MASS EFFECT 2

Finally, a legitimate reason to drop everything you're doing and lock yourself in a cold, dark room for days on end. No, I'm not talking about trying to find new love connections on eHarmony, you silly sally. BioWare recently released their newest brainchild, Mass Effect 2 for PC and Xbox 360! Before you start with the "But Wrel, I'm having this great conversation with cheergal76" I'll let you know that she's way out of your league, and you'll find more fulfillment spending a couple weeks with this incredible single player RPG, than you will trying to stitch together an internet relationship. Plus, Mass Effect 2 isn't trying to hook up with greatguy32 behind your back.

So what makes this experience so incredible? It's that very word, experience. As a player, you're bound to have a different one each time you play. Mass Effect 2 is a sci-fi adventure that grips the player emotionally by allowing them to shape their character and the characters that accompany you through choices, many, many choices. You play the role of Commander Shepard, the main character and savior of the galaxy from the original Mass Effect, and one tough son of a gun.

Despite the box art and trailers that show off a stone cold Commander Shepard, the main character doesn't 'have' to be the battle hardened veteran the game makes him out to be. Upon starting a new game, you create your own Commander Shepard (or import a past Shepard from the original Mass Effect,) choosing hair style, facial attributes, one of six character classes, oh, and whether you want to play a male or female. Deciding Shepard's gender is not just aesthetic, but also governs how certain characters throughout the game will react to you, including (if you play your cards right) which of your crew mates you can enter a relationship with. Down boy, down!

Do you want to be the great hero everyone knows and respects? Or the ruthless vigilante that people call on to get the job done regardless of the cost. Your demeanor during conversations allow you to make decisions that shape that way the story plays out, and how people view you. Depending on how “good” or “bad” you are, you may be able to activate special events during cut scenes. Examples include things like interrupting an enemy's somewhat cliché “how we’re going to take over the universe and there’s nothing you can do to stop us” speech by shooting a gas pipe and setting him ablaze, or reprimanding someone who endangered the lives of innocent people with a righteous punch to the jaw. Unlike most games where judgment calls are part of the grand scheme, Mass Effect 2 doesn't force you to be the white knight or the seal clubbing villain, the system allows you to be a bit of both, like, you know... a "real" person. All seal clubbing aside, this game has employed the best karma based conversational system I‘ve seen to date.

Stunning visuals and incredible voice acting known to BioWare games are present more than ever in this title. Visiting different planets with unique climates, terrain, and encounters throughout the various star systems are a constant delight. The game hosts a wide range of guns and skills to accompany the six unique character classes, as well as upgrades for your starborne frigate and research projects that empower Shepard and crew.

But what are gorgeous guns and graphics without gameplay? While you are not shaking down thugs for information in the major cities, ME2's gameplay revolves mostly around squad based combat, being you and two teammates. You can issue commands to individual squad members, or have them fight with you on their own, using a somewhat intelligent AI that makes decent use of cover while paying attention to their surroundings. I say “somewhat” intelligent AI for this reason: when playing on the harder difficulties, the AI won’t stay behind cover long enough to recover their shields, and instead act like a short lived bullet sponge. While “taking one for the team” might seem like the heroic thing to do, in firefights that can last a number of minutes, the extra five seconds it takes for enemies to mow down a teammate won’t be doing you any favors. I found that in some situations, it’s best to keep the AI out of sight entirely and abuse their powers. Depending on the difficulty, the story line can be completed by throat-punching your way to victory in the easiest mode, to taking a very careful and strategic approach to every skirmish in the hardest difficulty.

Mass Effect 2 has gained a great deal over the first installment in way of interface design, performance, and smoothness of control. While prior Mass Effect players may be slightly saddened at the game’s new steps toward simplicity (lacking the complexity of the original equipment and skill evolution system,) trust that the tactical involvement is still there.
 
Easy Rating: 9.5/10