By Cody Webb

One of the most anticipated games of this year is the sequel to Mass Effect, a science fiction role-playing game that turned out to be an instant hit. Which is no surprise, given how good Bioware’s role-playing games usually are. Mass Effect 2 doesn’t fail to meet expectations, and even improves in all of the right places.

First things first: where would Mass Effect be without an epic story? The sequel certainly provides one of the best storylines I’ve ever seen in a game. A word to the wise though: if you have the chance, play the first game again. Do everything just the way you want and then let it save after the credits roll, you’ll be able to use this character in the second game. The main reason for this suggestion is that the sequel’s “generic” storyline is horrible, and you’ll miss out on a lot of reunions if you don’t import your character from the first game. Anyway, back to the story. It starts off with a bang, the Normandy being horribly, horribly destroyed by an unknown enemy vessel. After getting most of the crew off of the ship and into the escape pods, the main character Shepard is killed. You heard me right, the best hope for humanity is killed in the opening of the sequel. Never fear, though, your body is found by Cerberus, a pro-human group from the first game who spend two years reviving Shepard. This is a brilliant way to allow players to change their character’s appearance or class, if they so choose to.

Shortly after this tragic introduction, players are thrust into combat. It is here that one of the biggest improvements comes to light: the combat mechanics are vastly improved. If you have the crosshairs aimed at an enemy, you will hit that enemy. No dice rolls, no luck; combat is now just like a third-person shooter. Because of this, weapon stats have been scrapped and you will always fight at maximum efficiency with whatever weapons your class can use. The overheating weapon system from the first game has been replaced with a more traditional system: weapons now take “thermal clips” to prevent overheating. Think of it as reloading in any other shooter.

Another result of the improved combat would be the removal of the various armor skills. Now any class can use any armor type, which is done by customizing your armor at various terminals. You can mix and match any piece of armor to have the bonuses fit your playstyle, or just for looks. You can also change the color and patterns on your armor, adding that little extra layer of customization. Once gamers get hold of the fantastic combat, they are introduced to a couple of characters. The conversation trees from the first game make a return and are largely unchanged, players still pick what response they’d like Shepard to say. The biggest improvement is the new camera angles during conversations. Gone are the static shots from the original game, now the camera has a more cinematic flair. It moves around while the characters do, making the conversations with the various people you’ll meet just like watching small movies.

After this intuitive and well-disguised tutorial, players find themselves on the Normandy SR-2 with a familiar and friendly face. This new, upgraded version of the original Normandy is much larger and has more features. An amusing new edition would be the Captain’s Quarters: your own personal room that you can use to change your armor and check your personal computer, as well as keep some pet fish. The rest of the new areas are mainly used for housing the team you’re tasked to recruit, but one noteworthy area would be the science lab. Here you can purchase upgrades for yourself, your ship and your team.

Speaking of your team, for most of this game players will be recruiting many interesting and varied characters. Most of your original crew is busy or just not around, though you do run into some familiar faces throughout the story. You don’t want to fight the newest threat to the galaxy by yourself do you? Of course you don’t! Shepard will definitely want to earn the loyalty of these new recruits, they all have interesting backstories. You need their help if you want to survive the game. The only really low point I can think of for Mass Effect 2 is the exploring planets for resources. Every once in awhile you’ll find a planet with a small side-mission, but most of the time you’ll be slowly scanning each planet and probing it for resources to buy upgrades. The Mako vehicle from the first game is gone, replaced by a shuttle that ferries you down to planets that you can’t pilot. So would I recommend Mass Effect 2? Most definitely! If you’re a fan of the first game, or even just a fan of science fiction in general, you’d be an idiot to overlook this beauty of an RPG. Bioware has shown they’re capable of listening to gamers’ responses and upgrading accordingly, and personally, I cannot wait for Mass Effect 3. I give Mass Effect 2 an A, and remember gamers, keep those game saves!