"Mass Effect 2" Review

Genre:  RPG

Publisher:  EA/Bioware

Summary:  Commander Shepherd must build a team capable of taking on the mysterious Collectors and stopping them from abducting human colonists.

Gameplay:  Abilities and classes have been streamlined, making each class more unique.  Each party member now only has a few abilities, making choosing the proper team for the proper mission more important.

Also vastly streamlined are weapons and armor.  Different types of ammo are now abilities instead of mods.  There are only a few different types of weapons, and mostly Shepherd simply finds more powerful versions as the game goes on.  There are a few instances you might prefer a previous model if it carries more shots or shoots faster.

And that matters now, as guns actually run out of ammo instead of just overheating (the actual in-game description notwithstanding.)  I rather liked shooting freely in the first game, but occasionally having to switch weapons when you're out of ammo for one does add an interesting element sometimes.

There are also unique heavy weapons that do a lot of damage but require special ammo.  There are a nice variety of these to try out (and decide on an inevitable favorite.)

As for armor, party members have their own outfits.  You can switch their colors after completing their loyalty missions, but I miss the variety of armors from the first game.  For Shepherd, you can buy piecemeal different parts that add various bonuses, as well as color and tint the armor as desired.

There are also several bonus armors with further stats, but these are all annoying in that you can't see Shepherd's face through their helmet.  Given Shepherd spends a great deal of time in the armor, it's really annoying that the game doesn't have a view helmet optional button, especially as the first game did.

Combat is still a lot of fun.  The battlefield locations include a lot of long corridors to move through that make for enjoyable environments.  The enemies vary between mercenary groups, combat mechs, geth, and various aliens, plus some tougher opponents like a gunship or two.

Starship travel now actually requires fuel.  Planets can be scanned for minerals from orbit, which can then be used for equipment or ship upgrades.  I don't mind planet scanning, but I find myself getting more obsessive about it than necessary (I suppose that's not the game's fault.)

There are two hacking minigames:  one requires you to find several colored bits of code as they scroll by, and the other to connect a series of matching symbols in a sort of memory game.  I don't mind the first, but I passionately hate the latter.  In it the mouse becomes less responsive.  There's no fun in my hand cramping as I try to connect what I know are the two correct signals, but then time runs out because my mouse can't navigate smoothly.

The Paragon and Renegade system works a bit differently in this game as well.  There are Renegade and Paragon interrupts, where the player must quickly hit a button to take a special action.  While interesting, it feels a bit awkward in that no matter whether Paragon or Renegade, everyone wants to do something when there's a flashing button.  Being strongly Paragon or Renegade and using that to convince others is also more difficult this game.

Style:  The overall look of the Mass Effect 2 characters and environments is way too plastic-y for me.  There is also just way too much orange in general.  Still, there are some lovely background vistas.  Also, the music is excellent.

Story:  I'm not one of those who has a problem with Shepherd working for Cerberus this game, but I do think Shepherd's responses could sometimes be sharper or stronger.  The main plot of the missing colonies could use more focus--with only a few missions focusing on it, it's hard to keep their tragic disappearance in mind.

The game's strength is the various recruitment and loyalty missions for the crew.  Many of the latter are especially excellent, featuring memorable stories and incidents.  There are old and new characters to interact with, and many shine.  I do wish characters had a bit more to do and say on each other's missions, but I guess that's the price you pay for so many party members.  I also wish you could click on the characters, not on a possibly-missed section of the environment, to hear their thoughts.

Beyond those missions, there are many fun and atmospheric little adventures to be had when exploring other corners of the galaxy.  Unfortunately, the game doesn't really give you a good reason to find any of them.  Still, just in the bits you do see, the game really expands this universe.

Conclusion:  Although in many ways different than its predecessor, and containing its own faults, Mass Effect 2 nevertheless continues the tradition of fun combat and excellent storytelling in an exciting science fiction universe.