Same Mass, Different Effect
A Spoiler-Free Review of Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2 is every bit the middle game of a trilogy. It lacks the impact of the first game – the introduction to a galactic-scale conflict, the first look at a thoroughly conceived sci-fi universe, that first unnerving dialogue with Sovereign. And it necessarily reserves all of the big surprises for the finale.
For those who did not play the first Mass Effect, this game amounts to little more than a pretty-top notch shooter built on the pretext of a galactic recruitment drive, with a meaty chunk of story seemingly added on as an afterthought. That is to say that there seemed to be no connection between the quests to acquire Commander Shepard’s teammates and the greater adventure. In terms of story, there were few surprises – the only “big” revelation completely underwhelming, and the one intriguing bit of lore development – the bit about the Geth – left mostly unexplored.
Back in October of 2007, when BioWare fans first heard that the company had been acquired by Electronic Arts, there was a collective sigh of dismay – or perhaps even a roar of indignation. The fear was that creativity and originality would be traded for whatever best fit EA’s business model.
Mass Effect 2 provides case in point.
Everything was streamlined, dumbed down, simplified for the “casual gamer”, who the big-wigs in marketing assume have the attention span of gerbils. Casual gamers, surely, could not be bothered with such tiresome things as inventory management or deep character customization. Strangely, though, it was determined that the casual gamer would not find it at all tedious to drag a slow-roaming cursor across planet after planet to collect resources – a rough equivalent to earning money, although there is already a money system in place.
The galactic codex remains in tact for fans who want to soak up every last detail about the Mass Effect universe, and Bioware kept the elaborate dialogue trees – albeit within a weaker narrative. But Mass Effect 2 is entirely a shooter, with some RPG elements thrown in, as opposed to the original game, which was an RPG with shooter mechanics.
So why has the balance shifted?
Probably because the sales figures of games like Halo and Gears of War suggest that the market is fertile for more of the same. And if EA was going to put its formidable capital and marketing power behind the franchise (e.g. higher production values and the 2 minute television spot during the NFC Championship Game), then there needed to be some serious risk vs. rewards calculations.
Mass Effect gained the role-playing genre even more ground in the collective attention of the mainstream – it was a game that almost everyone could enjoy. The critical acclaim was near-unanimous. But clearly its success wasn’t enough for a company that has proven that it is safer and more profitable to churn out the same game year after year (Madden) than to take risks on things like creativity and originality.
Furthermore, the sparse narrative in Mass Effect 2 highlights another aspect of EA’s business model – the focus on downloadable content (DLC). This game provides us with a sort of main course – maybe even only the meat of the entree – and undoubtedly within a few weeks or months we’ll have a chance to purchase the sides, the drink, the dessert, and perhaps the appetizer after the fact.
I say all of this knowing full well that I’ll be amongst the first to snatch up every bit of DLC the moment it is released – hoping beyond hope that they’ll serve to fill in some of ME2’s missing details. So, if nothing else, it does represent a strong business model.
In spite of all of this, I can say that I did enjoy Mass Effect 2 – but perhaps only because it allowed me to return to the universe I had come to know and love in the first game, to once again take the reins of Commander Shepard and save the galaxy from certain peril. As a standalone game it does just enough right to as a shooter and as a basic RPG to hold its own in the market, and to enroll a new corps of casual gamers into the franchise. As the middle game in a trilogy, it does just enough to satisfy fans’ two-year hunger.
So overall is Mass Effect 2 a success? Certainly. Is it everything I expected? Not even close.