Mass Effect 2 beats original (XBox 360, PC)
Alice Fisher and Ricky Davis | Staff Writer and Contributing Writer
Issue date: 2/3/10 Section: Lifestyles
Say "Good-bye" to friends and family and start writing those extension pleas to professors. Mass Effect 2 for Xbox 360 and PC has arrived, and it's demanding the players' full attention. With great pacing, improved combat mechanics and gorgeous animation and environments, Mass Effect 2 is easily a contender for Game of the Year 2010. And the year has only just begun.
The game takes place two years after the original, with a new harrowing threat looming over the galaxy and humanity in great peril. As Commander Shepherd (who can either be male or female), you must gather a team of soldiers and fight against the Collectors, who have been kidnapping humans from remote colonies all while working under a suspicious organization. The story will suck in players, is well paced and very balanced. There are moments that surprise, enlighten, and even tug at your heartstrings.
If players had the first Mass Effect, all the decisions made prior have some effect here on the story; any character that was killed during the first quest will remain dead. Minor characters that players may have had a brief encounter with will show up and become major players. Also, if players import their save from the previous Mass Effect, certain bonuses will be obtained, such as experience, some Paragon/Renegade points (that's the good and evil system), if they were maxed out prior, and even some money, if enough was saved up before. In Mass Effect 2, it's all about decisions and the impact they will have. No longer do these decisions seem black and white. Also, Shepherd seems more alive in this game, no longer waiting to be prompted to ask the obvious such as "Who are you?" Shepherd will sometimes respond automatically, but they will always do it the way players want them to.
If you haven't played the first entry to the Mass Effect trilogy, you shouldn't consider yourself left out. A lot of the major choices from the first game are made for you. If you care at all about story, some of the elements will go right over your head, but players can still enjoy the same great experience as peers who have partaken in the first adventure.
The game takes place two years after the original, with a new harrowing threat looming over the galaxy and humanity in great peril. As Commander Shepherd (who can either be male or female), you must gather a team of soldiers and fight against the Collectors, who have been kidnapping humans from remote colonies all while working under a suspicious organization. The story will suck in players, is well paced and very balanced. There are moments that surprise, enlighten, and even tug at your heartstrings.
If players had the first Mass Effect, all the decisions made prior have some effect here on the story; any character that was killed during the first quest will remain dead. Minor characters that players may have had a brief encounter with will show up and become major players. Also, if players import their save from the previous Mass Effect, certain bonuses will be obtained, such as experience, some Paragon/Renegade points (that's the good and evil system), if they were maxed out prior, and even some money, if enough was saved up before. In Mass Effect 2, it's all about decisions and the impact they will have. No longer do these decisions seem black and white. Also, Shepherd seems more alive in this game, no longer waiting to be prompted to ask the obvious such as "Who are you?" Shepherd will sometimes respond automatically, but they will always do it the way players want them to.
If you haven't played the first entry to the Mass Effect trilogy, you shouldn't consider yourself left out. A lot of the major choices from the first game are made for you. If you care at all about story, some of the elements will go right over your head, but players can still enjoy the same great experience as peers who have partaken in the first adventure.
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