Wolfy Reviews: Mass Effect 2

[Wolfy]

Not many people here seem to have played the Mass Effect games and for that reason and/or boredom, here you have my review of:

~Story~

I think the story needs some background first, otherwise it really sounds like pointless rambling.
(Spoiler-free!)


Mass Effect story starts about 50 years in the future, with humans discovering ruins on Mars left by an alien race known as the Protheans. Containing a vast library of knowledge, these ruins create a great leap in human technology, putting it a full 1000 years ahead of its time. Alongside that, the ruins reveal a clue. The clue leads to Pluto's moon, Charon, which turns out not to be a moon at all and instead is a "Prothean"(anyone who's played the first game will know why its in quotes) device known as a Mass Relay, a massive conduit of energy enabling high-speed leaps across the galaxy to the point where you could cross the whole galaxy within seconds, faster than light and the technology that provides FTL speeds. With this, they discover multiple alien races across the galaxy and eventually become part of the hub of galactic civilization known as the Citadel.
(since this is later mentioned in the story, the Geth are a race of networked AIs created by the Quarians that rebelled in the first Mass Effect game)


Mass Effect 2's story begins with Commander Shepard and his/her squad aboard the SSV Normandy SR-1 investigating reports of Geth activity in a far off sector in the galaxy. Not finding anything, the Normandy's crew decides to head back when at the least expected moment, and unknown enemy appears and attacks the ship, nearly destroying it with a single blow. With most of the crew dead within the first hit, Shepard quickly rushes to get the others to the escape pods and keep them safe. With most of the crew gone, Jeff "Joker" Moreau, the pilot of the SSV Normandy, is reluctant to leave the ship. When Shepard finally gets him into an escape pod and down to safety, the enemy cruiser initiates another attack effectively destroying the ship, and, in the process, taking Commander Shepard's life.


After the incident, an pro-human splinter organization known as Cerberus extensively searches for the Commander's body and eventually finds it. Cerberus decides to devote two years and over 14 billion credits(galactic currency) in an attempt to resurrect the Commander. With the year reaching 2185, this actually succeeds.

Eventually, Cerberus' leader, only known as the Illusive Man, talks to the Commander about a recent galactic crisis. Residents of human colonies in the region known as the Terminus systems have been rapidly disappearing, with the Systems Alliance(human military) doing nothing for the cause due to a lack of any evidence on the planets. With this, the Illusive Man entrusts Shepard with the task of getting behind the mystery of the disappearances and putting a stop to whoever caused them. The Illusive Man provides Shepard with dossiers on some of the most skilled people in the galaxy to assist him/her with the mission.

Cerberus provides Shepard with a new ship, twice the size of the old one and named the Normandy SR-2 in remembrance of the original, and even recruits Shepard's old pilot, Joker. With the two settling into the Normandy SR-2 and the new crew aboard it, they search for the other members and a way to protect humanity from this new menace.

What I think:
This is one of the best damned stories I've ever played through. It's made even better by its outstanding voice acting and dynamic course depending on your decisions. The game also carries a whopping 35,000 different lines of dialogue throughout all of the stories, making the game great as a partial cinematic experience as well.

~Gameplay~

Gameplay of Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 2 is a linear third-person shooter/RPG that mostly revolves around decisions. Your in-game decisions can massively affect the story depending on what they are. The decisions are based between two morality alignments, Paragon and Renegade. While both carry the intention of saving the galaxy, paragon influences more polite/bright attitudes towards NPCs along with the intention to save life while Renegade portrays Shepard as ruthless and brutal, bringing harsh dialogue and one shitty attitude. Both are very enjoyable to play and carry different dialogue between each.

A full Renegade Shepard.

The game also carries normal RPG decisions such as gender, class, which abilities to level up, and which weapons to use. There are six classes within each Mass Effect game, those being:

The Soldier(Pure combat): Soldiers carry the second-best aim and have the ability to use six weapons at once(heavy pistols, shotguns, sniper rifles, heavy weapons) and are the only class with the ability to use assault rifles. Soldiers rely on their aim to get them out of a tough situation.

The Vanguard(Combat/Biotic): Vanguards are a high-risk high-reward type of class that mostly gets up close and personal with their enemies. Their weapon training includes SMGs, heavy pistols, heavy weapons, and shotguns. Vanguards also carry an exclusive power known as the Biotic Charge, allowing them to even phase through objects to instantly rush to their enemies and deliver a powerful blow.

The Adept(Pure Biotic): Adepts, while not good with aim, usually do not need it. Adepts control the battlefield with their biotic powers and also excel at crowd control, carrying almost all of the biotic powers in the game. Adepts are trained in heavy weapons, heavy pistols, and SMGs.

The Sentinel(Tech/Biotic): Sentinels carry both Tech and Biotic powers including a special ability known as Tech Armor, that can double shields or be detonated for a devastating blow towards enemies. Sentinels are trained in heavy pistols, heavy weapons, and SMGs.

The Engineer(Pure Tech): Engineers are a pure Tech class and carry abilities that mostly deal with synthetic enemies and turning them against each other. Engineers can hack AI to attack each other and also create combat drones to stun enemies. Engineers are trained in heavy weapons, heavy pistols, and SMGs.

And lastly, The Infiltrator(Combat/Tech and my personal favorite): Infiltrators carry the best aim out of all the classes and focus mainly around sniping. Their unique ability to slow down time when looking through a sniper scope makes them deadly to just about anything. Infiltrators also carry many tech abilities, such as AI hacking or incineration blasts. Infiltrators are trained in sniper rifles, SMGs, heavy weapons, and heavy pistols.


The feature that makes this game unique from other RPGs is the ability to import your save file from the first game and have all your decisions carried over. If you saved someone's life in the original, they will be alive in the second game and have plenty of dialogue, some even impact the story heavily. Along with that, your decisions in Mass Effect 2 will carry over into the third game as well. The game also carries consequences for dicking around, as your squad members may die and never return if you carelessly skip missions to gain their loyalty or fail to upgrade the ship properly before the endgame. Either way, these decisions make replaying the game so fun, as you get to see what happens in the situation you didn't pick.

~Graphics/Presentation~

Omega, one of the areas the player explores in Mass Effect 2.

Graphically speaking, Mass Effect 2 is beautiful. Although it runs on Unreal Engine 3, most of the other games on the engine are a far cry from what Mass Effect 2 is. While texture quality is somewhat dated, the models manage to look good and the lighting conditions in the game are just outstanding. The animations are done very well and bring a sense of realism and immersion to the characters in the galaxy.

~Soundtrack~

Mass Effect 2's soundtrack is mostly orchestrated but some tracks carry electronic influence to match with the setting in the future. The soundtrack is fitting for just about any occasion and carries many memorable tracks(ESPECIALLY the endgame/credits theme). I find myself replaying songs from the game to fit with occasions I have in other games because its simply that good.

~Weakest Areas~

As you can see, I haven't listed anything bad about the game so far. I'll be honest, I love this game. But yes, it does have its problems like any other game. And those are things I can't ignore.

First, planet scanning is one of the most tedious and boring things I've ever done. It really breaks the game's pace and/or takes it to a screeching halt. It wouldn't be so bad if weapon and ship upgrades didn't need it but the worst part is that ship upgrades are required to keep your squad alive. This is some of the reason why I'm not always too eager to dump my iridium on sniper rifle upgrades.

THIS IS FUN, RIGHT GUYS?

The next is the difficulty of finding planet missions. If you scan specific preset planets, you can detect anomalies and land there to clear up a problem that occurred there. The real problem is, they're hard as hell to find. Unless you have a strategy guide, it will take you a LONG time to find all of them which is a real pain if you try to 100% the game(like me!) There are a literal shit-ton of planets and moons in this game. Searching through all of them just to get more out of the game can really be a pain in the ass, but it's made easier by people from side missions giving you locations of these mission planets as rewards sometimes.

~Final Thoughts~

This game is one of the best games I've ever played. I've ran through it three times and it is easy to say that this is the best game in the Mass Effect trilogy. While it's held back slightly by its staggeringly little problems, it's still an amazing game and more people really need to play it. Running through the game while importing save files or using different classes can change the experience as a whole and can really affect the course of the game.

~The Verdict~

STORY: 10/10     - - - Absolutely amazing.
GAMEPLAY: 9.5/10 - - Held back by .5 because of planet scanning.
SOUNDTRACK: 9/10 - -Close to perfection.
GRAPHICS: 9.5/10 - - -Held back by .5 due to bad texture quality in a few areas.


FINAL: 9.5/10



Thank you all for reading my review, and I'd really love some feedback as well!

[Tanassy]

I've always wanted to play the games, but I've never really had the opportunity nor money... Though I never knew they were THAT good..

Anyway, good review and well written ^^ +2

[Princessofthechaosemerald]

Nice review, I might go get the game then C:

[Hakudamashi]

That's good n' all, but I'm not into RPGs where I care not for the story...
I'll pass.