It’s always something.

It’s seems almost immediately after Commander Shepard and company defeat Saren and put a stop to the Geth attack on the Citadel, a new threat to the galaxy pops up. Thousands of human colonists have been disappearing from settlements throughout the Terminus Systems. The Alliance isn’t doing jack about it either, which forces Shepard to look for help elsewhere. That elsewhere turns out to be Cerberus, the shadowy organization with very questionable ethics which was the source of many of the Commander’s woes throughout first game. But like any galactic savior worth their legendary reputation, Shepard sucks it up, joins forces with an ex-enemy, and sets out to find out the culprit behind this new threat.

And then kill it.

In many ways, Mass Effect 2 is a very different game than its predecessor. The entire experience has been trimmed down, with most of the time-wasting junk left by the wayside. Loot is almost entirely gone, replaced by an upgrade system that allows you to enhance the weapons and armor of your entire squad. Massive areas that force you to waste several hours exploring/walking/riding elevators have also been removed. Each area is now smaller overall, but much more detailed, allowing you to take in impressive vistas and watch the hustle and bustle without spending forty-five minutes hiking to the nearest shop. Experience is handed out in chunks at the end of each mission, allowing players to focus on the objective instead of getting bogged-down by stat tweaking in the middle of a firefight. Abilities themselves have been refined as well, with no need to drop points into firearm specializations or Renegade/Paragon options

Don’t misinterpret this as a mere dumbing down, as what hasn’t been removed has been significantly tweaked. All of the six available character classes feel much more specialized and unique this time around. Biotic and tech abilities are much more useful (even the already useful ones) than they ever were in the first game. You can also curve these powers, allowing you to rip an enemy out of cover or blast one from around a corner.  Powers can also be combined in many more interesting ways, allowing for some impressive one-two punches, and even some triple-team devastation. Shepard’s armor is now customizable, with different pieces that offer individual perks (+10% health here, +5% power damage there, etc…) and cosmetic changes. You can also customize the color, pattern and material appearance. Even the dialogue system has been refined with the addition of optional interruptions (both Paragon and Renegade) that will change the course of the conversation, and possibly the outcome, with the well-timed press of a button.

Structurally, the game has a much more deliberate pace. Shepard’s primary mission is to stop the abductions, but that will require the help of a number of specialists. The bulk of Mass Effect 2‘s 30-to-40+ hour campaign focuses on locating these assassins, psychos, outcasts and vigilantes, then later gaining their trust to ensure their focus on what many are calling a suicide mission. These are a far cry from the old “Haven’t I raided this exact same building six times already?” missions found in the original, however. And while they may be a bit shorter than Mass Effect‘s big story missions, they’re certainly no less memorable. Some of the “trust” missions even manage to forgo the combat entirely, focusing instead on character interactions.

And let me tell you, this is perhaps the most memorable crew BioWare has ever assembled. Each character is an individual (well, almost), with their own thoughts, feelings and issues. They all have a unique history, and I’d be hard pressed to pick out one that I didn’t like. Even the characters I was expecting to hate or find annoying turned out to be much more complex and interesting (even endearing) than I had initially thought.

Of course, there are a few changes that I’m certain won’t go over well with everyone. Hacking and bypassing terminals and doors is still a necessary evil, only now it involves some pretty arbitrary mini-games. Bypassing is nothing more than a timed memory game, and hacking is an odd “find the matching image as a bunch scroll by” affair. Both are simple enough and can be completed quickly after some practice, but they seem unneeded.

Scanning various planets across the galaxy and searching for minerals to exhume or hideouts to raid is a similar head-scratcher. All planet scanning in handled manually now, so rather than pressing a button and being done with it players are now tasked with moving a reticule over the planet’s surface as they search for precious metals or anomalies. This is something I find to be a mindless yet relaxing shift from the action-heavy missions, but I can certainly see other players taking issue with it. These minerals you harvest can then be used to purchase various upgrades for Shepard, squad weapons and armor and various ship’s systems. If nothing else, it’s nice that these minerals you’re digging up are actually used for something this time.

Mass Effect was indeed an epic space opera in its own right, but Mass Effect 2 wins the “That was AWESOME!” award, hands down. I’ll refrain from specifics as these moments need to be experienced for themselves, but suffice it to say the game has some ridiculously impressive bookends. It blows the epic moments of the first game out of the water almost effortlessly, yet it also manages to avoid falling into the “Epic for Epic’s Sake” trap. BioWare is full of great storytellers, and Mass Effect 2 is a perfect example of what great storytellers can do with more dynamic cameras, more varied character animations, the support of a beautiful game engine and an appropriate musical score.

Even without the obvious epic moments, Mass Effect 2 is full of that feeling like you’re a part of something big. BioWare has made player choice more noticeable than ever before. Virtually every decision from the first game will be referenced again, and some of them will have a noticeable impact on your game. Likewise many of your decisions this time around will lead to different outcomes, but the real giddiness comes from wondering just how it will all affect the third game. Mass Effect 2 manages to really drive home the point that it’s all leading up to something big. I’m not only excited to see how my first game has affected the second, I’m anxious so see how both of them will determine what happens next. No other game has ever made me feel like I was truly a part of an epic story like this one has.

If you’ve never played the original Mass Effect, you might want to go and do that before taking on the sequel. The game itself is most assuredly a fantastic experience, don’t get me wrong, but there are several moments that just won’t have the same impact if you haven’t previously taken the Normandy for a spin. Simply reading about the Geth, Saren and Sovereign in the Codex just wouldn’t cut it. If you’re like me, however, and have spent hours upon hours roaming the galaxy in the first game, you have no excuse.

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Things We Liked: A wonderful cast of characters as well as an impressive voice cast. Everything we loved about the first game, only more polished, streamlined and… better. Gilbert & Sullivan (you’ll see).

Things We Disliked: Questionable choice of mini-games and mineral farming. Long-ish load times but a merciful lack of elevators. Having to wait for Mass Effect 3.

Target Audience: Obvious answer is obvious.

(Mass Effect 2 – Developer: BioWare. Publisher: Electronic Arts. Available on PC and Xbox 360 – Xbox 360 version reviewed. A review copy of the game was provided by the publisher. Buy it Now at Amazon.com. New to CFD!’s reviews? Read our explanation here.)