Mass Effect 2 Discussion - Fight for the Lost

I believe it's the beginning or at least in some part of the game where the normandy gets shot down and they think the crew or at least shepard is dead.
Again, that's why that asari chick in the trailer said "Shepard? I thought you were dead?"

Who knows?
 
I believe it was from Gameradar's mini podcast but that's just odd if that it ends the game (around 5:00 if you just want the ME2 thing).
http://www.gamesradar.com/f/e3-09-talkradar-e3-special-2/a-20090603203137554080
The third game may be different if this actually happens but that hasn't been officially confirmed though and I think its more speculation. Oh and that spoiler tag didn't work since I read your post in my gmail lol. >< If anything this throws the intensity meter in overdrive but I don't know if I love that or not. We'll see.

Gamesradar talks about it on their E309: Top 10 Things you need to know about today Wednesday edition and I don't know if it a spoiler but I'll put it in as one anyways.

But most important is the plot, which is even darker and more sinister; that means a lot considering the first game was about the extermination of all carbon-based life in the universe.
Commander Shepherd, your character from the first game, is not dead at the game’s start, but he/she probably will be by the end of it – you are, quite literally, not expected to survive the entire game.
Click to expand...
 
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Well it would make sense if making the "wrong decisions" during any special scenario ended your game right then and there since there's really no one to take your place. I could easily deal with it. I mean... who doesn't save frequently in a RPG?
 
[quote name='Lord_Kefka']Was there any word or questions asked about the possibility of another Limited Edition?[/QUOTE]

On the official forums they've said they will address that later. Basically, they're not ready to commit yet. I can't imagine them not doing it, though.
 
[quote name='DarkNessBear']No they didn't. EA did. I went to the Mass Effect 2 screening with no notion of what was to be shown and they showed the ending of the game.
The Normandy blows up and Shepard dies

I was super fucking pissed when they showed it. BUT, the game looks friggen incredible - best looking game ever. Oh and Dantes Inferno was surprisingly insanely good looking as well, I think it looks tons better then God of War 3.[/QUOTE]

probably just a cocktease. By the way the guy was saying it how...

you had to keep your team alive, but it's "possible" for Shepard to die (where another person would become the "main character")

I mean they spewed out lots of lofty expectations about how your first game would carry over in every way with every action... Just wonder if they'll actually do it since they left out some of their promises like interrupting dialogue from the first game. Wonder if I even have my mass effect 1 save still...
 
I was super ticked that EA didn't show anything new about it at their press conference Monday. The same trailer they showed had been out for about two weeks. They even showed it on Gametrailers TV E3 show the Thursday before E3 started!

I kind of wish they would do what Alpha Protocol has with its dialogue and put a timer on it so decisions are more instinct and true to the player rather than the player picking a certain one because of what it will result in.
 
I stated this in another thread:

They were being pretty secretive about it stating that, "This is the only time we are showing this footage". And he explained that it was one of the endings (where Shepard dies - sorry peeps!) but here is the deal about that:
1. He could just be pulling everyone's chain (lying his ass off) and that is actually the beginning. The only reason I thought it was the ending is because that is what he said.
2. (if it IS the ending) It kind of makes the game more enjoyable if you think about it. Because you have this impending doom over your head throughout the game that you COULD die (just like if you were really in the situation) and I am sure nobody wants their Shepard to die. So with that fate looming above your head, you will make smarter choices and maybe perform actions that result in better defense rather than emotional attachments. It helps you realize that this mission is really dangerous.

I was totally pissed coming out of it and seeing this, but those points have helped me to relax about the whole thing - and the game will kick ass no matter what.

@RANDOM POINT - I lied about not wearing gaming shirts, I'm sporting the Mass Effect 2 shirt I got from E3. It is totally awesome.
 
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Well for returning characters, I remember when talking about the game one of the people said that "If you
killed Urdnot Wrex in the first game, he won't be coming back
" which leads me to believe he's the one who's coming back. Not to mention he fits the bill for crazy mercenaries willing to go on a suicide mission.
 
I had been avoiding the spoiler tags too, but a combination of reading multiple web site coverages and DarknessBears post above killed that. You really should have spoiler tags man.

But!!! That may not be the "ending". Quote below and source.

Jumping ahead, we got to see a section in which a heavily damaged Normandy braced for another attack. As his crew evacuated, Shepard dashed back inside to save the ship’s pilot, Joker. At one point, blast doors open to reveal that the ship’s bridge has been completely exposed, with the hull torn away by enemy weapons. Joker’s still punching in commands, forcing Shepard to grab and carry Joker away from the scene. Just then, another huge blast completely destroys the ship, sending Shepard into space untethered and gasping for air as his reserves run out. Game over. As impressive as the ending was, it wasn’t even close to the end of the actual Mass Effect 2 story. Instead, it was just a sample of a fork that a player could discover by making the wrong decisions.

http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200906/N09.0603.2147.33445.htm
 
Yes exactly. Sorry I felt the need to spoil it for everyone. But, I'm pretty sure knowing this wont ruin the story (if you read my post). And like Lord_Kefka stated in his quote, the "ending" while beautiful and amazing, did not really end like you know a good story should end. It could very well be the beginning.

And (I'll say it again) if it is an ending. Who cares? It gives you a sense of impending doom and you now know you have the ability to completely die, so your actions will be much more thought out.
 
Official box art revealed:

1tm160.jpg




In my personal opinion, a little too cheesy. I liked ME1's art better.
 
The biggest problem with that art is that guy doesn't look like any of my Shepards. Bioware should set up some feature where it reads your save data and generates a custom cover PDF you can print out. It might not look as good as their prerendered art, but I bet they could come pretty close. Just imagine how awesome it would be to have your own Shepard right there on the box.

Also the woman in the back makes me optimistic that they'll have hair options that look less like plastic molds.
 
Do you think the Box Art was affected by now being owned by EA?! It's fine for me but yea I thought they'd go for a something a bit darker.
 
8/23
I updated the OP with multiple videos and pictures that have come out post-E3. There was a bit of a delay between the last two updates (sorry), but if there's anything I'm leaving out just let me know. For the sake of Mass Effect's outstanding storyline, I will not post any videos or information revealing dramatic spoilers (i.e. a new character being revealed is acceptable, multiple endings to the game or "twists" is not) in the OP and would appreciate them not being posted in the responses.

With that being said...god damn this game looks good! :cool:
 
This game is looking like its going to be awesome. The only thing that sucks for me is that I played Mass Effect when it launched and by now I have forgotten so much of the story and characters it is insane. I really don't want to play through it again (don't really have the spare time) so I guess maybe my best option will be to just fire it up before ME 2 hits and read through a good part of the index stuff.
 
[quote name='cgarb84']This game is looking like its going to be awesome. The only thing that sucks for me is that I played Mass Effect when it launched and by now I have forgotten so much of the story and characters it is insane. I really don't want to play through it again (don't really have the spare time) so I guess maybe my best option will be to just fire it up before ME 2 hits and read through a good part of the index stuff.[/QUOTE]

I've been thinking the exact same thing.
 
Judging from the Kotaku post on this, it looks to be a pretty solid shooter. Much improved from the original, can't wait.
 
[quote name='Tha Xecutioner']Goddamn that is one badass character.[/QUOTE]

My sentiments exactly though a large majority of Bioware forum posters can't stand her. Apparently to some she's just another example of how the company is "selling out" by catering to a bunch of immature teenagers. :roll:

If I didn't know any better I'd say most of them can't function without having something to constantly complain about. :bomb:
 
Subject Zero seems like she may have some good lines during the conversations and missions so I know she will be a part of my party my first playthrough.
 
[quote name='Ink.So.Well.']My sentiments exactly though a large majority of Bioware forum posters can't stand her. Apparently to some she's just another example of how the company is "selling out" by catering to a bunch of immature teenagers. :roll:

If I didn't know any better I'd say most of them can't function without having something to constantly complain about. :bomb:[/QUOTE]The idea that BioWare is "selling out" with the introduction of this character is beyond ridiculous. At one point, I know the marketing team who's responsible for these character videos said "don't just take these characters we show you at face value, because they are much more complex than we can show in a 2 minute video" and I agree with that.

I don't really get the comparison for Subject Zero to some sort of angsty/Hot Topic-style teen - maybe it's because of the pale skin and tattoos? Knowing that she is some sort of ex-biotic prisoner pretty much explains everything we've seen about her character: pale skin (how do you get sun when you're in a cage/cell/laboratory all the time?), tattoos (the somewhat cliche thing for any hard-ass inmate or member of a gang to have), buzzed hair (came from running with gangs - she did say she kept the haircut), and a hard-ass/violent attitude (Kaiden did say in Mass Effect that he had known a bunch of test subjects/prisoners in the past who did not react well with the testing mentally - her personality is probably a repercussion of that).

I don't think BioWare is using Subject Zero for the sole purpose of saying "Our game is edgy", but I do think that it is her role in the 10-person squad to show a little more of this mature/dark tone that we are expecting to see in Mass Effect 2. Out of the 10 person squad lineup, 6 have been revealed so far now
(Thane, Tali, Grunt, Miranda, Jacob, and Subject Zero)
and they've already shown a great amount of variety with these characters. It also seems like there aren't as many people (at least yet) who are on the border of Paragon/Renegade like in Mass Effect; that they are more polarized in their personalities.

Concerning the large group of BioWare forum posters (and people elsewhere, for that matter) who constantly complain after each character video - I don't pay them any bit of attention. To me, they are just trying to find a reason to not fall into the hype of this game, for one reason or another. That, or they are just scared of sequels.
 
The main issue I have with the boards is most of them come across as smug self-important fanatical fans who take EVERY. LITTLE. THING. literally at face value regardless of what was said by the devs e.g. the Zero situation. One of the devs clearly stated that while some of them might not be pleased with her that she was well written with a league more depth than what was shown in the video... yet all they hear is: "You said we wouldn't like her and you were right! Stop selling out to inbred wrasslin' watching Halo/GoW2 fans! You're alienating your old fanbase!"

It's borderline pathetic.

Dev post: "Hey guys. We've delivered on the darker more Empire Strikes Back sort of feel we were going for in the sequel so help drive it home here are a few vids showcasing some of the Renegade characters you can recruit for the suicide mission."

Typical angry paranoid fan response: "Why it is so one-sided? Where are all the Paragon characters! Why are you showing us one-dimensional cardboard brutish unsophisticated morons!? Why are you blatantly catering to different fan base? It's too dark! I hate it! You're selling out! What is my Paragon Shepard supposed to do? He'd/She'd NEVER recruit those circus animals so why are you FORCING us to now!?"

Or better yet...

Dev post: "We've listened to most of the complaints concerning combat so we took a step back and revamped it. We've taken a few elements from great shooters such as GoW 2 and it definitely has some of that feel to it. We've also added a regenerative health system so check it out. We're really exciting by how great of game this is shaping up to be so watch the video and tell us how feel about it!"

Typical angry paranoid fan response: "Are you mad? How dare you discard your old fan base like useless chaff turning our sacred game from a brilliant RPG with wonky shooter elements into a PURE SHOOTER CATERING TO MORONIC TEENAGERS! What's next? A shotgun that shoots out shotguns!? Where are all the RPG elements you said you were still working on? This video PROVES you were LYING ABOUT THAT TOO, HUH? What about the statistical side!? You can't have an RPG without stats! What's wrong with you morons? Do you understand we know more about creating an award winning game than you? Because you've SELFISHLY decided to add more shooter elements to THIS GAME it is NO LONGER AN RPG ANYMORE. DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? THEY'VE GOT TO BE SACRIFICING THE STORYLINE BY FOCUSING SO MUCH ON THE SHOOTER ASPECT AND KEEPING EVERYTHING A SECRET SO WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO HARSHLY CRITICIZE. Don't you understand that people? THIS IS WHERE IT STARTS. Why are you selling out Bioware!?"

Ugh. It's enough to make you want to vomit.
 
[quote name='Ink.So.Well.']...Ugh. It's enough to make you want to vomit.[/QUOTE]My favorite part (so far) of the fanaticism of these people saying BioWare is selling out is when they say "there's too many Renegade characters revealed". However, when you break down the six characters already revealed/confirmed for Mass Effect 2, you'll see that it's 4-2 in favor of Paragon characters (maybe even 3-3
depending on how you see Miranda
).
My 4-2 figure comes from:
Thane - Paragon. I think this because, even though he is a dreaded assassin, he seems to despise unnecessary violence and chaos.
Tali - Paragon. She's actually somewhat Renegade when it comes to the Geth, but she proved to be much more Paragon in Mass Effect.
Miranda - Paragon. If you've played Mass Effect: Galaxy or read up on it, you'd know that Miranda is a spy/informant from Cerberus that helps out the Alliance. Although she never really shows much of a Renegade side, you have to imagine that there is some characteristics of her that spout evil for her to be an effective spy.
Jacob - Paragon. I think he showed enough Paragon aspects in Mass Effect: Galaxy for this to be a no-brainer.
Grunt - Renegade. Keywords: Ruthless, Irrational, and Unpredictable.
"Subject Zero" - Renegade. There's absolutely no one more "extreme" than her. Renegade to the core, though I'm sure she has a bit of a softer side..maybe.

As much as I like Tali and the idea of having a merciless Krogan as an ally, already I'm seeing my ideal squad being Renegade Shepard, Thane, and "Subject Zero" :cool:
 
Indeed. The devs did state that Thane is more so in the gray area than the rest of the recruit-able roster. So if anything as of now it is pretty much balanced and yet they still steam over the fact these characters are in the universe they've convinced themselves of knowing so much about despite the fact they aren't working for the company. The same supportive optional cast who's presence alone somehow solidifies Bioware's catering to a less sophisticated audience instead of delivering on the promise of a darker plot in the sequel. Meh.
 
That looks like a bad atari 2600 box art. Atleast it reminds me of the box art from the games back then. I have to say I hate it and why is it EA now that is publishing it.

EDIT: That Blood Dragon Armor is it only by preordering that one game or do you think it can be downloaded later or found in game? Also I wonder how good it will be.
 
Can't wait for this game. ME1 is one of my favorite games of all time. I'm confident that they will do this game right, but I as well have some concern over that new female character. But, it was only a bit and I'm sure she'll have some interesting story.
 
[quote name='Ink.So.Well.']My sentiments exactly though a large majority of Bioware forum posters can't stand her. Apparently to some she's just another example of how the company is "selling out" by catering to a bunch of immature teenagers. :roll: [/QUOTE]

I don't post in the Bioware forums, so I'm not familiar with what the average Bioware fan is sayiing. For me the trailer was extremely off putting. I couldn't care less about Bioware "selling out". Bioware is already a hugely popular mass market developer, and there is nothing wrong with that.

[quote name='Tha Xecutioner'] I don't really get the comparison for Subject Zero to some sort of angsty/Hot Topic-style teen - maybe it's because of the pale skin and tattoos? Knowing that she is some sort of ex-biotic prisoner pretty much explains everything we've seen about her character: pale skin (how do you get sun when you're in a cage/cell/laboratory all the time?), tattoos (the somewhat cliche thing for any hard-ass inmate or member of a gang to have), buzzed hair (came from running with gangs - she did say she kept the haircut), and a hard-ass/violent attitude (Kaiden did say in Mass Effect that he had known a bunch of test subjects/prisoners in the past who did not react well with the testing mentally - her personality is probably a repercussion of that). [/QUOTE]

I think you're overstating the look of the character and understating her attitude. I don't care as much about the skin and tattoos, it's the cliched personality that concerns me.

[quote name='Tha Xecutioner'] I don't think BioWare is using Subject Zero for the sole purpose of saying "Our game is edgy", but I do think that it is her role in the 10-person squad to show a little more of this mature/dark tone that we are expecting to see in Mass Effect 2. Out of the 10 person squad lineup, 6 have been revealed so far now
(Thane, Tali, Grunt, Miranda, Jacob, and Subject Zero)
and they've already shown a great amount of variety with these characters. It also seems like there aren't as many people (at least yet) who are on the border of Paragon/Renegade like in Mass Effect; that they are more polarized in their personalities.[/QUOTE]

But that preview is neither edgy nor mature, if anything it gives the opposite impression. Snarkiness and baditude haven't been edgy since Duke Nukem, and it shouldn't be equated with anything resembling maturity.

Idle Thumbs this week did a pretty good job of summing up my thoughts on the trailer.
 
[quote name='msdmoney']I think you're overstating the look of the character and understating her attitude. I don't care as much about the skin and tattoos, it's the cliched personality that concerns me.[/QUOTE]How can I understate something that we have little/no details about? Our understanding of her personality is minuscule at best. That's the problem that was brought up with the references to the BioWare forums - the fact that people are instantly condemning her character based off a one and a half minute video. In reality, it'd take about 10-12 hours of gameplay to figure out her character completely; and by then she could be a completely different person than we make her out to be. Just because she comes into the mix with a "cliched personality" doesn't mean she's really like that. A handful of devs and marketing reps for this game have said over and over that you'd be selling yourself short if you insinuate too much from these videos.

But that preview is neither edgy nor mature, if anything it gives the opposite impression. Snarkiness and baditude haven't been edgy since Duke Nukem, and it shouldn't be equated with anything resembling maturity.

Idle Thumbs this week did a pretty good job of summing up my thoughts on the trailer.
Click to expand...
You're comparing a quick glimpse of her personality to every video game in history, when I'm saying that she serves as the edgy role in the Mass Effect universe. Also, by mature I meant that she fits into a category suited for a mature audience - i.e. not kids.

The guys on the Idle Thumbs podcast are the ones who explicitly stated that they are worried about buying Mass Effect 2 now because of that trailer. In other words, one character (out of the ten to choose from, who you don't even have to talk to or play alongside) is actually making them question the entire game as a whole and possibly keeping them from buying it. Failed logic all around.
 
Isn't that a cop out from the marketing department then? In general terms you are saying. "here is a preview of our game, but it might not be an accurate representation of our game." They release a preview intended to be a representation of a portion of the game that they are making, but we're supposed to not have any reaction to that? You can't make your message to the public that complicated.

I know what you meant by mature, it frustrates me that the most childish and immature of characters and stories gets labeled mature.

Just to be clear, I haven't dismissed the game entirely, just what I've seen of her character thus far concerns me.

Also I don't think it was just this trailer, when combined with the Dragon Age trailer it seems like either the marketing dept. or Bioware is showing a different direction.
 
[quote name='Ink.So.Well.']My sentiments exactly though a large majority of Bioware forum posters can't stand her. Apparently to some she's just another example of how the company is "selling out" by catering to a bunch of immature teenagers. :roll:

If I didn't know any better I'd say most of them can't function without having something to constantly complain about. :bomb:[/QUOTE]

I'm a member there, but most of the time I can't stand to post because everyone is so damned negative.
 
I'm guessing that they knew ahead of time that Subject Zero would elicit such a polar response from everyone, so saying something like "This preview isn't the full picture" would help ease the tension between the two sides of the debate.
 
[quote name='Anexanhume']I'm a member there, but most of the time I can't stand to post because everyone is so damned negative.[/QUOTE]

Heh! I thought so but I wasn't entirely sure. I'd post there as well (I'd mention my user name but the last thing I want to do is bring some of the type I had mentioned here to whine) but I too rarely post and whenever I do it is usually what most of their community would consider "low brow" or "irrelevant" comments. The collective opinion of their boards was indeed overwhelmingly negative until recently when Zero's introduction vid spawned a whole new legion of new posters labeled as "ultra bioware loyalists" :)roll:) who seem to enjoy giving most of them a hard time to which the naysayers play the victim and beg the mods to swing their ban hammer. Lately browsing through it all has been akin to carrying a wounded soldier through a damn war zone.

Although it's refreshing to see some balance being forcibly injected in the community I can't help but now feel a slight tinge of embarrassment for being a huge fan of this game. Especially after all the ridiculousness I've seen and read from the worst of them because most of the new jacks are just as high strung. Many seem perfectly content remaining absolutely oblivious to just how much of their smug intolerance and superiority complexes are strengthening the most common stereotypes about gamers in general.

It wouldn't surprise me if the company did decide to cater to the mainstream in the future because of the backlash of their hardcore fans and their near unobtainable standards. They don't seem to care or even realize though their opinions are taken into consideration that they won't just up and decide to cut a character in the development stages most of the devs feel is a solid fit for their vision. They just continue to wage war wishing upon star after star that their passionate tirades will ironically prevent what they've already convinced themselves is happening now. Ugh. All of this constant bitching may very well end up ruining it for the rest of us that just want to play great games not meticulously speculate, berate, dictate or otherwise undermine the development of them.

...Meh. If I keep droning on about this I'll end up turning into what I oh so loathe with a passion so I'll just live and let live. Worst comes to worst I have no qualms restricting use of the boards to news and vid updates only.

Anyway... given what we know now concerning the current roster of available characters has anyone figured out who is going to comprise their intergalactic suicide squad?

Better yet is anyone thinking of corrupting their canon Shepard (like I am) in the sequel?

With the introduction of Zero I plan to twist my Paragon into a two timing asshole in hopes of an eventual biotic cat fight between Zero and Liara. Should be hilarious to say the very least. I also plan on de-clawing my ice queen of a Renegade female Shepard into a more tolerable beacon of light and righteousness, haha.
 
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