Mass Effect 2 Review. (May contain spoilers)
After recently beating Mass Effect 2 I was surprised at how much better it was then it's boring predecessor Mass Effect. Although RPG elements have been taken away, I was being punched in the abdomen by all the amazing action scenes.
The story is really great, Shepard must yet again save the universe from a even greater threat, the reapers. You must assemble a team of superhumans and superaliens to fight this threat. As the story progresses you begin to find yourself more drawn to it, and not only that but you begin to feel a connection between yourself and your team members. I felt the story was a little short considering there were only a few missions that had anything to do with the reapers, the rest of the missions were gathering team members and doing their loyalty missions (optional). The ending is where it hits you the most, after all the work gathering your team and finding proof you finally decide to enter the Omega 4 relay and face a massive reaper ship head on. Overall the experience was a blast, and the ending just got me excited for the next game. May I also add that some of the cinematics were amazing.
The gameplay aspect of Mass Effect 2 is amazing, except for the few glitches here and there. Right from the beginning of the game I found myself very comfortable with the control and feel of the game, not only is it easy, it is very fun. The cover system is great and the environments work very well with it. The shooting is also very fun, each weapon is actually quite well balanced, and if you are playing on normal or above you will find yourself switching weapons often to encourage you to switch. Each weapon can be used for different scenarios, for example, the assault rifle can be used when a horde is coming your way, a particle beam can be used to destroy armored machines quickly and efficiently, and the sniper can help you take out targets from afar. Skills are VERY useful in this game, and the talent tree is easy and fun to play with. I found myself resetting my talent tree quite a few times to find the best suitable for myself. The talent tree really encouraged me to do side missions for the experience points. One of the most important aspects of the game is the freedom of choice, you can be evil or good, depending on your choice of words in the game, and these words you choose also have an affect on what happens which I found super fun. The choice aspect of the game made me want to playthrough again and again, I have up to now put around 60 hours into the game. Now the downsides. May I say exploring? Exploring is fun, yes, but not in Mass Effect 2, you find yourself in these huge galaxies, going to different planets, but I was disappointed to find that you can not actually EXPLORE the planet but rather read it's history and collect minerals from it with the annoying mining system, other then the rare small mission when you scan the planets, I found it rather useless to explore the galaxy. I also encountered a few glitches through my playthrough, as I went in for cover I found myself sometimes floating in the air and not being able to move around, I had to try to get out and that took a few minutes, one time I could not and had to restart the mission which was annoying.
Overall I had a blast with Mass Effect 2. All the characters appealed to me, and some I even had a connection with. The level of texture and facial animation really impressed me. The story was good, it had me hooked from beginning to end, and the action seemed to pick up right at the start of the game unlike Mass Effect. Mass Effect 2 is worth every penny and must be experienced.
RPGs are often huge, sprawling endeavours. With limited playtime, we have to choose wisely, so here's the best western RPGs available today.
"I started playing games yesterday" the List... Meh!
How about a few RPGs that deserve some love instead?
1 - Alpha Protocol - Now on GOG
2 - else Heart.Break()
3 - Shadowrun Trilogy
4 - Wasteland 2
5 - UnderRail
6 - Tyranny
7 - Torment: Tides of Numenera
And for a bonus game that flew under the radar:
8 - Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden
Not only glorious jank, but the idea that the story can completely change depending on what you do, or say, or side with, makes it one of the most forward thinking games ever. The amount of story permutation is the equivalent of a Hitman level but in Story Form. And it wasn't just that the story changed, no, it was that you met completely new characters, or missed them, depending on your choices. Made Mass Effect feel static in comparison.
Alpha Protocol was absolutely glorious, indeed. And it was, and still is, more Next Gen than most anything out there these days. In this regard at least.
Pity.
Wealth of Geeks explores some of the best gaming romances that have stolen our hearts over the years.
Diandra worked on Diablo 4 and also other games at Blizzard including WoW: Dragon Flight. She’s also been at Bioware, Carbine, RIOT, and she is currently working at Crystal Dynamics.
Brian was the Lead Writer on Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls, worked on StarCraft: Heart of the Swarm, StarCraft: Wings of Liberty, and was also a writer on Mass Effect 2. He’s also been involved in movies such as the Iron Giant.
Diandra and Brian discuss their industry experience, the games they have worked on, how the writing process works, and much more.
Brother, your review was fine and dandy but concerning the area of sound the first that came to my mind after reading the 8.8 was whether or not you are deaf. And if you are then you have my sympathies good sir. Perhaps above all other aspects, including controls and graphics, the sound of Mass Effect 2 is the most immersive part of the experience. It defines the concept and tone of the universe with perfect clarity. The unique blend of sci-fi sound effects and a soundtrack practically unheard for its day (taking heavily from 1970's and 1980's science fiction movies like bladerunner) are essential to conveying the proper message to the player. The Mass Effect 2 music conveys the universe your exploring in pitch-perfect harmony. One would have to have played the game on mute to missed such an exciting part of the Mass Effect 2 experience. Nevertheless, the statement still stands... "to each his own". Therefore I leave you to your own opinion.