damanwidaplans

Very unique and cute little game. Although you don't have any control over what happens, I believe that's one of the intriguing qualities about it. Events unfold before your eyes just to witness what happens next.

This game isn't for everyone. I think it's mainly more hardcore, old-school gamers liking this. Not because of all the old-school elements, but because of the difficulty factor. For a first-person shooter, the campaign is a challenge on normal difficulty (named "hard" difficulty on start-up). You don't have much warning of when you die, the A.I. won't wait for you to recover when behind cover. Expect to die a lot, even the best of gamers will find dying isn't a rarity with this game. That's why it's a game built for gamers that grew up with more challenging games such as the original doom. Another retro feel to it is...wait for it...actual bosses. Not like the ones they throw at you in modern shooters, but bosses that are actually a challenge to kill. Fresh of breath air, yet so nostalgic at the same time. First thing I want to point out about the graphics is that the environment is absolutely beautiful. Especially if you're a sci-fi freak like I am. There is so much to take in. The lighting is also something else that is very well done. The textures don't really stand out since it is a dark game, but the lighting and art-style make up for that. The shooter mechanics are also simple and smooth. There is a scoring system, but you won't really pay much attention to that unless you really want to. The story kneels more towards the weak side, but the game is still enjoyable. This game is sort of geared towards a niche'd market, but it is still a good title. Just don't go in expecting a story on The Last of Us or Mass Effect's caliber because it's not. The narration is humerous, but that's pretty much as much character development as you get. MULTIPLAYER: I haven't gotten much of a chance to play it, but from my brief experience I can tell you I have already experienced most of it because there is not much to it. Don't expect it to be strong on the multiplayer department, but then again most of us didn't go in this game wanting to try out the multiplayer. I think a co-op feature would have worked better for a title like this than multiplayer because the multiplayer is extremely bland. There's only 2 modes, Team Deathmatch and Deathmatch which you can prbably already know what they're about. It's enjoyable but only for a small amount of time since there is no incentive to keep playing. There isn't too much weapon variety so don't go in expecting many guns, the guns that are there are really enjoyable to use. Overall, I think this game is a title worth picking up, especially for 20 bucks.

Skeleton Summary: PROS/CONS PROS: - Amazing Story-Telling - Great Character Development - Average Fighting Mechanics - Great Soundtrack - Massive Customization - Good Graphics - Cinematic Experience - Great Atmosphere - Great Voice-Actors - Interesting Universe/Plot - Decision-Based Story CONS: - Boring Side-Missions - Lack Of Traditional RPG Elements (not necessarily a bad thing) - Gathering Resources Is Boring Addressing Lack of RPG Elements: While I do share similar thoughts regarding how this game compares to traditional RPG games, we do need to get past them. A game isn't created to fit into a certain genre; a game is created to entertain us. Judging the game based on how much enjoyment value it has, rather than how much of a copy/paste formula it has is what truly matters. We could have games that have all the traditional RPG elements we all love, but at the end of the day it could still be a horrible game. Mass Effect 2 is a step forward from the original Mass Effect title that launched the trilogy. While it does scrap some traditional RPG elements (weapons, loot, smaller skill tree, etc) it is STILL a "Role Playing Game" (look up the definition rather than saying it's not an RPG because you don't get "loot" after you kill a boss). If you loved the original Mass Effect story, you're going to love this one too. If you thought some of the original Mass Effect's dialogue was corny, Mass Effect 2 fixes it! The music intensifies action-packed moments that keep you on your toes. The way the story is portrayed is nothing short of amazing. Some parts feel as if you're watching a movie, others feel like the location around you comes to life (Afterlife anyone?). Your decisions do matter and through various choices of dialogue (which ARE voice acted), you ultimately shape the future of you and your team. The fighting mechanics are also fluid and easy to learn. You get to choose from various classes, but you also get a fire-team. With this team you can customize everyone's abilities/weapons. You tell your team where to go and who to kill. Though running in this game isn't that much better than walking (yes it's one of THOSE games). You go on a massive adventure with exotic alien allies to uncover the Galaxy's dark secret. Unless your heart is a tiny black-hole, this game will grasp your emotions. It's a third person shooter with the traditional duck-and-cover mechanics, but it isn't bad at all. You can create your OWN character from (almost) the ground-up. With face customization, hairstyles, uniforms, armor, etc. Through your choices you can be a good boy/girl, or your can be the galaxy's ultimate badass. If you haven't played the first game, don't worry, you can play this game and still get a thrill out of it. (Highly recommended to check out the first one since you can carry your decisions from the previous Mass Effect game onto the 2nd one) Though the main campaign is a pretty damn good, some of the side-missions are boring and repetitive (although a BIG improvement from the 1st one where you boarded a ship, killed everyone searching for a VIP/NPC with the constant spam of husks/thorian creatures). In order to upgrade armor/weapons in this game you need to spend resources, in order to find said resources you need to scan planets. This task is cool at first but it gets old fast. Get this game, it will make you love the Mass Effect Universe.