E3 2009 has 8 chronicles

1. Hands-On with Mass Effect 2
   

   Player Chronicle -- Posted on Jun 10 2009

   During E3 this past week, I was one of the fortunate few who got the opportunity to play through the E3 demo of Mass Effect 2. I must say right now, I am very, very impressed. Here are a few of the things you'll have to look forward to.
   
   Combat Improvements
   The combat system in ME2 has greatly been improved. Moving into, out of, and over cover feels very natural this time round. Teammate control is much stronger in this game, as well. Now, I can separately tell each member of my squad to move to a different location, use a biotic power on an enemy, etc., all within 2-3 button presses.
   Also, the weapons system has been enhanced in three main ways. First, players will now have the ability to a) add special abilites to bullets on-the-fly, and b) map a secondary ability to the Y button, so that the player can quickly switch, without having to deal with the menu. For example, when I came up on an enemy squad, I set my AR to fire incindiary bullets, and I mapped concussive rounds to the Y button. So, as I'm blasting through the squad, setting everyone ablaze, I come upon the squad leader. With a quick tap of the Y button (and a teammate's biotic "Pull" power), the enemy leader has been lifted 10 feet off the ground, pelted with exploding rounds, and is now drifting off into space.
   The second new feature with the weapons is the "power-swap", where with just a tap of the RB, you can switch to your most recent weapon, which is usually your power weapon. It's a great way to quickly pull out the sniper for a few quick distant headshots, or as I did in the above example, pop out the rocket launcher to make sure that squad leader was on his merry way to deep space.
   The third enhancement, and probably most important to all of the snipers out there, is that the accuracy stat has been dropped from the weapons! As any fan of ME1 will tell you, it became extremely frustrating to wait for the perfect headshot, have your enemy perfectly in your crosshairs... and completely whiff the shot, simply because the accuracy rating of your sniper rifle wasn't high enough to justify the bullet actually going where you told it to. Well, that is no more. I felt great to be able to sit back and pick off enemy after enemy as they tried to sneak through the winding maze of short crates. Good job, Bioware.
   
   Storytelling Improvements
   Technically, there has really only been one major modification to the conversation system, and that's the interrupt feature. While this had initially been promised for the original Mass Effect, it has definitely made it's way into ME2. I must say, there are few better ways to finish a dry, boring converation, than by suddenly kicking the guy through the window of a 30-story building. As for the story itself... The story in Mass Effect 2 seems to be much darker than the first game. I don't want to give anything away... But let's just say that the game might not always end in a "hooray, Shephard saved the day!" sort of way.
   
   Finally, there's the feature of importing your ME1 saves into the game, but Ben has already gone into detail about that in an earlier E3 2009 chronicle. It looks to be very, very impressive.
   
   Overall, I can't wait for the release of this game. If you liked the original Mass Effect at all, then this is a definite must-buy. I know that, come Spring 2010, I'll be waiting outside for the midnight release. Who's with me?
   
   -Zach

   
   

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E3 2009 has 1 comment on this chronicle.

1. BEN
   Posted On Jun 10 2009

   Midnight Release? That's what I like to hear, haha.
   
   I may have to join you...hopefully the first Mass Effect is on sale so I can play it. Opps, haha