Mass Effect 2: WHY IS IT DIFFERENT!

[lizbee]

I didn't mean to start playing ME2 on Saturday night, but I finished my second playthrough of the first one and ... well, I was honestly just going to import my Shepard and set it up, but somehow 90 minutes and the entire prologue passed.

IT WAS GREAT. I feel like Shepard being brought back from the dead against her will, revived early and thrown into battle, scarred and off-balance, is exactly what the game needed to start moving me from mere enjoyment to outright obsession.

ON THE OTHER HAND, the gameplay is different in minor yet key ways, and I'm having trouble coping with that. Aiming is harder! Movement is more sluggish! (Or, possibly, my mouse needs a new battery!) Tracking health and manipulating objects and switching weapons are all different! I DON'T COPE WELL WITH CHANGE! And also I find the new interface a bit rougher on my elderly eyes. Or something.

But I'm persevering! Even though I am totally thrown every time Miranda opens her mouth. No one warned me she was Australian! I don't expect Australians in my space opera! I can only think of one other Australian space opera character EVER, and that was a one-off ex-boyfriend of Ivanova's in Babylon 5. Who, come to think of it, was also pro-human space racist. WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY, AMERICAN MEDIA? At least Miranda has a proper accent, though.

And don't think I'm not side-eying all the Normandy crewmembers who went, "Welp, Shepard's dead, might as well go join this pro-human terrorist group!" MY SHEPARD IS SIDE-EYEING YOU TOO, GUYS.

Oh, and the paragon/renegade things aren't always as clear as I thought. Like, I got renegade points for saying I didn't trust Jacob? SHEPARD HAD ONLY KNOWN HIM FOR, LIKE, FIVE MINUTES. On the other hand, she accidentally started flirting with him a bit later, which is awkward. It's really hard to construct an outwardly reserved and ascetic version of Shepard when the dialogue options are all flirtatious, I'm just saying.

The best thing so far, apart from the potential epic Shepard angst in being brought back from the dead by terrorists, is how the screenshot function finally works. Look at that face! You could injure yourself on those pixelly cheekbones!

Comments

[vass]

She looks very unimpressed. Who's her friend?

[kerravonsen]

It feels like everyone I know is getting into Mass Effect (well, possibly because more than three people who don't know each other are....)

I know nothing of it.

But the lady is very much of the pretty.

[sabra_n]

At least Miranda has a proper accent, though.

She's Yvonne Strahovski from Chuck! Who is an actual Australian! This is pretty much the only thing I know about ME2.

*shuffles out*

[settiai]

ON THE OTHER HAND, the gameplay is different in minor yet key ways, and I'm having trouble coping with that. Aiming is harder! Movement is more sluggish! (Or, possibly, my mouse needs a new battery!) Tracking health and manipulating objects and switching weapons are all different! I DON'T COPE WELL WITH CHANGE! And also I find the new interface a bit rougher on my elderly eyes. Or something.

Are you playing via Steam? If so, I totally recommend changing the settings to match ME1. That's what I did for the ones that I used the most (manipulating objects and talking to people, switching weapons, quicksave, etc.), and it made things much easier for me.

And don't think I'm not side-eying all the Normandy crewmembers who went, "Welp, Shepard's dead, might as well go join this pro-human terrorist group!" MY SHEPARD IS SIDE-EYEING YOU TOO, GUYS.

The game actually goes into a bit more elaboration with Karin Chakwas's motivations for joining Cerberus. As for Joker, the popular fanon opinion (which canon hints at in places) is that he joined up because of survivor's guilt once he found out they were trying to revive Shepard, since technically she died because he refused to evacuate the original Normandy when the order was given.

[lizbee]

OH MY GOD, I CAN CHANGE THE SETTINGS BACK? *tears of joy*

As for Joker, the popular fanon opinion (which canon hints at in places) is that he joined up because of survivor's guilt once he found out they were trying to revive Shepard, since technically she died because he refused to evacuate the original Normandy when the order was given.

That makes sense character-wise, at least, but I still feel like it's sketchy. I can only assume the Alliance offers no grief counselling whatsoever.

[settiai]

I'm trying not to be too detailed, because I'd rather not accidentally spoil you for what's to come. But it's definitely implied (or point-blank stated, depending on some of your previous choices and the impact they had on things) that the Council and the Alliance were more focused on making certain that the Normandy's crew described events in a way that matched the official story than they were that the Normandy's crew had things like grief counseling.

[beccatoria]

Yay! More Mass Effect! With a picture! :D (First Shepard I made, the first thing I did was create the most dangerous cheekbones possible...)

Mass Effect 2, man, I have such conflicting feelings! Because on the one hand, it was totally the game that moved me from, "this is fun," to "OMFG FANDOM", but then on the other, in retrospect, I probably like the other two more. It's a weird mix of doing truly fascinating things to the setting and adding a lot of texture to the cinematic language of the games and the interaction with the crew, and feeling like it was under a lot of pressure to conform to more mainstream expectations of a soldier shooter. But I look forward to seeing what you think!

And yeah, it's really hard to talk to Jacob without sounding like you're trying to sexually harrass him...

Also seconding the comment above, you do get to talk to Chakwas, for instance, a little in the third game about her reasons for signing up with Cerberus. Though it does still bug me that you have to accept the Illusive Man's offer of funding and the ship before you get a chance to go to the Council and yell about how you were brought-back-to-life-napped by terrorists. *shakes fist*