Mass Effect 2 Review
PROS:
+ ambitious in terms of scale and backstory of the 'world' so to speak
+ intersting story with a variety of unique characters
+ great art design
+ semi-choose-your-adventure mechanic is well implemented
+ good visuals, it's up there in terms of graphical quality (though nothing cutting edge)
CONS:
- stilted controls (the jump-over mechanic is poorly implemented, as is the running mechanic not only in terms of where it is on the control scheme, but also in terms of how your character 'locks in' when you begin a sprint and it becomes very difficult to control, especially navigating out of intense close-quarters combat situations)
- glitchy (some audio issues in terms of clipping and sound editing and mixing ends up taking a bit away from the experience as it's distracting from what's actually going on, visually glitchy as well. While the game engine is a good looking one, it's not a well oiled one with a ton of slowdown throughout not only in cutscenes but in game as well)
- a lot of load times, most of which are very long
OVERALL:
it's a really great game thanks to the interesting (though somewhat by the numbers sci-fi) story but moreso because of the characters in that story that make the whole experience rather unique, involving and customizable. While the gameplay doesn't innovate very much at all it does borrow a lot of great ideas from other games and works them together quite well (for the most part). However it's not without it's issues most of which are technical which is unfortunate, but hopefully they managed to polish Mass Effect 3 a little more.
As stated while the game is for the most part well built, fun, interesting and entertaining it can't be labelled as very innovative. In fact the very core and soul of the game is actually ripped right out of the Ratchet & Clank series with the whole open-universe thing. Thankfully though they do manage to import it pretty well, though after finally completing the game I can't help but feel that while the game is meaty, there just looks like there's more there to do than there actually is (whereas with the Ratchet & Clank games there truly is as much to do as there looks with a ton of variety in terms of gameplay) eventually you realize that while there are 500 planets/places you can go to, 585 of them are just planets you can 'scan for minerals' and while initially that can be fun, eventually it becomes a tire and by that time while you still haven't 'explored' half of the planets, you already have damn near all the resources you need/you want so you just get on with it and enter the final mission.
All in all, it's a great game. A really great game in fact, but it does have it's problems. Technical and originality issues aside though, it's a worthwhile experience that's a must-play for anyone who thinks it looks even remotely interesting. Highly recommended.
9/10
Chillin'
