Another solid if not transcendent title from Bioware.
Technically, ME 2 was made for all gaming platforms and released concurrently. When this happens it generally means that the graphics are going to be set at console level and ME 2 certainly does nothing to break this notion. Playing it on a Q6600 and an 8800GTS at 1920X1200, I was able to set everything at full detail without suffering any slowdowns. There is nothing visually stunning nor even particularly interesting to look at in ME2. The environments are extremely sterile with even battered planets looking like you could perform open heart surgery in the field without any risk of infection. While the visual quality is better than Bioware's recently released Dragon Age: Origins, overall it is simply disappointing. While visual quality isn't paramount in an RPG game, ME2 is not exactly anyone's idea of a hardcore RPG. As a 3rd person shooter, I expect it to look better multiplatform or not. Having said that and the character models are quite good and varied and easily outpace the graphics used in the rest of the game. I suffered very few bugs with only one significant one occurring near the last mission. The graphics became garbled and even a reboot didn't solve that problem. Updating my Nvidia drivers to the latest version, however, did solve the issue. Otherwise, I found the game quite stable. Other small bugs were in effect such as some overlapping of prompts with dialog that occurred in a few places. Audio quality in ME2 is good with the voice acting being superb (as seems always the case with Bioware titles). My only complaint with the spoken dialog was the use of Martin Sheen as the voice of the Illusive Man. Sheen is a great actor, but his voice is so recognizable that it was strange to hear it coming out of a computer character. It often took me out the moment as a result. For the younger crowed perhaps not terribly familiar with Sheen from his West Wing days or earlier movies, this might not be an issue. The game does have some DLC including the ability to use your Blood Dragon armor you might have acquired from DA:O. However, unlike DA:O, access to download DLC isn't handled directly in the game. You need to use the website and given how it all works, it is unclear whether the game accepted your DLC or not. It just isn't well organized nor integrated and since you don't have immediate access to the armor, as an example, it takes a bit before you can see confirmation that the process worked. This was absolutely handled much better in their earlier title. Additionally, for those that want to use the Blood Dragon armor as I did, there is a one MAJOR drawback. The game does not remove the helm for any conversation. This means that all conversations taking place outside your ship, will show Shepard with the full helm on. This is really terrible and becomes unacceptable when Shepard "drinks" and kisses through his helmet and one also one wonders how the heck everyone recognizes him when he is fully suited and well hidden with armor. Given that this armor DLC has been available since DA:O and this is a totally unacceptable oversight on the part of Bioware. You can import your ME1 game character which I did, but this too is handled poorly. There is no feedback through the configuration section as to whether you are in the right directory for the save files so you have to blindly choose a directory and then start the game to see if it was recognized. I didn't realize my saves were put in totally different place than my ME1 game so it took some tries before I found this. The configuration tool absolutely needs to tell you whether you choose a valid directory or not.
The characters in ME2 are interesting, but there are so many of them that I believe Bioware only gave cursory histories and details about them. Even though some were from ME1, I didn't feel that close to any of them and certainly did not feel as strong a connection as I did with the much older Bioware title, KOTOR, nor even their much newer DA:O title. Character interaction is still better than most titles out there, but I feel like Bioware has not taken full advantage to create an emotional bond. I really feel like this is due to the sheer number of characters of which Bioware has no idea which you will spend the most time with. As was the case with DA:O, my hope is that in the future they realize less is more. Each character does have their own personal issue which you can choose to help them with or not. Given that a huge portion of the game is tied up in recruiting and helping these characters and it would be unwise to choose not to fully engage in this area. This personal missions do force you to use each character which created variety, but chances are that you will have a pretty set party otherwise. Strangely one of the characters on the ship, despite also having a personal mission, is not able to be interacted with like all of the others. You can only click to hear his stories, but you cannot ask questions, etc. Why he is the only one is very odd and perhaps indicates some lack of polish. As is the case with all Bioware games, you can develop a more intimate relationship with certain crew members. Again I don't feel that Bioware did this justice and the fact is that it doesn't matter who or if you pick anyone. I noticed no real change in the world and…er…consummation of the relationship lasts about 15 seconds and only occurs near the very end. Extremely underwhelming.
The mission structure itself is basically around the notion of recruiting, helping, and main storyline. So really much of the game has little to do with the central plot of the ME world and more to do with collecting NPC's and helping them with their personal quests. Some of these quests are interesting, but Bioware spends far too little time on the central theme. There is some DLC surrounding going back to your original downed shipped which does offer some nice nostalgia but is otherwise completely underwhelming.
The RPG elements of this game are extremely light and barely qualify for an RPG. Player stats are largely meaningless and to be honest I don't even recall what level I finished the game at. I started and ended the game in the very same armor and other armor/weapons are quite basic and largely uninteresting. You upgrade through an onboard computer based on the minerals you have gathered in the game's mini-game. It is quite easy to do most upgrades but many aren't really necessary and the whole thing feels a bit like a ruse. There are very little personal upgrades or upgrades for your away team which makes it quite easy to max out the few categories that matter. The fighting itself is 3rd/1st person action not normally an RPG staple. There is the notion of being good called Paragon and bad called Renegade; however, I found very little use in this and didn't feel it offered much to the game unlike the dark/light side found in KOTOR. Sometimes even trying to be perfectly Paragon, you would pick up Renegade points for unknown reasons. In the end it matters little and was yet another example of a shallow RPG style game mechanic. There also is no inventory, so strike that off your RPG list as well.
The action is all very much 3rd/1st person and once you get used to it is quite exciting if predictable. There are always handy boxes/crates about and you know when you see some coming up that a fight is going to ensue. If you find yourself in the open, you aren't going to survive for long. Rarely do you need to pause the action especially after you get used to the controls and AI. Quick keys allow you to map biotic controls and you can pause it to give commands to your squad of 2, but again this is rarely required at least at normal difficulty. Overall I found the combat to be very satisfying particularly playing as a Vanguard which has a nice mix of weapons and biotics. You can save your game anywhere except in battle which is quite fair and keeps the tedium to a minimum.
Overall ME2 is a very good game that as I found with DA:O just isn't able to be all it can be. Perhaps Bioware is going a little to cut/paste from a formula, but I continue to feel that they are just coming up short of perfection. I wish they would go back and play KOTOR in an attempt to recapture that magic. I think it is a matter of a deeper story and deeper characters versus trying to create a huge selection of characters covering a massive story arc. If you played and enjoyed ME1 you have almost certainly already purchased ME2. If you played and did not enjoy ME1, there is little reason to play ME2. If you are unsure, I certainly wouldn't hesitate to recommend this game. A lot of bang for the buck and another solid if not transcendent title from Bioware.