Scanning Planets In Mass Effect 2

Imagining whole ecosystems from very little.

- Malindy Hetfeld

Most people scoff a bit when I tell them that one of my favourite things about Mass effect 2 is scanning planets. I get it – the whole act of clicking on a planet, watching a transition screen, turning said planet around its axis for a while until you’ve found a mineral deposit and then listening to the same lines over and over again as your probe launches isn’t exactly a rousing experience. It doesn’t have to be.

The Mass Effect universe is an accomplished piece of world building. The moment I step into Shephard’s boots, I have a personal history that ties me to the achievements of the human race in outer space. Humans made first contact with new species, became represented in an interplanetary council and can basically go wherever they please. But the Mass Effect saga is also about uncharted space, showing us that for all that humans have seen and built, there’s always more of space to be discovered.