Nobody does sequels like the Mass Effect series, with unparalled depth and cause-n-effect schema.

User Rating: 8.5 | Mass Effect 2 PC
Mass Effect 2 carries on the depth and breadth of the first game and makes it even more challenging as I find that I tend to die more often without making good use of my squad abilities and flanking tactics well. Also, ammo preservation is a greater issue in ME2 which forces you to think through your combat tactics and really make use of every skill and combo at your disposal, rather than holding onto the left mouse button at anything that moves.

A few improvements include the simplicity of gear management to just one-for-all weapon loadouts, without worrying about race/class and armor purchases are restricted to just the main character, which is very welcome here, since it is quite a hassle to cater to every alien species in your squad in terms of getting the best gear. Having said that, it is still easy to hoard enormous amounts of credits in the first game, rendering the currency redundant after all possible upgrades, but in ME2, credits are scarce given the limited "funding", mission loot and the super expensive upgrades, which actually is kind of rewarding to see how you plan your spending and having to deal with "sacrifices".

Squad recruitment and loyalty missions are the main ingredients in the game progress and they are equally fun to play and rewarding, especially witnessing the consequences towards the end-game. However, side missions are generally not as interesting in the first game, and the structure is quite rigid. Nevertheless, Mass Effect 2 continues the plot from the first game very fluidly, and gives enough hints and teasers to entice you to decide your character's fate in ME3 should you import this save-game over, which is one of the wow factors of the Mass Effect series.

KingLim