Bioware: Mass Effect 2 "to a whole new level"
by Terrence Stasse 
{ Mar 11th 2008 at 11:00PM }
Commenting to MTV's Multiplayer blog, the Bioware doctors spoke briefly about the side-quests in Mass Effect (which we can all agree were repetitive and far too similar). There are a few comments made about the "reasoning" behind the Mass Effect sidequest choices, but a clever reader can tell it really came down to time. Which is mentioned as being spent mostly on tech and engineering in the first game, and the team's subsequent freedom to spend that time on "making things a little bit richer." Hopefully it'll be more than just a little bit, but as the recent DLC revealed it seems that Bioware has shifted their internal bar for sidequest quality. As long as the doctors make good on their mentioned plans to make the difference in quality between Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 similar to the difference between Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2, then we don't have anything to worry about with this trilogy.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jefffff @ Mar 11th 2008 11:36PM
Is that the real cover art for Mass effect deux?
mingonwah @ Mar 11th 2008 11:43PM
Ahhh Mass Effect. I just started it today. And someone says video games are not an art form. Play Mass Effect my friend. However i've seen (spoiler free) up to seven glaring similarities to Stargate Atlantis in this game. Still though... I've never had such fun just talking in a game.
PerfectStrategy @ Mar 12th 2008 12:04AM
That is obviously photoshopped.
PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Mar 12th 2008 12:08AM
so is this going multiplat or wat? i wouldnt mind giving it a go if it came to PS3. i dont recall if EA made any announcements regarding the exclusivity of the franchise since acquiring Bioware but im sure Microsoft would pay pretty handsomely to keep it off PS3. damn you Microsoft and your fat wallet!
PerfectStrategy @ Mar 12th 2008 12:32AM
Well if it isn't the elusive playstation lurker.
Yea I know, you absolutely refuse to buy a 360 so you can't experience the greatness that is Mass Effect unless it goes to PS3.
Well sorry but you aren't getting your grubby fanboy mitts on it ever, unless you break out of the fanboy mold and buy a 360 (and henceforth becoming a decent, respectable human being).
Terrence Stasse @ Mar 12th 2008 12:41AM
But the real question is, is it a GOOD photoshop?
And I mean besides the fact that that character art is years old now.
Darko @ Mar 12th 2008 12:43AM
Damn you PerfectStrategy, you beat me to it...
Come on now, we all know the best console is the PSWii60
BluesmanTLU @ Mar 12th 2008 12:47AM
Baldur's Gate II is the best game ever made.
That is all.
Tony @ Mar 12th 2008 12:49AM
I don't know, I think the PS3 question is a valid one at this point. It's really not clear what will be happening with that... the guy was hardly rude about it.
Anticrawl @ Mar 12th 2008 12:58AM
What I want out of Mass Effect II is the ability to visit Earth and explore some more civilized cities/planets. Check out some homeworlds.
david @ Mar 12th 2008 1:13AM
u know that EA is not a studio that does exclusive titles it is more than likely its on other platforms AKA ps3
colin @ Mar 12th 2008 1:33AM
the boxart needs more yoda!!!
colin @ Mar 12th 2008 1:34AM
the boxart needs more yoda!!!
killploki @ Mar 12th 2008 1:37AM
mass effect is amazing, i have played through it twice, but the side quests do start to repeat.
it actually reminds me of how the forge system works in halo 3, there are only a few different layouts of maps with a bunch of different crates and boxes tossed in to change the layout.
CB @ Mar 12th 2008 2:10AM
I have a feeling the next game will be great, as long as EA doesn't have any interference.
Ghostbuddy @ Mar 12th 2008 2:47AM
Mass Effect was published by Microsoft. Microsoft stressed the series was going to have 3 iterations exclusively on the 360. Long before the first game was even released. If they were that confident, it was probably because they owned the publishing rights.
When the PC version of ME was announced, it was noted EA and Microsoft had come to an agreement on the franshise. If Microsoft had enough influence over the franshise, that EA had to come to an agreement with them. Obviously they have enough control to make sure the series never sees the light of day on the ps3.
Further more, even if Microsoft only had publishing rights for the first game, you still wouldn't see the second game on the ps3. Bioware stated the sequels would utilize the same save as the previous games. So you can continue the game with your character. So choices made in the first game affect the second. A Ps3 port of the second game would either be incomplete, or EA would force Bioware to change the game drastically. And Ea doesn't roll like that anymore...(thank god).
Deck @ Mar 12th 2008 3:23AM
Oh Mass Effect, how I love thee.
The sidequests do need some work but from the first glimpse of DLC I think they are on the right track.
Though the one thing I hope for ME II is another world that is interactive like the Citadel. Doesn't have to be nearly as big per say, but maybe another world along the Citadel that you may go back and forth between a lot for missions.
It should be great! Fix the side quests, do some touches here and there, develop the story more and voila! Maybe not quite but... I can't wait!
mat parker @ Mar 12th 2008 6:21AM
EA has and will publish games on PC,360 C&C 3 anyone?
Boff @ Mar 12th 2008 6:52AM
Awesome game. The side quests were the only thing that let it down for me. After the initial first dozen or so they got a tad boring, but as for the main story - can't fault it!
More Cerberus side-quests in MEII please!
And whoever did the box art, Shephard-Garrus-Wrex combo FTW!!
Terrence Stasse @ Mar 12th 2008 7:02AM
I did the photoshopping on that one.
http://i30.tinypic.com/n2c320.jpg
xenocidic @ Mar 12th 2008 7:23AM
"Bioware stated the sequels would utilize the same save as the previous games. So you can continue the game with your character. So choices made in the first game affect the second. A Ps3 port of the second game would either be incomplete, or EA would force Bioware to change the game drastically. And Ea doesn't roll like that anymore...(thank god)."
While this is true, you can still begin ME2 with a brand new character and just flesh out the backstory similar to how you did in Mass Effect proper.
and while i'm a die-hard 360ist, unless bringing Mass Effect to the PSWii would lessen the quality of the 360 version, I'm not per se against it
Boff @ Mar 12th 2008 7:54AM
Nice photoshopping Terrence.
You're obviously a much better artist than you are a writer...
I'm joking! I'm joking!
killploki @ Mar 12th 2008 7:58AM
sorry, but wrex cant be in a sequel for me....
mike k. @ Mar 12th 2008 9:50AM
I really hope the 2nd in the Mass Effect series has a little bit better name that Mass Effect II..
RedlineRonin @ Mar 12th 2008 9:52AM
@ Bluesman
Indeed you are correct sir. The mentioning of those games makes me all nostalgic for my golden years of gaming. They are easily two of my favorite video games of all time. Right up there with Super Mario RPG for SNES. Oh and the story is good news too.
Boff @ Mar 12th 2008 10:37AM
@Killploki: You killed him? Sorry but I couldn't do it he'd been my main man all the way through the story! Now Ashley on the other hand, I had no problems sending her on her one-way mission. Fuck her.
I was getting it on with Liara anyway!
PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Mar 12th 2008 10:56AM
why the hell did i get voted down? ok i asked a question about its exclusivity but i wasnt downing the game, i was complimenting it. you should be proud to know that people that play other console want the games on your console.
i wont buy a 360 cause its too damn faulty, and dont come at me with that 3 year warranty shit cause that shouldnt even be necessary. you know how many times my PS3 has broken? none.
plus your "exclusive" will more than likely come to the PC anyway like every other decent 360 game so suck my left ass cheek.
/go ahead and blur it bitch
KilgoreTrout XL @ Mar 12th 2008 11:27AM
That's a tough comparison, seen as though Baldur's Gate II is the greatest game of all time.
xenocidic @ Mar 12th 2008 11:40AM
@iliad
you must be new here!
xenocidic @ Mar 12th 2008 11:52AM
@killakornbread
for what it's worth i voted you up, as I saw no good reason for your being voted down
PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Mar 12th 2008 12:12PM
@ xenocidic
well thank you. i rarely come on this site but Mass Effect was a game that i was interested in and since EA now owns Bioware, there is a possibility that i could play it on a console other than 360.
i probably got voted down cause of my name though. i have every current-gen console, including handhelds, except the 360 so i dont really consider myself a fanboy. i just dont wanna buy a 360 and have problems with it like most people seem to, plus the fact that more of best games on 360 are FPS's and im not really an FPS fan. gimme RPG's, platformers, and action/adventure any day (Nintendo and Sony have them in droves).
/dont worry, i wont be back for a while fanboys, i only come on this site like twice a year.
PerfectStrategy @ Mar 12th 2008 12:31PM
I love your previous post Killa. Glad to see I was able to bring out the true fanboy in you.
Oh, and based on your ever-so-eloquent posts, I would highly recommend you concentrate more on school and less on PS3 vs 360. You'll thank me later in life when you have a decent job and can afford a PS6. ;)
xenocidic @ Mar 12th 2008 2:47PM
@killa
fair enough but if you have the means, i would highly recommend the 360, rrod-risks notwithstanding.
so many titles you're missing out on, bioshock, mass effect, crackdown, shadowrun, viva pinata, just to name a few off the top of my head, as well as the dozens of excellent games available only on the XBLA.
Will fn b @ Mar 12th 2008 9:37PM
Mass Effect is no where near the greatest game of all time. Its a fun game with a fantastic story, but it is glitchy as hell. The textures always load in slowly, there is some annoying loading mid-level, and the frame rate will drop severely in some battle situations. That's just the technical side - there is also the repetition and the horribly broken inventory system...
But anyways, if they fix some of that for ME2 it could be absolutely stunning. I don't think EA would bother to buy Bioware if they didn't get the publishing rights to Bio's biggest franchise. And I can't think of one game that EA has published that has been exclusive to one console. I expect ME2 to be multiplat, but only time will tell.