this game. Stunning experience and outstanding writting. Too bad the last hour sucks so much.
 
X-Frame said:
Why do you say that?

I thought the last mission was pretty epic (not as much as ME1 though).

The entire writting is OFF.

You go for a suicide mission from hour 2 in the game or so. Then you spend the next 10 to 30 hours (depending your play) recruiting people for a suicide ride.

Then when you hit the Omega 4 relay, you go for one thing only: save your crew. How's that not totaly contradictory to what the game tells you from the begining ?

Then, Shepard start to make silly motivitional speech about making it as heroes... CONTRADICTION: you're here for a mission, not to be heroes...

I guess the action is great in that last part (aside from that last awful thing, being the last boss) and the general pressure make the sequence a bit epic (choosing right people for right tasks, being afraid to loose team, etc...), but it feels so off compared to the rest of the game...
 

IoCaster

Member
SpacePirate Ridley said:
Are you a spaceship, mister?
Tali <3





Tutorial. This. Now.
Thank you very much!

I originally posted this guide almost a year ago on the BioWare forum. I don't know that it needs to be spoiler tagged but I'll play it safe. Here's a direct link to the Gibbed Save Editor (GSE) utility.

This requires the PC version and the GSE to make the necessary changes to your save file. It's a pretty simple two step process with no hex editing involved.

Easy to follow instructions:

If you want to play the game with all of the squad members, then all you need to do is this...

1) Play through the beginning of the game until you finish the Freedoms Progress mission.

2) Once you're on the Normandy, save and exit the game. Use the Mass Effect 2 Gibbed Save Editor to open your save file. Navigate the tabs to Plot >Henchmen >Flags and put a check mark in the following boxes -

'Miranda in alternate appearance' (x)
'Legion acquired' (x)
'Legion is selectable' (x)

3) Save the file and close GSE. Start the game and load the save you just edited. Check your terminal and look at the squad screen. You should have Legion available for your squad. Check the galaxy map and you should see Illium and Haestrom available.

4) Recruit Tali, Thane and/or Samara in whatever order you prefer. Don't bother with any of the side quests on Illium while you're there. You can always come back for that stuff after Horizon. Also try to avoid any loyalty mission request dialogues until after you finish recruiting these three. I don't think it will screw anything up, but I haven't tested it to make sure.

5) Once you've got whatever squad members you want recruited, save and exit the game.

6) Open your save file with GSE again and navigate back to the Plot >Henchmen >Flags tab. Uncheck this box -

'Miranda in alternate appearance' ( )

7) Start your game and load the save file you just edited. The galaxy map should be reset to normal without Illium or Haestrom visible. They'll reappear after you do Horizon. You can now accept any loyalty mission requests as you play and that'll eventually put Tuchanka on the map for you as it would normally occur.

8) Play the game normally and continue recruiting Jack, Garrus, Mordin, Zaeed and Grunt. You'll be able to play through the game without having to do any more save file editing. Horizon, Collector Ship and the Reaper IFF missions will occur naturally and you get to take whoever you want with you. Just remember that Legion, Thane and Samara do not have any dialogue on Horizon. Also, I didn't take Legion with me on the IFF mission so I don't know if it would cause any problems. I did do his loyalty mission pretty early in the game and it didn't screw anything up.

Anyway, I had some fun using Legion and Tali for a bunch of recruitment missions early in the game and I heard some fresh dialogue along the way. Give it a shot if you're so inclined and have fun.

EDIT: Two things that aren't made clear in the tutorial. Any character listed as not having dialogue on one particular mission
(Horizon)
should not be brought along cause it will mess up the squad commentary system. It's probably a good idea to get
Mordin
first and then do the early recruitment tour. It helps to have a few upgrades before you hit some of the hot zones.
 

sam27368

Banned
UnluckyKate said:
The entire writting is OFF.

You go for a suicide mission from hour 2 in the game or so. Then you spend the next 10 to 30 hours (depending your play) recruiting people for a suicide ride.

Then when you hit the Omega 4 relay, you go for one thing only: save your crew. How's that not totaly contradictory to what the game tells you from the begining ?

Then, Shepard start to make silly motivitional speech about making it as heroes... CONTRADICTION: you're here for a mission, not to be heroes...

I guess the action is great in that last part (aside from that last awful thing, being the last boss) and the general pressure make the sequence a bit epic (choosing right people for right tasks, being afraid to loose team, etc...), but it feels so off compared to the rest of the game...

I disagree, the suicide mission was mainly used in marketing rather than the game itself. The reason it's called a suicide mission initially is because no one's ever made it back through the Omega 4 Relay. As the events precede in the game it becomes clear that the suicide mission is actually possible, that the enemies aren't invincible and that if Shepard commands a loyal team they actually have a chance of surviving it.

The mission can completely be a suicide mission if the game is rushed and the player doesn't care about the outcome, but that's not the point of the game.

Also, the motivational speech was executed quite well. I can think of a lot more films, games and television programs that made me cringe.

The last boss as a battle wasn't great, but was awesome to show how any why the Reapers recreate themselves.
 

sam27368

Banned
Salaadin said:
Is any of the DLC worth the price? Does it ever go on sale?
YES!
I hate DLC and think of it as useless but Shadow Broker and Overlord are incredible. Shadow Broker bridges the gap between ME2 and ME3 (and also concludes the Redemption comic story) and has two of the most epic levels ever in the ME universe so far and Overlords concluding chapter and music are stunning.
I can genuinely say if you don't get at least those two then you are missing out on an incredible experience.
Kasumi's DLC is also very well done and very well told, just not as epic as the other two.

p.s if you don't believe me, check the reviews and opinions from other gaffers
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Oh. My. GOD.
 
Deathcraze said:
Yeah make a new thread for it.

Not too sure what to make of this as I'm not particulary familiar with his work, but Jack Wall and others have done a good job with the series so far so I'm sad to see that end. Still, if it's more like Mass Effect's soundtrack, I'll no doubt be happy.

Mansell was the lead singer for Pop Will Eat Itself, and did the score for Requiem for a Dream. Lux Aeterna, from Requiem, has been reused in everything from the World Series to The Two Towers TV commercials. I'm sure you've heard it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clint_Mansell
 

scarybore

Member
distantmantra said:
Mansell was the lead singer for Pop Will Eat Itself, and did the score for Requiem for a Dream. Lux Aeterna, from Requiem, has been reused in everything from the World Series to The Two Towers TV commercials. I'm sure you've heard it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clint_Mansell

You would be amazed by how out of touch I am with music in general. :) I'm spamming youtube for material and so far I'm liking it, and it seems a lot of people are very positive about the news so I hope that's a good sign.
 

Salaadin

Member
Thanks for the DLC info guys, Ill check it out.

Scratch what I said about only being 9 hours in. I went on tonight and saw that I was actually at 24 hours. I had no idea I put that much into it already.

Anyways, I just beat it.
I had no idea who to pick to lead squads at the end and vowed not to cheat at it so I winged it. Legion did the Tech part, Miranda lead both fire squads, Jack did the biotic shield part, and Mordin escorted survivors. The rest of the time, I had Tali and Garrus on my team.

Everything went smoothly until the biotics part. Jack couldnt handle it and started to collapse at the end, Garrus stayed ahead to hold off the attackers while she got inside, and he was eaten by the swarmers. The bitch got me.

I really liked Garrus but I also like sticking with whatever my decisions lead to on my first time thru. I did it for Heavy Rain, DA:O, and The Witcher so Ill be doing it here as well. Sorry Garrus, RIP.

Everyone else lived. I thought I lost Tali too at the end but Shephard pulled the rubble from her and she was fine. Phew.

Mass Effect was my first ever Bioware game with DA:O being the second and both of those games ruled me. Bioware really has a knack for sucking you into the worlds they create and this carries right into ME2. Theyre awesome.
So yeah, great game. Loved pretty much every minute of it.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Make sure you buy Lair of the Shadow Broker. It's probably one of the best mission arcs out of both games. Its friggen brilliant.
 

Salaadin

Member
EatChildren said:
Make sure you buy Lair of the Shadow Broker. It's probably one of the best mission arcs out of both games. Its friggen brilliant.

Thats what I keep hearing. Itll be the first one I get.

Im going to hate myself for this but are there any surefire ways to make sure everyone lives at the end? The more I think about it, the more I hate knowing that Garrus died. That cant be.
 

IoCaster

Member
Salaadin said:
Thats what I keep hearing. Itll be the first one I get.

Im going to hate myself for this but are there any surefire ways to make sure everyone lives at the end? The more I think about it, the more I hate knowing that Garrus died. That cant be.

If Samara is loyal, use her for the Biotic shield instead of Jack. Don't use any non-loyal squad members for assigned roles or take them with you to the last fight with the T-Reaper. Leave any two of Grunt, Zaeed and/or Garrus to hold the line for you when you go to the last battle. They're the best defenders and you need them to keep the light weights like Kasumi, Jack, Tali and Mordin alive.

Let me add that you can essentially do it exactly the same way with just that one change for your Biotic shield and everyone should be good to go.
 

SlickVic

Member
Sorry if I missed this, but did they ever release the interactive comic for PC/360 or confirm it would be coming to those platforms? I remember hearing someone in the other thread say it would, but never heard anything after that.
 

Salaadin

Member
IoCaster said:
If Samara is loyal, use her for the Biotic shield instead of Jack. Don't use any non-loyal squad members for assigned roles or take them with you to the last fight with the T-Reaper. Leave any two of Grunt, Zaeed and/or Garrus to hold the line for you when you go to the last battle. They're the best defenders and you need them to keep the light weights like Kasumi, Jack, Tali and Mordin alive.

Let me add that you can essentially do it exactly the same way with just that one change for your Biotic shield and everyone should be good to go.

Really? Just change my biotic choice and thatll do it? I think Im going to do that then. I liked him too much.
 

IoCaster

Member
Salaadin said:
Really? Just change my biotic choice and thatll do it? I think Im going to do that then. I liked him too much.

From the way you described it, that was the only part that screwed you up. I'm going to assume that Jack wasn't loyal. Either because you didn't do her mission or you sided with Miranda during their confrontation. As long as you make the same choices on the SM with that one change you should get the result you want.
 
Stallion Free said:
So I downloaded the DLC costume pack the other day and I decided after playing a bit that Miranda is hotter in her loyalty costume.

I am sad.
Her loyalty costume is better ;) Out of the three, I do like Grunts new armor :)
 

kitzkozan

Member
EatChildren said:
Make sure you buy Lair of the Shadow Broker. It's probably one of the best mission arcs out of both games. Its friggen brilliant.

Lair of the shadow broker is giving me hope that Bioware is finally starting to get it from a gameplay perspective.Their first legit boss battle since they started their modern era with KOTOR. :p I really enjoy the music in the Overlord DLC is awesome.Especially this track.

I expect a bombastic final battle in ME3. :]
 

Stallion Free

Cock Encumbered
So I'm currently replaying ME1 and I want to slap the fuck out of the fans who bitched about the Mako planet exploration stuff. It's a fantastic part of ME1 (on PC) and the worlds are a real treat. If they had just swapped the Hammerhead in for the Mako and kept the planet exploration it would have been amazing.

Just cruisin' along in my jeep fuckin' up Geth bases does wonders for the immersion.
 
^^ agree.

Anyways, I finished it, and I want to get to lvl. 30. The thing is, if I start a new round, I'm going to have to make all the same choices again while I go through it, so I can export the same character into ME3. That is really lame :(
 

Salaadin

Member
I liked the planetary stuff in ME1 too but it did start to drag later on.
The ME2 planet stuff gets annoying much earlier though having to refuel and get more probes. I got the fuel and probe upgrades and it still annoyed me...just not as much. One can only enjoy shooting shit at a planet for so long before it gets boring.
 
Salaadin said:
I liked the planetary stuff in ME1 too but it did start to drag later on.
The ME2 planet stuff gets annoying much earlier though having to refuel and get more probes. I got the fuel and probe upgrades and it still annoyed me...just not as much. One can only enjoy shooting shit at a planet for so long before it gets boring.
I've played through almost seven times now and planet scanning still isn't boring.
 
sam27368 said:
YES!
I hate DLC and think of it as useless but Shadow Broker and Overlord are incredible. Shadow Broker bridges the gap between ME2 and ME3 (and also concludes the Redemption comic story) and has two of the most epic levels ever in the ME universe so far and Overlords concluding chapter and music are stunning.
I can genuinely say if you don't get at least those two then you are missing out on an incredible experience.
Kasumi's DLC is also very well done and very well told, just not as epic as the other two.

p.s if you don't believe me, check the reviews and opinions from other gaffers
Has Bioware or EA given any indication whether there's going to be a version for the 360 with the DLC on the disc (or a separate disc or whatever)?
 
I'm a Mako fan. The only real problem I had with the uncharted planet exploration was the ridiculous terrain you had to navigate on the majority of the planets. The beautiful sky boxes made up for that though.

Planet Scanning satisfies some weird base urge in my brain. I don't know why, but, even though I know I don't need all that many resources, I still strip mine the galaxy when I play. Thank god they sped it up, though.
 

John

Member
AvidNobody said:
^^ agree.

Anyways, I finished it, and I want to get to lvl. 30. The thing is, if I start a new round, I'm going to have to make all the same choices again while I go through it, so I can export the same character into ME3. That is really lame :(
can't you just store away your current save file for later use with me3?
 

K' Dash

Member
Thunder Monkey said:
I've played through almost seven times now and planet scanning still isn't boring.

I haven't played it a second time because of planet scaning, I LOVE the game, but fuck that shit.
 

LiK

Member
Stallion Free said:
So I'm currently replaying ME1 and I want to slap the fuck out of the fans who bitched about the Mako planet exploration stuff. It's a fantastic part of ME1 (on PC) and the worlds are a real treat. If they had just swapped the Hammerhead in for the Mako and kept the planet exploration it would have been amazing.

Just cruisin' along in my jeep fuckin' up Geth bases does wonders for the immersion.
Hell yea, join my Mako fan club!
 
Top Bottom