Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #4687 in Digital Video Games
- Brand: Electronic Arts
- Model: 40450Mass Effect 2
- Released on: 2010-01-26
- ESRB Rating: Mature
- Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows XP
- Format: Download
Mass Effect 2 [Download]
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
109 of 123 people found the following review helpful.
By NeuroSplicer
Now THIS is what I call immersion!In the past, Bioware has shown a tendency to surpass itself whenever developing a sequel (remember how much better Baldur's Gate II was compared to I - and the original Baldur's Gate was already excellent). Well, compared to this second installment, the original Mass Effect now seems like a typical space-RPG/Shooter.Having played the original game will not only help you better insert yourself into Commander Shepard's boots (you can actually import your original character form the first game - choices and all) - but also appreciate the improvements more.The story is darker and (without spoiling it) the choices harder to live with. Combat has been streamlined, with tactical decisions (using cover, taking the high ground) now being more important, without the game loosing its shooter character though.Both the visuals and the sounds are exquisite. Not only are the graphics really impressive (and I am running WinXP so that is DirecX-9 mind you) and the sounds dramatic but the voice acting and dialogue integration should be taught in game-design seminars.In this second installment there is no actual inventory to speak of (more on this later), loading times are shorter and better concealed (remember those endless elevator rides? Now forget about them), and accessing your special abilities menu has been simplified.In a true BIOWARE tradition, the available companions all come with their own special abilities and personal stories to explore.The selection of armor and guns has been reduced. There are about 15-20 guns to choose from and very limited loot. The guns I do not mind. Personally, I'd rather have a small number of well designed and fun to use guns at my disposal than a myriad of guns that in the end make no real difference (ahem...BORDERLANDS?).Having said that, I missed the thrill of looting and upgrading my equipment (not to mention having a real inventory). I mean, that is a great part of the fun in any cRPG! I am not holding my breath but maybe one of the upcoming DLCs could take care of that?And if I am to open the improvements-request file, how about speeding up those minigames in the next patch?Finally, you also get a personal apartment aboard Normandy (an excellent idea introduced in FALLOUT-3) which you can equip with various ornaments and personal items (from fish for your aquarium to a...space-hamster - I call mine Boo).As for the DRM scheme used, the game does contain SecuROM but (similar to DRAGON AGE and FALLOUT-3) it only uses a disk-check. MASS EFFECT 2 neither requires any online activation nor does it limit the numbers of its installations. It is not the best solution possible but it is a compromise I can live with. If you still find this objectionable, you can now make an informed decision.All in all, I found MASS EFFECT II to be a beautiful RolePlaying Movie of a game, an immersive cinematic-action shooter with limited loot and more story than equipment choices. In other words, MASS EFFECT 2 may not be a pure cRPG or a cRPS experience (Dragon Age: Origins and Fallout 3 still rule those segments) but nevertheless it is an experience well worth its admission price.Go for the light-sensors Boo! Go for the light-sensors!!(no, I am not explaining that...)HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
53 of 58 people found the following review helpful.
By VA Gamer
SUMMARYThe long awaited sequel to the much lauded, though admittedly flawed, Mass Effect is finally here - and it's already consumed over 30 hours of my life. In short, Mass Effect 2 is the most refined and presented action RPG I have personally played. The narrative is perfectly paced, guiding the player through a well-realized world that isn't exactly an open ended sandbox, but certainly isn't restrictive or linear (you're free to complete the major missions/story points at your own pace while you pursue other content, and your decisions along the way will shape the story). The game play has been calibrated to remove almost all tedium associated with the RPG hybrid genre. Combat is real time and plays smooth as butter. The visuals, especially at 1080i or 1080p, are nothing short of spectacular. This is an incredible game, it might just end up being my favorite.Aspects that I enjoyed are preceded by a (+), things I disliked a (-).GAME PLAY(+) Bioware (the developer) has taken many of the elements common to the "RPG hybrid" genre (which they themselves have greatly forwarded over the years) and stream lined and calibrated the experience to better suit the action-oriented focus of the Mass Effect series. Itemization and character customization have been made less bulky, and yet magically remain robust and even more rewarding. Just as in their past games, there are still various vocations you can pursue (soldier, engineer, etc) and many ancillary skills to learn and improve. Each vocation feels wholly unique (though many abilities share similar animations), and there are no wasted skill points or useless abilities.(+) Combat is a blend of third person shooter (Gears of War) and tactical RPG (Dragon Age). Damage is area-sensitive (head shots hurt humanoids more than shooting them in the leg, etc), various damage types are strong against certain defenses, etc. It plays perfectly well and rewards the thinking player as well as the twitcher.(+) It feels like Bioware took a step back and acknowledged many of the tropes common to the genre, particularly the variety that lead to tedium, and provided replacements that integrate flawlessly into the game world. These refinements vastly improve the quality of the gaming experience. For example: the process of sorting through incoming information and managing your crew. In past games you had to laboriously check your messages after each mission, run from NPC to NPC trying to figure out if they were ready to offer new dialog, etc, etc. In real life, if you were the captain of a starship, you'd have people around to help manage these tasks for you - right? Secretaries, yeoman, that sort of thing. Well, that's precisely what you get in Mass Effect 2: within your command center is a NPC that audibly informs you whenever something demands your attention. For example, you might be jogging past the helm on your way to the lab when she mentions to you "Captain, you have new messages". Or "Captain, Miranda would like to see you, she seemed upset". When engaged in conversation she will offer advice and relay information regarding the crew and the ship - just like a real yeoman would. And though she was created to fill a niche, she feels doesn't come off as artificial: she's a NPC like all of the others, with a history and personality to explore (as well as a relationship, if you choose).There are many such refinements that make Mass Effect 2 such a joy to play. From combat to exploration, customization to character interaction, you can take every thing you hated about past games and throw them out the window. Well, almost - I'll get to that shortly.(+) You're always an active participant, even during the conversation and cut scene sequences. Not only are they complex and responsive, but there are points in the action where you can intervene with either a "renegade" option (typically more forceful actions) or "paragon" decision (the more traditional good guy action or response). These prompts to intervene happen in real time, and they can be ignored if you so choose. This transforms the task of merely listening to dialogue and selecting responses, or watching a villain monologue, into an actual engaging experience for the player. It pulls you in and makes you feel like you're a part of the game world, instead of merely someone navigating through a series of predetermined choices like in previous games.(+/-) Resource gathering. This will be a point of contention for many players. In your journeys through the universe, you will discover and/or learn about various technologies that you can research - such as weapon or armor upgrades, additions to your ship, new weapons and skills, etc. The currency for these research projects are elements - one of four, to be exact. You come across small amounts of these elements while you're conducting missions, but your main supply will come from scanning and probing planets. It works like this: while you're flying through space in your ship (The Normandy 2) you will enter various solar systems. You approach a planet, enter its orbit, engage scanners, and then move a radar over the surface of the planet with your mouse. A graph will alert you when a certain element is found, you launch a probe to obtain it, rinse and repeat.Many people will find this boring and tedious. I -kind of- do. However, I enjoy the aspect of exploration and this itch is scratched here: each planet is accompanied by a brief explanation and history, such as its scientific properties, geographical anomalies, the history of the civilizations that have inhabited it or how it plays into the mythology of some alien race. Being a science and history buff, this is a lot of fun for me at times. In addition, many planets will have side missions you can find by scanning them - they range from simple exploration to search and destroy and rescue. They're all unique, and take between 10-30 minutes to complete. If you don't visit and scan the planets, you miss out on these side missions.I gave it a mixed score because, well, it's the only repetitive task heaped upon the player during this otherwise perfectly stream lined game. But don't worry, it doesn't kill replayability: after you successfully finish the game, you'll be rewarded with 50k of each element each time you start a new game. The costs of research projects are also reduced. So even if you don't enjoy this aspect of the game, it is vastly alleviated during subsequent play throughs.STORY, PRESENTATION, AND SETTING(+) I mentioned that the pacing and narrative were exquisite. I'm going to go ahead and reemphasize that here. The story is so well told and presented that I could envision myself sitting back and watching someone else play it and still enjoy myself a great deal.(+) The cast of characters are truly memorable and interesting. It ranges from prosaic space marines, to sensational bio-engineered clones, ninja-like alien assassins striving for spiritual peace, and more. The voice acting for each and every character is the best I've heard in a video game.(+) The setting is kind of a mixed bag, though overall it's still amazing. Many locales are well realized exotically creative, and appeal to all of the players senses. There are plenty of planets and stations to explore and no two places look alike.(-) But, on the other hand, many mission areas feel artificial - in regards to their layout. They look great, and you can tell that a great attention to detail was employed during their creation, but many things are just kind of "there". Such as obstacles and walls that facilitate combat but otherwise have no practical use. That kind of thing. And many are noticeably and artificially linear.PERFORMANCE(+) I have a middling system (three year old video card, one year old middle-grade CPU). However, I am running 64-bit Windows 7 and have 6 GB of RAM. I play at the highest settings - it's beautiful and flawless. Load times between zones range from 5 - 15 seconds. In one complete play through and now ten-or-so hours into my second, I've experienced no crashes or game breaking bugs. Every glitch is transient (doesn't force you to stop playing or reload).In short, I firmly believe that Mass Effect 2 just might end up being the game of 2010, and the year just started.
136 of 163 people found the following review helpful.
By G. Garrett
I tripped across the original Mass Effect at EA's download site recently, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Using basically the same engine and game mechanics as KOTOR I and II, it plays pretty much like the third installment of that franchise, minus the licensing fees. I downloaded the deluxe edition of Mass Effect II, ready to continue the saga of Commander Shepard.The Good:- You pick up where you left off in ME. You can import your character model, and the decisions he/she made, though no experience or skills transfer.- The writing and voice acting are excellent.- The universe of the original ME is still here, but expanded and enriched.- Where you aim is where you hit.- Graphics have been kicked up. Models are higher poly count, and textures are more detailed.- You can customize your cabin now, as well as your clothing and armor color. It isn't essential to the plot, but it adds more personality to the game. Remember to feed the fish.- Bypass and hacking mini-games are a little more contextual, and less forced than the "circular frogger" mini-game of ME.The Bad:- This is a different game engine than ME, and as others have said, many of the RPG elements have been stripped down. There are fewer skills, with fewer steps. Ammo types are now a skill, and after you've used one skill, you have to wait for the recharge time to use any other. So if you decide to switch ammo types in a fight, find a place to hide before you can use AI hack.- Levels are smaller, and linear now. There is little or no 3rd person exploring. You will proceed from one "shoot house" (with liberally distributed cover, a few exploding barrels, and a few breakable boxes) to the next. Lather, rinse, repeat.- Squad mate AI has taken a step back from ME. I've got to babysit my team mates in ME2, while in the original ME, they usually provided effective support without me having to micromanage their actions.- Inventory is simplified, and abstract. Upgrades now affect everyone in the group, weapons choices are paired down (though you can still pick different weapons for each team mate), and figuring out the difference between different weapons is reduced to comparing text descriptions (or going to the wiki). I liked the stat comparison feature in ME better.- Your squad gains back health during combat, as well as barriers (shields), so combat becomes a rate game. Do damage at a faster rate than you take it. ME's weapon mechanics were a refreshing change, forcing you to manage heat buildup with tactics and modifications, sadly lost with ME2's regression to ammo clip mechanics.- Looting lockers/crates is largely gone, along with trying to find a set of MercVIII armor that fits a Quarian. I miss customizing weapons/armor/ammo/upgrades for each character.- Combat is FPS standard now, with a few glitches. Cover is essential, but I've occasionally gotten "hung up" and unable to shoot from cover. Hopping over low barriers is possible, but only using the same key used for taking cover. So you have to take cover before you can hop over it. Combat is much more frantic in ME2, and getting lost in the button-mashing can be frustrating. Save often.- The map function is largely absent now. Maybe this was to preserve the surprise of the next shoot house, but it makes figuring out where you're going (or remembering where you've been) a pain.- Some of the remaining RPG elements are counter-intuitive, or just random. I'm playing as a Paragon (good guy), which apparently includes jacking people up to intimidate them, and trading my good name for shopping discounts. Who knew Japandering was virtuous? I'm still trying to figure out how I garnered the few Renegade (bad guy) points I've gotten. I think the writers designated some of these points with a dart board.- Mining resources in ME2 is a mind-trap for anal-retentives like me. Without knowing how much of each resource I'll need to allow for researching upgrades, it's easy to get stuck in the mind-numbing rut of "must...scan...last...planet...for...Palladium." Give me back the keys to the Mako, please. At least I could shoot things with it.Bottom line: ME2 is still fun, but it atrophies a lot of the RPG stuff I found fun in ME, and pumps up the FPS stuff (with cookie-cutter FPS mechanics) I didn't think needed pumping up.
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