posted
Yes, those of you who said I would be back, you were right.
Anyway, I was reading one of my favorite gaming sites, Game Banshee, and I saw that BioWare had released a new trailer for Mass Effect 2, and it's already a shocker. Mass Effect 2 Trailer I know we have a lot of gamers here at Hatrack and I thought I would share, I know for a fact that mackillian and I both loved the first one. What do you guys think, is the "KIA" for real?
Posts: 4229 | Registered: Dec 2002
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Personally, I'm hoping that this is just one of the possible plot points that may develop during the game rather than something between games. I wasn't really a fan of the KOTOR->KOTOR 2 transition in which the KIA may as well have been real.
But anyways, its nice to hear that they're at least working on it.
Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006
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KOTOR 2 was developed by Obsidian (former Black Isle alumni), right? Not BioWare.
I assume the release date is "when it's done," aka sometime in 2010 or 2011. But at least BioWare's giving us Dragon Age this year.
I doubt the KIA is for real, although it may be the mechanism by which they resolve the issue of having everybody start at level 50 or 60 in Mass Effect 2. I'm waiting to hear about what exactly they meant by "your character will carry forward" before I go through the game one and a half more times to create an Infiltrator with the Singularity power.
Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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KOTOR 2 was developed by Obsidian and it was fairly bad. I never really said otherwise.
My main point was that I never really liked it all that much as a mechanism for near-"resetting" the divergence of the story in order to make it easier to start a new game.
But at this juncture *shrug*
Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006
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Whether or not Shepard is actually dead, the KIA issue is to resolve the issue of having you start as a new character, since games like Mass Effect revolve around growth.
Usually, games have you start as a farmer waving a stick around and then you progress from there. Mass Effect was already plenty generous by saying 'you're the ultimate badass and you're being considered for the most hardXcore job in the galaxy and you have the galaxy's most bitchin' hotrod OK GO' and then progressing from there.
Realistically there was little else for Shepard to do after he, yknow, saved the universe.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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I am also thinking that your savegame progression will determine what Shepard is remembered as in your new game.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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It would still be nice if the skills you unlocked in Mass Effect 1 were available for selection as bonus skills for new characters in Mass Effect 2, though.
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Saying KOTOR 2 was bad is a little harsh. KOTOR was far superior, yes, but KOTOR 2 was still an enjoyable game.
Posts: 368 | Registered: Aug 2007
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Doesn't tell us anything we don't already know, but it's nice to have it (re)confirmed by an official source.
Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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1. "And then some time later, the Jedi fell apart and died on fire leaving practically nothing left, and rendering the events of the first game pretty much irrelevant to our 'sequel.' Here, play a new guy."
2. Game hit a developmental/'teh fun' brick wall where you can almost palpably sense the moment where you know the devs just ran out of time and jammed a sucky endgame onto the end of what they had so far. It was even worse than the seminal example of crunch time pablum known as The Sewers in Bloodlines.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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I'm still playing Mass Effect for the PC, though I completed the main storyline. I'm certainly hoping Shepard isn't dead. Whether the "keep your saves" is actually to keep Shepard him/herself persistant or just keep his/her actions so (you certainly participate in some things in ME that could have long-ranging complications) remains to be seen.
I wouldn't put it past them to, say, have the bad-ass Spectre fake his own death to get the Council or the Alliance off his/her freakin' back.
And while I agree that Shepard might be almost too powerful to be the main character in ME2, I never really felt like the game was about "levelling up" as much as dealing with new missions and new information.
KOTOR 2 was about two-thirds of a good game. The last third was kind of sad and embarassing. When I reviewed it on Amazon, I compared the central plot twists of KOTOR 1 and 2 as "This is what you were; knowing that, who do you choose to be" and "Everyone is reacting to you this way because you're this; whatcha gonna do, cry about it?" In that regard alone, KOTOR 1 was certainly the better game. Still, I think KOTOR 2 would have been a perfectly decent sequel if it had actually been finished.
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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It could be one of those "Make everyone think you are dead so you can do what you need to do unhindered" types of scenarios.
I think Shephard was such a big part of the first game that it would be unwise not include him/her int he next one. I seem to remember in an interview with EGM that you would play Shephard in all three games of the trilogy.
Posts: 1937 | Registered: Nov 2006
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If Amazon has its facts right- and isn't trying to sell people a Pip Boy Clock, so to speak- it sounds like Shephard is alive.Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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According to Gamepro, Shepard is alive as of the beginning of Mass Effect 2. However, one's decisions throughout the game have the potential to lead to a conclusion wherein Shepard is killed- and thus doesn't appear in ME3.
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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I just downloaded the Mass Effect Galaxy iphone app, and the trailer included does show Shepard alive and well, including someone yelling, "Shepard, you're dead!" as he comes in shooting.
The game play is simplistic, but pretty well done for an iphone game, and currently $4 (it will supposedly go up to $6 in the future). It also says that after you complete the iphone game, you'll get a bonus to your ME2 game.
Posts: 3950 | Registered: Mar 2006
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One of my favoritest games ever - the Quest for Glory series - had a feature where you could import your characters from one game to the other. Come to think of it, I can't think of many games where that's possible, importing characters from the previous game in a series to the next that is.
Functionally, that led to very little difference in story, and only a slight difference in gameplay (you generally had better character stats with an imported character), but I still thought it was way rad.
I imagine Bioware will satisfactorily enhance both gameplay and story with imported characters:)
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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neverwinter nights allowed you to carry your character over to both its terrible Shadows of Undrentide and great Hordes of the Underdark expansions.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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This is the first time I recall hearing of a game where imported saves carried over major plot points, however. KOTOR 2 kinda sorta did it in a very crude fashion by asking in a completely unsubtle fashion, "so, what did whashisname or possibly whashername do in the last game, huh?" but it didn't have any real effect on the game itself.
(Of course, I haven't played a whole lot of console RPGs, so I could be wrong on this point.)
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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Really? Actual plot points, not just characters? I only played one of the SSI D&D games, and it was so long ago I don't even remember which one.
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Sterling: Really? Actual plot points, not just characters? I only played one of the SSI D&D games, and it was so long ago I don't even remember which one.
Not only could you transfer the actual characters, but some of the games had odd glitches. I remember having a character with a Girdle of Storm Giant Strength, which gave him a Strength of 24. When you transferred characters, none of their items came with them, but the guy kept his 24 strength. He was the world's most awesome paladin.
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