I agree 100%. When the main character doesn't talk- but EVERYBODY around them does, it makes the character feel hollow. In GTA3, in Kotor, Half Life, Fallout, Dragon Age... it just feels very jarring with each new dialogue. I understand WHY they thought it would be better to have them be silent- but I don't agree if they think it was successful.
@mikeer990: Mass Effect 2 = Monster Win. Of 2010.
And I love the scanning parts :) (it's pretty much what I do over coffee in the morning- that and reading the really cool planet descriptions beforehand).
No. 8 looks almost EXACTLY like my Jane Shepard. I have a scar on mine's left cheek though (that I put there- not from being brought back). I guess somebody else knows how to make an insanely hot Shepard too!
@Koda89: Well as it's YOUR arcade- I see why that would be a shitty thing to do... but why the hell would I buy Frogger if I already have Frogger? I'm not saying "why would they charge me?" I'm saying- Why would I buy it for the arcade if I already have it? Why would someone buy a game twice for any reason? If a buddy doesn't have Frogger... he can go buy it for HIS arcade. I can see why it's not fair (if this ends up being true) but I don't see the big deal...
@Tyber_Zann: umm. NO. Sorry- you're coming off like a flaming monster fanboy.
And if Games For Windows is the publisher- it's MS. So nothing lost. I am curious if Sony paid MS off for the content. I mean, MS didn't buy the rights to the content- they paid for the content to be MADE. So little screaming sonyphiles that have been crying for the past year about MS buying their exclusive 3rd party stuff- they paid for the PRODUCTION of this stuff. It's theirs. So if Sony is getting it, even if it is a year later- there has to be some money changing hands- from ??? to MS.
I don't get the issue- does it say that if you have Geometry Wars 2- that there will even be a Geometry Wars 2 as a possible game in the Arcade? Like... say I have Joust right now- will there even be a Joust available in the Arcade- or just new games? If it's just new games (like Combat for instance) then I was going to have to buy it anyway... what's the issue?
Well, the way they see it- if ONE person buys it... it pays for the development of the content... all they need is JUST ONE! I bet they're just shivering in their seats...waiting... hoping... "just one... just one...just one...please..."
@Laertus: Well, with all due respect (give what you take) I think the "trimming the fat" of micro managing is what makes this a BETTER RPG for the effort. I agree that way back in the day (Gold Box games) you got to equip a sword +1. Then in the days of Baldur's Gate, you got to equip Chain Mail +3 or Frost Sword +3 vs. Fire Elementals. That was all great. But in ME1 for instance- every single damn time you raided a shelf or body after combat... you had to sift through DOZENS of inventory items to see if it was ONE POINT better than what you had. In the end- that took away from the story, the pacing, the joy of seeing what comes next. Micromanaging kills RPG now-a-days because it's SO damn micro. I don't think ME2 dumbed down anything at all. By streamlining that down, it kept the pace of play up and you could keep moving through the story. When I pick up an RPG- I'm NOT playing it to sit in an inventory screen for 3 minutes every half hour to see what I picked up and if it's worth selling, scrapping or equipping (like ME1). Gears fans may not be looking at ME2 for any reason- but that doesn't seem so bad- it's not an FPS. And KOTOR fans should have NO problem coming over and dancing a jig when they see the power the 360 has over the old Xbox. Now- if you're talking about Star Wars only fans... nothing will compare to Kotor, but that's a pretty different story and doesn't have anything to do with the game we're talking about.
I am waste deep in the game- devoted to it like a child at this point (after the first one, the books, the comic, the podcasts) so I'm perhaps smitten with every pixel and every sound file I've heard so far. And I honestly can't think of a better game I've played this gen and holy crap on a cracker have I played a LOT of games- on all consoles- this generation. My second favorite would be Uncharted 2 as I felt like that was the perfect action adventure game this gen (not without flaws perhaps- but the closest I've ever seen). If you don't agree, that's fine... but you should let me (and everyone else who shares my opinion) what YOU think the best game this gen has been. I'm honestly curious- I can't think of anything that's beat ME2.
@hbk0, wtf_G: It never, ever, ever stops being an RPG. It never becomes a racing game. It never becomes an FPS. It never becomes a Flight Sim. What- are you saying because you're not swinging a sword, it's not an RPG? Are you saying because it's not in a little village and your character it's a 12 year old orphan that discovers he has a dragon for a dad and he must save the world and find love and friendship that it's not an RPG? Or are you saying that because it's main weapons of choice are guns, and you have to shoot those guns, it's not an RPG?
Every choice you make has an effect on the game. (RPG). Every conversation (of which there are THOUSANDS) has an effect on the game (RPG). Every location has a story- one that you can talk with a cast of hundreds to discover or not- at your choice (RPG). The STORY is the most important aspect of the game with character development the close second (RPG). Your characters abilities are governed on and off the battlefield by the choices you make and the stats you advance- as well as the equipment you buy and use (RPG).
So... I'm curious- what is it that YOU think makes a Role Playing Game?!?! And what part of any explanation your going to try to give does Mass Effect NOT fit into? Because if the only thing you've got is "You can't have a game that you have to shoot people and expect that to be an RPG..." then you haven't got anything at all.
*Big Smiles* Go play the game. Play it and don't read about it. It's the best RPG I've ever even heard of- and I've been playing RPG's on computers for over 20 years now. I think you'll love it. And if, by some freak event, you ARE playing it and you don't see that it's an RPG- you're either not playing it correctly or you're playing the best RPG that's ever been invented and you didn't realize it because you're having such an amazing time doing it.
@wtf_G: It's very much an RPG- moreso than anything else I've seen over 4 generations of gaming. I don't know if you think you were kidding or what, but it's not Gears of War at all- the shooting IS top notch- it feels like the FPS aspect was taken dead seriously, but the game is beyond a doubt an RPG from it's top to it's bottom.
And why would think to say I "apparently" haven't played many games this gen? Are you saying that there's a better RPG out there? Or a better Sci-Fi game? Or were you implying that ME1 was better than 2? (which would be... very sad).
I've been playing since 12:20 last night. That is, I played until 8 this morning, slept for about 3 hours and just had some lunch and am getting ready to dive back in.
Best. Game. This. Generation.
This sits on the very shiny trophy case next to Uncharted 2. This is the best RPG I've ever played, but beyond that, the best Sci-Fi game I've ever witnessed.
I'll be waiting on this one. I liked the Beta just fine, but it's just a much bigger MW2 with no offline stuff. If it were a few months farther down the road and I wasn't feeling MW2 anymore, I'd buy it. So maybe in a few months, like over the summer, I'll pick this one up.
Shiiiit. Wow- Go Zomb1es! Congrats! I actually laughed pretty hard at Avatar Drop. I didn't buy it... but I didn't hate it either...
Well, aside from the first link for the CE stuff- it's all down now. Even the other links. It just says that it's not available for dl from the web... so it's code or nothing. DAMN. The only thing I needed was the Inferno Armor for prebuying at Amazon.com- the other stuff I got with my EB CE that I've paid for. SHIT!
ME2 is paid for and sitting in the back room at Gamestop- waiting for their midnight opening. Anything else for the next month doesn't even click on my radar. Nothing. Next month, I've got Heavy Rain for my PS3 and the only reason I'm even thinking about it is because it's on the PS3 (meaning, because it's on a different system, it may get some play if the Xbox is being used by the Mrs. for Netflix or something). I thought about Blood Bowl, but then I found out it was a retail game and not an XBLA game. So... now it's only going to catch my love if it goes into the bargain bin for less than $20.
@milo128: ...awww... did you have a game you wanted to talk about but nobody wants to talk about it with you? ...aww.....
@Nawara_Ven: oh god- I hurt my ribs laughing at that one so hard...
