T w e n t y S i d e d
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“I can’t believe you would do Mass Effect 2 while overlooking [obviously superior game]!”
Sigh.
I wish I could impart just how insane difficult it is to choose a game. There are four of us now. All four of us have different games that interest us. (Which is good.) And we have to do a game that Josh has played. We do not want to run a show where the player doesn’t know where he’s going and other players are shouting directions to him on a five-second delay. “Over there! On your left! No, your… where you were a second ago. Yeah. That switch. Okay, now we go back to the other room….” No. You could do a show where everyone goes in cold, or where some of the commentators go in cold, but having a blind pilot and three backseat drivers is a recipe for disaster and frustration.
Has Josh played it? If not, have the rest of us also not played it? Does Josh own the game or is he willing to buy it? Does it work with our exotic setup? Is it going to appeal to viewers? Do we all have something to say about it? Bonus points if we can find some conflicting opinions in the group. (Having everyone love it or hate it is too boring unless they REALLY love it or hate it.) Then there’s this odd calculus about how long a series should last. The more important and relevant the game (and good luck quantifying that) the more time we’re willing to spend on it. I have a lot I’d be willing to say about Doom 3, but I wouldn’t want us to spend ten weeks on it. On the other hand, spending ten weeks on a recent game sounds reasonable. This sliding scale works a little differently for every member of the team. Some games fall below that relevance / length threshold for some of us, and not others.
So, it’s complicated, is what I’m saying. We got together last Saturday expecting to tackle KOTOR, only to have that fall through. We spent twice as much time debating what game to play than we did recording the episodes. In the end, we came back to Mass Effect 2. It was a safe choice, Josh owned it, it was installed and ready to go, and we knew it would work.
The team will be the same as the BioShock team: Josh playing. Rutskarn, Mumbles, and myself commenting. And as the image above indicates, we’re playing fem Shepard this time around. All hail Jennifer Hale! (The real Shepard! The EA box art is a LIE!)
We actually has a lot of fun with the first recording, once the committee reached a decision. I think this series will go well.
id Software Coding Style
When the source code for Doom 3 was released, we got a look at some of the style conventions used by the developers. Here I analyze this style and explain what it all means.
Mass Effect Retrospective
A novel-sized analysis of the Mass Effect series that explains where it all went wrong. Spoiler: It was long before the ending.
The Best of 2017
My picks for what was important, awesome, or worth talking about in 2017.
Overthinking Zombies
Let's ruin everyone's fun by listing all the ways in which zombies can't work, couldn't happen, and don't make sense.
Bethesda NEVER Understood Fallout
Let's count up the ways in which Bethesda has misunderstood and misused the Fallout property.
That’s one goofy Shepard right there.
with boobs… boobs makes everything better
Indeed. But the main point is the voice acting. Jennifer Hale’s is much better than whoever did male Shepard (I forget).
Mark Meer did the male Shepard. And yes, Hale is muuuch better.
I disagree.
At least with the notion that Hale is “muuuch” better. I think its a matter of preference. Both VAs deliver their lines in their own way (and both are good!).
Hale seems to have more emotion in her dialogue (not always believable and sometimes overcooked, IMO), while Meer delivers a more neutral/subdued Shepard. I prefer the latter, as it fits the vision I have of the character.
The chief complaint I tend to hear against Meer is his even delivery, though. I guess people tend to prefer OMGDRAMA. Maybe Bioware could have gotten Kiefer Sutherland (Jack Baur of 24) to do a more intense male Shepard (but then I would expect torture in every other scene: “WHERE IS SAREN? TELL ME NOW!” *shoots kneecap*). :P
Yeah, I played through ME1 & 2 as male Sheperd for my first playthroughs and found Meer’s performance to suit my idea of Sheperd.
After hearing all the buzz around Hale’s Sheperd, I decided to give it a shot.
While it was interesting I couldn’t really continue playing it as I was never really convinced that her Sheperd was a professional that had risen quite high in the ranks (the, as I feel, overreactions to situation’s she should be familiar with/able to handle), that and the almost constant over inflection in her speech made that Sheperd feel more like a cartoon character or caricature and quite hard to take seriously.
It just felt a bit too hammed up for me.
Buahahahahaha! Taking Shepard seriously… You are so funny!
I always preferred Hale’s Renegade and Meer’s Paragon. And you KNOW Ruthberta is gonna pick more Renegade choices in ME2… Especially with the new interrupt system.
Plus, I have a huge soft spot for Hale ever since Fall From Grace…
I’m kind of in agreement, but only for ME2.
The great irony of all of this is that I’d say Meer stepped up his game for the sequel, turning his previously robotic delivery into a pretty contained, aggressive performance. I still prefer Hale, but it’s a pretty even contest in ME2. So (and here’s the irony) we have pt. 1 containing his worst performance, and pt. 2 skipping his much better one. Ahh well.
Actually for a minute I thought you were a about to do a Spoiler warning on Iron Man 2 – the game… I still have goose bumps.
Goofy indeed.
I wasn’t sure whether that thing on the image is some sort of deformed monster from Dead Space or human until Shamus mentioned it. Then it took me two minutes of intense staring at the image to realise that what I thought is an arm is actually a leg.
WOO HOO!!! Can’t wait for Tuesday!
Couple of questions:
– Will you be importing any of the Conan Shepard choices (seeing as there’s a gender difference, I would expect not) or will this be a fresh slate or some other character’s import?
– Will you be playing the DLC?
– Will you slug that reporter when she asks you childish and confrontational questions?
Randy has the save (if he still has it) and he wasn’t around when we decided to do the show.
So this is default ME2 Shepard.
I’ve played Mass Effect 2 three times but with an ME1 savegame file, so this will be instructive. It will be interesting to see how they account for the myriad of “choices” the player could make in ME1. And the female Shepard is MUCH more pleasant to listen to.
As far as I know, the “default” Shepard was mostly a Renegade in ME1, so they can have your alliance with Cerberus make more sense.
Also: <3 Jennifer Hale. One of the best voice actresses in the biz.
“Default” Shepard was not simply a renegade; s/he was an insipid renegade. Bioware chose to default to a series of actions and choices which would appeal to the smallest portion of their demographic in a deliberate attempt to pressure new players into buying the first one so that they could import a Shepard with choices that didn’t offend common sensibility. Case in point: who here would, first time around, as their final choice in ME1, have made Udina the head of a new human-dominated council? Anyone? Didn’t think so.
I rememeber there was some arguing about this before, and someone* presented a fairly decent point about why Udina would make more sense as the new counselour. Too bad I don´t remember what it was…
* Not to confuse with Someone!
I agree that the default version makes some stupid choices, that’s not one of them. In fact, who you choose for the council isn’t saved at all; you get asked about it right after the ME2 tutorial.
There’s a counter argument to that theory behind the renegade nature of de facto Shepard, which is that the default setting picks everything so the least amount of stuff was done in ME1, so therefore you wouldn’t ever ‘lose’ anything by taking a imported save over a brand new game, as that would make the reward for your loyalty a bit rubbish.
The default settings also have the effect of cutting down on the amount of cameos and references from the first game, as not to alienate people new to series quite so much.
Alternatively having the default Shepard be almost the exact opposite of what many people (including myself) chose actually makes it more fun to use for a second playthrough. Seriously, if the default was a paragon/non-xenophobe then I’d have to have played through the first game again to get the renegade experience (difficult when it crashes every couple of minutes for some unknown reason) hence I’m happy with the decision that was made.
I’m the only person on the planet who finds her Shepard performance grating and monotone, aren’t I?
I much prefer MaleShep, even with his cheesy deliveries and Canadian accent. At least he sounds awake.
That´s heresy!
Heresy?..No.THAT!IS!MASS EFFECT!
(failed my will save,sorry)
Actually, if you pull up the ME2 savegame editor you can see what variables get/got saved. There isn’t really that much, and it doesn’t make a huge impact beyond cameos and NPC replacements.
Save the Rachni!
Actually, you can get some… what do I call it… “easter egg appearances”? For example, if you encourage the guy on the Citadel who is your adoring fan in ME1, he returns in a bar on Illium, dressed in a N7 space armor, claiming to be an undercover agent (he really, really isn’t).
That particular side choice was so damn cheesy and naive, that I put down the guy’s enthusiasm even as a paragon Shepard..
He shows up regardless, as long as you’ve done his mission to completion.
I shot him in the leg.I wonder if thatll make him seek revenge in 3.
Unless Bioware patched it, Conrad’s questline is actually a little bugged, with his dialogue always implying you finished with him in ME1 as a Renegade (shoved a gun in his face) rather than Paragon (convinced him to go home).
I’m personally not a huge fan of the default Shep. You could use either http://www.masseffect2saves.com/ or Gibbed’s Save Editor to customise your own new Shepard without needing the ME1 save file. I did it (ME1 on the 360, ME2 on the PC) if only so Wrex isn’t dead.
Wouldn’t take more than ten minutes if you know what you’re doing. Downside to the save editor is that it skips the intro sequence as I recall, though again, that could be edited around and spliced together if you wanted to.
default shepard…great it means you get to play the Asshole Shepard. I’ve always thought it was funny that Bioware just assumed you were a complete dick in the first game when you started on default settings in ME2. XD
that or they wanted you to play ME1 again as the perfect paragon and bring that over.
Above all else, let it be known: I totally called it.
Secondly, it’ll be interesting to see how this one stacks up to SW subjects of the past. It’s actually pretty decent as far as gameplay goes, and with the exception of that idiotic bit at the end, the plot is more or less wholly coherent. What are the Furious four supposed to do with something like that?
Dont worry,theres plenty to be furious about from the very start.
“the plot is more or less wholly coherent”
Were you around for season 1? Considering how many pre-empt complaining Shamus rightfully directed at ME2 then, he will have a field day this time.
I would answer that most of the gripes concerning Mass Effect 2 can be safely discarded and turned to scrap with a proper journey into the Codex and some thought into the actual context of the game, rather than committing the jarring fallacies most wind up falling onto when one explores a fictitious setting; looking at it with the eyes of the alien, rather than the native.
I’ve looked at comments in the past regarding ME2 in this blog and turned into various shades of purple. I would immediately grant that the final bit is absolute bollocks compared to the rest of the game (mostly in the way it is presented and treated, not its theme or premise, which actually does make sense), but going to the lengths of calling this a game with a rather insane amount of so-called “plot holes”, as I have seen before here, is something I most definitely disagree with vehemently. Criticize its gameplay all you wish, but the storyline is much more solid than given credit for.
Certainly trounces the living daylights out of Bioshock, which literally stands on one single moment and lives out of the sense of novelty throughout the rest of the interesting bits.
I can’t wait untill you explain (*rolls the random plot-hole dice*) the issues surrounding the reaper IFF for instance. Don’t worry, we won’t get there for a while yet, so you have some time to come up with a good defense. ;)
Issues? I’m interested. Please go on. It’s hard to make a defense if you don’t know the offense. ;P
Why does the IFF have a virus that disables the entire ship? More importantly, how? There are only two possibilities for this. One; Reaper tech ““ specifically, every single piece of Reaper tech ““ can take over complete foreign technology by merely touching it after receiving a signal from home command to do so. This is akin to TomTom ordering your navigation system to take over your car when you hook it up.
The other possibility is that The Illusive Man ordered it; if I have to explain why that would be stupid, then I'll go and kill myself now Actually, it wouldn't be the first time TIM tried to get Shep killed; so what the hell, why not. Let’s go with tha.
Secondly; the council in ME2 claims there are no such things as evil, scary reapers because there wasn't any significant debris of Sovereign left. We have a frigging intact derelict reaper right here! Seriously, it would take one phone call to Anderson for him to send a small team to verify it's a big ass reaper and we would have enough evidence to bitch slap the council to early next week. (Well, okay; that's not really a plothole. That's just BioWare going “the council is evil! Cerberus is awesome and The Illusive Man is the awesomest person evar!”Âť which is retarded but at least consistent throughout ME2).
I remember having more issues with it when I played that section months ago. But those two are the ones I remember at the top of my head.
“This is akin to TomTom ordering your navigation system to take over your car when you hook it up.”
Well…theres this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sontaran_Stratagem
Also,why is it so strange for part of reaper tech to be able to take away the ship?All thats said in the game is the reaper iff is that it is used to enter the center of the galaxy,but we dont know if it has any other uses.It would be akin to putting a human kidney in your cloned rat just to filter blood,then wondering where all these excess hormones are coming from.
As for the council acting stupid,I can think of a few reasons why they wouldnt want the public to know the reapers are real.Why they wouldnt want your help in their secret projects about the reapers* is beyond me.
*Im assuming they have some secret plans in motion because otherwise they are just plain retarded.
Blatant ME2 Spoilers ahead. Also long post. You have been warned.
Okidokey, thanks for elaborating first.
1) Reaper IFF having a ‘virus’. The way I understood it, it was just a piece of leftover defense mechanism should the Reaper tech ever be captured and tried to be utilised by the ‘primitive’ races. This is more than possible since, as we’ve seen, both Sovereign and a 37-million-year-old Reaper were destroyed. There’s no telling whether more Reapers have been ‘killed’ over the years and were either salvaged or lost in Supernovas/Black Holes/Whatevers. To me, the virus was just a dormant anti-hacking mechanism. Reason it activated late? It hadn’t fully integrated with the Normandy. When it did so, it activated.
Exactly why the Collectors suddenly showed up, yeah, I’ll admit that was a bit flimsy. Could’ve been long-range monitoring (They’ve shown their ability to track the Normandy before) and they just jumped when they saw all the systems shutting down.
And we’ve seen that it’s not every single piece of Reaper tech. For example:
The Thanix Cannon upgrades. They were developed from Sovereign’s leftovers.Also, EDI is made up of partial Reaper tech and is to this day only the second of Cerberus’ non-failed experiments (the other being FemShep).
2) The Council. Their refusal to accept the existence of Reapers is well explained in the game as a way of maintaining control. If Sovereign were merely a huge Geth ship (which isn’t entirely impossible, given that we know very little of their tech beyond their excursions through the Perseus Veil) then it’s not such a big deal. If Sovereign was a member of a sentient race of Dreadnought-class starships with mind control abilities who are eons old, well, that’s a rather larger problem, and a little bit more far-fetched.
That you can’t choose to inform them of the derelict reaper, yeah, bit of a plothole, but it also makes sense in a way. The fact that Martin Sheen only found it recently means that Cerberus were the first on the scene. As it was the only viable source of a Reaper IFF they could see, it’s not out of the question for Shepard to want to get there first ahead of the Council or the Alliance since she would want to get that tech first for her mission. And afterwards?
Well you blew up the core and the Reaper fell into the sun. There was nothing for Anderson to inspect after Shepard had finished with it.I’ll admit, the Collectors turning up just as the Reaper IFF activated itself seems poorly justified. Everything else though I can more than see as being explainable.
The Reaper Virus is understandable if you assume (provided there isn’t a dialog option I’m forgetting) that the Reapers are similar to the Geth, in that they are an amalgam of several thousand different programs so the IFF could have several nasty programs waiting around inside.
As for the tracking of Normandy II
EDI mentions that she’s getting an odd signal from the IFF, which Joker points out it’s broadcasting to the Collectors (or something along those lines).Alternatively
When you raid the Collector ship and EDI interfaces with their systems and Harby plays peek-a-boo with Joker he uploads a virus to disable the Normady’s systems. The virus hides itself in the ship’s systems and slowly works it’s way though everything while avoiding EDI’s all seeing eyes. The collector ship then transmits the activate code when they jump in after getting the Normandy’s location from the IFF system.Though given they don’t actually give any explanation in-game along those lines we’ve left to assume it was all the fault of gremlins on the wing.
The explanation the team have given on several occasions for ruling out use of the Codex or the books is that if the writers should have made it make sense on the first pass, since we’re playing a video game for an interactive experience.
Me, I wonder if some of these Codex entries that magically explain stupidity are just the writers making a saving throw after testers and other team members called them on it.
Anyway, this is supposed to be criticism, which necessitates picking on the weaknesses to be at all valid. And they will have good things to say about it, because, given the Fallout 3 experience, they wouldn’t have started if they didn’t.
To be honest, my only real gripe with Mass Effect 2 is the final mission which is seriously not-epic-at-all and the end boss is… horrible.
Everything up to that point was pretty darn good (more or less).
The vast majority of ME2’s plot issues rest in the final scene. Which is kind of a serious problem as the final scene is the climax, if you screw up the climax to the degree they did with ME2 then that casts a negative shadow across all the preceeding story.
Case in point; i was really enjoying ME2, overlooking the occasional logical bump here and there, until i saw that stupid, stupid stupid people reaper, at which point i suddenly stopped enjoying the game. I now get substantially less enjoyment out of the game when replaying it because i know that when i reach the climax i will have to look at that goddamn robot again.
The opening cutscene could carry them for the first episode, even before the tiny bit of moving around.
*sigh* no Overlord…
Have fun. I still have to play that game…
You mean we get to hear MORE about Mordin Solus? Joy!!!
I say that should be the first rule of the ME2 drinking game: Every time Shamus mentions Morin Solus, drink!
This means we all will die if they decide to show us his personal mission.
If?The question is probably only when.
There’s no denying her performance is more interesting than the one by the male Sheperd but I’m stuck with a male save game now from ME1. I’m replaying ME2 with a renegade female Sheperd and it’s good craic, even when I’m skipping other npc dialog it’s worth hearing Sheperds lines
I hate dissing a voice actor, but good lord maleshep is incredibly underwhelming compared to femshep. She just has such better delivery of her lines and gives a lot more weight and emotion to a lot of scenes. There’s a few particular ones where the cold delivery of male shep really detracts from it — although in a few places it’s rather good, especially when playing a Renegade maleshep when it starts to feel like he’s just a bit of cold asshole.
Eitherway, so damn glad it’s femshep this time around.
Grab a save editor, that’s what i did.
I still need to actually play the ME1 I bought through XBox live, much less ME2.
Damn! I was hoping you’d delay doing Mass Effect 2 until the NEXT Spoiler Warning or something like that. But only because I haven’t gotten around to playing it yet myself, and I don’t want to spoil it.
Oh well, I guess I can’t complain about you choosing a game that’s a year old, huh? I’m sure they’ll be grand, and I’ll watch them once I get around to finishing it this holiday.
Don’t worry, playing through all of Mass Effect 2 only takes about 30 hours…
Oh this is going to be good. Jeniffer Hale’s voice is like audible honey.
Too bad we won’t be able to hear it over the constant pointing out of the flaws of the entire “Collectors” thing.
Woah woah woah woah… you’re telling me there’s actual sound coming from the game? All I ever hear is quadrupletalk and STOP SHOOTING ME and “Yeah guys… we just died.”
You left out “In the original System Shock” “Pipe dream” and “Beeees” (I am glad the next game is ME2 because that means we get to hear Mumbles comment on the Collector Spacebees)
*chugs down vodka*
SPAAAAAAACE BEEEEES ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE SKYYYYYYYYYY
SHOCKING DEVELOPMENTS! Can’t wait to see where this goes.
Also, my first thought is that this is a foolish request, but then again this is the internet where you get everyone, so I was wondering if anyone here had any artistic ability(or is even good with Garry’s mod if you have the right models), as I had some idea for fan arts/comics based on the Spoiler Warning serieses.
Heh. The story of a man who hears voices in his head- one endlessly grousing, one a torrent of terrible puns, and the last shouting random buzzwords at the smallest of cues.
Buzzwords? Was that… a bee pun?
Yay mass effect 2!
And I hope youre not going to do just the main plot,because there is just so much bitching I can dispense.I mean I love the game,and Im one of the few apologists for the terminator in the end,but damn is the main plot broken!
But if you dont do all the loyalty missions,at least do talis and mordins.Others are nice as well(except maybe mirandas),but those two are my favourites.
Also nice how youll be doing the female shepard,because(oddly enough)Ive played just a male run through 2.I just couldnt do a second run through the game like with 1.
Oh,and I guess one more bonus is that it is a game where we can again bee punny.
If they only did the main plot then this season of Spoiler Warning would be about 6 episodes long.
That’s fine as long as you mean X-Com when you say Mass Effect 2.
Please beat the game into oblivion. This one is worse than Fallout 3 in terms of story holes in my book and needs to be taken out and shot.
Also, there’s a really eloquent video review series (non-let’s play) of ME2 out on YouTube. Once you guys have recorded your last episode, you should check it out. Let’s just say it’s not entirely favorable.
I disagree, Fallout 3 gets goofy once your dad decides to abandon you in the vault. ME2’s core plot of finding out what’s happening to the humans at least makes some sense. God knows there’s some serious plot holes, especially if you use a sole survivor save from ME1.
Though on my first playthrough, the time gap between playing ME1 and ME2 meant I had forgotten everything Cerberus had been up to. Afterwards I did a replay of ME1 and was VERY DISAPPOINTED (as said by Otto in a Fish Called Wanda) with the retconning.
The “what’s happening to the humans” part is exactly what makes the least damn sense. Not to mention the “killing the protagonist in the first five minutes” part, and the “wake up and suddenly work with a bunch of terrorists with no justification or complaint” part.
If you want to cover the good part of ME2, you do two or three episodes of Mordin Solus, post up a big “and the rest was complete bollocks” label and run twenty hours of Star Trek reruns.
Which generation of Star Trek we talkin’ bout, here?
Anything but Enterprise would be an improvement.
Well,if they had you die on the station during the attack,working with cerberus(at least for the first few missions)would make some sense.And whats happening to the humans has some sense in it,even though the execution of it is so very bad.
And there are other sidequests that you could do that are also nice,not just mordins.I hate it how bioware almost always makes the sidequests in their game so good and intriguing,and then slap them on such a poorly executed main story.
I like to pretend that Cerberus slapped a little loyalty chip into Shepard when they were rebuilding him. Nothing overt, just a little something that makes him positively disposed towards the Illusive Man.
Yeah. I did play using a Sole Survivor save state.
The funniest part was that I kept a picture of Ashley on my desk because I chose all the paragon options in ME1 and the game decided I liked Ashley because of it. Never did anything, but zombie-shepherd still decides he wants Ashley’s picture on his desk. I knew I should have killed her off…
Could you be a little more specific regarding which one we should be looking for? Saying that there’s a video review of anything on youtube is like saying that Renegade Shepard is kind of an asshole.
remember that bit Josh got hopelessly lost at the end of fallout 3. Yes…him going in blind would be bad…i agree.
*GAH!*
I *STILL* haven’t finished Fallout 3! Watching Spoiler Warning of Fallout 3 convinced me to buy it when it was on sale on Steam. However, about half-way through the season, I decided to stop watching to keep from, you know, spoiling the rest of the game. When I finally finish it, I’ll have to rush through Bioshock so I can get to ME2 (both of which I already have on Steam).
*sigh* I guess I’ll be sitting out another season.
Heh, I’m glad you didn’t choose Deus Ex, because I actually want to play that some day.
Ok, important point Shamus/Josh/Rutskarn/Mumbles/Overmind-of-all-four:
What about the loyalty missions? Are you gonna do any, just one or what? I profoundly believe Shamus might want to do Mordin(so do I) and I’ve seen a lot of interest in Tali’s(mine as well); but you could perhaps create a vote for the choice of a third mission or something?
Certainly we’ll have to do SOME. But I imagine we won’t do ALL. Mordin is a must. I have a few others I might nominate privately. I think skipping a few would actually be a good idea. Not just to save time, but to increase the odds that a few people will bite it in the final mission.
Do the one with the explodable space station. You should know which one I am talking about.
You should at least do Samera and Thane, as you could probably fit the both of them into one episode, and they’re very (well, entirely) story centric, which I know you guys like. Also, it means that you could romance Thane, and Thane…
*swoon*
I have a funny story with the Samara loyalty mission. I’ll save it for the show though :P
Gah. I hated Thane’s loyalty mission (the second time through).
Walk down scaffolding.
Wait.
Walk down scaffolding.
Wait.
Update Thane who apparently can’t be bothered to walk on the scaffolding instead of you thereby avoiding the need for him to go trouncing about the shadows.
Wait.
Walk down scaffolding.
Hilarious renegade option.
Etc.
The Garrus loyalty mission is interesting to play, as it creates that “Think fast! Should you shoot this dude?” tension, but rather forgettable and can be safely skipped unless you are planning sexy times with Garrus. (Which opens up another hilarious line of dialogue with Mordin.)
Actually,he has one for every one you pick.So romance is a must in this,I guess.
If you guys do Tali’s, be sure to bring along Legion. Not a ton of new dialogue or anything, but it’s fun to imagine everyone’s “WTF?” faces beneath their helmets.
You guys had BETTER go for Renegade. I can’t bear to play that way myself but I enjoy watching it on video strangely enough.
I too feel this way.
I tried doing a Renegade run of ME1, but I can’t get over the fact that most Renegade options (in the beginning, at least) just amount to ‘be a jerk to people, for no good reason’.
Oh no Conan Shepard or Randy. :(
Of course all will be forgotten with the excellent voice of Jennifer Hale. I probably played through both Mass Effects three times before I tried a Fem-Shepard and realized its vast, vast superiority over man Shepard.
.
.
Oh no! I hoped you wouldn’t pick ME2, since that’s a game I haven’t played yet, but most definitely WILL. I’m just waiting for it to go on sale, being the cheapskate I am.
Oh well, at least I will a full season of Spoiler Warning ready when I’ve finally finished ME2.
And finally. Female Shepard is certainly the way to go. If Jennifer Hale told me to jump off my balcony (fifth floor), I’d do it.
Shamus, that’s ridiculous. No game is obviously superior to Mass Effect 2.
Hey Shamus;
As much as I love your stuff, I don’t have time to watch spoiler warning. Any chance you could put the RSS feed for it on the Zune Marketplace so I could download it on Tuesday nights and watch Wednesday mornings on the bus?
Jade Empire????
sadface. I would love to hear you guys talk about that game!
I’m sure there’s good reasons and such, best of luck with your “exotic” setup xD
The question isn’t whether the audience will accept Mass Effect 2… it’s what you’re going to do AFTER Mass Effect 2.
Have an aneurysm?
Minecraft!
Seconded.
…damn creepers.
Will you be romancing any of the characters? Or is that yet to be determined?
Also I assume you’ll be offscreen farming the probe minigame? Or will you have Those Minerals (Link for people who’ve forgotten it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJb9mCnJWgs&feature=related ) prepared to play whenever you go a-mining?
Oh,they must have one episode entirely dedicated to probing missions.It would be such a fun to watch.
You forgot to close your sarcasm tag.
Actually Id have to close my serious tags because Im sarcastic more of the time.
I don’t know why people hate on male shepard’s voice acting so much. Sir Gallent Squarejaw is a perfectly good voice for the role.
Its not that he is bad. Its just that Jennifer Hale is just completely awesome.
Still heartbroken about KotoR.
What DLC, if any, are you guys planning on doing? I bought Mass Effect 2 through EA Download Manager (EA’s attempt at digital distribution, not as good as Steam) and for some reason I did not get access to Cerberus Network despite paying full price for the game. I refuse to buy that chunk of DLC when I should already have it, so I never bothered with ME 2 DLC. I hear that you get a couple of characters from it and a couple of levels.
Are you going to get all the character? I believe you can skip… 3. What about the DLC characters?
Kasumi is fun to have due to her (rather limited) cut scene dialog. Not to mention her KILL EVERYONE attack.
“She seemed nice. In a mad-scientist, ethics for sale kind of way.”
I think I had a premonition you were going to do Mass Effect 2. I’ve had a strong urge to play it again for several days now…
Will you be playing renegade or paragon, or do we have to wait and see? :)
It would be such a surprise if they went the paragon option,because they were so obviously playing renegade in the last 3 games theyve shown.Plus,here they finally can vent their frustrations about unskippable dialogues.Though I probably would like to see them go the paragon route simply because I didnt do it,Im not so sure it would be fun for long.
Spoken like someone who forgets the Red mouse button options! Seriously, It’s like a free pass to hillarity! Even my first, mostly paragon playthrough I still hit the the red button whenever it showed up
I really hope you do the DLC. I haven’t seen it myself(or the parts I would’ve had to pay for, anyway), so it would really add to the playthrough, as I’ve seen pretty much everything else in ME2 a couple of times already.
Aw… I was hoping to see how Conan’s choices effected things.
Ah well, most of the time it was just a small conversation/text blurb, so whatever.
Oh, this will be fun.
I’ve tried replaying ME2 with a male version, but it’s just not as good a game without Jennifer Hale voicing all those lines.
Get Legion ASAP please. Best character in the game after Mordin.
Don’t get Legion ASAP as getting Legion means you’re in the endgame. Well, if you care about having a crew to man your ship, that is. Sure their not needed as EDI and Joker prove, but someone has to clean the toilets.
The delay to the endgame is only important if you want to save Kelly. Otherwise you can feel free to bum around the galaxy all you like.
Personally i actually reccomend getting Legion ASAP, ignoring all other missions to get to him and then doing everything with him, because you get some of the funniest and most rediculous scenes and dialogue in the game with Legion in your party. (It’s also full of plot holes, but you taking Legion to those places in the first place is bone-headed, so that is excusable.)
The ‘infiltration’ of the Citadel still makes me smile :3
True, Legion is a hoot. Take him to Tali’s recruitment mission, Kal’s reaction is hilarious.
So, guys, I’ve got a theory. This hex grid thing Shamus is doing? Gonna be the movement grid of old-school style RPG like Fallout 1 and Arcanum and everything else that’s popped up on GoG, and it’ll be Spoiler Warning: The Game: Mass Fallshock 2. Your party consists of:
-CONAN SHEPARD: The man with the hair, who puts humans first and doesn’t let aliens, humans, robots, or his pilot get in his way. Also gifted with the press.
-REGINALD CUFTBERT: Depopulated the Capital Wasteland all on his own. Check your pocket. He’s already switched your wallet with a plasma grenade.
-BUBBLES RYAN CUFTBERT: The spliced up killer who can’t bear to harm children, so it’s not creepy that a little girl with a yard long syringe follows him around.
-Uh… THE FEMALE SHEPARD: [Fill this in later]
They’re an elite team that is not made up of mercenaries. All the dialog options are Chaotic I Hate The Plot Evil. You kill 90% of the NPCs you meet.
And everyone still thinks you’re an awesome Lawful Good hero.
THAT would be the best thing ever! XD
But I have admit, since they’re doing a Female Shepard, I’m a little disappointed that we won’t be having a Cuftbert Shepard or something.
Also, I understand the reasons why they’re unable to do KOTOR, but to quote some guy (don’t remember his/her name) from another post on this blog, I’ll be disappointed that we won’t have a Darth Cuftbert.
At any rate, I’ll be looking forward to seeing what the SW team does. Almost can’t wait for this next season!
Cuftberta shepard?
Gah!Damn you Zukhramm!!
Maybe it’s Sonya instead of Conan? She would use a lot of Red.
Or
Regina ‘What’s a Paragon’ Sheppard, Pants Exploder Extraordinaire.
.
.
If you find a way to get Kotor to work I’d still really like to see you do it after ME2. I’m one of those people who can’t bring themselves to be a gratuitous jerk in RPGs which would make Darth Cuftbert very interesting.
I can pull off politely evil, but not a jerk or psychopath. Not sure why.
Fable would be another good one to abuse that would reward the Cuftbert playstyle.
I’d play it.
Hell, I’d fucking buy it day 1.
Although, you forgot the bit where the 10% you don’t kill are invincible children that send you on quests to save their invincible children friends from being killed, despite the fact that they are, self knowingly, invincible.
And your party’s only battle taunt is; “stop shooting me!” And the enemy’s is; “The enemy is everywhere!”
You forgot “You’re a masochist!” as an enemy taunt. That one must be said always at only odd and inappropriate points in the battle.
Oh, and everyone gets brought back from limbo after dying at the end of each of their games/LPs and then then Shamus’s projects all combine and the final bosses are Breen and Metrocop.
Regina Cuftbert. This must be so.
Why is it, everywhere I go, people try to kill my faith in humanity?
I’m commander Regina Cuftbert Sheppard and this is my favorite store on the citadel.
Regina ‘Obscure Reasons’ Cuftbert Shepard (as opposed to male, ‘Obvious Reasons’)
Cuftberta Sheppard.
Oh man. I would never have guessed
Due to getting my compuer in an archaeological excavation, I’ll hold off watching this until the game is released on the PS3.
And so, Zukhramm faded from the internet, never to be seen or heard from again. – The End
More Mass Effect? Seems like you’ve already spent most of this summer talking it to death :/
Aw shucks, I wanted Spoiler Warning to do MGS3. But that was really only because I wanted Mumbles to see the bossfight with The Pain.
BEEEEES!!!
BEEEEES!!!
BEEEEES!!!
BEEEEES!!!
BEEEEES!!!
BEEEEES!!!
BEEEEES!!!
BEEEEES!!!
Also:
“a blind pilot and three backseat drivers is a recipe for disaster and frustration.”
This actullay sounds hilarious to me (at least for a short game, though it may get old fast).
Hmm. But how do they taste?
Who wants to bet that after this, it will be Fallout NV, and then Bioshock 2, then Mass Effect 3 and then a new Fallout game and then Bioshock Infinite?
Not a whole lot of point doing Fallout NV: It’s basically identical to FO3, except that the storyline isn’t blatantly retarded.
That’s exactly why it should be done (after enough time has passed for those that care to have finished it). It’s still hilariously broken enough that it wouldn’t be boring and it’d be good to see a game where most of the complaints aren’t plot-related. Besides… with the addition of C4…
The male Shephard actively annoys me. The character model and the voice actor conspire to make you think he’s always sitting there gawking at whoever is speaking to him, distracted by desperate attempts to remember how to tie a pair of shoes.
He is a military grunt, after all. Not a scientist, not a particularly clever lad, just a beefcake with guns & short-sighted command.
“Damn it Im a specter not an entertainer!”
I’m surprised no one has made a prize reference yet?
THE PRIZEEEEEEE!!!!
THE PRIZEEEEEEE!!!!
PRIZZZZZEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
not sure what I’m talking bout?
well here you go
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4ze_R3TevE
Hooray, for the end of ROBOTVOICE MCBORINGSHEPARD! =D
That was pretty much the only reason why I didn’t watch every episode of when you guys went through the first Mass Effect. I’ve never seen a Male Shepard, in all of the customizable options provided, where he doesn’t look like a huge derp-face. And there is a definite drop-off point in quality from Jennifer Hale down to… Mark Meer?
Can’t wait!
I’m shocked you didn’t go with 1993’s smash hit, Ken’s Labyrinth.
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t see why everybody seems to think Jennifer Hale does a better job voice acting for Shepard than Mark Meer. She’s got a lot more experience, I’ll readily admit, but something about her voice just never… touches me. Mark Meer’s performance in ME1 wasn’t that stellar either, but he’s gotten noticeably better in ME2.
Mostly agreed. Mark’s voice is maybe less emotional & involved than Jennifer’s, but considering the role he has to fill – a military grunt with a military cut and jaw the size of Texas, he does a perfect work. People just forget that their Shepards have not finished acting & compassion academy.
I started playing Mass Effect 1 as a female Shepard, and now I can’t go back. Mark Meer just sounds like a small, angry office worker doing a bad impersonation of the “determined/angry man”-voice. It just doesn’t cut it.
Jennifer Hale on the other hand… hoo, boy. She’s really good. I especially like the punch that she delivers the lines with in Tali’s loyalty mission.
“But it’s realistic!” Is not a good reason to have an emotionless wooden board (or Keanu Reeves) as your protagonist.
If your story calls for an emotionless wooden board protagonist, you need to rethink your story.
He was a perfect pick for the remake of the day the earth stood still.Too bad the rest of the movie wasnt that perfect.
Damn, I haven’t played Mass Effect 2 yet, so I can’t bring myself to watch this season of Spoiler Warning…
Blame on the mountain of strategy games I play and the RPG oldies I’m replaying (thanks GoG, for Betrayal at Krondor and Might and Magic pack), but I simply haven’t got around to actually buy and play ME2.
This is a sad day for me.
Oh, well, back to King’s Bounty.
Aw.. now I have to buy this game so that nothing gets spoiled…
Am I the only one who actually prefers Mark Meer? No offense to Jennifer Hale, I’ve liked plenty of the stuff she’s done, but I never liked her Shepard…
No. You’re one of at least three people that preferred Mark Meer. Still a tiny minority, though.
Hooray! Three! we can have a club. and a treehouse. No girls allowed.
I want to join your club as well. Where’s my application form?
A female Shepard? That’s not what I see. All I see is Regina Cuftbert, distant descendant of a great hero.
Well shit, I guess I better start playing again.
No matter the plot holes, Mass Effect 2 is a blast to play and one heck of a great game! I called it game of the year back when it was released in January! Here it is nearing the end of the year and my choice for game of the year has not been swayed even the slightest.
P.S. Jennifer Hale is a national treasure.
Lots of people called it GOTY back in January. Honestly, I don’t think there’s anything that really challenges it… Black Ops might, maybe, but I doubt it.
How about doing something a little bit older? Such as the original Fallouts, Arcanum, Baldur’s Gate or Deus Ex?
I’m not sure how a non-first person game would hold up. That would still leave Deus Ex at least.
If the game’s not first person, we can’t enjoy Josh’s aiming skills.
First reaction: “ME2? … Great, another thing on my schedule.”
This from someone who hasn’t managed to find the time to watch any of the others, despite the fact that I’ve played and greatly enjoyed two of the games. I posit the excuse that I haven’t played Bioshock for not watching that one, though. … Maybe I should go play
I think Hale is better, but not as much as everyone else seems to think… and luckily I haven’t played KotoR in a while, so no flashbacks while watching or playing with fem Shepard. Actually… probably the other way around, now. (having flashbacks to ME while playing KotoR)
I have that problem when I’m watching Chuck… can’t get ME2 out of my head.
Red Dead Redemption.
YES! I’ve been thinking the same thing.
Although the nitpicking would hurt, but then again it always does.
Fem Shepard = no Tali romance = sad :(
Yeah, but there’s Garrus instead, in all his awkward glory and reach.
I never have any problems at being evil in games, though sometimes the evil options are actually seriously evil, like in FO3. This game might have a bit of it, but I I was playing I’d have no problem.