According to Gamefaqs, the game continues Commander Shepard's story after the events of the first Mass Effect. Without giving away spoilers, Shepard is sent on a routine machine to clear some geth activity, but is attacked by a race known as the collectors, who are destroying numerous human colonies. Shepard's crew manages to escape, but Shepard is blown to pieces with the ship. The plot continues the Mass Effect tradition of being extremely engaging and emotionally investing, with it's fair share of twists and build up towards the trilogy's conclusion. However, something that really stands out to me in Mass Effect 2 is the characters. A lot of my favorite parts of the game, story-wise, came from the conversations that I had with squadmates on the Shepard's ship, the Normandy, or with the NPC's in the various cities and planets throughout the game universe. The writing and conversations are truly unmatched by any other game that I have played. As the game progressed, I found myself instilled with more and more genuine hope that all of my team would make it through our mission and onto Mass Effect 3. Again, the story is just that good.
The gameplay has undergone a massive transformation is this sequel. Gone are the clunky and slightly old gameplay conventions of Mass Effect 1, and in their place comes a much more streamlined approach. The shooting of Mass Effect 2 is much improved over Mass Effect 1, making battles exciting and violent, with enemies burning and freezing to pieces all around you. Sliding into cover is slick and easy, as is popping in and out to take potshots at the wide variety of foes that swarm you from every direction you. It helps that the two teammates accompanying you on your missions are much less of a burden than before not intelligent, but certainly smart enough to stay out of your way and stay alive. You will also have access to a variety of biotic powers via a radial menu you can bring up anytime in combat. This radial wheel will allow you to pause the combat to plan out your next move, switch weapons, and, again, rain destruction with your biotic powers. The only downside of Mass Effect 2 I can think of is the planet scanning. In Mass Effect 2, you must scan planets in order obtain resources for weapon and ship upgrades. The planet scanning becomes quickly tedious, a real blemish on a truly extraordinary game. This mechanic in the game never becomes terrible enough to hamper the experience.
The graphics are truly gorgeous and character models are astounding. The art of Mass Effect 2 comes out much more than in Mass Effect 1, with missions taking place in much more varied environments than the first. Mass Effect 2 plays like a tight third person shooter, with controls responding perfectly, never hampering the action-packed levels.
Overall, Mass Effect 2 is an awesome game. According to vgchartz.com, Mass Effect 2 has sold over 3.80 million copies. The game definitely deserves such huge sales because it really is one of the crowning achievements of this gaming generation. Heres hoping Mass Effect 3 will be the fulfilling end to Commander Shepard's saga.
Links:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps3/605239-mass-effect-2
http://www.vgchartz.com/gamedb/?name=mass+effect+2
Link to image:
http://images.wikia.com/masseffect/images/7/77/FinalboxartME2.jpg
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