Mass Effect 2 is a good game… but not quite. Good because, strictly from an entertainment standpoint, it can be recommended without hesitation, not quite because some of the good things from its predecessor were left out, while others were overly “streamlined”.
Some players will see only the flaws and the “shortcuts” taken by the developers, while others, who don’t give a damn about these details, will say that the former are just looking for something to bitch about. Two sides, with completely different philosophies, and me stuck in the middle on punching bag duty if I don’t back one of them. And like that wasn’t enough, everybody’s pretty much right. So let’s take a closer look, shall we?
To those of you who don’t know what Mass Effect is all about, I suggest a quick refresher course. If you’re too lazy (yes, don’t look at the screen like that, I’m talking to you), the really short version is this: we’re in the near future, humanity is now part of the intergalactic community, you become its Champion and stop some diabolical plans, vowing in the end to prepare for the impending Apocalypse.
But the relatively optimistic note on which the first Mass Effect ends is completely shattered by the beginning of the second, when the SSV Normandy SR-1 – the ship that was your base of operations and high-horse for saving the galaxy – is attacked and destroyed by a mysterious enemy, the fate of commander Shepard being left “hanging”. Fortunately for you, the secret pro-human organization known as Cerberus extends a helping hand, offering you all the resources available to its leader, the Illusive Man (who makes his first appearance in Mass Effect: Ascension).
Although in the previous game you fought his agents up one star system and down the other, the Illusive Man is forced to ask for your help because entire human colonies have started to go missing on the edges of explored space, the identity of the attackers being unknown (at first). And since you don’t find this kind of opponent on every street corner, the Illusive Man hands you the keys to the SSV Normandy SR-2, a substantially upgraded version of the ship you lost.
Compared to its predecessor, the SR-2 is slightly bigger in order to accommodate (among other things) the new research laboratory, the revised armory, as well as the Enhanced Defense Intelligence. As a bonus, you also get two allies – Miranda Lawson and Jacob Taylor, which will be the first members of a team you’ll have to put together for what looks like a suicide mission.
However, your newfound friendship with Cerberus won’t be taken too kindly by the other alien species or your former allies, and although some will understand your situation, they won’t be able to join you (not all of them anyway). Bummer if you're sentimental, but since this time you’ll have to go straight to Hell itself, you’ll need the best and the toughest specialists that the galaxy has to offer. Soldiers, scientists, biotics, assassins, engineers or mercenaries, the dossiers available will be more exotic this time around. Moreover, almost everyone will have some sort of beef with the law, so you’ll have to travel to places with a more than unfriendly “fauna” in order to recruit them.
The headline is undoubtedly held by Omega, the Citadel’s dark counterpart, where mercenary gangs fight for control over their territories, merchants blackmail one another for a few extra credits, humans are public enemy number one, and the life expectancy is shorter than a Super Bowl commercial. Kinda like the Wild West, if you will. You won’t run short on threats to your life either while on Omega, but thankfully, you won’t be limited by Citadel regulations to exercise your own brand of justice.
Recruiting these specialists is just the first step to success, because you’ll have to earn their loyalty if you want everyone to make it out alive (yes, you can die as well if you’re not adequately prepared). Each ally will have a specific mission, that once completed will ensure his or her loyalty, but on two occasions you’ll run into more serious conflicts, during which you’ll have to take sides if you don’t have the Renegade or Paragon points to choose the “neutral” approach.
However, completing the specific mission doesn’t mean that said ally will remain loyal until the end, because each one has certain problems, convictions or traumas and if you’re rubbing them the wrong way when talking to them, you’ll eventually get the cold shoulder treatment. On the flipside, companions can offer ideas for ship improvements, which range from better shields and more powerful guns to improved armor and more efficient engines. Some will just make your life easier on the galactic map, while others will determine the fate of your allies during the final mission.
Barring the ship improvements, you will also have research projects to improve various aspects of your equipment, either for yourself or the entire team. These can be bought or discovered throughout the missions and to research them you’ll need the help or Mordin Solus and resources which you’ll obtain by scanning the planets from the solar systems you explore or “borrowing” them from various containers.
Some players will be thrilled to hear that the Make is gone, along with the boring planetary exploration bits from the first ME, but now you’ll need some patience to hunt mineral deposits from orbit. Which, ironically enough, can prove just as tedious, if not even more.
Who are you?
Before the launch, the producers made a big deal out of the fact that your decisions from Mass Effect will have consequences in the sequel, some more obvious than others. And even if a newcomer can understand the story without going through the first title (as the more important bits are recapped), my recommendation is to use a character with which you’ve already saved the galaxy, as the experience will be much more personal.
This is facilitated by the various minor characters you meet again here and there and the Inbox you can access while aboard the Normandy, where among Nigerian scams and spam you’ll also receive various messages from people you helped or interacted with in the first Mass Effect.
Relatively minor details, but which contribute to the overall atmosphere and the feeling that this is your story, even though some players will probably find this just a cheap trick. Moreover, if you import an already existing character you’ll receive bonuses for resources, money, Paragon / Renegade points and experience. The good news is that even if you go down this road, you can still change the class or appearance of your commander, with the options still being Adept, Engineer, Infiltrator, Sentinel, Soldier and Vanguard. I for instance used this opportunity to go down the Sentinel path, even though in the first game I saved the galaxy as a Vanguard.
In the “apparently unimportant details” department I can also include the fact that you can now decorate your Captain’s Quarters with various scale models of ships from the Mass Effect universe, buy a space hamster, some fish for the aquarium maybe, you can change the music being played, and the work desk will have a photo of your loved one from the first game (that is, If you had one). Photo which disappears if you choose to get involved with a member of your current crew, seeing as now you have more options available.
The road to Hell is paved with good intentions
Once I got into the thick of things I started to miss those elements I mentioned at the beginning of the article, which in my opinion the producers chose to abandon a bit too easily. For instance, I didn’t understand why ammo types are now considered skills. Which apparently only certain members of my team can use. As a Sentinel, it appears that I’m unworthy to fire incendiary or shredder ammo, even though in the first Mass Effect I riddled my enemies with them.
In order to use them, I have to take Grunt (Wrex’s replacement) and Thane (a monk-assassin kinda dude) with me during the missions. Oh, and in Thane’s case, he has to be loyal (the loyalty of each ally unlocks a special ability + a new costume). Seriously, what the hell?
I wasn’t bummed that much by the lack of an inventory, since there were a lot of situations in Mass Effect when I would curse through my teeth because I had to destroy various items in order to get new ones (but only because I’m an obsessive packrat when it comes to loot). And it’s common sense to not be able to walk around with 10 armors, 5 shotguns and 7 side arms. Or to put it another way, it’s bearable.
But a right hook was delivered when I saw that the armor and weapon mods were gone, and I can’t really transcribe what I thought in that moment regarding this decision. PEGI and all. Add to this the fact that the number of weapons and armors was significantly reduced and you get a very “streamlined” experience. I for one enjoyed hunting in the first Mass Effect the latest Hahne-Kedar armor models, the Kassa Fabrication assault rifles or the side arms manufactured by Rosenkov Materials.
Now I had to settle with a lot less, and this left a bitter taste in my mouth, even though we now have the cryo gun, rocket and grenade launcher, the “nuke” gun (Fallout 3 much?) or the heavy pistols (all 2 of them). What I wouldn’t give to be able to modify the rocket launcher with some toxic projectiles.
Continuing down the “Gimme a smoke bro’, that shit’s gooood!” aisle, we now have to worry about ammunition. Even though in the first game we didn’t have this problem, since the only limiting factor was the heat generated by the weapons (and this is where the mods came in; you could have a gun with sustained, moderate damage and lower heat output, or a handheld cannon that could be used as an oven after the 3rd shot).
I really don’t see the logic behind this, especially since the old system worked very well and basically had the same role as the “new” one. Only it didn’t make you hunt for metallic cylinders during or at the end of each fight.
The cover mechanic continued its journey towards Gears of War country and now you can vault over obstacles like Marcus Fenix and company. The only problem is that the increased focus on cover took its toll on the level design, with many “ambushes” and fights being given away before the script even triggered. You really don’t have to be a genius to realize that a fight is about to ensue when you enter a room and see boxes or stone slabs arranged like in the 100m obstacle course.
On the other hand, I did appreciate that tougher enemies now have three layers of protection – shields / biotic barrier, armor (which they didn’t have in Mass Effect) and health, with the twist that some biotic powers don’t work if said enemy has shields or armor. So you’ll have to be patient and peel them like an onion before you can deliver the final blow. The work can be made easier by abilities such as Overload, but ultimately, brute force works as well… if you have enough ammo. And as a side note, the Normal difficulty level is pretty easy, so I recommend that veterans play at least on, err, Veteran or Hardcore mode in order to find a challenge.
Since we’re here, the sudden disappearance of the Mako led to the creation of more varied and unique environments for the side missions, but the exploration bit during them is still very limited. You start in point A, have to reach to point B via the only route available, by killing those unfortunate enough to stand in your way and occasionally can hack data pads or safes for that extra bit of cash. I only encountered two secondary missions where you had to use your gray matter as well, but the challenges themselves were trivial.
What do you want?
A notable change is the fact that the Charm and Intimidate abilities are no more, so now you only have your Paragon (good guy) and Renegade (bad Machiavellian guy) to work with in order to unlock the extra options during the conversations. The bars for each “morality side” are still separate and your actions will continue to dictate what type of commander you are, but the producer’s managed to screw this part a bit too, by changing the appearance of the character depending on the choices made.
If you’re Paragon you’ll have a face as smooth as a baby's bottom, while a Renegade will look like a Sith Lord Terminator. I admit it’s cool to have glowing red eyes when you threaten someone, but when you’re trying to express your undying love, it’s a straight up headshot and it reeks too much of Star Wars. Fortunately, you can surgically heal your scars, at which point your mug won’t change anymore if you kill a baby seal to get the job done.
Skimming over the little “you look like what you choose to do” bit, the Paragon or Renegade options will come in handy, whether it’s about getting better prices from the vendors or a loyalty mission, but treading the line between them doesn’t really pay off. So my advice is to choose from the get go what type of guy or gal you’re going to be and stick to it no matter what. Because otherwise you’ll miss all the good stuff.
Moreover, you can also use the so-called “interrupts”, special actions which you can only perform in certain moments of a cut scene or conversation (if you’re paying attention). They won’t always be available, but can change the direction of a scene in interesting ways (head butting a Krogan? Pure win).
Why are you here?
If until now I complained about what’s not ok with the game, in the character department an obvious step forward was made compared to the first Mass Effect. Your comrades have more interesting personalities (which are better fleshed out at that), you get to learn surprising things about them if you take the time to talk to all of them and I’m sure that at least some of you will replay the last mission (or even an older save) to protect his or her favorite. And yes, you can save all of them.
The quality of the loyalty missions varies from “Meh” to “Pretty good”, but just like the main story, their attractiveness comes mainly from the voice acting and overall presentation. The way the scenes are “cut”, the camera angles, the way it moves about during the cinematic sequences, these all indicate that the BioWare designers have a far greater handle on the interactive movie concept that they introduced with the first Mass Effect, which is a big bonus for the atmoshphere.
Regarding the voices, the significant investment made to get Martin Sheen, Carrie-Anne Moss, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Adam Baldwin, Yvonne Strahovski, Michael Dorn, Tricia Helfer and Michael Hogan alongside Seth Green and Keith David paid off. In spades. Everyone fitted perfectly in their role (Martin Sheen is the Illusive Man), but the grand prize has to go to Liz Sroka, because Tali'Zorah vas Normandy is simply adorable, especially if you choose to pursue a romantic relationship.
But good voices and fancy camera work don’t mean jack if the musical score doesn’t back you up. Fortunately, Jack Wall and his team of composers has again delivered the goods and scored a soundtrack that I believe is better than the first, and Reflections, Illusive Man, Suicide Mission or End Run are tracks that I can recommend to anyone without a shadow of a doubt.
The character models have seen significant improvements as well, which can be easily observed during the conversation close-ups, and the same goes for the facial animations, although I did witness one or two slip-ups, but I’m not sure if they were due to the way I modeled my character, or the Unreal Engine 3 itself. From a technical standpoint there’s not much to complain about, since the game ran flawlessly, the levels look good, the loading times where shortened and I didn’t encounter any bugs.
Where are you going?
“So how does Mass Effect 2 stack up compared to the first one?” Well, it certainly has a lot more soul. More interesting characters. It shows the “other side” of the Mass Effect universe and neatly sets the stage for the final showdown that will take place in the last title of the trilogy. If you put it under a microscope, its shortcomings will become even more apparent and the game is now a shooter more than an RPG, but it really depends how much you’re willing to forgive for a story that’s very well presented.
I for one don’t regret the time spent in its company, but I expect Mass Effect 3 to dump the “streamlining” (can it even get worse than it is?), combine the best aspects of its predecessors and end the trilogy with a bang. Anything less will be unacceptable.
Plus:
- The soundtrack and voice acting
- Better fleshed out characters
- Cinematic presentation
- Much more personal experience
Minus:
- Too much "streamlining"
- More shooter than RPG
