Mass Effect 2 [Xbox 360/PC/PS3]

[mekanor]

Cerberus Armour and Shotgun out tomorrow

I take it you can't remove the helmet on that armor either?

haha you beat me to it

[Wools]

I completed the game last night and it took me just over 30 hours to see it through.

I was a Soldier and almost completely Paragon in all my actions and had some interesting good and bad results through what I chose.

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I went through Omega 4 and encountered the brilliant ship battle that I did not expect at all. After fooling around with Joker and getting back in control of Sheppard I was asked if I wanted to save my crew mates immediately. Being a very undeceive fellow, I elected to hold and in that time frame, all I done was check a few options to research and that my armour was ready, then I headed on out. Of course not knowing that would affect me later, it completely screwed up the chances of saving my crew!

The music, choices, feeling of doom and Terminator Exoskeleton Reaper was brilliant, and the sense of loss on every section with a teammate going down with no Metal Gear Solid style cut scene to let the characters mourn was fitting for the Mass Effect universe. I lost a few people in that fight and it all felt like we were pushing to destroy the Reaper base with no hope of coming back.

Once back in the Normandy with the game complete it feels very hollow, crew mates are gone from their desks, the Normandy is quiet and couples who were together are now single and talk about their loss. It actually made me feel like the mission was not worth it and made me pay for my decision to play around. It reinforces just how much I enjoy Western RPG's and the relationships you forge during the story do immerse you in the Developers world.

Spoilers over, I've been chatting to friends at work about it and I've decided to do what a few of them have already done before they started Mass Effect 2. I've purchased Mass Effect 1 again, as my Game Save was long gone, and I'm planning to do a full run through of the game so I can have a character with my choices and relationships except I'm going to be someone else rather than a Solider. Once I've completed that, I'm going to go for a full run through of Mass Effect 2 again as well.

Honestly, I'm really looking forward to reacquainting myself with the original and taking those choices over to the sequel so I can decide on a few changes I did not have first time through.

[JamesS]

New armour is out now. Just downloading it.

[rmoxon]

Completed this earlier....

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Thane died.. which Sadened me as I liked the characther, guess he wont be in ME 3, or well not for me at least and probabaly not as a playable characther for anyone. Grunt Jack and Legion all copped it too, I wasnt relaly attached to any of them becuase i hadnt done their loyalty missions, which is actuialy frustrating as although i'm continuing with the game I cant go and complete their missions now they are gone.

Despite my frustrations with the outcome of my mission the last section of the game was so utterly epic its hard not to still feel completly pumped from the experience of it all. I doubt i'll play through the whole thing again though, the mixture of time restrictions and the fact that I dont want a mix of playthroughs to taint my experience with the next game makes me feel like I should just stick with this singular playthrough and import it to the third game.

[arcnas]

you definately misss something if you dont do the loyalty missions, i didnt on my first playthrough which was a mistake, but they are well worth doing.

[Eight Rooks]

*final mission*

Wow. That many? You must have raced through the main game. Or made all the wrong choices on the home stretch, maybe.

My main problem on my second playthrough is

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although I know what affects what happens in the final mission I still cannot calm Miranda down this time around either - there's no way I'm ever taking her side over Jack's - so unless making her take a back seat keeps her safe and sound on the final run, she's going to bite it yet again. My friend said he got the Paragon points to talk her out of her huff, but I just can't seem to manage that.

Having played Jack's relationship thread to completion I like it - she's a much better character than she seemed as if she was going to be - but Christ, it's as underdeveloped in many ways as all the rest of them.

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She was living a lie! She thought it was her toughness keeping her alive when all along it was other people deciding things for her and she never had any control over what happened to her! That's not opinion, that's stating a fact! You'd have thought there would be something where - given she's actually opened up to someone who seems to care about her - she'd ask you at length how she's supposed to live with herself from now on. The idea someone who's cast themselves as the stereotypical badass should have to come to terms with the idea that their whole personality is built on hot air is the kind of maturity in character development videogames should have been dealing with ten years ago or more, and it's greatly frustrating Bioware just brush off an opportunity like that.

Sigh... oh, well. Kudos for making her a lot more than the walking joke she appeared to be, regardless.

[Anilones]

My main problem on my second playthrough is

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although I know what affects what happens in the final mission I still cannot calm Miranda down this time around either - there's no way I'm ever taking her side over Jack's - so unless making her take a back seat keeps her safe and sound on the final run, she's going to bite it yet again. My friend said he got the Paragon points to talk her out of her huff, but I just can't seem to manage that.

You need full (100%) Paragon or Renegade.

[Eight Rooks]

Full? I guess I did wonder, but... are you sure? Why that one full and not others? I was able to do it for

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Tali and Legion

both playthroughs, but couldn't get

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Jack and Miranda

happy. It's a bit daft if it's intentionally supposed to require perfect just because it's two women.

[ezee ryder]

Ah don't worry, Eight Rooks.

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Even if Miranda isn't loyal you can still pull her through the suicide mission if your loyalty is high enough and everyone else is loyal. I went into the suicide mission on my second playthrough with about 80&#37; of the Paragon bar full plus Miranda and Zaeed were not loyal, yet they both pulled through. Just make sure you don't give her any "job" in particular and take her with you as part of your team except during the final mission, just leave her behind with the others.

Hope that helps.

[Eight Rooks]

That's pretty much what I was going to try, yes. Cheers though. Bioshock 2's almost here on Steam, though, so I need to see if I hate that as much as you do.

[Riskbreaker]

Doing Jack's loyalty level and I have to say. Not enough rain in this game, the effect of it bouncing and dripping off the N7 armor is impressive. I want some DLC makes it rain everywhere

The Cerberus armor is a step in the right direction, at least I can barely make out Shep's face through the tinted visor.

[Wools]

That level was beautiful, I loved the dank and condensation around the site too, great atmosphere.

Regarding the armour.

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Have you found the Death Mask yet? Great looking but you can't see your face at all!

[rmoxon]

Wow. That many? You must have raced through the main game. Or made all the wrong choices on the home stretch, maybe.

I thought it had more to do with what upgrades you buy for your team than anything else?

I didnt buy any for the ones that died anyway.

[Eight Rooks]

I thought it had more to do with what upgrades you buy for your team than anything else?

I didnt buy any for the ones that died anyway.

It may have something to do with individual upgrades - I haven't read the FAQs for every detail - but it also has to do with

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sending loyal team members on the right jobs (tech in the pipes, strong biotic for the shield, soldier leading the fireteam etc) and the ship upgrades too (not getting both ship upgrades will automatically kill two random (?) team members on the flight in).

Plus depending on how fast you take the mission

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you can stop particular members of the crew from dying - Kelly your PA, the cook, so on - before you have time to open the pods near the end.

So by way of explanation, in my first playthrough,

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I sent Garrus through the pipes, so he bit it at the doors, and though I put Monica on the fireteam - strong soldier, right? - she wasn't loyal, so she went down too.

[Riskbreaker]

Regarding the armour.

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Have you found the Death Mask yet? Great looking but you can't see your face at all!

Not yet, I'll keep an eye out for it. Though I probably won't wear it