Games I Want: Mass Effect 2
When I associate development studios with game features, a few pairs stand out to me. Valve is the master of the scripted sequence; Blizzard is unsurpassed at game balancing; Bioware tells the best stories. Not only was Dragon Age: Origins the finest RPG ever made, but Knights of the Old Republic and the original Mass Effect also had great albeit linear stories.
Mass Effect 2 looks to continue the tradition with an eclectic mix of characters, a strong protagonist and a story that will no doubt have multiple twists. Bioware’s voice acting chops are second to none, and the only wild card is how the game feels. By all accounts, the shooting has been tightened up and Mass Effect 2 will emerge later this month as ‘the total package’ (coincidentally also my street name).
Story
The original Mass Effect’s story was gripping in a Star Trekky kind of way (spoilers ahead if you haven’t played the original). You play as Commander Shepard, who prevents the destruction of civilization at the hands of the Reapers, a super powerful and unknown alien race. In the process, humanity takes on a significantly larger role in galactic with Shepard becoming the most famous and visible representative.
That is the short version, which is likely incoherent if you’re not familiar with the original, as I have distilled three hours of cinematics into two sentences. All you need to know is that while the story is standard ‘quality sci-fi fare,’ the side characters all have unique and interesting personalities. They are memorable, and the game puts you in multiple situations where you must make tough choices.
Mass Effect 2 comes with a mini-game: The Adventures of Squid Man and Dino Dude! Collect them all!
The second looks to continue where the first left off. Shepard must assemble a crew of dubious loyalty which must solve another galactic mystery. Seeing as how the developers describe this as the ‘Empire Strikes Back’ of the trilogy, I can assume that it’s not all sunshine and buttercups on the Normandy, Shepard’s ship.
Furthermore, I expect Dragon Age’s true moral dilemmas to reappear in Mass Effect 2. Decisions won’t merely boil down to ‘which of these two teammates do you want to save,’ or ‘do you want to kill this teammate who betrayed you or do you want to forgive him,’ and will hopefully venture into the realm of ‘oh god all these decisions are equally bad’ that Dragon Age explored.
Action Role Playing
There are two types of hybrid games: those that effectively combine two genres into a cohesive whole, and those that are jack of all trades but master of none and ultimately just a boring mess. Borderlands is a good example of the cohesive whole, while Fallout 3 would be a debacle with weak shooting mechanics and poor role playing elements.
Look at that Lens Flare. You know the game is going to be good now.
Mass Effect 2 looks to be hitting the sweet spot (we’ve already established that it’s going to have strong story mechanics) considering the evolution of its shooting since the original. Recharging health, a stalwart of the genre, is included. Location-based damage, something sadly missing in Mass Effect, is also included.
Even the foolish heat meter from the original has been replaced with ‘heat cartridges,’ and while that essentially changes the mechanic to universal ammo which is something of which I approve, they should have just called it ammo instead of ‘midichlorians’ or whatever their thermal cartridges are named.
This is Wrex. He is a Krogan battle master. He is bringing his gravelly charm to a computer near you!
Gone are the limitations of four weapon types in the game; there are now nineteen weapon types. There are also distinguishing character classes that change the style of gameplay and add replay value to Mass Effect 2.
Most importantly, elevators are gone from the game. Although I will miss the 80’s elevator music during the interminable loading screens, this is a welcome change.
Intangibles
It’s hard to convince you that a game is going to be great when your argument is ‘trust me, it’s going to be great,’ but that’s about all I have with Mass Effect 2. Its predecessor was a fun if flawed experience, its developer pedigree is second to none and every change sounds like it’s for the better.
Mass Effect 2 will be a tight third person role playing shooter, and will hopefully bring back some of the story and gun elements combined in classics like System Shock 2 and Deus Ex. At the very least, Wrex the Krogan battle master is worth the purchase price alone. Considering this is the Empire of the trilogy, might he be Shepard’s father? One can hope.
