I don't even know where to start. At first I thought I'd get a typical space adventure with laser beams and stuff, but what I actually got was beyond all my expectations. First of all the story is great. It keeps gradually developing between the games and keeps the player intrigued at all times. We all have played at least one of those games that keep you wide awake through the whole night, and this truly is one of those. Even after finishing the game there are loads of fascinating lore waiting to be read and trust me, it's worth it.

Sadly if you're not interested in talking to people wholeheartedly or just don't care about the dialogue that much, you'll miss most of the game's charm since most of the important stuff happen during conversations. Some things tend to get complicated really fast if you decide to skip even a few important dialogues. And sometimes just listening to random NPCs was enough to keep me entertained, even if it didn't have anything to do with the mission itself. The amount of work that has been put into the dialogue really pays off, and I barely remember times when talking with someone didn't put a smile on my face.

Probably the thing that made the game for me were the characters. I found something intriguing in all of them (even if Kelly Chambers deserves death for "you have new messages" when there are none) and I couldn't wait for getting to do their loyalty missions and actually making them my friends rather than just comrades during the war. Only some of them started to grow on me. The more I talked with them the more I started to love them to bits... especially Tali, Garrus and Mordin. I actually started to feel like I wanted to keep them alive and protect them at all costs, and that's when you know they're well made.

After playing the first game the controls feel so smooth and not complicated at all, so there's nothing to complain about. During combat the only flaw I found was that at times Shepard seemed to be unable to follow the instructions and just died without jumping over a simple obstacle, but those things happen. Also the AI might seem a bit idiotic, but that probably can be corrected by choosing a higher difficulty setting.

And oh god, the replay value. The possibilities are almost endless when it comes to how you want to play. Different classes, gender, decisions, romances... everything can be played differently and affects things in different ways. In most games the only thing you can affect is whether you want to be the good samaritan or not, and that's it. This is the first time I've ever felt that by replaying I might actually achieve something I didn't the last time I played, even if it'd take another 30 hours of my life.

The graphics were really good too, even if Bioware still tends to overuse the blur effect. Overall the game is pretty and really pleases the eye. There simply aren't reasons why someone shouldn't at least try the game out - except if you aren't ready for the bumpy ride Mass Effect 1 first wants to offer you.

tl;dr Awesome calibrating simulator. 95/100

I don't even know where to start. At first I thought I'd get a typical space adventure with laser beams and stuff, but what I actually got was beyond all my expectations. First of all the story is great. It keeps gradually developing between the games and keeps the player intrigued at all times. We all have played at least one of those games that keep you wide awake through the whole night, and this truly is one of those. Even after finishing the game there are loads of fascinating lore waiting to be read and trust me, it's worth it. Sadly if you're not interested in talking to people wholeheartedly or just don't care about the dialogue that much, you'll miss most of the game's charm since most of the important stuff happen during conversations. Some things tend to get complicated really fast if you decide to skip even a few important dialogues. And sometimes just listening to random NPCs was enough to keep me entertained, even if it didn't have anything to do with the mission itself. The amount of work that has been put into the dialogue really pays off, and I barely remember times when talking with someone didn't put a smile on my face. Probably the thing that made the game for me were the characters. I found something intriguing in all of them (even if Kelly Chambers deserves death for "you have new messages" when there are none) and I couldn't wait for getting to do their loyalty missions and actually making them my friends rather than just comrades during the war. Only some of them started to grow on me. The more I talked with them the more I started to love them to bits... especially Tali, Garrus and Mordin. I actually started to feel like I wanted to keep them alive and protect them at all costs, and that's when you know they're well made. After playing the first game the controls feel so smooth and not complicated at all, so there's nothing to complain about. During combat the only flaw I found was that at times Shepard seemed to be unable to follow the instructions and just died without jumping over a simple obstacle, but those things happen. Also the AI might seem a bit idiotic, but that probably can be corrected by choosing a higher difficulty setting. And oh god, the replay value. The possibilities are almost endless when it comes to how you want to play. Different classes, gender, decisions, romances... everything can be played differently and affects things in different ways. In most games the only thing you can affect is whether you want to be the good samaritan or not, and that's it. This is the first time I've ever felt that by replaying I might actually achieve something I didn't the last time I played, even if it'd take another 30 hours of my life. The graphics were really good too, even if Bioware still tends to overuse the blur effect. Overall the game is pretty and really pleases the eye. There simply aren't reasons why someone shouldn't at least try the game out - except if you aren't ready for the bumpy ride Mass Effect 1 first wants to offer you. tl;dr Awesome calibrating simulator. 95/100