Facebook – Top 100 FAVORITE Video Games: 38

38: Mass Effect 2 (360/PC)
Developer: BioWare
Year: 2010

In a move that I will no doubt catch a ton of flak for making, the second Mass Effect game fits into the back 30. Now I know what you’re thinking, and PLEASE put those torches and pitch forks down, gentle readers. I loved Mass Effect 2 and all of its intricacies, all of its action, and all of its kickass wonder and visuals. Of this there can be no doubt. But I want to state right here why the first one is better: the storyline, the narrative/character drive, and the sense of freedom are all better in the first game. Having said that (and noting that the original title will show up further on the list), let’s move on with BioWare’s fantastic follow-up to one of the greats.

This game starts after the end of the first game, but quickly jumps forward a number of years. Without giving too much away, the player once again takes control of their Commander Shepard (they can even import the one they made from the first game!) as he/she takes on the Collectors, a bug-like race of ruthless mercs from the outer reaches of space. These jerks are taking all human life from each and every colony man has and The Illusive Man, head of Cerberus, wants you to form a team to stop these a-holes from bringing mankind to its end. Along the way, Shepard meets some old friends, some new lovers, and the disabled. These characters all have backstories to explore, rich with bonus content for those that want to discover it. The cool thing about this is that, like in the first game, the way you treat your team, the more different the playthrough. So getting to know their histories makes the game that much better.

As far as a visual update from the first game, I think – really – the only major difference aside from some smoothing and buffed up polygon count, ME2’s visuals are just… darker. Sure, the neon lights of Omega and the slick features inside the new Normandy are nice to look at, but its all been given a far more shadowy nature. Maybe the makers thought that great space trilogies have a dark middle section (a la Empire) and decided to follow suit? Regardless, its an interesting decision and one that does, in fact, help make the game look cooler and adds to the overall nature of the themes of the game. As always, the character models fit in the style of the game, with the Krogan continually looking way better than everyone else on screen, at any time. But the faces are now at a point where they are going to start needing work (in my opinion). Joke’s expressions, for example, never look right. Period. Aside from this, however, ME2 is a gorgeous game.

But how does it play? Like buttah! Or something. The controls have been – for the most part – refined in a way that streamlines the entire experience for you. The pause-radial-menu thing is still present for gun and power selection, the conversation trees are still there, and everything is pretty much the same as before, but done in the Max Power way: faster! You simply take your Shepard out on missions to either investigate the loss of human life or to secure your teammate’s loyalty, the latter bearing huge significance upon your game’s end results. This is done by going planetside to shoot at wave after wave after wave of the same bad guy, over and over again. But combat is better in this one, with the cover system and weapon selection showing vast improvements. Speaking of weapons, in this game you get to upgrade them with the minerals you mine on planets (which, famously enough, you no longer do ON the planets, but from space), resulting in better power, capabilities, and the like for both your guns and armor (and your ship’s, too!).

All in all, Mass Effect 2 is easy to define: a much more streamlined Mass Effect 1. From the combat to the mission selection to the overall narrative of the game, ME2 offers a much more narrowed focus for gamers to trudge through. Is it fun? You bet your ass its fun. But with the loss of so many of the things that make the game great (ex: the RPG elements, shopping, freedom to explore the cosmos) and the addition of so many things that improve upon the game (namely the inventory system!), its hard to say its better than the first game. But it is better. Oh, my, it is better. Still, Mass Effect 2 continues the proud tradition of quality gameplay from a company that seems to know exactly what they’re doing. And that can’t be wrong. Pick both games up and give them a go, would you? And, keep in mind, ME2 is coming for the PS3 in early 2011 with new intro content to summarize the first game. If you haven’t played one of the best games of the current generation, do so now.

Classic Moment:
I loved the fact that they brought back the ability to punch that reporter. In the first game, your Shepard gets grilled by a newswoman with a camera about the events going on in the game. If you get pissed enough, the game lets you deck her. Hard. In the second game, she shows up again, and asks even more harassing questions, making more disingenuous assertions. So what happens? You deck her. Hard. The funniest part is that, in the DLC “Lair of the Shadow Broker”, you can view camera feed of her getting her ass whooped by just about everyone. Probably needs a new job.

Why ME2 > Super Mario Bros.:
Compelling narrative. I know, I know, Mario games have never had a narrative worth talking about and that isn’t the point of them, anyhow. Fact is, though, that ME2 provides hours and hours of engaging story telling, keeping the player seated and focused. Its more than enough to make the game awesome and more interesting than Mario. Things like this are why Mario should win “most innovative game ever” and never, ever “best game of all time” – its not better than Mass Effect 2. In fact, only 37 games are. 

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Added March 17, 2017
I feel, at this point, that I’d have to rank the entire trilogy of titles as one game. There is just too much. But then I’d have to factor in 3’s ending and, well, its all a wash. I’m very much a “journey =/= destination” kind of person in terms of quality, but it is hard to look past that ending.