According to an EA press release, the PS3 version will include "hours of bonus content

Due to the amount of games I already have on my watch list, I'm not sure if Ill get this or not.

Who knows though, the game does look pretty good.

Good to see I suppose. My guess would be a lot of the bonus content will be info on ME 1 since ME1 wasnt on a sony platform, a good amount of people will need an idea of the backstory/characters etc to help them get into this massive story.

Will make a lot of gamers happy though I'm sure.

I recently finished the PC version of this and, although it's a good game, I don't think it's worth all the hype it's been given.

The storyline is all rather obvious, despite the supposed decision engine, and the battle sequences were quite short and repetitive. Good back-story and environment though, the characters are all well thought out and have their own stories and agendas, just don't expect too much variation once you start recruiting your crew for the main mission.

Hows the alien sex?

Leonaaarrrrrrrdo337 wrote:

I recently finished the PC version of this and, although it's a good game, I don't think it's worth all the hype it's been given.

The storyline is all rather obvious, despite the supposed decision engine, and the battle sequences were quite short and repetitive. Good back-story and environment though, the characters are all well thought out and have their own stories and agendas, just don't expect too much variation once you start recruiting your crew for the main mission.

Eh, kind of just confirms my thoughts on waiting a while to pick this up. Maybe when its in the bargain bin in a few years Ill buy it.

Leonaaarrrrrrrdo337 wrote:

I recently finished the PC version of this and, although it's a good game, I don't think it's worth all the hype it's been given.

The storyline is all rather obvious, despite the supposed decision engine, and the battle sequences were quite short and repetitive. Good back-story and environment though, the characters are all well thought out and have their own stories and agendas, just don't expect too much variation once you start recruiting your crew for the main mission.

I played the 360 version, and I thought it was absolutely amazing

Hey, all. I just started up on this last night and I thought I'd give my thoughts on it so far, maybe give my impressions as I play. This will all be old news for the 360 players who got this last year, of course. (Glad to see they're planning to drop ME3 multiplatform at the same time.) Then again, it isn't quite the same experience...
See, X-box/PC players have the benefit of being able to play the first Mass Effect. Without that, I've been left floundering a bit. Bioware did provide a nice interactive comic for the PS3 version that sort of fills you in on the major events of the first game and even lets you make all the important decisions (around 5 or so). But as nice as this is, it can't convey everything you need from the first game to just dive right into the second. I spent a lot of time in the menus playing catch up, reading all the information on various species and tech that I would (I assume) have absorbed more naturally by playing through the first game.
So, here's a (somewhat fictitious) account of my time with ME2 so far.

1:00 PM: I rode home on my dinosaur from my well-paying job as President of Awesome having made a short detour to purchase ME2, only to find that my home had been secretly replaced with a better one while I was out. Stuff like that happens when you're the President of Awesome.
1:15-1:40 PM: Waited for the game to install.
1:40-2:15 PM: Waited for the included DLCs to finish downloading and install. Game comes with a code to download a DLC pack called Cerberus priced at $14.99 USD for free, also one of the armor sets, the Terminus Armor, is free by default.
2:15-2:20 PM: Play introductory level.

Spoiler:

2:20-2:35 PM: Sit through interactive comic, pressing a few times to literally decide the fate of the galaxy. Kind of annoying to make a few life or death decisions when I don't know anything about the people I'm letting die.
2:36: Attacked by a rampaging demon bent on my destruction.
2:38: Ripped out its spine so I could get back to playing ME2.
2:39: Arose from the dead.
2:40-3:05 PM: Fought my way out of a facility under attack. Getting used to the controls. Wish I could holster my weapon. Wish the screen didn't shake when I run. Minor, but still annoying.
3:05 PM: Safely away, I open the Codex to get a little more understanding of the universe and figure out what's going on.
3:05-4:10 PM: Played Mass-ive History Lesson 2 instead of the main game. Not kidding.
4:10 PM: Still a little lost, but getting my bearings. Found an Armor station that allowed me to fiddle with my armor settings. Not sure if it's because of having an EA account with Dragon Age save data, but I also note that I have an...interesting version of the Blood Dragon Armor from that game. Nice. Intent on a "pure" first playthrough, I forgo the shininess of that and the other two DLC armors and stick with the normal armor, though I do fiddle with it until it's in appropriately blue shades.
4:15 PM: I notice that there are several moments so far that are emphasized a bit as though they are epically significant, but without the first game's experiences I find them to be just (relatively) normal occurrences that are focused on a bit too long.
4:25 PM: Encountered the hacking mini-game. Simple enough to match the patterns. Question: Why is it a one-shot? That is, if you do mess up and click the wrong one, you're locked out. They have to know that if I want in that safe I'm just going to reload my a recent save. Why not just save time and let me try again. All the one-shot lockout does is make me save before every safe.


Okay, so that's not quite in the right order, and the times are fabricated (Though the amounts of time are not. Really spent an hour reading in the codex.), but that's still the basics of what I've got so far. I'll let you know more as go along. Despite the nit-picks here, I am enjoying it so far.

Really good review thus far Monkey!
I am interested in seeing what the big fuss about ME is all about, reading this first really helps me, can't wait to hear more!

Actually the 1st is just as bad as far as figuring out whats what. they just throw you in, no explanation of species or tech, or the government. in fact i'd say 1st one was more confusing. you start out on a ship full of humans and they go on about totally weird stuff that they dont give you any explaination for, then an alien of some sort comes in a chats with you with more nonsensical stuff. and it isn't until you get off the ship, onto the planet, beat it, get back on the ship, and head to the next (coursant type planet) that you get the proper codexes (text info you can check in pause menu) to get the info you need to make sense of it all

Guess this is just par for the course then. Ouch.
Thanks for the info though. Good to have a little perspective from someone who's played the first.

6:45 PM: Scolded some looters for looting. Proceeded to empty wall safe.

Doesnt the PS3 versionof of this use the Mass Effect 3 graphics engine ? .

If it does, I can't tell a difference. Of course, I've only got a standard definition TV, not one of those fancy HD ones. It's actually kinda funny. The more the try to make games look good on HDs, the worse they seem to look on older models.

?PM-1:00 AM: Spent a lot of time harvesting resources from many different planets. A lot of time. This involves a not particularly entertaining mini-game where you hold L2 and move the Right stick around until the sensors find something, then pressing R2. Woo. Hoo. It is my fault I did so much of it at once, but I really wanted to get it out of the way.

CobaltMonkey wrote:

Guess this is just par for the course then. Ouch.
Thanks for the info though. Good to have a little perspective from someone who's played the first.

6:45 PM: Scolded some looters for looting. Proceeded to empty wall safe.

Played this on PC... Didn't think it would transfer well to Ps3, TBH, with what games it would be going up against. That mining thing wears thin after a while, Monkey, best to save it for when you haven't enough time for a whole mission.

The trouble I had with the game was the obviousness of the format, you would travel somewhere, kill some bad guys, make a decision on something and get rewarded for your time with something back on the ship... Rinse repeat until the final level. Still a good game, still whiled away a great portion of my time completing it. I just wish it could have been more 'seamless' in it's storytelling.

CobaltMonkey wrote:

Guess this is just par for the course then. Ouch.
Thanks for the info though. Good to have a little perspective from someone who's played the first.

6:45 PM: Scolded some looters for looting. Proceeded to empty wall safe.

yea its a bit rough at 1st, but once you get familiar it is an interesting "world"

Mitchellkillgour wrote:

Doesnt the PS3 versionof of this use the Mass Effect 3 graphics engine ? .

How would it? Mass effect 3 is still being worked on. I dont think they have even shown so much as a screenshot




Also I like the ps3 versions make the big decisions at the beginning thing. if you havent played the 1st I understand why you wouldnt like it, but 2 is way better then 1, and I'd like to play through 1 again making different choices to see how they matter in 2, but honestly it would just take too much time and effort, and me1 isn't nearly as fun or refined as 2. its got frame rate issues, and is also doesnt have the refined shooter controls of 2. makes it hard to rely on shooting in the 1st

Leo_337 wrote:

The trouble I had with the game was the obviousness of the format, you would travel somewhere, kill some bad guys, make a decision on something and get rewarded for your time with something back on the ship... Rinse repeat until the final level. Still a good game, still whiled away a great portion of my time completing it. I just wish it could have been more 'seamless' in it's storytelling.

I keep comparing it to KotOR, and it keeps falling short. Keep in mind that I am in no way a big Star Wars fan. KotOR was really just that good. This feels kind of like a dumbed down version.
I agree that the mission type format is annoying and bad for immersion. Had to reenter the same place three times in a row because finishing a mission kicked me back to the ship. I still had stuff to do. Let me decide when it's time to go back.

So far it seems like the gaming experience I went into this looking for is here somewhere, but I have to dig for it because they wanted the game more accessible to casual players or shooter fans. As always, I'll reserve judgment for when I'm further into the game, but I will say that I hope Dragon Age 2 is more like the DA:O than this because I hear they're being made similar.

Trust me its all around (fighting mechanics wise) better off with the "more accessibility to shooter fans" then the 1st one was. It was so dreadful before.

Really, I'm fine with the combat controls being as they are. I'm well acquainted with stats based shooting from Fallout 3. Not much more annoying than lining up a shot perfectly only to have a bad roll say you missed.
No, the issue I take with combat so far is that it's becoming repetitive. Shoot, Hide, Shoot more, Hide, repeat for rest of game. The powers mix it up a bit, but mostly serve to reduce the time you spend hiding. They're just not as varied or interesting as I'm used to from this type of game.

As I see more and more of the world, I do find a good bit of draw towards it. I've found a few quest chains and side quests here and there, the stories of which are pretty entertaining, if a bit predictable.

nobody , check out IGNs review of the Ps3 version , proof on the new engine . They wanted to give Ps3 owners extras so it was worth the wait .

Mitchellkillgour wrote:

nobody , check out IGNs review of the Ps3 version , proof on the new engine . They wanted to give Ps3 owners extras so it was worth the wait .

Im not saying they dont have a new engine, but saying its the same as me3 is where Im saying it doesnt make any sense

It's the same one they intend to use for ME3. They call it the Mass Effect 3 engine.

I see your point nobody

Getting more entertained as I go along. Seeing some improvements too.
No longer getting kicked all the way back to the ship on finishing a mission, merely the hub area, and it does give you a 'wait, I wanna look around' option, though too often you're limited in how far back you can go. Fortunately, there are very few offshoots along the path so it's hard to miss anything. Of course, the downside is that this makes for largely linear levels. Doesn't help the repetitive feeling either.
But, as I mentioned before, the stories do seem to be getting more entertaining as I go along, the world(s) more fleshed out.
It's taken a while, but I've found some armor options. You can do it piece by piece, which does allow for better personalization of your Shepard. Previously I'd only seen options for full suits. This is a welcome change. I do kind of wish you could pick and choose among the pieces of the suits though.
Overall, while I'm still not fully on board, the game does have some winning qualities. I'm curious to see how I'll feel by the time I write my review.

Looking forward to reading that review monkey !