Mass Effect 2 Review

Posted 01/26/2010 at 3:30pm | by Norman Chan

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In some ways, Mass Effect 2 is the anti-Dragon Age. Whereas Bioware’s other RPG is an overwhelmingly expansive epic that consumes serious role-players, this sci-fi sequel (part two of a planned trilogy) is a cinematic adventure that propels players through its character-driven story with a sense of urgency. In that sense, it never feels like the same game Bioware released only two months ago, and surpasses the original Mass Effect in its ability to draw you into its mythology.

Like the first game, Mass Effect 2 is equal parts Roddenberry and Lucas—a space saga that combines the interplanetary politics and heroic adventuring of Star Trek with the gritty personality and blaster-duels of Star Wars. The plot is simple: a mysterious race called the Collectors have been abducting humans from colonies, and, as Commander Shepard, it’s your job to stop them and uncover their connection to the Reaper threat of the first game. A dramatic introductory cut-scene sets the stage for a two-year fast forward that resets you character’s abilities and puts all players on equal footing. 

The disconnect from the first game extends further than the two-year time jump. Gone is your Spectre status that let you roam the galaxy like a Jedi peacekeeper. Instead, you’re now an operative of Cerberus, a pro-humanity group with a strict ends-justifies-the-means mandate. Its leader, an appropriately named Illusive Man, is your mission handler and a character of firm resolve. Cerberus and its questionable morals set the stage for the theme of Mass Effect 2, as you are constantly confronted with choices that have no clear right answer. 

Even though Shepard is the hero of the game, Mass Effect 2’s tone is really defined by its supporting cast of characters. By the end of the game, you recruit 10 squad mates (including some familiar faces), each with a distinct personality, abilities, and interesting back story that could warrant a full game on its own. The Cerberus stalwart Miranda, for example, is genetically engineered to be the perfect woman, yet struggling to escape her past. Mordin, a Salarian scientist, was a major contributor to the Genophage virus that decimated the Krogan race. Without spoiling the details of the other teammates, we’ll just say that each are interesting and complex, with personalities that motives that feel real (due in part to the superb voice acting).

Once again, you can also enter into a romantic relationship with one of your teammates in the game. This requires actively flirting with the object of your affection during conversations in between missions. Not every member of your squad can be romanced, though we found that Shepard could be quite a flirt with all of them. Our favorite romance, actually, turned out to be with someone who wasn’t a member of the core team!

The game’s core missions are also driven by dialogue choices. The conversation chat dial interface returns, along with the option to resolve confrontations with benevolence or malevolence. Mass Effect 2 also has a quick-time event system to interrupt cut-scenes, which enhances the cinematic styling. This feature isn’t used as frequently as we would’ve liked, but it’s nonetheless effective at immersing you into the scene.

But Mass Effect 2 isn’t all about talking. As a third-person shooter, Mass Effect 2 is more than competent—its combat areas obviously designed to accommodate a cover system and real-time squad commands. The game is very action-centric; it’s more of an action game with role-playing elements than vice versa. Instead of fixing the frustrating inventory system of the first game, the developers chose to get rid of equipment inventory management altogether. In fact, we were a bit shocked to find that there are only 19 total unique weapons in the game. We would’ve welcomed some Borderlands-style randomization in weapon and equipment stats.