As a long time fan of just about every RPG Bioware has made and as someone who loved the original Mass Effect, it would be an understatement to say I am disappointed with Mass Effect 2. It's not that it's a bad game; it's a great action adventure. My problem is I expected an improved Mass Effect and instead got a wholly different game.

As stated, I think Mass Effect 2's problem is that instead of being an RPG it's more of an action adventure. It's actually very much like Jade Empire, a game Bioware released on the Xbox several years ago. Both games have robust dialogue systems but when it comes to character development, inventory management, and combat, are very light weight.

Many may argue that Mass Effect 2 and Jade Empire before it are still RPGs, and technically they may or may not be, but in terms of complex game systems that take time and effort to master, these games more closely resemble action adventures. They are story driven, focused on decision making with some puzzle solving, with only modest combat and character development contrivances to drive the story forward and little else.

I argue that a true RPG is deep and complex. Its game systems can be difficult to master, which takes time and effort, and the player can often find him or herself far into a play through before they have approached mastery. This steep learning curve is one of the reasons RPGs tend to be replayable; once you finally figure out how things work you can then replay the game to take advantage of your new found knowledge.

But Mass Effect 2's game play is simple. It's game systems arguably take no more time to master then those of a game like Uncharted 2. It's character development, research, and combat systems are easy to understand and use. This makes the game very approachable, which hopefully means more people buy it and the series continues because it's popular.