autaku

I’d like to start this article with some thoughts on the ethics of reviewing videogames, to explain why the word “review” is absent from the heading above. The question of how much of a game one should play before being in an adequate position to review said game has been raised more than a few times in the industry, and I think it’s a very pertinent one. Reviews are largely subjective by nature – unavoidably so – but the increasingly open-ended nature of many games means that one person’s experience of a game may be vastly different to another’s. In the case of Mass Effect 2, there are simply too many factors affecting the experience for me to feel ready to review the game after just one play-through.

First, there are the six playable classes which run the gamut from straight-shooting soldiers to Jedi-like Adepts and tech-based Engineers, with three hybrid classes in between. Then there’s the current total of twelve possible squad members and the relationship options that go with them (there are four romance options for each gender, up from the two available to each in the first game). Your choices in those areas will affect gameplay, but the real experience changer is in the broader decision-making. There are many choices to make in Mass Effect 2 – big and small – and at times it feels like every one of them has a weight unlike what I’ve encountered in any other game.

If you’ve played the original Mass Effect, you have the option of importing your character from that game into this one. While you won’t carry your stats over (likely due to the heavy tweaking of the class, power and levelling systems),  you will get some bonuses based on your previous progress and – this is the important part – some of your bigger decisions will carry through, shaping your Mass Effect 2 experience before you’ve even started. This makes for a very personal connection to the game right away as you see the consequences of your actions played out at various points throughout the game, but it also has another effect: it shows you that developer Bioware is serious about connecting each game in the planned trilogy in a meaningful way. While the first game was clearly designed to allow for this connection, Mass Effect 2 is practically built around it. It is clear throughout that your actions in this game will have far-reaching consequences in the concluding chapter, and it is this mechanic that lends true gravitas to the Mass Effect 2 experience.

Bioware have made no secret of the fact that it is possible, based on choices made throughout the game, that not all of the main characters in Mass Effect 2 will survive… including the player character, Commander Shepard. The crux of the game’s plot involves preparing for a climactic mission to an uncharted region of space that, as it is told in-game, is likely a one-way trip. Normally, having everyone die at the end would simply be considered the “negative ending” to the game, but for me Mass Effect 2 was different. There’s more at stake than just getting an unfavourable ending: if these characters die, they will still be dead in Mass Effect 3 when I import my character. If Shepard is dead, I won’t even be able to import my character; everything I did in the first two games will have come to an end. Survival ceases being a marker of one’s success at playing the game as it is in most games and becomes a question, one that – in a game so focussed on preparing for a suicide mission – raises itself constantly. What is my Shepard willing to do to ensure his survival? What is he willing to do to ensure that his team survives? Perhaps most importantly, what is he willing to sacrifice to ensure the success of his mission? There is no “best” ending to Mass Effect 2, only the consequences of your actions prior to (and during) that climax.

It should be becoming clearer to you now, if you’ve not played Mass Effect 2, why playing it once is insufficient to pass judgement on it in the form of a review. The solution to that problem, however, is not to play the game however many times it takes to see every little possible difference. That would, in a sense, be missing the point entirely. The more appropriate course of action is to forego the traditional “review” altogether, and simply discuss the experience. If you want to read about Mass Effect 2‘s merits in terms of gameplay and technical construction – the things that can be measured somewhat objectively by a review – feel free to peruse the list on Metacritic. You’ll find that the general consensus is, with only one listed score below 90 out of 100 as of posting, unanimously favourable, and were I to attempt a review I would wholeheartedly agree with those sentiments. What I would like to do instead is talk about what happened in my Mass Effect 2 - which is quite probably different to your Mass Effect 2 - and some of the extraordinary ways in which the game engaged me. It should go without saying that what follows will contain spoilers. Probably big ones. You have been warned.

That’s my Shepard. He’s a Vanguard – as he was in the first game – which means he uses a combination of biotic abilities (for Mass Effect newcomers, it’s Jedi type stuff) and conventional firearms in combat. When given the chance to re-create his appearance instead of leaving him in his raw imported-from-Mass-Effect-1 state, I took it and unintentionally wound up with essentially the same look, which wasn’t too big of a surprise given that in both instances of character creation I used my own appearance as inspiration. I suppose that was the very result that I wanted: minor changes to take advantage of the game’s improved rendering and little else.

You can also see above that my Shepard has a maxed-out Paragon bar, but also a decent chunk of the Renegade bar filled. Once of the things that I loved most about Mass Effect 2 is that Paragon and Renegade were not so much about the action but the intention, and I can’t imagine many people getting through the game without at least some of both bars filled. In many games, the “good” solution to a conversation-based problem would involve passive responses and a level of pacifism unsuited to the amount of bloodshed taking place outside of the game’s dialogue trees. In Mass Effect 2, a Paragon is generally someone who understands that force is sometimes necessary, but will not use it any more than is necessary. A Renegade is a “the ends justify the means” kind of person who will do what it takes to get the job done, even if it means occasionally doing the wrong thing to ultimately do the right thing. My Shepard is the kind of man who always tries to do the right thing, but isn’t completely idealistic: the fate of the entire galaxy is at stake, and you need to crack a few eggs to make an omelette.

My Shepard captains his ship, the Normandy, with a common touch – he is a part of the crew, not above it – attempting to be personable with all crew members and making sure that their needs and well-being are attended to. Because of this, he commands both loyalty and respect from his crew, and they are honoured to serve with him. He tries to avoid letting his personal feelings get in the way when there’s trouble on the ship, preferring to seek resolutions that benefit everyone. For example, during an argument between squad members Miranda and Jack, Shepard talked them both down instead of siding with one or the other (even though he had become very close to Miranda by this point). It is this skill at peacemaking that allows him to have a functional crew even when some of them don’t get along; they are loyal to Shepard and committed to the mission, and by following their commander’s example they are able to put that before personal differences. How else would Shepard manage to have a Quarian and a Geth working together?

I had all possible squad members to join my crew, and earned the loyalty of each of them. Loyalty is gained by completing personal missions for each of the squad mates – usually a certain level of trust is required before they’ll ask you – and these are not only some of the most enjoyable missions in the game but also provide some of its best character moments. It is through these missions that you’ll find out who these characters really are, and even shape them based on your handling of turning points at which Shepard can influence the situation. Will Shepard be a role model for his team? Will he let them make their own mistakes to learn, or will he protect them from condemning themselves? These loyalty missions are often rife with moral ambiguity and, aside from likely having a significant impact on your endgame success, offer some of the richest and most rewarding moments in Mass Effect 2.

Above you can see the (currently) complete roster of squad members in Mass Effect 2 (note: there is one other character available in the game, but they are a potential replacement for one of the above characters rather than a unique one). Throughout the course of the game – and thanks in no small part to the aforementioned loyalty missions – I came to care for all but one of these characters in at least some way. The only exception is Zaeed (far left), an extra character available for free download from the game’s Cerberus Network, who simply did nothing to make me care about him. You can’t engage in conversation with him on board the Normandy, and he’s little more than a hired gun. Zaeed joined Shepard’s team because he was paid to do so, and he never really amounted to anything more than that in my story. There was minor character development through his loyalty mission, in which he came to respect Shepard’s leadership and showed a glimpse of understanding that the mission at hand was more than just a pay check, but there’s no real scope for any sort of friendship to develop between Zaeed and Shepard. By extension, that gives me little to engage with.

None of the above is to say that Zaeed is not an enjoyable character – in some ways, he is – but he is a mere puddle by comparison with the rest of the cast’s depth. There’s Salarian scientist – or Scientist Salarian, if you will – Mordin (just left of centre above) who offers both comedy (check the link earlier in this sentence) and plenty of pause for thought with confessions about the nature of his past work. Lab-bred Krogan “Grunt” (fourth from right) is the very embodiment of taking pleasure in battle, but ultimately proved himself far more honourable than his rage might suggest. I initially disliked Jack (far right), a prisoner released into Shepard’s custody for the mission, but gradually changed my mind as she opened up about her tortured past. Drell assassin Thane came from a questionable background to become one of Shepard’s most trusted confidants and one of the game’s most intriguing characters.

I could go on about each character at length and how each is fascinating and often truly engaging to interact with, but although there are certain truths to them – important parts of them which are set in stone – my connection to them is not yours, nor would yours be mine. Garrus (centre) was by Shepard’s side as often as possible in the first Mass Effect, so to have him return to the crew was a more joyous moment than it might be for someone who neglected him before, and I was certain immediately that he would remain at Shepard’s side once again. The other open squad slot (each time Shepard leaves the Normandy, he takes only two teammates with him) was almost always taken by Miranda Lawson (just right of centre in the screenshot), with whom my Shepard quite naturally developed a romantic relationship throughout the course of the game.

For me, there is more to selecting a squad in Mass Effect 2 than just combat ability and team balance. In most RPGs I factor in how much I like the character as well before adding or removing them from my party, but in Mass Effect 2 there’s even more than that. There was a sense, as I got to know the characters, that I wanted my Shepard to be experience the majority of his journey with Miranda and Garrus at his side, while at the same time developing his relationships with the rest of the crew and swapping others into the squad on occasion when it felt right. This more personal approach to squad selection was never as clear as in the game’s final mission, for reasons I’ll get to in a moment.

One of most exciting things about Mass Effect 2‘s climactic mission is the amount of room for error involved. Didn’t upgrade the Normandy’s weapons and armour? It’s going to take a beating, and people might die before you even get to the ground work. When you do land, all squad members still living will take part in the mission. Shepard will (mostly) take two with him as usual, while the rest need to be assigned to different critical roles. This raises some important questions, and your decisions here will affect the outcome of the mission itself. Who’s going to accompany Shepard? Who’s going to lead the other team? Who’s going to go on the dangerous solo mission? Both Miranda and Garrus would have made fine additions to the other team, and it would have made sense to send one of them – as Shepard’s most trusted teammates – with that team… but I didn’t. I (and by extension, Shepard) thought that by having them with me/Shepard, I/he could protect them. Notice the confused pronouns there. In writing that sentence, it became too difficult for me to separate Shepard’s desire to protect those characters with my own. I trusted them to help Shepard get the job done. I wanted to make sure they survived. I need them to make it to Mass Effect 3 so the relationships can continue to build.

Thankfully they did survive, and so did the rest of the team thanks to my good choices (interference of personal feelings notwithstanding) in breaking them into groups. Everyone made it back onto the Normandy, and thanks to the upgrades I had made the Normandy was in good enough condition to return them to safe space. Well, not quite everybody. Shortly before the game’s climax, the majority of the Normandy’s crew is captured by the enemy while Shepard and his squad are on a mission. Upon Shepard’s return, he has the choice to go straight into the final mission to rescue them straight away – risking the success of the mission itself – or wait and continue preparing. My Shepard chose to wait, and as a consequence was too late to save most of the crew. This loss was overshadowed by the immediacy of the mission at hand, but on later reflection has had a real impact.

Upon returning to the Normandy after his ultimate success, Shepard found it a much lonelier place than before. Kelly Chambers – essentially Shepard’s personal assistant on board the ship, both a likeable character and a valuable gameplay element – is the most obvious loss, but she is by no means the only one. Gone are engineers with whom Shepard enjoyed a game of cards. Gone are the unnamed crew members that once made the ship feel alive with their conversation. There was a man in the crew quarters who, throughout the game, could be overheard telling a shipmate about his family. Throughout those conversations I heard of the danger his family was in and, after he feared the worst for a while, eventually that they made it to safety. He was to visit them on Earth if he survived Shepard’s mission… but he didn’t. When I realised this, I was taken aback that I felt for this character who didn’t even have a name. I reconsidered Shepard’s level of success: he may have saved countless lives by completing his mission, he may have made it out alive with his entire squad by his side, but it was not without consequence.

This, ultimately, is why Mass Effect 2 is a truly personal experience. Had I never bothered to listen to that crew member talk about his family, I may never have given a second thought to his death or spared a thought for the consequences of the victory Shepard did achieve. Had I not spent so much time with Garrus in the first Mass Effect, he may not have seemed so vital this time around. Had my story led Shepard to be romantically involved with Kelly instead of Miranda, I may have gone after the abducted crew members right away and the overall mission may not have been as successful for it. There are so many “what ifs” – some referring back to the events of the first game, but most more immediate – and so many outcomes based on those possibilities, which would in turn lead to a ripple effect to create yet more alternatives. My experience of the game is mine alone, and even someone who achieved the same general structure in their play-through will not likely have experienced it in quite the same way. It is for this reason that I’ve not started a second play-through of the game already, despite the fact that I desperately want to play more of it. This first time was mine; every decision and action was my own within the scope of Commander Shepard (who is, though broadly shaped by the player, a character and not a direct avatar), and that’s a powerful thing.

Playing the game again and making different choices would surely be just as enjoyable, but at the moment I’m still too engaged with how things happened the first time. That is an incredible achievement for Bioware – perhaps even a masterpiece of interactive storytelling – and something that I don’t think could be replicated by any medium other than videogames. I long to return to the incredible world (or rather, galaxy) that Bioware have created for Mass Effect, but I wonder if that’s as much because of my attachment to my Shepard’s story as it is about the hugely enjoyable and finely tuned gameplay. Thankfully, with substantial extra content promised for Mass Effect 2 and the final instalment in the trilogy yet to come, there should be plenty of time to enjoy both of those aspects of my love for Mass Effect.

Finished your own game of Mass Effect 2? Tell me what happened in the comments!