Mass Effect 2

[Barla Von]

Also the performance on the pc version of Mass Effect is piss poor.

Yeah, if you're running the game on a piss poor rig, like any PC title. I've got the game running over 60fps and at 1050p.

For modern PC games you need a quad core based system. Period. Anything below and you're in a world of pain in terms of the latest games.

[yesteryeargames]

should one complete the 1st game before 2's out? does it carry over a save file or other features?

[Family Fry]

I believe you can carry over your save, there is a post about it here on bioware/mass effect forum.

http://meforums.bioware.com/viewtopic.html?topic=714128&forum=144

"you will be pleased when you see just how much carries over into Mass Effect 2."

I have not played it so didnt wanna spoiler it, just ordered myself a copy think it's about time I played through.
Zavvi have it on 360 for £7.95

http://www.zavvi.com/games/platforms/xbox-360/mass-effect/9950981.html

[smouty]

That's because you obviously haven't played the PC version!



You can't stand PC gaming...Ok, we get it. As for your how many people actually play on both PC and console rant, well gamers like myself do.

Errr rant?? I think that it what you are doing
I mentioned I hadn't played it on PC and was quite happy with the 360 version so should I spend upwards of 2k on a PC just to see if it is any better?
You are obviously devoted to your 'rig' and I hope you are both very happy together but can we get back on topic as 'my system is better' should be a bannable offence IMHO.

[Neon Ignition]

I've kept a cursory eye on this and I'm tempted to give it a try as so far it does look a lot more polished than the first game. I'm still fairly wary given I though ME successfully fused shooter and RPG mechanics and got by mainly on that fact rather than being particularly good at either element on its own but as the only 360 Exclusive on the near horizon I've got an eye on ME2 seems to be becoming more promising.

[angelox]

Totally understand why people will not want to pay a lot of money for a PC rig they have no use for - if you do a lot of graphic work and have a powerful PC anyway, its a great boon. As for the cost thats mentioned in this thread - 2k? Really? I've quite happily built a £650 rig 2 years ago that runs ME1 at max settings no problem...

Any news as to why I STILL can't pre-purchase ME2 on Steam yet? It's been sitting in the website for about a week now and no update...

[Adam Stone]

Cannot wait for this.

Adored Mass Effect (replaying it now in preparation) and have been staying away from any media for this sequel. Not too long to wait!

[smouty]

OK £2k might be an overkill but I got rid of the big PC years ago and now only have a laptop so would need everything including screens, not that I'm interested in this route though. I have a small C2D HTPC with a basic £30 GPU that cost about £600 to build which was the basis for my estimate.

[Spatial]

should one complete the 1st game before 2's out? does it carry over a save file or other features?

You should because otherwise you'll be denying yourself a big chunk of story (and a bloody great game to boot). However you don't have to.

If there's no save data for ME when you start ME2 then it will make some assumptions for the sake of the storyline.

There's something like 6 or 7 key choices in the game which will effect the second and while that doesn't sound like a lot, there were some pretty big, universe changing choices in there. Some were a bit more subtle but will make notable differences.

What I thought was pretty cool is that ME2 won't lock you into the same character as you played in number 1. So if you played through as the Soldier class, you can changed to something like Adept or Vanguard at the start of the second game, whilst still keeping the same decisions made in the first.

I think you can even take your characters appearance and tweak / redo it too. That sort of thing shows Bioware have really given some thought to this.

18 DAYS! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[C']

I think they said that there will be sort of an interview session at the start of the game that will ask about your recollection of certain events of the first game for anyone who doesn't have an ME1 save. Obviously, these have the potential to be a little spoilerish for anyone who hasn't played the first game (there are some particularly big decisions that can be made late in the game) so I'd definitely recommend people play through the first game before starting the sequel.

Other aspects, as Spatial says, the devs have made some assumptions.

Detailed here: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ho...thout-me1-save

[Barla Von]

I mentioned I hadn't played it on PC and was quite happy with the 360 version so should I spend upwards of 2k on a PC just to see if it is any better?

You are obviously devoted to your 'rig' and I hope you are both very happy together but can we get back on topic as 'my system is better' should be a bannable offence IMHO.

My point is, consoles only offer a baseline experience. Whereas on the PC the game is the best it can be.

I've got my PC hooked up to my LCD TV via HDMI to DVI cable with the GPU set to the native resolution of the TV (1080p or 720p). Also, for console type games i've got a 360 pad to play them...so it's all good.

In my own experience i couldn't go back to the console versions of titles like: Bioshock, Mass Effect, Oblivion, Left 4 Dead, Devil May Cry 4, Lost Planet, The Orange Box, Grid, Dead Space, Resident Evil 5, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Call of Duty 4, Borderlands, FarCry 2, and Fallout 3 (to name a few) after playing the PC versions...why would i.

Then there's PC exclusives like: Crysis (which is so over rated IMO), Dawn of War 2, Empire: Total War, The Witcher, Guild Wars, Titan Quest, Shattered Horizon, Windosil, The Void, Machinarium, A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, Penumbra, Cryostasis, etc, plus there's doujin games like SUGURI, GUNDEMONIUM to play also.

It's nothing to do with elitism or such, it's just that PC gamers want the best. And it doesn't need to cost an arm and a leg to get a good performance from those games mentioned above.

You can get a 8800GT GPU (w/ 512mb memory) for ?40 on Ebay. It's an excellent, modest card, that puts any console to shame. An example:

Bioshock: 1680x1050 with settings at full w/ Dx 10 settings on.

Dead Space: at 1680x1050 with settings at full.

Race Driver-Grid: at 1680x1050 with 2x Anti-Aliasing (game runs at 60fps).

The Orange Box: 1680x1050 with settings at full.

Left 4 Dead: 1680x1050 with settings at full.

Devil May Cry 4: 1440x900, 2x Anti-Aliasing, rest of the settings at High (game runs at 60fps).

Lost Planet: 1680x1050 with settings at full.

Crysis: 1280x800, 2x Anti-Aliasing, with the rest of the settings at Medium. (game runs at between 30/40fps).

Again, another bull**** conception that you need a 2K PC to play games at a decent rate.

Whatever rocks yer boat....but for me it's the PC. It's a great platform.

[sj33]

In the context of Mass Effect 2, surely people should play it on their format of choice? I basically agree that the PC offers many advantages even for playing console games, but some people are perfectly happy with what they have and just want to get on with the gaming. I don't see where this discussion is supposed to be going.

[Barla Von]

The first review of the game is written. OXM gave it a 9.5/10, they're official so you can take a point or two off that score.

Link

[Brad]

If you don't mind missing platform exclusives and your lifestyle allows for it then PC gaming can be great fun and rewarding I'm sure. Personally I'm not going to have a PC in my living room and I'm not going to play games in my study. one thing I like about consoles is that when I read a review I know that every time I'm reading a review of how that game will play for me, on my equipment.

EDIT: Let's keep the discussion on the game form now on.

[smouty]

Exactly. Put disc in console, play game

Again, another bull**** conception that you need a 2K PC to play games at a decent rate.

It was you that said you need a quad core at least mate. I admitted I didn't know how much they cost these days previously.