So, no thanks to GameFly, Mass Effect 2 has been spinning in my XBox360 for the past 12 hours.

Commander Shepard, our protagonist, through charisma and an I-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude about his and everyone else’s past, rallies his team through the universe to protect innocent victims from universal domination.  What’s so bad about universal domination?  I mean, 1 out every 4 people in America engender some predilection for being dominated.  So look to your left and right, because if you can’t picture either of those people liking it, and it’s not your cup of tea, or tea-bag, then think of someone you hate.  Yes, that’s the person who likes to be dominated.

But what separates Shepard from every other protagonist is that backstory is wholly optional.  Personally, I don’t care what happened in the past.  I mean, what can I really do with that information anyways?  It’s sure not going to make me feel more righteous for killing an alien baddie.  I’d rather Shepard, when confronted with a past love, just reply, “I like to keep my past in the past.”

The gameplay is outstanding.  Once you get a solid grip on when to use what weapons and powers, the gameplay becomes much more seamless.  ME2 does employ a cover system, but it’s remarkably easy to navigate within and without of cover.

The graphics are good because they are consistent.  You don’t have the Final Fantasy Effect where the FMV’s make the game’s playable landscape look like a Motel 6 ate a yard sale and barfed it back up.

It’s no surprise for me to say ME2 is a fantastic game.  I’m not going against the grain.  But ME2 offers such a plethora of beneficial features from character specialization, to weapon preferences, to cut-scenes of genetically hot women’s asses for no apparent reason.

Buy or rent this game.  I’m a proponent of renting over buying because I just don’t replay that many games, but every so often a game appears that makes you feel like the money you are handing over is out of gladness of spirit, not out of spite.

Now I’m about 10 hours in.  I’m going to go out on a limb and say Shepard probably won’t die.  But I bet Miranda will.  And I really hope Jack doesn’t.  Jack makes Angelina Jolie look like a fucking Protestant.