Game Review: Mass Effect 2

Waaay above my expectations.

Mass Effect 2 is the sequel (obviously) to the very popular and unique title of the same name.  I say unique because this type of game has really not been put together quite like this one is to my knowledge.  The type I'm referring to is a combination of RPG and FPS (I guess it's actually a third person shooter if you want to be specific).  Now I will say that I have been a huge fan of the RPG genre since the days of Ultima and the original Final Fantasy.  This is not an RPG in that sense but it is still an RPG.  You will upgrade your character as you choose throughout the game and more and better upgrades become available as you progress.  Also, your decisions in the game affect how your character develops and, even cooler than that, how your character will enter into Mass Effect 3 when it is released this fall.

I'm getting ahead of myself here, let's talk about the game itself.  You are Commander Shepard.  You can customize your characters appearance and back story, and even make him a her if you like.  Good start.  You are a commander in deep space in the future where interstellar travel is fast due to the discovery of "mass effect fields".  These fields do other things as well but we'll leave it at that.  You have been recruited to save the galaxy from annihilation (naturally) and you will do just that.

Through the course of you saving the galaxy, you will recruit new team members to join you.  Each one has their own recruitment mission and they all bring specialized talents to the team.  Some are sharpshooters, or biotic superbeings, or talented engineers and all are useful.  Each character's backstory is well developed and believable and they are each told in a way so as to lead them to be loyal to you, once you have helped them do something of course.

The gameplay is executed very well as you blast your way through missions.  There are quick pop-up menus that allow you to access your specialized powers (and those of your teammates) as well as your impressive weapons cache seamlessly.  There are obstacles to think about and environmental challenges to face as well as things placed along the way to help you.  The graphics are very good during the gameplay itself and I noticed zero lag or skipping.  Very smooth and impressive.  Even more impressive are the cutscenes and general cinematics of the game.  The voiceovers are outstanding and the scenes are rich and visually stunning without being drawn out, boring, or too long.  The smaller intricacies of the game just add to the experience.  There are a myriad of side quests for you to undertake and even several different opportunities at romance.

Romantic entanglement included.  I went with Ms. Lawson.

There is only one part of this game that wasn't a big hit with me, and that is resource gathering.  Even that wasn't that bad, it just became rather tedious.  There are a ton of different planets to be explored in the game around many different star systems.  Some of the planets will lead you to discover a side quest that can be completed that you wouldn't have known about if you hadn't explored that planet, but all of the planets have resources.  Throughout the game you must gather resources to be spent on upgrades to your weapons, armor, ship, and accessories.  You will come across some of these resources through finding small amounts during your missions, but the vast majority must be mined by scanning the planets you come across.  As I said, it's not that bad.  It does become quite tedious and even a little annoying but not enough to detract from the game itself.

I must admit I was very happily surprised by Mass Effect 2 (especially since I did not play the first one) and I couldn't put my controller down.  I spent about 27 hours or so to finish the game and I don't think it took me much more than a week to get it done.  27 hours in a week may not seem like too much to a lot of gamers but I rarely play a game as much as I did this one.  I was blown away quite honestly and I don't like to give out perfect scores, but this one earned it.  I find myself already anxiously awaiting the release of ME3 in Q4 of this year.  Final score:  10