Back to the start (of the middle)

I just did something foolish. As if I didn't have enough on my plate already, I've just restarted Mass Effect 2.

There was no need for me to go all the way back to ME1, I played that game to death. But its sequel only got one play-through last time around, and there are some serious gaps in my ME2 experience that need filling.

For a start, my last journey through 2 didn't have any alien love in it. I'll have to rectify that. I also left a bit of DLC untouched and a variety of side-quests are left to tackle.

There's also the question of Paragon vs Renegade. Last time around I was nice Shepard, this time around I'm going to be an evil bastard at every available opportunity.

Whilst there is going to be a fair amount of recycled adventuring in my second run at the campaign, I still think it's incredible that nowadays we get to play games where we can play through the same story multiple times, and each adventure yields unique and exciting experiences.

The first game I ever played through more than once was Knights of the Old Republic, also made by Bioware. The light and dark pathways offered substantially different experience depending on which way you played, and so it is with Mass Effect 2.

With Mass Effect 3 going on sale next week, I've got very little time to waste if I want to be ready with both my saved characters in time to start the final chapter of Bioware's epic trilogy. The only thing left for me to decide will be which way to play. The fact that I have that choice makes me very happy indeed.