Mass Effect 2 is a single-player action role-playing game in which the player takes the role of Commander Shepard from a third-person perspective. Shepard's gender, appearance, military background, combat-training, and first name are determined by the player before the game begins. The player may choose to import a character from a completed saved game of the original Mass Effect or start the game with a new character. Importing an old character allows several decisions the player made in the original game to impact the story of Mass Effect 2 and grants the player with a set of starting bonuses. The game features six different character classes for the player to choose from. Each class is proficient in a different set of powers and weapon types. For example, the Vanguard class is specialized in close-range combat and shotguns, while the Infiltrator class relies on stealth combat and the use of sniper rifles.
The game's overworld is a galaxy map that the player can explore to find and complete quests. Most quests consist of combat missions, but some involve the player interacting with non-player characters during visits to settlements. As the player progresses throughout the game, different locations and new squad members become available. Experience points are gained by completing quests. Each time a sufficient amount of experience is obtained, the player "levels up" and is awarded Squad Points that can be used to develop powers for both Shepard and the members of the squad. Powers provide enhanced combat capabilities, with each power having four ranks that can be unlocked. Each rank costs the same number of Squad Points as its rank. For example, unlocking the first rank of a power requires one point, but unlocking all four ranks of a single power requires a total of ten points. Upon raising a power to its fourth rank, the player must evolve the power into one of two given forms.
The player's primary mode of transportation is a starship which serves as Shepard's base of operations. Aboard the ship, the player can interact with the squad members, customize the player's armour, travel to numerous planetary systems, and scan planets for mineral resources. These resources allow the player to research numerous in-game upgrades that are found in the missions, providing benefits such as increasing weapon damage, fortifying the player's health, or extending the ship's fuel capacity, among others. Scanning requires the player to move a reticle over a planet and launch a probe when an oscilloscope warns of near resources. Additional upgrades, equipment, and non-essential items such as magazines and decorations for the ship can be purchased from merchants in settlements.
Combat
Combat in Mass Effect 2 is squad-based and a maximum of two squad members may accompany the player on the battlefield. The player has direct control of Shepard while the squad members are controlled by the game's artificial intelligence. Battles take place in real-time, but the player can pause the action at any time to calmly target enemies and select different powers for the squad members to use. The game uses an over the shoulder perspective akin to a third-person shooter, and places a strong emphasis on using cover to avoid taking damage while fighting enemy forces. The player may also issue commands to the squad members, such as sending them to take cover behind a manually picked object or focus their fire on a designated target.
Unlike the original Mass Effect, where weapons overheat if fired continuously for prolonged periods, the weapons of Mass Effect 2 have a finite magazine and must be reloaded after a certain number of shots. Shepard and the squad members are protected by a damage-absorbing shield. When the shield is fully depleted, further damage reduces the hit points of a secondary health meter. Both the shield bar and health meter automatically regenerate when not taking fire for a brief period. The player can revive fallen squad members with the use of the Unity power. However, if Shepard dies, the player must start the game again from the last saved point.
All enemies are protected by health, shields, armour, barriers, or a combination thereof. Each type of protection has its vulnerabilities. For example, armour is usually vulnerable to powers such as Incinerate, which burns enemies over time, and weapons with a low rate of fire such as sniper rifles and heavy pistols. In contrast, shields are vulnerable to powers such as Overload and rapid-firing weapons like submachine guns and assault rifles. Barriers are typically used by boss-type enemies and are vulnerable to certain weapons and powers. When the shields, armour, or barriers of an enemy have all been depleted, the player can use status-effect powers such as Pull, which temporarily levitates targets into the air, incapacitating them. Other powers may temporarily benefit the player; for instance, Adrenaline Rush puts the player in bullet time. Powers do not require any expendable resource; they only have a global cooldown.
Dialogue and morality
During conversations with characters, Mass Effect 2 employs a radial command menu, called Dialogue Wheel, where the player's dialogue options depend on wheel direction. The left side of the wheel is typically reserved for options that will continue the conversation in-depth, while options on the right side tend to move the conversation towards completion. Responses at the top are generally more polite and selfless, while those at the bottom are more aggressive and hostile. The game also introduces a context-sensitive interrupt system, allowing players to interrupt the conversation with direct actions at certain times. Dialogue choices impact how others react to Shepard, the rewards for completing missions, possible discounts from merchants, romances, and the Commander's morality.
Morality is measured by Paragon (charm) and Renegade (intimidate) points. These points affect the availability of new special Paragon and Renegade dialogue options with significant impact in the game. For example, the game features some missions to gain the loyalty of the squad. What the player does during one of these missions will determine whether they gain the loyalty of a squad member, which in turn will unlock a unique power and also help in the final battle. Endings range from the entire team surviving to the entire team being killed, Shepard included, and everything in between. Upon completing the game, a New Game Plus option is unlocked, allowing players to replay the game using the same character with which they finished it.
Synopsis
Setting and characters
Mass Effect 2 is set within the Milky Way galaxy during the 22nd century where interstellar travel is possible through the use of mass transit devices called Mass Relays, a technology believed to have been built by an extinct alien race known as the Protheans. A conglomerate body of governments known as the Citadel Council controls a large percentage of the galaxy and is responsible for maintaining law and order among races of the galactic community. Races that belong to the Citadel Council include humans, asari, salarians, and turians. Other alien races seen in the game include the reptilian krogan and drell, the environmental-suited quarians, and a hostile race of networked artificial intelligences called geth. During the events of the original Mass Effect, a geth army attempted to open a portal for the Reapers, a highly advanced machine race of synthetic-organic starships that are believed to eradicate all organic civilization every 50,000 years. The galactic community has since lived in fear of another possible invasion. Meanwhile, a human supremacist organization called Cerberus believes that humans deserve a greater role in the galactic community and supports the principle that any methods of advancing humanity's ascension are entirely justified, including illegal experimentation and terrorist activities.
The protagonist of the game is Commander Shepard (voiced by Mark Meer or Jennifer Hale), an elite human soldier who is the Commanding Officer of the SSV Normandy and Normandy SR-2 starships. Shepard's squad members include human Cerberus operative Jacob Taylor (Adam Lazarre-White), human Cerberus officer Miranda Lawson (Yvonne Strahovski), salarian scientist Mordin Solus (Michael Beattie), turian vigilante Garrus Vakarian (Brandon Keener), human criminal Jack (Courtenay Taylor), genetically engineered krogan super soldier Grunt (Steve Blum), quarian engineer Tali'Zorah (Liz Sroka), drell assassin Thane Krios (Keythe Farley), asari Justicar Samara (Maggie Baird) or Samara's serial killer daughter Morinth (Natalia Cigliuti), and geth mobile platform Legion (D. C. Douglas). Other characters include the Normandy's pilot Jeff "Joker" Moreau (Seth Green), Cerberus leader the Illusive Man (Martin Sheen), and the Normandy SR-2's enhanced defense intelligence, also known as EDI (Tricia Helfer).
