Network now...NEWS
Mass Effect 2 Heads to PC, Xbox 360
Electronic Arts-owned BioWare confirmed Tuesday that the RPG Mass Effect 2 will be hitting Xbox 360 and PC in "early 2010."
The announcement made no mention of a PS3 version of the game.
The original Mass Effect originally released as an Xbox 360 exclusive in November 2007, followed months later by a PC version in 2008.
Through 2007, Mass Effect on Xbox 360 had sold more than 1.6 million copies.
Few details about the sequel are available. BioWare only said that the second chapter in the planned trilogy will be "dark," and "an even greater peril" awaits.
BioWare CEO Dr. Ray Muzyka added, "We're going to surpass the extraordinary gaming experience we brought our fans in Mass Effect by delivering intensified combat and expanded weapon options as well as increased depth of planet exploration, all while delivering a powerful, emotionally engaging story.
"Mass Effect 2 is shaping up to be an unforgettable RPG-shooter experience, taking players on a non-stop roller-coaster ride filled with stunning plot twists and no-holds-barred action."
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I'm glad to hear news about Mass Effect 2 coming out in early 2010. Having just finished a second play through of ME, I was reminded of how well BioWare handled the storytelling and dialogue system, not to mention bucking the current downward trend and devising a conclusion to their game that actually felt satisfying while sitll leaving things open for a sequel.
For the sequel, they have a lot ot live up to and a laundry list of improvements to address. Personally, I never really got very sucked into the XP-skill progression system of the first game. Skill trees were largely flat, requiring few of those "hard choices" that makes character development so fun. With the scaled enemies, ME was never intended to be an XP grind-fest but it still would have benefited from a more layered character development system than simply assigning 1 or 2 skill points every level and maxing out all your key skills hours before the end-game.
ME's approach to "loot drops" was also a bit flawed. Mildly interesting for the first half of the campaign, the search for loot soon becomes pointless once the player had gained access to all the elite Spectre gear.
And it's been mentioned ad nauseum, but Mass Effect's biggest design sin was their cut-and-paste approach to all the side missions and the planet exploration. I realize it was probably a technical necessity but if they are limited in that way, I'd prefer they tone down the "open world" aspect for the world in the sequel and just concentrate on hand-crafting every single planet, mission and set piece.
Even with all this 20/20 hindsight complaining, I still love ME and have high expectations for #2.
what hard choices? Usually it does not matter which skill tree you use. Both are setup in such a way that you can win the game, the choice itself is irrelevant. If the skill trees were representative of different gaming styles, then at least you would get some replay value out of them, but nobody is going to replay the whole game just to see the other skill tree. Especially if the outcome of the game is the same. Who cares if I shoot lasers from a gun or lightning from my arse?
And what is that endgame supposed to be anyway? Opponents are custom tailored to your Level, which will decide the outcome of the battle more than anything. Your own skill is not required, let the numbers do the work in your favor, while micromanaging some stuff during pause. The endgame does not require you abandon relying on numerical superiority. The game does not force you to display superior tactic skills or superior joypad input performance.
That's exactly it, there were no hard choices when developing your Shepherd in Mass Effect. For example, playing as a Soldier, each experience level, you would just plunk the 2 or 3 points into your weapon of choice and maybe armor and that would be it. Rinse, repeat and very soon you'd have both stats maxed out. That was sort of a boring system so I am hoping they revamp it for the sequel. (Granted, using Soldiler as example isn't the best since I thought that class was very unbalanced. You could basically bully your way through all the fights with appreciation for the tactical depth)
As for the end game, I wasn't praising it for its challenge but more for what did it dramatically with the cinematics. It was exciting, conclusive yet still left things open for new episodes. Something as trivial as the end credits were also enjoyable thanks to the great song they played over it.
I dare say that any game with "character development" is like that. Which game developer is going to take the risk to include a choice at the 10h mark, that proves to be a dead end after 20h? Imagine yourself liking that choce after 15h and then getting all your work destroyed by the game saying "Haha, should not have done that. GAME OVER". (btw, do people even know these days what a Game Over screen looks like?)
Ultimately ALL choices have to be viable enough to complete the game. By doing that they are no longer real choices. They are different facets of the same thing. Different textures applied to the same construct.
Now if there were REALLY different ways of playing the game, then it would be better to freely alternate between them. You do not want to throw your character away after 25h because shooting everything has gotten boring and talking your way through all encounters is not an option. That is exactly the Fallout 3 problem. There are other ways of tackling stuff, but going back to the beginning is the most boring thing you can do.
I played mass effect a couple of times through (once choosing the renegade path and the other paragon)..if you like si-fi series like farscape and babylon5 then you will definitaly like the story and the characters.
The only thing i didnt really like about the game was when you went to a planet to do an optional assignment the rooms you enter lacked variety. Quite a few times i found it repeated the same room layout as one you had done before. Did anyone else find the same thing?
VERY happy to hear them announce the PC version up front. Maybe that means it'll be closer to a simultaneous release. Really liked the PC version of ME 1.
Game companies can have my mouse when they pry it from my cold, dead hand.
Mass Effect is one of my favorite games of all time. The story and overall plot are incredible. I was interested in the storyline and interacting with the cool sci-fi characters and alien races just as much as I was playing the actual game. I thought Mass Effect played great, too; it was almost like playing Gears of War, but controlling several characters at the same time like an RPG.
Mass Effect truly deserved all of the Action-RPG Game of the Year honors that it received.
Having games like Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 as console-exclusive games really is a great thing for the Xbox 360.
PC hardware really does require an expensive graphics card in order to get the same level of performance that the Xbox 360 does. Most people I know just don't have access to that. And there is no doubt that the sound in most people's living rooms is far better than the sound at their computer.
Console exclusives like these really are what has caused the Xbox 360 to be considered the best console available this generation.
How did this spam program got through?
athlete_gamer said:
PC hardware really does require an expensive graphics card in order to get the same level of performance that the Xbox 360 does.
What a bunch of gob shite. You can get a 8800GT GPU (w/ 512mb memory) for £50 on Ebay or £90 rrp . It's an excellent, modest card, that puts the 360/PS3 GPU 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 4x 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 bullshit conception that you need the best card in the world to play games at a decent rate.
And there goes the extremist. Who really cares about resolutions, most people will be just happy they can play the game. Resolution wars, another ego trip; mines bigger than yours.. people need to grow up!
Hillsy_ said:
And there goes the extremist.
Bollocks. I was merely pointing out that one doesn't need a £400 gpu to play PC games. A modest £50 GPU will do!
Extremist...fuck off!
I think his point was just that you don't have to have an expensive rig to run 360/PS3 quality graphics and just displayed those examples to counter Kim's BS.
Thank you. You hit my point right on the head!
You might also need a capable PC - say £500-1000 ball park, if you're clever.
Don't listen to this guy...he'll suck the intelligence out of you!
A very relevant contribution, as usual.
The woeful texture popping damn near ruined the game. For a game that relied on plot as much as it did, it was dangerous to snap the suspension of disbelief so often. Honestly, I thought I had a faulty copy!
Here’s hoping they fix that.
As for the PS3 thing, it was NEVER going to happen. Kudos to Microsoft for squeezing every last drop of free publicity out of that though.
It's an unfortunate side-effect of the Unreal 3 engine, I think. I'm looking forward to the game myself; hopefully it will run adequately on my PC.
Woot, Mass Effect 2!
As pc gamer I liked mass effect
Yes, as a PC gamer I too liked Mass Effect.
As a 2600 gamer, I was absolutely astonished and gobsmacked by Mass Effect.
I loved Mass Effect, actually. It managed an excellent story (something Bioware does with great skill) while implementing an engaging FPS experience. Granted the FPS wasn't supurb, you could easily find better shooters and the Assault Rifles were unbalanced (I've managed to implement certain skills in the best Assault rifle in the game that allows me to shoot non-stop at snipe accuracy indefinately) it is still ana amzing game, allowing the player to go down to the "Light side" and the "Dark side".
Exploring new worlds, even though you couldn't go far, was exciting. Though managing your vehicle was a bit of a pain.
I highly look forward to the second one, and improving the FPS experience is certainly a good start, along with improving the vehicle mechanics.
The first game had it's great sides, but it also had its short comings. Hopefully this will improve an already excellent game.
All good points. That being said, I'll be a very happy gamer if BioWare announces that there will not be any elevators in Mass Effect 2. :)
HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Too true! I have to agree with you on that one. Didn't like the elevators, and having the news of your latest actions pumped into the elevator didn't ease the journey in any way.
I rented the 360 version and didn't much like it. Performance left a lot to be desired. Bought it when it came out for PC, and was much happier with that version. Presumably, ME2 will also come out for 360 first. I'll just wait for PC this time.
I agree with Barla Von.
Mass Effect was a good idea, but didn't really turn out super well. Many bugs, undeveloped content and a bit repetitive gameplay.
BUT I think they realized that and Mass Effect 2 will probably be different. Cause honestly, Mass Effect was really not bad, just a bit unpolished, and the universe they came up with is still intact. I expect Mass Effect to be a bit like the Star Wars franchise, with lots of possible spawns. Hopefully they won't exploit it, cause frankly I enjoy the style in ME.
My 2 cents at least.
I've got the PC version of Mass Effect and it was OK, but just OK. The first title was seriously hyped and turned out to an average game. The second title has a lot to prove.
Gamers here keep going on about a PS3 version and being a PC gamer i don't really care for such a version.
Yet saying that, MS need Mass Effect 2 more than Sony as exclusives are thin on the ground for the 360 this year. The 2009 line-up for the 360 isn't great if one contrasts it with the PS3 line-up for 2009.
Of course the speculation was for naught.
Microsoft knew going into Mass Effect, that it was planned as a trilogy (which is probably half the reason they wanted the game in the first place - it was planned from the ground up as a franchise).
I don't know about anyone else, but it's just good business sense to license the whole trilogy up front, especially when you know it is going to be a trilogy in the first place.
It is extremely likely Microsoft has had this entire series locked in the bag exclusively from the very beginning. And just because EA buys out BioWare, does not absolve either company of the contractual agreements accepted by BioWare when they were an independent developer. Both EA and BioWare, are just as responsible now, as they were when the agreements were signed by in 2004 to deliver the entire trilogy to Microsoft.
So yes, all that speculation was pretty much for naught. The only reason they (Microsoft) have allowed/continue to allow there to be controversy if this thing is coming to PS3 or not, is that it is free publicity for the game - nothing like publicly rubbing Sony's face in it over a AAA series that Sony cannot have, especially when there are still literally tens of millions of PS2 owners who have not yet made the jump to a new console, and from the looks of things so far this gen, are more likely to jump to 360, than they are to PS3. Controversy like who is getting the Mass effect trilogy only strengthens the opinion of last-gen console users, they should get a 360 when they finally make the jump to new hardware. The only thing better than that, is being able to do it for free, because the story just can't stay out of the free press and off the blogs and forums.
So far this gen, Microsoft has established themselves as the master of viral marketing, but allowing a "controversy" to publicly rage on, even the conclusion is already foregone, even I have to admit, there is a certain sublime genius to that. Makes me want to love bees all over again.
Thanks for the post. I never thought of it this way. It would all depend on how the contract is worded concerning the development and distribution of all Mass Effect titles but I have no doubt Microsoft made well sure to do it up nice & airtight.
Excellent post. My thoughts exactly on the EA buyout. It couldn't just throw out agreements already made.
I thought it would be on PS3, but I'm fine with this being a a console exclusive on 360. If you want to play it, either wait for a PS3 version (If it ever comes) or buy a 360. It's that simple. No sense crying over spilled milk. The PC version will also be available so there are good choices.
I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up being a timed exclusive. Even if Bioware doesn't want to use up resources porting to PS3, EA could have one of their other studios that is more conversant with PS3 do it for them. Well, at least PS3-only owners have the PC option if their rig can handle it.
I applaud EA for apparently not forcing a PS3 port on Bioware. I'm not saying it may not happen, maybe it'll be a timed exclusive. Or maybe another team will handle the port and release both games on one disc with all the DLC as a special edition kind of thing down the line for PS3. I remember EA saying that they're not going to mess with Bioware and their projects (that may have been in their contract) when they announced the partnership.
Do any of you PS3 owners feel slighted that there possibly will be no Mass Effect for PS3?
Am I miffed? A little. However I have a PC that i'm sure will be more than capable of running it when it comes out. My annoyance is more centered around how the PS3 seems to be much more of a pain to develop for than 360.
How difficult the PS3 is to develop for really does depend on who you talk to and the lack of PS3 version probably has more to do with contractual issue than it does with development issues.
The beauty of owning both consoles if you can afford it. You never get caught up in the exclusives thing. I just bought Mass Effect used 2 days ago. So hopefully its more than worth the 15 bucks I spent on it....hehe
but really if you can pick up the other console used. I did that with the PS3 and no regrets as I get to play exlusives like Killzone 2.
I'm tellin you man, Mass Effect was one of my favorite 360 games, up there with Bioshock and Oblivion. I played through it 4-5 times (normally I NEVER play through games more than once, maybe twice). Some people say it's overrated but I thoroughly enjoyed it. After you get through the first 1-3 hours the game really picks up.
Ah well all that speculation was for nought then by the look of things. Shame really because problems aside its quite a capable RPG that I think many PS3 owners would have enjoyed.