Mass Effect 2 | First/Blind Playthrough | Part 89/91
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Playlist: • Playthrough #625: Mass Effect 2 [Ongo...
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What is Mass Effect 2?
Mass Effect 2 is a single-player action role-playing game in which the player takes the role of Commander Shepard from a third-person perspective. Shepard's gender, appearance, military background, combat-training, and first name are determined by the player before the game begins. The player may choose to import a character from a completed saved game of the original Mass Effect or start the game with a new character.
Importing an old character allows several decisions the player made in the original game to impact the story of Mass Effect 2 and grants the player with a set of starting bonuses. The game features six different character classes for the player to choose from. Each class is proficient in a different set of powers and weapon types. For example, the Vanguard class is specialized in close-range combat and shotguns, while the Infiltrator class relies on stealth combat and the use of sniper rifles.
The game's overworld is a galaxy map that the player can explore to find and complete quests. Most quests consist of combat missions, but some involve the player interacting with non-player characters during visits to settlements. As the player progresses throughout the game, different locations and new squad members become available. Experience points are gained by completing quests.
Each time a sufficient amount of experience is obtained, the player "levels up" and is awarded Squad Points that can be used to develop powers for both Shepard and the members of the squad. Powers provide enhanced combat capabilities, with each power having four ranks that can be unlocked. Each rank costs the same number of Squad Points as its rank. For example, unlocking the first rank of a power requires one point, but unlocking all four ranks of a single power requires a total of ten points. Upon raising a power to its fourth rank, the player must evolve the power into one of two given forms.
The player's primary mode of transportation is a starship which serves as Shepard's base of operations. Aboard the ship, the player can interact with the squad members, customize the player's armour, travel to numerous planetary systems, and scan planets for mineral resources. These resources allow the player to research numerous in-game upgrades that are found in the missions, providing benefits such as increasing weapon damage, fortifying the player's health, or extending the ship's fuel capacity, among others.
Combat in Mass Effect 2 is squad-based and a maximum of two squad members may accompany the player on the battlefield. The player has direct control of Shepard while the squad members are controlled by the game's artificial intelligence. Battles take place in real-time, but the player can pause the action at any time to calmly target enemies and select different powers for the squad members to use.
The game uses an over the shoulder perspective akin to a third-person shooter, and places a strong emphasis on using cover to avoid taking damage while fighting enemy forces. The player may also issue commands to the squad members, such as sending them to take cover behind a manually picked object or focus their fire on a designated target.
Unlike the original Mass Effect, where weapons overheat if fired continuously for prolonged periods, the weapons of Mass Effect 2 have a finite magazine and must be reloaded after a certain number of shots. Shepard and the squad members are protected by a damage-absorbing shield.
All enemies are protected by health, shields, armour, barriers, or a combination thereof. Each type of protection has its vulnerabilities. For example, armour is usually vulnerable to powers such as Incinerate, which burns enemies over time, and weapons with a low rate of fire such as sniper rifles and heavy pistols. In contrast, shields are vulnerable to powers such as Overload and rapid-firing weapons like submachine guns and assault rifles.
Barriers are typically used by boss-type enemies and are vulnerable to certain weapons and powers. When the shields, armour, or barriers of an enemy have all been depleted, the player can use status-effect powers such as Pull, which temporarily levitates targets into the air, incapacitating them. Other powers may temporarily benefit the player; for instance, Adrenaline Rush puts the player in bullet time. Powers do not require any expendable resource; they only have a global cooldown.