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Posted : 1 year, 8 months ago on 30 July 2022 02:23
The second chapter of the Mass Effect trilogy is a triumphant achievement by Bioware and, along with Dragon Age: Origins, one of their best games since Baldur's Gate 2.
I enjoyed the quality of the writing, the phenomenal voice acting, the huge cast of memorable characters, visiting distinctive locations on different planets, facing interesting side quests (a step forward from the "go to planet XYZ, find the bunker and kill everyone" of ME1), dealing with an intriguing morality system (with the Paragon/Renegade choices). Also worth noting: if you import a character from the first game using the final savegame, some decisions you made suddenly become relevant, showing the consequences of your actions - what happened to characters or groups you saved or ruined, spared or sacrificed. This creates the feeling of continuity of the best epic sagas.
So, what doesn't work? Well, while the sidequests / loyalty missions are stellar, the whole Cerberus plot feels kind of meandering. Some moments (the final boss fight...) are pure schlock compared to the cosmic horror foreshadowed by the first game. The micro-management of the inventory has been simplified to the point of becoming shallow. And, although I am glad the Mako is gone (I hated its mechanical guts), exploring whole planets instead of just landing sites can be fun - put it back in ME3, only without the awful physics of the Mako, please.
I enjoyed the quality of the writing, the phenomenal voice acting, the huge cast of memorable characters, visiting distinctive locations on different planets, facing interesting side quests (a step forward from the "go to planet XYZ, find the bunker and kill everyone" of ME1), dealing with an intriguing morality system (with the Paragon/Renegade choices). Also worth noting: if you import a character from the first game using the final savegame, some decisions you made suddenly become relevant, showing the consequences of your actions - what happened to characters or groups you saved or ruined, spared or sacrificed. This creates the feeling of continuity of the best epic sagas.
So, what doesn't work? Well, while the sidequests / loyalty missions are stellar, the whole Cerberus plot feels kind of meandering. Some moments (the final boss fight...) are pure schlock compared to the cosmic horror foreshadowed by the first game. The micro-management of the inventory has been simplified to the point of becoming shallow. And, although I am glad the Mako is gone (I hated its mechanical guts), exploring whole planets instead of just landing sites can be fun - put it back in ME3, only without the awful physics of the Mako, please.
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