Really? Because I've seen a lot better.

I actually thought combat in the first game was pretty darn awful

I havent, the two characters i created were the best i've managed to create in any game, there were lots of choices in Oblivion but the character always looked butt ugly regardless of what you chose.

I think he's saying that the feel or the presentation of the combat was poor. Weapons seemed like they had no power or kick...enemies perhaps didn't react well to being shot...etc...

The combat worked and did everything it was supposed to, but it lacked that visceral quality that some games have.

The combat worked and did everything it was supposed to, but it lacked that visceral quality that some games have.

Some games? Don't you mean shooters? And that's what my point is all about. My fear is that if Bioware gives in to all of this whining about the combat system, the role playing elements are going to be overshadowed by all of these extra-added shooter enhancements.

I'm not saying Bioware can't pull it off, but it wouldn't be the first time a game suffered because it was trying be all things when it should have been focused like a laser on what it was originally supposed to be.

Some games? Don't you mean shooters?

My fear is that if Bioware gives in to all of this whining about the combat system, the role playing elements are going to be overshadowed by all of these extra-added shooter enhancements.

As for what I was saying about character creation, I still maintain that there's a severe lack of options. The characters you can create in Mass Effect look good better than those in Oblivion for example, but that's largely down to the modelling effects in both engines. In terms of actual choice, such as hair and facial hair, Oblivion's is much better.

Err... KORNdog didn't write that. I did!

Mass Effect fans, serious question. How many of you are under 18?

Mass Effect fans, serious question. How many of you are under 18?

BioWare’s Casey Hudson has a stark warning for you lot going to play Mass Effect 2: you decide the fate of Shepard and if Shepard goes down the one way road, there’s no way back. Simply put, if he dies, he stays dead.

When we say that Shepard can die in Mass Effect 2, it’s not something that happens at points in the middle of the game. Yes, you can “die” in gameplay as normal but that’s not what we’re talking about here. It’s not a “Game Over” screen. It’s not a gimmicky thing where you make a choice, “die”, and reload to continue to the “real” ending. When you get to the very end of the story in Mass Effect 2, you will get one of a wide variety of climactic and satisfying endings. Depending on how prepared you were, your ending may involve Shepard making the ultimate sacrifice to accomplish the mission.

Speaking in a brand new developer blog post, the project lead for ME2 also gave more infomation to the “suicide mission” been given to Shepard.

In Mass Effect 2, you (as Commander Shepard) are faced with what appears to be a suicide mission: taking a team into the heart of enemy territory where you shouldn’t have any chance of coming back alive. Your survival therefore is based on how well you’ve built a team – who you recruited, how well-equipped they are, and whether they’re loyal to you. Loyalty (and the things you’ll do to earn it) is a central part of the game, and it is critical to Shepard surviving the final mission.

Paragon / Renegade decisions affect a lot of things in the game – and will affect which how the game ends – but they are completely separate from your character’s readiness to survive the final mission.

Oh fucking snap.

Mass Effect fans, serious question. How many of you are under 18?

If you do die in the ending of Mass Effect 2, it will not come as a surprise, nor will it be random. It will be pretty obvious that you headed into the final mission knowing that Shepard probably wouldn’t make it out alive. Throughout the middle of the game you are building up information, resources, a team, and a ship that will be able to do the job, and although you can jump straight to the final mission at a certain point, you’ll have a good feel for whether you’re likely to survive it.

Part of what makes the final mission dangerous in a more profound way is that each squad member could potentially die a real, story-based death during that mission as well. You might have an ending where Shepard’s entire team survives, or where the entire mission is a bloodbath and everyone (including Shepard) is killed, or anything in between. And for all characters, death in Mass Effect 2 means they won’t show up in Mass Effect 3.

One big reason you’ll want to be alive after the ending is that after the credits roll, you are returned to the game world - ready to head back out for more adventure. You can complete unfinished missions, explore the galaxy, and download new adventures to play. But Mass Effect is a trilogy about Commander Shepard’s journey - if your Shepard dies in the end of Mass Effect 2, that’s the end of him / her. In that case, you can play Mass Effect 3 as “a” Shepard – just not “your” Shepard. As in real life, not being able to keep living is really the main down-side of death. So if you care about playing the next game with your character, make sure you survive this one.

If you die in the end but in retrospect you really wish you had lived, you can of course go back to a savegame from before you attempted the final mission. From there you can make the improvements required to survive and continue your character into the next game.

Importing your Mass Effect Savegame
First, you do not need to have played Mass Effect to enjoy Mass Effect 2. The introduction is designed to introduce new players to the story and universe, and to recap the situation for previous players.

If you have completed Mass Effect and you still have your savegames, you can view each playthrough you’ve completed, and choose the one you want to continue from. The Mass Effect savegame doesn’t just contain a couple of your big choices. It contains countless decisions you’ve made, both large and small. These things could each potentially carry forward and affect your story in Mass Effect 2. This has never been done before on this scale, and it means you’re actually continuing your own story from exactly where you left off.


Some have asked “I built a level 60 character with lots of loot in Mass Effect – will it all carry over to Mass Effect 2?” We will definitely provide benefits for those who put time into developing their character in Mass Effect. But to support all the improvements made in combat and inventory, the skills and items are pretty much completely redone for Mass Effect 2. So if you import a character from Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 will adapt the key assets of your character into starting benefits that work in the new system.