You mean you're basing your opinion on the video shown at E3? The video which was intended to show off the game's improved combat features?

Don't get me wrong, Bioware is trying to appeal to shooter fans as well - hence the increased number of weapons and combat-related gameplay features - but don't kid yourself. This is still primarily an RPG game.

Yeah Hacket is a very shady character.

yeah, i just wished they showed more of that side of the game. i mean, end of the day, this isnt going to be able to contend with full on shooters, becasue it has the whole RPG side to worry about, just like the first game.

showing so much shooting at E3 kinda put me off the game a little. i still desperately want to play it for the story and characters. but i think less emphesis on their admitidly better, yet still kinda half assed shooting mechanics would have been better.

the shooting was never why i bought the game in the first palce. and it still wont be. so seeing a lot of it didnt really do anything for me at all. i'd have been happier with 30 minutes of dynamic, choice based conversations. but maybe thats just me.

We all know the rpg/story side will be excellent as do Bioware which is why they showed the improved combat section whilst at the same time showing the game tech improvments IE: no texture popin no framrate dips, improved loading ect.., this game arrives in 2010, there will be a whole load of info from now till then to please everybody, ME1 scored very high in review scores and only the tech and combat really let it down so it makes sense that out of the door Bioware would show the vast improvments in that area first.

I actually thought combat in the first game was pretty darn awful. The guns had absolutely no feeling or 'kick' to them at all; it didn't seem like your character was actually firing a gun. The command system, the biotic powers and other things were pretty cool, but the base of the combat was so mediocre that it brought everything else down.

Luckily, it does look like the sequel is completely fixing all of that. Watch the live demonstration and you'll see how improved the feel of the weapon is - and that's without even playing it. While I also wished that they had showcased more of the RPG aspect, Bioware's convinced me that the game will be a great shooter as well as a great RPG.

Yeah pretty much all the interviews make mention of improved RPG elements and an even greater story, so i have no fears there at all.

I've heard all I need to hear to know that the RPG elements are improving on the same scale or greater than anything we've seen in regards to the flow of the combat.

Another thing I'd like to see in ME2 is a wider array of biotic powers. The ones in place already are really good but i think theres so much more that could be done and itd be nice to create some truly devastating powers for the biotic classes.

In the first game it seemed to me that there was a clear-cut "best" class (being the soldier), because of health regen and heavy armor + superior weapon skills. And while he/she lacked biotic skills, you being able to control your squad mates made it easy to throw an enemy every once in awhile if you really felt like it.

To get the point.. I think a new class or two could be added maybe a class that focused solely on healing (priest-eque) or a mage type class that had a whole new set of powers never before seen in ME, just to mix it up and add some new variety to how you set up your squad. Also buff the other classes a little, they truly felt underpowered compared to the soldier when I was playing.

I definitely wouldn't say there was a clear cut superior class because there are so many crucial aspects and positives to a class that ensure that will never be the case.

For me, it was Vanguard all the way. Perfect combination of weapon specializations and biotic powers.

All I'd be missing from soldier class is the ability to properly use and master weapons like sniper rifle/assault rifle and I wouldn't have the ability to ever use heavy armor, which again, was no problem at all for me. Lack of those things are easily made up for tenfold with the Vanguard class :)

While as soldier you could easily issue orders to teammates to perform certain biotic abilities that would help out, but there were many cases in which I thought having that extra biotic user who could use specific abilities, myself, made all the difference in the world. This is especially more vital when your teammates are in situations where their abilities are still in cooldown phase. The way I think about solid biotic abilities is, I sure as hell don't like when an enemy catches me with one. They are in every sense of the word a real game changer.

The medical interfaces that could be applied to your armor pretty much more than made up for health regen and in most cases actual health regen wouldn't be necessary because I'd never end up in so much trouble that I would need my health regenerated due to strong shield modulators or quick shield regeneration. And whatever number of med kits I had for healing would be more than sufficient when bolstered by all the other things i had going for my character.

This was another huge way in which Vanguard came in handy. I was a beast with the shotgun and the pistol naturally allowing me to more than hold my own against any weapon, but then my biotic powers were also so perfectly appropriate for augmenting my offensive abilities when I needed it or even just augmenting my defensive capabilities. Best of both worlds and if I had just finished using certain abilities? No problem, use adrenaline boost and all my abilities currently in cooldown mode are immediately usable again for even more devastation.

Then I can't even forget my amazing biotic barrier, I could soak up a large quantity of damage giving me the time or space to get done what I needed to get done and I'd be completely safe from all matters of damage for quite sometime.

So, with that example, while the Soldier class has some awesome bonuses, Vanguard bolstered by Nemesis class specialization makes you dangerous in ways that definitely hold a valid argument for clear-cut best class. That's the beauty of Mass Effect I think and things are no doubt set to become even better in the second game :)

Eh, I actually thought the Vanguard class was the best. I've played through the game twice now; the first time (my 'main' character) was with the Soldier class, while the second time I played through with the Vanguard class. I found that the second playthrough was much better in terms of combat, as the combination of guns and biotics meant that enemies were brushed aside a little more effectively - this combination came in very handy when facing Benezia.

The Soldier class was good in terms of solely enhancing your combat abilities, but the Vanguard class meant that you were more equipped to deal with various situations more effectively.

EDIT: Oh, I see Optimus thinks the same!

Yep i love Vangaurd, but i cant wait to hear what other Biotic powers we will get.

Okay I have to go ahead and just disagree with you on this blmbox.

About 3/4th's of the way through the game you get access to some monster ammo in the form of Polonium, Inferno and my personal favorite........High Explosive Rounds.

A IX or X Shot Gun equipped with High Explosive Rounds not only has kick, but is capable of stopping a charging Krogan or Geth Prime cold and turning them into ash flames. It practically operates like a damn cannon and knocks several opponents caught in the blast radius off of their feet.

I loved the combat, it didn't interfere with what ME1 is.........an RPG. Sure it could use a few minor tweaks, but I don't want it operating like a full fledged shooter.

The combat works, Bioware should leave it alone.

But the normal weapons - which you spend most of the game using - don't have any 'kick' to them, which is the point I was making in the first place. Even the ammo and weapon upgrades that you get later on in the game don't have much of a feel to them - just compare it to any shooter and you'll see how wide the gap is.

I know that Mass Effect is an RPG first and foremost, but that doesn't mean the combat should be acceptable at best. Why not have amazing combat intergrated into an amazing RPG experience? It looks as though this is what Bioware's aiming for in the sequel.

Got to agree with GrimThorne, even my pistol towards the middle of the game had a real kick to it and the shooting seemed to get tighter and tighter (maybe due to the dice rolling number crunching in the background?)

While i would agree the combat "works" it could certainly use some improving and I can tell they have done that with ME2 based on what I've seen. An improved cover system was my biggest gripe and it looks like thats been handled well.

Yea, pretty much everything in Mass Effect 2 has been improved :D

They've even addressed the elevators :)

Those rides were a real hoot. Listening to someone trying to make small talk with Wrex in the elevator was always hilarious. lol!

Well it looks like all of you who didn't like ME1's combat are going to get what you want, I just hope Bioware doesn't overdo it.

There's a kind of strategic system to ME1's combat that I think went a little under-appreciated. I hope it isn't too radically changed because I enjoyed it.

I don't think you get what I'm saying though. I don't want Mass Effect's combat system to be completely transformed so that the way the game's played changes; I just want there to be significant improvements to what there already is, which is where my gripe about the lack of 'feel' to the weapons comes in.

Have they mentioned anything about improving the character creation?

Hmm.. not sure, but I assume there will be improvements.

Nothing yet on character creation, but seeing as its pretty much the best character creator of any RPG games out there, any improvements will just make it even better.

Really? Because I've seen a lot better.

You have? on a console game?

I think Mass Effect's character creation is actually quite disappointing - especially when compared to the promising character creation demo I saw prior to the game's release. I think that the options for your character's facial structure is actually pretty good in terms of what it allows you to do, but that's pretty much cancelled out by the severe lack of hair and facial hair options. Just compare the options in Mass Effect compared to something like Oblivion, and it's clear how few options there are.

I can't really complain though. My character looks pretty awesome.