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  • If you've been excited to play Mass Effect 2, you probably want me to just cut to the

  • chase and let you know one thing: how great is it? The answer? Really great. It's certainly

  • improves a lot of things over the original. It boasts a vastly superior art design, better

  • shooting mechanics, and a better cast of characters. The vehicle known as the Mako is gone, as

  • are the cookie cutter side missions that all took place in the same boring warehouse. Mass

  • Effect 2 is leaner and meaner, but it's also apt to stick with you and occupy your mind

  • even when you aren't playing it. And that is the kind of mark only a fantastic game

  • can make on you.

  • The exciting opening sequence and the first few hours of the game make Mass Effect 2's

  • shift of focus clear early on: it is more about action than before. The shooting has

  • been cleaned up a good deal, making the game feel a lot more feasible as a third-person

  • cover shooter. As before, two teammates accompany you, and you can give them basic squad orders.

  • And of course, you can pause the action to perform specific powers. However, it's a lot

  • more fun to play Mass Effect 2 as a shooter than it was before. Teammate AI isn't perfect

  • but it's better than in the original, and getting in and out of cover is much slicker.

  • And the level design is much better, giving you plenty of opportunities to move from cover

  • spot to cover spot. Health and ammo are also treated as they are in a standard shooter.

  • Health and shields regenerate now, and you pick up ammo from the battlefield. Medi-gel

  • is used differently... It now powers the unity skill that lets you revive your teammates.

  • The cover system can get glitchy from time to time, and watching your teammates do stupid

  • things like standing up on crates rather than take cover behind them can get a little frustrating.

  • But if you wanted combat that stands up better as a third person shooter, you got it.

  • The RPG elements have also been reworked. If you hated the clunky inventory management

  • of Mass Effect 1, you'll be happy to know it's been taken care of in the sequel... But

  • maybe not in the way you imagined. Traditional inventory has been abandoned completely, and

  • many other elements have been either stripped away or restructured. So rather than find

  • or buy new weapons, you might find new weapon technology instead. Then, that weapon is available

  • at the weapons locker on your ship, where you select your arsenal before going into

  • battle. Weapons can be upgraded in your tech lab, and you can also buy things like model

  • ships for your personal quarters. Even the selection of skills available to you as you

  • level up is a bit more limited... As are the levels themselves. You could do a pretty thorough

  • play-through and not even hit level 30. So between the better shooting and the leaner

  • loot, Mass Effect 2 is balanced differently than Mass Effect 1. You get into the action

  • much quicker than before, and there's less fiddling with the interface and skill points.

  • And yet this rebalancing in favor of shooting over character management works incredibly

  • well. Why? Because Mass Effect 2 is paced faster, and is darker and more violent in

  • tone. You

  • still play as Shepard, the hero from Mass Effect, but now you're working with Cerberus,

  • a pro-human organization with a less than reputable past. Cerberus is headed by the

  • chain smoking illusive man, though it's not always easy to back up your mysterious boss

  • and his questionable moral fiber. The game's fantastic art design also adds to the grittier

  • atmosphere. The color palette is more intense, and strong lighting and deep shadows cast

  • a certain darkness over your adventure. The technical problems of Mass Effect are gone

  • for the most part. There's a lot more artistry and originality to appreciate, and fewer technical

  • oddities to distract you from those things.

  • But just because there's more emphasis on the action doesn't mean that Mass Effect 2

  • skimps on story and character. The plot involves the threat of the collectors, a swarm of creepy

  • robot locust things. The main plot lets loose a few surprises, but it's fairly straightforward.

  • It's the characters that join you that make this adventure so worthwhile. Yes, you will

  • run into people you knew from the original game, and no, I am not going to tell you who

  • they are and what role they play in your new adventure. But I can say that the cast of

  • crew members and outsiders is larger and richer. Each available member of your team also sends

  • you off on a personal quest. These quests are easily the storytelling highlights of

  • the game, and characters that don't seem that interesting at first gain depth and seem much

  • more fascinating once you pursue these missions. Some of the new characters include a Krogan

  • named Grunt, a sexy Cerberus operative named Miranda, and a cool and collected Asari called

  • Samara. The best addition, however, is a Salarian scientist called Mordin. His fast-talking

  • logical delivery makes him stand out, and he will both move you and have you in stitches.

  • And as fans of the original expect, you'll be talking to a lot of otherworldly beings

  • in Mass Effect 2. Some dialogue choices nudge you towards either the Paragon or Renegade

  • sides of the moral spectrum. As you fill up the meters that represent each side of your

  • ethical makeup, new dialogue options will become available. You'll also be presented

  • with dialogue interruption possibilities from time to time that are classified as either

  • paragon or renegade actions. The basic system still works the same basic way it did in the

  • original Mass Effect, so don't expect to see as many complexities as you would in something

  • like Dragon Age. But it's still an impressive dialogue system, and you're presented with

  • some tough choices towards the end of the game.

  • Also impressive are the number of variables at work should you import your Mass Effect

  • character into the sequel. A lot of consequential decisions you made in the original manifest

  • themselves in extraordinary ways. And if you play a second time as a brand new character,

  • you'll really appreciate the amazing creativity that went into applying those choices to Mass

  • Effect 2. When you aren't shooting or engaging in conversation, you'll be flying about space,

  • scanning planets and dropping probes, which is how you earn most of the resources you

  • need to upgrade your weapons. This isn't bad by any stretch, but even after the scanner

  • is upgraded, scanning is a slow process that eventually gets tedious and mucks with the

  • otherwise remarkably intense pace.

  • But really, what this game nails is everything that's most important. A few small issues

  • and bugs aside, Mass Effect 2 is a far more engaging experience than its predecessor.

  • It feels like its own universe now, which speaks largely to a much improved art design.

  • It tugs at your heartstrings in unexpected ways while letting you be as virtuous or as

  • mean spirited as you want to be. In other words, it's time to get lost in another galaxy,

  • where it is once again up to you to save humanity for annihilation. And don't forget to buy

  • a space hamster during your visit.

If you've been excited to play Mass Effect 2, you probably want me to just cut to the

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