Mass Effect 2 Hands-on Preview

Mass Effect was a clunky third-person shooter. The fiddly cover system, laboured character movement and ropey gunplay weren’t up to the standards set by the best third-person shooters of the time. That was fine. Mass 1’s art style, dialogue system, plot and sci-fi cool were so impressive they more than made up for the combat deficiencies. The shooting felt bolted on – but so what? Mass 1 was a world class role-playing game and one of my favourite releases of all time.

Two days ago, at EA’s winter showcase event in London, BioWare unveiled a brand new Mass Effect 2 build designed to convince the assembled press that it will be a better shooter than its predecessor (for more on the game’s plot and premise, check out my previous hands-on via our game page). After playing the demo through three times, I can report that BioWare has achieved its goal. I expect Mass 2 to be one of the best RPGs of 2010, but could it also be one of best shooters of 2010?

The action begins about halfway through the game, although this point will vary depending upon the order in which players tackle the game’s quests. Shepard is on Omega, a dark and twisted mining station that serves as a striking counterpart to the pristine Citadel. But, like the Citadel, Omega is a quest hub – a place to pick up adventures from NPCs, barter, converse and investigate. Immediately I am stunned: the visuals are even more jaw-dropping than before. Textures are more detailed, and the animation is improved. There’s no pop up, no tearing, no framerate drop. Panning the camera and admiring the view for a few minutes, something I did regularly in Mass 1, once again proves irresistible. Blood red skies and a Bladerunner skyline look down on the docked Normandy. Shepard is flanked by Grunt, the unhinged Krogan, and by human biotic Jacob Taylor. The lawless streets are unwelcoming and dangerous. Omega is Tatooine with cold metal for sand.

Ahead is the nightclub Afterlife, described as the place in the galaxy where villains hang out. The entrance is guarded by bouncers, but they present no problem to Shepard and co. Inside, electronic beats give alien pole dancers something to swing their hips to. The place is packed, and it is immediately clear that Mass 2’s galaxy will be a more populated one than the world BioWare gave us last time. Columns of fire blanket the place in a red haze. The bartender is Batarian – the four-eyed alien race first seen in downloadable add-on Bring Down the Sky. Afterlife is obviously unsafe, but it feels like a cool place to be. It is Mos Eisley with the Cantina Band swapped for a futuristic DJ.

There’s not much I’m allowed to do here, and NPCs are silent in this build. Why is Shepard on Omega? BioWare won’t say. Why is he in Afterlife? BioWare won’t say. Why does Shepard have odd marks on his face, marks that look like circuit boards protruding from his cheek? BioWare won’t say. Is he turning into a Geth, one of Mass Effect’s synthetic AI bad guys? BioWare won’t say. I’m instructed to pick the middle right dialogue option – what would be considered the monk choice – during all conversations. Instead I take Shepard for a spin, exploring as much of the club as I can. It has many nooks and crannies, many doors that lead to rooms with posing patrons and trendy seats, but without being able to talk to anyone it’s not long before I get restless. I rock up to the Batarian bartender. I order a drink. He splashes some liquid in a shot glass. Shepard downs it. The bartender walks away, with a smirk. Shepard stumbles then collapses. This, I’m told, won’t be how events unfold in the final game – not exactly, anyway.

With the scene-setting over it’s time for some action. In an elevated sniper position, looking out from inside a building, Shepard bumps into Garrus Vakarian, the popular alien Citadel security officer who helped you bring rogue spectre Saren to justice in Mass 1. The old friends catch up, discussing the violence that is soon to come. “I thought you were dead,” quips Garrus. So did we all, the result of Mass 2’s first, misleading, teaser trailer. Garrus looks as he did before, his futuristic eye-patch concealing part of his Turian face, but this time his armour is different. It is bright blue. I understand the change only on a cosmetic level (BioWare won’t say), but I’m sure it contains plenty of pleasant, upgraded, surprises.

At one point Garrus hands his trusty sniper rifle to Shepard, who peers at what are called Eclipse Troopers (BioWare won’t say) through the scope. We are still in cinematic mode, with voice-over and the trademark Mass Effect dialogue wheel rolling smoothly. But as the targeting reticule hovers over an unsuspecting enemy, “LT” flashes on screen. I press the trigger, the rifle fires, and the bad guy is blown away. This is the new interrupt system in full effect, bringing the conversation to an abrupt end, and the fighting to an abrupt start.

Eclipse Troopers, Engineers and Vanguards storm the building. I snipe as best I can, keeping them at bay. The actual shooting feels so much better than it did before. The tighter controls and hit detection have a lot to do with it, but it’s the location based damage that steals the show. Now, if I hit an enemy’s arm they will drop their weapon. Targeting legs slows rushing foes to a crawl, buying you more crowd control time. And the headshot – perhaps that most satisfying of shooter kills – is now truly a headshot, the result of your skill with the targeting reticule, not some hidden dice roll.

Moving in and out of cover is an easier, more responsive process. A simple press of the A button is enough to get Shepard into safety; Moving away gets him out. It’s not Gears of War 2 quality, but Mass 2 feels unmistakeably more Gears. In Mass 1, the cover system seemed tacked on, but here, it works so well that it almost goes by unnoticed.

There are too many enemies, and eventually I am flushed out of my sniper position and into the corridors at the bottom of the building. I hide behind cover, popping in and out like Marcus Fenix. Combat drones turn into red balls of death that head towards my position, forcing me to ditch my safe haven for no-man’s land. I switch to the assault rifle, which now comes with a small holographic projection of remaining ammo. That’s right, in Mass 2 ammo is in limited supply. Fans of the previous game will remember how unlimited ammo gave your weapons glorious abandon. Now you’ll need to keep an eye on your ammo count: It can run out, and when it does, Shepard’s in trouble.

I swap to the shotgun. It does great damage up close, as is the case with all video game shotguns. The challenge is low enough that I do not need to bring up the power wheel to use my soldier class talents, but I make sure I have my two party members use their own. I trigger all the classic telekinetic biotic powers, and my enemies are slowly raised off of their feet. They are helpless, sitting ducks floating in the air. One new power freezes enemies in what looks like ice; I take the opportunity to blow chunks clean off with the shotgun. Mass Effect 2 feels more reactive – my weapons fire knocks enemies out of the air and off of bridges. There is more impact, and, therefore, more satisfaction. The game feels more receptive to my playful machinations. I don’t want to just shoot you, I want to make you suffer the full force of the combined wrath of every power I have. I want to slow down time, run up to you and blast you in the face. I want to land a headshot with the sniper rifle as you fly helplessly through the air. I want Mass 2 to be my bedroom, and its goons my toy soldiers.

Such folly won’t do for the mid-level boss: the YMIR Mech. It unpacks itself, transforming into a huge armoured robot with weapons bursting out of every fold of its metal skin. I’m advised to switch to the grenade launcher to take it down. This new weapon does exactly what you’d expect it to: Ammo is limited, but each shell packs one hell of a punch. It brings the mech down in a burst of flames after only a few hits – this build must be on the easiest difficulty setting.

My hands-on ends, and I immediately rejoin the queue and play it again. It is like a death-defying roller-coaster. The preview build has already done the trick: I am convinced Mass Effect 2 will be a wonderful shooter when it’s released early next year. Some may worry that BioWare has focused on the shooting to the detriment of the role-playing, but I do not. I see no reason why any sacrifice need be made. I expect, no, I demand improvements in all areas of the game. Less loading times, more engaging side quests, better vehicle sections, a darker story and a more complex Shepard. All this I expect. The improved shooting… well… that’s just a bonus. I’m already massively excited about Mass 2, and it is now my most anticipated game of 2010.

Mass Effect 2 is due out on Xbox 360 and PC on January 29 2010.