The "Mass Effect 2" endgame: spectacular

Wasn't I just griping about how tedious it is to mine planets in the new "Mass Effect"? Well, yeah, but having just completed my first play-through of "ME2," all is forgiven. I won't spoil anything here, I promise, but the end of the game is truly spectacular, worthy of (if not superior to) any Hollywood blockbuster.

I also love the fact that my ME2 ending may well be radically different from yours, depending on your choices throughout the game: which upgrades you opted for, the teammates whose loyalty you earned (or didn't), and whether you played the game as a paragon of virtue or a ruthless renegade. Indeed, I've already started a new play-through as a bad-ass female Shepard in the hopes of having a very different experience the second time around.

In any case, kudos to the entire BioWare team for a job well done (on top of the superb "Dragon Age: Origins" from last November, as well). "Mass Effect 3" can't come soon enough.