Mass Effect 2 Retrospective

It has been interesting hearing about the experiences of players new to Mass Effect or hearing people who are re-experiencing the series through the Legendary Edition.  I just recently finished Mass Effect 2 and have rolled directly into the third game.  Good news, when my character imported into the third game her eyebrows returned to their normal color and she looks the way I wanted her to (minus the facial scars that are still MIA).  In finishing the second game, which has always been my favorite, I was trying to decide if I felt any differently about it this time around.

Mass Effect 2 frequently shows up on many top games lists and is loved by many people (including myself).  I've always felt lukewarm about certain main story elements and I still feel that way.  Why does Shepard need to wind up working for Cerberus?  That part has always bugged me to no end (especially as someone who plays paragon)--why would Shepard ever consider working for them after he/she spend all that time in the first game learning about how it's essentially an evil organization? And why did they need to kill Shepard off only to bring him/her back?  I get that they were trying to create some friction and add in some villain types...but I still hate it.

One of the nicer views in ME2.

For me, the real success of storytelling in the second games comes in the form of your crew and their character specific missions.  BioWare did a great job of filling Shep's crew with great characters (and there's tons of debate about who's great and who sucks) with a wide range of complicated issues.  One of my only character related gripes in the second game is the fact that if you're trying to avoid losing your extraneous crew members (to Collector abduction), you will only be able to have Legion in your crew for a very short period of time.  It'd be nice if you could grab him earlier and still be able to save the crew.

Samara....always with the meditating.

I didn't notice a ton of changes in the LE, but there were a few nice ones.  If you're someone who's an avid armor hoarder, all the various armors that were part of outfit pack DLC's or special promotions are now available.  If you want your Shep to have a nice, laidback feeling when just chilling on the Normandy, the highly coveted N7 hoody casual look is available.  The LE features several weapons that I don't remember that are nice additions--my favorite being the Mattock assault rifle--and there are multiple heavy weapons to choose from.

One thing I've noticed in the LE is that the combat does seem easier.  I've been playing on insanity and there haven't been very many challenging sequences.  The one place that did feel a bit different was the derelict reaper; I feel like they decided to really just go crazy with the number of husks that you encounter.  I was very surprised at how easy the final boss fight was compared to in the past--its health seemed to just melt away...and, I'm not gonna lie, it was a bit underwhelming.  But hey, we all know that ME isn't a game about being leet at combat--it's about making friends and boning aliens.

There are still a few lingering bugs, but nothing worth freaking out about.  I snapped fewer pics of the second game, but it does look good (the upgrade's just not as noticeable as in the first game).  I'm still sticking with my plan of staying romance-free until Traynor time.

If your weekend plans include slaying some Collectors or dealing with your crewmembers daddy issues...have fun!