7. Mass Effect 2
Yes, I preferred the second one to the third. Does that make me a terrible person? You'll be happy to know I can't harp on about the setting in this one, cause it's all the same setting in Mass Effect games: the galaxy itself. Let me get this off my chest; I wasn't a big fan of the first Mass Effect and, truth be told, I only picked it up for the controversy, which was a little disappointing. It wasn't until Mass Effect 3 came out and all my friends were on it that I decided I might as well grab the sequel while I wait for the third to come down in price. It blew my mind on so many levels; there was so much improvement compared to the first one. The opening itself was a strong and quite tense opening, in which my Shepard actually died. Not gonna lie, that was kinda shocking for me, but of course, like all heroes of the galaxy, Shepard can't stay dead and returned to bang everyone in his path. Combat was vastly improved; it felt smoother, and my weapons actually felt like they packed a decent punch when it came down to it. Picking the Vanguard class gave me an excuse to use biotic powers; they were quite cool and I did regret not choosing them in the first one. As the story unfolded, I was surprised to see the introduction of a new enemy and expansion upon the first game; rather than just ignore any decisions I'd made in the first game and stick in a "canon" story, it actually let me keep my freedom. So, I was quite happy knowing the Council from the first game were still drifting around in space somewhere. Mass Effect 2 kept me interested in the story enough for me to keep coming back to find out what happened, and as soon as Garrus returned, I was making damn sure not to leave him on the Normandy. Tali might have been my romance choice, but Garrus was Shepard's wing man any day. A bigger universe to explore, improved combat and a story which kept me wanting for more. Yeah, Mass Effect 2 can stay on this list forever.