Mass Effect 2
The Best Mass Effect Games: All 4 Ranked
Mass Effect 2 is truly the series at its best, delivering intimate character moments, epic set pieces, and plenty of action and intrigue. The game starts off with a bang, literally with the death of Commander Shepard. You’re then rebuilt by the shadowy organization known as Cerberus, and set off on a mission to stop “The Collectors,” a strange alien race that’s been abducting humans.
Early on in Mass Effect 2, Shepard knows the low chances of success, so you set off to recruit a dangerous band of warriors for your Suicide Mission. This means the roughest of the bunch, as you recruit deadly assassins, unhinged biotics, and Krogan test subjects. The beauty of Mass Effect 2 lies in how well fleshed out each of these characters are. Every party member has their own loyalty missions, and a huge amount of dialogue and story attached to them. This makes all of your party feel realistic and flawed, and building bonds with them helps boost the chance of success for the final mission. It is possible for nearly all of your characters to perish at the end of the game, so it’s worth seeing everything out.
Mass Effect 2 absolutely nails its sci-fi aesthetic, even more than the first game, in terms of soundtrack, visuals, and story tones. It’s a very emotionally engaging title, leading you to care about both your cause and those helping you to get there. Conversation and cutscenes were framed much better than in the first game, giving the title a kind of cinematic flair not found before. This is also reinforced by the combat, which feels significantly more fluid than its predecessor.
The second game adapts much more of a shooter approach to its gameplay, rather than the RPG-stylings of the first one. Battle is much faster, streamlining your various combat abilities into an easy to use menu, and improving both ally and enemy AI. The RPG systems were stripped away a bit compared to the first Mass Effect, but the sequel definitely doesn’t suffer for becoming a tighter, more focused experience.
Mass Effect 2 is truly where the series shines, and shows why it’s created such a passionate fan following. The story and characters are impeccably well written, both for returning characters and new ones like the ominous Illusive Man. Combat felt smoother than before, easily meshing with the sci-fi themes of the series. Without a doubt, Mass Effect 2 is one of the finest RPGs ever made, and a tour de force for BioWare.
