After the release of the original Mass Effect, its sequel has been one of the most anticipated games of the year, and with good reason. Everything that made its predecessor great has survived in its action-packed successor. BioWare, the developer of Mass Effect 2, has once again surpassed every industry standard and probably set a few new ones as well. If you enjoyed the original, you will not be disappointed.

Once again you find yourself in the hardened military boots of Commander Shepard,  still in command of your impressive ship, the Normandy, and have been tasked with rooting out leftover Geth (sentient robots with a penchant for wanton destruction) from the original game. After you saved the entire galaxy from imminent destruction in Mass Effect 1, you would think Shepard would at least get a vacation, maybe a bonus, but I suppose being hero of the universe doesn’t come with many perks.

I am always impressed by the stunning visuals that game developers throw at you to induce a visual cortex orgasm. I was also quite happy when I saw that the graphics of ME2 made a seamless transition from its original counterpart. BioWare did such an amazing job the first time that any improvements they needed to make were subtle enough to make it feel like you were playing the same game. This is exactly what a sequel should be, and what most developers fail to accomplish.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the near impeccable voice acting. The original had voice acting of an unprecedented quality, and BioWare has only improved upon it. You run across a lot fewer situations where Shepard will simply leave an important conversation with a nonchalant “Cya guys later!” Every interaction feels real, and as always, you have total control over what your character says. I often find exactly what I wanted to say among the responses you can choose from. It’s rewarding when you feel like you are actively participating, rather than choosing a set of unclear, unemotional responses.

However, one of the major complaints about the first Mass Effect was the lack of intelligence displayed by your party members. Thankfully, it appears the AI for your companions has had an overhaul. Even early in the game you can execute some fairly precise combination attacks with your team. It is also much easier to direct your team to certain locations, or to attack certain targets than it used to be. It makes me want to keep my team alive, instead of leaving them to die in a back alley.

When BioWare announced that decisions you made in Mass Effect 1 could carry over to Mass Effect 2, it made me a little nervous. It seemed almost infeasible to create such an expansive tree of decisions and have it play any sort of integral part in the second game.

I’ll be honest with you, if you do not enjoy story-driven games, Mass Effect 2 is most likely not for you. It is a game that relies heavily on plot, using action and combat mostly to support the narrative. Likewise, if you thoroughly enjoyed the original game, Mass Effect 2 will be more than worth the money. With the newly created Cerberus Network, which has a similar feel to the Xbox Live Marketplace, you will never be desperate for new content. If you are looking for a game to get you through the tedium of weekends at NJIT, then you must buy this game.

Andrew Harrison can be reached at ah56@njit.edu