[Professor S]

ANYWAY...

So far the game is amazing. I've played it for about 8 hours and I only have gotten Garris, Grunt and Mordun Solace on my team. There is just so much game here.

The game look and plays beautifully. The animations are 1,000 times better than the first, and there are times when the textures and detail blow me away, Garrus in particular. The streamlined combat is much more "fast twitch" and intense than the first but there is still ample opportunity to plan and strategize.

A few very minor complaints: The RPG elements were both turned down and cranked up. Here is what I mean. In traditional RPGs you are essentially a team manager. You decide pretty much everything about your crew. In ME2, this is toned down a bit to streamline the gameplay, but they've cranked up the charaters and your personal investment in the game. I can't imagine playing this game without having imported my ME1 Shepherd. It would be a completely different experience.

The last may be miscontrued as a spoiler, even though it isn't, so I'll tag it. But for me this is a major complaint.

Scanning planets for minerals is FUCKING TEDIOUS. I know they wanted to eliminate the exploration of barren worlds, but I'd much rather explore a barren world and get a sense of the desolation of space than spend 10-15 minutes scanning a damn planet for Element Zero so I can upgrade my stupid guns. I can't fathom why BioWare would make the decision to go with this method of resource gathering. They've streamlined every other aspect of the game and why they would choose to make something so unrelated to the story so awfully boring I have no idea. It completely takes me out of the game. I HATE IT, but I have to do it even if I want to upgrade my god damn scanner. ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!