I’ve just finished Mass Effect 2 and I have to say that was one of the most engrossing and gripping games I’ve played for a long time. I’m a little disappointed with the outcome I ended up with but I only have my own choices to blame for that.

There are a surprising amount of points in the game where you make choices, sometimes without much thought on your part at the time; which turn out to be important later on. The fact ME2 weaves decisions (both big and small) you made in the first game into the narrative in such a clever manner is quite intriguing and bodes well for the ante-upping third instalment.

As for the rest of the game, the combat feels faster and more satisfying and the sidequests feel more integrated into the main story thanks to their use of unique maps and fleshed out feel.

I kinda miss the Mako “tank” sections from ME1 even though they sometimes annoyed the crap out of me. The “scanning” minigame replacement in ME2 is kinda tedious but it’s not as bad as I’d thought it might be.

ME2 sometimes loses the “scale” that ME1 had due to the lack of those explore the planet bits but the sequel’s pacing and excellent characters make up for it.

I’m definitely going to be going back and "New Game Plus” my way through with different decisions…

It’s going to be a long wait til Mass Effect 3