The first Mass Effect revolutionized the presentation of dialogue and facial expression, and had one of the most enthralling stories in a video game in a long time. After playing Mass Effect I had high hopes for the sequel, and if they had merely shortened load times (which have been shortened, and instead of elevators we are now blessed with some of the most riveting load screens i have ever seen.) I would have been extremely happy with Mass Effect 2, but instead they gave me one of the best gaming experiences of my life.
Right from the beginning Mass Effect 2 pulls you into its story with biggest "WTF?!" intro I've ever seen. (is that a spoiler? im sorry if it is.) Then it's off to character customization, or character approval if you're importing a save file from the original, and then its off to the combat introduction, then the game. I highly suggest importing a saved game from Mass Effect if you remember the choices and relationships you had with your crew, because the guys at Bioware have done an extraordinary job of tying the two games together.
Combat is handled with more strategy in mind this time around. There is a new, or just improved?, cover system, the ability to hot key three of your "abilities" and two of your teammates, and the ability to give your teammates direct commands. The idea of an overheating gun has been replaced with a new "clip" system, under the guise of an overheating gun, and the grenade has been replaced with a variety of new heavy weapons.
Which brings me to my next point. Mass Effect 2 doesn't have an inventory. Although there are items to buy at stores throughout the game, most of these are either passive "upgrades", quest items, or cosmetic additions. The closest thing to an inventory would be the Armor Customization Closet, with which you can choose between the different pieces of armor that you've bought on a customization interface. Each of these pieces provides different stat boosts, and you can also recolor your armor and pick between a few patterns. (and make Shephard look like the most bad ass war machine ever.)
At first the idea of zero loot upset me, but by the middle of the game I was actually extremely please with the new system, which provides an RTS feel with the gathering of minerals (through an awesome planet scan and probe mini game) and the upgradeable tech trees. The different types of ammo are still present, but this time through class and character specific skills which last an entire level.
Dialogue is once again very entertaining, if not even more captivating this time around with the inclusion of "Renegade" and "Paragon" actions (triggered by hitting the corresponding trigger when presented an opportunity) that leads to some extremely bad ass "leader" actions or some extremely bad ass "bad ass" actions, cinematic conversations that have the characters moving and interacting with the world, and INSANELY awesome camera angles. (im not going to share what my favorite was because it may be a spoiler. fucking spoilers.)
Mass Effect 2 is polished to the tee, so much that I was already looking forward to my "New Game+" during the end credits of the game. Although the cinemas are flawlessly executed there are small stutters where the game is loading the clip that correlates to the choices you've made throughout the game. It probably sounds annoying, but these small load times are actually extremely inviting, making me wonder how many different possibilities there are.
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