Mass Effect 2 (2010)

Most people generally seemed to settle on Mass Effect 2 as the peak of the series. While it was not my favorite, I always did like it. As the middle entry, it’s tasked with neither setting up this big universe nor giving its overarching story and character arcs a satisfying conclusion. It doesn’t have the best central narrative, but it colors in the lines with interesting smaller stories. There are some great moments coming out of Shepard’s return to a world that thought them dead, and their unlikely set of teammates’ tying up of personal loose ends before a mission that may be their last.

What I didn’t really remember as much about this game was everything outside the cutscenes and conversations. The game’s cover shooter mechanics feel fine, but its heavy focus on combat throughout its big missions is absolutely relentless and tiring. It felt like every mission was mostly just corridor after corridor, shooting gallery after shooting gallery full of generic enemies. It turned into a bit of a slog after just 5-6 hours. I think the missions needed more variety and maybe more restraint in how much they throw at you in any given minute.

In my replay of the first game, the binary morality system and simplistic approach to character relationships felt a bit outdated and “game-y” at times, and here it’s somewhat similar. It’s not a huge problem though, as you can generally ignore the red and blue meters and just do what you want. It’s a style of role-playing that can flavor smaller interactions and outcomes in a fun way, even if it doesn’t always provide game-changing outcomes.

The Legendary Edition of the game feels faithful enough to my memory of the original. It looks its age in some of the animations and environment design, but still has a pretty sharp and smooth appearance. I did randomly have an unstable framerate on “performance mode” in some areas on PS5, which seems… a bit weird… Generally it’s smooth, and some of the more interesting environments and exciting cutscenes do shine here.

It’s still a good game despite any of the downsides, just not quite as good to play through again for me. Certainly worth a playthrough for anyone interested in big-budget sci-fi stuff, since experiencing the storytelling for the first time will make the rest easier to swallow. I found the first game met my expectations better when I replayed it, but this one does justify at least one run-through to see what its diverse characters and worlds have to offer.

After loving Mass Effect, I was more than hype for the sequel that "does everything much better". I have to agree with that sentiment big time! The gameplay is more refined and smooth which was the biggest issue I had with the original. Part 2 continues the incredible world-building that hooked me initially. I was immersed from beginning to end with the planets, story, races, conflicts, and well obviously the characters.

A whole new cast with some returning characters can be a huge gamble, especially since the original had such a memorable group. Well, the sequel said bet and raised the bar for a perfect cast in video games even higher. There was never a dull moment chatting with the crew, helping them with their personal missions, or simply just learning more about them.

It is very hard for a video game to make me seek out more dialogue, yet I couldn't stop listening to the incredible voice acting from everyone. This game is so special and proves how a sequel doesn't mean a drop-off in quality but an opportunity to reach new highs. I love this game a lot and with the final installment in the trilogy left I already dread saying goodbye to Shepard and the crew.

NB: Just like in the first one, these are my thoughts on the Legendary Edition version. Given that the new edition does a good job updating ME1 to be more mechanically in line with the rest of the titles, aspects that got a massive overhaul from the original game to the sequel (such as combat) won’t likely find their way into this post.

After loving almost every minute spent with Mass Effect, I was naturally aching to dig deep into its sequel, widely considered the superior game. And for my money, the general consensus isn't wrong. Just like in the first ME, I got immediately sucked into this incredibly detailed, well written, sprawling world. And just like the majority, I too happen to think ME2 is overall the best title, albeit only marginally.

That isn’t to say it's a perfect game - far from it. In fact, a couple of its shortcomings are so frustrating that they had me cursing out loud. But by the time all was said and done, what I was left with wasn't frustration at all, rather amazement at how Bioware was able to craft such an outstanding piece of character writing and emotional buildup. This, to me, is by far ME2’s crowning achievement. Very rarely did I become as involved with game companions as I did throughout my time with this sequel. An obvious example of this growing attachment on my part happened with Garrus: what was, during the original ME, a character I would sometimes, easily forget and neglect, became an emotional anchor throughout the entire sequel, ending up as an essential part of my squad on almost every single mission. This was my personal the pinnacle in a brilliant, varied, magnetic cast of companions that, much more than the first game, gave me a ton of problems every single time I had to choose a party to venture out with.

This ties directly into another stellar aspect of ME2, and there is no two ways about it: the loyalty missions deserve every bit of credit they are given. There are a couple of exceptions, but as a whole they are interesting and creative, emotional and bond-inducing, at points spectacular and surprising with how they’re able to so assertively change your mind about the characters you're helping. In a game that, compared to its predecessor, went down in quality when it comes to the central story, the side quests more than pick up the slack in a way that almost eclipses the main quest line. This isn’t just seen in the loyalty missions either. The jump in overall side quest quality is unquestionable, and I never got the repetitive ‘been here done that’ feeling I got doing some secondary missions in the first ME. The expansions greatly contribute to this as well. Pretty much all DLC content fits perfectly in the broader narrative, and not fully knowing what was base game and what was expansion is a testament to how well they’re integrated into the ME2 experience. As an example, I absolutely loved the feeling of jumping into a secondary, seemingly unimportant mission only to end up on an epic journey that culminated with me obliterating 300k+ Batarians. This isn't unique to that one quest: the amount of missions where you get this epic vibe building up as you start to go through them is insane, maybe unlike anything I’ve ever played before. All the enjoyable side quests highlight Bioware’s writing brilliance at that time, and I don't think I'll forget them for quite a while. As far as I'm concerned, ME2 can join TW3 in the pantheon of superb side content offerings.

Other things that ME2 excels at:

• the voice acting is superb. The Illusive Man, Miranda, EDI, Thane and Hackett’s bigger showing were the obvious new standouts for me, but pretty much everyone did a great job in this regard;
• considering this had already been a strong point of the first game, the superior offering of squad members, both in number and in quality, is impressive. Not only did you have a bunch to choose from, almost all of them were unique, useful and interesting enough for you to want to take on all missions - Jacob and Zaeed were the only exceptions for me. One of the biggest upsides to this is that we were essentially free to choose the ones that made more sense narratively;
• the suicide mission (for ages I thought calling it that was some kind of spoiler but it really isn't, it's simply how they refer to the main goal the game because they see it as ‘impossible’) is fantastic, not in terms of outcome but in all the different scenarios that can play out depending on the choices you make throughout your playthrough;
• cinematic moments (which often aren't my thing in games) are nothing short of spectacular, and they never feel like they're forced into the game;
• scanning for resources, as repetitive as it was, became this strangely addictive and meditative experience to me throughout the entire game. Almost like a relaxing respite session between action-packed moments. I mined the hell out of every single planet I got my hands on, not because I needed the resources, but because I simply couldn't not do it. I'm still at a loss to explain why one this one felt as good as it did.

I mentioned in the beginning that ME2 was far from a perfect game, and as much as I loved it, I meant it. There are transitional aspects that were better in the first game and new ones that were handled poorly. To make it (somewhat) brief:

• navigation seemed more convoluted and disjointed, from the galaxy map to the Citadel. I’m not sure if part of this was down to worse level design, but I felt it as a recurrence throughout my playthrough. And speaking of the Citadel, this version felt less charismatic than the one in ME. I can’t guarantee this isn’t down to the wow factor present the first time I saw it, but it was still something I noticed;
• at times (not always), the cover system was clunky, unresponsive and almost obtuse. Often Shepard wouldn’t do what I had ‘instructed’ him to do. If you’re going to base your entire combat around cover shooting mechanics, you better be sure your system is as polished as it can be. Personally I didn’t feel this was the case;
• the upgrade and progression system felt simultaneously more basic and unintuitive compared to the first game. ME2 certainly feels less like an RPG and more like a space shooter epic, which will certainly please some and disappoint others. Being an RPG fiend, I fall more on the latter side;
• I was somehow expecting a bit more from the last mission. That was, I’m sure, partly due to the incredibly accomplished build up (it would’ve been hard for any ending to match it), but there was also a clear sense of underwhelm when it came to both the final boss and the narrative conclusion. In fact, the whole main story wasn’t as gripping as the first ME. To my eye, ME2 is more a game about powerful side content and characters than about a compelling main thread;
• just like in the original game, potential romances still felt a bit shoehorned in for the most part, at times almost like they were there due to a box that had to be ticked because, Bioware. However, at least my male Shepard’s involvement with Miranda followed a logical, narrative-appropriate path that rarely, if ever, seemed contrived, which was a welcome change in perception.

Looking at the above, I realise that I had less ‘issues’ with the sequel than I did with the original ME. That would likely explain why I came out of it with a slightly higher degree of enjoyment. The poorer narrative pull and the somewhat bland conclusion aren't exactly nitpicks, nor is the lesser RPG footprint. Personally though, they weren't enough to overshadow everything brilliant that Mass Effect 2 did in most other main aspects. So far, this is the best game I’ve played this year, easily one of the best I’ve experienced over the past few years, and the best time I've had in space. In 2022, it still absolutely holds up in almost every respect and deserves two enthusiastic thumbs up for me. 9.5

4/5

Played on PS5 - Legendary Edition.

Great game. The dialogue is really clever and 99% of the time believable to the world and the characters. The game extends on the 10/10 world-building that was started in ME1. What it really improves on is the characters - the cast here is fantastic with only a couple of duds in my opinion. Even the characters I don't like are well written and believable. The pacing is also excellent, main story beats broken up by recruitment and loyalty missions. I think the story itself is nowhere near as good as ME1, but I don't think that it was intended to be.

I will say, the gameplay for me is very dull. I played on hardcore mode, which at least offered a considerable challenge and I had to engage with side systems like weapon and armor upgrades, but the actual shooting is not engaging to me at all.

Mass Effect 2 — самый перехваленный сиквел одной из самых перехваленных игр в истории.

Да, в неё приятнее именно играть. Стрельбу сильно улучшили, убрав перегрев оружия и заменив его стандартной перезарядкой. Но это уже не РПГ, это тупо шутан с прокачкой, причём куцей! Кроме стрельбы с прокачкой оружия за бабло и ресурсы у нас тут есть только 2 вусмерть заёбывающие мини-игры по взлому, чтобы фармить бабло. И полёты превратили в мини игру со сканированием планет (для поиска ресурсов!). Стандартная миссия выглядит как: разговор, идёшь вперед уничтожая всё и взламывая, собираешь бабло и ресурсы, разговор — конец.

Сильно вырос уровень постановки. Но сама история... Сама история в сиквеле — жирный и практически бессмысленный для трилогии филлер.

Во вступительной сцене Шепарда убивают: на Нормандию напал какой-то огромный корабль, Шепард спас Джокера, а сам убился во взрыве.

Шепарда с помощью каких-то технологий восстанавливают какие-то чуваки. А потом на базу этих чуваков нападают. «Хватай пистолет, Шепард!«. Забавно, что при переносе персонажа из первой части, всё, что переносится это мировоззрение, выбор по Совету, Рексу и Эшли. Ну, по крайней мере, при создании персонажа пишут только про это. А класс почему-то можно поменять. Но я не стал.

Призрак, глава Цербера, рассказывает, что Совет положил хуй на Жнецов, решив, что Властелин был единственным. А тем временем в колониях пропадают люди. Мы отправляемся на одну из колоний, встречаем там Тали, узнаём, что людей похищают Коллекционеры. Нам возвращают «Нормандию» с ИИ по имени СУЗИ, и теперь мы должны собрать команду, чтобы разобраться во всём. И 90% игры это сбор напарников и прокачка Нормандии для финальной битвы! У каждого напарника есть по одному(!) персональному квесту, за прохождение которого напарнику дают дополнительный навык и повышают шансы на выживание в финальном заскриптованном ролике. Да и в принципе, выбора, проходить эти квесты или нет не стоит — опыт теперь дают только за квесты. Поэтому извольте отстреливать толпы мяса (врагов стало больше в разы). А ещё, чтобы напарники пережили судьбоносный ролик нужно прокачивать «Нормандию». Для этого полёты превратили в мини игру со сканированием планет для поиска ресурсов. Ужасно скучно. Ну хоть поездки на Мако убрали.

В финале нас ждёт битва... с огромной головой! Человеко-Жнец! Господи, какой беспомощный бред!

Вся история выглядит (и является) филлером не только потому, что мы всю игру тупо собираем команду, но и потому, что она практически никак не связанна с первой частью.

Шепарда убивают во вступительной заставке — исключительно ради вау-эффекта. Организация Цербер, на которую мы работаем, кажется, я даже не уверен, упоминалась в одной случайной записке в побочном квесте первой части. Даже то, что Совет забил на угрозу Жнецов и отправил Шепарда патрулировать какие-то галактические ебеня, мотивировав это тем, что «ну это был один Жнец, и мы его убили, нет никакой масштабной угрозы» — оскорбительный уровень натягивания сценарной совы на глобус.

В Mass Effect 2 приятнее стрелять, чем в первой части, и она кинематографичнее. Но во всём остальном она намного хуже. Персонажи такой же картон, выборы такие же бесполезные, а история как и сама по себе, так и в рамках трилогии — совершенно необязательна. А ведь первая часть хотя бы рисовала эпичные перспективы. Почему этот, неплохой аддон, я бы так это назвал, считается великим сиквелом — для меня загадка.

Mass Effect 1 oli niin kova kokemus remasteroituna, että odotin tästä alkujaan trilogian parhaana pelinä pitämästäni pelistä ehkä jopa hieman liikaa. Lopulta pelikokemus oli uskomaton, mutta nosti aikaisemman mielipiteeni Mass Effect 1:stä ehkä vielä selkeämmäksi: Mass Effect 1:ssä on sarjan paras tarina. Sen sijaan Mass Effect 2 loistaa taisteluissa, hahmoissa ja pelin lopetuksessa.

Mass Effect 2:ssa tiettyjen tilanteiden jälkeen pääasiallisena tarkoituksena on kasata oma tiimi galaksin kovimmista tyypeistä. Oma tiimi kasvaakin loppua kohden ehkä hieman liiankin suureksi (noin 10?), mutta useimmat värvättävistä hahmoista on erittäin mielenkiintoisia tapauksia. Tiettyjä vanhoja tuttujakin bongaillaan, mutta suurin osa hahmoista on täysin uusia. Sinänsä onkin miellyttävää kuinka uusiin, että vanhoihinkin hahmoihin saadaan paljon syvyyttä jokaisen hahmon omalla taustatarinalla ja siihen liittyvillä lojaliteettitehtävillä. Hahmojen värväyksen ja lojaliteetin saamisen ohessa tehdään vain muutamia tarinatehtäviä, jota en oikein kunnolla edes muistanut. Isompi tarinakaari ei siis suuresti etene trilogian väliosassa, mikä oli loistavan Mass Effect 1:sen jälkeen pienoinen pettymys.

Remasteroidussa versiossa on mukana kaikki peliin julkaistut lisäosat ja pienemmät DLC:t. Näistä erityisesti pelin loppuun sijoittuva Lair of the Shadow Broker on julmetun hyvä kokonaisuus. Helposti paras tarinakokonaisuus koko pelissä. Myös DLC-hahmona alun perin ilmestynyt ”ninja” Kasumi, oli uutena tuttavuutena hyvä lisäys tiimiin. Myös Zaeedin lisätehtävät olivat ihan hyviä, mutta hahmona Zaeed jää Kasumin viekkauden varjoon. Arrival ja Overlord olivat ihan ok lisäyksiä, mutta eivät kuitenkaan mitään kovin ihmeellistä lisää tuoneet pelin kokemukseen.

Kuten ykkösosassa myös kakkososassa piti suorittaa kaikki pelin anti ja vaikka loppua kohden planeettojen skannaukset ja pienet side missionit hieman alkoivat jo puuduttaa, niin silti pidin kaikesta pelin tarjoamasta sisällöstä todella paljon.

Hahmojen kehitys on hieman suppeampaa kuin ykkösosassa ja konsoleiden myötä pienet tyhmennykset kontrolleihin ja inventaarion poistumiseen, hieman kismittivät alkuun. Kuitenkin hahmojen suppeus tuo uutta mielenkiintoa tiimin valintaan, kun jokaiseen tehtävään ei vaan voi ottaa aina samaa kolmikkoa, vaan ryhmävalinnat täytyy tehdä harkitusti niin, että tiimissä on laajaa osaamista erilaisten vihollisten ja uhkien kohtaamiseen. Hahmojen värväys- ja lojaliteettitehtävät varmistivat sen, että jokaista hahmoa tuli väkisinkin koitettua tiimin jäsenenä ja näin ollen hahmoista saattoikin löytää uusia puolia.

Peli on monella osa-alueella lähes täydellinen kokemus, mutta tarinan turhuus jätti toisella pelikerralla hieman kylmäksi. Väliosan parasta antia onkin hahmojen ja uuden osapuolen Cerberuksen esiin tuominen. Lisäksi trilogian päävihollinen saa paljon uutta taustatarinaa tässä osassa. Tässä peli onnistuukin hyvin ja tämä rakentaa hyvän pohjan trilogian päätökselle. Loppuhuipennus oli tälläkin kertaa erittäin maistuva ja nostaa väkisinkin arvosanan sitten lopulta sinne 5/5 vaikka pelissä aiemmin mainittuja puutteita tarinassa onkin.

Erinomainen 5/5

When ever I attempted to start Mass Effect 2, I would contemplate all the choices I had made in the first game. Then go back and play Mass Effect 1 again.

I've now played Mass Effect 2. Completed all available side quests and saved everyone.

Didn't complete all the achievements, so I have an excuse to replay it again. Having just bought the new Legendary edition

Playing as Femshep, ME2 doesn't have any romance option that suits me, but I did get to see some of the romance dialogue with Garrus and I have to say... I was not impressed. You hit on him and he literally says something like "Yeah, why not? I respect you.". WTF is this supposed to be? I mean, it can be someone's cup of tea, and maybe it was the intent to make it sound more like a one-night stand. But still.

Sheppard won't be getting any action before the collector base attack.

The ending revelation in Mass Effect 2 is beyond silly, but this moment of the game is sooo good at continuing the lovecraftian horror of the Reapers from the first game.

“Chandana said the ship was dead. We trusted him. He was right. But even a dead god can dream. A god — a real god — is a verb. Not some old man with magic powers. It's a force. It warps reality just by being there. It doesn't have to want to. It doesn't have to think about it. It just does. That's what Chandana didn't get. Not until it was too late. The god's mind is gone but it still dreams. He knows now. He's tuned in on our dreams. If I close my eyes I can feel him. I can feel every one of us.”

Again, playing the first two games back-to-back invariable invites me to compare and contrast.

Yesterday I realised that one of ME2's innovations was a strange one: humour. For the amount of dialogue and interactions, I cannot remember any piece of intentional humour in the first game. But ME2 is filled with it.

Probably because it focuses much more on character than on any overarching Big Plot, but you can find a lot of funny quips and lighthearted situations. Every store on the citadel receiving its customers with the same exact endorsement speech from Shepard never gets old.

In comparison with ME2, ME1 now feels incredibly grimdark and too serious. Every single conversation involves some deep soul-searching or it otherwise reflects sombrely to the events of the story. The talks with Wrex might be an exception, but not really. Even when Wrex tries to take things lightly, his stories are brutal.

I'm glad that the ME series went this way. Further down the line, Lair of the Shadowbroker nailed the space between funny and tragic. And the final entry of the ME universe - Citadel - will punctuates the ending with an affecting mix of jokes, friendliness and melancholy.

Comming fresh from Mass Effec 1, you can easily notice the marked improvement in combat in Mass Effect 2. But you can also notice the marked decline in complexity in most systems.

The disastrous inventory from the first game is gone, but not because it was replaced by something better, but because there is almost no inventory to speak of. And what little inventory is still there, is still pretty bad. You could chose your weapons but the fact that they don't have visible stats renders that prospect rather pointless. You can change your armour, but only at your cabin, and the bonuses are meagre at best.

Levelling up is also simplify beyond what's reasonable, and your teammates have only 2 powers (plus another bonus one if you go through their loyalty mission).

Mission structure also suffered. For better or worse, thanks to the Mako, levels in Mass Effect 1 had some variety. Mass Effect 2 fully embraces the corridor-based cover-shooter to the point where most missions are almost indistinguishable from each other.

I hadn't realised how the beginning Mass Effect 2 parallels Mass Effect.

In the first game, you start in a linear tutorial mission in an attacked human colony where the main bad guy is introduced. Then, you go straight to the Citadel, where you'r first impression is the carefully manicured Presidium.

On the second game, you also start in a linear tutorial mission in an attacked human colony where the main bad guys are introduced. And then, you also go straight to a space station, although this time is the filthy, anarchic Omega.

Mass Effect 2 is rightly held by many gamers to be the peak of the franchise.

The game play is polished and more streamlined from the first game, losing the clunky modification system for weapons, and replacing it with an as rewarding, but quicker system.

The cover system we improved with a gripping cover mechanic. And the powers were better balanced (though some are still better then others).

Most important for an RPG, the pacing, environments, characters, and story of this game is riveting ending in one of my favorite final game levels. The better you pay attention, and get to know your crew, the better you will do.

The game, despite being older now, still looks great, and the music is amazing.

If you are an RPG fan, this game is a must play.

It is such a huge improvement on the first game when I replay thru the series I often skip the first game, and jump right into 2 and then 3.

Man, Mass Effect games really like to make reviews hard don't they?

So basically after I played the first one, I immediately bought Mass Effect 2. And honestly, gameplay wise, they are totally different games. And there comes the question: Was it necessary to change Mass Effect 1 gameplay completely to make a better game? I will try to showcase in this review the sides of both answers to this question, and I will try to decide for myself which is better. So let's get started.

Just like I did in the first game, I will begin with story, characters and the morality system. And it's funny actually. Because in the first game, in my opinion, the story was flawless, the characters were really good and the morality system was underused. And now, it's all inverted. So, the story is still good, but it's noticeably weaker than the first's. You spend the entire game recruiting a team, and them sometimes you fight the main villains and then you do the final suicide mission and it's over. There are still some good twists lying around but most of them actually go against what was said in the first game. But, there's thankfully a positive side to all of this. Due to the story not being the main focus of the game, the characters get a chance to be on the spotlight. And they completely make up for it. Your team has twice as many teammates compared to the previous game. And all of them have different and complex personalities (with the exception of one particular man, and if you have played the game, you know who I'm talking about) and again I feel compelled to talk to them to get to know them better. Another thing I have to praise is the amount of romance options in the game, which were a great improvement to the ones present in the first game, which had only two, and one of them was the same for both genders. And now I move on to the morality system. Now this is one of the best improvements this game made. Now, you can interact in the cutscenes, making either a heroic or a villainous action, changing the outcome of missions and scenes. This helps to make this feel like your own playtrough and it encourages players to play the game a second time to see what they missed.

Well, we've reached gameplay. Look, Mass Effect 1 gameplay was broken, that's a fact. Enemies being idiots and staying in front of their cover instead of behind it, the Mako could win the "Worst Vehicle In A Good Game" award and the cover system... Oh God the cover system. But it also had a certain charm to it that most games don't have. Despite how bad the Mako controls were, I had tons of fun driving it around because I wanted to explore the planets, even if their design was horrible and empty. I had fun shooting because not having to worry about ammunition was great and overheating balanced it to make it fair. And with Mass Effect 2, all of that is gone. They removed the Mako, which while a great decision, reduces the planets I can explore. The maps are now smaller and focused on leading you to your objective, and while that works when I'm playing story missions, when I want a break, there just isn't much to do. Side missions, one of the best aspects of the first game, have been reduced to idiotic assignments like finding out if there is fish in the waters of the Presidium. My teammates no longer talk to me, and I understand that it's for the sake of having more on my team, but it takes the fun element of hearing Wrek say some epic line during missions that is just not present here. And the worst of all, the ammunition is no longer infinite, you know like it should be in a futuristic setting.

But there's some really good improvements here too. The cover system, while on the same button as running for some reason, actually has a button. The enemies are actually a threat now, and while I hate that they removed the infinite ammo from the first game, I actually used all weapons that I had because the ammo wasn't infinite. The graphics and loading screens are vastly improved, and the faster gameplay due to the removal of the RPG element leads to a more focused story. The new loyalty missions can make you decide if you care about a particular character or if you don't mind if they fall during the suicide mission. And yes, all your teammates, including you, can die, adding a real sense of threat to the story because characters you like can die (Or you can let the ones you hate die. Sorry Mr. No Personality but I don't want you on Mass Effect 3).

And that wraps it up. Overall, I think there was more Mass Effect 2 could have achieved with it's amazing characters and story. But the Mass Effect spirit is here, and so are the improvements I asked for. While I do wonder how a suicide mission where everyone can die at the middle of the franchise will impact the third game, that's a something for other day.

And about the answers to the question, I've decided there is no right one. And in my opinion Mass Effect 1 and 2 stand together as two great games connected by one of the best gaming universes ever created. There isn't a better game, because they together make an adventure, one that I'm definitely looking forward to see how it ends. I give this game a 4/5 stars.

Rating: 9/10

Now that I have played both ME1 and 2, I can safely say that which one you prefer probably comes down to what you want from the series. I'm not exactly sure which one I would say is actually better but on the surface ME2 is.

ME2 improves on the original in a few ways ways: the combat is smoother, the characters are more interesting with more depth, and they've streamlined certain aspects of it that added to the experience. The action was just more enjoyable as a whole because it felt like a genuinely great cover shooter. I also enjoyed doing the quests to learn more about my team, and for the most part the writing was better, and I actually cared about them as more than just my favourite skills/weapons, though ultimately it did come down to that since it's a game.

The hacking/bypassing in this game is a mixed bag. I enjoy the process of bypassing but the hacking is more annoying than anything. As a whole I actually prefer the hacking in the original, and felt that for the most part, it lead to more exciting things more frequently. I had absolutely no problem with money at all in this game because they threw it at me for everything.

Then there's the Mako vs scanning. I'm really torn on this one because while the side-missions with the Mako were okay, ME1 relied way too much on the stupid vehicle. On the flip side, scanning came across as more of a chore than anything. I did it because I wanted to upgrade my weapons, armor, ship and stats, but is it really an enhancement? Maybe it's because I took my time a little more with the sequel, but it actually came across as more intrusive than the side-missions with the Mako. Neither of the games have especially great mechanics for handling this sort of thing though, since both have pros and cons.

Where the first one shines over the second is in the story and the RPG elements, but again, the latter is going to come down to what you want. I like how KOTOR the first one is. I agree with anybody that says the modifications were a little much, but levelling up had more depth, and upon starting the second one, that was a feature that was clearly simplified. My experience didn't start off well, but I did come to accept it. Levelling up was just not enticing, not like in the first. Furthermore, I enjoyed buying my equipment and finding it rather than just finding it. I loved how RPG it was.

In terms of the plot, while ME2 has a better cast as a whole, it suffers from being more of the same, not that it was outright bad by any means. Mass Effect involved a group of aliens being manipulated by the Reapers to help them, and Mass Effect 2 involved a group of aliens being manipulated by the Reapers to help them. The difference is, the first benefited from y'know, being the first, among other things; Saren was more interesting and felt more complex, and your first encounter with anything Reaper was a little terrifying. In contrast, while I thought the end was pretty cool in the sequel, there weren't those moments for me. Narratively, it's the bridge between the origin story and where shit really hits the fan.

I also thought that the Illusive Man would have been more memorable. I played ME3 when it came out and remember nothing about it besides really liking it, so maybe he returns, but I was waiting for him to be a great character. It never came to pass, but it was satisfying telling him to shove it during the finale. Ultimately, ME--like many Bioware RPGs--lives and dies by the story you create, so it is a success as a whole.

Time to move onto something else now. This is definitely a series worthy of the recognition.

Just finished my first playthrough. Awesome game. Probably one of the best I've ever played. It improved on the original in almost every single way. The combat is better, the dialogue is better, the characters are better, the graphics are better, the story is better, etc. The combat is more fun and much smoother, with more weapon and ability variety. The cover system is about the same, but you can now also vault over cover. It's a good feature, but there were a few times when I accidentally vaulted in front of enemies and ended up dying. The story is more interesting than the first game's story in my opinion, offering some good plot twists and interesting scenarios. Choices you make in the first game affect your experience in ME2 as well, if you import your character. For example, character deaths from ME1 are mentioned in ME2. The characters are also better. The first games characters weren't that interesting to me, except maybe two or three. ME2's characters are almost all interesting, some more than others. The returns of characters from ME1 were also handled very well, Garrus and Wrex in particular. The graphics were obviously better, too. Characters and locations look nice, although the graphics are a little dated in comparison to those of new games. But it's still very aesthetically pleasing. I really liked the look of Illium, the Citadel, and Omega in particular. The sounds are good across the board. You also get armor customization, which allows you to pick up different armor pieces at stores and also change the colors of your armor. I prefer this to the armor in ME1, but I would've liked a little more variety. As far as I could find, there are only two actual helmets (that aren't DLC) and the rest are visor-like. I personally prefer helmets, so only having two choices is a slight negative for me. It's not a big issue since both helmets look good, but it's still something I don't like. I just would've liked a little more variety in armor pieces and paint patterns.

Overall, Mass Effect 2 is the better game between the first two. I haven't played ME3 yet, so I'll review that once I finish it. But this game is really great. Highly recommended for fans of sci-fi, shooters, RPG's, or Mass Effect 1.

I've lost count how many times I've played through the Mass Effect franchise. I have multiple runs of both pure paragon and pure renegade, as well as a couple 'if it were me' runs which is a mixture of both sides. Point being, this is one of my favorite series of all time.

It is hard to put into words how awesome Mass Effect 2 is. BioWare took the few aspects that did not work in the first one and refined them in 2. The removal of the Mako sections was welcome - not that I did not like the Mako, but the limited usage of it became quite a chore after the first three or four planets. While planet scanning was not a great improvement in the grinding mechanics, I found the scanning to be much quicker and therefore less of a time sink than the Mako sections of 1.

The combat system has been overhauled for the sequel. Abilities and leveling up are much more streamlined, and combat has a quicker pace to it. While some grumble at this more 'FPS' feel to the game, I enjoyed as I felt it went well with the general badassery of Commander Shepard. The feeling as an adept of launching people in the air and smashing them across the room in an action packed room is thrilling.

Perhaps I like the combat in ME2 because it made the Infiltrator class a blast to play. HEADSHOT!

The inclusion of the many characters you can add to your team is welcome. Character development will always hold a special place in my heart, and ME2 does not disappoint. Whether it is a steamy meetup with Miranda or falling in love with Thane, Commander Shepard once again develops great connections with the squad mates. I don't think there was a scene with quite the gravitas as the Virmire ME scene, but depending on how you play the last mission it comes close.

• Storyline
• Combat is streamlined and a bit more fun than its predecessor
• Character customization so your Shepard can be exactly as you want
• Classes feel more specialized now, each has distinct roles and play styles
• Voice acting is suburb for all characters

• Planet scanning may bore some
• On occasion the morality system does not give me an option fitting to what I think Shepard should do
• The game ends at some point

I highly recommend the entire Mass Effect series if you enjoy engaging story lines and character development. If you only enjoy FPS games such as Call of Duty or Modern Warfare, you may find combat lacking. For Western RPG fans out there, Mass Effect 2 is an A+ play.