Mass Effect 2 - More Hands-on Previews

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Mass Effect 2 - More Hands-on Previews

Post by Shir'le E. Illios »

A couple of days ago I promised a Mass Effect 2 update, so here it is; one massive post with lots of Mass Effect 2 details. Some of these are a couple of weeks old; my apologies for that (blame Dragon Age: Origins taking up all my time :p ).

We’ll start with an article over on IGN titled “[url=http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/104/10425 ... l:3lb5gwk9]Details, Details, Details[/url:3lb5gwk9]”. This is an interview with ME2’s Project Director Casey Hudson about a new enemy group that BioWare has revealed, downloadable content and more. Here’s an excerpt:

[quote:3lb5gwk9][b:3lb5gwk9]IGN: Do the new aliens only harvest humans or is any alien race fair game?[/b:3lb5gwk9]

[b:3lb5gwk9]Casey Hudson:[/b:3lb5gwk9] The belief at the beginning of the game is that the Collectors, they are only going after humans and we believe they are working with the Reapers. They seem to have Reaper-based technology. That's why it's more of an intimate threat in Mass Effect 2. Whereas they previously were thought to be targeting all organic life, now they seem to have narrowed it down to humans for some reason. That's part of the mystery you're trying to figure out: Why humans?

[b:3lb5gwk9]IGN: Is there more of a level of infamy now for Shepard now that he has already made himself a star? Is that recognized in the game world around him?[/b:3lb5gwk9]

[b:3lb5gwk9]Casey Hudson:[/b:3lb5gwk9] It is. I actually think that's a pretty interesting part of Mass Effect 2 -- you are now known to the average person. You can go into a store and say to the shopkeeper, "Hey, what do you think about giving a discount to the Specter who fought for the Citadel?" And he'll say, "Wow, you're Commander Shepard! Yeah, OK!" All the way up to the bigger figures in the world know who you are and even the enemies.

That's part of the mystery. They do seem to be interested in humans, but in particular as a result of what you did in the first game, you are kind of peculiar to them. One character in particular you saw [in the trailer], Legion, he knows who you are and he's got your N7 armor over his shoulder. Things that you did in the first game definitely make you known in the galaxy and that's a different experience for sure versus the first game.[/quote:3lb5gwk9]
Those new enemies, the Collectors, also appear in one of the new videos that IGN has posted:

[center:3lb5gwk9][html]<div><b>Enemies of Mass Effect 2</b><br />
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<br /><br />
<b>Video Preview</b><br />
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<br /><br />
<b>Garrus</b><br />
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<br /><br />
<b>Omega Fight</b><br />
<object id='ignplayer' width='480' height='270' data='http://media.ign.com/ev/embed.swf' type='application/x-shockwave-flash'><param name='movie' value='http://media.ign.com/ev/embed.swf' /><param name='allowfullscreen' value='true' /><param name='allowscriptaccess' value='always' /><param name='bgcolor' value='#000000' /><param name='flashvars' value='vgroup=masseffect2_omegafight_gmp_110409&object=14235019'/></object></div>[/html][/center:3lb5gwk9]
As you can see in the movies, Garrus (companion from the first game) is back. And for that occassion IGN have an article, titled “[url=http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/104/10423 ... l:3lb5gwk9]The Return of Garrus[/url:3lb5gwk9]”, as well. Here’s an excerpt:

[quote:3lb5gwk9]The demo opened with the crew disembarking on Omega. This region was described as a kind of antithesis to the Citadel, and it's easy to see why. Flames dancing across the walls and garish techno music rocking the halls are your first introduction to this lawless colony built out of an asteroid. Anybody looking for a good time on the edge of moral boundaries -- or beyond them -- would do well to start their search here. Shepard needs information, naturally, so the first destination is a bar called Afterlife.[/quote:3lb5gwk9]
GameSpy too has a [url=http://uk.pc.gamespy.com/pc/mass-effect ... 3:3lb5gwk9]Hands-On Preview[/url:3lb5gwk9]. Here’s an excerpt:

[quote:3lb5gwk9]Were you in love with a particular weapon from Mass Effect, perhaps the shotguns or sniper rifles? Even the pistols could be remarkably effective, if you specced your character to specialize in them. Well, the same weapon types make the return in Mass Effect 2, accompanied by many more options for sci-fi gun nuts to drool over. This time around you have assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, submachine guns, heavy pistols, and heavy weapons, which replace grenades as your "gotta kill the big boss as fast as possible" option. Heavy weapons include grenade launchers, missile launchers, and other dangerous toys.[/quote:3lb5gwk9]
And EuroGamer has [url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mass- ... 1:3lb5gwk9]some Hands-On experience[/url:3lb5gwk9] as well. Here’s an excerpt from their article:

[quote:3lb5gwk9]Well, that's one fear you can put aside anyway: the lifts are long gone this time around, replaced with deeply stylish glowing wire-frame models of the building you're currently rocketing through and speedier loading times. But that still leaves Subject Zero, knocking about the interior of the Normandy, banging on endlessly about life's hardships, and probably sticking up Katy Perry tour posters in her sleeping quarters and doing that funny metaller hand gesture, which makes you look like you've just had your middle fingers bitten off by a horse.

What does BioWare's Dr Ray Muzyka make of all this fuss over his game's latest recruit? Unsurprisingly - as you might expect, the "Dr" part of Dr Ray Muzyka suggests the man is pretty smart - the company's co-founder and general manager has an interesting take on the whole thing, and rather than reach across the table and perform an unnecessary tracheotomy on me just for asking, he smiles, and answers at length: "I think it's interesting that she - and actually some of the other characters - provoke a really strong emotional response," he says.[/quote:3lb5gwk9]
And the next in the line of Hands-On articles comes from GameSpot with their [url=http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/masseffec ... s:3lb5gwk9]Updated Hands-On[/url:3lb5gwk9]. Here’s an excerpt:

[quote:3lb5gwk9]Our demo started off in an outside area on Omega, which is a mining colony that makes its debut in Mass Effect 2. Omega contrasts the clean look of Citadel, and the sky is filled with pollution, which gives the atmosphere a dark, reddish haze. The installation looks similar to Blade Runner and features fires burning from what looked like refineries, as well as brightly coloured neon billboards. Fans of the series will be pleased to know that Mass Effect 2 is looking great, and we're told the development team's aim is to have the game running at a constant 35 frames per second. In addition to the stunning new Omega colony, Shepard is looking impressive. We're not sure what's with the electronic pattern on the side of his face, but we know BioWare will reveal all when the time is right.[/quote:3lb5gwk9]
Next to the article they have a couple of video interviews as well, one with Dr. Greg Zeschuk and one with Adrien Cho:

[center:3lb5gwk9][html]<div><b>Interview with Dr. Greg Zeschuk</b><br />
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<br /><br />
<b>Interview with Adrien Cho</b><br />
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The final two movies come from GameTrailers. The first one shows The Illusive Man and the second one is GameTrailers TV with a strong of Mass Effect focus. Though there are a few other games in there as well, you can basically just skip them if you want (there are markers on the timeline [url=http://www.gametrailers.com/episode/gam ... 0:3lb5gwk9]on their website[/url:3lb5gwk9]; just fast-forward to just before the next one).

[center:3lb5gwk9][html]<div><b>Illusive Man Gameplay</b><br />
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<br /><br />
<b>GameTrailers TV</b><br />
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And that’s all for now. I’ll report more when I come across it. :)


[[url=http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/104/10425 ... l:3lb5gwk9]link[/url:3lb5gwk9]] to “Details, Details, Details” article at IGN.
[[url=http://uk.pc.ign.com/dor/objects/142350 ... t:3lb5gwk9]link[/url:3lb5gwk9]] to “Enemies of Mass Effect 2” video at IGN.
[[url=http://uk.pc.ign.com/dor/objects/142350 ... o:3lb5gwk9]link[/url:3lb5gwk9]] to “Video Preview” video at IGN.
[[url=http://uk.pc.ign.com/dor/objects/142350 ... s:3lb5gwk9]link[/url:3lb5gwk9]] to “Garrus” video at IGN.
[[url=http://uk.pc.ign.com/dor/objects/142350 ... k:3lb5gwk9]link[/url:3lb5gwk9]] to “Omega Fight” video at IGN.
[[url=http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/104/10423 ... l:3lb5gwk9]link[/url:3lb5gwk9]] to “The Return of Garrus” article at IGN.
[[url=http://uk.pc.gamespy.com/pc/mass-effect ... 3:3lb5gwk9]link[/url:3lb5gwk9]] to Hands-On Preview at GameSpy.
[[url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mass- ... 1:3lb5gwk9]link[/url:3lb5gwk9]] to Hands-On Preview at EuroGamer.
[[url=http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/masseffec ... s:3lb5gwk9]link[/url:3lb5gwk9]] to Updated Hands-On at GameSpot.
[[url=http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/starwarst ... 4:3lb5gwk9]link[/url:3lb5gwk9]] to video interview with Dr. Greg Zeschuk at GameSpot.
[[url=http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/masseffec ... 9:3lb5gwk9]link[/url:3lb5gwk9]] to video interview with Adrien Cho at GameSpot.
[[url=http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclu ... 0:3lb5gwk9]link[/url:3lb5gwk9]] to “Illusive Man Gameplay” video at GameTrailers.
[[url=http://www.gametrailers.com/episode/gam ... 0:3lb5gwk9]link[/url:3lb5gwk9]] to GameTrailers TV.


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Shir'le
F'sarn natha tithaur wun l'su'aco.

-= Shir'le E. Illios =-
Chosen of Eilistraee
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