The Hawkeye

Issue date: 2/8/10 Section: Freestyle

Media Credit: MCTCampus Screen shot of the video game Mass Effect 2

While the developer Bioware created the universe and lore of the original Mass Effect, they had a wider perspective of a broad spectrum spanning a trilogy of games.

The mission at hand is to investigate the complete disappearance of life in human colonies at the Terminus systems. Thousands of humans are vanishing without a trace, and the story of the game revolves around solving this mystery and ultimately stopping the reapers that are inevitably behind it.

While slightly weaker than the original game's story, the story of Mass Effect 2 does an excellent job of continuing where the first left off. It provides an excellent middle ground for what is sure to be a great conclusion in the third and final game of the series.

The game play of Mass Effect 2 is where all the true improvements have been made. The first (and best) decision Bioware made was to streamline the leveling and inventory system. Gone is the redundant system of making sure everyone always has the best armor, weapons, armor enhancers, ammo enhancers and all of the other stuff equipped.

As far as armor is concerned, all pieces provide different benefits (of equal value) to different areas based on your personal preference. Weapons are the same, and you only have to worry about keeping Sheppard equipped this time around as all of your squad mates automatically use the best equipment available.

Also you can upgrade your Biotic and Tech powers from this menu as well as purchase upgrades for your ship to avoid another disaster. All of this superior character management wouldn't mean a thing if the combat was the same as the first game. Combat has been improved and feels much more visceral and fast paced than before.

The presentation of Mass Effect 2 is about as good as it gets in video games. All of the character animations and facial movements look real and that may be an understatement. All of the voices in the game are also extremely convincing.

Bioware wanted to give Mass Effect 2 that blockbuster sci-fi movie vibe, and they did a perfect job. Other than the conversation wheel popping up during cut-scenes you could swear you were watching one of the best science fiction movies to come out in years.

The only issues with the game do come with presentation though. Loading is especially slow and can really break your spirit at times if you realize you forgot to do something on the ship before you came to a planet and so on.

You may also run into glitches throughout the game where Sheppard can get stuck on something and unable to move, and you have to reload a save from over 30 minutes prior.

Mass Effect 2 is near perfect in more ways than you could imagine. They took the first great game and made it more accessible and in the process made something more fun than they could have thought.

Couple all of this with the fact that importing your Mass Effect 1 saved data changes the story by carrying over your big decisions, and the fact that after beating the game you can replay it again and again, doing things differently and gaining bonuses, and you have one of the most replayable games in years.

Mass Effect 2 is easily the first contender for game of the year. Everyone with an XBOX 360 or capable PC should try this game, as it is unforgettable in every sense of the word.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools