Mass Effect 2 takes place two years after the events of the original, which ended with the human race finally taking their place as valued members of the interstellar council. While searching for Geth patrols, Commander Shepard and the Normandy are attacked by a mysterious ship, leading them to an investigation into a series of attacks on human colonies. With the help of a militant organization called Cerberus and the mysterious Illusive Man, Shepard must recruit an elite but volatile group of soldiers to fight a terrifying foe which threatens the future of all life in the galaxy.

Inter-Galactic politics are less to the fore in this second chapter – leaving room to explore the motivations of Cerberus and the truth behind the alien menace, which has ties leading back to the original Geth invasion. The main narrative can be a little overwhelming in its scope, what will really pull you into the experience are the stories of your comrades.

You must pursue each potential squad member separately, aiding them in a quest or rescuing them from some awful fate. But later they may also choose to come to you for further, personal help. These side quests are purely optional but the potential rewards include an extra power for the character and ensuring their loyalty to Shepard – which becomes important as the end game approaches. More significantly, these missions force you to focus on a single member of the team and are often deeply personal challenges which you help them overcome; sometimes by making very tough decisions.

Speaking of decisions, the Paragon and Renegade conversation paths make a welcome return from ME1, this time supplemented by a more immediate way of changing the outcome of an exchange. From time to time, you will be given a chance to initiate a Paragon or Renegade action during a conversation or cut-scene. Hit the prompt in time (pull the right or left trigger) and Shepard will launch out of the current exchange and force things down a new path; either one of negotiation or violence.

Having the opportunity to cut a pontificating alien short by igniting the fuel tank he’s standing next to is the perfect way to end a conversation.
True to their word, Bioware have delivered a game with multiple personalities – action and shooting are at least as important as quests and XP gathering. Key to this is the franchises new found  accessibility; shooter fans will immediately feel at home with the much improved running and gunning gameplay as you guide Shepard from one piece of cover to the next. And in a first for the console version, Mass Effect 2 now allows you to command each squad member separately – perfect for flanking manoeuvres.
Solid AI makes your teammates less of a liability than before and complete hot key control over their powers means that a squad working together in perfect sync can link their attacks to devastate their enemies.