Touted as the ‘dark second chapter’ in the trilogy Mass Effect 2 is the follow up to Bioware’s enjoyable but technically problematic and arguably bland sci-fi themed role-playing game.

This eagerly anticipated second installment in the sci-fi epic builds off the framework laid down by the first game and improves it in every aspect. Mass Effect 2 is a game overflowing with personality, it carves out a unique identity for the series and also serves as one of the purest RPG experiences gaming has to offer.

The last few years haven’t been kind to Commander Shepard, despite becoming the first ever human Spectre, defending the universe from a forgotten synthetic alien race, stopping a malevolent ancient power from purging the galaxy of all life and bringing down a legandary Spectre gone rogue he’s still undervalued and underappreciated. However his actions have caught the attention of a shady organisation with a questionable reputation as Human loyalists. After a shocking twist of fate causes the two to cross paths Shepard finds himself working for the group headed up by ‘The Illusive Man’ investigating the disappearences of human colonies and it’s relation to the Reaper threat.

Although the story is interesting, it’s a familiar stock sci-fi story superimposed over the Mass Effect universe. That is until you begin your quest to put together a crew. In order to have a hope of surviving the mission Shepard is tasked with travelling around the galaxy recruiting specific individuals to serve the cause. Mass Effect 2 features an unforgettable cast of secondary characters, every character from the typical seasoned soldier to the ruthless merc or the brooding assassin to the thuggish Krogan is complex and has depth beyond what the seemingly cliched character architypes suggest. Each of the recruits has a unique personality built up of morals, ethics, and more importantly an interesting history which manifests in the various side-quests. It’s these distinct personalities that give the story the edge. Perhaps it’s a testament to how likeable the characters are that it can be a little frustrating to have to choose only two to accompany you, especially since it’s easy to become emotionally invested in multiple characters.

Recruitment missions take place in one of the many distinct and wonderfully realised worlds. Unlike in the first game each of the planets are unique, as well as being visually captivating they also have different impacts on the gameplay. Factors such as violent winds may require the player to rethink their approach or dangers in the environment may demand a different combat strategy. Recruitment itself also comes with interesting conditions and circumstances, these missions are always comprised of a mixture of exploration, combat and  character interactions. They usually culminate in Shepard resorting to some outlandish measures like extracting a recruit from a floating space prison during a riot, or infiltrating a group of mercenaries focused on killing the recruit just to get to him. Each mission is an exhilarating set-piece that further develops both Shepard and the recruit as characters.

Mass Effect 2 is an excellently written game in all aspects. The high level of detail is exhibited through the information codex that provides lore on the different planets, races, culture and history, the dialogue and the story. The best example of the gripping writing is the side-quests which come in the form of loyalty missions. Shepard’s mission is regarded as a one-way trip, however one of the most interesting parts of the game is how the chances of success are altered depending on your actions. One of the major contributing factors to the success rate is whether your team are loyal to you, Shepard is able to gain the loyalty of his individual team members by helping them on a personal matter that they inevitably bring to your attention.

Since each person has their own motivations, ideals and ethics these missions can often involve doing something that could be regarded as unethical, this creates an interesting dynamic by giving decisions incredible weight. It forces the player to choose between taking actions they might not be comfortable with in order to gain the loyalty of their team member and possibly increase the chance of mission success, or to make decisions that stay true to the ethics, morals and personality they have attributed to their Shepard. It’s a deeply engrossing system where character relationships and decisions are deeply rooted into the story and your actions can directly dictate how the ending plays out. It can even make you rethink the rare moment when the game allows you to manifest your chosen personality by interrupting someone using some questionable actions.

There have been numerous changes to the game from the first Mass Effect, aspects such as the cover system and recovering health streamline combat to not only make it more user-friendly but to also allow the player to make use of the different weapon and biotic advantages of each character class. The biggest change to the game however is the scaling back of aspects that have come to represent the RPG genre as a whole, particularities such as detailed character stats, the different attributes of weapons and more noticably item and inventory management have been almost entirely removed, at least from the players attention.

Weapons and armour are no longer carried by characters, they are contained in lockers aboard the ship, loadouts are selected before each misssion and can occassionally be changed during mission. This change also extends to the variety of weapons, compared to the previous game there are far fewer different weapons available. Although additional weapons can be researched and developed the amount never reaches as much in sheer numbers, instead the focus is placed on upgrading available weapons and abilities.

This reductive approach to stats and numbers lets players focus on actual role-playing as opposed to getting hung up on numbers which ultimately have limited applicability. In Mass Effect 2 what matters is your decisions, your conduct, your relationships with your crew and whether you commit to gaining their loyalty. It directs the player away from features that often break the illusion by being overly game-like and instead opts for a more organic approach to character development that also gets the player further invested into the world and the characters within it.

The one issue that the game has is the tedious mining activity which allows the player to extract minerals from planets by controlling a small targetting reticule and moving it over the planet until the scanner reacts, after sending out a probe the player is rewarded with minerals which can be used to upgrade equipment. While this is undeniably boring it is an optional ativity and does provide significant advantages for both combat and also story in the long run.

Mass Effect 2 is an incredible experience, the vast technical improvements from the first game as well as the satisfying combat make it an easy recommendation, but Mass Effect 2 is so much more than a simple sci-fi RPG come shooter, what it will be remembered for is the incredibly fascinating and believable universe where even the smallest details have been crafted with care and thought, the cast of unforgettably complex and varied characters, the meaningful decisions and the freedom to create and explore interesting relationships – this is a game that simply should not be missed.

Tamoor Hussain