Mass Effect 2 (2010)

Sometimes, a game can be fairly flawed, but do enough things incredibly well that it becomes one of your favorite games of all time. Mass Effect 2 fixes a lot of the problems in its buggy, clunky predecessor, but it also overcompensates to its detriment. Still, what it does well, it does very well.

If the combat in Mass Effect was slow, clunky, and awkward, Mass Effect 2 corrects that with a more action-oriented combat style. Moving from a soft cover system, players pop in and out of designated cover areas by hitting a button. There are still a few issues that arise from that, but it is a lot more reliable. The avatar controls better, allies are a bit more responsive, powers are a tad more important, more enemies are thrown at you, and the guns are sturdier. Granted, they sacrifice two of the most interesting elements of the previous game: the overheating system (replaced here with traditional "ammo" that you need to pick up) and leveling up your weapons skill set (replaced here with just a default set of weapons that you're equally good at). Still, the end result is a much more competent-feeling game. 

Not all is perfect, of course. Level designs are still a bit weak, with little apparent order given to things. Cover in Mass Effect has always been a bit strange in that it doesn't ever feel like they put too much thought into how to lay it around the small maps, and Mass Effect 2 sees a number of missions in which you may wonder why they placed cover where they did. And while your squad mates listen to you substantially more accurately than in the first game, there is still a wonkiness to their control. Directing a team mate is as simple as pointing the reticle, than hitting the directional key corresponding to that character (so if Mordin is on the left, then pressing the left directional key moves him). Simple and straight-forward; the problem is, that same key is used for the quick command of their powers. You might often find yourself trying to get Mordin to use incinerate, for example, but instead wind up ordering him to move directly into harm's way, since that one button issues both commands. 

There are various little design flaws too. Scanning for minerals on planets is tedious and boring. Having to go through minute-long load screens just to go a deck below on the Normandy feels antiquated and dated. Mass Effect 2 retains a stamina bar, but it keeps it hidden away for some reason. (You can only sprint for up to five seconds, and if you go the max sprint time, you then get "winded.") It also gets a bit frustrating how any time you find a new weapon, you collect it and then automatically get equipped with it rather being given a choice (they usually compensate for this by providing a load-out locker nearby, but not always). But these are all minor things overall. 

The biggest area of disappointment stems from the leveling system, which is dramatically reduced and oversimplified. Instead of having a wide array of categories to allocate your skill points into, each character only has four. Each of those also only levels up four times, though they require an additional point each time - so to level up the second time, you need two points; to level up the third time, you need three. You still earn experience points, level up, and earn a new skill point, but it feels a lot murkier than the simple "level up is one point, put it wherever ya want!" system that was in the inaugural game of the series. Many fans, even ones who adore the sequel, were critical of the game essentially taking an RPG with action elements and transitioning quickly into an action game with some RPG elements. 

Overall, the game is surprisingly flawed for one that many consider an all-time great. So what is it that the game does really well? The answer has to be the characters. 

Functioning essentially as The Dirty Dozen, but in space, the majority of the game's narrative is centered around recruiting a crew of assassins, mercenaries, thieves, vigilantes, and vagabonds as you prepare for what sounds like a suicide mission. Your best chances for success and survival is to recruit everyone, and to earn their loyalty. The bulk of the "main story" ultimately only takes a few hours, at most. It's all the other, character-driven stuff that requires the most time investment. It is also what really draws people into the game. There is a strangely strong connection to make with these characters, and once you've done that, the suicide mission provides an excellent source of stress!

Though it could be argued that the game might have too many squad mates (up to twelve, if you get the DLC characters of Zaaed and Kasumi), each one has something to bring to the table, whether it's the useful skill set Garrus, or the humorous commentary of Mordin, or the strategic use of Legion or Tali in areas filled with geth, it is a bit harder to just stick with a single team make up through the entire game. The best thing the developers did was give each character their own "loyalty mission." These are missions designed around the individual's story, and requires player use that character. Never use Grunt? Well, you have to for his loyalty mission. Unsure of what Legion brings to the table? You have to use him for his loyalty mission! Players who want the team to survive will have to do these missions, which means they will have to use those characters that they might have otherwise gone the entire game without adding to their load out. (This is ultimately how I learned to start loving Kasumi as a squad mate more than just as a person with fun quips.)  

Not every loyalty mission is great. Samara's and Thane's do not feature any combat, which makes it hard to get to know them as squad mates to bring into the field. If you do not find Samara interesting, for example, you likely aren't going to bring her along on your missions, given that her powers appear to be some of the most useless. (Pull and throw actually open up some good, fun power combos.) These missions do function to provide more backstory (and subsequent closure to them), they are mostly used to highlight what each member offers, which is why it is disappointing to have a mission that does not highlight any combat strength of the character.

Choices are also done in a much better fashion, often providing more complexity. The paragon/renegade dynamic is still as binary as ever within the game, but the larger context is often more grey. In Zaaed's mission, for example, you are forced to either rescue workers or go after a merc group leader. The easy moral choice is to save the workers, but you risk losing Zaaed's loyalty, which the game has essentially told you that you want to earn. Everything about Mordin's story is in grey. (Mordin's addition alone would make this one superior to the first Mass Effect.)  Legion's loyalty mission also includes a surprisingly difficult decision to make, ethically. The game still ultimately kind of ruins it by sorting every choice into a binary system, but the larger questions around them linger. 

Mass Effect 2, story-wise, is probably the least significant of the trilogy. When you finish Mass Effect 3, you almost realize that the middle game was just a giant detour. It does set up a lot of the side stories that get conclusions in 3, but it does feel a bit out of place in the larger story. Still, the characters and their loyalty missions make it one of the more engaging of the series. All of it is in service to the final mission, which is one of the most anxiety-inducing missions you could play at the time. Many aspects of the game's design are outdated and haven't aged well, but the characters and the experience of learning about them will never go out of style. It might be the most irrelevant "Mass Effect" game, but it is the most enduring and engaging.  And of course, who can complain about a game heavily featuring Martin Sheen?

(The game is also almost entirely about parenting, but I'll talk about that in a much more in-depth piece later.)

Systems: XBox 360, PS3, PC

REDUCTIVE RATING: Pretty Great!