New Mass Effect DLC, avatar items now available

Back in June, BioWare's Twitter page promised an announcement about new Mass Effect downloadable content within days. Now, over two months later, the second downloadable expansion has finally surfaced on Xbox.com--apparently by accident.

Titled Pinnacle Station, the add-on does not yet have a price or release date, and any attempt to purchase it results in a prompt for a special promotional code. However, the flat page for Mass Effect, which can itself be bought digitally via Games on Demand, does list a "Pinnacle Station Theme" for MSP240 ($3) as being available for immediate purchase.

The first Mass Effect DLC, Bring Down the Sky, cost MSP400 ($5) but only featured 90 minutes of gameplay set on a planet-threatening asteroid. By contrast, Pinnacle Station is described as having two-to-three hours of gameplay and set aboard "a remote, top-secret Alliance space station," which can be landed on a planet's surface. The expansion will have players "test the limits of [their] combat prowess" in "13 exciting combat scenarios," apparently confirming reports that it would feature a gladiatorial arena of sorts.

As of press time, Microsoft had not returned requests for comment on the Xbox.com Pinnacle Station page or whether the expansion would be released for the PC edition of Mass Effect. Reps for BioWare parent Electronic Arts politely declined to immediately offer further details.

[UPDATE] Those details came early Tuesday, when the Pinnacle Station add-on went live, costing MSP400 ($5) and weighing in at 246MB. Simultaneously, Microsoft also released a slew of premium Mass Effect avatar outfits ranging from MSP320 ($4) suits of Alliance armor to MSP80 ($1) shirts.