Mass Effect 2 Review - Weak in some aspects, strong in others

It's always good to see a developer acknowledging flaws in their previous games and using feedback from fans to provide a sequel that plays better. In Bioware's case, they opted to remove some of the things people complained about most rather than fix them. The result is what many will consider a less frustrating and taxing experience, but on the other hand we're left with a game that feels somewhat incomplete. I personally loved Mass Effect, so seeing these things go naturally makes the second game feel like a lesser title in a way. Because of this I felt unsatisfied at the end, but by no means is Mass Effect 2 a bad game. Rather, the changes made by Bioware to make it a better game than the last one seem to work against its potential.

Evil is afoot in the galaxy

The thing I loved most about the first Mass Effect was the intense science-fiction story that mixed politically intriguing complications with a kind of no-nonsense the-entire-galaxy-is-in-danger conflict. You played as Commander Shepard, a character that you defined not only by their looks but by their behavior as well. People who choose to make Mass Effect 2 the first game they play in the series will be able to define the looks and everything else you could alter in the first game. It's justified by a horribly unfortunate event that happens to Shepard within five minutes of starting the game, but even then it would be a bad move to choose the second game as a starting point since understanding the numerous references it makes to the first one is nearly vital. But I digress.

Mass Effect 2 sees Shepard caught under the wing of Cerberus, a human-run organization that seeks to serve and advance their race through any means possible. The main conflict this time involves a mysterious alien race known as the Collectors, so called because they travel to human colonies and abduct everyone there. Obviously this upsets Cerberus, and since they have Shepard with them the opportunity to truly save humanity is one they can't resist. With only a bunch of dossiers given to him by the strange Illusive Man, Shepard must recruit the galaxy's best to form a team that will ultimately take on the Collectors. A noble goal indeed, but the problem here is that the Collectors only take humans. This means that there isn't any race against time to save the entire galaxy, and there really aren't any political ramifications involved in the story at all. This left me mostly unsatisfied when the credits rolled, because I felt that I hadn't really accomplished much. The missions involved with each character that lead to them joining the team are thankfully interesting, and in addition everyone has a lengthy individual side mission you can choose to do with them to gain their loyalty. Even though the missions are fun, there is still the lack of a desperate struggle that made the first game so great, and all the work required to recruit everyone leads to a final battle that doesn't prove to be much different than all the others. Thus, it is a shame that the story in Mass Effect 2 is the weakest part of the game, because it is the main reason why so many people enjoyed the first one.

The Drell is just one of the new races introduced in Mass Effect 2

It is a good thing then that the characters are a blast to be around. There is a much larger variety of personalities that you will take on board, as well as a variety of races. Bioware is exceptional when it comes to creating believable characters, and Mass Effect 2 just further proves this. Everyone, from the fast talking Salarian to the rough-and-tough Krogan, is so memorable that they alone make it hard to put the game down. You'll even see some old friends from the first game, which is yet another reason why I would highly recommend playing through the first one if you haven't already.

While you could easily just blow through the main storyline without doing much else, there are side missions that can be discovered by planet scanning. By and large, the planet scanning mini-game in one of the most tedious and monotonous things I've done in a video game. Rather than have players deal with the Mako or perhaps an improved version of the Mako, all vehicular exploration is excluded (unless you count a certain DLC pack). In lieu of this is the ability to mine for minerals using the planet scanner, which is also used to detect anomalies on the surfaces of planets which in turn lead to side missions. The side missions themselves are definitely more interesting and aren't as random, but most of them can be completed in about 10 minutes or less. And you probably won't even see all of them unless you love planet scanning, since you no longer have Lance Henrikson with you to tell you about them.

Half your team will be made up of aliens, but they don't mind risking their lives to save another race

Completing said missions, however, will be less frustrating to those that had issues with the combat in the first game. Bioware did a major overhaul of the combat and the end result is something that feels and plays more like a third person shooter. Taking cover is much easier, the framerate is miles better, and the general feel of the shooting is astounding compared to the first game. But while the first game felt like an RPG with light shooter elements, Mass Effect 2 feels more like a shooter with RPG elements sprinkled on top. The RPG system has been simplified so much that you no longer get the feeling that you are spending your skill points strategically. Instead, it's possible to cruise through the game just hitting Auto-Level for everybody including yourself. Item management is also gone. In lieu of getting equipment from killing enemies, you must research the weapon using minerals or if you get lucky, find it in a level somewhere. This fortunately removes the issue where you would get piles and piles of the same weapon upgrades and pieces of armor that you would slowly convert to omni-gel.

Much like the first game you can play as one of many different classes. Whether you want to go through the game just shooting everything or go through it not shooting anything at all is entirely up to you. There are several new powers in place that will surely encourage people to branch off from the rather generic Soldier path. Of these is the Charge ability that only the Vanguard may use. When activated, it launches Shepard forward into the targeted enemy which knocks them back. The Shockwave is a ground attack that can be used to launch enemies in front of you into the air. Such powers may be enough to push people to do a second playthrough, since they offer enough variety that no battle feels the same.

The upgraded Normandy makes the previous ship seem like a toy

Another strong point of the game is the writing. Bioware has done a great job in giving the player a variety of ways to converse with people in the game world, whether it be through harsh words or loving compliments. Conversations now flow much better and seem more life-like. This is in part due to the fact that Shepard will actually take on different poses during an interaction rather than just standing in place like a shy student at the school dance. Mark Meer definitely puts on a better performance as Shepard this time around, and Jennifer Hale is just as good as she was last time. (Okay, I'll be honest. I never play as female Shepard because I find her voice dull, although she does put on a much better emotional performance). A new feature is the ability to interrupt characters during certain parts of the game. It can't be used at will, but during certain portions you'll see either a Renegade icon or a Paragon icon show up that, when pressed, will cause Shepard to interrupt the character talking to him. The former usually results in something violent or rude happening, but it's always hilarious. The latter can save a character's life or stop someone from doing something they'll later regret.

When you beat Mass Effect 2, you may feel inclined to play again as the other gender or another class. But after that second playthrough, chances are you'll be done with it. The game is linear, more so than the previous title, and the lack of planet exploration means there isn't much to do besides the side quests which you may or may not feel motivated to locate through planet scanning. Whether or not you enjoy Mass Effect 2 is really dependent on what you liked from the first game. If you were a person that enjoyed the depth of the RPG system, you'll be disappointed with what the sequel has to offer. But on the contrary, if you were someone that hated the RPG system, you'll be pleased with it. Despite its shortcomings, Mass Effect 2 is certainly a worth sequel to the 2007 hit we all grew to love in the end.

Pros

- Story is pretty interesting- Combat is much better
- Characters are fantastic
- The loyalty quests for each character are exciting and varied
- Conversations are drastically improved, and the Interruption feature is a neat little touch

Cons

- The story, while interesting, lacks intensity until the final mission and then it's over
- RPG elements will prove to be too thin for some
- Planet scanning replaces the at least somewhat interesting Mako sequences
- Side missions are pretty short
- The mission structure follows an extremely linear style