Mass Effect 2 Reviews: Game of the Year Chatter Starts Now
Jan 26, 2010 - By Jared Newman
Mass Effect 2 is out today, and if the reviews are spot-on, Xbox 360 owners and PC gamers would be doing themselves a disservice by not picking it up. We’re not even through January, and some critics reckon they’ve got a game of the year on their hands. “So, Mass Effect 2 is easily my favorite game on 360, probably my game of the year, and in my top 5. Yep. In January,” Mitch Dyer, who writes for GamePro and Official Xbox Magazine, wrote on Twitter. My buddy Eddie Inzauto, director of GamerNode, has been raving about the game for days. Formal reviews are just as bubbly.
“It may only be January, but Mass Effect 2 is already a serious contender for game of the year,” Greg Howson writes in The Guardian. “Despite all of the ways Mass Effect 2 is more engaging to play and explore, after 35 remarkable hours it was the characters that stayed with us,” writes Games(TM). “Game of the year in January? Oh, go on then.”
The game wins on its combination of decision-based storytelling and straight-up action. Both of these aspects were refined from the original game, placing more emphasis on duck-and-cover shooting without sacrificing the character building you find in an RPG. What most impresses me is the separation of your “Paragon” and “Renegade” meters — measurements of morality — into two separate gauges rather than one slider. That means your decisions allow for a more complex character than in the first game.
So, is there anything wrong with Mass Effect 2, which has a score of 97 on Metacritic? Howson complains of some technical issues, such as long load times and hard-to-read text. GameSpot says scanning planets can be tedious, and notes that there are some glitches and bugs, but doesn’t get into specifics. But when a game spins a great yarn and provides lots of trigger-pumping action, those nags are easy to overlook.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010 10:46PM
Mass effect 2 is now in my opion the best xbox 360 exclusive game the first to beat halo 3. Although some fanboys would belive that it to be no big deal (lot halo haters now)
Thursday, February 25, 2010 4:22AM
Mass effect 2 improved greatly on the first game while still keeping everything we loved from the first. It has everything that we ask from in a game of the year contender. I've played it both on PC and Xbox and is much better on PC mainly due to faster load times. I've noticed only a couple of slight visual glitches on PC more on Xbox. However both recover well and don't distract from an absolutely amazing game.
Sunday, August 8, 2010 9:43AM
When I first started playing mass effect 2 I didnt expect it to be the game of the year for me so far. Then I started building relationships with my team and crew on the normandy. I started to not only like them but also care for them and the things they were going through (mainly each characters loyalty missions). When I found out that my entire crew was stolen by the collecters I decided to stock up for the battle instead of going to get them imeadietly. When I got to the collector base I found that half of my crew was killed by the buggy bastards. Then later in the mission after deafting harbinger, Mordin Solus was killed as well. After completing the mission I walked around the normandy. Now, there was only half the crew and my doctor was now dead. Because of my decisions, half my crew and a very good freind of mine were dead. When a game like that leaves you emotionally sad because of actions you made and what you could have done then it must be pretty damn good. Mass Effect 2 is not just game of the year (so far) it is an epic masterpiece that surpasses all expectations. Its almost an art of its own. I have no doubt in saying that this will be game of the year and that Mass effect 3 will be just as good if not better.