I got Mass Effect 2 now that it was for free. I've only ever played the first game, although as a Codexer I naturally know everything there is to know about the story already.
The gameplay is atrocious. The first ME wasn't great or anything, but the sequel doesn't seem to offer anything aside from sitting behind cover and using cooldown powers (I'm playing an Infiltrator). It's immensely boring. Both (?) of the hacking minigames wore out their welcome after one or two tries, but fortunately they don't seem to be that common. The control scheme is also totally fucked-up. Sprint, use, jump and cover all using the same key? Mouse sensitivity only having a low/medium/high setting? I know it's a console game, but this is inexcusable even for nu-BioWare. One change I do like is that weapons now use clips and are more distinct than before.
I'm not sure if the writing is bad on purpose or by accident. A lot of it is alright and gets the job done, but there's also some hilariously awful stuff, especially when you use the Renegade options i.e. the only way to play this game. My favorite so far has probably been getting a discount at a store by announcing "hey, this guy discriminates against the poor!" with a really loud voice. Combine this with the Renegade interrupts and you really have no idea what your character is doing most of the time, but it's pretty entertaining nonetheless. You've also got to love it how being a "Renegade" involves complaining like a little bitch about everything and acting like an asshole towards everyone for no good reason. Gotta keep picking those dialogue options, though, because "neutral" characters that make actual decisions instead of always blindly clicking on either the top right or the bottom right option are the worst off. So far I've tried to mix it up a little bit when appropriate instead of powergaming this totally nonsensical system.
The best thing about the entire series has got to be Jennifer Hale. Even when she's given terrible lines with lackluster direction, she makes it work somehow, delivering her lines with conviction and rarely overdoing it. The aforementioned direction does leave something to be desired, as she might change her tone from total hard-ass to flirty and back within the spam of a minute, but then again, this occasionally schizophrenic nature of the conversations does lead to some entertainment. Having a relaxed conversation with someone and then pulling a gun on them out of nowhere never gets old.
The quests I've done so far haven't exactly been unforgettable masterpieces. There's a quest where you hear a Krogan talk about how he'd like to eat fish. You're prompted to find another guy that can tell if there's fish in the area, and he says no. You then have the option of either going to the Krogan you haven't even talked to and telling him there's no fish, or you can go to a gift shop, buy a fake fish and sell it to the Krogan for less money than you initially bought it for in order to get those sweet Renegade points. Is this a joke? If it is, I don't get it. Another quest is a nail-biting whodunnit with an extremely satisfying "no, the guy was never robbed, he simply forgot his credit card here at the counter" conclusion. But I guess these small non-combat quests have never been a strength of the series.
All in all it's been pretty entertaining so far. A decent combat system with a crouch button would do wonders, but thankfully the game's pacing seems tight enough that combat hasn't become a chore yet.
