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Smith
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« on: January 31, 2010, 02:38:07 PM » |
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The original game in the Mass Effect series was a fantastic ride, one which had a fantastic story as well as great rpg depth and fine action. Although it did have its fair share of framerate hitches and graphical glitches, as well as a clunky inventory system, not to mention horrible side mission structure, gamers couldn't help but be happy with the final product. Despite all of its issues, Mass Effect was still a powerful title.
Two years later, Albertan developer Bioware has returned to deliver the second act in the planned trilogy. It seems like they've stripped, fixed, or perfected nearly every aspect of what worked and what didn't in the first Mass Effect, and the end results speak for themselves. Whether or not you're into role playing games, science fiction, or shooters, you'd be doing yourself one of the biggest injustices you potentially could, were you to skip over Mass Effect 2. While it may seem like uber-hyberbole when you read this, just keep it in mind: Mass Effect 2 is one of the greatest games ever made, and it is an essential modern classic that in thirty years from now will be looked back upon as such. In short, Mass Effect 2 is the best game on Xbox 360.
Also note that I'm going to try my absolute hardest to keep this review spoiler free, even if that means cutting the story bit nearly completely out.
Obviously, the most important part of Mass Effect 2 is how it continues the story laid out by the first game. It's highly safe to say that Mass Effect 2 does a more than admirable job of that. The overall story arch might not be as twisting and shocking as it was in the first game, but the actors do an incredible job of selling the universe. Performances by Martin Sheen, Carrie Ann Moss, Seth Green, and Tricia Helfer are just a handful of the star-studded cast that bring each character to life.
That brings me to the biggest point of them all: the characters. On a suicide mission to save the galaxy, Shepard is tasked with bringing together a band of brave or apathetic beings from all corners of the galaxy. The total number of party members doubles that of Mass Effect 1, and amazingly each and every single character has a rich history, a great script, not to mention superb overall design. This kind of detail to every degree really gets you to care about each character more than you ever have before. The pull is so strong that it can even get you thinking about the game's story even when you aren't playing it. A cast of characters and a story this strong hasn't really seen the light of day in nearly a decade.
Worth noting is just how far Bioware's cinematic direction has evolved over the years. Every scene has a much better cinematic approach and theme which borders on Oscar-worthy. There are definitely more than a few scenes capable of bringing tears to your eyes.
Another aspect that really allows the story to flesh out and drag you in is the innovative speech system. Just as before, Shepard's dialogue is chosen by the player, who chooses an emotion or a thought which allows Shepard to react accordingly. While this may sound miniscule if it were in another game, it's one of Mass Effect 2's crowning achievements. Whether your Shepard is an ultimate hero who goes out of his (or her) way to help others, or they're a ballsy take-no-prisoners renegade are completely up to the player, which makes the game a very personal experience. When given the chance to pick and choose every aspect of Shepard's personality, Shepard joins the rest of the characters as a dynamic and unforgettable protagonist.
One addition to the speech wheel is the interrupt system, which essentially will prompt players with the opportunity to react quickly by pulling a trigger, which would involve jumping into conflict and trying to resolve it, or literally pulling the trigger. Of course, these have a larger effect on everything from your alignment to who lives and who dies, and it's a highly welcome addition.
Yet again, it's your choices which really come into effect that is another aspect which brings the story closer to the player's heart. As in the first game, there are a few points in the game that force Shepard to make life or death decisions which change the fate of not just Shepard, but everybody involved on the mission. You're reminded everywhere that your choices will have everlasting effects throughout the game, and all the way through Mass Effect 3.
The prospect of having choices effect the universe shouldn't be new to anybody who has played through the first Mass Effect. When you first boot up Mass Effect 2, you have the opportunity to create a new character from scratch, or you can import a character from Mass Effect 1, which is definitely the most desirable option. This imports every decision you made in the first game, which has a huge impact on what takes place in Mass Effect 2. Even the smallest choices have a seemingly odd effect in Mass Effect 2, comparable to travelling back in time, stepping on a bug, and discovering your grandmother has been murdered once you come back to present time.
The overall design of Mass Effect 2 has been completely revamped and streamlined. Once you first notice the changes, you may oppose them as it appears like the game has been completely stripped of all role-playing depth. However, that is absolutely not the case. Gone are the loot pickups and ending up with hundreds of weapons and suits of armor. Gone are the 12-plus powers which you can level up. What replaces those systems is a weapons system which has you choosing which guns you want to go into a mission with, prior to the mission at hand, and having those guns throughout the entire mission, or until you find a weapons locker where you can change your loadout. The total number of guns in Mass Effect 2 is decidedly smaller than what was found in its predecessor, but what replaces the hundreds of guns is an upgrades system which allows you to build upon the weapons you do have, making scanning planets for minerals and purchasing upgrades at shops worthy. I actually prefer this to finding new guns, because it adds some actual progression to the action, as opposed to simply finding a new, better gun. Armour upgrades follow the same system. Throughout the entire game, you only have access to your N7 armour, which you can then find, purchase, or research upgrades for. You can also change the color and overall look of the armour, which is an absolute plus in my books.
The level up interface has also been cleaned up. The list of powers which you can upgrade is much smaller than ever, but it still keeps a much needed sense of progression. No longer do you need to appoint skill points to meaningless attributes, as many of those attributes are merged into one skill.
The changes to the customizing don't make the game any lesser a role-playing game than its predecessor, and in fact, they simply clean it up and improve upon everything.
One of the biggest improvements to Mass Effect 2 is the combat, which feels a lot more tailored to work as a third person shooter, and the second you pick up the controller, you'll be able to feel the difference. The cover system is comparable to games such as Uncharted 2 or Gears of War 2. Moving from cover to cover now feels a lot more natural and less forced than ever before. The actual shooting has been mopped up as well, with intelligent enemies with varying types, requiring some actual tactical approaches such as telling your squad where to take cover and which powers to use, as well as who to attack. The shooting feels more like an actual shooter than an rpg, which definitely feels like a plus when you don't find yourself shooting at a smaller enemy for several seconds and just watching his health bar deplete (granted there are some tougher, larger enemies). If you shoot an enemy where it should hurt, it will. While the action still follows some kind of behind the scenes numbers game, it is hidden a whole lot more than it is in a lot of other action role playing games, even moreso than in Borderlands.
The classes have also been completely redone, scrapping a lot of the more useless powers to make space for some of the greatest powers yet seen in a Bioware rpg. Each class feels completely unique as a result of this, and each mission is designed in a slightly different fashion which tailors to the different classes of your party, so you're going to need to do some real thinking as opposed to staying with the same 2 party members the entire game (although that is still an option).
The side missions from the first game that had you searching the same bloody warehouses in space over and over have been completely scratched, as has the Mako. In their places are anomalies which you discover while scanning planets for minerals (which are needed to upgrade your ship for the suicide mission, guns, and armor, as well as other upgrades), and these result in side missions which all have a different design and keep the same amazing action from any of the main story missions. The galaxy map, which lets you scan all the planets in the galaxy is seamless enough to allow you to search and see every last bit of the universe, turning side mission searching into something you're going to want to do.
Visually, Mass Effect 2 is miles ahead of most games, and the only other game on consoles that can really match up to its overall look is Uncharted 2. Character designs are simply incredible as I've mentioned before, and each planet is lovingly crafted with a different color palette. There are some truly memorable places you're going to explore on your adventure, with a nightclub called Afterlife as the visual highlight from an artistic perspective. More impressive is how the game keeps a steady clip through the entire game, only dipping on very notable occasions.
From a sound standpoint, Mass Effect 2 completely demolishes every other game out there. The amount of well delivered voice work is almost unbelievable, the soundtrack has a great vibe and distinct sound to it, and sound effects are well done as well.
Mass Effect 2 certainly lives up to the hype that was laid out for it, and then it double jumps past that hype, hops into a car, and takes off. It is miles ahead and above the competition from both genres it touches. It has one of the best character driven stories I've ever witnessed, one which is just as emotionally gripping as it is intense. It's an incredibly personal experience which changes to every move you make. It's got steamlined rpg elements which feel right at home. The action and the set pieces from every mission are simply unforgettable. When you're nearing the end of your 25 - 30 hour adventure and you're prompted to make some impossible choices, and you find yourself emotionally in a tight spot, that is when you'll finally notice how attached you've become to the characters and the universe, if you haven't by that point already. Mass Effect 2 isn't only a phenomenal role playing game, but as a shooter it outclasses many big names. It's certainly a game that simply needs to be experienced by any means necessary.
9.0
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