Mass Effect 2 Message Board older than one year ago

The Mass Effect universe will gain a third novel when Retribution releases this July. Penned by Drew Karpyshyn, who also wrote the other two Mass Effect books and is the lead writer on the game, the novel features The Illusive Man attempting to outfit an ex-operative of his black-ops group, Cerberus, with Reaper technology. For those interested in having pictures with their words, Dark Horse's Redemption comic book series is currently available. [Via Big Download]

Hey buddy, you like guns, right? Lots of guns? Good! The newest Mass Effect 2 trailer is meant just for you, then -- packed from top to bottom with bullets and explosives, lead gameplay designer Christina Norman discusses the gun-centric proclivities of the Soldier class. Did you know, for instance, that the Soldier is the only class that can use the assault rifle? We sure didn't! But look, to be totally honest, we're still a bit smitten with the Engineer class from a few weeks back. It's kind of hard to think about using another shotgun (yes, even a space shotgun) knowing there's a class with its own killer robot. That being said, if you're into that whole gun "thing," Mass Effect 2's Soldier is right up your alley. Gallery: Mass Effect 2 (Soldier class)

Take a look at gameplay footage of the soldier in this walkthrough of the soldier class with combat designer Christina Norman.

Much more than a simple grunt.

Touch the second act of the Mass Effect trilogy in this story-oriented interview.

The prolific composer Jack Wall will be droppin' mad orchestral beats on the soon-to-be-released Mass Effect 2, according to a recent EA press release. Though you may not be familiar with the name, you're probably familiar with his work -- Wall produced the scores for Jade Empire, Splinter Cell, Myst III and co-composed the accompaniment for the original Mass Effect. So, you know he's already got experience with theremins and other sci-fi synthesizers, which is important for this kind of work. If you need something ambient to listen to during your daily chamomile bath, the soundtrack will also be available to download from the usual online retailers on January 19. Or you could just, you know, leave the game running in the other room with the volume turned way up. Your choice!

Renowned composer provides original music for 2010's first mega-blockbuster.

The barely clothed Biotic known as Subject Zero shares her thoughts on Shepard and joining his team in Mass Effect 2.

Miranda joins the crew of the Normandy in Mass Effect 2 but her trust is not easily earned by Shephard.

The conclusion to Shepard's quest to clean up the air supply. Watch out for the flame-throwers!

Turn on the fans before it's too late! Mass Effect 2 shows off its tactile combat like never before.

"Everyone choke and die!" The battle heats up after some charged words (and charged vanguard attacks!)

Shepard must fight through hordes of enemies to quell a dangerous plague.

Shepard goes guns and biotics blazing to take down the Blood Pack.

See Shepard. See Shepard snipe. Good Shepard.

We travel beyond the Terminus sector and out of Alliance-controlled space to stop a plague.

We already know what you're going to say. While DC's upcoming Mass Effect 2 figure series includes decent likenesses of Thane, Grunt and Tali, the company is way off on its version of Shepard. In DC's defense, however, the company has no idea what your Shepard looks like, so it was stuck with a mold for Default Shepard instead of the real Shepard -- who everyone knows is vaguely Asian and female. According to the scans of DC's solicitation book, posted by Gamervision, the figures are still pending approval, but are due for release August 25 of this year. By then, you may be done with Mass Effect 2, so you can use these action figures to stage your own adventures on Planet Your Shelf.

Maybe, "if you love intense close-range combat," you should be looking elsewhere to release your pent-up rage. However, if you love intense close-range combat using an extremely tactical power -- and don't mind taking breaks for drawn-out conversation -- then perhaps Mass Effect 2's Vanguard combat class fits well with your particular proclivities. Still not clicking? Have you tried the Engineer? He, uh, fixes stuff ... with his killer robots.

Combat designer Christina Norman drops some serious knowlege about the Vanguard class and why you'll want to play it in the upcoming Mass Effect 2.

Getting up close and personal with the enemy.

Mass Effect 2 is temptingly priced on Amazon.uk at the moment, as the pre-order buy for BioWare's intergalactic epic is currently set at £30 for the Xbox 360 version (£27 for PC), a 40-percent discount off the normal retail price. Other regional competitors are currently offering the title for £40. (The standard price for a new game in the UK is typically £40-50.) Mass Effect 2 is currently discounted by 5 percent on Amazon's US site -- a mere $3. [Thanks, Andrew]

Grunt and Thane are just a couple more of the intergalactic psychos you'll be adventuring with in Mass Effect 2 starting January 26. Sure, there are some relatively sane folks like Tali and Miranda Lawson along for the Normandy cruise around the stars, but just on the estrogen front that's balanced by the bra-less anger of Samara and the grrrrrl-rage of Subject Zero. Can't we just get a Mass Effect 2 character that's big, fuzzy and easily marketable as a plush figure -- that would probably make EA happy. You'll find the clip for the even-less-cuddly-than-Wrex Krogan above and Thane after the break.

Traditionally, this is the time of year when we'd be able to put our feet up and savor the calm after the Q4 storm. But in 2010/Two-Thousand-and-Sin/ZOLO, we're stuck with a month of completely decent releases. We've always begged the industry to release games throughout the year, but never stopped to consider the terrible cost: More work for us. Check out the infuriatingly decent list and plan your purchasing strategy.

New Game + option will also be available.

If killing is an art, then Thane is a master.

Grunt joins Shepard, because Grunt likes to fight.

This past summer, we learned that Mass Effect 2 players could import save files from the previous entry in the franchise, bringing all of the decisions made in the first game into the sequel. But are decisions capable of decimating hordes of insidious, robotic invaders? No, boosted stats and abilities are -- and according to a recent forum post from BioWare Community Coordinator Chris Priestly, players who import their saves will get access to these as well. Of course, you won't be able to play as your super-high-level Shepard when you import -- however, the higher your character's level was when you finished Mass Effect, the better bonuses your Mass Effect 2 Shepard will receive. Some of the bonuses mentioned include extra money or crafting resources when you start the game. In addition, though BioWare has said that the game won't have a "New Game Plus" option, Priestly says that multiple playthroughs with the same Shepard will be possible.

There are no words. This trailer for Mass Effect 2 -- which just happens to be the expanded edition of the trailer teased during IGN's pre-VGA show -- is just completely radical. This particular video is more story-driven than the previous pieces of marketing for the game, giving a bit of backstory into the team Shepard has assembled, then showing that team going to war against a gigantic, sinister spacecraft. We like to think of ourselves as fans of the holiday season, but we'd be more than happy to skip the next couple of weeks, just so we could be that much closer to Mass Effect 2's January 26 release date.

January's right around the corner and EA's PR department is in full assault mode. Enter: Mass Effect 2, a video game we've heard the kids talking about around the chocolate milk line. In its latest PR salvo, EA has unloaded a video showing off the Infiltrator class, a stealth-based attack unit in BioWare's upcoming RPG shooter. While the Infiltrator isn't the useful, jack-of-all-trades type the Sentinel is or like the wussy cautious, wait-in-the-back Engineer, we must admit we've always had a soft spot for the sneaky, assassin type.