Commander Shepard.

I hope that has some affinity with you, for me it’s a name that stirs a sense of adventure, excitement, honour, chivalry, romance, discovery and exploration. In EPIC proportions.

It’s not often I get to play a game, unable to put down my controller, only to get to the end about 2 weeks later, only to start it again – right from the very beginning. As soon as the credits roll! But Mass Effect 2 is a master class in games making and demonstrates a magnificent achievement in interactive, cinematic gaming.

Explaining anything about this game is a risk to spoilers, so I won’t do so. Anyone familiar with Shepard’s shenanigans from the first game will have no problems getting stuck right in. Even up to the import of your previous character, ME2 dumps all the bad things about ME1 and amplifies all the things that made the original so god damn awesome.

With an incredible depth of dialogue and character interaction, you can shape the nature of your character through varied conversation choices, all ultimately affecting the way your character develops and that of the story itself.

The graphics are as good as anything you’d expect from a modern games studio, but the most captivating facet of ME2 is the sheer scale of the game. There is a sense of perspective presented to the player that immerses you so deep and so realistically that the feeling of ineptitude is washed over you as you explore one planet to the other, from one side of the solar system, to the other.

Combining this with a story line that wouldn’t look out of place in a hollywood epic, together with cinematics that shake to your very soul, I’m not hesitating to tell any 360 owners to get off their fat arses and BUY THIS GAME. This is a true 10/10 game guys and gals and they don’t come that often.