I imported my save from Mass Effect 1, and thus continued my journey as a soldier-class, Paragon fighting the good fight and befriending as many people as I could in the galaxy. Being a soldier obviously means that my version of Shepard heavily relied on guns, and in Mass Effect 2 the gun combat has been significantly improved. The red "target" triangle on the center of enemies is now gone, and in its place is a more robust reticule. However it seems as though to improve the gun combat this time around, Bioware decided it was necessary to cut many of the games RPG elements (there are only about 4 skills to level up per character versus about 8-10 in the previous game). While this is not a huge issue, it does seem to significantly stray away from what the original Mass Effect appeared to be.

Plenty of people criticized the first game for its cutscenes, however, new to Mass Effect 2 is the ability to "customize" your cutscenes. During certain cutscenes you are given the option to either perform a Paragon or Renegade action (although both are not always available at the same time). These new options allow players to further their goal to become the ultimate inter-galactic badass or saviour. Overall, Mass Effect 2 is an amazing game that I would highly recommend to any gamer (upon completing the first for the backstory), however there are parts in the game that feel significantly less polished than they did in the first game. 

While combat and crew member AI has been significantly improved, many characters seem to suffer from unintentional crossed eyes or facial ticks. Some of the cutscenes in Mass Effect 2 also experience drops in frame rate or momentary freezing. Although it might not be perfect, Mass Effect 2 is an amazing game worth almost anyone's time, after all, I got so sucked into it that I beat it in a little over 20 hours and in just three sittings…that's right, three.

-Michael Brown

Overall, I enjoyed Mass Effect 2. The story was fun, and the characters very interesting. You still have some stock characters like Jacob or Miranda, but Thane and Jack (my favorites) stand out and are fun to play with. There are new (and more) places to visit, such as new age cities or slums run by gangs. The sequel has generally improved on the experience of the first. 

However, I want to devote my time here to some problems in the game and to some basic RPG principles in general. First off, there are an embarrassing number of graphical glitches. I played on a PC with the settings at medium to high and only noticed a few framerate glitches during intense fights, along with world visibility issues and facial flickering during conversations. The rest of the highly polished graphics and design unfortunately make these small issues stand out. 

I'm happy to note the combat AI has improved significantly. Both friend and foe will take cover on their own and know their stuff well. Mass Effect 1's combat relied on weapons overheating to slow down fire and keep you on your toes. In the second, this has been discarded for a more traditional system, where you pick up 'thermal clips' which allow each gun to fire off so many shots before they have to be discarded. Health packs are a little less important now, and only used to revive fallen teammates (your health regenerates). 

All of it lends to more streamlined combat, but it's still not perfect. The cover system, while a necessity to stay alive, is very clunky. At times you can pop in and out of cover and move up or to the side, without any problems. But half of the time you'll find yourself forcing Shepard to move this way or that. It takes a noticeable amount of time from the button press to get in and out of cover, adding to the awkward feeling. The skirmishes are still nice, the pacing and variety of combat locations are a big plus, and it's a bonus that each one doesn't last very long. 

On to my RPG bit: conversations and moral meters. Mass Effect 2 carries over the Paragon/Renegade meters (I'm happily a Renegade), along with the chance to do some good (pansy) or evil (badass) action mid-conversation. In Mass Effect 2, just about every conversation you have gives you a few points to either side, which is fine. But each conversation ultimately nets you the same effect, because the story is linear. Minor experiences may differ, but everyone fights Collectors for Cerberus. 

Sometimes the conversation options seem a bit trivial though. I'm not asking for every non-important conversation to be automated, but some make it pretty obvious that the minor differences don't matter. Also, what's with people turning at perfect 90^o angles and walking away from Shepard? This doesn't happen as often as the first, but its still noticeable. No one does that in real life… yet. 

- Nick Tringali

The simplification of the game's RPG elements will come as a disappointment to many, yet that does give the player a higher emphasis on story, character and combat. Most of your party will be entirely new and the manner in which your decisions from ME1 affect the story here is surprisingly broad. Unfortunately, not importing a character means the game assumes certain events for you. 

Many characters from ME1 (those left alive) make reappearances, but only briefly as the focus is put on your new party. The initial party members (Jacob and Miranda) are incredibly contrived stock characters (a dutiful soldier keen to take orders and a feisty white woman with an unrealistic body, respectively), but fortunately as your roster expands, the characters deepen. It is very difficult to try to surpass the scope of a plot like ME1, but the differences between the story there and in ME2 are sadly minimal. Still, the narrative is personal and gripping, and the cinematic value sets a new standard for games.

The combat mechanics are nothing new, but they don't need to be. The game could have seen a majority of its minor glitches disappear with a delayed release, but the worst you'll see is your character getting stuck requiring you to reload your last save. The character animations, voice acting and expressions are much more varied this time. The A.I. has certainly seen some work and the unexplored planets have been greatly fleshed out (no more vehicles, thankfully). The final battles are much more affected by the manner in which you play, which provides a much higher replay value. Beyond the minor glitches and simplified play, it is evidence that Bioware is among those setting the bar of modern storytelling.

-Joel Cornell

Likes:

• Gun mechanics have been improved
• Gripping side missions revolving around your crew members
• Shepard can now hide behind cover
• Crew member AI has been significantly improved

Dislikes:

• Feels less polished than the first in some parts
• RPG elements are exceptionally streamlined (almost gone)
• Glitches and framerate problems cause occasional freezing or cutscene issues
• Exceptionally long loading times

Review Score

 / 

The review scale at LevelFortyTwo is between 1 and 5. A score of 5 is considered an amazing game, 4 is a well-done game with only minor issues, 3 is in the middle; not great, but not bad, 2 is a very problematic game, and 1 is absolutely terrible.

The differences in what you can expect to listen to correspond with the genre. You can pretty easily guess what you’ll be hearing in the next Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect orMadden. Sports and racing games seem to subsist entirely on licensed music, most of the songs being fairly popular singles released within the past decade. There is not much need for dramatic tension via music; most of this is provided by the competitive game play, while also tending to use quality sound effects and some sort of commentary. Any kind of formal score would seem very out of place anyway. Thus, the soundtrack for your Maddens or Need for Speeds serve as a sort of elevator music, keeping the silences at bay with recent modern-rock and hip-hop hits that get you pumped for that next game or race.

However, licensed music is not only used in this manner. In most narrative games, as in film, the music creates the setting and environment. This occurs through original scores as often and as effectively as it does as licensed soundtracks. Again, environment dictates this entirely. In Grand Theft Auto 4, licensed tracks create setting naturally, playing through standard, real-world devices such as car radios, stereos at your house, or the music in a store or mall. Previous installments of this series have effectively set the timeframe of a game in the 80s or 90s, simply by playing in the expected environment the songs you recognize as from that time period, without having to state that you are playing in the time. Bioshock or Fallout 3 accomplishes the same by using tracks with a distinct 1930s sounds.

Trends like this can increase the realism and the depth of virtual environments. It's true that the soundtracks of previous generations are more memorable, but perhaps that is because they were more catchy jingles, and not orchestral scores. The music did indicate tone, but in more of a pragmatic sense, and not in the subtle or emotional way it does today. 

We might not really remember the music that played at the end of Mass Effect note for note, but we certainly remember what we did and what we felt during the climax.