'Mass Effect 2' screams 'Blockbuster' hit with gamers

Bioware is one of those rare development companies that consistently releases great products, and its newest game Mass Effect 2 is the company's greatest creation to date. Everything about Mass Effect 2 screams "Blockbuster!"This is the "Avatar" of gaming. The sci-fi story that unfolds is epic, mysterious and brutal. The game picks up a few months after the finale in Mass Effect. The main character, Commander Shepard, is apparently killed during an attack on his ship, but things aren't what they seem. Two years later, Shepard awakens in an operating room to a couple of strangers arguing over his condition and everything goes downhill from there.Human colonies are disappearing and a shadowy society has brought Shepard back from the dead to discover who's behind the disappearances and stop them. To help him in this mission, Shepard must recruit the strongest and, in some cases, worst people in the galaxy.

The story is by far the selling point of Mass Effect 2. It's an epic space opera at its finest and stands next to greats like The Empire Strikes Back and most recently Avatar.

The story is exciting, passionate and also very dark. Shepard is forced to make some questionable moral choices in his quest to save the human race, which means gamers will face the same struggle. This time around Shepard is quite a bit more like 24's Jack Baeur. A trademark of Bioware games, you can play the character anyway you want, but even the "good" moral choices this time around aren't that wholesome.

The story isn't the only good thing about Mass Effect 2 though. The combat is intense and strategic.

Unlike Bioware's last game, Dragon Age: Origins, the combat is fast paced third-person shooter game play. Mass Effect 2 plays much like Gears of War with a similar cover mechanic and fast paced action. It can get hectic often, with bullets flying from all directions and biotic and engineering powers flashing across the battlefield. The enemy and ally AI is consistently good. Your allies use cover to great effect and focus on the greatest threats. The enemies will flank your team and trigger their abilities when it's going to hurt your team the most.

The voice acting is also top-notch. Martin Sheen is amazing as the voice of the Illusive Man, the chain smoking, enigmatic leader of the shadowy society that recruits Shepard.

Fans of the previous game should know things have been completely rebuilt from the first game. There is no longer an inventory, the leveling-up system has been stripped down, but the combat has been vastly improved. The term that has been used is "streamlined." It does make it less of an RPG and more a shooter.

Despite the "streamlining," this game is still Mass Effect. They also added an interrupt system to the conversations, which creates some hilarious moments. If you loved the first game, have no fear: you'll still love the second.

In fact, Mass Effect 2 could well be the greatest game to be released in years. It can easily stand with the greatest science-fiction movies and novels of the past 50 years, and that's not an easy task to accomplish. It will draw you in from the moment you press the power button and never let your imagination go.

5 out of 5 stars.