How much is their to do in Mass Effect 2 after you beat the main story, and how long will it take total?

I've been thinking about buying ME1+ME2 for christmas but I want to know how much replay value both have. I know the main storyline is supposed to be extremely long, but I'm really curious about the extra missions and things that give both games replay value, more so Mass Effect 2. Thanks :)How much is their to do in Mass Effect 2 after you beat the main story, and how long will it take total?
I've put 100+ hours into each game since JULY. If you just rush through each game, and do only the story missions, ME1 will take about 15 hours, ME2 will take about 20. If you do all the side missions, talk to all the characters, explore all the systems and pay attention to everything in the world of either game, it takes 40+ hours. If you do buy them, make sure to get the Platinum Hits version of Mass Effect (if you're playing on the 360), the bonus CD is great and it gives you the Bring Down the Sky downloadable content for free, and it's only $20. And if you do get ME2, make sure to get the downloadable content, Kasumi: Stolen Memory, Overlord, Lair of the Shadow Broker, the free ones, Firewalker and Zaeed, and weapon packs. They're some of the best parts of either game.


As far as the main plots,ME1 is definitely better than that of ME2, as the second game's story exists solely to bridge 1 and 3. ME2 is more about the characters, you'll spend most of your time recruiting people, and doing missions to gain their loyalty. There's also less side missions and exploration, the second game is much more cinematic, it's more of a movie than a game half the time.

As far a replay value, if you like sci-fi and enjoy the games, it's nearly infinite. I'm in the middle of my 4th play through, and I definitely will be doing more before ME3 comes out next year. There are SO MANY choices, so many characters, so many different ways to handle things, you'll want to play the games at least 3-4 times just to see how it plays out differently. You should also note that you can continue playing ME2 after the credits have rolled. You can't in ME1.


So, yeah. The games are definitely worth it, Mass Effect is probably my favorite video game series of all time.How much is their to do in Mass Effect 2 after you beat the main story, and how long will it take total?
if you do the bare essentials you can get through each one in about 10 hours....they are easily the most replayable game i've ever had...i'm just starting my 12th ME1 shephard, and my 11th ME2 shephard....game is addicitve