5 Things That Suck About Mass Effect 2 [Update: Sixth Horrific Suckiness]

Mass Effect 2 is a great game, as we discussed earlier today. But it’s not perfect. In fact, it has some total sucktitude. Here are the five biggest nuisances in Mass Effect 2. And for good measure, we’ve included why they’re not so bad!

Warning:  Spoilers be ahead. You’ve been warned.

 

1)  Reload

Yes, changing the no-ammo to a partial-ammo system does make combat more frantic. The downside to that is after every firefight, players are forced to go look around for heatsinks (aka ammo), or the next combat situation will force you to switch guns.

The bright side? You carry a ton of heatsinks.

2)  A very slow, bad timed secretary

A new computer terminal and lots of characters means lots of traveling within the ship and computer. Checking up on these constantly is a hassle, so an on-board secretary has been placed beside the galactic map. The problem is she takes so damn long to tell you there’s a message or that someone wants to talk to you that you’re already half-way out of the room or already checked the message yourself. The sad thing is when you stand there and wait for her to speak, she won’t say anything. It’s like the bitch is waiting for you to leave to start talking. Worst. Timing. Ever.

The bright side? When it works right, it does save time.

3)  If you’re smart, Normal difficulty is easy

On my first playthrough, I died twice and only made one game-critical mistake, which in the end didn’t change much. Normal difficulty doesn’t make combat all that hard, especially if you’re prepared. The end of the game, the “Suicide mission,” didn’t feel like a suicide mission at all. In fact, the last boss was nothing compared to Saren. Then again, I did put 20 hours into the game beforehand.

The bright side? Difficulty settings go way up, so try on normal then carry your character over for another run.

4)  There’s no characters that stand out

Mass Effect 1 had Wrex, who was the go-to sidekick. Funny in a dark, sarcastic and often sadistic way, Wrex was always fun to have around. There’s no one like that in Mass Effect 2. Every character has a history, but none of them will grab your attention like Wrex did.

The bright side? No singular awesome character means switching characters constantly is easy.

5)  Overall direction is weak

After the hour and a half introduction, players are given free reign over the Normandy to explore the galaxy. The end of the game is the suicide mission. This makes the entire middle mostly one thing: finding a team. Finding characters and making a team is a pretty weak plot device, not really worthy of Shepard’s credentials. Sure, they’re the best crew ever, but it lacks the ambition and drive to find Saren we saw in the past.

The bright side? The overall plot may be weak, but the smaller sub-plots and storytelling are very well done, giving players the chance to embark on interesting quests.

[Update] 6) Conversations mid-sentence get lost

Characters like to talk, and sometimes not in an active, controllable conversation. They often have important or funny things to say. Sadly, if you’re moving fast or in a crowded area, these little pieces of gold disappear if another conversation starts elsewhere. Walking on the Citadel or in a bar on Omega? If Grunt starts talking, he’ll stop mid-sentence because random people nearby started talking. This cutting off happens infrequently, but it’s a horrible nuisance nonetheless.

The bright side? It doesn’t happen too often, and if you take it slow or just stop when a conversation is going on, you won’t miss it.

Also, we’re giving away two copies of Mass Effect 2 over here. Don’t forget to enter! When you’re done doing that, make sure you read why Mass Effect 2 kicks ass.