Mass Effect 2 Review

Elcor Diplomat: “Amazed response, Bioware.  Mass Effect 2 exceeds all expectations.”  Sadly, there isn’t much dialogue from my favorite alien race, the Elcor.  Other than that, Bioware’s sci-fi sequel succeeds resoundingly at creating the same “black, white, or in between” choices that matter, and simultaneously reflect real-life problem solving processes.  The most annoying part of Mass Effect 2, as a reviewer, is this: how do you review a game by running through it as quickly as possible and exploring everything, with the game all the while telling you to slow down and enjoy the rich environments Bioware has created?  What a paradox.  But without further ado, hit the jump for the most anticipated review of 2010 (thus far).

Story

Same old Shepard, new bag of tricks.  Literally.  Upon starting ME2, the player is given the expected option to either start from scratch or import their ME1 character.  I chose the latter, my high-level Infiltrator.  After an opening cutscene which raises far more questions than answers, I was given the option to modify my character traits and facial features.   I stayed with the Infiltrator against the lure of the Soldier and jumped into the game.

It drops a cold opening, where you don’t really know what has transpired since Shepard last met Sovereign and Saren, but  it effectively drops you into a galaxy-wide battle to “save all of humanity,” according to the enigmatic “Illusive Man.”    Shepard now works for Cerberus, a villainously pro-human group dedicated to preserving humans above all else.  It was  ironic that my alien-loving Paragon Shepard finds himself working for an organization not known for its alien rights  promotion.  Yet another emotional twist in a beautifully crafted story.

From the start, I found myself asking, “where’s Ashley, Tali, Garrus, Wrex?”  Those characters MADE ME1, c’mon Bioware,  you can’t just take them away!  Then, slowly but surely, you meet or hear about your former crew- all of whom believe you  dead, and you’ll find yourself hoping for them to join up so you can save the galaxy together like, as Joker says, “the old  days.”  In fact, meeting the former crew members, regardless of who decides to come with you, is one of the game’s most euphoric story interactions.  We really feel an attachment to these characters, so much so that we sincerely want them to stay and “play” with us.  That is a sign of stellar game design; studios can only hope to draw the player in the way Bioware has with Mass Effect.

The premise of the story is simple: Shepard is tasked with recruiting nine squad members from all reaches of the galaxy, to embark on a suicide missions to stop the enigmatic Collectors.  Squad members range from a Salarian scientist, to an Asari Justicar, to a Drell assassin, to a Krogan… well, warrior (are Krogans ever anything else?).  After performing a mission to recruit the squad member, they join as a teammate.  After they’ve been on the ship for awhile, a loyalty mission pops up when you talk to them.  Completing each crew member’s respective loyalty mission unlocks an additional ability for them, as well as gaining new dialogue options.

Mechanics

The game and gunplay is where ME2 really outshines its predecessor.  The combat in the first game was often clunky, forcing some players to grenade themselves so they could combat sprint out of danger.  The cover system, according to Bioware, featured only 20 animations.  But no longer.  The sequel utilizes over 200 cover animations, and Shepard flows seamlessly into and out of hiding.  This game forces you to use the cover system heavily on the higher difficulties, and pick your shots carefully so as not to stay too exposed.

The “power wheel” is better integrated too, even though it feels very similar.  Bioware implemented hotkeys for both Shepard’s and teammates’ abilities.  You’ll find that it’s less necessary to pause battle with the bumpers than it was in the first game.  Also, achievements for using a certain squad member for “most” of the game are gone- which means we can select a team that actually complements each other’s abilities depending on the mission and expected resistance.

Also gone is the confusing weapon and armor modification system.  Bioware uses a piecemeal approach to armor, where the player can mix and match, with each piece offering an upgrade to health, shields, accuracy, etc.  Upgrades to guns and armor can also be purchased once you unlock the research station of the ship (which comes after recruiting the Salarian scientist).

That’s the best part about ME2, it really took what it did well in the first game and made it better, and took what it needed to improve on from the first game and shored it up.  It did everything we ask from a developer for this sequel.  They kept what worked and fixed what sucked.  All while implementing some cool new features, and of course Mass Effect’s signature: engrossing dialogue.

Intangibles

As expected from such a massive RPG, there is significant loading in this game.  I didn’t try ripping it to my HDD, but with two discs it seemed impractical.  I can handle loading screens if what comes after them is worth the wait.  And ME2 is worth every second spent waiting.

One of the cool new features is the Paragon/Renegade button popups during conversations.  Every so often, Shepard will be listening to someone talk when a “LT” or “RT” button pop appears at the bottom corner of the screen.  When you push the appropriate trigger (depending on the action) Shepard performs an extreme Paragon or Renegade action.  The best part about these actions is they directly impact the game; some missions are changed completely as a result of Shepard’s choices.  Personally, I played full Paragon, good all the way, but the few Renegade popups I performed happened instantly (you don’t get much time to choose to push or not to push) and impacted the story in ways so cool I’m still grinning about them.

In other areas, the Mako lander is gone (good riddance), replaced by a landing shuttle that just drops the player directly  into planet missions.  There’s a newly implemented planet probe feature, where upon finding planets in new systems that  can’t be landed on (ME1 had these too, just planets with a bio but no playable content), the player can choose to scan and  probe the planet for minerals used to buy upgrades.  The probe system is cool at first, but gets tedious when you’re  eventually done with the game and have nothing left to do but scan planets for fun.

The ship is well-organized, with the elevator telling you which levels house which teammates- and those teammates stay in  their respective area- capable of being reached at anytime.  Dialogue between teammates ranges from tense to flirtatious to overtly sexual, which mimics many of the real-world interactions we encounter.

The galaxy map is even bigger than ME1, and is disorienting at first.  But eventually its massive scope becomes more manageable, and you’ll find yourself hopping Relays as fast as Joker could.

Recap

Final Verdict

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