Mass Effect 2 was something I wished I got to sooner. But I think in the Legendary Edition, I was given the full, genuine intended experience. And as for my thoughts?
Ahem. I think this is one of the greatest games ever made. The amount of effort into the scripting of choice and consequence is something you don't really see in most other games. Shepard manages to be a fantastic protagonist and despite being voiced? They feel like your character and BioWare's protagonist at the same time. All of that is stellar. The cast of characters is colorful, voice acted well, and interesting. It's immersive, it's captivating, it knows how to hit all the right buttons when it needs to, and there's nothing really quite like Mass Effect.
Mass Effect 2 also streamlined many of the systems from Mass Effect 1... and somehow made the game better in the process! Most games nowadays would get flak for dumbing things down so much, but removing the inventory management of ME1, making weapons magazine-based, and improving on the gunplay (with some obvious Gears inspiration) was a novel idea. BioWare deserves all the praise for this space-faring experience. And experience really is the right word for it, because Mass Effect is more than just an RPG. It's stunningly captivating in its own right.
Score: 96
Ahem. I think this is one of the greatest games ever made. The amount of effort into the scripting of choice and consequence is something you don't really see in most other games. Shepard manages to be a fantastic protagonist and despite being voiced? They feel like your character and BioWare's protagonist at the same time. All of that is stellar. The cast of characters is colorful, voice acted well, and interesting. It's immersive, it's captivating, it knows how to hit all the right buttons when it needs to, and there's nothing really quite like Mass Effect.
Mass Effect 2 also streamlined many of the systems from Mass Effect 1... and somehow made the game better in the process! Most games nowadays would get flak for dumbing things down so much, but removing the inventory management of ME1, making weapons magazine-based, and improving on the gunplay (with some obvious Gears inspiration) was a novel idea. BioWare deserves all the praise for this space-faring experience. And experience really is the right word for it, because Mass Effect is more than just an RPG. It's stunningly captivating in its own right.
Score: 96