False. Those bonus powers are unlocked through squadmate loyalty. If you’ve never played the game, they aren’t available to you. So, in order to have them available you need to have played the game, and unlocked that ability on another character.

This is true and others pointed it out already. And those are actually unlocked by the character-specific Achievements. An interesting but somewhat ill-conceived feature that was introduced back in Mass Effect 1 to tie player abilities to X-Box achievements. It is entirely likely to obtain those without even knowing what they do. Not to mention situations where you continue playing on somebody else’s account.

In any case, if you think having a description here would have been just “nice”, I recommend reading some more. You obviously are new to actual Interface Design and there is a lot to be learned.

Unity, revives fallen squad members and restores health.

Yes, the Unity command eventually heals team members. But only if you install the Trauma Module update. However, this is a significant departure from Mass Effect 1, where you could use so-called “Medi-Gel” to specifically heal team members. This worked only on members, which were alive. So knowing how much more damage they can take was a strategically important information. In Mass Effect 2, there is no longer such a thing. Hence it’s no longer that important how much health a team member has. You can either heal them with Unity ability while they are still alive or revive them with the same Unity ability after they died.

See, I criticize a game you thought was awesome and now you’re trying to convince yourself that my points don’t matter by holding on to bits of gamer trivia so you can talk to on me. While doing so, you forget the big picture. Not only are these details irrelevant. Even if you were right, you would actually not disprove my point. On the contrary. You would have delivered more arguments on why that part of the interface is inadequate.

The next time you comment, better ask yourself: Are you really addressing a point in the author’s argument? Or are you actually just trying to prove that they know less about a game than you do? I didn’t write this because I know EVERYTHING about Mass Effect. I’m pretty sure I’m actually an average player. That’s not what this article is about.

Knowing team mate health doesn’t matter because you can’t heal them anyway? Seriously, did you play the game or just look at screen shots to write this? Unity, revives fallen squad members and restores health. I suppose all the medical kits in the game were there for no reason?

I saw your original post when Kotaku linked it earlier this year, you should have written this while ME2 was still fresh for you because you’re completely off base on the few criticisms I managed to read before deciding you didn’t know enough to finish reading.

http://www.thatgamesux.com/mass-effect-2s-galaxy-map-offers-information-when-you-need-it/

Now that ME3 is out, it’s funny to me how the weapon upgrade system has gone back and forth from the disaster of ME1 to being absent in ME2, and now somewhere in the middle for the third. And it’s also surprising how ridiculous that armor screen is.

Have you had a chance to play through Mass Effect 3? I’m curious what your first thoughts are on that.

Again, great stuff!

I noticed the weapon upgrades but yeah, I haven’t commented on it because there were no details yet on how they will get applied.

I noticed the new health bar and I agree, that’s something I actually really liked.

I haven’t noticed that they are showing how the stat boosts stack up. This could be REALLY awesome!

Perhaps this is positive fallout from the extra time they invested into Multiplayer customization. You actually managed to make me second-guess my pessimism. Well done!

I take your point about the descent towards Gears of Effect, but from what I can see in the demo I want to say that BioWare has pulled up and out of that dive in time. To begin with, the very first decision the player makes in the single-player demo is to choose from Action (i.e. Gears of War), RPG, and Story. Delving into RPG mode, I noticed the following:

–Apart from backstory questions, character creation is unchanged from prior versions. The demo (full game as well?) has no bonus power selection.

–More depth in the Squad screen. You mentioned the improved power/skill tree layout, but what I really like is the fact that BioWare has finally told us what all the numbers add up to! As you’ve seen, when a power is expanded, a set of horizontal meters appears at bottom right showing the power’s stats (recharge speed, damage, force, etc.). If I’m considering taking a rank that offers “Increase recharge speed by 25%” as its benefit, I see the Recharge Speed meter extend and the recharge time in seconds decrease accordingly. It took three games, but at least now I’m able to make informed leveling decisions without having to resort to handwritten notes and a calculator.

That said, Paragon/Renegade is effectively unchanged from prior versions, although it’s now easier to see where the 20% gradients are. XP no longer appears as a number but is instead represented in a progress bar at top right. As the game uses the same 1000 XP-per-level mechanic as ME2, I suppose this is as good a means as any of conveying this information. I personally don’t like this dumbed-down XP system, but it doesn’t appear to be as bad as it was in ME2 in that XP is awarded on the fly (by grabbing first aid kits in the demo, hopefully more options will present themselves in the full game), allowing leveling without having to wait for the end of the mission.

–Improved HUD. I found many positive changes from ME2 here and even a throwback or two (in a good way) to ME. To start with, shields/barrier and health are not displayed separately and not overlayed, but are also visible at all times. The “take-cover-and-heal-in-seconds” mechanic returns, but only to a point. The health bar is divided into 20% segments. Take damage, and health will regenerate in only the segment that has anything left in it. Medi-gel can be used to recoup the rest as well as revive fallen squadmates (First Aid is back!).

Squadmates are represented by their heads underneath the health bar as in ME2, but their power recharge status is crystal clear this time around. Like ME2, it is possible to hotkey a squadmate power to D-pad left and right. The chosen power’s power wheel icon appears next to the squadmate’s head. While that squadmate is recharging, the “filling the tank” animation from the power wheel runs. “Garrus, Overload, please–OK, I see, about three more seconds. Got it.” I believe this is so much better than that white whatever-the-hell-it-was in ME2.

The index card (as you aptly put it) notification system returns, but as near as I can tell, there is still no log/review functionality.

–Improved environment interaction. One thing that drove me nuts about ME2 was the environment object highlighting: that damned thin-bordered, medium-blue reticule. Many times I would see the “Press A” notification at the top of the screen but have to stop and play Where’s Waldo for 20 seconds to figure out just what the hell I was supposed to press A for, never mind get close enough to do so. Well, that’s thankfully gone, replaced by brightly-colored, thick arcs more reminiscient of the object highlighting in ME. Doors, consoles, loot, upgrades–they all show up clear as day when sweeping an area looking for stuff.

Yes, that’s right, upgrades! In addition to Spare Parts @ 3,750, it’s possible to pick up pistol scopes, armor pieces, etc. Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be a workbench in the demo, and I haven’t really played multiplayer so I don’t have a feel for how the upgrade/inventory system works. The fact that the upgrades are tangible, however, and will able to be moved around among equipment and squadmates helps in my view restores some of the RPG feel lost in ME2.

I also noticed, however, that bypassing a door is no longer a mini-game, at least in the demo. Shepard simply puts his or her omni-tool on the door, a few seconds pass, and the door is open. While the mini-games in ME2 certainly weren’t the greatest, it would be a shame if BioWare abandoned this concept entirely for ME3.

Finally, it appears resources presented on the pause screen have been reduced to two: credits, using the same old “vicodin” icon and medi-gel, represented by the well-known cross.

Well, there’s my two cents (dollars/euros/quid). I’m sure there will be enough things to complain (and perhaps even rave!) about once the full game is available, but I think the demo has shown if nothing else that BioWare strove to find a balance between the previous two games. I’m looking forward to playing it, and I’m hopeful that I won’t need the aforementioned notepad or calculator at my side to do so.

One thing about the morality system I do like is that the renegade and paragon meters are separate and don’t cancel each other out (at least they haven’t seemed to in my playthroughs). Still wish I had more information most of the time, but I’m always really irritated by games that require one extreme or the other, particularly when certain options are tied to them. I can punch Conrad, AND save the kid who wants to be a merc, dammit.

I also think I might be the only person who kinda likes the mini-game. I know it’s boring as hell, and there are so many ways to improve it. I guess I’m just thankful they got rid of the mako.

I have been writing this blog since 6 years now. My first job in the games industry was 9 years ago. I developed my first game over 20 years ago. Over the time I’ve realized that good ideas are worth nothing if they can’t reach people. A super-detailed analysis like this will bore most people to tears if it’s not laced with humor. And believe me, I tried.

If it scares away professionals – that’s probably for the better. There are great conferences which tackle the subject matter in a “neutral” manner. I’m not writing because I want a job somewhere. I’m not writing because this blog is making any cent. I’m expressing my personal observations, insights and opinions. They are sometimes disruptive. They are supposed to sound disruptive.

But I’m still working on my voice. For example, if I were to rewrite the original Mass Effect 1 trilogy I would probably refrain from lashing out at Bioware. So I’m open to feedback. So if there is anything you found particularly out of place with this article, please do let me know what and why.

And when you start doing that and making joke with ugly character faces, your credibility instantly drop massively.

I have been working in the games industry for more than 7 Years now, and believe me, if you want to be taken seriously when you express your opinion, you need to do it with more professionalism.

Cheers