The first thing you want to do when the end credits of Mass Effect 2 start rolling is tell everyone you’ve ever met about it. From the epic final mission to the smallest personal drama, Mass Effect 2 is a game that demands attention and one that needs to be played by anyone with a remote interest in gaming.

But first, I’ll calm down a little bit and try to explain exactly why Mass Effect 2 is an absolutely must buy title. For a little bit of background, I found the original game enjoyable but not amazing, and I’ve not gone near the books.

Space… is big.

Let’s talk about the plot first, as without a good story Mass Effect 2 would be an empty shell. The writing in Mass Effect 2 is BioWare at their absolute best, and that’s saying something from the company that developed both Knights of the Old Republic and Baldur’s Gate 2.

The main plot finds Shepard now working for pro human organisation Cerberus, investigating a series of attacks on human colonies. It all starts fairly low key, but it’s not long before Shepard and crew are on a mission to save the universe, this time from another hostile alien race called the Collectors.

But while the main plot is engaging and exciting, it’s not what makes Mass Effect 2 a great game. It’s a focal point and an overall goal to reach, but much of Mass Effect 2’s most unique and exciting content is entirely optional and can easily be missed if you don’t make a conscious decision to go out and explore the universe.

And what a universe. The imagination at work in the Mass Effect series has been stunning, but more than that, it’s been believable. The motivations of the games various races, the political bureaucracy, the history, humanities place in the universe -  like all the best pieces of science fiction, It feels like it could happen.

Where Mass Effect 2 really excels is within its characters. Being told to save the galaxy from a homicidal synthetic race is one thing, but making players care is quite another. By the time the final mission is in full swing, you find yourself genuinely concerned for the well being of your crew.

Each team member has their own optional mission which you can help them out with, and talking to them between missions allows you to learn more about their lives. Not every crew member will interest every player, but you’ve got the choice to explore every character in detail if you wish.

Outside of your crew there’s a huge amount going on in the galaxy. You can expect to spend much less time in the citadel this time, and working for Cerberus means many of the alien races give you a hard time, despite saving their collective asses during the first game.

Main Gameplay

When I first heard of BioWare’s decision to dilute the roleplaying and inventory section of the game, I was a little disappointed. Both the levelling system and way the game handles your equipment have been incredibly watered down from the original.

There are only a handful of the original options for Shepard to put points into, and no more inventory screen at all. The system takes some getting used to, but once you get aboard the Normandy and get your lab up and running, the logic of the system is apparent.

You no longer need to worry about splitting your skills between being a good talker and being a good fighter. You learn additional conversation options through actual conversation. It might be simplified, but it’s much more natural.

You gain points in ‘Paragon’ or ‘Renegade’ depending on your moral and conversation choices; although like in all good roleplaying games it’s not always obvious which decision is the ‘right’ one to take. There were plenty of situations where I found myself stopping to give serious thought about the way I wanted to act.

Armour and weapon upgrades are researched using material and tech either gathered from missions or mined from planets. You’ll find new weapons throughout the game and there’s a greater overall variety of weapons than in the original, but the endless weapon swapping and checking of statistics has been removed.

It’s a move that might upset the roleplaying hardcore, but its effect is removing distractions from the game and spending less time in the often cumbersome menu system. As a result, the game flows better and is a more immersive experience, even if it’s now one step removed from RPG convention.

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