Every year, there are plenty of “good video games” that come out. Then, if we’re lucky, there are several “great video games.” By the end of said year, we’re able to look back and point out “which games were the best of the lot” and have a pretty good indication of why they were that way. However, there are times when a game comes out and it’s SO GOOD that everything else feels “lesser” when compared to that. Those are the video games that stand the test of time. Mass Effect 2 is absolutely one of those titles, and it just turned 15 over the weekend.
The sequel to the hit RPG had some good expectations going into it, but little did fans know that Bioware would rock them to their core by completely changing everything they expected and delivering a far more unique, intricate, and fun experience. First, the game’s story was both a follow-up to the original tale while being its own thing.
After the “death” of Commander Shepherd, he’s revived by the pro-humanity group Cerberus, who are the only ones who take the Reaper threat seriously outside of Shepherd. They allow Shepherd to build a team to take on one of the armies of the Reapers: The Collectors, who have kidnapped humans and taken them to a dangerous sector of space beyond the infamous Omega 4 Relay.
That alone made the game gripping to watch unfold. When you add that to the incredible gameplay that was overhauled to be more streamlined, fun, and action-packed, and you had something you wanted to play repeatedly.
However, what truly set the game apart was that Mass Effect 2 had one of the best character rosters in gaming history. Sure, things might have started off a bit “typical” with Miranda and Jacob, but it quickly went wild with characters like Mordin, Jack, Legion, Grunt, Thane, etc. Furthermore, unlike most sequels, only two characters from Shepherd’s original crew made the cut this time around, which made things even more compelling when you ran into the OG squad and had to see how things had “advanced” since then.
The entire game was a masterclass in defying expectations, improving on what worked before, and keeping fans entertained until the very end. Sadly, the final game in the trilogy couldn’t hit the mark with its ending, which is why many people prefer the second title to the third one many times over.