Mass Effect 2: Xbox 360 Vs PC

Mass Effect 2 was released on January 26, 2010 and many gamers waited very patiently for this next installment of the Mass Effect trilogy. The first game was absolutely amazing with a storyline that surpasses most recent Hollywood movies. The graphics were great and you really got a sense of how your choices would change the game.

Mass Effect is developed by Bioware who also did the top notch Knight of The Old Republic series of Star Wars games. Typically a Bioware game combines aspects of RPG games with amazing story and lots of action and the transition from the Star Wars universe to the Mass Effect universe was seamless. Mass Effect was a 5 star game.

Mass Effect 2 has been met with mixed reactions. The story is still top of the line and you can immerse yourself in the game in many different ways but a lot of the things that made the first one special are gone. Mass Effect 2 has a lot more action and a lot less character building. You still have a handful of skills to upgrade but it's dropped from about 10 to about 5. Some compare it more to Gears Of War as you fight constantly and have to use cover effectively or you're toast. Ammo has also been added to the game where in the first game, ammo was replaced with an overheat mechanism that worked very well. Fire too much, your gun overheats and you're vulnerable. Now, it's an ammo hunt. It's still a great game but different from the first.

The big question for lovers of Mass Effect is: Should I buy it for the Xbox 360 or for the PC? To answer this, we have to look at a few important factors.

Graphics

Depending on your PC, it may very well outperform the Xbox 360 when it comes to graphics. If you have an expensive video card and large monitor, Mass Effect 2 will probably look better on your PC. If you have a large HDTV and an HDMI cable running to your Xbox 360, that may be the way to go.

Comfort

Not everyone likes to sit in a computer chair while playing long games like Mass Effect 2. You can easily get lost in the story and before you know it a couple hours have gone by. A computer chair can lead to "numb ass" and cramp up your legs after a while. A nice recliner or couch by your HDTV is a lot more comfortable. If you have a laptop, you can do a bit of both.

Mods

The one area where the PC will blow any console out of the water is mods. You simply can't mod a game for the Xbox 360. For the PC, a lot of games will have a large modding community. These are the guys who bring you things like naked people in The Sims 3 and develop amazing worlds in Oblivion. Bioware hasn't released a tool for the Mass Effect series so there's no big loss there. It will happen eventually, but for now there's nothing out there but game saves.

Mass Effect Saves

Mass Effect 2 throws in some surprises for you if you have a previous Mass Effect game saved on your PC or Xbox 360. This encourages people to pick up the first game and play it first though many will start the series on number 2. This works the same for PC and Xbox 360.

Achievements

The Xbox 360 version of Mass Effect 2 has achievements that you unlock as you play the game. This encourages you to replay it a few times to unlock different ones. The PC version has them also and they are through the Bioware Social site.

The Verdict

I'm a PC gamer most of the time so I'm biased in that direction but I have to say Mass Effect 2 for the Xbox 360 takes the cake on this one. The Xbox 360 simply offers a more comfortable gaming experience, the controller functions well vs the wasd keyboard setup (though you can play with a 360 controller on PC as well), and it's more comfortable to play this game in your living room than sitting at a desk. It's easy to connect via the 360 to get any downloadable content, it's more natural feeling when you have to make decisions in the storyline and to me, offers a more enjoyable experience overall.