A couple of weeks before the sequel’s release, I went back and finished my second playthrough of “Mass Effect,” but this time making the “evil/bad” choices. On my first playthrough, I had made all Paragon, or good, decisions at the main plot points of the game and this time I wanted to have a new game with all of the opposite outcomes. Playing the game again, I was reminded of all of the little annoyances about the game: the load times, constant elevator rides and texture pop-ins. But I was glad that I returned to this universe before starting “Mass Effect 2” because it helped me greatly appreciate everything BioWare got right in the sequel.
“Mass Effect 2” starts off with, literally, a bang and it doesn’t let up. Of course, you can control the pace of the story by going off on your exploration of the galaxy and side missions. Thanks to character-specific side missions, I felt I knew my AI team members so much more than in the first game. The graphics, character designs, environments and mission variety have improved so much over its predecessor. The surprise return of some characters from the first game really added to the rich story of this franchise. Your player’s decisions, both big and small, from “Mass Effect” come into play throughout the sequel. And I believe that those early choices along with the new ones from this game will dramatically impact “Mass Effect 3.”
Like my first playthough of the original, I went all Paragon in “Mass Effect 2.” I’m waiting for the additional, free downloadable content before starting my second Renegade game. I love my teammates from this game more than from the first and it will be interested to see what happens in the third as I’m sure that we’re all getting the band back together again for the finality to the trilogy.
The gameplay is more shooter than RPG, which I think is a good thing, so this title shouldn’t scare off the non-roleplaying gamer. While you’ll be more engaged in the characters and story if you’ve played the first, it’s not a requirement. Whether you have an Xbox 360 or a PC, “Mass Effect 2” is a great game to own.
