Mass Effect 2 PC
User Score
8.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1898 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,688 out of 1898
  2. Mixed: 87 out of 1898
  3. Negative: 123 out of 1898

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  1. AkiI
    Apr 7, 2010
    10
    I haven't played a game as satisfying as ME2 in years, on keeping all it's promises and surpassing all expectations. A true roleplaying game, with choices you've made following you to the end, instead of just the hollow leveling. Makers of Fina Fantasy should play this game to learn how to write good and believable characters and outcomes.
  2. RoyP
    Feb 20, 2010
    4
    I was very dissapointed with this game. I was expecting a RPG/TPS hybrid like the first one, not a Gears of War with a dialogue wheel like this game. They removed almost every RPG element it had: there is no more looting,there is no more inventory, there is like 2 weapons of each kind (about 20 in total), there is no more weapons/armor stats, there is no more weapons/armor mods, you can't change your squadmates armors... Even the story and dialogue aren't very good, the mainplot is too short and the squadmates run out of dialogue very quickly. I hope Bioware bring back the RPG in ME3 otherwise I will not buy it.… Expand
  3. Alex
    Jan 30, 2010
    5
    A good game, but nowhere near the same caliber ME1 was. They stripped away almost all RPG elements so it's pretty much a straight up shooter with a good story. No inventory or loot, lack of sidequests, no freedom, no exploration, very linear, barely any use for money, dumbed down leveling system, lack of skills, lack of variation in armor/weapons
  4. poor
    Feb 16, 2010
    5
    Having removed all the rpg elements as mentioned, this is basically a straight up shooter with gameplay akin to Mafia or Godfather. As a shooter, I've seen £10 russian games be more fun. The only reason this deserves any marks at all is the cinematography, story and production value. Having said that, you might as well read a book. This is pretty much just dross.
  5. Snk
    Mar 12, 2010
    6
    First of all, ME2 is by no means a bad game. The characters are appealing, the graphics are good and the voice acting, while over-the-top at times, is overall convincing. The problem is, unless you've been living under a rock for a past ten years Mass Effect 2 has absolutely nothing new to offer. Recycle a good chunk of plot elements from previous Bioware games, add GoW-style shooting, add a scoop of tedious and pretty much mandatory planet probing and there you have it. The RPG system had been significantly simplified this time around. You still can make choices in dialogues, being a hero or a jerk, whatever you feel like, but ultimately your choices do not affect the game in any significant way. ME2 is also surprisingly short, it took me 23 hours or so to beat it on veteran, while doing all of the side quests and acquiring pretty much all the upgrades. And that is not to mention it's horrible loading times. In short, ME2 is Avatar of video games. It's solid, looks good, and most people will probably enjoy the ride, but it lacks substance, new ideas, and is hardly worth playing through for a second time.… Expand
  6. polysix
    Feb 1, 2010
    0
    Ok it's not a ZERO, that is ridiculous. However, I for one am SICK of seeing every 'massive name game' getting 10/10 from the sheep players and the shilling reviewers. This has happened to almost all the big name games recently (ok.. for years) and I'll keep on giving zero to games that are getting 10s when they are worth '8' at best... on a good day, if you squint really hard. Now to the game. For all the hype and praise I was badly let down. I almost fell asleep during the first few hours play. The initial opening scene was nicely done, very good (if you want 'interactive movies' rather than games), it seemed to go downhill after that. When you compare this to the quality in for ex Uncharted 2, it shows so much lack of flair, lack of care, lack of finishing touches. The textures throughout the levels were bland, reminding me of 'poor man's FPS' from the past such as Chaser and all that crud from the early 2000s. Seriously the design is poor, lacking originality, lacking artistic direction and relying on the age old 'generic space theme'. Design was boxy, levels (so far) linear and poorly paced. It was like bioware tried to hybrid this game a bit too much and have ended up removing anything that was cool about it (the RPG depth) and making, frankly, a 2nd rate Third person shooter with clunky controls, poor interface and worst of all EXTREMELY BORING GAMEPLAY. If you play Gears of War or Uncharted 2... or even Resident Evil 4 on the GC.. THAT is how you do '3rd person' properly. This game and it's predecessor were obviously made by a team who don't truly understand how to make a tight addictive 'action' game, and instead rely on the so called 'depth' and vision of the story and concept. It doesn't wash with me. I honestly can't recall a time in recent years I've been this BORED while playing such a 'massive' game. I'm trading mine in asap while the price is still good (If I can) if not looks like I really should stop taking any review site seriously. Ask yourself, while playing this, are you genuinely feeling 'fun'? are you feeling that there is more to pull you through the game than some lame (though nicely scripted and pretty looking) cut scene? I certainly did not relish getting back to the so called 'action' (wooh more shooting with an underpowered and clunky set of weapons) I guess most of all I was astonished at the number of cliches this game spews over the player while being heralded as the second coming of gaming nirvana. I lost all connection with the game because of it's clinical delivery, it's 'by the numbers' action gameplay, and it's robotic characters. The female is annoying, often repeating her lines once too often during battle (it's 2010 people, I thought that kind of thing had been fixed in games these days?). Of course lots and lots of people are still going to buy this, just like the brainless sheep (even worse) who made Modern Warfare 2 the 'beacon' of a once proud industry. Nothing I say will damage Bioware's sales, or stop you from buying it if you are hyped up for it. For me however, it all felt like it was trying too hard to be 'something' it wasn't, with no clear, punchy definition of it's own. It's borrowed ideas and innovations from other games and mixed it up into something that lacks soul or reason to play (other than because the reviews said you should). Ahh just another game in a long line of stupidly overhyped AAA titles that are keeping the industry rich through collusion and payola with review sites. Next up? I guess we'll have Bioshock 2 being 'the greatest thing ever' according to the mags/sites... Just like they did with the first game (which was also overhyped and had terrible gameplay, as bad as I thought it's gameplay was it was actually ever so slightly more fun than ME2's gameplay so that's how bad ME2 is!). There are good 'hyped' games out there, Uncharted 2 is one of them, not perfect but it's solid, addictive and feels compelling. It's art direction and animation are worlds beyond the basic '1999 style' generic corridor shooter we see here. I know i'm picky, I can't help it... I can't help noticing things in ME2 like the lazy texturing (check out the ramps up to the outside buildings in the first levels, many have misaligned textures with no 'trimming' just stopping dead at the end of the mesh - even if it means the texture is cut in half)... that kind of thing was frowned upon way back in user created maps for games like unreal etc so why are pro devs getting away with this lazy 'mapping' and getting 10/10 for graphics/art? Ok a sum up of the bad points ( I won't list the good stuff as there's thousands of 10/10 reviews doing that if you care). .Linear to the point of boredom (Just 'working your way though cos you bought it not cos you are having a blast') .Generic level design .Bad texturing (sky/clouds even feature stretched and flat 'clouds' again say hello to 1999!) .Tiny/Bad UI - blocky and unintuitive .Abrupt level ending. No finesse, just 'map after map' with some cut scenes tacked on. Again check Uncharted2 for one example of how to do this right with 'flair' .Boring and unsympathetic characters. The complete opposite of the great work done in games like Half Life 2 (and again even U2). .Shine on everything, they like them shaders at bioware and they are using them on everything - some may think that makes for 'great graphics' but it doesn't. It looks stupid, it's still a boxy empty lifeless environment that is no pleasure to be in .Clinical to the point of feeling like numb .Ill defined gameplay - is it one thing or the other? neither, it's a mess in terms of gameplay. .Story? Hmm, probably it's strongest side but again it's nothing special, been done to death, they just changed the name of the 'baddies' ... yawn .Overhyped. When a game is overhyped such as this, it better be damned near perfect. Even with flaws it's ok but this is so lacklustre in so many areas it's a crime against videogaming to be calling this 'the best game of the year' so early. I for one hope we'll get more games on all formats this year that are at least 10x better than this. btw: IMO and YMMV. Thanks. If forced to play this or ME1.. go for ME1, it was flawed but at least it had some 'character and soul' (still not as much as other games though).… Expand
  7. KannedFarU
    Dec 17, 2010
    4
    This game obviously has the taint of a product acquired by and developed under EA. It seems undercut, uninspired and super linear and super short. Mass Effect 1 was really a great game and this was deprived of all the things that made ME1 fantastic: * Great story * Unlimited Ammo * Large selection of stuff to buy * Really cool ATV * Tons of side quests that kept the game interesting The only things that really give merit to ME2 is:
    * Customizable equipment
    * Weapon Proficiency

    If you want to swim in ME1 nostalgia go ahead and buy this game, it seems to have the aesthetic theme. But you will be upset with the result. This game is almost as boring as Dragon Age: Origins, at least I get to move around and shoot things. Adds some interest...    … Expand
  8. North
    May 26, 2011
    4
    Hmm, how should I begin? ME1 was a blast. The story, inventory, choices, teams, exploration...and now in ME2, all the stuffs that made ME1 terrific has been disposed. And all those big gaming magazines praising this sequel with 9/10, 94/100 like scores. >.> I wonder if Bioware actually bribed them to give high scores to ME2... That's why I never read their criticisms. You gotta search for the actual gamer to have a good introspection. And majority of the PEOPLE here would probably agree with me, as I agree with their comments. ME2 is far away from being an RPG game. And I give it 4/10, all for the sake of ME1. And the mixed comments about gameplay, graphics, characters and such are pretty much similar elsewhere. Mine too: the game is short, the story is not well developed, inventory is poor, choices of Shepard does not necessarily have effects within the game, but expected to have effects in ME3? You see how Bioware gets away with this? Thus what I will add to those nagtive and mixed comments is also gonna be my criticism of Bioware's hardline capitalistic policy in robbing people's money and stirring a "mass" anticipation for the third ME game. Now, they promise that if we buy those DLC games additionally, we'll have an idea about ME3 - DLC PRODUCTION HAS BECOME THE VILEST TACTIC IN THE GAMING INDUSTRY. Keep the game short and dully, and release some DLCs and stir up more anticipation. Surely, gamers will "buy" it! With additional cash flowing in Bioware accounts.....

    Should I say don't buy ME2? I don't think I can, cos now you already played ME1, you liked it, and now you want to see the end of it. You're surely gonna buy ME2, no matter how linear and mediocre it is. Because it is a bridge to the final game that is expected to have very high climaxes. And Bioware will have the cream of the business while experimenting RPG and FPS with ME2. ME2 is thus a rather experimental game and I hope that Bioware takes these negative criticisms into account, since they're mostly given by seasoned, experienced gamers!    … Expand
  9. anonanon
    Feb 18, 2010
    5
    This isn't an RPG, it's an FPS. Stop trying to convince yourself it's not. If you want an RPG, go play something also by BioWare, DA:O or KOTOR1. BioWare is smart, they target all ends of the spectrum. They release FPS's disguised as RPG's for people like you, who gave this game a 10/10, so you can feel smart. Try this game on "Insanity" as a Soldier/Vanguard. It's pathetically easy. ALL your abilities are "make me shoot better" or "make me not die". Story? It sucks. But what can you expect, it's the 2nd part in a trilogy, it always sucks. Companion missions are a joke. Try failing them, I'm pretty sure it's impossible. Weapon variety: none. You can get upgrades that have zero visible difference. All they do is make the game even easier. Replayability? What's the point? It's going to be the same **** again. And this brings up another point. During some sections of the game (no spoilers), it literally does NOT matter what dialogue options you pick, the outcome is the same. Even when one is paragon and the other is renegade. This system of illusive choice feels more like a lie then "RPG freedom". If you're not going to use my input, don't make me sit through 2 minutes of dialogue. Redeeming qualities: everyone likes being over powered. The ability to directly sway conversations with the paragon/renegade interruptions was creative as well. Score: 5/10 because it's not an RPG, it's way too easy, has low replay value, insanely linear, and almost no variety in terms of what your abilities do (kill enemy type A B or C). No, I'm not a troll. I actually do think this.… Expand
  10. CraigL
    Mar 2, 2010
    5
    All I can say is - it's NOT an RPG. Not even nearly an RPG. It's like Gears of War more than an RPG. Ther comes a point when so much that makes an RPG what it is is removed, and you can no longer call a game an RPG. ME2 is the game that takes the p*ss in this regard. It couldn't see the outline of the word RPG with a telescope attached to a pair of binoculars. If you like on rails shooters like Gears of War, then this might be for you. If you were looking for an RPG, don't get conned. This is most definately NOT ONE, I give it 5 because I got it for B/day, played demo night before,(finished demo twice) then took original back to shop unopened (seal intact) and 5 is an average. Why does every game have to become more like "generic shooter 37b" soon they might as well just have one game, and call it "slightly better shooter than the last one 88b" Sad days… Expand
  11. PaulC
    Mar 2, 2010
    2
    YOu meet some baddies. You press some buttons. It doesn't really matter which ones you press. Keep pressing them till the baddy is dead. There are other characters that you control, but they rarely do what you ask them, and often just stand in your way. So press some more buttons. Even on the PC this game REEKS of console. It has the depth of spit puddle and the gameplay you would exepct by a game developed to be played with the massive limitations of a joypad. I'm told that this is a great console game. I wish it would have stayed on the consoles, becasue it's a very VERY shallow PC game. OS developers! If I'd wanted to listen to hour after hour of spoken cutscenes - i'd a have rented a DVD not bought a game. "BANG BANG BANG MC Fly - Gameplay McFly" ..it's a GAME..The clue is in the genre game = gameplay not hours of listening to an annenoidal retard mumble through hours of text. I don't suppose we'll ever see a game like Baldurs Gate 2 again. Just shallow twitch games like this junk… Expand
  12. DesmondL
    Mar 3, 2010
    4
    Most disappointing game, the graphics and story great!! But this is not RPG anymore, this game is looks like action-adventure or third-person shooter with bit RPG elements!! I played this for 3 hours and i don't see any pure RPG system, only a experience points and talents system!! I feel this sequel is not fun as Mass Effect, not only remove feature from the original game such armor equipments and its also not same as original game gameplay system.… Expand
  13. Sapphon
    Jan 17, 2011
    6
    Mass Effect 2 is a very playable, often exciting, beautifully crafted, very flawed game. If it had been named something else, say "Space Times With Ttitielady And Toadman Clone", I'm sure I'd even say I was impressed. But it's not named that; it's named "Mass Effect" and it does not live up to its ambitions in that regard.

    +The game's graphics are pretty.
    +You don't have to manage your     inventory anymore.
    +Play (in combat) as some classes is as engaging as the original; play as others has vastly improved; in no case has it gotten worse. This is a big plus.
    +BioWare's usual well-acted scripts with attention to plot holes and detail.

    -The game has a mere shadow of a plot. Most of the game is incredibly meta about its lack of a plot in a way that will rip you out of the immersion in no time. It is this author's opinion that the writers of this trilogy know what they want to do and how, but only really have the material for games 1 and 3. 2 was a marketing necessity.
    -Some of the game's characters are written like they crawled out of a bad JRPG. Let's not go back to those days.
    -The characters that aren't bad are engaged in some pretty heinously fanservice stuff.
    -If you liked all the inventory management and number crunching from ME1, you'll miss that (I didn't especially).
    -There is a "final boss". And he will make you laugh.
    -The number of choices the player can make that affect the game with ME2 has greatly increased, but they are almost all superficial. Usually when you play a BioWare game, sooner or later you are afforded an option that really clicks with what you've been thinking. In ME2, for the purposes of the meagre plot, the only decision that you might have made that would really change things, you can only make one way. In pen and paper gaming this is called "railroading" and is looked on as very poor writing indeed.    … Expand
  14. Greggor
    Mar 21, 2011
    10
    ME2 was a huge improvement over its predecessor. Not only did they remove many of the irritating tidbits that bogged players down in the level-up and equipment screens for hours, but they also improved gameplay drastically. The result is a well-made, fun game that easily makes the top of my list of games in 2010.
  15. ZenToad
    Apr 13, 2011
    9
    I have spend above a 100 hours in mass effect 2, so you might as well ask yourself why I dont give this game a perfect 10. Its quite simply really, there are some small flaws. I will try to explain them, but know the game is really an extremely well designed experience. With that said; I find there are two flaws in this game. First, the number of comrades you pick up in the game is to large. Now, you might ask why this could possibly be a problem. This is quite simple, all of them have a "loyalty quest" - and with so many comrades all the sidequests feel a disconnected to the main plot. Add to this that with so many comrades, you never get a special feeling for any of the comrades - like you did in the first mass effect where you had a more limited number of them. Its a shame really.

    The second flaw, is the whole weapon system. This problem is more compounded by several smaller issues. First off is the "new and improved" ammo system, which blows to be honest. The first game had a heatcooldown system, which was actually fine. Now you have what they call "heat clips" that are universal, yet you cant shift them between the your weapons - this is just plain odd. besides the weapon selection is dumbed down to much. You have a severely limited amount of weapontypes to choose from, and the way you upgrade and find them feel.... well to be honest, mildly retarded. But even though the games have these flaws, I will still rate it a 9 for the solid script, plot and surperb gameplay.    … Expand
  16. ZachS.
    Feb 8, 2010
    4
    This game is fun for the first playthrough -- only 14 hours on hard for me | and I did all the side-quests I could find, personally I think that there was a lack of those. I very much loved the first ME, it had a very good RPG replay value for different loot and different armor types. In this one, that value is non-existent. You only have one armor "type" which you can upgrade, no armor or shield value differences really, you only get to choose between two different weapons of each type, one of which is obviously superior in all situations. It really posed no challenge to me, and I'm really surprised that Bioware would dumb down this series the way that they did. The AI is all-around stupid. Your teammates look like they are in pre-school compared to your enemies. I wish I could actually find someone besides Garrus and Legion who know how to shoot a gun correctly. The storyline is like this - gather your team - do their sidequests - have sex with one of them - then go destroy the collectors. Not really an RPG in my book, which was what I was expecting when I bought this since it was in the category of RPG.… Expand
  17. Goekhan
    Feb 2, 2010
    3
    Mass Effect 1 was a challenge. And the results are an unique game. But Mass Effect 2 scraps and gets rid of many things that made Mass Effect 1 unique. If ME2 was the first game, not a sequel I mean, I'd be giving it a 10, but seeing how they "destroyed" the game, for sake of graphics, atmosphere, and sound effects, only deserves a 3.
  18. MikeS.
    Jan 27, 2010
    0
    The characters and story are far weaker in this farther cliched sequel. The gameplay is better, but that just brings it to average now with the terrible level design. At least it's not a terrible TPS anymore it's average. Gathering resources is boring, weapons don't pack a punch, it all gets repetitive pretty soon. The last boss in another disappointment, the AI is terrible, the direction is meh. Ultimately Mass Effect 2 is obviously more cinematic with higher off the roof production values. However, the story is pretty lame this time around as well as the characters.… Expand
  19. PopeR.
    Jan 28, 2010
    5
    Mass Effect 2 for PC has shockingly bad gameplay. The movement controls make it feel like your wearing mittens. There is no way to change the mouse sensitivity. You can only sprint in perfectly straight lines. There is absolutely no smoothness to the interaction with the environment. You would think that there have been no advances in computer games since ME1 came out. I love the characters, the story, the setting. I guarantee you'll never see a demo of ME2 for PC, because nobody who tries it for an hour would ever buy it. Maybe the console versions are better, but the PC version is a horrible disappointment.… Expand
  20. ChadW
    Feb 13, 2010
    7
    While technically the game is superior to the first game a lot of the spark was lost in the sequel. It has much improved combat, the voice and digital acting is great and the attention to character development is much appreciated. However the complete lack of acknowledgment of the previous games decisions and the removal of some of the previous games most important characters takes away a lot of the emotional attachment fans of the first game may be expecting to find.… Expand
  21. JayL
    Mar 17, 2010
    2
    The graphics look quite nice but that's about it. A few of the old characters are back from ME1 but the acting is very wooden and the things that wowed you graphically (like realtime rendered cutscenes) from ME1 just dont cut it now. The game itself is appalling; They've expanded on the really lame things in ME1, you pretty much pick up everything you can like fallout3, you have no freedom on character advancement. It's all so linear and just an attempt to squeeze a few quid out of some existing code and a title which could have been much better. I can't give this a 0 because it loads and runs ok, but i'm not going over 2 because this game really does have no fun in it at all.… Expand
  22. DavidN
    Jan 29, 2010
    0
    I hate the scanning and the boring minigames. This sequel is no fun with a capitol N. No Journal or Map keys. Fighting is so frustrating. No crouch key. Gun sounds are rather tinny. Story weak. This was rushed out and dumbed down for the $$$$. PC version is a terrible disappointment. Not even worth even 1 point so I've given it ZERO. Bioware are catering to console users and the PC version was just an after thought for the $$. No attempt was made to make this any fun at all.… Expand
  23. Axlin
    Aug 14, 2010
    6
    Playing this game felt like playing a mediocre movie. Character development was poor, the characters were generally bland, plot development was practically spoon-fed to you (e.g., characters made major discoveries as if through sheer epiphany whereas ME1 would have taken the time to gather and piece together the clues). The game was severely watered-down; I don't need to get into the major complaints that you've likely already heard about the new weapon/armor/ammo system - they're pretty common. Recruiting characters was a tad ridiculous because, unlike ME1 where the people you recruited were random encounters during your mission, in ME2 the people you recruit are specifically targeted and all of their recruitment missions made them out to be essentially demigods of raw physical/biotic/mental superiority, only to have them suddenly turn into lame ducks when they were in your party (for the sake of game balance). Half the game's missions involved recruitment and loyalty missions for your squad; there was very little in the way of actual side missions or of a main quest line. You'll waste a ton of time scanning planets for minerals and launching probes to harvest them - a ridiculously tedious process, although not quite as tedious as exploring in ME1 was - and you'll be left wondering where the $%!# element zero is. Character reappearances in this game were awkward and their personalities (except for Garrus/Tali) made huge, seemingly random changes. Speaking of random, the dialog options seemed to award Paragon/Renegade points completely randomly. You'll finish a dialog to find you got both Paragon and Renegade points, wondering where on earth one or the other could possibly have come from. If you decide to be Paragon (good guy), many of the "Paragon" options involve making intimidating threats, extortion, use of force, or even for having somebody killed. That does not sound very "Paragon" to me. Very seldom are the Paragon choices truly "Paragon" in nature. This game was definitely made to be played as a Renegade, which should probably be somewhat expected, considering the entire plot line involves you being forced to work with terrorists and thug gangs.

    All in all, the game was passable, but it simply lost the magic that Mass Effect 1 had, which is a shame because they could have so easily have stuck to the original formula, focused more on making a solid plot with great character development, interesting characters, and a strong quest line, and had an amazing game. But hey, at least EA decided to ship this game with only a simple CD key check, and no other restrictive DRM. That's a huge plus over the first. Still, I wouldn't pay more than 20 bucks for this game. It was simply a bland experience overall. And another note, if you played ME1 on the 360, you may want to Google for a "character import tool" for ME2 so that you can make sure you're truly starting where you left off instead of going with the default story line. It makes a huge, huge, huge difference.    … Expand
  24. JonesR
    Feb 17, 2011
    6
    This is a cross between third person shooter Gears of War and RPG Dragon Age. While being good at both genres, the game never strives to be great at either. The graphics, voice acting, and cinematic scenes are what really shines the most. However, the 94 metascore rating seems very generous. The level design is linear, character development is flat, the RPG experience is weak, and the story provides paltry excitement at best--an over-hyped snoozer.… Expand
  25. fleischverpacku
    Jan 19, 2011
    6
    Downgraded mainstream sequel

    Most missions follow an identical procedure. RPG depht suffers from poorer skilling options and a more linear levelstructure than the first title. architectual patterns often repeat. The story adds additional depht to the universe, but conservative implementations such as ammunition or fuel subvert the logic of the immersive gameworld. Visuals are stunning! Th    e characters are well drawn and bring their own background story.… Expand
  26. guinevere2
    May 21, 2011
    4
    I do not want the rpg genre to follow the mass effect direction: oversimplifying every rpg aspect: starting from character creation, through the party management, exploration, combat and storyline part of the game. On top of that the game is ridiculous short, overuses same planet/building over and over again and has no replayability value at all. I also found the loading time between zones to long. It is a scheme to milk as much dollars from the players as possible with shiny, superficial games full of meaningless pseudo - minigames… Expand
  27. Duderoth
    Feb 24, 2012
    5
    I'm sorry I just don't get it. I don't understand how anybody could like this game better than ME1. I guess the visual style was sleeker? People thought the controls and fighting mechanics were better? Here's what I've come to realize. Mass Effect was a great RPG, with some action/3PS (3rd person shooter?) elements mixed in. Mass Effect 2, was an action game at heart, with some pretty shoddy RPG elements. Gone are the multiple tiers and classes of armor, with corresponding types and tiers of upgrades. Gone is any tactical setup of your squad for combat. Just spam all of the abilities you can at the enemy. Gone is a much more detailed and better implemented leveling point system. And gone is planetary exploring, which I think would have been cooler if they fleshed it out instead of getting rid of it entirely. People say the combat in ME2 was better. Not to me. I read all the codex. What they had implemented in 1 made sense with the lore. Didn't like overheating? Too bad, get a *better weapon* or *better upgrades*. Jesus it's called customizability. That's what an RPG is all about. There were some *really* cool things they implemented in 2, however. So here is the good part of the review. Just the plain fact that you could actually continue a character on from 1 was amazing to me. However, I thought ME2's characters were better than 1's anyway, so I'm glad you got to work with an almost entirely new cast. (Although they kept my favorite Quarian :D.) Planet scanning was also way better than that side quest to find minerals from ME1, and I appreciated that you could actually integrate resources you find into your ship and customizing your character. Although once again, I would appreciate more options. Finally, there were things I thought were better and worse about the story. I really liked the loyalty missions, but I think it would have been better to have a central questline instead of making the loyalty missions the central component of the game. The problem here was that the story lacked focus, as there was literally no plot up until the end when you finally did the suicide mission (which was awesome!!!) ME1, by comparison, had an extremely focused central questline, but lacked in detailing the side characters perhaps a little bit more. So that's pretty much it for this review. Overall, I think what really got to me was that they took what was supposed to be an RPG series and kinda did away with all that. I didn't appreciate that very much. But since I am all about story, I will say that Mass Effect continues to have a strong story and character design, just perhaps not at the same time. I am still looking forward to ME3.… Expand
  28. OliverGrau
    Feb 13, 2012
    2
    First things first it's no RPG, the quests are boring as hell, they're always the same, shoot some idiots with no brains and at last there's a boss. I've really tried to play it since I spent 5 euros on it some months ago, but everytime I've plaid for 20 minutes, I just quit, it's so boring. Worst 5 euros ever spent.
  29. sfsf
    Feb 2, 2010
    1
    The most undeservedly over hyped game of the month award. It's also a strong contender for the 'most boring gameplay in years' award. Not that it's a surprise really, it's pretty much a regular thing now for the entire games industry media to suck up to the game developers in order to get that vital advertising contract/payola. Did I really just give this game a 1? I guess so. You see the reality is, there are good games out there. Even ones that get hyped up (Uncharted 2 for example). What I object to is the almost blanket '10/10 review' style anyone who likes a game feels the need to give it. Why should I care? Because of course it's up to us as players to counter the 'paid websites' and the 'shill reviewers' with the truth. The truth, as far as ME2 goes, is that it's one of the single most boring games in relation to it's 'stunning' reviews in some time. Other games (popular/hyped ones) that I've given very low scores to (Bioshock - terrible game play/all flash) (MW2 - no explanation needed) I did so because they plainly sucked on so many levels and yet were getting universal praise from professional critics. ME2 is similar except, it is actually far worse in many ways than those 2 games I've just mentioned. While it it certainly 'everything you normally require' in a game, it is also extremely 'space opera by the numbers'... dull, clinical, lacking soul, lacking fun game play. It's all about the ME universe (and it's fans), it's not about striving for gaming nirvana or exciting the player with immersion and empowering interaction. On a number of levels this game is extremely dated, from level design to texturing, from boring dumbed down RPG elements to mediocre shooting mechanics (Hey they TRIED to copy U2, Gears of War etc but failed badly.. here it just feels clunky). A review is just another opinion, so if hearing 'my' version of the truth offends you please down rate me and go back to enjoying your 'game'. I won't play along with the industry hype machine when a game this 'massive' and well reviewed is a bona-fide snooze fest to play. The problem is all the cut scenes, while well intended, are just lacking in emotion so anyone with half a brain ends up bored of them, thinking 'yes yes we've been told this particular cliched story a hundred times before in both games and movies now please let me play'... and then when you do play you find an extremely dated linear style corridor shooter. Seriously there are B-grade FPS games from 2002 that feel more fun to play than this. The mini games (hacking/scanning etc) are beyond tedious... did these developers not read about how mind numbing that kind of stuff is when looking at reviews of other games that contained them? It's 2010 and this over hyped thing is using mini game cliches still? Overall the game lacks a certain focus, and a heart. It's dull, it's not that it does anything extremely 'wrong' it's just a very very 'safe' game for a very average audience. The fact it's action portion feels like a poor man's Gears/Uncharted2 only serves to highlight that my time is better spent playing other games. I'm certain a massive amount of people who lap this stuff up only do so because of the 10/10 ratings, then hate to admit to themselves it's not actually any fun. The feeling I got from playing this game is it's a cold, by the numbers, play it safe game that doesn't have a true identity. It's neither good RPG nor good action shooter, in fact it's a really bad one of either of those. Mixing 2 bad attempts at different genres will not cancel out the badness... in my opinion it just amplifies it. If you want a TPS that rocks and has tight gameplay then look elsewhere, if you want an RPG that immerses you and excites you, look elsewhere, if you want an epic space story that feels involving and dramatic (and not overdone) look elsewhere, if you want great level design and beautiful art direction.... look elsewhere. If you want to have fun, for £40+ do yourself a favour and LOOK ELSEWHERE.… Expand
  30. RickS.
    Mar 22, 2010
    5
    They stripped out almost every RPG element from the first game. We pretty much don't have stats anymore neither does our guns and armor, can't change squadmates armor, you use the same gun from the beginning to the end of the game, you have like 6 skills and your squadmates have only 4! I bought it expecting a sequel from ME1, not a reboot. If I wanted to play a pure TPS I would buy a pure TPS.… Expand
  31. lakedaimon
    Mar 7, 2011
    10
    If you are a fun of mass effect universe then it is an absolute buy.Less rpg then the first one but the story is a masterpiece!It also has a lot of dlc out that gives a great value.
  32. auberonh
    Aug 23, 2011
    10
    A true Sci-Fi epic and the best game I have played. With top notch visuals, music, writng, voice acting, and gameplay, a diverse cast of characters, a dark and mysterious plot, this is the current high bar. Plus, it remembers everything you did in the previous game.
  33. oliver1h
    Nov 16, 2012
    10
    In my opinion this is the best installment of the series. We are introduced to some of the best character in the series ■Grunt ■Jack ■Jacob Taylor ■Kasumi Goto
    ■Legion ■Miranda Lawson ■Mordin Solus ■Samara or Morinth ■Tali'Zorah vas Neema / Normandy
    ■Thane Krios ■Zaeed Massani
    And the old friends also returned. I loved th    e dark and grim atmosphere of the game. The collectors were very interesting villains. The pace of the game and the story were perfect. The graphics were improved. For the first time the player could explore the galaxy, which was a great addition. Weapon and armor customization was introduced. Player decisions really changed the outcome of the ending. I can only recommend the game. Don't forget to import your save files from ME1!… Expand
  34. GeorgeA
    Jan 25, 2011
    6
    Mass Effect 2 definitely has positive sides, but it's terribly overrated. The plot is mediocre at best, half of the game you will be just looking for your future team members and only some of them (like Samara, Garrus or Tali) are interesting, the rest are boring or even annoying. The game is also pretty short for an RPG- about 25 hours if you complete every sidequest and explore half of the galaxy. Exploring planets is for resources is extremely annoying and ruins all the fun. Also there is almost no freedom of choice and it is purely cosmetic. The replay value is also pretty low: you will be doing the same thing again and again and changing classes will only make the game harder. So why not just stick to the soldier class, which is virtually unbeatable? The shooting also felt boring and on some levels, i thought i was playing some mediocre third-person shooter with hordes of enemies to beat, rather than an action RPG. By the way, there are almost no RPG elements left and as for what's left, it doesn't have any significant impact on gameplay. Graphically, the game is also a major disappointment. After so many critics praised the game's graphics, I thought the game would look near photorealisitc. What a letdown! Models look generally good, but textures are bland and the game lacks details. As for positive sides, the voice acting is good, storyline has it's good moments, music is excellent, the world, where the game takes place, is also very interesting. In all, the game is worth playing once, but without the replay value, it quickly becomes boring and dull.… Expand
  35. LanceW.
    Feb 1, 2010
    0
    Dull, dull, dull. This is the same old boring Bioware pap, with one dimensional characters, and a completely unimaginative story. For anyone who's ever read a book (even one book) this game is fairly insulting and anti-intellectual. You'll yawn, and you might even cry at how dire it is. I'm just glad I played this on a friend's computer and didn't buy it. Avoid. One day, Bioware might get a stable of half-decent writers, today isn't that day.… Expand
  36. JennyF.
    Jan 26, 2010
    0
    Commander Shepard still has a monotone voice, which seems to be the worst voice actor for a game with such great performances. The level design is average, the gunplay has been done to death. It's slightly average. What's great is the cinematic part of it. It's better than the original, however it seems to be quite tedious and repetitive with the gameplay and the boring searching for money parts of the game. Choices can matter, some characters are interesting, story is cliche, but told in a good manner, besides the annoying main character. The AI is ok, the enemies are ok, the game just seems to not really have anything to call its own unfortunately.… Expand
  37. Job41
    Jan 13, 2011
    9
    Although completely abandoning the RPG genre, this game is a epic experience which I enjoyed until the very last moment.

    Reaper menace is the most fearsome I have seen on many years, feeling a true sense of urgency many times.

    I feel the new allies are a bit depressing. Most of them are too though and a little of naivety would have been welcomed.
  38. agalloch
    Jan 25, 2011
    6
    Starts out with an unnecessary, and hypocritical bang, and doesn't get much better. The characters are stiff in my eyes, though have well developed background stories. The fighting is fun at first, but the game is far too easy and fighting becomes very expected (hint: if you see barriers, you're in for a boring fight). Hacking is interesting, then repetitive and dull. The story is not enough to fill up the lengthy gameplay. Annoying bugs.… Expand
  39. Juiblex
    Feb 8, 2011
    4
    I liked the story and combat but that's about it. The RPG element isn't there, the characters are pretty limited in abilities/weapons, the programing isn't all that good either. I get stuck in the air and in cut scenes characters would be spinning, and there was a fair deal of crashes to desktop. I cant say that this is a good game but it isn't completely worthless. Play it once through and be done with it, I don't see what big hype was with this game, it's average at best.… Expand
  40. obscurus166
    Mar 16, 2011
    7
    I enjoyed Mass Effect 2, I really did. But when I'd finished it, I felt...unsatisfied. Perhaps it was because the tactical element to the game - issuing orders to squad-mates - was really a bit of a fig-leaf, because I could get on perfectly well without them for most of the game. Perhaps it was because there wasn't much opportunity to interact with my crew. Perhaps it was because the dialogue wheel is perhaps one of the most frustrating means of interacting in a conversation ever devised in an RPG, and what I thought I was saying was frequently not what I actually said. But mostly it's because the game runs on rails. There is no real opportunity to go off on a frolic of your own: BioWare has a story, and they're going to tell it, whether you like it or not. It feels like a smaller game than the original. On the positive side, the graphics are an improvement on the original - which wasn't bad --, the voice acting is good and the plot is engaging, when it's not being rammed down my throat. But there isn't actually very much to do and I did have the impression that I was just pressing buttons between cut-scenes for quite a lot of the game.… Expand
  41. syrik
    May 6, 2011
    4
    This game really has to get two scores. If you play on normal difficulty, like I did my first play through, then it's great. Great story, game play, action, character depth, pretty much does everything right and it earns a solid 8. Play it the second play through on Insanity difficulty and suddenly its a game riddled with bugs and as such id score it a 1. Buggy games drive me crazy and I think far far less of an otherwise good game for having them. What causes this discrepancy? On the top level of difficulty the enemies hit hard, really hard. This means you have to act fast and use cover, always, every time. Two problems pop up, first when you turn quickly your character will have a tendency to become detached from the game world and float in the air or suddenly get stuck on top of objects. This doesn't happen all the time, but enough to be called repeatable and definitive. Second problem is cover. While on normal the few times you ducked and hid it probably worked fine. Now, you are ducking and hiding everywhere, fast and frequently. This causes the many surfaces to reveal their true nature where your character will not hide completely and you'll get shot through an object, or your character won't lean out the correct direction and you'll be left open to get shot. There are many many glitched cover surfaces that cause a variety of issues with game play. Besides that there are also a few other bugs present like quests that you can't complete that don't end up affecting anything and also a game killing bug where your game will have a critical crash and close if you change your ability hot keys in combat (there is a quick hotkey UI with bad programming). These very prevalent bugs cause the game heavy problems because they get you killed when you should otherwise be alive. So, all told id give the game a 4. Great story, so so game play that is very dependent on the difficulty setting as to how decent it is and released, yet never fixed, with a repeatable bug that will cause a fatal error.… Expand
  42. themrchook
    Sep 2, 2012
    4
    Mass Effect 2 is a sequel that has been stripped of everything that made the first game enjoyable for me. Reduced to a simple, linear cover based third person shooter with token rpg elements and mini games. The story is the only thing that holds this game up, but it is still a tattered, sorry flag.
  43. Balobam
    Jun 2, 2011
    5
    Let me start of by saying I don't hate the game, I enjoyed it, for about 4 hours, then I didn't.

    I'd heard a lot of good about this game, so I figured, I'll give it a shot, so I did, and I wasn't disappointed, it had shooting, RPG elements, and some fun psychic moves that let me throw people about, can't complain with that.

    And I played it, went into one room, hid behind a box and dispat    ched the enemies in numerous ways, changing cover now and then. Then the next room, I hid behind a crate and dispatched enemies in numerous ways, changing cover now and then. And again, and again. It never changed, it is at heart, a cover based shooter with some RPG elements, even so, the RPG elements are pretty black and white, "Will I shoot this hopeless orphan with my firey kitten gun? Or will I donate all my limbs to the children in need program? Or perhaps I shall remain in a state of permanent apathy and bypass all these mundane problems.".

    That's not good choice making, it's just saying to you, will you be a bad guy, good guy, or neutral? And it even blatantly tells you which is which, "Say this to appear as a rogue who does his own thing, or say this to appear as Jesus himself".

    I played it for several hours, about 10 I believe, before I realised the gameplay wasn't going anywhere and I was essentially playing Gears of War or Rainbow Six under pretence of an RPG in a 3rd person angle, which is my least favourite kind of shooter regardless, the only game I've played that has done it well is Resident Evil 4, even then I couldn't move whilst I shot.

    The story however did, for the 10 hours I played it, seem good, it may have got better, which wouldn't surprise me, it was honestly memorable and I can see why people enjoy it, but it tried to present itself as more than it was, like a dog that claims it can talk and ride a unicycle, whereas it can only ride a tricycle and has no speech mastery. Impressive for sure, but it's not what I was expecting, and there are other games that do it better.

    My last gripe with the game is Jack, I rescued her from prison where she completely breezed through hundreds of robots and guards alike with not a scratch on her, she was truly unstoppable and I couldn't wait to get her on my team, then when she WAS on my team, an aggressive looking shrub would be enough to subdue this once feared God of a woman. My point here is, don't sell me Wonder Woman and then give me a generic horror film girl who lasts about 3 minutes before deciding to "See what that masked figure wants to talk about".    … Expand
  44. Pandarve
    Dec 22, 2011
    4
    Mass Effect 2 isn't like its predecessor; they took out what many RPG-fans love so much: inventory management and exploration in the hopes of finding something really cool or some place that will teach you just a bit more about the universe you're playing in. Mass Effect 1 wasn't perfect but it had a lot going for it, it was fresh yet familiar. The story isn't as grand either and you can pretty much have sex with everyone in your party, save a few. There's even a counsellor on board whose only roll seems to be to have sex with the captain and judging from the subtext, anyone who needs a quick pick-me-up. I don't mind romance or sexuality in games but it lacks the spirit and memorability the romances had in Mass Effect 1 where you were forced to make a choice between love and duty. Now it just comes across as cheap entertainment. I also absolutely despise the huge amount of DLC they released for this game. I don't mind -paying- extra to get an add-on for the game but I'm not going to replay an entire game just so I can see some 30 minute mission that wasn't there before. I usually end up buying the complete packages a year or two later so I can have the full, almost bug-free experience that you can't have if you pay the game right after it's been released. Regardless, even that didn't stop me from trying Mass Effect 2. What made me stop trying was the fact that if you do not have a save game from Mass Effect 1, it randomly makes historical decisions for you: blew up the Ascension? Might just be back in Mass Effect 2 and it will haunt you till the end of the game. Or maybe you saved the big bug queen in that glass container. Won't matter, the game might just decide you killed her anyway. I actually went through my third game of Mass Effect 1 just to reconstruct my save-game. (Which I gladly did) unfortunately, I got bored two-third through Mass Effect 2 and just gave up. Was looking forward to romancing Tali (My favourite character) but she ran out of things to say, we grew apart and I gave up being a space captain and went back to doing other things. I'm assuming Tali is still out there in space somewhere with another starship captain that doesn't like long talks and beach walks and I wish her all the best. The whole savegame deal is also the reason why I won't play Dragon Age 2, Mass Effect 3 or any other title that relies on save-game history any more. Unless they add some way of reconstruction your save-game by making the choices in a text-form, it's just a waste of time and to me, a huge distraction from the story if I am constantly bombarded with choices I did not make yet have them rubbed in every other conversation.… Expand
  45. choppy
    Oct 14, 2011
    6
    I agree with other people here: It's a console port shooter. The RPG elements and freedom of the first game are eliminated. It proceeds narrowly on rails, the choices are highly constrained and built around fixed set-pieces. It's still pretty, movie-like and interesting, but just not as good as the first one. BioWare, I am disappoint. I will not be buying ME3, because it will only be dumbed down and consolized further.… Expand
  46. Nauglamir
    Mar 26, 2012
    8
    First off, people should not rate Mass Effect as an Rpg, as this is not the case. Mass Effect 2 presents a solid narration, framed by a deep and compelling sci-fi universe, further enriched by an epic Vangelis-like soundtrack. Most important, the game is not as dull as it has been portrayed. The information you are given throughout the game about the lore and the various civilizations are just accurate and interesting; the dialogues, though not within Bioware standards, are well-presented, even though they do lack a more precise choice system, sometimes making the player look awkward.
    On the other hand, the plot is consistent and at times rises to the greatness of the true legend, even though there's a couple of side quests (companions related ones) are definitely below-par.
    Technically speaking, the graphics have been enhanced if compared to the first episode, while the game engine runs flawlessly without any noticeable frame-rate drops. The weapons you are equipped with play just fine and, along with the biotic powers, give the player some really exciting combat sequences (provided you play at least on hardcore more). The overall experience will not be forgotten, as this game will stay with you for quite a long time.    … Expand
  47. Bossk-Office
    Mar 28, 2012
    10
    I am a big fan of Mass Effect who loved the first game, and this one is even better. Hopping around the galaxy, walking through the Citadel, and talking to your squad on the Normandy is as cozy as it always were: you snuggle up with blankets, listen to the same lovely music as in Mass Effect 1, and just let yourself be enveloped by the game and by the world. There is no more driving the infamous Mako, a major drag in Mass Effect 1.

    Combat is as much fun as in Mass Effect 1 â    … Expand
  48. zareh_m
    Jul 6, 2012
    10
    The continuation of amazing Mass Effect 1. The scenario and variety of options are still great. The graphics have been hugely improved. All the characters and the world is really beautiful. Besides, you can still choose how to end the game, whether die or to end like a hero and save the world. You can choose whether to be cruel boss or a great leader, whether to be friendly of flirty... This is the best RPG I have ever played. 100% recommend to buy it !!!… Expand
  49. GabeT.
    Jan 29, 2010
    9
    -- Graphics -- Great. No anti-aliasing, but that's hardly a complaint. Beautiful environments as well. -- Story -- Very in-depth story development, but also has methods to skip though the lore if you don't want to hear it. Doing so hardly decreases your understanding of what's going on too. One of the few problems of ME2 however is that much of the story and your decisions you make are reliant on having played ME1. -- Combat -- Very engaging. Tactics become very useful and the tactical pause is a fun, quick and easy way to do that. Plus, the interface is easy enough so that orchestrating your team is not frustrating. Occasionally your team members will do stupid things like not get into cover, but that's rare, and even when they do, it's easy to still make things work. -- Upgrades/Gear -- Lots of upgrades for armor, weapons, powers and so on. Unfortunately the cost of many of them is pretty steep, forcing perfectionists to mine planets for resources. While mining resources in and of itself can be a fun little mini game, farming upgrade materials can get boring fast. -- Shortcomings -- There are very few problems with ME2 in my opinion. There are a few to note however. 1) You can get stuck in walls more often than one would hope; without a jump key, when this happens you have to load the latest save. 2) The game is a bit short in my opinion; has about 20 hours of game-play to complete the main storyline. There are countless star systems in the game, most of which contain nothing but mine-able planets. I'm pretty sure this is to allow ample room for DLC. -- Conclusion -- Great game. The few flaws it has are greatly overwhelmed by the countless positives.… Expand
  50. Shaitan87
    Nov 2, 2010
    3
    I was extremely disappointed by this. The story is very linear and boring, there are almost no sidequests at all. I find the gameplay very repetitive, every battle was the same, and even on high difficulties they were trivially easy. The end of the game left me a bit shocked, it seemed to do nothing for the plot of the series, you know about as much about the story at the end of the game as at the start.… Expand
  51. vaell
    Mar 29, 2011
    9
    I enjoyed this game a lot, but agree with other critics that they took away a very fun element, which was the RPG element, probably a bit less micromanagement was the way to go, not completely removing it.

    I also found it a bit short, kinda disappointed that i have to pay to get any more extra content that should have been included as side quests for the money i payed...
  52. idoge25
    Apr 24, 2011
    4
    * A Good Sci-Fi story, in a rich Universe (with good characters)
    * A crapy "on rails" third-person shooter
    * Even crapier time-based minigames, with no possibility to regulate their difficulty
    * Terrible level design, which breaks the suspension of disbelief...
  53. srdrkrm
    Jun 4, 2011
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's been a while since I've played newer video games (as in, the last time was in highschool when I owned a N64), and this series seemed well-regarded. I tried to get into it, browsing through the books, comics, trying to get a sense of the whole expanded universe they tried to create. It's sad to be disappointed. Sure, I'll play the third one, just to see how they will tie it up, but I my hopes are not up.

    The first Mass Effect was tedious, but had some charm; this game is really the same, though the source of both the tedium and it's charm is different.

    Really, the only thing I liked was the opening sequence and some of the writing, which was miles ahead of the really uninteresting story. The opening held some promise (the space you could see out of the top of the ship, the emergence of the secret group from the first game.), but quickly squandered it.
    I liked talking to Joker, but I hated going on with the story. Every possible dramatic moment (characters dying, etc.) is so obviously avoidable, it was tremendously boring. It was also kind of weird! how cold the relationship between Shepherd and characters from the previous game were, as in, they act cold around each other. Considering that many of the players of this game spent at least a bunch of hours with these characters in the last game, you'd think the developer would consider this. I also despised the way the worlds were divided into mission and non-mission areas: it's true, it was lame how almost every other bass in the first game was one of three designs, but taking dividing combat and "talking" areas is a really horrible idea that makes everything really boring. It takes out the element of surprise that a fight could break out any minute and makes it a much more uniform experience.

    Also, I know BioWare already acknowledged this, but I don't know how anybody during the conception of the game could think that the planet mining parts was permissible gameplay. Ugh.

    Sure somethings were better in this round: the fighting did feel a lot better, and the actual fighting levels I liked. Again, the actual writing was a bit better, though it was still in b-movie land. The worst part is, considering how singularly boring this plot is, there is no way I can trust any professional reviewer who has claimed that BioWare is the king of "epic storytelling" or something. You obviously have not read enough books, or movies, or music or anything to say such a thing. Unless you mean in video gaming, which means that video games still is a child primarily raised by meat-heads. Well, there goes my first video game review. Alas.    … Expand
  54. Daematune
    Aug 15, 2011
    8
    Despite the fact that nearly all of the RPG content was removed.. Mass Effect 2 still brought in one hell of a game. I seriously wish the main plot line was larger though, you'll easily spend most of this game completing sub quests and building your squad. However, all those dull sounding moments turn out to be truly spectacular.
  55. grandpajoe6191
    Jun 9, 2012
    9
    To be simple, "Mass Effect 2" is a astounding game that fixes the problems "Mass Effect" had and even surpasses them with superiority. The gameplay is more of the same thing like "ME" but it's still awfully fun. Graphics and the player screen has drastically improved as well as the money system. Yes, in "ME2" weapons and armor aren't overpriced as they were in "ME". Overall a powerful space opera SF role playing game, a game you WILL play.… Expand
  56. Sirius
    Sep 29, 2011
    7
    Mass Effect 2 is a game based on races and universal proportions. It is a Third-Person Shooter with RPG elements and levelling system, seem similar to Bethaseda's Fallout 3 and Gears of War. It is developed by Bioware and Produced by EA.

    To start off with the advantages to this game brings is it's newly improved user-friendly GUI than the one previously used in Mass Effect 1 letting playe    rs decide their custom characters and their 'powerups' that they may use. but reductions in custom armour might disappoint fans. Bioware has introduced many optimizations, making performance better. Visuals are on a high standard, giving low-poly models a high-resol look. Gameplay is frantic and fast yet feels less of a challenge than that of Mass Effect 1, it fails to become more strategic and more Gears of War-esque fighting. Landscapes are lush and surreal giving the player or user that xenophobic feel. Artificial intelligence is realistic if a little untactical, if any player hides it does not move if it has superior damage it simply stays put on any difficulty.

    Mass Effect introduces innovative quasi-Fallout dialogue choices, giving the user to become more of a "Paragon" or "Renegade" soldier, deciding the overall afflictions decided in the running franchise. Characters have interesting backstories and plots but yet feel somewhat impersonal to the player, disrupting their curiosity to know more about the fictional characters, leaving the interaction a little dry during cutscenes, leaving players to read about them using 'Codex'.

    Mass Effect 2's minigames, while novelty in their own right, give the player larger abilities by extracting minerals for different planets, somewhat supporting the lack of customization mentioned before, the armour cannot not be changed but can be coloured to suit the players taste. Overall, I'd would rate this game a 7, it is not as good as it's predecessor ME1 but definitely improves and elminates niggles that would otherwise, frankly, irritate the player. It's lasting appeal is little though, giving the player little reason to play it again on a harder level. Difficulty is sustained well but not enough for extraordinarily hardened players such as myself.    … Expand
  57. BlacksitePSU
    Oct 6, 2011
    8
    Mass Effect 2 is a well-written game whose experience may be hindered by the surprisingly-linear level design. However the game does allow you to make certain choices when it comes to speaking with people which largely affects the outcome of the story. Also, the gameplay might not have as many RPG elements as its predecessor, but it works as a solid shooter in an over-saturated market of modern military shooters i.e. Call of Duty. Visuals are gorgeous too. Between the highly-detailed environments and use of lighting, you might feel like you're watching J.J. Abrams' very own space opera. Definitely check this one out if you haven't already.… Expand
  58. Ztride
    Jan 21, 2012
    8
    This review contains spoilers. While it does vastly improve the combat and gameplay of its previous iteration, the story of the game feels so illogical, despite being good and quite interesting. Why do you have to go around the galaxy doing unnecessary sidequests for each character to gain their loyalty, and why would they all want to follow you into an almost certain death anyhow? And how come Shepard with just a small squad is capable of obliterating a god-damn reaper and defeat the whole collectors base on his own, when none else can in the whole damn galaxy with billions, and billions of inhabitants. How come he succeeded so easily?… Collapse
  59. billtheturnip
    Mar 7, 2012
    7
    Not as great as the first game in my opinion. The fact that the whole game kinda moved in a different direction put me off. Still a decent game that I would play again if I had the time.
  60. Stylus
    Mar 19, 2012
    4
    Mass Effect was never a clever game but in this sequel it takes a turn for the dumber. RPG mechanics are stripped out but not properly replaced with good TPS mechanics, there was no sense of urgency (which is unforgivable in such a linear game) and the main story was underdeveloped (to be specific it felt like the writers wanted it to be like a movie heist such as Ocean's Eleven but there was never any pay-off after assembling the team and nobody had a coherent plan). . As I mentioned before the shooting mechanics aren't particularly good; comparing this game to Gears of War would be an insult to the folks at Gearbox. There are little things like being forced to slap the spacebar all the time and bigger things like the lack of interesting enemies that force you to change your play style. The only redeeming aspects of the game were the little call backs to your saves in the original game and the side characters and squad mates who provided all the game's interest. Unfortunately the small joys provided by the characters aren't enough to offset the fact that most of the time you will be playing an uninspired shooter. Two stars.… Expand
  61. bosnian
    Apr 6, 2012
    5
    After completing ME1 and enjoying it quite a bit, the expectations were very high for the sequel. First game laid some great foundations on which the sequel could build on while at the same time the few annoyances from the first game could be improved on or removed, thus making this game a true masterpiece. After watching every publication give this game 9+/10, and in general higher marks then the first game, excitement was high. Well, it took me over a year since purchasing the game to complete it, and not because it was particularly difficult, but rather that I would have to take some serious time away from the game every time I was dissapointed, and there were quite a few of those moments throughout.
    First, the good.
    Cut sequences are longer and better than in the first game. Music, the atmosphere during these scenes are on par with any major movie production and it can be quite breathtaking.
    No more vehicle levels. The biggest annoyance with the first game was the grind that one had to endure while driving the vehicle around for 10-15 min at a time (but it felt like hours).
    There is certain epic feel to the game, that you are a part of a grand story. Writing/action/feel of the main story line is very good.

    However, negatives are many.
    It seems that Bioware took the first game and decided to dumb it down in every aspect. Character build went from 10-18 unique stats to 4-8, depending on the class. Weapons have no stats. Weapons can't be moded (other than generic "all rifles deal +10% damage"). Game truly does feel like a less polished Gears of War with few dialogue options and illusion of choice.
    Main game itself is very short. Maybe 3 hours total? The rest is spent assembling the team (and waiting for the timed event to allow you to finish it) and doing very short and straight forward side quests... and mining. Mining replace Maco levels from the first game and its fun for about 12 seconds. You need to mine to upgrade weapons/armors/gear/ship, thus you need to keep doing this. And it ain't fun at all.
    Finally, the illusion of choice. Your actions from the first game don't matter. Your romanced Liara or Ashley, yeah you get 4 seconds of different interaction and that is about it - you still get to do everything exactly the same. Wrex lived in the first game? Little different dialogue, but still the same game with 100% of the options available. Also, while ME1 may have been somewhat revolutionary in a concept of an adult romance story, in ME2 you are on a ship with bunch of single humans and aliens that at the same point in time will let you make a move on them and every love story is exactly the same arc with cut scenes that are little different (with the exception of the Asaris).
    Finally, the final level, while intense and fast moving, ends with a boss fight that gets introduced to the story in the last 3 minutes of the game. It seems that they felt the game needed something massive at the end and so they created this lame and relatively easy fight against something big.
    Overall, not a bad game. It just is not an RPG, let alone a great RPG. Its a dumbed down ME1 with the same epic feel and few brilliant moments, but less of everything that made ME1 so good.    … Expand
  62. jim109109
    May 31, 2012
    8
    The acting is almost movie worthy. It's incredible. The story is great, so is the amount of content. The graphics are gorgeous, the maps and design is great. There is only one problem for me - the gameplay, which isn't captivating enough to make me particularly enjoy it. Basically, the gameplay is always the same from start to end and changes little in the entire experience. You duck behind objects and shoot enemies. I find this game to be overhyped for this reason, along with the fact that ME1 did everything this did. The game deserves a solid 8, overall.… Expand
  63. TroutMonkey
    Feb 6, 2010
    8
    The story and dialog are once again top notch, and the firefights are alot more involving and epic than last time. It only drops to 9 because of a few downfalls. The inventory system, while alot easier to use has probably been dumbed down too much (don't blame console players, the original was a console exclusive to start with). The story also suffers from being the 'middle child', and the final moments never feel as epic as the originals ending. Its also alot shorter than the first, as most of your time will instaed be spent doing various side missions to recruit party members or help them once you have done so. The actual Collecters narative being quite short. I also notice alot of texture collisions, and a couple of glitches. In summary I really love this game, and will play through ME again just to see how your different decisions affect the story. I felt dissapointed at the end, not because it was bad, but because I wanted more!… Expand
  64. TomL.
    Jan 30, 2010
    8
    I really wasn't sure whether to give this game an 8 or a 9, in the end I settled for an 8 because although the game works really well and I did enjoy probably en-par with the first (which I gave a 10 rating), there are just a number of issues that I just cant really look past and a number of other annoying elements that just prevent it from living up to imass effect 1 in eyes. first on the list of my bigger issues with the game is customisation, yes I can make shepherd look like I would want him to look but what about my squad, what about my weapons, I found myself just using exactly the same weapon combo throughout most of the game and never even bothered changing my squads weapons because there just wern't the options to do it in a meaningful way. Another problem was that the game just didnt seem to flow as well as the first, bioware said that they wanted to make you always know where you were in the game but I personally don't think of more loading screens as the answer to this, the first one the lifts were annoying but they always kept YOU in the game, you could walk over ot the normandy and go inside on your own free will rather than have to rely on shuttles to always take you there. Now to move onto the small annoyances, firstly is this ammo system, didn't like it, cant say anything more other than that, on harder difficulties there just isn't enough ammo and no-matter how bioware try ot explain it in the backstory it just feels like technology has moved backwards. Continuity is my final moan, whether its nobody anywhere else outside the normandy caring that youve completed your 'suicide' mission after returning and talking to them if you choose to play on after the main storyline has finished, or if its the deranged survivors of a crashed spaceship that have been stranded for 10 years with no outside contact but still seem to have all the same 'up to date' technology that you have. It may seem that after all that I''ve said against it that a score of 8 is generous but I will sa that everything else that I havent moaned at the game does right, the story is good, team-mate interaction and backstories are integrated will and the missions do have a very good variety to them. default game controls were dreadfull so I had to retone them back to being as similar to me1 as I could. One final point is that the final mission just didnt feel as emotional as bioware had promised, on the contrary I found myself using biowares chosen method of player choice during this mission to bump off all the team members I didnt liek and ended up feeling quite pleased with myself about it so I wont say its a bad thing, just not what was promised. Definately worth getting but not as good as the first.… Expand
  65. TheJoker
    Apr 8, 2010
    8
    I played the ME1, and I consider ME2 to be a downgrade in some places. For example inventory is nearly non-existent, there are few weapons, even fewer armors (not counting dlc's). The dialogues are good I would there to say that they are even better than the last time. DLC's are very good. Overall its a good game, although a mark lower than the last one.
  66. IulianM.
    Jan 26, 2010
    8
    Two words: "Bloody Numidium". If you're an RPG fan, you know what that means. Also, if you're an RPG fan, Mass Effect 2 won't be up your alley. The game went trough heavy redesign, it's now an RPG-istic interpretation of Gears of War, but I won't go as far as call it an RPG. It's still fun, loads of laughs if you've played Anachronox, Daggerfall(or Morrowind), and believe me, the humour, self parody and irony in the game makes it worth while.… Expand
  67. StevenH
    Feb 20, 2010
    9
    GOOD STUFF: added locational damage in battles, made enemy fire more dangerous, gave more customization within skills, more (compelling) dialogue, added conversation interrupts, added new special class abilities, added a great amount of graphical detail, game has less running and more doing than the first, as well as being longer, it is no longer necessary to spend 5 hours driving to pick up collection quests for negligible experience, more romance options, more fully realized Mass Effect universe, visible blood when you shoot enemies, more choices that seem to matter (though they are still thin), can sprint whenever you want, made weapons more diverse in function, no more omni-gelling inventory items every time you open the menu, the game only requires a DVD check now rather than installing DRM or requiring Steam (at last), and more consistent quality throughout the game rather than highly cinematic sequences followed by 20 minutes of bouncing around on an empty planet. BAD STUFF: scanning is terribly boring, armor options are too simplified although they still work, face customization is still weak, and now you can't even add scars, many of the characters are aggressive and vulgar just for the sake of seeming adult but instead come off like 7 year olds learning new words, consistent collision bugs where you get stuck on waist-high objects or levitate into the air, biotics are basically useless unless they are reave or the enemy has no armor (basically, on low difficulties), they hired a bunch of famous voice actors for no reason other than to throw money around, all powers now have universal cool down, meaning if you change ammo then you must catch your breath before using another ability for some reason, storm speed has slowed down tremendously, the retcon of the ammo system makes no sense, the retcon of the kinetic barrier system makes no sense, the minigames for unlocking get old fast and you can no longer omni-gel them, there are no vehicles whatsoever, the "mission complete" screens smack of Doom, teammate AI is as stupid as ever, running headlong into fire, insanity is unreasonably hard at the beginning of a New Game+ with a level 30 character (it gets easier), it's much easier to reach the level cap in this game (can probably be done in 10 hours, seriously), it is excessively difficult on a new game to get enough credits to fully upgrade - apparently Cerberus has enough money to resurrect someone and pay them for menial tasks like rescuing quarians but not enough to buy a handful of weapon modifications, being a fully renegade character is still completely unreasonable as you can fare better by being a crazy naive paragon idiot (like in all Bioware games), and persuasion is now based on your paragon/renegade scores rather than your actual ability. Personally I find the game better than the first, although slightly. You can decide for yourself.… Expand
  68. Michaelj
    Feb 3, 2010
    9
    Great game. just misses a 10 in my book. the minigames are fine, something like that will never be super excting to me. they found another extreme direction to take the inventory system in. I like it because you don't have to worry about the 150 item cap, but it leaves you feeling let down that there is only two of any type of gun(one of which is clearly better than the other). the armor customization is spot on though, too bad it was only on shepherd.. the story: the game is really about building your team, it's rewarding but the collectors story line is relativly short. I pray to god that this is the team you go into ME3 with because it felt like all I did was recruit and then the game ended. Please Bioware, don't make me do it again. Everything else about this game is a 10. Combat is more refined, sound and voice acting is great, the side missions were just as good. It does make you want ME3 to come out tomorrow.… Expand
  69. Tubie
    Oct 2, 2010
    10
    Usually in a trilogy the weakest part is the second part, but boy the rules do not apply here. This game is a masterpiece a classic a game that will be talked about for years and years to come. Even if you do not care to play the first game(which I recommend you do) you will still enjoy this game greatly. The only downside is having to wait for ME3 for the conclusion of this trilogy!
  70. apaeth
    Feb 19, 2011
    7
    Kill a few enemies, recruit a party member, mine for minerals, purchase upgrades. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. Prepare for final battle, engage enemy - GAME OVER!!! A good game but not a great one.
  71. Heben2
    Nov 17, 2011
    10
    Great game with a nice cinematic like gameplay and beautiful graphics. You can play it through multiple times and experience new things each time, and especially learning about your teammates is interesting. The only negative side is balancing the different classes, but at least they simplified the character developement/stats from the first game, and also made the item system work by removing the constant looting and checking details of every item to get the strongest character. They also made side quests interesting, as it is not just a visit to a random planet/moon where you kill some guys and leaves (the fist game, red). Every action has consequences and it is a brilliant rpg. Can't wait for the third game next year where my Shepard will save the universe once again!… Expand
  72. LeeVanCleef
    Aug 9, 2011
    10
    The perfect game, more than Mass Effect. Graphics, sound, combat system, story, cinematic animations, missions... all is wonderful. I think this is one of the best gaming experience in the history. Congratulations Bioware
  73. markweb1985
    Mar 19, 2011
    10
    The perfect game, more than Mass Effect. Graphics, sound, combat system, story, cinematic animations, background, missions... they are great. Congratulations Bioware!
  74. Kaptain
    Apr 4, 2011
    10
    Mass Effect 2 is the most engaging RPG I have played to date. Having never played the first Mass Effect I was afraid I would be lost jumping in to what I had learned to be an intended trilogy. That was not the case. Bioware did a fantastic job of establishing Mass Effect 2 as its own story while giving the player a feeling of deep historical conflicts in a very active world. Having the ability to choose your own spoken dialogue within the trademarked Bioware dialogue wheel connects players in a way never before experienced. Playing through this game really gives you the feeling that the choices you make matter (because they do) and that you are the star of your own epic journey. For me, the shooter-esque gameplay is secondary to Mass Effects remarkable interactive adventure. The player is in control be it good or bad, and your decisions impact the game flow and dictate morality. What I mostly love about Bioware games is that they don't just give you the choice of good vs evil, in some instances, the choice boils down to which is the greater good, or which is the greater evil. Beyond that, some situations just put the player in a real moral dilemma with no clear right or wrong. All in all, whether you are an RPG fan, or Joe Customer looking for an all inclusive gameplay experience, Biowares Mass Effect series is hands down one of the greatest video game achievements to grace the senses of game enthusiasts. I for one, cannot wait till Bioware releases their third and final installment of the series titles Mass Effect 3 late 2011. If you are looking for a gaming experience, full of twists and turns, redemption and peril, this game will not disappoint. 9.5/10 , I'll be saving my perfect score for what I presume ME3 will undoubtedly deliver.… Expand
  75. TheangryOne
    May 1, 2011
    9
    Too empty for an RPG, too branching for a shooter, Mass Effect 2 sits in a genre all it's own. I'll admit, when it first came out, I thought Mass Effect 2 was just a lousy attempt by Bioware to make money, but with the new free DLC, it began to look like something good. With all the DLC that Bioware's released, it's finally a good game.
  76. Matseb2611
    Mar 18, 2012
    10
    Simply mindblowing! Mass Effect 2 is much darker than the first one in its atmosphere and more of a cyberpunk. It gives off the same vibe as the Deus Ex series. I'd even go as far and to say that perhaps it is even more immersive and engrossing than ME1.
    I loved the first Mass Effect and I wondered how the second could possibly top it. Well, it has managed to improve on a lot of aspects fr    om the first one, even though it did dumb down a little bit on the RPG element. Now you no longer have a huge inventory full of weapons and their upgrades. In some ways this is good, because you no longer need to spend time cleaning your inventory off the useless stuff, but on the other hand the game lost out on a lot of customization aspects. Mass Effect 2 is a lot more of a squad oriented shooter than the first one was. It improved a lot on the shooter aspect of the gameplay, like making the cover system better, the weapons are more fun to use, and generally the gameplay feels fresher and more polished. Just as with the first game, Mass Effect 2 is incredibly immersive. Not only do you get to travel all over the galaxy again and completing quests, but this time you have 10 team members (plus 2 more with DLCs) instead of 6. Although it might seem a lot, but each and every one of those characters is captivating and has been developed superbly. Although the main plot is not as much the focus of the game as it was in ME1, the game does not lose out here, because the story is more character-driven. You get to recruit each and every team member separately, and additionally you can also do a loyalty mission for each of them, which helps to uncover more of their background and you get to really know what makes each of them tick. On the romance front you have a lot more choice than in the first game too. The galaxy exploration aspect has improved as well. Now you get to actually scan each planet manually and harvest resources from it, which you then need to use on upgrades to your weapons, armor, and ship. I also want to mention that I was incredibly impressed with the final mission. "Epic" is simply not good enough of a word to describe that finale. The whole team is involved in that mission, and this is something I felt that the first game missed out upon. I am glad ME2 had the finale that it deserved. The mission was so intense that I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Your decisions in that mission could have huge effects on whether your teammates would survive or not. It is one of the most dramatic and most memorable moments of video gaming for me. And so to conclude, I'd say that Mass Effect 2 is almost perfect of a game. Sure, it might've lost some of the RPG feel that the first game had, but it's amazing in its own right. It did not remove the good stuff. It simply replaced it with something different. The only thing I can nitpick on is that the same button is used for taking cover, running, and interacting with stuff, so at times you might for example want to run, but Shepard will start talking to a nearby person instead, or you might accidentally take cover on the wrong side of the object in the middle of a gunfight. But that is a very minor nitpick and does not detract from the mindblowingly divine experience this game will provide you with. It's only been a day since I completed it and I am already longing to replay the game, so I started a new playthrough. That is how addictive it is.… Expand
  77. 410MaXiMuS
    May 14, 2012
    10
    The start of the BEST story-driven trilogy in gaming history. It literally rivals Star Wars in terms of history / content. You'd be a fool not to play this game.
  78. TUSHAR451
    Nov 12, 2011
    10
    Mass Effect 2 is the perfect evolution in the Mass Effect series. It's bigger, bolder and more polished. The gunplay is more refined and more enjoyable than Mass Effect 1. Graphics are amazing as well as the sound. The only downside is the lack of emphasis on RPG aspects. If you enjoyed inventory management, huge range of powers, upgrading individual guns in Mass Effect, they are nowhere to be found in Mass Effect 2. In a sense, this makes the series more accessible. Mass Effect 2 contains even more hard choices than its previous installment. A must play for any Mass Effect or shooter fan with a superb story!… Expand
  79. whitewi666
    Nov 14, 2011
    9
    If you thought that the fist one was the winner than you didn't play Mass Effect 2! Absolutely stunning! Universe just got bigger and more alive! Bunch of great missions to do. Your ship just got twice bigger so did your crew! Yes they striped away some of the RPG elements from the first one. But honestly I don't miss them! Great game is great game. It's more action packed now which is ok with me! Still plenty of guys/gals and aliens to talk to in game! Loved it so much bought it for PS3 game of the year edition as well!!… Expand
  80. Hazard
    Nov 17, 2011
    9
    Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 are excellent games and well worth the purchase. The games have a wonderfully crafted story which is very well presented. The characters are memorable for their stories and are very well acted. Some of the Downloadable Content is very good, my favorites were Shadow Broker, Overlord and Stolen Memory in that order each added several hours of play time and the boss battle at the end of Shadow Broker was a refreshing departure from previous bosses. The environments all look and feel unique which is a great step from the recycled optional environments from the original. There is so much good about the game it merits atleast 2 play throughs do you can make different choices and try both renegade and paragon approaches. Where the game could use some improvement is minor and very subjective. Combat is great but the enemies are not all that varied. The first boss figh in the game is recycled several times which gets boring but it is usually only on the optional missions where this is seen. More equipment customization would be nice since the only real option is 2 armor suits some different head gear and the guns (of which there are many). I would have liked to see planet exploration from the first game make a come back but it was not all that disappointing. Overall this is a great game with excellet DLC and well worth full price let alone what ever you can get it for now.… Expand
  81. hit925
    Nov 22, 2011
    7
    This game was definately good but I didn't see as much in it as many others. It looks great and the voice acting I think is top-notch. However, while at first it seems really good, the shooting becomes a bit monotonous later on (cover, shoot, cover, shoot. I know shooting is always like that but still....). In addition, you have to gain necessary upgrades by scanning which is just sheer boredom and the game seems like such a chore at times to do side-missions for no particular reason and if you don't do them then that character of your team dies. Nowhere near a bad game, it's very enjoyable in parts, just not as great as I was expecting.… Expand
  82. OneVoice
    Nov 20, 2012
    10
    This is probably my favorite game of all time (fighting for the top spot with Deus Ex). The world's are fascinating, wandering around them is like exploring a real life community. ME1 was also a phenomenal game (also in my top three or four games of all time), but this one improves upon it's graphics and continues the same amazing quality of writing and character development. It's really a must play. The only problem is I really want to play a game I enjoyed as much as this one again, but just can't find one (ME3 just didn't cut it).… Expand
  83. drozzd
    Nov 29, 2011
    9
    Well I thought that Mass Effect 1 was a great game.... until I played Mass Effect 2. Every aspect of the game feels better once you get used to it. For example cover is much more useful and is easier to use. There is one big difference between ME and ME2 and that is the introduction of Thermal clips (read ammo). There are also some small details such as time freezing being mapped to shift instead of space-bar by default.… Expand
  84. loloynage
    Nov 28, 2011
    10
    The game doesn't show true RPG elements, but, who cares? The decisions, gameplay and well made characters is enough to make you enjoy this game. Wonderful RP game where you can truly shape more or less your adventure.
  85. Wargizmo
    Dec 1, 2011
    8
    Great game, extremely immersive and addictive. The gameplay is really fun, and character customization is just about right. My only gripe is the game kind of forces you to go either full paragon or full renegade, as going half/half will hurt your character's ability to resolve in-game disputes both in quests and amongst your crew. This essentially removes a lot of choice the player has over how his character reacts to different situations in game and takes a way a huge part of what makes a roleplaying game fun. Other than that one issue though I thoroughly enjoyed this game and look forward to playing number 3!… Expand
  86. Biokiipper
    Feb 11, 2012
    10
    If you still don't know MASS EFFECT, you should... Its all a RPG action game should be. To travel in many areas of the galaxy exploring, (like it would be with that technology), researching, doing espionage, rescue infiltration and search and destroy missions is extremely entertaining in this title. It makes the first title to look slow in combat and other elements (inventory and credits makes it slow a bit), funny is that MASS EFFECT 1 is very entertaining, innovative and fun as well, but the second is awesome!! If MASS EFFECT 3 surpasses the second the same way it did to the first, we are not going to see another game so good in years to come, it will elevate you gaming experience. The DLC material is very good indeed and worth every penny spent, believe it, you dont want to leave it out of you gameplay. I singed up metacritic because of it and to warn you against the negative score that seemed nonsense. The mixed opinions are related to their taste for games.Im a big fan of STAR WARS games movies, magazines, toys and other, but everything that born must die a some day. MASS EFFECT came in that way.… Expand
  87. Aegrus
    May 22, 2012
    10
    I really love this game. It seems that people who think ME 1 was better are suffering from nostalgia, because I played both in order within a week of eachother, and ME II is by far superior. P.S, I'm a Talimancer. Tali FTW!
  88. ThomasS.
    Feb 1, 2010
    9
    This game is so good that you almost forget that they removed a lot of the traditional RPG stuff. Seems like they spend more time making the side quest better than adding loads of items for customizing. If it have to be this way i prefer ME2 as the side quests of ME1 and endless driving around the same boring planets got old very fast. A few glitches but nothing serious. More customizing and this would have been a 10.… Expand
  89. KostasI.
    Feb 20, 2010
    9
    I will not say much other than saying that this game is simply incredible. It has the best possible character roster and conversation system i have ever seen in any game. You WILL actually care for your characters. The only downside i can think of is that this game is NO rpg. It is a shooter with RPG elements and an infinately better narative and story than many RPG's but it sure as hell does not play like one and the gameplay and design itself does not remind you of an RPG either. Get this game, whoever you are, wherever you are jsut buy the thing. Avoid only if you want a traditional style RPG.… Expand
  90. SeanR
    Mar 7, 2010
    10
    By far the best game I've ever played. The story is brilliant, the decisions you can make can be extremely difficult, amazing character skill trees, phenomenal voice acting, stunning graphics, incredibly fun gameplay, this game has it all. And in addition, there are virtually no bugs or glitches, saves are instantaneous, and the characters are extremely interesting. The research system is brilliant as well, however I would complain about how the consistent need to gather minerals via scanning can get tedious after awhile. Also, though the side missions are more in depth than in ME1, they still seem to fall short of the rest of the game and seem more as added content to try and appease players rather than missions that were actually well-developed (not to mention there are a very small number of sidequests for an RPG of this scale). All in all, this game has everything any RPG or sci-fi lover could ever hope for in a game. I definitely recommend it for anyone who is a fan of either of the aforementioned genres.… Expand
  91. BillZ
    Apr 7, 2010
    10
    Overall Impression: Absolutely Awesome. Most of the big-picture criticism I've been hearing about this game regards it as an RPG, a shooter, or both. But really, describing it as these genres just misses something big: at its heart, it's a *dynamic story* game. It's all about the characters and the plot. The shooting is fun, and adds that crucial element of skill that most gamers need, but it's still nothing I'd quite call a real 'shooter'. Likewise, having control over your face, armor, class and powers adds customization in the sense of an RPG, but player-character development isn't what I'd say is the main focus, and true star, of the game, and you're not just following a rigid character along witnessing his story, either. The greatest aspect of the game is the story - not just the content and succession of events, but the incredible potential that the player has to mold the game around his choices of dialog and action. The characters are deep and enthralling, and the story content itself is very cool, but the thing that makes me want to play Mass Effect 2 over and over - what makes the game so uniquely engaging - is how dynamic it is: how involving and rewarding the player's role in the story feels, and the insane degree of flexibility written into what can happen in a relatively fixed and linear world. Sure it has its flaws: little things like graphics bugs (though these were rare), and frustrating flaws in cover mechanics, and class balance (mainly for Insanity difficulty), and, of course, the super-boring-not-interesting-or-innovative-at-all mining 'activity' (chore), but none of the game's downsides were great enough to take away from that epic and satisfying feeling you get once you're done.… Expand
  92. JohnH.
    Apr 7, 2010
    10
    This game was an amazing game. It continues from the first game very well and keeps an interesting story throughout the game. Everything in this game was done brilliantly and always has enough to keep you interested. I hope that Bioware will be able to make Mass Effect 3 as awesome as this.
  93. JohnW
    Jan 26, 2010
    10
    Absolute masterpiece. Best game I have ever played - engaging story, characters and environments. Everything in this game feels so perfect - this is the best a game can possibly get.
  94. DanielChapman
    Jan 27, 2010
    10
    This is without a doubt the Game Of The Year! I knew it would be fantastic/incredible/unbelievable before it launched and now all I can say is buy this game. You will not be sorry! Well?...what are you waiting for?
  95. GordonF.
    Jan 27, 2010
    10
    Words cannot describe the my awe-struck expression as I played. Brilliant, unbelievable, a masterpiece.
  96. Cygnus
    Jan 30, 2010
    9
    The only reason I have given this a 9 is because I found the game too short but overall a complete improvement from the first Mass Effect. Coming off of buying Modern Warfare 2 and seeing just how forsaken a PC gamer can be to developers i was skeptical to ME2. Bioware seems to be the only developer i trust now as a PC gamer to equally make both 360 and PC gamers satisfied in there experience. 9/10… Expand
  97. MakiM
    Feb 1, 2010
    9
    This is at least as good as the original Mass Effect. A great deal of things has been improved, such as more unique missions (in the original game, uncharted planets usually had the same base setup with randomly generated environments which were hard to navigate). The inventory system has been simplified, and this is both good and bad. It's more consistent now and much easier to manage, however, there is a lack of options as there are not many weapon selections in the game. Though this is minor compared to the greater state of things in this game, such as its magnificent storyline. The game length is longer, the team is more unique and every character is good in their own way, allowing for unique team combination. The visuals have also improved. The animations, sound/music, and art have been kept up to the high standard that we expect. The most noticeable feature is facial expressions. Now characters can realistically show anger or sadness (even tears can be seen on a weeping character). Cut-scenes are more cinematically epic, showing better viewing angles and shots. In the first Mass Effect, the experience felt great most in the beginning, then went down in the middle but went up again in the end. In Mass Effect 2, every single moment of the game feels epic, with the beginning and endings even better. I highly recommend this game. This is just the kind of game that is lacking in the gaming industry, which we need more of.… Expand
  98. LordN
    Feb 14, 2010
    10
    Beautifull cinematic game that builds right through the game. It was refreshing to see a game that had a feeling for timing and heightened the tension at the right moments while questioning your ethical views of the detailed alien universe around you, endless possibilities, and endless fun. This is one of the few games I have ever finished without losing interest, there was only about 20 minutes during this game where I became a bit bored with dealing with the crews problems. Recommended to anyone who enjoys Sci-Fi or RPGs, the shooter element is a backseat on tradition.… Expand
  99. LukasA
    Feb 1, 2010
    9
    I have never played a game better then this, epic storyline, despite some graphic issues, and a few bugs, its just a perfect game in almost any way, well thought through, and an awesome conversation system, like the last one. Giving it a 9 because of those bugs. Haven't completed half the game yet, but of course im not sure, but so far, its epic.
  100. MikeP
    Feb 8, 2010
    9
    45 hours of the best that video games has to offer; only a few flaws. I found that some of the pathing for my crew mates in certain missions(non-crucial ones) was a little wonky; and secondly, why can't I save my game more towards the end?!?! So needlessly frustrating! I think they know people will keep doing it over until they get it "right". I liked the customization system, but if they had merged it with the inventory system from the first game I would have been ecstatic. I have to agree that the ending missions(no matter how many times I had to play through it to get it "right") and the ending is the best I've seen, ever. At least so far in a video game. Oddly (or rightfully) enough Dragon Age: Origins is right underneath it.… Expand
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Metascore
94 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 55 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 54 out of 55
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 55
  3. Negative: 0 out of 55
  1. Vandal Online
    96
    Mass Effect 2 resumes with pride the path opened by the first game. This sequel is a lesson of how things should be made.
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  2. AtomicGamer
    96
    Mass Effect 2 delivers a story that's deeper than what many novelists are capable of, and its action is better than what most Hollywood directors are creating nowadays. It's an addictive, engrossing experience that many gamers will replay over and over while they hold their breath waiting for the third game.
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  3. PC Games (Germany)
    88
    A brilliant mix of shooter and role-playing, filled with great characters, excellent design, lots of action and clever dialogue. It's a shame though that Bioware did not improve the inventory and skill system of the first game, but actually reduced it even more. I really wished there were more customization options, more ways to develop and gear up my characters. But all these are merely small points of criticism, since there is so much to feel and experience in this game. Mass Effect 2 is a thrilling, emotional ride and ultimately every bit as good as its predecessor.
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