Mass Effect 2 reviews will outperform those of the original, BioWare's predicted.
Speaking to CVG in a just-published Mass Effect 2 interview, producer Adrien Cho said he was optimistic over the review scores the RPG sequel will garner in the coming month.
"Yeah [I'm optimistic]. Not in an egotistical way but from the sheer joy of craftsman knowing that the hard work that we put into it really shows through," he said. "We're just so sure that we've made a solid, good product."
Elsewhere in our interview, Cho calls the sequel "the best game that has come out of our studio in the history of BioWare." The hype is on.
It's just jealousy. It'll be a mega game. In fact, it'll take something very special to snatch GOTY 2010 away from Mass Effect 2. I don't even think that Halo Reach will, to be honest.
I'm getting a bit fed up with all these cynical, childish comments nowadays.
I'm going to wait for the possible PS3 versions as I am hoping that they will improve the first games flaws - and I don't mean that in a fanboy-ish way. I just think that they could possibly bring the quality of ME1 up to ME2 standard. That would be awesome.
Dragon Age on the PS3 is awesome. A big surprise to me and my 2nd favourite game this year.
Course it's going to get massive scores, it's a Bioware game Rolling Eyes
Mass Effect 1 was one of my biggest disappointments gaming wise. Completely 1 dimensional characters, a contrived and predicatable plot line, terrible dialogue, level designs that repeat themselves over and over again, no imagination in quest design and a poor inventory system.
Add to that now that they once again intend to milk the cow with "weapon DLC" and you'll forgive my skceptism at the unadulting praise every Bioware game gets without question.
You are very much mistaken if you think everyone heaps praise upon BioWare without question. There was a huge uproar back in 2008 regarding the DRM BioWare saw fit to include with the PC version of "ME". Personally it nearly broke my customer/business relationship with BioWare as I walked away in disgust. To this day I still refuse to reward BioWare and EA for their decision to use an abhorrent version of SecuROM for the PC version (I also refuse to buy the Steam and console versions as that would still end up rewarding them with that game).
I love BioWare's story telling abilities and I wanted "Dragon Age" yet I wouldn't have bought it if they hadn't changed their anti-piracy methods. As long as BioWare continue to keep their DRM to the disc without installing hidden files to my HDD I can live with it (as was/is the case with "Dragon Age". Apparently BioWare learned their lesson because they have announced they will use the same system for "ME2".
"Dragon Age" is a magnificent game and has earned it's place in my most elite hall of gaming with such giants as "Deus Ex" and "BG II". Very few other games ever come close. It's my GOTY 2009 and while it is still a bit premature I fully expect "ME2" to be my GOTY 2010 despite a slew of other excellent looking titles, but time will tell.
DRM is a separate issue and one that, I agree is deplorable.
The point remains though that Bioware games are always reviewed without criticism when unquestionably there are better RPG's out there by a county mile (namely games like KOTOR2, The Witcher, Mask of the Betrayer etc).
I'll admit that I haven't played Dragon Age yet (mainly due to my increasing levels of apathy around Bioware "special additions," DRM and declining gameplay complexities) but Mass Effect was a weak game, certainly in comparison with their previous magnus opus like BG2 and Planescape Torment.
Though thematically different, plot, characters and gameplay were fleshed out at least 10 times more than in ME. The whole "ancient evil stirring in the land" is getting oh so very old no matter what setting it is (whereas in BG2, you were the ancient evil stirring in the land ).
I'm just cynical in my old age I'm afraid and despite the PR claim, I'll stake my left testicle on the fact that ME2 will NOT be the best thing to have come from Bioware, despite reviews saying otherwise (most of whom probably haven't even played Planescape).
I think it's inevitable that ME2 is going to get better reviews than the original. The only real complaint I had about ME was that the non-story planet exploration was a bit dull (and the autosaves could be a nightmare). They say they've fixed that, so I reckon that'll be plenty to keep us happy.
The depth of ME could really only be found if you poked around in the logs and read up on all the history. Likewise, actually thinking about the missions and conversation outcomes was half the fun. They have some seriously deep lore going on there - it's just a shame that more of it wasn't explored in the campaign. But calling it "weak" is unfair. Maybe "unoptimised" would be better.
Then again, not everyone wants tons and tons of backstory thrown at them. I love it, but I guess typical console fans probably wouldn't, so in that case Bioware made the right decision.
Fair enough Chimpster. "BGII" was a gem of a game and the story and character development will stand the test of time I reckon (the UI, game options and graphics not so much). I have only touched the beginning of "Planescape: Torment" (a Vista compatible updated version was released on Amazon recently at 15 quid or somewhere around there - I've had no problems running it on Windows 7 64-bit although it would have been nice to get a higher resolution). The graphics are very dated as one might expect, yet the written dialogue is as engaging as ever.
Apropos "The Witcher", that was my favourite game of 2007; in spite of the atrocious loading times between locales (my PC back then was getting old but nonetheless it was heavy going) the game was fantastic, IMO. Effective and impressive combat controls and moves coupled with a slightly off-key, dark, brooding fantasy world with character in spades and a deep plot. If the developers can just figure out how to iron out some of the "bumps" in the programming (some plot lines were unclear on how to proceed and I had to resort to online searches to find the solution) for "The Witcher 2", then they could have a true classic on their hands.
I agree with Dajmin that a lot of what gave "ME" flavour was to be found in the various logs one could find throughout the game. It may not be everyone's cup of tea reading through pages of in-game text, yet I don't mind as long as I don't end up reading the same text in the same scene over and over again (as can happen in "Dragon Age" when trying to tweak an outcome but at least you can quickly skip the cutscenes and text if you wish). Speaking of "Dragon Age", if you enjoyed "BGII" please do give "Dragon Age" a try. It's a worthy spiritual successor to "BGII" and one of the female characters certainly seems to have a strong resemblance to a certain half-sister in "BGII" although she is said to be based on a real-life model. Just make sure to play beyond the origins quest and the initial opening setting of "Ostagar" - the game opens up much more after that.
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. Apparently BioWare learned their lesson because they have announced they will use the same system for "ME2".
