Mass Effect 2 will have "improved graphics" on PlayStation 3, BioWare claims on the most recent company podcast. The improvement isn't simply a benefit of the PS3 version being released a full year later, but also stems from the fact that the PS3 version employs Mass Effect 3's version of Unreal Engine 3. "We actually created the engine for Mass Effect 3 and used that to make Mass Effect 2 on PS3. So we took the content, the story, and all of the other assets that made up Mass Effect 2, and we put it into the Mass Effect 3 engine," producer Jesse Houston explained.

He added that the controls have been update with the PS3 controller in mind ("you can switch it back to the old Xbox [layout] if you'd like"), and the patches that ended up on 360 and PC will be "rolled up" into the PS3 version (faster planet scanning ahoy!). Also, if you were worried about a possible launch delay for whatever reason, the BioWare folks noted that the game on PS3 has "gone gold" (read: it's done). And if you're still on the fence about ME2, well, you're a crazy person ... but you'll also be happy to know that a PSN demo arrives on December 21.