Maybe they will increase the scanning speed while they are at it!

I love Bioware.  I guess I'm going to have to break down and get Mass Effect 1 on PC and then play 2.  This sounds great.

More Mako hate...love or hate the Mako, driving the ako wasn't nearly as boring as scanning every planet manually.

Most likely the hammerhead, which they said would be coming out a few weeks after launch. Also fingers crossed for Kasumi, the rumored party member. (www.onelastcontinue.com/.../mass-effect-2-character-kasumi-confirmed-by-bioware) and Bioware also said more weapons are coming a few weeks after, so that's possible too.

i wish i wasn't working 60+ hour work days, otherwise i'd have probably beaten ME 2....twice.  oh well, mortgage bills wait for no man!

@ jessie

Good call on getting both . You can play Mass Effect 2 without playing 1,  but I wouldn't recomend it . You get a more immersive feeling and a better sense of whats going on by playing 1 first . That being said  I was a little surprised at how much they changed from 1 to 2 , not that thats a bad thing , overall I think the changes actually make for an easier to use more streamlined game , besides the abysmally slow planet scans ( still better than driving around on them though ).

These games remind me a lot of the KOTOR series ( when do we get another of those Bioware ), and stand as an example of some of the best Bioware has offered to date , they have clearly only gotten better at what they do , and I can't wait for 3 .

I think if they gave us some space exploration (like let us pilot the little drop vehicle thing) and explore the worlds (but give us some nice stuff for exploration)...that would be awesome.

@ Cork

I actually much prefer the planet scanning to the Mako , and  I will say that after I upgraded the scanner it went a little faster . Its just so dam touchy and still a little too slow , yea I guess that sounds like complaining , but it's my only minor gripe about a phenomenal game .

I'm wondering if we're getting the Hammerhead sooner rather than later.  Not sure if it's a Mako replcement or some other kind of vehicle but can't wait regardless, as more Mass Effect means less of a wait for the third part.

Make scanning a little more interesting and idk maybe some more side quests like....20.

Sweetness!

Its always refreshing to see free DLC, I got the game new so its free for me.

Bioware is just brilliant

I wish the 3 people that traded in Mass Effect 2 knew about this

thing is, with this galaxy having billions and billions of stars and stuff in it. potentially there will always be another planet to scan.

Hey I liked the Mako. I would drive to the top of a mountain, then activate the boost thing and watch it fall down the mountain. Giggling like an idiot the whole time of course.

I hope it's a ship upgrade that allows you to scan larger areas, or even send as few as five or six probes to fully scan each planet. I almost don't want to play it again for fear of EDI's 'probe away' boring further into my brain.

I also agree with Jacen - I'd take the Mako over the new resource system any day. At least we were DOING something.

Cork - you're nuts! The Mako was awesome.. sure driving around was boring, and when that *** Thresther would pop up and kill you so you'd have to do it again sucked, but the scanning *completely* destroys the pacing of the second game. Why does BioWare consistently include absolutely boring mini-games in their products? They took out a solid game mechanic to add a boring mini game instead of working on making the Mako sequences more fun. Everyone realizes we don't get additional playthroughs (like in 1) because of that *** resource gathering and planet scanning, right?

While I'm griping - am I one of the few who thought the combat in the first was solid? Now I feel like I'm severely limited in options. I couldn't disagree more with your podcast saying "it's a better game [for streamlining the rpg elements]" Isn't that what people came to Mass Effect for? Combat is now a rock paper scissors game of what weapon or abilities do I use to get past this enemy's defenses, instead of the first having options that work no matter what (i.e. stasis, lift at any time, any enemy) I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. It's still fun, a fantastic game by any standard, but other than the narrative and conversation it doesn't seem like the Mass Effect I knew.

Quote: As often as I hear people complaining about planet scanning, I'll take that over the annoying exploration of the first game any day.

God, yes. I can scan a planet much faster than I could trudge over 900 hills in those cut and paste environments to get something.

To those who think scanning is too slow: If you're holding that thing in "scan mode" and dragging it over every inch of that planet you're doing it wrong.

Move to a spot, quick tap, move to another spot, quick tap. The scan mode is only meant to zero in.

"came to Mass Effect for" meaning originally before anyone played it and found they loved the innovations to the conversation systems, discovered the fantastic narrative etc. Also, a typo - thresher*