Cleril
01-29-2010, 10:37 PM
Mass Effect 2 is the sequel to Bioware's new IP, Mass Effect. Combine third-person shooter combat, squad control, and the typical RPG elements from Bioware's other games and you have Mass Effect 2. We have a lot to cover to put some eye drops in and don't blink.
http://media.teamxbox.com/games/ss/2186/1258490787.jpg
The plot of ME2 is a continuation of ME. Should you have played and beaten ME you know that the game saved afterwards, which allows you to carry all of your choices into ME2. This means the story changes if you've played ME and import your character. If not you can still play ME2 starting fresh but you may miss some things and not quite get all references throughout. Regardless, it's plot time!
The setting takes place in the distant future, 2187 or something I believe. Humans discovered FTL (Faster Than Light) travel and have since been able to move throughout the Milky Way Galaxy interacting with aliens. You play as Commander Shepherd, tasked with saving the galaxy from total destruction from a species called The Collectors. Human colonies are simply disappearing and it is believed that The Collectors are behind it. You must find out where they are and how to take them out....it's a suicide mission through. This means you can die. That is why you must build a team of specialists and earn their loyalty so you can avoid that outcome.
The team consists of ten individuals who will go unnamed in this review. 11 if you count the free DLC that comes with the game (2 DLCs are out so far, both free). You must find these people, recruit them, and then make sure you can have their back as much as they have yours. If not...death.
Now if you played ME and import your character you're in for grand surprises. You'll see old characters, have different experiences, and so on based on your actions. Everything you did in ME carries with you. Did you kill someone? Well, you won't see them in ME2 then. The plot has a lot of subtleties tied to this in the game which you'll only truly appreciate if you played ME sadly.
If you start fresh (no import) in ME2 then you can customize your Shepherd and his/her origins. As you've noticed you can be male or female, which does change a few things later on. Both handle the same though, both have the same dialogue and options available to them, the only real difference is the voice actor and who your Shepherd can have intimacy with.
Speaking of dialogue (hah, first pun, no?) you get to choose everything your character says, every word. You can be a hero, a badass, or somewhere in the gray abyss. There's a lot of grayness in ME2 from how you handle situations. Your jaw may fall off from either laughter or the epic drama your seeing on your screen. There were at least 5 times I had to stop the game just to laugh my ass off. My ass didn't make it.
http://scrawlfx.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Mass-Effect-2-Screens_11-27-09.jpg
The other side of the game is the combat. You can have two squad mates with you and you can give them basic commands such as "Go here" or "Stay with me" by use of the D-pad. You can also control their powers using the power wheel, where the game turns from a RTS affair to a slightly turn-based combat flair. Each class (Adept, Infiltrator, Soldier, Sentinel, Engineer, Vanguard) has it's own unique power and all of them play different. Like shooting? Be a soldier. Like flinging mass effect fields around? Be an adept.
The combat has changed drastically from ME. Guns no longer overheat per say but they must be reloaded with a cooling stick to remain functional. Essentially it's an ammo system except with near limitless ammo as there is only one type of ammo (save for heavy weapons, they are strictly limited) and enemies drop it all the time. Combat is also more physics based and faster than in ME. Ragdoll physics have improved and enemies will nearly constant move around. The cover system has also improved as you can now not stick to walls like to and even hop over cover. It may take some getting used to if you've played ME recently as the change in pace is drastic. Enemies at least go down in a reasonable time though.
There's also mini-games to be found in ME2 but they are very different from ME. The bypassing and hacking mini-games are no longer simon says affairs but instead having you matching pieces of code or stringing together circuits. It's a welcome change from ME's system. However the planet scanning mini-game (or rather, necessity) is a mixed bag. In the original ME you landed on planets and drove a rover (the MAKO) around on the surface in search of minerals and other...anomalies. The problem was that the planets level designers didn't talk with the MAKO programmers and it ended up being mostly a hassle to explore these planets.
ME2 has you instead simply scan the planets and launch a prove when the meter spikes to gather materials you'll use to upgrade weapons and your ships. At first it's fun. Too much of a good thing though leads to boredom and while it only takes about 3 minutes to scan a planet (even with upgrades) it's still going to get stale after a while. The real problem is that this is a mandatory process if you want to upgrade anything, adding insult to injury.
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2009/11/masseffect1105front.jpg
ME2 also does away with the inventory system entirely. Each class can only use certain weapons. Soldiers use everything, Adepts use pistols or SMGs. Although all classes can use heavy weapons. The lack of an inventory system is a relief though since in ME you have to rummage through everything just to make sure your party has the right gear. While in ME2 any upgrades you make to weapons take effect on the whole party. You can still customize your armor to make it suite your needs. Need more heavy weapon ammo? Buy leg pockets to hold that ammo.
How long is ME2? I've played for roughly 25 hours (12 hours today....without stopping) and am likely more than halfway done with the game. I'm sad to say it may end for me by at most 40 hours. How is the quality though? That topic deserves it's own paragraph.
ME2 is amazing. The graphics are beautiful, the world feels alive, the music is atmosphere enhancing, and by the goddess there is practically no texture pop-ins! ME has that issue but ME2 also had me notice any texture pops only twice so far. One of which was just a vehicle I would see for a whole 2 seconds so I forgive that one.
The story fleshes out the characters. These I believe are not characters but real people. They are voice acted beautifully. Not a single line of anyone's dialogue comes out with a tickling feeling in your ear. These are all believable people you'll meet. You will drop your jaw. You will laugh (hysterically, for minutes, great cardio workout). You may even cry. And if you've played ME you may just finally find out what the hell Quarians look like under those suites....I still don't know myself.
60 dollars for all of this? To be honest, I'd pay $80 for this game if I had to. There is no reason not to get this, even if you hated ME. The pacing is faster and most everything has been improved for the better. Also, Mass Effect 3 will allow you to import your character from Mass Effect 2....is that enough reason to buy it?
Cleril thinks deeply about the story sometimes. Don't take his word for it, take mine, it's amazing. Also, Quarians are hot no matter what is lurking under those suites...
Want to learn about games I'm making? I'm a bedroom developer or indie I guess. Message me if you're interested....all the game are free though only one is playable right now, Haven. I'm working on two others though. :D
http://media.teamxbox.com/games/ss/2186/1258490787.jpg
The plot of ME2 is a continuation of ME. Should you have played and beaten ME you know that the game saved afterwards, which allows you to carry all of your choices into ME2. This means the story changes if you've played ME and import your character. If not you can still play ME2 starting fresh but you may miss some things and not quite get all references throughout. Regardless, it's plot time!
The setting takes place in the distant future, 2187 or something I believe. Humans discovered FTL (Faster Than Light) travel and have since been able to move throughout the Milky Way Galaxy interacting with aliens. You play as Commander Shepherd, tasked with saving the galaxy from total destruction from a species called The Collectors. Human colonies are simply disappearing and it is believed that The Collectors are behind it. You must find out where they are and how to take them out....it's a suicide mission through. This means you can die. That is why you must build a team of specialists and earn their loyalty so you can avoid that outcome.
The team consists of ten individuals who will go unnamed in this review. 11 if you count the free DLC that comes with the game (2 DLCs are out so far, both free). You must find these people, recruit them, and then make sure you can have their back as much as they have yours. If not...death.
Now if you played ME and import your character you're in for grand surprises. You'll see old characters, have different experiences, and so on based on your actions. Everything you did in ME carries with you. Did you kill someone? Well, you won't see them in ME2 then. The plot has a lot of subtleties tied to this in the game which you'll only truly appreciate if you played ME sadly.
If you start fresh (no import) in ME2 then you can customize your Shepherd and his/her origins. As you've noticed you can be male or female, which does change a few things later on. Both handle the same though, both have the same dialogue and options available to them, the only real difference is the voice actor and who your Shepherd can have intimacy with.
Speaking of dialogue (hah, first pun, no?) you get to choose everything your character says, every word. You can be a hero, a badass, or somewhere in the gray abyss. There's a lot of grayness in ME2 from how you handle situations. Your jaw may fall off from either laughter or the epic drama your seeing on your screen. There were at least 5 times I had to stop the game just to laugh my ass off. My ass didn't make it.
http://scrawlfx.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Mass-Effect-2-Screens_11-27-09.jpg
The other side of the game is the combat. You can have two squad mates with you and you can give them basic commands such as "Go here" or "Stay with me" by use of the D-pad. You can also control their powers using the power wheel, where the game turns from a RTS affair to a slightly turn-based combat flair. Each class (Adept, Infiltrator, Soldier, Sentinel, Engineer, Vanguard) has it's own unique power and all of them play different. Like shooting? Be a soldier. Like flinging mass effect fields around? Be an adept.
The combat has changed drastically from ME. Guns no longer overheat per say but they must be reloaded with a cooling stick to remain functional. Essentially it's an ammo system except with near limitless ammo as there is only one type of ammo (save for heavy weapons, they are strictly limited) and enemies drop it all the time. Combat is also more physics based and faster than in ME. Ragdoll physics have improved and enemies will nearly constant move around. The cover system has also improved as you can now not stick to walls like to and even hop over cover. It may take some getting used to if you've played ME recently as the change in pace is drastic. Enemies at least go down in a reasonable time though.
There's also mini-games to be found in ME2 but they are very different from ME. The bypassing and hacking mini-games are no longer simon says affairs but instead having you matching pieces of code or stringing together circuits. It's a welcome change from ME's system. However the planet scanning mini-game (or rather, necessity) is a mixed bag. In the original ME you landed on planets and drove a rover (the MAKO) around on the surface in search of minerals and other...anomalies. The problem was that the planets level designers didn't talk with the MAKO programmers and it ended up being mostly a hassle to explore these planets.
ME2 has you instead simply scan the planets and launch a prove when the meter spikes to gather materials you'll use to upgrade weapons and your ships. At first it's fun. Too much of a good thing though leads to boredom and while it only takes about 3 minutes to scan a planet (even with upgrades) it's still going to get stale after a while. The real problem is that this is a mandatory process if you want to upgrade anything, adding insult to injury.
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2009/11/masseffect1105front.jpg
ME2 also does away with the inventory system entirely. Each class can only use certain weapons. Soldiers use everything, Adepts use pistols or SMGs. Although all classes can use heavy weapons. The lack of an inventory system is a relief though since in ME you have to rummage through everything just to make sure your party has the right gear. While in ME2 any upgrades you make to weapons take effect on the whole party. You can still customize your armor to make it suite your needs. Need more heavy weapon ammo? Buy leg pockets to hold that ammo.
How long is ME2? I've played for roughly 25 hours (12 hours today....without stopping) and am likely more than halfway done with the game. I'm sad to say it may end for me by at most 40 hours. How is the quality though? That topic deserves it's own paragraph.
ME2 is amazing. The graphics are beautiful, the world feels alive, the music is atmosphere enhancing, and by the goddess there is practically no texture pop-ins! ME has that issue but ME2 also had me notice any texture pops only twice so far. One of which was just a vehicle I would see for a whole 2 seconds so I forgive that one.
The story fleshes out the characters. These I believe are not characters but real people. They are voice acted beautifully. Not a single line of anyone's dialogue comes out with a tickling feeling in your ear. These are all believable people you'll meet. You will drop your jaw. You will laugh (hysterically, for minutes, great cardio workout). You may even cry. And if you've played ME you may just finally find out what the hell Quarians look like under those suites....I still don't know myself.
60 dollars for all of this? To be honest, I'd pay $80 for this game if I had to. There is no reason not to get this, even if you hated ME. The pacing is faster and most everything has been improved for the better. Also, Mass Effect 3 will allow you to import your character from Mass Effect 2....is that enough reason to buy it?
Cleril thinks deeply about the story sometimes. Don't take his word for it, take mine, it's amazing. Also, Quarians are hot no matter what is lurking under those suites...
Want to learn about games I'm making? I'm a bedroom developer or indie I guess. Message me if you're interested....all the game are free though only one is playable right now, Haven. I'm working on two others though. :D