Podcasting On That YouTubery

My podcast thus far. GamerGate is being covered in more detail in future posts and generally having fun would be the goal here. But it does get poignant with me on the mic as any of my readers are likely to be less than shocked to learn.

BioWare: Mass Effect 2 Review Plus Mini-Guide

**Minor Spoilers Present**

COMMANDER SHEPPARD once again must rise up to save the galaxy, but this time with questionable allies and coming back from the grave to further complicate matters. The paramilitary organization known as Cerberus has reconstructed you at the cost of over four billion credits after your body suffered reentry into an atmosphere.

A mysterious and unthinkably powerful vessel destroyed the first Normandy but thanks to your heroism the crew mostly survived, though Sheppard did not.

The Hero of the Citadel had fought Cerberus and personally destroyed several facilities in the line of duty,but nonetheless this well funded pro-human rogue organization has placed a gamble on resurrecting Commander Shepard to fight this new alien threat in the scientific endeavor they call Project Lazarus.

Implants and genetic modification give this revived Shepard a new edge in combat to ensure protection of Cerberus' investment. Events start to unfold as you awaken in a Cerberus facility overrun with hostile mechs with stylish facial scars and no idea what is going on.

This title has more the feel of heist movie than anything else. You gather your team, have a shady boss giving out orders and a lot rides on how much your team trusts you to get the job done. They butchered the skills system and upgrades are more passive than before except ammo types which are easier to switch out.

In turn new powers and weapons appear such as a grenade launcher you get right away and the powerful Shockwave biotic that explodes across the ground. The graphics are far improved, especially the facial details, and the textures are much more pleasing for the armor and weapons if much more limited in number than before. The level of customization in Shepard's appearance has gone up significantly along with issues with the female default Sheppard's hair looking weird and finally introducing some non-butt ugly preset female faces for a new game only.

Though only ME3 offers a female preset face for Shepard that is actually attractive, you end up looking exactly your attendant on the Normandy but whatever. That same pattern is true for the default female Shepard where she gets more attractive as the titles progress.

While it may be the sequel to ME1 it's not really the spiritual successor that ME3 is to the first title. Instead going off in it's own direction focusing on the criminal underworld, the dubious agenda of figures like the Cerberus leader known as the Illusive Man, and delving into the back-stories of the Normandy SR-2 crew in the form of Loyalty Missions.

Also the first title might be called a "hardcore RPG" by some but this one doesn't qualify as you're not forced into the Soldier class just to get by anymore and your slightly more intelligent squad doesn't need babysitting anymore either. Class choices still have a major affect on gameplay and overall strength but it's much more friendly including powerful stealth and tech powers.

That said it could be called a "hardcore shooter" because every mode above Normal is excessively hard for any class. Most of that difficulty is all about the poor system and over-reliance on an unpredictable AI, they get in your line of fire a lot less but much harder to handle without micromanagement.

With only two defensive powers in the whole game they cranked up the challenge quite a bit. Much of the old crew is in this game but you can only use Tali and Garrus. Wrex is leading up his clan now and for some mysterious reason Liara has become involved in espionage and trying to take down the kingpin known as The Shadow Broker.

Ashley or Kaiden will also pop up just to basically tell you suck for working with Cerberus. But don't fret because in terms of raw power you get more than you can deal with in ME2 squadmates.

There's the mad scientist who fries everything caught up in his Incinerate power, the madwoman biotic who pisses all over Liara but comes with the same glass cannon qualities, the Asari Justicar
matriarch or vampiric-physic Asari Ardat-Yakshi and a Krogan warrior who is engineered to be perfect.

You also get two Cerberus lackies who both have a biotic class variation. Most shocking change if playing from ME1 straight into ME2 is the sudden introduction of ammo by means of Thermal Clips. It forces you to aim your shots better which is a good thing, but also forces you to run around looking for clips which is a bad thing since they are often too spread out if not all waiting in a big pile near the end.

Until you get some capacity upgrades this new feature will be a pain. Another very different element is the puny amount of weapons in total and the way how pretty much always the one at the bottom of the list is the best one. Going too far in an effort to simplify a rather complex engine would define ME2 rather well. It almost feels like BioWare kind of brushed off the idea of customization completely but it is in there.

Truly devastating weapons are available to Soldiers only in a one-time event where you chose
between rifle types or otherwise chose which weapon skill you pick up that your class was lacking. I'm not a fan of this lack of doing an upgrade mechanic, but the example of something I like can be found in this same title by making certain missions completed at a certain difficulty unlocks new weapons.

In ME2 you can complete Tali's Loyalty Mission on Hardcore to receive a down-graded version of brutal Geth Plasma Rifle from ME3 without playing the whole game like that and with any class who can equip Assault Rifles able to use it.

In terms of hardcore gaming ME2 responds with Insanity Mode, which holds no comparison to the game mode found in the first game. Unlike some recent difficulty updates for some major titles this mode is beatable with a great deal of effort but I can't claim to have done it.

Some debate on message boards exists on what class to chose but I find slowing time, found only on the Soldier class, is the most useful power in the game when combined with a bonus defensive skill.

Unless you really want that Achievement / Trophy I would say skip trying to beat the game on Insanity unless you're a glutton for punishment.

The good ol' days of a simple Galaxy Map are gone replaced by Planet Scanning and needing fuel to go between solar systems. The Mass Relays still send you all over the galaxy but for systems without Relays you're going to have to fly.

Omni-Gel is replaced by four new resources that you'll need for upgrades and you won't be a gazillionaire this time either. Planet Scanning is pretty tedious. To get enough upgrades for the final battle you'll need to do at least some scanning if not a lot.

While this mechanic makes logical sense and is better than the plain Galaxy Map of ME1 it just takes too long to stay fun for long. A multiple probe deployment would have been a better idea for the ship's probe bay upgrade or maybe something that colorized parts of the surface with minerals instead of using the scanner bars.

I was experiencing a glitch on my first game (Xbox 360) where the scanning wasn't faster after the upgrade which can make the whole process just horrible. Another thing I would like to have seen more of in ME2 and ME3 are the buying of star charts.

Like Scanning this makes good logical sense and fits into the lore perfectly but the execution is a little sloppy.

Where the Geth are the main enemy in the first game and the Reapers the main enemy in the last game, ME2 doesn't really have a main enemy or of if it does then it's mercenaries. Sheppard is no longer in the military so the enemies as less well defined, which I like about this game.

The new Heavy Weapons are there to deal with new Heavy Enemies, though you can chose to just use firearms in tough battles instead without too much penalty. I say research and equip the Missile Launcher ASAP and ignore everything else beside the Grenade Launcher you started with, but if you have paid DLC content the Flamethrower is sweet.

The Arc Projector is a free DLC weapon that is superior to the Missile Launcher but has a firing delay. There's a ice-ammo version of the Grenade Launcher that does less damage but can freeze enemies more frequently than the Cryo Ammo and fans of the Fallout series might like to know about the Mini-Nuke Launcher that is kind of impractical as it only has one shot and firing a nuke in most missions would hurt more than help but it's in there. You also have to hold the trigger for a full four seconds before it fires and this against flying or missile launching enemies.

Enemies still have shields but now most enemies have either an armor layer below that or shield regeneration at a much faster rate or both.

Paragon and Renegade choices return with the addition of QTEs along the same lines. I like this use of QTEs as they're optional and often creative in their use. ME2 should set the standard in the industry on how to use QTEs: optional bonuses from interacting with the cutscene, not punishing you for taking a glance away from the screen. Though they overuse the whole stop / don't stop
someone from shooting someone else dynamic once too often.

Things like headbutting a Krogan, or the interrogation with your fists doing the talking, make up for anything that seems out of place. Missing one or two of your chosen path choices won't hurt you, but missing them all certainly hurts your chances on a Perfect Ending.

The morality choices are much less free than before. In ME2 your persuasion skills are tied up with your Paragon / Renegade Meters. If you imported from ME1 your meters will fill up at most the first rank of each respectively. This new system locks you in to one of the two roles if you want to see all the dialogue and possible outcomes.

ME2 has more standard morality choices, where being evil means being pro-Cerberus and prone to just shot first and ask questions later and where the Paragon is still trying to get back to the Alliance / Council while constantly stopping everyone from killing each other outside of open combat.

Neutrality became somewhat pointless, pick a side to see the most of the game on your first run. Like ME1 there are no negative values, you can never actually lose progress on the meters, but there are a more limited number of total Paragon and Renegade Points to earn and most are extremely miss-able. Unlike before you can't move forward in the game until you recruit most the crew but you can simply ignore party members in their dialogues and Loyalty Missions rather than directly turn them down in their offers of aid.

Those who have played BioWare's Star Wars: KOTOR series will remember the facial changes in your character if you take an exclusively evil path.

A new feature is you can just get rid of it with an expensive Ship Upgrade for the Normandy SR-2.

The facial scars left over from being awoken too early will glow crimson red if evil, and slightly fade away if good.

The default male Sheppard looks especially bad ass when full Renegade, almost like The Terminator in space!

The full Paragon Sheppard gets a more vibrant version of their original eye color and the remaining scars have a light blue glow behind them, but in order to get FemShep back into her semi-sexy self you'll still need the Med-Bay Upgrade which costs a whopping fifty thousand of your resources.

All this has a minor change on one upgrade in ME3; a newly imported Shepard to ME3 can remove the scars if not done in ME2 or take a 5% health bonus but not both. In a continuous import it's best to remove the scars only after all other useful upgrades are purchased if you're looking to get rid of it.

Like the QTEs this is the best way to handle these gradual visual changes in the protagonist. The Loyalty Missions and changing out a bonus power are some cool new features.

The Loyalty Missions are all fun, but I expected more in the way of Loyalty Meters or maybe something where selecting a squad member a lot unlocked something.

No, it's straight forward: they're loyal after their mission which unlocks the power for both of you to use and ship upgrades are from dialogue aboard the Normandy. It doesn't matter what order you assemble the crew in but the order of the Loyalty Missions does matter if you're going
for the Perfect Ending.

You need about 80% Paragon or Renegade points total to defuse a fight between crew-mates.

It's possible to come back later and reassure the crew mate who you lost loyalty with a 90-95% P/R but minus the math lecture the more points you have in the opposite meter counts against you in
this speech check. Making it potentially impossible to earn back the loyalty of a crew mate on a first or second playthrough if your actions even out to a Neutral Shepard overall and you did Jack plus Miranda's Loyalty Missions early.

You also do the last party member's Loyalty Mission in quick succession with the end game, meaning the IFF mission is the point of no return.

Squad Choice:

You need three roles fulfilled but the punishment for ignoring this is now only tougher combat, where ME1 screwed you out of piles of good items. You need a Shield Breaker, Armor Cracker and Crowd Controller to have a truly effective team for all battles.

It doesn't have to be a team member doing each role exclusively, for instance Miranda has both Overload for shields and Warp for armor.

Crowd Controllers (CC) are biotics mostly, Shepard can take up this role in any class thanks to Heavy Weapons.

Maxing Push and / or Pull is a good start for a CC. Increasing the radius and cooldown of squadmate biotics and techs is a must as you rely on them much more heavily now.

The Soldier and Vanguard classes fit best in organizing a team around you but other classes take up most the roles themselves leaving you open to bring along the two vanilla tanks Jacob the Vanguard minus Char and Cryo Ammo and the Krogan 'tank-bred' Grunt. Zaeed is part of a free DLC and has better skills than Grunt but not as much HP or defense, and of course not as good as Jacob since he brings biotics in with his tank nature.

The weapons your squad uses and how upgraded they are is still very important but you shouldn't plan your squad around that alone.

It really comes down to play-style and how much you like melee and shotguns over biotics and a lot of weapon switching. The Charge and Adrenalin Rush powers work great for those who love charging into battle and using bullet-time to expertly dispatch foes.

Infiltrators can use stealth and go it alone for some parts, while all other classes can use cover and eventually debuffs to pound enemies with tech and biotic powers from a distance.

Sniping is actually possible for the first time, and the all-powerful Widow Sniper Rifle makes its first appearance for the Soldier class only.

At about nine to ten missions into the main story you'll be given the Advanced Weapon Training option. This allows you to either pick up a third weapon skill. For the Soldier all you already have all weapon skills so you decide between the Claymore Shotgun,

Revenant Assault Rifle and Widow Sniper Rifle are excellent. The Claymore is always a one-shot wonder since you can only increase capacity of belt clips not in the camber.

The Revenant is full-auto plus high damage, perfect for Normal but as clips become more rare combined with how most boss fights work this weapon gets outclassed over a SMG and Sniper Rifle loadout. I don't use it but I'll mention the reload exploit for

Shotguns: when you trigger a reload there is a "click" sound that happens and when timed properly a melee attack will skip through the reload animation allowing for spam-fire with the highest damage weapon available in the form of the Claymore.

There are a lot aspects to love and hate about ME2. With all the companions installed it's the largest crew by far with no overly frail members on the team. Mordin receives the least health but has the best shields, and the biotic / tech glass-cannon NPCs will just need to be directly ordered to cover more often than tanks.

That crap where your squad gets right in front of your shots is mostly gone, replaced by a combination of overly hostile squad members and a hit-or-miss cover system. The cover system is an improvement over the purely auto-cover system, that incorporates crouching for low cover, in ME1.

But the running up to cover positions thing doesn't always work as it should, and creative use of cover almost always just results in weird impossible angles instead of perfect cover.

According to Achievement Hunter on YouTube these aspects arise from the fact that the dev team were tasked solely with improving the shooting mechanics before they were allowed to deal with the RPG mechanics, then got pressed for a release date.

So ended up doing less than they envisioned for both in the end.

The Suicide Team:

Jacob is the first squadmate you meet and have access to. He has Pull which is great for removing enemies from cover when it works and with four levels in his class skill he gets a large health bonus.

In this game health is more important for squadmates and shields are more important for Sheppard.

Jacob is former Alliance and is obviously the rare Paragon found in Cerberus ranks.

He can be romanced by female Sheps, and though his personality bugs me I still recommend using him for the early and mid-points of the game if nobody else on your squad is using biotics.

You'll learn more of his father's space exploits when you take his Loyalty Mission, which is the first unlocked through the storyline. Mostly ignored and underrated, he is the new Wrex: a combination of effective biotics and a tough frame. If his combat dialogue wasn't so annoying I'd use him a lot more.

Miranda is the second permanent squadmate and damn sexy if completely self centered. She has Warp, Overload and earns Slam which is decent but not great as biotics go. Miranda's saving grace is her upgraded class skill that boosts squad health.

Place her on a team with an upgraded Grunt and a Soldier Shepard for the most lethal team I've ever seen. Like a few others on the team her AI is set to aggressive, which makes logical sense in that she is so cocky but I really hate babysitting squadmates and she will die in enemy fire even on Normal if you don't tell her to get to cover yourself.

Like I mentioned before she takes on two roles so while you're forced to use her at first you can make the whole game easier by just always having her along. Always evolve her class skill to have the biggest squad HP bonus, weapon damage for the squad is overrated as their powers do much more than before.

Romancing Miranda is for male Sheps only and starts after doing her mission and talking to her a few times after, like all the others. Being a version of the Sentinel class she is the non-sucky Kaiden for ME2 and ten times less annoying in battle than Jacob if kind of a bland choice for your team. Even
Sentinel Sheps benefit from adding her because Warp and Overload are used so often in ME2.

Jack is a powerhouse and probably the best addition in terms of new faces. She is also known as Test Subject Zero and has hyper-amplified biotics thanks to Cerberus tampering with her genetics.

Full-body tattoos and a surly personality, for some reason I don't find her at all out of place on-board the Normandy SR-2. An excellent choice for the biotic role on your team or just to back up your own biotics/techs.

Drawback of using Jack is she lacks the Warp ability so she can't degrade enemy armor. Jack does come with Warp Ammo, which doesn't make up for the loss.

Increase radius and max out her Shockwave even if you have the same power. It travels through objects and cover so ignore the game blocking it out in red when you bring up the Squad Powers Menu.

Cooldowns are always more important than weapon damage bonuses but if you often forget to tell the squad to attack you might evolve her class skill the other way. Unfortunately outclassed by Samara /
Morinth in pure usefulness she still fills the CC role perfectly and pairs well with the Soldier and Engineer Classes.

Garrus returns with all the same weaknesses and strengths. His Sniper Rifle and Overload ability make up for some of his short-comings but I find myself rarely selecting him in ME2. He is now freelance (like me!) after the first Normandy crew disbanded. His weakness is being swarmed with melee enemies and ME2 delivers probably three times as many of these. On certain missions Garrus is like a tech using Thane but unfortunately he is pretty much the squadmate that gets ignored to the most.

If you must use him boost his health, of course, and remember to switch him off snipers when enemies close in. He's not awful, nobody is in this game, so if you hate Miranda have Garrus
take the slot she would fill. Romanced by females only. A poor man's Thane or Zaeed best sums up Garrus unless you hate Miranda or haven't done Tali's mission yet to fill the Shield Breaker role.

Grunt is your Krogan ally this time. A cloned lifeform containing genes from the great Krogan Battlemasters of legend designed to provide pure genes to combat the Genophage. He uses both the
shotgun and assault rifle weapon types, has the best HP in the game, comes with his own Incendiary Ammo skill and the powerful Fortitude power which should be your bonus power after you earn it but before you get Geth Shield Boost.

His Concussive Shot power is handy but don't count him as CC, he is a pure tank with no biotics and at most an ammo power that degrades armor a bit. You can chose to heed the warnings of the Cerberus AI (EDI) and not open his tank once recovered, but seriously why would you turn down a Krogan willing to fight those bug-eyed Collector bastards?

Unlike Wrex this Krogan has a sense of humor and is "born" when you empty the tank so he could be called a newborn, whereas Wrex is an elder of his people who might be slowing a bit with age.

Grunt is present on most my teams and immediately replaces Jacob, but if you demand either tech or biotics on both your squadmates then Grunt is the only character you'll always leave behind. Not
romance-able by either gender. Grunt's main benefit is his storming charge, with Fortitude to keep him alive, will kill weak enemies in rapid fashion almost making up for the lack of biotics.

Mordin is a Sularian scientist who is a new addition and fun personality to have around. He's the best Armor Cracker but the worst defensively, in fact he dies during the Suicide Mission more often than any other character. Somewhat like Liara from ME1 but with tech, his glass-cannon nature will get him killed on higher difficulties even when you order him around. Just don't run out o' Medi-Gels if you want him in your squad and you'll be okay.

I like Mordin's battle commentary and cutscene inclusion more than other teammate but he mixes very poorly into A-Team already full of glass-cannons and debuffers. He was part of the team who re-engineered the Genophage after the Krogan adapted.

Without him the Seeker Swarms would take you out before you even approached the Collectors, so don't doubt Mordin on matters of science. Just don't expect him to act like a champion in battle either.

Best way to keep Mordin alive for the Suicide Mission is to add him to your team just after giving your big speech to troops. This Sularian cannot "hold the line!" so don't ask him to do that right at the end of the game. Not romance-able, he should be though!

Tali is our close friend and ally from the first game this time returning with less impressive skills but keeping that beautiful shotgun of course. Tali is still a Quarian, wearing an enviro-suit all the time, but we can see her face a bit better now with improved graphics. She completed her Pilgrimage with or without your help in recovering Geth tech in the first game. Now she serves in the Migrant Fleet aboard the Neema and commands a squad.

You'll encounter her early in your travels. She is opposed to Cerberus but you can easily recruit her when the time comes.

Her main asset is the new Combat Drone power she has by default. This is like spawning a weak squadmate right next to or behind an enemy under cover. Setting it to be a remote bomb is what I
recommend, the other option being just better shields and damage for the disposable little orb.

We learn more of the Quarian people and have the opportunity to decide Tali's fate for ME3 during the Loyalty Mission. Even after gaining her bonus shield draining power she doesn't make a very good Shield Breaker and while she makes fighting Geth and mechs much easier she comes up short against organic foes, of which there are many. Like any shotgun user you need to remember to switch out based on the situation, also without DLC content installed the Hand Cannon is a better weapon because of lack of ammo for the squad and unlike Grunt and Shepard she can never use the Claymore.

Finally romance-able by male Sheppards, only imported romances from ME2 allow for a romance with Tali in ME3. No spoilers but don't screw her over if you want a romance, you're given a lot power to decide events in this Loyalty Mission and without enough Paragon / Renegade points you'll be forced to make a tough decision on her behalf. If you do have enough points then it doesn't matter which path you take she will comment about how she thinks someone yelling at the Admiralty Board was needed after all that.

From there just keep talking to her after missions and praise her when not talking about how much you trust her to trigger the romance. No, you don't get to see her face.

Samara is my personal favorite new addition to the crew, and for the true Renegades out there you can switch her out for her daughter if you have 80% Renegade going into her Loyalty Mission.
To briefly address Morinth: she is kind of a vampire seductress who is the same as her mother except has Dominate, as in organic AI hacking, which is superior to Reave on the Suicide Mission but less effective when dealing with everything else.

An Asari Justicar, by choice Samara leaves behind her home and personal wealth to scour Asari Space for criminals and corruption in any form. Like the Specters of the Council these operatives work mostly outside the law, in their case bound to an ancient code dictating their every action.

Samara is ruthless and her biotic ability is at an elite level, but she is not beyond compassion for those she judges. Shepard must aid her current investigation to a point in order for her to join the
crew and once recruited becomes the best biotic support role choice more because Reave at least does something like a debuff effect on the heavy enemies that can't be mind controlled.

Between Jack and Samara are some major differences that matter a lot in combat: Jack is good at setting up enemies for you briefly with a Shockwave, which is great when I can hit them, but Samara can use Pull Field and / or Push Field to setup multiple enemies for easy targeting.

Samara is, of course, another glass-cannon who requires at least some looking after if not as much as Mordin does. Cooldowns are always good but if you have a lot good biotics on your Shep then you might increase weapon dam in her case as that's what she is doing while you rip up the battlefield.

Semi-romanceable there is a longer scene 'kiss scene' when you pursue her daughter, but you die if agree to this after the Collector Base aboard the Normandy.

Thane is a Drel, a new race closely linked with the Hanar. He is a hybrid of Garrus and Wrex, an assassin by trade. The upgraded Push Field and Warp powers give him an edge and he has an odd weapon combo of SMGs and Sniper Rifles that gets very lethal when ungraded but is awful until you do so. That is this very interesting new teammate's great flaw: he starts out very weak.

His bonus power is decent but I say don't spend any more than three points in it if you take it all. Like I said this is the mid-to-long-range / auto-fire of Garrus with the Armor Cracker role filled by Warp. Pull Field and Shockwave are better at removing enemies from cover and setting them up but this biotic will still cover most your needs like stopping charging enemies or giving you some breathing room with Husks.

Like Samara if you do most the biotic/tech work yourself then evolve toward weapon dam for certain in his case because of the Sniper Rifle.

Romance-able by both genders I hear, I only ever romanced him as a female myself. If for you biotics are all about creating an opening to charge in then Thane is the only biotic you'll need, but if like me you like to use biotics strategically then he is better on the offensive support role.

Make sure to talk to him and hear all his dialogue options because he's by far the most interesting to listen to as he does these weird memory flashback moments.

Zaeed (DLC) is a human merc tied up in free DLC and can be recruited when you first reach Omega. He co-founded the Blue Suns merc gang Shepard spends a good time of time fighting in ME2, and his Loyalty Mission involves an assassination attempt on the current leader who betrayed him.

Not as thick as Grunt or Jacob he still could be called a 'tank,' and his Disruptor Ammo is much better than ICR. High quality voice acting and one of the better Loyalty Missions define Zaeed, but class-wise he's redundant as we already have two solid tanks. Always use Squad Disruptor Ammo, and note that to gain his loyalty and bonus power you'll need to walk the Renegade path.

Also note that you don't need to complete his Loyalty Mission or fail to gain his loyalty for a Perfect Ending, but you will need everyone else to be loyal. His Inferno Grenades are deadly and fun to play around with, but an Ammo Power will be a better choice or a tech / biotic on a Soldier.

Kasumi (DLC) is the best non-vanilla squad mate for several reasons. A human Master Thief she seeks out Shepard on the Citadel, proposing a heist to secure her services against the Collectors. The electronic neural imprint, or "graybox," of her former lover and colleague must be recovered in what becomes a fun little diversion from team building exercises aboard the Normandy.

Kasumi is a pumped up version of the Infiltrator class, she does something like Charge but attacks from behind and if working properly gets returned to the starting point of the attack when it ends. When it works right its perfect in most situations because enemies all turned toward her and then she is gone leaving them wide open.

Sometimes the move breaks or she won't execute it at all even within the right range, in the worst cases she just runs back to cover while under heavy fire. Flashbangs are her Bonus Power and
well worth the effort to get for her but less useful for Shep over other powers. They effect everything in some style of a debuff, and more importantly have a stagger effect.

Kasumi is insightful about the crew, but has only ambient comments to make on the Normandy not full dialogue windows. If you have her she can replace Miranda on your standard squad, doing a much better job of mopping up ground-based heavy enemies than Warp at mid-range.

The final and easily missed teammate is only with you for the final missions and the Suicide Mission. Full Renegades always lose one or more crewmates from this decision when it comes up.

Like any point where you can turn down or leave behind potential crewmates it's just stupid to do so unless you're doing a second playthrough and want to see what it's like without them.

The Reaper IFF Mission is the point of no return for ME2 if you want a Perfect Ending.

You have to do this last Loyalty Mission and no other missions, buying and scanning is okay, until you go through the Omega 4 Relay. I for one wish this character was a bigger part of ME2 and ME3 but discover for yourself the role this final teammate will have in future events.

Mini-Guide:

Fortitude / Barrier and then after that Geth Shield Boost are your best friends. Immunity has been mostly replaced, as shields stop everything now, and these powers boost shields up to double capacity. Geth Shield Boost is 10% dam and 25% shields when maxed which is a solid trade-off as 75% extra shield capacity is more than enough on anything below Hardcore mode. If truly struggling with ME2 then play as a Sentinel on Normal or Casual using Tech Armor a lot and maxing out your Warp and Overload quickly.

Remember that when upgraded SMGs and Shotguns take down shields; Pistols, Sniper and Assault Rifles take down armor. Learn to cycle through weapons as you progress forward in a mission, spreading out your ammo between all the guns so when you quick-switch you don't go to an near-empty weapon. The half empty guns on your Weapon Wheel won't auto-reload the rounds in the clips.

On game modes higher than Normal the drop rate for clips goes from rare to almost never so managing your ammo counts becomes much more important.

Also it takes slightly longer to reload so a good way of keeping up the pressure is to quick-switch between two auto or rapid fire weapons before either completely runs dry. Good squad choices help you out when you go into a mission blind of what awaits you. You're the least benefited by Tech overall but every power as some decent use, and no longer do you simply have to bring a tank with you or be one yourself but it never hurts.

Miranda and Jacob and then Miranda and another squadmate based on Sheppard's class is pretty much the best team through the whole game, even if she does tend to use up Medi-Gel more than others. Even with the versatile Sentinel Shepard your ME2 playthrough will be a lot easier with her as a constant team mate.

Weapon upgrades and HP / Shield upgrades are the most important. A few are a little silly and should be avoided on a Power Build: tech duration is not important, the random shield regen is not all useful and the mini-nuke / "snowball" gun are just fun crap you don't need. On second playthroughs or higher difficulties getting all the upgrades is a must, however.

ME2 enemies scale in level and even on Veteran a puny little security mech can take your shields out in a few shots. Grinding for resources before taking on a lot missions only makes it so you can buy the upgrade the moment it unlocks. The only way to get rich is to never use Medi-Gel and only take the plus one capacity from the drinking brandy with the doc scene which only costs 1,000 creds.

ME2 awards you 500 credits each time you find a Med-Kit and don't need to use it; certain missions are packed with kits while others are not so this is hard to do until you know when it's worth
saving them or not. Sheppard gets paid handsomely for each mission completed regardless and only a third or so of the important upgrades are from shops; keep your eyes open, run around and look
off the beaten path more for the bonus resource caches than the occasional creds.

Take your time prior to the Reaper IFF Mission. Get everyone loyal, do side missions, some planet scanning for resources, and poke around population worlds again and again as you approach Level 30.  Credits are always precious, and while fuel and probes might come on the cheap it doesn't make sense to have any more than you need.

So buy a lot probes but only as much fuel as you need. Thane and Miranda's Probe Bay upgrades are a must for non-imported Sheppard but otherwise can be held off on until just before the IFF recovery.

Keep figures like 50,000 and 75,000 as minimum amounts to have before shopping, and as you reach the mid-game try to always have about 10,000 credits on hand for exploration.

Learn to love the clunky cover system and be glad your squad can take specific cover instructions. I'd say about 75% of the cover positions are fine and dandy but the rest is mediocre or awful.
Charging into battle involves careful timing and precision. In ME1 a Soldier could get away with strolling around a battlefield with Immunity active, that crap doesn't fly in this updated Mass Effect Universe.

You will either get sick of being repeatedly shot in the face or learn to use cover.

If Storming, Melee and Shotguns are your thing you'll pretty have to pick a Vanguard class. Otherwise the benefits of the Soldier class are now bullet-time and access to three of the four best weapons in the game.

I love the Revenant, I really do, but looking at the hard stats and because you get so locked into cover positions in this game the Black Widow is the best choice.

"Charge!" used to be used to wipe up the last of a few Geth, now it gets even tanks killed as the Squad Commands are reading that as an order to just go walk over that way. Most of what your squad is doing now happens off-screen, which is where upgrades and player strategy come in. Squad Cryo Ammo, or failing that any other ammo type for squad use, is vital when things get tough. Use as needed.

Another big change in squad mechanics is they take you more seriously now: an order to take a cover position lasts longer with the AI than before and in general your "focus fire" / "huddle up" commands are taken more seriously.

The big dynamic shift here is that "take cover" is now tied into "focus fire" so if you don't order your squad to cover yourself it's no longer a penalty on Normal Mode.

Easier and faster than before the Squad Powers are about twice as strong as Shepard's no matter what level or difficulty setting. Learn to quick-combo Squad Powers into a one-two punch where you can jump in if needed but allow them to do most the work.

Area of Effect (AoE) and maximum defenses for Squadmate Evolutions, plus cooldown reduction is more important than ever because all powers are put on cooldown at once.

Biotic Explosions are the best new mechanic introduced, and are vital for success with any biotic build.

Put simply any biotic power that holds or lifts the enemy will explode when hitting the same target again with any biotic power that deals direct damage.

The most simple and reliable combo is Pull then Warp, but Pull can switched out with Singularity or Stasis and Warp switched out with Push or Reave.

The Heavy Evolutions for everything are the way to go above Normal, otherwise you have freedom to pick and chose.

In ME3 Biotic Explosions follow the same mechanic of doing the same damage regardless of difficulty setting and how they detonate, but it's much easier to set off your own biotics whereas in ME2 you almost have to use Squad Powers if you want this as a primary damage dealer.

The 'popmenu-timestop' trick is less useful than in ME1 but still serves as a great way to take a quick look around before you issue commands and take cover. Time dilation is nice in all forms but you need to defeat a series of tough enemies that sometimes all charge you at once so radial effects are sometimes much better than just emptying a clip exactly where you wanted it go.

The Missile Launcher / Arc Projector will save the day.

They home-in on any target in range; the launcher is much better at this but doesn't have a chaining effect. Once you upgrade capacity a bit and find some ammo they do an excellent job on tough bosses or hordes. For a vanilla playthrough on Normal I suggest the launcher as the only Heavy Weapon to research.

Switch back to the Grenade Launcher and use Sniper Rifles, if you can, in it's place is you absolutely can't stand the high fire rate and low projectile speed. With just free DLC use the Arc Projector for most the game but switch in the Missile Launcher as needed for Grunt's Loyalty Mission.

The "Cain" mini-nuke requires a few capacity upgrades and 100% ammo to fire, plus a four second countdown to fire and maximum ammo for it is something like 125-150%: a one-shot wonder and satisfying when it works, save up on ammo near the end and use it on only the Power Core and Final Boss segments for best strategic use.

With enough skill and weapon upgrades you can beat even an Insanity run without using Heavy Weapons more than once or twice if at all.

Biotic Charge is overrated; without Nova (ME3) to follow up the charge with a radial burst it's like serving yourself up on a platter. Vanguards should test out how much they like it before deciding but I put it on the low priority list of skill increases.

Shockwave needs to be Level 3 to be much use and travels plenty far without the distance increase so do radius or stop at three. Pull is awful until it's Pull Field then it becomes a primary biotic, but I would rather have had Push. Singularity is only for Adepts and went from being just another to best damn ever biotic in the game. Problem with it is there's no way to reduce the cooldown beyond a certain point, which is still just a little bit too slow for rapid detonations.

Soldiers are no longer the greatest thing since sliced bread but still have the best HP and use all weapon skills right away. Newbs and high difficulty players should chose this class, bring Miranda along a lot and chose between a tech or a biotic.

Downside of this class is precious skill trees are wasted on ammo types. Concussive Shot is not that great except against smaller enemies or biotic barriers. A hybrid class of the Soldier Shepard gets born faster than before with new option of a defensive or debuffing power being added via your Bonus Power without starting all over again.

A Soldier is best on initial playthroughs, as always, but cuts you out from using the best powers while cutting you in the best weapons that absolutely nobody but a Soldier Shepard can use.

There's absolutely no need to gather all the resources in the game or completely drain any of the planets. It's estimated there are three times the needed amount of resources when you add everything together.

The richest deposits are usually along the equator and the poles less frequently. Even worlds marked "Poor" might have the one mineral you need so just spend less time on them than others.

Compared to the Mako I love this mini-game aspect, but not a shining quality of ME2 either.

VGD Verdict:

A great game, even excellent. It falls to tastes. Much more linear progression and bloated with mini-games. Some like it more than the other two but for me is rates a reluctant third place. Reluctant because mechanics and powers that return in ME3 are all here but third for the crap cover system and massive reduction in character growth options. If the heist movie theme appeals more to you than the epic galactic conflicts mapped out in the trilogy then ME2 might be the one game to buy if you only got one of the three.

Romance options and dickish behavior are increased in this title over the first so if you want to undress your squadmates and generally be an outright douchebag then you can do it now. Before the worst Shepard got into was mild xenophobic rants and talking about vigilanty justice. Now he puts his gun, fist and boot where his mouth is taking no shit from anyone which is a very cool element.

In fact being a heartless Renegade makes the most sense in the context of this game than it does for the others.

As I mentioned they limited the morality system, took out more than they added from the first, gave us a better visual show and annoyingly tied up the best weapons in DLC and pre-order content that sometimes comes free with purchase.

New faces and a new feel make up for the shortcomings and make the game re-playable.

Downsides are a Level Cap of 30, other issues I mentioned and the common sin of next gen games where they tease us with incredible game concepts but then we end up just picking some options in a certain order.

Bottom line: VGD Approved! Best writing and cinematic direction in the three part series, but overall holds many flaws for the hardened RPGer.

The Suicide Mission (SPOILERS!):

Conceptually this is an awesome end-game mechanic but in execution it's really just a series of do-or-die choices with a small calculated percentage of one teammate dying just after the final boss fight.

You must recruit Legion last which means not handing him over to Cerberus for study and doing the IFF mission only after feeling ready to beat the game. Everything happens in quick progression; just make sure you talk to Legion and don't use the Galaxy Map until you've exhausted the options with him.

After Legion's Loyalty Mission every other mission you complete, both great and small, count as one dead crewmate with only the doctor surviving from this group if you take down a bunch of side missions after getting Legion. The haul platting, shield and weapon upgrades protect you from losses when approaching the Collector Base. Without all three you will lose teammates such as Jack, Grunt and Thane.

Generally speaking if a squad mate is disloyal they are dragging down the whole team, so finish every mission for the vanilla NPCs and reload if you lose the target on Thane's Loyality Mission.

The important factor on hardcore gamers aiming for zero losses is that every time you issue a decision for what tasks your squad will perform they will die after completing the task if disloyal to you.

Miranda suggests herself to lead a squad and Garrus can do the job just as well. Same as in a future command decision it doesn't matter who you choose as long as it's one of those two. Garrus is the better choice always because Miranda has that squad HP bonus in combat.

The tech expert has be Tali or Legion, anyone else gets your team through the door only to shot right after. Legion is a more logical choice and makes the first stage of the Suicide Mission easier but not enough to matter. Jacob recommends himself and dies if you select him so don't listen to that crap idea.

Reportedly if you skip the Loyalty Mission of the ones you didn't chose from this screen on Insanity their chances for surviving the "hold the line" segment go down accordingly.

Always send an escort with the doctor and the surviving crew. Not clear on the best choice here, whoever you chose won't be around anymore but they also have to protect an unarmed group back to the ship through hostile territory.

I hear on Insanity this choice is limited to Mordin only but I haven't banged my head against that mode enough to know.

Tali is a logical choice as her powers are not that useful against Collectors, Scions and Husks.

A soldier-type ensures zero causualities. If you're willing to take on the final fight with Mordin and Tali as your team then send Jacob, Zaeed or Grunt. Otherwise it's a matter of picking out the
squad mate you don't want holding the line or in the final boss fight.

The distraction team, like before, has to have Miranda or Garrus leading it up. I learned the hard way that assassins like Thane are not suited for leadership roles, even if it was a distraction team.

You can switch it up all you want but the two command positions you decide on have to be between Miranda and Garrus.

Jack is expressing a preference in leadership outside of Cerberus ranks, but will obey orders either way along with everyone else.

The biotic field must be performed by Jack or Samara / Morinth to take zero losses. Anyone else gets at least one of your squad killed in the closing cinematic. Also if you didn't do both Samara's and Jack's missions then whoever you chose who is disloyal gets one of the team killed just like if you pick Miranda, Thane or Jacob.

All squadmates must be loyal and this comes most into play in the "hold the line" portion of the Suicide Mission. Like I said before Mordin cannot hold the line so add him to your team even if you don't need him. Tali has a similar problem if you didn't have her be on the escort team, so if either or both of these two are around for the speech then they are coming along for the final boss as well.

Kasumi (DLC) is like Miranda and Thane in that she can indeed hold the line, but only if loyal at the time.

Losing your squad and bringing them back with Medi-Gel is going to happen in the final fight even with a power team so having one or two frail teammates doesn't hurt too bad.

Mordin is better than Tali for the final boss and Tali can sap the shields of the elite minions so for a Soldier or Vanguard Sheppard this team isn't so awful just low on defense.

Epic win! No one lost, hopefully.

You must escape either a massive radiation burst or explosion but with Joker at the helm you'll be just fine.

On a side-note, to see everyone die except Joker and create a non-importable save file you need to skip all three ship upgrades plus Loyalty Missions. Then do the opposite of everything above to be extra sure plus save all the Planetary Anomaly Missions for right after when you give Legion over to Cerberus for study.

But still do the weapon and skill upgrades, and don't turn it down past Normal to be sure Sheppard dies at the end. You cruel, cruel people you.

BioWare: Mass Effect Review Plus Mini-Guide

Review (Spoilers!):

Mass Effect (ME1) is the RPG-Shooter that kicks off this epic franchise. A robotic alien race, the Geth, are destroying human colonies on the edge of space and you play as Commander Sheppard of the Alliance Navy responding to this new threat. The standard class system of warrior, mage and rogue are represented with combinations of each also available to you. The weaponry available is limited to four types plus grenades, the Soldier class being the only one able to use all four. In classic terms the entire trilogy is a third-person shooter with RPG elements included in an adaptive story line.

Character customization goes far beyond simply choosing male or female then cycling a few facial presets. Similar to games like Skyrim you can alter dozens of aspects of your face before you begin playing. The male voice acting for Sheppard is of poor quality, in my opinion, and the female voice actor is excellent so if that rates as highly important to you select the female version of Sheppard. Also romantic sub-plots will be partially blocked off to you based on your gender choice. In terms of the main plot your gender plays no role so keep that in mind.

If you're anything like me you wanted to be a biotic, a mage class, of some sort right off the bat. I ended up restarting from just after the first mission to switch from Vanguard to Soldier. Soldier class characters get health regeneration and can use assault rifles from the very first playthrough so unless you set the difficulty down or don't mind reloading constantly I would say being a Soldier Sheppard is the best choice in this game. That is until you unlock a bonus skill for new games that allows you to add a weapon skill to classes that lack the desired one.

Morality choices in ME1 are divided into Paragon and Renegade categories and unlike the other titles there is a skill tree for each called Charm and Intimidate. These are not usually "good" and "bad" choices for the player but rather form the personality of Commander Sheppard, complimenting a brief bio you assign yourself at character creation. Paragons tend to always respect the letter of the law and are opposed to human xenophobia.

Renegades tend to do whatever they like to achieve a goal and are friendly to xenophobes if not completely on-board. It's important to note that while choosing a path from the beginning and sticking to it is the way the game was meant to be played there are no real consequences to being all over the map or staying neutral. Major events take place where you earn huge sums of Paragon / Renegade Points and these choices are the real morality dynamic of the ME Trilogy more than how you behave in dialogue.

One of the coolest features of the trilogy is that your choices carry on from one title to the next provided you import a completed save game. Within ME1 your choices unlock brief cutscenes
and dialogue more than anything else but I still found my second playthrough as a Renegade instead of Paragon quite fun. Unlike some games with morality choices it doesn't matter if you're the ultimate troll to the crew, the things that hurt you are utterly ignoring your allies between missions or
skipping over the side missions they offer through dialogue. It never happens that someone gets sick of your abuse and leaves the squad.

ME1 can stand on its own away from other parts of the trilogy as just an amazing game. There's drama, intrigue and passion. There's epic space battles and truly unique alien races all with well developed histories and cultures. What makes things better is with the exception of the Reaper threat you can decide your own level of involvement with all these various sub-plots flying around. You gain experience from Codex entries so you hurt yourself by not talking and investigating any time the option is present but it's not vital. I enjoy the level of complexity in the item and equipment system but I can see why some find it a burden. The downsides unique to ME1 are the Mako and the cover system.

The Mako is a all-terrain tank that while cool in concept is a bitch to drive and even harder to drive and shoot with. This makes up for around 20% of the combat in the game and it sucks. No real upgrades available for it and the crappy controls ruin what otherwise could have been an awesome feature. The cover system is just crouch and auto-cover. Crouch is actually fine when you get the hang of it but the auto-cover screws up a lot when you need it most.

The upsides unique to ME1 other than what I already mentioned are the squad commands and the upgrade system. In some ways limited over the other games, the squad commands are more
complex in ME1 than others. You can have your two allies charge, focus fire, hold ground or form up whereas it gets limited to focus fire and form up with powers from each squadmate replacing the old orders.

While quick-firing two squad powers is really nice you need only hold one of the menu buttons for a sec to do the same in ME1. The level and equipment upgrade system has a lot of options and can become a pain if you try to constantly apply every upgrade as you get them. It's better and I think more fun than the other games to do upgrades after each few missions. Unless you find some really good armor or a kickass weapon in crate this doesn't hurt your progress once you unlock key powers.

A big chunk of the game is spent interacting with the Galaxy Map on-board your ship the Normandy. Simple and straight forward, no guide I can find spends much time explaining this one. Just zoom in and out with a cross-hair appearing when there is something to do. Every planet has a name, brief description and some scientific data to review but on average only one planet in solar system can be landed on and most of those unlocked through missions.

You'll spend at least some time trying to remember the cluster then the system in which the side missions occur unless you're following a complete guide. Unlike the other games ME1 doesn't lead you around by the nose and a couple side missions will just never trigger if you don't use the Galaxy Map to visit the right star cluster. There's no fuel concerns and almost as soon as get command of the Normandy you can start doing all the side missions.

There's no ammo counts, replaced by an Overheat Meter just above your squad's HP and shields. At first I was pissed when I realized that only ME1 had this feature but I've come around. Except for the beginning and early mid-point of the game you can pretty much spam enemies with so much blasting at once they can't do much but die even when taking cover. When you have limited shots it makes you more concerned about what you're shooting, so spamming a wall until a Geth finally peaks his head around is no longer a smart move. Especially with full-auto weapons the introduction of ammo makes it more fun for me.

Sniper Rifles are almost useless, which is a shame. With a Soldier holding down some skill you can lay waste to parts of the game that are otherwise tough but the thing shakes like crazy until you get the elite grade weapons and even then jumps around too much for me to consider using it. Also you can't rely on the massive stopping power to save you with a 'hail mary' shot on a charging enemy. The cross-hair on the screen for the sniper rifle is a massive circle so unless you're really good you'll miss by a yard. The future games improved upon this.

The crew of the Normandy are what make this trilogy so loved by many and I'm no different. We meet three alien teammates after the first mission and start with two fellow humans. A fourth alien is found on a separate mission. It's an option to decline the help of Wrex, Garrus and Tali but a stupid mistake if you do. You can also rescue Liara from the Geth without adding her to the crew, which again would be really stupid since she is the only pure biotic teammate in the game. Ashley and Kaiden are fellow Alliance members.

Wrex is a Krogan, a warrior race pushed to near-extinction from the engineered "genophage" virus.

He uses Assault Rifles and Shotguns with high HP and resistance to explosions. Give him a high powered rifle and watch enemies get shredded, and with a proper shotgun he is the most deadly character at close range because of high melee damage and overall resistance. His class is called Krogan Warlord but he is a Vanguard, using biotics and firearms in lethal combination. Focus on his tank aspects first and develop those biotics later. He does better in a straight fight than he does working Mass Effect fields anyway.

Wrex is a lizard-like race who has red eyes and works as a mercenary-for-hire. He joins the Normandy under the condition they are tracking down Sarren, for who he has his own reasons for wanting dead.

Garrus is a Turian, a militarized race that are mostly dominate in the galaxy and more recently challenged by Humans in this role. He uses assault rifles and sniper rifles. Unlike when Sheppard uses the sniper rifle it's worthwhile in his hands. Give him the best sniper rifle you have and be careful to switch him off it when the fighting gets closer. Serves all the tech needs of a squad but can be a pain to level up properly because all his skills are in demand at once. His class is called Turian Agent but he is an Infiltrator. If you want him in your party then unlock Electronics quickly and get both Decryption and Electronics to the point where you can access hard objects after assigning only a few points in armor and weapon skills.

Garrus is a reptile-race with human-like eyes but various horn-like facial structures. Formerly a security officer he joins the Normandy when his investigation into Sarren is ended before he feels it should have.

Tali is a Quarian, a nomadic race that created the AI framework of the Geth and lost their homeworld along with their entire society to the Geth. She uses pistols and shotguns. While using shotguns is what makes Tali more deadly than other squadmates it's best to keep her using a pistol because of her low HP. Give her armor and a high damage pistol to start and skip the shotgun usage until her Electronics and class skill have given her a sizable shield boost. Her class is listed as Quarian Mechanist but she is an Engineer. If you want to use her, even if you plan on taking Liara or Garrus along, then boost her Electronics and Pistol skills. Overload is her best ability and putting points in Hacking will lower the cool-down rate so that's a good idea too.

She wears a mask and full environmental suit at all times to protect a weak immune system. Obviously humanoid it's hard to tell much about her people other than they have backward leg joints and three digit hands and feet. Tali joins the Normandy when she assists Sheppard in an investigation to prove Sarren's guilt over the Eden Prime incident. When it becomes clear that the mission involves fighting Geth, and perhaps learning their secrets in the process, Tali eagerly joins up. She later reveals that her people have a pilgrimage to fulfill when outside their nomadic fleet and this serves as a secondary motive to join a well-funded and powerful starship crew.

Liara is an Asari, a majestic race that have a mastery of biotics and are a refined culture with a powerful galactic society. She uses biotics and pistols only with no weapon or armor skill trees at all. She demands quality light armor and having a good if not excellent pistol equipped is also a must. Your a-typical glass cannon, Liara can lay waste to your enemies but won't stand up to much punishment even at her highest levels. Thanks to the Electronics skill she will get a lot of shields, but pumping this skill takes away from the power of her biotics and if you micromanage your squad and have some else with this skill you can spare yourself from maxing it out.

Skip Stasis mostly and don't put too many points into Singularity. Stasis is that damn 'turn enemy into frozen ghost' thing I hate and Singularity is wildly unpredictable in where it flings enemies instead of what the description says about drawing them toward one point.

Her class is called Asari Scientist but she is an Adept. If you want her in your party then I recommend Garrus always join you as well unless you have Decryption on Commander Sheppard in which case Wrex is a better choice. She has blue skin and tentacle-like hair closely pressed against the skull. Completely human features otherwise. When rescued by Sheppard from a Geth attack on her research outpost this powerful biotic and avid researcher joins the Normandy in an effort to discover the mysteries of the ancient Protheans and the more recent mysteries of the motives of the Geth and Sarren. Her telepathic abilities also prove invaluable as events unfold.

Romances draw a lot of attention but serve a pretty small part of the story in all the three games. Male Sheps can try their hand at romancing Ashley, FemSheps can have a go at Kaiden, and either gender can pursue Liara. Nothing needs to be done in order to ensure a romance takes place other than making sure you interact with your love interest on the Normandy frequently and don't be completely rude to them in the dialogue options. It's not required to have them in the party all the time and your Paragon / Renegade rating doesn't change anything either.

I like this addition to the game a lot and unlike ME2 the romances feel organic and not something forced upon you. ME3 has tons of romance sub-plots bouncing around but it makes more sense because it's pretty much the end of days in the third game. I mean who doesn't want to get laid when the entire universe is coming to end anyway?

ME1 rates as one of the best RPG style titles ever for me because I found myself actually moved by the story and is challenging without being too hard to realistically play. This makes a more empowering experience overall. Major complaints are a lack of auto-save points and unskippable cutscenes even after viewing it before. Save scummers will never notice it but the game has shockingly few auto-save points, and while I agree that some scenes on games should be unskippable I don't see the point when the scene is integrated into a boss fight or on a second viewing for another reason. I'm playing on console (Microsoft Xbox360) so maybe the PC versions have updates for these issues.

Squad Selection:

In ME1 your squad should always have:

Decryption and Electronics available with at least average skill in both.

You can make do without but it screws you out of a lot of rewards.

Also having a warrior class with a biotic class reaps much better results than two tanks with a tech.

So you get set into a pretty specific party based on what class you picked.

Biotics tend to have Wrex, Ashley and Garrus along constantly while Soldiers tend to have Tali, Liara and Garrus along.

It's a mixed bag because to perform your best you are stuck with only certain party combinations but it also forces you properly develop your team's skills and think tactically about how to best use them.

In future titles your squad is mostly non-important with the exception of choosing two teammates with low HP when you're in the same fragile state. So maybe if they balanced it out where Liara has both Decryption and Electronics I would instead call this an advantage for this title.

Mini-Guide:

Best tip out there is hold down the menu to Matrix bullet-time check out the battlefield on a regular basis. This is definitely going to disrupt gameflow but with the jumper enemies and the way how only certain enemy types use rockets or heavy firepower it's the best way to stay alive along with finding cover or boost your shields.

Plan out your party and stick to it. It's easier to fully equip three squadmates than it is four or five so unless you just feel like it later on down the road only worry about three pieces of armor and buying weapons that everyone can actually use out of your chosen party. On a second play-
through I recommend Assault Rifles then Electronics in terms of your bonus skill. The rifles if you don't already have them, you can use pistols in the beginning if you don't have any other weapon skills, and Electronics boosts shields and opens certain objects so it's the second best
in the game.

Warp, Lift and Push are your good friends while Stasis and Singularity take a backseat. Push is better than Stasis but if you can't push Stasis will get the job done. Lift is better than Singularity but again can work the same magic if it has to. Warp is probably the best biotic ability to invest in: degrading damage resistance and poisoning your enemy is exactly what you need once they are lined up in your sights.

Make tactical use of powers like Immunity, Barrier and Shield Boost. Don't just activate them as soon as battle starts. Wait until you've taken damage or lost shields, even with low cool-downs these do more for you than Medi-Gel because there's no time delay in using them.

Kaiden sucks but his Medicine skill is extremely useful. Liara can also reduce Medi-Gel cool-down but not by much and anyone with an Omni-Tool can also have a minimal effect here. Though Soldiers benefit from saving him from death over Ashley, just because having two Soldiers is pointless on every mode aside from Insanity. In ME3 Kaiden is much more potent and if doing a continuous import he makes for a more versatile vanilla squad than having Ashley along for the final adventure.

Carry around and switch out different ammo types. Also your squad rarely has their weapons overheat so give them the upgrades that trade damage for increased overheating and
save all the heat reduction upgrades for yourself. If taking the time to switch out ammo upgrades doesn't appeal to you just set up a squad that covers shield reduction, accuracy debuff and damage to synthetics between the entire squad's primary gun.

Light armor sucks, medium armor is mediocre and heavy armor is the shit. Another reason to just go ahead and be a Soldier class to start. Once making it through one completed game and reaching about Level 50+ you'll unlock versions of medium and light armors that compete with the heavy armors given to you first time around. The raw damage reduction isn't the same but they have about triple the shields of Grade X Heavy Armor. Also in a unique feature this game gives you bonus skills based on the Achievements / Trophies you earned so far. This allows you to balance out any class with a weapon, biotic or tech skill the second time around.

Squad selection in your first playthrough should always have Decryption, Electronics and a powerful biotic raised to the third level of effectiveness along with at least one tank. Easiest combo is Soldier Shepard, Wrex and Garrus in terms of just beating the crap out of everyone while never being turned away from item caches. The notion of filling the three strategic roles that are so important in later titles is less important in ME1.

Your Shield Breaker can be replaced by just shooting through shields with Specter Grade weapons, your Armor Cracker is always your biotic, and your Crowd Controller is again any biotic class. Loading up on everything but Tech in the Squad Strength Meter is actually a good idea, but only on second or third playthroughs because you need the extra salvaged and unlocked items right up to the Trench Run end game segment.

VGD Verdict:

ME1 can stand on its own away from other parts of the trilogy as just an amazing game. There's drama, intrigue and passion. There's epic space battles and truly unique alien races all with well developed histories and cultures. What makes things better is with the exception of the Reaper threat you can decide your own level of involvement with all these various sub-plots flying around. It's a must own for RPG and Shooter genre fans alike. VGD approved!