My god...I just spent probably over 10 hours on Mass Effect 2 (with slight breaks between) today. And it has just come to and end and honestly, I don't think I've cried over a videogame like this since CoD4. A meh game that bonds with you in a stronger way than any friend could (okay maybe a slight exaggeration), only to utilise that to kick you in the nuts at close range, beautiful bloody bastards. Enjoy!
Mass Effect 2 is the second part of a trilogy of games all utilising a feature that allows you to port your version of the main character through all three games. Sadly, but on form for Mass Effect, this feature amounts to very little. Yes the people who died in the last game are still dead, yes the childhood you designed in the first game is still in place and yes the girl you screwed still likes you but that is pretty much the extent of what playing the last game carries across for you (you get a few bonuses for playing it before as well I think).
And hey, right at the start you can change your Shepard's face and class so with a whole new team, story and even a new Normandy you basically have less of sequel and more of a spin off.
Also as you go along the game keeps bringing up Mass Effect 1 events just in case you forgot them. But at least the game does try pretty hard to meld the story of this game to the one of Mass Effect 1, but it doesn't work all that well.
So story. Shepard dies saving his crew (but not his ship). Two years pass and he finds the evil Cerberus have raised him from the dead (and in my case) with a new face (everyone still recognises him though). Thus throws Shepard into another battle against the Geth and the Reaper's as he attempts to fly the Omega Relay to attack the Collector's at their base. Basically because the Illusive Man said so. And the Collector's are also stealing humans. Does a hero need a reason to save the world in big budget action adventures? Along the way Shepard’ll build up a new team with some surprises along the way and some familiar faces. Kaiden is an asswipe. Garrus is as badass as ever.
I can tell you now, the game is pretty meh, but with a fantastic cast of characters, fantastic (albeit rushed) story and great dialogue you're soon swept up into the Mass Effect universe building bounds with your team all to basically set you up for a fall (like I said). In the last game the death of Wrex hit me pretty hard for a game but I found it hard to care for Ash. I think there were other deaths too but it shows how much I cared about those characters because I don't even remember who they were. The deaths in this game however make me feel genuinely depressed; they come from nowhere and are thrown so furiously at you it actually makes you feel emotionally drained. If only there was a way to keep Thane and Garrus alive, I’m wiling to sacrifice everyone else. Unless there is no way...
Why is the game meh? The difficulty is all over the place. The final storm at the Collector base (in terms of fire fights) was insanely easy but the moment a heavy mech comes around you won't think the game is easy, especially with a low levelled Shepard.
Secondly Mass Effect 2 didn't seem to improve their deception. Deception? The game with its multiple choice conversation wheel and good and evil mechanics would give you the impression Shepard is all yours. From face, to girlfriend to clothes and even personality but that isn't true. If Shepard is going to respond angrily he will all you can choose is how many insults he says (basically) and occasionally the choice you choose is nothing like what Shepard says. In key places you can really change scenes the way you want too but most of the time the conversation wheel doesn't change anything.
And since the game decides what is good and evil based on basic left wing ethics you may often (well I was) be annoyed by the sheer amount of good or evil points awarded by sometimes things you’ve chosen which you believe opposite to what they decide as right or wrong, good or evil.
Aside from the immersion the sex scene is greatly improved this time around. No shadows and a flash of ass. Now we get dry humping and a few shots of a bra (well I did anyway) if you chose to romance anyone other than Miranda you must be gay (or playing as a female character). Ash was 'attractive' last time because you knew you could shoot your toothpaste into her and nerds flock to sex with an average woman like monkeys do to bananas (poor sexually frustrated things). This time the female human lead is genuinely gorgeous and looks a lot like the blonde chick from Chuck. Last game I tapped the tentacle smurf , Liara, and I was really thinking if tapping Tali this time around...
The game is also beautiful. Yes the fact everyone speaks English and everyone is humanoid is slightly distracting in the design you still get to see a lot of fully fleshed out and realised places that at times start to feel real although with loading screens instead of elevator rides and trips on and off the Normandy you're constantly reminded you're playing a game.
Should you play it? Duh! This is probably one of the best gaming experiences you could ever have. Even with the loading screens, bad pacing and an ending that makes you feel suicidal. Plus in my play through a guy who looked like Kayne West got shot in the face with a rocket. Need I say more?!
Think about it!
-Locke
No comments:
Post a Comment