{"id":9735,"date":"2011-01-31T08:57:00","date_gmt":"2011-01-31T06:57:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T22:00:00","slug":"mass-effect-2-ps3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/reviews\/9735-mass-effect-2-ps3","title":{"rendered":"Mass Effect 2 (PS3)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reviewed on PS3, also available on Xbox 360 and PC<\/em><\/p>\n

By now PS3 owners are probably quite tired of hearing the words ‘epic,’ ‘critically acclaimed’ and ‘game of the year’ prefixing any discussion of Mass Effect 2. Well, there’s no reason to be sour any more – the Mass Effect series has made its debut on the PlayStation 3 with Mass Effect 2.<\/p>\n

The game is every bit as good as it was when it first launched a year ago, and age has perhaps served to give it more grace and poise. With a year’s worth of gaming under the belt, it’s a pleasure to revisit a stellar title and rediscover the magic ingredients that make a game an instant-classic.<\/p>\n

In case you are completely at a loss as to what Mass Effect is all about – it is a sci-fi RPG following the tale of protagonist Commander Shepard as she\/he crosses the galaxy trying to save humanity and alien-kind alike from an ancient threat.<\/p>\n

Players begin by choosing and personalising their Shepard avatar. The game features fantastic voice acting for both the male and female versions of Shepard, and for all of the characters players will encounter throughout the game. Every character model is highly detailed – from the array of aliens to the notoriously difficult to recreate humans – all animations, characteristics and nuances seem perfectly natural. The cinematic way in which interaction with NPCs is delivered is quite engaging, and Mass Effect 2’s direction is comparable with the best Hollywood films – except, Hollywood films can’t manage 40+ hours of awesomeness.<\/p>\n

Players will encounter a vast galaxy to explore packed with varied, interesting and often breath-taking environments, fantastic enemies to battle and a deep engaging story to tie everything together. Shepard will spend most of the game recruiting crew members with which to engage in the final climatic battle. Throughout the game the characters really grow on the player, and it may seem strange to say, but one really begins to weigh the consequences of their actions and how their crew-mates will react to decisions made by Shepard.<\/p>\n

There is a moral system in place, and although it follows the typical dichotomy of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ (or ‘Paragon’ and ‘Renegade’ in the case of Mass Effect 2), over the course of the game these lines can become blurred, and moral choices often drift into a grey area. It becomes quite a challenge to stick to one path or the other. Even simple dialogue choices can earn players points in either the Paragon or Renegade categories.<\/p>\n

Gamers who play trying to earn themselves the most beneficial outcomes of a string of quests may well find themselves hovering in the middle ground between Paragon and Renegade – another element to the beauty of Mass Effect 2. It truly makes one feel as if they were making the best decisions throughout and yet they find themselves in a morally ambiguous position; a delightfully human outcome.<\/p>\n

The combat has been much improved from Mass Effect 1. Players will still be sending their allies into battle to deploy their specialties, and of course Shephard is no slouch either. The tedious complexities of the system used in Mass Effect 1 have largely been stripped down to basics, and this makes for a far more engaging and fluid combat experience. The cover system is artfully employed. The array of weaponry and powers at the player’s disposal means things will never really become boring either. BioWare does a great job of routinely mixing up the combat experience by introducing enemies that require fresh tactics to defeat.<\/p>\n

Visually, things are superb. As has been mentioned, the character models look great, as do the varied, interesting, colourful environments. Despite the vastness of the game, great attention has been paid to the details and the various worlds that Shepard and the crew explores really come to life. The audio is also top-notch. Surround sound is a highly recommended bit of kit for playing Mass Effect 2, although the stereo effects are great too. All characters are voiced to perfection; the environmental sounds are robust and believable; the ambient effects also lend their hand to the life of the gameworld; the combat noise is rich, crisp and convincing.<\/p>\n

Trying to find something wrong with Mass Effect 2 is an exercise in nit-picking, but one glaring annoyance still exists – perhaps the only real mistake made in the gameplay design – the damn resource harvesting mini-game. It’s not the worst thing ever, serving the purpose of having the player read up on the interesting Mass Effect canon as they explore planets looking for resources. The resources also come in handy because they are used to upgrade Shepard’s shiny new space ship. The problem is that the tedium of the exercise disastrously breaks from the fantastic pace set by the rest of the game. It could probably have been accomplished in a similar yet speedier implementation. Again, not the worst thing in the world and perhaps tantamount to nit-picking at this point, but it exists.<\/p>\n

Mention might also be made of the disastrous save game bug that emerged but has since been rectified<\/a>. In light of catastrophically bug-ridden releases of certain AAA titles of recent memory, titles which gamer’s mostly seem willing to forgive for their problems, I’m sure we can let it slide BioWare – just this once.<\/p>\n

There is really so much to talk about with Mass Effect 2, and far more than can be crammed into this review. Suffice to say, that anyone who likes to sink their teeth into an engaging RPG, enjoys a great sci-fi setting for their stories, and doesn’t mind actually caring about the characters in their videogame, will be well served by Mass Effect 2. It hasn’t been labelled an ‘epic, critically acclaimed, game of the year’ for nothing – it really is that good.<\/p>\n

Now the remainder of the review warrants a quick discussion of what the PS3 version has to offer.<\/p>\n

Since PS3 gamers are still missing out on the Mass Effect 1 experience, BioWare has employed a nifty trick; an interactive comic titled Mass Effect Genesis. This comic re-enacts the major plot points from the first game, effectively bringing players up to speed. Along the way players will be able to make key moral choices that will have an effect on Shepard and the story in Mass Effect 2. The comic was an enjoyable touch and I hope this sets a precedent for future BioWare games.<\/p>\n

The PS3 version also contains as standard three rather good DLC packages which promise around six hours of bonus content. These are “Kasumi — Stolen Memories,” “Overlord” and “Lair of the Shadow Broker,” and playing these was a privilege that Xbox 360 and PC version players had to pay extra for.<\/p>\n

As if all this wasn’t enough, BioWare has one extra carrot dangling. “Until February 23rd, 2011, Mass Effect 2 players on Playstation 3 can download the Terminus Armor and M-490 Blackstorm Projector Weapon free of charge from the PSN Store. After Feb 23rd, the Terminus Gear will be available as paid DLC,” the company previously announced via their blog.<\/p>\n

With their PS3 package BioWare has delivered a complete Mass Effect 2 offering and then some. It is every bit as polished and engaging as its PC and Xbox 360 cousins and certainly a title no PS3 RPG gamer should be without. With a launch retail price of ±R450 and packed with content, PS3 gamers can’t really go wrong with Mass Effect 2.<\/p>\n

Discuss Mass Effect 2 PS3<\/a> on the MyGaming forum.<\/p>\n\n\t\t