Perhaps you've heard the buzz surrounding BioWare and EA's newest game, Mass Effect 2. As a longtime fan of BioWare's role-playing game work, I both played and loved every second of the long awaited sequel. The more I played it, the more I was sucked in to the world that BioWare lovingly created and the more I noted that the game was tailor made for casual players to jump in. These are only a few of the many little things that make Mass Effect 2 one of the most casual-friendly hardcore games released this year.

Hacking and Bypassing
To ease casual players into the game, Mass Effect 2 has two very easy-to-learn minigames: Hacking and Bypassing. At certain points during your adventure, some doors and datapads will be closed to you and your team. Luckily for you, you're an expert in technology and are able to use your skills to hack or bypass any piece of locked tech you come across. Bypassing is a simple matching game where there are an even number of "nodes" on the board. Moving your cursor over the nodes will reveal a symbol. Match all the symbols and the door will unlock. Hacking also has match components. Scrolling boxes of text will appear with one in particular that you must identify by moving through the individual boxes. Once you find and identify three, the hacking will be complete. However, "firewalled" boxes obscured in a red "X" will occasionally pop up for you to avoid. If your cursor bumps into the red, the hacking will fail.

Scanning Planets
Your ship, the Normandy, has the capacity to explore far-off planets for valuable resources to upgrade your weapons and ship. When you travel to a new planet, your ship can scan for these resources on the planet's surface. Using a graph on your interface, you can send in probes to extract the minerals for you. Most planets will take 30 or so probes to completely deplete the planet of all its goodies. One of the most rewarding experiences of exploring and scanning planets is when "Anomalies" are detected. These special points on certain planets must be found using a radar. Once a probe is sent in, it opens up a special side mission for player to explore.

Your Team and Morality
Mass Effect 2 features 11 characters that you can use for your team to eradicate the galactic threat. Each of these characters have their own backstory and skills. The fun of the game is getting to know each member of your team and getting them to trust you through your skills at conversation. Once you know a little more about your team, they'll give you the option to partake in a side mission of a deeply personal nature for them. Once you complete the mission, they will trust you completely, unlocking a new power for them to use in battle. If that wasn't enough, the game also allows you to make your own decisions, both good and bad, which affect your team's opinion of you. These choices can be classified into two areas: "Paragon" and "Renegade." Each has its own advantages and disadvantages that you discover while exploring the galaxy.

Character Creation
If this is your first visit to the Mass Effect universe, you have the option to completely customize your character, Commander Shepherd. Shepherd can be male or female and there are a vast number of qualities that can be applied from eye color to nose shape to brow depth, BioWare has left nothing to chance. Every Commander Shepherd, just like every gameplay experience, is unique. Players get to choose their own specialization,b e it the tech-head Engineer or the battle-weary Veteran. Furthermore, you can buy armor at shops across the galaxy to customize your appearance and battle statistics to give you an extra edge in fighting.

Longevity
The choices you make in Mass Effect 2 are incredibly important should you choose to continue your saga in Mass Effect 3. Your choices, money, resources and level will all have an impact when you begin the third installment of the series. That means that the choices you make during the game extend beyond only one game and the way you treat people actually matters should you continue...and considering the massive number of choices available in the game, the game is playable any number of times for a fresh and exhilarating experience to enjoy over and over again.