Preview of Mass Effect 2 ( in-game experience )

It's perfectly natural for gamers to be wary of jumping into the Mass Effect series with the second game, but BioWare has delivered a compelling package that does its best to quell any uncertainty with skipping the first title. It's worth noting that the original Mass Effect is a different game in many respects from Mass Effect 2, so in terms of gameplay, you're getting the better experience right off the bat. And while Mass Effect 2 is certainly a story-driven affair related directly to the original title, you'll have access to an in-game comic book feature that explains the story of the first game and lets you make choices that will affect your playthrough of the sequel. Combine that with the fact that Mass Effect 2 on PS3 has a slew of DLC extras and even an upgraded game engine, and you'll be struck by the obvious: Mass Effect 2 on the PlayStation 3 is the best, most complete version of the game available. Sorry, Xbox 360 version. You were good. But this is better.

Mass Effect 2 is the product of artfully mixing certain genres. On one hand, it's a third-person shooter. On the other hand, it's an RPG with sandbox, open-world sensibilities. BioWare has brilliantly blended together these genres and influences to craft an experience that's not only much better than the admittedly-fantastic original Mass Effect, but also better than virtually all of the like-minded games on the market today. It provides a more streamlined experience than the original, with more focus on character development and action and less on some of the minutiae that bogged down the series' first outing.

The Mass Effect series introduces gamers to an alternate form of our galaxy where humanity has found alien life. Using a special device orbiting Pluto called a Mass Relay, humanity jettisons to the far edges of the galaxy only to run into a bunch of other species that have known about each other for some time. No one really trusts the humans (the new kids on the block) and our species is left struggling both for galactic trust and identity in the face of a brand-new existential threat. That's where you come in.

Mass Effect 2 begins under dire circumstances. You'll immediately witness the abrupt and violent death of the main character named Commander Shepard, only to find him or her resurrected by a rich, xenophobic human-first group called Cerberus. There's a reason Cerberus used its unlimited resources to revive Shepard, however, and it has to do with stopping the threat posed by the Collectors, a nebulous species that targets human space colonies. As this threat grows, so too does Cerberus' resolve to stop them, and they'll use Shepard and his or her team of assembled bad-asses to get things done.