Mass Effect 2 (PlayStation 3)

Story:
Mass Effect 2 is the continuation of the first Mass Effect. I did not play the first Mass Effect and if you do the same I would recommend looking up some general info and reading the information they give you. You will create your own hero named Shepard who dies at the beginning of the game. Shepard is then rescued by a group called Cerberus, a group often considered a terrorist organization, who request your aid with their mission. The game takes place in the future and is set in space. As Shepard investigates the disappearance of human colonies around the galaxy, s/he will learn more about the Reapers and a certain alien race called the Collectors who are being used by the Reapers. Shepard will have to assemble a team and try to find a way to stop the Collectors on their home turf.



Gameplay:
Mass Effect 2 is an action-role playing game that to me has a lot of aspects of a shooter. During most missions, you'll be shooting your way through things using the R1 button, with L1 to zoom in, X to take cover, holding X to run, and a few other things. You'll have a few different weapons to choose from to help you tackle a variety of situations and enemies. You can change your and your allies weapons at certain spots as well as on your ship. While you don't have direct control of your allies, you can ask them to use certain powers, certain weapons, and position them in certain places. You can bring up to two allies with you on a mission. You can also use different powers and things depending on what character class you chose.



You'll have a number of dialogue options throughout the game that may give you points towards the Renegade/Paragon system. This will affect available choices later on in the game as well as certain outcomes. This game does have long-term affects depending on your choices which can also affect what happens if you port your game to Mass Effect 3. You can level up your characters and assign points, do character loyalty missions which will grant them a second outfit, talk to your crew, raise fish, decorate your quarters, and a few other things. You can also accept sidequests by talking to people at different areas.



World:
This game has multiple worlds as you will be exploring a lot of the Milky Way galaxy. There are certain planets you can land on and explore and do things like shopping and talking. A lot of planets will just have you scanning the planets for minerals and launching probes in order to upgrade your ship and weapons and powers. Occasionally while exploring a planet you will find an anomaly which will allow you to land on the planet for a mission of sorts. You can explore further in to different star systems, as well as buy star charts that allow you to explore new places. The game also gives you a lot of details about important areas as well as individual planets that you visit.



Characters:
(Not all characters may be playable and some not mentioned here may be playable in your game. Ordered from favourite to least favourite):
Kasumi: A master thief and DLC character who wants help retrieving something important to her. She uses heavy pistols and submachine guns.
Tali'Zorah: A mechanic genius who is very loyal to her people. She has to prove that loyalty during her mission. She uses heavy pistols and shotguns.
Garrus: Going under a code name, Garrus stops criminals by... killing them. As you do. His loyalty mission involves getting revenge on a murderer. He uses sniper and assault rifles and has a good voice.
Samara: Samara is a justicar who follows a strict moral code and has very powerful abilities. She needs help with one particular criminal. She uses submachine guns and assault rifles.
Jacob: An experienced and idealistic fighter who wants to make a difference. He uses heavy pistols and shotguns.
Legion: A bunch of Geth put together in a body. Does the robot dance if you watch him long enough. Uses assault rifles and sniper rifles.
Mordin: A doctor and scientist and professor, he speaks very quickly and is overall friendly. Uses submachine guns and heavy pistols.
Jack: A notorious criminal with very powerful biotic abilities and some serious personal issues. She uses heavy pistols and shotguns.
Miranda: A member of Cerberus, she is very cold and down to business although as she opens up you learn more about how she became the way she is. Uses submachine guns and heavy pistols.
Thane: An renown and skilled assassin who has personal family issues to face. He uses sniper rifles and submachine guns.
Grunt: A tube grown Krogan, he is violent and aggressive in nature. His loyalty mission involves helping him channel that violence. He uses shotguns and assault rifles.

Overall:
I wasn't really sure what to think of this game when I first got it. I'm not too fond of shooters and while I like some sci-fi, it's not my genre of choice. Not many characters interested me either. But I took a chance and I am glad I did. The characters grew on me and most had a surprising depth to their story. I liked making my own character and choosing how things happened. I like that you can replay the game and have things go very differently. While the morality system seems good in theory, I didn't like how you basically had to choose all one way or another in order to see the benefits, and I would have rather been able to choose between different stances for different situations. This kind of took away some of the freedom of the dialogue choices. The gameplay overall I did not like as it was too much shooter-like for my personal tastes and it took a while to get used to. I got the hang of it (and I'm glad there was a difficulty setting) but I still didn't get used to everything I could have done because I was overwhelmed. The missions were also fairly linear, the story was oddly paced, and scanning planets was pretty boring. Really what made this game good for me was the characters and the story and the openness of a lot of it. Also how your choices actually have an impact on how things play out was a really great thing and I think more games should do that.

Verdict:
LIKED IT