It’s time for another Retro Ad Replay article! This is the series where we head backwards in time to reminisce and celebrate the anniversary of some of the most significant moments in gaming. If you find yourself wanting more content like this, be sure to visit Mandatory.com.
In this January 26 edition of Retro Ad Replay, we’re taking a trip back 11 years to when Mass Effect 2 first launched on PC and Xbox 360. That’s January 26, 2010. Developed by BioWare and published by EA, this game aimed to meld the awesome role-playing elements of the first game with overhauled over-the-shoulder shooter gameplay. It came to PS3 on January 18, 2011.
GameRevolution awarded Mass Effect 2 a 9/10 in our review, praising the game for having a “dangerously dark second act” and “rich characters, dialogue, and culture,” being a “much improved tactical shooter,” and the “awe-inspiring graphics.”
Here’s a snippet from the GR review:
In the original MASS EFFECT, you didn’t really have to worry much about your weapons overheating, you could walk up to enemies and fire away without much concern, and powers could regenerate within seconds of each other. Not so much this time around.
Try to pull of some agro stunts here and you’ll turn into a bullet sponge. Finding cover behind whatever you can find is now as important as keeping an eye on your health. Weapons also need to be reloaded with heat sinks, and ammo for grenade launchers and other heavy weapons – made specifically to combat mechs, helicopters, and really anything that makes you go “WTF is that?!” – can be found lying around in crates on the battlefield. Using any power now resets the charging time for all of your powers, so you can’t toss them about like confetti anymore. You can’t just waddle into a room full of mercs thinking you’ll be protected by your stats and power leveling.
What all this means for you is that the shooting system now matches the brilliance of the role-playing system… almost. By attempting to become a stronger shooter, it opens itself for further scrutiny. The cover system can get unwieldy on occasion, with you going in and out of the cover stance unintentionally. There’s also the occasional game-ending glitch in the cover system, but that will hopefully be patched. Vaulting over objects is a nice touch, but you can only do it after sliding into cover. Your squadmates’ powers are also instantaneous when there is no obstruction in your line of sight to an enemy, whereas many of your powers are projectile-based so they can be blocked by some arbitrarily stacked storage crates.
Check out Mass Effect 2 launch trailer below:
