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Post by RadicalRex on Dec 31, 2022 2:10:04 GMT
Star Trek, B5, and more, and a big chunk of cosmic horror/Space Cthulhu. B5 did some cosmic horror but I think ME did it better. I uphold that ME1's story is better than any Star Trek or Star Wars. Easily the best game story I know of. And fantastic world building. The twists and turns through which the story unfolds and perspective changes radically as you're coming closer and closer to what's really happening. Like, I love how early on you reach the Citadel and it's all awe and wonder and finding humanity's place amidst the leading galactic civilisations on this marvel of ancient technology. Only to learn later that it's nothing but a giant mouse trap. Snap! And they are so infinitely beyond us, to them all these galactic civilisations are just an ant plague to be exterminated.
Sovereign is so fucking menacing. And when it says "your words are as empty as your future", it's not lying. The tension rises as it's going to attack the Citadel and we'll see it in battle for the first time.
"What is its firepower? How much damage can the Citadel fleet do to it?"
/Sovereign doesn't even bother to shoot, just flies through. Splats our ships like flies on a windscreen.
"...oh. Well... shit." |
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Post by simple on Dec 31, 2022 9:07:43 GMT
Speaking of Star Wars and Bioware In KOTOR 2 its eventually revealed that Revan disappeared to prepare for a war against a threat from beyond known space that would be a threat to all known life. Thats the Reapers, right? ME is KOTOR 3 repurposed into an original IP and expanded into an epic space opera of its own.
Or at least thats a theory I’ve clung onto as a KOTOR fan who never had any interest in that Old Republic MMORPG Unrelatedly, I don’t think I like ME2 having mission over screens. Edit: Professor and Archangel recruited. Still a bit jarring to be kicked out to a mission over screen instead of getting to wander about plundering. Although I know whats coming so don’t mind really. |
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Jan 1, 2023 20:38:50 GMT
ME2 all wrapped up; now onto ME3.
Still having a blast.
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Post by Happenstance on Jan 1, 2023 20:56:48 GMT
ME2 all wrapped up; now onto ME3. Still having a blast. How'd your crew do at the end of 2? |
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Jan 1, 2023 21:06:24 GMT
How'd your crew do at the end of 2?
Not great - three of them (Jack, Thane, and Kasumi) died before reaching the Collector Base. Oh, and all the surviving non-combatants croaked while retreating to the Normandy, as I refused to send a squad member along.
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Jan 1, 2023 21:20:18 GMT
Hahahaha, it's a massacre!
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Post by starchildhypocrethes on Jan 1, 2023 22:05:51 GMT
Now that’s a proper Commander Shepard.
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Blue_Mike
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Post by Blue_Mike on Jan 1, 2023 23:15:59 GMT
If you do decide to give Andromeda a go after you finish ME3, consider watching the Andromeda Initiative briefing videos beforehand. It's a shame they weren't included within the game itself in an Extras menu, because some of the things covered in them are things that the game itself doesn't do the best job of explaining, and the game relegates a lot of this information to short Codex entries you encounter after the fact.
Someone helpfully combined all six of them into one video:
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Jan 2, 2023 0:00:39 GMT
Blue_MikeThanks! Much appreciated. I almost certainly will play Andromeda in the near future, so I'll be sure to watch the video you posted before I jump in.
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Post by simple on Jan 2, 2023 0:48:22 GMT
How'd your crew do at the end of 2?
Not great - three of them (Jack, Thane, and Kasumi) died before reaching the Collector Base. Oh, and all the surviving non-combatants croaked while retreating to the Normandy, as I refused to send a squad member along.
Now that’s a helluva run! I did always think that after killing Kaidan or Ashley in ME1 it was odd that the suicide mission in 2 could theoretically be survived by everyone. I like the idea of stakes being heightened and sacrifices made if the mission is that important |
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aubergine
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Post by aubergine on Jan 2, 2023 7:31:33 GMT
Everyone survived my suicide run first (and only) go. It’s was just a matter of doing everyone’s loyalty quests, which I did anyway because content, and by knowing everyone well enough to assign them the best roles |
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Post by Saul1138 on Jan 2, 2023 7:38:46 GMT
Aubergine, I did all the loyalty missions and still lost Tali on my first run through. I think I saved everyone else, certainly my crew made it to the end.
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Post by Happenstance on Jan 2, 2023 7:55:34 GMT
I lost Mordin on my first and second runs. Might have used a save editor on that second run to fix that mistake ready for ME3 😋
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aubergine
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Post by aubergine on Jan 2, 2023 8:00:28 GMT
Not sure what I did so right then. When it asked me who to send where, I just kind of KNEW, because I’m a god. Then I shot all of the things and won.
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Post by Aunt Alison on Jan 2, 2023 8:05:07 GMT
Aubergine, I did all the loyalty missions and still lost Tali on my first run through I'd have started again
No matter who I sent for one particular part of it, that person didn't survive, so I don't think it's just down to loyalty. Quite a few characters I didn't really care about in ME2 anyway so wasn't that fussed. Sent the thief/ninja to her death, everyone else made it
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Post by Happenstance on Jan 2, 2023 8:22:10 GMT
Most of them are down to loyalty or are telegraphed quite strongly by their skillsets but things like who to send back with the rest of the crew can cause issues.
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Post by The12thMonkey on Jan 2, 2023 8:42:39 GMT
Not sure what I did so right then. When it asked me who to send where, I just kind of KNEW, because I’m a god. Then I shot all of the things and won. There's a number of "heavy hitters" you need guarding the door whilst you push onto the final boss. I think if you happen to take 2 of Garrus / Grunt / Zaeed with you, there aren't enough of them to hold the position, and the game works down a list of who to kill. Mordin is at the top of that list, even if you've completed all loyalty missions. |
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Rich
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Post by Rich on Jan 2, 2023 8:46:01 GMT
Think I managed to keep all my squad alive but lost half the Normandy crew as after they were kidnapped I left them to go and clean up other quests. 😅 |
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Jan 2, 2023 11:11:10 GMT
I think that in order to get everyone safely onto the Collector Base, you have to install three upgrades to the Normandy before you go through the relay. These involve speaking to three different crew members - unfortunately for my deceased squadmates, my Shepard only had time for casual chit-chats with Miranda, so said upgrades went uninstalled. |
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aubergine
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Post by aubergine on Jan 2, 2023 11:34:32 GMT
Not sure what I did so right then. When it asked me who to send where, I just kind of KNEW, because I’m a god. Then I shot all of the things and won. There's a number of "heavy hitters" you need guarding the door whilst you push onto the final boss. I think if you happen to take 2 of Garrus / Grunt / Zaeed with you, there aren't enough of them to hold the position, and the game works down a list of who to kill. Mordin is at the top of that list, even if you've completed all loyalty missions. It was 13 years ago, but my recollection is the game gives pretty obvious cues “we need someone who is good at particular thing!” and I just chose the right guys. I’ve zero memory of the details though. |
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Post by technoish on Jan 2, 2023 11:54:00 GMT
I think it was electronics and biotics, and then you need somebody with leadership for the other team.
but yeah they also needed to have their loyalty mission done.
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Post by simple on Jan 2, 2023 13:12:26 GMT
I think that in order to get everyone safely onto the Collector Base, you have to install three upgrades to the Normandy before you go through the relay. These involve speaking to three different crew members - unfortunately for my deceased squadmates, my Shepard only had time for casual chit-chats with Miranda, so said upgrades went uninstalled. Yeah its all the upgrades, all the companion quests and then making the right choices once you’re on the ground in the Collector base |
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Jan 2, 2023 13:59:26 GMT
I really liked the fact that despite my Shepard's multitude of flaws, I was still able to get the "good" ending by blowing up the Collector Base. Yes, I chose to do so more as a means of screwing over the Illusive Man than out of a conscious desire to be a hero, but I still felt it was appropriate for my character; moreover, I appreciated that BioWare didn't insist upon locking me into the "bad" ending because I'd accrued an arbitrary number of Renegade points during my playthrough. |
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Jan 2, 2023 14:14:11 GMT
To be honest, most of my Renegade choices were of the "cool badass space cop who finishes conversations with his gun" variety, I'm not super on board with the genocide and human supremacy and such. And no fucking way am I ever going to end that mission without everyone making it.
And fuck the Illusive Man, he can eat my illusive dick.
(love Martin Sheen though)
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Post by technoish on Jan 2, 2023 14:26:49 GMT
Illusive man was a pretty cool bad guy.
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Post by simple on Jan 2, 2023 14:56:59 GMT
ME2 having you work for the “bad guys” and the mission being an objectively good one is such a cool storytelling beat. It really is the closest a game has felt to the sort of tv space-based sci-fi I like in terms of world and character.
Even the change from the more traditional free-roaming rpg of ME1 to a slightly more ridged mission based structure in ME2 just makes it feel like episodic tv.
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Post by Saul1138 on Jan 2, 2023 16:58:35 GMT
The thing about replaying that mission, so you get everyone through alive; for me at least, is that it negates that your choices will impact the end of ME3. Because Tali never survived in my play through of ME2, I could not bring peace to the Geth situation. And I read that because I turned my back on the Illusive Man at the end, I read options weren’t available, etc. Replaying events to get the perfect ending before playing ME3; was wrong in my opinion. I played 3 regretting some of my choices. |
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Post by Happenstance on Jan 2, 2023 17:31:47 GMT
The thing about replaying that mission, so you get everyone through alive; for me at least, is that it negates that your choices will impact the end of ME3. Because Tali never survived in my play through of ME2, I could bring peace to the Geth situation. And I read that because I turned my back on the Illusive Man at the end, I read options weren’t available, etc. Replaying events to get the perfect ending before playing ME3; was wrong in my opinion. I played 3 regretting some of my choices. ME3 spoilers: Tali survived my suicide mission and I managed to bring a peaceful end to the Quarian/Geth war. |
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Post by Saul1138 on Jan 2, 2023 17:56:33 GMT
The thing about replaying that mission, so you get everyone through alive; for me at least, is that it negates that your choices will impact the end of ME3. Because Tali never survived in my play through of ME2, I could not bring peace to the Geth situation. And I read that because I turned my back on the Illusive Man at the end, I read options weren’t available, etc. Replaying events to get the perfect ending before playing ME3; was wrong in my opinion. I played 3 regretting some of my choices. ME3 spoilers: Tali survived my suicide mission and I managed to bring a peaceful end to the Quarian/Geth war. Oops, missed out a pertinent word. For shame. |
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Post by RadicalRex on Jan 2, 2023 18:14:46 GMT
There's a number of "heavy hitters" you need guarding the door whilst you push onto the final boss. I think if you happen to take 2 of Garrus / Grunt / Zaeed with you, there aren't enough of them to hold the position, and the game works down a list of who to kill. Mordin is at the top of that list, even if you've completed all loyalty missions. It was 13 years ago, but my recollection is the game gives pretty obvious cues “we need someone who is good at particular thing!” and I just chose the right guys. I’ve zero memory of the details though. The mechanic Monkey mentioned wasn't clear at all to me back then. I 100%ed a playthrough, made all the right choices (to my knowledge), and then someone died anyway and I had no idea why. Once you reach the boss and decide who to take with you, I used to think that decision is only about that--who are your squadmates in the boss fight. But that decision also determines who's in the group defending your back: every character has a hidden defence value only for that, and if their total is too low, someone dies. So my mistake was taking Zaeed and Grunt to the boss fight who both have a high defence value that was thus missing from the other party. That was completely unclear to me until I read it up afterwards, and I was pretty pissed off. |
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