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[pilsner]

Fuck you tiny text.  Fuck you.

So uh, I like the end of game continuation dealio where you can ship your cabinmates and all, but what I really like is the booty call button you get installed for cuddling on demand.  On the one hand I'm sort of insulted that Bioware is catering to its customer base in such a base and manipulative manner, but on the other I love cuddles.  Damn you Bioware.

Now as for that giant mechano-skeleton boss, I'm pretty sure I fought him in one of the Contras.  Goddamn it those Reapers are everywhere.  Seriously that end boss was weak.  Like weaker than Dragon Age: Origins.

[kemon]

i do sort of like the idea that the reapers we've seen are based on their harvesting of the protheans.   but ya, giant skeleton boss, meh.

[Storm Rider]

The Human Reaper does indeed bear striking resemblance to a boss from Contra 3. It was a little goofy, but I found the concept of the Reapers reproducing in the form of the dominant species kind of intriguing. Also, that the Reapers determine that humanity is their greatest threat out of any of the sentient races pretty much wholly because of Shepard's actions in the first game.

I completed the game without even noticing the booty call button in my quarters, mostly I'm just pissed that my fish died while I was doing N7 missions. I was so careful with them up until that point, damn it.

As I mentioned in the other thread, I brought Miranda along with me to the final battle (she's really a great character in combat, the combination of Overload and Warp makes her useful against almost any enemy type), and she actually sided with me over the Illusive Man when I decided to blow up the base. Considering that she was both my romance option (I didn't like Jack and I have objections to Tali being a romance at all) and that she was so dyed-in-the-wool loyal to Cerberus at the beginning, I found it extremely gratifying that she resigned and cut off the Illusive Man herself before we got the hell outta dodge.

Along with that, other favorite moments were: Samara's and Tali's loyalty missions, pretty much everything about Mordin, Legion and the new dynamic he adds to the geth, the games salesman on the Citadel, and the turian getting friendzoned by the quarian woman on Illium. Oh, and the part where you play as Joker is pretty great as well.

[JD]

It kinda makes sense that the final boss is kinda lame. It is after all, not fully formed. It was just defending itself, not actively attacking you.

What I am trying to say is Shepard killed a giant robot baby.

[JD]

Also is there a cuddle option with jack? Also also where do you find that Shepard VI once you take it off of mouse?

[pilsner]

Dunno, never pursued a "relationship" with Jack (as opposed to easy, meaningless sex), but I'd be surprised if the intercom button didn't work for her.  As for the VI, I never found it, but that would be a great easter egg.

I completed the game without even noticing the booty call button in my quarters, mostly I'm just pissed that my fish died while I was doing N7 missions. I was so careful with them up until that point, damn it.

After you invite Kelly up to your room, she offers to feed the fish and none of them die for the rest of the game!   I was actually relieved.  Can't stand that tamogotchi shit.  Of course it's never divulged what you actually did with Kelly in your room, only that she hadn't been up so late since college.  Suspicious.  Also I don't think you get the intercom/booty call button until after the final mission.

The part where you play as Joker was awesome, even if it stole directly from a superior part of Call of Duty (the dying in nuclear radiation scene, crap, I got a little misty).

So I'm doing a Renegade run on Insane I think, if only to see what happens if you kill Samara in her loyalty mission.  Oh boy.

As for Mirinda's change of allegiance at the end, yeah I thought it was gratifying even though I dropped her as the relationship option since I was doing a paragon runthrough and Tali seemed more ... paragonal.  It was hilarious when her hard researched solution for the whole exposure to potentially fatal alergens problem turns out to be... antibiotics and herbal supplements.  Fuck, I could have told her that.  Kudos to the writers for never letting you see her face though, even when her mask is off.  You've got to admire that kind of integrity.

[Storm Rider]

I decided that my Paragon Shepard wouldn't romance Tali because he wouldn't have risked killing her just for sex.

And if you kill Samara, Morinth joins you for the rest of the game. Her loyalty power is basically AI Hacking for organics, apparently it can be extremely useful in certain parts of the game. Also, if you talk to her post-game, you can have sex with her and it kills you, which I think is pretty funny.

Also, do you have control over your character after the bomb hits in Call of Duty 4? I don't remember that part being particularly similar, although I haven't played that game in nearly 2 years now.

[KvP]

There's a "crawling around whilst expiring" part. Peculiarly humorous in light of the larger context of CoD, as are all of the series' attempts to take the war game out of the shallows.

[JD]

Dunno, never pursued a "relationship" with Jack (as opposed to easy, meaningless sex), but I'd be surprised if the intercom button didn't work for her.  As for the VI, I never found it, but that would be a great easter egg.

Wait yeah it is possible. It's really weird.

[BrilliantEraser]

Finished my first playthrough!

Imported my paragon soldier female Shepard, and pretty much stayed the same throughout ME2. Made it through the final part with only one casualty (Zaeed, so who cares?).  Also stayed faithful to Kaidan, even though he was kind of an emo ass and only made a cameo in the game.

Gonna make a new Shepard now, play as a sentinel, and totally bang Garrus.

What?

[kemon]

has anyone tried engineer and found it to be far more powerful than the other classes?   i've done soldier and adept all the way through and tried a couple other classes just through like a mission or two.  neither of those has the ability to knock enemies out of cover and tear apart both armor and shields so swiftly.   and with warp ammo bonus, barriers are nothing as well.  i know engineers weren't that popular in me1 but this is quite a big shift for them.   at this point it's the only class i am reasonably confident can get through insanity without a ridiculous amount of frustration.

[KvP]

So far I've found the most effective class to be the Sentinel, as they've sort of done a 180 from ME1 - they're now one of the tougher fighting classes.

[JD]

Yeah I never used medigel when I played sentinel.

[pilsner]

As much as I enjoyed Vanguard I would say it's probably the weakest class from an optimization perspective.  For instance, charge was almost completely useless throughout the final mission and on most of the boss fights.  Given that an optimized class for the PC will have significant bonus damages for (1) Unprotected; (2) Armor; (3) Shields; (4) Barriers, that would imply that the two best classes are Engineer with the Warp Ammo bonus, and Sentinel with the Shredder Ammo bonus.

[Melodic]

Just finished my Paragon Soldier Insanity playthrough, and am really glad there's a play-through option once you beat the game.

Side mission related question: who needs the fake ID you can take from Harkin in Garrus' loyalty mission?

[KvP]

I don't know if I finished that one, but on Illium there are a couple of characters who you can't fullly speak to but are selectable - they give one liners when interacted with. When you get a certain item however they become the receptors of the item. It's probably somebody out in the Citadel who you couldn't talk to before.

[pilsner]

Two asaris at the bottom of the stairwell from the 27th to the 26th floor who only appear some of the time.  It may have to do with who you have in your party, unconfirmed.  After checking every single person in the entire Citadel I cheated and checked the internet.

[Storm Rider]

You have to do Thane's loyalty mission first, and then there will be two asari on the Citadel who can't get through security. You can either give them the IDs or go argue with the customs lady. I suggest you do the latter, Shepard has some pretty funny dialogue if you do.

[Blue Kitty]

Has anyone done the Illium Terminal Hack quest from Liara?  I can't seem to find the terminal I need

[JD]

Yeah, when the beeping speeds up and the numbers go down you are heading in the right direction.

[KvP]

Playing through the game again, it's striking how incredibly small the main game is - the core path takes up about 25% of the game, if that, when we define "core path" as "missions not related to recruitment and NPC backstory". That so much of the game is recruitment (10 out of the, what, 13 or 14 main setpieces, leaving out loyalty missions) feels really weird. On my second playthrough I'm finding the party drama less fun, and I'm wanting more stuff with the collectors and Cerberus that's just not there.

It might just be that beating the game once has stripped it of the mystery and uncertainty of Illusive Man and Cerberus' role in the whole thing, which was a big draw for me the first time I played.

[pilsner]

The fuck, I thought I responded to this.  Anyway, yeah man I could not agree with you more.  I get the sense that a lot of this team is going to be on the last episode so hopefully they frontloaded the team gathering this time around and we're going to get a double helping of storyline on the next one.  The kotaku review emphasizing the degree to which the bioware rpgs are getting formulaic was dead on though.

What I was really surprised by was they're their decision not to reveal that the Illusive Man is an alien manipulating humanity for his own ends.  They gave him a number of lines referring to "you humans" or "you and humanity" and between that, the eyes, and the fact that he only interacts via projection I'd say this is pretty much definite.  Yet they're saving the reveal for the final episode.  Seems like a mistake.

[Melodic]

that is a ridiculous theory

[pilsner]

Say we make a little bet.  Loser has to post a photo of themselves in a dress.  And to specify, I'm betting that it will be revealed in the final chapter that the Illusive Man is not human but either an alien or a robot.  C'mon tough guy, let's see the courage of your convictions.

[Storm Rider]

I think you're wrong but I'm also extremely self-conscious. So fuck it.

[pilsner]

Not that I want to dissuade you from making the bet, but I'd feel bad if I didn't point out that the name "Illusive Man" is made up of two words: "Illusive" and "Man".

Main Entry: il·lu·sive
Pronunciation: \i-ˈlü-siv, -ziv\
Function: adjective
Date: 1606
: illusory
— il·lu·sive·ly adverb
— il·lu·sive·ness noun

Main Entry: 1man
Pronunciation: \ˈman, in compounds ˌman or mən\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural men \ˈmen, in compounds ˌmen or mən\
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English man, mon human being, male human; akin to Old High German man human being, Sanskrit manu
Date: before 12th century
1 a (1) : an individual human; especially : an adult male human (2) : a man belonging to a particular category (as by birth, residence, membership, or occupation) —usually used in combination <councilman> (3) : husband (4) : lover b : the human race : humankind c : a bipedal primate mammal (Homo sapiens) that is anatomically related to the great apes but distinguished especially by notable development of the brain with a resultant capacity for articulate speech and abstract reasoning, is usually considered to form a variable number of freely interbreeding races, and is the sole living representative of the hominid family; broadly : any living or extinct hominid d (1) : one possessing in high degree the qualities considered distinctive of manhood (2) obsolete : the quality or state of being manly : manliness e : fellow, chap —used as mode of familiar address f —used interjectionally to express intensity of feeling <man, what a game>

But hey, I could be wrong.  That could refer to him being a projection.  Or maybe it's a red herring, like communism!

You know I'm probably wrong.  Someone should really make that bet.

[KvP]

That was one thing that annoyed me before ME2's release - You'd think he'd be called the Elusive man, not the Illusive Man.

[Melodic]

Y'know, I'll take that bet. I'm not particularly sure I'm right, but I don't really care about showing up in a dress on the internet. We have ourselves a deal, sir.

[Alex C]

That was one thing that annoyed me before ME2's release - You'd think he'd be called the Elusive man, not the Illusive Man.

Yeah, Illusive makes sense too, but the fact of the matter is that you just don't hear people say illusive very damn often. It does seem ever so slightly pedantic when you consider that Elusive brings up many of the same connotations.

[pilsner]

It's almost as if the name was picked specifically to suggest something... but what??

[Alex C]

Nothin' I care about.

[JD]

Playing through the game again, it's striking how incredibly small the main game is - the core path takes up about 25% of the game, if that, when we define "core path" as "missions not related to recruitment and NPC backstory". That so much of the game is recruitment (10 out of the, what, 13 or 14 main setpieces, leaving out loyalty missions) feels really weird. On my second playthrough I'm finding the party drama less fun, and I'm wanting more stuff with the collectors and Cerberus that's just not there.

It might just be that beating the game once has stripped it of the mystery and uncertainty of Illusive Man and Cerberus' role in the whole thing, which was a big draw for me the first time I played.

I usually feel this about the middle game in a trilogy.

[KvP]

Yeah but the thing is, the Collectors are obviously out of the picture in ME3, and I'll be surprised if the Illusive Man shows up as the villain for more than one non-plot critical mission (that's assuming they can get Martin Sheen again) so we're left with not a whole lot.

[pilsner]

It would be great if the Illusive Man turns on you, hires another group, and you get some mirror team fights going.  I love mirror team fights.

[Blue Kitty]

Do you think they will add any new characters next game?  I think they will just have everyone together/anyone that's still alive.

[messeduplilkid]

I'm sure they will, but probably add the Dragon Age aspect of making sure you keep your allies happy and loyal. If you cross the line too many times they end up leaving, which might have consequences of hunting you down/ forming their own team to do it their way/ selling you out to people that already hate you. Ect.

[KvP]

I wouldn't be surprised if they made a number of ME2 party NPCs into non-party NPCs. It's what they did in the transition from BG1 to BG2.

My best guess is that Wrex probably won't be a party NPC, what with his being the new leader of the Kroges and all.

[pilsner]

Also, for some people's playthroughs, he's dead.

[KvP]

I don't know anybody who killed Wrex, is the thing. None of the people I've talked to on forums, at least, which is a good number of people. You have to avoid the "persuade / intimidate" options and it seems like a lot of people are conditioned by the metagame to always go for those.

[Dimmukane]

The default playthrough they give you (at least for Male Shepards...I'm unaware if gender or the Spacer/Ruthless decisions at the beginning have any effect on the events of the first game for players not importing saves) has Wrex dead. 

In any case, I killed Wrex in 3 of my 5 ME1 saves (although I only finished 2 by the time ME2 came out).

[Blue Kitty]

I don't think  I killed Wrex even in my renegades playthrough

[kemon]

i seem to remember that the only reason you would end up killing wrex was a) you just wanted to or b) you hadn't done his armor mission and not put enough points into charm/intim.   so basically a speed run through with a new character.   a replayed character would most likely have the persuasion to keep him alive and that's the save that most likely someone would carry forward to me2.

[Dimmukane]

I managed to not find out he had an armor mission until just now.  Oh, well, maybe I'll catch it on another playthrough.

[KvP]

So if anybody didn't see the "glimpse" of Illusive Dude at the end of the game I talked about awhile back, you can catch it here, around 1:47 to 1:50.

I figured Illusive Dude was in cahoots with the Collectors. I mean come on, the Collectors might have Prothean DNA, but everything that pointed to the Reapers could just as easily point to Cerberus - they had access to husks, they were always a few steps ahead of Shepard, and they're obviously ends-before-means people with unclear ends.

[pilsner]

Nice catch.  I don't think he's in cahoots, I think he's a third faction that's trying to acquire and use Reaper technology to take over the galaxy for his own purposes.

[Johnny C]

i skipped to 1:47-1:50 and didn't see shit

[Johnny C]

is it that weird little glitchy thing

before we base anything off that, keep in mind this game's got a bunch of weird graphic & audio bugs

[kemon]

ya, i took a closer look at it in game and i have a feeling that it's simply a bad graphical bug.  since shepard is about to have a conversation with him, i think it's part of the loading behind the scenes.  if you look at the rest of the wall there, it seems to be missing the framing that should be hiding mr illusive.

[KvP]

Actually the video isn't very high quality - First time I beat the game I had settings at their highest (with some unofficial AA pushing from my Nvidia card) and it was much, much clearer than that - I'm pretty sure it was the blue glowing eyes that tipped me off.

And I don't know what y'all are talking about re: bugs. Worst thing I've run into has been weird eyelash clipping. Maybe the 360 version has issues?

[pilsner]

I played the PC version and during a 40 hour playthrough encountered gamebreaking collision bugs about 4 times.  That being said, I never encountered a bug that could explain that image, and never encountered a bug during a cut scene.