Mass Effect 2 Message Board older than one year ago

The Quarian machinist returns.

Here's a Thanksgiving treat from the vault - we've dug out the following interview with BioWare co-founder (and Group Creative Officer of EA's newly formed RPG/MMO Group) Greg Zeschuk from earlier this year at PAX. But don't let the date fool you! Our discussion of multiplatform console development, DLC strategies on future BioWare titles like Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2, and Greg's recommendation that everyone buy two copies of the game (one on console and one on PC) defies time. Read on! Joystiq: Dragon Age is the first PS3 game that BioWare's developed. Can you talk about that process? Greg Zeschuk: We did partner with Edge of Reality, so we partnered with folks who have had the experience, and that was a good process where we actually had some folks that knew how to do it but also, in general, just worked together with them. A lot of it ended up being like we needed a lot of work to get done and a lot of stuff very fast and everyone was very busy on Dragon Age itself. Collectively, on the console, I would say it was very interesting and challenging to take the richness of the PC game of Dragon Age, with all these different powers and everything else, and actually try to transpose it to the consoles. And the interesting thing about that, or where it worked out really well, is that we literally set ourselves a goal: We didn't want console players to fell like we ripped them off by taking anything away, by minimizing or simplifying. We want them to feel they have all the power at their fingertips, but it's very accessible. It's got the multiple rings that sort of have subsets to them, and you can actually pretty much access any power just a couple little joystick twiddles and button presses. And so with that experience, I think we succeeded there. Another place where we succeeded on both the PS3 and 360 versions: it feels very different from the PC. Where the PC has got the traditional Baldur's Gate top-down [perspective], the PS3 and 360 are over-the-shoulder and they do have that kind of, very KOTOR feel and that's probably what I play, and that's what I feel most familiar with is KOTOR -- and it actually feels more action-y than the PC does, so I think people will find a very different experience. I recommend both platforms actually, PC and console versions.

Boxed version will not require online authentication.

New details and your first look at the revamped biotic user.

Looks like the 'Final' cover art wasn't so final after all.

Click image to apply mass effect BioWare has apparently changed its mind about the Mass Effect 2 box art, as the developer announced today that it has revealed the "final" image for the game's standard edition release -- the Collector's Edition box art was shown off a couple weeks back. The new box differs from the original version in that the characters and guns are more prominent, the Wrex-lookin' Krogan is replaced by Thane the Assassin, Miranda Lawson is trying harder, but still failing at a solid Dead Space Girl impression, and Generic Shepard from the original Mass Effect cover is again the sorry stranger of the bunch. Who is this cookie-cutter mancake BioWare insists cramp its covers? We've never seen him in our game!

The Afterlife is full of sin and pleasure.

Shepherd reunites with an old friend.

A full nine minutes of gameplay.

We get the feeling someone at BioWare has proclaimed this "Epic Week," what with the release of its fantasy RPG stunner Dragon Age: Origins and now an epic new video from its next big game, Mass Effect 2. This isn't a trailer or developer diary -- you're in for nine minutes of unedited, uninterrupted gameplay footage from the most recent build of ME2. In fact, it's the same mission -- set inside Omega's "Inferno" nightclub -- that we ourselves got to play earlier this week. (And yes, we can confirm it looks that good.)You'll get a sense of the sequel's leap in environmental detail, character modeling and dialog scene camerawork in this clip, along with loads of intense combat. There's even an appearance by returning character (and total badass) Garrus from the first Mass Effect, plus a joke that manages to poke fun at rumors of Commander Shepard's death and the fact players can make him/her look like anyone they choose. Again -- nine minutes.

click to make more MASSive You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than Mass Effect 2's newly revealed world, Omega. (Well, apart from the Mos Eisley spaceport, that is.) This is where our latest grubby-mitts-on-the-gamepad outing with BioWare's upcoming RPG shooter role-playing shooter took place -- or, rather, inside its favorite hangout for galactic riffraff, the Inferno nightclub.It turns out there was a purpose in showcasing this location beyond the throbbing music and exotic alien dancers -- it happens to be the same sort of locale that one of the original Mass Effect's earliest combat encounters played out in, and we got this point before our tour guide even had to make it: The environments in Mass Effect 2 are leaps and bounds better the first game's. In fact, this place seemed alive. Oh yeah -- and there just so happened to be a firefight waiting for us as we ventured further into this seedy sin palace.

Shepherd's work is cut out for him with the Collectors joining the ranks of evildoers.

Here are some of the things that will be killing humanity in Mass Effect 2: Collectors -- an insect-like race, controlled by a single leader, that has access to the technology that "no one else in the galaxy" has. They can paralyze humans, and according to the video dev diary above, can abduct entire colonies. Oh, and they have beam weapons. Abominations -- Husks from the first Mass Effect, but now on fire and 100-percent more suicide bomber-y. Scions - Three transformed human beings that have been grafted together onto a weapon. Essentially, super-zombies. With guns. Batorians - A "flying suit of armor" apparently made of thirty Husks that can "obliterate everything." The Geth will also make a return in Mass Effect 2. Legion, a Geth that has gained sentience, will hunt the player through the adventure, and it'll be up to you to figure out why. Provided your Shepard, um, doesn't die first.

New enemies, info on downloadable content, and much more.

A new evil is introduced in this latest trailer.

Do you want your copy of Mass Effect 2 to have more mass? EA has you covered with the newly announced Mass Effect 2 Collector's Edition, available for $69.99 on Xbox 360 and $59.99 on PC. It includes pretty much what you'd expect from a collector's edition: a tin box, an art book, a DVD with making-of footage, and Issue 1 of the Mass Effect: Redemption comic. It also includes some unique weapons and armor for the game that are limited to this package. Of course, if you've bought Dragon Age's collector's edition, this will be the second set of exclusive Mass Effect items you'll have earned from fancy game boxes! Mass Effect 2 (and this classy variant) will be out January 26 in North America and January 29 in Europe. See the full box art after the break.

Expect a surprise when you put down an extra $10.

An old friend joins the fracas as we play through a new area.

A quick overview of the game and some extra clips to boot.

A quick overview of the game and some extra clips to boot.

Developer sends along this Halloween surprise.

Developer squashes rumors of a PlayStation 3 port for good. Do you believe them?

Electronic Arts has announced that BioWare's space opera epic Mass Effect 2 will jump to North American and European retail on January 26 and 29, 2010, respectively. The North American GameStop pre-order bonus will include: Terminus Armor -- "Increasing run speed and personal shields, and augmenting weapons with an additional magazine of reserve ammo." The M-90 Blackstorm Heavy Weapon -- "Generates a high-powered localized gravity well, accelerating particles to near-infinite mass." And thus starts the first half of 2010 release bonanza ...

Anticipated sequel from BioWare coming sooner than we thought.

The confusion over whether or not BioWare's second space opera, Mass Effect 2, is coming to the PlayStation 3 has been a fiasco of epic proportions. We've heard plenty of rumor and speculation supporting both sides of the heated debate, but as the game's release draws nearer, more savory indications of the game's possible Sony-bound trajectory have surfaced -- namely, a listing on the EA Russia site for a PS3 version of the upcoming RPG. Gaming news site Just Push Start also noticed the PS3 installment on the site of an Australian game retailer called, appropriately, GAME. We put more stock in the EA Russia listing, though we suppose the publishing giant is no stranger to sending mixed signals when speaking about the exclusivity of the Mass Effect series. We've contacted EA and BioWare to find out what the deal is. Update: As some of you already guessed, the "deal" is that the EA Russia listing was, in fact, erroneous. The PS3 listing for Mass Effect 2 (and Left 4 Dead 2, which we didn't notice) has been removed from the site.

The confusion over whether or not BioWare's second space opera, Mass Effect 2, is coming to the PlayStation 3 has been a fiasco of epic proportions. We've heard plenty of rumor and speculation supporting both sides of the heated debate, but as the game's release draws nearer, more savory indications of the game's possible Sony-bound trajectory have surfaced -- namely, a listing on the EA Russia site for a PS3 version of the upcoming RPG. Gaming news site Just Push Start also noticed the PS3 installment on the site of an Australian game retailer called, appropriately, GAME. We put more stock in the EA Russia listing, though we suppose the publishing giant is no stranger to sending mixed signals when speaking about the exclusivity of the Mass Effect series. We've contacted EA and BioWare to find out what the deal is.

When dealing with Subject Zero, it's best to get straight to the point.