Mass Effect Review
Marc Arguello
Date created: 2/3/10 Section: ENTERTAINMENT
Mass Effect 2 is the sequel to 2007's critically acclaimed Mass Effect and continues to follow the adventures of Commander Shepard.
Commander Shepard is completely created by the player. His/her gender, race and morals are all up to the player to decide. Players who experienced the first Mass Effect can import their original Shepard into the second game. Imported characters will retain all of their facial customizations and decisions made in the first game will have a profound effect on the second.
The story begins with Commander Shepard's ship, the Normandy, being attacked and utterly destroyed by an unknown enemy. The majority of the Normandy's crew appears to escape death, with one huge exception. Shepard sacrifices his/her life to save a fellow crewmate and Shepard is subsequently blown into space and eventually killed.
Two years later, after extensive reconstruction and experimentation, Shepard is revived by Cerberus, a shady organization known for their extremism and unethical experiments. Although not completely trusting of the situation at first, Shepard agrees to temporarily work with the organization in order to thank them for reviving him/her and to help investigate why human colonies are disappearing.
From this point, the story can vary greatly. Each player will experience a customized and unique adventure. The structure of the story will change dramatically depending on the choices the player makes as well as decisions the player made in the first Mass Effect (if they imported their character). Decisions such as which squadmates you kept alive and which side quests you did before will have a large influence on what kind of quests and characters you can interact with. The plot was so intriguing and unpredictable that I fear telling too much might ruin some of the fun of the experience. I will say that the ending(s) of the game were some of the most emotionally intense bits of video gaming I've ever experienced.
The first Mass Effect was critically acclaimed for its character interaction and development. Mass Effect 2 improves on the original by adding more conversation choices, more characters to recruit to your team, and arguably better conversations as a whole. Mass Effect 2 does an amazing job at making your character feel important and unique. Every conversation in the game offers you a chance to make your own decisions. Thanks in part to the long-term implications of having to deal with the consequences of actions in the first game, I've never been as emotionally involved in a game like I have with this game.
Commander Shepard is completely created by the player. His/her gender, race and morals are all up to the player to decide. Players who experienced the first Mass Effect can import their original Shepard into the second game. Imported characters will retain all of their facial customizations and decisions made in the first game will have a profound effect on the second.
The story begins with Commander Shepard's ship, the Normandy, being attacked and utterly destroyed by an unknown enemy. The majority of the Normandy's crew appears to escape death, with one huge exception. Shepard sacrifices his/her life to save a fellow crewmate and Shepard is subsequently blown into space and eventually killed.
Two years later, after extensive reconstruction and experimentation, Shepard is revived by Cerberus, a shady organization known for their extremism and unethical experiments. Although not completely trusting of the situation at first, Shepard agrees to temporarily work with the organization in order to thank them for reviving him/her and to help investigate why human colonies are disappearing.
From this point, the story can vary greatly. Each player will experience a customized and unique adventure. The structure of the story will change dramatically depending on the choices the player makes as well as decisions the player made in the first Mass Effect (if they imported their character). Decisions such as which squadmates you kept alive and which side quests you did before will have a large influence on what kind of quests and characters you can interact with. The plot was so intriguing and unpredictable that I fear telling too much might ruin some of the fun of the experience. I will say that the ending(s) of the game were some of the most emotionally intense bits of video gaming I've ever experienced.
The first Mass Effect was critically acclaimed for its character interaction and development. Mass Effect 2 improves on the original by adding more conversation choices, more characters to recruit to your team, and arguably better conversations as a whole. Mass Effect 2 does an amazing job at making your character feel important and unique. Every conversation in the game offers you a chance to make your own decisions. Thanks in part to the long-term implications of having to deal with the consequences of actions in the first game, I've never been as emotionally involved in a game like I have with this game.
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