Mass Effect 2 review

Imagine living in a world where traveling to different solar systems across the entire Milky Way is possible. Imagine being able to communicate with not only your own race, but well over 10 different species of aliens. And finally, imagine that you are at the center of it all, that the entire galaxy depends on your actions. If you can imagine that, you might as well play “Mass Effect 2.”
Bioware’s latest installment in the “Mass Effect” trilogy is an emotionally comprehensive third-person RPG shooter. The game starts with a prologue, which helps set the tone for the game and get players who missed the first “Mass Effect” into the mix. And from there, the game is on. Commander Shepard gets hired on by Cerberus, a mysterious renegade faction outside of the Alliance that focuses on human rights in a galaxy full of other alien races, among other shady activities that are whispered about but never reach full light.
The Collectors, a strange multi-eyed amphibian-esque alien race have started capturing humans for reasons unknown to the Alliance and Cerberus. The game revolves around finding and using Collector technology to find their base of operations with the hope of saving the human race, as they seem bent on wiping them out. However, the bulk of the game revolves around Shepard‘s quest to build the team he will lead into the unknown of the Omega 4 relay, which is where the Collectors hide out when they are taking a break from harvesting humans.
At the beginning of the game, you get choose between one of six character classes, ranging from a Soldier to a Vanguard, a soldier/biotic mix. Each class has specific talents they bring to the battlefield. An Infiltratotor has the ability to go invisible for a short period of time to gain a tactical advantage, while a Vanguard has a move called Charge. It allows the Vanguard to rush an enemy and essentially tackle them with biotic power. The customization of the characters look is similar to the first game. I still had trouble making my character not look ridiculous, but I only spent about five minutes tweaking his facial features. The armor can also be changed to suit your own personal style. But after the character customization, you’re ready to go.
ME2 is a big improvement from the first “Mass Effect“, both in the gameplay and graphic departments. The facial textures and detail in the armor are, depending on the visual style you enjoy, some of the best I’ve seen on the 360 and the cut scenes rival most other top visual games. It is an amazing feat when as a player, I stopped in the middle of an intense firefight to look at an environment to take in the beauty.
The gameplay is smoother and more streamlined and the new cover system allows for better battles, which last longer and are more franctic and fun. The action-wheel is back, allowing you to pause battle to highlight specific abilities you wish to use on your enemies, you can also control your teammates in this way. Better than the the first “Mass Effect,” you can hotkey specific abilities to the controller which makes the fights less choppy. ME2 also has about 100 percent more action compared to ME1, which helps along the 20-40 hours it takes to complete the game.
The story is also incredibly deep. If you take the time to read the codex and journal, you really can get lost in the world of Mass Effect. Many details of each planet, city, and alien race are explained, as well as the history of the Alliance and Cerberus. In conversation with other characters, there are distinct choices to make. You can be a paragon or renegade, essentially good or evil, and all of those decisions stack up and can change the course of the game. If you take the time, every one of your team members story is unique, and it is interesting to dig into their past, whether they want you to or not. It is even possible to pursue a sexual relationship with one of your team members.
The voice acting for this game is some of the best in the business as well, Bioware really knows how to work it. They even hired some big actors for specific parts, for example, Martin Sheen plays the part of the Illusive Man. But if you choose not to talk to your crew, it can really hurt the end game, and even result in disaster. Some people don’t like to bother with a lot of the story elements, but it is an RPG after all.
Upgrading weapons and armor is drastically different than the past game. Instead of finding better weapons off of slain enemies, you find upgrades that must be researched on the Normandy 2, your spaceship. To research, you must have one of four different types of elements: Element Zero, Palladium, Titatium and Iridium. You can find some of these on missions, but the most efficient way to gather them is by scanning the one of many plants in the “Mass Effect” galaxies. Scanning planets can be a bit tedious, but there are faster ways of doing it, it just takes some practice.
ME2 did away with the Mako, so you can no longer land on a random planet and traverse it in the off-road vehicle. I enjoyed using the Mako in the first game, despite its shotty controls, because it really made me feel small in a giant galaxy. Now, all the missions, whether main quest or side quest, are linear. The order in which you complete them is up to you, but I miss that feeling of finding my own way on a planet. There have been some rumors of an upcoming DLC that will have vehicle combat, so I am looking forward to that.
This game is sure to one of the best games of the year, but a perfect game it is not.
First, the lack of the Mako and the addition of scanning the planets for minerals makes the game seem less open, and more linear. But I know Bioware wanted to make some changes so ME2 was different from the first, but scanning can get boring after the umpteenth time. And the lack of open-world driving makes me miss it, regardless of the lackluster controls for the Mako.
Also, I found the voice actor for the male Commander Shepard (You can choose to be male or female) to be lacking the oomph a true leader possesses. The rest of the people who lend their voice work to the game are topshelf, but for some reason I found Shepard’s voice unfeeling and monotone, which really took away from the important or emotional scenes.
I found the upgrade system fun and interesting, because I had control over what I upgraded. I didn’t have to depend on finding a better gun, I could just upgrade the one I already had, but some people will probably find this as a negative. I can understand, scouring for better loot has always been a favorite among gamers.
Otherwise, this game does every thing else close to perfect. Somehow, Bioware found a way to balance, story, gameplay and graphics into a seamless third-person RPG shooter, and it is a real winner.
 I imagine that it has a chance to win many Game of the Year awards at the end of this year. And I would be surprised and ashamed of the gaming community if it didn’t win at least one.