How do you make an epic game even better?  Just ask BioWare as their latest installment in the Mass Effect trilogy takes everything you liked about the first game, and turns it up to eleven!  Like many folks I know, Mass Effect was one of the first games I ever finished that I immediately started a new play-through; I simply couldn’t get enough of the world of the Commander Shepard and the Normandy, and I was curious what a Renegade play through would feel like.  I was pleasantly surprised that simple changes in choices could have significant impacts on story and game play.  So when BioWare announced before E3 that they would be releasing Mass Effect 2, I was very excited.  I just didn’t anticipate just how good it was going to be.  

The first Mass Effect wasn’t without its faults.  The combat system was pretty clunky and I often wondered what my AI companions were up to.  There were also long sequences of traveling around in the Mako land vehicle looking for story arcs and getting chased by large worms (I hated those guys).  Happily, all of these things have either been upgraded or eliminated in this latest installment.  From a character modeling standpoint alone, we can see vast improvements in an already polished game. For example, in the original Mass Effect, Commander Shepard had twenty animations for cover.  In Mass Effect 2 there are over two hundred animations for cover; quite the difference.  

Gone are your long treks in the Mako, but they are replaced with a dynamic planet surveying option.  In the former, game collecting resources consisted of simply pressing the X button while in orbit of the planet, and there really wasn’t any compelling reason to do so.  In Mass Effect 2, the resources you collect help you research and upgrade your weapons and armor, so you’ll want to do it.  Instead of pressing the X button over a planet, you have to scan the planet manually and when your scanner bars rise, you launch a probe.  The better you are at scanning for resources, the more resources you will receive.  It’s one of many puzzle experiences that BioWare has intricately weaved into your game experience, and dare I say I found it quite fun!  

Also gone is the intricate and somewhat annoying inventory system.  In Mass Effect I would have to carefully kit out my team, deciding everything from heat syncs to ammunition type.  The kitting system is far simpler now and characters can swap out ammunition based on skill sets and not gun type.  Instead of only four weapon types, there are now nineteen weapon types that are divided into sub-types.  Guns no longer overheat, but ammunition is limited.  This inevitably means that I find myself switching guns for the situation as I watch my ammunition levels.  They removed the grenades from the first game and replaced them with new “heavy weapons” like rocket and grenade launchers.  Trust me, nothing feels better than blowing away a pack of Collectors with a grenade launcher.  

Mass Effect 2 also bettered its combat system by borrowing from successful first person shooter genres.  Much like Halo, you health bar will slowly regenerate in combat, especially if you are in cover.  Medi-gels are still used to revive downed players, but I’m no longer popping them like crack.  This also means I die less, and that only makes me want to play more.  

But perhaps the biggest improvement for me was my companion AI.  In the previous installment, I would often have to micro-manage my AI characters to survive an encounter.  Now, you can still tell a character what to do, and what skill to use.  But if you forget these folks won’t just do random, stupid things, they take charge and kick ass right along side of you.  For example, early in the game I found my team pinned down in a room.  Jacob (one of your first AI companions) screamed “take cover” and I watched in glee as this bad ass leaped over a couch, took cover, and then laced his enemy full of lead!  That’s when I knew I was playing a different Mass Effect.  Simply put the combat system and using it with your AI is far superior to the original game.  I heard one podcast compare it to Mass Effect combat being a beta for this new game Mass Effect 2.  

The real depth of any BioWare game is in their story and character development, and Mass Effect 2 is no exception.  The story tales place two years after the first game.  Commander Shepard and the Normandy meet an Ill fate and many of the ship and crew perish, including the main character.  However, Commander Shepard is rescued by Cerberus and brought back to life.  This allows characters to change or create a new Commander Shepard, male or female.  Players who finished Mass Effect can import a saved game allowing them to play in a universe they helped create.  You won’t start at level 45, but you will gain additional resources and much needed Paragon and Renegade points.  For those who haven’t played the first game, these points help open up dialogue trees and enable you to progress through certain areas faster than someone who hadn’t played the first game.  As someone who played through the first game, I felt rewarded for doing so and my enjoyment level increased because of it.  

Shepard is tasked to assemble a new team and go and defeat the galactic threat known as The Collectors.  You have new companions, including a rather hot, bad ass Cerberus agent named Miranda.  She is as cold in her human relations as she deadly in combat.  She will be mine, oh YES she will be!  The interpersonal relationships between Miranda and others is very important, not just because you can sleep with them.  (and like Mass Effect, the game doesn’t care which persuasion you lean, you can sleep with anyone if you try hard enough)  Better relationships increase your loyalty score.   The higher the loyalty, the better your team mates will do in combat.  Get loyalty high enough and you’ll see team mates sacrificing themselves to save you while in combat.  

As you gather your team you’ll inevitably encounter characters from the last game.  This may not mean much for those who didn’t play the original, but for veterans like me, it was quite nostalgic and very cool.

 I am bout 25% through the game and I must say, it’s a hard game to put down.  Yes you can save anywhere you want to, but I keep finding myself saying, “I’ve got to finish this mission first,” all the time.  I’ve also learned that game decisions are far more important in Mass Effect 2 and can and will affect the outcome of the final mission.  I’ve read that if you poorly prepare and your entire party dies in the last battle that it will be a permanent death for Commander Shepard and he won’t be available in Mass Effect 3 for you.  That’s a pretty amazing stance to take in a game and franchise this big.  It also encourages me to attempt multiple play throughs to see exactly what that blood bath might look like (or more likely, what the surviving ending would look like). 

I have two issues with the game.  First is the quality of some of the launch DLC.  One had me wondering around the crash site of the original Normandy.  It was nothing more than a dog tag hunt, no combat, no interactions, boring stuff.  But I did get 200 experience out of it (2 missions worth) and some sentimental scenes from the first game.  I’m pretty sure BioWare wanted to tug at my heart strings, but I don’t believe they succeeded.  The only other complaint I have is lack of multi-player.  This game would rock  with some multi-player component.  But I am finding that BioWare would much rather make the perfect solo experience than tack on some multi-player. 

Mass Effect 2 is a solid RPG with a rich dialogue system, killer combat mechanics, and an engrossing storyline.  As my good friend Lefty tweeted the other day, it is purely “epic” and a must have!  If you haven’t played the first game (or finished the first game,,,Hilden) I suggest that you pick that up first so you can have a richer experience in this game.  However NOT doing so, will not ruin your enjoyment of this game.  Mass Effect 2 comes to us on two discs, which means that I have several hours of engrossing dialogue and combat awaiting me.

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Tags: Bioware, Commander Shepard, Epic Space Games, mass effect, Sex with Aliens

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