Worth playing but not even close to being as good as the first.
Gameplay: I guess there is 3 main things to talk about here being the fighting style, paragon/renegade/general story options, and exploring. The fighting style in this game is similar to the previous. The abilities are pretty much the same, biotic damage moves like throw/pull/slam. Then you have summon robots, put elements on bullets, various fortification to your shields and shield damage options. The gun fighting has been improved with the gears of war style cover system. There isn't as much guns in this game it has been dropped for a upgrade system, because of this upgrade system you are forced to mine but I will get to that in a min. I would rather get loot this is a personal preference. There is a level up system. You no longer get points for killing guys you get all your exp from completing missions. You can get up to level 30 and every time you level up you can put 2 points into your abilities.
exploration in this game is roughly the same. You move from system to system via mass relays. in each system you can go to other areas outside of the area holding the mass relay by going past the green circle(sorry that is confusing) you then end up using fuel to get to your next location to me this is absolutely a pointless feature as fuel serves no purpose other than that and its dumb. You also can look at and mine every planet. seeing as you need minerals to upgrade your weapons you will find your spending a long long time mining these random planets which will all look the same over time. Let me give you a pro tip there is way to many planets to mine and you are going to have an over abundance of elements left over so don't waste your time mining a planet unless it is rich in elements. That being said you will have to it least hit the scan button for each planet if your not using a guide because from time to time you will get an anomaly. this means you will have to locate it and then land on the planet to do a mini mission. sometimes finishing these missions moves you to another mission in another place but almost always there is upgrades to be found. Mining system is honestly the worst idea ever and if they actually play tested it they would of realized there had to be a better way. With the lack of loot and always having the same stuff I feel less likely to explore and feel this is more like a shooter.
The story options in this game is what makes this game even worth playing. if they were not there this would be a sub-par shooter. Getting to know your crew and being able to choose the path of what your gonna say makes you feel more attached to this game then you would be otherwise. in tense situations your often given a special choice paragon/renegade choice in which you can solve a problem by either doing the right thing or wrong thing. either way it doesn't seem to effect the game to much from what i can tell so you should just do whatever you deem more entertaining. As you progress through the game you can even get a love interest like the previous game but don't expect anything more than some bra if your thinking anything will come of it other than a achievement.
I am not entirely sure why this game takes two discs its not very big but I guess there was maybe 2 times I had to swap a disc. its not a big deal I am just curious as to why.
Overall I guess the game is worth playing, but I couldn't really tell you guys to go out there and pay a full 59.99 or 69.99 its not that good. Buy it used for like 39.99 or rent it if you think you can beat a 30 plus hour game in a weekend. The shooting is solid, the story is pretty good, but there is just something about it, i guess its the little things that leave a bad taste in my mouth. Its your choice in the end but this game won't be getting a second play through from me.