I actually liked driving the Mako. I had a ball running around different planets and seeing what crazy places I could get that bugger into.

You send your live crew to toxic environment without suits capable to stay outside mako for longer than just a few seconds in ME1 too ;P

Also, the Mako controls were horrible. Making turns was clunky and fights? Well, most of the time you were firing from a distance driving back and forth to avoid being hit, and that's all.

Booo-riiing.

At least planet scanning lasts a few seconds...

And if you found an anomaly, you were landing anyway, so...

I found tons more interesting things on planets in ME1 than I ever did in ME2. There were hardly any planet-based side-quests in ME2.
Funny, I thought the same thing about the planet scanning.

The difference is, planet scanning is JUST a minigame, like hacking in bioshock for example.

Mako sequences were like 20% of the gameplay, and they SUCKED SO BAD I couldn't play ME1 second time, because of them.

Almost everything about Mako sequences is fucked up.

I'm glad they removed them.

The first modification that I made to ME2 was to remove the need for planet scanning.;)

In a ME1 new game + you don't have to land on those planets if you don't want to (you don't have to land on them in your first play through either, for that matter). In ME2 you have to planet scan to get the minerals to get the upgrades, unless you mod it out.

I wouldn't call planet scanning a minigame either. I would call it filler.

I enjoyed the Mako segments from ME1 extensively. They added a lot to the sense of openness and exploration to the universe. It made the game feel like there wass still a frontier in the setting-wild untamed worlds with unknown dangers and suprises that was sorely lacking in ME2. I don't think Mako combat was as bad as people make it out to be either, it was a lot of fun running over helpless geth troopers and I had quite a few tense moment driving out onto flat areas waiting to see if a thresher maw would attack me.

It's true that the planet scanning was needlessly crap. Surely all you needed to do was fire off a few probes and let them comb the planet, right?

It's also true that they could have made some awesome Mako sequences that could have added some depth to the game.

But it's also true that the Mako sequences of the first game were clunky and poorly implemented. The utter lack of polygons really didn't help the Mako's handling and given Mass Effect 2's smaller areas (bloody crappy console limitations), I don't know what effect that would have had on the Mako sequences but clearly it would not have been a positive one.

So yeah, in theory a missed opportunity. But probably not in practice.

One thing that bummed me out around the release of this game was that it was released a month late for "game of the decade". I bet nobody's going to remember this game when 2019 rolls around.

Yes, I really like ME2. I miss the thrill of exploring an alien landscape in the Mako (although I care not for the Thresher Maws), but ME2 was such a great game in every other way that it really doesn't bother me. Companions actually had something to say this time around, side quests were meaningful, inventory management was gone (although I agree there weren't enough non-heavy weapons) and the storyline was considerably more involving (the companion story arcs were the meat of the story - the main quest I cared little for, although I was glad they dropped the mystical aspects of it).

Mako handling was really awful though. I wasn't expecting Gran Turismo, but you'd think that Bioware could have made the handling less like driving a fridge with trolley wheels.

I really fail to understand people's complaints with the Mako. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it. It handled well enough for something that was driving in low gravity environments.

I mean what are you trying to say? Did the "unrealistic" handling bother you because you think it just looked stupid or did it actually hamper your ability to control it? I suspect the former.
You shouldn't expect it to handle perfectly driving straight up a mountain if we're talking realism here.

The steering was a little wonky with the Mako, but I was sad to see it go. I enjoyed the areas like Noveria where you had a long approach, taking out turrets on the way to the base. It felt like a genuine military assault rather than being plopped right on the front door in ME2. Level design took a huge hit in both ME2 and ME3.

I had a much better time playing as a mage in DA:O. I got through first as a sword and board tank, but I agree that it was pretty boring skill wise. As a mage there were spells that allowed my main to do AOE, crowd control, healing, and using blood magic to power spells combined with a spirit healer made for an odd, but very effective build . I never tried the one specialization that allows a mage to wear armor using their magic power in lieu of strength, but that would probably make for a more interesting experience than pure melee. Bioware screwed the pooch with the sequel though, just like ME3 killed the series.

I bought ME2 for $5 and sold my Origin code for $7. Thats how much i wanted to play it, lol

I loved Mass Effect 1 for the story and atmosphere. But i couldn't force myself to play it again because i didn't like the gameplay. ME2, on the other hand, i completed 3 times and it was a real fun. The characters and their side stories in the second installment are absolutelly amazing.
As far as ME3 is concerned i couldn't force myself to finish it. I don't know what is wrong with that game. Can't explain it. I just don't like it.