Hands On: Mass Effect 2

One of the highlights of CES was my hour with Mass Effect 2 at the Microsoft booth. The disk we played was the final build and the first disc of the two-disc game.

That hour flew by. I forgot how much my feet hurt from walking around CES or the ache in my neck I was developing from looking at elevated screens. I must say, this new game from BioWare looks good, and the combat part of the game has definitely taken a step up. The game feels very much like a first person shooter. The cover system is very accurate and it reminded me of the Gears of War cover function. My character didn’t “glue” himself to any wrong pillars or boxes.

We also chatted with BioWare associate producer Jesse Houston and he dropped some hints about the DLC and how BioWare determined how the sequel would improve over the original.

After I was fast forwarded from the spoilery bits in the Normandy, we travelled to a space station where I had to recruit a Salarian named Mordin to join Shepard’s team. There was a plague that was taking down batarians, the new species discussed in ME1 but only introduced the DLC Bring Down the Sky, and I had to deliver the plague cure to the ventilation system. Along the way we encountered a lot of enemies, including the tank-like krogans. I played the game on casual difficulty, and not because Houston assumed I would be bad at the game. The game is tough, even on normal difficulty.

I saw a lot of stuff that was improved over the first game. We were told that the infamous elevator loading screens have been removed. The only one you’ll encounter is on the Normandy and it’s shorter, much like the other game loading screens. It’s a good thing but I got used to folding laundry and other chores during the load times.

The weapons are more balanced so you can’t go through the game just blowing everyone away with your shotgun. Now each weapon has its advantages and tradeoffs. For example, the sniper rifle is powerful but you only get one shot before you have to reload. Weapons no longer overheat but they can run out of ammo quickly when you favour one gun over another.

Sure, you play next... when you pry the controller from my cold dead hands.

Enemy kills are about just dealing damage anymore. The game registers where the enemy was hit (shoulder, arm, gut, flame pack) and you’ll see a corresponding action. Head shots result in a little blood spurt and if you shoot a flamethrower’s ammo pack, you’ll get an explosion that deals some area damage.

The much-lauded dialog wheel is still the same, but now there are interrupts available that can bypass entire swaths of dialog. A symbol will flash in the lower right or left hand corner. Renegade interrupts appear on the right and paragon interrupts appear on the left. I ran into a hostage situation and I was given two dialog choices: let the hostage takers go or ask them why I should trust them. Instead I took the renegade interrupt and ended up shooting all the hostage takers much to the horror of the hostage I was rescuing (and the delight of the people watching me play).

The inventory system has disappeared. All characters have access to guns so you don’t have to decide who gets your Spectre-grade sniper rifle. And the game will auto select the best weapons for you.

From Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 2, BioWare has refined the elements that we all enjoyed. And they’ve listened to fans and fixed a lot of their gripes. I’m looking forward to playing this game come Jan. 26 (or as soon as that review copy arrives).