In 2007, video game company BioWare (known for the critically acclaimed RPG, “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic”) released the first entry in their planned sci-fi trilogy “Mass Effect.” Like KOTOR, Mass Effect received a large amount of praise from critics and gamers alike. One of the big features of the game was the way it allowed players to shape the story based on the decisions they made throughout their journey. On January 26, 2010, the highly anticipated sequel was released, and I am happy to report that not only does it manage to stack up with its predecessor, but it even manages to surpass it in quite a few ways.
The story follows Commander Shepard two years after the events of the first Mass Effect. After his ship is destroyed in battle, Shepard is captured by the underground organization, Cerberus. The organization rebuilds Shepard, and he is tasked with forming a team in order to stop the aliens known as the Collectors from taking entire colonies. Perhaps the most talked-about element of the game’s story is that Shepard’s ultimate goal to stop the Collectors is expected to be a suicide mission, and if the player is not properly prepared for this mission, it is entirely possible for Shepard and his entire team to die a permanent death (this doesn’t really qualify as a spoiler since BioWare announced this story element months ago). This puts a new kind of pressure on the player never seen in games before, and it really something more developers should at least experiment with in future games. The story is very well done, but newcomers might have trouble following the plot if they didn’t play the first game. Another downside to the story is the fact that Mass Effect 2 deals primarily with character development, and the plot itself is pretty simplistic. Overall it doesn’t really add any new information that fans of the first game don’t already know. Despite not adding much to the progression of the trilogy, the suicide mission aspect of the plot still manages to keep players interested in how everything plays out.
One of the biggest differences Mass Effect 2 has over its predecessor is the completely new combat system. In the original game, players would have to build up their stats in order to use certain weapons efficiently. This sometimes led to frustration because enemies would be harder to dispatch if your assault rifle shots were all over the place. This time around however, the combat works like a traditional shooter and as long as your reticule is on an enemy your shots will hit. This makes combat much more enjoyable, and less like a struggle to stay alive. Taking cover now only requires a single button press, making protection less of a struggle as well. One problem with the cover system is that it sometimes feels unresponsive. At times I would press the button to go into cover, and after failing to get a response I would press it a second time only to find out that I was now jumping over the wall and right into enemy fire.
The game’s scenes of dialog have a more cinematic feel, with camera angles changing at the right time, and the new ability to interrupt characters at certain points. This new feature gives the player added control and it serves as a nice addition as well. Another feature from the first game that has been completely refined is exploring planets. In the first game the planets that you could land on all had the same basic layout, and the design got a bit dull fairly quickly. In Mass Effect 2, all of the planets have their own unique geography, and no planet looks identical to the last. This improvement does a good job at removing tedious level design, and making BioWare’s fictional sci-fi universe seem more realistic.
BioWare has absolutely outdone themselves with their latest entry in this epic space opera. Mass Effect 2 continues a story that has more plot and character development than some feature films out there, as well as addictive gameplay that serves as a massive improvement over its predecessor. We are only one month into 2010, and I doubt that any game released this year will be able to top this massive achievement. What a way to start the decade!
The Verdict: 5/5
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