Best Games of the Decade
5: Mass Effect 2 (2010)
Editor-in-Chief Ed McGlone: Forget this decade, I’ve yet to play a game ever that had as good as a build-up and subsequent payoff than Mass Effect 2 had in its epic story.
Mass Effect 2’s plot, AKA The Dirty Dozen in space, never relents. It starts off rip roaring when a dead Commander Shepard is revived by the villainous Illusive Man and his extremist Cerberus organization and continues to burn brighter as you recruit your elite of group of bad asses.
Along the way you’ll build strong relationships with both major and minor characters, go on loyalty missions that strengthen your understanding of the members of your crew, and you’ll bring those allies with you as you explore the galaxy and unravel the mystery of the collectors.
And once you have made all your choices, and spent tens of hours getting to know your crew, everything you’ve done up to that point will be tested with the game’s final suicide mission.
If you made strong bonds and make wise choices, you’ll be rewarded with a triumphant romp through the center of the galaxy, a trip that Mass Effect 2 sets up as impossible, and bring everyone back in one piece. If you act poorly though, everyone and I mean everyone can perish.
Mass Effect 2 still burns bright as I’ve yet to experience a game that just nails so many different aspects (shooter gameplay, RPG character-building and role-playing, choice-driven narrative, exploration); and for me at least, it’s still the crown jewel of BioWare’s illustrious body of work.
