"At least one or two of these team members should have been on the cold side of an air lock"
I intend to play
through Mass Effect 2 anther time whilst I patiently await the
arrival of Mass Effect 3. I can’t wait to slip back into the shoes
of my bad ass protagonist Ramona Shepard and stick it to the Reapers
for the last instalment for the trilogy. The second game certainly
does warrant a revisit, but the main reason I intend to go back is
that I feel like I played it wrong the first time. I never really
like the term “your playing it wrong”, games should be played the
way you want to play them, but let me at least put my case across to
yourselves so that you might be able to enhance your own experience.
By Danny Burch
I have a love hate
relationship with achievements, they are great carrots on sticks but
since my initial play through of Mass Effect 2 I learnt to avoid them
at least until I have completed the main story. The main draw of
Mass Effect games for me is that my experience is completely
different from yours. The story and characters are all influenced by
choices that I make, I loved this aspect in Mass Effect 1 and it made
me anxious and exited about each decision I made, knowing that my
actions would have consequences not only in this world but also in
the next two games only made for a more interest and compelling
experience. For instance, a Character that has died in my Mass Effect
1 play through could be a jilted lover in your games! This is
something that can not be done in any other medium.
When Mass effect 2
arrived I was keen to get through the game and see where the
adventure takes me, however the habit I indulged in at the time was
to look at the achievements and plan ahead for what was to come. And
I saw that there were achievements for gaining the loyalty of each of
your squad members. Sounds simple you think, why wouldn't you do
them? As a gamer I had a instinct to get all the achievements I
possibly could but the problem was that it wasn't in my protagonist's
nature to get along with everyone, at least one or two of these team
members should have been on the cold side of an air lock if I was in
the role of my Shepard. I had a choice, do I maximise the amount of
content that I experience in the game? or do I stay to true to the
character I created in the first game? Unfortunately I gave in to
achievement addiction and it effectively ruined and otherwise
enjoyable experience.
I'm not saying you
shouldn't try and experience as much of the game as possible. What I
am saying is that there are lot of linear games out there where you
get to to experience all the game has to offer in a single play
through, and that's fine if you want to play Mass Effect like that.
But I think you are really missing out on creating an experience that
is truly unique to this medium, if you create a character and make it
your own and to take the time and thought to think about your
actions, you ultimately create a world you care more about and a more
enriched gaming experience for yourself.
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