Mass Effect 2 [X360]

The battle played out and I quickly learned two things. The first is that though you get heavy weapons that can dish out massive amounts of damage, so do the enemies. Rockets can end up flying everywhere. Combine those with biotic attacks and good old-fashioned machine guns and you have quite the dangerous cocktail. It also looks fantastic. The visual effects have really been ramped up for the sequel. There's not just more on the screen -- it's flashier and faster. The game runs without a hitch and without any of that nasty texture pop-in that plagued the last game, even after a quick load into a new area.

The second thing I learned is that the battle system feels even more refined than it did when I last played Mass Effect 2 at E3 over the summer. Yes, there's an auto-regeneration system in place now, but that doesn't make it a cake walk. Ammunition levels must be maintained through picking up drops from downed enemies. Medi-gel is still needed, too, as you can't cast the Unity revive power without it. Moving in and out of cover, lining up head-shots, activating powers and commanding the squad mates all feels like second nature. There's a lot less fumbling around now. It's simply better.

That last line pretty much describes all of Mass Effect 2 for me so far. Now that the team has tackled the technical issues, it's just better all around. The only lingering question in my mind is how well BioWare is going to weave the choices you make in the first game into this sequel. There's the potential for a truly special and personal story...or a bit of a letdown. Either way, it's hard not to get excited about late January 2010 when we finally get to continue Shepard's story.

Check back with IGN tomorrow for an exclusive interview with Mass Effect 2's Project Director, Casey Hudson, as well as more videos and some cool news.

©2009-11-04, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved