Mass Effect 2 takes place after Shepard and his crew took down Sovereign and Saren. The council have now finally learned about the Reapers, but continue to deny that they are a real threat. The Collectors are harvesting humans from their colonies. Shepard is tasked to find out what The Reapers are doing with the Collectors and why. He also has to gather a new crew this time around because of various incidents in the beginning of the game.
In this game, the gameplay itself has become much tighter and has become more of a shooter rpg, rather than leaning more on the rpg genre.. With a solid cover system and a great shooting mechanic it makes it a lot easier to be more tactical and smart about the gunfights. The cover system works excellent. The progression system has changed compared to the first game. The skills of the crew and Shepard determine on how you use your skills combined with your guns during a fight. This time the gunfights rely more on your skill as shooter and timing your skills more compared to the first game. Weapons have a new upgrade system. The type of weapons also determine how your fast your shield will recover based on how heavy they are and how many you have. The leveling system also has a new and better system, where you can branch in all skills and adapt it to your playstyle and have your teammates compliment your playstyle.
The deep story is back in this game and it is just as good as it is in other games in the series. The choices have just as big as impact as they have in the earlier games. This time around, Earth and its colonies are on the line. The characters is in this game are really well written. You get a new crew with a deep story to it. Each of the new crew have their own morale. The loyalty missions. It gives an insight to their life and how they have managed to become one of your crew and why. The characters and the story itself are at their best. This time around the stakes are saving the human colonies and you get to view it from the Cerberus perspective. This time around, it is clear that going in trying to stop the collectors might cost them their lives. It's a story of bravery and putting a whole race in front of your own and the crew. The story is definitely at it's peak when there is a lot at stake. That's when the characters show their true strength and resolve. The characters also show what they have been struggling with and what they have to go through to manage to get the courage and keep going.
The voice acting is also holds an excellent standard in this game. The actors and the writing provoke emotions that really reach the player. With so much more at stake in this game, they do an excellent job getting it across. Because of the voice acting the game get's a great level of depth. The story get's a deeper meaning over a time and it's portrayed in an excellent matter from the voice actors and the script. The overall sound design is just as good, giving you a deep immersion in to the world of Mass Effect.
The graphics in this game is as good as ever. The game has gotten a real technical overhaul this time around. The facial expressions and animations are much smoother in this sequel in the series. The game runs very well for most of the time and the new graphics in this game compliments the story. Seing more of the facial expressions than before gives you more emotion in each scene. It also gives the game a lot more life and feels more authentic
Overall:
It's a great game with excellent voice acting, story, characters, progression and gameplay. It's a game you must have if you like good storytelling combined with a solid shooting mechanic and upgraded graphics com
Gameplay: 10
Story: 10
Audio: 10
Tilt: 10
Value: 10
Graphics: 10
Overall Score: 10
+ Great voice acting
+ Great story
+ Great gameplay
+ Great progression system