ME2 review

I recently finished what I believe to be the most immersive game experience I have played in my gaming life. This will sound like a fanboy rant, but I cannot stress how good this game is.

I played and completed the original Mass Effect several years ago now, and Bioware had crafted a gem. It was like being dropped into one of those 1000 page science fiction novels with a space ship on the front. The amount of effort and attention to detail made was nothing short of bowl shatteringly spectacular. The conversation system was smooth, the voice acting was absolutely perfect and the art direction was fantastic. The game looked brilliant. As enjoyable as the game was, the combat and some game play elements where a little bland and didn't really add much to the game. The item system was tedious and combat was slow and repetitive. Overall, it was a great but flawed game. And that is where Mass Effect 2 comes in.

Game developers around the world, please stop playing WoW for 5 minutes, your raids can wait. Take note of a perfect sequel. Clearly, the seasoned team at Bioware (best developers in the biz IMO) took all the aspects of the original and discarded them. The entire character and inventory system have received a massive overhaul. A class based system was introduce which allow for specific play styles, though are somewhat limiting. Items are now researched and upgraded at the ship instead of being scavanged in the classic loot system hat previously had me in my menu screens, maticulously comparing kit, only to find a superior 30s later. The new item and character systems work really nicely in this game. The skills are also very well done, although executed in a familiar experience=level=skill point way. Getting a skill to max rank gives you the choice of giving it an AOE or making it incredibly powerful. Also, you can unlock a special skill from a team-mate further diversifying your character. I really admire Bioware for taking initiative and improving the aspects of Mass Effect that clearly needed improving.

Combat in Mass Effect is a pretty standard 'cover shooter' model. It provides a smooth, if not repeatability experience. As an adept class, I spent most of my time launching balls of God at people. Although it became tedious after not too long, picking up an enemy and throwing his lifeless corpse into an explosive box and scattering his body parts in a pretty explosion never was dull. I found lots of ways to use my powers in combination with each other and my weapons to great affect. The environments where the firefights take place are designed well, allowing you to use strategy and tactics to gain an advantage. These battlefields are well detailed and look fantastic. As for enemies, there is a great variety of bad guys to destroy. Try to infiltrate a cooperate building: expect to fight mercenaries, security and automated defenses. Investigate some abnormal activity on a distant world: have fun destroying waves of those zombies (sort of...) the Geth. No spoilers but the last boss is awesome! Combat in ME2 is an improvement but still could be improved and is not the feature of this game.

If it can be said that Bioware tossed away elements of the original Mas Effect that they poor, what would they do to what made it a great game? The art work, the scifi wealth, the dialogue, the characters, the plot and most importantly the feeling of choice. These are what made Mass Effect great. I wondered how they would reappear in the sequel. Imagine you took all these things, and injected steroids into them until their balls were so shriveled they could run in the woman's 400m event. I will try to empress in words how good these elements are in ME2, but I have no doubt I will fail.

I have loved a lot of games in my life, but I have never been emotionally attached to a game. Mass Effect 2 is unique to me. It is the only game that made me actually feel. The characters, especially those on your crew, are so interesting and well developed that you form a bond with them. Many favorites return from the original and you get to see how their experiences between games have changed them. So many times I was forced to make a decision that i didn't want to. I literally sat with my head in my hands contemplating the decision, weighing up the good and bad. I had to make so many sacrifices, and those decision tore me in two. I was so attached to this game, it was unlike anything I had experienced thus far. I spent an hour searching the citadel for a wallet to prove a poor Quarian girl innocent because I felt sorry for her. She had clearly been on a pilgrimage from the migrant fleet and needed help. I was just so sucked in by this game. The finale of this game forced me to make many choices, most of which I regret. I remember the faces of those lost, and it makes me sad. I know this sounds like a review of a romantic drama instead of a scifi shooter, but understand this: this game is deep. My head is stuck in the rich sprawling universe of Mass Effect 2, and It will likely never return.