Sign on Options
Theme:
To Dark

Mass Effect 2 ships 2 million

EA and BioWare's sci-fi role-playing shooter for Xbox 360, PC marks double-platinum deployment in first week.

Mass Effect 2 launched for the Xbox 360 and PC in North America on Tuesday, and the game's European rollout occurred today. Even in that short span of time, retailer interest has been strong, as Electronics Arts announced today that it has shipped more than 2 million copies of BioWare's sci-fi role-playing shooter worldwide.

Commander Shepard isn't a man to be trifled with.

Commander Shepard isn't a man to be trifled with.

Mass Effect 2 resumes the solar-system-hopping adventure of Commander Shepard, which began with the events in the acclaimed original Mass Effect. However, this time out, Shepard finds himself indebted to the pro-human Cerberus Corporation, though his focus remains on ridding the galaxy of the mysterious Reaper threat.

BioWare has bolstered Mass Effect 2's on-disc offerings with a batch of downloadable content through its in-game Cerberus Network. Free for those who purchased the Xbox 360 and PC game new, the DLC currently includes a new crew member who can be recruited as well as a bonus mission. Down the road, BioWare has said that it will introduce new weapons like the M-22 Eviscerator Shotgun as well as the Hammerhead hover tank.

For more on Mass Effect 2, check out GameSpot's spoiler-rich interview with project director Corey Hudson as well as additional coverage.

272 Comments

  • scrode

    Posted May 12, 2010 11:14 am GMT

    I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favorite game in the galaxy.

  • cosita46

    Posted Mar 11, 2010 6:15 pm GMT

    Awesome game!! Played it completed twice and can not wait for Mass Effect 3

  • bodyguardkun

    Posted Feb 8, 2010 6:20 am GMT

    i love this game ^_^ by the way the sniper gun dam cool

  • soccergod

    Posted Feb 7, 2010 11:00 am GMT

    Finished the game. I loved the first one despite some of the small issues (read Mako) Bioware is by far the best RPG game developer out there sticking with a basic formula from KOTOR and why not it keeps working. The action focus injected into ME2 is obviously to attract a little larger crowd than the typical RPG crowd. Personally I enjoyed the new aspect. Now add the players choice in the game throw in the tons of side activities you can do and you have close to a truly involved game. I think of it this way, Halo, Gears, Bioshock, COD, etc are all shoot kill, cut scene to cut scene, nothing you do affects even which cut scene. This game provides that kind of action but with story depth expected from RPG. Now I did like being able to change the look of my character's armor, but would have enjoyed a little more variety options. I will agree with the planet scanning was horribly tedious, but thoroughly enjoyed flying around and exploring planets, hopefully for ME3 they can find out a way to explore but without a tedious task. The reward for exploration should be a vastly more powerful character. I love the biotic powers, would love a bit more power though, more force unleashed would be cool. The story was a good middle chapter though not a true Empire Strikes back feel of how in the world are they getting out of this. I hope that they bring in large scope drama in the final chapter. The lack of galactic interest in Sheppards mission made it feel a little less epic.

  • Viddi218

    Posted Feb 7, 2010 6:41 am GMT

    I just finished the game 15 min ago. I'm still shell-shocked and I can't believe how epic it was. Best game I've played in a long time! Action was great, decision making was well thought out and cinematics were awesome!
    Can't wait for the final installment!

  • cid23

    Posted Feb 5, 2010 4:00 pm GMT

    Amazing ! Now Bioware has even better reason to make ME3 even better!

  • picklesrocks

    Posted Feb 5, 2010 6:10 am GMT

    @ ic3cOLDKillah
    i just think you are so funny because everyone on this page is moaing at you, pretty much noone else except you. to be honest if you hate mass effect 2 sooooo much have the guts to post a review or a blog about it rather than posting it on here, well you could post a blog but noone will probably comment on it becasue noone likes you

  • Buffalo2867

    Posted Feb 5, 2010 1:15 am GMT

    One of the best game experiences Ive had in a very long time. I love how much your decisions in the first game will impact things in the second. Even small quests will sometimes show up in ME2 in one way or another. I strongly urge people interested in this game to get and play through the first ME first and export their character, if they havent already. Its clear that Bioware listened to alot of feedback from the first and worked hard to improve those areas. ME2 was longer, got rid of the Mako (which alot of people complained about in the first), removed weapon specializations (which forced you to spend the entire game using just one weapon. In ME2 you're often switching to deal with different situations), gave you quite a few more characters with relatively good AI, made the game more difficult on the harder settings and made very noticeable improvements to combat. As such Im glad its already having some success. It is well deserved.

  • Cabal23

    Posted Feb 4, 2010 6:55 am GMT

    @ ic3cOLDKillah
    As the most illiterate person here you have nerve talking about people typing skills. Lets digest your first sentence of your last post:
    i don't even like gears of war, hence why I call ME2 a gears clone, I don't even have a 360.
    ***Wow great sentence there. Then how did you Play Mass Effect 2 if you don't have a 360? What is your point anyways? Your statement make zero sense**

    Now lets digest your second sentence if you can even call it that:

    and just so you know, I finished me2, did every mission, got every character, i had 40 hours played and about 300k+ in resources by the time i got Thane and did his loyalty mission, I kept scanning thinking there is a gunna be a really good reason as to why there's enough planets to give you well over 700k in each resource, except element zero of course, but no, i finished the game around 50 hrs and still had most of the resources and about 90% of all weapon/ship upgrades, mass effect 2 ISN'T an rpg, if you think shooting and talking makes an rpg you must be 10 years old, beacause u sure as hell type like a 10 year old.
    ** You do realize they invented punctuation for times just like this? Before you can debate you at least need to be able to make a coherent statement with actual points. And all of those words underlined in red means they are misspelled. It is amazing how smart you can sound when you use the basic 4th grade rules of grammar and the spell check function**

  • ic3cOLDKillah

    Posted Feb 4, 2010 3:40 am GMT

    @picklesrocks i don't even like gears of war, hence why I call ME2 a gears clone, I don't even have a 360. and just so you know, I finished me2, did every mission, got every character, i had 40 hours played and about 300k+ in resources by the time i got Thane and did his loyalty mission, I kept scanning thinking there is a gunna be a really good reason as to why there's enough planets to give you well over 700k in each resource, except element zero of course, but no, i finished the game around 50 hrs and still had most of the resources and about 90% of all weapon/ship upgrades, mass effect 2 ISN'T an rpg, if you think shooting and talking makes an rpg you must be 10 years old, beacause u sure as hell type like a 10 year old.

  • picklesrocks

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 11:55 pm GMT

    @ic3cOLDKillah ive never played ME1? its my favorite game idiot, and how am i fanboy? ok so beacsue i love mass effect 1 and 2 i must be some kind of heretic or something! or does that word not mean anything to your tiny brain? mass effect 2 is an RPG, and they took out the inventory system becasue in the first you were contantly getting bombarded with more items everytime you shot something, its all about making shepard how you want him to look, and they made planet scanning so you can find missions as well as collecting resources if you actually played to game fro more than an hour you would have noticed that, and yes its all based around one mission because thats a little thing called a story, cant find one of them in gears of war now can you? oh and by the way stop ranting about how gears of war is amazing, it really really isnt now get off this page before you get owned some more

  • Pacifxs93

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 3:51 pm GMT

    in my opinion ME2 is amazing, other than the slow and tedious mining which i hate -_-, i think that they really did an improvement on the previous game,
    the story and characters were just awesome it made me play the game more and more i just couldnt turn off the game once i got into it
    currently im on my second playthrough and still enjoying it, tho i did think that their should have been more weapons, hopefully new DLC will fix that

  • hajjjustin

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 1:43 pm GMT

    dont get me wrong i love ME2 but i agreewith acolyte289 i want a ton of weapons thats just RPG 101 if you ask me. i dont like the fact that you only get a few waepons durring the game. some of the best parts about RPG's are getting the best weapons in the game. and the scanning of the planets OMG iv have spent more time scanning the planets than i have played the game. they should have just had 1 or 2 planets out of every solar system with raw materal not 99% of the planets. and its so boaring. i liked it the other way were a few planets had materals and you went on foot to find them

  • dbpvivi

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 1:36 pm GMT

    Agree with Acolyte. Per-orded got Inferno Armour-useless cant do anything with it. The game has moved away from what little rpg elements it had and is now just an action/shooter. I too felt like something was missing.

    Personally I found it to be much more loyal to gears of war, in movement and combat. Powers are used alot more like force unleased. Combos/Fun with physics etc.

    Not to say its a bad game, infact its a very good game. I just think it was a poor sequal. Doesn't answer any questions the first raised. Infact the game is positioned between main story branches. The bit you play is the dull recruitment stage- minus the last hour.

    Should of been in the middle of Mass effect. I'm still convinced this is just one game.

  • acolyte289

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 9:59 am GMT

    I am on the second group of crew collecting missions and the story element has been good as expected, but the lack of inventory just makes me want to cut myself. That's right I am one of those people that love the cluttered inventory and having to check it for upgrades every five minutes.

    And as that kind of player, ME2 just feels empty to me. Even though I have to acknowledge it is a good game when not compared to the first. Still, finding weapons just laying around is a little weak. As are the percent upgrades. That could have easily been implemented to take place naturally as level up occurs and the mineral gathering eliminated. It feels like a weak effort to make you feel like you are upgrading your character, while wasting your time. To me sounds like a downgrade over inventory, you are just scanning planets rather than going through item lists. I was disappointed with customization too...only color presets? Really?

    Combat is great, but a little slow paced for a game without more of the typical RPG elements the first had. Once I get over the loss of inventory, I will probably enjoy this game more.

  • Bhemont

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 5:38 am GMT

    He's right about everything except the probing, yeah it's tedious grinding, but you can at least upgrade it and it'll go little faster.

  • phantom1593

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 1:53 am GMT

    @are_thief05
    no elevators in this one...

  • are_thief05

    Posted Feb 3, 2010 1:19 am GMT

    i don't know why..but i hate mass effect..maybe i hate the game play..to little action but to many talk..not my choice game maybe..the most part i hate is in the elevator..need to wait ..this game have many elevator..really not my type of game..I think other people like this game but not me

  • KimCheeWarriorX

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 10:27 pm GMT

    Ok guys, I'm waving the white flag here, don't flame me. I'm here to say that I don't agree with the high ratings that this game has got. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad game by any means its just not good as an RPG. It still has RPG elements, but most of the ones I grew to love from the first ME were thrown away and replaced with more action. The main people who griped about various RPG elements in ME1 seemed to be ones that weren't accustomed to RPGs. Still a good game, just not excellent. *cowers in fear*

  • NinoSwaG

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 5:13 pm GMT

    @jefferson1964

    ME2 is a pretty good game and has way more action than the first one. The planet scanning is a tad irritating and extremely tedious but besides that it's a solid game with strong character.

  • jefferson1964

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 4:16 pm GMT

    Im playing ME1, I saw the game come out but the name did not interest me. However, a few weeks ago i decided to read the reviews on ME1 and downloaded in via xbl. Its increadible game that draws a player in and the worlds are amazing. I order ME2 today and based upon the reviews and comments im looking forward to an even better experience.

  • GDCalibur

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 3:58 pm GMT

    No surprise there, the game is pretty amazing. @ Richardthe3rd
    I concur, the planet scanning is very repetitive. After the first planet, it just becomes a chore. Still love the game though!

  • Oracleas

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 1:57 pm GMT

    and come on DAMSOG, in oblivion you need to rush off to save martin from an attack by some hellish demons which have literally destroyed the city, and while he is hiding in some small church with no defenses, you go and join the thieve´s guild, and even after you completed every single quest in the game, mister martin is still gonna be waiting for you in his church, safe from harm... is that very REAL? at least mining a plant serves some purpose in ME2....

  • Richardthe3rd

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 1:55 pm GMT

    The only part I don't like about the game is the planet scanning nonsense; it's boring, tedious, and time consuming. It's also pretty worthless, you don't feel like you're doing any exploring and it feels like you're doing something you would do at work. Pretty painful.

    Otherwise, this game is pretty amazing and it deserves all the success it gets. The importing character files from ME1 and the persistence between the two is bold, and from what I've seen convincing and well executed. I can see myself doing a lot of playthroughs.

    I could care less about this idiotic, snobbery of a debate as to whether this is an RPG or not. I don't play good RPG's, I play good games, and this is most certainly the latter.

  • Oracleas

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 1:55 pm GMT

    DAMSOG:

    man... you are saying all of those things, which seemed credible, until you said: You can keep it and I will go back to playing Oblivion, a REAL RPG...

    what the hell are you saying, oblivion is a REAL rpg and this isnt?
    well, you are entitled to your opinions, but dont expect anyone to consider what you are saying when you say incredibly wrongful things like that...

    now ontopic.
    ME2 was a really great game, i enjoyed every single aspect of it. it was better than the first (though the first was really good)
    i really liked the change in game´s inventory system.
    no inventory, faster, more fluid gameplay.
    you gotta remember that after all, this is a shooter/rpg game.
    and while the game took out the inventory, it still gave you a customizable comm shepard, and gave you stat control, the experience system...
    for example, another really great rpg game that keeps the inventory to a real minimum is (completely nonrelated) FFX, and that worked out great!

    so, as i was saying, i really enjoyed mass effect 2, i am really tired of playing as some dumb knight on some quest to kill a dragon (yeah, i reallllllly hated dragon age... worst purchase of my life...) and i really enjoy modern day RPG´s, and those are really hard to come by (i still play vampire: bloodlines..)
    so great work bioware!!! i´ll keep getting every single rpg you make... unless it´s another crappy dragon age thing
    and btw, how many of those sales were for pc?

  • Solamon

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 12:46 pm GMT

    @Cabal23: I couldn't agree more. Mass Effect 2 is a game changer. I love how the interface doesn't get in the way of the game experience. No clumsy inventory system, no stats to crunch, just pure experience. This is a true Role Playing Game in the sense that you are really in the Role of Commander Shepard.

  • DAMSOG posted Feb 2, 2010 12:44 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    DAMSOG

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 12:44 pm GMT (hide)

    @Cabal23 Your on an epic quest to save the universe but you stop off and scan some planets??? Intergalactic mining quest? The cast of characters who join you is superb but its allmost the entire game, after I had collected all the shipmates there is 1 mission and bam, game over. The only other missions are fetch quests or anomaly missions that are over in 45 seconds, sometimes the mission ends and you have no idea you have finished it till the mission stats screen appears. RPG's are all about stats, micro-managing every detail is what makes these games engrossing, scanning planets is not. Not once did I see a decision that affects the outcome of the game, only decisions that will affect the 3rd installment. Powers? Did you not play the first game? Being limited in your choice limits your options, replayablity suffers because diversity is reduced. How can you role play when your role is so defined its impossible to be/do anything else other than whats set out for you, the ultimate freedom in a RPG. Its clear that BIOWARE set out to establish a new market base whilst leaving the RPG faithfull out in the cold, you like it? You can keep it and I will go back to playing Oblivion, a REAL RPG not some episodic adventure only designed to fill the void before the next installment, cynical cash in adventure...you bet.

  • Cabal23

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 8:04 am GMT

    I enjoy the stripped down aspect to this game. Too many games focus on loot. Smashing crates is not fun. Having so many of the same item isn't fun. Managing inventory is not fun. Stats are useless in this game. The powers add a huge amount of tactical diversity. The sheer number of NPC's who join you is awesome. Their personalities are amazing. You are on this epic adventure to save the universe and you want to go looking for loot? I have four guns on my person at any one time. How many do I need to complete the quest? I have a Sniper Rifle, SMG, Pistol, and a Collector beam weapon. I can switch out the beam weapon with a grenade launcher and every weapon has multiple versions. I just don't get these "this game is so shallow" people. I think some peoples idea of RPG's revolves around stats and inventory. Not so. I have already seen multiple times where my decisions affect the story. I can't think of one game that has really ever done that successfully and consistently. Decide what you want out of a game. Micromanaging inventory and stat screens or immersing yourself in an incredible story. I choose that later any day and so has almost everyone else here other than the two people who's arguments have no feet to stand on. By the way icecoldspilla, I have yet to do a fetch quest in this game. Every mission I have done had a interesting story or purpose. Long drawn out story? Why are you playing an RPG then?

  • AncientDozer

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 2:18 am GMT

    @ ic3cOLDKillah

    I appreciate your comment, I really do, but I disagree and I find your opinion to as asinine as it is fallacious.

    A Gears of War Clone? Are you serious? All right, all right. Uncharted is a Gears of War Clone because you move around and shoot things and seek cover. How about Ghost Recon? Yeah, must be a Gears of War Clone.

    No, friend, Mass Effect is a game that stands on its own. Realize that just because a game uses a cover system, it is not a "clone". That would be ridiculous. Otherwise all first person shooters, because they are in the first person and use guns, would be Doom clones or Wolfenstein clones.

    The game was streamlined for the convenience of a wider audience (and existing audience who didn't all enjoy the mako or the inventory crawl). You forget that you still manage stats and abilities and, more importantly, you blatantly ignore just how important dialogue is.

  • oskuuu

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 1:02 am GMT

    give some love to bioware! best game company ever

  • JP-

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 12:11 am GMT

    insanity almost cost me an new controller

  • ic3cOLDKillah posted Feb 2, 2010 12:07 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    ic3cOLDKillah

    Posted Feb 2, 2010 12:07 am GMT (hide)

    @picklesrocks oh and, this game, does share the same with gears, if your analagy is correct, since this game is all about, gather your team then go to omega relay and shoot stuff. ok so u run around some cities, doing some boring fetch and hand in quests, yadda yadda, it's just one long drawn out conversation after another, with a few 5-10 minute missions thrown in that were generally more trouble then it's worth.

  • method115

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 10:40 pm GMT

    Such an amazing game. I'm blown away by how good this game is. The way they changed the armor/shield/barrier to make it more tactical was genius. I wanted to use every single squad memeber except for maybe Garrus,Tali, and Jacob. Big change from the last game where I only like two people. The story telling was grade a truly epic. The graphics were amazing such am improvement from the first.

  • StJimmy15

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 10:09 pm GMT

    @zeniftan I don't know about ME2 but my friend has beaten ME1 3 times since wednesday... Possible, I'm sure, but not probable for anyone that sleeps.

  • DAMSOG

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 9:58 pm GMT

    Normal and Insane, who would bother going through on all difficulties??? Sorry if you guys thinks I'm being overly critical but I really tried to like the game and didn't bother to comment untill I had finished it. Would it be too much to ask to get some reaction from residents of citidel when I'm walking around with a geth soldier, rest my case.

  • zeniftan

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 6:52 pm GMT

    @DAMSOG: You're telling me you've completed ME2 on five difficulties since last monday? whatever dude...

  • LtReviews

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 6:39 pm GMT

    @damsog If you don't like the game that much, don't play it.
    But then again you played the game from start to finish, so its a wonder you would play a 30-35 hours game in its entirety, and rate it a 3,5, Normally, if you give a game such a low rating, it means you dislike it too much to play it.
    Otherwise I'd guess you just want attention.

  • MooncalfReviews

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 3:42 pm GMT

    @jad206

    It does a little, but thinking back to Indigo Prophecy ... there was so much wrong with that game that I don't hold a lot of hope for Heavy Rain.

  • DAMSOG posted Feb 1, 2010 3:26 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    DAMSOG

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 3:26 pm GMT (hide)

    Just because you dont agree with the screaming fan boys that ME2 is like the best ever dude you get labled a kid who obviously hasnt played the game? Would you like reviews from gamers who say stuff like best ever/instant classic/space epic so you feel better about your mediocre purchases? Good luck with that!

  • jad206

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 3:11 pm GMT

    @MooncalfReviews
    I know this isnt ME2 related....but no ps3 ? umm does Heavy Rain not interest you?

  • DAMSOG posted Feb 1, 2010 1:17 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    DAMSOG

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 1:17 pm GMT (hide)

    Having played BOTH ME1 and ME2 from start to finish on all difficulties its easy to be critical of the sequal, yes it does have wonderfull characters, good diaglogue and a reasonable shooting mechanic but...deep breath...its a stripped down version. You dont play the game your way but simply follow the story of Shepard making small decisions along the way! You never feel like your actions infuence the story in any way, and as for a living world go to the nightclub on the citidel and that Turian will still be in the can looking at the urinal, even in Morrowind the npc's moved occasionaly! Theres also very little to do except the main story, scanning planets? Its easy to see a lot of people love this game but I wanted something deeper than a puddle.

  • thenephariouson

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 12:59 pm GMT

    @ParisSun

    My thoughts exactly.

  • AlphaWolF_J

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 10:23 am GMT

    After finishing Mass effect 1 (PC) .a while back i put the game in my top 5 games of all time but i just started playing mass effect 2 (PC) and this game is a legend already it feels so much like a real world With all the night clubs and areas and the dialog is stella movie quality..why Ps3 owners get to play Dragon age but dont get the chance to play Mass effect is really stupid as this game really should be experianced by all gamers on as many platfoms as possible.Im just glad i have a top grade self built PC i will never own an Xbox 360 again after owning 2. Dont think about picking this game up just do it already its in the GTA 5 & MGS 4 Level of storytelling and IMO biowares best work yet : D 1 very happy mass effect 2 player

  • PCsama

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 10:03 am GMT

    God i'm dying from waiting .

  • ParisSun

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 9:26 am GMT

    This is an amazing game. I don't say that lightly. I loved Oblivion and Fallout 3 but this game beats those hands down. I've spent hours playing this game and the characters are just amazing. It feels like you are playing a movie. And if you are playing this on a HDTV, then you are looking at one of the most beautiful games on a console. This game will easily be in the running for GoTY.

  • MooncalfReviews

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 8:37 am GMT

    @SicklySunStorm

    Haha yeah fair point. I didn't bother with the PS3 yet personally, because it has no exclusive games that interest me enough to spend that amount of cash on it.

  • SicklySunStorm

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 8:29 am GMT

    @MooncalfReviews - dude, if you think I have money to waste just because I got the 3 consoles this gen, you're wrong. It's called getting your priorities right first and being frugal and saving.
    I'm as skint as the next joe bloggs, I just allocate my money more wisely for what I want. And since I'm a gamer, it's games I want, for all platforms. That way I don't miss anything and don't have to big-up my one console choice to make myself feel better.

  • Cabal23

    Posted Feb 1, 2010 8:02 am GMT

    @DAMSOG

    I really don't think you played either game. The comparisons are almost exact. Take away the excessive loot and the Mako and you have the same game. Deep conversations, branching story lines, and a robust combat system. This the most role playing I have done since I played D & D 20 years ago. You are one of those very small fraction of people who can't find joy in anything, especially sequels. I think it follows the story very well and as most people here would agree, that this is a huge improvement on the last streamlining it and making easier to get into. I really enjoyed not wandering around the Citadel for hours on end doing peoples dirty laundry. I really don't consider wandering around for hours with no idea what I am doing role playing. I hate to disagree but your points don't add up.

Subscribe to GameSpot's YouTube Channel

Hot Stories

Newsmakers

Featured Stories

Submit News

Got tips? Send them in!

Related Game

Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 2 Boxshot
Follow:
  1. Not Following
    Xbox 360: Follow
  2. Not Following
    PC: Follow
  3. Not Following
    PlayStation 3: Follow
Add to List
  1. Xbox 360
  2. PC
  3. PlayStation 3

Follow for the latest news, videos, & tips from experts & insiders

GameSpot Fuse
    Platforms:

    Related Games

    Recent News

    See All News »

    Site Blogs