BrockTalk

PS3 owners have cause to celebrate. The Mass Effect series, one of the very few triple-A titles which was previously a Microsoft X-Box exclusive has come to the Playstation, and boy was it worth the wait. If you are looking for an epic story, interesting characters, and great 3rd person action shooting combined with RPG elements, then look no further than Mass Effect 2.

STORY AND CHARACTERS

Now the first question we need to get out of the way is, "Do I need to have played Mass Effect 1 to be able to play 2?" That's a very fair question, especially seeing as Mass Effect was originally planned as a trilogy, and choices you make carry over from one game to the next. Yes, I know, that's awesome. Luckily for us, Bioware, has come up with a very nice way to catch us up on the story. After the opening sequence of events you will be presented with a interactive back-story presented in a comic book style fashion that catches you up on the events from the first game. Throughout the comic you will be tasked with making certain story changing decisions, that will carry over into your current Mass Effect 2 storyline. For example, in the first game there comes a point where one of two characters dies based on an action you take. With the interactive comic you are allowed to make this decision on the fly, by deciding who gets left out of the continuing story, and who becomes a recurring character. Pretty cool stuff if you ask me.

From the very beginning Mass Effect 2 wastes no time capturing your attention and sucking you into its fully realized universe, and that's just one of the many things that makes this game so great. As Commander Shepard you are tasked with gathering a team of the universe's most elite specialists in order to confront and take down an alien threat. The team gathering takes most of the actual game time, but don't let that dissuade you. The characters you pick up along the way each have their own character-specific missions and compelling sub-plots that really bring a level of character development not found in most video games. In fact, decisions you make along the game can and will affect who lives and who dies, which can ultimately affect which characters you will see in the final chapter of the series. What this does is causes the player to be invested in their characters and choices, as they can have lasting impact on the story that unfolds.

PRESENTATION

Mass Effect 2 is hands down a beautiful game. The opening of this game is quite possibly the best opening I've ever witnessed in a game, and the beauty doesn't end with the cutscenes. In fact, even the cutscenes are dynamic in that whatever characters you have chosen to take with you on a particular mission, and even the way you have personolized your own Commander Shepherd carry over into the game's cinematic moments. I've never been this vested in a game's story and characters, and the presentation has much to do with that.

GAMEPLAY

Presentation is great and all, but what is a game without stellar gameplay? Thankfully, ME2 pays off big in this department as well. Combining a cover based third-person shooter with sprinklings of RPG elements, ME2 delivers fast, frantic and addictive gameplay. You will control Shepherd and two additional squad mates of your choosing during the majority of the missions. In between popping out of cover to shoot the baddies, you can pause the action by pulling up a command wheel that will let you dish out special powers for you and your squad-mates. Like most RPG's you will choose a character class for Shepherd at the games outset, and this determines what powers are available. Finding a good balance between your and your squadmates' abilities becomes vital especially in the harder difficulty levels of the game, as different enemies are weak to various powers. While I generally enjoy RPG's on occasion, I often find myself becoming impatient with the overwhelming amount of time I spend in menus customizing and-recustomizing my characters. Mass Effect 2 does a beautiful job of streamlining this process by allowing you to get in, get out, and get the job done. While this felt great to me, many have complained that the game had been over-streamlined from the original Mass Effect. New details about the release of ME 3 have shown that some of the control is going to be given back to the players; so here's hoping that Bioware finds a good balance to keep both sides happy. I'm confident that they can and will.

PS3 Extras

Another plus of the PS3 edition is that Bioware threw in three of the downloadable content missions. These missions are far from throw-aways however, as they provided some of the most varied and enjoyable moments in tha game as a whole. Adding addtional characters to your team, and outcomes that could very well have an impact in the finale, these are probably the best downloadable content packs I have ever played, and I would have gladly paid the extra money if they were not included in the package already.

FINAL THOUGHTS

As you can tell, I absolutely loved my time with Mass Effect 2. It very well may be my new favorite game of all time. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I played through it in it's entirety, DLC packs and all, twice. The second playthrough was done on Insanity mode, which is the game's hardest difficulty setting; and while early missions could sometimes be frustrating, it became more and more rewarding as I moved along. The presentation, gameplay, story, and characters came together so well that it deserved every Game of the Year award it received in 2010 when it was initially released on the X-BOX 360. I absolutely cannot wait to see what Bioware has up its' sleeve for the final chapter of this trilogy. They have created a universe and characters so deep and rich, that even at this story arc's epic end there will be a ton of possibilities for future games set in this universe. Count me in.