AT the end of Mass Effect, Commander Shepard saved all
sentient life in the galaxy from annihilation at the hands of
the Reapers, ancient machines that exterminate all
intelligent species every 50 millennia or so.
At the beginning of Mass Effect 2, Shepard dies.
And two years later, the commander is brought back to life by
the shadowy Cerberus organisation, which believes what the
galactic government of the Citadel Council denies: The
Reapers are still coming, and Shepard is the only one who can
stop them.
Cerberus' mysterious head, the Illusive Man, has directed
enormous resources into rebuilding Shepard just as he or she
(player's choice) was before death.
Players can begin the game with the same Shepard they
completed the first game with, or start from scratch with a
new one.
Starting with a seasoned Shepard confers some advantages and
has numerous other effects on the game, depending on what
choices the player made in the original.
Did Shepard spare the Rachni Queen or destroy her? Romance
Liara T'Soni or Kaidan Alenko? Let the Citadel Council live
or die? The game notices these and other events and
incorporates them into the Mass Effect 2 universe.
One thing is constant: The Illusive Man has big things in
mind for the resurrected Spectre.
Whole colonies are disappearing, their human settlers gone
without a trace, which Cerberus believes to be the work of an
enigmatic race called the Collectors.
The Illusive Man suspects that the Reapers are truly behind
these mass kidnappings.
He dispatches Shepard to gather a new team of specialists to
eliminate the Collector and Reaper threat.
That's as much of the plot as this review will give away.
Interesting things are going on in Mass Effect 2, and it
would be a shame to spoil any surprises.
The new cast is full of interesting characters - most new, a
few old - with a variety of combat, technical and biotic
(space magic) powers.
The combat system has been streamlined and upgraded, as has
the selection of powers each character can learn (typically
four, with the final one closed until Shepard has earned that
character's loyalty).
No longer do players have to juggle armour and weapon types
for several alien races; when players find or research a new
weapon, it becomes available for everyone to use but only
Shepard can carry the new heavy weapon class, which includes
a grenade launcher, a freeze cannon and even more exotic
weaponry. - McClatchy Newspapers
Bookmark/Search this post with:
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.