Anyway, I recently acquired two games I've been looking for for some time. Mass Effect and Army of Two: The 40th Day. So I might as well start writing with Mass Effect since I started playing that one first. (Keep in mind, I have played Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 1 gave me...something I wasn't expecting...)
The game started, and I was at first saddened at how Joker seemed to hate me outright. Well, maybe not outright, but his sarcasm was less...lightheartedly funny and more...get out of my face.
Anyway, I finally arrive at the first combat scene, and find the HUD to be vastly different, among other things.
Mass Effect 1's HUD
Notice the health bars in the bottom left, as well as shield monitors. This is what I loved best about the Mass Effect heads up display--it let me see how my partners were doing in a constant detailed report. I also admit I liked that there was unlimited ammunition, you merely had to not overheat your weapon.
Mass Effect 2's HUD
The ME2 HUD is more concerned, it seems, with packing everything up. I can only vaguely see how my partners are doing with their health and shields, represented under Shepard's own health/shield bar by a small bar and a quarter circle. The only thing I ever really relied on in concern with that pitiful display is when their faces glow red, meaning they're taking damage, and even then, I don't know how much more they can actually take.
I was, however, frustrated that I could not command my team separately in Mass Effect 1, a feature added on in Mass Effect 2. That did not excuse, for me, the pitiful lack in variety of weapons and armor ME2 has. Sure, you can change out parts of your regular N7 Armor, but most other armors are exclusive and DLC-Only, and even then, only for Shepard. Sure, you could change out skins on your team, but how much stronger does that actually make them?
I also noted that through three playthroughs, I only had two types of pistols, 4 machine guns, three snipers, and three shotguns excluding squad-exclusive weaponry. What is this? In Mass Effect there were almost countless variety of weapons, and different weapon manufacturers everywhere! It made it worthwhile to get money, to see how much more you could buy. In ME2, there was apparently a massive deflation in the economy, as while I amassed over 6 million credits in the predecessor, the best I ever got in ME2 on Hardcore Mode was around 300,000 credits.
It's not a bad thing, and it certainly explains the drop in weapons and armor variety--I mean, with 300,000 credits only there isn't a lot the poor Commander could buy anyway. Besides, I'd much rather only buy virtually nameless upgrades for my weapons and, of course, be able to attach them all at once stifling my creativity of mix and match.
Now that the rant is over, I honestly cannot compare the storylines. I will say I liked the team of ME2 better, even though I still stuck with Tali and Garrus (they are my A-Team) and sometimes Legion. The arguments among the team were interesting as well, even if I never resolved Miranda vs Jack.
The ending is a lot better, or it was for me, because I spoiled it (slightly) for myself. I read that Shepard could get killed on the Suicide Mission if certain parameters were met, and all along I was on the edge of my seat trying not to meet those parameters. In the battle against Sovereign and Saren, I actually managed to convince the villain to pull suicide, and the ending was on a grand scale (Joker's flying was incredible) however the knowledge that Shepard would, in fact, survive simply killed the end suspense.
Of course, I plan to play ME2 again with my ME1 Shepard, and play through twice to get good stats and all that, in preparation for Mass Effect 3 coming out Winter sometime.
Until next time I post, peace!
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