10/10
An astounding improvement from the first game, Mass Effect 2 trades in some of its predecessor's RPG elements in favour of producing stronger shooter gameplay and wrapping it in a tightly woven and darkly personal narrative.
Our game begins with Shepard's death as they are murdered by a mysterious race called the Collectors. 2 years later they return to life, resurrected by a lengthy process by the shadowy humanity-first group Cerberus. Their leader, The Illusive Man, charges Shepard with gathering a team of specialists to launch a dangerous attack on the Collectors. As a result, this story is much more character-driven than the first game's, with extremely well-written interactions that dive into the cast's insecurities and weaknesses.
The RPG elements of Mass Effect have been stripped back quite a lot in contrast to the first game; there aren't as many nested menus or extensive planetary exploration. In its place is a much more tightly constructed 3rd-person shooter with some light skill upgrading elements, which does make it a lot more fun to play than the first game. The RPG elements of the game are still present in its huge world, narrative movements and deep lengthy questlines, which makes for a fantastically compelling game.
Check out my full review! The Almighty Backlog, review #26:
https://thealmightybacklog.wordpress.com/2018/11/24/mass-effect-2/
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