Mass Effect 2 (PC, XBOX 360)

Release Date: ^NA January 26, 2010^[6]
EU January 28, 2010^[6]
AUS January 28, 2010^[6]
Platforms:

Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: BioWare
Gamesite: Click here
Genres: Action RPG
ESRB: M

Only BioWare would release two gigantic RPG's in the space (get it?) of just over two months. Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2 couldn't be any more different from one another in the terms of source material, but it's clear from both franchises that each respective team has learnt a lot from each others development. That doesn't mean that you'll spot Morrigan in a space suit, but you will see improved dialogue and faster combat all of which were lacking in the original. It must be absolutely terrifying to be any other RPG maker because BioWare have pulled it out of the bag yet again!

The plot follows on directly from the events of the original, with Shepard and co touring the universe when their ship is attacked and sunk by an unknown vessel. The Human Spectre saves everyone on board but not before she/he perishes in the void of space. Slowly Shepard is revived thanks to the scientific minds at Cerburus - a shadowy human-centric organization- and after two years you're back on your feet, ready to investigate the disappearence of Human colonies. It's a fantastic plot device because throughout the experience you'll run into previous crew members who have been fairing rather differently after your high profile death. Who you meet, how they treat you, and their circumstances all change dynamically due to the decisions you made in the original, thanks to the handy-dandy save importer. It's a simple yet brilliant solution to tie the franchise together and we are sure other developers will follow suit.

As massive fans of the original game we were genuinely giddy when we were reunited with Tali, Garrus and many more old friends once again. There are plenty of former shipmates to meet and while we'd love to tell you of our encounters, they are just too brilliant to spoil.

Side quests have also been paid more attention, so you'll no longer have to fight in the same base that is inexplicably replicated throughout the entire universe.

Galaxy wide exploration is introduced very early on and you won't have to spend lots of time at the Citadel chatting before earning your wings. Every location now feels more alive and interesting- the Asari homeworld particularly stands out with it's constant bombardment of advertising and shady corporate laws.

Gameplay

New features

A "Prelude to E3" developer diary was released on May 15, 2009. The developers confirmed that the combat system has been upgraded, with everything from the feel of the combat to the A.I. being improved, including realistic damage modeling and downed enemies still continuing to crawl and fight. New to the series is a heavy weapons system that will allow players to "kill [somebody] a thousand times" over. The tone of the game is similar to that of the Wild West, featuring warlords and crime gangs.

Mass Effect 2 also features regenerating health as its primary health mechanic, instead of the ability to heal with "medi-gel" as in the first game. However, "medi-gel" is still used to revive downed allies. In addition, weapons now use ammunition and no longer rely on the overheat system of the first game. This system is functionally identical to the ammunition systems of other third-person shooters, but instead of having differing ammunition types for different weapons, the heat sinks used are universal across most standard weapons.

The characters in Mass Effect 2 are more detailed not only graphically, but technically. In the original Mass Effect, Commander Shepard only had 20 animations for cover, while in Mass Effect 2, the character has over 200. The world is also more open-ended in this installment; uncharted worlds, which the player could explore for "cheap thrills" in the first game, are now more detailed and include more to explore.

The camera positioning for conversations with A.I. characters has also been improved; the previously static camera now moves around to provide "a much needed cinematic touch." Another new feature during conversations is a context-sensitive interrupt system: in addition to Renegade and Paragon dialogue options, Shepard is able to interrupt the dialogue when prompted to do so with on-screen controls, again along Paragon or Renegade paths.

The M35 Mako is not included for planetary exploration in Mass Effect 2 with improved gameplay sections from in the first game.Instead, a Kodiak drop shuttle, which the player cannot directly pilot, transports the player to areas of immediate interest. A new pilotable vehicle called the Hammerhead will be released in a future downloadable content file and is stated by project director Casey Hudson to be more user-friendly.

A major gripe from the last game, slow moving elevators, have been removed entirely. This is in fact referenced as a joke during a mission when a team mate smashes the side of an slow moving elevator demanding it to go faster, and it does. Instead typical elevator sequences are loading screens.^{[citation needed]}

Unlike Mass Effect, in which there were four weapon types, there are now nineteen different weapons, and the pistol has been broken up into the heavy pistol and the machine pistol. The grenades from the first game do not make a reappearance, but have been replaced by the new heavy weapons. Sub-machine guns make up another new weapon class. Characters are now able to use any weapon their class is trained for at full effect, meaning the player is no longer required or able to invest in weapon skills. Armor skills have also been removed and there are no longer class restrictions on armor. Instead, armor is controlled through purchases of upgrades or individual components and is applied piecemeal, with different armor components providing different bonuses to damage, health, and other skills.

Transferring save-files

Project director for BioWare, Casey Hudson, and BioWare co-founder, Greg Zeschuk, as well as other developers of Mass Effect, have stated that players should keep their Mass Effectsave-files because decisions made by the player in the first game carry over to the second and have influences on his/her character in the sequel. Hudson also stated that characters from the previous game make a return, provided that they were not killed. In order for the saved file to be recognized in Mass Effect 2, the player has to wait until the end of the credits in Mass Effect so that an autosave file may be created with the completed game data. Each save file is viewable by the player when deciding which to import into Mass Effect 2, and a summary of some of the key decisions made during that game is shown to help the player make sure the right save file is imported.

Players who have not played the first Mass Effect start a new character in Mass Effect 2, and are brought up to speed on the story elements that have taken place thus far in the series.

When transferring a file from Mass Effect, players have the option to change their class to a different one. For example, if the player wanted to play as an Engineer instead of an Infiltrator, the player may change his/her character's class while still importing the choices made during the first game. There is a story explanation as to how the character's abilities have changed since the first game. In addition, transferred characters may also have their appearance changed, if the player so desires.

Mass Effect 2 save files may be transferred to the third installment in a similar manner, the exception being the ending in which Shepard dies. In this case, players must either choose to replay Mass Effect 2 for a better ending or begin with a new character in Mass Effect 3.

Players receive bonuses for importing save games; for example, importing a level 60 Shepard provides the player with 50 thousand credits, ten thousand units of each resource, bonus Paragon and Renegade points, and allows him/her to start Mass Effect 2 at level 5. If the imported character was "Rich" in Mass Effect, The player will receive an additional 100 thousand credits. Additionally, although the achievement, Long Service Medal, requires the player to beat the game twice, the player may get the achievement for completing the game once with an imported Shepard.^[30]

Character death

The first teaser trailer for the game gave the impression that Commander Shepard had been killed in action, but it was later confirmed that Shepard would be brought back to life by Cerberus, providing the player with a chance to alter his/her character's appearance and class. Players themselves dictate whether or not Shepard will die at the end of the game based on choices that they make throughout the game. While exploration in the first game had little relevance to the main story, in Mass Effect 2, the player is able to gather enemy intelligence and resources to purchase various upgrades for the Normandy during exploration that will have an effect on the final mission. BioWare Executive Producer Casey Hudson explained, "If you do die in the ending of Mass Effect 2, it will not come as a surprise, nor will it be random. It will be pretty obvious that you headed into the final mission knowing that Shepard probably wouldn’t make it out alive." Hudson also confirmed that team members would be affected by the player's decisions during the final mission: "You might have an ending where Shepard’s entire team survives, or where the entire mission is a bloodbath and everyone (including Shepard) is killed, or anything in between." The ending in which Shepard is killed represents apermanent death for the character in terms of the story, rather than a death in which the player may simply reload from a previously saved game after making a mistake in combat. In that scenario, the character from that play-through cannot be imported into Mass Effect 3; players would have to either use a different save file in which Shepard survived or start a brand new character.