Mass Effect 2 is the second part of the Mass Effect trilogy. The first one was one of the best RPG games in recent memory and received many awards for excellence. Video games need many things to succeed and Mass Effect 2 is showing that it has them. Many people are eagerly awaiting the release of the game to sink their teeth into this lengthy and engaging story.

Mass Effect 2 takes place 2 years after the first game and you once again assume the role of Shepard. The hero of the Mass Effect video games finds himself in a troubling predicament. After successfully thwarting the Reaper invasion of the Citadel and the annihilation of all known life, human colonies are starting to disappear for no apparent reason. The Normandy and her crew venture into the outer reaches of known space and come under attack by an unknown enemy.

The Normandy is destroyed and Shepard is presumed dead by his friends and commanders. However Commander Shepard is quite alive, quite well, and understandably angry that his ship has been destroyed. He is invited to join an underground organization whose only goal is the survival of humanity by any means possible. Realizing that joining them is the only way to get back into the fight and find out why colonies are being destroyed he agrees to join them.

From here the choices of your character begin to really take shape. Many RPG type games have always tried to allow you to interact with and change the world around you. Sadly many video games fall short of this objective. However Mass Effect has made the best effort in recent memory and while not perfect it is still one of the best experiences seen to date.

After you accept your new post with the organization you are given a new ship and set about recruiting a new crew. Your journey will take you around the known galaxy and you'll encounter many of the first games characters along the way. Depending on the choices you made in the first game there will be variations for everyone's experience. Mass Effect 2 is one of the first video games to use a game to game save system.

The higher level you were in the first game upon completion the better your resources will be at the start of the second game. However the game is not dependant on this system. In other words if you played Mass Effect 1 you'll get a bonus. If you did not play Mass Effect 1 there will be no bonus, but you can still play without a problem.

This reason alone has lead many to play through the original again and level their characters up as far as possible. Many of the technical issues that plagued the first game have been resolved as well. Despite its massive scope and engaging story the game did have its faults. A bulky control system, unresponsive combat commands, and the occasional graphical glitch plagued the game.

Mass Effect 2 has shown thus far that these issues have been addressed. In addition to the games overhaul and fine tuning several extra features have been added. You now have a heavy weapon to use against heavily armored targets. However unlike the first video games infinite ammo for all weapons system this weapon has limited ammunition.

You can now perform research and development in your new ship to upgrade your weapons and armor. One feature of the game that is most notable is the new lighting system that has been implemented. While most people will agree that graphics do not make the game you cannot argue that Mass Effect 2 is a very beautiful game. Many games focus too much on graphics and not enough on story.

Mass Effect 2 like the rest of the video games developed by Bioware manages to walk a fine line between both. This company has long held the standard for RPG's and continues to show that it's on top of it game. The only thing that is left to be seen is the individual player reactions to the game itself.

Mass Effect 2 is one of the best looking and best playing games that has been seen in a long time. Most of the first video games problems were addressed and resolved. The result of this tuning is a deep game with an engaging story and plenty of action. It's easy to lose track of time in this game so make sure to check your clock every once in a while.

posted by Marcus Lim   # 6:04 AM   0 Comments