Review: Mass Effect 2 (PS3)

Mass Effect 2 won quite a few 2010 Game of the Year awards, with good cause. BioWare’s RPG shooter won over our hearts in January 2010 when it was first released for the Xbox 360 and PC. A year later, the game finally hits the PlayStation 3, bringing all paid DLC and Cerberus Network content in tow. With a new engine behind the game sporting improved graphics coupled with the additional content, this is surely the definitive version of Mass Effect 2.

I’m not going to go into full detail about the story and gameplay — you can refer to our review of the Xbox 360 and PC version of the game for everything to that effect. Instead, let’s focus on what makes the PS3 version the best one you can buy. Included in the package are all the downloadable content packages previously released for the Xbox 360 and PC: Kasumi’s Stolen Memories, Overlord, and Lair of the Shadow Broker. Additional included content from the Cerberus Network matches what we’ve previously seen from the Xbox 360 and PS3. The best addition, in my opinion, is the interactive comic that plays at the beginning of the game, taking you through the story of the first Mass Effect and allowing you to make the major game decisions to effect Shephard as you play through ME2 (Cerberus Network is needed to access the comic, so those who buy the game used will have to pay for this access). When I played the game on Xbox 360 nearly a year ago, I did not import any Mass Effect save data, so I started with a fresh Shepard. On the PS3, having the choices from the interactive comic imported dramatically aafffected the dialogue and interactions with other characters. It really does enhance the gameplay having conversations refer to previous story elements, so don’t skip this feature. This time around, BioWare has locked the v-sync and framerate to 30 frames per second, giving a very crisp looking game, especially coupled with new early version of the Mass Effect 3 engine. If you’ve played the ME2 demo on PS3, the final game looks noticeably better.

Mass Effect 2 is available both as 12GB download on the PlayStation Network and as a Blu-Ray disc version - a first for a day-one download on a large major game release. I was given a download code for the PSN version for review, and want to throw out a bit of information if you’re going this route: the game takes a very long time to download and install. Make sure you have the hard drive space if you decide to buy from the PSN.

A few issues came up when I was playing the game for review. The Cerberus Network was down for the first few days of release, making it difficult to access all the included content. After that was resolved, I had two hard system freezes early in the game (after Shepard wakes up, but before encountering Miranda and leaving the station). I didn’t have any freezes after that through the entirety of the game, but it’s noteworthy nonetheless. Lastly, on the main menu screen, you may notice the laptop on the right side remains closed - a change from the Xbox 360 and PC versions of the game. This is intentional and will not open, so those of you thinking that’s an issue with the Cerberus Network, just remember that all Cerberus content is downloaded immediately, so you’ll have access from the start.

Having played both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Mass Effect 2, I can clearly say that I prefer the PS3 edition. Better graphics, all DLC included, the interactive comic, and the ability to run the full game from the hard drive without a disc swap are enough to make me choose this over previous versions. However, if you already have the game on another platform, you don’t need to run out and re-buy the game (unless you’re a huge fan). There isn’t enough exclusive content here to make you want to pay again. However, if you want to play Mass Effect 3 on PlayStation 3, I strongly recommend picking this up and playing through to keep your Shepard going through the next game. That’s my plan now, since I was able to keep all of my party alive through the end of the game and finish the included Liara DLC (which will affect the Mass Effect 3 story). If you haven’t played Mass Effect 2 yet or were just waiting for a Game of the Year type bundle, this is your chance.