Mass Effect was BioWare’s sci-fi blockbuster hit of 2009 with a rich array of aliens and a totally captivating storyline. The question is: could BioWare go one better in the second chapter of a promised trilogy? Phasers on stun while you boldly go to our Mass Effect 2 review.
Commander Shepard is back and the first thing that blows you away in Mass Effect 2 is the quality of the new graphics. From the start, this doesn’t feel like any ordinary video game because the detail and the vividness of the colours in Mass Effect 2 make you believe you’ve stepped into a movie. Comparing it to the prequel is like comparing the first Star Trek series to Avatar.
Shepard’s task in Mass Effect 2 is to gather a new team of hard men and women across the galaxy to fight a new threat from an old enemy that is kidnapping whole human colonies. It’s like a space version of The Magnificent Seven which includes tough oddballs like tattooed punk babe Subject Zero, spiritual assassin Thane and the permanently aggressive Krogan Grunt.
Read our James Cameron’s Avatar for Xbox 360 review now
If you’ve still got the first game on your computer, then you can import your saved version of Shepard into Mass Effect 2, complete with all his powers and decisions. Not only do you now have 19 weapons to choose from but there’s a new stock of heavy weapons which can seriously alter the balance of a fight. The range of enemies is vast and the choice of squad mates is vital before each mission, as you control their balance of skills and how to deploy them.
The interface has been completely revamped in Mass Effect 2 to make it quicker and easier to change weapons, assign positions and exercise powers while in the midst of battle. New puzzles have been created to unlock doors and hack computers and physical dangers such as avoiding sun radiation and gas clouds have to be contended with. Unexplored worlds can be scanned for much needed minerals and the many side quests feed directly into the main story.
And what a story this is – from the mysterious chain-smoking Illusive Man who plays a vital role in humankind’s survival to the layers of treachery and political manoeuvring by the various alien races. Dazzling, absorbing, thrilling – this is sci-fi supreme.
