by Ian Dean
When the original Mass Effect was released in 2007, it was advertised as the first of a trilogy, an overarching story that took decisions from game to game to build a continuity between the titles. So when Mass Effect 2 eventually followed in 2010, the pressure was on Bioware to prove that not only could it be done, but that it could be done well. Much to the relief of fans everywhere, Bioware managed it. Sort of.
I’m going to try and avoid playing the ‘inferior to Mass Effect 1’ card in this review, but I do need to get it out of my system, so I’ll take this paragraph and then move on. See, ME2 is far more streamlined than ME1. Whilst simplifying systems is great, ME2 ended up with significantly less depth than the first. Some might argue that the characters are more interesting, others might say the combat is much more fun, but overall it just isn’t the game that originally got me hooked. Despite mulitple playthroughs, I can still spend hours in Mass Effect without getting bored, but thanks to multiple playthroughs, tedium has begun to set in for me in Mass Effect 2. Don’t get me wrong, there are improvements, and I do understand that this is a personal viewpoint, but I wouldn’t be doing this review justice if I didn’t give my true opinion. Okay, now that that’s out of the way, let’s move on.
One of the most impressive features of Mass Effect 2 is the Save Importer. To put it simply, you can select a completed save file from ME 1 and the game will continue on from that Shepard’s adventure, automatically adjusting itself to take your choices and variations into account. Some of the major details are listed at the beginning, but as you play you’ll notice more subtle changes, too, with lines of dialogue or even whole characters added or absent, depending on your actions.
The game even remembers your custom Commander Shepard. Shepard’s backstory, gender, physical appearance and even class are all automatically added for you, though you get the ability to alter the latter two if you wish. This feature really helps to convince you that you’re playing the second part of a continuing adventure, that this is the character you spent over twenty hours battling through the galaxy with previously.
And battle on you shall. After the Normandy explodes, Shepard is declared dead. When pro-human organisation Cerberus ressurects the Commander, however, Shepard is tasked with investigating the mysterious disappearances of humans from colonies across the galaxy. Though the story sounds intriguing, it loses steam more often than I’d like to admit. Part of the problem is that the Commander is now working with Cerberus. Though Shepard may be working for the greater good, it becomes difficult to know where you stand when you’re taking orders from the group you had previously been unrelentlessly told were bad guys, especially when they do little to convince you otherwise.
Now as I said earlier, there are several changes, but three are more noticeable than others: Combat, Characters, and Graphics. To put it simply, the game looks miles better. Though there may have been a more epic scale to the vistas in the previous installment, that shouldn’t detract from just how impressive this iteration looks. The textures are crisp and detailed, the models are smooth and clean, and the animations… well, are mostly acceptable. There are times when the character’s movements are a little off, but no more so than most video games (I may be getting spoilt by that new motion capture trend that’s hit gaming since).
This does lead to some of the more impressive character interactions in video games. Though I would argue that a few of the characters are a little cliched, it’s clear that the character interaction has received more attention this time round. Utilising the now famous dialogue wheel, players choose a line of dialogue to converse with various characters throughout the game. These choices vary in importance, with some making absolutely no difference at all, whilst others monumentally shift the tone or direction of the story. A few can even make Shepard’s missions easier or harder.
Which segueways nicely into Shepard’s gameplay. The action is a simple third-person-shooter affair, but there are a few changes to the Mass Effect formula. Thermal Clips now act as ammo packs, replacing the unlimited ammo guns and removing the cool down period. The reloading animation is faster than most, whilst the cover system has been mapped to a button instead of just walking up to the wall you wish to cower behind. Overall, it feels faster and more intense, with a variety of guns to suit your mood. The biggest change, however, is with the abilities.
There are less of them this time around, with Shepard only able to access up to six and your squadmates only getting three. Offensive abilities can now bend round cover, letting Shepard to strike whenever rather than having to wait for enemies to step into the open. The only thing about the abilities I don’t particuarly like is the levelling up system. By levelling up, Shepard earns ‘Squad Points’ for each character. These points can be used to buy a rank of each ability. The issue is that each rank increases in value incrementally; though the first level costs one SP, the second costs two, the third costs three, and the fourth costs four. This means that, unless you level up in a very specific way, you’ll always have wasted Squad Points leftover when you reach the maximum level, which can be frustrating.
Before I’m done, though, I once again want to praise the audio in this game. The ambience is incredible, the music is usually great, and the voice acting is once again stellar. Joining Seth Green, Keith Davids, Mark Meer, Jennifer Hale, and company are Tricia Helfer, Michale Hogan, Claudia Black, Adam Baldwin, Yvonne Strahovski, Carrie-Anne Moss, Martin Sheen, and the ever impressive Steve Blum, to name just a few. Though there are times when it falters, I have rarely heard a better voice cast in… well, anything.
Though I may feel this is the weakest entry in the trilogy (an opinon I’m sure some will disagree with), that’s not to say the game isn’t entertaining. On the contrary, that should be considered praise for the other two rather than negativity for this installment. It has its flaws, as do most games, but I’m happy to rate it as one of the best games available this generation. I just prefer the other two, that’s all…
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