IGN AU Mass Effect 2 Review

IGN AU:

"Two games in, BioWare's Mass Effect 2 has just cemented the series as the RPG series to beat this generation. As the middle tale in a sci-fi epic, nods to 'The Empire Strikes Back' are inevitable – and in a very real way, the middle instalment in the Mass Effect series is equally dark and more involved; characters appear richer, the settings comfortably familiar yet foreign and fresh, and the gameplay now evolving, shifting and streamlining."

[Bungie]

wooooooooooot another great score
Bioware FTW
RPG of the Decade

[GreenRingOfLife]

Can't wait to put this game in my Xbox 360 on tuesday

[WildArmed]

I hates you O_O
I'll be at college till around 10pm when I get home. My gamestop will be close dby the time i get back.
So even though i have it fully paid.. i'll have to wait till the weekend D:
THE AGONY!

And yes, Bioware never delivers nothing short of Gold.
DA:O, ME1 just to name 2 of their amazing track record.

[Jmlopezbr]

I finally got a computer that can handle gaming 3 weeks ago. So I have been waiting 2 and a half weeks for ME from an online order on Best Buy (no stores nearby had it in stock). The shipment got lost and so we got another shipment in which is coming on Tuesday TT_TT.

I pre-ordered ME2 but now I have to wait until I beat ME... temptation will be hard though OTL

[ReservoirDog316]

I always trust IGN AU. They're always the most fair of all IGN's branches. This looks really really good.

I saw the long trailer on the Vikings vs. Saints game (Favre messed up bad) and it looks really good. I've done my best to avoid seeing anything of it and that's the longest I've seen of ME2.

If I hadn't made a promise to myself to stop buying games for the next few months, I would buy this day one. God it's gonna be torture.

[Saaking]

@Jmlopezbr

You can always get it on steam. Fast and easy.

[Digitaldude]

Obviously Us inflates the score.
Great review AU. Can't wait to play it for PC.

[el zorro]

Another high score. That's awesome, I can't wait til Tuesday.

[hay]

@1.1: You are so full of sh*t.
http://n4g.com/NewsCom-4632...

[calis]

Bioware are money. You always know you are going get an awesome game (coming from a guy who just started Dragon Age - Origins and bought a XBOX for KotOR and 360 for Mass Effect 1 (and now 2)

[Zeal0t]

One question... should i complete ME1 before i start with ME2? I ask because i got my ME2 Collector's Edition pre-ordered but i actually never finshed ME1. I don't know if i can resist ME2 :D

[baum]

Of course, this is the first RPG of the decade. It's not like there's any competition. But then again, if you're talking about last decade, then you forgot to mention Dragon Quest 8, Kingdom Hearts 2, Demon's Soul, Fallout 3, Persona 3 and Persona 4.

[goflyakite]

Wish I could get it on the PS3, looks awesome.

And lol @ the people in all articles saying things like, "can't wait to play this on my 360".

And another lol @ baum owning the fanboy.

[ShadowCK]

I'm not surprised as the Auses generally write very poor reviews which are short and have no redeeming qualities. They give the gameplay a score of 9/10 but don't provide the reason for it not being a 10. Instead they say "Major changes and refinements were largely well implemented, even if we don't agree with all of them" - that's unbelievably unfair. That's like marking down MGS4's story down because it's unrealistic.

Please don't compare rubbish like Uncharted 2 to Mass Effect 2. It's insulting and we all know very well Mass Effect 2 destroys Uncharted 2 in near every aspect. Oh and I'm also getting this on my 360. You got a problem with that?

/Fanboy

[gaffyh]

@shadow - Not only is that offensive to Australians, it's also incredibly stupid that you say don't compare it to Uncharted 2, yet you are the first one to do so.

Uncharted 2 can't even be compared to Mass Effect, the games are completely different genres, and if you'd play both games, you'd know that. But obviously you won't know, because you only have a 360.

On topic - Good review score and very accurate. Mass Effect 2 is a great game, but there are still issues with it, so it is not perfect. I feel like the US reviewers all seem to get sucked into the hype of any big Microsoft title and automatically give it a 10. Sad but true.

[WildArmed]

While I dont have a problem with you or your attitude..
the people eating up your bubbles sure do..

And please go cry a river that you didn't get Uncharted 2 on 360.
ME2 is gonna be awesome, U2 was awesome.

[GreenRingOfLife]

that stands for

Amazing And Awesome

[WildArmed]

Here I thought it was 'American Automobile Association'
But next time I call them up when my car breaks down, i'll ask for sure :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[goflyakite]

Then what does AA and A stand for?

[00]

hell yeah just one more day.

[subzero-08]

Might have to pick this game up for PC and see what it's all about.

[WildArmed]

I'd say you go pick up ME1 first.. you wont regret it!

I'm actually trying my perfect playthrough for ME1.. I wanna expereince ME2 at it's finest ^^

[drzmvp554]

another great score, but thats like the lowest score ive seen so far , you had to ruin it ign au

[swiftshot93]

Really? I mean, better than Fallout 3? We'll have to see I guess.

It'll be interesting to see how Fallout: New Vegas stacks up when its released this fall.

[GameOn]

I didn't find fallout 3 to be all that great. Oblivion was better and ME was better than Oblivion due to the engrossing story(personal opinion of course).

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

Fallout 3 is legendary.

Mass Effect 2 will be good, I'm sure.

Let's not get in over our heads though.

Bioware doesn't exactly get a 10/10 for voice acting. The script is ohkay, but it's not sci-fi/epic worthy.

It'll be a good game. It'll have some good stuff.

Good luck getting attached to the characters though.

[00]

"Bioware doesn't exactly get a 10/10 for voice acting. The script is ohkay, but it's not sci-fi/epic worthy."

Lmao I'll give 5 out of 5 for trolling, I believe you deserve a sticker.

[Halo3 MLG Pro]

Fallout 3 is legendary??? LMFAO!

I beat Fallout 3 and all the add ons. Cool game and all but not legendary. The story in Fallout 3 was just plain ass! You think the story in Fallout 3 was epic worthy? Oh man, it's scary to know that some people are just to dumb to understand serious sci-fi games like Mass Effect.

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

It's scary that some people forgot basic English lessons from high school.

"Too" and "to" have separate meanings. Use both of them.

[YogiBear]

Halo got BURNED!!!!

[kewlkat007]

one of the worst part of the game....

[WithMyLastBreath]

Some great scores. ME1 almost made me pick up a 360 but I haven't had enough money in a long time haha :(

[LittleBigSackBoy]

Same, I have to get a new TV now too...I'll probably get a 360in time for Alan Wake. Then i'll pick up ME1, ME2, SCC, Fable 3 and Alan Wake.

[Nihilism]

You wont be picking up anything you god damn liar, you have already admitted you pirate your games

[LittleBigSackBoy]

I said on the PC i do. I've never said i pirate games on consoles. And since the last game i played on the PC was Fable 1, over 5 years ago i don't see your point. I buy PC games if i see them cheap, if not i stay away from PC gaming as i don't really like mouse and keyboards for gaming. BTW, if for some reason you thought i was being serious in that forum post, i said tut tut tut at the end. So it should of been obvious...It's all fun and games, here on N4G...

[kaveti6616]

I could almost hear Dchalfont shouting.

[Nihilism]

I would be in person, F*** pirates piss me off, I have to endure DRM and all this copy protection B.S because of jackasses like littesackboy

[LittleBigSackBoy]

Whao...You must be very insecure to get angry over something so easily, and online aswell....I said i haven't pirated in over 5 years. Maybe you should stop ACTING like a jackass.

[Nihilism]

I told you that you were a liar, you just proved me right again, you said, not 2 weeks ago, that you still pirate all your games, and that you saw no problem with it. You and those like you are destroying the games industry.

[LittleBigSackBoy]

There's no way for me to prove i don't pirate games. But i don't play games on my at all, except MMORPGs which i quit when i got my PS3. Gaming is expense, we can't all have uber PCs and buy every game we want. I'm not the only person to have ever pirated PC games. Anyway, i don't pirate games and haven't in over 5 years (3rd time saying this). If you believe me then fine. If not then it's still fine. I use Ubuntu btw, so couldn't really play games on my PC even if i wanted. I'm too old to argue online...so that's it, i'm done. Have a good one.

[goflyakite]

@dchalfont

You're using his word to tell him he still pirates games, even though he's saying now he doesn't. You have nothing to prove your point so the argument is useless.

btw I used to pirate games on PS2. :)

[ATi_Elite]

Great games shouldn't be pirated they deserve to be bought and paid for.
Mass Effect 2 (though is lacks Directx 10 and is using an Ancient GFX Engine) is shaping up to be good game.
Too bad about 50,000 people are already playing it before it's released.

On the other hand developers should come up with a better protection system and how the hell did it get leaked anyway? this was an inside job if you ask me.

PC sales of ME2 will be good even with the PIRATES because ME2 is
A good game
the developers didn't say dumb things towards PC gamers
Doesn't use some bullcrap over aggressive DRM like (Starforce or GTAIV)

Besides DRM only punishes consumers and increases pirating.

[Meus Renaissance]

The Bar Has Been Set.

Fight for the lost (fallen friends).

[Obama]

9.5 > 9.3

O wait it's only 0.2 difference, but I see so many "people" posting 9.6 > 9.5 in the other thread so I guess there's no harm of me in doing the same thing right?

[niceguywii60]

I don't even know what the hell you're talking about but no doubt it's trolling.

Great score. You should pick up a 360 or get a gaming rig and play ME2.

[GameOn]

What you on about Crazy man.

[Mista T]

I guess he's talking about xbox fanboys in the other article comparing ME2 and UC2

Edit: hold it with the disagrees, I was just explaining to the 2 replys above me

[niceguywii60]

So PS3 fans are mad because when they troll 360 articles, they don't like what 360 fans say in 360 articles? I don't understand your point.

[kaveti6616]

It's a vicious cycle.

Whenever you confront either type of fanboy about their trolling habits (either Xbox fanboy or PS fanboy) they always say the same thing.

"They Started it"

[Michael-Jackson]

IGN 9.6 > 9.5, 0.1 Point
IGN AU 9.3 < 9.5, 0.2 Point difference

Should I brag about it in the Open zone?

[goflyakite]

Obama is just pointing out the irony, and some people can't accept it.

And @ MJ, with those four scores UC2 averages out to a higher score by .5 lol. :P

[Dark360]

Shhhhh...Stop using drugs...Drugs are Bad...

[hazardman]

the fanboys who say Oh f@ck the x360 version..I'm getting it for P.C. Dumb-asses don't realize they still supporting MS. As it's part of there Windows Live Games for P.C..

[GamerPS360]

I am getting PC version. And, I proudly support good games. You can call me PC Fanboy but I still use logic.
Well, will get 360 version as well when it gets little cheaper 'coz my wife can't touch my PC :D. She likes game like this.

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

I've been called every type of fanboy.

Don't worry about it, guys. People are going to be idiots no matter what you say. Lol.

I'm getting it for PC.

Better version.

Why would someone have a problem with that?

If you have a 360 and a PC that can run it at full...why get the 360 version? I guess achievements could be a good argument, but even then. Controller isn't an issue. I guess it does take a little too much effort to install and patch PC games. It's worth it for the mods though. : )

No matter which system you get this on, you're going to love it...I'm sure.

[Kos-Mos]

There are torrent lovers like me. I wouldn`t call that support. Haha

[Mista T]

nice review, sure to be a GOTY contender no doubt

[Obama]

What? Bungie told me that it's a hip thing to do!

[kwicksandz]

Cmon people just take the trolls bubbles and they will go away

[PopEmUp]

trolls will never go away when you taken their bubbles. Some example are thetruth2009 and mesh

[monkey602]

I'm jealous of you guys getting it tuesday! I have to wait until friday :(

Canyourunit finally put up the specs to this though and confirmed that my laptop will in fact run it. Whoo! Cant wait!

[peowpeow]

"You can run it

**fine print** game will run at 3fps"

[monkey602]

I think I'd cry!

Ah the site has yet to steer me wrong thankfully. just lets hope this wont be the first time it does ;)

[GamerPS360]

Mass Effect 1 was very good with some flaws but It was one of those game that I really enjoyed this generation.
ME2 seems to have all those flaws addressed with graphic bumped up and more darker storyline. This game is to beat in coming year(s).
I just hope, it don't pull me away from Bad Company2. I usually play good games over 5 times :D
I don't want to sound like jerk or whatever but I just can't wait to play this on my PC 'coz I just invested over $700 on my new graphic card. It better give me all eye candy with steady over 100FPS and full 1080p (my monitor limit).

[steck67]

Great score coming from IGN AU. Props to Bioware. Cant wait!

[commodore64]

yeah 93 is a great score, in anyone's language.
Funny thing is, this 93 has *reduced* the metacritic score from 97 to 96.

Fancy that, eh?
a fabulous 93 from ign au, which could ironically be considered the *worst* score on metacritic so far...

Speaks volumes about the quality of this game.

[Acidicpack]

WOW its so great to see ME2 getting great reviews. I have to admit that I feel sorry for my gaming brothers across the pond having to wait till Friday to play this baby ><. I just finished preloading ME2 on my laptop as I can play ME2 at work and I will be picking this bad boy up at Midnight tomorrow to pop in the360. Its been a long two year wait but it be worth it if ME2 is as good as the reviews have let on. Its time to fight for the lost baby!!!! Cheers!

[jalen247]

Great score.

[ikral]

I dont have 360, but if i do i´d certainly play this game. Maybe it comes to PS3, who knows...

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

I really hope so. I thought Mass Effect was fairly good.

Dragon Age: Origins was TERRIBLE though!!! Oh my GAWD! The voice acting was atrocious!

I prefer Bethesda, but Bioware still knows how to make a good game.

[ironmonkey]

its mass effect 1 with a number 2
basically its the same game nothings changed
over hyped in my opinion

[doctorspakles]

How can you possibly know that? Story has changed. Combat has changed. Leveling up system has changed. For a RPG/TPS those are the main aspects of the game and they have all changed. You sir, are incorrect.

[Xi]

...

[Halo3 MLG Pro]

We're looking at one of the greatest trilogies ever created. Time magazine has even raved about Mass Effect 2 calling it "The Avatar of video games." Us 360 gamers and PC gamers will enjoy this beauty for sure, ps3 gamers....well just keep on hoping that they port it over.

[NateDPG]

lol and then you woke up "keep on hoping that they port it over" haha

[jack who]

haters

[TheColbertinator]

Its Bioware so clearly its AAA.No excuses.Lets go November 26!

[Lehman Brothers]

I'am sorry for MAG.

I know that the droids wont mention this game again in their AAA 2010 list, lol.

There are 3 HUGE flops containing 3 letters:

1. PS3
2. PSN
3. MAG
4. 256
5. LOL

[ZombieRollz]

Poor bot, so fueled by hatred that he ignores the games that sit in front of his face, Mass Effect 2 for instance, and instead blatantly blast MAG for no apparent reason.

What would your imaginary friends think?

[gunnerforlife]

i aint got a 360 and wont buy one unless i can find a cheap prewoned one. But if i did i wuld buy this game and the first in a heard beat lol
this will probably b the first game that i buy on my pc if i can, 2 many ps3 games as it is 2 even look at multi games, but i am gone make an exception though:)