Here are four more reasons to trust in gaming journalisms.

IGN AU rates it 9.3/10.

<p style="margin-left:50px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;border-top-color:#ffffff;padding:5px;border-right-color:#bbbbbb;border-left-color:#ffffff;border-bottom-color:#bbbbbb;">Two games in, BioWare's Mass Effect 2 has just cemented the series as the RPG series to beat this generation. As the middle tale in a sci-fi epic, nods to 'The Empire Strikes Back' are inevitable – and in a very real way, the middle instalment in the Mass Effect series is equally dark and more involved; characters appear richer, the settings comfortably familiar yet foreign and fresh, and the gameplay now evolving, shifting and streamlining.

The Guardian gives it a perfect 5/5.

<p style="margin-left:50px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;border-top-color:#ffffff;padding:5px;border-right-color:#bbbbbb;border-left-color:#ffffff;border-bottom-color:#bbbbbb;">Continuing where the original left off, Mass Effect 2 sees you guiding your Commander through a twisting plot and some great set pieces. This is very much an RPG though, with plenty of stats and text. But action is key, with combat crucial to the game. The combat has been made more transparent and more reliant on skill than stats.
Relies more on (player) skill than stats? Can be filed under streamlining I presume.

Games2c gives it a perfect 10/10!!

<p style="margin-left:50px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;border-top-color:#ffffff;padding:5px;border-right-color:#bbbbbb;border-left-color:#ffffff;border-bottom-color:#bbbbbb;">For many, the ultimate game is about freedom of choice and Mass Effect 2 goes a long way to fulfilling that aim. The first authentic 10/10 game of 2010 and a very early hot favourite for game of the year. A work of art and a breed apart, Mass Effect is in full effect.

A Brave New Gamer skates on thin ice rating it only 9.0/10.

<p style="margin-left:50px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;border-top-color:#ffffff;padding:5px;border-right-color:#bbbbbb;border-left-color:#ffffff;border-bottom-color:#bbbbbb;">Mass Effect 2 is an RPG that’s pushing the boundaries of different genres, including within it a huge story, a vast number of characters, fast-paced and intense combat, and a ship to travel the galaxy with. Fans of the previous title shouldn’t be confused, this is not like its predecessor. BioWare’s touted the sequel to the award winning Mass Effect to be much darker, and as the game repeats far too often, a suicide mission.

Spotted at: banshee