Mass Effect 2 - Review

Mass Effect 2 is the sequel to the 2007 sci-fi RPG epic Mass Effect 1. Early 2008, Bioware officially announced the sequel to the outstanding game. I bought Mass Effect 1 , so Mass Effect 2 was an inevitable buy for me. But I never knew how much I'd like the sequel.

What really intrigued about its predecessor, is its story and choices that can affect the whole game. The story in this game is much deeper and straight forward. The game starts off with a bang; it is the exact opposite of how the first one started. The Normandy faces an attack, with cutscene visuals that would make any jaw drop. Shepard as a rightful captain, goes out with the ship. This gives the game an excuse a la Saints Row to customize your character's appearance. From hairstyle to the 6 unique classes featured in the game. Despite all this, the game includes something that would make any RPG fan weep with joy: your decisions in the original game affect the sequel drastically. First I thought this would be a cool addition. I assumed major decisions in the first game would affect your playthrough, but as I progressed through the game, I found out characters in the first game who I spared their lives, talking to me and recognizing me. Bioware really dug deep in the whole story and this surprised me. As you progress through the game you recruit new characters, so as to help you for the suicide mission against the mysterious race known as Collectors. Bioware has really outdone themselves in this game, and each character has such emotion and background, towards the end of the game I felt attached to them. I can't pick who is my favorite character in the game, since everyone had so much detail and unique personalities, that I'd never be able to pick.

The story accelerates in fast pace as you progress through the main storyline branch. Even though just finishing the game with no side quests, drastically affects your ending, since each character you recruit has their own loyalty mission, which when completed gains their loyalty. Each confrontation in the game is vital. You have usually three decisions to pick from in your speech branch, even though I wish there was more variety, it still plays a major role in your playthrough. Every decision will add on to your Paragon or Renegade points and immediately affect your Shepard's personality( and awesome scars on his face) and perhaps the final mission, which I must add is one of the best moment in gaming of all time. The final mission made me tremble in anxiety because of the suspense. The whole game builds up on the whole suicide mission. Every decision and mission you do revolves around the final confrontation, which is just the final touch on this masterpiece.

The soundtrack of the game is epic in every sense. The old galaxy map tune from the first game returns but the final piece played on the last part of the game is simply outstanding. Forget the heroic music playing during the first Mass Effect's credits: this one just tops it off. The whole soundtrack suits every situation in the game and without it I'm positive I'd never feel as consumed as I felt that night when I concluded my first playthrough. The voice acting in the game is also great. Each race has their own tone and accent. The quarians have the foreign european accent. Krogans have the rough tone in their voice so as to emphasize their intimidation. Shepard's default male voice is also standard, but the fact the voice actor(s) of Shepard spent double the time voice acting for the sequel than the original game. That shows how much dedication Bioware has put into every little detail in the game. Seth Green as Joker is once again satisfying since I guarantee you, he will make you chuckle more than once in this game since he also plays a major part of the game.

Mass Effect 1 played like a RPG with shooter on the side dish. This slightly changes in the sequel. Bioware strips down some RPG elements in the game they thought was unnecessary and made the game into a much straightforward, but less detailed RPG. Some hardcore RPG fans might have gotten disappointed with this since Bioware's previous game was Dragon Age, a hardcore RPG game but what Bioware takes out of Mass Effect 2 is totally worth it. They dispose of the inventory where you had to fiddle for a couple of minutes and sometimes I would want an item I found but could not obtain because my inventory was full and would was mandatory for me to deplete to omni-gel. No more micro-managing in this game. They get rid of the different armor types, and instead they added upgrades to the stand N7 armor. It isn't as deep and customizable as the first game since all it states is the percent bonuses each upgrade gives you, but since they added more detail in this specific armor e.g. changing its style and color makes me think that the disposals weren't such of a big loss.

The game plays like a shooter mostly in the sequel but RPG elements are still quite heavy. You can still customize your skills but not as much; also this time around you gain XP from quests and not enemies. Prevents XP farming I assume. The shooting in the game is great and has some nice additions that separate it from other shooters that play similar to it. The ammo types, biotic powers, tech powers and special skills in whole just make the game more fun to play. You take cover by tapping A like in Gears of War but unlike the mentioned, the cover system never gets annoying and always works. Enemy types in the game vary in every quest thus forcing you to use different ammo types. When you fully upgrade a skill you can choose from 2 "ultra forms" of the skill as I like to call them and make it your superior choice most of the times. Commanding squadmates isn't as deep like in the first game but this time combining powers at the same and a better AI in whole makes the game never feel nerve wracking. Although on harder difficulties, being punctilious is a necessity since enemies can punish you harshly. Just adds to the challenge and always trying different tactics to the main core gameplay is what makes Mass Effect so unique. As me being a Soldier I acquired all ammo types, armor upgrades and all guns. I do have a lack of biotic and tech powers though. And that's what makes Mass Effect so amazing: how Bioware motivates you to play with different classes and even in some games the classes may seem dull, in this game it's never the case.

The side quests in this game are improved MASSIVELY. The side quests are all in different locations, and are not as dull like in other RPGs. They all have their own breathtaking moments except maybe one or two. The loyalty missions are one of the many highlights of the game. No loyalty mission made me feel bored and they all drained me into this sci-fi world presented to me and the fact the story of each character just kept getting better increased my enjoyment. Although I wish more side quests were included, but that's just me being spoiled and since I already know there will be more than a few packs of DLC getting released.

The visuals in this game are simply remarkable. Citadel feels so lively and the fact there are no bland vehicle sections, make you enjoy and explore the excellent designed environment so much more. One example is the Crashed Ship site side quest where we have to explore. The scenery is breathtaking and whenever Shepard moved to an edge and debris tumbled from one side to the other made me feel extremely satisfied like the other 999 reasons why this game is just the perfect 360 game. Character models look amazing and facial animations do show emotions. Getting attached to an imaginary species crying for his son doesn't happen often in games. But yet again:

Mass Effect 2 isn't just a game. Mass Effect 2 is a piece of art. If videogames had to present themselves in an exhibition, they should pick Mass Effect 2 for the presentation. Some people call it the Avatar of videogames. Some compare it to Kotor. I call it game of the year. No: game of the new decade.

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