Mass Effect 2: Review

Remember how random nerds and some fat guy on TV used to talk over the finer points of Star Wars (and no, in fact Greedo shot first)? We can now rightly consider the throne two-thirds usurped.

Mass Effect 2 is the epic sequel to Bioware's epic 2007 sci-fi odyssey Mass Effect (if you can believe it). What sets it apart from other sequels is that it picks up two years after you left off. To clarify, everything you did in Mass Effect, from seemingly banal choices, to main character deaths, to the look of your Commander Shepard are all transferred to Mass Effect 2. Genius.

That being said, I would find it a hard sell for one who skipped the first game to get into this one. For all the subtleties that crop up from time to time in ME2, probably 70% or so would be lost on those with no context. Good thing the first game is only $20 now huh? I'm not sure if people from the last game still send you messages about how you saved them (I tend to save lots of people), but if they did, that would only make it more confusing.

The menus have been greatly simplified, much to the joy of people who hate the micromanagement that is a signature of JRPGs (Japanese Role Playing Games). Gone are the hours spent finding out who can use what and if they'll need it for this mission, and am I bringing him anyway, and so on... for hours. While the simplified menu is appreciated, at times it seems a little overly simple, almost to the point of seeming trivial. I think I may have changed weapons four times in my entire 30+ hour stint in the ME2 universe. Something so simple could probably have been mapped to buttons or something.

The battle system however has seen only improvements as ME2 takes queues from third person shooters with the requisite cover system to boot. That battles are pretty fast and furious all the while feeling less like Final Fantasy and Star Wars and more like a damned gun battle in space should entice some non-sci-fi fans into space.

The game really shines with the return of the moral system that Bioware is now quite famous for. Whether male or female, Commander Shepard comes off exactly as you'd want someone you're making decisions for to. The voice acting is definitely top notch and the character animations really work to sell the emotions.

There's really little else to say about Mass Effect 2 except that if you haven't played it yet, you're slacking. Get to it. And if you'd like to engage in Star Wars quality nerd talk about the budding Mass Effect universe, come see me.

Played on Xbox 360 on hard.