LogFAQs > #932987753

#25





Years of release: 2010 (PC/360), 2011 (PS3)
Beaten?: Yes

Whoa, what the hell is this game doing here? A big AAA title where you shoot things? It's not even cute! What happened here? Looking at this list, I'm really struck by how out of place Mass Effect 2 looks here. Very different look and feel from the usual fare that I enjoy. But Mass Effect 2 is just a masterpiece, and I played and beat it, so it gets to be here.

I haven't played Mass Effect 3 yet, by the way - just haven't gotten the opportunity. But I played the first two games in consecutive years when I was staying over at a friends' house for a couple of weeks, and I played through them on his 360 with my friends watching. (This was the same group I played Catherine with.) I never got back and played Mass Effect 3, unfortunately, so I don't really know what the whole deal with that game is yet - I'll have to replay the first two games on PC before I get to ME3, but I will someday.

It's crazy to me how far ahead of their time the Mass Effect series feels. The first one came out in the late 00's, and I don't feel like games have gotten particularly more modern or impressive since - I think this series still stands as one of the greatest gaming achievements ever, probably, and it's a shame that its reputation has fallen in recent years thanks to the poor reception to Andromeda. I remember when Mass Effect was a huge deal. It was such a huge deal that even I played it, and I don't usually play games like this!

Actually, I enjoy shooters a lot more than you would think given this list, I just haven't played any big ones in a while. This one's a third-person shooter with a lot of RPG mechanics, but it still kind of falls in the same boat. But what I really like about this game is the plot, the cast, and the world-building. This is probably one of the most impressive sci-fi epics ever written in any medium, let alone video games; I'm probably more invested in everything going on in this game than I am in any particular sci-fi movie, especially because you're able to walk around and actually interact with the world, which lets it fill in the details on a lot of little niches that movies, TV, and even books can't do as effectively.

I remember feeling totally in awe of the Citadel in the first game, all of this shit going on in it, and while ME2 doesn't have any locations as impressive as that, it makes up for it big time with a much better cast, a more gripping main plotline, and a ton of QoL upgrades to the gameplay in general. While the first game had some annoying equipment micromanaging and a lot of vehicle exploration that wasn't all that great, the second game really streamlines everything and gets to all the good parts. Not having played ME3 but understanding some of the controversy, it's easy for me to see why ME2 is the most beloved of the trilogy - it just sort of nails everything perfectly, especially the way it wraps up in one of the most gripping climaxes to a video game I can remember in a long time.

The only reason it doesn't rank higher is that it's not a very personal game for me. As a game reviewer, I would probably give Mass Effect 2 a 10/10 and recommend it as a top 10 game of the decade. As a player, though, it's just hard to explain - I have a lot of objective love for the game but not a lot of PERSONAL love for it, which is something none of the games ranking higher on this list lack - all of the games after this are defined by some sort of deeply personal connection I felt to the game. And it's not really my favorite genre of game, either. But goddamn, don't let that be a knock on this game at all, Mass Effect 2 in my opinion deserves status as one of the greatest games of all time. The worldbuilding is stellar, the characters are memorable and loveable, the writing and voice acting better than what I thought a video game was capable of achieving at the time, and the game's fun on top of all that.

Someday I'll replay the first two games in preparation to play the third one. I'm not sure when I'll get around to it, but someday I'll definitely do it. It's been a really long time since I've played them, hence the vagueness of my writeup compared to more specific comments I would have, and I think I'm definitely well overdue for a replay. I'd like to make a judgment on Mass Effect 3 for myself, and I kind of suspect I'll really enjoy the game.

btw Femshep all the way