Mass Effect 2 Review

Written by Jorge S. Fernandez, published 25th February 2010

When a new game is released with ambitions of becoming a series, it isn’t always guaranteed that the title will be met with a warm response or a dedicated fanbase. Bioware sure makes it look easy, though; Whether by putting a unique spin on an established franchise like Star Wars or Sonic, or by breathing new life into the tried and true fantasy genre with Baldur’s Gate and Dragon Age, the Canadian developer’s track record has all but assured that each new release will instantly reach cult status before it even hits shelves.

Such was the case with Mass Effect, Bioware’s first foray into science fiction on the Xbox 360. The sheer amount of hype that was built up with every new screen and trailer guaranteed that the fledgling series would reach instant success. While the game itself was plagued with some technical and pacing issues, the intriguing universe coupled with an engrossing story that hinges on the decisions made by players resulted in one of the most popular franchises of the current console generation. Three years later, fans are still engrossed in Mass Effect’s mythology while feverishly awaiting the sequel’s official launch. Now that Mass Effect 2 has arrived, greeted by an even larger cascade of frothing fanboys, is Bioware’s second tour across the galaxy filled with stars, or does it eject its fanbase through the airlock and into the cold, vast emptiness of space?

The story of Mass Effect 2 opens with a bang… literally. Shortly after saving the galaxy from Sovereign, Commander Shepard and the interracial (as well as interspecies) crew of the Normandy are assigned with patrolling the far reaches of space when a mysterious ship gets the drop on them. Almost instantly, the Alliance flagship is reduced to rubble, and Shepard is caught in the explosion while escorting fellow crewman Joker to the escape pod. Two years after the disaster, Shepard regains consciousness in an unknown laboratory, surgically scarred but also breathing again, and soon comes into contact with Cerberus operatives Jacob Taylor and Miranda Lawson. Under orders from The Illusive Man, the Cerberus organization has brought Shepard back to life for the purpose of stopping the Collectors, a powerful alien race that is attacking and kidnapping human colonies across the galaxy.

Despite the suspicious nature of Cerberus and the hidden intentions of its leader, Shepard agrees to take charge and defend the galaxy once again. But a new Normandy and crew won’t be enough to take on the newest threat to humanity, as Shepard must also seek out and recruit individuals with necessary skills and powers to help even the odds. From alien assassins to unstable psychopaths along with a couple of old friends, each recruit is questionable in their loyalty, but second-to-none in their abilities, and only by working together and sorting out their differences does Shepard’s team stand a chance to hunt down the Collectors and Fight for the Lost™.

The original Mass Effect’s gameplay consisted of an experimental fusion of RPG mechanics and third person shooting, with real-time menus and commands in addition to taking cover and blasting enemies away. It was an adequate balance that required some small adjustments, but this time around Bioware has overhauled the combat to greatly favor the shoot-em-up genre popularized by Gears of War and Resident Evil 4. Battles are much more intense, as enemies tenaciously fill the screen with bullets while hiding behind nearby structures, and while the action can still be paused at any time to carefully assign commands to squad mates as well as selecting Shepard’s own abilities, an itchy trigger finger that can pull off a headshot is usually the most valued strategy. This emphasis on running and gunning can be taken further by selecting the Soldier class, which allows players to equip any kind of weapon the game has to offer, and also features interchangeable ammo types that offer different effects (incendiary ammo can burn through enemy armor, for example, while disrupter ammo can deplete shields and momentarily short circuit mechanical threats).

For players who prefer an alternative to out-gunning their enemies, there are five other classes to choose from, each possessing a certain emphasis on abilities. The Adept class, for instance, greatly favors telekinetic powers (called Biotics) to suspend enemies in the air or pull them into an electromagnetic field, while the Infiltrator class offers a sneakier approach by using a stealth cloak and hacking nearby AI to do the fighting for you. There’s no definitive way to play through Mass Effect 2, but regardless of what class you choose, the combat still remains faster-paced than the first game, resulting in a more streamlined and satisfying experience.

“Streamlined” is definitely the buzzword for Mass Effect 2, and diehard fans of the first game may become surprised, if not downright shocked, at just how much fat has been trimmed for this massive sequel. Taking yet another page from third person shooters, players can regenerate lost health by taking cover while avoiding enemy fire. Medi-gels, which once served as healing wounded party members are now used to revive them should they fall in battle. Weapons and equipment have also been simplified by assigning every character with just one piece of armor and a certain number of guns that can be upgraded and enhanced back at the Normandy. Loot from containers and terminals has also been reduced to credits (currency), scanned dossiers that add extra weapons and armor bonuses, and minerals required to apply those upgrades.

The surgical liposuction doesn’t stop at the combat though; both the story-specific missions as well as reward-driven sidequests have been significantly shortened in the time it takes to start and finish them. No longer will you navigate around open planetary surfaces while bouncing around in the flimsy mako, but are instead transported right to the start of each mission. Vehicles have been removed entirely from the sequel (with the exception of a forthcoming DLC mission), and areas and cities have become smaller and often feature a straightforward path to reach the mission goal.

For such a highly anticipated sequel, Bioware has taken some surprising risks in an effort to broaden its appeal to the mainstream crowd. The punch-line in this controversial circumcision is that gamers are actually getting more content than ever before, not less. By removing the more tedious aspects of the original Mass Effect, from driving around empty wastelands searching for obscured research stations, or micro-managing hundreds of incompatible equipment among squad members while selling off excess junk to shop vendors, a greater emphasis has been placed in making each mission more memorable, more feature-filled, and most importantly, more fun. There’s more action and suspense during the first two hours of this sequel than in the first game’s brief introductory set-piece followed by several hours wandering a bloated futuristic city. As mentioned before, cities and space stations are much smaller this time around, but they also feel bigger and bustling with life.

Much of this can be attributed to the outstanding presentation, which is quite possibly the best use of the Unreal Engine to date. Mass Effect’s visuals were already impressive to begin with, even when plagued with technical problems, but not only does Mass Effect 2 eliminate those graphical hiccups, it does away with the dreaded elevator loading in favor of some spiffy screens that last barely a few seconds when installed on your hard drive. While the Xbox 360 version looks great, it’s the PC user-base that will be able to truly appreciate the incredible visuals, including facial expressions so vivid they almost approach photorealism. Best of all, not only does the game look and run better, it also takes up less PC resources to run. If anyone needed an example of how to properly optimize a game, they need not look further.

The graphics only make up one half of Mass Effect 2’s aesthetics, however. The other half can be attributed to the fantastic writing and copious dialog, both a Bioware standard. What’s different this time around is how much fun the writers are having with the Mass Effect universe; Despite the bleak opening and overall tone, Mass Effect 2 features an unprecedented amount of catchy one-liners, in-jokes that reference (and often poke fun at) the first game’s established lore, and a bevy of sexual innuendo that transcends across different species, you would think the denizens of 4chan secretly worked on the script. Cutscenes have also been given a drastic overhaul from the first game’s talking heads, and often feature some impressive camerawork mixed in with some blockbuster set pieces. The audio has also been given a more Hollywood-like presentation, and while there aren’t as many memorable tunes as the original’s 80’s sci-fi inspired score, there’s still plenty of standout pieces, not to mention the professional voice work that consist of a few celebrity cameos. Everything is louder, more intense, and ultimately more enjoyable. To put it simply, if the first Mass Effect was Star Trek, then the sequel is Star Trek 2009.

But the ones who will benefit most from these off-collar references are those who played through the first game and ate up the mythology of the Mass Effect universe. If you don’t know why an Elcor reciting from Shakesphere plays or a Hanar featured in a Japanese porno would be funny, then you’re missing out on the clever self-referencing writing. There is also the much-touted feature to import your completed saves, carrying over your customized Shepard and every decision made throughout his or her campaign. Returning characters will often reference the choices you made regarding the first game’s missions, while some of the most major choices determine whether certain characters even survived your first tour of duty. While your previous accomplishments don’t drastically affect the main plotline of the second game, they are plentiful enough and seamlessly integrated that players will feel that they’ve subtly shaped the Mass Effect universe to their liking. Likewise, this will also cause them to think carefully on their choices ahead as they will most certainly carry on to Mass Effect 3 (the game even warns you of this fact).

And as is the case with nearly all of Bioware’s games, it’s the choices made by the player that determines the flow of conversation, as well as what kind of hero (or anti-hero) Shepard will become. Primary dialog options add points to the Paragon or Renegade stats, the former focusing on peaceful solutions and spared feelings, while the latter focuses on aggressive, violent solutions mixed with antisocial responses. The choices aren’t as black and white this time around though, and often it pays to explore both sides of Shepard’s personality. This is especially apparent in certain cutscenes, where an on-screen prompt for both Paragon and Renegade interruptions can not only change the way an event ends, but can even determine the fate of several NPCs involved.

Your choices during the course of the game even go so far as to determine whether Shepard and his squad live or die in the final battle; Calling the battle against the Collectors a “suicide run” isn’t just a slogan, but a warning for unprepared players who charge in without gaining the loyalty of the team. In addition to seeking out and recruiting the galaxy’s most infamous warriors, each squad member has a loyalty mission where they must sort out their inner conflicts in order to remain focused on the Collector objective. These missions usually involve settling a score with an adversary, or seeking closure on a checkered past, but the solutions aren’t always clear cut, and can cause a squad member to remain disloyal even upon completion. Possess a sufficient amount of Paragon or Renegade points, however, and you may be able to convince your squad mates to seek a different path, and ultimately earn their trust.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt to talk to them once in a while, either. As with the first game, each squad member can be approached for a little chit-chat while in the Normandy, leaving the development of that character based on how much input you give them. Each of the “Dirty Dozen” carries a unique personality in addition to their abilities in battle, from Thane’s spiritual beliefs and uncanny memory to Mordin’s hyper-caffeinated speech patterns and eccentric brilliance. Other characters, such as the bloodthirsty Grunt, can evolve beyond their initial appearance, while others, such as the psychotic, borderline villainous Jack, don’t. Regardless, the cast list is big and unique enough that players won’t have a problem identifying with most of them, but the real stand-outs are the returning squad mates from the original Mass Effect; alien C-sec officer Garrus rejoins Shepard’s crew, graduating from Alex Murphy to Jack Bauer in the span of two years, while the good-natured, adorably shy Tali has matured into a capable asset to her Quarian race, and is apparently legal enough to be included as one of Shepard’s romantic interests (with an even wider range of alien poo-tang available for female Shepard).

Even though the game’s narrative is large enough to fill up three novels and a comic miniseries, the balance between dialog and gameplay is much more balanced this time around, so you won’t have to wait long in getting your shooting fix while making a pass at Cerberus sexpot Miranda. This also has the unfortunate side-effect of creating some minor tedium with Mass Effect 2’s overall structure. While each mission delivers an unprecedented amount of action and suspense that will appeal to even the most jaded of shooter fans, those looking for a hardcore RPG fix might grow disappointed by the lack of open-ended exploring and the possible rewards found thereon. Navigating your ship across the galaxy via an interstellar map is still around, and thankfully lists the destinations featuring relevant quests, but voyaging through space now serves a secondary purpose by scanning nearby planets for minerals. Each type of mineral is required to upgrade weapons and equipment, as well as the Normandy itself, and factors into your squad’s chances of surviving the final mission. While randomly scanning each planet for the sufficient minerals is simple enough when done in bursts, putting it off until it’s necessary can lead to a slow and tedious detour from shooting aliens along with shooting the shit.

Despite the mainstream changes to the game’s structure and gameplay, there has never been a better example that sometimes less does equal more. An improvement over the original in almost every way, Mass Effect 2’s incredible presentation, strong story and streamlined gameplay results in not only one of the finest titles released this generation, but also a template in which future Action/RPG hybrids should follow. You’ll be saddened when the adventure ends, but promises of future DLC missions means you’ll be passing the time for Mass Effect 3 by enjoying what the sequel’s universe has to offer and less time posting online theories about the Reapers while reading erotic Tali/Wrex fanfiction.

Final Score: 98%