When my brother finished Mass Effect 2 for the Xbox 360, he told me it was the best movie he’d experienced in 2010. Me being the Playstation 3 owner, I was quite jealous. Thankfully, BioWare threw me a bone.
The developer’s masterful RPG has finally graced the Playstation 3, and it just might be the best game I've ever played. I don't say that lightly. I've waited years for a game to come along and bring with it the quality needed to dethrone The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and this could be that game.
Mass Effect 2 is the middle entry in BioWare's epic RPG trilogy, which began in 2007 with the original Mass Effect for the Xbox 360 and PC. The sequel begins with the untimely death of Commander Shepard, the player-character and protagonist of the first game. Through some science fiction magic, Shepard is brought back to life to fight the Reapers, a sentient race of machines who come around every 50,000 years or so to wipe out all life in the Milky Way.
Visually, games have been edging closer and closer to films for a long time. Though it is extremely beautiful to look at, Mass Effect 2 stands out for a wholly different reason: it’s the first game I've played that goes past what we see and truly taps into what we feel. I cared for each and every one of these characters and their stories; I didn't want any of them to die. In many respects, Mass Effect 2 uses the gaming medium to go above and beyond the capabilities of Hollywood films. Most movies demand two hours of investment. I spent 30 hours blasting my way through Mass Effect 2 and getting to know the ins and outs of its characters, and that was just my first playthrough.
The fictional cast’s believability is greatly enhanced by the talented actors who lend their voices to each character. Martin Sheen is perhaps the most recognizable in his role as the Illusive Man, the mysterious tycoon who funds Shepard's mission. Seth Green is perfect in his return as Joker, the pilot of Shepard’s ship, the Normandy. Many, many other actors are featured in Mass Effect 2, too many to list in one review. Rest assured, not one of them falls short.
Most importantly, perhaps, is the one common thread that binds all great video games: fun. Mass Effect 2 has no shortage of it. From dialogue to combat to mining for resources, every aspect of this game is refined to be as addictive as possible.
Skills are grouped into three areas: combat, tech and biotics. Players can choose classes at the beginning of their adventures; each class emphasizes one or two of these skills. My Shepard, for example, has been a Vanguard since I played through Mass Effect on my old Xbox 360. This class mixes combat abilities (gunplay) with biotics (Mass Effect's version of the Force). I usually let the other members of my party take up the tech duties, which include hacking and creating drones.
The game’s Power Wheel acts as a central hub for all the powers Shepard and his party possess. Holding R2 during a skirmish (combat is real-time, in third-person) pauses the action, allowing the player to choose a power for each party member to use. The camera can be moved freely during the break in the action so the player can specify which target each party member will attack. Holding L2 lets the player specify which weapon each party member should use. Shortcuts can be assigned to the shoulder and directional pad buttons for easy access to preferred abilities.
The battle system is very easy to adapt to, and feels like a natural evolution of the original. Every player will have a different style, and Mass Effect 2 encourages this. Players can use resources to re-assign powers, and I was actually allowed to choose between learning the assault rifle or sniper rifle skill partway through the game (Vanguards normally utilize primarily pistols and shotguns). This means that players are not necessarily bound to the decisions they make early on. Leveling up is far less complicated than it was in the first Mass Effect, a change I’m very happy with.
The item management system is also less complicated. In the first game, the convoluted, clunky inventory menu was almost a game-breaker for me. Decoding it was a tedious process; using it was perhaps worse. Mass Effect 2 features a streamlined, simplified system that’s simultaneously deep and easy to use. Armor and upgraded can be tweaked in Shepard’s cabin on the Normandy, and weapons can be swapped each time Shepard and his team depart the ship.
The Mass Effect series has one of the best dialogue systems in gaming. Instead of choosing exactly what Shepard says, players get to pick the "gist" of what Shepard will say and then listen to how he says it. It works extremely well, and feels far less clunky than choosing the character's exact dialogue.
All this is complemented heavily by the sheer amount of stuff to do around the Mass Effect 2 universe. Aside from following the lengthy main quest, players can choose to pursue a great many missions and assignments. None of these feel like throwaway material; most (if not all) have specific cinema scenes and dialogue recorded specifically for them. Planets that cannot be landed on can be mined for minerals using a simple mini-game interface. Though the game could survive without it, this system is strangely addictive. It makes something as tedious as mining for resources into a fun diversion from questing.
As for the world itself, BioWare somehow managed to find the perfect balance between open and linear. This is no Fallout; most locations are large but very restricted. This may sound like a complaint, but after playing through Fallout: New Vegas, I can assure you that it isn’t. Restricting player travel allows BioWare to fine-tune specific areas rather than provide an enormous, nondescript sprawl to explore. This leads to less glitches and more focus. Mass Effect 2 may not be a true open-world title, but the sheer amount of planets and missions more than makes up for that.
One of the big draws of the Mass Effect series is the import option. Xbox 360 and PC owners can import their characters from the original game and use them in the sequel. The games and their outcomes are inextricably tied to choices players make along the way, so the past decisions made by each character are imported as well.
PS3 owners didn't get to play the first game, which makes importing a character a bit of an impossibility. However, BioWare, EA and Dark Horse Comics have teamed up to bring the "Mass Effect: Genesis" Interactive Backstory Comic to the game. Early in the game, the comic will pop up and tell much of the first game's story, allowing players to make some of the choices themselves. While this isn't the same as importing a save, it's a gesture that's much-appreciated. Add to that the ability to import a Mass Effect 2 character into Mass Effect 3 when it hits stores this fall, and you’ve got one deep space fable.
It may seem strange that BioWare has the PS3 version of Mass Effect 2 priced at 60 bucks. Read the box carefully, however, and you’ll find that the developer has included the three major Mass Effect 2 downloadable content missions released over the past year. Also included is a Cerberus Network card, which allows access to a great deal of extra content through the Playstation Network.
The DLC includes Kasumi: Stolen Memories, Overlord, and Lair of the Shadow Broker. Kasumi is a master thief who joins your party and asks you to complete a heist in order to gain her loyalty. The heist is a lot of fun, and is a great addition to the already-stellar stable of missions included in the main game.
Overlord, however, was a big disappointment for me. Though the story is great and the cinematics are on par with the rest of the game, driving the Hammerhead hovercraft became tedious very fast. It beats the hell out of the Mako from the original Mass Effect, but driving around just got old after a while. I also experienced some very blocky textures and a great deal of clipping while driving around the Pandora-like environment. This pack is still far better than most of the downloadable content you’ll find for other games, but it falls short when compared to the rest of Mass Effect 2.
Lair of the Shadow Broker, on the other hand, is perhaps the best mission in the entire game. I won’t spoil a single bit of it for you, but this DLC easily stands out as my favorite mission in the entire game. This mission, along with the other extra content packed in with the game, make the $60 more than a fair price.
The Mass Effect series’ presence on the Playstation 3 makes me feel a lot better about owning the console. Mass Effect 2 ranks extremely high on my list of favorite games of all time, and might just occupy the number one spot when all is said and done. The game marks the natural evolution of today’s beautiful video games. It takes the crisp graphics and matches them up with style, substance and fun, a combination that makes for one hell of a gaming experience. PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 gamers take note: not owning this game is doing your consoles a great disservice.
10/10
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