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 Anyone who wants a master's class in how to use the medium of gaming to yarn a tale need look no further than 'Mass Effect 2'. The RPG shooter is a landmark title exceeding the expectations of its 2007 award-winning predecessor, breathing new life into high-concept gaming.
Video games tend to be more about the spectacle than the story. That's okay. Terrific game play and immersive graphics are far more important to gaming than an engaging plot. That's where game developer BioWare has always stood apart. The Edmonton-based outfit has consistently delivered some of the most engaging story driven RPGs of the last decade. Its 2007 collaboration with Microsoft -'Mass Effect' - is a case in point. The Sci-fi actioner was a mixture of 'Star Trek' distant future optimism combined with the cyber-punk themes of a William Gibson novel.
In the original game, players took on the role of human Alliance commander Shepard, who could either be a male or female character depending on the choice of the player. In the game, humans are generally regarded with disdain by most of the other alien races because of their outsized ambition and individualist tendencies. With help of a team of alien and human companions, Shepard unearthed a conspiracy perpetrated by the Reapers, who were bent on the destruction of all sapient life in the galaxy.
The story was compelling, with lots of subtle political commentary and philosophy, which at times was undermined by very repetitive and sometimes dull gameplay. Unfortunately, much of this was repeated in BioWare's 'Dragon Age', its first collaboration with gaming giant EA.
 'Dragon Age' was essentially an RPG built for the PC that EA and BioWare ported to the Xbox 360. The results are near disastrous with washed out graphics and clunky and ridiculously difficult gameplay. The whole approach came across as lazy and boring. I was worried that the sins of 'Dragon Age' would be repeated with 'Mass Effect 2'. EA and BioWare deliver big time with terrific improvements on the original. In 'Mass Effect', unnecessary hours were spent managing the gear – buying and selling armour and weapons for Shepard and his/her companions, not to mention the clumsy driving mini-game as you zipped around to different points of interest on alien planets.
All of that has been streamlined in the sequel, which focuses much more heavily on Shepard's relationships with his companions and combat. Upgrades and weapon improvements are universally applied to Shepard and the team. The boring on-planet navigation has been removed altogether. Although you do need to acquire various resources for weapon, ship and armour upgrades. To do this, you must undertake a very monotonous planet scanning process.
The attention to detail is tremendous. BioWare has revamped the environnmental graphics. The places you visit are now wonderfully textured and diverse. My favourite was the new spaceport Omega, a dirty and gritty urban environment, reminiscent of Ridley Scott's 'Blade Runner' set pieces.
Where the attention to detail really shines though is in the storytelling. Players are allowed to import their character from the original game and all of the minor and major decisions made in the first game have a cascading effect on the events in the sequel. The colossal achievement in game storytelling creates an incredibly immersive game experience.
 The same goes for your companions too. These are fully realized characters that have their stories fleshed out throughout the game. There are 10 companions in total you can pick up in your travels to help you with the game's main mission. Each companion brings a unique sidequest that allows you test out their combat skills. You will become wrapped up in the lives of your crewmates. A good portion of the 25-hours or so it takes to complete the campaign is spent engaged in entertaining dialogue. In this case, that is a good thing. As Shepard, you can choose to be a paragon or a renegade in how you deal with the challenges and conversations. The best thing is, either direction doesn't undermine your relationships. Rather, they foster or negate the personality tendencies of your companions.
In my first play through, I became a pseudo-psychotherapist to the heavily tattooed and half naked NPC with psychic biotic powers named Jack. If I wanted though, I could have embraced her proclivities for casual sex and wanton violence. The end result of the game would have been the same. The journey drastically different. There are number of romance story lines with a variety of genders and species to allow you to fully get your Captain Kirk on in multiple replays.
Your companions also have great AI. You can be very tactical. I played through allowing NPC companions to choose when to use their special powers. Left to their own devices, they do remarkably well in flanking and taking down enemies. The enemy AI could be improved though. Combat is very reminiscent of 'Gears of War', without the ability to barrel roll. Most combat requires you to find a solid structure for cover and hunker down. Mostly, AI combatants are obliged to do the same. Because combat seems to be based on position, the only time I ever had any difficulty was with melee-oriented enemies intent on charging positions. Run and gun tactics simply do not work here.
 At any time you're working with three companions, presumably you're supposed to have a balance between, tech, biotic and combat abilities. In my first play through, I used soldier characters, whose overwhelming health and damage capabilities made companion support abilities fairly moot. With ten companions to choose from with different skill sets, it's easy to find a combat team that complements even the most finesse support character builds.
Pros:
Well written nuanced plot
Seamless integration of Mass Effect 1 character build
Terrific replay value using different character classes and moral decisions
Greatly improved combat
Fully fleshed out NPC companions with range of personalities and unique skills
Great Auto Save feature
Cons:
Enemy AI could be improved
Game is too easy using Soldier build
Necessary planet scanning for resources is really tedious
Lesbian alien sex scenario results in death
 Mass Effect 2
Format: Xbox 360
Publisher: EA
Developer: BioWare
ESRB Rating: M for Mature
Official Site: http://masseffect.bioware.com
Rating: 9.5 / 10
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