Now, I can’t claim that I’ve actually waited that long for Mass Effect 2. I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m a geek-girl and proud of it. But I have never dedicated any serious time to a computer game. (With the brief exception of my free crack taster trial of World Of Warcraft. I am proud to say I have been clean for over two years.) However when the many boys of my life, who hail from a variety of fields of geekery, all recommended Mass Effect to me I gave it a go.

It is the only computer game I have ever finished. I’m so proud.

So like I said, I was behind the times and the wait for me has been relatively short. That being said, with vibrating hands I giggled and squealed my way through opening the special edition packaging. The art book is shiny and I can’t wait to oggle it when it is no longer full of spoilers. I have avoided a lot of the advertising, I never needed to be convinced and I didn’t want to ruin the surprises.

So. What is it like?
Thrilling. Exhilarating. Intense. Demanding. Beautiful.

I have come to expect certain things from Mass Effect. There are elements of the world and the game play that I would have been devastated to find missing or altered. What I expect has been completely delivered. So what did I want?

1). Spoken interactions, which are more than just a voice repeating text, between characters I believe in.
Completely delivered with wonderful voice acting by geek-pleasing people such as-

Tricia Helfer (hot evil blond girl from Battlestar)

Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity from The Matrix)

Adam Baldwin (Jayne from Firefly) I haven’t met him yet but when I do, there will be more squealing.

Jennifer Hale (who voices endless amounts of games and animations) continues to produce fantastically realistic vocals for female Shepard.

And of course, let’s not forget they hired Martin Sheen. Oh yes. In fact, let me just lose it a little here. Martin Sheen’s character, The Illusive Man, is just as ambiguous as he should be and instantly grabs your character, throwing them eye deep into a huge plot line which I have only begun to discover. As always, to begin with I have no clue what is going on, but it’s only been fourteen hours or so.

2). Scenery beyond compare-

Every location is intricately designed to completely draw you in. In the original, I spent hours and hours just wandering about the Citadel staring up at the sky. To begin with I was a little disappointed that the Citadel was a fraction of the size. Then I discovered I can buy star maps containing seemingly endless possibilities. And within the first two days of gaming I have found a world just as expansive and elaborate as the Citadel.
The fabrics are wrinkled, the backgrounds are beautiful and for the first time, I’ve got a room I can customise and interact with.
I bought a hamster.
(Although I do find it irritating that they haven’t given you the option to sit on any of the many chairs in the captain’s quarters. They give you the chance to dance like a goon at one point (yes I did) but you can’t let Shepard sit down.)

3). A galaxy worth of missions-
And for anyone who has played the first one, here’s some fantastic news-

They’ve eliminated the driving!

That’s right. No more awkwardly ramming the Mako (the first games space tank, not the shark) into the side of hill, no more dedicating half an hour to trying follow the map ‘as the crow flies’ rather than following the designated path only to find once you have clawed your way up an unpleasant cliff face, thrown your Mako upside down and been righted, wedged yourself in an awkward, poorly rendered corner and been killed six times by Robots that you were following on a map that turned out to be a mineral reserve instead of anything actually important. Sigh.
It’s gone.
Rest in Peace you horrible little tank.

4). Combat I can control.

Ok, I know, you’re all probably real-time professional killers in games now. But I think the only reason I was ever able to finish Mass Effect was due to the fact that I could pause the combat and figure out what to do. Only now I can do with nineteen different types of weapons and I can slide into cover like an action hero. Oh yes. Plus, I can auto heal- crouching behind a wall and breathing deeply. I can also tell my people where to find cover and they are much more independent and clever than ever. The combat is defiantly up a notch from last time. Within the first couple of skirmishes I was passing the controller to my co-pilot for assistance. On the plus side, it’s fantastically realistic. Enemies are no longer so easily ‘cleaned’ from one area, nor are they repetitive in anyway. They pop up behind you if you’re not paying attention. But you know… now I can throw fireballs, so…

5). Relationships.

For me this is what it’s all really about. If you didn’t want to play the roleplaying elements of Mass Effect, you wouldn’t be playing it at all. It’s all about the choices, the phrases and the individual relationships that build up. Now I can interrupt people with Renegade or Paragon actions, butting in and doing what I think my character would.(or in the most recent case, shoving people out windows because my husband was holding the controller).

I’ve only been playing fourteen hours so far and I can tell you that I am hooked. I care about Shepard. I care about the new team I’ve been given. (And I’m pleased to find the bald, tattooed, hard-ass chick from the preview isn’t nearly so annoying as expected and I don’t desperately want to shove her off something.)

Within the first two days of play I have been taken back to somewhere I feel I know. I have been reunited with friends. I have launched off into a world of inscrutability and intrigue. As a long time roleplayer, this is the only thing I’ve ever found that comes close.

Why do I get the feeling my sleep pattern and work life might be slightly effected?