Highly considered the best RPG series released for the Xbox 360® console, Mass Effect™ 2 continues the gripping story started in Mass Effect™. Take control of Commander Shepard and continue your quest to rid the galaxy of the vastly unrealized potential threat of destruction from a synthetic race that call themselves the Reapers. In your quest you will run into old friends and meet new faces that may or may not be fully loyal to you. Aside from the expansive main story there are literally hundreds of hours of side quests and exploration available to really add to your sleep deprivation.

The Good

The story in this game is amazing but I have said that enough, so moving more into the game play side of things I would have to give it a stamp of approval. I must say that I really was blown away by how well the game handled, especially when you take into consideration that the shooter-RPG mix has not had the best track record in previous attempts to combine the genres. Another game play aspect that really stood out was the way that you upgrade your ship and weapons. To upgrade you need to gather resources, and to do this you fly your ship to any planet in the universe and scan the surface form orbit. Once  a mineral deposit is located with the scanner you launch a drone that gathers the minerals and returns to the ship. This also makes for fun exploration of uninhabited solar systems.

The Bad

There honestly isn’t much bad about this game that I can point out so I have to pick on the character creation system. Now, before the people who have played the game begin to type their hate mail let me explain, I don’t dislike the creation system nor do I think it’s lacking. It gives you all the tools to create a completely unique face for your character. “Well that sounds great,” you might say. Then why is it in the bad section? Well that would be because I spent hours making my character look exactly like me then promptly decided I like the default better. So damn you BioWare for putting in so many options!

The Ugly

Let’s just say this is one of the most visually stunning games I have ever played, and my Xbox profile has 195 played games and counting. No ugly here.

PROs and CONs

+ Awesome story 

+ Well laid out controls

+ Stunning visuals

–  I’m not cooler than default

Summary

Release Date: 1/25/10

Developer: BioWare

Genre: RPG – Third-Person Shooter Hybrid

Platform(s): Xbox 360, PC

Multiplayer: No