The game plays out like an interactive cinema experience where you can shape the course of events unfolding on the screen by the dialog choices you make. As a military leader, these choices are often the difference between whether someone lives or dies. This can be a heavy burden if it involves a character you've grown attached to. When not getting to know your crew and building relationships, some of which are intimate, and exploring the galaxy, you get involved in fierce combat against overwhelming odds. You pick 2 squad members to accompany you on various missions to planets and space stations based on their specialized "talents". In the Mass Effect universe some humans and aliens alike have developed "biotic" abilities.
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| A biotic singularity ain't no joke. |
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| You don't want to be on the receiving end of this attack. |
The powers themselves look a lot like force powers from Star Wars. Psionic in nature and amplified through the use of L2 or L3 implants, objects and people can be hurled or levitated or ripped apart at a sub-atomic level. There are different combat classes of characters in the game. Some that are
adept at biotics and use them as their primary weapon. For human purists that scoff at the notion of having supernatural abilities, you can create
soldiers who are masters at weaponry and combat with little or no biotic powers.
I created
Commander "Troy" Shepard. He was given the combat class
Vanguard which is a blend of soldier and biotic ability. It felt rewarding to watch a powerful and compassionate black man scour the galaxy and kick some @$$.
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| Commander Troy Shepard |
Your version of Commander Shepard can become the galaxy's greatest selfless, altruistic hero or a corrupt, cold-hearted self-centered bastard (who still finds a way to save the galaxy with lots of dead and savagely beaten bodies along the way). Be advised this game is rated
M for Mature and is not for children. It is filled with profanity, gratuitous violence and sex scenes which caused quite an uproar when the first
Mass Effect was released.
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| The Normandy, powered by the legendary Tantalus Drive |
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Although the first
Mass Effect was well received, it did have it's short comings. The game could get repetitive and tedious. A lot of the structures and buildings, although on completely different planets and solar systems, were identical in design and layout. If you saw one underground mining or colonist facility or derelict ship, you've seen them all. If you were lucky a crate might be in a different part of the room than it was on another planet. To get around on the various planets your crew is dropped from the Normandy in the
Mako where you would have to drive for what seemed like forever over extremely difficult to navigate mountainous terrain.
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| The Mako |
There were also issues with frame rate where the game would slow down tremendously. And then there were those long elevator rides that disguised loading times.
All of those issues and more were addressed in
Mass Effect 2. Darker and more serious in tone,
Mass Effect 2 starts one month after the epic and devastating battle against
Saren and The Reaper known as
Sovereign. Then after a heart-wrenching event you're taken 2 years into the future (which coincides with the development time between games). It was a brilliant transition to go from the familiar to wake up having lost 2 years of your life. You are forced to suddenly re-orient yourself with the help of some new allies as you face a new menace called
The Collectors.
Mass Effect 2 (which was released in January 2010) has received more than 120 awards, including 2010 Game of the Year honors from IGN.com, MSNBC.com, GameTrailers.com, Eurogamer.net, Game Reactor and G4TV who praised it as “one of the best synergies of writing, role-playing, and combat.”
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| Walk softly and carry a heavy pistol |
In
Mass Effect 2 the combat system was completely overhauled to the point where powers are more effective and an element of strategy added to battles. Some biotic powers can now arc around corners and strike at partially concealed adversaries. You can now position your squad where you need them to hold the line against overwhelming odds or storm forward into enemy territory.
You also earn bonuses for combining your squads powers and weaponry during your assault. A devastating biotic combo I often employed was the heavy pull and the heavy throw (push). Jacob Taylor would use his ability to pull an enemy directly at us while Shepard would use the counter force of the heavy throw to create an irresistible barrier that would literally pulverize the opponent. Similar tactics worked well with the heavy pull and heavy or unstable warp ability that rips the enemy apart.
Gone are the repetitive buildings and environments. Every planet, space station and space vessel has a unique,distinctive look and layout. Gone are the tedious drives over mountainous terrain. In fact, the
Mako is gone all together in
Mass Effect 2, replaced by a shuttle craft that drops you at the exact location you need to be on any given planet.
The level up mechanic was simplified and streamlined. Instead of there being 60 levels like in ME1 (which would require you to play the game 2 to 3 times to get there). In ME2 there are only 30 levels which you can achieve in one play through. Yes, I'm guilty of playing ME1 3 times so I could get to level 60 and import my character into ME2 and get the maximum amount of bonuses and start off at level 5. There are also fewer talents or skills that need leveling up now that the powers have been altered and passive abilities streamlined into the paragon and renegade traits.
Some notable new characters make their debut in
Mass Effect 2. They are Cerberus Agents
Jacob Taylor and
Miranda Lawson. Don't worry, though, the characters who survived Mass Effect 1 also make appearances or join Shepard in his quest to stop
The Collectors. Hopefully we'll be seeing a lot more of Miranda and Jacob whom I like to call
The Cerberus Twins.
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| Jacob Taylor. Its not often a strong black man finds his way into a video game and lives if you make the right choices. |
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| Jacob about to get his mack on. Who knew what was under all that armor? |
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| Miranda Lawson. Genetically engineered to be the perfect woman. Based on the actress Yvonne Strahovski from the TV series Chuck who also provides her voice. |
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| Someone's in love. |
Mass Effect isn't just about talking, characters agonizing over their pasts, having sex and fighting. There is an epic and intricate story unraveling before your eyes. It is a trilogy leading up to the dramatic conclusion in
Mass Effect 3 which is scheduled to be released around Christmas of this year. The overall story involves the discovery of a menace (an invincible machine race called
The Reapers) that threatens to exterminate life as we know it across the galaxy.
Your Commander Shepard, from ME1 can be imported into ME2 to continue the adventure. The same holds true for Shepard being imported into game 3--if he or she survives game 2. I'm told in some endings of game 2, Commander Shepard dies--all depending on the choices you make--many which have unforeseen consequences. If Shepard dies he/she cannot be imported into
Mass Effect 3.
Fortunately for me, Commander
Troy Shepard survived ME2. Also important to note is the decisions you make in the first game carry over into the second which can be good and heart-warming in some instances, yet lead to dire consequences in others. Again, the decisions you make in games 1 and 2 will also affect the outcome in game 3.
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| The mysterious Illusive Man (voiced by Martin Sheen). Commander Shepard's benefactor--for now. |
If you decide you want to play Mass Effect, here are 7 tips:
1. You don't have to play the first game if it sounds too tedious. There is a video on You Tube called Mass Effect in 5 Minutes if you want to be brought up to speed and jump directly into Mass Effect 2.
2. Don't be a jack of all trades when it comes to allocating your skill points and leveling up. Max out one skill then move to the next. If you're not completely proficient at at least one skill, then plan on dying a lot more often than you may like. Under-developed skills are like bee stings to some of your adversaries. I had to learn this the hard way against
Matriarch Beneziah in the first game. I ended up having to revert to an earlier save, leave Noveria and return much later in the game after I'd leveled up my character and maxed out certain skill points.
3. In
Mass Effect, do not under estimate the importance of
charm and
intimidate skill points. Maxing out charm for example will make your Commander Shepard extremely persuasive and allow you to talk a lot of people out of doing some really bad things and save lives. The more good and selfless you are, the higher your paragon score which allows you to influence people in a positive way. The more despicable you are the higher your renegade score which allows you to threaten, frighten and cause other kinds of mayhem which usually involves someone dying. In
Mass Effect 2 Shepard's appearance even changes the more renegade he becomes. The irises of his/her eyes turn crimson and his/her face becomes hideously scarred and unsightly. By the same token the more good he/she does maintains a healthy and natural appearance. Also if the scarring and red eyes become too frightening to look at, there is a device (dermal regenerator) you can install in the Medical Bay of The Normandy that will heal the scars completely--if you've done your research and collected the raw materials. And yes, if you must know, I did have to use it.
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| The Renegade Commander John Shepard. Wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley. |
4. Combine your powers. Fight as a team. Make sure you have a mix of different talents on your squad. In Mass Effect it was important to have someone with tech skills to decrypt data. In Mass Effect 2 that skill isn't as important but you should still have a balance of heavy biotic and heavy weapons users on your squad. Different adversaries are immune to certain abilities and weapons. Don't be prepared for anything, be prepared for everything. You should always have someone on your team with the maxed out
heavy overload biotic ability to take down enemy shields.
5. If you play through ME1 and import your character into ME2 not only do you have the option to keep the character's same appearance or alter it, you can also choose a different combat class. I was a
Vanguard in ME1. In ME2 I became a
Sentinel with some new biotic abilities and the training to use a sub-machine gun. If you play ME2 twice and import your ME2 character, you can change his/her appearance but cannot change the combat class.
6. Save, save, save. Although the game does have automatic save points, you might want to create your own at the conclusion of every battle. The game doesn't allow saves during combat and you may find yourself having to battle the same hordes over and over again if you didn't make a save before your next fight and you get killed.
7. If you have the time play ME1 and ME2 twice. Once as the good and pure paragon and once as the repulsive renegade. The outcomes will be dramatically different.
Polished and graphically superior to the first Mass Effect, there is little to fault in Mass Effect 2. I think my biggest complaint would be that there are too many supporting characters this time around. Many with the same powers. There are a few notable exceptions. The Thief is the only one who can cloak herself and sneak up on an enemy and subdue them.
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| The Thief, Katsumi Goto |
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| The Krogan, Grunt |
The massive Krogan comes complete with his own heavy weapon (the Krogan shotgun) which is devastating.
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| Professor Mordin Solus |
The Professor has impressive thermal and cryo abilities as well as a horrific neural shock power. These abilities are not biotic in nature but acquired using his omni-tool and mastery over element zero, the source of all Mass Effect phenomena. He is by far the most important crew member. Without him you would not be able to upgrade equipment and enhance biotic abilities. Other than that, its a biotic free for all. Miranda, Jacob, Samara or Subject Zero.
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| Subject Zero. Arguably the most powerful human biotic. |
It's difficult to tell which biotic is better suited to take on a mission. Some of them do a certain biotic talent better than another. But in the end, they are all quite formidable. Often it comes down to which personality I feel like dealing with on a mission rather than what tactical advantage a specific biotic has.
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| Who's the most powerful biotic of them all? My money is on Samara, a Justicar who's biotic abilities rival that of an Asari Matriarch. |
I was also disappointed with Tali who had the unique combat class of Engineer.
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| Tali'Zorah nar Rayya vas Normandy (that's a mouthful). |
In the original Mass Effect she was so much more powerful and great to have on the field of battle. She had electronic abilities which included overload which would annihilate synthetic life forms and tech proximity mines that would blow the hell out of everything else. In ME2 her abilities were greatly diminished. The proximity mines were replaced by combat drones which only provided a mild annoyance and distraction to enemies. She was of such little value that I usually left her on the Normandy.
The dark and ugly side of Mass Effect is delivered with a twist of tongue-in-cheek humor. For example when the renegade Commander Shepard tries to get a discount at a supply store he yells out into the corridor in ear-shot of passers-by that the store discriminates against the poor. He's immediately given a discount. He also punches a female reporter in the face for making "disingenuous assertions" during an interview. While rescuing a hostage from his captors, Shepard threatens the captors with death. When the captors agree to release the hostage thinking they'll go free, the camera zooms in on the freed hostage's nervous face as muzzle flashes dance off his pale skin and gunshots reverberate throughout the room. The camera zooms out and the captors are all lying on the ground dead. The freed hostage is screaming in hysteria about how Shepard is a murderer--talk about being ungrateful. Some of the shocking, crass and outrageous things the renegade Shepard says reminds me of the off-the-cuff, socially inappropriate remarks made by Dr. House on the TV series
House M.D.
Overall, Mass Effect 1 and 2 were an incredible unexpected thrill ride. It presented a world so deep and vivid that I came to care for the characters and even felt sorrow and joy at the outcome of certain events. That's saying a lot if a video game can illicit such emotion. I look forward to
Mass Effect 3 due out at the end of the year, and will probably be standing in line on release day. Undoubtedly the Mass Effect saga thus far gets
5 out of 5 fingers.
