Returning players will get just as much out of returning to Mass Effect 2 as new players will. I don’t expect this to be a unique experience for me. The mysteries of Cerberus and The Illusive Man, played expertly by Martin Sheen, were now my sole focus, whilst I anticipated the epic final battle that is still one of the very best in gaming. Hearing the chatter of NPCs and remembering just what lay ahead before I rounded each corner was amazing. I was caught off guard by a wave of nostalgia that I wasn’t ready for and still don’t think I am - it all still feels too recent. Choosing someone else might be wrong.ĭespite having played it before, the sense of discovery that I felt when landing on Omega for the first time came flooding back. Characters, too, are more fleshed out not just the returning characters (whose arcs naturally continue), but the combination of the really strong loyalty missions alongside a wider variety of reasons to interact with the much larger party Shepard has to accompany them. And whilst there were important choices to be made in the original game, the writing in the sequel feels much less clear cut and added to the overall sense of intrigue. Myself, I remained a paragon but there’s definitely space left by the story for a character shift. Mass Effect 2’s darker tone and murkier backdrop provides even more depth to the space opera’s lore and opportunity, should you so wish, to change everything about your Commander Shepard should you so wish. Furthermore, my playthrough of the original Mass Effect - yes, my first ever - only bolstered my relationships with returning characters like Garrus, Liara and Tali. My original jumping on point for the series, revisiting the likes of the Salarian scientist Morden and the stealthy assassin Thane felt like meeting old friends. The writing and characters were where Mass Effect 2 always shone for me. Still, those characters are so well written that this gripe faded into the background after a few hours with the game. Whilst there’s an obvious upgrade over their 2010 counterparts, the game shows its age when it comes to its particularly archaic facial animations. Characters are a slightly different story. Not everything here is razor sharp, but with a game so big a few things were bound to slip through the net. The 4K textures do a lot to bring the world of Mass Effect closer to the modern era.
However, it can’t be denied that it wears the upgrades well. Mass Effect 2 isn’t even out of its teens yet and we’re seeing it get a facelift. That’s somewhat of a backhanded compliment, I suppose.
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