Mass effect 2 review

Overall- 9/10
Space age god of war boss


Gameplay-10/10
Woots
-Improved combat system
-captivating story
-huge replayability
-highly interactive game world
-numerous tough moral choices
-satisfying role playing
-ability to import previous mass effect decisions
-epic story
-voice over for every conversation and codex
-cinematic and polished experience
Fugly
-boring resource gathering
-infrequent crashes and sound dropping

Visual-9/10
Woots
-varied environments
-improved lighting and particle effects
-character detail and texture increased
-clean gui
Fugly
-No anti aliasing option
-fugly full screen lens flare
-occasional clipping

Second installment to the trilogy,the developers obviously listened to the complains and shortcoming,and fix them on this sequel.Mass effect 2 up the ante in terms of roleplaying, combat mechanics and visuals.
Mass effect is a sci fi role playing with story and cast that rivaling hoolywood.Jedi powers? Imminent catastrophe from a imba race? Imba ancient technology from extinct aliens? Politicking even at the face of galatic extinction? If this dont get you interested, you probably better role playing with trees hugging elves fighting recklessly polluting dwarves.Having the ability to import the previous mass effect save file is a great feature that actually mould the political landscape differenetly depending on previous decisions.The roleplaying is similar to bioware previous title, dragon age but with real time interactions like punching someone in the face during confrontation or hugging a devastated mother.The respective icon of either good or bad will appear and you must click the corresponding mouse button or you can simply ignore and let that bitch continue whinning.Executing these actions and other major decisions in the game will affect the plot and outcome of the game while increasing your "good" or "bad" meter.Building up the meter will open up to additional conversation options which can be beneficial in trading or just for the fun of insulting someone.
The gameplay is more action orientated with minimal item management and idiot proof leveling system.The combat is a fusion of gears of war covering system plus dragon age pausing system to give tatical orders and abilites.You fight in a team of 3, without the ability to directly control your other 2 squad members.The squad members are recruited doesnt walk out if you keep doing things against their ethics and you can easily gain their loyalty by successfully help them do a personal side quest.The vehicle sequence is removed and gone are the days having to drive endlessly to explore planets and do side quest.Almost any thing can be upgraded, from armor, weapons, prototype research to even upgrading your ship.However,resources is required to upgrade is so astronomical that simply looting from crates is definitely insufficient.You have to buy probes and mine planets which is a boring mini game which will eat up much of your time.
Visually, its a massive improvement over the first Mass effect but anti aliasing option is still missing and requires you to force through your driver.The extensive use of lens flare is still an irritation sometimes and the film grain effect is unwelcomed.A little thing to note is that even thought the character rendered at real time during conversation is the most detailed UE3 engine have showcased in a game but its still inferior to the demo pictures promoting the engine few years back.The variety of enivronment have also been increase and there is lesser corridor shooting experience presented previously.The city or hub is well designed with their distinct art style and populated with lively and interactive citizens.Having voice over for codex which explains the backstory of locations and alien civilization is also a impressive feat.
With all the above mentioned features and improvement, mass effecr 2 feels polish and breathtaking.Although the game still suffers some crash and missing conversation occasionally,it doesnt happen often enough to ruin the overall experience.With multiple classes, sex and behavior to choose from that will affect the plot greatly, this game has even more replay value than dragon age.With Mass effect 2, it is a step in the right direction for a easily enjoyable sci fi role playing experience without complicated RPG element the mass population cant understand.A little piece of advise is to keep Mass effect 2 save file for a more personal experience for the final installment in the trilogy.

Looks familiar


Zergling pods


Lens flare everywhere...


Even jedi cant do this!