The new chick in the Mass Effect 2 DVD cover looks better from that annoying tomboy Ashley. I really love the Mass effect universe !! Looks so realistic for a sci-fi..
Mass Effect 2 E3 2009 Impressions
By
Kevin VanOrd, Senior Editor
Shepard is not only still alive, he's facing new threats and new possibilities.
A lot of questions still remain unanswered about Mass Effect 2, but we did manage to make a bit more headway today during a new E3 2009 press demo of the highly anticipated role-playing game. Developer BioWare is still mum on certain aspects, but we learned enough today to know that fans of the original will get everything they wanted and a whole lot more.
As we already knew, Mass Effect was designed to be a trilogy, in which one character experiences a huge, epic storyline. This means, of course, that Mass Effect's Commander Shepard is back; rumors of his death have been greatly exaggerated, as it were. Exactly how BioWare brings Shepard back from the dead is still a mystery, though some characters clearly react with surprise upon meeting the assumed deceased commander. If you haven't played the original, don't worry; BioWare intends Mass Effect 2 to be accessible even to those new to the series. However, if you did play the original and held on to your saved games, you have a very special treat in store. Mass Effect 2 will let you import your Mass Effect character and start from where you left off. This means that gameplay choices and moral standing will carry over into Mass Effect 2, giving the impression of a single, lengthy experience.
In Mass Effect 2, Commander Shepard will be dealing with the Cerberus Corporation and their nefarious plans, though what its evils or triumphs may be remain unclear. However, there are colonies disappearing all over the galaxy, and Shepard seems to be the soldier for the mission. However, it is a suicide mission, a fact that became clear toward the end of the demo (more on this to come). There's also the ongoing business of the Reapers, who still remain a real threat. Throughout the game, Shepard searches for powerful individuals to recruit to his team, including an assassin belonging to an unfamiliar race. Although BioWare didn't confirm this during the demo, it seems that this assassin was named Thane and belonged to the new Drell race.
The first bit of the game that we saw was actually a cutscene in which flying vehicles sped above a bustling future metropolis. Shepard and an Asari companion are seated in one of these speeders. As they spoke, dialogue options appeared as in the first game. In this scene, the main difference between the options of yore and Mass Effect 2 was the sense of urgency projected. The camera kept pulling out to show the overall scene--in which speeders zipped quickly along--only to return to the vehicle interior, in which the two characters spoke again and more dialogue options appeared. It felt more like an interactive cutscene than similar conversations in Mass Effect. Once the car landed, Shepard and his companion entered a looming tower. Once inside, Shepard met an individual who seemed to be a security officer. After another sequence of dialogue, Shepard threw him over the side of the balcony, where he plummeted to his death. According to BioWare, there will be prompts during certain interactions that will let you interrupt conversations as they progress.
Mass Effect 2 will not only feature new dialogue options, but new combat options as well. For example, you will now be able to issue separate move and attack orders to squadmates individually. The power wheel remains, so you can still pause the action and issue orders. However, BioWare aims to make real-time action a more viable alternative than ever. To this end, we watched an extended sequence as Shepard fought his way across the space station. BioWare showed off multiple physics-based attacks that sent Shepard's vanguard enemies flying, as well as shooting and cover mechanics that resembled those of the first game. There are nine new classes of weapons, including heavy weapons, such as a missile launcher that we saw in action. That particular weapon wreaked havoc on multiple turrets and looked appropriately powerful.
Mass Effect 2's visuals look darker and grittier than before, as well as a lot more fluid. The new character models move and speak smoothly. As Shepard moved closer to his target recruit, we noted the soft blue lighting of the environments, and how flashes of red and violet provided pleasant contrast. The improvements were most noticeable when Shepherd encountered an Asari that was shocked to see Shepard. This is the moment that we've seen in the earlier trailer: She turns to Shepard in shock, pronouncing "Shepard?! But...you're dead." A conversation ensued, and we noted the lifelike manner in which the characters moved and spoke. The voice acting, as you would expect, was excellent as well. However, we didn't get to chat long, because after a moment, a new character (the one we believe to be called Thane) dropped from above in one slick move, assassinating the Asari and turning his cocky, ridged head toward Shepard. This new character (apparently of the new Drell race) seemed sophisticated. He spoke with deep, dulcet, and slightly menacing tones, announcing himself as only a creature of such confidence could: "Here I am."
The last scene that we got to see was the most powerful, and impressed upon us just how deadly Shepard's new mission is. The Normandy, Mass Effect's home vessel, was under attack. Shepard ran through the fiery corridors as the camera cut away to show the craft smoking and flaming (and, eventually, breaking in two). Shepard and his companion made it to the escape pods, but our protagonist had additional priorities. He climbed stairs to an exposed deck. The sound muffled, and we heard his heart beating loudly from the speakers. We watched him approach Joker, still seated in his navigation seat, unwilling to desert the Normandy. Shepard lifted Joker, but the exploding Normandy propelled them into space. This choice had disastrous consequences for Shepard: The soundtrack slowed, and we watched him float through space, apparently doomed to be simple space debris. BioWare confirmed that your choices can lead to Shepard's death, which drove the "suicide" part of "suicide mission" home.
Expect to see other improvements, particularly where space exploration is concerned. However, BioWare was mum on exactly what those improvements may entail, offering only that exploring the universe will feel more natural and diverse. Needless to say, we're excited to see even more of Mass Effect 2. Expect to see this highly anticipated RPG hit store shelves in 2010 for the Xbox 360 and the PC.
By
Kevin VanOrd, Senior Editor
Kevin VanOrd is a lifelong RPG lover and violin player. When he isn't busy building PCs and composing symphonies, he watches American Dad reruns with his fat cat, Ollie.
157 comments
Everything sounds absolutely amazing. There is one thing i'm a lil wary about and that's the fact that certain choices can lead to your death. Death by choosing the wrong dialogue option can be annoying and sometimes unfair. Ways around this could be an auto-save when a conversation is initiated, but we all know the chances of that are slim. lol Shouldn't be a huge issue, but to me it doesn't seem neccessary to include that particular sense of realism. Just let me talk and be nice or be a jerk, but don't let it kill me. know what i mean? lol
No Baka, Shepard didn't die in the first game. In the trailer, it looked like Shepard had died. But that's not true.
is there a difference between the ending of the 360 version vs the PC? cause Sheppard didn't die when I played it on the PC.
there'll probly be a backstory that bridges the first two games that'll explain how Sheppard is bein 'resurrected'. but im gonna be bummed if I play through the entire game just to die at the end...that would ruin MS3 for me
MAN!!!cant wait 4 this 1!!I finished the first 1 now lets see where this series is gonna take us now...
@ robmephisto et al It's possible, of course, that Bioware will do what they did in the past when dealing with sequels that import previous games' characters. In Baldur's Gate II you could import your old character and he/she retained all their stats, equipment and levels but if you chose to start a brand new character for the game then you could create one and they would automatically level up to the appropriate level. This system, combined with a new level cap preferably somewhere in the region of 100, would mean that new players could get stuck in at around level 50 or so whilst veterans would have the advantage of starting with their seasoned level 60 Shepard.
wait... Shepard died in the first? guess im going to have to beat it again... [sarcasm] OH DRATS! [/sarcasm]
Why would any idiot think Shepard was dead?? They asked you to save your character(s) so you could continue the story in ME2! I seriously can't believe people bought into that hyped story without thinking with their brains! LMAO.
uh...i don't know about you guys, but i got two different endings in ME1 and i never saw Shepard ever die...so...is that just something Bioware rumored in between ME1 and ME2?
@ tiggerlu Good question. I'm guessing that when they explain the whole "back from the dead" thing in-game, they'll also mention how you "forgot" your skills while you were dead. Zombie amnesia, lolz. Would be a bit of a copout but would enable you to level and progress your skills as though you were starting a new character on ME2.
i hope they will keep the benefits and improvements that they had on the pc version of the first game and add it to the xbox360 version of the second game.
ME1 is available on directdrive.com for 20$, i bought it there a few days ago and finally played the first game, really good stuff. Whatever i felt was lacking a bit, seems to be in ME2...the continuing story line will be very very interesting. In ME1, by the end of the game your character's skills are almost maxed though, i wonder how they'll keep it going in ME2 if you import your char?
This game looks great. Never played the first one, but this makes me want to even more. Hoping to play this and the first one soon.
Good to see there's much less pop-in this time around, and that they're putting extra effort into the uncharted worlds.
those bullet-resistant blue cerberus zombies were the worst part of the game. Hopefully with the second game focused on Cerberus, we won't have to deal with too many of them.
Oh, one other thing...lol....do we (our saved character from ME 1) get to continue to have alien sex with our Asari girl friend(s)? I wonder if Shepard get's to "bang" a few others along the way.....lol.
I started to read the back drop to Mass Effect 2 and suddenly realized (duh) I'm screwing myself by knowing this info. I don't want to know anything about the new game anymore. I just want to be freaked out by a continuing good story line and game. Waiting until Dec 09 is going to be painful!! lol
Joker may still live right now we are all being reeled in. we are all fish and Bioware are the fisher(w)men.
You could die in the first one too. If you were shot enough. It loaded the last checkpoint or save.
As for other characters, they said that depending on how you play it out, some wont make it to the end. I imagine they mean sort of like in the first one, i just hope they dont make anymore of those "choose one or the other" not because it wasnt a powerful decision, but because its already been used and it would have no shock value anymore to those of who played the first game. Ooo i just got a free Rootbear Float =D... but anyways, i anticipate a great game and story regardless. i just hope they dont overus the death card because theres been a bit of talk about it.
I dont think they have revealed what that whole KIA trailer was all about yet. and if Shephard has the option of being killed in a mission, you can bet on it being way later on, because think about it, He is the main character after all, you cant kill him off, or so conventional story telling says. But in any case he has to be there for a certain extent atleast so the story can unfold right, otherwise it would turn to slop, unless he werent actually the main character, which they have already said that he is, or more they said he was the... umm..... cant think of the word thats opposite of Antagonist atm, but that word lol. So if he can be killed i would imagine it being far in the story, like before you take out the Lead antagonist, you know? At the end.
There were hints to him dying. http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/rpg/masseffect2workingtitle/video/6205041/mass-effect-2-teaser-trailer?tag=videos;title;7 being the main article. Glade, what game do you die in in which you keep on playing?
Shaunk, that's what I remember too. Been racking my brain to try and remember any death scene because it's been a while. My question is if you make a choice that kills Shepard, will the game end and start back from where you were before? Or does the story continue without him? Can't wait to find out
also, Shepard "died"? i don't remember that :S I swear he kills re-animated Saren, Sovereign is destroyed, and then you get the choice to name the captain or the ambassador as the Earth rep on the Council....when does Shepard even seem to die?
traded in me1...man i feel like an idiot now. seems like it might be fun to play through them consecutively. and my completion character was kinda lame....just the generic soldier dude....i should have been a biotic....way more fun :P
Darn, I love how you can carry over dead characters, but I hate how i killed everyone off. :( (Slightly exaggerated, but not by much)
Sounds excellent. I'm looking forward to the separate move and attack orders. That was a ding on the first game and it sounds like they've addressed some of those failings. Good work Bioware.
Dark and gritty is good. Better combat, that's good, too. Now, about those elevators.....
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Game Info
- Release Date: Jan 26, 2010 (US)
- ESRB: MTitles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older.
- Release Date: Jan 18, 2011 (US)
- ESRB: MTitles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older.
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