Mass Effect 2 Review (Xbox 360) (From Swindon Advertiser)

Mass Effect 2 Review (Xbox 360)

4:51pm Friday 1st October 2010 in Gaming

Bioware has had a long run of making intense and interactive role playing games, and they won multiple game of the year awards with their Xbox 360 exclusive Mass Effect in 2007. After I played through the game, although I could feel the scope of their created world and recognised the acuity and foresight that went into every line of dialogue, I didn't feel that it had the expansive and immersive game play to back it up. My doubts over the quality of the franchise have been blown out of the water by its impressive sequel though.

Set two years after the events of the original title, players can once again pick up the role of Commander Shepard, captain of the flagship Normandy. As the game is introduced, the normandy is attacked and subsequently destroyed by a mysterious vessel, leaving Shepard decimated and close to death. Slowly rebuilt by the shadowy terrorist organisation Cerebus, Shepard will have to trust some of his greatest enemies in order to bring down an entirely new threat to the galaxy.

There is no doubt that Mass Effect 2 is an incredible feat of presentation. The seamlessly interactive world is always presented in an astute level of detail that embodies the fantasy galactic society that Bioware have conjured up. From seedy alien dancers in down town bars to large towering trading floors populated with an imaginative bustle of shapes and sizes, the world is presented gorgeously and with a rich imagination that is lacking from other triple A titles.

The intuitive conversation wheel makes its return in Mass Effect 2, which provides an array of responses for your character that can make him either the saviour of the universe or the biggest rogue in the galaxy. Indeed, with the ability to transfer your character from the first mass effect game, your character becomes one of the most personalised in the history of gaming. Its not just a case of good and evil, your actions in the first Mass Effect affect the world you encounter in the second, and this is a fantastic achievement for a video game. In fact the only gripe I could find with the games presentation is with the static loading screens that occur a little too often, even when you travel through the different levels of your ship. It slows the gameplay experience down a tad, but this is still a small complaint over what is otherwise a very polished package.

In the first Mass Effect, I found issue with how clunky combat felt. I no longer hold those concerns. Whilst the power wheel and the weapon wheel have returned, the cover system feels much more streamlined and the game feels much more like a competent shooter that is up there with some of the best in the third person action genre. Using Heavy Pistols and Sniper Rifles never gets dull, and your character also has a wealth of heavy weapons and armour to customise and improve. In fact the only time I felt myself getting irked in combat was when diving into cover did not work as well as it should have. What's more, the upgrade and levelling system have both been improved by simplifying the systems used. Applying improvements to your team has never been easier, and the upgrade system is a welcome addition that adds more reason to explore the galaxy. This concept is slightly let down by a dull planet scanning mini game that is used to acquire the resources needed to upgrade, but again, this is a minor gripe.

The game is extremely self referential though, almost demanding the player to have background knowledge of the first one to fully appreciate, but this is not unusual or problematic for a running series, and in fact players who had played the previous title would appreciate the improvements in the sequel. The bountiful voice acting returns with a quality that is nearly unmatched in video games. Not only are the major characters voiced with emotion and personality, but so are the street vendors and the soldiers, the everyday populace that never gets boring. Its an attention to detail that is almost unrivalled in the genre.

Mass Effect 2 is a full package. It is long, it is fun and it is varied, whilst removing a vast majority of the issues that plagued the previous game. Its the type of game that deserves success. 9.7/10

By Sam Kearns