I've put in another 15-20 hours since I wrote that, and there are a few things I need to amend.
-There are only 4 ranks to any power, not 5. Whoops.
-I'm more annoyed by the way the interact popup works than it's size at this point. It loves to lock on to things I can't even see- some of them behind walls.
-I do love not having inventory- all the guns work at least slightly differently, and there's a use for any/all of them you care to use. The anti-tank sniper rifle is absolutely brilliant, and I'd marry it if I could. Same with the nuclear explosion gun, if you could carry more than 2 shots for it (and that requires 5 upgrades, to boot)!
-Mining. Dear gods, mining! Yes, it's easier to find resources than in ME1. Yes, there's no more wandering all over a planet looking for that symbol to show up on your radar. At least ME1 didn't link your combat performance directly to how much [CHOPPING] platinum the game feels like giving you! At least you didn't have to look at the same wavy line for an hour at a time while waving your mouse around, hoping that this time you'd find the resource you needed. At least ME1 didn't make it plot-crucial- not just for one game, but two!
-ME2 alt-tabs in and out like a charm. This is SO MUCH better than ME1, where you had to wait 10-15 seconds at least for it to come back up.
And now, to respond to s3yang:
-All I'm saying that the power selection menu is badly implemented in ME2. It doesn't matter to me that you don't have to use it. It could've been implemented better with a relatively small amount of effort, so why didn't they?
-As far as skills go, they actually did remove quite a bit of useful specialization. Weapon training was a nice feature in ME1- you could use any weapon, but how well was determined by skills. Why take that out? They lumped all the stat-boosting skills into one, which is good- the old system did have a few redundant skills. Singularity disappeared, too, which is not so nice.
-The new skill system bothers me most because you don't get that feeling that every level accomplishes something that you had in ME1. Even when all you got was some slight boosts to your stats, you were just that much tougher or deadlier. By the ME2 midgame, I'll go through 3-4 levels before I gain any more combat effectiveness, because of that stupid 'spend more points for each rank of a skill' mechanic. Honestly! ME1 skills had 10 levels, each of which did something. ME2 also has 10 levels in each skill, but you have to buy levels 2-3, 4-6, and 7-10 at the same time..
-One thing I found out on maps is that if you tap the button, it'll bring up the old-style map... for port cities only. Otherwise, yeah. I do approve of the non-cookie-cutter destinations, though.
-The plot is quite good, as is a lot of the game. On the whole, I actually like ME2- I just wish they could've done some things differently.
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.
I've been writing a bit.
-There are only 4 ranks to any power, not 5. Whoops.
-I'm more annoyed by the way the interact popup works than it's size at this point. It loves to lock on to things I can't even see- some of them behind walls.
-I do love not having inventory- all the guns work at least slightly differently, and there's a use for any/all of them you care to use. The anti-tank sniper rifle is absolutely brilliant, and I'd marry it if I could. Same with the nuclear explosion gun, if you could carry more than 2 shots for it (and that requires 5 upgrades, to boot)!
-Mining. Dear gods, mining! Yes, it's easier to find resources than in ME1. Yes, there's no more wandering all over a planet looking for that symbol to show up on your radar. At least ME1 didn't link your combat performance directly to how much [CHOPPING] platinum the game feels like giving you! At least you didn't have to look at the same wavy line for an hour at a time while waving your mouse around, hoping that this time you'd find the resource you needed. At least ME1 didn't make it plot-crucial- not just for one game, but two!
-ME2 alt-tabs in and out like a charm. This is SO MUCH better than ME1, where you had to wait 10-15 seconds at least for it to come back up.
And now, to respond to s3yang:
-All I'm saying that the power selection menu is badly implemented in ME2. It doesn't matter to me that you don't have to use it. It could've been implemented better with a relatively small amount of effort, so why didn't they?
-As far as skills go, they actually did remove quite a bit of useful specialization. Weapon training was a nice feature in ME1- you could use any weapon, but how well was determined by skills. Why take that out? They lumped all the stat-boosting skills into one, which is good- the old system did have a few redundant skills. Singularity disappeared, too, which is not so nice.
-The new skill system bothers me most because you don't get that feeling that every level accomplishes something that you had in ME1. Even when all you got was some slight boosts to your stats, you were just that much tougher or deadlier. By the ME2 midgame, I'll go through 3-4 levels before I gain any more combat effectiveness, because of that stupid 'spend more points for each rank of a skill' mechanic. Honestly! ME1 skills had 10 levels, each of which did something. ME2 also has 10 levels in each skill, but you have to buy levels 2-3, 4-6, and 7-10 at the same time..
-One thing I found out on maps is that if you tap the button, it'll bring up the old-style map... for port cities only. Otherwise, yeah. I do approve of the non-cookie-cutter destinations, though.
-The plot is quite good, as is a lot of the game. On the whole, I actually like ME2- I just wish they could've done some things differently.
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.
I've been writing a bit.