Review Score:

One would think that if you played the first Mass Effect, you’d know exactly what to expect in the second one. However you’d be wrong. The second game in the trilogy builds upon what was an excellent game to begin with. That’s the strength of Mass Effect 2.

Before I delve into the world that is Mass Effect, I would firstly like to point of the problems I have faced trying to review this title. So many things wanted to be said, but I decided to exclude them as my better judgement doesn’t want to give too much away. As with any RPG, fears of revealing spoilers deter giving a full insightful review. So instead, I will highlight the new additions, reworked subtractions and what exactly makes Mass Effect 2 an absolute pleasure to play.

Overall Mass Effect 2 plays complimentary to the first. All the things that made the original the acclaimed classic, are very much present in the sequal. Though, Bioware have reworked many of the games core-elements – leaving Mass Effext 2 feeling like a completely new experience. Actually, experience is one of the things changed between the last two years. In Mass Effect, you would get experience for doing just about anything and everything like any other RPG. This time your experience is awarded to you at the end of a mission. It takes a little getting used to, but it does work very well.

Mass Effect has both lushous character models, and mouth watering backdrops.

Another fairly major change is the ability to travel through space. You’re no longer in Alliance space, so there’s a bit of emphasis on exploration. With this emphasis, you now have to manage fuel when going between star systems in each nebula. You’re also manually piloting the ship during the game, which feels weird, but it is an improvement. You’re not in the cockpit, but rather piloting in third person a la Galaga. You will also be piloting the ship to other planets for rare elements, which in turn are currency for ship, weapons, and armor upgrades.

One of the changes from the original Mass Effect is that their are no longer elevator rides in place of load sequences. The rewaorked load sequence is now a traditional load screen. I know some people critisized the elevator method, but the standard load screen feels as though Bioware are taking two steps backwards. Speaking of the loadouts, they seem to take forever. Meaning if you die a lot, which is highly likely early on in the game, expect to stare at a lot of loading screens. This is kind of frustrating, perhaps even my biggest critisizm for the game.

One of the most intuitive added to the game is you can change cut-scenes based on your Paragon/Renegade level. With a small pull of either your left or right trigger, you change the story just a little bit. Speaking of changing the outcome of the game, you can import your Commander Shepard from the original Mass Effect – providing you have the original save file. There are actually quite a few bits of the first game that pop-up in the sequel. Of course all of the major storyline stuff makes it in, such as which soldier died. But you will also see a lot of little things from much smaller side-quests make appearances this time around. Remember the guy who worshiped you on the citadel? He makes a small appearance in here again. This was actually exciting to see the little things pop-up – it’s kinda like recurring minor characters in your favorite show or book. It just warms the cockles of your heart.

There is a story to be told here - With BioWare portraying it magnificently.

As with the first Mass Effect, and most Bioware games, there is no online component. This is just as well as the game is highly story driven. You could just go in guns-blazing, shooting everything and skipping cutscenes, but you will miss the core excitement of the game. Related to online components, are the achievements – which I am glad to announce are much more reasonable this time around. For the most part they are attainable as they are story-based and those that aren’t are both fun and can be attained in a single-playthrough. That was a personal peeve with the first game. I know I had filled in the required criteria, despite not being rewarded

Chances are, if you enjoyed the first game, you will enjoy this one as well. The core mechanics of combat are intact, the game is both lusious to look at and sound that elevates the experience. It’s very possible that the sequal matches, or even proceeds the original. That’s a lot of awesomeness in this five-star package – to the point of once it has pulled you into orbit, you will no longer be able to step foot on the [conscious-opinion] ground you previously did.

Notable stuff: The copy of the game reviewed was the full final release. The game was played for about 30 hours before reviewing.