Entertainment Review: Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 2, the sequel to BioWare's critically acclaimed Mass Effect(2007)in true sequel style, attempts to address the complaints lodged against the first game and in turn create a new and better game. On some levels the game achieves these lofty goals such as the augmented story line and amount of narrative archive material available for the player to read at their leisure. However as a fan of the first game I noticed some sizable changes that were not only irritating but served as a step backwards in the games mechanics.

For one, the weapons system present in the original Mass Effect has been extirpated and replaced with an extremely simplistic and frustratingly conventional one. While I can understand the desire to reduce the learning curve for more casual players by no means do I believe BioWare was justified in taking what would have otherwise been an intricate and entertaining system and dumbing it down.

Another less grave addition to the new game is the in game ship's refueling system, which forces you to spend money to purchase fuel if you travel a certain distance. without a navigation system of any kind traveling from one system to another was frustrating enough on it's own in the original. With the addition of the new refueling system the task of going anywhere often prompted me to take breaks from playing to subdue my frustration.

Where Mass Effect 2 does succeed is in it's storyline, which has been completely overhauled for the sequel. The most notable addition is the plethora of new races, locations and unbelievable amount of text sources all made available to the player early on. Being a developer known for their mastery in creating RPG's(Role Playing Games) it comes as no surprise that BioWare included so much additional backstory if only for fan service.

Overall the gameplay in Mass Effect 2 is solid. The gun play is a step above the previous entry despite the weapons system being scaled down and the graphics and voice work are all top notch. I can honestly say that Mass Effect 2 is a quality title however I wonder if it would be as well received having not been a follow up to such a block buster game.
4/5