Disclaimer for the fervid, half-crazed fans: Mass Effect 2 does a lot right. Graphics, music, character design, writing, voice acting, overall sense of artistry. I'm really trying very hard not to rail on this game or its forebear. (I've done enough of that on Twitter.) All things considered, this is a good, standard action game. Compared to 99% of the dreck that comes out each year, it's undeniably well made.
LB Jeffries of Pop Matters and Banana Pepper Martinis recently (and I do mean recently... as in, a few minutes before writing this post) made an astute observation: Having viewed a friend play ME2 for roughly 20 minutes, he compared the game to an old Sierra Online point-and-click adventure. If you're like me, you have very fond memories of the Sierra adventure games and their LucasArts ilk. I even play the new Sam and Max episodes for a nostalgic blast from the past every one in awhile.
But that whole game design philosophy rightly belongs in the past. Those were games that played like digital versions of the Choose Your Own Adventure books we all loved as children. They were heavily guided experiences: Every so often you came upon a challenge, but you'd quickly right the ship and be on your merry way. There were no options, really... only the illusion of options, masked by storyline pretense and text. I don't mean to stress the lack of options here; more so the fact that these products relied so heavily on story and design illusion to mask their lack of creativity.
Now, I want to be clear: Mass Effect 2 certainly has options. You CAN choose your own adventure. Your own hero, your own party, your own dialogue, your own good or evil persona, your own path through the galaxy. The difference is--and here's where the comparison to the old adventure games and CYOA books comes in--few of those options are truly integrated with any fascinating or compelling gameplay. The old adventure games aped each other in terms of game design, right down to the text-based commands and graphical SCUMM systems. What the CYOA books made up for in innovation, they lacked in depth and quality.
While playing Mass Effect 2, I suddenly understood the complaint fellow critics have levied (erroneously, I would argue) against Uncharted 2: the narrative is all. To summarize this complaint: Some have argued that games like Uncharted 2 are emblematic of a disturbing trend in game design to place emphasis on the narrative over gameplay mechanics (e.g., gunplay, sneaking, platforming).
I would argue that in a game like Uncharted 2, the narrative isn't all, and not least of all because it doesn't try to be an action+role-playing game. What is present in the gameplay is genuinely intense, exciting, and unique, even if it isn't particularly innovative from a mechanics standpoint. There were moments in Uncharted 2's gameplay that forced my mouth agape, causing me to wonder if I had ever seen anything like that in a similar action game. The moments when Drake is sliding down a collapsing structure while still shooting at targets comes to mind. Absolutely breathtaking (although you're welcome to disagree).
In contrast, the narrative is certainly dominant, if not "all," in a game like Mass Effect 2. Mechanics and level design seem secondary. The game reminds me why I've come to resent Bioware: They struck gold when they released Knights of the Old Republic at the beginning of the decade, and they've been replicating that same experience ever since. With Mass Effect 1, they tried to "innovate" the combat by replacing D&D-style combat commands with real-time, Gears of War-style cover and shoot. It was only marginally successful, mostly because the enemy and level designs weren't nearly as creative as those found in the Gears of War series.
And therein lies Mass Effect 2's chief illusion: Underneath a sincerely grand spectacle of storytelling artistry and plot "choice" lies the same sad decay of passionate level design. These sorts of problems were acceptable back when Knights of the Old Republic came out because no one had quite seen the same marriage of story, dialogue navigation, and solid command-based combat before. Taken part by part, none of these things were particularly new or special, but the whole was something unique and exciting.
For me, Mass Effect 2 is a key example of a game in which the parts end up truly wounding the sum. Because, frankly, I can't bring myself to care about the game's linear hallway shooting galleries, complete with wonky hit detection and target selection. I can't bring myself to care about mining for resources, or lame unlocking minigames. I can't bring myself to care about exploring a large universe when the actual exploration makes for such a small part of the experience.
And because these parts are so rote, so standard, so expected of a game that is part-and-parcel manufactured to be "Game of the Year 2010," I can't really bring myself to care that it was released at all. For those fascinated by the Mass Effect universe, congratulations, because Bioware has gifted to you a tremendous effort of fan service.
But for those of us still skeptical about how gameplay and narrative are made to work together, and if all of those seemingly sweeping choices really mean much when they're attached to by-the-numbers shoot-fests and dull resource collection, the game is a non-event. I know many have claimed how eager they have been to play Mass Effect 2 again upon completion; how exciting and stellar the whole narrative experience has been. These are people swept up by the existence of choices tied to intrigue, romance, danger, and daring-do. Kudos to Bioware, because they worked hard to provide those numerous choices in an attractive package.
Me, I can barely bring myself to remember what happened last time every time I load up the game. I'm exhausted by the game's artifice because I simply keep waiting for the game to make me DO something new and exciting. And no, I don't mean sacrifice a party member or my own character. And no, these events shouldn't be saved for the final 2 hours.
It may sound silly, I know, but what I wouldn't give for Shepard to slide down a collapsing bridge or two, guns blazing....



