Mass Effect 2 is an entirely improved sequel, including better characters and atmosphere than the original.
In an immediate change of pace from the original Mass Effect, ME2's story starts off with a bang as the Normandy is obliterated by an alien vessel, sending the crew of the first game scattering and everyone's fate uncertain. The dark prologue is just a taste of ME2's gritty plot, a stark contrast to the original game. When Shepard awakes, a new quest given by a new organization is waiting; a much faster-paced storyline than the original. While this definitely seems to be a positive, it's only somewhat so.
While the plot is heavily character-driven (quite possibly the most character-driven title since KotOR), the main quest isn't nearly as epic as the one in ME. The side stories still aren't any better either (other than the background stories of the characters, which were sublime, though admittedly, no characters really stood out in this game), but then again, ME2's plot really is just a side story; a pit-stop between ME1 and ME3. That should be apparent throughout considering that the majority of the story deals with finding a new group of crewmembers. But again, that's not a bad thing since the story is much more evenly-paced, more heart-pounding, and can still be played any way you want. On that front, I was pleased to see the Renegade options were improved. At least Shepard was more of a bad-ass than an immature punk. Paragon, however, was weakened; Paragon Shepard was just too much of a wuss. I found Neutral Shepard to be the best option from a dialogue standpoint, but of course you would be sacrificing much-needed Renegade and Paragon points.
The base gameplay of Mass Effect 2 has mostly remained unchanged from its predecessor. Most missions will still have you running through mostly linear stages, blasting away numerous enemies. The biggest difference here is the addition of universal ammo. So now you have to reload, and I'll agree that having to do so makes the action a bit more hectic and satisfying, though it's dumfounding that picking up one clip of ammo results in that clip being added to ALL of your guns instead of just one. A true melee button has been added as well, making combat that much better. There are still several difficulty settings, and it's still too easy on normal, especially with the new and improved auto-save function. You still run around interacting with people/aliens and inspecting various areas; this part of ME2 is also practically the same. The only difference when interacting with characters are the added QTEs, which appear when talking during certain situations and will allow you to trigger a Paragon or Renegade action. The add-on vehicle which replaced the Mako was much better this time around, the missions for it vastly improved. Most of the missions overall were much less tedious (though some still were), more linear, but more exciting by a longshot. And, despite this, the game's improved artwork actually made it even more atmospheric than the first.
As far as the missions go, there were a lot of random ones to go along with the main story and major side stories. Most of these could be found when exploring settled planets or when scanning the copious planets throughout the galaxy. This time around, scanning the planets was a much bigger deal, as you have to do so to gain valuable resources for upgrades. As you can probably imagine, this could get repetitive rather quickly, and you'll likely be doing the bare minimum needed to earn upgrades. You also have to buy probes along with the fuel, and I'll be the first to admit that fuel doesn't make traveling feel any more realistic. Interaction with you squad-mates is much more personal and involved this time around. You can always step in and talk with them about new subjects and their past lives, before and after finishing their loyalty quests. Romance with a character of your choice (obviously different based on the gender of your character) makes a return and this time you actually get a choice out of three different characters for both the male and female Shepard, instead of just one like in ME1. The leveling-up system is about the same as in ME1, which means it's not quite as deep as most RPGs, but it still gets the job done for this action-oriented game.
With all the positives, there are still some negatives (both old and new) which need to be addressed. The cover system is still a joke, and I thought everyone would've taken a page from Gears of War's book by now for cover systems. The hit-detection can still be awry, but it doesn't hurt the gameplay too badly. Your squad is a bit more intelligent in battle, but can still be an annoying pain in the arse when you're not directing them like a bunch of schoolkids. Then there's the matter of your secretary. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she miss-times her reports to you on purpose just to piss you off. She frequently tells you you've received a message when you don't have one or are already fifteen paces from her, and she only tells you one thing at a time so you after you go down the elevator and talk to who she tells you to talk to, you'll come back up just to find out you've got to go down there again and talk to someone else. With the long loading times, that can really suck. There's also the matter of the weapon and armor system, which has been dumbed down since the first game. It's a blessing in that everything in your inventory is now much easier to manage, but this does hurt the RPG aspect of the game and may turn some people off.
To veterans of the first game, ME2's graphical updates will be immediately recognizable. An overhaul in the lighting and shading effects gives ME2 a better, more defined look. While the textures and character models aren't markedly improved, the game looks more beautiful, and that goes double for explosions and outdoor levels. The new lighting system, along with artistic upgrades, really gives the game a better sense of atmosphere. The draw distance is moderately improved as well, making the outdoor levels look that much better. Considering that there is more land available to travel this time around, that makes the graphical improvement even more impressive. Of course, there have to be some negatives, primarily with the loading times. And honestly, the loading times are terrible, sometimes made even worse because of your Secretary. It'll usually take at least a minute and a half for you to move on to more gaming. That's too long, but considering the vast amount of detail added to this game world's explorable terrain, it's hardly unjustified.
Coming as no surprise to anyone is Mass Effect 2's sublime audio. The voice-acting is once again superb, led by Mark Meer, Jennifer Hale, and Seth Green among other notables. There's about twice as much spoken dialogue in this game than the original. And it's obvious that a lot of time was spent on both the writing and the voice-overs, as ME2 compliments the original perfectly in being the current standard for voice acting. The sound effects have mostly been recycled from the original, but I found them to be deeper and stronger on the whole, adding to the atmosphere on multiple levels. The new reloading your weapon sound has a nice little click to it as well. A lot of the music has been carried over as well with a few tweaks, and the addition of some new scores. The music is obviously outstanding again, with so many epic tunes that beautifully match the environment and tone of the story. Mass Effect 2's audio is on an entirely different level from almost every other game this generation, and that in itself is worth an incredible amount of praise.
Packed with hours of heart-thumping action, elite audio, impressive visuals, a myriad of extra content, and heavily atmospheric levels, Mass Effect 2 is a game that no 360 owner should dare pass up. There are a few hiccups along the way, and the story is, unfortunately, just a bridge in between the first and last games of the series, but after the exhilarating final chapter of the game, there's just no doubt that this game will go down as one of this generation's absolute finest. It doesn't need to hit the epic level of Mass Effect 1 to entirely improve upon its predecessor and clearly establish itself as the superior game. Even as someone who likes to take his time beating a game once and not touch anything outside of multiplayer again, I had to beat through this game multiple times to explore all of the worlds and see the various endings. The main quest and side-quests simply flow, from beginning to end, much smoother than they did in the first game, and the outstanding cast of characters is more likeable and wholly improved. In fact, this is quite possible the best character-driven game since the first Knights of the Old Republic. I can see this game appealing to any type of hardcore gamer, and I simply can't urge you enough to give Mass Effect 2 a shot.