NIDZUMI+

I’ll freely admit that the original Mass Effect didn’t blow me away, the story was original, the characters were unique and charming but I never felt that it wowed me. It’s hard not to approach the sequel without feeling excited however, mainly due to the shroud of hype draped over the title. If Mass Effect 2 was coming to take over our lives and put every other game to shame, I say, mission accomplished.

Plenty has changed in the time between titles. It may hurt certain fans, but the Mass Effect franchise seems to have shifted from RPG shooter to Shooter RPG. It’s safe to say that the shooting mechanics have been tightened extensively since the first game; the gunplay is a lot more satisfying and no longer does it feel as if you brought a knife to a gun fight. However, something had to give with this push towards becoming a fully competent shooter.

The RPG elements that made the series such a success have drastically changed, and so might your point of view depending on how hardcore you were into these elements. No longer is there a wealth of options to your armour but on the plus side, no need to scan through reams of pages to find the right piece that will give you the edge in combat. While this may be a downside to the hardcore fanbase, it helps the experience on the whole, as does scaling back the levelling up options from a plethora of powers to just four and trimming the game into manageable missions sections rather than a sprawling game.

Even the planet exploration has been scrapped, no longer do you roam around a planet’s surface in the Mako. This time around you collect your resources by scanning planets from afar and launching probes down to gather one of four materials that allow you to upgrade your weapons, armour and ship. While this is simpler it still takes a similar amount of time as Mako travelling and becomes rather boring when you’re left sitting there watching a planet spin.

The gunplay is so much more satisfying than in the original. You’ll no longer feel like you’ve brought a knife to a gun fight.

It’s in changing these features where Mass Effect 2 loses its identity as an RPG; sure there are still some elements left behind, like building a crew from people you meet and exploring new worlds, but it’s all very regimentally done. Creating a team to save the galaxy is now like shopping in the supermarket, “I must remember to pick up the Krogan and I believe they are right next to the Quarians”. RPGs are about exploration and seeking out new friends and deadly enemies; this has been taken away from Mass Effect 2 and replaced with a stringent path in which to complete the game.

This is, in no way a bad thing, but it’s far more linear than the previous title. Even the citadel, one of the originals largest areas to explore, has been broken down into a more bite size chunk. But all of this has done the game some good, being able to play in smaller sittings and replay the game without wading through masses of content. It’s still not a short game either, completing it with a good chunk of the side missions finished takes around 21 hours on normal, so as with the first iteration, there’s plenty of longevity here.

And I’m sure that it won’t just be the devoted Bioware fans that will be replaying the title. You still have the option to be a bastard or a goody two shoes, there’s plenty of chance for romance and lots of ways for certain moments to be played out. As an aside from the usual “evil playthrough” many people will just venture back for the story and the characters. The series has come on leaps and bounds since the first game. This story feels more gripping with plenty of ‘edge of the seat’ moments and twists in the plot. It helps then that the characters push it further, with each one feeling fully fleshed out and being enjoyable to interact with.

Mass Effect 2 is truly beautiful for the senses; visually the game can move from grimy planet surfaces to neon bars and still look wonderful. There isn’t a moment in the entire game where you’re left wanting more from what you’re seeing, this is definitely an experience that forces you to stop and drink in your surroundings. Accompanying the visual is terrific soundtrack that helps to build tension and calm the nerves equally. Demolishing enemy units as the sound builds into a crescendo of drama keeps your adrenaline surging, but as the gunfire ends, the music drifts off and allows you to deal with the aftermath perfectly.

Bioware have created a game that carries on the overarching story of the series very well, with a new darker tone to the missions and a more tongue in cheek approach to conversations and interactions. It sounds very cliché, but when you look at how great the game looks, how the sound accompanies the visual, how the story weaves in and out of situations, Bioware have their Empire Strikes Back.