I’m Commander Shepard, and this is my favourite game in the Mass Effect series.

Whilst Mass Effect came out at a bad time, Mass Effect 2 came out a very good time – I had a PS3 by this point so I had the best of both worlds, and after the original game was such a hit with me I was VERY excited for the much better-looking sequel. I loved playing through it then, and I absolutely loved my replay.

Everything about Mass Effect 2 feels so much more…focused. Much as I love the original Mass Effect, it did feel quite slow at times. That was a part of its charm, but it’s a race against time in this game to fend off the impending Reaper invasion, working with someone who is ridiculously sketchy in the Illusive Man (my god, that name) and exploring new places, whilst seeing how some of the old ones have changed. There’s always something clear to do in ME2, and the game will even hurry you along by forcing you into story missions after a certain amount of time, which would be frustrating if it wasn’t easy to get everything done within the time allotted.

Whilst I miss Wrex and Liara the game does a fantastic job of supplementing them with new, mostly interesting characters, and it does a much, MUCH better job of fleshing them out through their loyalty missions. Asides from Kasumi’s – which drags on, and she’s just not a very interesting character – there isn’t one that I don’t enjoy doing. I’m especially fond of Legion as a character because it gives a fresh new perspective on the Geth as a species, which adds to the world in such a significant way. I also love how you can replace Samara with Morinth if you feel like it…I didn’t. I still haven’t forgiven Morinth for killing me at the end of the Suicide Mission that one time. I can survive the joining, can I? Fuck you, bitch. I’ll keep my Justicar, thanks. If you were as strong as her, you wouldn’t have spent all those years running away from her.

Aaaaanywho. Jean Luc Shepard decided to be an arsehole again, and oh my god it was so much FUN. I’d forgotten about the Paragon/Renegade triggers in this game, and spontaneously shooting people, pushing them out of windows, and headbutting them was just…funny. This game is so edgy when you play as a Renegade, to the point that Shepard’s eyes start to glow red when your score gets high enough! Even the scars on his face light up like he’s a Halloween pumpkin, and I love it. Being a dick in Mass Effect is one of the most satisfying experiences I’ve ever had in a video game with choices, because there are no repercussions whatsoever and the outcome just feels like an edgy teenager’s power fantasy, which is somehow both satisfying and hilarious at the same time…with a teensy bit of guilt mixed in because I do actually have a conscience. When it suits me.

There are only two things I don’t like about this game: “LAUNCHING PROBE. PROBE AWAY.” and the Reaper IFF mission. The former because scanning planets for resources is painfully tiresome, and the latter because it’s an insane difficulty spike. I’ll shame myself by admitting that I turned the difficulty down to Casual for this mission, because I’ve done it on Insanity once before and once was quite sufficient, thank you. Being swarmed by waves of Husks and Abominations makes it very difficult to take cover from the Scions which just shred through your shields like they don’t exist. It’s a tense and chilling location and I love it aesthetically, but it’s the most colossal pain in the arse to play through.

Yet I somehow lost someone in the Suicide Mission at the end. I have no idea how, considering I did everyone’s loyalty missions, and selected Jacob for the second squad leader both times. It was either Tali or Kasumi…I’m hoping it was the latter, because I actually like Tali. Maybe because I opted for the Renegade option of salvaging the base and didn’t take them with me or send them back. Hrmn. Puzzling. Still, I’m going to live with it, much as it annoys me. Especially if it was Tali. I’ll just have to make sure I save everyone in my eventual Paragon playthrough.

On to Mass Effect 3! Which I am…not looking forward to quite as much. It isn’t the ending that bothers me, but more the overall tone…at least as far as I can recall. I suppose I’ll see when I play it! Although I am dying to replay the Citadel DLC.