Mass Effect 2 - Review

Introduction

Upon seeing the initial trailers for the original Mass Effect way back before its release I was instantly intrigued, unfortunately I didn’t (and still don’t) own an X-Box 360. A while later its PC port was announced, unfortunately by that point I had forgotten about it and lost interest. Last December I noticed it was on offer on Steam so I decided I may as well try it. I was far from disappointed. Thoroughly enjoyed the game (save for the notorious vehicle sections) and by the time I’d finished it Mass Effect 2 was already on approaching fast, I pre-ordered the special edition without a second’s hesitation.

For the unenlightened amongst you Mass Effect is a series created by Bioware (Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age: Origins), the original set in 2183 and the sequel two years after. Humans have discovered the ruins of an ancient alien race dubbed the Protheans and using their technology have learnt how to achieve faster-than-light travel using a physics phenomenon called Mass Effect. Upon achieving this they have been able to discover another Prothean technology, Mass Relays which can transport you thousands of light-years in a few seconds (similar to warp gates on EVE: Online). After a brief war with a humanoid alien race called the Turians humanity achieved galactic status and access to the citadel, a gigantic space station also created by the Protheans and maintained by a mysterious race called the keepers. Being the newcomers humanity is prone to xenophobia by other races and is often resented.

You take control of Commander Shepard who you can customise from name, to gender, to class, to appearance and personal history, just a foreshadowing of how much depth this series has. Shepard has been put forward to become the first human spectre, an elite group of agents under the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance Branch of the citadel who are above galactic law and act as they see fit. Anyway, I’ll shut up now and get to the actual review before I get spoilerish.

Gameplay

For the most part, gameplay in Mass Effect 2 sticks with the old “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” and keeps very similar to the first, cover based fighting, it feels a tad more fluid and polished than the first which is a welcome change however. When not exchanging bullets you are likely going to be exchanging conversation (or insults if you take the renegade route), Mass Effect 2 is a very conversation heavy game, if that ain’t your bag then I wouldn’t advise this game for you.

True to Bioware, during conversation you will get an option how to respond, usually consisting of a friendly approach, a neutral one or an aggressive one, upon choosing the friendly or aggressive approach you will often be rewarded with paragon or renegade points respectively, these later unlock more conversation options. Some missions also present you with a choice, the choice often resulting in more of these points.

For the most part this works but sometimes it can feel a little bit black and white which is more of a fault of all games of this nature, not just ME2.
A welcome change is the lack of the vehicle sections, instead of the Mako you now launch probes to planets and scan for information and materials for upgrades to your ship, weapons and armour.

Another change, which in my opinion isn’t quite so welcome, is they have severely toned down the RPG elements, characters and significantly less powers, experience is now only gotten from missions and no longer from killing enemies and weapons and armour no longer have stats instead you can choose between a fully automatic gun or a burst fire (which could have equally been achieved with a alt fire button). While this may be a good thing in some peoples’ eyes I personally miss the more RPG feel.

Story

Very few games have a story quite as compelling as the Mass Effect series in my opinion, it keeps you hooked all the way through and you always have the incentive to play to find out what happens next. There are plenty of plot twists and turns to keep you guessing and the characterisation is fantastic.

Despite being from all manner of alien races the characters, ironically, all feel far more human than the characters you get in the likes of Gears of War and Call of Duty. They all have their own personalities, their strengths, their flaws just as any real human would. During the free time between missions you can wander your ship and talk to them, discuss the mission, their history, their feelings, you can genuinely really attached to them and when the “suicide mission” arrives you don’t want them to die and try to do everything in your power to stop that from happening. As with the first romancing is available and this just extends the connection more, often after romancing the character will open up even more to you giving them even more depth.

Graphics

Whilst the graphics are far from terrible, they aren’t the best out there. They’re nice and some of the areas have amazing landscapes and vistas, they get the job done nicely but they don’t quite live up to some other games out at the moment. The character models are detailed though, facial expressions seem as natural as they would in real life, overall a very nice presentation but nothing exceptional.

Sound

The musical score really sets the mood well, feels quite spacey and techno and suited to the game environment and it can really help you feel the heat during a battle; not quite as epic as something you’d expect from Final Fantasy or Zelda but still pretty good nonetheless

The voice acting is one of the areas the series really shines, with the big name actors like Martin Sheen as The Illusive Man and Seth Green returning as Joker right down to the minor characters you literally have a three line conversation with, every line is delivered faultlessly and seems perfectly natural. Truly fantastic performance.

Overall

Overall ME2 is without question a worthy sequel and a significant improvement on the original. Fully recommended if you enjoyed the first.

+ Excellent story and voice acting
+ Enjoyable gameplay
+ Brilliant characterisation
+ Well implemented choice system
- Might be a little too conversation heavy for some
- Lack of RPG elements can make it feel a little diluted compared to the first.



“I had reach, she had the flexibility” ~ Garrus

Are games deeper than films?

Are games better than films in terms of depth and narrative? (I started to ask myself this question recently upon completing Mass Effect 2.) It is a known fact that games financially have overtaken the movie industry, however many still believe them to be incapable of creating the same depth and immersion as films; that they are incapable of evoking any kind of emotion or keeping a good narrative – a statement I strongly disagree with.

I have found myself leaving the cinema numerous times repeating the statement, “it was alright, but nothing I haven’t seen before.” One of the most recent notable films I’ve seen has been Avatar, which in terms of depth and emotion was good, but the story itself wasn’t exactly original. I also saw a film with a unique plot, and yet it felt stale and bland.

In comparison, on completion of Mass Effect 2, I was left feeling very excited and giddy; I had been emotionally immersed all the way, the plot was different and interesting, the humour kept me laughing and the end had put me on the edge of my seat; I have felt similar while playing other titles. Admittedly, the depth of a game is hugely based on its genre and style; some are just built for the sheer enjoyment of the game-play, but storytelling in games is still a large part of the medium and deserves acknowledgement.

How many times have you watched a film and thought, “why does the bad guy never win?” (Of course we wouldn’t want them to, but films are somewhat predictable in that sense.) In a game however, who’s to say they can’t, or maybe you are the bad guy, or maybe you made a bad decision that resulted in an entire civilization of people to be wiped out? – Who knows; Games have always seemed a lot more open to me in that sense. In a lot of titles you can often choose your alignment, good, bad or evil, which adds an extra layer to the possibilities in the narrative.

I have also found, at times, a game has evoked more emotion in me, especially in relation to another character. In a film, I don’t know that person; I’m not there; I am simply an observer. When I play a game I talk to those characters, I learn about their lives and sometimes offer them help. In return they will watch my back in battle. In some games they even have an opinion of me; some like me; others are snotty and will avoid me because they didn’t agree when I sacrificed that ancient artefact to save our skins. There is also the fact that games are generally a lot longer than films, so I am to be dealing with these people for much longer lengths of time. I end up feeling, overall, generally more attached to these characters, which then makes it all the more harder when they abandon me and leave my party based on something I did, or if they were to die – it would be a very emotional experience.

It’s not just role-playing games either that are capable of provoking emotions. First-person games make you feel involved by placing you behind the eyes of that character, as if you’re there in person. I found myself feeling particularly involved with Half life 2 –Alyx Vance was a character I felt particularly attached to as she was cool and down to earth. Half life was one of the first games to not use cut scenes, which added to the immersion of the game; it’s a rather satisfying experience to see the plot going on around you while still being in control. The main character, Gordon Freeman, was also fairly quiet and not particularly emphasized to any great lengths, allowing all different types of people to project their own personalities into the blank spot, so that everyone could feel more involved with the plot.

Don’t forgot the survival horrors either, which manage to evoke fear into the player, who must then react instead of relaxing back into their soft padded chairs. (You may not die in games but there is still more risk involved than what you would get from watching a film. For example, you may have to go way back and defeat that annoying boss again who occurred after the save point.)

There is no reason for why films and games cannot co-exist peacefully. Each medium has its own strengths and weaknesses they must play to when attempting to tell a good emotional story. Films have more control over the camera and so can use atmospheric shots to their advantage, but games take you personally into the story. I find it short-sighted and shallow when people claim that games have no merit in such feats, as there are numerous books and theories about the art of creating emotion in games – a subject I find fascinating myself. In the end, people who are incapable of accepting games because they think they lack emotion and plot are missing out. It’s their loss if they don’t want to partake in the enjoyment of games.

Corporations and alliances in EVE Online and my online gaming history

Now I have quite a long history with massively multiplayer online role playing games. The first one I played was Tibia in 2003, when I had just turned 14, and I absolutely loved it. I loved the sense of belonging to an online community, and especially the feeling of having a second life where I could be a sword-wielding knight running around and stabbing things (I’ve loved swords since I was about 7 years old), but I was an incredibly reclusive person back then, and didn’t particularly get involved in the community until I convinced my friends to play the game with me. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind talking to random people I meet online, I’m not quite that shy, and I wasn’t even back then, but I am a generally private person (you really have to question why I’m writing a blog and sharing my thoughts with the world don’t you?) and I prefer to keep myself to myself wherever possible. Also, as anyone who has played Tibia for any length of time can tell you, back in 2003 before the current player-killing rules were introduced the wrong word in the wrong place at the wrong time, or even being in the wrong place at the wrong time could get you killed (it’s not that much better these days, but at least now there are systems in place that prevent people from going on blood-drunk killing rampages and slaughtering every poor peasant they see). On top of that, the death penalty in Tibia wasn’t fun in the slightest (7-10% loss from total experience and skills, the loss of everything in your backpack and even your backpack itself, and a 7-10% chance of losing every piece of equipment you were wearing at the time). So yeah, I was quite quiet in the land of Tibia. I still play Tibia these days, and have done on and off for the last 7 years.

In 2004 I had a brief period where I played the Korean MMORPG Priston Tale (at least I think it was Korean...). I never got very far on this one mind, since once you reach level 40 you have to pay to continue playing. Not having access to my own credit card was a big barrier to this end, since convincing my parents that the nice shiny Korean site was a perfectly safe place for them to leave their credit card details proved harder than I expected. Anyway the theme still continued with me keeping to myself and not interacting with many people.

In 2005, I started playing Guild Wars, and this was a radical change for me. Instanced areas!??! No one trying to stab me, or bludgeon my face in, or set my pubic hair alight when I left towns?!?!? Hell yeah!!! I thoroughly enjoyed it, and since this was back in the days when Heroes (AI party members) didn’t exist, and putting Henchmen in your team was about as useful as covering yourself in BBQ sauce when going to fight big angry bulls, I was forced into interaction with other players. I got used to it, and actually started enjoying playing the game with other people, even if every so often you got a player in your party who decided who seemed to think they knew more about how to play Guild Wars than God himself. I even joined a guild towards the end of 2005, and started getting into Guild Vs Guild combat. We got our arses handed to us in nearly every battle we fought mind, but I was enjoying myself nonetheless. I still play Guild Wars to this day, once again on and off, but I now tend to play it on a smaller scale, usually only with friends and heroes.

In 2006, I had a brief spell where I decided I wanted to know more about World of Warcraft. I won’t go into too much detail here, but suffice to say that I never got past the 14 day free trial. Yeah, I was less than impressed.

And now, after all that spiel, to the main point of this post. In 2008, when I started University, I met some friends who played EVE Online, and they convinced me to give it a try. The first time I tried I wasn’t particularly impressed, and gave it up as a bad job after about a week due to the complexity of the system, but they convinced me to give it another go later that year, and I managed to get into it that time. I now have an EVE character with (at the time of writing) over 27,000,000 skill points. I’ve reverted back to my old ways somewhat while playing EVE, and tend to play it more as a solo game with other people around me than I do as a multiplayer game. Mind you, I’ve always wanted to get a group of friends together and start a corporation that can get somewhere in the game and perhaps become known within the EVE universe. But this is my major problem with the game. From where I’m standing, it just seems impossible for someone who plays the game like I do (as a solo player or with a small group of good friends) to get anywhere in EVE. I don’t want to join a corporation with hundreds, or even thousands of members. Where’s the individuality in that? You’re a number in a system, just like in the real life multi-national corporations, and why would anyone want to mirror that in a fantasy universe? The only corporations and alliances that seem capable of getting anywhere in EVE, however, are the massive ones where the individual members don’t matter, and if a small upstart corporation were to try and claim some territory they’d get their arses handed to them faster than you can say “warp drive”. It just really irritates me that I seem to be forced to play the game the way other people want me to play it, rather than the way I like to play it if I don’t want to be performing endless missions in the format of “kill ships belonging to faction X, and bring item Y to station Z”. Anyway that’s my rant for the day over and done with. It went on a little longer than I expected, but if you’ve managed to reach this point without giving up and going home (figuratively, not literally), then congratulations!!! You get a picture of a cute cat as a reward:



Thanks for reading!

Greetings Kupo!

Hi I’m Jo, welcome to the new Gabbling Geeks blog. I’m looking forward to working on my first blog and I hope you’ll enjoy reading it too (also desiring to improve my writing skills during this endeavour.) I will probably be posting a lot about the games industry and all of my favourites. Be warned, I can be slightly opinionated, although not so much as John and Sneeze, who I often hear complaining about the differences between Final Fantasy and Zelda – yes it drives me insane (besides Mass Effect is better); however, this is a blog for general discussions and probably a lot of disagreements, so I guess we’re the right people for the job :P.
Let me get this out in the open, yes I am a girl gamer, no I don’t like pink fluffy things; I like swords and guns and I like them big – phew now that’s out in the open let’s talk about my favourite games. I’m a pretty open person and I don’t like to be fussy about genres, but I do like Bioware and PC/PS3 are my preferred formats. It’s hard for me to pin-point the best title of all time, but I’ve been left pretty impressed by Half Life 2 and Dragon Age.
When I’m not playing games I’m usually reading about them, getting my programming/design skills up to scratch. I hope one day to become a developer or to set up my own games company. Anyways, I’m going to wrap this up now that you know a little bit about me –I am known for writing too much after all- so enjoy!!!

Greetings mortals

Hi and welcome to the blog, officially speaking I’m David but everyone calls me Sneeze, I got the nickname in college after a particularly loud sneeze in an otherwise dead silent lesson and it kinda just stuck. I’m at university studying Games Software Development and currently on the third year of study which is a work placement where I’m running a business under PYES (Placement Year Entrepreneurship Scheme) with John and Jo building and selling custom desktop computers.

This blog with delve into anything that happens to catch our attention, expect reviews, complaints, criticism, general banter and who knows, some of the stuff might even be good(!)

Disclaimer: If you have a low tolerance for irony, satire, hyperbole or sarcasm it is advised to consult your GP before reading any further.

Welcome to our blog!

Well I’m John, and this is the Gabbling Geeks blog. The other contributors are Joanna, my girlfriend, and Sneeze (his real name is David), the hamster of the group. No seriously, he actually looks like a hamster. We’re all business partners and are running a business called Tyrant Computers, based in Sheffield in the UK, which specialises in building custom desktop computers with discounts for students. We are all students on the Software Development (Games) BSc course at Sheffield Hallam University, in our third year, which is the placement year and are running Tyrant Computers under the Placement Year Entrepreneurship Scheme (PYES), which allows students to run their own business for a year to gain credit for their course, while receiving free help and advice from the University such as access to business advisors and a community office space called the Hatchery.

Gabbling Geeks is going to be a blog of everything and anything, from game, book and film reviews to general commentary on life and the universe and me moaning about why everything in the world sucks (I tend to get those moods a lot). So, in summary, I look forward to sharing my little rants and indulgences with the world (or as much of it as reads this blog anyway). Happy reading!