Mass Effect 2 (X360) Review

This guy knows what he wants - and he'll gladly use you to get it.

BioWare appear to have stripped down the original Mass Effect’s combat system down to it’s bare bones, and then built it up again with many refinements. The controls are a lot tighter, something you’d expect from a high-grade third person shooter. With this comes a bit more variety and ease-of-use in the type of Biotic, Tech, and class-specific abilities you can utilise against your opponents, and for your team.  The pause feature stills plays a part in the combat, but I found myself using it a lot less than I did in the first game, as you can not only bind two of your own abilities to the bumpers on your controller, but you can also map your squad member’s abilities to the D-pad. Each squad member can also be told (individually) where to go, as well as what to target with what. These combined factors make Mass Effect 2′s combat a lot more fluid and action-orientated – it’s just a blast to play.

Anyone who has heard that Mass Effect 2′s gameplay is more shooter than RPG, and is troubled by that, can now be put at ease. This is a good thing. Mass Effect 2′s RPG elements are a lot more streamlined this time around, making it more accessible to newer players, and positively simple for players of the last game. You’re not spending countless skill points in lots of different categories, you’re spending less skill points in fewer categories, and it works. Spend a certain amount of points in a particular skill, and once you’ve reached the final tier of that skill, you can choose to do one more final upgrade to that skill to make it even better. For instance, an incendiary ammo upgrade can be then made even more deadly to individual targets by making them combust, or make the ammo have an area of effect…effect, on targets around the one you’re shooting at. You also won’t be spending any of your skill points into either Paragon or Renegade – if you choose a Paragon action (usually a good deed, or prevention of some pain infliction), you raise your paragon points and therefore unlock further Paragon actions to engage in. It works the same the other way too – if you choose a Renegade action (which doesn’t make you evil, exactly, it just makes you look like a complete dick), you will gain more Renegade points and…you get the idea.

I didn't think it was possible, but you can make Shepard look considerably more badass.

Inventory management is replaced with a simpler (and much more awesome) armor customization mechanic. Different parts have different effects, like a buff to the damage your weapons do, or an increase in shield capacity, as well as making your Shepard look different from the rest. Colours and patterns can also be changed, if you’re into that sort of thing, but I ended up going throughout my entire first playthrough with the same old grey-with-red-trim armour. The only problem I have with this is, and this has to be one of my only gripes with the entire game, is that some of the items in the headwear category completely cover Shepard’s face, which creates a sort of disconnect between him and the player. You can’t see him grin, raise his eyebrows, or narrow his eyes. You may as well be playing Halo.

Weapons are implemented differently, too. You don’t loot them from fallen opponents anymore, you’ll instead find them dotted around the environment in some of your missions. The same weapon types from the previous game are back (Assault Rifles, Shotguns, Sniper Rifles, and Heavy Pistols) as well as two new additions, Submachine Guns, and Heavy Weapons. The weapons you’ll find are no doubt better than your initial equipment, but it doesn’t end there. Upgrades can be bought for each time of weapon, whether that be an increase to ammo capacity, damage, or improved accuracy. You’ll definately feel the worth of these upgrades, so don’t put researching them on the back seat. Some other upgrades can be researched, too, such as Shepard-specific upgrades, and others that affect the whole party. You’ll have to make the choice whether to invest in yourself, or your party. Or you can just play it like myself, and at times, see the words ‘armour increases by 45%’ and hit the accept button. Can’t have enough armour, right?

Let’s not forget at this point, that Mass Effect 2 is an RPG at it’s core. The simple but brilliant conversation wheel is still there, offering what must be thousands of dialogue options to be had with all the many different races found in the game’s universe, whether they’re Turian, Asari, or Salarian (maybe even Drell, a race new to Mass Effect’s universe). Even some of the lesser-spoken to characters in this game are well voiced, but they still don’t hold a candle to the crew you’ll pick up along the way. A large majority of Mass Effect 2′s storyline comes from Shepard gathering the best of the best  from around the galaxy – whether you recruit them all along the way is your choice, but there are a couple you can’t help but add to your roster. You can even sweet talk a few into ‘hopping into bed’ with you, if you’d like. Much like the first game, this doesn’t add that much to the storyline, but I suppose it offers some sort of incentive to talk to each of your squadmates on your ship between missions.

You only need to look at this guy to know he's not one for much talk. He'll end you quicker than you can say 'Mass Relay'.

The main reason for talking to your comrades is for loyalty, though. Each well-developed character has their own side-quest to complete once you’ve gotten to know them well enough, and if you should choose to complete these (which I highly recommend you do), it unlocks a new special ability for that character (and even yourself), as well as an alternate costume. Miranda Lawson’s (who is both voiced and physically based off of actor Yvonne Strahovski) is by far the best, and I mean her alternate costume, not her quest. Play the game for long enough, and you’ll understand why. These side-quests not only develop the character you’re assisting, but opens up Mass Effect 2′s universe to make it seem just that little bit more epic in scale. These squadmates of yours aren’t just soulless husks for you to use in combat, but they all have intricate backstories which you’ll want to find out more and more about.

Of course, they aren’t the only side-quests you’ll be busy doing. Much like the last game, you travel via a galaxy map to get from planet to planet, which is often a requirement for many of the side-quests. But unlike the original, these planets you’ll visit aren’t ‘copy and paste’ jobs. You won’t hit the same hidden base on a planet that’s a slightly different colour from the last, each destination is unique, and are fun places to shoot up outside of your main story tasks. If a planet doesn’t have anything interesting to show you, you can’t land on it. Simple. You’ll also use these planets to recover some of the new ‘currencies’ in the game, which are in the form of raw materials that you cash in for those previously mentioned upgrades. This can get a little monotonous, but only if you do it for too long. Regardless, it’s easy to back out of and get back into whenever you’re ready, and in the need for more upgrades.

There just isn't enough of Keith David compared to the first game.

If you’ve played the first Mass Effect, which I seriously hope you have done, you can use the much talked about save import feature. This lets you bring in your Shepard from the previous game over to Mass Effect 2, and with it, many of the decisions you made (big and small), as well as your appearence (which is editable soon after you start anyway). After playing Mass Effect 2 with my imported Shepard, I have to say, this certainly is a great way to play the game. There are lots of little moments from the first game that you forgot about, until reminded about in this game, and that’s just a great element to the gameplay to experience.  If you haven’t played the original (shame on you), then the game offers a few contextual way to ‘make’ most of the key decisions from the first game, but my guess is, it’s just not the same. You can even change your class if you’d like, but I was fairly boring I suppose, and went with the default Shepard appearance, as well the default Soldier class. I like to shoot stuff, alright?

There are few games that live up to their hype, so few in fact, that I can’t think of any at this moment in time that have. Except for Mass Effect 2, of course. BioWare have made the sequel not only more accessible/more playable, but they’ve added so much more potential to the franchise that I didn’t think could be done straight from original to sequel. Having put more than twenty four hours into the game, I can safely say that i’ll probably be putting another twenty four in, maybe even more. There’s just so much to do, and it’s fun while you’re doing it. I already can’t wait for Mass Effect 3.