Without question the benchmark in which all North American RPG's should be held up to moving forward.
but even I will admit that after the original Mass Effect added new spin on the engine that Bioware had so successfully integrated into KOTOR and KOTOR:2, it became a series that I looked forward to.
The first Mass Effect introduced the gamer into a unique galaxy that truly sucked you in with the level of detail and the amount of depth that was integrated into nearly every location you visited and every race that you came across.
However, at times the game felt like a beautiful painting that lacked the interaction with this depth that was laid out by Bioware.
This issue is corrected in Mass Effect 2.
The amount of varied missions that are available to you are numerous, and unlike other RPG's that tack on non-story sidequests the rewards for completing some of these off the beaten path missions are truly that; rewards.
Unlike the first Mass Effect; the main story is much more meaty not relying on the gamer to fly around the universe in order to falsely extend the total amount of gameplay.
The missions are they are related to the main story are lengthy, and numerous. Each of which has a very unique feel and environment.
Even if you put aside the loyalty missions, side quests, and helpful off the beaten path events this is easily a game that can be rushed through in 30-40 hours.
But you won't want to, you will savior the experience and you will enjoy it.
Graphically;
Bioware has polished what was already a pretty looking game within a genre that is normally lackluster in this department.
Regardless of if you find yourself in a city bustling with life, or an abandon alien space ship the variety and level of detail that has gone into each locale is unprecedented for this genre.
The character models have come a long way from the original, even the most simplistic of NPC's has a varied look and you will no longer see a situation where someone on Citadel will be either Krogan Model A & B. Great lengths have been reached to make even the insignificant characters you interact with look varied and interesting.
As for your squad; its certainly interesting.
More detail, better lines, and a more finished look (Have a look at the detail on Jack's tattoos to see what I mean)
Firefights however become the exception to the rule.
While it does not take away from the experience and there are a varied amount of enemies in the game, if you are right robo-solider X you are going to be fight many similar looking robo-soldier X's.
I understand that in theory that robo-soldiers would all be built to look the same anyway, but if I have to find a fault with the game I would say that a corner was cut in the variety of the same type of enemy fought.
Its not a big deal, but worth noting.
The gameplay experience is truly first rate.
The story grabs you right out of the gate in the opening sequence and takes you for one heck of a ride.
Even the characters within your squad are much deeper then they were in the past, and gaining loyalties is no longer as simple as having the right conversation based on the options within your conversation tree, you need to work for it but its a rewarding and meaty experience.
The battle system has remained very similar, however I will note that ammo is not as easy to come across as the first game, so make sure that you at least dedicate some degree of skill points to biotics or you are going to be taking down droves of husks with your puny pistol or hiding as your squadmates fight your battles for you.
The missions are actually a respectable length, not too long (see Too Human) or too short (KOTOR 2) but a nice balance that requires you to fight a few waves of baddies but mixes up the environment enough that its actually fun and not something that you are killing time doing between advancing the storyline.
The addition of tossing in the shoulder buttons during cut scenes to do either a Paragon or Renegade action is a pretty neat addition and will keep you on your toes while the story is being moved forward.
One item that must be noted is the very generous autosave feature, if you die you will not be replying ten minutes of the game. Very well done and thought out and save me countless hours of needless frustration.
If I had to find a few areas I have taken issue with it would be as follows:
1) Only being able to change your armor within your cabin on the Normandy. There are times where some of the boosts I left on the ship would have come in super handy and I did not have access to them. The same can be said for weapons, whereas I can only change them during the start of missions or if I come across a weapons locker.
Bioware over simplified the RPG aspect of the game in this regard, but it is forgivable
2) Downloadable Missions Thus Far Stink. I spent 45 minutes looking for dog tags on an otherwise empty planet,
The fact that Bioware has such awesome in game missions to taint the game by making the first downloadable mission so substandard is just tragic.
So far it was the only mission I found myself looking at my watch while playing.
The soundtrack for this game is epic.
Its a cool fusion of electronic and cool classic beats. There are a few moments when I feel like they development team was paying tribute to some of the great 16 bit soundtracks by cleaning up stuff you would have heard in Utopia for SNES (Which was a great soundtrack for the time)
The voice acting is top notch, even the character interaction when you are on missions is wonderful.
My suggestion is to take Garrus everywhere that you go, he is very entertaining and a pretty darn functional warrior.
Overall,
You owe it to yourself to play this game.
Thus far Fallout 3 has been sitting atop the mountain in terms of game with the best and more interesting story for well over a year waiting for someone to take that title.
Mass Effect 2 has done just that;
and will not doubt receive some game of the year consideration for 2010.