Mass Effect 2 Retrospective - Masterpiece or Overrated?
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- Опубліковано 9 лип 2024
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In this video, we do a deep dive retrospective review of Mass Effect 2, Bioware’s most critically acclaimed game of all-time. The game sits at a 96 on Metacritic with 30 perfect scores, as well as considerable praise from fans. But is Mass Effect 2 truly as good as these scores suggest or is it overrated? Well, let’s dig in together.
0:00 Introduction
2:06 Gameplay
5:31 Guess Who’s Back
9:03 The Illusive Man
10:02 Stopping the Collectors
11:27 Squad Goals - Building the Team
14:54 Horizon
17:26 Rounding Out the Squad
19:53 Collector Ship Ambush
21:04 Loyalty Missions
21:44 Miranda
23:48 Jacob “Vent God” Taylor
26:50 Mordin
30:10 Grunt
31:37 Garrus
37:01 Jack
40:39 Thane
43:36 Samara
47:25 Zaeed
50:23 Kasumi
52:29 Reaper IFF
53:29 Tali’s Trial
58:28 Legion
1:02:05 Romance
1:04:34 Revenge of the Collectors
1:06:15 Final Mission is the GOAT
1:16:32 Overlord
1:18:37 Lair of the Shadow Broker
1:21:35 Arrival
1:24:15 Mass Effect is = Masterpiece
Mass Effect 2 - What Happens If You Warn Sidonis? (All Outcomes to Garrus’ Loyalty Mission)
• Mass Effect 2 - What H...
Mass Effect 2 - What Happens If You Bring Legion to the Quarian Fleet?
• Mass Effect 2 - What H...
Mass Effect 3 - 10 Years Later (Longform Retrospective)
• Mass Effect 3 -10 Year...
Mass Effect 2 - What Happens If Shepard Dies?
• Mass Effect 2 - What H...
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Music
One Cosmos | Royalty Free Sci-Fi Background Music (No Copyright)
• One Cosmos | Royalty F...
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If you choose Jack in the suicide mission as the bubble maker, she will fail, even if she is loyal, if she doesn't have the biotic amp upgrades.
In my most recent ME@ play through, I let Veetor go with Tali and Reeger survived Haestrom. However when I tried to rally the crowd, the option to do so wasn't available. I think there's another requirement.
Is there any particular reason why you never have in-game subtitles on in your videos? It sometimes makes the dialogue you're showcasing harder to follow.
I wonder - who do you meet; Kayden, or Ashley if you edit the save in such a way that both of them would survive the first game?
@@Jesup1204 Did you talk to all the admirals, Zen, Korris, Han Gerrel and Raan? If you don't speak to them all and discuss their infighting and viewpoints then the option won't come up.
Something about the tone of ME2 sold it for me. I'll never forget the opening of the game and walking through a destroyed Normandy in silence... or the first time I walked into Afterlife and heard that music (followed by the first f-bomb of the series lol) ...or literally anything involving Legion
I hung out in afterlife just to listen to the music
Don't fuck with Aria T'Loak!
@@DemonicRobots Unless you're Mordin lol
It's a masterpiece. And ME3 is even better in almost every way.
@@jarlwhiterun7478 ME3's combat is the best of the franchise, but worst in story/missions/role playing/dialogue/etc. of the trilogy. Obviously it beats Andromeda in all of those things.
After a quick, and clearly not thorough, scan through the comments, I haven't found anyone (even Big Dan in the video itself) who has mentioned this aspect of ME2 yet, but the music in this game was FANTASTIC. Especially during the Suicide Mission, the music just completes the game. I can listen to the soundtrack of this game and get goosebumps every time. Jack Wall, Big Giant Circles, Sam Hulick, and David Kates all contributed to make an unforgettable score for this game.
Very true it really sets the gravitas of the situation
Samara OST. Enough has been said.
Music was fantastic in KOTOR as well. Each to his own, but the soundtrack to KOTOR is my favorite of all time. Just too bad they never made a third (SINGLE PLAYER) game to complete the franchise.
I still just listen to the OST sometimes. Damn fine for during study or just feeling like a badass.
I was going to mention it in my comment actually. The music sets the tone so well. Action? Romantic? Epic moment? Whoever thought of the music deserves a medal as it can turn just a game into a masterpiece.
I love bringing Legion along for Tali’s loyalty mission. It goes something like
Tali: I would never bring an active Geth aboard the fleet, like for real!
Shepherd: I assure you Tali could never do that!
Legion standing right there
Admiralty Board: ಠ_ಠ
That’s very undiplomatic
I never thought of it this way, and now I'm definitely bringing him every time I do this mission from now on. Lol
It's completely impossible and would never fly realistically quarians would try to kill them. I can't suspend my disbelief
THIS!!! I do this too. It makes me laugh when the Quarians get super incensed over Legion being there.
Tali wouldn't bring an active Geth aboard the fleet.
Shepard would.
I just watched a 1.5 hour detailed lore recap of a game I finished like 5 times. And I don't regret a thing.
I finished it like 40 hours of Mass Effect 3 ago.
Never regret a great decision ;-)
Me too 😂
i just watched a 1.5 hour detailed lore recap of a game i finished 5 minutes ago...
Same
38:44 As a fun fact, probably by accident, but in Polish dubbing of ME2, Aresh and Niket happen to have the same VA, making some accidental parralels between Miranda and Jack, and the people tied to their respective pasts(And in both cases we decide whether to let them kill the guy or spare him too) XD
39:54 Also Aresh somehow DOES survive when not killed!(Guess he has Rana Thanoptis-like talent of outrunning nukes...), he pops up briefly in ME3 news report saying that he died defending kids on some colony from Reapers.
I’ve never heard that news report before that’s great.
The Niket in ME2 is not the real Niket - he's a doppelgänger who fools Miranda. Miranda goes to great lengths to explain why Niket wouldn't betray her and Oriana. Miranda's dad bought the doppelgänger.
If Mass Effect 2 would have maintained the broader character skill customization of Mass Effect, I would have been so happy! Mass Effect 2 is still my favorite, but it was so close to being nearly flawless.
I always thought ME1’s class customizing was a little TOO broad. You have a lot of places to put points, but the differences are so minor and vague that you don’t really notice much difference until every 5 or so levels. Once you get near the end of the game, you’ll probably have most skills filled up, so most character builds look and play about the same.
I think ME2 and ME3, while giving less points, gives you bigger changes with each skill point spent, and the branching paths offer more variation. Especially in 3, there are a lot of different ways to build each class.
@@acuyra yeah, I understand and appreciate your perspective, but I really enjoyed focusing on certain skills with specific squad members, and then playing another time and choosing other members to fulfill certain roles, but I definitely understand why you prefer the subsequent advancement infrastructure.
I honestly like both styles, and i think they both suit each kind of game they are.
It honestly was nearly flawless
@@reiddutchess9955 have to agree with that guys comment, it was a little too broad/complex for no reason. Didn’t have much of an effect in reality
I remember being traumatized playing Overlord the first time. David's reveal stuck with me for a couple of days. Finding him in ME3 was balm to the heart. On subsequent plays I am always yelling "I'm coming, David!" every time he garbles at me from the screens. It's ridiculous, an old lady yelling at her monitor, but there it is. I never fail to get teary finding him in ME3...especially since Garrus is with me both times and even he's affected. Whereas in Arrival I just want the ability to punch Amanda in the head from the go.
Seeing him doing well in ME3 was one of my fave moments, too.
@@yggdrasil1969
David: I've been counting.
Shepard: Counting what?
David: The number of days you lengthened my life.
I always bring EDI and Garrus with to Grissom Academy... David's words to EDI are so sweet. The reunion is gold.
I save both the quarians and the geth on my playthrough so I like to think David will get to make friends with the geth.
@@brandonlouieisla4117 *tears* every single replay.
“And many light years away, Javik smiles in his stasis pod”
Absolutely perfection 🤣
I played the Legendary Edition recently... didn't want it to end... it's in my top 5 all time games.
My biggest complaint about ME2 is the hitstun off of flame attacks. It's very easy for Pyros to stun-lock you to death once you're in their effective range, and it made Mordin's recruitment mission a frustrating early-game difficulty spike due to the Blood Pack pyros in the corridors leading to the fan controls forcing me to retreat every time.
Then send Squadmates first into the fry....two sucidal order per day are minimum.
Only thing ik that doesn’t stun is tech armor
@@Berek71182 that’s what I did. Worked for me
I was playing as Infiltrator, so Incinerate was my go to power for most of the game, a piece of cake for me to blow up pyros
That’s a tough go, I play as an adept so I usually just hit ‘em with singularity and then they’re easy pickings
Excellent. But note, wearing Cerberus assault armour on the Citadel for the Ashley/Kaidan Udina speech check is required.
Yea I remember my first ever play through of 3 I just bought the assault armor and I was like “oh nice I guess I’ll wear it for this next mission” only for that mission to be the coup and I was like “oh good. Good.”
@@alarictheredboi276yearsago4 yes! Remember, for the best effect, helmet has to be on for conversations. So when the Virmire survivor is like, "you are still with Cerberus!", and Shepard is like, " Cerb who?" the camera shows the helmet with the logo.
@@monstersandmachines glad to raise a smile!
I think ME2 is great in a vacuum but its place in the trilogy made ME3 pull double duty in trying to find a way to stop the reapers and then stop the reapers, rushing a lot of the development along.
It's a great Game but a shitty sequel.
@@Foggfjw🤦♂️
Great point. Me2 was my first mass effect. Recently playes through the whole trilogy (for the first time) and i liked me2 the least within this context. But playing it without having played the first one i loved all of it.
@@chindianajones3742 I bet you were confused with the story at first. 😂
@@guitargamesandliverpool yeah for sure haha but they did a pretty good job of giving you just enough context to keep you moving. But seriously, i really had no idea about saren and soverign until i played the first game hahaha
I was hoping in the Legendary Edition, that BioWare would have added the “No Helmet in Conversations” option for ME2 🧐 Other than that and the monotonous resource gathering (which I admit I’m overly thorough at) the game is awesome 🤩
They should have also backported system scanning completion percentage to the first game. It was very handy on ME2 and ME3 to know how much of any system you had explored.
Same! I liked being able to take my helmet on and off in ME1 so conversations weren’t so awkward.
Mods saved my sanity on my consecutive playthroughs
@@pettera.2031 I play on Xbox, so no mods 🙄
@@grantbrooks5577 dont be butthurt. Its ok you arent master race we know
The music for the suicide mission is amazing. One of the best scores in gaming.
Currently replaying it for like the 6th time, and i can confirm it is easily one of the GOATs, and not only does it hold up, for how “old” of a game it is it was extremely extremely ahead of its time
That's exatcly what I keep thinking replaying it after 10 years since my 1st playthrough.
The one thing about ME2 that kinda bothers me is that the overarching story is not focused on the impending Reaper invasion but instead it was about a new enemy that may or may not be related to the Reapers, it was not until the ending that we finally return to the trilogy's main threat which is the Reapers. This makes the second game feel disconnected from the trilogy since the first game was about the impending Reaper invasion and 3 IS the invasion so 2 felt more like a side-story out of the three games.
Sum up my toughs perfectly
Exactly this. Also, because crewmembers can die in me2, it means that a lot of the characters in me3 have reduced roles which sucks. The SM should have been in me2, not me3.
@@hooahguy14 The SM?
@@Hillthugsta the suicide mission
Did you even play ME2?? It's early became obvious that collectors had been working for reapers. At the end of suicide mission you realised, that collectors had been abducting humans to create new reaper.
At 1:12:30 you mentioned that choosing to destroy or save the Reaper at the end does not have a significant consequence in ME3. However, if you only gather the minimum war assets (which I've never done myself), it will have an effect on the ended. There's a range where you can only have one option in the final decision; and that option (Destroy or Control) depends on if you destroyed the Reaper in ME2 or gave it to Cerberus.
I love ME2 but 3 will always be my favorite overall. ME2 is like a compilation of lots of great short stories that don't necessarily need one another to make some sense, whereas in 3 you feel like every mission is building towards something big. Whilst they ultimately didn't stick the landing as well as 2 did in regards to the ending, the overall experience of 3 just gets me every time.
ME3 is my favorite as well. I love all the trilogy games as a whole but I enjoy everything about 3 including the endings. Although I didn't play it until after the ending dlc came put so I didn't have any hate towards going into playing it
Glad I'm not the only one. You are right about ME2 being a collection of short stories. And one of my gripes with ME2 other than the beginning which I hate, is the mission popup at the end of your missions. It's immersion breaking for me and makes it just seem like I'm playing an action game, not actually in the world of Mass Effect. Both ME2 and ME3 had unsatisfying endings for me, ME1 had the best ending, just too bad the gameplay is outdated.
2 is just a stepping stone to 3
2 was magnificent, 3 made me cry like a baby. Thing is my first experience with these games was as part of the Legendary edition, so I will cop-out by saying MELE is the finest game of all time.
Me too
One thing I always recall is in ME1 when Garrus takes you to confront Dr. Saleon, you have the option to either kill Saleon or attempt an arrest. If you choose to just kill him, in ME2 when Shepard tells Garrus that he is worried about him and how he is acting, Garrus will comment on how sometimes swift vigilanty justice is the better option and how Shepard taught him that lesson. On top of that, if you chose to kill Saleon and then constantly try to stop Garrus from doing violent acts, he will comment on how you are contradicting yourself by stopping him doing what you had already done in the past
I remember playing the demo of this game over and over until I was able to get it on PS3 (my 360 had been dead a while). The opening blew my mind. Now, with LE, I can play with all my choices transferring to each game and it’s a new experience. I love this series!
If memory serves me correctly there was originally going to be another loyalty confrontation between Mordin and Grunt. I believe some of the audio files are still in the game (the original at least), but the idea was scrapped due to lack of development time to work everything out.
That is correct :D ua-cam.com/video/bFS5FzPqmik/v-deo.html
I love I get to watch you make the choices I never would, like leaving behind Zaeed lol honestly, Jacob's loyalty mission is one of my favorites because of the blackout punch his father takes at the end. Just an OH YEAH! moment. But I feel like Jacob would have been more likeable with a better voice actor. It was so meh. And Garrus' emotions especially during the romance really are phenomenal. When he lowers his head and says he just wants SOMETHING to go right...omg, he was an interspecies obsession for me at that point lol just so powerful and subdued at the same time. All in all, loved your evaluation. It got me through a rough work day! Thank you for helping me get my daily dose of ME!
Thanks Maddy!
Right with you there! Zaeed was a character that was quite at peace with his attitude and mental state. He knew what he was born to do and carried on regardless.
It makes me miss Robin Sachs so much more. He was a great as Massani. The hard-edged side and the soft side where he's trying to win a plushy in a 'claw machine' for a kid on the Citadel; "Shepard...credits".
Jacob's facial expressions was also just really bland and mostly negative. He has nothing good to say most of the time. His ideas are all stupid and dismissive.
Mass Effect 2 was the first Mass Effect game I played, I got it as part of a Humble Bundle deal that also contained DA Origins and DA2 - the games I was really after. My favourite game of the series is Mass Effect 1 however, as it is far more like a traditional RPG, which is my ultimate favourite genre.
Yup me1 is the best of the trilogy, i could replay that with enjoyment on occasion
I didn't enjoy ME1 as much as 2. But everyone has a different taste which is good :)
What really stood out for me was the companions background storys and the overall dialog. As I play in German, ME2 also introduced Eric Schäffler as Shepards new voice which was a phenomenal change to ME1
@@rsf5828 Cool. I must say I have never heard Shepard in any language besides english.
I am replaying 1 atm, and have got to Therum, the WORST designed series of encounters in the whole Mass Effect series. Whoever decided to put unskippable cutscenes AFTER the save points needs to be taken out back and shot.
@@paradox_4094 It's so wrong to play ME if you are not going to play the entire trilogy with the same character.
@@SevCaswell Oh god that...
That mission is actually pretty easy if you do side missions before going there, but I used to beeline to Liara, and got really stuck there on first playthrough.
Awesome video Big Dan! I’ve been seeing your content for a year and a half, and it’s amazing how you’ve covered everything regarding mass effect.
Keep it up and nicely done!
I love all ME games, but ME2 is actually my least favourite of the trilogy. I'm not saying it's a bad game at all, I just liked ME1/3 more. People will probably hate me for disagreeing with the overwhelming consensus, but I'll list the reasons why someone might say that ME2 is overrated.
1. The stakes are underwhelming in comparison to ME1. Had the main plot of ME2 come before ME1, the trilogy would have had a better sense of story progression.
2. There are only a handful of actual main story missions, the rest of the game is recruitment/loyalty missions that are largely disconnected from the main threat.
3. You fight against mercenary gangs for the vast majority of the game.
4. Each level feels more "gamey" rather than a real location, with lots of corridor shooting on a strict linear path, lack of player choice, and a gamified end of level screen.
5. The citadel was cut down into a tiny stacked layer of floors rather than the sprawling station it was in ME1.
6. The gameplay while more polished is extremely safe with little flair and less RPG depth, and becomes very repetitive on subsequent playthroughs.
7. The abilities are very shallow with the most effective abilities being about direct damage and defense stripping (warp, incinerate, overload).
8. The world of the game doesn't feel as diverse as its predecessor, which included a lot of unique elements for each level (different music, new interesting aliens like rachni and thorian, a range of aesthetic themes).
9. The dialogue scenes became more cinematic, which look nicer but make you feel like you're directing a movie rather than roleplaying a character.
10. Planet scanning for upgrade materials is boring. I don't care how much you love ME2, if you say you enjoyed scanning planets you're lying to yourself.
There are more things that I can't think of off the top of my head so this list will have to do. My favourite ME game is ME1. I played ME2 directly after completing ME1 for the first time, and while I enjoyed it a lot, the things I loved about ME1 were stripped away from the experience. ME3 definitely feels like a sequel to ME2, but neither feel like a proper sequel to ME1. They feel like completely different games and I've always felt a massive disconnect between ME1 and ME2/3. ME2 feels like a great game to play, but ME1 feels like a great world to explore. That sense of worldbuilding was lost in transition to ME2, and it was the aspect of the game that I was attached to the most. At the end of the day, they are all amazing games in their own way. It comes down to what you value in a game. If more polished gunplay and deeper characters and relationships is what you like ME for, then I can see why people love ME2. For me it was the feeling of stepping into this completely new world with some much to explore and choices to make. So ME1 will always be my favourite. I don't necessarily think that ME2 is overrated, I feel like ME1/3 is underappreciated. And with how zealously people will defend ME2 from any criticism, it can be pretty disheartening to have a different take on the trilogy.
You not alone I have the same issue with me2. Plus we can all agree MEA was the worst
4. Yea, that got me really mad the first time I played that game. I ended up loving it, but ME1 just hits a soft spot with quests like Noveria, where you talk to people for 30+ minutes, and do the opposite of what they ask to get the sprawling plot to unfold.
6. You say ME2 gets repetitive after subsequent playthroughs, but ME1's gameplay doesn't last half a playthrough.
7. But have you played Sentinel? Tech armor is takes over the game, to the point where you can play without cover.
Nice bait lil bro
As an OG Mass Effect fan, I'm probably in the minority in that Mass Effect 3 was my favorite and consider the best of the series.
+ Better game mechanics
+ Better "scene" direction
+ More epic presentation.
+ More fleshed out Universe
+ Co-op multiplayer (Played that 24/7 on the Xbox360 back in the day)
+ Had the ME App with characters in the game messaged your actual tablet/phone
+ ME Citadel, Omega and Leviathan DLC which bigger in scope.
I agree 💯
The original ME3 was kind of like the old saying about jumping off a cliff. It was great until the ending when you hit the ground. I can never forgive the game for that horrible ending.
Excellent analysis. It is certainly my fave too.
@@edsmith9855 whats wrong with the ending? I dont get the hate. You choose either destroy, synthesize, or control. Or refuse. Pick one. Makes sense to me. 10 years later and I still dont get it. Though, to be fair, when I played it, they had already added the Extended Cut.
@@kevinthunder3375 With the original ending no matter what you did and how carefully you made your choices through the entire 3 games, all the efforts were essential meaningless. You got basically the same endings, with penalties if you didnt have sufficient military strength. In fact, the universe would probably have been better had Shepard done nothing and just let the previous reaper cycle continue. A very disappointing end to supposedly a badass character. Personally, being a single player only person, I was also very annoyed that one was almost forced to play multiplayer in order to get sufficient military strength to get the the "best" of the 3 unsatisfying endings.
Eyup Big Dan, cracking video as always! Must have taken a while to put together 👏
I'm not exaggerating to say Mass Effect 2 saved my love of gaming. I hadn't played a game in over a year, and thought my video game playing days were done. On a whim, I looked up some "Best of 2010" gaming lists. Pretty much all of them either had Mass Effect 2 or Bioshock 2 as #1. I resolved to visit GameStop and pick out whichever one was cheapest. For whatever reason, ME2 was on sale for only $20 so I picked that up. Best $20 I ever spent in my life! And yes, my introduction to Mass Effect was in the sequel. I thought that might bother me, but it turned out just fine.
By the end of Mordin's mission on Omega, I was intrigued. After recruiting Mordin, Garrus, Jack and Grunt, I was hooked! There was something incredibly compelling about building up a crew for your ship, and tackling the galaxy together. The writing in Mass Effect 2 is just incredible, as is the cinematography and music. Everything just comes together to make a masterful package. The only slight knock is that I feel the gameplay isn't as compelling as it could be.
I played through ME2 four times in a row, before picking up ME1 to flesh out the story. Now I've played through all three games so often I've lost track of just how many.
Mass Effect 2 will ALWAYS have a fond place in my heart. Only a masterpiece could have brought me back into gaming.
Although I wasn't a big fan of the loss of the major RPG elements from me1 to me2, I think the large roster of well written characters is what makes 2 my favorite of the series. Also the fact that me1 has so many missions tied to the mako and me3 vanilla endings left a horrible impression makes me2 a winner simply from the "flaws" of the other two games. This is also coming from the perspective of someone who has beaten me1 100% 10 times or more so I have more hours in the OG mako than many. Legendary mako felt loads better.
Im one of those that think the original ending for mass effect 3 was on point, it left me hollow inside, i felt the pain in my chest, the emptiness, it kind of was what i was expecting it to be, but even more more powerful, "raw" you could say... But i do agree with Mass effect 1 being way too much Mako dependant, that was clearly a huge mistake, i love the Mako but the terrains were repetitie as fk, there was no need to make you travel for 5 minutes, when it could be done in 20 seconds and the experience could be smoother.
@@ImyoCello I agree to an extent. The first time I played through the OG me3 I had all the war assets needed. I played tons of multiplayer for fun so that was a non issue. The one problem I always had though was the lack of an ability to save Shepard across the board. Like the illusive man almost had what he thought was control and I feel like that's what the crucible should've granted in the control ending. In the fusion ending Shepard dies yet again but he is literally already the fusion of man and machine so it doesn't make sense for them to die there. The only ending (and I didn't know this cause I chose control since blue=Paragon so I made the blue choice first time around) where Shepard doesn't die is the destroy ending which ironically the catalyst tells you will kill you but it doesn't. My friends had to tell me about that little nugget where he inhales for a second after the credits. I guess overall my issue was the lack of that sense of triumph the first two games give you after fighting against all odds and then the third game you essentially have to kill this against all odds character in order to get everything done. Honestly, I feel like javik should've been the one to fire off the crucible. His one purpose is vengeance as the last prothean and this would've given him the opportunity to achieve that for his race and would erase him instead but he would've completed his singular task with that act. Either way no use complaining. I enjoyed the series and 2, even with its limitations, is the most satisfying to revisit (lair of the shadow broker always will be a masterpiece).
The one thing the Legendary Edition missed out on for ME2 in my opinion was changing one of the NPC's on Horizon to look like Traynor from ME3 since she says she was visiting her parents at the time of the attack.
Duuuuuuude! That would've been neat. LE is fantastic but they missed a lot of opportunities like that such as adding female turian npcs in the first two games.
@@forrestpenrod2294
It's truly fantastic that they added new bugs upon the existing bugs of the trilogy and removed the multiplayer. But hey, at least they added new models with wrong proportions. I don't understand how can people praise the "legendary" edition. At least compared to the trilogy. I have mods that make ME1 look 10 times better than that half-assed remaster. Give Anderson his lips back, Bioware.
@@steelbear2063, I prefer the LE. At least ME1 is playable on PCs now and doesn't look god awful. Mods aren't everything, especially since they aren't on consoles, and I played Mass Effect on consoles long before I made the switch to PC, and that was only AFTER LE came out. Even with mods on the OG ME, it still god awful.
The Hugo Gernsback is most likely named after Hugo Gernsback who was a magazine publisher with one of those being the first science fiction magazine.
Dan been watching since you were at 20k subs, you've come so far my dude!! Grats on the sponsorship and glad you're getting the recognition you deserve! Keep up the awesome work!
Thanks dude!
The music from the finale cutscene literally gives me chills every single time. Pure awesomeness.
I remember playing ME2 the first time with legendary edition and getting to the mission when we recruit Legion. I had no idea he was in ME2 and I was really excited to see him in this game. It was a super pleasant surprise
by itself mass effect 2 is one of my favorite games however it never really fit in with the trilogy, it feels very stand alone in how it introduces this enemy and then we defeat the enemy and then we go back to facing reapers the start of Me3 with like no progress is being done since the end of ME1. Imo me2 should have done the game will be discovered the crucible, or some way to stop the reapers, rather than it just being dropped in our lap at the start of 3.
The Collectors were a good enemy but, there needed to be reactions from NPC's like: Wrex, Aria, Anderson and the Council regarding the mission afterwards. The Virmire Survivor should have had more than one cameo scene.
With the derelict reaper mission we even found someone built something that could one shot a reaper but that just gets hand waved away with some line about it no longer being useable.... Big missed opportunity I think to connect the plots together more and not leave so much left to do in ME3 alone.
@@CallousCarter exactly
Agreed. The combat and gameplay is also so damn different than the other two. Especially biotics. So contradicting. ME2 is just a generic shooter for the most part, combat wise.
If Kaiden or Ashley had a loyalty mission how do you think it would go?
The opening act and finale were absolutely amazing, but it did slow down a bit in the middle. Almost all the squad missions felt like random detours and a few just weren't even very interesting detours. Don't get me wrong some of them were really cool but none of them really had anything to do with the main plot despite comprising the majority of the game. In Me1 and 3, pretty much every major mission is directly relevant to the overarching main plot.
Yo Big Dan, I love the videos man. I’d love to see a video where you breakdown all the different interactions you can have in the Afterlife VIP section during the Samara loyalty mission if you haven’t already.
Mass Effect 2’s ending is so amazing. It’s something that I want to inspire the KOTOR Remake where in my mind, The Star Forge Mission should be done in a way similar to that of The Collector Base Mission. Give party members missions to help aid in the success of the mission and have your relationship with them, their feats and their skill levels affect whether they succeed or fail.
Well that KOTOR remake isn’t looking to good right now.
@@MikeHawk04 Sadly.
My main criticism of ME2 is that it doesn't really add anything to the overall main story, and really just serves as (an admittedly really good) canon filler arc.
Also, some quality of life stuff. The fact that your medigel and heavy ammo don't refill between missions makes no sense at all.
Oh, and finally, when the crew loads up on the ship before the Collectors invade the ship, it never explains where they went. Annoying plothole.
The suicide mission is awesome in both the tension built throughout the entire game to ship section in which you have zero control in the moment whether or not squad members die with the only way to avoid people dying during the section is insulating the ship before the mission and even then the music and atmosphere keep you on the edge of your seat. Then there’s the collector base which leans into the idea of specialist roles brilliantly the only sud member that really doesn’t have specialized role is Mordin but even he had a purpose in being recruited. The way the mission was designed was intended to make certain that it took carful planning or looking up a guide in order to get the best outcome and even then without a guide it was almost guaranteed that you would lose someone on the first try. The thing I like the most is the sense of weight that your actions have not just in the third game but in the ending of the suicide mission
I thoroughly enjoyed your video and appreciate the hard work. Keep them coming.
Thanks Lady Gray!
i could legit listen to you talk about Mass Effect for hours, i love your videos Dan
Thanks!
I love bringing conflicting squad members to loyalty missions for some spicy dialog lol (Tali + Leagion, Mordin+Grunt, Miranda+Jack, Samara+Zaeed).
I’ll never forget-I had played ME1 during freshman year of high school and thought it was okay. Good, but didn’t blow me away. Then I got Mass Effect 2 on the last day of sophomore year and stayed up nearly all night for a week, the first week of summer break, getting absolutely sucked into this universe and story.
In hindsight, the game is somewhat formulaic and repetitive. But you could watch the greatest movie of all time and get somewhat “bored” on your 30th viewing. So, does that really count against ME2? Not in my book. Will always love this game.
Really nailed it on the head with my biggest gripe with 2, i enjoyed being alliance navy, I always picked identifying as that over spectre in 1. Was annoying to be shoehorned into cerberus and having everyone critize you for betraying the alliance when you have no option of doing so
I hated that too. I wish they actually gave you a choice even if they couldn't make a bunch of new content but they could have different dialog or something. If you send files or equipment to the alliance and send a warning to the batarians, and didn't cause to much trouble instead of being under house arrest Sheppard is on shore leave or preparing to talk to command or something else.
This is really late, but I totally agree! I also just used Kaiden and Ashley and only used the others when I lost Kaiden so when Garrus is all buddy buddy, I'm like who tf are you? And later like why would Liara go out of her way for me or any of the aliens besides Wrex since I used him after Vermire but no one else?
Holy freaking cow!!! I never knew who voiced Aria T'Loak! My mind is blown in a good way.
I'm replaying Mass Effect 2 through Legendary Edition for the first time in about 10 years. It's still a great game and a strong contender for being the best in the series to date, but it definitely isn't the masterpiece I remember it being when I first played it all those years ago. Still probably one of my favorite games of all time although I'd probably have to bump it down a position or two.
@Do it I played it for the first last year and was absolutely blown away by the mass effect series, it’s still that great game but time does shitty things.
What are you favorite games now if u bumped it down , I'm always looking for new games lol
@@jacobverlee6891 Resident Evil 4 is still at the top of my list after 18 years and all the ports and remasters of it.
Base Monster Hunter World is probably up there as well although admittedly I lost interest with the Iceborne DLC because I wasn't a fan of the new mechanics introduced.
Darks Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin is a game that actually got bumped up on list a bit. I can understand why it's often considered the worst of the Dark Souls trilogy but it's a game that honestly has grown on me during my time of getting 100% Achievements/Trophies with it's odd quirks and nuances that I just find amusing.
Thank you both , I have heard of some of those games but never played them
Initial release as a kid: Oh my god this is amazing.
Years later after playing good games: Wow, I was so naive.
It had everything. Made me laugh. Made me cry. Made me love the character's. I couldn't stop thinking about it whilst i was in the thick of it. I haven't experienced any other game like it since.
45:24 I always wondered why you need to resist Morinth's mind control to be able to side with her anyway and betray Samara.
Wouldn't it be the other way around? Wouldn't she try to mind control you to side with her and betray Samara instead?
Its like she used mind control to kill herself through you basically.
Just got through that section on my LE playthrough and had that same thought. My theory for the second question is that she simply recognizes Shep's strong enough to completely resist her, loves it, and wants Samara out of the way anyway. For the first part I'd guess it's a sort of gated reward for pursuing and passing the tough personality check.
You have to be able to resist her or the story doesn't make sense because she would have you as a mind controlled thrall if you kept her alive.
i loved the dialog options with the conversations with squad mates in ME2 its something that was bady missing in ME3 and andromeda, in a way i wish they had implemented this every time you talked to an individaul I was forever frustrated when talking with a squad often found you unable to view both characters views because your at an odd angle all the time
ME3 is my favorite. I wasn't happy with the ending but the gameplay was fantastic. The best in the trilogy.
When I played as adept, I was really mad how lame tech armor was in ME3.
In ME2 I could play without using cover whatsoever, there it just gives some damage reduction, with the option to nuke your own shields, if you want to die.
But infiltrator is a night and day improvement, despite enemies seeing you while invisible rather frequently...
Going in for a kill with SMG just felt like flexing, when one shotting someone with Widow is much cleaner.
Abusing that harpoon gun, being able to fire abilities makes that so much more than a panic button, or win more ability.
Combo explosions being expanded is cool, but kinda felt like they took over the gameplay, like as a vanguard I was doing fire ammo + slam combos for way too long.
With infiltrator, freeze + fire explosions I can do solo, but don't need to bother.
Me fav is also ME3.. I think the intro of ME2 is just as bad as the ending of ME3.. if not worse and it holds ME2 back from being the best
I actually kind of like the ending. The huge world changing choices at the end felt like they should be there. Although the leviathan and starchild made zero sense to me personally. I guess it makes sense that something had to be the first reaper. Also it's kind of wierd that there wasn't a fifth choice especially after what you did with the geth to create a truce between creators and machines but I guess they don't agree that it's possible to have peace even though it has happened before also what's wrong with chaos anyways in real life there's not world peace so why was it so important to them to stop machine and humans from fighting anyways.
The biggest disappointing thing on Mass Effect 2 is the lack of main story. You pretty much only have 3 main story quests: Freedoms Progress, Horizon and Collectors ship.
I disagree. The story of Mass Effect 2 isn’t the story of the Collectors’ plot, it’s the story of Shepard recruiting and building up a team to go on a suicide mission. Your squadmates aren’t just a part of the story, they ARE the story. As such, you’re constantly advancing either by recruiting new people or completing their loyalty missions. It’s a major shift from the first game’s structure, but it’s also a major part of why this game worked and became popular. The question of the game isn’t simply “Can you stop the Collectors?”, it’s “Can you and your team survive stopping the Collectors?”.
When I did the Garrus recruitment mission I had no idea who it was and when it was revealed that it is Garrus I was hyped because the setup to that mission is really good and they made him way more badass and likeable compared to the first game
My first mass effect was 2 and i did not know garrus but i was hyped anyway.
I almost cried when he takes that rocket. I thought he died.
@@labadaba1147 Same here, I also think it improved my experience
I actually played ME2 before ME1, and it got me in. It took me a little time to get really into ME1, but I sure did. Favorite 3 games to this day. 🙂
First playthrough for me was on LE and I was blown away. For me, the new direction of the story, the dramatic shift in tone, the gray morality of the Illusive Man and Cerberus, Shepard as more of a Han Solo type of protagonist, new combat, recruiting my squad, and the strong ending were amazing aspects.
On a second playthrough, it was still great, but felt a bit dryer. Like when a magician explains his trick and performs it for you again. Hard to pinpoint exactly what is was but the mystique was gone. More so than other games and their replays. Still incredible game though!
What do you think of the loyalty missions?
I definitely agree, I loved me2 on my first (or first 2) playthroughs but it’s my least favourite game in the trilogy to replay. I can’t seem to get enough of me1 and me3 but after 3 playthroughs I don’t really have any motivation to replay me2. Something about me2‘s mid game feeling like a laundry list of loyalty missions, many of which were nice the first time but not very replayable, really makes the game drag on and I tend to skip it entirely now.
When I first played ME2, there was some things that I didn't like about it compared to ME1. Personally ME1's story was much better, Bioware also went way overboard on nerfing biotics (it needed nerfing because biotics in ME1 were way too OP) but like I said they went overboard (biotics in ME3 was perfect). They completely removed mods which I loved in ME1, no weapon stats (why?), couldn't remove helmets from most armors, completely removed planet exploration (sure ME1 needed some work in that regard but why remove it entirely?), different types of ammo were now powers (wtf?), made your squadmates wear incredibly stupid outfits on the battlefield (Jack and Miranda for example) when all of your squadmates in ME1 wore armor. There's a lot of stuff that I considered a step back compared to ME1 that they brought back in ME3 which was nice.
Plus the plot in ME2 was very much out of left field. Where ME1 ending led into to much bigger saga which did not really continue till me3
The thing with biotics in ME2 is that husks can be one shot with lift and such.
Except on insanity they have armor, so they are unaffected, making it a win more ability against the weakest individual enemy in the game.
So this is a plot synopsis, not a retrospective
This is easily your best video up to date, A+ video essay class. Gotta admit though, one and a half hours is a long video to watch when you have two kids. 😃
Great summary of the game + DLCs! Makes me want to go play Mass Effect again 😁 also thanks for choosing the options I never make 😁
ME2 was the goat back then, but compared to the other ME games in the LEGENDARY edition, it's slightly OVERRATED. Today it's combat System and choice of Skills and Weapons feels extremly limited and no-combat-role-clunky. ME1 automated cover system was laughed upon, but it got reintroduced in Andromeda as superior Gameplay. ME2 created a great illusion in storytelling. 80% of content of ME2 are basiclly filler episodes in a Sci-Fi series. But the players do'nt realize that, because episodes are about recruiting the Squadmates and gaining their loyalty to learn more about the backround. The Suicide Mission is one of the most exciting mission of all time, but remember what the developers sacrificed: to cut cost for production, nearly all Squadmates who can die become side character in the next game; only Wrex, Mordin, Tali and Legion play a significant role in ME3 and only Tali is playable. The suicide Mission with so many potential character perma-deaths is a very costly trick that can be only pulled once with such an effect.
How would you rate ME2, if all ME Games of the Legendary Edition are running with ME3 graphic and visuals, and Squadmates cannot die in the Collector Base just like illos? (Imagine ME3 got a better ending with Mission Earth being the real Suicide Mission instead)
"Take pictures!"
Joker still making me laugh after all these years
I love these longer videos, any chance we can get a retrospective on ME1 to complete the trilogy?
After my recent playthrough of the LE I decided that ME3 was actually my favorite. That being said I absolutely love this game nothing will ever replace the memories I have of my first playthrough I literally played this game standing up for hours and didn't even notice until I tried to walk and nearly fell over from fatigue if that's not the mark of a fantastic game I don't know what is. I'll never get tired of this game it deserves it's score as a G.O.A.T
Mass Effect 2 is one of the few games that I have played through multiple times in 12 years. Shepard’s death at the beginning reminded me of Steven Segal’s death at the beginning of Executive Decision.
Totally helped me get though my work this morning. Really enjoyed this. Do you plan on doing the others?
Yep! I have one on Mass Effect 3 ua-cam.com/video/1MfN252mXRE/v-deo.html
I plan to do one on Mass Effect 1 later this year
The best thing about Mass Effect 2 is that you know the story is going to continue and there is hope for the galaxy beyond ME2. I recently got the Legendary edition and did a full playthru where it really felt like one giant game to me. I loved it. Truly a masterpiece.
First of all I appreciate the effort these long videos take, so thanks for your hard work.
Even though, I do enjoy ME2 a lot, especially the latter third of the game, some of narrative setup just annoys me enough to keep me from 100% loving it. Definitely a great game on a lot of levels and one I enjoy playing, however.
The main problem with ME2 is that the plot is terrible. The squad recruitment, the side missions, is where the game obviously shines and makes it so special. But the main storyline is short, simple and makes no sense. When the entire squad inexplicably decides to the leave the normandy for no reason and the crew gets abducted - I mean that is unforgivably bad writing. The game should've been about preparing for the Reapers, forging alliances, etc. To that end the arrival and lair of the shadow broker DLC are actually better than the entire main plot imo, because they lead into ME3 and help deal with the central reaper problem. The collector's are kinda insignificant in the grand scheme of things. It used to be my favourite in the series but I think it's my worst now just given how bad the plot is.
Na the Plote is good in my opinion
I wish they'd made it so that you trigger the crew abduction during the Overlord DLC. It's the only time it thematically syngergises into that particular plot point of the main story.
Big Dan…. I don’t know how you did it but this video makes me fall even more in love with Mass Effect 2! I don’t know how but I love this video so much!
I wish Kasumi wasn't DLC and was just a character from the get go with normal dialogue conversation. Easily one of my favorite characters
The best game of any year.
No mistakes (instead of bugs), great directing and wonderful story.
It's easily a masterpiece, it's just so goddamn good man. Mass Effect as a series is a masterpiece obviously, and each of them are masterpieces in their own regard.
My Heart : Masterpiece
My Brain : But you didn’t even watch the video yet
My Heart : DID I STUTTER?!
I hold 2 & 3 in equal regard. One of the biggest complaints of 2 was that it felt like you were just moving from set piece to set piece via corridors. ME 3 and especially Andromeda felt more open. Otherwise, ME2 was fantastic.
Mass Effect 2 as a pretty good game, improved in many ways over the first, but in _so many_ respects it was also a step back. Between terrible minigames, the dumbing-down of so many gameplay aspects to appeal to FPS players rather than the RPG fans that had always made up the core of Bioware's fanbase, the "genetically perfect beauty" of Miranda when the developers gave her the freaky face of a woman born and raised in the Uncanny Valley, and of course the infamous "thermal clip" debacle, ME2 finds itself in the rather odd position of being a very good game that also had *so much* wasted potential!
mass effect 2 felt like a masterpiece compromised by marketing its still really good but there's aspects that you can tell a higher up demanded
ME2 is my least favorite because I didn't get that the whole game is about recruiting. Usually you recruit your people and then go on the missions. But the characters are the mission, until the suicide mission at the end. So due to my own narrow mindedness it was the one I had the most trouble with. But saying ME2 is my least favorite ME game is like saying Milky Ways are my third favorite chocolate bar. It still rocks and is better than almost anything
The first time I get to Omega Relay, I cried a little. The music swells, the ship struggled, and then dark reddish space. It was so dramatic.
thanks dan, I have to admit that I fell in love with mass effec, and I love and entertain these videos, thanks for your great effort and dedication, you really make me pass the time in a big way, a great affection from Argentina my good friend, greetings!
As a Stand-alone game ME2 is easily the best game BioWare has ever and will ever make however when you look at the trilogy as a whole it’s the weakest of the 3.
Facts
Love the video! Mass Effect 2 was where I started really getting invested in the story and I truly fell in love with ME. Thanks for the video!
It was actually the New Testament where Lazarus was raised from the dead, just as a heads up 😬
Very well crafted video. Insanely impressed. Nice to see someone else do the renegade stuff so I wouldn’t have to. It’s just not satisfying for me to play a renegade but it’s so cool to see what happens. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ video!! Did u do this same type of video for ME 1 and 3?
Thanks John! I enjoy the renegade decisions. And yes I have one on Mass Effect 3 ua-cam.com/video/1MfN252mXRE/v-deo.html
I recognise that song at the start while he was promoting infinite galaxy can anyone tell me what it is please ?
My beef with ME2 comes from the fact that the main story hurt the overall narrative of the trilogy. So little happens when it comes to the main plot lines from ME1 such as the reapers and their imminent threat, genophage and the geth and quarian ark. I would say that it's great as a standalone game but it's not since you must play ME1 to be familiar with the universe, and as a second game in a trilogy, well it completely fails imo.
I think you're right. ME2 sort of setup ME3 for failure in that way. To me the big missed opportunity is the dead reaper mission. You board a reaper that's been destroyed, it should have been the place where we start finding a weakness or a solution to the reapers to the ending doesn't have to be a dues ex Machina but instead we just get the reaper IF/F which we came for an legion whose admittedly great and learn 0 about the reapers themselves.
I was a great fan of Mass Effect 1 when it launched, Sure it had faults, but I really liked the universe and the story - I never fell in love with Mass Effect 2, It always felt like the Michael Bay version of the game I liked so much.
My thoughts exactly. ME2 gets all the attention because BioWare sold its soul for mainstream validation. ME2 might have had polish and special effects, but BioWare lost something that wasn’t found again while making this one.
Great retrospective! I can definitely see how this is one of your most ambitious videos to date, and I wholeheartedly concur that ME2 is all around one of the best games ever made. Would love to see you do a full retrospective on Mass Effect 3 at some point. 🙂
honestly, bringing legion to Tali's trial should always result in her banishment from the fleet even if you pass the speech checks. She's on trial for sending active geth to the fleet, which she denies, while having an active geth standing right behind her in the audience
welcome to Mac Walters writing, too bad Drew left, Mac destroyed ME, just look at andromeda, he had the most control of any ME game there, and it sucked, we could have had perfection if Mac was fired and Drew stayed on (but that was EAs decision and he was their lapdog)
Please don’t praise the planet scanner, it’s honestly the most annoying part, especially for completionists.
The planet scanning mini game is my least favorite part of this game, my OCD made me search the entire galaxy and scan every planet for every bit of its resources, which probably added a whole bunch more hours to my playtime lol
Same here, once I start scanning for resources, I have to really peel myself away. I remember so many times where I only had an hour or two to play and I would spend the first 45 minutes just checking planets 😂
@@jamestownsassacre9211 ikr lol even thought you don't really need all those resources, hell there isn't even a trophy for it, it's really hard to simply ignore it all
Worst part of Planet Scanning, for me at least, was that there was *no achievement* for depleting all the planets! Made me feel like such an idiot! 🤣
@@henryviiifake8244 that's what I just said lol although it's trophies on the Playstation version
Shepherd is in a coma for two years, not dead. He was clinically dead on the frozen planet he landed on, preserving his body and brain. They used an items to restore his vital functions. Sure, it’s sci-if, but not impossible if you have some understanding of the science.
The goat. Fantastic job & video.
Incredible retrospective. Has me in all the feels.
If ME3 had an ending akin to ME2 it would easily be the best in the franchise according to 99% of the fanbase. It's a shame Drew Karpyshyn left the company before he wrote the ending.
he made the right move, he didnt let EA ruin his name
@@eyzmin I can't agree with this. I think he should have made a bigger stand against the bad business practices and wrote a better ending. Essentially giving up entirely just left a huge stain on the Trilogy that will likely never be rectifed.
Loved it, you’re content is Great & I’d watch that anytime
Great video man!
As good as ME2 is ME1 has always been my favourite despite the graphics and combat. When MELE came out ME1 was just a pleasure to play and has just solidified it as my favourite. ME2LE somehow tweaked the combat or something and it was damn near impossible to play, I had to get the Locust earlier than I wanted and eventually had to lower the difficulty despite being used to playing Hardcore I think.
I enjoyed one thoroughly but I recently replayed and my God is the Makko broken lol
@@texastwostepgaming Ah who doesn't love the mako? It's a classic.
Personally I'd say ME2 is overrated, at least when compared to the rest of the trilogy. People like to hold it up as the best of the three Mass Effect games but imo it's the worst, or rather the least good, of the trilogy.
It was a huge step down from 1 in most regards moving away from many of the rpg elements in favour of being more of a corridor shooter. Levels are linear paths with no real sidetracking anymore, the skills were gutted down to the bone with many being outright removed, abilities severely nerfed encouraging all classes to play like a soldier, being locked into only 2 weapons you don't even get to choose depending on your class, the loss of planetary exploration in favour of the annoying planet scanning, and a bunch of other minor things like guns going from cool sci-fi energy weapons to generic bullet reload weapons and stuff like that.
Don't get me wrong the writing of ME2 is still consistently great as with the rest of the trilogy, but as a game it just felt like a step down from 1 being far more restrictive and on the rails in many ways while 3 refined and improved upon the formula of 2.
Lol Aria voice actress is Trinity from Matrix? Cool,I didn't know that, cool info Big Dan,thanks 😁👍.
That’s was great, love the content brother