Review: 'Mass Effect 2' -- Yes, yes! Oh, yes!

Fixing nearly every flaw from the first game, while building on the galaxy-spanning epic scope of the storyline, Bioware’s latest game hits a bases-loaded homerun. They knock it out of the park, folks.

The only thing I hate about the game? The mining — c’mon, Bioware, running a cursor over a planet looking for minerals as a way to fund research is frelling annoying.

Now, with that said, let’s move on, shall we? I love the ability to import my final gamesave from the first game, thereby allowing the choices I made in it to have long-lasting consequences throughout this installment (and yes, I’ll be saving the final savegame from “ME2″ for use in “ME3″).

I also enjoy the more viscerally pleasing combat system. There’s a real sense of satisfaction from having survived combat in this game. The constant hunt for ammunition can be a minor annoyance, but it also adds to the frenetic pacing of the firefights as I’m scurrying from cover, racing for a clip of ammunition that an enemy has dropped while my squadmates cover my movement.

The new choices to interrupt conversations to either intimidate or persuade the other person is a nice touch, too. It allows more organic evolution of the dialogue, tailored to your own playstyle.

The game is one of those rare gems that builds on the previous title’s story, gets everything (except for those mining requirements) right with the gameplay and lays the groundwork for a truly cataclysmic finale to the trilogy.

Haven’t played this one yet? Why not? Go out and buy it; you will NOT be sorry. Haven’t played the first one? That’s OK, too. You can enjoy this one without it. However, the game’s storyline will definitely have a much deeper meaning and impact if you have.

Stop reading this already and go buy it!