Mass Effect 2

Bioware hasn’t been twiddling their thumbs since the first Mass Effect game but we like to think of their in between releases as practice for the big game. Mass Effect 2 is finally upon us. Only question now is will it surpass Mass Effect 1 or be just another mediocre sequel.

Mass Effect 2 starts off with a bang that shakes up the series story. On a routine mission, the Normandy gets attacked by a mysterious vessel, sending only the luckiest of the crew members to the escape pods for a getaway. Unfortunately you’re not one of those lucky few. After some last minute heroics you do the Jack Sparrow and go down with your ship. Then you wake up, not knowing how you survived and possible an entirely different person. Just so happens that Cerberus, the so called human nationalist organization from the first Mass Effect game, has funded your resurrection. They tell you about a new threat called The Collectors. A race of alien being that they suspect are responsible for attacks on human colonies. Trusting their agents will be hard but they come with cash and a brand new Normandy so they can’t be all that bad right? Mass Effect 2 is Bioware’s story telling at its finest.
Building your team is just as important as the action and gameplay. The developers have learned from the first game and made some great improvements. The stories main threat, The Collectors threat, doesn’t disappear from the players mind and go on a vacation like in the first Mass Effect. Yes you’re generally free to pursue any side quests and Cerberus missions in any order you wish, the game periodically throws in non-shippable missions to keep the main goal in focus. The results of your actions in the original Mass Effect will directly influence the galaxy if you choose to import your Shepard. Fallen allies are mourned, old team memebrs show their faces, and there are hints that the decisions you made in the first game will directly affect what happens in the third. It’s exciting to see what the future has in store for this space opera trilogy.

The structure of Mass Effect hasn’t changed in the sequel, but its finer points have been changed in was so that experience feels more immediate. You have a selection of missions to choose from and there are plenty of reasons to get distracted. Like its predecessor, the missions play out more like shooter levels than your typical RPG dungeon crawlers. You have a choice of which path to take but they don’t really go too far, and they often end with credits, intel, or weapons. The missions this time around kind of short so you’re encouraged to form your team to what you’d expect to encounter. Unlike the original Mass Effect, the abilities are spread out and you won’t have a “go to team” of players to chose. This is a Bioware game so be ready to talk as much as you shoot. The conversation system is the same as the first. You’ll have your chance to play the good guy or bad guy, but even more so now that they’re introduced the interrupt system. This new system lets you use actions instead of words depending on which trigger you chose to use.
The best part of this is that it isn’t an absolute thing. Even if you choose to take the boy scout/girl scout route you’ll still have to opportunity to bust open heads when the opportunity presents itself. You’ll get the most out of talking to the people you recruit. taking the time to visit them in between missions will cause them to slowly open up to you. Building relationships with them will open up unique quests for each of the 10 characters. Once you’ve done their quests you’ll unlock their special ability. You could also end up getting space poon (space wang for the ladies.). If you don’t feel like doing missions you could visit the numerous systems in Mass Effect 2 and probe the planets for minerals. Minerals are needed for upgrades and there are anomalies on some planets that result in missions. Expect to spend anywhere from 20 – 45 hours playing the game or more depending on how deep into it you get. It is way too easy to get consumed in the experience.

Mass Effect 2 thrives as a third person shooter. You will quickly forget about the things it’s missing, like cover hopping and destructibility, after spending a few minutes in action. Bioware did the genius thing with the shooter mechanics, modeling them after games like Gears of War which have already been mashed into our muscle memory. Though the button mechanics may work like other games, Mass Effect 2’s combat has a feel of its own. The Vanguard class’ charge ability is brutally satisfying, especially when followed up by a close range shotgun blast or two. Mass Effect 2’s cover mechanics aren’t the only improvements made since the first one.
Enemies will react differently depending on their classes, models, or species. Enemy Vanguards will purposely close distances so they can use their shotguns, while Sentinels and Engineers will harass you with combat drones and overload your shields. The bigger enemies usually require heavy weapons. Enemies are usually protected by a combination of biotic barriers, combat armor, or shields each requiring specific weapons or biotics to counter. Mass Effect 2’s rpg systems have been cut down to the bare essentials. You don’t find loot anymore, just upgrade schematics that you can apply when on board the Normandy.

In Mass Effect 2, space is huge and as vast as it was in the first. As a whole Mass Effect 2 looks very smooth and convincing. Very few games can match Bioware in the facial animation department. Even the weirdest looking aliens show some resemblance to humans. There are some times when the humans seem a little “unreal” but overall you have to be impressed with the games production. The voice work is amazingly on point. The music is droning and spacey or symphonic and up beat depending on the situation. If you don’t like load times then be ready to install the game on your 360 hard drive.
All in all you’ll gladly spend hours of your life playing Mass Effect 2. There’s just so much here to experience and it’s so wonderfully executed in gameplay and design. If I had to compare this game to a movie, I would say it’s a cross between Micheal Bay’s Transformers 2, and J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek. Bioware has come through on their promise to let our actions dictate the course of the universe, and I guarantee that you’ll play through this one numerous times to see how it all turns out.