Just as amazing as the first game and will have you mesmerized from the opening clip until the end credits.
At first I was thrown a little and wasn't sure about some of the changes; like the planet scanning for instance which can become annoyingly tedious and taking far too much time. But soon I came to realise just how superior Mass Effect 2 game play is in nearly every way and just how great the story line is.
The minor changes such as the introduction of Thermal Clips; I always found it slightly odd that Mass Effect used unlimited ammo with your weapons; The Thermal Clips in the second game are an improvement and add that little extra jolt to your system when playing against an army of Mercs and wondering if you can rely on your current teams biotic abilities when you're down to your last few Clips. And the new Hovercraft of course which I think everyone found easier to navigate with than the M35 Mako. And of course the New Normandy SR-2 with the additional space and the great customizable captains quarters, with such fun additions such as some interesting models of ships from the Mass Effect Universe, three species of fish and an adorable space hamster. Not to mention the new customizable armour and casual clothing. These few simple changes were the start of my love affair with the game and it's DLC.
The story has many colourful characters voiced by a cast of extremely talented actors such as D. C Douglas (Legion), Martin Sheen (Illusive Man) and many more others that lend this game something special. My personal favourite characters were Thane Krios, (voiced by Keythe Farley) the assassin with a moral conscience and allot of emotional baggage. The returning much loved crew members Garrus Vakarian (voiced by Brandon Keener) now consumed with a need for revenge but ultimately still the same fantastic personality that made him very popular, along with Wrex, in the first game, Tali'Zorah vas Neema (voiced by Ash Sroka) is also back as a crew member; who doesn't love Tali? The sweet slightly innocent sassy but ultimately deadly personality of Tali made her an instant favourite with allot of us in the first game and she is just as powerful but sweet natured in this sequel. It was slightly disappointing that Liara T'Soni (voiced by Ali Hillis), and Kaidan Alenko (voiced by Raphael Sbarge) or Ashley Williams (voiced by Kimberly Brooks) depending on your choices in Mass Effect 1 were not available to become members of your crew but understandably so as the good people at Bioware plan on using them in Mass Effect 3 and they are vital to the plot line. The rest of the new crew members were all well placed and there was allot of vibrant characters in game to work with and this made for an entertaining clash of personalities, the only slightly down point being there were allot of people to keep alive and get to know so you didn't get to develop such in depth relationships like those of Mass Effect 1. Still it was nice to have such an interesting cast of people, and the return of Joker (voiced by Seth Green) was very welcome; the Normandy wouldn't be the same without the wise cracking pilot at the helm.
Plot Wise the story was very intense, you're thrown in at the deep end and the story is just as good if not slightly faster paced; no spending half an hour running around the Presidium fulfilling tasks like after Eden Prime but rather straight back in with the action. The addition of a simplified Presidium was better; just the Wards to wonder saved countless game minuets that were wasted running from place to place in Mass Effect 1 trying to meet people and collect information. The DLC was improved and in greater amounts, some free some paid. Among the free DLC was a nice addition; the Normandy Crash site. It was well done if a little short; It would have been nice to have a little more to do but never the less it captured the mood well and was given just the right amount of stark bare solitude to make the atmosphere of the side DLC quite sad, finding the dog tags and stumbling across flashes of the fallen and placing the memorial were all very nicely handled and the addition of finding Shepard's old N7 Helmet and having it displayed in your captains quarters was a very nice touch. The best of the paid DLC in my opinion was the Lair of the Shadow Broker; it lasted longer than most of the DLC extras and working with Liara again was welcome and it leads nicely from the comic stories, through Mass effect 2 and into Mass Effect 3. Also welcome in game were returning minor characters such as Conrad Verner (voiced by Jeff Page) added fun to the game play when you stumbled across them, it's nice to see the Mass Effect dialogue hasn't lost anything in transition between games.
The helping team members with personal difficulties were a nice expansion on the Mass Effect 1 side quests with Garrus and Wrex. In fact your choices in the Mass Effect 1 side quest with Garrus can affect the dialogue slightly in his Mass Effect 2 side quest. The building of your team, the upgrading of your ship and armour and the slow building climax all make for a fantastic gaming experience which should not be missed. The ending mission is an all or nothing; in order that everyone survives it takes real thought to select the correct members of your team to send out and use for certain parts and timing is quite vital to insure the safe return of everyone. A very impressive game all round and leaves you with a taste for more; bring on the next first class epic instalment.