Two years ago Bioware hit us with a game that changed things up a little. Instead of their usual fantasy fare they went sci-fi and mixed in FPS elements to make Mass Effect. The rest of the game was much akin to the others, except for one key thing: Your actions would have a huge effect on the proceeding games. Naturally this caused a big stir and had people anxiously waiting the sequel to see what kind of “mass effect” their ported save file would create. Flash-forward to now and we have the answer finally, although not entirely what anyone expected. While changes did occur due to what we did or didn’t do, story took precedence over all and the final result leaves me with mixed feelings. To me it felt a little like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride; you get a steering wheel but the ride is still on a track.

The Illusive Man

While I can’t divulge too much of the story without giving things away, I can assure you that within the first few minutes of gameplay you will die. Don’t worry, it’s part of the story, and Shepard will be resurrected through science ($6 Million Man style, sorta) by an unlikely party and sent out on a mission to save the galaxy. The Reaper threat is still there, though no one wants to deal with it or think about it 9some don’t even believe it, STILL after all that happened last game), and to make matters worse they have help from someone else this time. Really, it’s more of the same with a lot of window dressing. I’m not saying that is a bad thing as the story in the first game was good, but if you weren’t a fan of the story in the first game then prepare to not like this as well. This time though, the threat seems to take more of a backseat with the major thrust of the games story being broken up into Loyalty missions for the other characters. This is one step too close to the whole cellphone thing in GTA4 (at least in this game, no one is calling me constantly to go to strip clubs).

The Citadel

The big changes, sadly, are not what you would expect them to be. Everyone expected their actions to cause the big ripples in the way the game plays out. Instead, the shift comes from changes that happened during Shepard’s absence and the change of space (literally, since the game takes place primarily in Terminus Space). Even the game plays differently with new menus, control scheme and combat system. The combat system is the biggest change with the ability to dash and mantle over cover playing a big part. Also, you have to reload your guns and pick up ammo which forces you to change up strategies to better use the ammo you have. it’s almost as if the whole universe changed drastically in the span of two years. Two years is not that long of time in the wide scope of an entire universe. if it had been 10 years, then all these changes would have been easier to swallow, instead I feel like they were forced into place due to Bioware wanting to make things feel different without having to change anything big.

Uninvited Guest

Let’s get back to the story a bit and talk about what Bioware promised us with this game. As I stated, changes do occur over all depending on your actions, but they play such a small role in the story that it almost doesn’t matter. Dialogue shifts, characters might or might not be around, but the story will still play out in the same fashion. I can understand why things work this way from a technical standpoint, in that doing more would mean creating several branching and diverging paths,  however it makes me feel like what I do doesn’t matter. You could argue that certain actions within a mission affect how things in the mission play out in a very minor way. But still, it ends with the mission. These actions should carry over and effect how people respond to Shepard and not allow Shepard to have different dialogue choices that only change things within another mission. Everything is wrapped up with a pretty bow and then it’s off to the next mission. The outcome will still be the same, and no one will bring it up ever again. If Bioware changes this major gripe in the third game, and gives it more of a sandbox flavor I’d have to say that it will be awesome. I’m not going ot get my hopes up, I already feel let down in this respect enough.

We are Legion

To sum things up, Mass Effect 2 is a great game that lives up to it’s predecessor in every way, and in some cases over shadows it. It’s not perfect, not by a long shot, but if you loved the first game then you’ll love this. Even if you never played the first, I suggest at least renting this one. Don’t worry about porting a save file over, as it won’t change things in any major way. As long as you know what the story of the first game was (which will be summed up while playing this game), you’ll be fine. Despite being unhappy with the way the game plays out, I do still really like the game.