G l i t c h y G o b l i n !

Before I start the review, I must say that the idea of viewing video games as an art and a medium through which to provide riveting storytelling is becoming more and more accepted by people that actually try to see games as such.  There are a number who still live in the past, as my own mother thinks that I should not be playing games (“Adults don’t play with toys”), but the populace used to think that motion pictures couldn’t tell stories or be considered as artistic either.

In this “Gaming Renaissance” there have been great ideas that have created a new outlook on the way gaming has evolved.  For instance, Valve created both the Gravity Gun from Half-Life 2 and the Portal Gun from Portal.  Both of these guns made developers begin to really use physics creatively and… “start thinking with Portals.”  Shadow of the Colossus had the idea to just let the character roam free, with no overworld enemies except for 16 huge puzzles.  It proved that a developer doesn’t have to cram a game with content to make it amazing.  The God of War series introduced ridiculously-sized bosses combined with over-the-top violence and “quick-time events” to really feel the weight of what you were accomplishing in such a foreign setting as ancient Greece.  There are more, such as Chrono Trigger and Prince of Persia’s time manipulation and Bioshock’s completely unique underwater FPS environmental setting, but the main point is that these games usually shift the industry in a fresh, exciting way.

I particularly use these examples because I plan on reviewing Left 4 Dead 1-2 for the new DLC, Bioshock 2, God of War 3, The Last Guardian (Shadow’s maybe sequel), the new Prince of Persia, and hopefully Half-Life 2: Episode 3 if they happen to surprise us and release it this year.  …Also because more Chrono Trigger would be a good thing, but let’s move on.

This is to introduce the next great idea in gaming that the Mass Effect series is pulling off quite amazingly.

PROS:

Great Gaming Idea #1:  The Suicide Mission. As with awesome action games, Mass Effect 2 (ME2) will culminate in a final mission/boss/etc.  Unless you’re Halo 2 (Finnish teh fite lololol).  This is obvious, so no spoilers.  The entire game/advertisements/etc. call this as such, so you pretty much know this.  The amazing part is that almost everything you do factors into this final mission.  Who you do or don’t recruit, whose special missions you do, how much you talk to your squad mates, what upgrades you buy, what morality decisions you make, and what you choose to do for the about 7 or 8 choices that take place during the final mission is all put into a series of equations that determine who lives and dies.  Your character can even die and then cannot be imported into Mass Effect 3.  Peter Molyneux (the Fable series) should pay attention to Bioware.

Great Gaming Idea #2:  It’s a… wait for it… Mass Effect 1 explained that all major and minor choices you made will affect ME2, and it’s true.  Assuming you imported your ME1 character, every choice, even the ones you made during side quests, are brought up in this one.  Most of the choices you can further influence when you come upon them again.  Combine with this the fact that there are more new choices in this one than the first and both games will affect the third game.  OMG.  Do you realize how many branches this can have?  It’s almost like a… Mass Affect!  You can tell in ME2 when you make decisions that these will be brought up majorly in the third one, in almost an epic Lord of the Rings-style encounter.

The story is great. I’ve previously mentioned in the Assassin’s Creed II review that this is one of my favorite plotlines.  This is still true.  The world building is so fleshed out it’s unbelievable.  Every race has little quirks and special customs and you know each one by heart by the time it’s done.  The continuation of the story just makes everything so engrossing.  I say again… you must experience this series.

As with the trend of late… it is much improved from the sequel.  I have listened to interviews with Bioware.  They actually read message boards all over the internet, made lists, and corrected most of the flaws of the first game.  Finally a developer listens to their fanbase.  Driving a vehicle over the same terrain is gone.  Seeing the same 3 types of rooms over and over is gone.

Also, they removed the inventory system. It makes it slightly less of an RPG, but it’s OK.  It feels so much more natural to play this way, and you’ll realize this while playing.

CONS:

There are the occasional twins. Some NPCs look the same as other ones.  You can tell the main male NPC model after you see him over and over.  This isn’t too often, though.

One of the hacking mini-games is difficult for the color-blind. I know this because I watched a color-blind person play the game.  They eventually used the shape instead of the color to complete it correctly every time.

There are some dialog overrides. If you’re listening to dialog and then get close to another NPC who has dialog, it’ll change over to that NPC.  Just stay still if you are invested in a conversation.

Team mates need help to find cover. This isn’t very noticeable on anything other than high difficulties, but your squad mates might need to be told where to take cover or they’ll just stand in the open and die in two seconds flat.

There is (*gasp*) a hidden “Point of No Return”. This is probably my only big qualm with the game.  A “Point of No Return” in an RPG is basically a point where there is no saving until after the credits.  This isn’t the same thing, technically.  There is a main mission where, should you do it, the game will then decide for you when you should do the Suicide Mission at some undetermined point later.  At that undetermined future point it gives you the choice to wait (a Point of No Return), basically making it a second Point of No Return.  The problem is that if and when the game decides to make you do it you choose to wait, there are consequences.  I won’t spoil you on the consequences, but just know that they are there.  No spoilers, but basically you should do most everything you want to do before doing the IFF mission.  You’ll know what that is when you come to it. There are more missions after the IFF mission, but at that point the invisible clock has started counting down.

Sorry this was so long, but I really can’t put in enough words how much you should play this series.  Next week will be my review of Bioshock 2.