Mass Effect...So much mass, but we need more effect.

All right, I'm going to start with the simple truth: I love Mass Effect. The main story line was well conceived, well executed, and left me wanting more. It was exactly what I seek when I play through a game, but there is a real hitch: the side trips are woefully inadequate.

Now, the issue might be that I'm comparing these side missions to the unmitigated mastery of the main story line, but that fact doesn't address the frustration I felt when grinding out those forays off the beaten path. They were incredibly repetitive, not just in scenery but also scope and texture. So, what do I expect from Mass Effect II? Complexity.

In a universe hanging on the edge, I would expect one of the prime actors to spend more time developing factions and alliances, bolstering his forces for the events to come. I would expect the recruitment of multiple starships to aid the cause. I would expect the creation of revenue and resource streams outside of items dropped off of suspiciously well equipped mercenaries. I would expect our character to not just be a leader of a small crew of outcasts, but of squadrons. Now, I realize I'm going to run into some immediate problems, so let me scale back my demands into something a bit more reasonable.

Player Bases
I think it would be great if I could establish bases on some of the deserted worlds I visited. I think it would be very cool if I could invest in developing these bases and this investment would pay dividends by offering equipment upgrades to myself and my ship. These bases should occasionally be attacked, and I should therefore occasionally be required to defend them (or lose them). Established bases should give me strategic advantages when I am confronting certain obstacles. I could occasionally undertake various quests to obtain rare items to upgrade my base or rescue important scientists to recruit to work in my base's labs.

Space Combat
This was a giant disappointment for me. I have this massive uber destructive BEATDOWN BOAT and I don't fire a shot? I'm sorry, but you can't place me in charge of such an awesome piece of equipment, let me be a renegade, and then not allow me to blow something up. There are space pirates to be destroyed, aliens to be gunned down, and innocent colonies of wayward humans to be bombarded. Side quests should involve space combat, they should be three dimensional and they should involve ravaging barrages of tactical nukes.

Originality
Bioware has created an incredibly original universe, but I sadly rarely got a chance to interact with it in an in-depth manner. Side quests should involve me reciting Hamlet in Elcor (self-pitying dismay). I should get a chance to use my engineering skill by hand crafting a custom weapon. I should be able to use omni-gel in new and terrible ways. If there is room on the disc for an alien lesbian sex scene there is room on there to allow me to play Space Chess with a Keeper for access to the mainframe.

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