So, as expected, I jumped right into Mass Effect 2 after finishing the first game. It was just too tempting, and I wanted to see how my choices from the first game influenced the second. The way they handle this is pretty interesting, allowing you to import your character history while also allowing you to modify your character the way a new player would.

It had been something I was hoping for. I had started Mass Effect with the default appearance for Commander Shepard. Normally I spend a good deal of time crafting my characters and their appearances in RPGs, but for whatever reason, I just decided to not bother with ME1. I think I was intending just to try it out and then go back and create a better character. Only I never did.

ME2 gave me the chance to change all of that, but when fiddling with the appearances, I couldn’t find one that I really liked. Plus, I felt like I had gotten used to the way Shepard looked. The same thing applied to “class” choice. I was able to change it, but I felt that the guy I had been playing was a soldier and that should carry through. So I kept things mostly the same.

The gameplay, however, is very different. One of the biggest changes is that most of the buttons used in ME1 are different in ME2 with the exception of the buttons and triggers. But even the Start Menu has been reorganized so that I kept pushing left when I was meant to push right and so on. It was a little disorienting, especially after getting used to the gameplay of the first game.

Many other things are different. They ditched the overheating of weapons for clips which act like normal ammo. Weapons and upgrades are handled very differently. Armor, too.

But the story that I appreciated from the first game is still damned engrossing. The direction they take this game is fascinating and quickly had me hooked. A small spoiler – they jump the game 2 years into the future which adds a certain disorienting element to the game. I thought the opening was handled very well.

So it looks like I”ll be playing all the way through this one before tackling another game (aside from Red Dead Redemption, which I always keep on the side).

So far, so good…