Mass Effect 2 Review
The Short Version: With interesting enemies, an involving story, solid characters, improved gameplay and a few new features Mass Effect 2 finally becomes that Premium Franchise. The Game helps solidify Bioware’s position as the “PIXAR” of the Western RPG. While not as perfect as some may think, ME2 well earns its place among your games library.
The Review:
What you’ll Like:
• 30 Hours+ of Content worth every penny of the purchase price!
• Improvements on just about every aspect of the original game.
• Great New Additions like the Galaxy Map, Planet Probing, Tech Lab, and Armor Customization.
• Character Specific “Loyalty” Quests are as strong as the Main Story itself and help build attachment to your team.
• Choices during play have weight and consequences in the end-game survival of your party.
• Combat Gameplay Improved over the original with added Ammo & Heavy weapons systems.
What you’ll Hate:
• Party AI is questionable at times.
• Class Restrictions on weapons piss me off.
• Galaxy feels a bit empty without space-traffic and random encounters on Galaxy Map.
• Scanning planets mini-game gets old quickly and is far too slow.
• Cerberus Network Bullshit (An attack on Used Game Buyers – unable to download “free content” without a fee)
Final Verdict:
9/10*
*Mass Effect 2 came very close to our first 10/10 rating, however I felt it just needed one more thing to put it over the top – such as space battles, multiplayer modes, or some new memorable feature: I’m extremely excited to see what Bioware cooks up for the planned Mass Effect 3. And I’m fairly certain the franchise wont end there.
Issue your own Final Score Above!
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175 thoughts on “Mass Effect 2 Review”
God I love this game!
Oh, and the atmosphere change from space exploration and in dept immersion to Shepard’s feeling focused, and there are no dialog option that would’ve been nice an obvious to make. Ashley comes in, accusing you of beeing cerberus, I’d reply : Look you dont get to chose who rebuild you when your dead, and I dont see anyone who’d give me a ship, guns, and actualy allow me to hunt the major threat instead of burying their heads in the sand. (might be though on a steel floor BUT STILL)!
You can already tell when EA comes in they change what they shouldnt change : the story. At least I heard its the same writter witch makes a point to tell trough the game what he had in mind and its still acceptable though I prefer the first one’s atmosphere. Irreplacable epics. They increased game fights dynamics, add nice enough character but changed the personnality of the first ones. I can feel an adaptation of EA’s ass story adaptation for this. Still fun.
I had the same problem as you, Joe… Garrus always walked into my Sniper scope when I tried to shoot…
I love ME2, though. It’s one of my Favorites. In fact. Mass Effect was the Sci-Fi game that made me play none Medieval games O_O
I can’t believe I’m saying this but, LOL!
I honestly miss the prob thing to get the resources, seemed a bit to simple to just hit the galaxy scanner then just go down on one planet per sol system and find the war resource, that never really comes into much play in the first place in ME3.
Joe I’d recommend you’d use 1-100 instead of 1-10 because you can get certain games confused, like you could think mortal kombat 9/10 is the same as mass effect 9/10, when in reality mortal combat is like a 91 and mass effect 2 is like a 95
well they are different sorts of games but i agree like dragon age origins got 9/10 and so did mass effect 2 which one is better
I have played the game ten times
This game has a special place in my library, right next to the beloved me1 and me3
Mass effect 2 was badass. great combat, awesome story, and so many more. I JUST FREAKIN WISH THE A.I. DIDN’T HAVE GOD-LIKE ACCURACY. Mass Effect 2 was the first Mass Effect game I ever played and I loved it and bought the other two games, and thank god i have an older Mass Effect 2 disk because I have the infinite Paragon/Renegade glitch! (yes, I’m a cheater.) Besides Skyrim this is the best RPG game I’ve ever played. BUT I’m angry at Bioware for one thing, and I’ll put it in question form….WHY THE FUCK DID BIOWARE GO TO EA!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? EA only cares about the money, destroys any game that they get their hands on, rushes the game company! SERIOUSLY WHAT THE FUCK?!? and because of this bad decision Mass Effect 3 came out bad, Dragon Age 2 was terrible for me, and Cerberus network is just another method to squeeze out another 20 dollars (AND IT’S FUCKIN USELESS!!!!! JUST GO TO THE GAME MARKETPLACE AND DOWNLOAD ADD-ONS FROM THERE!) The game play length is shorter than the first Mass effect, but everything else is good about it. Badass game, nice work Bioware! (But I suggest to them to go back to Microsoft)
“thank god i have an older Mass Effect 2 disk because I have the infinite Paragon/Renegade glitch! (yes, I’m a cheater.)”
Oh my God, I’m scared to continue reading.
“Besides Skyrim this is the best RPG game I’ve ever played.”
Yes, you are, indeed, an idiot.
no sir, indeed you are. Skyrim might not be better then every other rpg, but i cant think of a single one thats better either. Though there are loads that “cant be compared”.
And btw. I am a cheater as well, (in single player) so whats the problem?
I hate the term cheater actually.. I mean, who the fuck am I cheating, the pixels?
got all three games this might be the best trilogy in my game library .
I love all of the mass effect games (third is my favorite) but this second game gets 9/10 from me, needed another cool feature to get it to 10.
I got this game on PS3 so I can’t get the first mass effect but I completely understood the story. I kind of see the misconception but it wasn’t a problem for me,
they do need to make a mass effect movie!!!! Thats a must have!
i heard that they will make an me1 movie
Yeah because movies based on games have always gone well.
1=AMAZING! 2=FUCK YOU EA! YOU FUCKED UP AGAIN! What the hell? They give you a ammo system okay. NOW WHERE THE FUCK IS ALL THE AMMO!!! There are, on average, 4 crates of ammo and a 1/20 chance to drop ammo per mission. Powers are now required! Infiltrators are amazing cause you can turn invis and find more ammo! Don’t even get me started with the carry limit! 10 rounds of sniper ammo! that will last the first fucking fire fight. SMGs? Those Machine pistols that can’t hit the broad side of an Elcor if it’s 10+ feet away? Well, the Locust is the exception, THAT is a SMG. The weapon curve is insane. One rifle, 400 rounds and can’t hit shit, other 155 with a mandatory 3-round burst has the recoil of a pissed off mule kick to the ass, and help you if you miss. And the LMG is useless in your hands! It’s a run up and stick in gut weapon! The Hand cannon, 18 fucking rounds! ARE YOU FUCKING ME WITH A BROKEN GLASS DILDO IN THE EAR!?!? On casual it takes 3 shots to kill a Vorcha, a vent crawling, inbred, Vorcha! 5 to drop a human and 12 to drop a Krogan! Which is better than the first one you get, a clip to kill something? WTF? And the lack of exploration and loot drop completely? TWO THINGS 1 DID RIGHT?!? You now have a fucking predetermined path. IT’S NOW FABLE 2 IN SPACE!!! WHY?!?!?! Now, I love these games, their stories, their characters, their locations, their races and their concept. But this is a fucking abomination! 4/10 @ the max! 3=FUCK! EA DID IT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCKING INBRED CUNTS! THAT ENDING AND LACK OF FIXING? GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! Now I have to go take some BP pills so I don’t develop and ulcer!
I have played every game there is incuding mass effect 1,2,3
Those are all that exist, you fucking idiot.
YOU FORGOT TALI!!!!!!!!!!
Who wants to fuck someone who you can see your sex face reflected in?No one wants to see their sex face.
great game i play it over and over again….mass 3 not
DAMN !!! i’ll be crackin’ on to Yeoman Chambers on my next play through, just for that dance.
SHEPARD DIES IN MASS EFFECT 3 TROLOLOLOLOLOLOL!
No i’m actualy sure my Shepard survived, thank you but im prety sure he got up after the scene and kill sovereign by punching it to death right!!!, right? (sight), OH MY GOD I LOVE MASS EFFECT SINCE THE 1ST ONE AND IM AFRAID THAT SHEPARD DIDN’T GOT TO FIBALY BE WITH LIARA AT THE END, don’t you judje me you know you feel the same… about someone, eventualy,i think…
Well, not officially. Mine was still breathing.
That breath scene…
Well, I suppose a 9/10 is deserved, ME2 is a truly great game. The removal of the M35 Mako has been a pretty significant disappointment for me, however. And no, the Hammerhead does not make up for it – let me explain why not.
In ME1, the Mako felt like – and was – an integral part of the game. Almost all of the main missions featured Mako sequences, side-mission planets were explored via the Mako, and it was just a really great way of mixing up the “usual” Bioware RPG features with a bit of additional action, without taking away anything from the RPG elements. For these reasons, I loved the Mako.
The Hammerhead in ME2, however, has not been a real part of the game. Sure, the controls are great, and we get 6 missions where we can use it, but that’s about it. The Hammerhead is a DLC feature and therefore, none of the main story missions make use of it, it’s not used on any remote planets other than in the Firewalker missions, and it just feels tacked on. Especially so when viewed in reference of how amazingly Bioware made use of the Mako in the first installment.
Another issue I had with the Firewalker missions is that they all took place in a closed environment (Overlord less so than the rest), with invisible walls sealing off parts of the map, and that really bothered me. In ME1, I could drive the Mako through a lot of open maps, most of which allowed me to climb even the most challenging mountain if I had enough perseverance, and exploration was rewarded with hidden bonuses and cool points of interest. The Hammerhead missions, in reference, feel like something out of a racing game. And there’s no problem with that, it just lacks the same kind of depth the Mako in ME1 had in my opinion.
Well, that’s all I really wanted to say. Great video, by the way, Joe. I just furrowed my eyebrows a bit when you said that all the great features from the first game were there in Mass Effect 2, and that has sprung this rant out of me. ME2 is still a great game, I just wish Bioware would have found new, innovative ways to make use of the Mako instead of removing it.
Haha! Dayum! That slap is hit to all PS3 users like me.
My verdict: 8/10
1. Galaxy Map: Maybe I am the only one, but I don’t like this new stile of flying with this tiny ship on the map…It’s nice as a picture however.
2. Less RPG stuff: I hate to buy something and then I have it automatically
3. Console style instead of a PC feeling
4. Mining
5. Better ME1 style of ammo then in ME2 or ME3
It’s just my own opinion but I think that ME1 was even better in some parts then ME2. HOWEVER interaction with other characters and their personal stories was very cool! Also ME2 better with missions without repetition of level design (Optional missions) then ME1.
I forgot to mention that I agree with “Norgium” and about what he/she said.
BTW isn’t here a way to edit my posted messages? >D
Joey that slap hurt :’( If it makes you feel better I got the Genesis DLC so I understood the story…
lol love the reviews keep it up!