Many consider the Mass Effect trilogy is considered to be one of the greatest game series of all time. With these brilliant titles, Bioware pushed the western role-playing genre to new heights. Players were elated to put themselves in the shoes of Commander Shepard as they led the crew of the Normandy through a slew of brilliant and nail-biting missions across the galaxy.
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Mass Effect 2 is considered by many to be the greatest game in the trilogy, featuring a host of new gameplay additions and role-playing improvement. This helped cement its reputation as the best game in the Mass Effect series. New players, though, might want to get into this game without being taken back by its dated nature. Here are ten of the best mods for that can help improve one's experience.
10 4x Faster Loading Screens At 60FPS
One thing that would definitely annoy most people about Mass Effect 2 is the fact that the loading screens take an inordinate amount of time. This is especially irritating given the fact that modern systems would be loading the segments of the game in a jiffy.
With this mod, not only do the loading screens become less of a pain to behold, but they also go by quickly. This allows for players to get into the meat of the action sooner rather than later, and enjoy the game more.
9 No MiniGames
If there's one part of Mass Effect 2 that most players definitely criticized, it's the slew of unnecessary minigames. These are scattered all across the game's world and are generally annoying, slowing down the action.
With this mod, all these bypassing and hacking minigames are taken care of with ease. Meanwhile, when it comes to the act of scanning planets, a single probe is enough to take care of this rather cumbersome task.
8 Remove Shared Cooldown
The powers present in Mass Effect 2 are definitely quite entertaining, and a cut above its predecessor in many ways. However, there's one thing that some players find irksome about these abilities: the shared cooldown period for each of these powers.
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Thankfully, with this mod, each power gets its own individual cooldown. This allows for each of Shepard's powers to feel more unique and enjoyable to use, improving the overall experience.
7 Increased Maximum Fuel And Probes
Some fans don't want to cheat on the universally reviled planet-scanning minigame. Yet, they still want to mitigate the annoyances that come with this mechanic to be mitigated. Here's a mod that serves as a perfect compromise for these players.
The Increased Maximum Fuel and Probes mod does exactly what its name suggests — it increases the maximum limit of fuel from 1000 to 7000, while also increases the maximum limit of probes from 30 to 500 as well.
6 A Lot of Videos (ALOV) for ME2
The compressed nature of most of Mass Effect 2's pre-rendered cutscenes won't really sit well with the majority of modern gamers. The difference between the main game and these pre-rendered sequences can be extremely jarring. Thankfully, the upgrade that ALOV provides removes these issues.
Watching these upscaled 4K videos at 60FPS might not seem like a big deal. However, this mod makes these videos feel seamlessly integrated into the core game. It's a must-have for anyone looking for the most immersive Mass Effect 2 experience.
5 Same-Gender Romances for ME2
While modern Bioware games have been more liberal when it comes to integrating same-sex romances in their games, the original Mass Effect trilogy suffered heavily due to a lack of options in this regard.
Thankfully, through the use of this mod, these same-gender romances can now be a reality in Mass Effect 2. By integrating unused dialogue files in the main game, this mod lets Shepard romance both Tali and Thane, regardless of their gender.
4 ME2Controller
Playing Mass Effect 2 on a mouse and keyboard can prove to be a rather awkward affair for many players. The only respite comes in the form of the innumerable hotkeys that can players can assign for easier use of abilities in combat.
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The original release of Mass Effect 2 had no controller support, compounding this problem even further. Thankfully, with the ME2Controller mod, players can now finally use a controller to enjoy this game to the fullest on their computers.
3 Updated/Improved Textures For Mass Effect 2 (MEUITM2)
Mass Effect 2 is a great game in terms of story and roleplay. Yet, it hasn't aged well from a visual standpoint. Most textures in the game look absolutely pedestrian, especially in comparison to modern titles that have pushed the bar in terms of graphics.
Thankfully, with the Updated/Improved Textures mod for Mass Effect 2, these worries will become a thing of the past. Now, players can immerse themselves in the game without being distracted some of the ugly and dated textures.
2 A Lot Of Textures (ALOT) for ME2
While the previous entry serves as a massive visual upgrade for Mass Effect 2 in many ways, it leaves several parts of the game untouched. This is where ALOT comes into the picture.
This mod has been integral across all three Mass Effect games when it comes to modernizing the visuals of the trilogy, and ALOT for ME2 doesn't falter in this regard. Everything from character models to the environment have been upscaled and retouched massively, making for a game that looks absolutely spectacular and breathtaking.
1 ME2 Recalibrated
Regardless of how good Mass Effect 2 may look from a visual standpoint, all of these mods will inevitably be for naught if the core game itself bugs out. This is a surefire way to ruin a player's experience.
Mass Effect 2 is a polished title in many ways. However, there are still some bugs, glitches, and annoyances that can ruin the overall experience. For these players, ME2Recalibrated is the perfect mod to take care of all the nagging issues in Mass Effect 2. This allows for a seamless and enjoyable experience, from start to end.
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