Written 02/02/2010
Note: This review is written for the PC version of the game. Screenshot and video were taken from my machine.
Let's get a few things out of the way here and now. Mass Effect 2 is better than the original by nearly every sense of the word. If you haven't played the original though, go and buy it before you play Mass Effect 2; it makes a monstrous difference in how much you'll understand in the storyline and enjoy the experience overall. So if you ask me, you should stop reading this right now and go buy Mass Effect 2 (and the original if you haven't played it yet). Bioware has truly outdone themselves yet again! And no, I'm not joking, go buy this...right now!
Visuals and Presentation
The original Mass Effect, though still pretty by today's standards, was plagued with countless texture pop-ins, cookie-cutter “dungeons”, and many mostly barren planets. It was as though Bioware hadn't fully mastered how to get the most bang for their buck out of Unreal Engine 3 yet (that is, if I can properly pick out my engines). It also could have been the fact that they were working with a now three year old build of the engine. Either way, all of those issues have been fixed in Mass Effect 2 and it's a welcome change to say the least. Gone are the texture pop-ins of the first game. Each “dungeon” is fresh and unique; with far more detail in each than before. The planets, while not quite as big as in the original, are greatly refined and feel more alive. The models and textures have all been updated as well, and look truly spectacular. The ambiance is calming at most points, but can effectively heighten the tension when it needs to without any problems. In all, I just can't say enough about how good this game looks!
Visuals and Presentation Rating:
Sound
Sound is something Bioware has always excelled at, and Mass Effect 2 is no different. The voice acting is top-notch, with everyone who was in the first Mass Effect reprising their roles in Mass Effect 2, and some excellent additions to the already stellar cast. The dialog is smart and thought provoking with just enough humor when appropriate to keep things fresh. General sounds also have the same excellent quality as the voice acting. Guns pack the same audio punch as you would expect. Ambient sounds and music are very subtle, but immensely help develop the mood for any given situation. When the music does crank up though, expect an excellent score that is very distinctly Mass Effect. In short, Mass Effect 2's sound is the audio equivalent of art.
Sound Rating:
Gameplay
At first I was kind of on the fence on Mass Effect 2's gameplay, but it grew on me to the point where I now find the first game's mechanics greatly inferior. Unlike the first game, where combat is ruled by the stats of your equipment moreso than your skill, Mass Effect 2 plays much more like a 3rd person action game in the same vein as Gears of War than a traditional RPG. Weapons no longer have stats that you can readily compare with other weapons. Instead, you're given a description of the pros and cons of each weapon and allowed to choose whichever weapon suits you best. Armor still has basic stats, but you can essentially wear anything you want and be almost as effective as you would be if you nit-picked your stats to death. With this greatly decreased emphasis on stats, combat requires a bit more skill than the first game. Finding and utilizing the best cover spots is often paramount to success. You still have skills like you would see in traditional RPGs, and they do really help, but it's not impossible to go through the entire game on solely the shooter mechanics and cover. As far as bugs go, there really aren't any except for the occasional instance where I would get stuck on something and need to reload; as well as two instances where the AI just stopped working.
Make no mistake though, this is still an RPG at its heart and it should be approached as such. You're going to be spending more time progressing the relationships with your crew and figuring out what's going on in the story than blowing someone's head off. Some of the conversations can be pretty long, which may turn some people off at times; but if you're a thorough person like I am, it won't be much of a problem.
One of the main features of Mass Effect 2 is the ability to import your save file from the first Mass Effect, which transfers all (and I really mean ALL) of the choices you made in the first game so you can either reap the benefits or suffer the consequences of those choices in Mass Effect 2. This is a HUGE deal because the way you play the original Mass Effect has a meaningful and permanent result in Mass Effect 2, and it has already been confirmed by Bioware that you'll be able to import your Mass Effect 2 save file into Mass Effect 3. So if your Mass Effect 2 save has all the choices you made in the first Mass Effect, and you import that Mass Effect 2 save into Mass Effect 3, then you will experience the consequences of all three games' choices. Now simply consider if you replay Mass Effect 1 and 2 and change a few choices before playing Mass Effect 3, something completely different could happen in a certain situation. Nothing like this has ever been done in gaming, and I'm very glad Bioware is the first developer to make it happen; they completely deserve it!
Gamplay Rating:
Story
WARNING: SPOILER ALERT
Considering that great stories in games is what put Bioware on the map in the first place, it's no surprise that the story is by far Mass Effect 2's strongest point. Let's face it, as good as the visuals, sound, and gameplay can be, the main reason you're going to play a Bioware game is for the story. They are easily one of the biggest pioneers of game stories in the industry.
The story itself can be hard to describe because the way you played the first Mass Effect can possibly change how the story progresses. So the way you go through the story could be completely different from the way I did. To put it generally though, Mass Effect 2 continues the story of Commander Shepard and his mission to destroy a galactic threat of sentient machines known as the Reapers. In the opening sequences, everything seems to be going peachy until something...bad...happens and Shepard becomes....indisposed...while the Normandy floats away...in pieces. Shepard remains in this indisposed state for two years while he's being...fixed. When he gets back on his feet, he discovers that human colonies are disappearing without a trace. After a little investigation, he finds out that the colonists are being abducted by a race known only as the Collectors for an unknown, but obviously nefarious, purpose. After the Collectors abduct their targets, they disappear through the Omega 4 relay; a mass relay that whoever passes through it, save the Collectors, never return. The Collectors, he learns, are working for the Reapers and must be stopped. Seeing this as a suicide mission, Shepard scours the galaxy for those willing to join him.
Without giving away too many more spoilers, the story progresses fantastically! Characters you know and love from the first game make their returns and their reactions to you now can be quite interesting. They are extremely well developed over the first Mass Effect and feel that much more alive. Even though you could really connect with your crew in the first game, the deep and meaningful interactions you have with them in Mass Effect 2 are that much more profound. It all leads up to an ending that sets up the story perfectly for what's sure to be an utterly amazing finale to the Mass Effect saga!
Story Rating:
Replay Value
The replay value of Mass Effect 2 is highly dependent on if you want to see what happens when you make different choices. Also considering that making different decisions in the first game will change certain dynamics in Mass Effect 2, so there's really a lot of potential there to mix and match how you want the story to progress. Unlike the first game though, when you finish Mass Effect 2 you're given the option to continue your current save and finish any side quests you may have missed or start the whole game over with all of the equipment and experience you already have. Personally, I always love it when an RPG allows you to continue playing after you finish the main storyline, so that's what I picked. It helps me get a little more closure on “what happened to so-and-so after such-and-such happened?” until the next game is released. Which ever way you go though, you can easily get three complete replays out of the game at the very least. Considering that the game took me 42 hours to finish one play-through, doing it three times is quite the bang for your buck!
Replay Value Rating:
Final Thoughts and Overall Score
As I've said before, Bioware has truly outdone themselves yet again with Mass Effect 2! It is quite easily one of the best, if not the best, games in the company's portfolio. The depth of the story, very well rounded characters, fluent combat system, and the sheer amount of choice combinations is simply staggering. Any fan of RPGs, or gaming in general, would be doing themselves an extreme disservice to not experience this at least once. So whether you pick this up for 360, PS3, or PC (system requirements below), make sure you've finished Mass Effect 1 first, and get ready for a wild ride in Mass Effect 2!
Mass Effect 2 Overall Score:
Minimum:
OS: Windows XP SP3 / Windows Vista SP1 / Windows 7
Processor: 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or equivalent AMD CPU
Memory: 1 GB RAM for Windows XP / 2 GB RAM for Windows Vista and Windows 7
Graphics: 256 MB (with Pixel Shader 3.0 support)
DirectX®: DirectX 9.0c August 2008 (included)
Hard Drive: 15 GB
Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible
Supported Chipsets: NVIDIA GeForce 6800 or greater; ATI Radeon X1600 Pro or greater. Please note that NVIDIA GeForce 7300, 8100, 8200, 8300, 8400, and 9300; ATI Radeon HD3200, and HD4350 are below minimum system requirements. Updates to your video and sound card drivers may be required.
Recommended:
OS: Windows XP SP3 / Windows Vista SP1 / Windows 7
Processor: 2.6+ GHz Cure 2 Duo Intel or equivalent AMD CPU
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT, or better recommended
DirectX®: DirectX 9.0c August 2008 (included)
Hard Drive: 15 GB
Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible
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