Having followed the development of this game for ages it's finally here. The experience of space travel in games can either seem like too trivial and a minor aspect of a game, or often long and drawn out like a movie starring George Clooney. So, does Mass Effect 2 manage to balance things, or like Syriana [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0365737/]does it make me want to shoot a puppy?
To begin with I should say that most people will know what Mass Effect 2 is about [http://www.macksites.co.uk/GameBank/index.php?topic=113.0], and if you don't then you should. You take the role of Shepherd, a slightly ambiguous hero who is known throughout the galaxy. Essentially Mass Effect 2 picks up the story a few years after the events of the original game, and amazingly the universe finds itself in more peril that only you can rescue them from .. I know, didn't see that one coming, huh?
Now, there are loads and loads of reviews giving you the basics of the game, but I want to try and focus on the bottom line .. is it as good as people say it is? Well, as you're about to find out the game is both awesome and slightly frustrating - a Jekyl and Hyde - but somehow despite this still awesome - let me elaborate beginning with some basics ...
Graphics: grand or garish?
For the most part the graphics in ME2 are sublime. Cityscapes look crisp, landscapes are varied and atmospheric, and both action and dormant textures are very well handled. However, much like Dragon Age Origins [http://www.macksites.co.uk/GameBank/index.php?topic=60.0] there are imperfections, but these are only really noticable if you look for them.
The treatment of each zone, each planet, each galaxy capital, each internal is exquisite, as are the detail of each NPC or party member you find along the way. There's a lot to soak in here, a lot of effort to absorb and enjoy. Oh, and the cut-scenes are truly epic - you're in for an almighty treat there.
The Sound of Music
Mass Effect 2's music is both awesome and fail. On the one hand you have beautiful, vibrant music that helps to enchance the environment and the story making it feel epic and expansive, while at the same time you also have music that often sounds like an Atari video game. However, generally speaking the music enlivens the experience, and somehow even the slightly more odd music works .. somehow.
As for other sounds in the game these are pretty much faultless. Sniper shots, explosions, spacecraft, city ambience, and everything else between sound exactly as you'd want and then some. None of the game sounds let you down, or for a second suspend your belief.
Gameplay: schizophrenia is your friend
Here's where my review starts to get difficult.
There are a few different ways you play ME2: fighting in 3rd person; flying from planet to planet or from galaxy to galaxy; visiting capitals and settlements; and finally the activity that takes place on your ship. To help break this down I'll take each one of these and give you an overview of how they integrate into the game and how each experience at times feels disjointed from the next sometimes.
Fighting
Fighting in ME2 is often a complex affair. As you move around the locales (at least the ones you can fight in), there's lots of cover that you can use while commanding your squad to also use it. You can set up crossfires and ambushes once you get the hang of it, while also taking advantage of other enviromental aspects to help you get the upper hand. By this I mean there are sometimes canisters that can be blown up with a single shot, or larger containers that you can get one of your biotic squad members to overcharge so it explodes with greater force, and so on. As you level up and move through the story you unlock more talent points to spend on your squad's abilities, and when a rank is maxed out even more powerful individual or group abilities become available .. this is where the awesomeness gets more awesome. Again though, despite the attention to detail with this the weapons and armour in the game are very limited, with the onus being placed on upgrades over new drops. Yes you can find new items during missions but it isn't at all common - most enemies simply drop ammo, and not all the time. ME2 seems to have a habit of giving you something brilliant then giving you something weird in the next breath .. but the brilliance of the brilliant thing makes it OK .. somehow.
As you might expect getting your squad into position for a lengthy fight is paramount, and is even important when moving through tight spots that require instant action if you come into contact with any enemies. This is where the command menu comes in. Whenever you activate the command menu the game freezes allowing you line up commands. So, for example, you might want to get the biotic member of your team to send in a shock wave to break two enemies out of cover towards an explosive canister, and command the other person in your squad to shoot the canister. This is a very enjoyable part of the game, but oddly one that isn't even vaguely essential. Even the fact that before long you have a vast array of awesome squad mates to choose from with different abilities and storylines but, despite this plethora or pwn, you only get to choose 2 to accompany you on a mission .. it's great and all, but a little odd, but still great.
Your squad mates can die, but are easily ressurected so long as you have enough Medi-Gel to get them up, but if you die it's game over .. clearly your squad-mates can't be bothered to carry anything to help you out. This again is a little odd .. but whilst being strange it doesn't often matter because you won't often die due to the ultra-protective capabilities of the cover.
Cover is a strange beast. Some cover can be destroyed forcing you or an enemy to find a new home, but most is so robust it can see off a handful of rockets and smile back winking sarcastically without a single scratch. Once you're in cover your avoid all, and yes I mean ALL, attacks except for those biotic attacks that enemies are able to use which momentarily push you out of cover.
The enemy AI is very good most of the time. They use cover, they use their numbers, they try to out-flank .. this makes for some interesting fights for sure. However, ME2 is never far from its schizophrenic self, and it's also quite common for an enemy to stand out it full view for you to pop out of cover and shoot. The AI stupidity can sometimes be baffling compared to how it normally works, so much so that you can almost see an enemy thinking, "That human is shooting at me and it hurts, perhaps I should use the cover right over there. Naaaaah, I'll just keep doing this, because it's working so well for me." This, in essence, is another one of ME2's quirks.
Space action
This is possibly the strangest part of the game. The gameplay in space consists of two main things: getting from one place to the next, and interacting with planets or quest-related places.
Initially you're based within one solar system with a few planets, a capital world and the like, but you can utilise a Mass Relay to travel across the universe to another galaxy. The only time fuel is consumed is when you travel from one solar system to the next .. it isn't needed at all for the lesser or greater travelling you do. So it begs the question, why bother with fuel at all?
It's fairly straight forward to interact with planets or quest locations - you simply fly over them. However, some planets (in fact most) are there for one purpose alone - scanning and mineral collection. Minerals are used by you for a number of things, but primarily to go towards weapon, armour, and ship upgrades (as well as prototype research, i.e. alien or advanced technology). You need a great deal of resources to fully upgrade one thing, so scanning and mineral collection is a key part of the overall game. Now, scanning itself is absolutely tedious, there's no other way to describe it. Here's how it goes:
- You arrive at a planet
- You run the icon across the surface of the planet and watch a graph showing you the minreals available directly under the icon.
- You slowly drag the icon across the entire surface of that side of the planet, shooting probes whenever you discover something.
- You breathe a sigh of relief when you finish a sweep, then you realise you need to rotate the planet and scan 3-4 more sides before you can get the hell out of there.
There's no other way to describe it .. the scanning system in the game is hideous. The only benefit to visiting planets beyond scanning is that occasionally the planets uncover side missions that are often fun and a nice busman's holiday away from the main quest line .. beyond that you must simply embrace the lameness.
Visiting cities, capitals, and settlements
The universe if FULL of different cultures, species, mercenary groups and so on, so you'd expect running around a city out of combat would get you meeting all sorts of interesting beings. Well, ME2 doesn't disappoint at all there. Every settlement you find feels different, and there are many things you can do away from the main quest line in them too. There's shops where you can buy items for your personal quarters on board your ship, or weapons upgrades that can be purchased, or even star charts so you can find new star systems to scan (yeah, grrrrrrrrrrrrrreat). Some of the characters you meet have a big impact upon the development of your character, some minor, and there's a rich array of things to do and see, some which will question your motives in relation to your personality in the game, and some that will just make you laugh (my favourite being the Volus).
Activity on your ship
Whilst on your ship there are many things to do. You can develop relationships with your crew and party members, pick up side quests from individuals or email, research items, while also being able to interact with the universe or the galaxy you're in. As your squad gets larger you can find them dotted around your ship performing all sorts of actions. This 'down time' can be used to further advance the personality of your character, prepare for the next set of missions, or try and sweet talk someone into your bed .. no matter, there's some fun to be had here.
Your personality .. find one!
A large proportion of what you do in Mass Effect 2 helps to shape your personality, whether it be how you handle yourself in conversations, what quests you do or don't do, your actions etc etc. The complexity of how you handle your personality and how it effects how the game plays out is an ever-changing element, but one that keeps it feeling fresh at all times. There's no doubt about this, Bioware really do rule when it comes to character customisation.
However, as with a lot of things in ME2 the feature of 'personality' doesn't come without its quirks. For example, some of the conversation options don't match with what you end up saying but while not a game-breaker it does leave itself open to interpretation. This is definitely one thing to be wary of.
Your personality is divided into two main sections: Renegade (bad) or Paragon (good). With each mission you complete, conversation you have, or action you undertake your Paragon/Renegade status will be updated. So, if you shoot a guy in the face for asking if you have any spare change expect a high renegade score, but if you give him all your money and your clothes then it's Paragon points for you. Again ME2's schizophrenia kicks in with this too .. some quests that appear totally harmless can award you a very odd combination of points, so that if you're wanting to play as an evil bastard it can be difficult to maintain it. Some conversation options are colour-coded to signify which answer will produce a Renegade or Paragon reaction, but not all conversations are treated in this way. Also, at times during the replies an icon will flash up on the screen where you can perform a good, bad, or neutral action - for example a red icon might appear which if chosen will result in you slapping the person you're talking to across the face resulting in renegade points and so on. However, sometimes these are very borderline choices and not distinct to allow you to follow your personality through. However, having said that this is meant to be part of ME2 and this becomes more apparent as the story plays out, but while you're working towards that point it can be a tad frustrating.
Mass Effect 2: A beautiful, awesome, freak.
So to sum up Mass Effect 2 is quite an astonishing game. It plays well, looks good, sounds great, and there's lots and lots of things to do. Now, with my first character I completed it in 35 hours, BUT I still had a few unexplored star systems and a couple of loose ends to tie up, so there were still a few more things to do after the main thread of story had finished. Still, despite all of that ME2 isn't 100% pure win .. as I'm sure you've picked up throughout this review there are bug-bears. But if I had to put it in a nutshell, the nutshell would be that the awesome things in the game vastly out-weigh the annoyances, and on the whole the game embraces and emerges you in a quite unique way, and it only really falters momentarily.
So, should you buy it? Yes, definitely. ME2 is a balanced game without being overtly RPG like Dragon Age was, or minutely RPG like Borderlands was. It's solid, fun, enthralling, and well worth every penny or cent.
8.5/10 - schizophrenic at times, but awesome
Jango
GameBank
To begin with I should say that most people will know what Mass Effect 2 is about [http://www.macksites.co.uk/GameBank/index.php?topic=113.0], and if you don't then you should. You take the role of Shepherd, a slightly ambiguous hero who is known throughout the galaxy. Essentially Mass Effect 2 picks up the story a few years after the events of the original game, and amazingly the universe finds itself in more peril that only you can rescue them from .. I know, didn't see that one coming, huh?
Now, there are loads and loads of reviews giving you the basics of the game, but I want to try and focus on the bottom line .. is it as good as people say it is? Well, as you're about to find out the game is both awesome and slightly frustrating - a Jekyl and Hyde - but somehow despite this still awesome - let me elaborate beginning with some basics ...
Graphics: grand or garish?
For the most part the graphics in ME2 are sublime. Cityscapes look crisp, landscapes are varied and atmospheric, and both action and dormant textures are very well handled. However, much like Dragon Age Origins [http://www.macksites.co.uk/GameBank/index.php?topic=60.0] there are imperfections, but these are only really noticable if you look for them.
The treatment of each zone, each planet, each galaxy capital, each internal is exquisite, as are the detail of each NPC or party member you find along the way. There's a lot to soak in here, a lot of effort to absorb and enjoy. Oh, and the cut-scenes are truly epic - you're in for an almighty treat there.
The Sound of Music
Mass Effect 2's music is both awesome and fail. On the one hand you have beautiful, vibrant music that helps to enchance the environment and the story making it feel epic and expansive, while at the same time you also have music that often sounds like an Atari video game. However, generally speaking the music enlivens the experience, and somehow even the slightly more odd music works .. somehow.
As for other sounds in the game these are pretty much faultless. Sniper shots, explosions, spacecraft, city ambience, and everything else between sound exactly as you'd want and then some. None of the game sounds let you down, or for a second suspend your belief.
Gameplay: schizophrenia is your friend
Here's where my review starts to get difficult.
There are a few different ways you play ME2: fighting in 3rd person; flying from planet to planet or from galaxy to galaxy; visiting capitals and settlements; and finally the activity that takes place on your ship. To help break this down I'll take each one of these and give you an overview of how they integrate into the game and how each experience at times feels disjointed from the next sometimes.
Fighting
Fighting in ME2 is often a complex affair. As you move around the locales (at least the ones you can fight in), there's lots of cover that you can use while commanding your squad to also use it. You can set up crossfires and ambushes once you get the hang of it, while also taking advantage of other enviromental aspects to help you get the upper hand. By this I mean there are sometimes canisters that can be blown up with a single shot, or larger containers that you can get one of your biotic squad members to overcharge so it explodes with greater force, and so on. As you level up and move through the story you unlock more talent points to spend on your squad's abilities, and when a rank is maxed out even more powerful individual or group abilities become available .. this is where the awesomeness gets more awesome. Again though, despite the attention to detail with this the weapons and armour in the game are very limited, with the onus being placed on upgrades over new drops. Yes you can find new items during missions but it isn't at all common - most enemies simply drop ammo, and not all the time. ME2 seems to have a habit of giving you something brilliant then giving you something weird in the next breath .. but the brilliance of the brilliant thing makes it OK .. somehow.
As you might expect getting your squad into position for a lengthy fight is paramount, and is even important when moving through tight spots that require instant action if you come into contact with any enemies. This is where the command menu comes in. Whenever you activate the command menu the game freezes allowing you line up commands. So, for example, you might want to get the biotic member of your team to send in a shock wave to break two enemies out of cover towards an explosive canister, and command the other person in your squad to shoot the canister. This is a very enjoyable part of the game, but oddly one that isn't even vaguely essential. Even the fact that before long you have a vast array of awesome squad mates to choose from with different abilities and storylines but, despite this plethora or pwn, you only get to choose 2 to accompany you on a mission .. it's great and all, but a little odd, but still great.
Your squad mates can die, but are easily ressurected so long as you have enough Medi-Gel to get them up, but if you die it's game over .. clearly your squad-mates can't be bothered to carry anything to help you out. This again is a little odd .. but whilst being strange it doesn't often matter because you won't often die due to the ultra-protective capabilities of the cover.
Cover is a strange beast. Some cover can be destroyed forcing you or an enemy to find a new home, but most is so robust it can see off a handful of rockets and smile back winking sarcastically without a single scratch. Once you're in cover your avoid all, and yes I mean ALL, attacks except for those biotic attacks that enemies are able to use which momentarily push you out of cover.
The enemy AI is very good most of the time. They use cover, they use their numbers, they try to out-flank .. this makes for some interesting fights for sure. However, ME2 is never far from its schizophrenic self, and it's also quite common for an enemy to stand out it full view for you to pop out of cover and shoot. The AI stupidity can sometimes be baffling compared to how it normally works, so much so that you can almost see an enemy thinking, "That human is shooting at me and it hurts, perhaps I should use the cover right over there. Naaaaah, I'll just keep doing this, because it's working so well for me." This, in essence, is another one of ME2's quirks.
Space action
This is possibly the strangest part of the game. The gameplay in space consists of two main things: getting from one place to the next, and interacting with planets or quest-related places.
Initially you're based within one solar system with a few planets, a capital world and the like, but you can utilise a Mass Relay to travel across the universe to another galaxy. The only time fuel is consumed is when you travel from one solar system to the next .. it isn't needed at all for the lesser or greater travelling you do. So it begs the question, why bother with fuel at all?
It's fairly straight forward to interact with planets or quest locations - you simply fly over them. However, some planets (in fact most) are there for one purpose alone - scanning and mineral collection. Minerals are used by you for a number of things, but primarily to go towards weapon, armour, and ship upgrades (as well as prototype research, i.e. alien or advanced technology). You need a great deal of resources to fully upgrade one thing, so scanning and mineral collection is a key part of the overall game. Now, scanning itself is absolutely tedious, there's no other way to describe it. Here's how it goes:
- You arrive at a planet
- You run the icon across the surface of the planet and watch a graph showing you the minreals available directly under the icon.
- You slowly drag the icon across the entire surface of that side of the planet, shooting probes whenever you discover something.
- You breathe a sigh of relief when you finish a sweep, then you realise you need to rotate the planet and scan 3-4 more sides before you can get the hell out of there.
There's no other way to describe it .. the scanning system in the game is hideous. The only benefit to visiting planets beyond scanning is that occasionally the planets uncover side missions that are often fun and a nice busman's holiday away from the main quest line .. beyond that you must simply embrace the lameness.
Visiting cities, capitals, and settlements
The universe if FULL of different cultures, species, mercenary groups and so on, so you'd expect running around a city out of combat would get you meeting all sorts of interesting beings. Well, ME2 doesn't disappoint at all there. Every settlement you find feels different, and there are many things you can do away from the main quest line in them too. There's shops where you can buy items for your personal quarters on board your ship, or weapons upgrades that can be purchased, or even star charts so you can find new star systems to scan (yeah, grrrrrrrrrrrrrreat). Some of the characters you meet have a big impact upon the development of your character, some minor, and there's a rich array of things to do and see, some which will question your motives in relation to your personality in the game, and some that will just make you laugh (my favourite being the Volus).
Activity on your ship
Whilst on your ship there are many things to do. You can develop relationships with your crew and party members, pick up side quests from individuals or email, research items, while also being able to interact with the universe or the galaxy you're in. As your squad gets larger you can find them dotted around your ship performing all sorts of actions. This 'down time' can be used to further advance the personality of your character, prepare for the next set of missions, or try and sweet talk someone into your bed .. no matter, there's some fun to be had here.
Your personality .. find one!
A large proportion of what you do in Mass Effect 2 helps to shape your personality, whether it be how you handle yourself in conversations, what quests you do or don't do, your actions etc etc. The complexity of how you handle your personality and how it effects how the game plays out is an ever-changing element, but one that keeps it feeling fresh at all times. There's no doubt about this, Bioware really do rule when it comes to character customisation.
However, as with a lot of things in ME2 the feature of 'personality' doesn't come without its quirks. For example, some of the conversation options don't match with what you end up saying but while not a game-breaker it does leave itself open to interpretation. This is definitely one thing to be wary of.
Your personality is divided into two main sections: Renegade (bad) or Paragon (good). With each mission you complete, conversation you have, or action you undertake your Paragon/Renegade status will be updated. So, if you shoot a guy in the face for asking if you have any spare change expect a high renegade score, but if you give him all your money and your clothes then it's Paragon points for you. Again ME2's schizophrenia kicks in with this too .. some quests that appear totally harmless can award you a very odd combination of points, so that if you're wanting to play as an evil bastard it can be difficult to maintain it. Some conversation options are colour-coded to signify which answer will produce a Renegade or Paragon reaction, but not all conversations are treated in this way. Also, at times during the replies an icon will flash up on the screen where you can perform a good, bad, or neutral action - for example a red icon might appear which if chosen will result in you slapping the person you're talking to across the face resulting in renegade points and so on. However, sometimes these are very borderline choices and not distinct to allow you to follow your personality through. However, having said that this is meant to be part of ME2 and this becomes more apparent as the story plays out, but while you're working towards that point it can be a tad frustrating.
Mass Effect 2: A beautiful, awesome, freak.
So to sum up Mass Effect 2 is quite an astonishing game. It plays well, looks good, sounds great, and there's lots and lots of things to do. Now, with my first character I completed it in 35 hours, BUT I still had a few unexplored star systems and a couple of loose ends to tie up, so there were still a few more things to do after the main thread of story had finished. Still, despite all of that ME2 isn't 100% pure win .. as I'm sure you've picked up throughout this review there are bug-bears. But if I had to put it in a nutshell, the nutshell would be that the awesome things in the game vastly out-weigh the annoyances, and on the whole the game embraces and emerges you in a quite unique way, and it only really falters momentarily.
So, should you buy it? Yes, definitely. ME2 is a balanced game without being overtly RPG like Dragon Age was, or minutely RPG like Borderlands was. It's solid, fun, enthralling, and well worth every penny or cent.
8.5/10 - schizophrenic at times, but awesome
Jango
GameBank
