Team talk

As the game proper begins you’ll find yourself back in possession of a ship, the Normandy. By plotting a course through the various solar systems you’ll be able to reach those planets highlighted by the Illusive Man as containing potential crew members. Successfully recruiting this collection of mavericks and ne’er-do-wells will usually trigger further missions, each new addition approaching Shepard with requests to take care of unfinished business from their shady pasts.

Blue? Not surprised with a face like that!

Whether to act or turn a deaf ear is entirely up to you. Gain their trust however, and said team member will often expand his - or her - repertoire of powers on the battlefield ensuring maximum destruction. Your allies are either of the big muscles, big guns variety, or the deft yet packing one hell of a lot of biotics type - biotics being Force-esque powers which can be used to literally throw enemies about like ragdolls. When venturing on away missions Shepard is usually free to choose two companions from their ranks and choosing your team correctly can really ease proceedings. Once planet-side there’s generally some preamble of introductory story and a little exploration of the always lushly detailed environments before the action starts.

Thankfully, the preamble is of a high standard and the dialogue tightly edited to ensure every encounter is pertinent to either Shepard, or one of his crew mates, without becoming laboured.

Missions will often present you with a choice, to do the right thing or the self-serving one, what you choose will shape your relationship with both your squad and the NPCs you’ll come into contact with. You’ll even occasionally have the chance to interrupt NPCs mid-flow with either a positive (L2) or negative (R2) interjection, act fast though as the window is fleeting.

It’s once the inevitable fighting kicks off that ME2 really shines, moving seamlessly from a first-class adventure to an even better shooter, one featuring the kind of beautifully integrated cover-and-fire mechanics found only within the likes of Uncharted and Gears of War.

Around the corner was certain Geth

Yes, you’ll spend a lot of time cowering behind any number of bulkheads, walls and desks as the bullets rain down, while begging your shield to regenerate, but it’s for these kinds of seat-of-your-pants moments that we play videogames, right? Team mates even prove useful, responding to orders to find cover intelligently, while cycling through weapons and powers is made simple via some handily mapped button presses.

Next page: Draw your weapons