TITLE : MASS EFFECT 2 PLATFORM : XBOX360/PC PUBLISHER : EA DEVELOPER : BIOWARE RELEASE DATE : OUT NOW
MASS EFFECT 2 Mass Effect 1 brought cinematic RPG’s to a new level if your not familiar with the title it is a space based role playing game mixing story telling and combat together to create an epic tale. Some of the features Bioware introduced to make it stand out from your usual RPG included a conversation wheel that gave you the ability to select a style of response rather than just having the read through lots of responses then selecting one, meaning that conversations flowed and allow you to get lost in the story quite easily. It mixed action with player driven cinematic cut scenes the different choices you made impacted on the story line meaning many play trough’s can yield many different endings. While Mass effect 1 was one of the best games of the last decade it did have its flaws the combat system wasn’t the best, side quest that seemed to be just stuck on as filler, empty planets, long elevator rides and loading screens, but the story held it all together people got so attached to the game and characters that they overlooked some of its flaws.    The good news all the flaws from Mass Effect 1 have been eradicated in this second outing in the trilogy. This is a stunning looking game with an incredible story line full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing. So much so that the moment I finished it I immediately started again just to find out what would happen if I made those different choices as with the first the choices you make have a big impact on everything in the game.
So to ME2, the story picks up from just after ME 1 you can import your game save or you can start afresh so don’t worry if you haven’t played the first game although you really should. Captain Shepard has defeated the Reapers who are an advanced race of machines but has paid a heavy price. A new threat has now emerged when human colonies start disappearing without any kind of a fight. Shepard is called into to investigate he is now working for a company called Cerberus under the guidance of the illusive man. They are a dodgy outfit right from the get go. I can’t go into the story much more than that without ruining it for you. All ill say is it’s a very good story and very rewarding gaming experience.   As you investigate the disappearances you have to rebuild your team to take on the final mission dubbed the suicide mission!. This involves flying to numerous different planets to either rescue or just convince squad members that throwing their life away is for the grater good. Not always the easiest of tasks. If you needed more than space ships and fighting aliens, then you do get some chances to try it on with the ladies this is more difficult than it sounds. I got no where ! but I did get a lot of spam messages in my inbox about “male enhancements” are the two linked who knows…. Right from the start you will notice that this game looks amazing, its some of the best graphics seen on a next gen machine. The story is exciting and the combat has been vastly improved so that now even fans of pure shooters should get a kick out of this.
The scale of the universe available to discover is massive after my first run through the game which took 26 hours of game play still left many unexplored planets. I now have the option to further examine the universe or to take my levelled up character and starting the whole epic again.   Overall a brilliant game they have taken everything good about the first game and stripped out all the bad (I love when developers actually listen to the fans). A must for fans of the first a must for RPG fans a ….pretty much a must for all gamers really. The tiny niggles like using the same button for run and cover meaning that when you want to run away he will sometimes take cover behind the wrong side of a wall leaving him completely open to the enemies fire are soon swept aside as you really want to progress the story.   Its simple just buy it …. SCORE 95%