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Mass Effect 2 | 
| From: Electronic Arts
Category: Video Games
List Price: $59.95
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Rating:  175 reviews
Sales Rank: 3
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: role_playing_games
ESRB: Mature
Media: Video Game
Edition: Standard
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Number Of Items: 1
Batteries Included: No
Age: 17 - 20 years
Operating System: Xbox 360
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.4 x 0.6
Legal Disclaimer: We do not in any way represent that any part we sell is legal to possess in your jurisdiction. Check with you local authorities to ensure it is legal for you to possess before buying!
MPN: 014633159820
Model: 15982
UPC: 014633159820
EAN: 0014633159820
ASIN: B001TORSII
Publication Date: December 31, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Improved NPC conversation system where Commander Shepard can take matters into your own hands ¿ interrupting or using force to get the answer required. | | • | The second act of BioWare's epic sci-fi RPG trilogy continues the story of Commander Shepard and humanity's first steps onto the galactic stage. | | • | Integration with the original Mass Effect game allows players to import saved files and contiue play with those files in Mass Effect 2. | | • | Choose from 19 different weapons, including devastating heavy weapons that can end a battle in seconds. | | • | New location based damage system allows for targeting of key weak points, blasting off limbs, igniting enemies, or cripple and disable enemy troops. |
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Product Description
Mass Effect 2 X360
Amazon.com Product Description
Mass Effect 2 is the sequel to BioWare's hit space-based role-playing game (RPG), Mass Effect. A single player adventure, Mass Effect 2 allows players to continue the adventures of the fully customizable series hero Commander Shepard, as you take on a whole new adventure and a new cast of supporting characters. Additional new features include the ability to import game save files from the original Mass Effect game to continue the adventure in an unbroken fashion, a new damage system, a new, more flexible dialogue game mechanic and more. 
The return of Commander Shepard.
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A new cast of characters.
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Along with familiar faces from the past.
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New damage and dialogue systems.
View larger. | Story
Two years after Commander Shepard repelled invading Reapers bent on the destruction of organic life, a mysterious new enemy has emerged. On the fringes of known space, something is silently abducting entire human colonies. Now Shepard must work with Cerberus, a ruthless organization devoted to human survival at any cost, to stop the most terrifying threat mankind has ever faced. To even attempt this perilous mission, Shepard must assemble the galaxy’s most elite team and command the most powerful ship ever built. Even then, they say it would be suicide. Commander Shepard intends to prove them wrong. Gameplay
An space-based action RPG like its predecessor, gameplay in Mass Effect 2 revolves around the player's particular version of Commander Shepard and continuing development of this character as the game proceeds. As the game opens a variety of character classes are made available to the player, with talents, both exclusive and general, associated with each. With experience these talents are leveled up, resulting in the unlocking of related abilities and/or entirely new talents. The player has the ability to customize their Commander Shepard in a number of ways including physical appearance, gender, and certain aspects of their personal history, with the rub being that these choices can influence things like available missions, dialogue choices with non-player characters (NPCs), and character background. Accompanying this main character are a number of preset supporting characters that the player can direct and develop relationships with, which again, will alter the outcome of the story. All the characters from the original game make an appearance in Mass Effect 2, but the immediate characters surrounding Commander Shepard are new. Additional new features that players can expect to experience include new alien races, a more realistic damage system, a new heavy weapons system allowing for maximum damage, a regenerative health system, a dramatic increase in the number of character animations available to Shepard, and updates to the dialogue mechanic used when conversing with NPCs. Integration with the Original Mass Effect
Mass Effect 2 allows players of the original Mass Effect game to import save games to continue the story of their own Commander Shepard. In doing this, the decisions that were made in the first game will affect the events of the second game. In addition, characters from the first game will return as long as they were not killed off by the player in the first game. On the other hand, new players coming to the series for the first time in Mass Effect 2 will start a brand-new character, discover the events of the previous games a they progress and embark on a thrilling stand-alone adventure that does not require the previous game for play. Key Features - Futuristic Weapons - Choose from 19 different weapons, including devastating heavy weapons that can end a battle in seconds.
- Elite Specialists - Recruit up to a dozen of the galaxy's most dangerous operatives to help you in your mission. Train and equip your team to survive insurmountable odds.
- Explore the Galaxy - Scan planets to uncover unique secret missions in the Mass Effect universe.
- Integration with Original Mass Effect - Players of the first Mass Effect can import save games to continue the story of their own Commander Shepard. New players will find a thrilling stand-alone adventure awaits them, a polished and action packed journey that surpasses the first game in nearly every possible way.
- Intense Third-Person Combat - Increased intensity with precision shooter controls to let you control the action and overcome insurmountable odds.
- New Damage System - New location based damage system allows for targeting of key weak points, blasting off limbs, igniting enemies, or cripple and disable enemy troops.
- Character Customization - Choose a player class, customize your appearance, and tailor your own abilities and strengths. As you progress, so do Shepard’s abilities.
- Improved Dialogue Mechanic - Improved NPC conversation system where Commander Shepard can take matters into your own hands – interrupting or using force to get the answer required.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 175
 Massive Fun 2 January 26, 2010
Big Al (Southwest, USA)
84 out of 97 found this review helpful
INTRODUCTION
Mass Effect, by Electronic Arts (EA), sets the benchmark for third person role playing actions games. It is as close to a DVD movie as a video game can get, because, unlike most first person games, players can see and hear the player character as well as the non-player characters (NPCs). This movie-like quality greatly enhances the compelling story, which is the hallmark of the Mass Effect Trilogy.
THE PLOT
**Spoiler Alert**
This second episode of the Mass Effect Trilogy begins with the death (yes, DEATH) of Commander Shepard, in a fiery ambush of the Normandy, two years after he/she defeated the traitorous Saren Arterius in the battle of the Citadel. But, thank the goddess, he/she is later resurrected in Project Lazarus by the Illusive Man, leader of Cerberus, a shadowy and ruthless "human supremacist" organization, for the sole purpose of sending the legendary commander to investigate a new cataclysmic event in the Galaxy: entire human colonies have been vanishing without a trace, leaving behind empty buildings. To confront the threat, Shepard travels across the Galaxy to recruit up to a dozen of the most dangerous characters to his/her elite team, at locations including Illium, an asari colony, and Omega, a lawless mining station built on a hollowed out asteroid in the Terminus Systems, for a mission from which every member of the team, including Commander Shepard, may never return.
**End of Possible Spoilers**
THE CHARACTERS
Players who had completed Mass Effect 1 (ME1) can import a Save Game from the list of Character Saves into Mass Effect 2 (ME2). During the file transfer, they have the option of changing the class of Commander Shepard, for example, from adept to vanguard, as well as his/her physical characteristics. This is possible in the storyline on account of Project Lazarus--a very clever way of putting Shepard on reset. If Shepard was imported at a high level in ME1, players will be awarded with bonus squad points and research metals at the start. (See my comment below.) All the NPCs who were alive at the end of the ME1 are transferred. Furthermore, the story in ME2 unfolds in accordance with the decisions made by the players in ME1, for example, whether Shepard set the Rachni queen free in Noveria, whether he/she resolved the conflict with Wrex on Virmire peacefully, or whether he/she called in the human fleet to save the Council in the battle of the Citadel. For those who never play ME1, ME2 can be played stand-alone with new characters and certain pre-set assumptions on events in ME1. New characters in ME2 include Thane, a drell master assassin, and Subject Zero, a female human biotic gang and cult member, with head-to-toe tattoos. Other than the geth and the Reapers, new enemies emerge in ME2. They include the Collectors, a winged insect-like species who are suspected to be working for the Reapers, and Legion, a free-thinking geth, who is stalking Commander Shepard, as well as monstrous beings created by the Reapers out of human beings they abducted.
THE GAME/COMBAT SYSTEM
The Artificial Intelligence (AI) and combat system have been vastly improved in ME2. Gone are those annoying texture pop-ups in ME1. So are those long elevator rides--they are replaced with loading screens. Battle scenes are more realistic: enemies are thrown against walls, limbs are blown off, and wounded fighters continue to fight by crawling on the ground. Players can hit the enemies where they place the reticles, like in a shooter. (This is not so in ME1, where hits are calculated based on the number of skill points assigned by the players to the characters.) Players can now issue attack orders to Shepard's squad mates by using the directional-pad of the controller (of the Xbox 360), and manually prompt Commander Shepard to duck behind covers. The limitless ammo is no more in ME2. It is replaced with removable "thermal clips". When a clip is spent, it must be ejected and replaced with a new one. Players are therefore advised to take note of the amount of thermo clips available during battles. Instead of only four weapon types as in ME1, there are nineteen in ME2. One of my gripes with ME1 was the lack of heavy hand-held weapons. In ME2, they are available to the soldier class player character (as well as Commander Shepard of all classes). These heavy weapons knock down multiple enemies in one gigantic blast. A sentinel class player character now dons an ablation tactical armor, which makes him/her very tough to kill. An engineer class player character can launch a drone to aid him/her in battle. An adept class player character can spawn micro-singularities around the enemies, annihilating them en masse. Tactical cloak, which renders a combatant invisible briefly, is available to an infiltrator class player character. A vanguard class player character can dash around the battlefield with a new biotic power--the "biotic charge", which propels him/her forward at tremendous speed and force, to attack or evade the enemies. There is no longer any class restriction in armor. Medi-gel, used in the ME1 to regenerate health, is replaced with auto-regeneration, although the players still need it to cast the Unity reviving power. (Note: auto-regeneration is also available in ME1, but only as an upgrade to the armors.)
THE DIALOGUE
The dialogue wheel in ME1 is the most innovative dialogue system in all the games I have ever played. When used probably, it delivers a continuous and seamless dialogue, and hence the movie-like quality of the game. In ME2, the dialogue wheel is further improved. A new "interrupt" system is introduced. When prompted by the players with the left or right trigger of the controller (of the Xbox 360), Commander Shepard can interrupt the dialogue with "heroic" or "hostile" action to get the answer he/she wants. Furthermore, instead of the previous static camera position in ME1, the camera moves around during conversations in ME2, adding further cinematic effect to the game.
THE CHOICES
Like in ME1, choices made by the players influence the outcome of the game in ME2. For example, in ME1, on the planet Virmire, Commander Shepard (and hence the players), was called upon to decide which of the two squad mates he/she would rescue; the one left behind was consumed in a subsequent nuclear blast. In the same manner, decisions of the players in ME2 throughout the game may eventually lead to the annihilation of the entire ground team in the final mission, including Commander Shepard, or the survival of every team member, or something in between. Players with a "dead" Shepard will not be able to import him/her into ME3. The same thing is true with a "dead" teammate. They can play ME3 with a generic Shepard, but not "their" Shepard. Furthermore, with Shepard killed, players can't return to the game world after the final mission and continue to play, for example, to complete a side quest, or to explore a new locale. They will have to start a new game or reload with a previous save-file and replay part of the game for a different outcome. This gives incentive to players to make sound decisions throughout the game, before heading into the final mission.
THE CERBERUS NETWORK
The Cerberus Network is a cleverly designed in-game portal through which players can access "Downloadable Contents (DLCs)" from EA. Players activate this network with a one-time access code, which is included in every new game purchase. Game renters and used game buyers will have to pay for the code. This arrangement is apparently a ploy by EA to combat the rental and used game market, which has been undermining retail sales of new games. Players who access the network will receive the first DLC pack on January 26, 2010, the date on which the game is released in North America. This first DLC introduces Zaeed, a rough and tumble mercenary who will join Shepard's elite team. A future DLC will introduce the Hammerhead, a hover tank to replace the much-maligned Mako in ME1. (Note: There is no driveable vehicle in the core game.) In addition, new missions and in-game items will be released to gamers by EA through this network.
CONCLUSION
ME2 comes with 2 discs. Players have to swap discs (twice per game) at some points. There are 90 voice actors playing 546 characters with over 30,000 lines of dialogue. New voice actors in ME2 include D.C. Douglas, Martin Sheen and Adam Baldwin. In conclusion, ME2 is a role-playing game with the look and feel of a shooter. It is a must-have game of the year.
This is what happens when you listen to the fans January 27, 2010
M. Squires (Texas)
43 out of 55 found this review helpful
Did you want better graphics? Did you want a better shooter interface? Well, Bioware delivered...no question.
So Bioware has made a lot of changes to the game (too many to count perhaps), but one things for sure, they created a winner.
NEW COMBAT SYSTEM:
Much more like a first person shooter now; defiantly fun to shoot people and pop the head off of someone. Also doesn't matter as much what abilities you upgrade or what weapons you have; if you can aim then you can kill a bad guy.
NEW UPGRADE SYSTEM:
Can't really decide if I like this or not. There's a part of me that enjoys how much simpler everything has become and how much time I save, but I think I kind of enjoyed the in depth upgrade and weapons in the first game. This opinion may or may not be shared. Regardless, I was a little to overwhelmed by the greatness of this game to care that much.
INTERFACE WITH PREVIOUS GAME:
You'll hear little reminents of things you did in the past and you'll definitely get the feel that you had an impact, but it's not as dramatic I had expected. They hyped it up so much that your last game would have such a big impact on this one, but I haven't seen much to back that up. I was a level 55 in the first game so I got to start a few levels up in this one and they gave me a little extra cash for being rich in ME1, but it wasn't that significant. Guess I just expected a little bit more, but I have to admit that any interface with the previous game must have been hard and it's groundbreaking, so they get my respect.
HACKING/CODE BREAKING: The new system they designed for unlocking items and hacking systems is a lot more fun. Actually feels a little bit challenging and regardless of your level or path you've chosen, you'll be able to do it.
VEHICLE: Good news! There really isn't a vehicle; you'll pick where you want to go and then you'll go there. The vehicle from ME1 felt like a shopping cart with one bad wheel to me and I'm glad to see it's gone.
PLANET EXPLORATION: Pretty cool system they came up with. You'll use a radar device to explore a planets surface and then deploy pods to check for what you're looking for. This is a much improved system from just driving around in my opinion. Be ready to spend a lot of hours looking around. There's an amazing amount of land to cover in the universe. They really worked hard to give you a lot to explore and it shows. Doesn't have that empty pointless feeling that the first ME had when I was checking planets. If they weren't related to the primary objective, every planet felt the same
THE GOOD:
1) Story is great and managed to integrate with the first game to include your actions taken
2) Graphics are on par with competitive titles from this gen; really stunning to just look around at your surroundings
3) Lots of glitches fixed and too many improvements to count; some things they did were almost to small to even notice, but you can feel they're there
THE BAD:
1) New dumbed down RPG elements feel easy to use but a little empty. If you hated the monotony of upgrading too many small aspects and customizing every weapon for proper ammo and best fit then maybe you'll like it. But, I couldn't help but feel that it was a little bit too easy and boring compared to the first game
2) You'll have to do a long mission to gain the loyalty of every one of your 10 squad members; it's kind of cool at first, but it gets a little old. Really? I have to complete a mission to get Garus on my side? Pretty sure I proved my loyalty fighting the Geth and Saren already
3) The new planet scanning system is cool and I'm glad to be rid of the vehicle, but it starts to get really old searching for minerals. After about 4 hours of it I got tired and decided I had enough uprades. Searched about 60 planets and found 6 side missions, so that feels like there's probably a lot out there. I didn't make it to level 30 so I must have missed a lot, but I just got so sick of scanning planets. Not a big complaint though; I don't know how they could have done it better so I was pleased.
OVERVIEW:
GRAPHICS: 10/10
DIALOGUE: 10/10
AUDIO: 10/10
COMBAT SYSTEM: 10/10
UPGRADES: 8/10
STORY: 10/10
INTEGRATION OF PREVIOUS GAME: 7/10
Whether you liked the first ME or you didn't, this game is a winner. I have my share of complaints, but the game is an amazing edition to the trilogy and you can just sense the effort Bioware put into this. Everyone will have complaints, but I've never seen a developer listen to the feedback and put forth this much effort.
Two days ago I would have told you ME1 was almost perfect, but this game has shown be the light and really set the bar.
Thanks Bioware
Good Gaming
Very good sequel to an amazing game February 13, 2010
Kathleen M. Brown (Texas)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I've heard a lot of people complaining about the storyline in ME2, saying that it lacked depth, and that the characters were flat. I remember people saying the same thing about the first one, but it simply isn't true. It's the same thing with any RPG game(though there are honestly some really lousy ones out there with no story at all no matter how hard you try to get into it), you get out what you put in. The story is only shallow when you don't look into it, when you don't invest in the missions and pay attention to what's going on. The characters are only flat when you don't talk to them and get to know them, the more time you spend with them, the more you get to know them and the more dialogue options open up.
I personally thought that it was an excellent follow up to ME1 and did what the middle game in a trilogy is supposed to do, further the plot and set up for the third one. And ME2 did that amazingly well with major decisions that will(or at least should) have a major impact on the galaxy for ME3.
There were a couple of minor things that I didn't like. After a while the mining was really monotonous, and I actually started to miss the MAKO (as sad as that sounds). I was kind of irritated that using a single power took all of them out of commission for a cool down period. And I definitely hated though damn thermo-clips. I actually ran out of ammo on the final stretch leaving the collector ship and had to blast husks out of the way with my biotics as I hauled for the shuttle. I was also irritated by the lack of characters like Kaiden and Liara being part of the Normandy crew, and whild I could understand Kaiden's reservations about joining Cerberus. Liara kind of seemed like she went a little Psycho in the two years that Shepard was dead.
However, the good parts definitely made up for it. I was so happy that they fixed the texture lag, and that the load screens, while still present, didn't stay up as long and they at least seemed a little more situationally appropriate. I loved the humor, and especially Joker running through the Normandy cursing up a storm. The characters had very believeable elements to them, and I found myself watching their personalities unfold and thinking about people in my life who they were a lot like (not being alien, or genetically engineered, or completely crazy) but their attitudes and they way they spoke or moved. The Gameplay also felt smoother, and I was so excited that I could actually jump over stuff in combat, and the powers were much more refined and easier to understand (my friend Jennifer said that with the way the biotics powers were named it was like biotics for dumbies).
All in all it was a great game, and anyone who loved ME1 should love it just as much.
Instant Classic 2 February 1, 2010
Keith Sowa
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
I was completely blown away by the first Mass Effect and I spent untold hours playing it. I could not wait for this game, and I had high expectations, perhaps too high, I feared. At the risk of sounding like a fanboy, not only was I not disappointed, but I was blown away - again. Mass Effect 2 is the same immersive cinematic experience that its predecessor is, and this time brings even more to the table.
If you've browsed the other reviews, and I'm sure you have if you're reading this, you've probably already figured out that Bioware took suggestions from players and integrated them into the game to improve it. As a result, the game has more of a "shooter" feel than the first one did. Granted, the first game was like this, but its combat system was flawed, meaning it felt like a mediocre shooter instead. Combat in Mass Effect 2 is much smoother. The unlimited ammo/overheating system from the first game is gone, in favor of a "heatsink" system that functions like ammo clips in shooters would. Some may feel that Bioware is "selling out to casual gamers" here, but I disagree. In Mass Effect 1, you could reach a certain point where you were so powerful you'd just steamroll enemies with the shotgun or assault rifle regardless of class, especially if you were playing with achievement perks that let you use any weapons. By limiting the amount of rounds you can expend (and don't worry, if you get low on ammo, switch weapons and wait a couple of minutes and more heat sinks will drop), you are more inclined to think tactically. You'll have to use your biotic and tech abilities, you'll want to, and they will have a significant effect on the fight. This game is probably much more palatable to shooter and action fans than the first one was. However, if the cinematic touches, dialog sequences, and plot don't matter to you, this honestly just isn't your type of game.
I will list the complaints I had about the first Mass Effect from my review (updated comments are starred):
- Ally AI is at times insanely stupid. Sometimes they are a big help, sometimes they are just cannon fodder you send out while you shoot from a safe distance. The squad-based commands do not work very well.
*No longer true, AI is much improved now. In the first game I didn't particularly care if my squadmates died, but now they actually matter. If one dies, you notice, and you have to work harder. In fact, the AI in general is better - the enemies are more decisive and they do things like try to outflank you.
- The graphics are slightly glitchy, most noticeably during the menu screens with the character models. My game also froze once during a pretty inopportune time, I hope these bugs are fixed via update.
*Roughly 25 hours of play, and not a problem. The loading for the character models isn't sloppy anymore, either.
- I am not a fan of the vehicle combat, I feel this could have been done better. The Mako vehicle handles very strangely and is hard to get used to controlling. I've died a few cheap deaths while using it.
*After writing this I eventually got used to the Mako and didn't mind it so much, but players hated it and Bioware listened, so it's gone. In fact the whole system of planetary exploration is gone now in favor of a scanning system (scan and probe one particular planet in the solar system to hear what the ship's AI says, heh). The scanning system does get boring, but I really can't think of a better way to do it (plus this time you actually USE the resources you find). The old exploration system sucked, though - after you do a couple, all of them look the same with different colors, and the developers either ran out of disc space or got lazy, because all of the buildings and caves were recycled. Fortunately, all of that was strictly optional and had nothing to do with the main plot, but in Mass effect 2, when you do land on planets, they are all unique now.
- No option to skip past dialog scenes you've already seen.
*What the hell was I talking about? Yes there is. Press X, same thing in Mass Effect 2. I guess I didn't figure this out before I wrote this review, lol. There's no way to skip past movie sequences that I know of, though.
- Too many times having to go to an elevator to load - the game is pretty creative about what it displays during loading screens to distract you, but it gets old pretty fast.
*The load times for the first game were brutal (especially in the Normandy, I used to cringe when I had to get on that elevator) but it's not as bad in this game. The load times are still annoying but no worse than you'd get on any other disc-based game. Unfortunately my HDD is almost full so I couldn't install the game to see the load times that way.
Another thing I didn't mention in the first review was the sloppy inventory system from Mass Effect 1 that would get overloaded, and clearing it out was a chore. It was diverse, but unwieldy. How many players would check a weapon and realize they forgot to keep up with the upgrades, so it has Cryo Ammo II on it when they actually have Cryo Ammo VIII in their inventory? That doesn't matter anymore, ammo upgrades are on the Power Wheel and you can change them during combat if you need to. They are upgraded with the points you spend when you gain a level. This comes in especially handy when you've had ammo powers designed for synthetic targets and you need to switch to organics on the fly. When you upgrade weapons, it is permanent, and available to all squad members. This is simple, if unrewarding for some.
As I also said in that review, the world (well, more literally, universe) the writers created was vast, and ripe for expansion. Bioware did not waste this opportunity, and immediately delves deeper into the universe than the original went. As the plot advances you'll encounter new places, ideas, and alien races. If you kept your game saves, you'll randomly run into characters you encountered and you'll hear comments on things you did, things you may not have even remembered doing. Most of these things don't affect the main plot, but it comes up often enough in the game that I want to finish another play through with a character from the first Mass Effect (I had a Paragon and a Renegade and I ended the game differently both times, but didn't finish with a female Shepard, who I think does better voice acting, but I digress). Sometimes this feels a bit forced, after all there are hundreds of billions of people in the galaxy and it's kind of hokey that you'd meet some of them again, but pointing this out is nit-picky if you ask me. If we're going to go down that road we may as well point out that it's hokey that Shepard was brought back to life, that asari live for thousands of years and reproduce and don't seem to be overpopulating, etc. I put this in the category of "minor gripes" that don't affect the quality of the game.
I don't really have very many complaints about this game like I did the first. I wish the squad assembly screen was more straightforward so I can know what strengths I'm bringing, like the first one had. I wish the point distribution system for leveling up was move diverse.
Bottom line, this game is a must-buy, the second installment of a classic series. The only reason to delay getting this game is because you missed the first one and had to play it!
 Excellent! Succeeds despite graphical hiccups... January 31, 2010
Jason Bean (Iowa City, IA)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
I'm just gonna ask it: When the hell will Bioware make a stable next-gen game? They make the best stories and characters of ANY video game and are generally fun to play. I loved Star Wars:KOTOR and Jade Empire for the original XBOX. They played perfectly and (despite their age) never experienced the slightest technical fault. Then came the brilliant Mass Effect 1 and last years (best) RPG Dragon Age Origins but they're both littered with graphical glitches and bugs. Mass Effect 2 is no different. Characters disappear, graphics waver, you get caught in background environments and the game crashes (at least once a play-through for me).
The reason I'm so frustrated by the above problems is because Mass Effect 2 is by far Bioware's grandest achievement in both story-telling and gameplay. It strikes the perfect balance between 3rd person shooter and RPG without ever feeling like it's lacking in either department. This is something that I've felt has never been achieved before in any video game.
The Combat in Mass Effect 2 is hard and intense...even on casual mode. While I almost never died in ME1, I'm on my fifth play through with ME2 and I'm still dying at least once in every area. Your enemies try and outflank you, you have limited ammo and you have no heal button. That's right, you have to wait for your health to recharge which makes covering almost mandatory. If you liked Gears of War you'll feel right at home.
The customization and character classes have also taken a huge over-haul. Ever character class controls completely different leading to an incredible amount of replayability. Also instead of buying different armour (light/medium/heavy) you get one armour (which you customize the colors) and you can equip add-ons to it to make it look and function to your liking. There's also three different love-interest stories for each gender you can pursue (thought the 'love' scenes you get are PG-rated..no skin, sorry). One thing I will say is that you'll probably stick to your carry-over character for Mass Effect 1. Not only is the character creater not as varied as it was in ME1, the decisions the game makes for you as regard to the story are not neccesarily what you want.
The one drawback of this game is the story/plot accesibility. Mass Effect 2 is probably Bioware's most cinematically involved game to date and the characters and story are amazing......assuming you've played Mass Effect 1. I can't even imagine how underwhelmed someone would be going into this game without experiencing the back-story of ME1. There's so much emotional build-up and plot hooks from the first game you might find yourself wondering 'why is this so important?'. This is VERY much a sequel and no matter how accessible Bioware wants you to think this game is you MIGHT want to play Mass Effect 1 before buying Mass Effect 2.
So despite it's draw-backs Mass Effect 2 is a terrific gaming experience. It's not perfect (and I hope there's more patches/updates) but if you're a Mass Effect/Bioware fan you absolutely must play this.
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