Mass Effect was a revolutionary game in the field of epic sci-fi story
telling. Unlike most sci-fi games which put you in the role of some superhuman
in a suit of armour, or a crazed scientist with a crowbar and simply send you
out to kill everything with a weak plot, simple story/story telling and which
the main character is the camera holding a gun/blunt object (These
generalisations usually occur in FPS's though), Mass Effect brought in a number
of characters and gave them all back stories, their own personalities and even
their own unique fighting styles.
The voice acting was solid, and the plot was relativity interesting if a
little cliche, the game was brought down for its genericness (For lack of a
better word). Every explorable planet had a base to invade with some guys to
kill, something to discover and rare items littered around the area. All the
buildings looked the same, the missions always ended up making you Mother Teresa
or a baby eating Satan. Not to mention that while characterisation is nice,
asking a character to talk about themselves and then listen through fifteen
minutes of drivel like you've got a documentory crew behind you gets tiring
after the first two times.
ME2 removes all that completely. The long, drawn out conversations are still
there, but with added scenes, some shooting and even people walking about
instead of staring at each other (Similar to that of Elder Scroll series, or
Fallout 3). The voice acting is still fantastic, as is the soundtrack which made
the game so atmospheric. The fire fighting has been upgraded from simpe shooting
to tactical shoot outs involving destructible cover, and a much easier useage of
the biotic/tech powers that made the game stand out from normal supernatural
powers sci-fi games like to bring out.
Overall, ME2 was a fantastic game, and the collectors addition was even
better. Not only did it give you an extra three side missions (one long one
too), it also gave you a new character that sounds like Jason Statham in thirty
years time after loads of cigarettes. The Edition also comes with a pre-release
of the first volume of the comics, a book filled with beautiful concept art and
even a funky Cerberus access card, which looks disturbingly cool in a waller
next to a drivers licence.