Cover based shooters these days are like Las Vegas buffets, most of them are not worth the price of admission, and some are so bad they make you sick, but that won't keep the masses away from all those pretty lights. Then there is Mass Effect 2, a game that is something a bit different and crafted by the doctor duo up in Canada.
Let’s start with the story, set in the expanses of the terminus systems we join Commander Shepherd, and the rest of the crew aboard a ship called the Normandy. Mysteriously human colonies around the galaxy seem to be disappearing and it is up to you, Commander Shepherd to uncover who or what is behind this. To take it a step further this is touted as a suicide mission and Commander Shepherd is charged with recruiting some help and only the bravest and the baddest need apply.
The thing that makes ME2 so great isn't necessarily the gameplay although it is some of the best that can be had in the industry, but the real star here, or stars I should say are the characters. Not only does ME2 sport some the the best characters ever conceived but their stories and missions and how they play out, are probably some of the best and most engaging forms of narrative ever seen in a game.
Gameplay, let’s face facts if all you wanted was a story you would just read a freak’in book so let’s talk about the goods. Mass effect 2 adopts more tried and true shooter mechanics and plays like a sophisticated version of Gears of War. The look and feel has changed a great deal from the first in some great ways. For starters your weapons have heat clips for ammo, as opposed to the overheating that occurs in the first. Next taking cover is now mapped to the "A" button and used to get in and out of cover. Probably my favorite new feature is that your powers can be mapped to specific buttons so that in the heat of battle you can pull off quick power combinations without pausing and breaking up the pace of the battle. If you want to pause and survey the situation you still can, but there is a white indicator when your powers are recharged so you know exactly when you can pull another husk into the air and snipe them with your incendiary ammo. It's these kind of changes that on paper seem like minor improvements but go a long way towards keeping you in the experience. You have your choice of Biotics which are kind of like the force powers from Star Wars, and Tech powers which involves either controlling or minipulating synthetics or robots if you like. When you recruit team members and complete their loyalty missions they gain access to special powers that only they have, which makes choosing your squad a pretty tough consideration depending on which powers you want access to.
For those who played the original Mass Effect I hope you still have your save file so you can import your game and so start where you left off this is hands down the best way to play it. Why it took so long for a game company so long to implement importing a previous game to the sequel is beyond me, but it goes a long way toward making the interactions and decisions you made in the first feel significant. Taking into consideration the amount of decisions, and heavy things that go down in the first, it’s especially satisfying to see that they hold some weight in the sequel. For example if you are not able to save a given character, you don't have to live with that decision over a 30 hour experience you have to live with that over 60 or 90 hour experience. The experiences through the first game with those characters make it so when you get reunited again it is akin to seeing an old friend. These are the reasons your decisions have impact and the emotion is inherently there.
Thankfully this is all backed up by incredible gameplay. The graphics look amazing, how Bioware managed to increase the framerate issues from the first one and lock it in at 30 fps, and then still have it look much better is quite the feat. It really is a visual treat to see all of the different locations and characters in action. The sound is so well done you don't even notice it, it blends so well in the universe that everything just feels right and natural which is a testament to the attention to detail, that went into it, particularly the stellar voice acting from the likes of Seth Green Martin Sheen, and Keith David.
With all this being said is Mass Effect 2 perfect? No. Load times can be pace breaking at times, planet mining is a lackluster use of time. It pays off well enough, but is not fun to do. At the end of the day there were only 2 design choices I didn’t like about Mass Effect 2. First, they took away the inventory so you don’t find any equipment at all. Yep, remember that sweet armor you found in the first Mass Effect? Nope not gonna happen in this one. Second, what in the crap happened to all of the stat options? In the first game you had 3 or 4 times the amount of upgrade options. These quibbles aside I really enjoyed Mass Effect 2 and urge anyone with a PS3 to get it, and if you own an Xbox 360 and don’t have it maybe you should reevaluate why you have one in the first place.
