Commander Sheperd, I am not buying you a space hamster.......
Before you go out and buy Mass Effect 2, I would tell you to purchase the original game and complete the quest before importing it to ME2. The character progression brought over from ME1 is probably the best thing I have seen in a game yet. The decisions you make or made in ME1 will be laid out in some story plots in ME2, so be careful.
Storyline
The story in ME2 is much more interesting than in ME1. Commander Sheperd has been sent on a mission in geth territory but there is something else on the horizon: a collector ship with a sinister plan involving kidnapping of human colonies. Sheperd's Normandy is attacked and your character is killed but you are awakened by a lazarus project funded by Cerberus, an organization bent on advancing the human race run by the mysterious Illusive Man. After you are recovered, you can create a new character from your imported mass effect 1 save file and also change your looks.
Gameplay
Mass Effect 2 is a combat oriented roleplaying game with more emphasis on the combat part which has been improved from the original and the roleplaying part has been reduced and streamlined which is the only part of the game that is a minus for me and also waiting for Mass Effect 3. This second act is all about recruiting people for your suicide mission, gaining loyalty from crew members and upgrading. Each memeber you recruit has a side quest which after completion gains loyalty for that particular member. Loyalty is important as it will affect the ending part of the game.
There are 2 minigames which I spent a lot of time playing which is hacking terminals for credits and scanning planets for minerals so I can upgrade my team and my new Normandy. Scanning for minerals is very slow and should have been better but it is still better than the Mako in ME1 and you dont have to land on the planets to mine resources. Lifts in buildings have been scrapped and go around is easier in this version
The loot system in ME1 has been removed for a more streamlined inventory system. You get specific weapons and while going out on quest and exploring, loots that you find are used with various resources to upgrade weapons. Some upgrades affect just crew members only which is very helpful. In my gameplay I recruited everybody and gain their loyalty before attempting the suicide mission and my Sheperd survived, but you can choose to play differently. Before going out for the suicide mission make sure you upgrade normandy with the following:
- Heavy Armor
- Multi-core shielding
- Thanix
else people start dying.
Leveling up has been simplified to just 4 squad points. For example if you have incendiary power, you can auto level up from 1 to 4 or you can purchase 1 squad point, 2 point, etc. The final (4) squat points evolves your powers to either benefit you only or the entire crew which is neat. Every power has an evolution, so think carefully and remember that you are on a suicide mission. Squat members also level up with you as you go along.
The shooting mechanics as mentioned earlier has been improved drastically from the first game so it feels like a shooting game and the cover system and sending commands to your squad mates have also been improved. When in combat mode, you can also mod your weapon on the fly by pressing the left-shift key and clicking on Cryo mod or inferno mod.
There are more dialogues in ME2 with an interesting interrupt system that shows a renegade left mouse click on the lower left corner of the screen and a paragon dialogue interrupt right mouse click on the lower right corner of the screen which makes the whole experience unpredictable.
Jumping from an action sequence to a cut-scene is fluid and very good and does not take you out of the experience that much and there are less loading times on my system this time around which gives Mass Effect 2 an overall polish.
PRESENTATION AND SOUND
Character animation is the best I have seen in years. You can differentiate every character in this game and BIOWARE's attention to detail is phenomenal. The side quest in ME1 felt like a copy and paste but in ME2, it has been overhauled and you can find lush environs. The size and scope is obvious with beautiful graphics and sound to blow your mind. The level design is artistic rather than technical and you cannot get it by just reading this article unless you buy and play.Sci-fi sound is essential in a game like this and BIOWARE nailed it. If you really want to enjoy this game then a 5.1 surround will be the sweet spot. Period.
Mass Effect 2 is an experience and will be a contender for game of the year and it also sets a very high standard for other games in the future and the competition might not be from other games but with Mass Effect 3 which is a downside because I have to wait for it. Oh men !!!!!!!!!!!!!!I hate waiting