Mass Effect 2

 Xbox 360
User Score
8.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 3743 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3,340 out of 3743
  2. Mixed: 161 out of 3743
  3. Negative: 242 out of 3743
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  1. dtuner
    Apr 14, 2011
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. RPG? --- I don't get it... I just don't. How could this game have received a 9.0 user score? It must be because the current generation of gamers is made-up of FPS f-boys who care more about ownz and lolz, than a deep RPG experience. Mass Effect 2 isn't an RPG.. it doesn't even have elements of an RPG. The only thing that had RPG elements in ME2 was the marketing letterhead. ME2 was a third person shooter in space. Period. None of your choices matter or make any difference to the story line, except who is or is not around after the credits roll. Big woop.

    Completely linear gameplay -- huge disapointment throughout the entire experience. Side-missions are nothing more than 10 minute long fire fights, without any purpose. No loot, no weapons or armor to find, no unique artifacts.... just more fps lolz and ownz.

    Mining -- makes me so sick I don't even want to write about it. Bioware took away immersive planet exploration in an awesome all terrain vehicle.... for a glorified game of darts. Congrats developers. You epic failed. All you had to do was add some more alien villages, or interesting ruins to explore. Instead, you Bioware typed select-all, Shift-delete. "We're golden yo!" I've met smarter rocks.

    PS - to the people who complained about ME1's planet exploring vehicle controls -- you're just too dumb. Sorry. The controls worked perfectly, and exploring the mountains of a distant world was great fun. Try learning how to control a vehicle other than a Halo Bullfrog buggy... or whatever it's called.

    Inventory - Shift-Delete.
    Armor, Weapons - Shift-Delete.
    ...a new bioware trend.

    Finally... the final Boss.... WTF kind of special education, highschool drop-out, pregnant at 16, eats paint chips, glue sniffing, embarrassment to humanity, brainchild decided that a giant skeletor in the middle of space was a "awesomz lolz yo, yo" final boss?

    Skeletor...really? In space??? How was this thing supposed to do anything, go anywhere, or simply be a threat to anyhing in the ME2 universe? Was he going to fling asteroids across known space?
    Oh, and the best part was that he was made from a mix of biological DNA.... so he was the giant mutated baby of Rosanne Bar and Shaq?? Bioware is so dumb.

    You get a 4 because the graphics were pretty. That's about it.    … Expand
  2. TheSquirrel
    May 5, 2012
    4
    A disturbingly over simplified pander-to-the-masses over sexed waste of $60. How this gets called an RPG is a mystery to me. Eliminate the best parts of ME1, collecting weapons, armour, and support tech, extensive character modification, and having a large central point (the citadel) and what your left with is a single play-through bore with little to no reason to play twice. WhileA disturbingly over simplified pander-to-the-masses over sexed waste of $60. How this gets called an RPG is a mystery to me. Eliminate the best parts of ME1, collecting weapons, armour, and support tech, extensive character modification, and having a large central point (the citadel) and what your left with is a single play-through bore with little to no reason to play twice. While still better than alot of other games out there, this is in the realm of Dino-Crisis 2 or virtually every bond game since goldeneye when it comes to being a complete failure as a sequel. I may play the third, but only to see how things play out. Gameplay for this series has dropped to a one, the 4 is for having the ME storyline.… Expand
  3. osh
    Sep 4, 2011
    4
    I am honestly baffled why review scores are so high for this game. I loved the first game, but the sequel just made me feel like I wasn't in control. I think I liked the first Mass Effect so much just because it had a really well-thought-out universe that allowed for some really exciting action, interesting characters, and a gripping story, all the while forcing me make tough decisions butI am honestly baffled why review scores are so high for this game. I loved the first game, but the sequel just made me feel like I wasn't in control. I think I liked the first Mass Effect so much just because it had a really well-thought-out universe that allowed for some really exciting action, interesting characters, and a gripping story, all the while forcing me make tough decisions but rewarding my wise choices. Mass Effect 2, by contrast, seems to sacrifice the integrity of the universe, characters, and story for more action, excitement, and drama; and though the decisions are still tough, the wise choices are apparently replaced by only irrational, dramatic dialogue options -- and that's not even mentioning the alienating game design changes, namely the introduction of reloading (for which there seems to be no other reason than to fit in with shooters, despite being needlessly annoying), the complete overhaul of the weapon system (which caters to newbies who play shooters and punishes those who played the first game), and the decided lack of standard-definition TV support (making most of the text unreadable to me, leaving me confused and even angry).

    I bought this game expecting a fulfilling sequel experience, but instead I got a game that betrayed my expectations, even to the point of insult. That said, the game has amazing visuals, and I imagine it would be enjoyable to those who played ME1, didn't care about playing a rational character, either don't remember the story in detail or don't care about ret-cons, and want a completely new combat system; or those who didn't play ME1, don't mind the nagging feeling that they're missing part of the story, and like action heroes and shooting things.    … Expand
  4. kristoak
    Aug 28, 2014
    0
    This generation of little brats has brought to you a ruined master piece of what ME1 was. They only know shooting, mindless simplified on rails game play, skip to the next fast travel location and the use of less brains, this is what they want in gaming and it is exactly what they got, you know why? Because money talks, and as long as these people keep forking their money up you will onlyThis generation of little brats has brought to you a ruined master piece of what ME1 was. They only know shooting, mindless simplified on rails game play, skip to the next fast travel location and the use of less brains, this is what they want in gaming and it is exactly what they got, you know why? Because money talks, and as long as these people keep forking their money up you will only get more dumb down simplified dribble like this game. It's not about the developer, it's society that demands this crap, until you fix this consumerism Americanised shallow way of life, you'll get games and anything related to entertainment like this. Simple, watered down, leave nothing to the imagination, hold your hand in the direction you're forced to go. Nothing you do in this game matters, there is a total disconnect, i had no feelings towards any of the characters because of the poor shallow written dialogs.

    I did all character side quests, and stopped playing a few missions before the end because i had enough of how bad the story was and didn't want to waste my time / didn't even care about how this game ends. I rather never find out to be honest.    … Expand
  5. JoeLouis3849
    Jan 2, 2013
    1
    This game is everything Mass Effect wasn't. No exploration, now you slowly scan a planet and hope the game will allow you to land on the thing. Combat difficulty is no longer determined by player skill, but enemies who have infinite ammo, immunity to player attacks and can kill the player in 3 hits regardless of level. The storyline seems contrived; "Your going on a suicide mission".This game is everything Mass Effect wasn't. No exploration, now you slowly scan a planet and hope the game will allow you to land on the thing. Combat difficulty is no longer determined by player skill, but enemies who have infinite ammo, immunity to player attacks and can kill the player in 3 hits regardless of level. The storyline seems contrived; "Your going on a suicide mission". The whole game seems to be about collecting resources and trying to bed down one of your teammates. Virgins will get a kick out of that. FPS fans will enjoy the fact that there are little to no RPG elements that require them to use more than .006% of their brains to play this game. RPG fans will dislike this game's lackluster character development system. Me? I hate this game.… Expand
  6. gr1pp
    Nov 21, 2011
    0
    Not *really* a zero game, but the 9.0 is WAY off... I would give it a 7 legitimately. overall, the fact that I beat ME1 some 6 times, spending anywhere from a week to over a month on each playthrough, to beating ME2 in a single weekend, having done *EVERYTHING* to be done in the game, and never looking back spoke volumes to me. It really ruined the entire series in my eyes. And i cannotNot *really* a zero game, but the 9.0 is WAY off... I would give it a 7 legitimately. overall, the fact that I beat ME1 some 6 times, spending anywhere from a week to over a month on each playthrough, to beating ME2 in a single weekend, having done *EVERYTHING* to be done in the game, and never looking back spoke volumes to me. It really ruined the entire series in my eyes. And i cannot begin to comprehend how it got such a high user score here, thus I'm submitting a zero to counter it. I was a huge fan of ME1, but ME2 was all graphics and no game. 1. they ruined the controls, taking it from a tactical action rpg to just an action game. 2. They added shared timers on the characters abilities, seriously hindering how the game is played. 3. Got rid of all RPG elements, giving you only linear upgrades to single choice weapons and armor. 4. They made the dialogs horrid, compared to ME1 - choices went from captian awesome --> **** in ME1 to cry baby --> immature jackass in ME2. 5. The levels were completely linear, with zero feeling of "exploration" captured in ME1, plus the levels were way too small, taking mere minutes to clear each level. and i could go on about the problems but i think you get the point.… Expand
  7. sh4dow
    Feb 28, 2013
    4
    A disgrace to what could have been. I played through the first Mass Effect over two times, for about 80 hours. I couldn't wait to finally play Mass Effect 2 and see how the story would develop. What magnificent new encounters would await me. What did I get instead? Ambush after ambush like a cheap Gears of War clone. Largely stripped of the role playing elements that made ME1 such a greatA disgrace to what could have been. I played through the first Mass Effect over two times, for about 80 hours. I couldn't wait to finally play Mass Effect 2 and see how the story would develop. What magnificent new encounters would await me. What did I get instead? Ambush after ambush like a cheap Gears of War clone. Largely stripped of the role playing elements that made ME1 such a great game, ME2 feels like what a husk from ME1 must feel like a soulless shell of what used to be.… Expand
  8. Stardog
    Mar 25, 2011
    4
    The first game is one of the best RPG's you will ever play, but the sequel is a massive step backwards with a lot of pointless changes for the worse.

    One pointless change is the firing of weapons. It's now a case of holding down shoot and spraying until you need to reload. Your weapon will never overheat and your accuracy never affected. They've listened to complains about the inventory    The first game is one of the best RPG's you will ever play, but the sequel is a massive step backwards with a lot of pointless changes for the worse.

    One pointless change is the firing of weapons. It's now a case of holding down shoot and spraying until you need to reload. Your weapon will never overheat and your accuracy never affected.

    They've listened to complains about the inventory in ME1, but instead of fixing it, they've removed it entirely.

    They have turned Mass Effect into a mindless action shooter like Gears of War. Steer clear.    … Expand
  9. NateB
    Feb 1, 2010
    3
    Felt this game was a major disappointment and letdown. While the sound, atmosphere, and dialogue are high water marks, the combat is beyond clunky (especially after having played GoW 2 and Uncharted 2) and the RPG elements are severely reduced from BioWare's other installments. Unlike in prior games, it makes little difference what class you choose or what characters you choose to Felt this game was a major disappointment and letdown. While the sound, atmosphere, and dialogue are high water marks, the combat is beyond clunky (especially after having played GoW 2 and Uncharted 2) and the RPG elements are severely reduced from BioWare's other installments. Unlike in prior games, it makes little difference what class you choose or what characters you choose to bring along as almost all abilities are identical to one another. Furthermore, what kind of RPG doesn't even have maps for levels, loot drops from fallen enemies or stats for their weapons? Having greatly enjoyed KOTOR, Jade Empire and NWN I really wanted to like this game and tried for hours, but at the end of the day the lack of RPG features and horrible combat were faults too great to power through.… Expand
  10. villegolas
    Aug 21, 2011
    1
    Oh my God, what have you done Bioware? It took me a while to get used to ME 1 but at the end I was loving it. Now with ME 2 I cant even shoot and hit the target! The ammo is scarce, the characters are horrible, the missions are terrible, the story im not even following due to its heavy nonsense dialogue, the graphics are not that improved if not worse, the combat has taken a million stepsOh my God, what have you done Bioware? It took me a while to get used to ME 1 but at the end I was loving it. Now with ME 2 I cant even shoot and hit the target! The ammo is scarce, the characters are horrible, the missions are terrible, the story im not even following due to its heavy nonsense dialogue, the graphics are not that improved if not worse, the combat has taken a million steps back, the looting has been replaced by find a weapon each mission, the mining thing is shinny at the beginning but soon gets tiring... Where is WREX killing everything in sight, where is Ashley to whom i vowed at ME 1. Garrus makes me cry nowadays, he was RAD before. Saren was enormous as an enemy, now I dont even relate to my mission! Please BIOWARE, make Mass Effect 3 what it should be, or at least let me be able to shoot at 1 enemy without failing!… Expand
  11. OG
    Apr 12, 2010
    4
    Loved the first game, don't know what happen in this one. Feels that they didn't feel good with the game the first time and threw everything away. Is a complete different setting, instead of the council now it has a corporate sponsor. Horrible plots with lots of holes. The last one was sci-fi, this is like gossip girl on space. Arrrgh! I can't believe I wasted 60 bucks in Loved the first game, don't know what happen in this one. Feels that they didn't feel good with the game the first time and threw everything away. Is a complete different setting, instead of the council now it has a corporate sponsor. Horrible plots with lots of holes. The last one was sci-fi, this is like gossip girl on space. Arrrgh! I can't believe I wasted 60 bucks in this. Not buying the next one for sure. And they can buy all the reviews they want. In the end, they know who are the real fans. Why buying an angry space shooter game if there is Gears, Half life, even Modern Warfare. What was this game offering that the others didn't? All that they threw it away.… Expand
  12. RonW.
    Jan 26, 2010
    2
    If I wanted a Gears of War, Choose Your Own Adventure book, I'd go to the library. I wouldn't preorder an action RPG. Everything they've done has completely ruined the whole reason I liked this series. Their waiting until release to make these details public just makes it all that much worse. This might as well have been produced by Activision and IW.
  13. JessicaR.
    Jan 26, 2010
    0
    Sadly the game is rather uninspired in design and the characters don't have the depth, personality, or intrigue, that Saren, Sovereign, and Wrex has in the first game. Besides the obvious high production values the game doesn't do anything new. It takes away exploration, makes you probe random planets, and gives you a story that is more predictable. What happened to the amazing Sadly the game is rather uninspired in design and the characters don't have the depth, personality, or intrigue, that Saren, Sovereign, and Wrex has in the first game. Besides the obvious high production values the game doesn't do anything new. It takes away exploration, makes you probe random planets, and gives you a story that is more predictable. What happened to the amazing story and characters from Mass Effect? I could even forget the most annoying voice actor ever, Shepard, but this game seems to be reeking it with the high scores because it's higher budgeted. The side quests are better, but the characters don't make you want to continue making choice, the choices have more depth actually. The gameplay is solid, but damn the Third Person Shooter genre has become a chore this gen. And the level design is average, along with the AI.… Expand
  14. Al
    Jan 26, 2010
    0
    Lack of depth, lack of personality, lack of really everthing that makes a core RPG. Mass Effects 2 is what I call a straight up 3rd person shooter. It was a epic fail for me.
  15. AliJ
    Jan 26, 2010
    0
    Unfortunately it doesn't quite live up to the hype. The game design is average, the gameplay is average, the pressentation, is great, but I think we've seen it all before. Ultimately Mass Effect 2 is more cinematic, but it doesn't bring anything new to the table other than that it's a TPS with some worthless decision making.
  16. GaryM.
    Jan 28, 2010
    0
    Mass effect 1 was pretty much a fantastic game and the perfect balance of Rpg and Tps and a superb cast of characters with a great story. You'd expect further improvement on Mass effect 2 however that is simply not the case and instead the series has simply gone backwards by a landslide. The problem is that pretty much all the RPG elements that made the first game great have simply Mass effect 1 was pretty much a fantastic game and the perfect balance of Rpg and Tps and a superb cast of characters with a great story. You'd expect further improvement on Mass effect 2 however that is simply not the case and instead the series has simply gone backwards by a landslide. The problem is that pretty much all the RPG elements that made the first game great have simply gone thus making this game an all out third person shooter in an obvious attempt to gather the casual gamers attention. Secondly is the Story and Characters which in the first game was simply superb however in this game you simply don't care about the story or the characters and will find yourself trying to skip the long and drawn-out cinematics just to get on with the game. Lastly is the graphics in which yes they do look great however the improvment over the first game is minimal and in some way have actually gotten worse. Overall if your looking for a real blend of Rpg and Tps I reccomend you purchase Mass effect 1 as it is by far the superior game. Obviously with this game greed has gotten the better off Bioware which has lead to the once great series being butchured and stripped off all its best elements which results in a mediocre tps.… Expand
  17. TonyA.
    Feb 1, 2010
    0
    I cannot believe the over hype of a game that is COMPLETLEY UNPLAYABLE due too tiny text size. Bioware have said that it is meant for HD TVs, but it does not say that on the box, or in any " perfect score" review I have read. They have also broken the best parts from the original software to sell to you for extra money. Bioware and EA are guilty of disregard for gamers and pure greed in I cannot believe the over hype of a game that is COMPLETLEY UNPLAYABLE due too tiny text size. Bioware have said that it is meant for HD TVs, but it does not say that on the box, or in any " perfect score" review I have read. They have also broken the best parts from the original software to sell to you for extra money. Bioware and EA are guilty of disregard for gamers and pure greed in thier last two games, and I implore you not to buy this game as you will be very angry after 10 minutes.… Expand
  18. WillG
    Feb 21, 2010
    3
    Bioware are slipping down the slope, no thanks to EA I suspect. Absolutely HORRIFIED at what Bioware have done with Mass Effect. Fans of the first game stay away. They have taken what could have been THE best RPG world/game series and utterly stripped/dumbed it down to appeal to the masses. This is a 3rd person shooter that would appeal to 10 year olds. Its seems the acquisition of Bioware are slipping down the slope, no thanks to EA I suspect. Absolutely HORRIFIED at what Bioware have done with Mass Effect. Fans of the first game stay away. They have taken what could have been THE best RPG world/game series and utterly stripped/dumbed it down to appeal to the masses. This is a 3rd person shooter that would appeal to 10 year olds. Its seems the acquisition of Bioware by EA has taken all of the sophistication from the company. Really cannot express how disappointing Mass Effect 2 is. Has totally ruined what was my favourite game franchise/gaming world.… Expand
  19. RadarE33
    Apr 5, 2011
    4
    The disappointing follow up to a good (not great) game: Mass Effect. ME2 differs from the first ME in almost every regard. Gone are the opportunities to craft your own personalized weaponry (through mods). Gone is the focus on saving the galaxy from the "Reaper" threat. And gone is the weapon heatsink system and the Mako (granted, the mako sections had horrible level design, but it was funThe disappointing follow up to a good (not great) game: Mass Effect. ME2 differs from the first ME in almost every regard. Gone are the opportunities to craft your own personalized weaponry (through mods). Gone is the focus on saving the galaxy from the "Reaper" threat. And gone is the weapon heatsink system and the Mako (granted, the mako sections had horrible level design, but it was fun to drive). Instead, we are given a "recruitment" and monotony simulator, where we (the player) is tasked with recruiting a bunch of mercenaries, psychopaths, and forc- I mean, telepathy users. While the start of the game plays out nicely enough (balance of shooting, dialogue, and character development), it all ends up falling apart in the second Act. It is here that every single one of your squad members forgets that you are on a mission to stop the Collectors and starts whining to you to solve their "crippling" emotional and legal problems. Apparently, none of them want to utilize Kelly's counselling services (too cheery?). The game at this point shifts from "let's save the galaxy" to "Now counselling #267... #267?". Aside from the "Counselling Effect", game is further bogged down by the "scanning" minigame; necessary to obtain resources to upgrade the ship, and to do sidequests. Imagine having to do a 3 minute scan for every planet in a system... that's 10 minutes of nothing right there, per sector. Speaking of sidequests, they tend to have little to no impact on the main quest, or the game in general; they're just diversions with equipment upgrades thrown in to give you a reason to do them. DLC is poor as well (see: firewalker pack... that thing is supposed to replace the Mako?). There is an overabundance of dialogue in this game (an understatement), with many characters having long winded conversations with the NPC, which encourages dialogue skipping. Combat is similar to ME, but with a horribly inefficient "clip system", when compared to the heatsink systems in ME. This frustrates combat (especially against Collectors, who can become possessed and have their defenses regenerate instanteously). Tech powers and Biotics all share the same cooling system now, which is to say that if you use a power with a long cool down time, you will be crippled powerwise and techwise for that power's cooldown duration. Skill management has been severely reduced, from say 12 down to 5, leading to little customization of your character's skill set and a feeling a uniqueness. The A.I. is still pretty dumb; at times, they will use cover. But for the majority of your playthrough, they'll stand there and get shot repeatedly until they keel over and croak. Defenses are laughably weak in this game; in ME, you had the option of turning your suit of armor into a walking shield generator, ensuring you could soak up gunfire while poking out and taking potshots. In ME2, your defenses seem to be able to stand the collective force of four bullets before collapsing, and upgrades tend to do very little to increase their strength. The mechanics for how the end game plays out is ridiculous as well. Your squads ability to survive depends on the quality of your counselling services, upgrades to the ship, and upgrades found in boring side quests, and is not determine by skill, luck or chance. Instead, its determined by a series of conditions. Fail to meet just one of these conditions, and that teammate(s) chances of dying increase greatly, end of story . No epic gun battle, no consideration of the overall defense strength of your squad; just a behind the scenes checklist. Given the choice of the buffoons the Illusive Man wants me to recruit and run of the mill soldiers, i'd take the soldiers. At least they'd be focused on the mission, and wouldn't bug me about their "problems".… Expand
  20. GameInformer
    Feb 1, 2010
    0
    We at Game Informer believe this game blows chunks. Good graphics but they still do not natch up to games like Uncharted 2 or KIllzone 2. The PC version definitely does, but in comparison, the Xbox 360 version is poor. Again, the story really is not that compelling and you will find yourself wondering what is going on if you were lucky enough not to play the first one. GI out.
  21. OneDimension
    Feb 1, 2010
    0
    Utter drivel. All the RPG elements that made the first ME stand out from all other Shooters are gone. Its been dumb do..err I mean 'streamlined' to a point where it almost feels totally pointless choosing a class & lvling up. No weapon, armour skills, or class restrictions. You dont even get exp for killing enemies. Pathetic. You could literally just set levelling to auto and Utter drivel. All the RPG elements that made the first ME stand out from all other Shooters are gone. Its been dumb do..err I mean 'streamlined' to a point where it almost feels totally pointless choosing a class & lvling up. No weapon, armour skills, or class restrictions. You dont even get exp for killing enemies. Pathetic. You could literally just set levelling to auto and you wouldnt be missing out on anything. That none of this is being criticised is just beyond belief. I'm sorry but this IS garbage, anyone could of gone and made this. Looks like the once mighty Bioware has finally fallen from grace. Sad.… Expand
  22. macready
    Aug 20, 2010
    0
    Turned an honest but flawed attempt at a RPG/shooter hybrid into nothing but a dumbed down shooter with RPG residue.

    Story sucks, characters are disconnected from anything but their own issues, and are expendable. The gameplay is repetative cover/shoot CONSTANTLY.

    A massive disappointment all around, taking a great first attempt and turning into mediocre mass appeal trash.
  23. HaroldL
    Jan 28, 2010
    0
    The graphics are poor at best and the online is constantly laggy. Overall I was let down by the badly written story and generic characters. This game tries to copy Battleship Earth and does it badly.
  24. polysix
    Feb 1, 2010
    0
    Ok it's not a ZERO, that is ridiculous. However, I for one am SICK of seeing every 'massive name game' getting 10/10 from the sheep players and the shilling reviewers. This has happened to almost all the big name games recently (ok.. for years) and I'll keep on giving zero to games that are getting 10s when they are worth '8' at best... on a good day, if you Ok it's not a ZERO, that is ridiculous. However, I for one am SICK of seeing every 'massive name game' getting 10/10 from the sheep players and the shilling reviewers. This has happened to almost all the big name games recently (ok.. for years) and I'll keep on giving zero to games that are getting 10s when they are worth '8' at best... on a good day, if you squint really hard. Now to the game. For all the hype and praise I was badly let down. I almost fell asleep during the first few hours play. The initial opening scene was nicely done, very good (if you want 'interactive movies' rather than games), it seemed to go downhill after that. When you compare this to the quality in for ex Uncharted 2, it shows so much lack of flair, lack of care, lack of finishing touches. The textures throughout the levels were bland, reminding me of 'poor man's FPS' from the past such as Chaser and all that crud from the early 2000s. Seriously the design is poor, lacking originality, lacking artistic direction and relying on the age old 'generic space theme'. Design was boxy, levels (so far) linear and poorly paced. It was like bioware tried to hybrid this game a bit too much and have ended up removing anything that was cool about it (the RPG depth) and making, frankly, a 2nd rate Third person shooter with clunky controls, poor interface and worst of all EXTREMELY BORING GAMEPLAY. If you play Gears of War or Uncharted 2... or even Resident Evil 4 on the GC.. THAT is how you do '3rd person' properly. This game and it's predecessor were obviously made by a team who don't truly understand how to make a tight addictive 'action' game, and instead rely on the so called 'depth' and vision of the story and concept. It doesn't wash with me. I honestly can't recall a time in recent years I've been this BORED while playing such a 'massive' game. I'm trading mine in asap while the price is still good (If I can) if not looks like I really should stop taking any review site seriously. Ask yourself, while playing this, are you genuinely feeling 'fun'? are you feeling that there is more to pull you through the game than some lame (though nicely scripted and pretty looking) cut scene? I certainly did not relish getting back to the so called 'action' (wooh more shooting with an underpowered and clunky set of weapons) I guess most of all I was astonished at the number of cliches this game spews over the player while being heralded as the second coming of gaming nirvana. I lost all connection with the game because of it's clinical delivery, it's 'by the numbers' action gameplay, and it's robotic characters. The female is annoying, often repeating her lines once too often during battle (it's 2010 people, I thought that kind of thing had been fixed in games these days?). Of course lots and lots of people are still going to buy this, just like the brainless sheep (even worse) who made Modern Warfare 2 the 'beacon' of a once proud industry. Nothing I say will damage Bioware's sales, or stop you from buying it if you are hyped up for it. For me however, it all felt like it was trying too hard to be 'something' it wasn't, with no clear, punchy definition of it's own. It's borrowed ideas and innovations from other games and mixed it up into something that lacks soul or reason to play (other than because the reviews said you should). Ahh just another game in a long line of stupidly overhyped AAA titles that are keeping the industry rich through collusion and payola with review sites. Next up? I guess we'll have Bioshock 2 being 'the greatest thing ever' according to the mags/sites... Just like they did with the first game (which was also overhyped and had terrible gameplay, as bad as I thought it's gameplay was it was actually ever so slightly more fun than ME2's gameplay so that's how bad ME2 is!). There are good 'hyped' games out there, Uncharted 2 is one of them, not perfect but it's solid, addictive and feels compelling. It's art direction and animation are worlds beyond the basic '1999 style' generic corridor shooter we see here. I know i'm picky, I can't help it... I can't help noticing things in ME2 like the lazy texturing (check out the ramps up to the outside buildings in the first levels, many have misaligned textures with no 'trimming' just stopping dead at the end of the mesh - even if it means the texture is cut in half)... that kind of thing was frowned upon way back in user created maps for games like unreal etc so why are pro devs getting away with this lazy 'mapping' and getting 10/10 for graphics/art? Ok a sum up of the bad points ( I won't list the good stuff as there's thousands of 10/10 reviews doing that if you care). .Linear to the point of boredom (Just 'working your way though cos you bought it not cos you are having a blast') .Generic level design .Bad texturing (sky/clouds even feature stretched and flat 'clouds' again say hello to 1999!) .Tiny/Bad UI - blocky and unintuitive .Abrupt level ending. No finesse, just 'map after map' with some cut scenes tacked on. Again check Uncharted2 for one example of how to do this right with 'flair' .Boring and unsympathetic characters. The complete opposite of the great work done in games like Half Life 2 (and again even U2). .Shine on everything, they like them shaders at bioware and they are using them on everything - some may think that makes for 'great graphics' but it doesn't. It looks stupid, it's still a boxy empty lifeless environment that is no pleasure to be in .Clinical to the point of feeling like numb .Ill defined gameplay - is it one thing or the other? neither, it's a mess in terms of gameplay. .Story? Hmm, probably it's strongest side but again it's nothing special, been done to death, they just changed the name of the 'baddies' ... yawn .Overhyped. When a game is overhyped such as this, it better be damned near perfect. Even with flaws it's ok but this is so lacklustre in so many areas it's a crime against videogaming to be calling this 'the best game of the year' so early. I for one hope we'll get more games on all formats this year that are at least 10x better than this. btw: IMO and YMMV. Thanks.… Expand
  25. baaj
    Oct 8, 2010
    4
    Too much EA, not enough Bioware. Disappointing, as Mass Effect 1, just needed a few tweaks to make it one of the best titles ever. It had the action/RPG balance. The story had an epic quality, the really distinctive soundtrack.. Dark is fine, in fact it can be great. But the writers of ME2 seem to think that adding edginess can compensate for weak storytelling.

    Granted, combat was a    Too much EA, not enough Bioware. Disappointing, as Mass Effect 1, just needed a few tweaks to make it one of the best titles ever. It had the action/RPG balance. The story had an epic quality, the really distinctive soundtrack.. Dark is fine, in fact it can be great. But the writers of ME2 seem to think that adding edginess can compensate for weak storytelling.

    Granted, combat was a little clunky was in the first game, but the rest of the game was so tight that it didn't matter. An there were some great elements within that made it a unique experience (like overheating weapons, etc). Combat, in ME2, is certainly smoother. But the whole package comes across like a weak, more-of-the-same FPS underpinned by shallow RPG elements.

    I'm amazed this game's sky high reviews - obviously people love it. I haven't been this disappointed by a sequel since Prince of Persia 2.    … Expand
  26. IF_Awesome
    Mar 7, 2011
    0
    You can stick a "W" in front of it but that doesn't make it an RPG. Mass Effect 2 is basically a glorified shooter that rips off elements from Japanese Visual Novels and Dating Sims, which these developers then mock. Mass Effect 2 also consists of some of the worst voice acting in any game ever and his really hard to take seriously due to bad voice actor choices. If this was a JRPGYou can stick a "W" in front of it but that doesn't make it an RPG. Mass Effect 2 is basically a glorified shooter that rips off elements from Japanese Visual Novels and Dating Sims, which these developers then mock. Mass Effect 2 also consists of some of the worst voice acting in any game ever and his really hard to take seriously due to bad voice actor choices. If this was a JRPG reviewers would be up in arms that, for example, when you leave your ship on a mission you can only take a few people with you, or point out how the plot basically just combines several different sci fi movie plots and is one big cliche. Apparently since it's a western game it's beyond these criticisms. This game is nothing special.… Expand
  27. Gorlak
    Mar 6, 2012
    0
    Guess you finally got that big Ad deal with EA Metacritic? That's why you removed 90% of the nagative reviews even though they didn't violate any rule? No but seriously, f you and f your sh*tty site. Pirate the game and see for yourself if it's any good before you buy it. Don't listen to payed reviewers and the 1% of the people who played it that actually liked it and therefore was givenGuess you finally got that big Ad deal with EA Metacritic? That's why you removed 90% of the nagative reviews even though they didn't violate any rule? No but seriously, f you and f your sh*tty site. Pirate the game and see for yourself if it's any good before you buy it. Don't listen to payed reviewers and the 1% of the people who played it that actually liked it and therefore was given permission to voice their opinion here.

    There is only about 5minutes before this message is deleted by the EA death squads. But I hope I can save a few souls.    … Expand
  28. Tahooper
    Apr 25, 2011
    0
    Loved the first game, don't know what happen in this one. Feels that they didn't feel good with the game the first time and threw everything away. Is a complete different setting, instead of the council now it has a corporate sponsor. Horrible plots with lots of holes. The last one was sci-fi, this is like gossip girl on space. Arrrgh! I can't believe I wasted 60 bucks in this. Not buyingLoved the first game, don't know what happen in this one. Feels that they didn't feel good with the game the first time and threw everything away. Is a complete different setting, instead of the council now it has a corporate sponsor. Horrible plots with lots of holes. The last one was sci-fi, this is like gossip girl on space. Arrrgh! I can't believe I wasted 60 bucks in this. Not buying the next one for sure. And they can buy all the reviews they want. In the end, they know who are the real fans. Why buying an angry space shooter game if there is Gears, Half life, even Modern Warfare. What was this game offering that the others didn't? All that they threw it away.… Expand
  29. Justice_LEEG
    Feb 13, 2012
    2
    Based on only playing (and loving) the first game, this one seemed like a slap in the face. The premise being, that if you love a game, then surely the sequel will be made with you in mind, right? Wrong. These days it's all about catering to the haters, and throwing yourself after the lowest common denominator in pursuit of wider marketshare. This is probably the most disappointed I'veBased on only playing (and loving) the first game, this one seemed like a slap in the face. The premise being, that if you love a game, then surely the sequel will be made with you in mind, right? Wrong. These days it's all about catering to the haters, and throwing yourself after the lowest common denominator in pursuit of wider marketshare. This is probably the most disappointed I've ever been with a game in my life, and from all indications I've seen ME3 is following down the same path. We'll see.… Expand
  30. SebastianS
    Feb 4, 2010
    4
    It is one of them good games, but I think Fable is simply som much better! I went on Metacritic and rated Fable a 10, this doesn't deserve nearly as good. Finding the buttons on the controller is really hard, that's really a lot of ease in Fable. Especially in Fable 2. Mass Effect 2 i close, but not good.
  31. WesG.
    Feb 15, 2010
    4
    I can not explain why but after only 5 hours of gameplay this game bored me so much. left to take the dust.graphically is ok but this game is nothing more than a usual tps with rpg style decision making.
  32. JohnP.
    Jan 26, 2010
    2
    I'm sorry but I found the game to be very boring, the story was mediocre at best and I didn't have a fun time playing through this game.
  33. pasifik
    Jun 1, 2011
    3
    Mass effect 1 was a good game but this one is just terrible, streamlined and boring. Doesn't capture the feel of the first one at all. I don't see any improvements (and I don't care about voice acting and graphics.)
  34. MierdadeJ.
    Jan 26, 2010
    1
    The first game was a complete scam by Bioware and also by analysts from around the world. From the second I was not expecting less and so it proved. Only for rent and yet the game is a waste of time and money.
  35. TStone
    Feb 8, 2010
    4
    I was really expecting to like it allot more but the game just seemed way to open , long and directionless for me. Also i thought the graphics would have been better. I guess they were counting more on the story.
  36. AnthonyM.
    Jan 26, 2010
    1
    I give a rating of 1 for the simple reason that ME2 will not load any ME1 characters. I completed the game four times (yes, COMPLETE) and looked forward to being able to load them. XBox 360. My ME1 was a "Platinum Hits" edition, which caused problems with the second DLC (the Station addon). Now I have no access to saved games. I give it a 1 ONLY due to the anticipation that it MAY BE a I give a rating of 1 for the simple reason that ME2 will not load any ME1 characters. I completed the game four times (yes, COMPLETE) and looked forward to being able to load them. XBox 360. My ME1 was a "Platinum Hits" edition, which caused problems with the second DLC (the Station addon). Now I have no access to saved games. I give it a 1 ONLY due to the anticipation that it MAY BE a fun game, if I ever get to play it. Starting with a brand new character defeats the anticipation and everything players like me looked forward to. Stayed on hold for 1 hour 47 minutes waiting for support, listening to a "the longest person on hold has been waiting for more than 20 minutes" being said every 2 minutes - finally gave up and hung up. EA support site has bizarre login problems (finally created a new account, which worked the second time). What the hell. BAD LAUNCH for those of us having this issue (and unfortunately for me, probably a minority).… Expand
  37. BuddhaChu
    Jan 26, 2010
    1
    Did I buy a game or a movie. The visuals during the cutscenes are nice. but there's WAY too much dialog and whatnot going on. Less cutscenes, more shooting! Also you run slow as hell in this game like you're stuck in molasses. Not playing the first Mass Effect and the trailers never showed that you're in third person the whole game. I HATE THAT! I'm an FPS kinda guy Did I buy a game or a movie. The visuals during the cutscenes are nice. but there's WAY too much dialog and whatnot going on. Less cutscenes, more shooting! Also you run slow as hell in this game like you're stuck in molasses. Not playing the first Mass Effect and the trailers never showed that you're in third person the whole game. I HATE THAT! I'm an FPS kinda guy and hate the Gears of War fighting mechanic and third person view. This game was a waste of $50 and I wish I could get my money back.… Expand
  38. Ravenous
    Nov 19, 2010
    0
    Ever hear the expression, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"? Well, with Mass Effects 2, Bioware really fixed it. For starters, the main plot is nowhere near as well-written or cleverly developed across the gameplay experience as it was in ME1. The voice-acting is good, and the dialogue is good, but he main story arc is far too sparsely delivered, and the final boss fight is pure and utterEver hear the expression, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"? Well, with Mass Effects 2, Bioware really fixed it. For starters, the main plot is nowhere near as well-written or cleverly developed across the gameplay experience as it was in ME1. The voice-acting is good, and the dialogue is good, but he main story arc is far too sparsely delivered, and the final boss fight is pure and utter lameness. To add insult to injury, Bioware completely butchered the talent/power system, giving the tougher enemies special defenses that can only be taken down with a few key powers. This means that you are constantly using the same few powers over, and over, and OVER, and it is nothing like the wonderfully diverse and enjoyable talent/power system from ME1. This fact alone makes giving this game a good rating utterly impossible. In addition, Bioware decided to HEAVILY restrict the character customization options in ME2, for what reason I have no idea. They completely eliminated your ability to customize your teammates' armor/appearance, making it feel like they're barely your characters at all. They restrict the main character's armor choices to an insane degree, completely gutting ME1's L/M/H armor types and leaving the player with just a few bulky armors to choose from (and that's only if you buy all the DLC's), all of which look ridiculous. They oversimplified the skill/stat system to the point of stupidity, making leveling-up seem almost completely irrelevant. They removed entirely the ability to explore remote worlds with the vehicle, and instead replaced it with a horrendously boring mini-game with which to "mine" worlds for necessary resources. Lastly, because of all the restrictions Bioware decided to impose on the player in ME2, this game has ZERO replay value. Once you've done it, you never want to do it again. Basically, Mass Effect 2 is like Mass Effect 1, only with a LOT less stuff. Being a die-hard Bioware fan, this game was one of my biggest video game disappointments of all-time.… Expand
  39. sisco900
    Jan 17, 2015
    0
    Awful; nothing like Mass Effect 1. This is where Bioware killed the Mass effect franchise. Awful upgrading, awful weapons, awful writing, awful story, ok characters, no exploration, awful game.
  40. billiam
    Mar 22, 2011
    4
    i don't like the game it just was boring and the game is so repetitive the game began to become a chore to play it is not worth buying maybe a rent...
  41. YukariOro
    Mar 10, 2012
    4
    Having just played ME and then ME2 for the first time this past week while I've been sick, I fail to see how ME2 is so much better, other than perhaps combat at times, and for me even that is questionable since I've never been a fan of FTS, much less TPS. Having studied and seriously pursued writing in the past myself, I can instantly see that the storytelling if flawed, right from theHaving just played ME and then ME2 for the first time this past week while I've been sick, I fail to see how ME2 is so much better, other than perhaps combat at times, and for me even that is questionable since I've never been a fan of FTS, much less TPS. Having studied and seriously pursued writing in the past myself, I can instantly see that the storytelling if flawed, right from the start, the developers use a much maligned storytelling device "deus ex machina" to set up an excuse for making Shepard have to assemble a new crew and start over. Instead of having to actually plot in detail, just kill her off and make her disappear for a few years.

    They've thrown away important plot elements from the first story completely, or just plain ignored them except when it's convenient for them to do otherwise. The very start of the story is built upon a shaky foundation and it just unravels more as you play. The most unbelievable portion for me, is that Shepard, given who Cereberus is and what they've done in ME1, would ever agree to work with Cereberus. Not only that, but the fact that Shepard is a full fledged Specter and an Alliance commander is completely ignored. Shepard managed to do all the same stuff in ME1 that she does in ME2, WITHOUT Cereberus. They make it entirely clear in the first game that a Spectre's powers are far reaching and even the Council rarely reins a Spectre's powers in. But for some reason, in spite of this, Shepard is helpless and can't do ANYTHING without Cereberus's help. In fact, you never seriously are given the chance to refuse to work with them. You're boxed into the choice. So much for BioWare's allowing the player choice in their games.

    Oh, but they have an answer for that too, you've been dead for 2 years. Convenient again. Too convenient, and again falling back on that frowned upon "deus ex machina" mechanic, and not well done either at that. After that, every other bit of the storyline is flawed and unbelievable to me, and that one hole in the plot just adds up to more unbelievable holes further into the plot.

    I loved ME1, I loved the rpg elements especially, so one of my other complaints is that the Mass Effect series seems to be having an Identity Crisis. Yes, they are an rpg, no they aren't an rpg, no they're a tps with rpg elements. What the heck is that, rpg elements? Please, make up your mind, are you a tps or a rpg? Not only that, but there is absolutely NO WAY you are not going to alienate fans of the ME1 rpg hybrid when you decide to make ME2 be anything other than an rpg hybrid. Notice they don't even attempt to use that phrase anymore, now they use this vague "rpg elements" phrase. What the heck is that supposed to mean? Hybrid at least tells me it's a mix of the two, elements tells me nothing. The developers, after ME1 seem to have lost all focus, and threw out the baby with the bathwater a bit too much for my tastes. Perhaps they listened to too many complaints, all I know is from what I can see in the games, they failed to stay true to their original vision for the series, and the series has greatly suffered because of it.

    First it was an rpg hybrid, with the first emphasis on rpg, then it became a shooter with rpg elements, with the emphasis on shooter. If that doesn't tell you where they lost focus, nothing else will.    … Expand
  42. Stopdumbingdown
    Mar 18, 2020
    0
    great game if you like,

    non-rpgs
    handholding
    Regressive politics
    boring stories
    boring gameplay
    accessibility
    cinematic presentation
    lazy, simple, shallow content
    zero c&c

    one of the most overrated games ever created
  43. rabidmonkfish
    Jun 25, 2020
    0
    one of my all time favorite games. Replayed multiple times. Saved all my team but still wanted to replay this again also with the addition of the dlc characters as well.
  44. Manucci555
    Aug 20, 2023
    1
    The gunplay is enjoyable, but the characters are mostly science fiction knockoffs or copy and pasted versions of first games characters. The entire thing is mediocre from start to finish and the writing is downright bad. It was a pretty strange experience.

Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2010
2
#2 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2010
8
#8 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
96

Universal acclaim - based on 98 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 98 out of 98
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 98
  3. Negative: 0 out of 98
  1. Official Xbox Magazine
    95
    Mass Effect 2 overcomes its few gameplay weaknesses with a fantastic weave of dynamic combat, lavish presentation, and engaging character and weapon customization. But for all the myriad improvements that make Mass Effect 2's visuals so appealing and its combat so exhilarating, it's ultimately the way it moves us that makes it so memorable. [Feb 2010, p.56]
  2. games(TM)
    100
    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… Game of the year in January? Oh, go on then. [Feb 2010, p.112]
  3. X-ONE Magazine UK
    100
    Both an astonishing RPG and confident shooter, Mass Effect 2 is daring, shocking and often awe-inspiring in its use of choice. This is the future of storytelling in videogames. [Issue#, p.85]
See all critic reviews »