Mass Effect 2

 PC
User Score
8.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 5738 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5,081 out of 5738
  2. Mixed: 426 out of 5738
  3. Negative: 231 out of 5738
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  1. ZachS.
    Feb 8, 2010
    4
    This game is fun for the first playthrough -- only 14 hours on hard for me | and I did all the side-quests I could find, personally I think that there was a lack of those. I very much loved the first ME, it had a very good RPG replay value for different loot and different armor types. In this one, that value is non-existent. You only have one armor "type" which you can upgrade, no armor This game is fun for the first playthrough -- only 14 hours on hard for me | and I did all the side-quests I could find, personally I think that there was a lack of those. I very much loved the first ME, it had a very good RPG replay value for different loot and different armor types. In this one, that value is non-existent. You only have one armor "type" which you can upgrade, no armor or shield value differences really, you only get to choose between two different weapons of each type, one of which is obviously superior in all situations. It really posed no challenge to me, and I'm really surprised that Bioware would dumb down this series the way that they did. The AI is all-around stupid. Your teammates look like they are in pre-school compared to your enemies. I wish I could actually find someone besides Garrus and Legion who know how to shoot a gun correctly. The storyline is like this - gather your team - do their sidequests - have sex with one of them - then go destroy the collectors. Not really an RPG in my book, which was what I was expecting when I bought this since it was in the category of RPG.… Expand
  2. RoyP
    Feb 20, 2010
    4
    I was very dissapointed with this game. I was expecting a RPG/TPS hybrid like the first one, not a Gears of War with a dialogue wheel like this game. They removed almost every RPG element it had: there is no more looting,there is no more inventory, there is like 2 weapons of each kind (about 20 in total), there is no more weapons/armor stats, there is no more weapons/armor mods, you I was very dissapointed with this game. I was expecting a RPG/TPS hybrid like the first one, not a Gears of War with a dialogue wheel like this game. They removed almost every RPG element it had: there is no more looting,there is no more inventory, there is like 2 weapons of each kind (about 20 in total), there is no more weapons/armor stats, there is no more weapons/armor mods, you can't change your squadmates armors... Even the story and dialogue aren't very good, the mainplot is too short and the squadmates run out of dialogue very quickly. I hope Bioware bring back the RPG in ME3 otherwise I will not buy it.… Expand
  3. PaulusM
    Feb 7, 2010
    4
    I was massively dissapointed by this game. Having played the first I expected it to be an interesting follow up, all the perfect reviews didn't exactly lower my expectations. Don't get me wrong here: This isn't a "I was dissapointed so this gets a 0 review". I'm not a massive fan and I have no hard feelings toward the developers or critics or whoever. The first game I was massively dissapointed by this game. Having played the first I expected it to be an interesting follow up, all the perfect reviews didn't exactly lower my expectations. Don't get me wrong here: This isn't a "I was dissapointed so this gets a 0 review". I'm not a massive fan and I have no hard feelings toward the developers or critics or whoever. The first game was rough but visionary. Instead of refining these rough edges, Bioware decided to cut them off and remove them altogether, thus making the outcome a bit more polisher but shallower in almost every regard. It hardly feels like an RPG anymore. Here's why: Since stats are removed there isn't any sense of character progression or standard that you can measure your progress with. Enemies don't give XP thus removing the sense of accomplishment when killing a horde or boss. The cities are bleak, small and entirely pointless. No stores, hardly any upgrades and the little there are have no real progression. For example if you upgrade the assault rifle its characteristics change dramatically. Level one is inaccurate, powerful at short range and lots of ammo. Level two is accurate, little ammo and good for range. Level 3 is basically like level 1 of the rifle again. What? Why not choose the characteristics you want and then upgrade accordingly? This system is pointless. Bioware has fallen in an annoying routine of RPG development: Step 1: Assemble your crew Step 2: Please your crew by doing them or side missions that reveal their shocking past Step 3: Climatic finale where you have to sacrifice a few members and usually get a sex sequence (see step 2). Pacing is terrible, you never get a sense of immediacy and the game drags quite a bit halfway. As of now the game feels like a slow-paced shooter with an extensive dialogue system. It's a mere shadow of the athmosphere and new concepts of the first one. Buy at your own discretion and don't trust the reviews.… Expand
  4. DesmondL
    Mar 3, 2010
    4
    Most disappointing game, the graphics and story great!! But this is not RPG anymore, this game is looks like action-adventure or third-person shooter with bit RPG elements!! I played this for 3 hours and i don't see any pure RPG system, only a experience points and talents system!! I feel this sequel is not fun as Mass Effect, not only remove feature from the original game such armor Most disappointing game, the graphics and story great!! But this is not RPG anymore, this game is looks like action-adventure or third-person shooter with bit RPG elements!! I played this for 3 hours and i don't see any pure RPG system, only a experience points and talents system!! I feel this sequel is not fun as Mass Effect, not only remove feature from the original game such armor equipments and its also not same as original game gameplay system.… Expand
  5. HomeCritic
    Jan 10, 2013
    4
    Mass Effect 2 has the worst continuation of story in any sci-fi. It destroyed the lore of Mass Effect 1, made main antagonists into brain dead morons, and it actually serves no point, because we didn't learn anything really important in it, for example, how to stop the reapers or how to unite a galaxy against this threat and so on and fourth. The beginning just happened and later on noMass Effect 2 has the worst continuation of story in any sci-fi. It destroyed the lore of Mass Effect 1, made main antagonists into brain dead morons, and it actually serves no point, because we didn't learn anything really important in it, for example, how to stop the reapers or how to unite a galaxy against this threat and so on and fourth. The beginning just happened and later on no further themes of this "revival" weren't addressed nor the whole process explained. Shepard died and got resurrected, just to serve the plot, it adds no meaning nor change to main characters character, Shepard seems to be just a static brick. Overall, the storyline was not good, at all.
    Other problems contains game mechanics and oversimplification of RPG elements and lore breaking transition from unique concept of weapon mechanics to general ammo clips. Exploration is also dumped down to boring planet search minigame. Customization was improved on some parts, but overall it was also majorly oversimplified and generalized. They really tried to push this game to general audience, which they shouldn't have been doing in the first place.
    ME2 marks the beginning of the complete wreckage for the whole franchise, ME3 being the second mark on that path. This game shows how lack of attention to the detail and story can destroy the potential of interesting and engaging lore.    … Expand
  6. KannedFarU
    Dec 17, 2010
    4
    This game obviously has the taint of a product acquired by and developed under EA. It seems undercut, uninspired and super linear and super short. Mass Effect 1 was really a great game and this was deprived of all the things that made ME1 fantastic:
    * Great story
    * Unlimited Ammo * Large selection of stuff to buy * Really cool ATV * Tons of side quests that kept the game interesting The    This game obviously has the taint of a product acquired by and developed under EA. It seems undercut, uninspired and super linear and super short. Mass Effect 1 was really a great game and this was deprived of all the things that made ME1 fantastic:
    * Great story
    * Unlimited Ammo
    * Large selection of stuff to buy
    * Really cool ATV
    * Tons of side quests that kept the game interesting

    The only things that really give merit to ME2 is:
    * Customizable equipment
    * Weapon Proficiency

    If you want to swim in ME1 nostalgia go ahead and buy this game, it seems to have the aesthetic theme. But you will be upset with the result. This game is almost as boring as Dragon Age: Origins, at least I get to move around and shoot things. Adds some interest...    … Expand
  7. Juiblex
    Feb 8, 2011
    4
    I liked the story and combat but that's about it. The RPG element isn't there, the characters are pretty limited in abilities/weapons, the programing isn't all that good either. I get stuck in the air and in cut scenes characters would be spinning, and there was a fair deal of crashes to desktop. I cant say that this is a good game but it isn't completely worthless. Play it once throughI liked the story and combat but that's about it. The RPG element isn't there, the characters are pretty limited in abilities/weapons, the programing isn't all that good either. I get stuck in the air and in cut scenes characters would be spinning, and there was a fair deal of crashes to desktop. I cant say that this is a good game but it isn't completely worthless. Play it once through and be done with it, I don't see what big hype was with this game, it's average at best.… Expand
  8. guinevere2
    May 21, 2011
    4
    I do not want the rpg genre to follow the mass effect direction: oversimplifying every rpg aspect: starting from character creation, through the party management, exploration, combat and storyline part of the game. On top of that the game is ridiculous short, overuses same planet/building over and over again and has no replayability value at all. I also found the loading time between zonesI do not want the rpg genre to follow the mass effect direction: oversimplifying every rpg aspect: starting from character creation, through the party management, exploration, combat and storyline part of the game. On top of that the game is ridiculous short, overuses same planet/building over and over again and has no replayability value at all. I also found the loading time between zones to long. It is a scheme to milk as much dollars from the players as possible with shiny, superficial games full of meaningless pseudo - minigames… Expand
  9. idoge25
    Apr 24, 2011
    4
    * A Good Sci-Fi story, in a rich Universe (with good characters)
    * A crapy "on rails" third-person shooter
    * Even crapier time-based minigames, with no possibility to regulate their difficulty
    * Terrible level design, which breaks the suspension of disbelief...
  10. syrik
    May 6, 2011
    4
    This game really has to get two scores. If you play on normal difficulty, like I did my first play through, then it's great. Great story, game play, action, character depth, pretty much does everything right and it earns a solid 8. Play it the second play through on Insanity difficulty and suddenly its a game riddled with bugs and as such id score it a 1. Buggy games drive me crazy andThis game really has to get two scores. If you play on normal difficulty, like I did my first play through, then it's great. Great story, game play, action, character depth, pretty much does everything right and it earns a solid 8. Play it the second play through on Insanity difficulty and suddenly its a game riddled with bugs and as such id score it a 1. Buggy games drive me crazy and I think far far less of an otherwise good game for having them. What causes this discrepancy? On the top level of difficulty the enemies hit hard, really hard. This means you have to act fast and use cover, always, every time. Two problems pop up, first when you turn quickly your character will have a tendency to become detached from the game world and float in the air or suddenly get stuck on top of objects. This doesn't happen all the time, but enough to be called repeatable and definitive. Second problem is cover. While on normal the few times you ducked and hid it probably worked fine. Now, you are ducking and hiding everywhere, fast and frequently. This causes the many surfaces to reveal their true nature where your character will not hide completely and you'll get shot through an object, or your character won't lean out the correct direction and you'll be left open to get shot. There are many many glitched cover surfaces that cause a variety of issues with game play. Besides that there are also a few other bugs present like quests that you can't complete that don't end up affecting anything and also a game killing bug where your game will have a critical crash and close if you change your ability hot keys in combat (there is a quick hotkey UI with bad programming). These very prevalent bugs cause the game heavy problems because they get you killed when you should otherwise be alive. So, all told id give the game a 4. Great story, so so game play that is very dependent on the difficulty setting as to how decent it is and released, yet never fixed, with a repeatable bug that will cause a fatal error.… Expand
  11. themrchook
    Sep 2, 2012
    4
    Mass Effect 2 is a sequel that has been stripped of everything that made the first game enjoyable for me. Reduced to a simple, linear cover based third person shooter with token rpg elements and mini games. The story is the only thing that holds this game up, but it is still a tattered, sorry flag.
  12. North
    May 26, 2011
    4
    Hmm, how should I begin? ME1 was a blast. The story, inventory, choices, teams, exploration...and now in ME2, all the stuffs that made ME1 terrific has been disposed. And all those big gaming magazines praising this sequel with 9/10, 94/100 like scores. >.> I wonder if Bioware actually bribed them to give high scores to ME2... That's why I never read their criticisms. You gotta search forHmm, how should I begin? ME1 was a blast. The story, inventory, choices, teams, exploration...and now in ME2, all the stuffs that made ME1 terrific has been disposed. And all those big gaming magazines praising this sequel with 9/10, 94/100 like scores. >.> I wonder if Bioware actually bribed them to give high scores to ME2... That's why I never read their criticisms. You gotta search for the actual gamer to have a good introspection. And majority of the PEOPLE here would probably agree with me, as I agree with their comments. ME2 is far away from being an RPG game. And I give it 4/10, all for the sake of ME1. And the mixed comments about gameplay, graphics, characters and such are pretty much similar elsewhere. Mine too: the game is short, the story is not well developed, inventory is poor, choices of Shepard does not necessarily have effects within the game, but expected to have effects in ME3? You see how Bioware gets away with this? Thus what I will add to those nagtive and mixed comments is also gonna be my criticism of Bioware's hardline capitalistic policy in robbing people's money and stirring a "mass" anticipation for the third ME game. Now, they promise that if we buy those DLC games additionally, we'll have an idea about ME3 - DLC PRODUCTION HAS BECOME THE VILEST TACTIC IN THE GAMING INDUSTRY. Keep the game short and dully, and release some DLCs and stir up more anticipation. Surely, gamers will "buy" it! With additional cash flowing in Bioware accounts.....

    Should I say don't buy ME2? I don't think I can, cos now you already played ME1, you liked it, and now you want to see the end of it. You're surely gonna buy ME2, no matter how linear and mediocre it is. Because it is a bridge to the final game that is expected to have very high climaxes. And Bioware will have the cream of the business while experimenting RPG and FPS with ME2. ME2 is thus a rather experimental game and I hope that Bioware takes these negative criticisms into account, since they're mostly given by seasoned, experienced gamers!    … Expand
  13. Stylus
    Mar 19, 2012
    4
    Mass Effect was never a clever game but in this sequel it takes a turn for the dumber. RPG mechanics are stripped out but not properly replaced with good TPS mechanics, there was no sense of urgency (which is unforgivable in such a linear game) and the main story was underdeveloped (to be specific it felt like the writers wanted it to be like a movie heist such as Ocean's Eleven but thereMass Effect was never a clever game but in this sequel it takes a turn for the dumber. RPG mechanics are stripped out but not properly replaced with good TPS mechanics, there was no sense of urgency (which is unforgivable in such a linear game) and the main story was underdeveloped (to be specific it felt like the writers wanted it to be like a movie heist such as Ocean's Eleven but there was never any pay-off after assembling the team and nobody had a coherent plan). . As I mentioned before the shooting mechanics aren't particularly good; comparing this game to Gears of War would be an insult to the folks at Gearbox. There are little things like being forced to slap the spacebar all the time and bigger things like the lack of interesting enemies that force you to change your play style. The only redeeming aspects of the game were the little call backs to your saves in the original game and the side characters and squad mates who provided all the game's interest. Unfortunately the small joys provided by the characters aren't enough to offset the fact that most of the time you will be playing an uninspired shooter. Two stars.… Expand
  14. Doctective
    Jun 3, 2013
    4
    As a person who's played Mass Effect 2 both on the PS3 and PC, I have all rights to say that with me being a dedicated fan to the franchise, this never stood up to be the proper sequel to Mass Effect 1 everyone wanted to be. Sure it's good compared to Mass Effect 3, but let's forget that disaster for a moment and get down to what Mass Effect 2 had, and what it shouldn't have had.

    First    As a person who's played Mass Effect 2 both on the PS3 and PC, I have all rights to say that with me being a dedicated fan to the franchise, this never stood up to be the proper sequel to Mass Effect 1 everyone wanted to be. Sure it's good compared to Mass Effect 3, but let's forget that disaster for a moment and get down to what Mass Effect 2 had, and what it shouldn't have had.

    First of all, the PC Port is pretty bad. I mean I am glad that aiming with the mouse works as it should, but binding Sprint/Interact/Cover all to the same button? What happened to the special treatment Mass Effect 1 got for PC? None of that is there, and the game really suffers greatly from having sprint and cover on the same button as you find yourself locking into cover while trying to retreat from the enemies, leaving you completely exposed to their gunfire while you go through the animations of getting out of cover again. Mass Effect 1 had you just pressing against cover without the need of button presses, and allowed you to crouch in cover too. What happened to all of that?

    Now the removal of overheat and grenades are for balance, I can understand that and honestly I wasn't bothered by it as much as I could've been, however, the in-world explanation is just so damn stupid I can't imagine how BioWare managed to laugh up the fact that it would be a good idea to choose that over the overheat system.

    A lot of missions are repetitive, which is something all three entries suffer greatly from. While Mass Effect 2 at least varies its' environments, half of the loyalty missions and sidequests consist of nothing but mindless shooting with 2 minute long cutscenes at the start and end trying to justify why it made sense to enter a gunfight, and sadly here Mass Effect 2 doesn't fare any better than any other third person shooter. If you were dumb enough to play as Soldier, you're gonna get the bore of your life as this game is all about biotics and tech, so there are some classes which are absolutely boring to play as compared to others. My personal favorite was Vanguard, which I think was amazing to play as and I had a good time playing through the game.

    Dialogue wise, it was outstanding, the story is well told and executed surprisingly well looking at the state of gaming back then. The interrupts were a great addition and you can't criticize Mass Effect 2 for its lack of dialogue. This game executes its characters really well and does an excellent job immersing you in the story and making your personal morale affect what choices you make in the game. Top notch!

    Last but not least, the save game system, which was meh at best. You'd get some letters from people or extra dialogue, however you don't miss a lot not having a Mass Effect 1 save game ready.

    Overall though, this game is really flawed in comparison to Mass Effect 1. A 4 is the brutally honest rating I'd give this game, because as far as it fares against its predecessor, it's cons largely obscure its pros, merely for the fact that Mass Effect 1 offered almost all of that too.    … Expand
  15. micic00
    May 12, 2018
    4
    A dumbed down Mass Effect 2. Corridor shooter, so few RPG elements that it's actually FPS more than RPG. A teen game with lame dialogue and occasional flirting wtih sex. Main story game is decent, graphics great for the time. Overall skip if you're looking for an RPG/grownup game, play if you don't like thinking and are just looking for shooting/running/following an objective marker.
  16. DoesntMatter
    Dec 24, 2012
    4
    What I expected: More from what I got in the first game. What I got: A dumbed down, consolized game with bad game mechanics and a terrible UI. Good things first. The presentation (graphics, animations, voice over) works great, pretty much like in the first game, and the story is nice. Unfortunately, that's where the good things end. The decision that guns now require ammo is something IWhat I expected: More from what I got in the first game. What I got: A dumbed down, consolized game with bad game mechanics and a terrible UI. Good things first. The presentation (graphics, animations, voice over) works great, pretty much like in the first game, and the story is nice. Unfortunately, that's where the good things end. The decision that guns now require ammo is something I can accept and would even prefer. But why does my boss spend billions on a star ship with an advanced armory, yet doesn't have enough cash to buy me some ammo? That way, I have to rely on the ammo I find from dead enemies, which don't always drop the ammo I need. Great, but that's one of the minor flaws of this game: Before I started playing, I had to fix several bugs with the mouse speed and colorization of the game. Many players are complaining about this on forums, but Bioware never bothered to patch these things themselves. Then, I can hardly enjoy anything in this game, because the user interface is so *** **** bad. You can't double click in menus, always need to "click item", then "click ok button". It's not even possible to confirm with ENTER, you have to click the button. Every time. Same goes for the star map. On top of that, there are no shortcut keys to get to the important menus, you have to hit ESC and then click the menu you want to bring up. You can navigate there with the arrow keys, but for some reason unknown to anyone in this galaxy, the controls are reversed. Left goes right, down goes up. Doing simple things takes forever, because the interface is just such a damn mess. Also, every time you pick something up, a message about the item will pop up and fill about half of your screen. They got most of this right in the first game, then changed it to this to "improve" the game for gaming consoles and didn't bother to change it for the PC version - but not only is it bad for PC players, it's also an insult to console gamers. They must really think you're stupid when they dumb down a game like that. Then again, maybe many console gamers are.… Expand
  17. KaienShiba
    Oct 8, 2015
    4
    This very loosely an rpg, it's more of an fps action/rpg. The game itself has very few flaw, but most glaring one are your so called team mates which you have to keep a close eye on and near you, because your Shepard is the main target for enemies. The other glaring flaw is your view point which is behind and slightly to the right of your character, and while it works for games like swtorThis very loosely an rpg, it's more of an fps action/rpg. The game itself has very few flaw, but most glaring one are your so called team mates which you have to keep a close eye on and near you, because your Shepard is the main target for enemies. The other glaring flaw is your view point which is behind and slightly to the right of your character, and while it works for games like swtor or skyrim it does not in fps. Skyrim has the best pov in a game since you can choose your pov. It would been better if this was a true fps.… Expand
  18. Pendra
    Jan 16, 2017
    4
    It is so far away from the feeling of Mass Effect, that we can call it a Reboot.

    It is not a dungeon crawling RPG anymore. The inventory management was "streamlined" to oblivion. Same goes to the stats. The maps still look nice but they are absolutely linear, COD style.The designers even removed the map function altogether in case of combat maps. If you hit M, a compass will point to    It is so far away from the feeling of Mass Effect, that we can call it a Reboot.

    It is not a dungeon crawling RPG anymore. The inventory management was "streamlined" to oblivion. Same goes to the stats.

    The maps still look nice but they are absolutely linear, COD style.The designers even removed the map function altogether in case of combat maps. If you hit M, a compass will point to a direction and that is it.

    The combat system was changed for the worse. I absolutely hate the ammo system. The overheat system of Mass Effect 1 was way better to control the damage output. I run out of ammo from the primary and secondary weapons frequently because the enemies seldom drop anything.

    The story is smaller, less interesting and somewhat forced. It doesn't feel too connected to the events in Mass Effect 1. Some background stories of the characters were nice, but the character development doesn't really fit a 2nd part. Mass Effect 2 story would have worked a whole lot better as Mass Effect 1. Then the story of Mass Effect 1 would follow.

    The ending is very weak compared to ME1. You spend 60+ hours to build up the team for the heist. And then, it is over in 45 mins. Whaat? And the last enemy is just silly. I can't find a better word for it. If it was ME1, then it would be OK. However, after ME1 ending, it pales in comparision.

    The replay value is still low. I know I will not force myself through the storyline as a renegade just to see some slightly different plotlines. The game is just too long to redo it for 10-20% difference in the outcome.

    The interface is worse than in ME1.

    The planetary exploration interface slightly more useful. However I would rather have a mix of ME1 rover maps and ME2 scanner minigame then just this or just that.

    All in all, I don't know what the idea was with ME2, but it doesn't do service or add improvement to the fans of ME1 on any level.    … Expand
  19. Shmorgan
    Mar 20, 2017
    4
    Mass Effect 2 is the second best entry in one of my favorite games. Fantastic writing and gameplay.

    Pros + Storytelling + World + The gunplay and engaging in combat seems a lot more improved than in ME1, is more fun and doesn't feel stiff. Cons - Dialogue wheel, I prefer to see texts in sentences to select. - The item management in your inventory is a bit terrible.    Mass Effect 2 is the second best entry in one of my favorite games. Fantastic writing and gameplay.

    Pros

    + Storytelling

    + World

    + The gunplay and engaging in combat seems a lot more improved than in ME1, is more fun and doesn't feel stiff.

    Cons

    - Dialogue wheel, I prefer to see texts in sentences to select.

    - The item management in your inventory is a bit terrible.

    - No looting like in ME1.

    - No open planets to explore and no vehicle to drive around on the planets.    … Expand
  20. Goekhan
    Feb 2, 2010
    3
    Mass Effect 1 was a challenge. And the results are an unique game. But Mass Effect 2 scraps and gets rid of many things that made Mass Effect 1 unique. If ME2 was the first game, not a sequel I mean, I'd be giving it a 10, but seeing how they "destroyed" the game, for sake of graphics, atmosphere, and sound effects, only deserves a 3.
  21. Shaitan87
    Nov 2, 2010
    3
    I was extremely disappointed by this. The story is very linear and boring, there are almost no sidequests at all. I find the gameplay very repetitive, every battle was the same, and even on high difficulties they were trivially easy. The end of the game left me a bit shocked, it seemed to do nothing for the plot of the series, you know about as much about the story at the end of theI was extremely disappointed by this. The story is very linear and boring, there are almost no sidequests at all. I find the gameplay very repetitive, every battle was the same, and even on high difficulties they were trivially easy. The end of the game left me a bit shocked, it seemed to do nothing for the plot of the series, you know about as much about the story at the end of the game as at the start.… Expand
  22. srdrkrm
    Jun 4, 2011
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's been a while since I've played newer video games (as in, the last time was in highschool when I owned a N64), and this series seemed well-regarded. I tried to get into it, browsing through the books, comics, trying to get a sense of the whole expanded universe they tried to create. It's sad to be disappointed. Sure, I'll play the third one, just to see how they will tie it up, but I my hopes are not up.

    The first Mass Effect was tedious, but had some charm; this game is really the same, though the source of both the tedium and it's charm is different.

    Really, the only thing I liked was the opening sequence and some of the writing, which was miles ahead of the really uninteresting story. The opening held some promise (the space you could see out of the top of the ship, the emergence of the secret group from the first game.), but quickly squandered it.
    I liked talking to Joker, but I hated going on with the story. Every possible dramatic moment (characters dying, etc.) is so obviously avoidable, it was tremendously boring. It was also kind of weird! how cold the relationship between Shepherd and characters from the previous game were, as in, they act cold around each other. Considering that many of the players of this game spent at least a bunch of hours with these characters in the last game, you'd think the developer would consider this. I also despised the way the worlds were divided into mission and non-mission areas: it's true, it was lame how almost every other bass in the first game was one of three designs, but taking dividing combat and "talking" areas is a really horrible idea that makes everything really boring. It takes out the element of surprise that a fight could break out any minute and makes it a much more uniform experience.

    Also, I know BioWare already acknowledged this, but I don't know how anybody during the conception of the game could think that the planet mining parts was permissible gameplay. Ugh.

    Sure somethings were better in this round: the fighting did feel a lot better, and the actual fighting levels I liked. Again, the actual writing was a bit better, though it was still in b-movie land. The worst part is, considering how singularly boring this plot is, there is no way I can trust any professional reviewer who has claimed that BioWare is the king of "epic storytelling" or something. You obviously have not read enough books, or movies, or music or anything to say such a thing. Unless you mean in video gaming, which means that video games still is a child primarily raised by meat-heads. Well, there goes my first video game review. Alas.    … Expand
  23. Zonerider
    Jun 29, 2012
    3
    3 points for graphic and storyline. The game is a nice action adventure, but not a RPG. Wolfenstein from 2008 is more a RPG than Mass Effect. With 3 team members your avatar wipe out all life in the galaxy in 2 long weekends, than you have get the maximum player level and when you have all the upgrades, perks, abilitys and items the games ends abruptly, you can drop your lovely leveled3 points for graphic and storyline. The game is a nice action adventure, but not a RPG. Wolfenstein from 2008 is more a RPG than Mass Effect. With 3 team members your avatar wipe out all life in the galaxy in 2 long weekends, than you have get the maximum player level and when you have all the upgrades, perks, abilitys and items the games ends abruptly, you can drop your lovely leveled avatar in the trash and start a new game. For me the game is only a stand alone graphic patch for Star Wars KOTOR. Extreme potential wasted!… Expand
  24. beefcake124
    Mar 16, 2014
    3
    they wont add gamepad support because they dont care about consumers. This would have been a good game to i think but mouse and keyboard do not work with my 3d hdtv and couch
  25. aeroslimshady
    Jul 29, 2022
    3
    This is easily the most overrated RPG of all time. Mind numbing cover shooter based combat, idiotic dialogue system where none of your choices matter and you're forced into a path from the very beginning if you want to fully benefit from paragon/renegade points or whatever they're called. Super lazy side quests, awful writing that pretends to be more mature than it really is, drollThis is easily the most overrated RPG of all time. Mind numbing cover shooter based combat, idiotic dialogue system where none of your choices matter and you're forced into a path from the very beginning if you want to fully benefit from paragon/renegade points or whatever they're called. Super lazy side quests, awful writing that pretends to be more mature than it really is, droll overused companion system where they swear their unyielding allegiance to you after exhausting their dialogue options. Most of the game is literally just pointless boring side quests disguised as a main quest. I couldn't finish it. I'm glad WRPGs have been in rapid decline and people are realizing how terrible these games actually are.… Expand
  26. PaulC
    Mar 2, 2010
    2
    YOu meet some baddies. You press some buttons. It doesn't really matter which ones you press. Keep pressing them till the baddy is dead. There are other characters that you control, but they rarely do what you ask them, and often just stand in your way. So press some more buttons. Even on the PC this game REEKS of console. It has the depth of spit puddle and the gameplay you would YOu meet some baddies. You press some buttons. It doesn't really matter which ones you press. Keep pressing them till the baddy is dead. There are other characters that you control, but they rarely do what you ask them, and often just stand in your way. So press some more buttons. Even on the PC this game REEKS of console. It has the depth of spit puddle and the gameplay you would exepct by a game developed to be played with the massive limitations of a joypad. I'm told that this is a great console game. I wish it would have stayed on the consoles, becasue it's a very VERY shallow PC game. OS developers! If I'd wanted to listen to hour after hour of spoken cutscenes - i'd a have rented a DVD not bought a game. "BANG BANG BANG MC Fly - Gameplay McFly" ..it's a GAME..The clue is in the genre game = gameplay not hours of listening to an annenoidal retard mumble through hours of text. I don't suppose we'll ever see a game like Baldurs Gate 2 again. Just shallow twitch games like this junk… Expand
  27. JayL
    Mar 17, 2010
    2
    The graphics look quite nice but that's about it. A few of the old characters are back from ME1 but the acting is very wooden and the things that wowed you graphically (like realtime rendered cutscenes) from ME1 just dont cut it now. The game itself is appalling; They've expanded on the really lame things in ME1, you pretty much pick up everything you can like fallout3, you have The graphics look quite nice but that's about it. A few of the old characters are back from ME1 but the acting is very wooden and the things that wowed you graphically (like realtime rendered cutscenes) from ME1 just dont cut it now. The game itself is appalling; They've expanded on the really lame things in ME1, you pretty much pick up everything you can like fallout3, you have no freedom on character advancement. It's all so linear and just an attempt to squeeze a few quid out of some existing code and a title which could have been much better. I can't give this a 0 because it loads and runs ok, but i'm not going over 2 because this game really does have no fun in it at all.… Expand
  28. OliverGrau
    Feb 13, 2012
    2
    First things first it's no RPG, the quests are boring as hell, they're always the same, shoot some idiots with no brains and at last there's a boss. I've really tried to play it since I spent 5 euros on it some months ago, but everytime I've plaid for 20 minutes, I just quit, it's so boring. Worst 5 euros ever spent.
  29. Skie
    Feb 3, 2015
    2
    The user score here surprised me so much I had to write a review.
    First, it has the worst gameplay in the saga. Most RPG elements got removed, and it became a straight forward action game with pinch of other elements.
    Second, the story is between horrible to non-existent. It starts with deus ex machina, continues with ruining the Shepherd character, and ends without making any sense or    The user score here surprised me so much I had to write a review.
    First, it has the worst gameplay in the saga. Most RPG elements got removed, and it became a straight forward action game with pinch of other elements.
    Second, the story is between horrible to non-existent. It starts with deus ex machina, continues with ruining the Shepherd character, and ends without making any sense or impact what so ever. From the saga over arching plot point of view, it spends minimal amount of time to foreshadowing events that in the end aren't even used or appear in the next title. Basically, a joke of a game.
    If you're looking for a shooter action game, it could be a fun game, but don't expect anything else.    … Expand
  30. sfsf
    Feb 2, 2010
    1
    The most undeservedly over hyped game of the month award. It's also a strong contender for the 'most boring gameplay in years' award. Not that it's a surprise really, it's pretty much a regular thing now for the entire games industry media to suck up to the game developers in order to get that vital advertising contract/payola. Did I really just give this game a The most undeservedly over hyped game of the month award. It's also a strong contender for the 'most boring gameplay in years' award. Not that it's a surprise really, it's pretty much a regular thing now for the entire games industry media to suck up to the game developers in order to get that vital advertising contract/payola. Did I really just give this game a 1? I guess so. You see the reality is, there are good games out there. Even ones that get hyped up (Uncharted 2 for example). What I object to is the almost blanket '10/10 review' style anyone who likes a game feels the need to give it. Why should I care? Because of course it's up to us as players to counter the 'paid websites' and the 'shill reviewers' with the truth. The truth, as far as ME2 goes, is that it's one of the single most boring games in relation to it's 'stunning' reviews in some time. Other games (popular/hyped ones) that I've given very low scores to (Bioshock - terrible game play/all flash) (MW2 - no explanation needed) I did so because they plainly sucked on so many levels and yet were getting universal praise from professional critics. ME2 is similar except, it is actually far worse in many ways than those 2 games I've just mentioned. While it it certainly 'everything you normally require' in a game, it is also extremely 'space opera by the numbers'... dull, clinical, lacking soul, lacking fun game play. It's all about the ME universe (and it's fans), it's not about striving for gaming nirvana or exciting the player with immersion and empowering interaction. On a number of levels this game is extremely dated, from level design to texturing, from boring dumbed down RPG elements to mediocre shooting mechanics (Hey they TRIED to copy U2, Gears of War etc but failed badly.. here it just feels clunky). A review is just another opinion, so if hearing 'my' version of the truth offends you please down rate me and go back to enjoying your 'game'. I won't play along with the industry hype machine when a game this 'massive' and well reviewed is a bona-fide snooze fest to play. The problem is all the cut scenes, while well intended, are just lacking in emotion so anyone with half a brain ends up bored of them, thinking 'yes yes we've been told this particular cliched story a hundred times before in both games and movies now please let me play'... and then when you do play you find an extremely dated linear style corridor shooter. Seriously there are B-grade FPS games from 2002 that feel more fun to play than this. The mini games (hacking/scanning etc) are beyond tedious... did these developers not read about how mind numbing that kind of stuff is when looking at reviews of other games that contained them? It's 2010 and this over hyped thing is using mini game cliches still? Overall the game lacks a certain focus, and a heart. It's dull, it's not that it does anything extremely 'wrong' it's just a very very 'safe' game for a very average audience. The fact it's action portion feels like a poor man's Gears/Uncharted2 only serves to highlight that my time is better spent playing other games. I'm certain a massive amount of people who lap this stuff up only do so because of the 10/10 ratings, then hate to admit to themselves it's not actually any fun. The feeling I got from playing this game is it's a cold, by the numbers, play it safe game that doesn't have a true identity. It's neither good RPG nor good action shooter, in fact it's a really bad one of either of those. Mixing 2 bad attempts at different genres will not cancel out the badness... in my opinion it just amplifies it. If you want a TPS that rocks and has tight gameplay then look elsewhere, if you want an RPG that immerses you and excites you, look elsewhere, if you want an epic space story that feels involving and dramatic (and not overdone) look elsewhere, if you want great level design and beautiful art direction.... look elsewhere. If you want to have fun, for £40+ do yourself a favour and LOOK ELSEWHERE.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best PC Game of 2010
3
#3 Most Discussed PC Game of 2010
4
#4 Most Shared PC Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
94

Universal acclaim - based on 55 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 54 out of 55
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 55
  3. Negative: 0 out of 55
  1. Vandal
    96
    Mass Effect 2 resumes with pride the path opened by the first game. This sequel is a lesson of how things should be made.
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  2. AtomicGamer
    96
    Mass Effect 2 delivers a story that's deeper than what many novelists are capable of, and its action is better than what most Hollywood directors are creating nowadays. It's an addictive, engrossing experience that many gamers will replay over and over while they hold their breath waiting for the third game.
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  3. PC Games
    88
    A brilliant mix of shooter and role-playing, filled with great characters, excellent design, lots of action and clever dialogue. It's a shame though that Bioware did not improve the inventory and skill system of the first game, but actually reduced it even more. I really wished there were more customization options, more ways to develop and gear up my characters. But all these are merely small points of criticism, since there is so much to feel and experience in this game. Mass Effect 2 is a thrilling, emotional ride and ultimately every bit as good as its predecessor.
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