Your take on Mass Effect 2 Demo?

So I thought I would love this game. Have it preordered, but after the demo I am wondering if I should cancel the preorder. I found the levels to be very drab, boring, and generic looking. I found the voice overs to be incredibly lackluster. The gameplay seemed to be very generic as well.

If you have played this game for the 360, am I missing something? I heard so many great things about it, almost bought a 360 because of what I heard about the game. Is the demo not a good representation of the game? What am I missing here? If you have played the game on the 360, could you give me your thoughts?

The level offered in the demo isn't a good representation of the entire game. There are better environments and rich worlds to explore later on, so if that's your biggest complaint I'd say stick with the preorder.

As for the voice acting, it's also "eh" on the final product. Some voice actors in the game annoyed me (Miranda for one) but I found to be passable. Others were amazing. And the biggest one, male voice actor Shepard, is incredibly annoying and emotionless. In fact, he was so bad I restarted ME1 half way through and played as female Shepard, who is a bit better overall imo.

I know that many RPG's take a while to really get into. What really shines in the ME2 universe? Does the gameplay get intense? Without ruining the story, what makes it good? I loved Fallout3 and New Vegas. Is ME2 kind of similar?

The level offered in the demo isn't a good representation of the entire game. There are better environments and rich worlds to explore later on, so if that's your biggest complaint I'd say stick with the preorder.

As for the voice acting, it's also "eh" on the final product. Some voice actors in the game annoyed me (Miranda for one) but I found to be passable. Others were amazing. And the biggest one, male voice actor Shepard, is incredibly annoying and emotionless. In fact, he was so bad I restarted ME1 half way through and played as female Shepard, who is a bit better overall imo.

IndianaPwns39

So the worlds do get more interesting? The demo had me playing on a ship that everything was gray and drab looking. Do you get to go to different worlds and explore in different more detailed enviornments, (i.e. cities, frozen tundras, wooded areas, swamps, etc.)?

So I thought I would love this game. Have it preordered, but after the demo I am wondering if I should cancel the preorder. I found the levels to be very drab, boring, and generic looking. I found the voice overs to be incredibly lackluster. The gameplay seemed to be very generic as well.

If you have played this game for the 360, am I missing something? I heard so many great things about it, almost bought a 360 because of what I heard about the game. Is the demo not a good representation of the game? What am I missing here? If you have played the game on the 360, could you give me your thoughts?

[QUOTE="IndianaPwns39"]

The level offered in the demo isn't a good representation of the entire game. There are better environments and rich worlds to explore later on, so if that's your biggest complaint I'd say stick with the preorder.

As for the voice acting, it's also "eh" on the final product. Some voice actors in the game annoyed me (Miranda for one) but I found to be passable. Others were amazing. And the biggest one, male voice actor Shepard, is incredibly annoying and emotionless. In fact, he was so bad I restarted ME1 half way through and played as female Shepard, who is a bit better overall imo.

So the worlds do get more interesting? The demo had me playing on a ship that everything was gray and drab looking. Do you get to go to different worlds and explore in different more detailed enviornments, (i.e. cities, frozen tundras, wooded areas, swamps, etc.)?

[QUOTE="HuhJustaBox"]

[QUOTE="IndianaPwns39"]

The level offered in the demo isn't a good representation of the entire game. There are better environments and rich worlds to explore later on, so if that's your biggest complaint I'd say stick with the preorder.

As for the voice acting, it's also "eh" on the final product. Some voice actors in the game annoyed me (Miranda for one) but I found to be passable. Others were amazing. And the biggest one, male voice actor Shepard, is incredibly annoying and emotionless. In fact, he was so bad I restarted ME1 half way through and played as female Shepard, who is a bit better overall imo.

cainetao11

So the worlds do get more interesting? The demo had me playing on a ship that everything was gray and drab looking. Do you get to go to different worlds and explore in different more detailed enviornments, (i.e. cities, frozen tundras, wooded areas, swamps, etc.)?

Sounds like I better keep the preorder. I guess the demo just didn't give me a big enough taste of what the game is really like. Thanks!

I know that many RPG's take a while to really get into. What really shines in the ME2 universe? Does the gameplay get intense? Without ruining the story, what makes it good? I loved Fallout3 and New Vegas. Is ME2 kind of similar?

HuhJustaBox

[QUOTE="HuhJustaBox"]

I know that many RPG's take a while to really get into. What really shines in the ME2 universe? Does the gameplay get intense? Without ruining the story, what makes it good? I loved Fallout3 and New Vegas. Is ME2 kind of similar?

Sepewrath

I know that many RPG's take a while to really get into. What really shines in the ME2 universe? Does the gameplay get intense? Without ruining the story, what makes it good? I loved Fallout3 and New Vegas. Is ME2 kind of similar?

So I thought I would love this game. Have it preordered, but after the demo I am wondering if I should cancel the preorder. I found the levels to be very drab, boring, and generic looking. I found the voice overs to be incredibly lackluster. The gameplay seemed to be very generic as well.

If you have played this game for the 360, am I missing something? I heard so many great things about it, almost bought a 360 because of what I heard about the game. Is the demo not a good representation of the game? What am I missing here? If you have played the game on the 360, could you give me your thoughts?

HuhJustaBox

The demo's a miniscule representation of the game, and doesn't do it justice at all.

Not only that, but coming into ME2, you'll be somewhat underwhelmed if you haven't played the first game and you're expecting this great third person shooter with robust RPG elements and explosive set pieces. The Mass Effect series is one that's very story-driven, although ironically, it doesn't have the strongest story out there. In fact, it's a bit predictable. Where it really shines, though, is the incredible amount of detail that went into constructing the universe around the series itself.

It's rich with history and side-knowledge that are completely plausible for a sci-fi story.

Also, levels in Mass Effect were better. A lot of RPG elements were taken out of ME2 to make for a more linear experience, but it's still pretty good in that way.

[QUOTE="cainetao11"][QUOTE="HuhJustaBox"]

So the worlds do get more interesting? The demo had me playing on a ship that everything was gray and drab looking. Do you get to go to different worlds and explore in different more detailed enviornments, (i.e. cities, frozen tundras, wooded areas, swamps, etc.)?

HuhJustaBox

Sounds like I better keep the preorder. I guess the demo just didn't give me a big enough taste of what the game is really like. Thanks!

Keep in mind that the levels aren't really open for exploration. They're certainly all interesting environments, such as an old shell of the Alliance frigate MSV Estavanico that crash landed on a planet during humanity's first encounter with the Vorcha in 2184 CE, but the missions you do on them keep you on a linear path.

Planetary exploration was one of the few features that was outed from Mass Effect.

[QUOTE="HuhJustaBox"]

So I thought I would love this game. Have it preordered, but after the demo I am wondering if I should cancel the preorder. I found the levels to be very drab, boring, and generic looking. I found the voice overs to be incredibly lackluster. The gameplay seemed to be very generic as well.

If you have played this game for the 360, am I missing something? I heard so many great things about it, almost bought a 360 because of what I heard about the game. Is the demo not a good representation of the game? What am I missing here? If you have played the game on the 360, could you give me your thoughts?

cainetao11

The demo doesn't do the game justice . It's the total package that makes Mass Effect the game it is . Great dialogues, beautiful story, interesting side missions, space exploration, great cities, AND the linear combat (which the demo is only offering) make the game good .

Yeah, I've heard that quite a few were disappointed by the demo. Honestly though, I'm thinking maybe it just didn't do the game justice. I know I'm not being some fangirl about it either, because many others can vouch for ME2 being an excellent game. I loved the game and would recommend it to anyone.

The demo isn't very fitting. Granted, some of the fun for newcomers will be sucked out by not being able to see the consequences of your actions, but the real problem with the demo is that it doesn't show any of the exploration or RPG elements of the game and it's way too linear compared to some parts.

It was average imo, I always thought it looked it from gameplay movies, there was nothing entertaining in the demo, graphics, gunplay and dialogue all seemed weak. I can't understand the hype to be honest.

It was average imo, I always thought it looked it from gameplay movies, there was nothing entertaining in the demo, graphics, gunplay and dialogue all seemed weak. I can't understand the hype to be honest.

Venom_Raptor

I agree, but I thought I would try out the demo anyway to see how it was. Unfortunately, I still can't understand the hype about it and certainly don't understand why so many people were screaming "GOTY" for this. Not to mention the demo didn't impress me at all - the story and gameplay were boring, and there some noticeable technical issues - a rather poor framerate in some spots and obvious screen tearing during the cutscenes... hopefully those will be gone in the final product, but all in all, I just can't see this series doing well on the PS3.

The demo is the beginning of the game.

The beginning of every game is a borefest. Game gets a lot better and it's story driven as someone said. If you're hesistant, don't pick it up yet. Wait til the price drops or buy it used from GameStop, and if you don't like it return it in 7 days.

At first I hated ME. I thought it was terrible. Then one day I tried it again and I fell in love with it and it's now my second favorite series behind Uncharted. I know a lot of other people felt the same. For some reason it takes awhile to get into ME it seems.

Eh, I wouldn't really say this game has much in the way of a learning curve.KHAndAnime

The Mass Effect series is one that's very story-driven, although ironically, it doesn't have the strongest story out there. In fact, it's a bit predictable.

Also, levels in Mass Effect were better. A lot of RPG elements were taken out of ME2 to make for a more linear experience, but it's still pretty good in that way.

Scianix-Black

[QUOTE="Scianix-Black"]

The Mass Effect series is one that's very story-driven, although ironically, it doesn't have the strongest story out there. In fact, it's a bit predictable.

Also, levels in Mass Effect were better. A lot of RPG elements were taken out of ME2 to make for a more linear experience, but it's still pretty good in that way.

Sepewrath

Personally, having just got done with ME, my opinion is similar to Scianix. But more a reverse to what you were saying, where I thought the storytelling was mediocre, while the story was half decent. There were probably about 2-3 moments in the game where I went 'that was pretty decent' story wise, but on the flipside there were a few moments I was laughing at serious moments. Mostly because execution was meh. Heck the little they give you in the demo at least makes things sound interesting, playing through it seemed to be less impactful, given that things that happen ultimately didn't change anything. Sadly I didn't much care for the characters either.

Having played Dragon Age and Star Wars: Kotor, I gotta put ME down as my least fav of the 3 bioware games. DA and ME both suffer from being games made with sequels in mind, resulting in decisions that have no current effect and story moments that don't resolve until later installments(which also lessens their impact in the current game). I kinda hate that. DA doesn't even have that grand a story, but at least DA had the character interactions to hold it up. Part of me kinda prefers the story/storytelling in DA: Awakening over DA because it was mostly contained within itself.

Granted, I mostly only did the story missions in ME, but I was kinda bored with the gameplay and didn't want to do the side-quest. Even so I doubt the story impact from the side-quest would've changed my opinion. I'm still gonna play ME2, but my dvd drive on my pc went kaput so I gotta get an external.

I was disappointed with Dragon Age to be quite honest, I didn't like the combat, the controls and some other stuff.

However, I'm sold on Mass Effect 2 already. I'll get it after a few months though, timed exclusives tend to drop price REALLY quickly.

[QUOTE="KHAndAnime"]Eh, I wouldn't really say this game has much in the way of a learning curve.Sepewrath

The Mass Effect series is one that's very story-driven, although ironically, it doesn't have the strongest story out there. In fact, it's a bit predictable.

Also, levels in Mass Effect were better. A lot of RPG elements were taken out of ME2 to make for a more linear experience, but it's still pretty good in that way.

Scianix-Black

Originality is a part of storytelling itself - you can't have storytelling without some degree of originality, so you can't pit the two against each other.

And I never said that taking out RPG elements would make a game linear, because we already have FFXIII. I'm saying that ousting elements such as level exploration and "unnecessary loot" helped make the game feel like more of a linear TPS. But according to your argument, all the "unnecessary loot" in Borderlands made people believe the game was an RPG when it wasn't, right?

Because I'm pretty sure it was.

The PS3 demo is quite terrible. IDK why everyone is saying the PS3 version will be superior. The damn thing is plagued with screen-tear, frame drop, skippy camera movement, weird cinematic angles.

If BioWare don't fix all this, I'm not gonna bother getting the PS3 version.

The PS3 demo is quite terrible. IDK why everyone is saying the PS3 version will be superior. The damn thing is plagued with screen-tear, frame drop, skippy camera movement, weird cinematic angles.

If BioWare don't fix all this, I'm not gonna bother getting the PS3 version.

N7v1K0

Because it's using the ME3 engine.

I guess for some reason that automatically makes it better.

[QUOTE="N7v1K0"]

The PS3 demo is quite terrible. IDK why everyone is saying the PS3 version will be superior. The damn thing is plagued with screen-tear, frame drop, skippy camera movement, weird cinematic angles.

If BioWare don't fix all this, I'm not gonna bother getting the PS3 version.

Because it's using the ME3 engine.

I guess for some reason that automatically makes it better.

I've played ME1 and 2 on the 360 when it was working and trust me both are better than what their demos represented. Loved the rich universe and story in these games. Now replaying them on my PC to catch back up in the story in preparation for Mass Effect 3. I would say ME1 is the better RPG in regards to the role playing elements but ME2 is a damn good game as well that focuses on more action. Mind you there are still role playing elements in ME2 just the action is more concentrated imo. The story in both is awesome and there is a great attention to detail put into these games. Don't let the demo fool you. Give the game a chance.

Well , i've played ME 2 on PC , and also DL-ed the demo yesterday .

IMHO , the graphics was better on the PC (The face shading , and also the focus-defocus moments (regaining conciousness on operating table part).

There are some slowdowns , especially during in-game animations.

Also , WTF is with the highlighting of Items , like refined Iridium , while they are behind crates , or furthermore , in another room.

I am not amused :S

I know that many RPG's take a while to really get into. What really shines in the ME2 universe? Does the gameplay get intense? Without ruining the story, what makes it good? I loved Fallout3 and New Vegas. Is ME2 kind of similar?

HuhJustaBox

you think mass effect's voiceovers are lackluster but you love fallout and new vegas?

Screen tearing... i'm OUT !

[QUOTE="Scianix-Black"]

[QUOTE="N7v1K0"]

The PS3 demo is quite terrible. IDK why everyone is saying the PS3 version will be superior. The damn thing is plagued with screen-tear, frame drop, skippy camera movement, weird cinematic angles.

If BioWare don't fix all this, I'm not gonna bother getting the PS3 version.

MrSelf-Destruct

Because it's using the ME3 engine.

I guess for some reason that automatically makes it better.

Turians don't have gonads, lol. At least.. I don't think they do... I need to look into this. They're not asexual like the Asari, but I've never heard mention of any gonads...

Screen tearing... i'm OUT !

_Telimtor_

This is kind of what I'm feeling... I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. I want to get the game, but I hate technical problems in games, which this game clearly demonstrated with its screen tearing and framerate issues. So I'm not sure what to do...

[QUOTE="MrSelf-Destruct"][QUOTE="Scianix-Black"]

Because it's using the ME3 engine.

I guess for some reason that automatically makes it better.

Turians don't have gonads, lol. At least.. I don't think they do... I need to look into this. They're not asexual like the Asari, but I've never heard mention of any gonads...

[QUOTE="_Telimtor_"]

Screen tearing... i'm OUT !

Vari3ty

This is kind of what I'm feeling... I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. I want to get the game, but I hate technical problems in games, which this game clearly demonstrated with its screen tearing and framerate issues. So I'm not sure what to do...

Mass Effect 2 was a very strong competitor for game of the year this year in my opinion. Honestly I would put it in my top 3 games this year as it was incredible. The demo probably didn't do it justice, but obviously if you don't like it, nothing is gonna change that :Pmgkennedy5

I really liked the demo, day one purchase for me.

It was boring, just because it was the beginning, RPGs always take a while to get into their "groove." I was just mad that I got stuck on some alien's head inside the bar, and the only option was to restart the hour long demo...

Aside from being buggy, I'm interested in the game. Seems pretty cool to me.

Mass Effect 2 is amazing dont judge it by the demo. Its my favorite game of all time. The story, characters are amazing.Nothing about it is generic. The characters, story, pacing, visuals are all stellar. It all comes together at the end. The way they carry what happened and your choices from the first game over to the second game makes the universe feel alive. Even without playing the first one you should still end up loving Mass Effect 2.

The way you develop relationships and bonds with the characters is really amazing and something you dont see in many games.

Also the game is not at the least generic. The places you go, characters you meet are amazing.

Watch this trailer... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjOEmHEd2XM

i liked the demo. yeah, the guns felt weak (although i wouldnt say the gunplpay is bad) and the level design was very straight forward, but it still did a lot of things well. what struck me the most was the animation. so often in wrpg's during dialogue we get a static closeup where hardly anything but the mouth moves (eerie). in me2, the character models actually act rather than just give their lines. that coupled with the fluid dialogue tree system made for conversations that could shine even beyond writing.

also, it really does look great. i want to play the full game to get the entire picture of what they do with their red/blue motif (i loved the transition from the loud, firey red, exploding spaceship corridor to the calm and quiet blue antigravity room in the opening sequence).