Excellent, maybe is not a 100% RGP, but it does not matter. It is a great game, outstanding, a must have and I recommend it. If you haven't played the first one do it and you will get one of the best experience that a game can offer guaranty.

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Loved:

- Gun Combat - Fights in Mass Effect 2 have moved from being the weak link of the first game to the strongest part of the sequel. Aiming is based on skill alone instead of generated numbers. Each weapon has a unique feel, the sound effects and feedback are tremendous. Replacing the cool-down system from the first Mass Effect with regular ammo and health regeneration makes for fast pace, visceral combat. Targeting body parts has effects, such as more damage for head-shots, and slowing down targets with leg shots. I found infiltrators impossible to use in ME1 because sniper rifles swayed too much, the damage was low, the cool-down for a single shot was the same time needed for enemy shields to regenerate, and head-shots didn't help. In ME2, picking off distant enemies is extremely satisfying.

- Strategy - Enemies have different health bars for shields, barriers, armor, and health that protect them from certain powers. This forces you to use different guns, ammo, and powers to whittle down their health. It adds a nice strategic element to the combat, and ensures that your main character cannot rambo through every encounter without help from your allies.

- Allies - Your companions are well defined, with decent back-stories, and each has 2 missions to further flesh out their characters. With so many allies, you are bound to find some that you like. Gameplaywise, each only has a few skills that are normally specialized for certain enemies, so it encourages you to use different allies for different missions.

- Dialog - The voice acting is superb. Every character's voice fits well, and the animations and camera angles have been varied to make the dialogs seem more cinematic. Bioware games really shine in this area.

- Graphics - All the technical hiccups of the first game are gone. Textures are always present and sharper than ever. Tech and biotic powers look and feel powerful. The backgrounds are stunning. And the characters are all gorgeous during their closeups.

- Armor customization - You have limited choice for your armor style, but you have full control over each piece (helmet, chest, legs, arms, shoulders), the pattern and color. You no longer need to worry about wanting the nice stat bonuses but looking like a clown wearing pink armor.

- True sequel - So many choices from the first game change the dialog and actions in the sequel. It makes each play-through unique and gives the game so much replay value.

- Mordin - This ally has the best dialog in any game ever. Buy the game just to see what he has to say.

Hated:

- No villain - ME1 benefited from a strong story involving a great villain, Saren. You got to see his cruelty, his power, and most importantly, his motivation. The story was compelling because you were saving the galaxy from his actions. In ME2, there is no central villian. You must save the galaxy from the collectors, but they never speak to you, and you never witness their hostility. In the cities, no one mentions them or seems all that concerned that the world as they know it may end. Your team keeps saying the entire galaxy is threatened, but without visual proof of that, the plot seems hollow.

- Missions - The gameplay is broken down into small chunks that take between 10 to 30 minutes to complete. They occur in areas that you can't return to, and once you meet the objective, the mission immediately ends. This is really nice in terms of pacing, but it's possible to miss items and upgrades. I always have the nagging feeling that I need to search every last corner even though I should be evacuating the exploding space station because I know I won't be able to come back later.

- Lack of weapons - There are only 2 or 3 guns of each type. Each one is significantly different in terms of power, clip size, and rate of fire, so old guns are still viable. However it does get boring using the same gun for 1/2 the game, and another for the rest. A few more options would have been welcome.

- Ally dialog structure - Your conversations with allies follows a strict structure where they have nothing to say to you until you reach another milestone in the main story. They never walk around the ship and never approach you. It's fine in most cases, but gets awkward when one of them proclaims their undying love for you and then finds an excuse not to talk to you for another 10 hours. Even a bit more variety in the reasons why they can't talk to you at the moment would go a long way for believability. When they give the exact same excuse again, it breaks the immersion, and you realize you are playing a game. Another reason why Mordin is so great. He is the only one with dozens of funny excuses for not having the time to chat with you.

Collector's Edition:

- The hardcover art book is gorgeous, and has some insight into ideas and designs that were proposed but rejected.

- The comic is nice, but leaves you wanting more, as it is part of an ongoing series

- The tin can was misleading. I thought everything was housed in the can, but in reality the whole thing comes in a paper box, and the DVD case is made of metal. That said, it is a beautiful tin DVD case.

Overall Mass Effect 2 stands strong as a 3rd person shooter. When combined with solid RPG elements, top calibur voice acting, and memorable characters it becomes an outstanding game from start to finish.

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great characters, character development, improves on an already robust system from ME1 and a great story to boot.

stop wondering and just get it...

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I am an avid fan of the first Mass Effect, I played through the first game at least 7 times, and enjoyed every minute of it. I followed every tiny bit of news for the second installment of the series, clinging to the hope that it would live up to the insane hype surrounding it. Having just finished m 4th play through and starting my fifth, I think I can safely say that it has. This is a tremendous game that allows me to live out my fantasy of traveling the cosmos and fighting alien menaces come to life, and I love it. In fact, my only complaint is the planet scanning mini-game, it takes way to long and breaks up the action, but other than that, there is none stop action from start to finish, with some of the best written dialog and story out there, and some great game play. The combat system has been completely fixed from the first game, as well as the side quests, inventory management, and upgrade system, some may say that it is not enough of an RPG now, but that is just not true, it just makes the RPG elements less tedious and time consuming. Great job bioware, and every Xbox 360 owner owes it to themselves to try this game

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Truth be told, Mass Effect 2 is in fact both a shooter and rpg. If you don't like one or the other you may very well not have an enjoyable experience. On the other hand, if shooters and role playing games interest you than you will find no finer shooter/rpg hybrid than in Mass Effect 2.

I know Mass Effect 1 was a shooter / rpg, but Mass Effect 2 is what I would call a "true" shooter / rpg; Think Gears of War type combat, just with a few added ways to take down enemies (biotics).

I just wanted to get that out there because I think a lot of people are afraid to say it.

As for my opinion of the game, I think it is awsome, and should not be missed. I don't think much more needs to be said. All the other reviews pretty much have everything covered.

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Wow what can I say? Anybody who has played the first Mass Effect will think that this is a completely different team that made this game. This is a must have game, the replay value is very high. The best way to put it Game Of The Year.

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If it came down to reviewing just the base line product quality of the game, face value, as I mean in its packaging, I'd say the only thing I was disappointed by was that it didn't come in an authenticated vinyl sleeve like most, MOST, XBOX360 games get... instead it comes in a kind of plastic-cardboard sleeve which I'm afraid to handle continuously in fear I might damage the poor thing. It's not delicately fragile, but considering paper has a tendency to tear? It worries me...

Either way, the contents of the package from this deal are great. Great DLC's, artbook, soundtrack, bonus features such as the making of ME2 and all-- it comes with what you'd expect out of a great Collector's Edition and then some.

But then it comes down to the actual game...

In the 33rd hour of the 32nd minute... maybe give or take a couple seconds-- I just finished Mass Effect 2, and let me tell you: WHAT A RIDE!

Everything you expect about Mass Effect is left intact give or take the skewed, redone, rehashed bits noted here and there which you can read from the other people's reviews about them. I for one won't bore any of you with the details that can easily be read here, I'd only be repeating what others said and this is based on my own experience with the game, however, I will note a few key features that Mass Effect 2 offers.

CONTINUING WHERE YOU LEFT OFF-- while Bioware promises a unique, original experience out of this sequel of a propose trilogy, if no one has ever played the first game, it honestly to me is a shame because ME1 offered one of the most ambitious, largest in scope, unique as well as lovingly developed world any game designing structure has ever known. Am I saying you'll be left out of the dark? No, but you WILL have missed out on alot of things that make the Mass Effect experience a whole lot more deepening. When the first ME came out, I was captivated, enthralled and stuck to my couch easily for over 10 days doing, playing and ultimately memorizing nearly every bit and scope of the ME game and the universe of it itself. So much, in great detail that even after having bought the ME strat. guide out of curious necessity, and after having gone through its pages, I'd found out I had actually done everything as noted in its pages, to the word.

Yet again, will you be left out? I honestly cannot tell you because I have anticipated this game since the edgy cliffhanger that has kept me on my toes for this sequel for so long, and now here it is. I will say though that in moments where I have played the game, I imagined myself as someone new to the experience "What if I've never played Mass Effect 1?" And Bioware has taken careful consideration to fill people in on loose ends that might confuse newcomers. Much like soap operas, it leaves no error out to quickly patch you in, given you pay attention and actually care (which this game does very VERY well at bringing you in). The story is deep, the characters have a very distinct quality to them which often took me by surprise that I'd believe these fictitious entities felt closer than some of the people I've ever run to in real life (makes me wonder sometimes...).

The combat system feels a whole lot different than from the original Mass Effect... for those who haven't played it, allow me to allude it to Gears of War's. There's a very distinct cover system where you stick to walls, obstacles and such which prove beneficial to your survival and overall performance in the game. Compared to the original though? This sequel's revamped combat system, along with improved AI proved challenging. Expecting this to be easy is an overstatement. If you aren't careful, things can get dicey very quickly if you aren't paying attention. It's fast, it's visceral, but not so much "I'll kick your ass into tomorrow and make you feel it for a week" kinda a way. More like a "This action kicks ass as long as you're maintaining your situation, maggot!" It's not hard... and others might argue it's not even challenging while others will comment on the revamped combat system's shortcomings. Personally? Every fight felt exactly the way it should have been. Each fight went down exactly as I imagined they should, and I'd replay every outcome similar, if not the same to them every time which I'm sure I will in many future replays to come.

Speaking of replayability-- this game will deliver. With so many ways to handle a situation, so many outcomes to expect, you'll never know or imagine what your next game might end up like. Take into consideration that you can pair this experience up by going out of your way to actually the original Mass Effect? I promise you, if you want to get the full on experience about Mass Effect, play from 1 to its sequel now and you will see just how big of a game this really is, I guarantee it. I even imagine had I not ever played the original and after playing Mass Effect 2, it would have developed a curiosity so massive, there would have been no way to ignore that kind of experience. Combine Mass Effect 1 with Mass Effect 2, you have got one BIG game ahead of you that you will not regret. Even my fiance, a woman who's not into shooters of this sort, plays this game and even suffers through the pains, what she finds irritable, because of the rewarding satisfaction this game delivers elsewhere, storyline.

Seriously, I could go on and on and on about this but trust me, if you're reading this, you're probably just bored or need a reason to buy this game. Either one of them could be easily remedied at once-- just buy the game.

I've recommended the first ME to so many people who weren't even mildly interested in what it could offer, with the expected "Wellll, I dunno..." till they actually played the game and came back "I cannot believe I hadn't played this earlier!" You wanna be surprised? Dig into some Mass Effect, even by its sequel right here, right now. It's a big universe out there, go and getcha some with Mass Effect!

I've only played through this game once, but I'm seriously considering booting up the old Mass Effect 1 games, playing through the other characters I planned on playing up to bring them into ME2 just to see how it would all play out. This'll be a game which will never see the dust looking to collect on itself, it's just that good.

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I'll get straight to the point, this game is an improvement over the original in every way possible.

Everything from the framerate issues, glithes, generic side quest have been fixed to perfection. Bioware has in fact streamlined the rpg elements a bit but don't let that stop you from getting this amazing game, skill points, exploration, dialogue trees and big decisions await in this epic rpg!

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I loved the first game despite all of its flaws (texture loading problems, repetitive level designs on side quests, etc..), and this game is better in almost every respect. Even things that I was at first skeptical about, I ended up favoring by the time the game was over (I took a good 40 hours to finish this game). The only thing that I still missed at the end was the massive number of different weapons and armors that could be found throughout, but I'm a loot freak so I love that stuff.

If you're even thinking about buying this, do it because you won't be disappointed.

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The Mass Effect series has an outstanding story, fueled by one helluva writer: Drew Karpyshyn. If you're new to the Mass Effect universe, I must strongly recommend that you go and buy Mass Effect 1, Mass Effect: Revelation, and Mass Effect: Ascension. Once you've got them all in your possession, play through Mass Effect. It's not mandatory that you do many of the side quests, if at all, ANY of them, since the vast majority of them have no real bearing on the story in Mass Effect 2 (that I've noticed). Once you've finished Mass Effect, read the books; Revelation first, then Ascension. Then, and only then, can you go on and play Mass Effect 2, milking it of the full experience.

That being said, Mass Effect 2 isn't gonna interest you at all if you're buying it for the combat system. It just isn't. I've heard so many people complaining about the various things that've gimped Mass Effect 2 over the original, and to them, they're valid complaints. To me, however, removing some of the more in-depth features like weapon and armor upgrades just made it that much easier to focus on the story at hand. And in the end, that's what Mass Effect is.

A beautiful, well-told story that evolves and changes depending on choices--even the "small ones"--that you make throughout your playthrough.

Before going on to anything else, I want to make it perfectly clear that those decisions you made earlier on in Mass Effect (small or otherwise) do show up to great you in one form or another here in the second episode. What's more, even though it'd been a year or so since I last actually picked up Mass Effect, I remembered these characters and situations. For example...

* * * SPOILER ALERT * * *

* Depending on whether or not you kill Fist in the first game, he'll show up to berate you in the Bar on Omega. My first playthrough (and consequently, my first playthrough in Mass Effect 2), I let him live. He didn't see it as such a kind gesture, and I immediately started wondering why I actually let him go. Prolly due to the fact that the only reason he was killed in my second playthrough was due to having Wrex in my group.

* On Virmire, once you've handled Benezia, you can kill or set free the Rachni Queen. In all my playthroughs of Mass Effect, I could never bring myself to kill her. She didn't seem like the threat that Wrex made her out to be, and... 's just not in me. So I set her free, and ever since then, I'd been looking forward to seeing how they fit into Mass Effect 2. Sadly, the only time the Rachni even surface in Mass Effect 2 is on Ilium, in the form of a memory embedded in a random Asari. You were told that when your encounter with the Collectors came to a close, the Rachni's song would be... I dunno, something or other. Needless to say, I didn't see any evidence of further Rachni interaction through the rest of the game. Left me feeling a bit... empty.

* By default (for me at least), a new character made from scratch with no imported save (which I was forced to do, as I had no saves compatible for import) will have the following choices applied: you focused your attacks on Sovereign at the cost of the Council being eliminated, you sacrificed Kaidan Alenko to save Ashley Williams, and Udina was chosen to be the human representative to the Citadel. Interestingly enough, these were the exact OPPOSITES of what I'd chosen on every playthrough I ever made. I was always pro-alien, anti-Ashley, and anti-Udina. So to have the game go and make the exact opposite choices was... amusing, at best.

* * * SPOILER ALERT * * *

There are various other changes that BioWare's made to the game, for better or for worse. They've removed random planet scouting with the Mako (and OH MY GOD I'M GLAD THEY DITCHED THE MAKO), replacing that with a mini-game of sorts, in the way of planet-scanning for minerals. Scanning for these minerals is the sole way to upgrade your ship, as well as personnel upgrades, so it's necessary (later becoming a necessary EVIL, once it's lost its novelty).

The introduction of Renegade/Paragon maneuvers during certain cutscenes have introduced yet another level of dynamic storytelling into the mix. Though you're usually given a good few seconds to intervene, if you're not quick enough, you could end up having to live with some painful consequences.

Interestingly enough, a coworker made a remark to me that actually makes a lot of sense: "Mass Effect 2 teaches me more about ethics than [this book] ever will."

And that's true.

Whereas the original Mass Effect was peppered with various decisions that you had to make, difficult or otherwise, Mass Effect 2 is designed in such a way that those decisions are significantly more difficult to make. In general, I had made my selection on the dialog wheel well before the subtitles appeared on screen, making for a more fluid dialog exchange. By the end of ME2, I was taking longer and longer to make the decisions that affected my team, because they were becoming... well, IMPORTANT to me. Familial, perhaps.

That being said, the superficial stuff also matches the story.

Graphics are 5/5. Texture popping isn't nearly as prevalent (if at all visible) as it was in the first.

Audio is 5/5. Love the score for this game as much as I did for the original. Gonna buy the soundtrack eventually; only been putting it off because I was convincing myself that they were gonna release an actual hard copy on disc eventually.

Gameplay is 5/5. There was one instance where I managed to get myself stuck in the ceiling on the Citadel somehow, but I was unable to recreate it, so that's not really an issue. As has been said, the long elevator rides have been replaced with loading screens. In a humorous nod to that, very early on in the story, you're specifically told to, and I quote, "Take an elevator down one level." And sure enough, the one-level trip takes the time you'd think it would. Armor types have been eliminated: any class can wear all armor. Specific slotted upgrades have been eliminated. Traditional health readouts have been eliminated. Again: MAKO HAS BEEN ELIMINATED (huzzah!). I'm sure there are other changes that've been made that I'm forgetting, but... these are the major ones, I think.

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I found this game awesome in sound and chracters are well fleshed out that creates and almost makes you part of the game and you'll forget your playing a video game

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Mass Effect 2, is an improvement primarily in some gameplay functions, but is a step back in a number of rpg elements. The biggest improvement is that the repetitive maps from the fist ME are gone and now each mission has a completely unique map. Also shooting and cover options are slightly improved and the ability to use tech or biotic abilities without pausing, was a worthwhile change, although that could have been expanded even more.

Voice acting remains top notch, and graphics are quite good. ME2 is an rpg story driven game that successfully blends the elements of a 3rd person shooter. This is a great game and worthy of multiple enjoyable playthroughs, but unfortunately the game takes a number of steps back as well. Music and sound effects are good, but there isn't anything new or noteworthy in that regard.

I really enjoyed the engaging main story and surprises of the original ME. ME2 has a decent story, but overall its far lacking compared to the original game. There are no great storylines, plot twists or surprises and the urgency of the mission just isn't there to the same extent. The smoking illusive man just seemed like a rip off from the x-files.

There are more party characters in this game, however the dialogue is more limited. I love the conversation tree/wheel and the uncertainty of what Sheppard is actually going to do or say. The addition of having to make a number of 2-5 seconds paragon/renegade choices was great, but could have been utilized more. The limited dialogue in the game was a major disappointment to me. There is enough to satisfy, but you don't really have too many engrossing conversations, the way you did in Bioware's other hit RPG Dragon Age.

The game also seemed too short to me, and the missions likewise also seemed brief. Missions ranged from short to medium in length, but no long ones, like in the original or like in DA.

The game attempts to streamline too much and in effect removes some of the great rpg elements I enjoyed from the original. It has essentially been dumbed down quite a bit for non rpg players. I really enjoy upgrading character through the levels, and allocating how to spends the upgrade points. Your choices are now much more limited as to what you can spend your level up points on. Armor and weapon selection is also extensively dumbed down. I had mixed feelings in the original about how you didn't have to go scrounging around bodies to pick stuff up, as it is a hassle sometimes, but I also enjoy finding new more powerfull weapons and armor to equip. In place of sorting through weapons and armor to choose the best ones for you and your crew you are strictly limited to researching and buying upgrades. You actually have a few more weapon type choices in the game, but gone is the rpg elements of comparing stats and choosing the best stuff for you and your people. I really enjoy doing this and while I enjoyed the upgrade feature, they could have added that ability and still kept the diversity of choosing weapons and armor. I also was impressed with the weapon overheat function in the original game, as opposed to ammo limitations. I was really disappointed to see they abandoned this unique feature and went to back to traditional ammo clips. A big step back IMO.

I personally enjoyed using the Mako and was sorry to see it scraped. Likewise despite being set in space there is still no user controlled space craft fights.

The galaxy exploring option is a little more refined, but not necessarily better. You need to purchase fuel now to travel around, and probes to use to search planets for resources. The planet searching is interesting at first, but quickly loses its luster and becomes the most boring part of the game. You need the resources to complete your upgrades so you must do it, but the process is tedious and I'm guessing it will be scrapped in the ME3

Maps are all unique but seem smaller in this game. Character loyalty can be gotten by completing each character's personal quest. However gaining the loyalty gives this a superfluous and subtle outfit color change and the use of an extra ability. Other then that, there seems to be no real purpose to have their loyalty. Actually most of the games missions are actually building your team. First the quest to get them, and then their personal quest. There isn't a good party influence system as in some rpgs like DA. It doesn't appear your people will turn on you or die, or have any real input in decisions and in fact they but in to conversation very little.

You have more romance choices, perhaps as many as four for each gender, but they are very formulated. The sex scenes in the original ME were well done albeit a bit short. ME2 and DA both backtracked as far as having any nudity. ME2 love scenes were very short and very pg-13 and over all quite disappointing. It's another area where there broke some ground with the original and then decided to backtrack. Its amazing that you can make adult life and death decisions all game, killing hundreds of people, but they don't think you are adult enough to handle a little nudity.

Overall ME2 may appeal slightly more to shooter gaming fans, but die hard rpg fans may be disappointed some. It lost or gave up a number of enjoyable rpg and game elements that made the original great.

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Collectors Editions of games is a seemingly new trend. In fact, the Collectors Edition for Mass Effect 1 was the first CE I ever bought. The first time I saw a CE (I believe it was for Assassin's Creed) I actually laughed out loud. "Who's going to pay that much for a freakin' game?!"

Anyways, as I'm a huge fan of the Mass Effect storyline and universe, I of course opted for my second Collectors Edition purchase. The ME1:CE gave us a full-sized art book, hardbound, with documentaries on the various species, ideas and designs for the game. This time we get a pocket-sized art book, which much less documentary and overall value. We also get the first edition of the Mass Effect: Redemption Comic Book series. By the time my ME2:CE arrived, I had already purchased this comic - which is good, because the copy included in this product is also a "pint-sized" rendition of the comic. Basically, it's street value is and will remain at pretty much "zilch."

The only additional value comes in the form of a bonus disc with some video documentary and soundtrack snippets. It's pretty much a "watch once" disc - though this isn't exactly surprising.

You'll of course get Cerberus Network membership from the package, which you'll also acquire from normal retail versions of the game (when purchased new.) The CE also comes with a special code to download exclusive armor to use in-game (also with new purchases only.) It's the "Collectors Armor"... ...in the Collectors Edition... ...get it?

In the end it's still a "hardcore fans only" type of product. You're buying it for the nostalgia - not necessarily because of the "exclusive content."

For my full review of the game itself, please visit the Xbox 360 retail version of Mass Effect 2, titled "Massively, Effectively Disappointing" and awarded three stars (out of five.)

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I'm impressed with the graphics, gameplay and cinematics. This was definitely worth the $70. The one disappointment is that I have to wait on my Inferno Armor code. Amazon really needs to work on sending those out ASAP!

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This game improved on ME1 in just about every way I hoped it would. Excellent game, worth the money.

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