Mass Effect Series Review: Part II

Mass Effect was an awesome game, but Mass Effect 2 improved on it in just about everything, including better graphics, A.I., story, gameplay, weapons, character development, and sound effects. The intro to ME2 took my breath away, and was a very unique way of starting the game. In the introduction, Shepherd ends up working for Cerberus, an organization run by a person who goes only by the name of “The Illusive Man”. In Mass Effect Cerberus is described as a pro-human organization that runs some pretty brutal tests on aliens, some even consider it a terrorist organization. In the beginning Cerberus helps Shepherd out, and asks him to help them stop an alien race known as the “Collectors”. Because the Citadel counsel and the Alliance are doing nothing to stop human planets from being attacked by the Collectors Shepherd is left with no choice but to side with Cerberus. Eventually Shepherd discovers the Collectors are working with the Reapers, giving him even more motive to put a stop to whatever the Collectors are up to.

The Illusive Man gives you a new ship, the Normandy SR2, an upgrade from the first game’s SR1, and Joker joins you again as your pilot. The ship is two times the size of the SR1, and much faster. It also comes with an AI named EDI who helps you maintain the ships defenses while in battle, and assists you by supplying updated information during each mission.

While the gameplay, and combat mechanics have improved, the upgrading system, and customization found in the first game, is no longer present. The player can’t upgrade as many abilities, and when adding new weapons to the list the ability to add specific ammunition to a weapon is no longer available. Instead, each class has a specific ammunition type, such as Cyro, or Disruptor, to upgrade. These types of ammunition can be very effective, but only against certain targets. While on the subject, a weapon feature I really love in Mass Effect 2 is being able to slow down time by zooming in with a sniper rifle. The slowed time doesn’t last forever, but it does give you enough time to get an epic headshot just about every time.

Suit customization has improved, but also lacks many of the options available in ME. Rather than each suit of armor coming with a full set of abilities you upgrade pieces of Shepherd’s armor individually. So if you upgrade Shepherd’s shoulders with armor that increase his melee ability, he loses the abilities other armor may provide, such as the higher health ratio of the N7 armor, or other pieces of armor that make Sheperd's shield's higher making his health lower. There is always a tradeoff. Being able to change the color of Shepherd’s armor in many different ways is also a very cool feature. Shepherd can now have a camouflage pattern, a couple types of pin-stripes, and can even change the texture of the armor itself.

Something that wasn’t possible in ME was the ability to upgrade your ship, the Normandy. In ME2 it’s a totally different story, and can even affect the outcome of the final mission, as you are able to upgrade many different things, including its cannons. In order to obtain upgrades for the ship, weapons, and armor, the player must obtain Platinum, Element Zero, and many other substances. The player can do this by scanning planets for these elements, and mining them. While this can be very tedious it’s still better than ME, where I had to drive around on planets for hours trying to find elements.

The Normandy SR2, created by Cerberus. Incredible ship....

While Mass Effect has a very deep story, and a lot of character development, ME2 has even more. The game introduces new squad mates, and gives the player the option of gaining their loyalty. When a squad mate’s loyalty is gained the player is now able to use that person’s special ability, and also unlocks a new appearance for that squad mate. Gaining a squad mate's loyalty also makes it more likely they will survive the events of the final mission. ME2's cinematic value is miles above the first game; at times I would put down my controller and watch for five minutes while a scene played out. Sometimes I wanted to make some popcorn and enjoy the show. In fact the ending to Mass Effect 2 is so cinematic I was left drooling all over myself, and for thirty straight minutes could only say “Whoa…”, and “Holy cow... that was awesome...”. Luckily for me I was able to pop in the third game and continue the incredible journey.

Something I really like in the Mass Effect trilogy is being rewarded for being loyal to Shepherd’s girlfriend in the first game. I picked Liara T’Soni, as I’m sure many of you also did. Being loyal to her made it possible for the relationship between Shepherd and Liara to grow, even to the point that Shepherd jokes about wanting to have “little blue children running around (someday)”. Had I chosen to be with someone else in ME2, it would have been a completely different experience with Liara. This feature enables the player to change every play through of the trilogy through your relationships with specific squad mates. By the time the end of the second game came around I had gotten to know every single one of my squad mates; especially Garrus. He had been with my squad since the beginning of the first game, which meant his character growth and background was enormous by the end of ME2, and I knew it all. I actually cared about my squad mates, and shared combat moments with them that would be hard to imagine in real life; and that’s what is so great about the Mass Effect games. It’s a perfect example of why I play the games I play. I obviously won’t ever become a soldier that repeatedly saves the galaxy but BioWare has provided opportunity for me to experience that. Outside of ME3 It is one of the most customizable, and emotional games I have ever played, and I am giving it a 4.5 out of 5 stars. I absolutely recommend it to anyone, whether you are an RPG fan or not!

Check back soon for my review of Mass Effect 3. In ME3 the Reapers have finally made it to the Milky Way Galaxy, and are destroying everything in their path. It’s a very emotional conclusion to an absolutely amazing story.

Until next time, keep on gamin' on!