#___ remains an obligation albeit a fun one (but isn't everything)

[moon-jellie]

Liveblogging from mandatory resume workshop!: I need to be sedated

[neomedievalistbr]

well, having finished ME2, time for my review of it

GAMEPLAY

They Actually Made It Better!

MANY of the changes were excellent (the new cover mechanic, the fast vault over cover, the SPRINT ability that SHOULD'VE BEEN THERE SINCE 1), some were unexpected but quick to adapt to (the new hacking, the new weapons system, the new levelling and upgrading system), some were... there (the mining. THE FARMING NEVER STOPS). Very sad they took the Mako from us though 😔

The new enemies too, while annoying (god, if i have to hear another Harbinger saying "Assuming control"...), add some new variety and difficulty to the game, because if it was the same enemies as ME1, it wouldn't have been very fun.

WRITING

Many Problems Fixed, New Ones Added

It's a race against time, a big mistery wondering why exactly the Collectors are capturing humans and how does this all connects back to the Reapers (I'll admit, i thought i had it figured it out until the last part of the Suicide Mission, then i learned i was only partially right)

Having Shepard work for the organization that they tried stopping in the last game (albeit it was a very small role that it had in the game) was a smart choice. At all points, you're wondering "Hm, am i doing the right choice here? Is helping Cerberus correct?". Add in the Loyalty and now you gotta wander "Do my FRIENDS thinks this is right?"

And speaking of them, the new additions to the Normandy (including the non-companions) were all very pleasant. By the end of the game, i wasn't really interested in Samara, Thane or Legion because i got them VERY late, so i did their loyalty mission more out of obligation than anything. Even then, (most of) their stories were good and had me more interested in them after finishing the missions. (Mordin's mission though... Yeah.)

The returning character (disclaimer: i am biased and wanted Liara back), beside Garrus and Tali, were more there to remind Shepard that the galaxy moved on without them, but even then, it was fun seeing how they all ended up after all the shit Shep put them through in ME1 (I WANTED LIARA BACK THO...)

The history had more of a "means to an end" feel. You finish the game with just a sense of "The real war will happen in ME3, this is just a taste of it". The writing shined more during the Dossiers and Loyalty missions than the main missions, which isn't bad, but i wish there was more focus on the main plot (and some other things, like the Harbinger, that appears twice in cutscenes and that's it)

(Also, the "Worst End" for the Suicide Mission is quite possibly the funniest thing ever. They really made it possible for you to have EVERYONE die and Joker and EDI be the last ones remaining)

FINAL THOUGHTS

I understand now why this game gets praised so much. While i still think it's a little too much, the game deserves the praise for improving just about everything from ME1. Again, playing as Renegade is the funniest thing because you're constantly being The Worst and possibly fucking things for everyone but you're still the Hero, so you get a free pass for anything.

Final score: 9/10