Mass Effect 2 - Screenshots @ ShackNews

[magerette]

ShackNews posts a few new screenies for Bioware's upcoming Mass Effect 2, featuring companion NPC Grunt. Here's a cut to the chase link on the screens.
More information.

 

[Thaurin]

Don't these screenshots look much more cartoony than the first Mass Effect? Maybe it's just me, but it seems that they changed art direction a bit. I hope not, or at least not in this direction.

 

[JDR13]

Don't these screenshots look much more cartoony than the first Mass Effect? Maybe it's just me, but it seems that they changed art direction a bit. I hope not, or at least not in this direction.

The colors do seem just a bit brighter, but not a big difference from ME1 imo.

 

[Arhu]

More contrast, apparently. Case in point (see visor) --
ME1 left, ME2 right


Reminds me a bit of Diablo 3's new art direction. I'm wondering now if it's intentional or simply a "feature" of modern graphics cards? Like pressing the "Vibrancy!" button on your TV to make everything look more colorful (or put differently, oversaturated.)

But maybe our minds are playing tricks on us.

 

[Maylander]

Probably depends on settings and so on too (or the fact that the screenshots are of the console version of ME2, while most here played the PC version of ME1). I do know that ME1 looks significantly better on my computer than it does in videos made of the console version.

At any rate - a Krogan NPC in the party that's not Wrex? Blasphemy! There had better be a good reason..

 

[JemyM]

At any rate - a Krogan NPC in the party that's not Wrex? Blasphemy! There had better be a good reason..

If you played ME and know some of the possible events in the game, you might be able to guess why. ME2 is supposed to transfer plenty of "memories" from the first game to the 2nd. For the same reason I doubt we will see Ashley Williams or Kaidan Alenko return.

 

[Maylander]

Aah, of course.

Spoiler: Party setup in ME2

Perhaps the party setup in ME2 will actually depend on your actions in ME1? I.e you can meet/get Wrex if he was not killed, and either Alenko or Williams depending on who you saved? That would certainly be very interesting.

 

[Thaurin]

Oh, yes. That would certainly be interesting.

Spoiler

I went through great lenghts to save Wrex after I got to the scene where he was killed. I had to revert to an old save game, do some of Wrex side mission, talk to him about stuff, etc. before I even had the option. I want Wrex in ME2.

 

[jhwisner]

While I appreciate the zeal, is it really necessary to mark information about the first game as spoilers in a discussion of its sequel? Isn't any discussion, beyond game mechanics, of a sequel inherently going to spoil the plot of the first to some extent?

 

[skavenhorde]

They better have wrex. I went to great lengths to keep him alive as well.

I hated KOTOR 2 where they killed off Bastilla. Do you know how hard it was to keep her alive at the end and then they just up and killed her for KOTOR 2. I liked a few surprises like the main character being a woman, but that was just wrong.

Couldn't they find the voice actress who played Bastilla or maybe she just wanted too much money so they killed her off and made her go darkside

 

[Maylander]

While I appreciate the zeal, is it really necessary to mark information about the first game as spoilers in a discussion of its sequel? Isn't any discussion, beyond game mechanics, of a sequel inherently going to spoil the plot of the first to some extent?

Generally, I don't post spoilers without the tag unless it's a thread that asks a specific question, or is specified as a spoiler thread. You never know who might read it. Quite a few around here take part in general discussions that are often not directly related to a game, but are sparked by something related to the game (i.e various BioWare/EA/marketing discussions that have been triggered by Dragon Age and ME2 lately).

They better have wrex. I went to great lengths to keep him alive as well.

I hated KOTOR 2 where they killed off Bastilla. Do you know how hard it was to keep her alive at the end and then they just up and killed her for KOTOR 2. I liked a few surprises like the main character being a woman, but that was just wrong.

Couldn't they find the voice actress who played Bastilla or maybe she just wanted too much money so they killed her off and made her go darkside

Spoiler: Bastila in KotOR2

Bastila is only dead if you tell Atton that Revan was not redeemed. Perhaps whether Revan was a male/female comes into play as well, I'm not sure. However, when choosing Revan -> male -> redeemed himself and saved the galaxy, you get to see Bastila alongside Carth Onasi in a cutscene in KotOR2. Same voice actor.

Generally, the dialogue with Atton at the start of KotOR2 decides quite a few things about Revan and how KotOR1 ended in "your" version. This is then used later on in the game. Quite a nice touch really. Something of a smale scale version of what ME1->2 is doing I believe, only in ME2 you can directly import it from a savegame instead of telling an NPC how it ended.

 

[bkrueger]

They better have wrex. I went to great lengths to keep him alive as well.

I must have missed something. I always did what I felt was right and there was never a risk of him dying.

 

[Maylander]

As long as you help him with his sidequest, you can always keep him alive through the whole game without breaking a sweat. If you don't, things get more tricky.

 

[bkrueger]

As long as you help him with his sidequest, you can always keep him alive through the whole game without breaking a sweat. If you don't, things get more tricky.

Ok, since I have the habit to play all sidequests for all characters, I obviously never encountered a problem being caused but NOT having played one....