Mass Effect 2 Review

Platform: PC/XBox 360
Publisher: Bioware
Release Date: January 26, 2010


Story: Hit
Character Development: Crit
Graphics: Crit
Sound: Crit
Re-playability: Crit
Overall score: Crit

No one could rightly start a review of this game without first saying something like this. You wouldn’t enjoy The Empire Strikes Back as much if you haven’t watched A New Hope. So if you have not played the first game, then I would suggest that you play it before you even open the Mass Effect 2 (ME2) box. I would agree with Bioware that you can play, enjoy, and understand this game if you have not played the first installment, however you will miss out on the subtle jokes, and the use of good lore. It seems to me that you will need to know the significance of watching the Normandy blow up and watching your character die at the beginning of the game for the Lazarus project to make much sense “Why would they blow four-billion credits to bring this guy back to life?” Please insert ME1 install CD for the answer. ME1 is surely in some bargain bin by now, and you could most likely get it at a very reasonable price. It is a game that you don’t want to miss out on.
In the months following ME1, Sheppard is out investigating suspected geth attacks and abductions when an foreign ship attacks and destroys the Normandy. Shepard dies, and a scientific group dedicated to the posterity of humanity works to resurrect Shepard. Once resurrected, Shepard is tasked to discover the mystery behind the human colonies being abducted, which leads him to the ever illusive Reaper (giant mechanic beings) threat that has yet to be seen. Throughout the game you work alongside familiar aliens from the first game as well as new creatures such as the drell.
The story didn’t quite grapple me as tightly as ME1, call me spoiled, but that upset me. Like every trilogy (which I am guessing Mass Effect will be at minimum) there is always one title that is the necessary development for the greater story. I feel that ME2 will be the red headed step child of the Mass Effect franchise, but that is not to say that it is not a great game, its just less provocative than its predecessor. It’s like comparing one-hundred million dollars to ten million dollars, I wouldn’t refuse either. If I didn’t know better, I would rate this story a crit, but knowing what the Mass Effect team is capable of, this game seems to fall short of what they have produced in the first title.
While I do not feel like some others do, that this is the most cinematic game to date (Uncharted 2 is a one tough cookie.), this game is another reminder that video games are quite capable of becoming interactive movies. The audio was impeccable. In many titles where you choose the dialog options, I have found that the voice acting sounds forced and out of context. In The Witcher I felt like Geralt was saying the right things but not in the appropriate and realistic tone considering the surroundings. In ME2 I don’t see this common issue. The seamless dialogs revealed the greatly developed Mass Effect universe which provides a fun and proactive experience. Cosmetically this game shook the foundations of expectation. Though there was a separation between cinematic cut scenes and in game play, the differences were minimal, and nothing to complain about. The game-play was about as fluent as game-play can get. I speak primarily for the PC here, I wish I could say all of these things for the Xbox 360, but it just isn’t true. Graphically the 360 failed to deliver with lighting, and character realism. One thing that I noted was how the characters actually seemed to be looking at and acknowledging each other, not looking through someone as they talk to them. This is a remedy to what I call dead eyes. The Xbox 360 not only gave all of the characters dead eyes, but failed to deliver character realism as a whole. Angry, happy, and sad all look the same on the Xbox 360 while on the PC you get moving face muscles that accompany the dialog like a perfectly fitting glove.

ME2 is missing some things that many people call RPG staples. There is no inventory screen, and the equipment options are severely limited. No inventory screen may confuse some avid RPG players into thinking that this is not so much an RPG but an action game with RPG elements, but I assure you it is as much an RPG as Dragon Age: Origins. The inventory screen is replaced with an upgrade system, and a more realistic armor changing set up. You can only change your armor preferences from your ship. Forcing you to change at the ship saves you from having to lug around hundreds of pounds of equipment while running, diving, and shooting at enemies. While this does remove the aspects of selling goods altogether, it puts a greater focus on the story instead of acquisition and economy. Money is come by quite easily if you simply do missions, and hack every safe you come by, however you will realize that your purse does not empty too quickly since you do not HAVE to purchase a single item in the game if you wish not to. The upgrade system that I mentioned reminds me of an old game called Star Flight, its an old Sega game that my wife recently turned me on to, and despite its quaint old 8bit graphical style, it is quite fun.


In ME2, you scan planets for materials that are used to upgrade weapon damage, or health capacity. There are even ship upgrades that prove useful later on in the game (shields, weapons, medical bay etc…). It is more fun than it sounds.
ME2 follows ME1’s lead in only being a 20-30 hour game. The new game + option allows a character that has completed the game to reload into a new game, retaining equipment and level, but not upgrades. With all of the dialog and relationship choices, this game is one you could easily put over one-hundred hours into. I would not be surprised if I put that much time into this game over the next year or so.


I suggest that responsible adults with children bear in mind that this game is rated M 17+. In most "M" rated games, you get a little profanity and some sexuality, the kind of thing you can mute if it gets out of hand. In ME2 I feel like "M" was taken to unnecessary extremes. One character has an outfit that has her entire torso exposed except for a harness that cleverly hides her nipples (thankfully there is an alternate outfit you can earn that gives her a shirt). Also, I am not used to hearing the F-bomb in game, and this game is quite liberal with its profanity. I'm not here to trash on the ESRB. I think they do a good job for the most part. I would think that this is the kind of game to play after your little one's go to bed.


-Z. W. Van Kleeck