Mass Effect 2 - Review @ VGBlogger

[Dhruin]

Another article from Michael 'txa1265' Anderson, this time a "discussion" review of Mass Effect 2 at VGBlogger. Ultimately, the review is very positive but a number of negatives are explored, such as the story reboot at the beginning:

OK, with that out of the way, I just have to ask BioWare … what the heck were you thinking with this game? Maybe someday it will all make sense, like George Lucas has tried to wrap enough lore around everything so that it looks like the Original Star Wars wasn’t made as a stand-alone film. The problem is, BioWare said from the start they planned Mass Effect as a trilogy, so that even if they made it compartmentalized in case it flopped, they should have had everything fleshed out to ease into a sequel.
Yet within the first half-hour of playing I was uttering ‘WTF’ almost repeatedly, going back to my old Mass Effect review and recent partial replay to try to figure out how I could have missed out on so much stuff or misinterpreted so much. I even searched the info on the Mass Effect novels to see what I was missing. Turns out there wasn’t much. BioWare simply did a ‘reboot’, introduced a major character out of the blue, and leads you by the nose into a non-choice that would have been completely anathema in the first game. All I could guess was that they assumed that gamers have the attention span of voters so they could get away with changing whatever they wanted and no one would notice or care … and thus far I can see they were right.

More information.

 

[Davion]

Mass effect 3 would be the first game where I wouldn't mind a "Haa, it was all just a bad dream" situation at the start, when looking back at mass effect 2.

Great combat but a poor, poor story.

Highlander 2 (director's cut) all over again!

 

[Thaurin]

I didn't think the start was that bad, but there wasn't happening much after that. I've stopped playing for a while (new game addiction, I got FF13, Heavy Rain and Heavenly Sword ) but just getting a team together for the first 20 hours or so doesn't strike me as a deep and satisfying story (even if they are little separate stories and well-told).

Maybe it does get better later on?

 

[you]

Not really. I played the entire game. There is a bit of a story at the end but most of the middle is just random quests with a bit of tie in in a few areas. Very much the same formula as the first game but imho a bit less story. Still it was an ok adventure (for me). I might play a second time in a few months when some of the free dlc come out; but I won't be playing paid dlc. I'll probably do the third one but do not have high hopes for it...

I didn't think the start was that bad, but there wasn't happening much after that. I've stopped playing for a while (new game addiction, I got FF13, Heavy Rain and Heavenly Sword ) but just getting a team together for the first 20 hours or so doesn't strike me as a deep and satisfying story (even if they are little separate stories and well-told).

Maybe it does get better later on?

 

[Thaurin]

That's too bad. It probably the biggest reason why I'm not enjoying Mass Effect 2 as much as the first. The gameplay is solid and the graphics are even better, but something is missing. I guess it's the story. Still, I will finish it at some point.

 

[Zloth]

Early game spoilers ahead...

All I could guess was that they assumed that gamers have the attention span of voters so they could get away with changing whatever they wanted and no one would notice or care …

I don't understand what he's griping about. No, they didn't mention the elusive man before. Wouldn't be much point in being a shadowy leader to a shadowy organization if the news vids were printing up your horoscope and going on about what your favorite color is, now would there?

As for Shepard joining Cerberus, I thought that was great stuff! It gave my goody-goody character a chance to be snarky to the boss. It made fairly good sense, too. Two advisaries combine forces to fight an even greater evil. Stories pull that all the time! Why is it suddenly inconsistent with the previous story to do that in Mass Effect?

 

[Davion]

Why is it suddenly inconsistent with the previous story to do that in Mass Effect?

Because Cerberus all of a sudden pulled a 180° turn in Mass Effect 2? They were nothing but a terrorist organisation in ME1; all they were doing was killing, mutilating and traumatizing human beings and aliens all alike, on purpose.

But in ME2 they all of a sudden seem to be the only guys in the universe that are willing to fight the good fight and protect humans.

 

[jamesrayenz]

I'm not going to go into a ton of detail that's already been covered here and everywhere else. What I will say is that this game OOZES polish and production value. There are countless missions and side missions, none of which feel tacked on or rushed. Just doing the bare minimum to complete the game will still yield around 20 hours of play time, but you would be doing yourself a serious disservice by not doing the side missions. At a normal pace, the game can be completed in 30 - 35 hours, and if you insist on doing every single available mission, you're looking at 45 - 50 hours.

Considering that most single player experiences offer a fraction of the play time (around 10 hours) at a fraction of the production value, you'd be insane to pass this game up if you own an Xbox 360

 

[Dhruin]

Exactly, they were terrorists. This is also an organisation with enough financial resources to rebuild (and improve) the Normandy, which was the most advanced vessel in the Alliance - I'm pretty sure the authorities would know the Illusive Man pretty well.

 

[Maylander]

Especially the Salarians, who are the spy specialists in the galaxy, with centuries of experience at uncovering information on intergalactic politics.

Wouldn't they track a very resourceful, human racist? Of course they would, and they'd do so successfully as well.

Then again, I don't know how much the Salarians know according to the writers - it would make sense for them to know pretty much everything.

 

[Thaurin]

I don't even remember Cerberus in Mass Effect 1. Was this a side mission or has my memory failed me one more time? How do you know that nobody knew about Cerberus in the first game?

 

[Trelow]

I think for the most part, what with rogue Specters,pending doomsday and the like, we had a bit more to worry about at the time than Cerberus.