Walking the Walk - Mass Effect 2 Part 1 Design and Art Discussion

[@randygoods531]

I love that you started with the menu music. There are so many games that have the main menu song burned in my brain that trigger my senses every time I hear them.

[@ACGreviews]

+TheGibbey Ya and the changeup from the original game and the corruption of the synth that plays is actually very telling of the game thats going to come. Really cool mixup

[@wilsonmalia4143]

+AngryCentaurGaming Mass Effect series for me has a really good OST and the theme song of the Mass effect 3, when the reaper horn... it has a great impact on me.

[@TheMMObro]

ya dude the feels every time I hear those songs.. the piano song in me3 kills me bc to ME that signals the end of shepard's saga and all the great memories of the trilogy barring the shitty ending (EC helped tremendously but they made continuity of the timeline fucked and now force us away from the milky way. I dislike this bc the environment and setting in the ME franchise fascinates me and captivated me)

[@paullynch1246]

the haunting piece of music at the main menu of Stalker Shadow of Chernobyl springs to mind

[@pinguinogameplays756]

That beginning.....it's the most well executed beginning ever in a videogame . This game is a master piece and the rise of mass effect series. As you comment very wisely, technical improvements allowed ME2 artistic direction really shine. I played this game like 6 times, one with each class. I've never played in my life a game six times.

[@derpthegr8689]

Great vid man but where is part 2 and ME3?? Killing me with cliffhangers!!

[@siarheicka]

Part 2? :)

[@SirJamesDTech]

You got it buddy that ME2 is like Empire Strikes Back. In any good second film or game of a trilogy, it should be the darkest one because the protagonists get overcome and overtaken by seemingly indestructible forces, leading to the arc in the third act.

[@The_Cosmic_Key]

I've been playing video games since the Atari days and this game has got to be my favorite game of all time. Amazing music and feel to this game. Great attention to the visual presentation. Engaging dialogue with a story that hits a thrilling climax at the end. I was speechless after my first play through. A game to be savored like a fine wine. Masterpiece.

[@TheFly212]

Still my favorite game of all time. ME2 is pure masterclass.

[@themarcshark]

+Brent Posy You're trying really hard to convince everyone this game is crap. Let people enjoy what they want and go do something better with your time.

[@themarcshark]

***** People have to be ignorant to enjoy a game that you don't? Get over yourself, dude. You're lame as hell.

[@johnnyrambo5083]

+Brent Posy and yet here you are watching a video on Mass Effect 2. Amazing. We get it dude, we are well aware that the game was streamlined. We knew this 6 years ago when the game came out, you're not saying anything new. Go play Mass Effect 1 if you want your RPG elements but you'll also get crap combat and Mako. It's give and take, you can't always have everything.

[@sathvelos]

Part 2 coming anytime soon? This was an awesome video and it was the one that made me decide to subscribe

[@ElectricBlobz]

really just found out about these videos recently and as a dev it really does get me these kinds of discussions and commentaries. it is nice to listen to someone who knows more about his stuff than most of the videos on youtube. those are good videos to listen to/watch as I work haha.

[@ACGreviews]

+Marc-Olivier Lapointe thanks mark

[@StefanGriffinMusic]

This video is stupendous. You're the most in depth gaming channel, by far. Keep up the amazing work!!!

[@Vietnam_Chr0nicles]

one of my favorite games of all time

[@BornInTheWrongYear]

+Atticus X Amen, not many games can even compare to ME2..it's so damn good.

[@Old-Boy_BEbop]

+Atticus X agreed!

[@BossaNovaize]

I get the 2nd part wasn't made, nor did the 3rd one? Those are my favorite games to get back to, I enjoy them every time I reinstall them. I understand their weaknesses but they are so ... enjoyable. As a busy father I'm not going to waste my time on things that give me constant headaches, when I have an hour or 2 a day at most to spend on these entertainment pieces. Thanks Karak, even if I know these vids date quite a lot.

[@ioannisdenton]

kayak you are the man. illusive man's theme really sets the mood. me2 has the best intro in gaming for me from when you push start right to when you wake up in Lazarus station

[@zeliph]

After your first walking the walk with ME1 early January. I ended up buying the Trilogy from PSN for $12, beat all 3 games the first time including ME3 yesterday. Yeah, the "Destination" kind of sucked. But the "Journey" getting there with the relatable characters was awesome! I enjoyed it! :D So far, ME2 is my favorite! Thank you for checking the series out in this type of perspective in "reviewing" the game, without not spoiling anything - while also providing insight on the unique Art Direction and tid bits on its development.

[@TheRealDarthias]

Will you be returning to do part 2 of this and Mass Effect 3?

[@StefanS-ig2rm]

That soundtrack you hear when you get ambushed in the collector ship is the best I have ever heard in a video game. So awesome.

[@pinguinogameplays756]

The plot, the cast, the villain, the action, the artistic direction, the music, the epic ending, the varied gameplay with classes, this game is perfect to me.

[@bbdawise]

I recognize that these video's probably take you a long time to create, but I really hope can make part 2 sometime soon. This and the other Walking the Walk video you made on Mass Effect 1 are fantastic! I hope ME3 gets a two part treatment as well. I'm quite interested to hear your take on the way the trilogy ended. I want to hear your thoughts on the way they brought everything together in the end(or didn't...) You brought up some points that I simply never noticed about the jump from ME to ME2, like the fact that the dialogue camera system is very subtly improved. I also share your issues with Grunt's character or lack there of. Hopefully in part two you can break down the final boss fight in this game. In my humble opinion, it was one of the most fun boss fights I have ever played. It just felt so damn epic!

[@ACGreviews]

With the death of the save game. Right now not much of a chance of part 2. Maybe for ME3

[@bbdawise]

Ahh damn that sucks. Well I guess we would settle for just ME3. Most of the characters you had yet to talk about in this game are in that one too.

[@mizzougrad001]

bbdawise with xbox one backwards compatibility and the new game, a mass effect 3 walking the walk would make a lot of sense and would pull views.

[@milosstojanovic4623]

save games are only problem if someone play on stupid pathetic consoles....if smart people play on PC thay can always transfer saves from others, backup them, download them...etc...

[@jackielutz6132]

Love your attention and appreciation for detail, such as the rain hitting metal or lighting changes and comparisons between the first two games. You explain well many of the more environmental and nonverbal nuances that go on, and they're things that I only noticed subconsciously, but can now appreciate much more. I was sad to hear of your disappointment with Aria's voice acting, as I personally thought Carrie-Anne Moss' performance enhanced Aria and made her who she is. I loved the segment you talked about, however, on Aria's body language (standing vs standing) as matching Shepard. Again, these are the things that I subconsciously knew, but wouldn't have been able to pinpoint. These videos are such a delight! I've been watching them while cooking, working out, and chores. Thanks so much!

[@ACGreviews]

you bet and thanks for subscribing!

[@herve160181]

Mass Effect is one of my favorite all time games. Have all DLC and played through it countless times. Entering Afterlife with Saki Kaskas - Callista playing is just awesome.

[@johnnyrambo5083]

I love the atmosphere of ME2. Top notch stuff.

[@NoWhereMan95]

Great video as always. Can't wait for part 2!

[@StefanGriffinMusic]

I consider this game a masterpiece, especially musically. The attention to detail is amazing.

[@twmcgraw3035]

Man, seeing this makes me really wish that EA would re-release this trilogy for XBO and PS4 with all of the DLC included prior to Andromeda is released. I know that will probably never happen, but one can hope...

[@SaberRexZealot]

I'm sure they will at some point. It's EA after all. As soon as Mass Effect becomes popular again with Andromeda, EA are gonna go nuts with the franchise milking.

[@farhanjamli3676]

Actually they said they will never do a remaster of any of their games. something to do 'integrity' or something. there's an article on it.. And seeing that there isn't any so far at least in my knowledge, so it is true thus far

[@BornInTheWrongYear]

+peach cobbler I heard that too but I'm guessing that EA cares more about money than integrity so if there is money to be made on it I can see them doing it down the line. It's all about the green.

[@slinkyfingers]

+Pauly Hazelnuts Peter Moore recently had an interview with IGN and quite literally said that they'd rather invest in 'new experiences' in the Mass Effect universe than release a remaster edition for a quick buck. So you're wrong.

[@BornInTheWrongYear]

It Happens.

[@SaberRexZealot]

Best fucking game ever made. I know that's subjective but by god man, BioWare knocked it out the park with this game.

[@johnnyrambo5083]

+Brent Posy opinions...

[@acanez85]

+Johnny Rambo facts

[@Old-Boy_BEbop]

+Brent Posy nah def mass effect, witcher series story is cool but the gameplay mechanics are clunky.

[@Old-Boy_BEbop]

***** not really... fun factor the series was amazing and on a technological point they were phenomenal during their time.

[@Old-Boy_BEbop]

***** have you noticed how thats your own interpretation. bioware produced 3 games in 5 years and projektred has produced 3 in nearly a sum of 9 years. not to mention bioware will be releasing the 4th in 2017. each mass effect game has been an evolution within itself and yet still be capable at the time to play 1 and 3 on the same system where with the witcher series u cannot. witcher 3 may have won a series of awards but mass effect 2 has won the best accolades and has been dubbed one of the best games of all time and is a video game being exhibited at Smithsonian American Art Museum. but yes lets continue this dick measuring competition because the comparison is so close (sarcasm).

[@unk33]

I know this was a minor point, but at 32:21 you mentioned the Normandy needed more people in it, saying that "they all had probably 27 jobs" but I believe Miranda mentioned it, and it's also in the codex, the SR-2 can run perfectly fine with a relatively small crew, like the one you see in ME2, and that EDI took over a number of jobs that required that personnel, so I understand your point, but according to the lore, it would contradict what the writers originally said.

[@ACGreviews]

+Andy Sharp Yep I disccused it a couple of times on the podcast. Its basically where the inability to graphically represent them means they have to note it in the codex. So my complaint is more of the continual graphics one. Especially when you consider the smaller ship had less than that which made no sense and had no codex entry.

[@ACGreviews]

+Andy Sharp I should have been clearer I guess in the discussion. Basically my point is every single location even Omega, which is better, still feels a bit less busy than it should. Though ME2 is light years beyond ME1:)

[@unk33]

+AngryCentaurGaming I can definitely agree with that, especially on Illium where the background made it seem like the planet was HUGELY populated but the main are you walk around is a little lack luster.

[@chijiokeuzoaru7031]

This game may have been ahead of its time.

[@reddev5420]

Great stuff again. I've been waiting for this one ever since you did ME1!

[@linusdn2777]

""And here's JACOB!!!" "Ehhh let's go somewhere else...."

[@G_Rad_Ski]

Great videos! I love these. Keep up the good work!

[@PohatuEudyptulaMinor]

Love the depth and detail you go into in these vids., and I wish I could give it a million more likes. :P Keep it up!

[@ACGreviews]

+Pohatu Eudyptualminor thanks man

[@NandosN0W]

Stop it, you're making me want to replay it for the fourth time. Is that really what you want Karak? Is that really what you want!?

[@PirateArr]

The opening to this game is amazing

[@KnoYoo]

I'm pretty stoked that you are walking the walk with the Mass Effect series. I remember asking if you were going to do this this type of series (walking the walk) though when I asked it was more direct about the Mass Effect series.

[@KnoYoo]

+AngryCentaurGaming I would love to do some sort of discussion of the Mass Effect series with you. I know these games in and out almost like a religion. Spectacular games indeed.

[@teddybeddy123]

Mass Effect 3 please?

[@xxTICxxTOCxx]

...could wax lyrical about this point or that, as we all love these games on so many levels, but suffice it to say; Karak, love your work. Thanks for the high light of my day.

[@KingXanadu]

What a brilliant analysis. I'm a 3D animator who works in Television. I really admire your eye for these details in cinematography

[@anthonylabrecque1383]

Great vid been looking forward to it. More than happy donating to Patron and supporting a channel with truly great content. ACG gaming expo 2016

[@dougbrit2]

I love this breakdown, it's really hurting that I no so little about andromeda, and how much I want to step back into the mass effect world.

[@Molimo95]

i have the suspicion part 2 might not be coming #feelsbadman

[@hacheurdepoulet]

is the ME 3 one coming soon ?

[@szib96]

Best Game I have ever played. Also some of the best soundtrack ever. Suicide Run is amazing.

[@fortunatesoul12]

Hey Karak, are you going to end this Walking the Walk and maybe do the third game?

[@howlingstarx1]

I love that opening song it gets me every time I play

[@Hagashager]

I like how you brought up leveling dissonance. the only game I've ever seen that handled this well was Baldur's Gate II. BG II thoroughly expects you to have played Baldur's Gate I and sets up its story with the assumption that your character still has the power he amassed in the first game. Because of this, your companions also have great stories of their own heroism to tell AND have the stats to back those claims up through the nature of the game's story. Unfortunately, this requires a certain level of expectation on the player that most developers are nor willing to have anymore, which leads to a lot of level dissonance in RPGs, especially sequels involving characters from the first game.

[@ACGreviews]

+Hagashager Ya its something that bothers me from time to time but it felt fitting to discuss in this video

[@sems1193]

Damn, making me want to replay this series once again.

[@eiadtarabulsi]

Mass Effect 2 is an absolutely phenomenal game and my favorite entry in the series. At the time, I would've been more than happy to spend $60 for a such a quality title. The beloved Normandy is as integral as the story and characters. The Citadel is one of my favorite places in the game. It has a sleek futuristic aesthetic in regards to the buildings, lighting and spaceships moving in the background. The game is much more populated than the original Mass Effect. The soundtrack is top notch as expected. The story, voice acting and gameplay are all solid. The game is a masterpiece in video game storytelling. From the powerful opening cutscene to the ending credits Mass Effect 2 is a game that will resonate with me for a long time. The various characters are interesting, well represented and feel real. As a result, it is easy to get emotionally invested in them, their stories, their conflicts and your personal interactions with them throughout the journey. The combat in Mass Effect 2 is the best in series thanks to improved weapon handling, aiming and impact. Lighting, shadows and particle effects have all been improved upon since the original. Bioware has shown why they are the masters when it comes to RPG's with the likes of Dragon Age, Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, Baldur's Gate, Planescape, MDK and of course Mass Effect. Thanks for another great video Karak. Keep bringing the awesome content and God bless!

[@tero581]

I would like to see a good remaster of the Mass Effect Trilogy. But... EA doesn't want to do that. The one money grab I want from them... They say no.

[@DrFoxyNation]

I really love ! When you talk about sound and music in the game Many reviewers ignore that which I think Is a mistake sound and music alone can build a game or a movie ... For example starwars

[@nickwiley9647]

One of the all time greats. Fantastic Game.

[@nickwiley9647]

Yeah

[@teddybeddy123]

Best Mass Effect game. Even though the stakes weren't as high as 3, I thought it was more epic. This was the game you went rogue, you assembled your motley crew. I loved the music, it was fantastic!

[@davidriley8316]

What a fantastic video. I can't wait for part 2. Despite not hating ME3 for it's disappointing ending, ME2 is my clear favorite. It's the characters and the improved combat that gets me. I adore Miranda and thought Jacob was pretty boring. My favorite romance is Miranda, for in 3 it's dark and lonely, and that's what Shepard is feeling in 3. I also agree Grunt was under used and under cooked. I look forward to your thoughts on Thane, as his back story is brilliant and a personal favorite. I think I'm going to have to replay Mass Effect (yes, all of them) again.

[@boredbytrash]

My favorite game

[@marcelodcs1]

Man, I really missed the old Onxy Armor design throughout ME2 and ME3.

[@TheFreeToaster]

And here I thought I was the only person that thought the real hottie of the game was the doctor.

[@NstHarlequin]

Best in the series, and Mordin is for me the most interesting character. Would love for legion to be more fleshed out, can't wait for the next episode basically :D

[@TriggerHappyRC1]

Yes! I've been waiting for this.

[@granitezero]

How can you use controller on the pc version?

[@raresmacovei8382]

While Mass Effect 2 and 3 are some of the best looking (and running) Unreal Engine 3 games on the market, I always was dissapointed the Mass Effect games never used DirectX 10, 11 and never had proper higher rez textures on PC and proper anti-aliasing options. Arkham City and Asylum Origins enhanced the PC versions so much more compared to the console versions. Too bad Mass Effect was a faithful, if optimized version of the console games. At least the high-rez PC mods for the Mass Effect games and running them with 4xSuperSampling really made these games shine.

[@oldschoolandroid311]

runescapes menu song is burned into my brain and will never be forgotten lol

[@Rogerio_FM]

Romance Jacob? If I had played Fem Shep, it would be Garrus all the way.

[@jedibbq]

Mass Effect 2 is my favorite game of all time. period!

[@Mav3082]

broke my heart my first play through when I lost Jack in the build up to the final fight

[@ACGreviews]

+Mav3082 I killed her again and again on purpose. I kill her as quickly as possible lol

[@Syrupstorm]

I liked the EDI stuff.

[@Stalkingwolf]

one of my favorite game of all time. great music and gameplay.

[@hjhooch3355]

Great stuff!

[@ACGreviews]

thanks

[@AgentMcQueen]

Great work, once again.

[@TheMMObro]

yes! man mads effect is my favorite gaming franchise, and some of my fav games along with skyrim, ff7, etc

[@Paddict227]

Will you do a review of This War of mine the little ones, I'd be interested on your thoughts.

[@FromPlsNerf]

I really enjoyed this video! +1 for Babylon 5! God I love that show. Time to reinstall ME2

[@Mr.BMC2763]

The greatest video game ever made!

[@jonm4736]

Has some issues but one of my favorites from the 360/ps3 gen. Great job!

[@glpz462]

Between DAO & ME2 Bioware showed what it could achieve at it's best. I'm hoping it can do it again, but I won't hold my breath until then because it might take a while. I laughed when you mentioned the cross-eyed characters which always irritated the hell out of me.

[@aZeddPrattFilm]

YES! A near perfect game. Also your save gets really fucked up if you pick the wrong decision you made in ME1 about Anderson. Do you think you'll do the next assassins creed?

[@mopeyhornet9213]

this sounds like fun :D haha also u excited for new mass effect game?

[@mopeyhornet9213]

also mass effect soundtrack is one of the best next to halo 2 soundtrack

[@abraxaxii9501]

Can you do a walking the walk video about Assassins Creed Unity? :)

[@guilhermearaujo5868]

My all time favorite, It doesnt have a good story as the ME1, and not a gameplay as good as the one from ME3. But overall is the best.

[@ZacharyDarkes]

This is my favourite game of all time

[@fizzplease6742]

Part two *unfortunately*? I could watch more than two.

[@reddev5420]

Is there a part 2?

[@ACGreviews]

+ReD DeV maybe just have to get the savegames back

[@chrisclark5304]

How important is it to have played ME1 prior to playing me 2?

[@unk33]

+chris Clark INCREDIBLY important. Huge impact if you don't.

[@chrisclark5304]

Any, gotcha. I so missed the boat on this series

[@cristian-si1gb]

VERY. You really should play Mass Effect 1.

[@chrisclark5304]

I want to but have too big a backlog to play it. That's a series that I would welcome e a remaster of though

[@NoWhereMan95]

+chris Clark ME2 was the first mass effect game I played. It's confusing at first, but you pick up on things (especially if you read the codexes) I later went back and played ME1 and imported all my decisions through.

[@kurgo_]

Truth to tell this is probably my least liked mass effect. I know ME3 was a semi-disaster on that ending and so on but when I picked it up they had added the extended part and everyone was bitching so much about it so i was forewarned already. ME2 I played at launch and the many changes when compared to ME1 were not all that good (becoming almost only a 3ps with little RPG in it, inventory disappearing, no exploring of any kind...and they changed the italian dubber for shepard, the damn bastards) even if they were evened out by the rest. Still, with the dlcs especially, it feels more like a companion-pickup game than a "save the galaxy" game like the first one. You had to find guys for the crew there but it was relatively quick, in some instances more meaningful (hello Liara) and you didn't have to acquiesce to every bloody crew member's whining about this and that. It's still a great game to be sure, I played the heck out of it and loved the shadow broker dlc but heh, the overall semplification (or dumbification) didn't sit all that well with me. Great vid man, keep up the good work. Cheers!

[@mitsoshalokiller]

Walking the walk Halo?

[@bucket6160]

Eh, I didn't really appreciate the comparisons with Babylon 5, as I'm sure that most viewers (including me) probably haven't seen it, especially since it feels like he's being detracted from talking about the actual game. He basically said nothing about Illium while he was there. Loved the rest!

[@ACGreviews]

+Bucket From the looks of the comments almost everyone had seen B5 but thats why these are about learning about new stuff, gfx, new shows. If I rehashed the same stuff or didn't discuss new things it would be a Lets Play lol. Also as I stated, there is a part 2 for a reason like illium.

[@slappzzz]

did you purposely make your character look like the red haired guy from walking dead

[@miyamotomusashi410]

*

[@miyamotomusashi410]

I love ME's art design (even more so ME2+3) and how it tells part of the story. How they had sufficiently differing styles in buildings, vehicles, clothing +locations to successfully match & support the lore and mentalities of their respective inhabitants. Take Asari architecture vs Krogan hospital, Quarian ship interior vs Geth counterpart etc. I actually felt Geth technology truly looked like something that had been Quarian once but then evolved on its own. Reaper tech like those "dragon teeth" again was meant to stick out as even more alien and it did indeed with its heavy Giger-influenced biomechanoid traits. Another fine example were individual mechanic designs for moving doors in many environments, which gave a subtle and believable sense of separately evolved civilizations &technologies. Gameplay issues aside, I feel in this regard the Mass Effect Trilogy excelled in world-building and was further fleshed out and improved up to weapon's designs and multiplayer maps in ME3. Just awesome.

[@Yura-Sensei]

[@ajsingh4545]

I played trough 2 recently and I honestly don't think the world of Mass Effect is all that artistic and memorable. Most of the levels are fairly standard tech bases with a cool background. The gameplay was pretty standard cover shooter stuff which gets repetitive after a while. The only thing that it had going for it was the story and the character development. 7/10

[@levant5378]

Lol cluttered and busy yet the game looks barren.

[@ACGreviews]

+Conor O'neill Yep there is a lot of that kind of artistic duality going on in ME 2 and 3. Sort of like the aged polish of Syd's original art

[@levant5378]

AngryCentaurGaming A shame really that the openness that lends emotion to some of the static environments ultimately backfires in a lot of areas, and leave them feeling devoid of life and uninteresting to the player. I guess I cant help but fell the cries of despair from the Neuferts as you play through this game.